Sorry for the long wait, but hey, I'm updating this in the third week of my senior year! That's impressive, right? I hope you guys are still around and wanting to read more.

Under the glow of the white light filtering into the room through translucent curtains, Eric's eyes fluttered open. It took a moment for him to adjust to the brightness, to his surroundings, but when he could see the soft yellow walls and the expensive bedding covering him, he breathed out a relaxed sigh. It was the bright green eyes and waves of blonde hair amid the pillows that made him smile, though.

Calleigh.

"Were you watching me sleep?" he teased. His arm was already around her, but he drew it tighter and ran his hand over her scantily clad curves.

"No," she answered, but the way her eyes darted away for a moment told differently. "I just woke up a few minutes ago."

She grinned broadly, fully knowing that she'd indeed been watching him in those moments between sleep and wake. He'd never seen her this relaxed, this open. It floored him a little, and yet he had the feeling he was completely at ease with it.

Things were just a little…different here. This was kind of like Calleigh's home, yet different. His own tastes were integrated into the décor, along with his belongings, and the room certainly wasn't her room – or his, for that matter. No, this was their home. Somehow, he sensed that much. And it was peaceful, calm…everything he never knew he wanted.

When he emerged from the sheets, stepped across the nice but unfamiliar carpet, and pulled the curtains back, an oversized backyard stretched out before him. It wasn't long before he heard her light feet padding across the carpet, felt her arms slide around his waist.

"Please tell me we're mowing that today," she chided. "And by we I mean you. It's your turn."

He couldn't help but smile and melt at the innocent charm in both her eyes and her voice. It was all so casual, so simple, so domestic…so completely unreal…

A tidal wave of confusion and reality broke over him as the beautiful remnants of dreamworld dissipated.

"Eric," a female voice hissed from beside him – from alongside his bed, actually – but it certainly wasn't Calleigh. He hadn't heard her voice for weeks now. It was Alicia, and she was anything but casual and simple judging by her rushed movements and frustrated expression. "Come on, if you don't get me to my car in the next ten minutes I'm going to be late."

Eric sighed. This was far different from the peaceful awakening in his dreams, but so was everything right now. Alicia was here, with him, and that was more than he could say for Calleigh.

So he smiled and reached for Alicia's hand. "And that would be new how?"

She narrowed her eyes at him and pursed her lips in an expression that was almost adorable.

"Come on, if you were on time people would worry…" He ran his thumb over the back of her hand imploringly, slowly and discreetly beginning to tug her back towards the bed.

Alicia sighed, letting him pull her enough that she had to climb onto the mattress and shuffle through covers until she was close to him again. She let him tug her into one kiss and then another before she breathed out against his lips.

"I really have to go."

Eric forced a smile. "Okay, okay, I'm getting up."

For a moment, though, he longed for the life that had been presented to him in his dreams – slow, comfortable, full of mutual adoration. It was ridiculous, really. He'd never made it there with Calleigh save for a few moments of confusing, heavily emotional, and regrettable bliss. But there had been the possibility…

He'd never adored and respected anyone as much as Calleigh. She made him think about all those things he hadn't anticipated wanting any time soon – so much so that those wants were apparently expressing themselves in his dreams now.

But Calleigh had underestimated him. She'd either assumed too much or felt too little. And Calleigh had run away, while Alicia was standing right before him with her hand in his.

As she moved down the long hallway of the federal building in Seattle, Calleigh was acutely aware of how wrong she'd been about this place. Somehow she'd expected it to be more formal and restrictive, but apparently all criminal investigation bureaus experienced a sense of camaraderie and even friendship. Despite the heavy goings-on of kidnappings, killings, illegal imports, and drug busts, many of the teams here shared just the same relationship as her own back in Miami did. Agents here were full of quips, pranks, and, she realized as she returned to her own department, even the occasional super secret budding romance between partners.

It was subtle, probably even to the agents surrounding them trained to pick up on body language and vocal inflections, but Calleigh could easily see it. Maybe it was because she was an outsider. Maybe it was because of all the drama she'd witnessed at CSI, or maybe it was because she herself had experienced a connection with a colleague that had been impossible to ignore…

Whichever way, she saw it all between the two young field agents: the glances that lasted just a little too long, the smiles that appeared only in the presence of each other, the little gestures that spoke of an intimacy that went far beyond coworkers or even friends. She saw it all as Bryant, better known as Agent Mercer, slid a coy hand along the countertop to steal a fry from Kate's (Agent Trudeau) drive-thru lunch, all too intentionally brushing her arm in the process. Kate was quick with a slap to the arm as penance – and a playful smile. It was just a small moment, a discreet slip, but the intimacy in their eyes and their actions spoke worlds.

Calleigh bit her lip as she passed more offices until turning into her own. It could only last so long – the flirting, the seemingly harmless touches and smiles – before it became all too serious for one, if not both, of them.

She knew from experience.

A few moments later, she was forcing a calm demeanor – an easy task for her after years of practice – when Kate stepped in.

"Hear anything from the locals yet?" Kate asked, resting her hands on the back of one of the chairs situated at a lab desk.

"Not yet, but I just faxed out the request, so…" Calleigh trailed off, shrugging hopefully.

"Should be soon then. Bry-um, Mercer has a few connections in Alleghany County. I'll see if he can speed things up a little."

"Yeah, that would be great." Calleigh tried to hide the amused smile creeping across her lips at Kate's slip of the tongue, but she couldn't. A few weeks had passed, and she'd struck up a few friendships around the base, Kate included. Enough girl talk had transpired between the three girls in a male-oriented department that Calleigh knew she could get away with it.

"What?" Kate asked, suspicious but smiling.

"Nothing." Calleigh pressed her lips together, but smiled again. "You and Bryant seem close.

Kate grinned, but her eyes widened and her voice grew softer. "Please don't say anything…"

"Believe me, I won't." There was more than simple understanding in her words, and judging by the gratefulness in Kate's eyes, she knew.

"Hey, we're going for drinks tonight with the guys. Should I count you in?"

Calleigh had been utterly unprepared for the invitation and she faltered, almost amused by the invite. "Oh, not this time, but thank you. I just have plans already."

"Next time, then," Kate assured, ducking out before she could catch on to Calleigh's hesitation.

-

Her plans were far less eventful, but they were exactly what she needed: a somewhat chaotic, but altogether calming dinner with Sarah and her family. The dynamic amazed her a little. Everyone seemed mildly annoyed with each other in that endearing way and the kids had been equal parts adorable and troublesome. It certainly felt like a home in every sense of the word, a concept that was altogether unfamiliar to her but sometimes alluring.

They'd moved to the back patio a while ago, alternating between discussing work, their college days, and occasionally a few more personal revelations.

Finally, after several moments of silence, Calleigh set her glass of water down on the table between them and sighed. She could keep things to herself for any amount of time – forever, if needed – but either rekindling an old friendship or witnessing Kate and Agent Mercer today had changed something within her. She was carrying so many secrets around that part of her felt not only closed off, but also completely alienated. Plus, Sarah was an outsider in a way. She was safe and unbiased.

"You were right," Calleigh finally reluctantly admitted into the quiet night air, earning her a glance and a raised brow from Sarah. "About there being a guy…"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "I knew it." And then, dismissing her playful insistence, she asked, "Who?"

"We work together," Calleigh began to explain, her brows furrowing. "It wasn't a big ordeal or anything. I mean, we didn't date…"

"But you wanted to? Or he wanted to…?" Sarah guessed the latter was more likely considering Calleigh's hesitance to let anyone in, not to mention her firm ideas about professionalism.

Calleigh bit her lip for a long moment. "I don't know."

After collecting her thoughts, she could explain a little more. "He tried when he first started there – before he had the job, actually," she added with a short-lived smile at the memory. "But I was pretty insistent that nothing could happen between us, so we've been friends…for a long time now." She shrugged her shoulders, conceding to that notion.

"And that worked?" Sarah pried knowingly. Deep down, she knew that if there were truly feelings there they couldn't be ignored, not even by Calleigh. She could bury them, maybe, but they'd still be there. And they'd resurface.

Calleigh sighed. "For the most part," she said honestly, though a flash of him on her doorstep utterly lost and saddened and in need entered her mind. She forced it back, along with the myriad of emotions that came with it. "Until recently at least," she admitted with a dry smile. "But he has someone now, and that's good for him. For a while he was just bouncing from person to person and he was never happy."

"But he wanted to be with you during that time?" Sarah asked for clarification. Maybe, as an outsider, she'd made the connection all the more easily.

"I don't-" Calleigh stopped, putting a few offhand comments, lingering glances, and maybe one very not-so-subtle instance together. She'd never thought about it that way, mostly because she thought he'd liked a lot of girls at the time. "Maybe."

"And now you're here…" Sarah eyed her, understanding yet disbelievingly. It clearly troubled Calleigh, no matter how deeply she tried to conceal it all. The fact alone that she was talking about it was telling in itself.

"Yeah, and he's there. With her." Calleigh seemed oddly okay with it, and she knew that Sarah was questioning her sanity with every glance and nod. "It really is good for him," she assured. "He's been through a lot, and it's been a long time since he's actually had a relationship."

Sarah nodded, though not quite understanding. Silence washed over them again for a few minutes, both of them processing the words that had passed between them in very different ways.

"Calleigh," Sarah began softly, catching her friend's gaze. "Did anything ever happen between you two?"

It took all her resolve, but Calleigh had finally lifted her eyes to meet Sarah's as the question she knew would come eventually pierced the air. She found herself looking away much more quickly, and then, steeling herself again, she answered with a sad, knowing smile.