Make It Last
Summary: Cal/Gillian. Hints of Loker/Torres. When Cal finds out that the Lightman Group is being disbanded he must break it to his colleagues, but what does the change mean for him and Gillian? Oneshot. Written to commemorate Lie to Me Lives day.
Cal Lightman wore a grim, sober expression on his face as he ushered Gillian, Loker and Torres into his office. They didn't need to be experts in their field to know that something was wrong and that whatever Cal was about to tell them would not be good news.
Cal sat on the edge of his desk swinging his legs in an agitated, distracted manner whilst offering Foster his chair. Eli and Ria took the two seats opposite his desk, feeling a little like they had been sent to the Principal's office. Torres had disobeyed direct orders from Cal more than once in the past but, racking her brain, she couldn't think of a recent occasion when she had defied him.
"Stop lookin' so guilty, Torres. You haven't done anything wrong." Lowering his voice to a mutter, he added. "Not in my book, anyway."
Ria exchanged a glance with Gillian, who simply shrugged but the younger woman was sure that she knew more than she was letting on; her face confirmed as much. She looked across at Loker and noticed confusion and a hint of fear etched onto his face. She wished Cal would hurry up and drop the bomb that was already weighing down on them.
Before he broke the tense silence in the room, Cal look at Gillian and there was a mutual sadness in their eyes.
"I'm afraid and sat to tell you that our little group is being disbanded. The big wigs at the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have effectively bought us out and will be reassigning us to other projects. Of course, it's a money issue and they want to bring in another new initiative. It probably won't last either...but what the big man wants..." He tailed off, looking at their faces.
Eli and Ria wore similar looks of disappointment and despondence as he had when he'd been informed of the changes. He had already seen Gillian prior to the meeting but sadness still showed on her face and in her eyes. Now that Cal had made the announcement it was all too real and inescapable. The Lightman Group had become a second home for them all and it would be hard to say goodbye. It wasn't just the four of them either, the receptionists, administrative workers and janitorial staff would all be effected. They had been guaranteed job security but Cal knew that this was just something to placate them before new initiatives and regimes were introduced.
"How can they do this?" Ria asked, reeling from it, her question rhetorical.
"What will they have us doing?" Loker asked, with concern. Cal sighed, picking up a sheet of paper from his desk.
"Torres will be assisting the anti-terrorism unit and you, Loker, will be assigned to the FBI's Behaviour Analysis Unit." He read out.
Neither Eli or Ria spoke. The job offers sounded fine, good even, but it would be a big change, especially coming out of the blue like this. It would certainly take some readjusting.
"We'll all still be in the same area though." Gillian said, crossing her legs and concentrating on straightening her skirt. It didn't take an expert to know it was a diversionary tactic to hide the fact that she was close to tears.
"You're free to go." Cal said, crumpling the piece of paper in a representation of his feelings about the whole situation.
"Doesn't seem like we have much choice in the matter." Eli muttered, choosing an alternative interpretation of Cal's words.
Rather than admonishing him like usual, Cal's look showed both sympathy and understanding. Eli found it a little disconcerting, the day feeling like some kind of twisted dream but Ria's hand on his elbow as they left Cal's office was all too real. He would miss her, he realised, he would miss her a lot.
"Could've gone worse." Cal observed after Loker and Torres had left and closed the door after them.
Gillian made a noise of agreement but didn't speak. Sensing rather than reading her, Cal climbed off the desk and went to kneel in front of where she was sitting.
"Hey," He said, cupping her face and tilting her chin so that she had no choice but to meet his eyes. He saw tears shining there and he felt both angry and protective as one drop made its journey down Gillian's cheek. He wiped it away with the pad of his thumb. "Please don't cry Gill, it's all going to be okay." If she noticed the lie, she didn't call him on it. "I thought you would be glad to work with people who couldn't tell if you were pissed off with them or if you'd got shagged the night before, with just one glance."
Gillian cracked a smile at this. "That's only because you've been the one doing the 'shagging'."
Cal laughed, and it felt good after the draining process of learning the Lightman Group's fate and breaking it to his colleagues. Gillian's smile vanished though, as quickly as it had appeared it was gone.
"What about us, Cal? Does this change what we have?"
Cal shook his head, helping her up her feet. "No, luv, you're stuck with me." He wrapped his arms around her, breathing in the scent of her hair. "No prick in a fancy suit in his big executive office is ever going to get between you and me." He assured her, feeling her arms go around him too.
No, what they had was special and it would last, regardless of the challenge or adversary in their path.