This is so good, but bittersweet!

that just broke my heart!lordy!now if you just do a multi fic on that -WOW!keep writing!DuCaine forever!

Aw that was soo heart breaking... poor Calleigh... but that was so well written... hope you wright more like this one.

That was awesome. I always felt the same way about Calleigh's reaction to the whole event.

I'm not a massive fan of HC but I read this because your blurb was intriguing. I loved it. Absolutely.

You almost made me believe in Calleigh and Horatio (almost). You style is so easy to follow, so fluid. The flashback swere... fitting... they just seemed right exactly where they were.

You opening and closing lines were wonderul and almost broke my heart.

Very good job.

great! love itD

this is awesome! I loved it!

Really, really well written. I could actually believe this truly happened. If you can convince someone who doesn't 'see' your pairing, to 'see' them in your story, then you have done a masterful job writing it.

'But there was one night that changed everything. One night that shattered every dream she'd ever entertained of the two of them together. It was bittersweet; she'd gotten that which she'd so desperately wanted, but it all slipped from her grasp before she could even get a firm hold on it.' This is where you hooked me.

'If there was anything he knew about Calleigh, it was that she didn't fall apart, not in the visible sense, at least. She didn't break down, she didn't cry. She didn't put forth any physical sign that she was fighting an emotional war within.' 'But despite the strength of her countenance, Horatio knew better. Calleigh was falling apart. She was running out of strength.' And this is where you nailed it.

You did a great job of capturing the longing that Calleigh had felt for so long and similarly, the painful letting go of the dream she'd held onto.

'The magic of the moment didn't even wait until the morning to fade.' Beautiful line, captured the beginning of heartbreak.

'And never once did she look back. It was part of walking away; having the strength not to look back.' Wonderful capture of Calleigh.

I loved it. :) And I could really see it... the guilt they both carried (you portrayed it very well), the longing, the bittersweet parting... Great job!

Sigh That was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Definitely going on the faves list. I loved every last paragraph, every last line, every last word... gushes on and on

I loved how you opened it: "Never before had the sidewalk felt a million miles long." and then, later, "Suddenly, there was nowhere else to walk."

And I loved how she went to Horatio that night, after ruling out Ryan and Eric, and then later, how she was also the one to give Horatio that gift for similarly ruled out reasons (I always suspected that gift was truly from her and her alone!)

As for the flashback, I love how Calleigh is so caught up in the moment that she doesn't even realize what's happening: "she hadn't even realized her fingers were in his hair" and "his bed - when had they gotten there?" It perfectly conveys just how swept away in the moment she was.

And then you have to go break my heart with that line: "for all she knew, Horatio may have merely been lonely."

And of course, the ending - Horatio hasn't seen her smile genuinely since that night, showing us how hard it was for him to let go, while Calleigh simultaneously realizes that she hasn't seen his smile, the one she'd missed, and that's why she had to let him go. Sigh His smile in that scene was a real Horatio smile, and certainly not one us vewiers are often privy to either. That was a genuine Horatio smile, no doubt about it.

And then she just walks away. Talk about your star-crossed lovers. Great job, Jessica! I loved it (obviously) :-)

I've always loved the Horatio/ Calleigh ship, and this one solidifies it for me. I love the strength that Calleigh exudes, even when her heart was breaking. To see it tearing her apart though, is harsh, and I have to wonder if Horatio had ever thought compeletely about their night, or if it affected him as it did her.

This was an excellent story, and very well written. Kudos!