Disclaimer - still not mine

Reunited?

Gill looked up and down the quiet London street aware that the neighbours were probably as nosy as Christine had complained about. She stood slightly behind Emily feeling awkward and unsure of herself as Cal stood rooted to the spot. Only Emily seemed animated.

"I, er we thought we'd surprise you" Emily smiled as Gill returned her attention to the 16 year old in front of her.

"Well it is certainly a surprise" Gill smiled slightly. She still hadn't spoken to Cal. She couldn't bring herself to; it seemed safer to keep talking to the young girl bouncing in front of her.

"A nice surprise I hope?" Emily bit her bottom lip, worried that maybe her father had been right. Maybe they never should have left the States.

"Emily Lightman" Gill smiled "It's certainly a nice surprise to see you. You must be so jetlagged I was when I got here. Have you eaten?" Cal smiled, Gill was a natural with Emily, and she always had been. He wondered why she wouldn't accept that he knew why she had kept secrets from him. He didn't resent her; he knew she was just trying to protect his child. He smiled slightly as Gill ushered Emily into Christine's house. Cal stayed where he was, stood halfway along the garden path, unsure if he should follow the women in to the house or stay where he was. After a minute or so Gillian reappeared.

"Well?" She glared at him

"Well what Foster?" Cal was jetlagged and too confused for mind games. Her body language said she was nervous but pleased to see him. Her words said otherwise. The midday June sunshine shone in her face as she raised a hand to shield her eyes.

"Are you going to stay there all day or do you want a coffee?" She smiled slightly. Her nerves beginning to give way as she realised after the initial shock she was pleased to see him. He smiled broadly. He'd missed her so much it was almost a physical pain but he didn't want to push her into anything. She was stood in front of him smiling slightly. He began to wonder if Emily had been right. Hell, even Zoe had suggested it. He nodded.

"Yeah, coffee would be great" Gillian rolled her eyes and headed back into the house as Cal followed her.

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Ria was still unhappy at being left in charge. It would have been ok if it was just her Ben and Heidi but she couldn't deal with the way Heidi openly flirted with Eli. Although she liked the girl she hated the way Eli seemed to lap up the attention. The only good thing about being left in charge was the fact that they had a quiet week. She stared at the video screen in the viewing room trying to work out if the man on the screen was really lying. He had all the markers of a practised liar but seemed too convincing. She shook her head in frustration as she threw her note pad back on the table. Eli looked up from his own workstation.

"Whoa" He smiled, his dark curls falling forward. "You ok?"

"I just don't see the point in this anymore. Is it really only me that cares about what we do? You turn up when you feel like it. Lightman and Foster jet halfway around the world and Ben barely tolerates us" She folded her arms across her stomach as she glared at her feet. Eli shook his head.

"I care, of course I care" He smiled as he crossed the room to her. She looked up and he met her dark eyes. "I care more than you know"

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Christine knew that Cal and Emily would be at her house by now. She smiled at the thought of the three finally being reunited. Walking along Oxford Street she stopped in her tracks, realising that Cal and Gill would never be able to have the big conversation with a 16 year old girl in the room. She rolled her eyes at herself as she pulled her mobile out and called Emily.

"Hi Hun, how do you feel about a little sightseeing?" Christine laughed as she heard Emily agree to a trip to Oxford Street. "Great, I'll pick you up in an hour. Then you can tell me how it's going with Gill and your Dad." She laughed as the young girl groaned. She knew how guarded her friend could be, she hoped they both saw sense.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Why did you leave?" Cal drank his coffee as Emily stepped in to the hallway to take her call.

"Who does she know in this country?" Gill avoided his question by asking another.

"Your friend Christine it seems. That's how we found you. Emily did a little snooping" He shrugged, suddenly aware that he had said the wrong thing. He replaced his mug on the table as he walked towards her. Gill gripped the edge of the kitchen sink. She hated the animosity between them, she couldn't deal with it. That was why she left. She couldn't tell him that though.

"Oh I see" She looked down "I spoke to the real estate people back home. My house goes on the market on Monday and they can help find a buyer for my share in the business" Cal felt like he had been punched in the gut.

"Right" He closed his eyes for a moment. He wanted to shake some sense in to her. Both adults froze as Emily bounded back in to the room.

"That was Christine. She's going to pick me up in about thirty minutes. She wants to take me shopping" Emily smiled as Cal began to look pale.

"Hun? Can't you both just go sightseeing? You know London Zoo, Marble Arch? All that malarkey?" He watched as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Daaad" She laughed as even Gill couldn't suppress a smirk. He'd been had and he knew it.

"Ok, but just remember, you get an allowance. I don't have any spare cash at the moment"

"I can go?" She clapped her hands as she saw her father nod. Gill smiled at the young girl as she bounded out of the kitchen. Christine's car began beeping as Gill's friend began tooting the horn. Cal smiled slightly as his daughter hugged him before dashing out the door to meet Christine.

Gill looked at the floor for a moment, collecting her thoughts. She really wanted Cal to be honest, to say why he wanted her to go home, to stay at the Lightman Institute. She smiled as Emily bounded out the door.

"Doesn't that child ever get tired?" Gill braved a glance at Cal as he shook his head.

"Nope, she never even slept as a baby. Too much energy I think. Too much going on inside that little head of hers. What worries me is she's about to discover all the shops on Oxford Street. Your friend doesn't know what's hit her" He smiled. Once he had been shopping with Emily. It was not an experience he was keen to repeat. Gillian nodded. She knew what teenage girls were like in the shopping malls at home, she doubted they were any different in London.

"Cal" She sighed "Why are you here?" She sounded defeated; her hands still clutched the edge of the sink as Cal moved to stand just inches in front of her. He had a habit of invading her personal space, whether by intention or just by accident she was never sure.

"I knew this was a mistake. I'm sorry Foster I really am" He sighed as he backed away from her, he could see how tense his presence was making her.

"I'm not Zoe. You can't just pick me up and put me down the way you do with her Cal" Gillian looked angry. He didn't know where the sudden outburst had come from. He stood in front of her, angry that she had dragged his ex wife into the argument. She was showing all the signs of anger but Cal didn't know why.

"Yeah, I know that. You really think I'd go half way around the bloody world to beg her to come home? You really think that?" Cal waved his arms in the air. He was desperate to make her see sense.

"You haven't even asked me Cal. You just turn up here and assume that what? I'd fall in to your arms and beg you to take me home?" Gillian was angry as she stepped away from the sink.

"Gill!" His anger was matching hers now as he raised his voice. Running a hand through his hair he turned to her. "You told me your house is going up for sale. That you are looking for someone to buy you out of the Lightman Institute. How can I ask you to come home, to come back to us when you seem to have moved on with your life so quickly? You don't need us anymore Gill" He moved away as Gill stood up straight.

"You know why I left. You know why I'm selling up and moving on. You arrogant bastard" Gill walked to the door. "You need to go now. I'll call Emily. She knows where I am if she ever needs me" She wouldn't meet his gaze as she held the door open.

"Oh no you don't" Cal was inches in front of her once more. He pushed the door closed. It reminded her of a million times when they argued about something stupid. Seconds later they were friends again, laughing at something Eli had said or the way Ria had reacted to it.

"Don't what Cal? Ask you to leave? I'm tired Cal. I can't do this anymore." She felt the tears spring to her eyes as Cal sighed. He was so close she could feel his breath on her skin.

"Don't push me away. I know you lied. It was years ago and you did it for the best reasons. I know that. I've seen you with Em often enough. I know you treat her as if she was yours." Gill raised her eyes slightly as he rested a hand on her arm, relieved she didn't pull away.

"I had to protect her and Zoe. They came to my house Cal" She met his eyes "But that didn't stop you hating me. I read you as well as you read everyone else. That night in my office I saw what you really think of me. I knew then we couldn't go on as we were" Her voice was low, almost inaudible.

"No you read me wrong luv. You really did. Yeah you saw hate, but hate for the man that had scared you. Never for you Gill" His voice was so quiet that she could barely hear him. She closed her eyes at his words. "I could never hate you Gill" He touched the side of her face as the front door slammed. Both jumped apart as Emily and Christine walked in to the kitchen. Both exchanged glances. Something had changed, Emily didn't know what but something was definitely different.

Emily raised an eyebrow as Christine ushered the young girl out of the kitchen as Gillian began fussing with her hair as Cal smiled. It seemed the women in his life really did control his fate. He cursed himself silently for being so open with his emotions. It wasn't something he was prone to do but he knew if Gillian Foster was going to believe him he'd have to be more honest not only with her but with himself.

authors note. Thank you for all the reviews. I hope you like this part too. Only one or two chapters left now. Please let me know what you think.