I know, right? Longest hiatus EVER. Sincere apologies for that. As a reader I know how annoying it is to have an author drop a story in the middle like that. So yeah, I get it. But sometimes life just doesn't go entirely according to plan. And in some ways, it still isn't. That said, I thought maybe if I start posting again, it'll be just the motivation I need. Crossing fingers!

Although this has been an angsty fic, rest assured this chapter isn't. It's pure fluff because these characters were overdue for a little happiness.

Let me wait a couple of chapters before I start killing them off again. (Kidding! Ok, mostly kidding)

For those that need a recap (heck, I needed a recap):

Cal and Gillian are a happy couple now (finally) and they are working a weekend case together in Vegas. Cal is ready to talk about marriage but this makes Gillian uncomfortable, who confesses some things about her former marriage to him that she'd never mentioned before. She may be happy in their relationship she's not ready to talk about that kind of commitment. She's not even ready to say I love you yet (or so we think...)

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Callian, both Loker and Torres are aware of their bosses' new relationship, thanks to the hidden cameras in the Lightman Group and the two of them are having a little fling of their own.

Gillian is still working at the prison, while her Brazillian colleague Alex just got hired at the Lightman Group.

Hunter Kline, the psychopath that Wallowski tried to nail for child pornography, and who was starting to cast a shadow over Callian, was just released from prison, in spite of Gillian's recommendation that he stay there to serve out his full sentence. I have feeling we haven't seen the last of him yet.

Emily is still studying out west at Berkeley but will be home shortly for Christmas. She doesn't know that Cal and Gillian have forgiven each other for everything that happened and that they are together now.

In chapter 27, Cal and Gillian had a bit of an argument over dinner in Vegas, so Cal decides to forego a night of gambling and instead let Gillian in on a little secret hideaway. This brings us to chapter 28.

(ps: Huge thanks to my friend, GDA, for being my proof-reader and sounding board once again)


Chapter 28

Mojave Desert, Nevada

"Cal..."

"Yeah?"

After nearly two hours of driving he brought the car to a halt and Gillian could see absolutely nothing. Nothing but darkness blanketing everything. "Where are we?"

"Nowhere, Nevada."

Gillian trusted Cal. With her life if need be. But still. This scared her a little. Being in the middle of the desert in the middle of the night, covered in darkness and silence. She was a city girl, after all, accustomed to a world of lights and noise and people.

But they left the highway nearly half an hour ago and there was none of that here. As soon as they took a bumpy side road into the desert, the only lights Gillian could see were those of their own headlights and the stars above.

Cal took out a flashlight from the glove compartment and turned it on, one foot already outside in the cold desert air while she was still contemplating whether or not to undo her seatbelt.

He walked around the hood, trailing the beam from his flashlight and opened the door on the passenger's side. Making the decision for her.

"Come on," he said, holding out his hand. "We're here."

"We're in the middle of nowhere, Cal!" she protested. "What is this? What are we doing here?" Gillian unbuckled herself, got out and felt something brush against the leg of her jeans. She hoped it was a bush. Or tumbleweed. Or anything that wasn't alive.

She zipped up her jacket as soon as the cold air hit her lungs. They'd gone from summer to winter in the span of a few hours.

Cal aimed his flashlight into the darkness and suddenly Gillian could see the outline of a trailer. And then two more. "We're not the only ones out here," he pointed out.

"You brought me to a trailer park in the middle of the Mojave desert? How romantic."

In response to the noise they were making, a light came on in one of the trailers, making Gillian's heart pound. It was a justifiable reaction, because seconds later the door of the trailer opened, a man carrying a shotgun stepped out of it.

She grabbed Cal's arm. They were going to die out here. In a trailer park in the middle of the desert. Of all of Cal's insane ideas, this one was going to top them all.

"Whoa...whoa...easy there," Cal raised his arm. "It's me. Lightman."

Gillian held on to him so tight her fingers cramped. "You...know him?"

The man lowered his shotgun. "Lightman? What the hell kind of trouble are you in now?"

"No trouble. Just taking my girl out for a night on the town."

"Bullshit, Lightman. Don't believe it for one second."

Gillian's terror faded. The man standing across from them was old and bent over. She noticed that one of his front teeth was missing when the light from Cal's flashlight struck his face.

"You know, Coop, you barely know me. You could have a little more faith, yeah?"

"Only time you come out here is when the cops are chasin' ya."

"Hey..." Cal started to protest, but the old man had already turned around, uninterested now that he knew they were no threat. He was already making his way back into his trailer. "I didn't see anything. You were never here."

Cal turned to her. "Don't mind old Cooper here. He's a miser who's out here 'cause he hates people."

He pointed the flashlight towards a different trailer and grabbed Gillian's hand as he led her towards it, bending down just outside the door to lift up one of the garden gnomes standing next to it. Cal revealed a key underneath and used it to open the trailer door, holding it open and gesturing for her to go inside.

"How do you know that guy? And what is this place? You own a trailer in the middle of the Mojave dessert?"

"You cold?" he asked when they were both inside and he saw her rubbing her hands together.

"Yes. And you're deflecting."

Cal lit a kerosene lamp, lighting up the space around them. It wasn't what Gillian was expecting. The trailer was small and cozy but neat and clean with surprisingly modern furnishings.

"This thing's not mine," Cal explained. "Belongs to an old mate of mine, Phil. He's a psych prof at UCLA. We met a long time ago."

Gillian furrowed her brows, not quite understanding how that brought them out here. "How does that translate into him having a trailer out here in the desert and you having a key for it?"

"Few years before I started working at the Pentagon, I was out here in Vegas, got into a bit of trouble with some casino owners..."

"You were fleecing the casinos."

"Is that what I said?" He shifted his weight a little. "Anyway..., I called Phil 'cause I needed a favour and he told me about this place. Told me I could stay here for a while to lay low."

Gillian rolled her eyes. "You're unbelievable."

"And...to answer your second question, Phil owns this thing 'cause his primary research focus is psychedelic therapy. He likes to think he's continuing the good work of Timothy Leary."

"Ah..." Now it was starting to make sense to her.

"Told me he's done some of his best research right here. In the middle of the desert."

"With himself as the guinea pig?"

Cal grinned. "How'd you guess?"

It was her weakness, that irresistible smile of his. It did something crazy to her brain chemistry that she was certain no psychedelic drug could replicate. Made her forget everything except how good it made her feel. And how urgently it made her want to invade his space and taste his lips on hers.

Cal was leaning against a counter in the kitchenette and she did just that. Move closer into his space. "So, uhm...does he leave any of his research tools lying around?"

"Are you suggesting illicit drug use?" Cal used their intimacy as an opportunity to grab her jacket and pull her closer still, until her body was pressed against his. "My good girl partner?"

She was the one smiling now. "All I did was ask a question."

He leaned in for a kiss. "Liar."

Warming her hands by digging underneath his shirt, Gillian pressed them against his back, inching them into the back of his pants. The feel of his flesh against her fingertips made her want him again.

But Cal hoisted himself onto the counter, wrapping his legs around her waist, freeing up his hands to cup her face.

"You smell nice."

You feel nice.

His lips moved lower and he kissed that spot on her neck. The one that he knew would make her lean her head back a little and elicit that sound, that involuntary groan of pleasure. Holding on tight, he let her bury her face in the gap between his shoulder and jaw.

It was something she stopping doing in the last couple of years of her marriage to Alec. Holding on to him for no other reason than because she wanted to.

"Warmer now?" Cal whispered. Not that he needed to ask. Because he could see the answer with one look into her face.

Yes. Hot, actually.

She took off her jacket after he slowly disentangled himself from her and hopped off the counter.

"Good," he said. "'Cause we're going back out."

Gillian didn't groan with pleasure this time. "Really?"

The kerosene lamp bathed the inside of the trailer in a soft yellow light. Made her want to put on a jazz CD, light a couple of candles and continue where they left off just now. Going back outside into the cold, dark desert was the last thing she craved.

Cal poured some water into a kettle and turned on a small gas stove. "Gonna make us some tea."

"Coffee?"

"Tea's gonna have to do. Phil's an Englishman. Good taste in caffeinated beverages and all."

"Just put lots of milk and sugar in it then."

Cal lifted up a container of powdered milk and showed it to her. "Careful what you ask for."

Gillian wrinkled her nose. "Great."

This time she was the one who leaned against the counter and eyed her surroundings. There was a living room-like seating area on one side of her, complete with a small sofa and TV & DVD player. On the other side was an open closet-sized door leading to the toilet and shower and behind that, filling in the very rear of the trailer was a double bed that could comfortably fit two.

Gillian walked over to the sofa and sat down, watching Cal brew the tea while opening various drawers in search for something.

"Aha," he exclaimed when he found what he was looking for; two thick wool blankets.

"Oh no, no, no..." She eyed them with trepidation. "I am not sleeping outside with the rattlesnakes and scorpions," she told him. "No way." Not when there was a perfectly good bed right here.

"No rattlesnakes where we're headed," he told her.

"Tell me where we're going! It's late, Cal. Where can we possibly go at this time out here?"

Cal pointed to the ceiling of the trailer and Gillian spotted the outline of what looked like a ceiling hatch. A door of sorts.

"You want to go on to the roof of the trailer?"

"That's right."

"Why?"

"You'll see." Cal pushed a chair against the counter and hopped up onto both. "Phil's 6'2," he told her. "All he needs is the chair."

He opened a latch and pressed his palms against the rooftop door, pushing it open, letting in the cold winter air. Then he cautiously hoisted himself up onto the roof.

"Toss me the blankets," Cal called to her. His upper body was all she could see, hovering over the opening in the ceiling.

She did as he asked.

"Now the thermos, with the tea."

Gillian handed it to him and he barely grabbed hold of the top of it. After he tucked it away somewhere, his head poked back through the opening again.

"Your turn."

Gillian gave him a sceptical look. She wasn't quite as nimble, or as strong, as he was.

"Stand on the chair first, then push off from the counter...I'll pull you up the rest of the way as soon as I get hold of your arms."

She did as he instructed, not entirely convinced that he was strong enough for the amount of hoisting it would take to get her up there. But she was wrong. Once he had a firm grip on her arms, he pulled, grabbing her waist the first chance he got and hoisted her all the way up.

"Damn..." he groaned, after she let go. "Good thing you didn't have dessert at the hotel."

She slapped his chest. "Jerk."

He grinned while one of his hands rested on her butt. "S'alright. I love all of you. Every pound."

"Not helping," she mumbled.

"Go on, get comfortable." He gestured to the large, mattress-like cushions that were spread out everywhere.

Gillian noticed a low wooden railing that went all-around the roof, against which Cal had set the flashlight and the thermos.

Cal caught her eyeing it. "In case Phil falls asleep up here," he explained. "So he doesn't fall off."

"Or in case he's high as a kite while experimenting up here?"

"Then there's that."

"What does he do up here?" she asked him.

"Stop trying to figure things out for a moment," Cal chided her, pulling her down onto the cushions.

"Can't help it..." Part of her was still didn't understand what they were doing here to begin with.

"Close your eyes for a sec," he told her.

"Cal..." Gillian started to protest.

"Just do it."

She was lying on her back now, eyes reluctantly closed.

"Now you can open them," he instructed, only seconds later.

"Oh my god..."

He'd turned off the flashlight, plunging them back into darkness. Letting her see, really see, the night sky above them for the first time tonight. Gillian's jaw dropped at the sight, at the thousands of stars above them, far as the eye could see, glistening like diamonds against an endless black canvas.

"It's a beauty, isn't it?"

Beautiful couldn't begin to describe it.

It was incredible. Granted, she'd seen night skies before, even in isolated camp grounds, but never like this. Never before had she seen stars so clear and bright. And there were so impossibly many of them.

"You have to get far away from artificial light to see them like this," Cal explained. "Not that many places near DC where you can do that."

Gillian was mesmerized. Couldn't stop staring. Understanding it now. Why he brought her here.

"Had the same reaction as you when I came up here for the first time," Cal confessed. "These last few weeks, seeing the way you look at me...felt a bit like that first time here. You and me, it overwhelms me sometimes, like this place. It takes my breath away. You take my breath away."

Gillian's hand found his in the darkness, snaking her fingers through his. She swallowed, speechless.

"Didn't think I'd ever bring anyone here."

"I'm glad you did," she whispered. Taking her eyes off the stars above her, Gillian turned sideways to face him, wishing he could see her face better in the darkness, wanting him to read her and to know how much this meant to her.

But he didn't. Cal kept staring up into the sky while holding on to her, his thumb stroking her palm of her hand. Gillian caught a smile in the corner of his lips when she inched still closer to him.

They stayed there until three in the morning. Until their thermos was empty and their limbs were frozen.

By the time they inched back downstairs, they were exhausted and threw off all their clothes. Burrowing underneath the warmth of the heavy down duvet on the bed and shivering as they spooned each other.

"Cal?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to come back here."

"Alright."

"Promise?"

"Yeah. Promise."

What she really wanted was to stay here. For days. Weeks maybe. Just like this. In his arms, underneath the stars, in the middle of nowhere. She wouldn't miss anything from her life in DC, except maybe Moritz and her Italian espresso machine.

Not that it was possible. Not in the middle of their case.

But she could dream.


Next morning

"Come on, darlin'. Sun's out. I'm up."

"Up?" she mumbled.

Gillian felt Cal's hands squeezing her thigh when she opened her eyes and squinted in the light. It was too bright, the desert morning sun. She turned around and buried her face back in the pillow.

"Oh no you don't..." Cal started pulling the duvet off her.

"Didn't we just fall asleep?"

"Three hours ago. But we've got an appointment with Prescott's son-in-law at nine. If we leave now that'll give us enough time for a greasy breakfast along the highway and a shower back at the hotel."

"I forgot all about Roman Prescott," she admitted with a yawn.

"I can't forget about him," he told her. "It's a big pay cheque for the Group."

Gillian slowly inched out of bed, noticing that he made no attempt not to stare at her naked body. Noticing the tiny smile of approval raising the corners of his lips. "Since when are you so organized?"

"Since you left the Group."

Gillian cringed.

"Not meant as dig, luv. It's the truth. Probably a good thing." He bit his lip. "The me getting organized part, not the you leaving part."

"How is the Group doing anyway?" she asked him, still sitting on the bed. "Financially."

He kept looking at her and sometimes she caught the guilt in his eyes when they rested on the scar on her arm. Cal was taking so much longer to heal from the wounds of that night than she did, but at least he could look at it now and Gillian took that for what it was; progress.

"I'm supposed to talk finances while you're sitting there like that?"

Gillian got up, grabbed the tank top she'd tossed to the floor last night and put it on, along with the underwear and jeans that were lying there too. "Better?"

"Not really."

"Cal?"

"What do you want me to tell you?"

Gillian winced. She'd touched a nerve. Could hear it in his voice. He always got defensive when it came to the Lightman Group. It was his baby, after all. Even in those moments when he acknowledged that it was their company, Gillian knew that in his heart of hearts, he didn't really believe it. What he did believe was that he was the only one responsible for its successes and failures.

"How about the truth?"

Cal shrugged his shoulders. "We're hanging on. Numbers aren't great but I think we stand a chance if we can survive the next few months. The deal I made with the DC Police is hurting us 'cause it takes up so much of my bloody time and it's not bringing in any revenue. But if I hadn't made it and they'd gone ahead with the lawsuit and that would've shut us down for good. You know all that."

"How about the Rotblatt contract?"

"It's keeping us afloat," he told her. "But it's petty. Hate it. It's us screening cheating spouses and corrupt bankers so her law firm can win cases. Exactly what I swore we never do. Worst of all, Leslie insists I handle most of her cases personally. Which is why I end up doing cases like these on weekends. I wanna tell Leslie to go and..." Cal smirked a little. "You can imagine what I wanna tell her. But not yet. Not 'til my contract with the DC Police is over."

"Having Alex on your team will be good," Gillian pointed out once she started thinking about the logistics. "It'll free up Torres so she can take on new cases on her own. I know she's up for it."

"Yeah..." he nodded in agreement. "You're right."

"It's good. Step in the right direction."

He looked at her and Gillian knew he had to make an effort not to go there. To stop pushing when it came to her coming back. Not that she thought the Group could afford to have her come back now anyway.

She stepped towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him as close.

"I love you," she whispered. It didn't matter that he already knew. It was time she had the guts to say it, because she wanted him to hear it. After everything they'd been through, he had a right to feel the way she did when he said it to her.

Cal leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, soaking in her words. Sheer contentment was what she saw on his face when he opened them again. "I know, luv. I know you do."

"I think you'll pull the Group through. But if you don't, it's okay," she told him. "Not the end of the world. I want to believe that the two us, we're bigger than this company."

Cal nodded. But she could see that he wasn't really convinced. It's why he still lobbied so hard to get her back. Because for him the three of them were linked and always would be. Him, her and the Group.

Taking a step away from him, Gillian grabbed a hair elastic and tied her short, messy hair back. They would need to freshen up at the hotel before they could meet anyone. "We should clean up a bit before heading out. So your buddy won't mind when we come back."

Cal gestured to a bottle of whisky that Gillian hadn't seen on the counter earlier. "I brought him a thank you."

"Nice."

They fixed up the bed and cleaned up the kitchenette before heading out. Closing the trailer's door behind them.

The sun was already heating up the desert and Gillian put on her sunglasses before getting into the car. Ready for the early morning drive across the Mojave with the man she loved. A drive that was going include a stop at a greasy roadside diner with strong, stale coffee. Gillian grinned to herself. The Lightman Group might be hanging by a thread and she had a prison job with a boss that hated her guts.

But at the moment she'd be lying if she said she cared about either of them. Right now, everything in her life was good. Really good.