Disclaimer: I do not own Lie to Me or any of the characters.

Thank you so much everyone for the reviews, they really do encourage writing and inspiration! This chapter was taking quite a while to come together, so rather than keep you guys waiting, I've ended it a little sooner than I'd planned, and some stuff that was going to happen in this chapter is going into chapter five. So – enjoy!

Chapter Four

It was barely 8am, but there were enough people scuttling around the Lightman Group building to make the place look busy. Loker was in the lab, reviewing the footage of Rachel Thomas's first police interview following her arrest, as Lightman had instructed. The woman on the video was very distressed – sobbing, scratching nervously at her arms, shaking her head every time Adam's death was mentioned. She was obviously distraught – but whether that was because her boyfriend was dead or because she was horrified that she'd killed him was masked by her constant sobbing and wailing.

"You were found leaning over Adam's body, holding the murder weapon, covered in his blood. How do you explain that?" The inspector questioning Rachel was not unkind, but repeated the last part of the question a little more firmly when he received no answer.

"I didn't do it!" Rachel screamed, her eyes wide with fear. "Don't lock me up! Please! I didn't do it, I didn't do it, I didn't do it…"

"Loker." His boss appeared behind him, and Eli spun around in his chair, pausing the footage on the image of Rachel putting her head in her hands in despair.

"Morning Dr Lightman."

"What do you see?" Cal gestured at the video.

"I see a traumatised woman. My gut instinct would tell me she didn't do it, but she could just be traumatised after committing murder, and she seems terrified of being put in prison."

Cal nodded. The door to the lab opened, and Foster appeared, wearing a deep purple dress.

"Morning Loker," she said, smiling at him in greeting. The smile disappeared from her face. "Cal," she said neutrally.

At least she's being civil to me, Cal thought. Which is probably more than I deserve.

"Good night last night?" he couldn't help himself asking.

"Lovely, thank you," she answered without looking at him.

"Pleased to hear it," Cal replied shortly.

Loker watched this exchange with faint amusement. You didn't have to be Cal Lightman to know that Gillian had been out with the lawyer she and Cal were working with last night, nor that Lightman was far from happy about it.

"Did you get anything from the footage?" she asked Loker, walking closer to the screen.

"She's showing high anxiety throughout the interview, with fear and panic increasing every time Adam's name is mentioned. Her voice wavers all the time – it's impossible to establish a baseline pitch for her voice. If you want a decent read from her, you'll need to calm her down."

"She's being transferred here this morning," Gillian told him. "She'll be here at about 9."

"Really? I wasn't informed about this," Cal said, trying to keep his voice casual. "Eric tell you that last night, did he?"

"The final arrangements were put in place yesterday afternoon. Eric called me to confirm the details. I would have told you, but you seemed a little preoccupied yesterday." The coldness was still there in her voice, and Cal ached to hear it.

I've got to make it up to her. Loker's voice interrupted his thoughts. "I'll set up the Cube." He rose quickly and walked out the room, leaving Gillian studying the video footage, and Cal studying Gillian.

"We need to ask Rachel about the night the police were called to the house. She admitted verbally threatening Adam –if we can get her to talk honestly about that, it should give us a baseline to judge her denial of murder against."

"Yep." He nodded. "Look, love, about last night…"

"You know what I don't get, Cal?" she interrupted, turning to face him. "Two days ago you told me you'd be there for me, no matter what I needed. Where's the guy from that day gone, Cal? Because I didn't see him last night, when you were making comments about my friendship with Eric and the break up of my marriage which, if you recall, has been something of a sensitive issue for me."

"I know, love, and I'm sorry…"

"Forget the apologies. I'll settle for an explanation."

For a long moment, Cal just stared at her. How could he put into words what had been going on the past couple of days, when he didn't even fully understand it himself?

Before he could even try, a cough interrupted them, followed by a voice Cal was growing to hate. "Gillian." Pause. "Dr Lightman." Eric stepped into the room, smiling. What does this guy have to be so bloody cheery about? Cal thought irritably. His client's facing a murder charge!

"Thanks again for last night," Eric said to Gillian in a low voice, touching her arm briefly.

Oh right. I guess that's what he's cheery about. Pushing aside all thoughts of Eric and Gillian and what last night might have entailed, Cal tried to switch his mind firmly to the job at hand.

"So, Eric," he said. "Tell me – was Rachel always this distressed when you spoke to her?"

Eric frowned in thought. "She was devastated to be thought guilty of hurting Adam. But I suppose she was more…" he waved his hand at the TV screen in front of them, "emotional, once she was in prison. But that's hardly surprising, is it? It's not exactly a pleasant experience."

"Been through it yourself have you?"

Gillian frowned at Cal, but Eric gave a short, uncomfortable laugh. "No, no, but… well, you know what I mean."

"Sure." Cal was studying Eric's face intently, his head cocked to one side, and Eric awkwardly shifted his attention to Gillian.

"So, how do you want to do this? I think it might be best if I'm present, after last time… you've seen how Rachel can be with strangers."

"I agree. You and I will talk to her." Gillian turned to Cal, exhaling slightly. "That okay with you, Cal?" The look on her face told Cal he'd better not dare disagree.

"Absolutely," he said, injecting as much conviction into his voice as possible.

A brief silence followed, punctuated by the ringing of Eric's phone. "Excuse me," he said apologetically, pulling it from his pocket. "Campbell? Yes? Just a moment." He covered the mouthpiece with his hand, whispered, "I'll just take this outside," to Gillian, then marched out the door, resuming his conversation.

"I'm sorry, love," Cal repeated, perching himself on the edge of the desk. "I shouldn't have said what I did yesterday. I said I'd be here for you, whatever you needed, and I meant it."

Gillian turned towards Cal, sighing softly. "It's okay."

"No, it's not. I was just worried about you, that's all."

She looked at him in surprise. Cal Lightman could be a master liar, but he seemed to be telling the truth right now. Her mind flashed back to the night she, Cal and Alec had had dinner together, and Cal had followed Alec after leaving the restaurant. He'd been trying to protect her then… but hadn't she reminded him it was best to respect the line? Weren't they supposed to mind their own business when it came to each other's personal lives? Another thought came jostling into her mind – he cares about me. As annoyed as she might have been with him – and last night certainly wasn't the first time Cal Lightman had done something to infuriate her – Gillian couldn't help feeling almost… pleased? Was that it? That warmth spreading through her when she thought of how Cal had wanted to protect her… it made her feel safe, somehow, to know he cared that much about her.

Cal was still looking at her, waiting for some kind of response no doubt, and Gillian tried to clear her mind – and face – before he could read her expression, if he hadn't already. "You were worried about me? Why?" she asked, as neutrally as she could.

"Two days ago you said you weren't ready to date, and now you're…" he waved his hand towards the space where Eric had been standing. "I just didn't want you to get hurt, love."

Gillian paused, choosing her words carefully. "Eric and I are friends," she said at last. "We're not dating. Not that it's any of your business," she added, but with a flicker of a smile, and Cal felt relief sweep through him.

"Yeah, you're probably right, I should just stay out of it. There's enough drama on those trashy soap operas Emily makes me watch, I don't need to get involved in one myself."

"You're saying my life is like a trashy soap opera?" she teased him.

"Well, it's getting that way. Newly divorced woman, fraternising with a colleague… not to mention all the time she spends flirting with her partner."

"Oh is that so?" She put her hands on her hips, a look of mock annoyance on her face. "I'll stop being nice to you if you're getting the impression that I'm flirting with you."

"Nah, you'll never be able to stop. I'm just too irresistible." He winked at her, and jumped off the desk. "Now, if you're done trying to turn my life into a soap opera, shall we try solving a murder?"

Gillian smiled at him. "Let's do it."