Chapter 2:
It had taken a while for Eric to calm down when he got home. Sure he had calmed down a bit the minute she hugged him and then when she texted him. He appreciated how she was kind of checking on him, making sure that he understood that nothing happened. It told him how much she valued him, how much she cared about him, but Eric couldn't deny that he had been jealous of Jake. He is her ex. Had been with her, knows what it feels like to hold her in his arms, kiss her, make love to her and Eric wanted nothing more to be able to do all that. He had managed to control his feelings for her for all these years but after he had been shot, things have changed. His perspective has changed and Eric didn't want to waste anymore time. Usually he didn't have any problem going after the woman he wanted. Whenever he decided he wanted to hook up with someone in particular, he would make sure to have her before the night is over...but this is Calleigh. His best friend. The one person he never wanted to lose. Their situation was a little bit different, complicated because they work together almost every single day. They were part of the same team, and it wasn't just that because there was a time when he used to date Natalia and now they are still friends and are able to work together, but Calleigh means so much more to him. When he dated Natalia, he was a different person. He was someone that his head was into dating, dating for sex and to forget everything else that he had going at the time, plus he didn't know Natalia as much as he knows Calleigh. What he and Calleigh have...their friendship is rare and he knows that Calleigh values their friendship as much as he does, so he needed to be careful how to go with this. He needed to show her that he wanted her, and probably one day the time was going to come when he was even going to have to tell her directly how he feels about her, and not just let her imagine, what he feels. A woman needed to hear certain words being spoken. Calleigh needed to hear them.
With Jake back in the picture, things were just messier now because she was probably all over the place. Yesterday had been one hell of a day for her, first with the accident and then with Jake showing up. He was sure that so much was going through her head, that she probably just shut everything out and that was it. Knowing her, she probably didn't even want to think about everything that happened during the day, and then to make things worse, he showed up on her doorstep. He knew that he was welcome inside and probably Jake had just barged in, but with Jake being there he just couldn't go inside, so he had preferred to turn around and go back home.
During the night, he found himself waking up a couple of times, and check his phone. Not that he was expecting to find a message from her but he had to check just to make sure. He knew that if things got really bad during the night she would either call him or else she would just show up. What he hated most about Jake being at her house yesterday, was that he couldn't be there for her, like he knew she needed him to.
Seeing her this morning, took him back to yesterday evening. She looked nervous when she saw him but he noticed that the moment he smiled at her, she relaxed, the tension from her shoulder left and she smiled softly back at him. They didn't speak about the previous night but just worked the cases. Today she had spent most of her day in her lab, not needed much on the outside, and truth be told she was grateful. She had quite a backlog with all the recent shootings that had happened so a day in her lab where she didn't have to see or hear anyone was the perfect day for her, and most importantly she wouldn't need to see Jake. He was the last person she wanted to see, although she didn't think she was going to get that lucky and manage to avoid him for the rest of the day.
She was in the middle of processing one of the pending guns, writing down her notes when a knock on the door made her gun, almost knocking the testing gun.
'Damn it Jake, you should know better than to interrupt me when I am processing guns' she told him.
'You were not firing' he pointed out.
'I was writing my notes. I almost knocked the gun to the floor' she replied 'I'm sure that whatever you want is not that urgent that you couldn't have waited until I was ready' she told him.
'Well that depends how urgent you deem me seeing you' he replied pushing away from the door.
'Zero' she shot back, as she proceeded to putting the gun away and pulling out another one. She watched him from the corner of her eye walk over to her, and Calleigh couldn't help but tense, which Jake picked up on.
'Why do I make you tense Calleigh?' he asked her standing right behind her.
She turned to look at him, fully aware that he was too close to her 'Because you are always in my personal space. There is always an agenda with you Jake. That's why. It's never just casual talk, there is always a motive' she replied as she pushed at him from his chest so she could move, but he grabbed her wrists and Calleigh stopped and sighed heavily.
'Of course I have a motive' he replied 'You Calleigh. I want you back' he replied just as Eric walked inside. He didn't notice, as he was going through some documents that he wanted to talk to Calleigh about, but when he heard Jake's voice telling her that he wanted her, he stopped and looked up, feeling his heart being trampled on. He attempted to turn around and leave but Calleigh saw him.
'Eric' Calleigh whispered as she pushed at Jake and stepped away from him. Damn it, she cursed.
'You want me to come back a little later?' he asked her as Jake stood there, his back towards Eric.
'No it's fine. Jake is leaving' she told him as she turned to look at Jake.
Jake looked at her, taking in the firm and annoyed way she was looking at him. He stepped closer towards her, and quickly pulled her into him, his hands on her waist and crushed his lips hard against hers, before letting her go, walked over to Eric and looked at him, ignoring the way he wanted to kill him with just one look 'You really have a bad timing Delko' Jake said and with that he was out of firearms.
Damn Jake. He had kissed her again and this time in front of Eric, definitely wanting to send him a message. She is ending up in a love triangle. She could feel it. She knows both of them want her and damn it she doesn't know what she wants. Jake is an old flame who she still has unfinished business with and Eric...he is her best friend, someone she don't want to live without, someone who she is starting to have feelings for.
'I'm sorry' she apologized yet again. She could see the look he had in his eyes, could see his blood boiling in his veins but he was trying to contain himself. The last thing that he wanted was to look like the jealous boyfriend that he wasn't...because he wasn't her boyfriend. Jealous yes but not her boyfriend unfortunately...at least not yet.
'Maybe I should start calling you before I come anywhere near you. My timing seems to be very lousy' he told her.
'Actually it's perfect otherwise he would still be here' she replied and they laughed 'Anyway, you wanted something?' She asked him.
'Emm yeah...I was going through the report and something seems off. Do you mind if you check it out?' He asked her.
'Sure' she replied as she took the report from his hands. She started going through it as Eric watched her 'You're right something is off. Let's go through the evidence again and we'll take it from there' she told him.
Making sure that any evidence she had out was put away, they headed upstairs together to go through everything once again.
oooOOOooo
Eric was waiting for her as he prepared the table with two glasses of wine, cutlery, music in the background...everything seemed perfectly set. It was a normal night, nothing they haven't done before. At first they had planned to meet at her house but then Calleigh asked if they could meet over at his place just so they avoid getting interrupted by unwanted company. She was still mad at Jake and after having Eric walk in on them twice, she really wanted tonight to be just the two of them.
He was still in an indoor pants which were hanging quite low exposing his V shape making him look all hot and sexy and shirtless when Calleigh rang the bell.
'Fuck' he cursed. He checked his watch and realized that he had forgotten all about the time. He walked over to the door and pulled it open. The look on Calleigh's face, the slight flush that filled her cheeks told him she liked what she sees...even her lips had parted slightly as her eyes danced over his shirtless body, from down to where the hem of his pants rested on his hips all the way up to his eyes, as their eyes locked. He could see all the emotions playing in those emerald orbs of hers that always manage to leave him breathless, until she finally pulled herself out of the magical trance she was falling in.
'I emm...got us pizzas' she told him with a smile, the usual smile that fills her face and makes Eric's heart skip a beat.
Eric licked his lips and stepped out of the way 'Good because I'm starving' he told her as she walked in and Eric closed the door behind her. She smiled as she took in what was before her. He had prepared things. It wasn't that he never did this before, but it felt like it had a sprinkle of something special tonight. Maybe it was the music in the background.
'This is nice' she said as she made her way towards the table and placed the pizza boxes on it, before turning to look at Eric. His eyes were on her. She was wearing a white with small floral design across the dress which came down to just above her knees. She had put some effort into this as well he noticed.
'What is?' he asked snapping himself out of admiring how beautiful she looked outside of her work clothes, not that she didn't while at work, because damn it that is where he fell for her, being all dressed up and professional, but this...this casual girly look, the way her hair came down, the make up and already barefoot, he could so get used to this.
'The music in the background' she replied smiling at him and Eric smiled.
'Yeah I felt like putting some music on' he replied 'I emm...should go and put something on. I didn't realize what time it was' he admitted.
Calleigh rolled her eyes at him as she gestured with her hand that it was nonsense 'Don't worry about it Eric, it's fine. It's not like I have never seen you shirtless' she told him 'It is your home after all. I wish I could stay like that without giving a shit' she chuckled and then she caught up on the look on his face and realized what she said. It was true though. Men could stay shirtless as much as they wanted but women were always expected to cover their chest.
Eric chuckled at that comment though 'Cal...if you don't want me to start having mental images of you running shirtless in your own house, barefoot in just your panties and your hair up in a messy bun, you ought not to say things like that' he told her and Calleigh started laughing, as she slapped his chest.
'Well sounds like you already have that image in your head' she replied with a wink before she turned to open the pizza box 'I thought you said you were starving' she teased him. If only she knew what he was starving for right now. His hands were itching to pull her in his arms and crush his lips hard against hers, and Eric needed to stop with all these images or he was going to embarrass himself.
'Right' he said and Calleigh smiled. She knew the feeling. Sometimes they get so comfortable talking, that they forget that both of them have feelings for one another, and only realize after a smart comment one of them makes.
Eric got a bottle of wine from the chiller and Calleigh started opening the boxes, and while they ate they talked and laughed about all sort of things. They obviously talked work as well, because who doesn't bring that topic up at some point, but both of them avoided the hot topic. Jake and yesterday's events. They were topics that were best talked about a bit later, after they had enjoyed eating their pizza and their belly was full, and then they could talk over a glass or wine...or two, and when they were ready, they cleared the table and took everything in the kitchen, before they headed towards the couch with just the bottle of wine and their glasses in their hands. Sitting on the couch, opposite one another, one leg bent on the comfortable thing while the other leg hung down, they smiled at each other.
'So emm...how have you been?' Eric asked her.
Calleigh took a sip of her white wine and then sighed 'Well...I did wake up a couple of times during the night feeling like I was drowning or the car closing in on me' she replied.
'I told you to call me' Eric told her as he took her hand in his.
'I know Eric but I didn't want to wake you up at two in the morning, especially after you had come over for nothing' she told him.
'Calleigh, you know I would have come. It doesn't matter what happened before' he told her.
'I know Eric but it didn't feel right' she told him 'Anyway, I managed to get back to sleep' she told him and Eric raised an eyebrow 'What? I did. An hour later, but I did' she told him.
'You wanna talk about it?' he asked her taking a sip of his own wine. He knew she needed to talk, she always did in the privacy of her home and in his company. It was the only place she could let her guard down and let herself be vulnerable for a change. Eric thought it had to be exhausting always having to put up a strong facade.
Calleigh sighed pushing her hair behind her ear 'It's the thought that I could have died you know' and Eric shivered as he tried to push the mental image away. That was the last thing that he wanted to think about...not when it comes to her. The thought that he would have to live in a world where she was no longer in it, it just made him want to throw up. Calleigh noticed the distant look on his face, so she shifted closer and squeezed his hand 'I'm right here Eric. I'm fine' she told him trying to assure him. She knew exactly what he was thinking because it happened to her many times, and after he got shot and she almost lost him, she knew exactly what the feeling was. She had spent hours willing herself to not go down that road, because there was no way she wanted to know what that was like.
'I know' Eric told her. She shifted again so that now she was sitting between his legs and her head was resting against his bare chest. She felt his hand arrange her hair, his fingers slide down her arm, before he kissed the top of her head and Calleigh closed her eyes momentarily enjoying the feeling. This was what was special about their friendship. They were this kind of comfortable that they could sit like this and just talk. To someone from the outside looking in, it would look like a couple enjoying a relaxed moment, but Calleigh and Eric were not a couple...at least not yet.
'It scares me you know. I don't even want to think about it. If you didn't manage to get out of the hummer...I would have had to be the one to pull you out' Eric told her as he tightened his arm a bit around her and pressed his lips against the top of her head. It was true. He would have had to do that. She hadn't thought about it like that, too caught up in her own world and what would have happened to her, she didn't think that when it comes to anything in the water, Eric would have been the one to retrieve it. She shuddered and Eric rubbed her arm 'I'm sorry. It just came out. I just realized it' he admitted.
'Me too' she replied honestly 'Maybe we shouldn't talk about this anymore. The important thing is that I'm here and alive and that is it' she told him. It was feeling too close to home and she didn't want to waste her time with Eric talking about sour subjects.
'Are you sure?' he asked her.
'Yeah' she told him before she shifted so she could look at him 'Besides, there is music playing. How about we take advantage of that?' she asked him.
'You wanna dance?' he asked.
'Well if I am not mistaken, I happen to be in the company of a very sexy Cuban I might add' she started telling him and Eric chuckled, enjoying the compliment 'who happen to know how to salsa' she went on 'and it's a beautiful night. We have wine, I'm in a dress...I'm sure you can teach me' she went on and Eric's face lit up.
'Well in that case' Eric started saying as he got up from the couch and put the wine glass on the coffee table 'Get up mi senora' he told her as he extended his hand. She smiled at him, and slid her hand in his.
'Teach me' she told him. Well this was turning to be an enjoyable night after all. He took her hand in his, pushed the couch towards the television to make some space and stepped in front of her.
With one hand on her back and another one holding her hand, Eric asked her to put her free hand on his arm 'Now as I push my right leg in your space, you push it back and the same with the left. Let's try it' he told her, so they started moving and as Eric moved, Calleigh had no choice but to move like he said 'Whenever you're pushing your leg in my space, move your hip out' and Calleigh did like he told her and before they knew it, they were swaying and dancing and Calleigh was having the time of her life. There was no way Jake would ever be this fun. He can be fun in his own ways but not like this. With Eric things are sweet, thoughtful, passionate...
'Now I'm going to turn you around' he told her and she nodded. She turned and then fell into step again dancing and then he would turn her again.
She was dancing with Eric...Eric her best friend, the person who always goes out of his way for her, to see her happy. She was letting him in her personal space, holding her close like this fully aware how close his face was to her, the way he was looking at her even if they were dancing with a smile on their faces. There was something in the way her hand fit so perfectly into his, the feeling of his hand on her back, the feeling of her breasts against his chest, her hand on his arm...
She knew she had feelings for him, she just wasn't sure what kind of feelings, how deep they ran, but being this close to him, Calleigh realized that she wanted him to kiss her. She wanted to know what it feels like to be kissed by Eric, to have his lips on hers, to have his hand slide into her hair. We watched her flutter her eyes at the thought of having his hands in her hair as he kissed her...and Eric was curious what she was thinking but didn't say anything, although he had a pretty good idea. When did this happen? When did she fall for him? Her best friend! It terrified her and thrilled her at the same time. The only turmoil was that she was scared she would ruin their friendship if things don't work out and well now Jake was in the picture, and what was she going to do? A part of her wanted to be like this with Eric, knowing that he was so different from all the other men in her life, knowing that now that their feelings had surfaced it was just a matter of time until they couldn't handle controlling them anymore, and they would have to give in, and another part of her was not sure what she wanted to do about Jake. A part of her was still angry at him and he was not making it easy, being all jerk and all that, but the other part of her, was still attracted to him. Jake was the bad boy that women fell for, and she had fallen for him. He had been her first love, but knowing what she was feeling for Eric, and knowing he felt the same way, even if he hasn't come out and said anything yet, it was written all over his face, Calleigh felt conflicted. In all her life, she had never been in this position. Torn between two men. Both men wanted her and she wanted both of them. She just has to figure out who she wanted more.
They were still dancing but Eric was fully aware of the turmoil that was going on in her head. He could see all the thoughts and emotions play out in her eyes, in the expressions of her beautiful face, and damn holding her like this, having her this close while she is in his arms, dancing with him on her request, all Eric wanted to do was close that gap between them and finally kiss her. He could see her chest slowly rise and fall as their steps became slower. He watched her eyes shift from his eyes to his lips and Eric thought his heart was going to burst through his chest. She was starting to lean in, her eyes on his lips and Eric placed his forehead against hers. He was about to say something when the bloody mobile started ringing and they both closed their eyes and sighed heavily. Bloody phone!
'Sorry' she whispered as she stepped back and went to check who was calling, but when she saw the name on her phone, she just hung up and turned to walk back to Eric, when the bloody phone started ringing again, and now Eric knew exactly who it was. Bloody hell Jake! It was like he knew she was with him, and he was doing this on purpose. She hung up again and this time, turned the phone on silent. She did not want to talk to him now. Now she was with Eric, and Jake was not going to interrupt them again. She turned to go back to Eric, who she was sure had figured out who had been calling and interrupting them, when she was met with a hand sliding in her hair cupping one cheek, and then full lips pressing against hers. It took her just a moment to figure out what was happening, and when she did, she parted her lips and Eric slid his tongue inside her mouth kissing her passionately. She heard herself moan in his mouth and Eric deepened the kiss if that was even possible as her hand pulled him closer from his hips. She could feel his tongue dance with hers, his fingers in her hair, his other hand on her back and damn he was a good kisser. She wanted to stay like this forever, but her lungs started to protest so Eric started ending the kiss, giving her brief kisses on her lips, before he rested his forehead against hers, his hand on her cheek, the other on her hip.
'Sorry' he apologized 'I did not plan this. It is not why I asked you to meet tonight' he told her.
'I know' she whispered.
'But he keeps interrupting us and I...I just can't pretend anymore Cal. I can't pretend and wait and watch him steal you away. I want you Cal...I want you so bad' he told her before leaning in and kissed her again, softly this time...slower but still with so much feeling and passion that it was turning her legs into jelly. He was kissing her lips now ending the kiss again, sucking on her bottom lip, before he pulled slightly away and so he could look in her eyes. She was smiling at him. Good she was not pissed off at him, not that he thought she was from the way she had kissed him back.
She was looking at him, straight in his eyes without saying anything 'Say something' he told her, his thumb caressing her cheek.
'Wow...you're a damn good kisser' she told him and Eric burst out laughing, and Calleigh laughed with him, lighting up the mood, so Eric leaned in and kissed her forehead 'You thought I was going to be pissed off that you kissed me? Seriously Eric?' she asked him.
'Damn you can read my mind' he replied smiling at her as his arms grabbed her and lifted on the kitchen counter, where her phone was still ringing. They looked down at it and sighed heavily as Calleigh grabbed her phone and turned it face down so at least they could not see the name.
'I'm glad you did it' she assured him.
'Are you? Because this complicates things for you' he told her.
'Listen Eric, I'm going to be honest with you, because you mean the world to me and the last thing that I want to do is hurt you or lead you on' she started telling him and Eric thought that was going to be the only kiss they shared, that she was going to tell him that it can never happen again 'I care about you so much, and I have started having feelings for you for quite some time now. I wasn't sure what kind of feelings, if they were because you got shot or because I was falling for you. I have no idea. All I know is that when we were dancing before, I wanted you to kiss me but yes, you are right. It does complicate things a bit for me because here I am starting to have feelings for you just when Jake shows up' she told him.
'And you have feelings for Jake too' he told her as a matter of fact, the words leaving a sour taste in his mouth.
'Right now...I don't know how I feel about Jake. He is someone that I have a history with...unfinished business with. Right now...I'm still mad at him and he is acting like a jerk which I don't know whether it should make things easier or harder for me, because for some reason, yes I...had, have, I don't know, feelings for him. I know I need to figure things out, for everyone's sake, but Jake has only been back for two days, and it feels like ages already with everything that has been going on. I didn't really have a lot of time to think about things' she told him.
'I know' he admitted 'And I didn't kiss you to make things harder for you, but he keeps getting in my face, kissing you in front of me, obviously catching on that I have feelings for you, and I guess I felt...threatened' he admitted 'I needed you to know that I have feelings for you, that I want you'.
Eric was standing between her legs, his arms wrapped around her, while her arms were resting on his shoulder, her fingers playing with the back of his head 'I understand...but Eric...you don't have to feel threatened. I do have feelings for you, I always had...the only difference is that before I used to manage to put a lid on them and be just friends...after you got shot...I just couldn't control them' she admitted 'I thought I was going to lose you, that I would have more time to analyze them, and deal with them, figure out what I want...now I guess I'm running out of time' she said 'I'm just afraid of hurting you and the last thing that I want is to lose you Eric' she told him.
'You're not going to lose me Cal' Eric told her cupping one cheek.
'You say that now, but if this goes south...' she started telling him as she looked down so Eric lifted her chin up so she could look at him.
'Calleigh...I know full well that if this goes south, which I'm hoping it won't, but if it will...I will respect your decision. Yes it will hurt like hell but I guess I will have to deal with it, but whatever happens you will never lose me Cal, because having you as my friend is better than not having you in my life at all' he told her.
She smiled at the beautiful words, then leaned in and kissed him softly and slowly on his lips. He parted his lips and they kissed softly. The kiss was sweet, sweet in a way that she never experienced before.
'It's starting to get late and tomorrow we have an early call' she started telling him, her forehead against his.
'Okay' he whispered before kissing her lips one more time. He got her down from the counter and gave her some space as she grabbed her phone, keys and bag. They walked towards the door holding hands, and as they stood in the doorway, still holding hands, she looked at him, straight in his eyes, that gorgeous smile on her face that was filling his heart with all kind of wonderful feelings.
'Thank you Eric...for such a wonderful time tonight' she told him before she pulled herself up on her tiptoes and kissed his lips slowly and passionately, her arms around his neck, his around her back, the tips of his fingers resting on her rare.
'You're welcome' he replied smiling against her lips.
She beamed back at him as she pulled away 'I'll see you tomorrow...sweet dreams' she told him and with that she turned around and left, leaving Eric smiling as he watched her departing form.
oooOOOooo
Calleigh was back home, sure enough quite late for the fact that she had the early morning duty but she had had a wonderful time at Eric's. She was sure nothing was planned. She was sure that even the background music wasn't played on purpose to seduce her, but the music had given her a certain mood, the kind of mood that made you want to mood and enjoy yourself and she knew Eric knew how to move. Being a Latino was next to impossible for him to not know how to do that.
After weeks and weeks of feeling all kinds of messy, she finally felt...happy. It was almost kind of strange to be feeling like this after the torment she had gone through with Eric being shot, her own near death escape, Jake being back...but Eric had finally made a move and showed her, actually told her he had feelings for her. She could still hear his words echoing in her head, full of raw emotion and desire...and the way he had kissed her, she just wished she didn't have to leave him. She was tempted to take things further because after finally tasting him, after finally finding out what it feels like to be kissed and held by him, all she was wanted to do was feel what it is like to be made love to buy him, to feel him inside of her.
She found herself walking out on the porch even if it was late and stare at the sea, watching the waves wash ashore, her thoughts taking her far away...
They were running after each other like two teenage kids who had just started seeing each other, as he chased her right where the water meets the sand, her bare feet splashing everywhere. She laughed and screamed as she looked back knowing he was going to catch her, her white maxi dress getting wetter with every step she took in the water, a mix of sand and salty water all over the white fabric. Eric's beige linen trousers, were hanging too low on his hips as he ran after her, his bare chest on full display, the moonlight giving his caramel skin a shiny glint...and then she felt his arms around her waist, lost their balance and fell down splashing right where the water starts. He turned her around as they both laughed. Their eyes met, and Eric dipped his head as Calleigh wrapped her arms around his neck, and their lips locked. They kissed passionately as the water kept hitting on them and it was the most beautiful scene anyone could witness...
She smiled as she snapped herself out of that picture. She could have that, she knew she could...but what was she going to do with Jake? Did he deserve a second chance? The problem now was that giving Jake a second chance, she would be breaking Eric's heart. Did she want Jake or Eric? How was she going to know who her heart desired the most? Pushing away from the railing, she gave one last look at the ocean and headed inside. At least tonight, she should be having a much better dream she thought.
oooOOOooo
It had taken Eric quite a while to finally fall asleep. He was too hyped to just go to sleep after kissing her, after admitting to her that he wanted her, that he had feelings for her. His hands, lips, body, everywhere ached to feel her again...and now what? Can he so easily just pull her in his arms and kiss her since he already has? And she had been such an involved part in it as well. The way she had wrapped her arms around him and kiss him...damn he wished he could reverse the time and press stop so they could stay like that.
He thought about her. Thought about what she must be thinking and feeling. Thought about where this leaves them. He never thought he would make a move on her like that, but the night had been right, everything was going smooth and they were enjoying themselves. Then Jake had called and it pissed him off because they had met over at his place just so they won't get interrupted and yet he still managed to interrupt them, and Eric just couldn't take it anymore. He needed to take a stand. He needed to let her know that he wants her. He couldn't just leave it with what he thought she knew. Now she knows. She knows that he wants her, that he has feelings for her. What she was going to do about it now remains to be seen.
It was two in the morning and Eric was tossing and turning restless as his mind kept on going and proceeded to dreaming. The problem was he wasn't dreaming about the kiss but about the other thing that they had discussed...
'What do we have?' Eric asked Horatio as he proceeded to zip up his wet suit. They had received a call from two guys who had been fishing who said that apparently there was a car in the glades.
'A car in the water, with a possible victim inside. They seemed to be too freaked out to talk' Horatio replied.
'Okay, I'm going in' Eric replied before diving into the water. They had the approximate location of the car, which wasn't too far away from land. It must have had brake problems or the driver couldn't control the car, because Eric had noticed tire tracks before he jumped into the water.
As usual the water in the glades was murky and hard to see, but Eric spotted the car and for a moment he thought he recognized the car, but then again there is more than just one car from the same model, but when he reached the drivers window and he saw her. Her eyes were open and white...lifeless, just like her skin, and it was swaying into the water with remnants of blood on her head. He couldn't speak, he couldn't scream, and he couldn't open the bloody car with the water pressure. He needed to get her mouth, but Eric was panicking, his eyes could only see her face pale and lifeless and he didn't want to see it anymore, so he dove up and removed the mouth piece from his mouth the moment he surfaced and started screaming.
'Eric what's wrong?' Horatio asked but Eric was screaming and splashing into the water as if something was holding him when suddenly he woke up screaming and panting and his eyes flew wide open in horror. He was getting out of breath, a panic attack for sure, as he sat up in his bed, his body soaked in sweat as tears streamed down his face.
'Calleigh' he whispered as he grabbed and dialed her number while trying to calm himself down. He didn't even check what time it was, and obviously she took a while to respond, her voice hoarse when she finally did.
'Eric?' she asked 'What happened?' she asked him alarmed. It was already past three in the morning and no one calls at that hour for nothing. He did not reply immediately, still finding it hard to breathe and Calleigh was starting to worry. His mind was still trying to realize that he was actually hearing her voice, that she was indeed alive, that the image he had was just a horrible dream 'Eric talk to me what's happening?' she asked him again, too concerned, sitting in bed now as she switched on the lamp on the bedside table.
'I...I need you Cal...I need to see you' he told her sounding almost breathless.
'Okay I'm coming' she told him as she removed the sheets to get out of bed but Eric freaked out.
'NO...no' he said 'I don't want you to drive. Can I come over instead?' he asked her.
'Of course you can. I'll be waiting for you' she told him and with that they hung up and Eric quickly got out of bed, just grabbed the first t-shirt he saw, put it on, grabbed his phone and keys and practically ran outside.
Less than twenty minutes later he was knocking on her door and Calleigh immediately opened up for him, and as soon as he saw her face, he cupped it in both hands and then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug, her face resting on his chest, his lips pressing into her hair.
'Heyyy...It's alright, I'm here' she told him as she rubbed his back. It took a moment for Eric to release her from his hold, letting Calleigh know that he definitely had had a nightmare, and Calleigh had quite an idea what it had been about. She wasn't sure she wanted to know but maybe Eric needed to talk about it 'Do you want to go to bed or do you need to talk?' she asked him.
'I just need to hold you' he replied as he pulled away a bit just so he could look in her beautiful eyes. Maybe seeing her, seeing those emeralds of hers, would replace the horrible mental image that was still stuck in his head.
'Come with me' she told him as she grabbed his hand and lead him into her bedroom. It was then that he realized that she was taking him into her sanctuary so Eric stopped.
'Cal...I...' he started.
'It's fine Eric' she told him 'I promise' she tried to assure him 'Get into bed' she told him as she climbed in and settled next to him 'Now you can hold me in your arms for the rest of the night' she assured him as she settled next to him, her head on his right arm, while his left landed just under her breasts, pulling her closer to him. He could smell her hair, the smell of the shampoo she uses mixed with hers. The bedsheets smelled like her mixed with the laundry detergent that she uses and Eric was finally feeling himself calming down.
'You wanna talk about it now?' she asked him.
'I just want to forget the horrible image I have stuck in my head' he replied after a long while 'I just want to forget it' he told her and then she heard a sob escape his mouth so Calleigh turned in his arms to look at him, her hand immediately went up and wiped the tears that were falling down his face.
'Whatever it is...it's not true Eric...It didn't happen like that. I'm here, you are in my bed and holding me in your arms' she told him and then she leaned in, thinking about it at first, and then she pressed her lips to his and Eric trembled against her lips as he kissed her back, their tongues battling each other momentarily as he increased the pressure 'And you have just kissed me' she told him. She was trying to get through his head that she was fine and well, but she knew from experience, what that image could do to you. It happened to her after he was shot, and Calleigh couldn't call him and ask to go to him because he was in hospital. He didn't have to tell her what he dreamt, she was sure she knew. It was her in the glades, trapped in the car, dead. They had mentioned it earlier that if things had taken a turn for the worst, he would have been the one who would have needed to go and get her out. They had immediately stopped talking about the accident after that, both of them shaken up at just the thought.
'I don't know what I would do if something happened to you' he admitted.
'I know what you're going through Eric. I know what those images feel like...I had a few after you got shot' she admitted, and she could still see the images in front of her eyes sometimes, and Eric realized that she never did tell him anything about the nightmares she used to have. He knew her well enough to know that she had them, but he had been going through so much, that sometimes, it was hard to think about what others are going through because of what you went through, plus it seemed like they keep avoiding talking about the subject. It was still quite a raw subject, sometimes he still gets the headache and sometimes, even his memory still plays tricks on him.
'You never told me' he whispered.
'No' she replied.
'How did you manage to forget them?' he asked her, hoping she would have the answer he needed but unfortunately, her answer was not what he needed to hear.
'I never did. Sometimes I close my eyes and an image pops up in front of my eyes, and I have to remember how to breathe and remind myself that it is not true...that you are alive' she told him 'Sometimes I ended up at the hospital in the middle of the night, just to make sure the monitors are still beeping, to see you with my own eyes' she admitted.
Eric pulled her a little closer if that was even possible and kissed her forehead 'I wish I could have been there for you' he replied.
'I know' she told him and then she let out a yawn and Eric followed 'Maybe we should try and get some sleep' she told him.
'Yeah...sorry I woke you up' he apologized.
'Don't worry about it Eric. We should both sleep better now that we are in each other's arms' she told him before she kissed him on the lips again. She snuggled into him as she turned her face out so her back was against his chest, so Eric could hold her better and they could snuggle better and hopefully manage to sleep peacefully for the rest of the night.