A/N: Thanks to all who read & reviewed. Your feedback is much appreciated.

Caution To The Wind

Unfinished Business

He went for the phone as soon as he got in the door. There was no more thinking or debating; he had already wasted too much time doing that. There was just no way to know how she might respond after all this time. His head was spinning the entire ride home, but this was something he knew he needed to do.

He wished there had been a chance to talk to her at dinner, but they were never alone and it wasn't the right setting. Even after dinner he couldn't find the right opportunity. He and Eric both walked her to her car, eliminating any possibility of talking then. If he had hung around, that would've roused Eric's suspicions and this was going to be hard enough to do without having to deal with his reaction as well. No, his only option was to call her now. Or wait till tomorrow, but it was too late, he had already dialed. He listened to the sound of ringing on the other end.

One ring... two rings... three rings... He couldn't believe how nervous he was. He felt like a sixteen year old again. It wasn't pleasant the first time around and it wasn't any better now. She really ought to be home, he thought as he began to pace around the room. She lived closer to the restaurant than he did. He glanced at his watch; it was 11:45 PM. 'Oh shit,' he thought. 'Could she already be asleep?' Maybe he should've considered the time before he called, but he couldn't do anything about that now. On the fourth ring she finally picked up, sounding a bit breathless.

"Hello?"

"Calleigh, it's me. I um, hope that I uh, didn't wake you. I, um, didn't exactly look at the time before I dialed. Sorry," he stammered.

"Tim?" She sounded surprised or concerned or both, he couldn't be sure. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine." He paused before continuing. "I just wondered if you, uh, would like to have dinner with me tomorrow night. If you're free and you, um, would want to." That was smooth, he thought sarcastically. He plopped down in his chair and rested his head in his free hand. All he heard on the other end was silence. He tried to picture her face as she pondered his question, but he came up blank. Just as well, he thought, perhaps this wasn't something he wanted to see.

"Dinner tomorrow night?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah." His power of speech was clearly not at it's best tonight.

"Didn't we just have dinner tonight?" She sounded confused and why wouldn't she? This was coming up out of the blue after all.

"Well, this would be just the two of us," he said softly. "I would really like to see you again. Alone," he added. There was another spell of prolonged silence and it made him seriously wish he had thought this through a little more. It was after all, late, the last minute and rather unexpected all at once. He rubbed at his temple while he waited for some response. Any response.

"Like on a date?" she asked, her voice higher than it was before. She sounded like she couldn't believe what he was asking.

"Well, yes," he answered, wondering what was going through her head.

"Tim it's close to midnight, you're asking me now? For tomorrow?" she questioned as if she couldn't quite believe he would do such a thing. "You couldn't have asked me earlier? I saw you all day and all evening, if you recall." Now he heard the unmistakable sound of annoyance in her voice. He sighed loudly. He really couldn't blame her.

"There was never a time tonight when I could talk to you alone," he said.

"I see," she replied. What did she mean by that?

"Well, maybe you don't. I just wanted to keep this between us," he paused, "that way if you wanted to say 'no', then you wouldn't have to worry about doing so in front of everyone," he explained. He hoped he didn't sound as vulnerable as he felt just then. There was only more silence, which certainly wasn't helping his current state of discomfort.

"You just decided to ask me tonight?" she asked. Now it was his turn to be speechless. Was he as transparent as he felt?

"I guess you could say that," he finally answered. "But I've kind of been thinking about it for some time. A long time, I guess." More silence and more knots in his stomach.

"It's a bit short notice, I do have plans for tomorrow," she began.

"That's okay. Don't worry about it. I thought you might have plans. I'm sorry I called so late. Maybe some other time," he said in one breath. He got out of the chair and began pacing the room again. It would be best to end this conversation quickly.

"You didn't let me finish," she drawled. "I'll be free sometime after 7:30, would 8:00 be too late for you?" she asked with a bit of a laugh.

"No, not at all," he answered probably sounding as surprised as he felt. That would be fine. I'll pick you up at 8:00," he said.

"And this is a date?" she asked. He could hear the grin in her voice. She wasn't going to let this go.

"Yeah, it's a date. I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked, uncertainty creeping into his voice.

"Tomorrow. 'Night Tim," she said.

"Goodnight," he said, feeling tremendous relief. He hung up and inhaled deeply. He had a date. It wasn't just any date, but a date with Calleigh. This was either his biggest mistake or his smartest move. There was just no way to know how it was going to turn out. She sounded happy though, well, happy once she got over her initial surprise and annoyance. It was probably best not think too much about it, because he was beginning to feel more than a little nervous.

CTTW CTTW CTTW

Despite doing everything he could to keep busy, seeing Calleigh was about the only thing on his mind all day. He knew it wouldn't be difficult to talk himself out of this date; he could still think of far too many reasons why they shouldn't get involved. And he also knew if they went through with this, they would become involved. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that this was what he wanted and in the end that's the voice that won out.

Showered, dressed and clean-shaven, he stole a cursory glance in the mirror before heading out. Dressed in a black striped button down, he imagined he looked much like he did at work every day, maybe a little neater. He hoped he looked date presentable. Grabbing his jacket, he headed out to his seldom-used car. His motorcycle was his preferred mode of transportation, but sometimes a car was a necessity, like tonight. A fleeting image of Calleigh on the back of the bike flashed through his head and he couldn't help but smile at the thought.

The traffic was minimal and he found her place with ease. He glanced at his watch, surprised to find he was twenty minutes early. 'Not too anxious,' he thought to himself. He found a parking spot across the way from her townhouse and debated whether to wait in the car or go to the door early. The door won out. Stepping out of the car, he noticed Calleigh walking out her door followed by a tall, light haired guy. Her earlier plans, he guessed. At first glance, he thought it was that golfer boy, Jason, but this guy was much too tall to be him. Tim was relieved, but still, who was the guy? Just a friend? A date? The pair walked to the car parked right in front of her walkway. The two were laughing like old friends. Tim leaned against the side of his car, hoping he was inconspicuous and decided to wait where he was until they said their goodbyes.

Whoever he was, he embraced her, holding her close and kissing her on the cheek. Tim didn't want to watch, but had a hard time turning away. He swallowed hard, feeling that familiar knot twisting in his gut. The two pulled apart, but continued talking while the guy got into his car. It was then that Calleigh looked in Tim's direction and flashed him a beaming smile, while she held up her finger, motioning 'just a minute'. He nodded back to her.

Her friend pulled out and she walked over to Tim, whose eyes never left her. 'Hey you," she said by way of a greeting and smiled radiantly.

"Hey. Sorry if I'm too early," he said, returning her smile with a small one of his own.

"No problem, you're fine. Ben had a flight to catch," she told him. He nodded, biting back the desire to ask exactly who Ben was. "Ben's a friend of mine from school. He's been in town for a business function and this afternoon was the only time we had to get together before he flew home," she told him, as if reading his mind. "He's engaged to another friend of mine," she added with a knowing smile.

Relieved, Tim could only add, "oh. So you two didn't need more time?"

"No, he knew I had a date tonight," she told him grinning. He took in a deep breath and let it out.

"You look, uh, really pretty," he said, casting an appreciative gaze over her. "That's a very nice dress." He wished he were better at this, not so tongue tied, because there was so much more he wanted to say to her. The flattering green sleeveless dress floated against her curves, accentuating her shapely figure. She wore her hair loose and wavy, just the way he liked it. He wondered if maybe she dressed that way for him. Even under these parking lot lights, he could see the sparkle in her eyes. He held her gaze as long as he could, wanting her image to stay with him tonight.

"Thank you. You look very nice, yourself," she said, tilting her head to give him the once over. Her close proximity caused a different kind of stirring inside him.

His eyes traveled her features, settling on her lips, the ones he spent so much time thinking about. He wondered if whatever had existed between them was still there. Unexpectedly she leaned in and reached up to fix his shirt collar. She kept her eyes fixed on his while she slowly smoothed the fabric of his lapels, then reached for the collar. He breathed in deeply, inhaling the light scent of flowers he had come to know as Calleigh. Her fingers grazed the skin of his neck and lingered lightly, sending shivers down his back. The attraction between them was palpable, putting to rest any doubts he might have had.

Driven by a sense of urgency, he moved forward and clasped her tightly to him in one swift motion. Her body melded into his as he held her close. His senses were heightened with the anticipation of feeling her lips against his once more. He tilted his head towards her, allowing his lips to gently brush against hers. Feeling her body shudder in response to the touch of his lips, he deepened the kiss. His mouth covered hers as she parted her lips and returned his kiss with rising passion. Lost in the heady sensations kissing her created, he was unaware of anything else around him for several long moments.

Briefly they separated before their lips met again. Softer, gentler this time, the reckless urgency replaced now with a deep sense of comfort, one he had only ever felt with her. He kissed her slowly, lingering on her lips, savoring the sweetness of each kiss. Her arms wound around him and her hands traveled slowly up and down his back. Moving his lips off hers, he pressed them lightly against her neck. He heard her soft moan as his lips caressed the velvet skin. She pulled away from him and tipped her head to meet his gaze.

"Mmmm," she sighed contentedly. "That was some kiss. Reminds me of another night," she said softly, her eyes shimmering.

"Yeah, it was," he answered, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. "You have no idea how many times I've thought about that night. I wasn't sure I'd ever get to kiss you again." He tightened his hold on her and pulled her closer, afraid if he let go he would lose her again.

"It was worth waiting for," she said, looking up at him. He responded to her comment by capturing her lips once more in a knee-weakening kiss. "So what is it with you and parking lots?" she asked with a grin when the kiss ended.

He chuckled lightly before responding in a hoarse whisper, "it's the only time I've had you in my arms and I've had to make the most of it," he said before briefly pressing his lips lightly against hers. "Thank you for giving me another chance. I'm not sure I deserved one."

"Well, it seemed like we had some unfinished business," she said, her voice now serious.

"Yeah, I guess we did," he said nodding. "Something happened between us that night. Something I let go."

"Yeah, you did. Something did happen between us that night, but it wasn't anything you expected and it wasn't something you wanted. At least not then." He was taken aback by the honesty of her words and her keen insight into him.

Sighing heavily, he could only answer her honesty with his own. "You are right about that. I didn't anticipate anything developing between us, ever. And it wasn't something I wanted to happen. I'm sorry," he said softly, dropping his eyes from hers. "But it was too late, because after that night you were all I could ever think about, even when I didn't want to." He hesitated before continuing, "and I wanted you the whole time I was fighting it." He sought her eyes. "I care about you Calleigh, I have all along and I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"I know you do, Tim and I knew you did before, I just wasn't sure if you knew it." She reached up and lightly placed her lips on his. "Took you long enough to figure it out," she teased after kissing him, but there was a truth behind her words.

His face grew serious. She was right, he had fought this for so long and had so many reasons why they shouldn't be together. He had trouble seeing the one reason why he should give them a chance. Now that she was in his arms, it was the only one that mattered to him.

He cupped her cheeks in his hands. "It may have taken me awhile, but I did figure things out. I'm through fighting it; I'm exactly where I want to be, with you. You gave me another chance and I'm going to try not to disappoint you." He kissed her softly before moving his hands to her waist and pulling her close. "Now, about that unfinished business…" he said with a gleam in his eye.

"Tim we're standing in a parking lot," she said laughing.

"I meant the date I owe you," he said laughing with her. "The other unfinished business will have to wait a bit longer, because we have a dinner reservation."

"That's right, I do recall being invited to dinner," she said still laughing. "At the last minute, I might add."

"It may have been last minute, but I managed to get reservations at a very nice place. I think you'll be pleased. I owe you a nice date after making you wait so long and asking you out at the last minute," he said.

"Mmm, that's true. You do owe me. This may cost you more than just dinner," she teased.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" he asked with a smirk.

"I'm thinking dessert…at the very least," she told him.

He tipped his head towards hers. "I'm in luck then, because I understand this place makes a decadent chocolate cake. You also might be interested to know that they have a pretty decent parking lot," he whispered in her ear. He felt her body shudder once more before she reached up to meet his lips.

"That works for me," she said with a smile.

the end