A/N: A Christmas one-shot from the vault! Well, it was a one-shot. I decided it was too long, so I'm posting it in two parts. Set beginning the week after episode 7x11 "Tipping Point," which aired exactly 15 years ago this week.

A/N 2: I wrote a ton of stories from Seasons 4-8 back in the day, this being one of them, as these were my favorite seasons and I was locked out of this platform before the last seasons aired. I'm on a mission to finish "Deep Dive of a Different Kind," though, which is Season 2! Anyway, enjoy the story, and Merry Christmas from me to you.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

PART I

A Partridge In a Pear Tree.

Calleigh's exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her. After last week's case dealing with the Craneos gang, she needed a break. In fact, she'd desperately needed a recharge ever since Horatio "died" and was resurrected earlier this year, and that was months ago now. The cases kept mounting, the work became more and more difficult, and, lately, she struggled more than ever to separate her emotions from the job.

When did she last take a vacation? She honestly could not remember.

Calleigh tossed the thought aside as she donned her white lab coat. A mountain of work awaited her, and she couldn't afford to daydream about ski slopes or beaches today, even though Christmas rapidly approached and she should be planning something fun and relaxing instead of dreading the busy holiday season. Crime always spiked around Christmas…whoever said this was the happiest time of year had it all wrong.

Sitting down to address the first pile of paperwork on her desk, she reached absent-mindedly into her pocket to grab a pen, but her fingers grasped onto something small and foreign, instead.

Calleigh withdrew her fingers and turned her palm to find a delicate pendant and chain resting there.

For the life of her, she couldn't recall the pendant, and she knew it didn't belong to her. She studied it, and decided that while it probably didn't carry much monetary value, it was beautiful. Well, to her, at least. Other people might find a pendant in the shape of a Ladysmith revolver somewhat off-putting.

Calleigh realized quickly that this must be a gift for her. She fumbled around in her pocket and found another surprise—a small card.

"Merry Christmas," the card's note read. Nothing else. Calleigh didn't need anything more than those two words, however, to recognize Eric's distinctive scrawl.

She felt a warmth spread from her heart through her limbs, all the way to her fingers and toes.

"What is he up to?" she wondered aloud in the empty lab.

Gingerly, Calleigh clasped the silver necklace around her neck, adjusting the dainty charm so it lay centered between her collarbones.

Eric and Ryan left this morning early to process a crime scene, then Calleigh took a call out, so she never saw him to offer her thanks.

She did see Natalia, who asked her about the bright smile on her face, and Calleigh simply replied that she finally got a great night of sleep.

Two Turtle Doves.

The next day Calleigh arrived at the lab fully expecting to see Eric so she could thank him for the necklace, only to find out he had court all day for the Muñoz case. Her disappointment was severe.

Stopping first at her locker to drop off her things, Calleigh ran into Natalia as she had the day before.

Before she could greet her friend, a small envelope fell out of her locker, fluttering to the floor and stealing her attention.

"What in the world?" she muttered to herself as she bent to pick up the mystery card.

The envelope piqued Natalia's interest, too, especially when Calleigh blushed and smiled widely upon opening it.

This time, the note read, "'Tis the season. Come with me?"

Inside the note Calleigh found two tickets to the Nutcracker for Christmas Eve.

Eric remembered she didn't have plans for the holidays. He also knew she loved the Nutcracker. The fact that Eric hated it was a long-running joke between them, and he always spent Christmas Eve with his family, so Calleigh knew how much Eric would be sacrificing to spend time with her. Not to mention, these tickets cost a fortune.

"There's that grin again," Natalia interrupted, her tone suspicious. "Secret admirer?"

Calleigh quickly stowed the card and tickets out of sight and offered Nat a dismissive laugh.

"Something like that," she replied. "So, what's new with the Toller case?"

Conversation closed.

Three French Hens.

On the following day, Calleigh awoke early to a knock on her door. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and padded to the door to find a delivery on her front step. She looked around but saw no one.

Three items greeted her: a steaming cup of coffee, her favorite double chocolate donut, and the sequel to a novel she just finished.

A tiny slip of paper poked out from the book, so she tugged on it, this time fully expecting to see Eric's neat handwriting. She wasn't wrong.

"Breakfast on me," the message said. "P.S. I read the ending. No spoilers, though…"

Calleigh laughed out loud--Eric was absolutely up to something. A faint hope began to light in her heart, and she knew Natalia would be asking her about the silly grin on her face today, too.

Settling into her plush couch with her hot coffee and donut, Calleigh pulled out her phone before she cracked the binding of her new book.

"Thank you," she typed. "Will I actually see you today?"

The response came back immediately. "I'm in court again. But tomorrow…"

Four Calling Birds.

As worn down as Calleigh felt lately, she couldn't wait to get to CSI headquarters this morning. She begrudgingly admitted to herself that this had nothing to do with her love of the job, and everything to do with a certain sneaky partner of hers.

Every time she considered the last few days, her heart skipped a beat thinking about what surprises Eric still had up his sleeve.

Per her morning routine, Calleigh stopped by the front desk on her way downstairs to drop her things in her locker.

She greeted Holly, the department's receptionist, with a wide smile.

"Morning, Holly! Any messages?"

The woman smiled back and said, "No, but you did receive this package about an hour ago."

Calleigh's spine tingled and her fingers shook as she accepted the padded envelope. Gently turning it over and pulling on the tab to tear open the flap at the top, she first reached for the card and read the familiar script: "Replacing what I stole."

Inside the package she found a copy of Siouxsie and The Banshees' fourth album, "Juju."

God, that was three years ago.

They'd been on a road trip to visit an inmate two hours from Miami, and they listened to the album nearly twice on the way there.

A week later, Calleigh realized the CD was nowhere to be found in her car, assuming correctly that Eric had snatched it. When she confronted him, he promised to give it back soon. Years later, and he kept his promise.

Calleigh flipped open her phone and hit 1 on the speed dial. A thrill rushed through her when a deep voice answered.

"Hey, Cal."

"Better late than never?" she quipped with a grin that Eric could hear over the line.

He chuckled. "I owed you."

Calleigh's voice grew softer. "You here yet?"

"I'm in QD. I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep."

Eric seemed to be suggesting that he felt just as anxious to see Calleigh as she was to see him. Her stomach did a little flip.

"On my way," she said.

Calleigh didn't bother going to the locker room. Instead, she headed directly to the questioned documents lab. Luckily, the early hour meant most of night shift had clocked out, but the day shift still hadn't trickled in, and she found Eric alone in the lab.

She hesitated at the door for a heartbeat before she closed the distance between them, and with a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure no one watched, she reached for Eric's hand and gave it a brief, meaningful squeeze.

Eric locked his ever-expressive eyes with Calleigh's sea green ones, and his features softened the way they only did when he looked at her.

Calleigh decided not to hide her happy smile today, at least not for Eric.

"Merry Christmas," she said quietly, even though no one was there with them.

"Merry Christmas," he grinned.

Five Golden Rings.

Calleigh and Eric finally found themselves working the same case yesterday, which meant they spent a whole day together for the first time in a over a week.

The two CSIs passed the majority of the morning poring through old bank records looking for a connection between their suspect and victim. Calleigh sensed Eric's growing frustration as the hours dragged on and they found no evidence to support their theories.

"It has to be here somewhere," he sighed after hour three, tossing a set of papers to the table and running his hands over his tired eyes.

"C'mon," Calleigh said. She set her own files aside and leaned over to grab Eric's hand so she could pull him out of his swivel chair. "Let's get some lunch."

He offered her a grateful smile, and Calleigh blushed as their eyes met for just a little too long and energy buzzed from their clasped fingers.

Eric's smile turned to a crooked grin when he saw the faint pink blossom on her cheeks, and, seeing his opportunity, he dropped Calleigh's hand and reached into his pocket.

"I have something for you," he told her quietly.

Until this moment, all of Eric's gifts simply appeared on their own, but now he stood before her in the flesh, looking her square in the eye and proffering her a small, light object wrapped in paper.

Calleigh's blush deepened. "Eric…" she began to protest.

"Just open it," he encouraged her and placed the thin present on the lab table to her left.

She glanced at it for a long second, then back at Eric before she gathered it into her hands and gently unfolded the red tissue paper which concealed the gift within.

Free of the tissue, Calleigh took a moment to comprehend what now rested in her palms—a golden strip of five raffle tickets. She had to read the handwritten card to understand: "Five free favors. Anything you want."

Eric took a step closer to Calleigh. In a low voice she rarely heard him use over the years, the soft one that sent shivers coursing through her, he murmured, "I mean it, Cal. Anything."

Her breath hitched in her chest, and she just knew Eric could feel her heart pounding across the short distance between them.

Later, Calleigh wondered just how she managed to pull herself up off the floor where she'd melted into a puddle of goo. The air had left her lungs at his proximity and the timber of his voice, and she knew she needed to respond, but all she could offer him was a breathy, "Okay."

She saw Eric smile and nod once in satisfaction, and when he breezed by her to walk out the door, she felt the surreptitious brush of his fingers against hers.

A shiver ran down her spine so violently Calleigh physically shook, and she felt eternally grateful Eric's back faced her so he could not see her tremble.

Five favors.

Four albums.

Three treats.

Two tickets.

One necklace.

It hit her then that Eric had noticed her holiday glum, and this was obviously his way of bringing her a little Christmas spirit. Whether he intended it or not, she couldn't be sure, but his thoughtfulness was creating another magic, all its own.

"Are you coming?" Eric called from outside the lab's entrance. "Lunch is on you, it was your idea."

His voice held a note of laughter that lightened Calleigh's mood after the long morning, and she gave him a warm smile as she set off to catch up with him.

"Fine, I suppose it's the least I can do."

He didn't respond, but Calleigh saw the twinkle in his eye.

Six Geese A Laying.

The next day, Calleigh woke up before her alarm at 6 o'clock on the dot. At first she didn't realize what woke her, then she spied the text notification on her phone.

Irritation flooded her as she reached for it. Who the hell is texting at six in the morning? The thought of being called to a crime scene this early on her day off sent waves of desperation through her. She just wanted a break. Was that too much to ask for?

All her bitterness dissipated, though, when she saw Eric's name flash across the screen and she read his message: "Throw on warm clothes. I'll be there in 5."

Immediately, Calleigh was wide awake. Eric…at her house before dawn…? And why did she need warm clothes?

She chastised herself for how eagerly she leapt from the covers. Between her bedhead and her morning breath, Calleigh didn't know what to address first. She opted for brushing her teeth while she searched the back of her closet for sweats and a hoodie. He said warm, he didn't say presentable…

She heard the knock on the door while she spat toothpaste into the sink, and she quickly swiped a towel across her face and ran her brush through her loose curls. Damn the day that man turned punctual.

Another knock sounded and she hurried toward the door, calling "I'm awake, I'm awake!" as she reached it.

"What the hell, Eric? It's not even light outside," she complained as she swung the door open.

Eric stood before her wearing a sweatshirt and joggers, carrying two cups of coffee and a brown paper bag, and staring at her completely and utterly slack-jawed.

It was in that instant that Calleigh second-guessed her choice to brush her teeth and hair first. She should have changed out of her forest green, barely-there silk night gown, instead.

Eric's eyes raked her body from shoulder to thigh and back up again causing heat to flare up Calleigh's neck at the way his brown orbs turned jet black. They darted to hers before they settled on her lips, and she knew exactly what he was thinking.

You know what? Serves him right. Eric had Calleigh off-kilter all week with his sweet gifts and long glances and surreptitious touches…let him suffer for a few minutes.

She took a step forward. "Like what you see?" she asked brazenly.

Eric's eyes flashed back to hers and she saw the shock painted on his face.

"Calleigh—" he started to protest before she cut him off.

"Oh, come off it, Eric. You've seen me in my swimsuit, this is nothing."

She laughed dismissively and waved him across the threshold. When she pivoted on her heel to lead him inside, she knew full well her negligee barely covered her rear, and Eric had a seat front and center to the Calleigh show.

"I need to get changed," she called over her shoulder and indicated the sweats dangling from her left hand.

But then she changed her mind and about-faced to round on Eric, her long blond hair tossing over her bare shoulder at the abrupt move.

"Wait, why am I even changing? What are you doing here before the crack of dawn?"

Eric tore his gaze from her body to meet hers—with a struggle, Calleigh noticed—and offered her an apologetic grin.

"Because I need you for dawn," he explained cryptically. "Trust me, Cal. Just go with it. I brought coffee and breakfast tacos…"

She grumbled and accepted the outstretched cup of liquid gold, one, because she needed it desperately, and two, because he had her at "tacos."

"Fine, I'm all yours. Let me get dressed," she conceded.

Fifteen minutes later, Eric led Calleigh by the beam of a flashlight across the sandy plains of a private portion of Bal Harbor Beach.

"Eric, we're not supposed to be here, Calleigh warned when she recognized where the path led. He clearly had a destination in mind, but the sign she saw ten feet behind them was just as clear: No Trespassing.

"We have permission to be here, Cal, don't worry," he eased her concern as he continued traipsing through the darkness. "I come here all the time. My buddy lives in the condos up the way, and he gave me his old roommate's permit. Here!"

Eric stopped suddenly and proudly turned to Calleigh.

"This is it," he declared.

"This is…what, exactly?"

Eric tilted his head and gave her that beautiful, toothy Delko smile, tinged with something…tender…Calleigh couldn't put her finger on.

"My favorite spot in all Miami to watch the sunrise," he confessed sheepishly.

Now she understood why he brought her here, and not even the sand in her shoes nor the goosebumps on her skin from the wind could make Calleigh wish for another kind of wake up call.

Eric laid a blanket on the sand dune and settled himself atop the warm fleece, wrapped another one around his shoulders, then he reached for Calleigh's hand to tug her down to join him. She complied wordlessly, settling herself at his side under the blanket, not objecting when he weaved his fingers into hers and nestled their hands in his lap.

They sat in happy silence, enjoying the peaceful company, and watched the sun rise to greet the waiting world.