A/N: Sorry for the delayed upload but I haven't had much time to write lately what with the wedding and a *teething 1-year-old! Apologies in advance for a sub-standard piece of writing but my mojo had abandoned me (see *teething 1-year-old) and I was looking to scare it out of hiding. Reviews welcome, as always.
Chapter 9
"Oh, I didn't realize-" Gillian opened the door to Cal's office to find him and Wallowski immersed in conversation on his couch. The fact that he increased the distance between them when she entered made her feel a bit better. But not much. She shook her head at Cal in disbelief. They had left the lab over an hour ago when Wallowski asked to speak to Cal about a case. Gillian had retired to the confines of her own office space where she could freely process what had happened between her and Cal before they were interrupted by the wily dick.
His behavior had been strange all morning and now she knew why. The dream. Gillian wondered if it had been the first of its kind or if she had occupied his subconscious before. His eyes when he told her about it, the hunger, she couldn't get the image out of her head. It was that image that had eventually driven her to him just then. She wasn't sure what she would say when she got there but Gillian felt a need to simply be there. With Cal. Needless to say the smirk on Wallowski's face was not what she expected to see upon walking into his office.
"We should get going," Wallowski said as she stood up.
"We?" Gillian straightened, looking at Cal questioningly.
"I'm going to go talk to the Hewes girl," he replied, shrugging his jacket on.
"We can't hold her for much longer," Wallowski continued. "Money talks."
"You would know," Gillian chided, as she stood her ground in the doorway.
"Nice kitty," Cal sensed her agitation.
"He said she's lying."
"Cal agreed that it would be better to talk to her in person."
"He is also in the room and can speak for himself," Cal chirped but for all it mattered he may as well not have been there.
"We get paid to find the truth, Detective, not cover it up," Gillian faced Wallowski squarely and made it clear that she was not about to be pushed around. "A lie is a lie whether it's on tape or in front of your face."
"Who said anything about covering up the truth?"
"When you're involved, corruption is my first assumption."
"Good. Yeah I like that," Cal had their attention for the first time. "Now if you could just both take your clothes off and roll around in some mud. Rough it up a little; call each other dirty names, you know." He made to squeeze past Gillian but stopped when he felt her hand on his.
His reaction was instant – his heart stopped as his stomach did a somersault. The cover-up of his reaction happened a second later. He turned to her. They were both jammed inside the doorway now and although Cal had been that close to her many times before, it had always been on his terms. This was different. Unexpected. He looked at her as her eyes searched his. The room sucked back and they were alone, like they always were when they were anywhere close to each other. There was nothing else for him. He wondered if she knew that.
"I think you got the cases mixed up," Torres said, waving a blue folder at Cal. "This has no relevance to the Hewes case."
The spell had been broken. Cal felt Gillian's hand relax in his. He had felt her grab onto him. But when did he hold her back? Making his fingers let go of hers took more effort than he expected. Hiding the fact that he didn't want to let go was even harder.
He noticed Wallowski, watching him bemused and turned back to Torres.
"You found a case file for J Smith?" Cal asked, genuinely surprised. His intention was to send her on a wild goose chase. "What are the odds?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you can put that back where you found it."
"But I just spent an hour-"
"There's a good girl," he cut her off as he disappeared around the corner. Gillian moved aside as Wallowski ushered gingerly past her and followed him.
"What was that?"
"What was what?" Cal asked, feigning ignorance.
"You and Foster-"
"You jealous?" He gave her a cheeky grin.
"You want me to be?" Wallowski asked, not missing a beat. Cal chuckled as they made their way out the door.
"What is up with him today?" Torres appeared beside Gillian as they both watched Cal and Wallowski leave.
"Just today?" Gillian asked.
She wondered what they could have been doing alone in his office for that long and more importantly, why she even cared. Gillian reprimanded herself for allowing her to get caught up in whatever was going on with Cal. She should have known that anything to do with him would not be smooth sailing. She should have been better prepared instead of so quick to jump at the slightest hint of their relationship moving forward. Grateful that humans didn't walk backwards, or Torres would've been able to see all of that on her face, she quickly headed for the safety of her office.
At the risk of repeating of myself, I apologize. Bare with me though... TBC
