Cal wasn't often rendered speechless but as he stepped out of the elevator and made his way towards his office, he found himself struck dumb. One of his employees whose name he didn't know was passing by and he grabbed him, pointing towards the clearing in the hallway.

"How the…what the…how?" he finally spat, exasperated. Ted, the employee swallowed, trying to figure out the actual question.

"Back stairwell," he said finally before scooting off as quickly as he could. Cal frowned, still amazed at the sight before him. He was about to start walking on when Gillian popped out from the analysis room next to him. She spotted his troubled face and studied it. Then she followed his gaze and started to laugh. He looked at her.

"What?"

"Don't be so dramatic, Cal," she said, grabbing his shoulder and coaxing him toward the door. He shrugged out of her grip.

"I'm not being dramatic love. What is that?" he pointed up the hallway again. Gillian shook her head.

"It's for the party tonight Cal." He looked at it and back at her.

"How did it get in here?"

"Back stairwell. Now come on, I need you in here," Cal raised an eyebrow at her phrasing and she scoffed, pulling on his arm. He eventually gave in and followed her but not before taking one glance back at the item of his scrutiny.

"Biggest bloody Christmas tree I've ever seen…"

OXOXOXO

After Cal helped Gillian in the analysis room, he made his way back out into the corridor to inspect this tree further. It must have stood at least fifteen foot tall. It was positively huge and it masked out and entire section of their windows. Cal bit his lip and shimmied around by the wall beside the tree. He could look out the window from here quite comfortably. It was also a good place to play 'hideaway'. But he decided he didn't have the licence to act like a kid right now and so he clambered back out from behind the tree and made his way into his office.

He'd almost forgotten about the party tonight. He sighed. It was going to be a long day. But then he'd had worse. Last year he'd been in Afghanistan.

OXOXOXO

Around lunchtime he heard a knock on his door. It was Gillian. AS she stepped into the office, he saw that she was all wrapped up in a heavy winter coat with a scarf, gloves and woolly hat with a bauble on top of it. She looked younger than her years. And warm. And positively adorable.

"You need me to turn up the heat love?" he asked, innuendo dripping from his words. She smiled back at him.

"Maybe a notch or two." He stood up, moving around the table to her, leaning back against the desk, a grin plastered across his face.

"Do I get to take all that stuff off if I do?" he took a step closer to her and she placed a hand on his chest pushing him back. He mimicked a devastated impression and she laughed at him.

"No Cal, I'm afraid this is a social call. A traditional one you might say." He raised an eyebrow and she shook her head.

"You always forget. Every year. Christmas lunch? As my way of saying an advance thank you for not being an ass at tonight's party?" She scowled at him as he pretended to rack his brains. He grinned.

"Yes darling I remember. Bloody good lunch it always is too. Where to this year?" He reached past her head for his coat on the coat rack, finding himself standing closer to her than she usually felt comfortable with.

"Not saying. This year, it's a surprise." Her face lit up warmly and he smirked back at her, shrugging his coat over his arms.

"Bit like that Christmas tree then."

OXOXOXO

Not only was it a surprise but it was a hell of a treat too. Gillian took him to a downtown restaurant that did the best seafood in the state. She knew Cal liked fish and she herself was partial to lobster though she rarely treated herself to that extent. This afternoon though, they both treated themselves, Cal telling his story, for the hundredth time about how expensive lobster would be back in England.

They laughed and chatted about work and their employees, the usual type of conversations they had when they went for lunch. For the last few months, the conversations had been worry filled but things were now starting to straighten themselves out and they were both looking forward to ringing out the end of the year in a comfortable position. Cal had a differing opinion to just what that comfortable position was. He wasn't sure that Gillian would appreciate it though. Maybe he'd ask her at the party tonight…

"So what are you doing for Christmas Day love?" he asked innocently enough. It had already been decided in his house that Emily would spend Christmas day with her mother and Boxing Day with him. They'd stopped doing joint occasions when Roger came on the scene and while Cal didn't like being away from Emily on Christmas, he accepted that it was a better set up. He and Zoe had inevitably fought the last time they'd had Christmas together and Roger ended up asking him to leave. Emily had gotten upset and not spoken to either parent for a week. Yeah, the new set up was better for everyone. Gillian smiled thinly over her glass of mulled wine.

"Just having a nice quiet day to myself," she tried to pass it off as her idea of heaven but really she was dying a little inside. Cal saw that.

"Yeah, me too." He took another bite of his lobster and no one spoke again for a while. When the check came, Gillian slipped her credit card into the book and handed it back straight away much to Cal's annoyance. She always said it was his treat but he never let her pay. He took a sip of his own wine.

"Here's a thought…" he started, taking another sip of wine, a sure sign that he was about to do something that he wasn't entirely sure about. Gillian put down her glass and looked at him. Her face was neutral he noted, not sure if that was good or bad for him. He cleared his throat and sat forward, leaning on the table.

"…Seeing as we're both just having quiet days to ourselves, and both dreading the very thoughts of it if I might add, how about we do it together? You know what they say, misery loves company." He grinned at her, happy with the way he'd managed to casually get his suggestion across. Sure, he knew he probably hadn't fooled her but at least he hadn't blabbered like an idiot and now she was smiling back at him and that could only be good. She leaned forward in her own seat, their faces were inches apart and Cal felt his chest tighten slightly.

"Only…if you promise to be good at the Christmas Party tonight…" she said slowly and he grinned back at her, tilting his head slightly and oh it would be so easy to just kiss her right there and then. Instead he opted for mischief.

"I'm so much more fun when I'm being bad though…" His tongue darted over his bottom lip as he took it between his teeth in a grin. Gillian tried not to swallow but couldn't help it. The way he was looking at her sent shivers down her spine. She was just about to answer when the waiter returned with her card and that broke the trance. Cal sat back, his face neutral again and began to put his jacket on. As Gillian put her card away, he took her jacket and held it for her when she stood up. She turned to him, smirking.

"When did you become such a gentleman?" He let his hand rest on her waist, slightly pulling her towards him.

"Never argue with the chef," he said, turning and heading for the door. Gillian smirked before realisation washed over her.

"Since when am I the one who has to be the chef?"

OXOXOXO

They were still arguing over the cooking arrangements when they got back to the office. As the elevator door opened Gillian was laughing at him.

"Cal, it's your house, why do I have to cook?" He turned to face her as he was unravelling his scarf.

"Because you're a much better cook than me darling. Burnt turkey doesn't sound very appealing now, does it?" She frowned and slapped his arm, pushing him on up the corridor, feeling a little bit tipsy on her one mulled wine. Cal reached back, draping his arm around her shoulders, hauling her with him just as Loker and Torres emerged from the analysis room. When they saw the scene unfolding in front of them they smirked at each other. They were about to slink away when Cal spotted them.

"Oi, you two? What's with the loitering?" Loker shrugged.

"It's Christmas. Paperwork is evil. We're going to go for coffee." Cal scrunched his lips together, thinking hard. Gillian frowned up at him and his face softened.

"You know what, sod that. Go home, get ready for the party. There's nothing happening around here anyway…" Both Loker and Torres's eyes widened but they didn't question it and scampered off as quickly as they could. Gillian turned to face Cal.

"When did Santa arrive at the Lightman house?" she joked and he smirked but said nothing. At the elevator, Loker and Torres watched the scene from a safe distance.

"I told you we should have put up mistletoe." Loker hissed at Torres.

OXOXOXO

Cal still hated the Christmas party but as he picked out a more festive coloured sweater to go over his shirt that evening he decided that it wouldn't be completely insufferable. Gillian would be there, no doubt wearing something that would make his eyes fall out of his head and he'd get to have at least one dance with her. Emily was bringing new boyfriend Liam who was expected in the house any minute now. Cal pursed his lips as he looked at his choices of clothing. He had a royal blue sweater that Emily had bought and tried in vain to get him to wear. Or there was a light grey one that Gillian had bought him, also one he'd never worn. Emily stumbled into the room at that exact moment.

"Grey," she said without engaging in conversation.

"Yeah?" he called after her as she went rummaging in his ensuite bathroom.

"Yeah. The blue's too…blue." She re-emerged evidently not finding what she wanted but Cal was too busy pulling the sweater on over his black shirt. He looked at Emily expectantly.

"Alright?" Emily nodded. Then she took something out from behind her back and threw it to him. He looked at it. Mistletoe.

"What's this for?"

"There's none up in your office anywhere. And I know you want a 'Christmas kiss' with Gillian so here. Go prepared." Cal was about to protest when she bolted from the room. Shaking his head, he tucked the mistletoe into his pocket. He guessed it couldn't hurt.

OXOXOXO

Cal parked, knowing that the car wouldn't be moving again until at the least the following evening depending on how far Gillian let him off the leash. The smell of mulled wine hit him as he stepped out of the elevator and Emily and Liam scarpered off to talk to Heidi and Anna. Cal picked up a wine and felt the glass warm his fingers. Then he looked around for Gillian. He didn't need to look too far. She was wearing a very festive red, one strapped. It stopped just below her knee but the side split climbed a bit higher. He took a sip of his wine and moved towards her. She smiled at him and stepped away from who she was talking to.

"Cal, you're not wearing black…"

"Happy Christmas darling." He kissed her cheek and she smiled, glancing at the sweater again. Realisation hit her.

"I bought you that." He nodded, taking another sip of his wine.

"You did. So, how long do I have to behave for?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye. She shook her head.

"Until I say 'stop'," she laughed and he raised an eyebrow at that one. Glancing quickly around, he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Funny, I always had you down as a girl who'd be saying 'please don't stop'." He stepped back letting the innuendo sink in and she shook her head at him before walking away, her shoulder jerked a little, Cal noticed. She was amused. It was all still good.

OXOXOXO

A couple of hours later, Cal had danced with Gillian a couple of times and a few of the other employees. He'd caught Emily and Liam trying to sneak off and had suitably reprimanded them. He'd caught Loker and Torres sneaking off but had let them to it. And now he couldn't find Gillian. The party was still in full swing despite some departures but his partner was nowhere to be seen. He wandered past the tree where the Secret Santa presents had once sat. He'd gotten one of the interns and bought a voucher. It was the easiest. She'd been very happy with it and perhaps a little bit chuffed that she'd gotten a present from the boss. Gillian had had Torres which he screamed 'fix' at and that got a good laugh. But now his partner was gone on him and though he'd thought it stupid earlier, the mistletoe in his pocket was digging into him and damn it but his daughter was right. He wanted a Christmas kiss. And a lot more.

As he passed by the tree, he glanced at the window behind it and saw a reflection in it. The reflection was red. He took his chances and edged his way in behind the tree. There she was, looking out the window, her thumb and forefinger playing with the chain around her neck. He smirked and leaned against the window until she saw him and smiled.

"What you doing in here?" he asked, taking a step closer.

"Just thinking. You were right, the tree really is huge. I feel like a fairytale character in here." He smiled and dug his hand into his pocket.

"You look like one." She stared at him and he clarified. "I mean you look beautiful." She smiled at that and he withdrew the plant from his pocket. "So beautiful in fact…" he tossed the plant to her and she caught it one handed. She looked at it and smirked as he stepped closer to her, "…raise your arm Gill." One hand went to her waist, the other hovered somewhere between their bodies. She smirked up at him.

"What if I don't want to raise my arm?" she smiled, knowing the want was playing out across both of their faces. Cal turned her so that her back was against the glass. Slowly he brought his hand down onto hers and pulled it up above their bodies. He grinned down at her.

"Where there's a will, there's a way," he smirked before his lips descended on hers. It was soft and chaste at first, then he felt her hand grab the front of his sweater and he deepened the kiss, running his tongue across her bottom lip. She let him in, willingly, pulling him closer to her. His hand tightened around hers and pulled it down so he could cup her face. She wrapped an arm around his neck as the other one tightened its grip on his sweater. He found himself involuntarily pinning her even harder against the window, drawing a little whimper from her. When he heard that he pulled back, breathless. He stepped back, realising just how much he'd been crushing her.

"I'm sorry," he said, catching his breath. Her hand was still around his neck.

"For what?"

"For crushing you." She scoffed and pulled him into her again. Their breaths mingled and she leaned up to kiss him. The mistletoe had been discarded somewhere on the floor.

OXOXOXO

Getting covertly out from behind the tree had been a fun operation. Gillian had gone first, sneaking out one side and tottering to the bathroom to make it look like she'd been in there for a while. She'd sobered up tenfold since her kissing session with Cal behind the tree. Cal opted to stay there for a little longer, looking out the window. He couldn't remove the grin from his face and knew he'd have to exit from the other side, just in case anyone had spotted them. But by the sounds of it, the party was clearing out. He took his chances and clambered out around the tree, stumbling slightly at the Secret Santa table but remaining unspotted. He looked around. Emily and Liam were sitting in the corner talking. She looked happy and he smiled. Gillian was by the elevator saying goodnight to the last of their guests. They were the last one's left. Cal walked over to his daughter, pointing at her.

"You driving?" She nodded, it was news to her but she would drive.

"You had a drink?" She shook her head.

"No Dad." He nodded.

"Fine." He tossed her the keys before pointing at Gillian. "You're bringing Gill too." He turned to walk towards her when Emily called after him.

"I noticed you two disappeared for a while. Do you still have that mistletoe?" Her voice was teasing and he turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. He said nothing, his eyebrows conveying the message, and walked towards Gillian.

She smiled at him.

"All done?" he asked, grinning and she nodded.

"All done." He nodded, gesturing for Emily and Liam to come on. He looked at Gillian.

"You about ready to say 'stop'?" He ushered Emily and Liam on towards the elevator. Emily pulled Liam into the open one and pressed for the car park. Both Gillian and Cal watched the doors close before she turned to him, her hand automatically falling on his chest.

"I don't expect I'll be saying 'stop' any time soon," she smirked stepping in closer to him, their bodies moulding together. Cal swallowed hard, watching her lips pout.

"Merry bloody Christmas," he said as they kissed again.

OXOXOXO

Ok, just a bit of Xmas fun but I kinda have an idea for either another chapter or a sequel. Let me know what people think.

Cheerio! And Happy Christmas!