Cal Lightman moved through his office building seemingly at a loose end. Seemingly. He actually had a mission, which he could pass off as aimless wandering if he needed to. It was the middle of the day and most of his staff were leaving for their lunch break, taking advantage of the good weather, opting to sit in the square across the road. This was a good time to check up on his business partner. He entered Gillian Foster's office, having absently searched for her whereabouts as he wandered. She had her back to the door while sitting in her desk chair with her head down slightly, like she was staring at a spot on the carpeted floor. She looked as though she was a million miles away. Once she heard the door though she looked over her shoulder, curious. Cal stood opposite her desk with his eyebrows raised, silently asking if this was a good time.
"What's up?" Gillian queried softly. Her desk was in front of the outside windows. There was only one solid wall to the right of where she sat and the remaining sides of the square were more glass. She liked the openness, the brightness of the room. A reflection of her personality, Cal thought, when they had finally moved in six months ago.
"I could ask you that," he answered her.
Gillian watched him impassively but didn't respond. She knew exactly what he was talking about. Cal walked around the desk, taking the long route, and perched near where she was sitting. Her desk was tidy, unlike his; a stack of papers on the right, folders on the left, the computer behind those, a cup holding pens, a black photo frame of her husband Alec. Cal tilted his head to see her face. "You all right, luv?" He asked concerned. She had been quiet all day, keeping to herself and hiding away in her office instead of roaming around like she usually did.
"I'm fine."
"Lie-a," Cal accused gently in his London accent, using the same tone of voice Gillian used when she was charging him with the same crime. She had shrugged her shoulder, an involuntary sign that she had no faith in her own words. Gillian forced a smile that didn't get close to reaching her eyes. "Wanna talk?"
Gillian gave a slight shake of her head as she opened her mouth to respond but was stopped by the sudden tears welling up in her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered quickly, an indication that she was thinking about something. Her cheeks and nose slowly turned red and she looked up and to the left, away from Cal, to try and stop the tears from overflowing silently.
"Hey, hey, hey," Cal said gently, worrying about her more, as he got to his feet to step closer. He placed a hand on her bare shoulder; her skin was warm under his touch. Gillian got to her feet slowly, giving every warning of her movement so he could object before she put her arms around his shoulders. Cal placed his arms around her back and held her closely. He wasn't in the slightest bothered that she wanted a hug. He rubbed her back while making soothing noises and feeling useless for not be able to comfort her in a much more meaningful way. It wasn't often that she reached out for his comfort and he wanted to do a good job of it with the opportunity. "Is there anythin' I can do for you?" He asked softly when they pulled away.
"No," Gillian wiped her cheeks with the palms of her hands and sniffed lightly. She reached for a tissue from the box on her desk, the one next to the photo.
"You need somewhere to stay?" He knew her well enough to guess she was upset about her recent separation. He had only seen her cry over two subjects: her failed attempt at having children and now her husband Alec (and crying over a particularly emotional case didn't count).
"You don't have a spare room," Gillian pointed out, wiping her nose delicately.
"Nah, but I have a couch."
Gillian gave him a slight frown.
"That I can sleep on," Cal finished. "You're welcome to my room."
"I'm not going to kick you out of your room."
"Nah, I'm volunteerin'," Cal flickered a ghost of his charm smile. "You'd be quite welcome. Emily's gone away on camp so I'm by myself for a bit."
Gillian gave him another attempt at a smile. "Thanks but I really think I should be on my own for awhile."
"Course," Cal quickly conceded even if he didn't agree with her. He studied her carefully again, checking to see if she was displaying signs of other emotions. He wondered if she had even moved out of the house yet. She said she was going to but following through with something like that was always harder to actually do. "Is there anythin' else I can do? Besides the hug?"
Gillian gave a short laugh and looked pleased for a second. "No, just the hug at this point. Thank you." She said it genuinely.
"You sure? Cos I'm a hell of a listena," Cal backed up slowly towards the door. "I have a qualification."
"I'll keep that in mind," Gillian responded.
"All right," Cal reached the door and pulled it open. He walked through it and quickly out of sight with his usual over confident stride, but he still looked back over his shoulder thoughtfully as he headed up the corridor and away from Gillian's office. Maybe, he should have insisted.
PJ
Gillian walked past Cal's office on her way back from the copy room. Copying was something Cal's assistant Heidi could do, but which allowed Gillian the chance to go for a walk, get up from her desk, take a break, clear her head a bit. She would be re-focused when she got back to her office. She trod her usual route through the building, doing a bit of a loop, checking in on people, and she glanced around at the high ceilinged hallway walls as she went. She smiled at one of the research assistants as they passed each other. She wasn't purposefully searching him out, but she also glanced in the direction of Cal's office and inadvertently saw him in a heated discussion with Zoe through the double sliding doors of his study. Both sets were open, the only way to see into his sanctum because he had designed a private office without glass doors and walls. They were gesticulating at each other, Cal and his ex-wife.
Gillian quickly looked away and hoped she wouldn't be noticed by him as she hurried her pace. Her embarrassment converted to intrigue. Cal and his ex-wife argued a lot, but the subject matter always made Gillian feel nosey. What was it this time? Work? Their daughter? Their marriage? Those were the usual suspects. But there was always room for something else. They tended to bicker over just about anything. Interestingly, it was never over the traditional politics, religion or money.
Gillian headed through the reception area on the way back to her office, past the light brown wooden sweeping desk with the company name emblazoned on the wall behind it, and spotted Emily sitting there with her head down, playing with a ring on her finger. On the black leather seat beside her was a black backpack with a bright red cherry hanging from the zipper. She had her green combat-style jacket on, not in her arms, clearly waiting for either one of her parents. Gillian approached. "Hi Emily. How are you?"
Emily looked up with the similar wide eyes of her father, except hers were brown like her mothers. She forced a smile. "I'm fine, thank you," she answered politely.
Gillian tilted her head to indicate the backpack. "Are you waiting for your Dad?" She guessed.
"Yeah, he's talking with my Mom," Emily muttered looking at her hands again.
"I saw," Gillian admitted. She perched on the edge of a seat to the left of where Emily was sitting. "Everything ok?"
Emily shrugged. "They usually argue."
"I meant with you."
Emily gave another wide-eyed expression. "I'm fine."
"I know we don't normally hang out often, but if you want to talk sometime I'm pretty good at listening."
She had spent a lot of time with Emily, knowing the teenager since she was just seven, but they didn't exactly spend time together alone. Interactions were usually in the presence of her father and that had always inadvertently restricted conversation. It was hard to talk about someone when they were in the room. Sometimes Emily sought Gillian out in her office and in those times she revealed more of her inner fears and thoughts, but those instances were always cut short, not enough time to get into anything deep.
"Is that the shrink offering?" Emily attempted a joke.
Gillian smiled easily. She crossed her legs at the knee, leaning forward like Emily was. "No, that's me volunteering to be a friend. If you need one that is."
"You can never have too many friends right?"
Gillian nodded, "Yeah something like that."
Emily perked up a little, a smile on her lips. For a moment they could hear a muffled male voice down the corridor and both turn towards the sound. Emily went back to looking dejected. "I don't know why they keep going back to each other. They don't even remember how bad it got. Mom has Roger now. He makes her happy. It's like neither of them can remember that for two minutes in each other's presence."
Gillian took a moment to think about a response to that. They had had a similar conversation to this one a few months ago and she didn't have any good advice back then either. She kind of agreed with the young woman though, she hated that Cal always went back to Zoe too. Zoe clicked her fingers and Cal jumped. He would jump off a bridge if Zoe implied it was a good idea. Either that or he would do it to spite her. Or prove that he was god, and could jump and survive it; just to make a point.
"I'm sure they'll work it out," Gillian offered softly, distracted by suddenly remembering something else Emily had said a few months ago during that conversation.
"They just can't seem to move on from each other," Emily complained again with a force in her voice that emphasised her displeasure. "It's so stupid. They're going to ruin everything."
Cal suddenly approached, rounding the corner with his purposeful, wide-legged, confident stride. His face was, as always, impassive. "All right luv?"
"Yeah," Emily got up and slung her backpack over her shoulder.
Cal looked to Gillian who got to her feet too. "We were just catching up," she explained to his silent question, forcing a smile she knew he wouldn't believe anyway. Maybe she would tell him later. He would probably just dismiss what she had to say. Emily was his daughter after all.
Then Zoe approached. Gillian felt awkward. Cal looked agitated. Zoe pretended that nothing was going on and Emily stood in the middle of all three adults looking as though she wanted to escape down a rabbit hole.
"Have a good weekend sweetheart," Zoe gave Emily a hug around the shoulders, then stepped back. "Gillian," she gave her a curt nod.
"Zoe," Gillian acknowledged just as coolly.
"Well I'll see you later," Zoe announced breezily to the ensemble, not looking at anyone in particular and stalked away to the elevators. They fortuitously, and almost immediately, pinged open.
Gillian gave Cal a pointed expression, silently asking if everything was ok but he purposefully ignored her. He placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Ready to go luv?"
Emily glanced up at him and gave a tight smile in a 'yes' response. Cal directed her toward the exit while briefly glancing again at Gillian who carefully watched him go, trying to read more into his demeanour than he would allow her to see.
PJ
Monday morning, Gillian entered Cal's office to say hello. It was empty and she was turning to leave again when she heard noise from the small room adjacent, his little study. She approached and leaned into the space where all his research books were kept. Most of them were up on a mezzanine level while the lower level contained couches for reading. "Good morning Cal," she offered.
"Mornin' Fosta," Cal responded absently. He was standing next to a shelf on the ground floor, a book open in his hands and his dark-framed reading glasses on. He was studying a page intently.
"Everything ok?"
Cal looked up, peering at her through the lenses. "Yeah. Why wouldn't they be?"
Gillian gave him an 'are you serious expression?' "You and Zoë?"
"What about her?" Cal asked suspiciously.
"You seemed to be having a very heated discussion on Friday."
Cal narrowed his eyes at her slightly. "You spyin' on me?" He asked lightly. The lesser of the two questions. She had expected him to ask how it was any of her business.
"Not when you're yelling loud enough to be heard through the building." She came into the room and leaned against the stair case, the angle of which was steep enough for her to still remain upright.
Cal took his glasses off. "We're just goin' through an adjustment period."
"Because she's getting married?" Gillian observed pointedly.
Cal watched her face for a moment. His tone hardened. "What are you implyin'?"
"Nothing," she answered innocently. She paused for a second and then straightened up on her feet.
Cal pointed his glasses at her and approached slowly cutting off her exit. "Nah, there's somethin'…" he watched her face, blue eyes darting back and forth. "You got somethin' to say to me?"
Gillian gave him an unimpressed expression and tried to move away. "I'm staying out of it."
"I saw that," Cal suddenly pounced. He stepped even closer to her. "Disapproval." He narrowed his eyes as he studied her some more. Then he looked amused. "What do you know that you don't want me to about Zoë?"
"I know that you've been spending a lot of time with your ex-wife. And I know that she's engaged to another man."
Cal looked suddenly like a busted school boy and then he was annoyed. "I thought you were stayin' out of it?"
"I am," Gillian agreed but she had clearly stumbled upon something. "But I will say this for your sake. Zoe has a way of hurting you spectacularly every time she swings back into your life. It's just, you're not the only one who will get hurt this time. Just think about that ok?" She pushed past him and started walking away.
"What do you mean?" Cal turned quickly and followed her. He caught up to her at the door leading back to his office. "Who do you mean?" He studied her face. "You mean Emily? What about her? Did she say somethin' to you?" He looked concerned.
"She's not a little girl anymore Cal. She's pretty astute. She takes after you a lot more than you think. She sees a lot more than you think," Gillian told him gently.
Cal seemed surprised by this revelation and put two and two together. "What did Emily say to you? Or is that unda docta/patient confidentiality?" He was being facetious.
Gillian gave him a disparaging shake of her head. She had one hand on the door handle. "We were just talking. She wants you to be happy."
"I am happy."
Gillian gave him an amused disbelieving expression, a slight smirk and a shake of her head. "Not even I believed that one." She slipped out of the doorway and walked away. Cal was left to watch her leave.
PJ
Cal tapped on Emily's doorframe then entered the room. She was on the bed reading from a binder that was propped up on her knees. Her room was painted a medium green, not something she had picked out specifically, but she had chosen this room in particular because it was in the front of the house and furthest away from her father.
"You're supposed to wait for me to respond," Emily admonished him.
"The door was open," he pointed out taking a seat at her desk opposite the door and swivelling the chair to face the bed. "I wanna talk to you about somethin'."
"Ok," Emily agreed and gave him her attention. She straightened her legs, letting the binder rest open on them.
"It's about your Mum and me."
"What about you guys?" Emily asked.
Cal got up and moved to the bed. He placed a hand on her ankle affectionately. "I just wanted you to know that we both care about you more than anythin' and that you're always the most important thing in our lives."
"I know that Dad," Emily responded as though she's heard it all before.
"I just wanted to remind you about that. And your Mum and I have been spendin' some time togetha recently because of work. But we don't fight about you or our family. It's just work related stuff." He hesitated over the last few words, realised he was doing it and hoped Emily didn't pick up on it. Hesitations were signs of deceptions. He was lying. But he didn't want her to know that.
Emily looked awkward as she said, "I just don't want you guys to ruin what we have."
"What do we have luv?"
"Neutrality."
"Neutrality?" Cal repeated with a short curious laugh.
"Yeah," Emily continued seriously. "You guys saw each other briefly sometimes when you'd drop me off or whatever and you were civil and it was fine. And then you worked a case together and suddenly thought that was a good idea. We had reached this silent agreement about how much time you spent together and it was working fine and now it's all out the window."
Cal watched his daughter carefully and saw the genuine concern and sadness in her face. He rubbed her leg as he remembered Gillian warned him about the same thing too. It suddenly struck Cal that Emily was talking about the much more personal relationship he'd developed with Zoë. Re-developed. "It's ok," he said softly. "Your Mum's gettin' married and we're busy at work so…"
"You're not going to see her anymore?"
The hope in her voice was not missed. "We'll probably go back to the pre-agreed neutrality," he assured her.
"I know you're sad about Mom getting remarried but it's the best thing for both of you," Emily insisted.
"Yeah you might be right luv," Cal agreed dejectedly. He got up and pointed to her binder. "Go back to your readin'."
