Flying Solo

Today was Eric's first day back at work and Calleigh's first day alone with two children. The ballistics expert was up for the challenge. The first thing she said to herself that was what she did every morning for the past two weeks and six days.

Be patient with Chloe. She's only 4 and it hasn't even been a month since Ethan's been home.

Calleigh fed Ethan at 6:30, changed his diaper and put him back down. He usually got up again for the day at 7:15. Calleigh was awaken at 7:20, not by her son but by Chloe gently tapping on her arm.

"Good morning, sweetpea," she said to Chloe. "What time is it?"

Her question for her older child was just automatic; she hadn't expected the girl to answer her. However, Chloe couldn't quite tell time but she knew her numbers and could read the digital clock.

"Seven two two. Etan is awake. I'm hungry."

Calleigh touched her daughter's messed hair and kissed her cheek. She noticed there wasn't any sound coming from the baby monitor.

"How do you know your brother's awake?" She asked.

"I went in to see him," Chloe replied. "And he wasn't being noisy. He had 'is fingers in 'is mouth."

Calleigh stifled a giggle. The tone of Chloe's voice silently added for once.

Chloe followed her mother closely as she went to Ethan's nursery. Mommy had told her that as soon she got Ethan changed she would make breakfast.

"There's my handsome lil man," Calleigh said, picking up Ethan and kissing his face. "Did your sister come and see you this morning?"

Calleigh made her daughter her favorite chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, with a strawberry on the side. Out of the blue two months before Chloe decided she was too big for a sippy cup. She now drank from a regular plastic cup. The way little kids were with dishes, they were going to stick with plastic drinking cups for a while. Chloe seemed to like all the different colors they came in. Eric had tried not to show surprise the particular morning when he gave Chloe her apple juice in her sippy cup and she replied "I don't want dat cup, daddy. I want dat cup," she was pointing to a blue plastic cup on the counter. "Please," she added.

Eric decided not to prevent her from trying something new. Most kids Chloe's age were very attached to their sippy cups and their parents went through days of tantrums to get them to move to a new phase.

"Good girl!" Eric said, kissing Chloe's head as she took her drink. "You're very good at this. Daddy's so proud of you. Mommy will be so happy."

Part of Calleigh was sad that her daughter seemed to be growing up so fast, even if there was a newborn in the house. There was no denying that Chloe wasn't a baby anymore, mommy and daddy's baby maybe, but she had blossomed into a little girl.

Knowing everything at home was going well put Eric at ease when he called to check on his family. He smiled talking to his daughter when she told him "Etan" was sitting in his chair with his fists in his mouth and she and mommy were coloring. Eric couldn't believe how fast Chloe had grown either.

*****A Distant Memory....waiting for results...******

He wanted to be the father of Melissa's daughter, he really did. However Eric was aware that the chances he wasn't the father were quite high. Not seeing the child was a defense action; he hadn't wanted to see her, think she were the most beautiful baby ever, maybe even make himself see similarities to himself and then the test come back the girl wasn't not his. Then no matter how much he loved the child Eric would be a legal stranger so him gaining custody of Melissa's newborn would be impossible. He would have leave broken-hearted, empty-handed and with an empty crib at home. Eric would never know about the conversation between two technicians in the hospital lab as they were beginning the DNA test to see whether or not Eric was a father.

One of the woman, the one who had taken the samples from the father and the baby said "I can't believe we're doing a DNA test! That sweet thing is spitting image of Mr. Delko!"

The other woman hadn't seen Eric or Chloe. She had met Melissa; she had gone to the woman's room to take her DNA. Melissa was telling everyone in sight that she was "elated" to be "rid of the parasite," that she didn't care what happened to or where the baby she had just had went. Ideally, Melissa thought the child would grow up in foster care, being bounced around and be miserable because "she made me so miserable for months." She said there was a possibility that "so many" guys could be the father but Eric Delko, a crime scene investigator with the Dade County Police Department, was the only name and contact information she could remember. Melissa hadn't thought for one second that Eric would take his child home. She indeed wanted nothing to do with the newborn. However her motive for relinquishing her parental rights as soon as she could was so that Eric couldn't "hit her up" for child support "if" he was the father and "if" he wanted the baby.

"That woman is self-centered, cold skank," the other woman said. "I'm so glad either way this precious baby will have a loving home."

"Did Mr. Delko say whether he intended to take the baby home?"

"He does. He has everything ready. Including a proper name. He is just waiting for these results."

Both women had heard how Eric hadn't wanted to see the baby and his reasons for doing so. THey both thought it was perfectly understandably considering the circumstances. Eric had felt nothing short of elation hearing the nurse on the phone tell him he was a father. stepping out the door he grabbed his dogital camera. He was definitely going to document this moment.