"You do know that I need to go home eventually?"

Cal looked at her without moving his head, while he expertly manned the griddle. She was currently wearing a pair of his sweats, cinched up tight and his Oxford t-shirt, her feet bare. He liked the way she looked.

"Why's that now?"

Gillian let out a little huff as her lips pulled to the side and her eyebrows rose. "I was serious when I said I didn't want to hide." She slid onto a barstool, picked up a piece of toast and began to nibble on one corner.

"I know you were." He plated some eggs and bacon and set it in front of her, next to the juice and coffee he'd already poured.

She allowed a grateful smile. "I will admit that you're a handy guy to have around though."

"In what capacity luv?" He winked.

Coughing, she took a quick sip of juice.

"Hey guys." Emily made her way down the staircase, rubbing one eye with the heel of her hand. If she were surprised to find Gillian there, she gave no indication.

Gillian, on the other hand, blushed profusely while Cal gazed at her. She would have expected amusement but there was none to be had. His expression was gentle while his eyes smiled.

"Mornin' Em. How do you want your eggs?" He pulled his gaze away to peek up at his daughter. Their eyes met over Gillian's head, slightly communicating. Emily flashed a quick grin.

"Gill's gonna stay with us for a bit." Cal offered.

"Not that long."

Hazel met blue as they stared at one another, tension suddenly clouding the air.

"Um, well." Emily sidled up to the kitchen bar and grabbed a piece of toast as well. "You're always welcome here Gill, you know that. Oh and scrambled is fine dad."

He gave a slight nod as his eyes continued to bore into Gilllian's, who just stared back defiantly.

"Thank you Emily. I appreciate that." Her voice was gentle toward the teenager but she didn't move her eyes from Cal.

"Okay. What's going on?" Emily looked back and forth between the two adults, eyes narrowing.

"Nothing." The answer came in unison.

"O-kay. It's keep the kid in the dark day. Great. At least you both seem to agree on that." The girl's tone was edged in sarcasm.

Neither Cal nor Gill responded to her.

"It just would be a good idea for you to stay here until…things are ironed out."

"And when is that going to be Cal?"

It was a damned good question. He wished he had a good answer. Tessler was the one that needed to make the next play and Cal hated it. There wasn't much he could do until then. Nothing legal at least.

"You see?" Gillian's voice was soft. She knew he was just trying to protect her and she loved him for it, but living in fear wasn't her idea of living.

Cal didn't say anything, just ducked his head to finish cooking Em's and his breakfast. He handed his daughter her plate, who took it with a nod of thanks, but her dark eyes were worried.

"Um, maybe I should go over to mom's today." Emily knew something was afoot but she had no idea what it possibly could be. All she knew was that she was supposed to help her dad go ring shopping today and it wasn't like he was going to bring Gill along. It didn't appear that he currently wanted her out of his sight though. Something serious must have happened.

He looked up, panicked and more than a little hurt. "You just got home."

"I know but it seems like you guys have some things to work out…"

"No honey." Gillian turned to the girl, reaching out a hand and lightly touching her arm. "We're fine. There's just something that came up and your father and I disagree on how to handle it."

"Are you in danger?" The girl's eyes were unwavering. Very much like her dad.

"Um…"Gill opened her mouth but quickly closed it. She didn't want the girl to worry but she couldn't brazenly lie. The truth was, she wasn't completely sure.

"Possibly." This time Cal's voice was soft but when she looked at him, his face and eyes were intense.

"This might be a dumb question but have you called the cops?" Emily swung her head back and forth between them.

"It's not that easy." Unfortunately Cal was beginning to think of other solutions. Ones that Gillian most definitely wouldn't approve of. Many of his friends were questionable, some more than others. Intimidation wouldn't be beyond a few of them but that could land Cal in some seriously deep shit. And the maddening thing was the simple fact that Tessler hadn't technically done anything wrong. But then again, maybe they were wrong. Maybe he was just some guy who became a little too infatuated and needs a little extra persuasion to get beyond it. Not bloody likely though. Maybe Cal should drop by and see him one more time.

"What was that?" Gillian was watching him closely as a hardness fleetingly passed over his face. It wasn't something she was used to seeing. It was almost as if he were considering something out of his comfort zone. What was frightening was that there wasn't a whole lot out of Cal's comfort zone.

"What was what?"

The expression was gone, carefully tucked away. She let out a sigh. "I think you know."

"Just a lot of stuff currently bouncing around in my head luv. I didn't figure that we'd have to deal with a situation like this." On top of all the current shit. The old house was slowly being rebuilt to eventually be sold. The sooner the better on that one. His burns were healed on the outside but still gave him some pain from deep in the flesh on his upper arm. Doctor said it was normal but it was still a bitch. He didn't really say much to Gillian about it, although he knew she was aware.

"Doesn't seem fair does it?" Her words were low as she shook her head.

Emily got up and took her plate to the sink, still eying them both. "I have a paper to work on, so I'll just be heading back upstairs…" She caught her father's gaze before standing on her toes to give him a peck. The message was clear: figure it out and don't screw it up. And then she was gone from the room.

"It isn't fair." He moved around the bar to take her gently by the upper arms and pulled her toward him. "But we're gonna work it out. We're not gonna let this guy mess things up." He pressed his lips against her brow and she allowed herself to sink against him, eyes sliding shut. His arms always held an aura of safety for her, which was highly ironic considering his nature. Of course none of this was his fault. It was hers.

Cal pulled away slightly when he felt dampness against his shoulder. "What's this?" His fingers gently lifted her face to his before thumbing away her tears.

"This is just all my fault. No matter how you look at it." She pressed her lips together and widened her eyes, willing herself to stop crying.

He shook his head. "We're not gonna do this Gill. If you recall, I hold a fair amount of blame here. But the bottom line is that neither of us is responsible for Russell Tessler. Most blokes know when to call it a day. He's apparently not one of 'em but that is not your fault." His hazel eyes shifted, angry, but she knew it wasn't directed at her.

"Can I ask you something?"

Blinking, Cal tilted his head, curious. "Sure."

"Are you…considering…other solutions…?" Gillian touched his face so he couldn't look away. Her expression turned steely, which stood out of place with her moist cheeks. "Because if you are…I want you to forget it. You will only wind up digging a deeper whole for both of us."

He didn't initially answer, his own face turning stubborn.

"Promise me Cal."

"I don't know if I can do that."

"You can and you will." Her hands tightened on either side of his jaw. "You talk about moving ahead which…" She faltered for a moment before recovering. "…which is something I want too but if you get yourself involved in something illegal to get Russell out of the picture, you could destroy all of this. Got me?"

They stared at one another for what seemed like forever but she was able to tick off the moments within the steady thudding of her heart. She watched frustration, anger, irritation, apprehension wash over his face and felt relieved that he didn't hide anything. Finally a grudging acceptance settled over him. "Alright Gillian." It was almost as if the words caused him pain, but she knew he was being truthful. He wasn't just giving her lip service.

"But I'm not saying I'm not going to be prepared." The implications hung in the air and she slowly nodded.

"I wouldn't expect any less."

"At least we're on the same page. Is your pistol…?" He'd purchased her a 9 mm and taught her how to handle it after the Jenkins incident, which, oddly enough, coincided with the time of her divorce.

"It's in the drawer of my nightstand."

"Ready to go?"

"Umm…"

"That's what I thought." He gave her a mildly disapproving look. "Let's clean it and take it to the range today. I could use a little practice myself."


a/n: This story had kind of taken on a life of its own. It wasn't originally planned to be this long but I decided to go with the flow, much of it due to comments and apparent expectations. So, hopefully everyone is enjoying the ride and not getting bored. Just don't want it to drag. And BTW, thank you so much for all reviews and comments - you guys have helped shape this!