So sorry for the long delay on this one! As I just recently assured one of my awesome readers - I haven't forgotten about it, just had a minor muse misplacement. Think it's back enough to wind things up though!

There was nothing he could fight. No one he could drag into the cube and rip to pieces. Instead he had formal apologies. Lots of those. The car manufacturer. The rental company. An accident. Failure of equipment. Yadda yadda yadda. Didn't really matter. Brake failure had almost taken Gillian away from him and he didn't have anyone specific to lash out at. What he had were offers of restitution. Like any of that mattered. Like money could bring back the dead. He had always wondered about that. How could huge lawsuits resulting in millions of dollars make up for the loss of a loved one? How could someone live with themselves knowing that the luxury surrounding them came byway of tragedy? It was a fucked up world. That was the one thing he was certain of.

But she hadn't died. Her hand was warm in his, even as their breath plumed out in tendrils in the arctic like air. Her eyes gazed at him lovingly.

She was finally leaving the hospital and as he helped her into the cab, he was struck again how badly things could have gone. Gillian still looked a bit frail, still a bit shaky but she was up and about, her mind sharp. She was recovering.

Ruth pushed the wheelchair aside and dipped her head down to address Gillian. "You take care of yourself Dr. Foster."

"Thanks." She smiled at the older woman, grateful to her for keeping an eye on Cal. "You too."

"You bet." The redhead straightened up, before looking Cal square in the face. One finger jabbed at his chest. "As for you." Her face softened as he gave her a toothless sideways smile. "You know I'm 71 right? Your charm has no effect on me."

Cal's smile finally showed some teeth.

"Okay, well maybe a little." The old woman pulled him into an embrace. "You take care too. No more neglecting yourself. She needs you to stay strong." She pulled back before one gnarled hand grasped the side of his face. "Gads, if I were twenty-five years younger…" She playfully pushed him away. "Off with you. Safe flight." With that, she grabbed hold of the wheelchair, propelled it through the sliding doors and was gone.

He stared after her for a moment, gave a little headshake before coming around to the other side of the cab and hopping in. Gillian's hand immediately took hold of his again.

It was time to go home.

(BREAK)

Emily waited impatiently as her eyes locked on the steady stream of people coming toward her. Somewhere in that throng were her father and Gillian. The crowd broke around her as if she were a boulder at the edge of the sea but she didn't move a muscle, made no move to get out of their way.

They'd been gone for weeks and her father's contact with her had been sporadic and guarded. She could hear the pain and anger in his voice, even after he confirmed that Gill was out of danger. Everything weighed heavily on him, always had.

Then she saw them moving slowly toward her. Gillian held onto Cal while his arm clamped around her waist in support. They both looked a little older to Emily's young eyes. She quickly shook off the frown that began to form.

"Dad!"

His sharp eyes scanned the crowd before settling on his daughter, a genuine smile cutting through the weariness of his face. "Em!"

Then she was in front of them, wrapping her arms around both in an awkward but loving group hug. Then her tears came in a rush. She made no move to hold them back. "You guys had me scared to death!"

"I know luv. I'm sorry." Cal kissed the top of her head as Gillian gently rubbed her arm, eyes warm.

"It was rough honey but we're okay." Gill's voice soothed and the girl was able to pull back the overwhelming emotion ever so slightly. She rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand.

"Never, ever do anything like this again." Looking back and forth between them, her gaze was intent. Very much like her father.

Cal reached out and smoothed back her hair. "You got it darlin'. You got it. Now, lets get the hell outta here. I'd like to sleep for the next week if possible."

They only had a couple of carry-ons so they didn't need to cool their heels by luggage return and immediately headed out to the parking structure.

Cal made sure that Gillian was comfortable in the front before sliding into the back seat. He didn't notice Emily staring at him as if he'd sprouted horns as he clicked his seat belt and allowed his head to loll against the headrest.

He always drove. Except when she was first learning. Emily caught Gill's eye, who just flicked a tired brow upward.

The girl backed out of her parking space and proceeded to merge into the exit line to leave the airport. It would probably take a while. By the time they'd hit the freeway, Cal's soft snores could be heard.

"Are you guys really okay?" Emily cast a quick glance toward Gillian. She knew that the older woman would answer her questions to the best of her ability whereas her dad would do everything to skirt the issue. "Dad wasn't really clear what happened, other than the car accident. I'm sure there's a lot he didn't tell me."

Without a doubt. "I'm sure he told you the gist of it."

"Just that there was an accident and you were injured."

"That's about it."

"Gillian, please don't act like dad. I don't need to be protected from everything."

She was right. At seventeen, she was a young adult, not a child any longer.

"I think it made it harder on your dad because we were…kind of in a middle of an argument when it happened."

Oh. Emily cringed. That explained some things. "It's all…okay now, right?"

"Yeah, we're okay."

"Did he do something stupid?"

Gillian couldn't help but smile.

"He did, didn't he?"

"Well, you know how your dad is."

"Only too well." They shared a private smile as Cal continued to snore from the back seat. Emily sobered. "But are you okay? I mean physically? Mentally too if you feel like sharing." This woman was going to be her step mom so pumping her for a little info couldn't be a bad thing, right?

Gillian leaned her head against the headrest and rolled it slightly to look out the window. "I honestly don't remember a whole lot Em. It happened so quickly. One minute…we're arguing…then nothing until the hospital. I had actually drowned …and your dad brought me back but he didn't know it at the time." Gillian's voice had become soft as she continued to watch the scenery slip by, almost like she wasn't aware she had an audience. "I woke up and I'd never seen him look so awful. He hadn't left my side the entire time I was unconscious. I don't know if he even ate."

A lump formed in Emily's throat. She struggled to swallow it and keep her eyes clear as she drove. She'd known that her dad had loved Gillian for ages but the extent of it, the power of it left her wordless. No wonder he hadn't really shared much of what happened. There was some superstitious part of him that felt if he told her that Gillian had almost died, it would make it true. He hadn't been willing to take the risk. For all his bravado, he was sometimes still at little boy scared of the dark.

Emily gave a quick cough to hide the sob as Gillian continued to stare out the window, her eyes faraway.

Hope it was at least somewhat worth the wait!