For some reasons it feels like it's been more than two days. maybe it's just my schedule getting a bit crazy.

Glad you liked the Gillian/Emily bonding (well, the two of you who commented on it...Mary and Just, I am thinking about something special for you two but you'll have to be patient!).

He went inside, eventually, announcing his arrival as loudly as he could, asking if they were laughing about him. They both said yes and he rolled his eyes, then Cal begged for some help with the stuff he was carrying. Emily and Gillian reached out for the bags and set things up, commenting on his purchases and approving of the ice cream. Reading the room, Cal decided that there was no need to further enquire as to how everyone was doing and stayed clear of questions of all sorts, and instead he opted to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and go with it.

They had dinner, the ladies told him about the movie they had watched and tried to get him to play an old board game they had found inside the house. Cal ate and enjoyed the food, commented on a movie he had never seen and caved on the game, spending most of the time complaining about the fact that some components seemed to be missing. Later, as Cal and Gillian cleared the table and took some to talk about what to do the day after, Emily went to the couch and used her laptop to check on some stuff for college.

It didn't take long for the adults to agree on a plan; they knew that talking to Trepkos was a priority, then they could move on to the Reeds. On the back of the day they just had they'd rather not split up again, but they kept the option open knowing that depending on what they could get out of Trepkos they might have needed to cover more grounds.

The question remained who Emily would go with, but when Cal called out for her to join the conversation she didn't respond. He rolled his eyes looking at the headphones she was wearing, then stood up and walked towards only to stop short of taking the headphones off. She had fallen asleep, her hands barely holding onto the laptop, and seemed to be completely out of it. Cal smiled and looked back at Gillian with a warm expression, then walked around the couch. Careful, he took the laptop away from Emily's hands and slowly took off the headphones, realising Emily was snoring softly and was unlikely to wake up. He sighed and picked her up, holding her gently and taking her to her room.

Gillian watched with a smile of her own, touched by the way even in her sleep the girl's arms found their way around her father's neck, then she took care of her things and tidied up. Cal came back a few minutes later, looking tired and thoughtful even though there had been none of that for him or the others in a few hours, smirking at her as he caught on the way she was looking at him. Cal was far from being ashamed of showing his softer side, especially when it came to his daughter and if the audience was Gillian, but it did get to him how much she seemed to appreciate that part of him.

"It's been a while since I had to carry her to bed," he explained, almost shyly, then went to get one of the beers he had bought during his errands. "God, I miss that!"

Gillian chuckled softly then walked close to him, declining his offer for a beer.

"I'm not surprised, with the day we had," she agreed with a painful sigh, then eyes the beer he was holding. "Fancy something stronger?" she asked then, clearly alluding that bottle of scotch stashed away in her room.

"Why do you keep trying to get me drunk, Gill? Are you hoping to take advantage of me?"

"I don't even think you can get drunk enough for me to take advantage of you," she chuckled, then shook her head absently. "I was just looking for an excuse to spend some time with you."

Cal sucked in a shallow breath at those words, not because it may have sounded like a naughty invitation but because of the touch of melancholy in her voice, in the absent look that shied away from him with a bit of sweet embarrassment. He knew what she meant, he wanted the same: aside from brief moments when Emily had gone into the bathroom they hadn't had a second alone all day. He knew as much as Gillian did that there was a line - not 'that' line - they had agreed not to cross while working on the case, but still it was getting beyond frustrating that even while being on a case with that kind of arrangement they weren't able to share some quality time.

"How does that work?" He asked then, slowly swirling the bottle in his hand having completely lost interest in drinking it.

"You're a slow drinker," she retorted with a smile and he smirked, feeling called out. Then Gillian sighed and looked outside the window. "Maybe we could go outside for a few minutes? I've been inside for hours and I need some fresh air."

Cal nodded, he was being careful knowing what kind of pull they could have on each other but he wasn't going to deny her that. He knew what she meant, he had gone out and it did him some good to get out of those walls, breathing in air that didn't feel stuffy and heavy with the weight of the day. They went outside and Gillian eyed the rocking chair she had occupied the night before, but then opted to hop on the wooden banister of the porch instead. Cal smirked, enjoying the view. He had noticed what she had been wearing, something so not her and yet so Gillian Foster at the same time because appropriate for the settings, and even thought it had made him wonder once again what would be like to be there with her under different circumstances, for example a romantic weekend getaway, he had decided to simply take it all in and file the image away for future use.

Lost in his thoughts, Cal eventually looked up and saw the way she was smiling at him, that sweet and sparkling smile that said 'I know what you're thinking and I like it'. But she didn't say anything and neither did he, once again choosing to enjoy the moment and its unexpressed potential instead of ruining it and acknowledge it was all they could afford. Then Gillian looked up at the sky with an absent smile, wondering when was the last time she had paid attention to something like that, and all of a sudden the smile became a bittersweet chuckle.

"What?" Cal asked with a curious frown.

"The stars," she said, and although it wasn't much of an explanation when Cal groaned behind her she knew he knew exactly what she was talking about. "Sorry."

"About what?" She hadn't turned around so she couldn't see his face, but his voice told her he was taking the memory with a positive stride. "About bringing it up or about being so adorably wasted then?"

"Neither, actually." Gillian turned around and folded her arms. "Sorry about that whole moment I guess. For being so tipsy to let it happen but not drunk enough to really make it happen."

"Tipsy? You're underselling yourself there love, you were wasted!" He chuckled, and she blushed lightly in the faint light coming from inside.

"Did you want to kiss me, back then?" She asked, amused by Cal's confused face at the suddenly very specific question.

"You know I did. Not the first time I thought about it either," he confessed blatantly. "Did you want me to kiss you?"

"That's what I'm sorry for. That I put you in that position."

"What position?"

He enquired with a teasing wiggle of his eyebrows, and Gillian rolled her eyes at him even though she understood where he was coming from. There was no way not think about it, about how they could have closed the distance, moved away from the door and touch each other…but the need that the night before might have been quenched easily by a kiss would have needed a much stronger make-out session 24 hours later and the risk was too high. So all he could do, all they could do, was to joke about it and try not to make a big deal of it.

"Of wanting to do something, knowing you couldn't. Not that way."

"Yeah," he huffed, thinking about that night and still wondering how the hell he had managed to control himself. "Bloody torture, I tell ya."

Gillian smiled, amused and happy. Amused because for a brief moment she remembered how funny he had looked back then with that helmet on his head, and happy, grateful really, that he had not taken advantage of her state. An argument and a slap might have not been the best first steps to take in their relationship, but a night of drunken sex would have been a much worse option.

They stayed in silence for a while, listening to the night and utterly shocked by the amount of things they could hear, things they were not used to living in the city. Gillian was back sitting on the banister, half turned toward the outside to take a better look at the sky, and Cal had occupied the rocking chair slowly lulling himself as he thought. He thought about the case, about their day, about Emily who must have been thinking she had bitten on more than she could chew by coming with them; thinking that it was ridiculous that they had to keep apart as if one of them was carrying a deadly disease.

Gillian heard the creak of the chair but didn't turn around, not until she heard his footsteps. When she did, Cal was close, probably closer than he had ever been since the last time it had been just to two of them. Two things happened when she registered how close he was: her body temperature went up a good 10 degrees and she felt the need to warn him to stay away from her. But then she looked up at his face, seeing such a sweet and gentle expression that she couldn't fully grasp, but still read enough into it to relax and see that he wasn't going to do anything risky.

Cal waited patiently for her to get on the same page and gave a small nod, then stepped a little closer and took her hands in his, leaning forward and resting his forehead on hers before closing his eyes. Maybe it was the slow way in which he was moving, or the darkness falling upon her as he stood in the light coming from the door and blacked out the source of illumination, or the gentle touch…or maybe it was the fact she had been craving to be touched by him for so long that she was too shocked to register it, but she had to focus not to self-combust into flames. For good measure, she closed her eyes too, lost in how soothing it suddenly felt to have him close in such an intimate and delicate way.

And that was when she knew it was coming.

"She asked, didn't she?" Cal asked then, his voice but a light warm breeze on her face.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry love." She heard the apology in his voice, so deep and real. "I should have told her not to. None of her business."

"No, it's ok. Somehow…I feel this was the perfect day to talk about it." Gillian squeezed his hand gently, astonished by how much he was letting his feelings come through in his voice and wondering if he was doing that on purpose. "Why didn't you?"

"I don't know." Now there was shame in his voice, embarrassment even, and a bit of pain. "Six months ago I would have gone out of my way to tell Emily to let it go, to spare you the grief to talk about it, to protect you, maybe. But now things are different, and I thought I'm not in the position to decide what you can or cannot address on your own. It felt like…either way it wasn't my decision to make."

"Not because you didn't want her to face this one too, not today?"

"No I- Nothing to do with her…and I guess it was just a bit of preparation, so to speak." He sounded a bit more cheerful, briefly, before becoming serious again and confirming to Gillian that he was definitely making sure she caught everything in his voice and words. "Once she'll know about us I can guarantee you she would have brought it up. She thinks you'd be a great mother, by the way. To which I happen to agree." Cal's voice trailed off as he realised what he had just said, his body froze and he motioned to pull back and retrieve his hands. "Sorry, I shouldn't-"

"No, it's fine." Gillian held him in place, firmly, with her voice and actions. "Honestly, I'd rather get it all out of my system today. I used to think that talking about it hurt too much but…with you, it's different. With you, it helps to get over it."

Cal let out a long and loud sigh of relief that made her chuckle, now he was definitely exaggerating in giving audible cues. Then she felt him pull back his hands again but this time she let go, because it didn't feel like he was running away and she trusted him his next move would have been as considerate and well measured as the last one. She kept her eyes closed, somehow confident he was doing the same, and focused on the noises he made as he moved. Slowly, Cal stretched his arms by her sides, his hands holding onto the banister, then he leaned forward and rested his chin on her shoulder, his stubbled cheek brushing softly against her soft one.

"Do you want to kiss me, right now?" Gillian asked, confused by how close and yet how far they were and still blissfully lost in the sensation.

"No," Cal whispered in her ear, a soft chuckle escaping his mouth at her silent reaction of stupor. "I want to hug you, to hold you tight. I want to tell you that if I could give it to you, what you want, I would. That I would do anything. Even if we weren't together."

It all made sense then, as weird as it was. The way he had come closer, creating darkness around them; closing his eyes and inviting her to do the same so that he could channel his emotions through his voice and she could focus on it better; leaning closer but without taking the last step, to let her know that he wasn't sure he could control himself but was willing to push as far as he could go to be able to comfort her. That had been all necessary, a much needed preparation to get to the point he had just touched; to tell her something she had always been sure of even though they had never talked about it.

"Thank you," she whispered back, trying as hard as she could not to let the tears show up in her voice because she didn't want Cal to think he had gone too far. "But I don't need it anymore. I have you Cal," he let out a small sound, something absolutely random that made her smile as she understood what he meant, "and Emily," she added, feeling the satisfaction in another soft grunt coming from him. "I have us, and that's all I need. I am happy, Cal." Gillian took a brief pause, her face shifting slightly on his shoulder to bring her mouth just a hair away from the skin of his neck. "You make me happy."