Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in the television show "Lie to Me" and I won't pretend to.

Author's note: Alright everybody, this is the first chapter. :) Please review! Tell me how to make it better! :D

1. Emily

"You're my daughter, Emily, and having my share of experiences, I can't let you do whatever you want!" Cal explained in his defense against a wroth, stubborn teenage girl.

"You have to let me learn my own way sometimes too!" she yelled. With a frustrated growl, she stomped out of the front door and left behind an unhappy Dr. Lightman. He heard a car door slam as she got into her friend's car and the vehicle soon after sped off to Emily's school.

Cal sighed and shook his head, finding the maze of raising a teenage daughter rather difficult to navigate through. Zoe was out of town for the week and Emily was staying with him until the following Monday. When she asked him if she could go to a party that night—a Friday—that included alcohol, he had flatly refused. Of course, as any teenager, she tried to argue that she was underprivileged and that he should trust her. Oh, he trusted her, he just didn't trust the other kids at the party. He wasn't quite ready for the war that erupted in his kitchen that morning, and for once he felt bad for the people he'd interrogated in the past as Emily unleashed her almighty fury.

"At least she told the truth..." he tried to justify, thinking back to how she had honestly told him there would be alcohol at the event. Cal exhaled forlornly. "She's still probably going to that bloody party though..."

He grabbed his jacket as he left through the front door, locking it behind him and getting into his car. As he turned the engine on and backed out of his driveway, he made a mental note to call his daughter later in the day and somehow convince her from making a poor decision. Sure, he hadn't exactly been the most angelic of teenagers, but he still had the responsibility of teaching her right from wrong.

Before Cal got out of his car, he smoothed out the expression on his face as to avoid any unneeded inquiries about his personal life from Foster or any of his little cronies. Foster was the one most likely to notice abnormalities in his behavior, but he didn't worry much about Ria or Eli. Eli was much too frightened of how Cal would react if he poked his nose in his business and Ria would probably only talk to Eli about what she noticed, since she still felt a bit like the new kid on the block.

He pushed through the glass door to face a new day at The Lightman Group. Employees were already milling around, busy in whatever minor jobs the company had received.

"Hey, Cal!" Foster called as she walked towards him with a blue folder in hand. Her heels clicked against the polished floor as she practically flaunted off an ocean blue, knee-length dress. Obviously, it was new.

"Is that a new dress, love?" he inquired as he took the folder from her absentmindedly.

"O-oh, yes. I just got it last week." she answered proudly, holding her arms out a small distance from her body and looking at the outfit herself.

"It looks lovely on you." he mumbled, glancing up at her cheerful face. "Really suits you..." Cal gazed back at the folder, looking intently at the contents.

"This is the progress on the case you left Loker and Torres to work on." she explained, quickly getting over her flattered behavior. "They've actually just wrapped it up last night and they wanted me to let you know." Cal was careful in reviewing the case as to make sure nothing was missed. He trusted his team, but there was always a chance for screw-ups and that's just how Loker got himself into an unpaid internship in the first place.

At the end of his review, Dr. Lightman didn't even give a smile; he simply handed back the folder and replied:

"Looks fine." he muttered and started towards his office. "I'd like to see that dress more often!" Foster smiled as she watched him in his awkward saunter, although it gave him an air of authority.

The day was slow; there weren't any new, outstanding cases to demand his attention. He felt it was unusually slow activity for a place as large as D.C., but, even so, it was always nice to rest from the fact that everybody lied. Cal took advantage of the day to look over financial records, especially with the extremely low amount of cash in the company's pocket. Perhaps there would be something he could cut for the time being until the Lightman Group was back on steady financial feet. At around four in the afternoon, Cal stopped to call Emily, hoping to persuade her from going to that ridiculous party and getting into some sort of trouble. He pressed '2,' for speed dial on his cell and then pressed 'talk.' After several rings, when he was starting to fear she wouldn't answer, Emily's voice sounded on the other end.

"Hey, dad." she sighed irritably.

"'Ello, love." he greeted, strangely getting worried that this call wouldn't go over well. She was already in a bad mood and what he had to say wasn't going to suddenly make her happy. "I know you hate it, but I don't want you going to that party." he said gently in his lazy British accent, not wanting to scare her off the line.

"Ugh, you called just to tell me that?!" she shouted. Oops. Mission: complete failure; crash and burn; the whole works.

"I'm...concerned 'bout you going." he answered calmly. Sadly, he knew his call wasn't going to stop her and he couldn't help but remember when he found out she was going to frat parties behind his back.

"Dad, it's just a party! I'm not going to drink or do any drugs—"

"Drugs? There are going to be drugs?" he grilled. Okay, she was only half honest about the situation. "Emily, I'm not going to let you go to that party!" he yelled, his voice high pitched in anger. Then again, he wasn't home and she always found some way to get around.

"You are so frustrating!" she shrieked. Click. Cal looked at his phone as his eyes focused on the 'call ended' for a moment.

"Teenagers..." he muttered and cursed under his breath. Great. Now Emily was going to be at a party with alcohol and drugs. What more could he ask for? "I'm gonna kill her..." he snarled as he slid his phone back in his pocket.

Foster knocked on the open door as she peeked in.

"Everything okay? I thought I heard you yelling..." she inquired.

"No, everything's just lovely." he sighed, turning his back to her. Foster heard the hint of sarcasm in his voice, but knew when he didn't want her to pry.

"Okay...I'll just be in my office." she said quickly, trying to escape the thick air of anger that started to crawl its way around Cal's office. He heard the click click click of her heels fleeing rapidly back to her own office and let out another curse.

"She better come home sober or I will kill her." he promised himself. "I hate teenagers..." It wasn't actually true, but it was the right words for the moment and he took advantage of them immediately.

After cooling off a bit and looking back over the numbers, he went to Foster's office to discuss possible expenses that could be slashed from the long list of numbers. They had gone through this before, yet the more they saved the better and Gillian encouraged Lightman in his efforts. Even though he tried to focus on the task at hand, his mind still lingered on one thing:

The safety of his daughter.

Following his consultation with Gillian, Cal returned to his office to make a few calls and stop some of the cash streams flowing from the company's finances. "What a pathetically boring and frustrating day." he muttered to himself as he slammed the phone down for the last time. For some odd reason, the people on the other line found him to be disagreeable and he couldn't even fathom why.

Cal's brow furrowed as images of what horrible things Emily could be doing danced across his mind. He should've asked where the event was, just so he could break up the party and drag his stubborn daughter home. He would ground her as soon as he could, but the joint custody he shared with his ex-wife didn't quite ensure his sentence to be carried out. After all, it was Zoe who encouraged the teen to get birth control pills. Cal didn't like it...not one bit.

He tried Emily's cell again, although, as he painfully expected, she didn't answer. Stupid girl. Stupid party. Stupid teenage ideas. Lightman wished she was a toddler again, where when she was investigating something, she would simply put it in her mouth and gnaw on it. All he had to do then was make sure she didn't put anything dangerous in her mouth, or slobber on her hands and stick her finger in an electric socket. That was easy enough then. But when teenagers experimented, it was a lot different and more complicated. He couldn't just take the box of rat poison away from her. He let out a sigh and slumped into his chair, staring out into the cloudy night. It was ominous and thrust him deeper into his sour mood.

Cal stayed late, finding random activities to busy himself. He concluded by reading some of the reports from Torres and Loker that had been stacking up on his desk. Might as well get them off the already crowded surface; he had time. Everyone had left merely an hour previously, even Foster and the secretary, leaving Lightman alone in his office with darkness enveloping the rest of the facility. He wanted to find Emily, he wanted to do something, but no matter what way he looked at it...there wasn't anything he could do. His phone buzzed on his desk as he bored himself with another one of Loker's reports. The sudden call stopped the ongoing 'blah blah blah...' that had settled into his head and he was quick to answer it without even looking at the caller ID. Anything to get him away from this slow and excruciatingly tedious read.

"'Ello?" he mumbled, slapping the report on the desk.

"Dad?" voiced a familiar sound on the other end, which had a hint of a frantic tone. Cal sat up in his chair quickly, suddenly very serious. He'd been waiting for something like this to happen, but he hadn't exactly expected it.

"What is it, Emily?" he asked, concerned.

"Can you come pick me up?" she asked, sounding upset. "I'm at Sarah's house."

"Yeah, sure, love." he assured, not in the mood to chew her out now. "What happened?" He snatched his jacket and tugged it on as he switched the phone between his two hands appropriately. The keys on his desk, waiting patiently to be used again, were snatched up into his hand. He exited his office without bothering to shut the light off in his hurry.

"There was just some guys." she breathed, emotion at the edge of her voice. "They were just a little too drunk and a little too...stoned." Cal winced at the comment, unsure if he really wanted to know what happened next. "I just want to go home."

"Alright, love." he agreed. He stayed on the line and there was an uncomfortable silence between them. Cal was just out the elevator, stepping into the parking garage.

There was a hum of a vehicle and a screech of tires before Lightman really knew what was happening. Without having the chance to even glance behind him, the side door on the white van slid open and two men dressed in black grabbed him from behind. In the shock of the attack, Cal dropped his phone and his keys, nearly letting out a surprised yell until his mouth was muffled by a white cloth. His vision fuzzed and his strength immediately left him while his captors dragged him towards the van. Prior to being thrown into the vehicle, he blacked out entirely, leaving him completely helpless in the hands of these new found enemies. The van tires squealed as they escaped the scene, unnoticed by the surrounding residents.

"Hello?" Emily's voice rang out from the phone. "Dad? Hello?" She was practically hysterical now,

And for good reason.

Author's note: Please review! I beg of you! Critique it, praise it; just help me out here. :)