A/N: I'm back after being sick for a few months. Nothing serious, but I've been too exhausted to write. I had a lot of time to think about this story, and I did decide to take the ending in a different direction. Absolutely no surprise there. I'll update it periodically while I'm still working to feel 100%. Read and review, as always. It's encouraging and much appreciated!

CHAPTER 18

CALLEIGH

As soon as she heard Eric's voice, a wave of relief also washed over Calleigh, along with an onslaught of memories from the early morning hours, standing in his arms at HQ, all tangled lips and wandering hands.

She should have felt guilty indulging in her flashback with everything going on, but she didn't.

I'm all in on this, Cal. There's no going back, because I'm in love with you.

He'd finally said the words. Maybe she didn't say them back so simply, but she told him she wanted him to pick her, to settle down with her, and that was big. Monumental, actually.

She could still feel his fingertips burning a path across the skin at the base of her spine where they snuck under the edge of her shirt. His lips nibbling hers, begging for entrance. The heat of his body in her arms as she held him close, warm and welcome after escaping the icy floodwaters.

"Cal?"

Eric's voice sounded over the line, and Calleigh realized she'd gone silent as the world fell away and she lost herself in thought.

"Yeah, yes. Hey, Eric," she said with a small clearing of her throat.

"Sorry I missed your call earlier. Wolfe gave me an update. How are things there?"

When Calleigh arrived at the arena, she immediately took Natalia to the Red Cross' temporary sick bay. While they also lacked the necessary antibiotics, they could supply her with acetaminophen and cold compresses to try to abate her fever, and give her a place to rest.

Then, Calleigh set off to find her vic. Tara had beat her to the crime scene and begun her examination of the body as patrol officers kept a gathering crowd at bay.

"You know," Calleigh remarked to Eric over the phone. "The public's morbid curiosity never ceases to amaze me."

Eric laughed. "Gained an audience?"

"Exactly." Calleigh's voice dropped a few decibels. "The National Guard finally got here and things are getting organized, but, Eric, it's a mess."

"Yeah? How so?"

Calleigh could hear the concern in his voice, and while she wished to put him at ease about her safety and that of his sisters and their families, she would never sugarcoat things.

"Lack of fundamental supplies. Too many people, not enough food or water. Everyone's restless, tired, hungry…and I'm not convinced our murder wasn't gang related."

Eric groaned inwardly. The arena was a ticking time bomb—with rival gangs fighting for dominance in a desert of basic necessities, it might only be a matter of time before the situation exploded into violent chaos. The curious and innocent would quickly become victims if tensions spilled over.

Calleigh heard shuffling on the other end of the line and the background noise quieted somewhat, and she could tell Eric had put some distance between himself and anyone in his proximity.

"Calleigh," he said in a low voice, "I know you don't need me to tell you to be safe. But, please be careful."

The kneejerk reaction to clap back at Eric for his overprotectiveness didn't come. Instead, a warmth filled Calleigh's chest and a soft smile spread across her face. She understood, now.

Eric knew she could handle herself, and he gave her the space and confidence to do just that. But he loved her, and this was his way of making sure she knew how much she meant to him.

"You know I always am," she said. Her words held a light quality but were full of intention. She'd heard his message.

"Yes, I do," Eric responded, then he cleared his throat as a signal that he trusted her and would move on. "So, what's the latest?"

Calleigh filled him in on the rest of the developments at the arena. There was no sign yet of Isabel and Clara, but she had a few more areas to search before she needed to head out with her evidence.

"When I leave here, I'll head to the temporary evidence locker Horatio set up. Without a lab for now, our hands are tied," she explained.

Silence settled between them and Calleigh feared what Eric would say next, for they had so far avoided a major topic—that of her house. She could feel the words hanging on Eric's lips even over the phone, but she couldn't bring herself to ask.

He saved her the trouble.

"Cal, we've only made it about a quarter of the way into Bal Harbour, but you should know…we can only traverse it by boat."

She sat stunned. Calleigh fully expected this based on Horatio's reports, but to hear it confirmed…fear and grief spread through her whole body. She stayed silent, so Eric jumped in again.

"Look, we don't know for sure," he tried to reassure her. "We're headed further inland, and I'll call you when we get to your house. It won't be long."

If nothing else, Calleigh felt comfort knowing Eric would lay eyes on her home and could assess the damage. Knowing would be better than this limbo in which she currently existed, even if the news was bad.

She began to express her gratitude when her ears picked up a cry from a distance.

"Calleigh!"

Calleigh turned to her left and saw a blur of dark hair and olive skin rushing toward her before she found herself enveloped in a tight, recognizable Delko bear hug.

Isabel collided into her with such force that Calleigh nearly dropped the sat phone. Taken by surprise, all she could exclaim in the moment was, "Oh, my god!"

"Calleigh? Calleigh! What happened?" she could hear faintly from the phone still grasped in her hand.

She was torn between hugging Isabel back fiercely and answering Eric, who obviously thought something terrible had happened.

Calleigh settled for trying to do both, drawing Eric's sister close with one arm and looping her other up underneath Isabel's to bring the phone awkwardly to her ear.

"Eric, I'm fine. I'm fine. It's Isabel!"

She heard a 'thank God,'" from Eric at the same time Isabel pulled back and gasped.

"Is that Eric? Can I talk to him?" she entreated.

Calleigh nodded and immediately handed Isabel the phone.

Without so much as a 'hello,' Isa launched into an interrogation of her little brother.

"Eric, where are you? Are you safe? Please tell me you're safe. Have you heard from papi?"

Calleigh attempted to withdraw from the last of Isabel's embrace, but the woman wouldn't let her retreat. Isa sent her a pleading look, and Calleigh couldn't help but pull her into another hug. She had Carmen's eyes, as did Eric, and she could never resist that look, the one that said, "I need you."

A second hand on her shoulder startled Calleigh at first, until she spied Clara reaching out to her from behind Isabel. Beyond Eric's oldest sister, Calleigh saw Clara's husband, Peter, coming toward them followed by a gaggle of six kids, with Isa's husband, Mariano, bringing up the rear.

Calleigh counted and re-counted all the little heads. Her heart clenched as she looked from Peter to Mariano, back to Clara and Isa grasping her tightly, and she finally knew they were safe.

Over the eleven years of her friendship with Eric, she'd come to love his family almost as much as her own, even though she only saw them on rare occasions. They were magnetic and drew you in, even when you resisted, which she did. Maybe it was their generosity and the way they showed easy affection. Or perhaps she cherished them because they raised up a man like Eric, a gift to her in this life.

Regardless, standing there, holding on to Eric's sisters in the midst of chaos and heartbreak, another little piece of Calleigh's armor clanked to the ground.

Tears began to well in her eyes, and while she managed to keep them at bay, she hugged Isa all the tighter.

Damn them, she thought to herself.