A/N: Yet another author jumping on the season finale. However, I do hope to offer a bit different of a story. My story focuses on the scene at the beginning of the episode with Gillian and Ria and Loker. I don't know why but something about it inspired me and this came out of it. I think I may have read a bit too much into it and taken some stuff too far than it may have been intended but -shrugs- this is what I have to give. I really have no idea how I feel about the end result so please let me know.
Disclaimer: I do not own Lie to Me
Loyalty
Gillian looked at them, shocked at what they were saying, their attitudes. Was this really happening? The stares she got in response seemed to support that. She felt a surprising amount of betrayal, something she worked very hard to hide with a practiced motion. She was used to hiding that particular feeling recently, with the way Cal had been acting, but from Ria and Eli… That was new.
Part of her told her that she shouldn't be surprised; people were always doing that, betraying her. Or perhaps she was simply blowing this out of proportion. Or maybe they misunderstood some things. She thought they would support her. That they would see (especially Ria) what she was trying to hide, her worry for Claire, but all they do is throw her own words back in her face – words they have never respected before.
She realized at that moment that they didn't work for her. They worked for Cal who worked with her. How had she missed this? They were aware she was the boss, but they don't respect her as one. Not that they think of her as beneath them or anything like that or even as as equal. She seems to be separate to them. She had thought they would treat this the way they dealt with the cases Cal picked up whenever he felt like it, but apparently she can't ask them to do things they don't particularly want to do.
While Ria is right in that she often tells Cal not to use the office for personal favors, with him it is more on principle because if she didn't then he would abuse the company instead of merely using it. It's similar to how everyone drives five to ten miles over the speed limit, but if you raised it then people would simply drive ten miles over that. Ria sees and therefore she thinks she knows—experience is only just beginning to teach her that just because you know the what, doesn't mean you know the why.
Besides, Gillian tries very hard to leave her personal life, personal—unlike Cal. She guards it. But now, in order to better protect Claire, she needs to bring it into work. It's not a very big deal, but still a new scenario, because for once that will help, they can help, but it's as if she's walking briskly and they're dragging their feet. She suddenly struck with the thought that if she were Cal they would be tripping over themselves to keep up.
For any number of reasons. To impress him. To prove themselves, to him and each other and themselves. To gain his approval. To learn from the master. She knows they wouldn't even try, really try, that is, to stop him. Sure, they might mention she'd disapprove or that it wasn't right or even a good idea, but he'd just wave it off and tell them to shut it so they would.
She knows she's subtler than him and that she asked nicely, but as deception experts in training, or even just intelligent people, they should've recognized the order when they heard it (stop pushing, okay").
She also knows that if he told them something about the person, that contradicted their theory, if he told them they were wrong, they might be skeptical, but they would listen to him. Just as they might assume he saw something they missed, they should know that her strength lay in knowing people. And while they might suspect that she was too close to this, they should at least pretend to run with what she was saying, if only for her sake. But they refused to even humor her.
She decides she needs to spend more time with them, equalize their training. Cal was fine with the what—she was good with the why—along with dealing with clients and looking at the big picture. Ria was a bit better at that type of thing than Eli, but both still had a ton to learn. Cal was clearly teaching them things, important things, don't get her wrong. Still, he was only half of the equation.
She had thought they at least cared for her in some way, as friends, but she seemed to be wrong about that. They wouldn't even do this for her—yes, Cal had his claws in them, making them more loyal to him. But they were acting the opposite of what he would want by defying her, judging her, something they had no right to do.
Both clearly thought that she was using the company—and she was in a way, but they all did that, it was one of the perks of working here. And they seemed to think they knew her while acting like they didn't. They hadn't truly tried. They thought she was getting involved where she shouldn't (something Cal did all the time) and that she was too close. That she was naïve in regards to Claire, that Claire could be at fault here, too, that she was naïve of people's baser natures like Cal often thought and said. But unlike him—who knew that under it all, despite how he teased her, she did know the way of the world—they were once again taking things at face value, breaking the "don't judge a book by its cover" rule which their jobs seemed to have mistakenly led them to believe was untrue.
They thought she was being a hypocrite because of what she always told Cal, and were missing the fact that they themselves were being hypocritical. She was in a small way, but only against her words—not of how she really thought or felt—something Cal knew because of the way they communicated, as much nonverbally as verbally. Ria and Eli seemed to only be aware of the surface interactions of both.
She knew they were aware there was a deeper layer to her and Cal's relationship that they couldn't grasp or comprehend, but they never applied it—it was a separate element in their minds. They couldn't view things like that: everything was connected, this job should have at least taught them so.
It reminds her of when someone is angry with another and yells "why did you do that!" without even considering their own question. Why? Think, there must be a reason, but people don't seem to see that; that was why she seemed to lack a strong temper, because she thought situations through instead of yelling "what were you thinking?" She considers her own questions first—people don't act with reasons.
Eli tried to placate her (we're on your side, Foster"), but she can see that they don't even really know what that means because their actions contradict that by pushing her. And then Ria tries to throw what Cal said in her face. Gillian acknowledged his point and regardless—everyone always hides something. They'll figure it out in the end.
This fixation on her part in everything is detracting from their observations on the case. They are missing obvious clues. For example, even the picture showed Claire hadn't picked a side—she was next to Zach yet behind with Kyle. Eli should know not to believe the papers—she was telling him that he was wrong and he was completely ignoring her, sharing looks with Ria.
She already had Cal's opinion and if she wanted more or it, she'd ask him or if she wanted it repeated back at her she would buy a voice recorder. She asked for their input because the more outside opinions the better in most cases. She had wanted them to keep an open mind and share their opinions, but she could see they hadn't and that they couldn't. They just kept questioning the validity of the case. This was an exercise in futility. Although, it did result in some startling realizations in regards to those two. They were ganging up on her.
She needed to do something to prevent this from happening. Aside from the fact that this might affect other cases, it was affecting this one. She needed to figure this one out so she could protect Claire. She believed she could get what Claire was hiding out of her as long as she had the time. Meanwhile, she needed these two to gather information on the rest of the situation, but she couldn't trust them to do so with the way they were acting at the moment. She needed to resolve this matter, and quickly.
She stared at them before making a decision. Her eyes hardened. "Listen to me." Her voice was stern and full of authority and both instinctively straightened, something in her nodded with approval. "This is personal, but it's also work. However, that is irrelevant. You have no right to tell me what I tell Cal. Cal and I have an understanding which neither of you can comprehend. Cal is on board with me, with us, taking this case, but that should also be irrelevant. I am just as much in charge as he is and you shall treat me as such.
"I have specific insight into this case and you need to act accordingly. For instance, I know Claire better than the papers do and therefore you may take my word over theirs, the media always get some facts, if not all, wrong anyway. If I wanted Cal's opinion, something I already have, I would ask him myself. I want you to look over all this again and come back to me with some original information. This is fine preliminary work, but it is trivial at best. Find out more information on the three's relationships. Talk to people. Treat this like a normal case or one of Cal's cases.
"You need to get over yourselves. You don't have the right to make the call on what cases we take. Only Cal and I do, as we are the partners in charge. Besides, Cal isn't the only expert here. In fact, he willingly admits I am better at voice reading, along with emotions behind expressions, not to mention the business aspect. I also have more experience than both of you put together regarding finding lies or hidden truths. One example would be that I figured out you two slept together before Cal did. Now, show me the respect I deserve." And with that she stalked out of the room, heels clicking sharply.
Ria and Eli were left thoroughly shaken, surprised and embarrassed. Clearly, she was right on many fronts, they had been acting inappropriately. This was a side of her they had never seen: cold, calm, angry and authoritative. Perhaps they didn't know her as well as they thought they did.
A/N: There you have it. Please review and tell me what you think, even if you hated it. I have an idea for a write-up of another scene from the episode and the more reviews I get the faster that will go up. All I'll say is that it isn't the last scene because I think everyone else, including the writers of the show, is handling that nicely. Thanks for reading. Review!