At vigorous request, here it is the FINAL chapter! I hope you all enjoyed my story and will keep your eyes peeled for my next ones! Thank you all for the love and support. :)

-C

So, without further ado… Here it is:

CHAPTER 8: The Problem With Secrets

They rushed to Horatio's office and sat down quickly hoping it was nothing serious, but the look on his face said otherwise.

"Thank you both for coming, I know it's your day off, but I think you need to see this, because I got this in the mail this morning." Horatio stated.

They both stared at the image, it was of them in Calleigh's house. Eric immediately flashed back to the moment he was staring at in the photo.

*He picked her up and held her in his arms as she wrapped her legs around his waist. She held his face in her hands and kissed his lips. He had one arm under her to hold her up, and the other entangled in her luscious blonde hair. They kept kissing as they made their way from the front door to the bedroom, only stopping for a second by the bay windows to drop her keys on the end table below.*

"How did we let this happen?" Calleigh said clearly upset.

"Babe, it's not us, it's someone who doesn't want us to be together and is using this as blackmail." Eric said, trying his best to reason with her.

Horatio started in, "You should probably lay low for a bit and close the curtains next time. We don't know who did this, but we're gonna find out. I'm already looking into it. But I think it's time to come clean with the team and have them help us on this."

Knowing he was right, Eric looked at Calleigh who was initially very stern on the subject of keeping their relationship private, but now knew that they had no other options. Calleigh reluctantly agreed to telling the team, as she preferred to keep her private and work lives separate, but knew it was time.

Horatio called the team into a meeting, and one by one they filled up the conference room. Ryan and Natalia sat on the end opposite Eric and Calleigh, so they could gossip, Walter took the seat next to Calleigh's, Frank filled the middle spot next to Tom on one side, and Valera and Travers found their way in last and sat next to Horatio who decided to stick with Eric, knowing he'd need to calm the masses after such an announcement was to be made.

Eric started, "Okay so the reason you're all here is mainly my fault and I apologize in advance for dropping this in your laps but I need your help." He gestured towards Calleigh, "Actually, we need your help." The team looked at the two curiously, as Calleigh picked up where Eric left off. "So as many of you probably already know or have had suspicions, Eric and I have been seeing each other for a while now and things are really great. However, we received word this morning that some others know of our relationship, and it's not good. Horatio received this photo in the mail this morning, and does not know who sent it. We need help right now, because we can't catch this stalker alone, we need our team. So, will you help us?" She almost pleaded, which is something Calleigh Duquesne does not do often.

Natalia immediately states, "Oh my God, of course guys. Look I know we all care about you both and we won't let anyone mess with you guys. This one's personal for all of us now, no worries, Cal, we'll get em'." Calleigh smiled at Natalia in gratitude. "Well I don't know about you guys, but Travers and Natalia owe me some money, cough it up friends" Ryan joked, as they handed over 5$ bills. "Seriously though, your secret is safe within this room with the team. No one's running to Stetler, because quite frankly, he's an asshole, and the less he knows- the better." Ryan said with a very serious tone in his voice.

"Thanks guys, it means a lot." Eric started, "But how are we gonna get this guy, because the photo has already been swept for fingerprints and DNA, and we got nothing. Horatio dealt with this privately for a little bit, but he came up with no results, so any ideas?"

"We can check the cameras of the building, whoever put it in the mailbox is our photographer, or at the very least an associate of the photographer." Walter stated.

"He's right, let's see what we can get off of this morning's footage." Horatio said. "It came in a manila envelope, so start with that. Look for that envelope." Horatio said as he left the room, and the team followed suit, and headed to the A/V lab. Sam and Horatio were already combing through this morning's footage when the rest of the team got there. Once they caught sight of the envelope, they did a facial recognition search in their databases and were surprised to find a match. They headed over to interrogation after Frank picked the guy up. Unbeknownst to the team, as of yet, they actually have met this particular person in the past.

Terrence the horse trainer, Calleigh's friend that thought they could be more than friends ended up being the jealous type. He admitted to blackmailing them because he was jealous that Calleigh moved on so quickly to the next guy after one date at the horse track. A statement which Calleigh quickly put to rest, saying that it was not a date, it was merely a meet-up between two new friends with a common interest in horses.

He quickly apologized, but blackmailing an officer of the law is a crime, and it was up to Eric and Calleigh if they wanted to press charges. Eric wanted to, but left the decision to Calleigh. Calleigh decided to hit him with a slap on the wrist and a let go. He was harmless, and after she explained that their entire 'relationship' was a misunderstanding, and a miscommunication- as she had started seeing Eric mere days after, and never called him back- he understood and promptly apologized again for causing her any harm or trouble, and admitted to being drunk during his little photoshoot. He also offered the SD card from his camera as consolation so that she'd feel better about his apology. Calleigh accepted both and decided to leave the whole situation where it was at the end of the interrogation.

Once the day ended, she and Eric walked out of the lab hand-in-hand, confident that their secrets and their jobs were safe with the team. "You know," Eric started "This is the first time we haven't had to let go of each other while being in the lab. I can hold you all I want now." he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows, for added measure. "Don't get too comfortable, you're driving home, Officer Delko." She said with a wink and a giggle. "Baby, as long as I get to drive home with you, I don't mind." He said as they entered the elevator.

They kissed in the elevator, until they reached their stop and walked to the hummer. Once they got in and buckled up, Eric drove them home. They sat in a comfortable silence until they reached Calleigh's house. Eric noticed Calleigh looking out the window at her house, in discomfort.

"You okay, babe?" He asked.

"Yeah, just contemplating getting new curtains for the window." She said with a small smile. He laughed, and guided her into the house. A house in which they could finally be comfortable, and slightly more worry-free.

As they continued their night, and Calleigh cooked them a perfect dinner by candlelight, she placed the plates on the patio table out on her balcony, their favorite spot to eat dinner because Calleigh loved the view, and Eric loved watching the wind blow her hair softly as her sun-kissed skin glowed in the reflection of the final rays of sun as it set for the night. Seeing the stars start to come out was Calleigh's favorite because she loved finding the constellations. She smiled as she looked towards the water and saw some neighborhood kids playing on the beach. 'This is what complete bliss feels like.' Eric thought to himself, as he watched Calleigh, she was so beautiful. So, perfect. She looked happy, and that's what Eric loved to see.

"Hey, Eric?" Calleigh asked.

"Yeah, babe?" Eric curiously replied.

"Can we do something crazy?" She probed.

"Like what?" He answered a bit nervously.

"Have a baby?" She suggested.

"You want a baby? Now?" He questioned surprised at her forwardness.

"Yeah, I do. I mean I know you've always wanted kids, and I know I would like to have them. So why not?" She stated nonchalantly.

"Babe, you know I want nothing more than to start a family with you, but isn't it early in our relationship to think about that? I mean, I would love to, no doubt. But I just don't want to make any rash decisions and have you regret it and resent me for it later, you know?" He stated softly, not wanting her to be upset.

"I promise I don't regret a thing, babe." She said. Eric caught on quickly.

"Did you say 'don't'..." He asked. Realizing that she said 'don't' instead of 'won't', and starting to get excited.

"Yes, I did." She said with the biggest smile he'd ever seen her give. As she pulled out a small bag and handed it to him.

"What's this?" He asked nervously.

"Open it" She said as she motioned towards the bag.

Eric opened the bag and removed the tissue paper, and immediately noticed the long thin, see through, case inside, he picked it up and immediately started tearing up. It was a positive pregnancy test. He then pulled out a onesie that read 'My dad may be the cop, but I got the guns' with arrows pointing from the word 'guns' to the arms of the onesie. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, he couldn't believe that the woman he loved was carrying his baby.

"Is this real, Cal? I'm gonna be a dad?" He said excitedly.

"Yeah, I found out a few days ago, and was trying to think of how to tell you." She said, as happy tears started welling up in her eyes.

He jumped up from the table and immediately kissed her. He had never been so happy in his life. All he ever wanted was to be a husband and a father. Now that he had one, he was determined to make the other happen. They both started crying, and kissing. It was a blissful moment that, thankfully, went uninterrupted. However, they both knew this would come with certain obstacles. But for now, they celebrated as a happy couple. Eric leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her belly. Calleigh giggled at the sensation. She was always so ticklish. He loved that about her.

As he kissed her belly he whispered, "Hey there little peanut. It's your daddy. I can't wait to meet you." Calleigh, hearing his words, started crying, because she had never known such happiness in her life. Such bliss. 'This is what life is supposed to be like.' She thought to herself. 'This is what I was missing.' She knew, as she looked down to see Eric kissing her belly, that this is what she's always needed. This is what was missing, and finally the puzzle that was her life was complete.