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"I swear to God it's like you haven't done any paper work in a week!"

"Hey now, that's not fair," Cal retorted. "I think I signed somethin' yestaday." He pretended to look thoughtful.

Gillian pointed to his office door and gave him a firm expression. "Go. Now. And do it!"

"Fine!" Cal grumped, stalked away and slammed the door.

Gillian watched him go with a little shake of her head. It wasn't a serious argument, she could tell by his tone of voice, probably because they had had it a million times before. Anna strode past her on the way to answer the ringing phone on the desk. "Is that how you deal with him?"

Gillian laughed lightly and went back to the lab, thinking extra naughty thoughts about a firm hand. She'd all ready let Ria and Eli go early for the weekend. Staff members were leaving in dribs and drabs. Fifteen minutes after Gillian sat down Anna stuck her head around the door to say she was the last one out.
"Is Cal still in his office?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"Are you going to wait for him?"

"Uh huh."

"You might be here all night," Anna noted drolly.

"I know," Gillian responded dryly.

"Good night," Anna offered.

"See you Monday."

Gillian turned back to the screen. She was editing video for the archives, or at least, flagging where she wanted it edited. It was the kind of work Eli normally did, but she was waiting for Cal, and she really could be there for several hours, so she may as well do something constructive right?

After half an hour Gillian started rolling her neck. Once she realised she was doing it she decided a break would be a good idea. Maybe go and check up on Cal and make sure he really was doing that paper work and not just watching a movie. He'd done it before. Once he'd just settled down and gone to sleep.

Gillian approached the lab door and saw the glow of three lights down low on the other side. Confused, curious, a little concerned, she pulled the lab door towards her and found three white candles in glass holders on the ground. Only a dim selection of lights were on in the hallway. To her right, there were more candles. A trail of them led around the corner. Gillian followed, the sound of her heels on the floor the only indication she wasn't imaging this magical trail. It led past the break room and out on to the balcony. As Gillian approached she could see a million more candles spread all over the concrete pad outside. Maybe not a million, but several hundred at least and fairy lights strung along the balcony handrail.

It was dark out there besides the candles but Gillian could see the figure of Cal standing there waiting. She could see him rock on the balls of his feet as she came through the all ready open doorway. It was an unseasonably warm night with absolutely zero breeze. The candles only flickered as she walked by them. She had a fleeting thought about the paper work he clearly hadn't done but she was more curious and a little nervous than to call him on it. He gave her a smile as she approached and oh my god! He had changed into a suit! With a white shirt and a tie and everything!

Without a word he held out a single tulip towards her. It had barely started to open; her favourite. She couldn't quite see his face in the dim light of a million small fires but she could see the slight glow of them on his fair skin. She brought the flower to her nose and breathed in the scent of it. Cal smiled then. "What's all this?" Gillian finally asked, wondering how he'd set it up, with the amount of time he'd had, and getting changed and the flower...

Cal handed her a letter next. Or at least an envelope that she assumed contained a letter. "This is for you," he murmured. She didn't notice how his hand shook slightly.

Gillian tried to guess, she really did, but the soft environment he had created didn't really help fan the idea of him giving her his notice or something. She thought he might joke about quitting so he didn't have to do the bloody paperwork any longer... but it didn't fit. Actually, this whole scenario didn't fit with Cal at all. He wasn't the romantic gesture kind of guy; he was more of the 'strike-you-dumb-with-absolute-sweetness-when-you-least-expected-it' kind of guy.

"Read it," he instructed gently, standing across from her, fairy lights reflected in his shadowed eyes.

"I can't read it in the dark," Gillian pointed out and prepared to launch into all of her questions.

Cal, who's hands had been respectfully behind his back this whole time, brought them around and up to his head. He put a miner's helmet on his head and switched on the light. Gillian blinked against the sudden light in her eyes but Cal quickly dropped his head to shine the light on her hands. She laughed then, amused and, well, feeling a little warm, and like maybe this was something big. He must have had help setting this up. All those candles and fairy lights. So unlike Cal; so much more like... Emily.

Ok, she could play along. The envelope was sealed and she pried it open carefully so she didn't crush the flower still in her hands. She wasn't going to relinquish it, not now that she could see from the light of Cal's hat that it was also a candy pink; her absolute favourite, favourite. He was making some serious effort this evening. What was she missing? Was it their anniversary? She was pretty sure that was still weeks away...

The letter was one page long. It started with 'Dear Gillian'. And what followed made Gillian's mouth go dry and her heart tremble and her hands quiver. She felt the simultaneous prickle of heat and an imaginary chill. Cal stood over her, head bowed while she read, the light moving slightly but steady in the presence of the person on whose head it originated from.

"I don't have the courage to say the words to you," she read out loud. "Because words are not enough to describe the sheer utter beauty that you are to me." She fought the desire to read it in his accent; she could hear his voice in hear ears, he would murmur it to her, and she would shiver with delight. She did anyway. "I feel like words would let me down on this occasion."

Gillian felt a flare of tears in her eyes. God the letter was just... so... He had given her a picture of his head to show her how he loved her and this letter, this was his soul telling her he was so in love with her... that it "wasn't possible to put it into earthly mundane things like words or gestures." But oh god he did such a good job of trying. His hand reached up and wiped the first tear to fall beneath her eyelid and Gillian gave a little sob and fought it down. She wanted to finish; she loved that he knew that without him interrupting and without her having to say.

And here, her favourite paragraph: "When you walk by me and I can smell the mixture of your perfume and just you, I wonder what I could have possibly done in my last lifetime to deserve someone as insanely beautiful and soul soothing as you in this one. You're more than everything to me; beyond business partner and best friend. You're the anchor I pin myself to on the sunniest days and during the darkest storms."

There was a really good chance she was going to need to sit down. She looked up at him and the light stayed steadily in place on her hands. "Are you kidding me Cal? When did you write this?" She was so shocked she could feel her heart give a little protest with the effort of her talking through it. She couldn't see his face under the light shining from that ridiculous but somehow-sexy-on-him helmet.

"A while ago," he answered softly.

There was no date on the page. It didn't seem worn like it had been around forever but the paper didn't feel crisp under her fingers. Gillian reached for his helmet and lifted it off his head. She put it on hers and looked him right in the eyes. His normally hazel eyes glowed almost golden under the glare and he squinted slightly. "When we met?" No.

"After you got divorced?" No again.

"Oi!" Cal complained lightly. "Don't go all Lightman on me."

"After I got divorced?" Yes. There it was.

"Before I met Burns?"

'Oh my god: yes!' No wonder he was so hurt by that... so, so hurt! She'd had no idea. None.

"Don't do that luv," Cal reached for the helmet again. He lifted it gently from her head and turned the light off.

Gillian could feel her hands shaking now. She folded the letter carefully and slid it back into its envelope. That was going in a frame along with the two other pictures he had all ready given her that was basically a road map to their love now. They were on the wall in their bed room; their bedroom.

"What is... why are you?"

"Today is our anniversary luv," Cal responded gently, placing a hand on her arm, connecting them physically for the first time that evening. His fingers were cold and she had a fleeting thought about him being nervous; but what about? She found herself gravitating slightly towards him even as they stood just a foot apart.

And then his phone rang and Gillian startled. The mood changed, the air shifted; Gillian was able to think coherent thoughts again. She wondered if they were going out for dinner. Cal gave a slight groan and reached for the phone. He checked the number and ignored it, cutting the call off early. "It's Em," he explained.

"That could have been important," Gillian noted.

"Not as important as this."

Now what did that mean?

Cal leaned down to put the helmet on the ground. But he didn't get up again. He stayed on one knee. Gillian's 'what are you doing?' died in her head, it didn't even get as far as her lips as he looked up at her again, something else in his hands now. Something small. He shifted slightly, balancing his weight as he knelt in a classic 'proposal' stance and then it hit her. Then it hit her; god was she slow today or what?

He cleared his throat slightly. "Gill," he started. He took her hand and Gillian was amazed it was somehow casually by her side. Closer to the candles his face was bathed in a sweet glow. She almost burst into tears right then. "Will you marry me?"

Ah fuck it! She fumbled out a 'yes of course!' as she started crying and nodding and smiling stupidly all at once. Her stomach jumped into her diaphragm and that jumped her heart and lungs into her throat as they all clambered to get out of her at the same time too!

As Cal stood he brought her hand with him. She could see he had a similar goofy expression on his face. He opened that small something in his hands and a diamond ring glinted in all of those ethereal lights. "Oh my god!" Gillian gasped. So very much a clichéd response but at this point she didn't give a shit!

"Perfect," Cal responded taking it out of its snug bed of velvet. "Exactly what I was aimin' for."

Gillian gave a half laugh of releasing tension. The tears that had so quickly appeared left without too much direction. She would have wiped her cheeks if she had a hand free; she was still holding on to the tulip and the letter; holding on for dear life if she was honest. She never wanted to let them go. Or this evening. Or Cal. Ever.

"Sure about your answer luv?" Cal asked, ring poised over the end of her finger.

"Yes," Gillian said firmly. He slipped it over her knuckles and of course it fit perfectly and she figured, the sneaky bastard that he was, he must have checked the sizing against her other rings. And how did he know it wasn't going to rain or blow a gale this evening? Or even how long she was going to stay in the lab so he could put all of this together? Sneaky, sneaky, lovely, wonderful, amazing bastard.

Cal brought his rough but now warm hands up to her cheeks and caressed the tears away. He leaned in to kiss her when his phone rang again. He groaned and it pulsed through Gillian to her groin. He pulled the phone from where he had tucked it back in his jacket pocket. He checked the number again and sighed. "What?" He answered. He looked at Gillian, his other hand now resting against the curve of her neck. "Well I was gettin' there but you keep on bloody well interruptin'." A pause. "No I haven't given it away. Where's the bloody faith?"

Gillian took his hand in hers and pulled him a little closer. "Hang up the phone Cal," she whispered very softly.

"Gotta go," Cal announced abruptly. He turned it off. Gillian slipped her hands under his jacket, around his waist. His torso was fiery hot and she realised just how nervous he had been. "Sorry, this was meant to be romantic."

"It is," Gillian murmured, pleased, delighted, out of adjectives, and wanting to just feel his god damn lips against hers.

"I have champagne."

"Fuck the champagne Cal and just kiss me!"

He did and it was so delicate and tender it was like he was afraid of breaking her. And for a moment all that sweetness had Gillian giddy, and then he opened his mouth to hers and literally drove insane desire into her so that she couldn't think about anything else. Gillian grabbed him by the hips and pulled him into her body; their combined heat flaming her cheeks with more effort than the candles around them. She moaned and Cal growled and gripped her possessively and she thought she might die on the spot it was so overwhelming kissing her fiancé for the first time. Her fiancé!

"So Em's stayin' at her Mum's this weekend," Cal announced when they broke apart for the unseasonably warm evening air. She was home from college for the break.

"Oh thank god," Gillian groaned. Her body was throbbing. "Because we're not getting out of bed all weekend."

Cal laughed. "Did I mention I love you?"

"Might have. But I'll never tire of hearing it Cal."

Cal kissed her cheek. "Perfect."

"Let's go then."

"Wait! Kind of got a fire risk goin' on here." He picked up a dampener and started putting out the candles. Kind of a dampener on the mood really. They picked up all the candles while Cal explained that it was his idea to give her the flower and letter and the ring. Gillian stopped in the hallway to admire the jewellery while Cal retrieved the last of the candles from the floor outside the lab. It was simple and beautiful and she was so relieved that he had good taste in jewellery.

"Did I do good?" Cal asked approaching where she was standing, marvelling.

"Uh huh," she nodded emphatically. He looked pleased and stepped into her again, kissing her sweetly and in about all of two seconds she was back to being ready to go home and shag him stupid for the rest of the evening.

"The candles were Em's idea. She insisted on the grandiose. You can thank the little brat late-a."

Gillian smiled, took his hand and tugged him along to the exit. Cal hit the security pad with his thumb to start the countdown. "Wait, which anniversary?"

Cal turned to look at her as they slipped out the door. "We met, ten years ago today."

Gillian felt her stomach hollow out while he locked the door. Seriously? How had she managed to forget that? And how the hell had he managed to remember it? She took his arm and turned him to line up in front of her while she backed into the wall. She pulled him into another scorching kiss, fingers in the back of his hair. "Take me home Cal."

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