A/N: I love this chapter! : )
Special thanks to Dr. Callian for all your input and for helping me get the ending just right! And also a special thanks to all my reviewers - you're all very encouraging and it makes me want to keep writing! Enjoy!
Arriving at work the next morning, Cal made his way directly to Gillian's office. He didn't have anything but his coat with him anyway since he'd never made it back to work the night before. He was indeed going to invite her to Thanksgiving dinner, but he was also going to perform a little experiment as well.
"Morning, Foster!" he said as he walked in her office and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of her desk.
"Good morning," she said back with a genuine smile that wanted to reach her eyes, but failed to do so.
Interesting, Cal thought. "How was your evening?" he asked as he threw an arm over the back of the chair and allowed his legs to take a wide stance.
"It was good. Nothing special," she said as she leaned forward on her desk. "I finally had my tea, did a little reading, and finished some paperwork."
Oh yeah. The tea. "What kind of tea?" Cal inquired.
Feeling that was incredibly insignificant, Gillian furrowed her brow but answered him anyway. "Honey and lemon. Why?"
"Just curious," he stated as he tipped his head back slightly.
Knowing something was going on, but having no idea what it was, she licked her lips and asked, "Can I help you with something, Cal?"
Here's my opportunity without it being overly obvious. "Actually you can, Gillian." He paused after saying her name to see how she reacted. He could see she was very much trying to hide a smile, and doing quite a good job at it. But her eyes gave her away like always. They were brighter and slightly squinted as if the smile had already reached them even as it was still fighting to stay off her lips.
Satisfied with his results, he leaned forward on her desk to mirror her posture and asked, "How many points would an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner get me?"
She drew her head back and considered his question. "Well the very fact that you're even asking that question skews things, because it seems like you'd be inviting me to dinner only to win more points."
"In my defense," Cal started while gesturing at her, "it was actually Emily's idea." Gillian turned her head ever so slightly to the side as he spoke. He continued, "And I thought it was a good idea. We both loved having you there last year. Besides, that's a lot of food for two people." Noticing she was still examining his face, he added with a shrug of his shoulders, "It can be a freebie if you like – no points. I just hope you don't already have plans, and that you can be there. Gill." He added her name on at the last second, just to see what would happen.
She was suddenly serious as she leaned further across her desk. "I would love that," she said, "but not because you called me 'Gill'. I can see you're trying to figure something out, Cal. What are you getting at?" she asked intrigued.
"Nothing," he easily said.
"Liar," she countered while pointing at him quickly.
A small grin escaped his lips and he asked, "I can't call you 'Gill'?"
"I didn't say that," she said while looking him in the eye. "You can't call me Gill if you've got some hidden motive."
Oh she's on to me, Cal thought to himself. "So you'll be at dinner, Dr. Foster?" he deflected.
She simply nodded her head at him with a knowing smile.
"Good," Cal said reaching out to put a hand on hers. It felt good to touch her. He hadn't touched her in anyway in so long. He could tell by the hitch in her breath that she enjoyed the contact too. Taking his hand back he finished, "Em wants to eat around 4, but we'll be cooking all day. You're welcome at any point. You just let me know, alright?"
She nodded at him and he stood to walk toward the door, but he stopped just before he left. "Gill," he said, waiting for her to look him in the eyes again. "I'm really glad you'll be there."
She finally let out the smile that was hiding inside, and this time it easily reached her eyes. "Me too."
As soon as he left she turned in her chair to face the windows and brought her hands to her cheeks, feeling the blush rise in them at him calling her Gill again. And then her mind wandered to Thanksgiving, and she smiled.
###############
Later that day while she was fully consumed in her work, Gillian's cell phone rang. Being so caught up in what she was doing, she didn't even look to see who was calling.
She picked up the phone and uttered, "Hello?"
"Gillian?" the voice on the other end of the phone asked.
Not recognizing the voice Gillian said, "Uhm, yes," as she pulled the phone away to see whose name was on the screen. "Oh, hi Emily," she happily said after seeing it was Cal's home number that the call came from. "How are you?"
"I'm good. Dad says you're coming to Thanksgiving!" she excitedly said.
"Yes, he said it was your idea. Thank you for thinking of me," Gillian said with a smile.
"Oh, we had such a good time with you last year that I thought you belonged there with us this year!" Emily stated matter-of-factly.
Belonged, Gillian thought. I haven't belonged anywhere in a long time.
She continued, "We're going to start cooking around noon. Do you want to come over early? You can watch dad in his frilly apron again," she added with a small laugh.
Gillian considered what Emily was asking her. That's a long time to be around someone I'm still a little angry with… "I'd love to help with the cooking, but do you really want–" Gillian was cut off by Emily.
"Don't be silly. Yes, we want you there for that long. If we didn't, we wouldn't invite you so early! And Dad will never say it, so I'm calling. Please come at noon?" Emily asked.
Gillian bit her lip and finally acquiesced, "Ok. I'll be there at noon. Do I need to bring anything?"
"Just yourself. See you tomorrow!" Emily said before quickly hanging up so Gillian couldn't change her mind.
###############
As she was getting ready to go home for the day, Cal stopped in her office to say goodnight.
"I hear you're coming over at noon." Cal stated with a smile as he casually walked in her office.
"Yes. You're daughter is a master manipulator. Where do you think she learned that from?" she asked from behind her desk as she put on her jacket and gathered her things.
"Only the best!" Cal said proudly.
Gillian looked up from her things and said, "Mmm." She looked down as she walked around her desk with her bag and purse in hand. Cal leaned down and tilted his head in an effort to see her face. He could see she was unsure about something, and he couldn't help but think how cute she looked when she was unsure. She looked up at him once she was standing next to him and he straightened up, looking in her eyes and waiting for her to speak. Finally, she asked, "Are you sure you want me there that early? If you want some time with Emily I understand that…" her voice trailed off.
Cal wrapped a hand gently around her arm just above her wrist and looked deep in her eyes while speaking reassuringly. "Neither of us would have ever brought it up if we didn't want you there. I want you to be comfortable though. You're welcome to come over at whatever time you want. You can come over at four, or you can come over at eight in the morning. We can have mimosas with breakfast," he said, earning a small smile from her.
She gave him a nod and said, "Ok. I'll be there at noon."
"Great," he said giving her arm a small squeeze. "Let's get outta here." He gave her a small, heart-felt smile and moved his hand to her lower back to guide her out of the office. Once in the hallway, he snaked his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a side hug. While looking down, she turned her head toward him and smiled, feeling warmth spreading from her chest to the rest of her body. She looked up at him, knowing the first thing on her list of reasons to be thankful for that year. Cal returned her smile, thinking the same thing.
I'm going to try to get the first of the Thanksgiving chapters up before Thanksgiving actually arrives, or on Thanksgiving, but I can't guarantee anything. Just in case I don't see you all before that - Happy Thanksgiving! And if you won't be celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, take a moment to count your blessings anyway. I can almost guarantee you'll feel better after you do!
