Hello all!

So, most of the kids are safe but now of course answers are needed.

I know I am keeping Cal and Gillian a bit apart, but I am trying ot five them (and ya'll) different ways for them to interact and be there for each other. Patience, my friends, patiences!

Toni: thanks! I hope this will live up to the occasion!

Cookiesprinkles: eh eh, I did tell you to wait with speculations. More soon, glad to see you're invested in the case

During the drive back to the cabin the Sheriff called.

Cal fumbled to get the phone from his pocket and gave it to Gillian before she could argue that he should keep both hands on the steering wheel, although neither of them had said a word since they had left the house. Once on speaker, Emily leaned forward in between the two front seats to hear better. Things were moving quickly, it seemed. All the children had been taken to the nearest hospital and were doing ok, the families of those who had one had been contacted and the rest were going to be taken in by CPS. Aside from the four children from Sedley they've come to look for, there had been eight more kids in the house: one was the biological son of the janitor, four had been reported missing in Delaware and three seemed to have no information or report about them.

There was still a lot that they needed to uncover, but the janitor had been singing like a chroner and some rough details had already emerged. As sad as it might have sounded, it was only - so to speak - a social security fraud. Working at the orphanage for years the janitor had picked up on a few things about the system, and the business, of child care, and after his wife had left him without even thinking about fighting for custody of their son the financial incentive to make ends meet had done the rest. He was using the children as a pretext, pretending he was running some kind of community foster home and getting generous checks every month to do so. Day in day out at the orphanage, while emptying trash cans and scrubbing toilets, he had been hearing the staff complaining about how it was hard to get representatives of CPS to pay the necessary attention to children's care in remote areas like Sedley, let alone come down to actually check what was going on with some families. Even a man with a simple high school diploma had been able to see the fault in the system and how to exploit it, going as far as realising that kids didn't come by like spare parts and that he needed a supplier. Some of the families had been happy - or simply in the necessity - to get in on the scheme and give him their children: he would muddle the paperwork, plenty of forms he could use in the trash at work, add the child as a foster and get his money, which he would split with the families.

How he had gotten his hands on the other kids was yet to be determined, but kidnapping was not out of the question; after all, there had to be a limited number of families willing to do something like that, or at least they hoped. The Sheriff mentioned that the baby had probably been abandoned by the mother, some drug addict or young girl certainly not ready to be a mother, and they were looking into the others.

Cal and Gillian listened and asked questions back and forth, reading the disgust and rage for the unfolding story on each other's faces as it went on. They had deal with terrorist, killers, psychopats, was crimes and worse in their career, but they had never felt so disheartened in the human race as they were with that case. It was bad enough that one man had decided to profit at the expense of defenceless children, but to think even some parents were in on it was more than what they could take.

The Sheriff went on, informing them that they had been asking Trepkos, the janitor, about the last missing child. Toby Reed was still unaccounted for, and when the words of the operation at the old farm had spread his foster parents had come running to the station hoping to find out their child was there.

"They seemed truly concerned to me, and really sad when we told them he wasn't there," the Sheriff sighed audibly on the phone. "But after today I really don't know what to believe anymore."

"Have you asked Trepkos about Toby?" Gillian enquired and Cal finally pulled the car in front of the cabin.

"Yes. He said he had nothing to do with it and I'm inclined to believe him."

"Why?" It was Cal's turn to ask as they carried on with the conversation still inside the car.

"Most of what he was doing relied on other parents playing along and keeping their mouths shut, but I think it would have been harder to get the Reeds to play along. I've known Paula and Chris for years, they've wanted a child since forever and I really don't think they'd be capable of doing something like this." Sheriff Talbot paused, likely taking in the thought she might be wrong on that. "Will you be ok talking to them again? Tomorrow, of course…I think we've all had enough for today."

"Of course Sheriff, we'll talk to them in the morning," Gillian assured her, although Cal could tell she didn't seem too eager about it.

"Could we also have a crack at Trepkos?" He asked then, deciding to ignore his take on Gillian and focus on the case. "Just to make sure he's got nothing to do with the Reeds' boy."

"Yes, by all means. How about we speak first thing in the morning and arrange things?"

"Sounds good," Cal huffed, taking the phone back from Gillian's hands. "Speak tomorrow then."

With that he ended the call and they all got out of the car, eager to leave the space where the depressing story had been told, and even though they automatically took the equipment out of the car and brought it inside none of them had even the remote idea to do much with it for the time being.

Emily had been awfully quiet, in a lost and absent way that tugged hard at Cal's heart. He himself wasn't feeling much better, and whenever he dared looking at Gillian things got even worse. Before Talbot's call she had been silent too, staring at the world going by outside the window as if she was looking right through it. He hated to think about it, to consider that the events of the day were hitting her on a whole different level, but he had seen that empty and switched off stare before and there was only one thing that could take the light away from her eyes so completely.

When they got inside Emily excused herself for a moment and Cal threw the caution of the previous day out of the window, closing the distance with Gillian in a flash and looking for her hand.

"Are you ok?"

It was a dumb question, one she probably wasn't going to answer truthfully anyway but at least he had the chance to ask and to show her he was there if she needed. Gillian knew all of that of course, even though she didn't want to talk about it, not even think about it. She looked up at him, the way she desperately squeezed his hand back and her trembling eyes saying more than what words ever could, yet she nodded and whispered an uncertain 'I'm alright' before pulling back from him. Except Cal didn't let go, he held her in place close to him more with his gaze than his hand in a silent plea, one that said he was going to accept the lie for the time being but wasn't going to let it go.

The noise of the flushing toilet broke them apart for good, and Gillian had just about the time to wipe her eyes with one hand before Emily came back into the room. At another time the young girl might have picked up something a little different, but her mostly innocent teenager worldview had been shattered and she looked like she had been shot with a tranquilliser and hadn't even noticed.

"I'm going to take a shower," Gillian said then, not even trying not to sound flat. "Maybe I'll lay down for a bit."

Cal nodded, because there was nothing else that he could have done really, then watched her go and close the door of the night area behind her. He then remembered the bottle of scotch she had packed, but smirked when he didn't see her bag and figured she must have taken it in her room the night before.

"I need a drink," he still huffed, talking to himself even though Emily was in the room, then he went to open the fridge. "Fancy one, Em?"

Predictably, when Cal turned around to check on his daughter he found her looking at him with a very confused expression, which turned out to be extremely funny. He chuckled then, which became a laugh when he pulled out two sodas from the fridge and Emily rolled her eyes at him. But then she laughed with him, a much needed relief for the both of them and a sign for Cal that his girl was still there.

"I guess whoever stocked up the fridge was not big on alcohol," he mumbled as he popped the bottles open, then brought both of them over to the couch. Emily joined him, snuggling up on him as she took one of the bottles. "Cheers."

Emily chuckled and returned the gesture, then leaned back on the couch and rested her head on his shoulder.

"What is going to happen to the kids?" She asked then. "The ones the family just…gave away? They are not going to give them back to those parents, right?"

"No, they won't. I'm not sure love, I guess they will find a different accommodation for them."

He really had no idea, he sincerely hoped those families wouldn't be allowed to have kids ever again, but it was to assume their days as parents were numbered. Then he felt it again, that sadly familiar ache inside him brought upon by Gillian's defeated face a little earlier, thinking about all those kids that nobody wanted given away for cold money.

Thinking about all the people who would have paid anything in the world for the privilege of being a parent.

Since he couldn't do what he wanted, go to Gilian and hold her, Cal settled for holding Emily instead, bringing her closer.

"How are you doing, Em?" He asked, not sure what to make of it when she shrugged.

"Ok I guess… I don't know Dad, not really." She buried her face in his shoulder. "I am just trying to focus on the fact that those kids are ok, that helps."

"That's what you should do, love. Not a bad idea." Cal took a sip of his drink, desperately hoping it was something much stronger. "I think I might just do the same."

"Dad," she sighed then, pulling back from him to look at him. "Can I ask you something?"

In that moment, Cal was glad that whatever Emily might have learned about his science and work had been more intuitive than anything else. She had that look on her face, the look of someone who was about to ask an uncomfortable question to which he probably had an answer to but didn't want to share it. He controlled his face, showing concern for her and not for the question that was about to come, but inside he was 100% bracing for impact. The last time he had seen that look on Emily's face she had asked a very poignant question about Gillian and he had responded somewhat honestly, but weirdly now that things had worked out well on that very same front he didn't know that he could. Not that day, not after what they had seen, not without having discussed it with Gillian, and certainly not with the way she might have been feeling at that very moment.

"Of course Em." He pulled up and held her shoulder, smiling broadly even though inside he was a nervous mess. "What is it?"

"Gillian," Oh God, here we go again! "Is she ok?"

Cal had not seen that coming, not even in the slightest. When Emily had said she had a question he had been on immediate alert, worried she might have heard or seen something. Then she had mentioned Gillian directly, confirming his suspicions, but he had not expected such an inquiry.

"You mean about what happened today?"

She nodded in response, slow and serious, throwing Cal into a mix of feelings that was hard to describe. He didn't like the fact that his daughter could pick up on something like that, that she could see that sort of thing on Gillian of all people; but part of him was also strangely happy that she was able to notice when people around her, people she loved, were not at their best. As good as that all was, it still left him in a very uncomfortable position where he had to balance being open and honest with his daughter, who clearly deserved to be treated like an adult, and being loyal to his friend and partner and the secrets they shared.

"This is a very difficult case, Em. We've worked on missing kids before but nothing like this, that's what got to you too to begin with." Emily nodded, betraying just a bit of impatience but accepting the fact that her father was not going to give her a straightforward answer. "And what we found today… I'm not ok with it. Nobody that calls himself a human being should be ok after seeing that."

"I know, I saw all the other people there and they were all so-" Sad, distraught, shell-shocked were the first words that came to Cal's mind, and he was confident he would have been pretty spot on with any of that. He had seen those people, mostly grown men working in emergency services and law enforcement looking around like lost children themselves trying to make sense of that, hardened professionals unable to fully keep it together. "But Gillian…I don't know. I've seen her worried before, even if she always tries to hide it especially when you do something crazy. She always tries to comfort me no matter what but she just seems different this time."

"You're right, love. Foster always tries to comfort others but that doesn't mean that things don't get to her too." Especially this one, with kids…that newborn given away for money like an object. "I think she needs a bit of time by herself, but she'll be alright."

"Ok," Emily huffed. "You know her better than me I guess."

In more ways than one! Cal thought to himself with a smirk, then he grabbed the two empty bottles of soda and stood up.

"Want another one?"

"No, I'm trying to quit the habit," she responded with a sly grin of her own and Cal rolled his eyes, glad the dark clouds seemed to have passed. "Do you want me to download Gillian's recordings from today? There is still one kid missing after all."

"Let's all take the night off Em, I think we all need a break from this," he suggested, honestly thinking he could go a couple of hours without thinking about that sordid affair. "How about I drive back into town, see if I can find some good take-out and maybe some ice cream?" And booze, definitely some booze!

"I'd say some Chinese sounds yummy. Or pizza!" Emily immediately jumped at the proposal, her young mind and soul easily brushing away the bad thoughts. "And make sure you get chocolate chip cookie! It's Gillian's favourite, it will cheer her up."

Cal smiled, both at his daughter and at the thought that as of recently Gillian's ice cream taste had taken a new turn toward salted caramel.

"Ok, call me if you think of anything else and I-" Cal was about to grab the keys and leave but when he threw an absent look at Emily he noticed she was once again pensive and way too serious for her young age. "What is it, love?"

"I was just thinking," she confessed, knowing even a non-human-like detector father could have seen something was on her mind.

"About what?" Cal asked, but the second the words left his mouth and Emily glanced back at Gillian's bedroom he didn't want to know anymore.

"Gillian doesn't have kids, it seems so weird because she's always so great with children. I remember when I was little and you had just started the company, she was always happy to keep an eye on me." Cal's jaw clenched, nearly cursing himself for having such an empathic and sensitive daughter. "I know she's divorced now but I always found it so strange that they didn't have kids." Emily stopped and sighed, shaking her head and mumbling to herself. "It's such a shame. She'd be a great mom, don't you think?"

Cal did, he wholeheartedly agreed but he also knew it wasn't meant to be. He also realised he was once again between a rock and a hard place, stuck between love and loyalty and all things in between. He glanced at the direction of Gillian's room wondering if she was awake, if she was hearing any of that conversation or maybe she was just sleeping a very uncomfortable sleep haunted by the pain of the past. Then he looked back at Emily, who didn't seem to be waiting for an answer despite the question and instead was busying herself with putting the batteries for the cameras on charge. But he must have taken a very long time to react, and after a while Emily did look at him, puzzled by his silence.

"Dad?"

"Yes, I- I think she would," he couldn't help but babble.

"How come she never-"

"I couldn't say, Em."

It was an honest answer, and yet it wasn't. He could, as in he knew the answer, but he also couldn't because it wasn't his place to tell. He tried to convey something different as he looked at Emily, something that didn't give him away but could pass as simply the fact that he really did not know. Cal didn't think he succeeded, but thankfully Emily didn't seem to capitalise on his failure and instead smiled warmly at him, almost teasingly, as if she found amusing that even someone like Cal Lightman didn't know everything and that he had indeed thought about Gillian as a mother.

She then released him from the hold of her innocent look, and Cal had to hold back a sigh of relief. Then he went to the door and picked up the car keys, turning around one last time to say something to Emily. He forgot what it was however, distracted by the way his daughter was diligently clearing the table from papers and breakfast leftovers, making sure it was ready to be set up for dinner. He smiled again, to himself this time, then walked across the room and stood behind her until Emily turned around and nearly bumped into him. She was surprised and taken aback, then looked up at his fond expression and smiled back even though she didn't know why. Then Cal hugged her, tight and nearly desperate making sure he could fit as much of her as possible in his arms, squeezing harder when she finally hugged back.

"I'm proud of you Em, you know that?" He pulled back and held her face in his hands. "Really, really proud."

"Doesn't hurt to hear it every now and then," Emily quipped back and he rolled his eyes, then stamped a loud and smoochy kiss on her forehead and pulled back. "Now go. I am starving and I'm sure Gillian will too when she wakes up."

"Yes milady!" He mocked her, then went to the door and opened it. "Be back in a jiffy."

Emily waved him goodbye and watched him go, listening to the car engine revving up and the sound of the vehicle pulling away before releasing a loud sigh. She felt better, talking to her father always helped, but there were a lot of things from that day and the adults' behaviour that she couldn't shake off. And she started to hope that whatever measure of time a jiffy was, it would be long enough for Gillian to wake up before he'd be back.