Disclaimer: I don't own Lie to Me. I don't have a beta so all mistakes are mine. English is not my first language.

Author's Notes: I'd like to give a special shout-out to Schnerb for educating me about the intricacies of the English, Scottish, and Welsh accents. :) To everyone else, thank you all for continuing to read my story! I'm grateful and honored. I appreciate all your comments. One of these days I'll get round to replying to them. There's just little time left for me between work and writing. So anyway, I hope you'll like this latest offering. :)

Chapter 6

The loud beating of his heart was all Cal could seem to hear as he entered the ER. Frantically, he scanned the area for any sign of Gillian or Loker. He had nearly dropped the phone earlier when Loker called him. Gillian had collapsed. The very thought of her in danger for whatever reason always filled him with dread. She had to be all right. She had to be. Fear choked his throat when he couldn't find them.

"Gillian!"

Several nurses and patients looked his way in surprise.

Loker's head popped out from behind the curtains at the end of the ward. "Lightman! Over here."

Cal rushed over to Loker and into the confines of the curtained off area. His chest seized at the sight of Gillian on the hospital bed, her eyes closed. He went to her side, and his hands automatically touched her face and hands.

"She's fine," Loker reassured him. "She's sleeping."

His anguished eyes sought Loker's. "What the hell happened?"

"She fainted. We were already wrapping up the presentation when she just stopped talking. A second later she passed out on the floor. Completely scared the hell out of me."

Cal gave him a grateful look. "Thanks for looking out for her."

"I remembered what you told me in the office this morning. How did you know something was going to happen to her?"

"I didn't."

"Gut feeling then. Wow, you two are really connected in a major way."

"We must be," Cal replied pensively. "What did the doctor say?"

"The doctor suspects it's fatigue and stress related, as according to Gillian her last meal was a snack yesterday afternoon and that she'd been getting only four hours of sleep on average the past several days. But we won't know for certain until her tests come back."

Cal let out a deep breath. For a moment, he looked down at Gillian's tired and pale face. He couldn't help but feel responsible for what happened to her. If he hadn't caused their financial problem then she wouldn't have been slaving away in the office. I'm sorry, darling. He moved away from the bed and started pacing back and forth. He noticed Gillian's bag on the side table. He began to rummage through it.

"What she needs is a vacation, you know." Loker suggested. "She's overworking herself."

Cal didn't seem to hear him.

"And she needs to have sex with you."

That made Cal look up.

Loker waved a pamphlet he'd picked up at the nurses' station earlier. "I've been reading up on fatigue prevention, and it says here 'Have sex with your spouse or partner.' That's aside from managing your stress and improving your diet. Since Foster no longer has a spouse then that leaves you, her partner. She'll recover much quickly."

Cal regarded him with unreadable eyes.

"I just thought I'd share that bit of information …" Loker's voice tapered off. He cleared his throat. "So what's the plan?"

Cal fished out two sets of keys from Gillian's bag. Pocketing the house keys, he tossed the car key to Loker.

"Gillian's car is still at MPDC, yeah?" When Loker nodded, Cal continued. "Get her car and head back to the office. Here's what you're going to do."

Gillian woke up to the sound of Cal's voice. He was speaking to someone on the phone. She opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She was still in the hospital. She turned her head to find him on the other side of the bed, looking down on the floor. She reached out her hand to him and touched his arm.

Cal's head snapped up and met Gillian's soft, blue eyes. "I have to go, Em," he said on the phone. "Gillian's awake. I'll call you later. Yes, I'll let her know. Bye."

He clasped her hand and moved towards her. "Hey. Em says to get well soon." He looked her over. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine." Indeed she felt much better now, probably because of the nap she had. There was none of the sluggishness she had felt when she woke up late this morning.

"Want to tell me what happened?"

Gillian shrugged. "I woke up late, feeling lethargic. Missed breakfast…just as I missed dinner last night. Rushed to the headquarters for the presentation. I was concluding the presentation when suddenly I felt lightheaded. Next thing I knew I was on my way to the hospital." She sighed. "First time I ever fainted in my life."

"You scared the hell out of Loker." He met her eyes. "And me."

"I'm sorry for worrying you guys," she said guiltily. In truth, she felt like a fraud for being rushed to the hospital for fainting. Her schedule had just been hectic lately, and in between she'd been spending time worrying about the company and thinking about Cal that food and rest had been farthest from her mind.

"You have nothing to apologize for. So, are you ready to go home?"

"I can go home?" Gillian sat up on the bed. "What did the doctor say?"

Cal stroked his hand through her mussed hair. "You were over-fatigued. Your tests are all normal, thank God, except for your low blood sugar level. Didn't think that would ever happen to you considering the sugar junkie that you are. You're under strict orders to rest, relax, eat proper meals, and avoid stress for the next several days."

Gillian bit her lip as a flash of anxiety crossed her face.

"What is it?"

She looked at him uncomfortably. "I had planned on working tomorrow…"

"Damn it, Gillian, on a Saturday?" he swore softly. "It's not worth it. Working yourself to death will not do you or the company any good." He shook her gently. "I don't want you sacrificing your health for work."

She looked at him and saw anger, frustration, and concern warring in his face. "I know. I know," she placed her hands on his chest, trying to pacify him. "Please, don't be angry. But I'm fine, Cal. I just need to eat and sleep for a few hours and then I'll be back on my feet."

His eyes became determined. "No. You're taking a leave of absence."

"What? But I can't just leave behind all my open cases."

"Yes, you can. I'm taking over them all so you need not worry about them." His tone allowed for no argument. "No work for you for the next five working days. I've had Loker file for a leave on your behalf. And by the way, I'm moving in to your spare bedroom until further notice."

Gillian could only stare at him, speechless.

The tension between them was so thick, Cal could cut it with a cake cutter, which he was sure Gillian had in her kitchen. The silence in the car didn't help alleviate it. After calling Loker up to thank him for helping in bringing her to the hospital, she had remained quiet. She was giving him the silent treatment, which was fine by him. He was doing this for her own good.

Gillian was fuming mad. She couldn't believe Cal's highhandedness. He had no right to order her around and take charge of her life. She wasn't even sick—she just needed rest. She could do that this weekend, but taking next week off was just too much. She glared at him. He glared back at her. They both looked away at the same time.

When Cal pulled up to her apartment, she got out of the car even before he killed the engine. She hurried up the concrete steps while searching her bag for her keys. She stopped midway to dig deeper—where were her keys? She didn't notice Cal overtake her. She looked up when she heard a key grate against a lock.

Cal swung her door open and swept an arm towards the doorway, bidding her to enter.

Gillian gasped angrily. "You took my house keys?"

"What did you expect?"

She moved past him and into her house. "And my car keys?"

"With Loker. Your car's back in the office."

She removed her coat with jerky movements, revealing her crumpled navy blue dress. She threw it on the couch, and put her hands at her waist. "So now I'm a prisoner in my own home?"

"Something like that for the meantime. Until you've rested and relaxed a bit-"

"How can I relax when you're taking over my life!"

He removed his jacket and threw it forcefully on top of her coat. "Because you insist on working when I told you not to!"

"You don't care at all about the company, do you? We're hardly at a stable position right now. I've been doing everything to take in as many clients as we can—"

"I do, and I appreciate all your efforts." He strode up to her, his eyes blazing. "But damn it, Gillian, I care about you more! I'm not going to stand here and do nothing when I know it's my fault that you fainted."

"What? Cal, I fainted because I didn't take better care of myself. It wasn't your fault that I didn't eat and get enough sleep."

"But if I hadn't jeopardized the company with my rash financial decision you wouldn't be working this hard now, would you?"

"But it was still my choice. My decision, Cal. I'm doing this because I want to."

"You have to take a break—"

"I don't want to take a break."

"Bloody hell, Gillian! Why do you insist on being stubborn? The company is not worth killing yourself for!"

Her chest felt like it's going to burst. He didn't understand at all. "Yes it is because it's all I have, Cal!" Her voice broke. "Look at my life! My marriage is over. I lost my baby. I don't want to lose it too…"

Gillian's reply broke his heart. He didn't know that she felt like this, that she thought she didn't have anything else save for work. She'd lost everything that she valued the most in the past that she was afraid to lose the one thing that remained in her life. But work wasn't the only one that did.

He cupped her face in his hands, willing her to look into his eyes to see the truth. "Oh, Gillian, you're so wrong. You have me."

She wanted desperately to believe him. She gripped his wrists with her hands as tears ran unchecked from her eyes. "Do I, Cal?"

Emotion thickened his voice. "It pains me that you have to ask that. Always, love, always. I'm not going anywhere. Never doubt it."

His compelling eyes made the dam inside her break. Sobs wrenched from her throat. She leaned into his arms, weeping uncontrollably.

Cal gathered her trembling body protectively to his. The feeling of wanting to hide her away from the rest of the world and look after her overwhelmed him. He buried his mouth near her ear. "Let me take care of you, darling," he said fervently. "I want to take care of you. I need to."

Dusk had fallen, basking the living room in semi-darkness, but the man and woman seated on the couch did not notice. They were only aware of each other.

Gillian nuzzled her face against Cal's shoulder, his shirt underneath her cheek soaked in her tears. Cal languidly stroked her back in comfort. Their bodies rested against each other like the weary warriors that they were after their emotional battle.

"I'm sorry for taking the decision out of your hands, love," Cal murmured.

"I didn't think I'd live to see the day that you'd apologize for being bossy," Gillian said softly.

"I just want to make sure you'll recover fast."

"You don't trust me to use my free time well?"

"No. I know you'd sneak in work."

She smiled at that. He knew her too well. "Cal, it's really not necessary for you to move in and babysit me."

"What, you don't want me here?"

She lightly slapped his chest. "When have I ever turned you down the use of my spare room? It practically has your name on it. But what about Emily?"

"We've already talked about it and-"

"She didn't mind?"

"Are you kidding? She loved the idea. She's staying over at Zoey's tonight and the rest of the weekend so I can stay with you."

"Are you really taking over all my cases?"

"Yes, and that's all I'm going to say about it." He gently tilted her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "Gillian, I don't want you to think about work just yet. The purpose of this enforced leave is for you to rest, get better, and do whatever else you want besides work," he told her seriously. "I want you to get your strength back because trust me, when you get back to the office, there'll be a lot of work for you to deal with."

She reached up and laid her palm on his cheek. "Thank you, Cal."

"You've been taking care of me and the company for the longest time, love. Let me to take care of you for a change."

Her heart cried out in longing. She was so tired, physically, mentally, and emotionally, and she was powerless to deny what she'd been denying herself recently: Cal. She'd take him and be grateful for whatever he could give her. She'd be a fool to turn away his caring ways even if they're just in the name of friendship. "Okay," she whispered.

The look they shared was one of utter devotion and understanding.

It was shattered by Cal's rumbling stomach, causing Gillian to chuckle.

Cal smirked. "I guess that's my cue to make dinner."

She struggled to sit up. "No, I'll do it."

He held her face in his hands and smiled tenderly down at her. "No, darling. You're not allowed to do a single thing. This is my show. I'm going to love taking care of you."