Disclaimer: Don't own
Author's notes: Spoilers for episode 10 so be careful if you haven't seen this one yet. It's sort of the aftermath of what happened at the end of the episode.
Zoe rubbed her forehead and bit her lip as Cal stared at her with a smirk on his lips before he closed his eyes and rested his head back on the pillow. He was sure she could handle it, after all, he did marry her for a reason so many years ago. Seeing her ex-husband sleep on her bed, Zoe saw no other reason than to tell Emily the truth, or just claim that she was both tired and emotionally drained from the last case that she was going to bed early.
The last one was going to be easier to pull off and less hurtful to Emily (although she was sure her daughter would jump up and dance around in joy when she heard that her parents had slept together that night). Her eyes shot to Cal and she couldn't help but smile when she saw he was sleeping peacefully. For those last few nights she had shared with him so long ago, he hadn't been sleeping peacefully like this and it had only made her feel worse for herself; but seeing him now made her feel a bit better, knowing that arguments alone wasn't enough to make their marriage work. Even if Cal claimed it was sometimes the best thing about the whole marriage except the birth of Emily.
She fixed her hair and managed to make her look as presentable as possible before she walked out of her bedroom and went on her search for Emily, who was already up in her room with a bag of chips next to her and a can of Dr. Pepper to fit with it. Zoe had to shake her head at her daughter's unhealthy appetite but considering it was already around 11 pm and neither women had the energy to cook, Zoe just accepted her daughter's choice in food.
"How was it at Katie's?" she smiled and ruffled her daughter's hair who protested against it but then in the end just took another potato chip and ate it.
"Good, I guess," Emily shrugged, "Katie's mom was sick so we had to be 'quiet' and all that."
"Well she works very hard."
"So do you and you never get sick, same with dad."
"That's because we're made of awesome, now it's late and you need sleep young lady. You should be glad you could stay up this late already."
Emily nodded and threw away the, now empty, bag of potato chips before taking a big gulp from her soda and then giving her mom a kiss on the cheek. Zoe was literally pushed out of her daughters room with the words 'talk to you tomorrow, goodnight, love you' and then had the door slammed shut behind her. She grinned at her daughter's antics and made her way towards her own bedroom instead of pressing into matters right now. She was tired and Roger wasn't coming home tonight anyway so there wasn't really a reason to wake Cal up so he could sneak out quickly now.
Quickly discarding of her clothing, Zoe crawled in the bed next to her ex-husband (who had shifted so he was at least lying at the head of the bed with his pillow). She couldn't help but crawl closer to him and rest her head on his shoulder and smile when he shifted in his sleep so he was holding her close.
It just felt like it was before all the arguments; back when they were so young and in love and just married. She missed that time most of all but then again; she had to admit that the arguments were a pretty good reason for some make-up sex most of the time when they were still married. But neither of them was ever going to admit that. Looking up from her spot on his shoulder, Zoe couldn't resist putting a small peck on Cal's lips, feeling his scrub scratch her skin softly as he kissed her back.
"Didn't know you were still awake."
Cal only grunted in response and laid his head back down on the pillow. One thing Zoe remembered from the old days was that Cal hated to be woken up when he was just sleeping and she had used this a lot just to tease him or just to annoy him. She couldn't help the fact that he was such a light sleeper that he woke up because of a simple peck sometimes. Zoe smiled tiredly and yawned before she cuddled closer to her naked ex-husband and soon fell asleep in his arms, remembering the times when she could do this without feeling guilty. For a moment, her mind went to Roger and their engagement but it was soon forgotten when Cal sighed in his sleep and muttered something.
Somehow, no matter how exhausted she was, her mind just wouldn't let her rest up but instead made her remember all the good times she had with Cal before the arguments and the divorce. She remembered going on vacations with him and Emily, back when they were a couple that was deeply in love. Going to the pool with Emily, teaching her to swim, watching Cal teach her how to ride her new pink bike and then chase her down the street when she managed to escape him. It was all so long ago and she honestly missed those moments, more often than once wishing she could go back to them.
"Go to sleep," Cal moaned in his sleep as he shifted so she was closer to him and opened his eyes briefly to watch her.
"Says the man who wakes up."
"Hey I ain't the one sighing here every 5 seconds."
"Well I can't help it that my mind is restless."
"Calm it down then, people are trying to sleep here."
"I would if these memories would stop plaguing it then."
"Then tell them you're busy sleeping and they should come back tomorrow."
"Cal Lightman, you are not making any sense at all."
"You're the one that married me," Cal grunted and nuzzled his face in her neck, tickling her softly with his 3-day old beard.
"And divorced you if you have forgotten this already."
"And now we're together in bed. Naked. What does that tell you?"
"You're the one who decided to drive me home and ended up kissing me in the car before I got out."
"Don't complain, you kissed back."
"What can I say? I have a fetish for men who wear the same shirt for a month long."
Emily didn't like waking up in the mornings. Thank god it was the start of her one week vacation and she could sleep out but that didn't help the fact that she still had to get out of the warm comfy bed. Sighing, Emily turned around again and cuddled her blankets, thank god she was on the back of the house with her room so the sun didn't wake her up in the mornings, unlike her mother who woke up with the rise of the when she heard her alarm clock go automatically on radio, Emily covered her head under her blanket and tired to block out the sound of the cheery news reporter.
She really hated the fact that her alarm clock did that automatically around 8.30 am. Usually it didn't wake her up but sometimes they decided to play the music really loud at the radio station it was programmed on that it couldn't help but make her jump up in shock to find out where the noise came from. Deciding it wasn't worth laying there listening to the voice of the cheery reporter, Emily just threw the blankets of her body and made her way to her own bathroom; a luxury that she had in both the house of her mother and father that she really adored.
Sundays were usually celebrated by her mom cooking pancakes in the morning and then just went on with them both laying on the couch watching old movies together and telling each other little trivia about what happened that week or about the movie. Emily did always look out for that day of the week, because then it felt like she was talking to her mom like she did back in the day when she was young and they had Cal make the pancakes instead while they gossiped and chatted on the couch. God she missed that time, waking up next to her father sometimes because he had put her to bed after she fell asleep in front of the TV and then fell asleep next to her himself.
Yawning even after the half hour long shower she took, Emily rubbed her eyes as she walked down the familiar stairs without falling down (for once; she was a very clumsy girl after all). The sound of her mother preparing breakfast reached her ears faster than her feet brought her to the ground floor and soon she came running in the kitchen, wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and hugged her good morning.
"Well aren't you cheery today?" Zoe laughed as she kissed the top of her daughter's head and then forced her to sit down at the island in the middle of the kitchen for breakfast.
"It's Sunday."
"That explains a lot then," Zoe bit back a grin at the familiarity of their Sunday ritual that they had managed to keep even through and after the divorce.
Emily grinned at her mom and jumped off her stool to start setting the breakfast table with all necessities for their pancakes. Her mom preferred syrup, she preferred chocolate sauce and her father just went for both which disgusted her mother more than it did Emily.
"So how's dad? I mean, after that case of you," she placed the plates on the table and then walked up to the fridge.
"I'm good, how are you luv?" Emily then looked with wide eyes at Cal who walked in the kitchen in his boxers and his shirt open so she could see his bare chest. She certainly hadn't expected that when she woke up this morning.
Cal yawned widely and scratched his hair before he grabbed the cup of coffee Zoe handed him and took a sip from it. Emily couldn't help but stare at her parents with a shocked expression on her face before she was shaken out of her reverie by her father kissing the top of her head to give her a silent good morning like he always did. She grinned brightly at the sight of her parents actually acting like back when she was younger and quickly put another plate on the table before giving her father a kiss on the cheek and then hugging him tightly. Zoe grinned at the sight
"You both know I hate being the bringer of bad news but, Roger is going to come home any minute now mom."
"Shi-"
Just when Emily had said it, Roger entered the house yelling loudly 'honey I'm home' so the whole house heard it. Cal's eyes widened before he bit his lip and shook his head at Zoe who looked apologetic at him and then yelled back they were in the kitchen.
"Zoe?" Cal grimaced.
"Yes Cal?"
Instead of saying anything, he just pointed to the fact that he was standing in the kitchen with only his boxers on and his shirt completely open. Zoe's eyes widened as she noticed what Cal was trying to say but before they both could do something, Roger entered the room and grinned brightly at Zoe and gave her a kiss on the lips. Emily rolled her eyes and coated her pancakes in more syrup, trying to look as invisible as possible. This was going to be quite a showdown. It wasn't hard to see what her mother and father had done the night before, the fact that he was there in the first place in only his boxers and shirt was enough to point it all out to Emily. They didn't really give her the credit she deserved did they?
"Hello Cal."
"Hi Roger," Cal grinned and shook the man's hand before he grabbed the plate of pancakes Zoe handed him and thanked her. He sat down next to Emily and grinned up at Roger who looked disgusted for a moment when he added both syrup and chocolate to the pancakes before he ate them.
"Any reason why you're here?"
"Uhm," Cal frowned and pursed his lips together and thought, except the fact that I slept with my ex-wife and your fiancée, not really,"Case closings, better get it done as early as possible."
"You always do that in your boxers and shirt?"
"Well you know, it's always fun to piss you off and-"
"-save it Cal, I don't want to hear it."
Cal shrugged in acceptance and took a bite from his pancakes, grinning happily at his ex-wife who was looking rather worried between the two men in her life right now. She had enjoyed the night with Cal, she had to admit that, but then again, Roger really did love her and she loved him back so she was a bit torn right now. Although Cal knew that she was going to choose for Roger anyway, he did enjoy putting the man on the spot as it seemed.
"Calm down you two, Roger, do you want pancakes?" Zoe acted like this was just an every day situation and then added the latest pancake to the stack next to her. She smiled at him sweetly, silently assuring him that there was nothing wrong.
"No, I'm going to go take a shower," Roger frowned and looked suspicious at Cal who was now chatting happily with his daughter about some recent movie that had appeared in theaters.
Zoe nodded and gave him a peck on the lips before she turned back to preparing breakfast, Roger on the other hand stayed rooted on the spot for a minute or so longer, looking between his fiancée and her ex-husband before he was sure that there wasn't something going on behind his back. Only when he was completely assured that there was nothing to worry about, he left for the bathroom upstairs to get that shower he had mentioned.
"That...was close," Emily sighed and gave her empty plate to her mom so she could get more pancakes. Zoe nodded worried and then looked at the empty hallway (or at least, what she could see of it from her spot in the kitchen).
"Say, do I have something on my face?"
"Not really, why?" Zoe frowned, looking closely at her ex-husband's face to find something that was wrong with it but from what she could see, there was nothing wrong with it. His green eyes still shone as brightly as they always had and his lips were slightly pursed together as he was slightly worried.
"Roger shot a look of disgust at me, also fear but that's probably because of my clear masculinity so we'll ignore that one."
"Oh yes, because you're the perfect example how a guy should be dad," Emily rolled her eyes and stared at her father who glared at her down.
"Anyway, I should probably uhm-"
"-get your clothes and go home?" Zoe finished, raising an eyebrow amused.
"Preferably before Gillian finds out and kills me on the spot," Cal sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"To be honest, I think that would be justified..." Zoe admitted, looking apologetic to Cal who directed his earlier glare to his ex-wife now instead of his daughter who was grinning at her parents bickering back and forth again.
"Shut up."
