Leave the Light On
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Lie to Me…
Hot chocolate, a roaring fire, and falling snow were three things Gillian Foster loved about winter and at the moment, she had all three. Sitting by the fire, mug in hand, Gillian watched the snow fall outside, knowing that the skiing on Elk Mountain would be wonderful in the morning. She could think of nothing better than speeding down a hill of fresh powder to clear her head.
"You look comfortable."
Gillian looked up and smiled at Ben Reynolds. "I am. How was dinner?"
Ben sat down beside her on the hearth. "Well, if Loker and Ria weren't chewing, they were arguing, so it was pretty interesting. You've got quite the merry band there at The Lightman Group."
Gillian laughed and put her hand on his shoulder. "You're one of us too, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess I am," he replied. "How'd it go with the DA?
"Whitlock's being charged with 2nd degree murder and a dozen other charges," she replied, her voice turning to business mode. "He knew there would be people on the slopes when he triggered those avalanches. "
Ben thought back to three days ago when they'd been hired by the lodge to find out if any of it's employees had been responsible for a slate of man-made avalanches on it's slopes. Bobby Whitlock had been one of the resort's ski instructors and an environmental crusader hell bent on saving the remaining wilderness that on the mountain instead of making way for new slopes. With the help from the team, Cal and Gillian had been able to prove he was the murderer in their midst. Damon Price, the owner of the resort had been very grateful and had insisted they stay for a few days and enjoy themselves. Since they'd been working almost around the clock lately, Gillian had convinced Cal to give them all a few days off.
"Where's Lightman?" Ben asked, watching shadows fall over Gillian's bright eyes.
"Uh, not sure, after we had dinner he said he had something to do, and I went in search of hot chocolate and some place warm," Gillian answered, looking around the large lobby to see if her partner was lurking about anywhere.
"He's probably outside making snow angels," Ben joked.
Gillian couldn't help but laugh at the mental picture of Cal Lightman lying in the snow flailing about making snow angels.
"Hey, anything is possible. I never thought I'd see Gillian Foster dancing on the…"
Gillian clamped her hand over Ben's mouth. "What happens in Vegas…" she warned playfully, letting her hand fall from his mouth.
She pointed her finger at him. "You promised."
Ben made an x over his heart and nodded. "I'll never mention Vegas again."
"That will be fine with me," she said, taking a drink of the now lukewarm chocolate and wishing it was something stronger.
They sat in silence for a moment, watching the fire and the snow before Gillian finally said, "Did he ever ask?"
"No," Ben said almost sadly.
Gillian nodded and took another sip of the chocolate. It had been almost three months since she, Reynolds, and Lightman had returned from Las Vegas. None of them had said much about it. Cal had returned to DC and life as they'd known it had resumed. About the only thing that had changed was her friendship with Ben. He'd been there for her in Vegas and he continued to be someone she could count on.
Gillian looked up and smiled widely at Ben. "You ski?"
Ben started shaking his head, "Nah, nah, nah."
"Come on," she said. "It'll be fun…you showed me Vegas..let me teach you how to ski."
Gillian cocked her head to the side and gave him the biggest 'you know you want to' smile she could muster.
"Fine, but if I fall and break something, you're taking care of me," Ben said.
"Deal," she said, happily standing up. "I think I'll go on up to bed. See you in the morning about 9?"
"I'll be here," he said, hoping he did not live to regret skiing, better yet, just hoping he lived.
Gillian laughed and bent down to give him a kiss on the cheek, straightening up just in time to see Cal come up beside them.
"Anybody feel like a nightcap?" Cal offered, ignoring the scene he'd walked up on. He looked between the two, reading the situation; friendship, maybe more, especially on Ben's part.
"I'm just about to head up to bed," Gillian said, watching Cal's uneasiness. "Big day tomorrow."
Ben and Gillian shared a smile.
"Ok, what's the secret handshake that'll let me in on the joke?" Cal said impatiently.
"Not a joke, " Gillian said, an amusement in her voice. "Ben's never been skiing, so I offered to teach him."
"Yeah, well, good luck with that," Cal said, slapping Ben on the back. "Thin sticks, slippery ice, a bloody accident waitn' to happen."
"Yeah, that's why I took out an insurance policy," Ben joked, glancing at Gillian.
Cal looked confused, leaving it to Gillian to explain, "I promised I'd nurse him back to health if he broke anything."
A momentary image of Gillian in a short nurse's uniform tending to Ben's every whim flashed through his mind. Cal looked to Gillian, "Don't tell him that, he'll be breakin' somethin' on purpose."
They all laughed and Gillian finally excused herself to her room. Cal looked at Ben and put an arm around his shoulder. "Let's go get a drink."