Heyy guyzzzzzz :) I am sooo unbelievably happy for the Calleigh and Eric scenes in their last epi…I was grinning the whole time haha :P

Anyways…I decided to make this more of a filler chp…the last few chps r going to be all fluff all the time. (which makes no sense because the whole story is practically fluff…but oh well :P)

Here it is! Hope you guys enjoy!! Review plz!!

XXX

Pain. Fear. Anxiety.

All the wrong emotions were running through Natalia at this moment. At nine months pregnant she was due to go into labour at any moment, but right now, something was wrong. Something with the babies. She could feel it in her bones.

She winced as another sharp pain hit her insides, probably her kidney once again, where one of the babies frequently kicked. At first she dismissed it as normal, but then the pains became frequent, too frequent. They also became more painful with every passing moment. She should not be in this much pain, but was labour supposed to feel like this?

No, shethought, the pains are too acute.

She bent over once again, the pain almost unbearable this time. She groaned and placed her hand above her swollen belly, hoping and praying to God that the babies were okay, they had to be okay. The pain was excrutiating. Like someone was ripping her body apart from the inside. She slowly felt her insides convulse as she dropped to her knees on the carpeted floor. She hissed as her knees hit the floor, groaning at the added pain that came with the contact.

Her breaths soon became shallow, quickening as the pain increased. She could not do anything. In too much pain to move, Natalia collapsed on her side, still clutching at her stomach. She screamed out as another wave of pain engulfed her whole body, almost sending her over the edge. She had a higher tolerance for pain than a normal woman, but this pain could cripple even the most tolerant man.

She winced in pain once again as the pain began to subside, but not for long. The moment everything seemed to be slowing down, the moment she thought she had regained at least a fraction of her strength, a sharp pain hit her side. So sharp that she could not move her legs, the pain was too much for her to handle.

"Ryan…" she whispered, not able to speak any louder.

She knew that he was not home, but she also knew that he was due home any minute. She had to stay awake. She had to fight the overwhelming darkness that threatened to engulf her entire person. No matter how inviting it looked, how promising, a land free of pain and suffering, she could not give up. She had to fight for her children, for Ryan, for herself.

Her eyelids became increasingly heavy, and the pain slowly ebbed away all of the strength and will power she had left. As the front door opened, they closed slowly, all of her strength now depleted.

The next time they opened she saw bright lights passing in front of her eyes. She squinted to adjust to the light, while hearing frantic voices around her. From what she gathered, one was telling the others what to do, sounding impatient, while a familiar one seemed to be talking to her. She closed her eyes, trying to escape the chaos surrounding her.

Then, everything went silent. But only for a moment.

She slowly opened her eyes, but immediately regretted it. She was suddenly met with yet another wave of pain and nausea, this time to her lower regions. She moved her head slightly to see her legs spread apart, and a head looking intently at the source of her extreme discomfort.

She groaned and her head fell back against the bed with an audible thud. She then felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to see her husband staring back at her, concern in his eyes. Her brows furrowed together, why was he jus standing there? Why wasn't he doing something? Her eyes closed once again as she winced in pain.

Her grip tightened with every passing second, parallel to the increasing pain in her womb. Her head lolled to the side as she lost her remaining strength and her eyes landed on Ryan, simply staring at her from the sidelines, still not having moved even an inch, a blank look on his face. Her breathing soon became difficult and she was unable to speak to her frozen husband. Unable to call out to him. Not even able to say his name.

Her mouth felt so dry as if filled with cotton. She mouthed his name, trying desperately to say it out loud, to call him over to her. His form then slowly retreated into the darkness behind him, leaving her alone. No, she tried to scream. She held out her hand, trying to grab him, but he was too far, and almost gone…

Natalia jerked up, her breathing laboured, sweat trickling down her face, heart racing. She placed her hand over her heart and looked to her side where Ryan lay on his stomach, sleeping peacefully. Part of her was relieved that it was only a dream, but another part, a fairly larger part, was terrified at the thought that the dream might become a reality. She glanced at the clock and noted that it was a bit too early to wake Ryan, but she also knew someone who should be returning from their morning jog right about now.

XXX

Calleigh stepped into the house and closed the door behind her. The best part about living in this neighbourhood was the safe environment that she was able to run in, and the scenery made it all the more perfect.

She entered the kitchen and opened the fridge, taking out a bottle of water. As she took a sip she felt two hands encircle her waist. She smiled and capped the bottle, placing it on the island in the middle of the room. She turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Before she could say anything, he bent down and kissed her hard, tangling his hand in her hair, pushing her head closer to deepen the already passionate kiss. Feeling confused, but not complaining, Calleigh slipped her tongue into his mouth, loving the small moan she got in return. She never got tired of his taste, the one that never ceased to amaze her. The two lost themselves in the kiss, exploring each other's mouths without abandon. But soon, the need for oxygen became too much to bear. Reluctantly, Calleigh broke the kiss, seeing small dots as she opened her eyes to gaze into Eric's.

She smiled and rested her forehead against his. "What was that for?" she asked softly.

He smirked, "So what, I can't kiss my wife now?"

Calleigh giggled, "Yeah, but it's kisses like that that contribute to our current situation."

Smirking, Eric placed a hand on her still flat stomach, caressing it gently with his thumb, "And what if I like our current situation?"

"Then you should continue kissing me like that," Calleigh responded simply.

Leaning down slowly, their lips inched closer together, Eric's hands glued to her hips. The shrill ring of Calleigh's cell phone broke the intimate moment, causing Eric to groan.

"If you answer that I'll kill you," he said as she reached to the waistband of her pants for her phone.

"It's Natalia."

"Why is she calling you at this hour anyway?" he said, attaching his lips to her neck.

Calleigh shrugged, "She wouldn't call at this hour if it weren't important."

Eric groaned against her neck and pulled away, "Fine, but you better make it up to me later."

Calleigh chuckled and pressed her lips to his quickly, "Of course, babe."

As Calleigh answered her phone, Eric walked out of the room slowly. "Hey, Nat, what's up?" she answered.

"Hey, Cal, are you busy?"

"Nope. You sound shaky, what's wrong?" Calleigh asked out of concern.

"Umm, I- shit, Ryan just woke up. I'll tell you later, okay?"

"I'll make sure of it. See you at work."

"Yea, bye."

The click at the end of the call only heightened Calleigh's nerves all the more. She knew that it took a lot to make Natalia worried, so it was definitely something big.

She let out a sigh and looked at her watch. It was time to wake the twins for day care. Another day in the life of Calleigh Delko had only just begun.

XXX

Natalia paced in the locker room in the crime lab, waiting anxiously for Calleigh to arrive. She knew that she had to tell someone how she felt, or she was going to explode onto someone unexpected, and she could not deal with that happening. Especially if she had told Ryan, which she hadn't. She had sneakily avoided the subject all morning, asking and commenting about meaningless things to Ryan. She knew that she should at least tell him something, but she felt like she couldn't. Physically, mentally or emotionally…she just couldn't.

She continued to pace, going through the possible reactions she might have. She had no idea what Calleigh would say or do, and this made her worry all the more. Letting out a breath, she sat down on the bench and placed her head in her hands, her elbows propped up on her knees. She ran her fingers through her hair and tapped her fingers nervously on her leg.

The door to the locker room then opened, and Natalia's head jerked up, hoping that it was a familiar blonde. Much to her dismay, it was a familiar face, but not the one she had wanted to see.

Ryan entered the room, seeing his wife looking distressed and anxious. He sighed and walked over to her. He knew that something was bothering her, something that must be really horrible to make her worry the way she was. He sat down on the bench and placed a hand on her knee, "Nat, what's going on?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, removing his hand from her knee and standing up.

Licking his lips, he replied, "Something's bugging you, Nat, I know it." He paused, noting how she neither denied nor agreed with his statement. He shook his head and stood up, "How am I supposed to help you if you don't let me in?"

He placed an arm on her elbow and gently turned her to face him. He looked into her eyes, brimmed with tears. This took him by surprise. He had seen her cry before, but this time it was driving him mad. When she had cried before he knew why. He knew how he could help her, how to make her feel better. But now…now he had no idea what the hell to do, and it drove him absolutely crazy.

He sucked in his lower lip and tried to control his emotions, not wanting to take it out on her, despite the fact that she was the source of his frustration. "Look, I'm your husband, Natalia. I'm here for you, whatever the case may be. So, please, let me in."

Natalia shook her head, fighting back the tears. This terrified her so unbelievably much, it was almost unbearable. The very thought of losing a child, her child, because she wanted to take a chance, it made her want to weep for days. It made her want to curl up in a corner and marginalise herself from the world, far away in an isolate place, and just sit there, wallowing in self-pity. Because it would be her fault…everything…all of it. Her fault. If she hadn't been to damn selfish, if she had thought about someone else but herself. If she had just weighed the consequences with the advantages, they would not be in this situation.

Natalia opened her mouth, needing desperately to say something. She just had to say the one thing that was bugging her, and right now she didn't care who heard, but there was a nagging voice in her head that said not to rant to Ryan, because he was the one person she wanted to talk to rationally about the situation.

The doors to the room opened once again, interrupting Natalia's upcoming rant. Calleigh walked in, purse in hand, cell phone in the other, looking intently at the screen. Natalia let out a breath of relief. Finally, she thought. She appeared in the nick of time, and Natalia had never been more grateful.

Calleigh looked up from her phone and saw the couple, Ryan's hand on Natalia's elbow, Natalia looking at her, her lower lip sucked in. Ryan's eyes were on his wife, a look of concern in his eyes.

"Calleigh," Ryan said evenly, "can you give us a moment, please?"

About to consent, Natalia interrupted Calleigh, "No, I need to talk to Calleigh about, um, something really important." She directed the last few words at Calleigh, her eyes pleading with her to agree and to help her in her attempt to make Ryan leave.

Unwillingly, Calleigh looked away from Natalia and at Ryan, "Yeah, she's right, sorry, Ryan."

Ryan, looking slightly agitated but also hurt nodded his head and left the room silently. Feeling bad for making him leave so abruptly, Calleigh shot Natalia a look. Natalia put up her hands in defense, "I have a good reason, I swear."

"You better had," Calleigh replied, moving to her locker and opening it.

"I think that I made the wrong choice."

Calleigh placed her bag on the shelf then turned to her friend, eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "About what?"

"About the triplets."

Calleigh paused, hand hovering over her purse as she straightened it on the shelf, "What? Why? Is something wrong?"

"I-"

"What, Nat? Is something wrong with the babies?" Calleigh's voice became frantic.

Natalia's heart rate increased and her breath shallowed. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't do this. She had to get out of here, she had to leave, she had to get away.

She mumbled a simple, "I'm sorry," before making her exit, Calleigh shouting after her. She knew that she shouldn't have left Calleigh hanging like that, but she really could not handle where the conversation was going. She had to escape. She placed a hand over her heart as she all but ran through the halls of the crime lab, but much to her dismay, she bumped straight into her boss, the red-headed wonder.

"Horatio I-"

"Miss Boa Vista, are you okay?"

Natalia let out a breath, she was almost fed up of hearing that question all day long. "Nothing, Horatio, I'm fine."

Horatio raised his eyebrows and looked at her skeptically.

Natalia relented, "Okay, so everything's not fine, but I-"

"Does it have to do with your pregnancy?"

Natalia's eyes widened, neither she nor Ryan had had the guts to tell their boss about her pregnancy, knowing that they needed all hands on deck in the lab for the current case they were working on. It was taking them quite a while to solve, but the suspect was a lot cleverer than they had anticipated.

Because of the lack of labour, Natalia had thought it best to postpone telling Horatio the news, knowing that he would not allow her to work on any serious cases during her pregnancy. But Natalia would have none of that. She and Valera were the best DNA team anyone could ask for, so the lab could not afford to lose even one of them in this critical time. So for Natalia to find out that Horatio had known all along made her flabbergasted.

"How-" she stopped herself from asking that question, knowing very well the look that would ensue. The famous 'I know everything' look from Horatio. Natalia often wondered if he practiced that look daily, for it never failed to work, even on Eric and Ryan.

"Let me ask again. Natalia, are you okay?"

"No, she isn't," a voice replied from behind her.

Natalia turned to find Calleigh walking up to the two of them. "Calleigh I-"

"No, Natalia," Calleigh interjected, "I know you well enough to know when you're lying to me."

Natalia sighed in defeat, bringing her hands up to pinch the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger.

Horatio spoke up, pulling his shades down from his hair, "I think, that you should deal with whatever is bothering you miss Boa Vista, and I think that Calleigh should help you."

Natalia nodded, knowing that her arguing with Horatio would serve no purpose. "Cal, can we talk during lunch?"

Calleigh nodded, "I'll come and get you and we can go out."

XXX

Calleigh fell back into the seat after hearing Natalia rant for a good five minutes…literally. Her eyes were wide and her bottom lip was sucked in, a nervous habit of hers. She leaned forward and brushed her empty plate to the side, propping her elbows up on the table in the now empty space.

"Just explain this to me, why can't you tell Ryan?"

"Because he would freak out, and I don't want him to feel like that, it was my decision anyhow. My stupid decision."

"Hey," Calleigh soothed, "Everything's going to be okay. Stop focusing on what could happen and what might happen and deal with what is happening, the present is all that matters right about now, okay?"

Natalia nodded, "I made a doctor's appointment for after my shift, can yo- would you come with me, please?"

Calleigh nodded, lips pressed into a thin smile, because she was also as terrified as Natalia at what could happen, and she did not want it to end that way.

XXX

After work, the two women headed to the doctor's office, both in Calleigh's car, as the two couples were to have dinner together that evening. They sat in the examination room, awaiting the doctor to return with the test results of the many tests she had run upon Natalia's demand. She wanted to make sure that her children were safe.

Just then, the door opened and the doctor came in, peering into a manila folder, an unreadable look on her face. Natalia's heart raced, she hoped to God that there was nothing wrong. The doctor then looked up at the expectant mother, a small smile on her face.

"The babies are just fine, missus Wolfe," she said.

Natalia breathed a sigh of relief, "So every test, the results were…"

"They were all negative, your babies are very healthy, and should be due in the next five to six months. You should expect to gain quite a bit of weight, though."

Natalia smirked, "Joy."

Calleigh took her hand, "See, I told you they were fine."

Natalia nodded in agreement, but winced slightly as she received the bill for the doctor's bill, including all of the expensive and unnecessary tests she had the doctor run. Despite the fact that she had learned that the babies were okay, Ryan was definitely not going to like this.

XXX

Review plz!!! :D