Disclaimer: Don't own anything. It all belongs to Twentieth Century Fox and whatnot...
Archiving: Only with permission of the author.
Author's Note: Takes place in Season 3 Episode 5 - "The Canary's Song". There's this amazing scene at the end of the episode, and I just had to take advantage of that, showing Gill's POV.

Gillian reached over and handed the latina yet another glass of whiskey. She didn't know how many it had been already. Not too many. There still was half a bottle to go, after all. And the night was still young.

"Thank you." Ria grabbed the glass without even looking at her. It took all of Gillian's willpower to keep her eyes on the glass instead of the beautiful woman who was comfortably spread over the couch. So she focused on her own glass, threw one leg over the other and tried to look calm and at ease, hoping she could fool the younger woman. The younger woman who obviously didn't know when to shut up.

"I'm not much of a whiskey-drinker, but this is smooth." Oh, she couldn't help it, the word *smooth* coming from the smaller woman's lips made hers dry as a desert. Licking her lips, she knew she just had to steal one glance. So she did. One glance, eyebrows raised, eyes wide open, trying to drink in the sexiness that was Ria Torres drinking whiskey. Oh Gods. She shouldn't have done that. The sight of the latina looking longingly into the glass was way too much for her. Or for her libido, at least. She tried to hide her excitement behind a deflection, saying the first thing that sprang to her mind.

"50 year-old malt." Staring into the glass hovering over her body, she knew she was lost. She had always known that she had a thing for Ria, but now... Why on earth had she agreed to have a drink? Why did she have to torture herself like this? Seeing the tan woman every single day was hard enough. Resisting the urge to touch her, resisting the urge to look at her all the time, that was the hard part. And sometimes she just couldn't resist. She'd touch Ria's back to get her attention, look at her when Cal was explaining something, study her features when she thought no one was looking... Ria's voice and the heartfelt sigh over a good drink brought her back to reality.

"You steal this from Lightman's stash?" Oh no. The latina was licking her lips. Did she do it on purpose or was it just a reflex, trying to savour the taste of the whiskey? She didn't know. But she knew that it made her knees go weak, that it made her smile in a way that could only mean one thing. She just had to hide it. So she turned away, wanting to pour herself another drink, partly hiding behind her ginger hair. And for a single moment she felt eyes upon her, hoping that maybe Ria had noticed that she had an unobstructed view into her cleavage. She smiled. Oh, how badly she wanted the younger woman to be her's, to give in, to... The thought made her elicit a sound that was one part affirmation, one part moan. When she started pouring her drink she could hear someone chuckling.

"You did!" In the corner of her eye she could see how Ria lifted her glass to a toast. But she didn't dare look at her, so she did the only other thing she could think of.

"Up yours!" When she lifted her newly filled glass to toast the empty room behind her, she became outright giddy at the sound of the latina's infectious laugh. She had done that. She had made her laugh. A silly smile spread all over her face and when she turned around, she could feel her face flush at the sight of the beautiful woman leaning over the armrest, laughing hard. She let herself fall back into the armchair, feeling the warmth that started spreading through her abdomen. Giggling along she couldn't help but admire the younger woman. Ria Torres seemed to be at ease with herself. Gillian herself felt exactly the opposite. She felt like an intruder in a world where she didn't belong. Her feelings where safely stored inside of her, and all her strength went into the task of hiding those feelings. Ria seemingly never noticed her strange behaviour, though. She just laughed that silvery laught that made Gillian smile even more.

"Alright!" Oh how she wished for the latina to utter that word in a different context. For example as an anwer to her deepest desires...

"You deserve it, though. You saved his ass today." The admiring look that the brunette sent her way was one she would keep for eternity. She would savour it and remember it and... maybe use it in desperate times, when her hands and needs got the better of her? Gillian's center started throbbing at the thought of that. It had been weeks already, and by now she desperately needed release. But not tonight. No. The looks she got from Torres, they were platonic, affectionate, maybe, but not romantic. Not in the least.

"It's a force of habit." Her voice betrayed her feelings. She could hear it. The sulking, the need for release, the lust *and* the resignation. It was all in there for the younger woman to read. She could see Ria's eyebrows twitching in what may be surprise or even a realisation... Which was it? Had the tanned brunette realised what she felt for her? Had she heard the underlying need for release? The...

"What makes this time any different?" There, a sigh. Did it belong to the statement about Cal or was it of an entirely different nature? Did Ria feel annoyed that Cal seemed to disregard Gillian's feelings a lot these days, or did it represent her dislike of the apparent nature of the redhead's fantasies? She couldn't tell. Normally, she could read a person's intentions, their feelings, their mood. Even just by listening to them. But Torres was different. She couldn't read her like Cal could. She knew looking at Ria might be a mistake in the long run, but on the other hand, if the latina had already picked up on her strange behaviour, she had to at least try and pretend she was on ease. And that included looking at your partner when conversing.

"Well, this time he actually noticed. You know, when I told him I got rid of the FBI once and for all, he said thank you." She felt Ria's glance burn into her, and so she started shifting, trying to get more comfortable, trying to escape the eyes of the natural next to her.

"He actually said that?" The latina seemed surprised. So maybe she had succeeded in making her think she was alright? Or maybe she just needed another drink. The heat between her legs was starting to make her weary, and she could feel a familiar wetness soaking her panties.

"Less talk, more drink."

TO BE CONTINUED.