Title: Three Days
Author: Lucy (somethingsdont)
Pairing: Eric/Calleigh
Rating: PG-13
Timeline: 7.16, Sink or Swim
Summary: Two nights a week. Never less; never more.
Notes: Hi. I know I haven't updated my WIPs in ages, but the promo for Sink or Swim made me want to write something quick and relatively painless. This will be a 3-parter and for once, I have everything written already so this whole thing'll be up before The Episode on Monday; separating it is just a dirty ploy. Please enjoy!

The First Day

The night Eric was released from federal detention was a Monday. Calleigh didn't have to ask; he stayed over. Not many words passed from one to the other, and eventually, he found himself lying behind Calleigh on the couch, skimming his hand along her arm, trying to forget the events of the day, trying to comfort and draw that same comfort from her.

It had been a frightening experience for both of them, but especially him. He'd known about his father for weeks now, but it didn't make it an easier pill to swallow. There was frustration and rage, and an insuppressible resignation toward a person who deserved it and a handful of people who didn't.

Calleigh, on the other hand, had spent the better part of the day trying to figure out how she could help him bounce back from this. She hurt for him, and it'd been a while since she felt someone else's pain with this intensity. But that wasn't the worst part. He'd lost the glimmer in his eyes, and his smile had been extremely elusive. She could read that look; she'd seen it in the mirror more times than she could count.

"I was pretty scared for you today," she murmured.

Her hand came to a stop near her elbow. "I was pretty scared, too," he admitted.

She turned to face him, searching for his dark eyes. "Tell me about that," she requested.

He planted a kiss on her shoulder, keeping his lips there, lingering. Finally, he shook his head, and with a bitter chuckle, he spoke words of quiet resignation. "I don't know who I am anymore."

"I do." She touched his cheek gingerly; they were inflamed. "I know who you are."

He leaned down and kissed her softly, quietly communicating to her how much her words meant to him, how much he needed to hear her reassuring confidence. In a moment when little could've comforted him, he found a glimmer of hope in her unconditional trust in him. He couldn't describe how much he appreciated her, how lucky he felt to have her this way, open and unafraid.

Later that night, as they lay in bed together, Eric was restless, tossing and turning on his side of the bed. The few times that Calleigh tried to reach out to him, he would still for a moment then push her away, and she wasn't sure if it was a conscious act or not, but she stayed with him in this not-so-merry-go-round anyway. At a quarter to one, the two were still wide awake, and after he withdrew his hand from hers once again, Calleigh sat up suddenly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, her voice scratchy from exhaustion.

He froze. "No."

She nodded and slid back under the covers. "Okay."

A moment later, she could sense the guilt surging from him. "Sorry I'm keeping you up," he muttered. She couldn't read his tone. He stared up at the ceiling. "Do you want me to go?"

She slid closer to him and threaded her fingers through his. "Eric, did something happen in detention?"

He shook his head. "I just…" He exhaled sharply. "My entire existence is a lie." He said it with such desperate finality, it nearly broke her heart.

She curled up beside him and reached to kiss his temple. "I'm still here." She traced her fingertip across his jaw line and felt a light tremor. "That's not a lie," she added, pressing her forehead against his shoulder.

He turned toward her and pulled her tightly against him. The sudden movement surprised her, but she sensed a breakthrough and waited patiently for a few minutes while he breathed heavily into her hair.

"My father is a bad man," he murmured, so quietly she almost didn't hear him.

She pressed a kiss against his chest. "You aren't him."

He hesitated, but when he finally spoke, there was no uncertainty. "I know." He found the hem of her shirt with his hands and slid a few fingers up along her bare back, making her shiver. "I always thought I was blessed with this incredible family, and that's gone." A hint of insecurity had crept back into his voice, and he pressed harder against her skin without meaning to.

Calleigh reached behind her and gently loosened his fingers, eliciting an apology from him. "It's okay," she quickly dismissed, shifting against him. "Your mother and your father – the man who raised you – love you very much; that doesn't change."

He clenched his jaw. "They kept this from me," he muttered, his words laced with poison. "My sisters must've known, too. Marisol, she took this secret to her grave."

Calleigh knew how much that tore at him, and she wished she had the words to quell his fears, his insecurities, but she found herself at a loss. "They were trying to protect y—"

"Bullshit."

She bit her lip. "Eric."

"I'm so sick of people telling me that," he said with a misdirected bitterness.

Sensing that this was a lost battle, Calleigh quieted. She knew it'd be difficult, but not like this. The worst part was not having the words, not knowing the answers, being incapable of taking his pain from him.

He misread her silence as indignation. "I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just—"

"I know." She pressed her lips to his, again when she felt how dry they were. "Let's call it a night, okay?" she asked, fiddling absentmindedly with the hem of his pillowcase.

He nodded. "Can you—" He hesitated, then mumbled, "Never mind."

"Hold you?" she asked, smiling when his eyes darted away. She didn't have to touch his cheeks to know how hot they burned. Without waiting for him to reply, she pulled herself even closer and kissed his cheek. It was a role reversal of sorts, but she didn't mind it one bit. Her arms slid around his torso, and despite her tiny frame, she cradled him, her lips ghosting along his skin and searching out his lips.

"I love you," he whispered to her when she pulled away.

She smiled brightly and held him tighter. "I love you, too."