This one is long and detail laden. It's needed to move things along. Hopefully, I'll be able to update sooner. BUT-I'm making no promises. It's the Holiday season and things can be hectic!

Enjoy! Not mine… blah, blah.

Cal watched as Gillian's eggs took their third trip around her plate. At least she had taken a few bites and eaten half a piece of toast. Better than facing the stressful morning on an empty stomach.

"You about done playin' with those eggs love?" Cal waited until she looked up to offer her a concerned nod.

Gillian looked back at her plate. "I'm sorry. I told you I wouldn't be able to eat this morning. My stomach is just not having it." She put her fork down and picked her napkin from her lap. She daintily wiped her mouth and then placed the napkin on the table. "I keep telling myself I have nothing to be worried about. I'll be surrounded by people, most of them law enforcement. I'll be safe. The US Attorney says the case will be no problem. I just…" she trailed off and looked down at her hands.

Cal reached over and tilted her chin up. "I'd be more worried if you weren't nervous." He gave her a thoughtful smile. "So, ready to go then?" Cal grabbed his wallet and left money on the table for the waitress. They stood together and left the restaurant.

There was a line to get through the metal detectors at the Courthouse. Cal and Gillian waited together. Her FBI babysitters had gone to the side where law enforcement officers who were armed went in. They had shown their badges, signed in, and were now waiting for Gillian at the other end of the security line.

Gillian placed her purse on the belt and walked through the metal detector. Cal emptied his pockets and came behind her. Once they were through, Gillian grabbed her purse and they headed in the direction of the courtroom.

The US Attorney, Eric Barnett, approached them as they neared the courtroom. "Dr. Foster. You all ready to go?" He reached his hand out to shake hers.

Gillian took a deep breath "Ready as I'll ever be." She shook his hand. "Eric Barnett, this is Dr. Cal Lightman." She motioned to Cal.

"Nice to meet you. You have quite the reputation around here." Eric shook Cal's hand and gave him a friendly smile.

Cal smirked slightly as he shook the man's hand and said "I'm sure you know you can't believe everything you hear."

Eric laughed "I've heard good things. I can believe those, right?"

Cal smiled. "Of course! If it's good then it's absolutely true."

They all three laughed. Eric then turned to Gillian. "Jury selection will be first. I'd like for you to be in the courtroom for that, so I can see if any of the potential jurors know you. It usually takes an hour or so. Then we'll have opening arguments. You'll be able to stay in for those. I fully expect the defense to ask for a rule on witnesses at that point. If that happens, you'll have to leave the courtroom. There is a witness room right here inside the first set of courtroom doors." He walked them through the first set of double doors and pointed to a small room with no windows. There was a table and several chairs in it. "You can wait in here. You're my second witness; however, it will be lunchtime about then. This Judge likes to take regular breaks, so we will probably go to lunch before you get called. If that happens, I'll need you to be back 15 minutes before the time the Judge indicates so we can go over any last minute things. After you testify, you can come right back in here. Then, unfortunately, I'll need you to stay around in case I need to call you back to the stand for anything." He looked at her expectantly. "Do you have any questions?"

Gillian shook her head. "Not at the moment. It seems pretty clear cut."

Cal jumped in "Will her FBI agents be allowed in the witness room with her?"

"Absolutely. You can even come in here with her if you like. She doesn't have to be alone; she just can't discuss the case with anyone." Eric responded.

Cal nodded. He put his arm around Gillian's waist. "Very well then. You ready to go in darling?"

Gillian took another deep breath and nodded her head. Eric pushed open the second set of doors and the three entered the courtroom. There were all ready several people scattered about the rows of wooden benches. Gillian saw Loker in the front of the galley near the defense table. He was seated in the front row against the wall and had turned his body at an angle so he could see everyone in the courtroom. Gillian then spotted Torres on the exact opposite side of the courtroom. She was also sitting at an angle so she could see everyone from that side of the courtroom. Agent Reynolds was sitting in the center of the aisle in the back. No one would be coming in or out of the doors without him seeing them. Gillian acknowledged each one of them. She felt a strange calm come over her at seeing her co-workers there. Cal led her to the front of the courtroom and followed her in to a row of benches behind the prosecutors table. Eric Barnett passed them and took his place at the table in front of them.

A few minutes after they were seated, Noah Parker came through the doors pushing a large cart with a television on the top. There was a DVD player and several bags and envelopes on the lower shelves. Because he was the case detective, he was responsible for getting all the property and evidence into the courtroom. He pushed the cart to the front of the room and then over toward the prosecutor's table. Once he had it settled beside the wall, he looked toward Cal and Gillian. He made sure Gillian was looking at him and he winked at her and smiled.

Gillian felt her stomach flutter. Noah had been working non-stop on this case for weeks. It had been so long since she spent any quality time with him. She smiled and nodded. Noah then walked back into the galley and took his seat on the other end of the bench they were sitting on.

The Public Defender's entered the courtroom and sat at the defense table. The bailiff gave the "All rise." Everyone in the courtroom stood and the Judge entered from the door directly behind the bench. The bailiff continued "The honorable Judge William R. Haddock presiding. Please take your seats and come to order." The bailiff headed to a door at the front of the courtroom. He opened it and led twenty prospective jurors in. The first twelve sat in the jury box, the others were led to the front row of seats in the galley.

Jury selection took just over an hour. They went right into opening arguments. Just as Eric Barnett had guessed, the defense asked for a rule on witnesses. Gillian stood and exited the courtroom followed by her two FBI agents who had been seated at the back of the galley. She left through the double doors and went into the small witness room. She was joined shortly by a woman about her age. The woman reached out and shook Gillian's hand "Hi Dr. Foster. I'm Judy Hall. I'm the victim/witness coordinator. It's my job to keep track of the witnesses for the US Attorney."

Gillian smiled at the woman "It's nice to meet you."

"If you need anything, just let me know. I'll be right outside the courtroom unless I'm tracking someone down. I'll come in to let you know when they break for lunch."

"Thank you." Gillian watched as the woman left the room. 'This is going to be a long day.'

An hour later, Judy pushed the witness room door open and told them the Judge had broken for lunch. The recess was until 2:00. Gillian saw people exiting the courtroom through both sets of double doors. She listened to the conversations and tried to hear any hint of how the case might be going. All the sudden she felt the hair on her neck rise. A voice she heard heightened her awareness. She got up quickly, startling the agents in the room with her. She went out the door into the crowd of people. She walked immediately out of the double doors into the hallway. She felt her heartbeat increase and realized she was having a panic reaction.

As soon as Gillian had jumped up and exited the room, her agents were on her. One of them said "Dr. Foster? Dr. Foster? We should probably wait until the courtroom clears to walk you out." By the time he got the sentence out, Gillian was all ready in the hallway. The agents pushed their way through the crowd to get to her.

Cal was just getting to the first set of double doors when he saw Gillian exit. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a flash of panic on her face. He pushed through the crowd to get to her.

Gillian stood just outside the doors in the hallway. She looked around trying to see if anyone was looking at her. She listened intently for the voice. She was concentrating so hard she didn't hear what the agent had said to her. When he came behind her and touched her arm, she flinched away. The agent took his hand away and quickly apologized for having startled her.

Cal got to her moments later. "What's wrong love?" He took her hand as she turned to face him.

Gillian thought for a second. 'What if I'm wrong? What if I heard the voice because I wanted to hear it? I don't want to panic anyone…' "I… it's…I don't…" She couldn't get words to form, probably because she wasn't sure what she wanted to say.

"Gillian?" Cal turned her to face him fully. "What is it, love? I can see panic on your face. Did you hear something?"

"Cal, I don't know, I'm not sure…" Gillian backed away slightly. She turned toward the courthouse doors and said "We should head to lunch. I only have 45 minutes until I need to be back."

"Gillian. If you heard something or even think you might have heard something, please tell me." He looked at her with questioning eyes. Gillian shook her head in doubt. "Please love. A 'maybe' is worth checkin out."

Gillian shook her head and looked down. "I don't know Cal. I thought I heard the voice for just a second when the door to the witness room was open. I couldn't even tell where it was coming from. I came out here as soon as I could and looked around… but, I didn't see anyone that looked suspicious and I didn't hear it again." She looked around and then looked at him again. "I don't know what I heard, Cal. I'm not sure."

"It's okay love. Stay right here with your agents and I'll go check with Reynolds. I'll be right back." Cal squeezed her hand and then walked away. Gillian moved toward the wall so she wasn't blocking the hall way.

Cal exited the courtroom with Loker, Torres, and Agent Reynolds. They all approached her. Ben was the first to speak. "I'm going to the security control room and have them download the video from this morning. I'll bring it back here. Who wants it?"

Cal spoke up. "Give it to Torres. Torres, go back to the office and watch every frame of that video. We'll be there as soon as they rest for the day."

Torres nodded in understanding. Cal took Gillian's arm led her toward the door of the courthouse. Gillian tried to protest. "Cal, maybe we should stay here. I don't want to miss anything."

"You stayin here would just be suspicious. Come on. We'll go the café on the corner. You don't have to eat a ton, but you do need something." Cal now put his arm around her waist and guided her insistently to the door.

Gillian ate very little, half a cup of soup and part of a small baguette. They walked back to the courthouse and went through security again. Gillian went into the witness room to meet with Eric Barnett. They spoke for a few minutes. Eric said everything was going well and asked if Gillian had any questions. She didn't. He went into the courtroom and she sat waiting to hear her name over the speaker.

When Gillian was called to the stand, she went into the courtroom and immediately looked for the familiar faces she knew she would see. Loker in the same spot he had been in. Cal was now sitting where Torres had been. Reynolds was still in the back of the room. Noah wasn't anywhere in the room. The rule on witnesses had him outside somewhere also. They had talked about the situation and Gillian knew he was going to keep his distance during the trial. They both decided it would be easier for both of them.

Eric asked Gillian to state her name and occupation for the jury. She then recounted the details of what had happened that day. She made eye contact with the jury as much as possible. She could see the sympathy on their faces. She also stole a few glances at Cal. She found it comforting when he gave the look that said she was doing fine.

Gillian managed to keep her emotions under control. It was difficult but she was proud she was able to hold it together. She then identified the suspect at the defense table as the man that had been in the deli that day. She did the identification by voice. Eric then had her briefly explain her ability to discern voices. He didn't have her go into too much detail as the jury would be instructed that Gillian's positive identification had been stipulated to by the defense.

The defense attorney realized the sympathy of the jury was firmly with Gillian. He didn't question her at all. The Judge allowed her to step down from the witness stand but asked that she remain available. He also reminded her she was still under oath and she was not to discuss the case or her testimony with anyone.

Gillian remained in the witness room until the Judge recessed for the day. Judy came in and told her she could go and that she didn't have to back until 11:00 the next day. Gillian listened intently once the door was open but she didn't hear the voice again. Cal met her outside the witness room and they headed toward the office. They both wanted to see what Torres found on the video.

TBC

Hope all the legal mumbo jumbo wasn't too boring…