A/N: I meant to end things with the last chapter, but forgot to click complete. In doing so I think I mistakenly lead people on that there might be another chapter, oops! I felt kind of bad about it so... I wrote this to (hopefully) make good on things. Guess this makes it a two-shot now. I think this is somewhere between T and M, but I kept the rating at T since nothing is described explicitly in my opinion. If it raises any issues, please let me know and I'll change the rating. Song referenced is "With or Without You" by U2. As much as I've enjoyed writing these, this will probably be the last installment.

I'm not much for authors notes which is why I never write much in the way of thanks for readers/reviews, but since I've already got this one I'll take the time to say thanks a lot for the love and support and I hope I can continue making more LTM fandom friends- PMs are always welcome!


They continued to hold each other in silence after the music had died away.

I don't want to ask you, she thought. If you gave me what I wanted only because I asked it'd lose some of the meaning.

So instead she let her mouth brush over his cheek and bit her lip, pulling away from their embrace. She turned and headed for the door, but it was harder to concentrate with each step that carried her further away from the moment.

Gillian felt his eyes on her back, although he didn't make any immediate move to follow, which made her heart sink a little deeper inside her chest. But as she approached the exit, she suddenly felt his hand latch onto hers and he sidled up to her. They exchanged brief smile between them and walked out with their hands pressed together. The cool night breeze settled upon them and without thinking about where they were heading the two kept on, both keeping their eyes ahead of them. Gillian concentrated on the pattern the cracks in the sidewalk made until Cal's voice penetrated the air.

"Gill..."

"Hmmm?"

"It's not that... you know," he tried to convey the meaning with a gesture. "Hell, you look bloody gorgeous and I or any other guy out there would be crazy not to be attracted to you..."

"I think I remember you saying something once...," she picked up where he left off, her eyes still fixed in front of her, "...about wanting me in the worst possible way."

The mention of his prior admission caught him off guard, and Cal stopped and turned to look at her with some sincerity. "Well it's just that, yeah. You deserve better than that... You're better than that," he tried to reason.

She moved to face him. "What about my right to choose? I'm a grown woman, Cal. I never asked to be placed on a pedestal. I think I'm capable of deciding on what I want."

"C'mon, love. We both know it isn't like you to get into it without thinking of the consequences."

"I know, and I appreciate you trying to look out for me," she flashed a gentle, yet solemn smile his way. "But I've already thought it over completely," she said as she held one hand up and placed it over his heart. "We've already established an emotional connection; there's no denying it. I would just like it if, for once, it we had a physical one, too."

Cal studied her and with his face open to hers she could read the traces of uncertainty and fear expressed on it.

"If you don't want to I'll understand. It won't change anything between us, Cal. Think of it as an open offer. You can take me up on it or just leave it," she said with a straight face. He didn't see any markers of untruthfulness, but internally he admitted that she was often the hardest to read when she didn't put her emotions on full display.

"Look Gillian, I don't want it to be like...," he tried again.

"So don't let it."

"But I can't make any promises either," Cal looked at her.

"So don't," her voice was gentle in response. Her aquamarine eyes shone with clarity, and for a second he found himself lost inside their depths.

He blinked slowly and tilted his head. "And the line?" he questioned.

She moved her head in closer, so that their lips were only inches apart. "We'll see."

He could see he was on the losing side of the battle and decided to call her bluff by bringing his lips to hers for kiss. What he didn't expect was for her to respond by raising her hands to cup sides of his face, locking him there as she pushed her lips against his to deepen it. Cal could taste her sweetness on his tongue and he felt the same pang of desire from the dance floor rushing through him again. When they finally broke contact, he caught Gillian licking her lips, her smirk returning.

"Jesus Christ, Gillian," he stood there as if dumbfounded.

She walked a few steps in front of him, and took notice of the four story parking garage situated on their left. Her eyes traveled upwards and she fixed her gaze on a red Aston Martin DB9 Coupe she could make out on the second level.

"There," she called out to him as she pointed upwards.

"What is it?" he snapped back into reality and re-focused himself, his line of vision following the direction her finger indicated. "Well, it's definitely not a Prius," he said and accompanied it with a lighthearted laugh.

"Mhmm," the sound left her lips almost like a hum. "I've always wanted to do it in the backseat one of those," she grinned at him.

He raised one eyebrow at her, "Have you? Funny, I would have marked you for a Jaguar kind of woman."

"I wouldn't turn one of those down either," she remarked with a playful smile.

"And here I thought you weren't the type to go around gold diggin'."

"I'm not, but I can have my fantasies can't I?" She let her lips form into a pout, which he found charming despite its awkwardness.

"Well let's see if we can do something about that shall we?" his voice came out lower than usual and his footsteps quickened as he began to pace towards the garage.

"Cal, wait! Where are you going?" she called out, the click of her heels resounding against the asphalt as she hastened her step to keep up. He cast a look backwards and hurried on, and her laughter rang out as she tried to catch him. She saw him reach down to pick up a few things along the way, but couldn't make out what. When they stopped, Cal's breathing was ragged and Gillian bent over, her hands resting on her thighs while she tried to catch her breath.

After recovering, Cal raised his hand to show her the assortment of items he held with a lopsided grin on his face and she noticed they were in front of the car in question.

"That's a nice collection you have," she mused. "A piece of wire, a twig, and what is that..? A used chopstick?"

"This," he started off explaining, "This me letting go and getting us a ride."

"You're kidding, right?" she asked. She watched as he went to work using the twig and chopstick to prop open the door a crack, before bending the wire and sticking it through the opening.

"Cal! What are you doing? We can't do this," she stared at him in bewilderment.

"Sure we can- the poor bloke'll never know."

"But what if somebody sees us?" she worried.

"Trust me, love" he assured her. "All sorts of handy stuff they teach you at the Pentagon."

"If you say so," she sighed in defeat and heard the click of the door unlocking.

Cal gripped the door handle and it came open. He reached an arm behind the drivers seat, unlocking the backseat door as well. Once accomplished, he held it open for her and she reluctantly climbed in. He tossed the tools of evidence aside and slid in beside her, closing the door with him.

"I can't believe how much trouble you pull me into sometimes," she mumbled.

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"Not at all," she responded with confidence.

"Then I guess the only question that remains is what kind of punishment you deem appropriate for always making you a co-conspirator in my mischief," his voice became husky.

"Is that so," she ran a finger up the thigh of his pants leg and began tracing circles. He groaned slightly at the contact. "We both know I'll never turn you into a good boy," her voice barely above a whisper.

She dipped in to take his lips in her own. Her fingertips moved to fumble with the buttons of his jacket and with a little help was able to push it off his shoulders. Their kissing grew more passionate and she felt him grip the zipper on the side of her dress, pulling it down slowly. Gillian repositioned herself to make abandoning the garment easier before returning to work on removing the rest of the articles that formed a barrier between them.

The windows began to fog up as their heat filled the car. Cal's breath caught in his throat while admiring her perfect figure. The color of her lacy bra and underwear brought out the rich complexion of her skin and he was in awe at her beauty. Her skin was soft and smooth to the touch, and he reached out to graze her chest, causing a moan to escape her lips.

The sensation his touches left in their wake were wonderful and Gillian was well aware of Cal's hardness swelling beneath her. Her hands traveled across his body in fervor, not being able to satisfy her need fast enough.

All of their clothing now discarded, they thoroughly explored one another before Gillian straddled herself above him.

"Are you sure you don't want..?"

"I trust you," she breathed and brought her hips downwards, gasping at how good it felt. It took them a few times to establish a matching rhythm. Cal took special attention to lavishing a trail along collarbone as he deepened his efforts. She tightened her hips around him and he knew he wouldn't be able to take much more.

"Gill, I'm going to…" he half-grunted and she responded by pushing down on his shoulders, keeping him from pulling out. She gave him his release, and then laid her head against him. Cal could feel the faint caress of her lips against his crook of his neck.

When two finally separated, Gillian relaxed herself and stared at the cloudy window beside her. The leather interior felt cool yet stuck to her bare skin.

"Are you alright, love?" he asked with some concern.

Her eyes were still hazy as she tried to focus her attention on him. "It was much better than in my fantasies, but…"

Cal searched her face for any trace of disappointment or regret. Oblivious to his reaction she finished, "…now I'm in the mood for something sweet," her voice still heavy.

"You're absolutely unbelievable sometimes, Foster," his relief apparent, and he gave chuckle at her expense. Gillian could feel a certain amount of affection contained in the way he spoke her last name.

They helped each other get back into their clothes, and as they stepped out again into the parking garage, she turned to him and said simply, "Thank you."


Gillian adamant about getting her sugar fix, after their rendezvous he'd hailed a taxi and now they were both standing in Cal's kitchen.

She busied herself making preparations for frozen hot chocolate while Cal went into the living room and picked up a remote off of the coffee table, clicking the stereo on. It was the first time he'd been in the mood for music in some time; the house had grown unusually quiet now that Emily was off at university, and he noted how the place seemed to have gained some of it's warmth back with Gillian's presence. He returned to the area to offer up his assistance, and they went about mixing their drinks in good spirits.

She poured the concoction into two glasses and shook a can of whipped cream to spray on top as another radio tune drifted into the room.

See the stone set in your eyes.
See the thorn twist in your side.
I wait for you.

Gillian rummaged around for two straws and stuck one in each drink, handing him one. They clinked their glasses together and she raised hers to her lips, lightly sucking on the straw and savoring the sweet taste of the chocolate liquid.

Slight of hand and twist of fate,
on a bed of nails she makes me wait.
And I wait without you.

He tapped his nose to let her know a dollop of cream had found its way there, and she let out a peel of laughter as she dipped her fingers into her glass and dabbed some on his, too.

With or without you.
With or without you.
Through the storm, we reach the shore.
You gave it all but I want more.

And I'm waiting for you.
With or without you.
With or without you.
I can't live with or without you.

Cal stuck out his tongue to try and lick the sweetness off his nose but failed. He retaliated by wiping it off with his hand and bending towards her to smear it on her lips.

And you give yourself away.
And you give yourself away.
And you give, and you give,
and you give yourself away.

Gillian's tongue swirled to clear away the white foam and he caught a faint glimmer in her eye before she picked up the can. She pressed the top in an act of revenge, and whipped cream sprayed out, landing on his dress shirt.

My hands are tied, my body bruised.
She's got me with nothing to win
and nothing left to lose.

And you give yourself away.
And you give yourself away.
And you give, and you give,
and you give yourself away.

"This is war, that's what this is," he called out as he manhandled the can from her grasp. She tried to move away from the counter before he could aim and fire, but she wasn't fast enough and the onslaught of cream found its way into her hair instead.

With or without you.
With or without you.
I can't live
with or without you.

Caught up in the moment, they forgot about their drinks altogether and continued to sling whipped cream at each other until their laughter drowned out the music and the can was empty.

With or without you.
With or without you.
I can't live
with or without you.

with or without you.

As the song was winding down they finally took notice of their predicament and of the sopping mess all over the battlefield.

"Looks like we both could use a shower, darling," Cal commented.

"I think you'll have to help me out of this," she played coy.

"I believe that can be easily arranged," he offered with a smug grin.


The next day all eyes were on them as they stumbled into work together, giggling like children. Gillian was wearing one of Cal's dress shirts with the front ends tied into a knot and pair of capris she'd apparently forgotten sometime when she'd stayed in his guest room in the past. She separated from him to change into an outfit she kept at the office and to touch up.

Cal helped himself to a cup of coffee from the cart and made his way to the audio visual lab, setting his mug down of the table and plopping into one of chairs. He then proceed to prop his feet up on another. He leaned an elbow against the tabletop and stroked one of his temples. Staring off at one of the monitors in front of him, every now and then his hand raised the cup to his mouth for a sip.

Loker and Torres exchanged a look and then went on about their business without disturbing him.

Eventually Loker cleared his throat and addressed Cal. "So I take it you two had fun last night," Loker questioned and Torres smirked when she saw Gillian enter the room again.

"S' none of your business," Cal returned. "But speaking of which, I want you to run the phone number on this business card and see if there's any other contact information or an address connected to it. Call the provider if you have to."

"And then?" Loker asked without hiding a hint of disdain.

"Well, while you're on it," he added and he reached a hand into his pocket to retrieved a crumpled slip of paper, "Run these plates and find out who the owner is. Then meet with him or her and offer them a free car cleaning," he finished and handed it to the younger man.

"What, why?" Loker questioned.

"That wasn't a request; it was an order," Cal commanded. "Well, get on it then."

He looked up at Gillian and their eyes met. It only lasted a split second, but both employees caught the smile that passed between their lips.