Cal Lightman woke when he heard the front door closing. His eyes were bleary. He'd been staring at his laptop screen for about two hours before he'd succumbed to sleep. This was the third night in a row that he'd sat up late willing himself to write. He knew in the mornings that he looked like shit. He could see Gillian and Ria and Eli glance at him every day wondering what he'd been doing to look so rough. The fact was he simply couldn't get a handle on this latest book. Every time he tried to write he found some reason why he shouldn't say that here or there or anywhere except in his head where no one else was listening.

He'd fallen asleep shortly after 9 so he was surprised, when looking at his clock, to find that it was 12:15. He stood up and walked out into the hallway where he just caught Emily starting up the stairs to her room. He grimaced.

"And what time do you call this?" Emily didn't look at him, simply stared straight up the stairs.

"Sorry Dad, the concert ran late and the traffic was bad." Cal raised an eyebrow. She still didn't look at him. He noticed her holding her arms around her front, hugging herself where she stood. His frown deepened as he took in her words.

"It's 12:15 Em! It didn't run that late and the traffic couldn't have been that bad!" Emily still refused to look at him.

"We stopped in McDonalds. Rick was hungry. I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Or I'll call if I'm going to be late." Cal's mouth opened now. Something was definitely wrong here. She wasn't arguing with his smothering, she wasn't tying to antagonise him. If he didn't know better he'd say she was a victim of shellshock.

"Are you alright love?" This time she looked at him and he could see the bags under her eyes, the red rims where it wouldn't take a genius to know she'd been cying. Instinctively he took a step forward around to the stairs. He caught her shoulder to turn her but was shocked when she flinched and stepped out of his grasp. She turned around to face him. He looked up at her, worry crinkling across his face.

"Em?"

"Rick and I had a fight, that's all. I'm ok. I just, want to go to bed." Cal watched her face carefully. The first and third statements were true. His heart sank as he realised the second one wasn't. He took a step up the stairs and caught her shoulders but she stepped out of his reach again, flinching. Cal swallowed hard.

"Did he hurt you? Did he lay a finger on you?" His voice was rising, he knew that but Emily was shaking her head.

"No Dad, everything's fine. I'm just tired. I'm going to bed ok? Goodnight." With that she turned and bolted upstairs leaving Cal standing worried on the stairs. The gentle clicking of her room door stirred him from his reverie. He shook his head. There was no way she was 'fine'. And there was no way he was leaving her alone until he found out what was wrong.

OXOXOXO

This story is probably going to be quite dark. Well, at the start anyway. Much darker than anything else I've done I would say. Watch this space.