Hey guys. I so enjoy reading your Lie to Me fanfics! Love to write but never tried a fan fic before! So, let me know what you think! I have this story almost completely written so if you guys like it, I'll keep posting. I hate getting hooked on a story and then never seeing it updated!

Don't own Lie To Me...if I did, it would still be on the air!

CHAPTER ONE

Cal Lightman ran at full speed through the glistening hospital hallway, the echo of his shoes bouncing off the impossibly white walls. Slamming his body into the emergency room receiving desk, he let out the breath that he had been holding from the parking lot.

"Emily Lightman…she was just brought in, " Cal wheezed.

The matronly receptionist looked up at him, her glasses perched on her nose. "Have a seat sir, the doctor will be with you shortly."

Cal wanted to leap over the desk and throttle the receptionist. "Sod the doctor, just tell me where she is." Cal was a powder keg waiting to explode. The call that had come in from the hospital that his only daughter had been brought by ambulance to the emergency room, the victim of a home invasion, had made his stomach drop into his shoes. He remembered pulling the phone away from his ear, staring at it in disbelief. Was this some kind of sick joke? Joke or not, here he was…the daggers being thrown at him by the receptionist reminding him that he was now completely at the mercy of the hospital staff.

Sitting in the nearest chair, he dropped his head into his hands. What the hell had happened? He remembered Emily bouncing into his office, excited about her shopping trip with Gillian. Emily and his business partner had grown close over the last few months and Gillian had promised Emily that she would help the girl pick out some appropriate clothes for a new Freshman at Berkeley. Emily's first semester at the California school started next month.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he dialed Gillian's number. More than anyone else, Cal needed his best friend here with him now. After 3 rings, her phone went to voice mail. Checking his watch, he noted that it was nearing midnight. Perhaps she had gone to bed. The thought occurred to him that he should probably call his ex wife, Zoe. He quickly pushed that idea aside until he could give her more information. Zoe was like a pit bull when it came to their daughter. No, it would be better to wait until he had some answers.

"Dr. Lightman?"

Cal leapt to his feet. "Emily…where's my daughter?"

The doctor was a tall, thin man, his face deeply lined as if he had spent one too many sleepless nights on the job. "Please sit."

Cal found himself searching the doctor's face, hoping a small micro expression would give him a clue as to his daughter's status. The haggard face gave nothing away.

"Your daughter was the victim of what appears to be a home invasion. Given the nature of the attack and from what I'm told, the state of your house, she is doing surprisingly well." There was no deception in "Dr. Waite's" face and Cal felt himself tremble with relief.

The physician continued, "She took a pretty good knock to the head and she has a bruise on her cheek and a cut on her arm that needs stitches. We'd like to keep her tonight for observation, but if we don't see any signs of a head injury by tomorrow, she should be able to go home."

Cal hopped up. "Where is she? Can I see her?"

Dr. Waite nodded towards the first closed door. She's right inside there. You can go see her if you would like but I have to warn you, Emily hasn't said a word to anyone since she arrived. She's in shock and she may need some time. Don't be alarmed."

She looked so small. His beloved daughter was perched on the edge of the hospital bed, a flimsy gown covering her thin body. A bandage covered her left arm and an angry bruise was growing on her left cheek. Emily Lightman was staring at the floor while the nurse continued to fiddle with her IV. "We can take this out in a few hours Emily." Emily barely raised her eyes to acknowledge what the nurse had just told her.

Passing by Cal, the nurse placed a hand on his arm. "Give her some time. She's going to be okay." Cal nodded and made his way over to his daughter, a hundred images of tea parties, frilly dresses, and ballet classes flooded his mind. Despite the fact that she was practically a grown woman now, Cal couldn't help at this moment to see her as a helpless little girl.

"Hey Em." Cal softly grasped Emily's hands that were twisting frantically in her lap. "I'm here love. Everything is going to be okay now."

Emily continued to stare at her lap. Cal lifted her chin so he could look into her face and what he saw there filled him with despair. Fear, pain and most of all, grief, were written all over her features. Taking her into his arms, Cal ran his hands through her hair, muttering soothing words and endless "I love you's" until he felt Emily start to tremble. Her slight shaking finally turned into gut-wrenching sobs that rocked her whole body.

How long Cal held her, he didn't know. Time seemed to stop as Emily's sobs turned into quiet whimpers and finally soft hiccups. Tilting her head again to look at him, Cal kissed the top of her forehead. "Can you tell me what happened love?"

Emily stared at a spot on the wall just over her father's right shoulder. For several seconds Cal could see her inner turmoil as she tried to re-tell the story to him. Finally, in a tortured croak, she spoke. "He killed her."

Cal grasped her shoulders, confused. "Wait, who is her? Em, what are you talking about?"

Tears began to pour again from the girl's swollen eyes. "Gil," she said in barely a whisper. "He killed Gillian, dad."