Eric was proud. He could tell that Calleigh was scared of everyone around her right now, so when she hugged Natalia, he was happy to see that she had realised her trust was still there. It stopped there though, meaning that Calleigh still had a long way to go before she was back to herself again.

"Eric, I'm going home now, so could you look after Calleigh until I get back tomorrow?" asked Duke.

Duke had picked Calleigh up from the hospital that morning and taken her home, where Eric had made her some lunch and a comfy bed on the couch. The minute Calleigh had sat down on the couch, Eric had wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, making a cocoon around her. He was still worried that she would get sick again. Calleigh had laughed at him, making him smile for a few seconds.

"Of course I can Mr Duquesne. I'm sleeping over tonight anyway. Calleigh agreed to have the team over for lunch tomorrow, so I was planning on asking her then. Do you think that's a good idea?"

"I think it's an excellent idea Eric." The warm smile made Eric feel relaxed.

"Will you be here?"

"Yes. I won't miss the look on Cal's face for the world. Good luck."

"Thank you."

Calleigh opened the kitchen door carefully. She was holding a tray of drinks and didn't want to spill them. After an argument with Eric earlier, they had finally decided that Calleigh could serve lunch for the team, since she had been feeling useless. Eric had wanted to look after lunch so that Calleigh could relax, but he also couldn't say no to her when she had begged him to let her do something.

"Thanks Nat," said Calleigh. Natalia was holding the door open.

The previous night, after her father had left, Calleigh had spent almost two hours on the phone with Natalia, discussing their lunch plans and plans for the weekend.

"No problem Cal. Do you want me to help with anything?" asked Natalia.

"No thanks. I have another tray to get but I'll do it. You can make yourself comfy."

"Okay."

Once Calleigh had come back from the kitchen with the second tray, Eric got everyone's attention.

"Calleigh," said Eric as he got down on one knee, "will you marry me?"

Calleigh gasped and almost dropped her glass. She looked at Eric, speechless, unsure of what to say.

A/N: short chapter, but the next one will be longer. :)