Note: Hopefully this site has sorted its issues out. For a while, reviews weren't posting and I wasn't getting email notifications. Fingers crossed it's working and you all get the email that this is up! Sidenote: I had to include the year in this and I can't believe season 5 aired in 2008! Holy moly I feel old.

Despite her many reservations, she'd given in to Eric's insistence on driving her to the airport. She'd planned on catching a cab, but he'd rattled on about how it was no trouble and he didn't want her to waste cash. Eventually, he'd leveled with her with a, "Please, let me take you," and her breath caught at softness both in his voice and in his eyes, at his need to do whatever he could to make things a little easier right now. And maybe, she recognized somewhere deep down, he'd just wanted to see her for a little longer.

So she'd ignored the gut feeling that the gesture was a little much, the fact that they'd be there amidst hugging families and kissing couples – just them, whatever they were to each other now.

But now a less-than-comfortable silence filled the car, the radio humming in the background the only reprieve.

"So your meeting with H went well?" Eric asked curiously, breaking the lull in conversation.

"Yeah, it did." Calleigh's lips curved a little and she pulled her sunglasses over her eyes as sun streamed in through the windshield. She'd told Horatio – about the pregnancy, but not about Eric – because he needed to know that when she returned within the next few months, she wouldn't be in the field for a while and would be going on leave shortly after that. She wanted him to know well ahead of time so that he could make the team run as smoothly as possible. "He seemed really happy...definitely surprised though."

Eric glanced over at her, shooting her a supportive smile. "He didn't ask too many questions?"

"No...but I kinda kept it vague," she admitted, pursing her lips as she thought back. "He said he didn't realized I'd been seeing anyone, and I told him I wasn't. Then he said he hoped I had help, and I said I did but I would've been fine if I didn't."

Eric chuckled as he imagined Horatio stumbling over that response. "He probably thinks you just up and got a donor."

"So?" Calleigh asked, but she was laughing a little. "It's 2008. Women do it all the time. Besides, I might've had to given my track record." She sighed lightly, running a hand through her hair and tossing it to one side. "That or adopt. Somehow I always thought I'd end up adopting."

"Yeah?" Somehow this conversation had gotten a little more telling than he'd imagined, but he didn't mind.

"Yeah, we just see so many kids go into the system," she explained as Eric took the airport exit for departures. "Plus somehow I figured I'd wait too long to have my own."

"Well, kind of a moot point now," he joked, a little dryly, a little honestly amused. She smiled back at him despite the drastic change in her plans. Before they could dwell on that, he added, "I've always wanted my own – like 5 of them. Too small house, everyone crammed together, white picket fence, dog running around. Like I grew up."

"Really?" She hoped she didn't sound as surprised as she was, but his questioning glance told her she did.

"Yeah," he said easily, confidently. "Why does that surprise you?"

She guessed it didn't, really. She knew he loved his family and she got the impression he'd practically grown up in an 80's sitcom family, full of chaos, laughter, and love. The complete opposite of her childhood. And while he'd definitely had his share of running around and random hook-ups in his not-so-distant past, he'd been winding down, something especially shifting after Mari's death.

"I'm just stuck on the five kids part," she admitted, her light laughter mingling with his.

"Okay, doesn't have to be five, but...several." He took the turn for her airline and made his way over to the curb, surprising her a little but also not when he cut the engine. She'd been about to make a comment about how it was good he was getting a headstart, but then complicated scenarios with blended families ambushed her mind and she suddenly wondered how this was all going to affect the future he so clearly wanted.

Swallowing that down, she released her seatbelt and he followed suit, meeting her around the passenger side of the car as she pulled her bag from the backseat. They stood there for a moment, her hand on her bag, his in his pockets, and she met his eyes hesitantly. "Thank you for the ride," she said, anxiously tucking an escaped lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "And for being so great about everything. Really."

Eric's lips tightened with emotion, not sure what there was to say to that. "Of course. You'll keep me updated?"

"Of course," she echoed, promising him with a smile.

"When's your next appointment?"

"Um, three weeks," she answered. "The 18th. Can probably find out if it's a boy or girl."

He smiled sadly, holding her gaze, entranced by the little flicker of excitement he saw there. "I wish I could be there."

"Yeah," she agreed, although the idea filled her with equal parts comfort and nerves. "I could wait until I'm back in Miami to find out," she offered, a huge compromise because she didn't seem particularly keen on waiting.

"I don't want to make you wait," he said honestly. And then he remembered why they were in this position – him home in Miami, her out in Seattle, all because she'd run off at the first opportunity to "let them figure things out with some space" rather than confronting the situation head on. "We can talk about it later... I'm still pissed at you for not telling me before, you know." He was serious, but as he looked back at her, he was painfully reminded of the weak spot he had for her that was growing weaker by the day.

"I know." Calleigh closed her eyes before shaking her head a little. "I'm sorry. I'll be better about keeping you in the loop, I promise."

"And you'll let me know if you need anything?" he asked, searching her face for confirmation. "I know I'm across the country, but…"

"I will," she assured. And then she glanced at her bag, sitting idly at her side. "I should probably go ahead and get through security."

"Right." He met her eyes, standing across from her with his hands still in his pockets so he didn't risk touching her. "I'll see you...in a few months I guess?"

"Yeah." Calleigh bit her lip. "I'm gonna try to wrap things up quickly. But I'll talk to you soon."

Eric nodded, the two of them standing still across from each other outside the bustling Miami terminal without a clue how to say goodbye. And then his phone buzzed in his pocket with a missed call and voicemail notification, and he pulled it out to glance at the screen. "Wolfe," he mumbled, struggling to wrap his mind around work right now.

"You should get that," she said, shifting her weight onto a heel, contemplating her exit. Everything felt like too little, and everything felt like too much.

"Have a good flight."

"Thanks." She smiled, and it turned into a bit of a smirk as she said, "Good luck with Ryan."

Eric shook his head and smiled, breathing out heavily at the prospect of another afternoon holding down the lab with Wolfe and Natalia without Calleigh. He missed her and she wasn't even gone again yet – because he missed working with her day in and day out, missed her competency and dependability along with her smile, laugh, friendly banter, and their coffee pit stops. The complexity of it all overwhelmed him as he looked back at her.

As he watched her walk away, it hit him how much their world had invariably shifted. They'd been trying so hard to get back to how they were, and it was never going to be that way again. He'd almost been able to pretend before, but now that she'd told him what was going on he couldn't help but see her differently yet again, adding another layer onto his already complicated feelings for her.

And then just before she slipped through the automatic doors, when she probably thought he'd long since turned away, she turned back to glance at him, unexpectedly meeting the intensity of his gaze. The fact that she looked back sent his heart and mind racing, as did the fact that she stopped, swallowed hard, and averted her gaze before disappearing into the airport.

Between Calleigh's work schedule and Sarah's familial responsibilities, they hadn't had much of a chance to catch up right when Calleigh returned. But when Calleigh had simply texted "help" along with a picture of her favorite jeans not buttoning, they'd both managed to make a little time on a Saturday afternoon for an emergency shopping trip.

It hadn't taken long at all after they'd entered the first store for Sarah to ask, "Sooooo Eric?"

The way Calleigh's head immediately perked up wasn't lost on Sarah. She smiled, imploring Calleigh with her blue eyes over the rack of maternity pants they were both flipping through. "You said it went well, but I'm gonna need some details."

Calleigh sighed, wanting to fill her in and honestly probably needing to talk it through, yet hesitating. She'd been thinking about it all week, replaying his reaction, his concern over her, trying to figure it all out and come to terms with what was going on.

"Yeah," she finally said, pausing in front of the rack and furrowing her brows. "I think it went about as well as you can expect that to go…"

"What did he say?"

"Nothing at first." A dry smile made its way across her lips and she met Sarah's gaze. "I think he was a little shocked, not that I can blame him...and then a little pissed I hadn't told him yet, not that I can blame him," she repeated, shrugging.

"Yeah, me either," Sarah agreed, shooting her a look.

"Then he was just...curious? Concerned? I don't know." Calleigh shrugged and shook her head as they moved towards another rack. "He wanted to make sure everything was okay. That I knew I didn't have to do this alone."

"Well, you said he was a good guy," Sarah said, carefully watching Calleigh's reaction.

"He is. He's very sweet…later in the week he brought me food and a milkshake when I got stuck in court and started feeling bad."

Sarah raised her brows, nodding along and waiting for Calleigh to catch on. "And you don't think there's more to it?"

"No," she answered quickly, then more honestly adding, "I don't know. I'm not sure how he feels anymore, he just got out of a relationship. I think he's just being helpful and nice and…I don't know."

"Okay," Sarah conceded, but Calleigh shot her a look at her tone: that nonchalant I'm-right-and-you-know-it tone she had when she was dropping something she really didn't want to. "So what are you going to do when the baby comes?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, watching Sarah thumb through a bunch of jeans and hand her some to try on. She was a pro at this.

"I mean he's gonna want to spend time with his kid and be involved, and that baby is gonna need you exclusively for at least several weeks."

"I don't know, he'll visit I guess?" Calleigh tried. She honestly hadn't thought about it; she couldn't think about it really – not without a ball of anxiety swirling in her chest.

"At your house," Sarah continued, "when the last time the two of you were there, you…created this whole situation?"

"Yep." Calleigh distracted herself with searching through a stack of shirts for her size.

"So you'll just pretend it didn't happen?"

"Yeah, we're pretty good at that now."

The sharpness in her voice made Sarah stop what she was doing, and when Calleigh met her gaze again her eyes were overwhelmed and glossy. Whatever that meant, whether it was because she felt like she'd ruined her relationship with Eric over that night, or because, as Sarah suspected, somewhere deep down she actually had feelings for him she wasn't capable of acknowledging right now, she knew she didn't want to talk about it.

"I'm sorry, I know this is hard," Sarah said sincerely, and Calleigh shook her head.

"No, you're right, he and I need to talk about it and figure some things out." She took in a deep breath, reining in her emotions. "I just don't have any answers right now… Can we talk about something else for a bit?"

"Of course." Sarah handed her another pair of pants.

"How was your week?"

"Oddly good," Sarah replied, and Calleigh laughed a little at her surprise. "Kids were angels, no one threw a major tantrum, no one was sick, I got a bunch of freelance work done."

"Well okay then, Supermom," Calleigh teased, and they fell back into an easier, lighter conversation while they perused the shop and she tried on clothes.

Standing in a pair of maternity jeans that were a million times more fashionable than she expected and about triple that more comfortable than her clothes she'd been barely able to button, Calleigh and Sarah both nodded in approval. And as Sarah continued rehashing her current freelance design project, Calleigh heard her phone ding with a message and made her way back into her fitting room.

She retrieved her phone to find the screen lit up with a text from Eric, asking "How's your Saturday?" Her lips immediately curved into the beginnings of a smile; their back-and-forth texting had continued right when she'd returned to Seattle, and whether it was because of his need to check in on her – probably – or because they'd rekindled a bit of their easy friendship – also kind of probably – she didn't know, but she was glad for it.

"Good. On an emergency shopping trip with Sarah," she typed back.

"Emergency?" he replied quickly.

"None of my pants will button."

"Well that escalated quickly."

She was smiling broadly now, with no idea that as she'd gotten sucked into her phone, Sarah had been eyeing her and watching it unfold. She had never seen Calleigh smile quite like that: easy, playful, the smile reaching her eyes as she studied her phone.

"Who is that?" Sarah asked, quickly realizing that as Calleigh responded back, clicked her screen off, and rolled her lips, she didn't need to ask.

"Eric."

Sarah nodded, very carefully disguising a smile as she held Calleigh's gaze. She didn't dare bring it up again, but now she knew. God, did she know.

"Do you have a picture of him?" she asked instead, suddenly curious. Calleigh hesitated, and although she would tell herself that it was because she didn't want to fuel whatever it was that Sarah was thinking, she also subconsciously knew that looking at him right now would only stir up the confusion she was desperately trying to temper down.

"I'm just curious what kind of gene pool your kid is dipping into," Sarah clarified, halfway honest.

Calleigh sighed, unlocking her phone and beginning to scroll through her photos. She stopped on one of their team all together at their last department Christmas party, the one where she'd let loose a little and Eric had shared a cab home with her. The night she'd kissed him on the cheek when her inhibitions had been a little low and her confusion over their relationship had been high.

She handed Sarah the phone, saying "On the left," although she didn't really need to. As Sarah's eyes danced over the picture, it was pretty obvious. What Sarah presumed was Calleigh's whole CSI team had lined up for the perfect photo op beneath a giant Christmas tree in a beautifully decorated hotel lobby, all of them dressed up. Everyone had their arms around one another for the photo, friendly but professional, loosely draped around their coworkers. But it didn't take a CSI to realize that Eric and Calleigh were the closest of the bunch, their arms holding each other more tightly, her comfortably leaning into his touch, his arm so far around her that his hand pressed against her stomach.

And then Sarah's eyes doubled back over Eric, taking in his rather perfect caramel skin, broad shoulders, muscular arms she could make out even through his button-up, and that half-smirk, half-smile etched across his full lips. Her brows raised and she pressed her lips together, clearly holding back a smile and quite a few thoughts as she tucked red hair that had escaped her pony tail behind an ear.

She wasn't going to say anything, but Calleigh was watching her carefully, a knowing look darkening her own features.

"Yeah…" Calleigh agreed, clearly struggling with a few thoughts of her own as her eyes danced over the photo. She could see it herself now: the proximity and comfort, the familiarity, maybe a little – okay, a lot of – tension.

And then the door was wide open and Sarah couldn't help herself. "It took you five years to hook up with him? Seriously?"

"Sarah," Calleigh reprimanded, although the beginnings of an amused smile were fighting against her lips. "We work together, we have a professional relationship."

"Clearly," Sarah quipped back, pointedly gazing at and nodding toward her midsection.

"Had," Calleigh said more accurately. "We had a professional relationship…"

"You still do," Sarah assured. "You work together. You're professionals, you'll figure it out."

Calleigh held her gaze, smiling skeptically at Sarah's confidence. She wished it were that simple.