Notes: The bit about "beating the truth" out of someone is borrowed from Veronica Mars, which is another show I'm super obsessed and completely in love with. I couldn't believe it when I saw Jason Dohring play the psycho grad student. He's good at playing creepy, but Tim Roth is better. Oh, and I was so excited to see David Sutcliffe play an escaped convict turned cult leader from Toronto.

Chapter Two

Celebrating, Cal is sitting in the dark by himself, nursing a whiskey, his drink of choice for this evening. After staring at the glass for nearly twenty minutes, he gulps the drink, and pours himself another, and another, and another. He wants to be mind numbingly drunk. Drunk enough to forget about Dr. Foster. Forget about his best friend. Forget about the best thing that ever happened to him since Em.

333

Flashback...Friday...Conference (or rather, confrontation) with myself, Cal, and our lawyers...

Around two pm, I catch up to Cal. "You're late for our meeting. Our lawyers are waiting."

Loker and Torres are huddled in a corner watching the conference room. Eyes shifting from the conference room door to the hallway in anticipation. I could have sworn that I had given them a task to do, but per usual, they've found a way to do nothing.

"Mom and dad," Torres jokes halfheartedly, "are getting a divorce."

"You don't think?"

"Where are they? Lightman usually loves confrontations."

"Excellent, young grasshopper. You're learning quickly. But Lightman only likes it if he's going to win. This is a toss up. After all, it is Gillian."

They both are silenced as they become witnesses to me practically hauling Cal's ass into the conference room. Cal's dragging his feet, per usual. Help me, Cal begs of Torres and Loker. I can see it out of the corner of my eye. Instead of confronting him, I push him through the door.

Cal nods at his lawyer before sitting down across from me.

"Okay, Mr. Lightman," begins my lawyer.

"What did you say you're name is?" Cal interrupts.

I roll my eyes at his stalling tactics. "Seriously, Cal? Enough," I scold him.

"You know, Gill, there's just a flicker of doubt in his eyes."

"Doubt?"

"That you'll get what you want."

"What I want is to dissolve this partnership, so I can get on with my life."

"You're not really being truthful, are you? I know why you're doing this. Do you? Do you remember the exact instant that you wanted this to end?" Cal waves at The Lightman Group offices, studying my reaction intensely.

"Of course, I do. It's when you threatened that if I mess with your finances, we're history."

"Errrr," he imitates the sound of a game show buzzer when the contestant is wrong. "Wrong answer. Care to try again?"

"No, Cal. Just sign the damn papers."

"Not until I beat the truth outta ya."

I fold my arms across my chest in defense, and anger. "Contrary to popular opinion, you can't really beat the truth out of someone."

I sigh dramatically (I'm doing this a lot lately), then ask the lawyers to leave for a minute. Simultaneously, Loker and Torres give each other a look of pure joy and race each other into the lab, logging into the Conference Room video.

I look up at the camera. "Didn't I give you something to do? If not, you can start with the casino case. This is just between myself and Cal." Then, suddenly, I override the system and the Conference Room video dies.

I can only imagine the look of bewilderment on Loker and Torres' faces to discover that both Cal and I can override surveillance videos in each room. But, I digress, getting back to the conference.

"Gill?"

I look towards the door, and Cal instantly blocks my only way out. I purse my lips in controlled anger. "Fine," I snap. "I'm leaving because you're driving this company into the ground, and I helped you build it; I refuse to be the one who watches you demolish it. Not only that, you're losing the loyalty of our employees. Honestly Cal, you're a bully and people aren't going to take that much longer, especially Loker. He has such potential, but you abuse him! Like you abuse me! You yelled at him for borrowing a pen, then punched him in the stomach."

"A) Those were two separate incidents, and B) He kissed Em!" Cal gets defensive.

"Maybe so, but why did you resort to violence?"

"Are you my shrink now, Mother Superior?" He spits at me.

That bit hurt. Physically hurt. In my heart. I know how he feels about shrinks. He hates self-affirmation, and that's exactly what psychologists are good at extracting.

"Would you stop it, Cal! I'm tired of our bickering! I told you the reason, now you have to sign the damn papers!" I shove them in his face, and call back the lawyers.

"Is that it?" he yells back at me. "Nothing more you'd like to add?"

I ignore him, like I usually do, whilst staring straight ahead of me, and Cal's lawyer beckons him to sit down. Cal swats him away.

"I'm not a moron, Gillian," he leans over the table to say right in my face. Searching my eyes, he tells me, "I can see something else is bothering you. But what is it, huh?"

I continue to look straight ahead at Cal's lawyer. Ignorance is bliss, right?

"Our finances?" Nothing.

"Our client list," I twitch, but if he asks I'll say I'm itchy. He doesn't.

"Our clients, then."

"FBI?" Nothing.

"Wealthy? Wealthy women? Wealthy women that want to sleep with me?" my eyes narrow slightly, almost too quickly for him to pick it up. After all, he constantly reminds me that I'm his blind spot, and I know for a fact that he's mine. Otherwise, I would have left this partnership a long time ago.

"Clara? Naomi?" He couldn't pick up on anything discernible. "Okay, okay...they don't bother you as much. How about...hmm...Detective Wallowski?"

I noticeably flinch this time. I really, really hate her. Or maybe not her, but the situation that she put us through. Now, we're all lying on Cal's behalf. That's not what this company's about, but it's what it's become. I'm not even sure if Cal really likes her, or if he's just using her for sex. I don't think I even care. Scratch that. I care. If I didn't, I wouldn't be so angry, right? Right?

"Thought so."

Cal sits down and pretends that nothing's happened. That nothing's changed. Even though everything's changed.

"I've made a few adjustments," Cal's lawyer informs me. "That's the best offer you're going to get from us."

Out of the corner of my eye, my lawyer nods "yes."

"Okay, then. I'll draw up the finished papers, you'll sign them and in a couple hours, Mr. Lightman, the company will be all yours."

"Like it says on the sign," he whispers bitterly.

333

It is after ten pm that Friday evening when Emily stumbles into her dark house with her boyfriend, Rick, giggling hysterically about something that he said. She quiets right down, when they enter the house, cautioning Rick that her dad may be home.

"Oh, come on, Em. I can't take a quick peek at your bedroom?" She's told me that Rick's been bugging her about this for weeks now. But she holds her ground, being a tough girl and all.

The lights suddenly turn on and Cal is standing in the doorway of the kitchen, completely and utterly drunk, with wild eyes, unruly hair, livid.

"You," he points at Emily. "To your room."

"You," he points at Rick. "Come with me."

Rick shifts his gaze, nervous.

Emily pleads, "Please don't scare him. Dad!"

"I won't say it again. Go to your room."

Once Emily disappears, Cal grabs Rick by the scuff of his neck and leads him into his study.

"See this?" Cal shoves a picture of a preschool age Emily in Rick's face. "That's my little girl. If you do anything to screw with her, I'll screw with you. Are we clear?"

Rick looks down again, but doesn't say anything.

"Are we clear?" shouts Cal, spraying spit in Rick's face.

Rick wipes it off and hesitantly looks up at Cal.

"We're clear."

"Good," Cal pats him on the back. "Off you go, then."

333

Meanwhile, in her room, Emily calls my cell phone.

"Gillian," Emily whispers. "Dad's drunk again. He's scaring me. Will you come over?"

"I...I don't know, Em." Emily hears the hesitation in my voice. "Your father and I aren't on the best of terms."

Emily begins to sob quietly. "I'm afraid he's going to be violent."

"I'll be..."

But before I even finish my sentence, Cal has already plucked Emily's cell phone from her hand, asking angrily, "Now, who might you be calling?"

When he sees my number, he tells me that everything is fine, just a domestic dispute. I think part of the reason he's angry is that Emily called me and not her mother, although you'd think that would make Zoe angry, not Cal. I've taken care of Cal when he's been drunk before. Like this. It doesn't happen too often, but once in a while, when he's depressed about something, he'll either gamble or drink, or both. It's not pretty.

"No, Cal. I'm still coming over."

"No need. I promise you that."

"Emily asked me. I'll make sure she's okay and then I'll be gone. I'll use my key."

"I'll...I'll...change the locks."

"Please...in ten minutes?"

Pissed, Cal tosses the phone to the other side of the room. He yells about how irresponsible it is to bring a boy home, even if he is her boyfriend.

"Do you know what happens next, luv? Do you know?"

Fired up with latent anger, she yells, "Of course I know! You don't think I'm prepared for that?"

"No," he yells, "I don't! You're only sixteen!"

"Meaning I have to grow up at some point!"

"You don't know what it feels like to be a grad student one minute, hanging out at a party, and the next minute you're picking out baby names."

"Oh, and you do, do you?"

Grabbing her by the shoulders, hoping to shake some sense into her, he sobers up for a minute. "Growing up is about more than just sex!" He let's go of her shoulders, defeated. "I know you're growing up, Em. I just wish I didn't have to lose my baby in the process."

Emily shows a slight hint of a smile through her tears. "Really?"

"Really."

"I'm still mad at you dad," she says, almost jokingly.

Cal gives Emily a big bear hug. They both hear my keys rattling and twist of the knob.

"Emily?" I call out to a dark house. "Cal?"

Emily races into the kitchen, and I embrace her.

"Are you okay? Did he hit you?"

"I'm fine. Dad and I just had a misunderstanding."

I raise my eyebrows. "A misunderstanding? That's why you called me at ten-thirty to come over?"

Emily gives a quiet giggle. "What? Were you sleeping?"

I give a tight smile. "With someone?" asks Emily, with just a hint of disappointment.

Cal saunters into the room. "What now, Foster? Care to resign, again?"

I hug Emily close to me, protecting her. "How drunk are you?"

"You resigned?" Emily asks looking up at me, truly surprised by this revelation.

I glare at Cal. "I wanted to tell you myself. I'm going away for a little while."

"But," Emily chokes up. She whispers, "But my dad's the happiest when you're around."

"I don't think he is anymore."

"Dad," Emily pleads with him, "Tell her."

Cal scowls. "Tell her."

Cal doesn't say a word.

"I don't think that's true anymore, Em. I'm going to get going, but you're still welcome to stay with me tonight, if you want. I don't leave until Monday."

"Monday?" Emily asks in shock. "You were just going to leave?"

"Of course not!" I reassure her. "I was going to wait for the right moment."

"When would the right moment be? It's Friday night! You'd likely be calling me from the plane!"

The lights go on in her head; I see the wheels working. "Why don't you spend the weekend with us? We'll cook, rent movies, play board games..."

"As much fun as..."

"Please?"

"I don't know."

"How long are you gone for?"

"My contract is for a year."

"Where are you going? Will you be close by?"

I look at her sheepishly. "Not really. The company is based in London, England."

"Here's the deal. If you maintain your straight A's for the rest of the year, I'll pay for you to come visit me and I'll take you to see the sites...you know, Stone Henge, that kind of thing. You'll love it. I promise."

"But...you'll still spend the weekend with us, right? It's just two days, and dad...dad will promise to be on his best behaviour. I swear." Emily looks over at him, "Right, dad?"

Cal's face doesn't lend a hint of emotion as he replies, "Right." Which in Cal "speak" means maybe.

I hate ambushes. "Let me call you tomorrow morning with the answer. Is that okay?"

Emily smiles, a truly genuine smile. "Perfect."

Emily gives me a bear hug, and thanks me for coming, but Cal backs away when I move towards him.

"I'm doing this for Emily. Don't think anything's changed," he warns me.

When I turn to leave, Emily notices a hint of sadness, regret, loss and love play across her father's face. She thinks there is still hope for Cal and I yet.