I had this chapter totally written and then decided to re-write it. I like this version better! Hope you do too!

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Gillian felt like she was running in slow motion. She willed her legs to move faster but it felt like she was running in wet cement. She could smell his foul breath on her neck, feel his gloved hands reaching for her as she fled. She wasn't moving fast enough. Heart hammering in her chest, she felt his weight crash down on her back, pushing her to the hard ground. Gillian fought; kicking and punching. The man's enormous weight pressed her face and body down against the concrete, pinning her. Twisting her head up towards the night sky, she caught a flash of silver as the streetlights reflected upon his large knife. She braced herself for what she knew was coming. Horrified, she watched as the man's arm came down in one quick motion, the knife plunging into her back as a tortured scream left her lips.

"Gillian!" Cal wrapped his right arm around her as she started to violently thrash about, wires and tubes twisting, alarms starting to go off. Cal was terrified. Over the last few hours, Gillian's nightmares had become so intense that he had positioned himself next to her on the small hospital bed, his body laying next to hers, one strong arm draped across her chest, trying to immobilize.

Hearing her attacker's voice had opened a can of worms for Gillian. What had just been flashes of memory...bits and pieces of remembered events, had suddenly changed. Hearing his voice had triggered the rest of it. Entering Cal's house, seeing Emily's terror, feeling the knife plunging into her again and again...all of it came crashing back into her mind. Every detail played in her head from start to finish and she was powerless to stop it.

Cal held her tight as she began to weaken. He was breathing heavily from the effort, his arm a maze of red scratches as Gillian had clawed at him with her fingernails. Looking up, he noticed Sarah, standing off to the side of the bed, a syringe in her hand. "Dr. Lightman, we've got to put her out for a while. Gillian is going to tear out her stitches if she keeps that up." Cal cringed. He had been so delighted to see her eyes and hear her voice again. The thought of a silent, sedated Gillian made him want to cry.

"Can you give me a minute first, Sarah?"

The kindly nurse nodded and left the unit. Cal stroked Gillian's face, noting the wetness there. He kissed her right ear, whispering to her softly. "Gillian, darling...can you open your eyes for me please?"

Gillian whimpered. "Come on Gil, wake up. No one is going to hurt you."

Gillian opened her eyes and scanned the room, her heart slowing as she realized that she was in a hospital room and not face down on a dark street. She felt strong arms around her shoulders and chest, feeling the heat of another body pressed up against her side. Gillian took a deep breath. "Cal..."

His arms pulled her broken body closer. "Yeah?"

"Thanks." It was all Gillian could muster through her inflamed and painful throat.

"Anytime Gil." Cal took one of her hands in his, interlocking their fingers. "Gil, they're going to give you something to take the nightmares away okay?" Gillian shook her head but Cal continued. "Come on now, you have to get some good sleep."

Gillian turned her body so she could look at him, hissing in pain as she did so. "Don't leave?"

Cal smiled at her. "Wouldn't dream of it love."

He watched as Sarah injected the sedative into her IV. Gillian's eyes closed and then snapped back open several times before she finally relinquished her hold on consciousness.

"That's going to keep her under for most of the day."

Cal nodded and started to disentangle himself from Gillian's body. Tucking the blanket tightly around her, he took a moment to watch her finally peacefully sleep. God, she was so beautiful. Even battered and bruised, she was still the most gorgeous creature he had ever laid eyes on. His thoughts quickly flew to the man in the white lab coat. Though Gillian's life had once again been perilously close to ending, the man's idiotic attack on Gillian in the hospital had really been a gift. It had breathed some life into this case. All three of them...Cal, Gillian, and Emily needed some closure.

His cell phone rang in his pocket, earning him a warning glance from Sarah. She motioned with her head to take it outside. Cal walked past the guard at the door, giving him a once over with his eyes. He was older and taller than the last guard who apparently had had a real fear of blood. The minute the vials of body fluids had shattered on the ground, he had run into the corner to throw up, leaving Gillian's door unprotected.

Glancing at the caller ID, he quickly answered. "Shazzer...what you got?"

"I can have this guy in the cube in an hour. You want to question him?"

Cal looked towards Gillian's room. He had to do this. Though he had entrusted Loker and Torres with the business up to this point, this interview was all his. Quickly dialing Torres, he asked her to come and sit with Gillian, hoping that Sarah was right about her being knocked out for the rest of the day. He hated to leave her, especially after promising that he wouldn't but he guessed that putting this guy away would do Gillian more good than anything he could do for her here. He quietly entered Gillian's room and kissed her forehead. "I'll be here when you wake up Gil, I promise. Gotta go now...bad guy to catch."