On schedule, here's the new chapter.

Tina: I think it's a good think you have no idea where we are going, it's only chapter 2 of many so it;s ok to just go with it. More about the case and them coming with up!

What do you think of Cal and Gillian's relationship so far? Is this case going to be a problem for them?

Almost one hour later, Mr Connor left the Lightman Group offices with a signed commitment in his pocket and a very relieved expression on his face. He was a smart man and he felt he had secured valuable services, but not smart enough to realise that the two people he had talked to had not committed to anyone in particular working the case.

They had been very careful on that, both Cal and Gillian threading lightly with their words and avoiding any direct response whenever Connor had asked when they could get there. 'There' being the small town near Sedley, where five children had gone missing within a month or so. The small local police force was in the dark, even more so because they had been struggling to get attention from bigger and more resourceful authorities because there was no evidence that the five disappearances were connected. Two of the missing children were girls, three boys; one was living in an orphanage, one in foster home and three with their parents. There was no constant, no common trait to tie them together in their lives or background, except for where they lived. Five missing kids in such a small community was certainly an anomaly, but it was hard to find a common denominator, especially when one of family seemed convinced that the boy had left on his own will - all of 10 years old - and the parents of one of the girls had waited nearly a week to report her missing.

Connor had to fight to bring some serious attention to those missing kids, putting himself on the line to help the sheriff's office, which explained why he was so keen in hiring them. Five families, everybody with their own grief and stories about the kids and not a single clue: deception experts were the tool he needed to crack the case.

"Five children," Gillian mumbled, not for the first time, while staring at the five faces on the screen.

Cal nodded to himself, then slowly approached her and gently put his hand on her shoulder. She smiled bitterly at the touch, knowing what he was worried about and unable to deny he might have a point; suicides were his thing, but no matter how hard she always tried to convince herself of the contrary, cases involving kids were her very own Achille's heel. Which explained his gesture, and how much comfort that simple touch gave her.

"I'll take care of this Cal," she said then, reading his mind and anticipating his offer.

"I know love, I know." He sighed. "How do I say it without sounding patronising?"

"Just say it, I'll know what you mean," she reassured him with a smile.

"I know you don't need me to work on a case, but if you do need me for this one then-"

"You have Emily," she gently cut him off, shaking her head. "You weren't even supposed to be here to hear about this."

"What do you have in mind? We can't bring all those people here, we- You'd have to go out there."

"I can take Loker with me. We'll need to pack some equipment and record a lot of interviews, but Ria can manage things here and provide support if we need it."

"Planning a romantic getaway with Loker, are we?" He stupidly wiggled his eyebrows at her, then sighed and stepped away from her before her sultry smile could take them to dangerous territory. "Sounds like a plan-"

"No, it doesn't!" To their surprise, Emily stormed out of the library and stood there, staring at them with a very annoyed expression. "Dad, you can't do that."

"Em, what-" What did you see? What did you hear? How long have you been there? Those were all questions he wanted to ask but didn't, trying to ignore the panic that overtook him as he wondered if they'd been busted. "What were you doing there? Eavesdropping much?"

"You told me it wouldn't take long, it's been nearly an hour!" The girl protested, then ignored him and Gillian's puzzled expression, walked around them and stared at the kids' faces. "You have to go Dad, all those missing kids!"

"Foster and the others can deal with it, love. I'm on holiday, remember?"

"Didn't stop you from getting into this meeting, did it?"

He frowned, he knew his daughter was taking too much of him already but he wondered where she had gotten that particular sarcastic tone. Cal looked at Gillian, who honestly didn't know what to say, not until they could figure out if they had been made. He shrugged to that, to him it was clear that Emily was still clueless about that and was far more interested in the conversation around the case.

"We just needed to hear him out and get the case," he explained then. "I don't have to work on that, Gillian's got it-"

"I know she can, I-" She bit at her bottom lip and looked at Gillian, regret all over her young face. "I'm sorry Gillian, I know you don't need him for everything but it's kids we are talking about."

"Emily, he can still help if we need him." Gillian tried to reassure her, gently wrapping one arm around her shoulder. "You two haven't seen each other for weeks, you have plans. This just came up and we can work on it without him."

"I know-"

"Oi, I'm standing right here ladies!" Cal mumbled, but Emily ignored him and kept addressing Gillian instead.

"But I don't want my presence to be a problem. I'd never want to cause any issues, let alone with missing children!"

"Em, darling." Cal felt it was time for him to step in and took his daughter closer to him, holding her shoulders and staring down at her. "You'd never be a problem, alright? And this has nothing to do with you, anyway. It's just work and we have an office full of people who can do that."

"Not as good as you!" She protested, then looked at Gillian and back at him. "Not as good as you two. I've seen you two working cases together, and it's the best chance they have to find those kids."

Cal glanced at Gillian, not surprised by her warm expression. It was already something that Emily could recognise what a great team they made, and it added to how happy she seemed to be about it. Not to mention, how passionate the girl was about those missing kids.

"Emily-"

"And I know you, Dad. You don't know how to be on vacation in general, do you really think you'd be able to ignore this case just because you're not there?"

He looked at Gillian again, whose face had changed into a funny and knowing expression that said 'she got you there'. Cal smirked, honestly hoping she could provide something a little more helpful, then figured he probably needed Emily out of the room in order to allow Gillian to contribute.

"Listen Em, give us a minute to talk about it, ok? That's work stuff you shouldn't worry about-"

"I do when it concerns me," she cut him off, and Cal started to wonder if she hadn't been taking an attitude class in college or something because he did not remember his girl being so pushy. Nor making such good arguments. "If you don't go you'll be thinking about this case anyway, they might need you and you'll get sucked in anyway. And if you don't go and they don't find the kids alive I will feel guilty about it."

"Emily, no," Gillian stepped in, gently hugging her and shaking her head. "That has nothing to do with you, you can't think about it this way."

"But I will, even if I shouldn't." None of them could counter that, guilt was a powerful emotion and all the words in the world couldn't make her change her mind about that. "And if you go it will cut off our time together. That will happen anyway but at least you'll be saving those children."

"Well Em, thanks for the vote of confidence but even if I go there's no guarantee-"

"But they'll have a much better chance if you are there with Gillian." She had an answer for everything, it seemed. And, even worse, a plan of her own. "Why don't I come too?"

"Excuse me?!" Cal snapped, unable to control his reaction. "Come where?"

"The place where the kids go missing, duh Dad!" Oh yes, he was going to take a good look at whatever she was studying out there, and possibly run some background checks on the faculty and find out what kind of people she was hanging out with. "If you and Gillian go I can come with you. I can take care of the equipment and the filming."

"Now Em, that's serious stuff."

"Oh please!" She scoffed. "I've watched Eli set things up a million times, it's not that complicated. You two can just tell me what you need and I can get it ready with him. And," she went on, stopping Cal's incoming protest, "it makes more sense. If Gillian goes with Eli that leaves only Ria with a lot of work, but if you go the two of them can run things here smoother."

"Emily, we don't know how to organise this to begin with," Gillian interjected, although she realised that the more the girl talked the less weak points she could find in her reasoning. "We've never really taken a case where we have to stay out of town for days except that time in Vegas, but we had the FBI support and the casino arranged most things for us."

"I can take care of that," Emily responded without missing a beat. "You tell me what budget you have for expenses and I can book what we need. I'm good at that, right Dad?'' Against his best judgement, Cal gave a small nod of agreement remembering how efficiently she had booked their botched Mexican vacation, the gesture escaping him despite himself. "See? It's perfect! We-"

"Alright now Em, enough." Cal gently stopped her, afraid that if she kept going she'd end up convincing them to sign her a share of the company. "Give us a minute to talk about it, ok?"

Emily opened her mouth to protest, ready to call him out on the fact that he was only saying that to shut her up, but she soon realised he actually meant it, that they were really going to talk about it. Reassured, giving him and Gillian a last look to double check, Emly eventually nodded and left the room, anticipating his request to close the door.

Once she was gone and they were alone, Cal collapsed on the couch exhausted by the confrontation and even more by the implications stemming from that. He looked up at Gillian and opened his arms in a defeated expression, honestly incredulous for what had just happened, then she shook her head with equal astonishment and sat on the coffee table in front of him.

"What the hell was that?" Cal whined then, after he made sure the door was closed and Emily wasn't once again eavesdropping.

"That," Gillian sighed, as baffled as he was but with a hint of a smile on her lips, "was your daughter."

"Tell you what love, I'm starting to wonder."

"Oh please!" She audibly scoffed. "That was exactly how you behave when you want something, steamrolling any opposition and counter argument."

"At least I don't whine like a girl," he whined, then sighed and laid down on the couch, looking up at the ceiling and massaging his forehead to fight back the growing headache. "Why did I have to forget my bloody wallet? This thing is a mess!"

"It doesn't have to be, Cal."

"It already is, love." He huffed, frustrated at a situation he felt like had created himself. Then he rolled on his side to face her, his head propped on his arm, looking miserable and, to Gillian, somewhat adorable. "I know you and the team can take on the case and I don't want you to think otherwise if I do come, regardless of our relationship. And I don't want to ruin my time with Emily by going on the case but-"

"She really will feel guilty if you don't go because of her." Gillian finished for him, as they both knew the young girl wasn't going to see it any other way. "You did raise a very responsible and empathic young woman."

"So it's my fault then?" She chuckled and shook her head, then stretched her hand to rest it on his chest. "Don't say anything, I know the answer to that."

"And she might not be entirely wrong about you having your head in the case even if you don't go."

"I know the answer to that too," Cal grumbled, his hand now on top of hers as he shook his head, thoughtful. "How do we even deal with something like this, going away for a case for a few days without the backing and organisation of an external agency? Do we have some kind of plan or template for it?"

"Our work has always been based in DC, mostly because of our background. Aside from that time in Vegas we've always been mostly local. And I wouldn't really consider your trip to Afghanistan a blueprint for anything" Gillian shook her head; long story short no, they didn't have a plan for it. "We'll have to keep track of expenses, bring equipment, probably look into some extra insurance cover, book a hotel and travel. But that can be arranged, regardless of who goes."

Cal smirked, despite everything, catching a little glimpse of excitement in her eyes. He didn't find it odd that she seemed to be looking forward to exploring that new bureaucratic avenue, as much as she liked to complain about being the only one looking after the admin stuff of the company they both knew she liked to busy herself with all of that. Besides, Cal was sure of it because he had been thinking the same, if the firm could successfully pull off an away case like that it could create a successful case study for future assignments and bring new business opportunities.

Which was all well and good, but didn't help with the whole Emily situation.

"I really don't know what to do, love. Taking Emily along seems like the worst idea ever, though."

He looked at her as he spoke, biting at his bottom lip when she saw her expression. She looked thoughtful, not in a 'what the hell are we going to do' way as he was but more as if she was pondering, and he didn't like that one bit.

"Gill," he said her name, in a low warning tone revealing his concern. "Don't even think about it."

"I'm just saying," she shrugged, apologetically. "She makes some good points."

"No, she doesn't!" He protested, red flags going up everywhere. He kept his eyes on Gillian, who was trying really hard to side with him but couldn't, and eventually rolled on his back again with a defeated groan. "Ok she does, but bloody hell!"

Despite everything, Gillian had to laugh at his reaction and, mostly, at how efficiently Emily had backed him up into a wall. But the hilarity was short lived, for many and different reasons. That was still all about missing children, so it was no laughing matter. The organisation of that on the field investigation was something they had to figure out, and not knowing what kind of situation they were going to find once there Emily's safety had to be paramount. Then, of course, there was the no small detail that unbeknownst to Emily, her father was now in a steady relationship with his friend and business partner, the very same woman who would be working the case with him while his teenage daughter was around.

"Talk about a third wheel," she muttered to herself with a painful groan.

Cal heard and looked at her, his face going from exhausted to sheer panic and sufferance.

"I hadn't thought about that," he moaned, then he sat up and looked at her, utterly miserable. "Maybe I should tell her now, it might make things easier."

"No, Cal." Gillian shook her head vigorously and gently massaged his chest. "She already worries she might be an obstacle to you and I working the case, how do you think she's going to feel if she finds out about us now?"

"Like a bloody third wheel," he sighed in agreement, then shook his head with a smirk. "Tell you the truth love, the way she launched at you when she got here it's hard to tell who would be the one too many here."

Gillian smiled at him, still with a red touch on her face. She knew Cal meant it when he said things like that, and she suspected at times he liked throwing them at her just to see that colour on her face. She liked the fact that he was so eager and accepting of her being close to Emily, but their relationship didn't change the fact that she still felt like an outsider and that the dynamic between her and his daughter had to be reshaped carefully.

She closed her eyes and took a long breath in, scooting forward to get closer and resting her head on the crock of his neck. Cal hugged gently as she leaned in, his mouth softly pressed on her forehead, knowing she was thinking the same thing as he was: how long before they could do something like that again.

"So," she whispered with her mouth on his neck, a sensation he decided to store away for the rainy days about to come. "Are we really going to do this?"

"Looks like it," Cal caved, then dropped a quick kiss on her forehead before slowly pulling away. "I'll go get her."

Gillian nodded and let him stand up and approach the door before she stood up too, looking at him go as if he was a soldier going to war. He smiled softly at her and nodded, then opened the door and went looking for his daughter, thinking of a way to tell her she got what she wanted without letting it go to her head.

Two people had a very happy afternoon that day.

One was Julian Connor, who could triumphantly communicate to his superiors, the local police force and five families that not only the Lightman Group was going to work on the case, but that they were also sending their best.

The second person was Emily, who nearly burst into happy tears when her father and Foster told her they were going to work on the case together and take her along as labour. Being the mature girl that she was, after a first instinctive reaction of sheer joy, Emily had immediately remembered where they were going and why and had managed to assume a serious disposition. She still had launched over to bear hug her dad and more gently Gillian, thanking them for the vote of confidence, then had run over to Cal's desk to grab pen and paper and had started bombarding them with questions.

What equipment did they need? How many batteries? Should they bring extras? And what about microphones and tape recorders? Perhaps some notepads too, did they need those? Cal and Gillian had not been ready for the barrage of questions, and after a while the scene in the office turned into something somewhat grotesque, with the two adults sitting up straight on the couch facing Emily interrogating them with no hesitation.

The odd scene was interrupted once by Loker and Torres, called by Gillian so that they could deliver the news and discuss how they would look after the rest of the workload with the two bosses out of town. Then Loker had left with Emily, who had been brandishing her list like her life depended on it, to help her gather all the equipment they were going to need and answer her questions on it. Back in Cal's office, Anna had also joined the bosses and Torres to talk about the administrative part, adjust their calendars and prepare communications to leave with the staff, current clients and new incoming ones. By the time that was taken care of, Gillian's and Cal's heads were already spinning and they both started to have second thoughts on the decision they had made: taking on a case involving them being on the field with the firm's own equipment and organisation was no small fee, and there certainly wasn't any blueprint as to Emily's presence, neither on a professional nor a personal level.

Once Torres and Anna had left, both with a long list of things to do and nearly as many questions they hadn't been able to get answers for, the business partners had looked at each other with a confused look, feeling as if they had just been run over by a train. They had already been through so much with their employees but there were still a million things to discuss, seemingly about the accommodation and how to deal with Emily and themselves. They had just about learned how to be a couple, how to be one while at work without letting it show; for days they had thought the next step would have been balancing how to be together in front of Emily, instead they had only a few hours to figure out how to keep it from her while being together, the three of them, 24/7.

"Bloody hell!"

Cal had just about the time to say that, looking at Gillian feeling extremely grateful for all the extra intimacy she had looked for recently, when Emily stormed back into the room before he could even take a step forward, her face down on the phone.

"All the equipment is ready, we just need to load up the car. Wait-" Emily stopped herself, taking time although nobody had interrupted her. "We're taking the car, right? I mean, it's a bit of a drive but it would be better for the equipment. And anyway I checked, to fly there we would need to rent a small plane so might as well. And Gillian, do you have a budget? Do you guys have any preference or requirement for the accommodation?"

Cal rolled his eyes, wondering if she hadn't forgotten how to breathe, then looked at Foster who still was too baffled by the events to fully process all the new questions Emily had for her. Eventually she recovered, realising once again they were indeed relevant queries, then gently grabbed the girl's shoulders and managed to stop her. They sat down on the couch, and Cal smiled when he saw that Gillian refused to keep Emily's frantic pace, instead subtly forcing her to slow down and relax before getting down to the logistics.

Mumbling to himself, he checked his watch and realised with a suffocated moan that it was nearly time to at least think about dinner. He opened his mouth ready to share the bit of news with the women, but noticed how engaged in conversation they were and decided instead to leave the room and arrange for some food. When he came back a few minutes later, having given Anna the funds to pay for a couple of pizzas to be delivered, the conversation had switched to a more serious tone, with Emily wanting to know more about the case and missing children. As a father, Cal wanted to shield her from the ugliest things of life for as long as he could but he knew she had already seen quite a few because of him, but most importantly he trusted that Gillian's presence would have provided some much needed support. Not only because she was a psychologist, a very good one, and an even better human being, but also because she loved Emily in her own way and she knew how serious he was about protecting his own daughter.

He watched them for a bit, standing by the door unnoticed, then he felt his staring become creepy and entered the room. Cal caught the shy smile on Gillian's face; it still puzzled him how self-conscious about her relationship with his daughter she had become since they had gotten together, and smiled back. Then he announced pizza was on its way and sat with them, asking Emily to fill him in with the latest.

Of the many ways he had imagined his first day back with Emily would go, sharing a pizza with Gillian in his office while preparing for a case had not been one of them.

Well, was this what you expected? How do you think this is going to work out?

Next chapter on Saturday, so plenty of time to think about it and let me know