A/N: Set during the Christmas party. Just a little scene between Cal and Gillian.

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"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..."

She closed her eyes, suddenly forgetting that she had been in the middle of a conversation with...whomever, right now, all she could think about was cinnamon and bells and the pine-y smell of a Christmas tree and her mum telling her that Santa would be here soon. Shutting out the surrounding chatter, she could almost...almost...hear the sound of her dad's voice reading her the story of 'Twas a Night Before Christmas'. She wondered if she still knew it off by heart.

Gillian had always loved Christmas. It was the one time of the year that she had experienced true happiness, everything always seemed to be okay on that one day, on that one night when she had waited in bewildered excitement for the man to come out of the sky in a sleigh...with eight tiny reindeer.

Her excitement at Christmas had become a source of amusement for her friends in school, in college, an almost imperceptible annoyance. She could never understand how they hadn't shared in her awe of the magical nature of the holiday, how they hadn't wanted to understand her continued belief in the existence of Santa. She wasn't crazy, it was just that the idea that one person could provide so much happiness had always melted her heart.

The corner of her mouth lifted in amusement at the memory of her friend's faces when she had dutifully and with childish excitement given each of them a card on the 1st day of December, making each of them promise that they would display her card prominently within their rooms.

Even now, closing the gap on her mid-forties, she still experienced a bubble of excitement at the thought of waking up on Christmas morning to the anticipation of the presents that would hopefully be sitting under her tree.

Her first Christmas as a newly-divorced woman and she had done everything within her power to ensure that she would experience that same sense of wonderment that she had experienced as a child. Others would think she was crazy; she knew that she was only trying to survive.

Looking around, she realised that Cal was missing from the slowly diminishing crowd of their work colleagues. Moving slowly away from the small group that she had been talking to, Gillian made her way towards Cal's office. As she walked, she passed Emily and the boy who, by all means, seemed to be her boyfriend. Deep in conversation, she saw the natural way in which they had leant towards each other, a subtle movement but one which Gillian knew already signalled some small form of intimacy. She envied the young girl, it had been a long time since she had felt the first tendrils of blushing excitement at the beginning of a new relationship.

Passing the young couple, she turned down the corridor that led to Cal's office. Holding onto the doorframe for support, she slowly turned into the room, allowing her eyes to readjust to the dim light so that she could seek out shapes. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw, out of the corner of her eye, Cal sitting in his chair, his back to her. She moved quietly into the room, aware that in all likelihood he had fallen asleep. It had been a long couple of days for him...for them all...for her.

As she approached the chair, he moved suddenly, stretching his arms above his head in a stretch.

"Hey Cal..." she rounded the chair, crouching down, coming face to face with him.

"Foster...you nearly scared me to death, love" he said as he straightened his position on his chair, leaning forward to place his elbows on his knees. "Why aren't you out there? I know how much you love these Christmas things"

"Parties Cal, they're called parties" she smirked in amusement. He had never been one for big gatherings of people, even though she knew he enjoyed every opportunity to study those around him. He had always been a contradiction in terms. Tough boy; loving father, wild youth; spirited but devoted man.

"Yeh...so, why'd you leave? Apart from Emily, I've never seen anyone's eyes light up as much as yours when you see a Christmas tree adorned with decorations. Actually, maybe that's just the eggnog..." although the humour was evident in his voice, Gillian could see the tiredness in his eyes, in the way in which the skin surrounding them was pulled taut. He looked exhausted.

"Long couple of days. You must be tired. Want me to drive you and Emily home?"

Expecting a short reply, a quick dismissal as she so often received when she tried to "smother" him, she was taken aback when he reached his hand and gently cupped her cheek. Her quick intake of breath and the way in which she subtly turned her face towards his palm was not missed by Cal. Rubbing his thumb along the line of her jaw, he carefully lifted her face so that her eyes, which had turned downwards, were forced to seek his own.

"Missed you, love."

"Missed you too" she whispered, not able to take the sudden flash of intimacy out of her voice. She knew that if she had tried to speak above a whisper in that moment then her voice would have cracked and she would have been lost to the tears that she had so carefully held at bay these past few days.

As he continued to rub his thumb along her cheek, he slowly stood, bringing his other hand to her own, supporting her as he pulled her to stand in front of him. As she stood, he placed his hand in the curve of her back whilst moving his other hand from her cheek to her hand. Slowly he pulled her into his embrace, bringing her hand to his chest and began to move in a deliberate yet flowing dance.

She began to move with him, bringing her head to his shoulder. As they became more comfortable in their impromptu movements, she turned to place her lips gently against his neck, breathing in the deep and masculine scent of Cal Lightman. As she did so, she felt his hand move further down her back, pulling her ever closer.

As she lifted her head once more from his shoulder, she felt his lips move towards her ear as she heard him whisper, "Merry Christmas, Foster".

She looked over his shoulder towards the star-filled sky, relishing a moment that she knew would be far too fleeting and far from complete. Yet, she also knew that this was why she loved Christmas. It wasn't so much the presents or the trinkets (although she loved them almost as much), it was the magic, the over-flowing happiness, the chance to be with those you love no matter how fleeting. And it was the chance to be held by Cal Lightman because maybe, through the past couple of days of tense fear and the realisation that he had people to come back to this time, the warmth and the enchantment of this time of year had helped him survive as well.

At least that's what she wanted to believe. And she knew that, for this one moment, he had given her the chance to re-live the spirit of Christmas.

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