Thank you all for the reviews, I hope you keep 'em coming: long or short, good or bad…with all the time and effort that goes into this (especially this one) it really feels great to have some feedback.

Guest: thank you, really appreciated!

Tori: I did consider a copycat at the beginning, but then I found my story for the twin idea and went with it. I love the fluffy bits too, much needed for me too while writing

Eteri: You always have the best questions! Of course I won't answer in any way, but I can safely say that Merton was indeed a good man and that sadly he is indeed dead. You're right about Warton being more suited for the violence on Gillian, but Ward's motivation in that moment was that he had seen her as an ally, someone who was going to help him and felt betrayed so he hurt her.

So, now they know who is after them but yes, still many questions needing answers.

They picked up some of the leftover food from Gillian's office then moved over to Cal's, where they could have better access to the surveillance system and more space. To do what, they had no clue, but it seemed like a good idea. While she settled down on the couch, at Cal's insistence, he worked on his computer to set up the cameras and plug them into the projector on the wall for a better view, then hobbled over to the safe. He retrieved one of the guns from there and looked over at Gillian with a questioning look, not surprised when she shook her head no as if to say no matter how dire the circumstances she wasn't going to get anywhere near one of those. He nodded, he hadn't expected her to, then tucked the weapon in his pocket and dropped down on the long chair, stretching his legs on the coffee table and staring at the big screen.

"Next time you invite me for movie night, Cal, I hope you don't mind if I chose the film?"

Cal chuckled, amused and amazed by the fact that she could find the strength to joke about any of that. Then watched her as she laid down on the couch, the head by his side, trying to find a comfortable position. Cal hopped on his feet again and told her he'd be back in a minute, walking back in a few minutes later with the throw blanket she kept in her office. Gillian smiled fondly at his attention, although there was also a touch of shy redness on her cheek. Then he moved the long chair closer to the couch, picked up his coat and sat back down using the piece of clothing as a makeshift blanket for himself.

"Comfy?"

"Oh yeah, we really should do this more often!" He smirked with no enthusiasm at all, then sighed. "Bit surreal, isn't it?"

"Which part exactly?"

He chuckled again and looked at her, laying with her eyes closed and perhaps trying to get some rest for good. Unseen, he took advantage of her distraction and helped himself to a couple of painkillers, swallowing them dry and hoping they would help. He wasn't planning on sleeping much, no matter how tired he was: he knew the adrenaline was going to keep him awake so that he could keep a watchful eye on the cameras, and that fear was likely going to push him enough to dive into Warton's file.

"At least now we know who we are dealing with," Gillian mumbled, half-asleep judging by her voice and yet still able to somehow read his thoughts.

"Oh yeah, fantastic," he grumbled in response. "I feel so much better now, knowing it's a psychopath with a personal vendetta."

"At least it's someone made of flesh of blood," she objected, and when Cal looked at her he saw that her eyes were open again, looking right at him despite the strange angle. "We can stop him."

Like we stopped Ward, it was the implied addition, but even though Cal admired her resolution he struggled to share the optimism. Gillian being Gillian, helped by the fact that the line between them was definitely blurred by the whole situation and that neither of them cared much about masking their emotions in that moment, she was seeing right through him and wanted Cal to know that she wasn't going to back away from the fight. And Gillian being Gillian, she snuck her arm from under her body to stretch it toward him despite the awkward position, holding out her hand and waiting until he caved and did the same, holding and squeezing it for good measure, so he would know that she wanted them to be in that together no matter what.

They looked at each other, smiling sad smiles with their tired eyes and wondering about a million things without saying a word, then Cal nodded and went back to look at the screen. He didn't check on her for a while, still holding her hand and using that as an indicator, along with the fact that he could always tell when she was staring at him with a look that had a lot of meaning behind it. After a while, he felt her hand becoming heavier and slowly slipping away from his fingers, until it flopped down resting on the floor. Cal glanced at her quickly, seeing her face sunk on the side of the couch and her breathing regular, and he prayed there were no terrifying nightmares and memories waiting for her on the other side. Then, careful not to make too much noise, he stood up and went to his desk to retrieve the Warton file. Really, the last thing he wanted to do was to get down that very dangerous and certainly disturbing tunnel, but Gillian was right about the fact that their enemy was human - a bad one at that - and he knew that they'd had a better chance at beating him if he got to know him.

Her sleep was troubled, haunted by images she was trying to keep out as best as she could. She saw and heard Ward, for a moment she was back in that warehouse and the small room where he had taken her, then she saw Merton bloodied and tied up to a chair, followed by Ward's body riddled with bullets and laying in a pool of blood…except, of course, it wasn't Ward but Cal the one she saw.

With that, sleep was pretty much over and done with and yet it wasn't what woke her up.

It was a hand, firm but still somewhat gentle, yet uncomfortably pushed on her face to cover her mouth. Terrified, Gillian immediately woke up and opened her eyes, not entirely comforted by the fact that the hand on her face was Cal's and that he was gesturing her to keep it quiet with a finger on his lips. She was already panicking and breathing fast, that was not the way to be woken up in the middle of the night after the day they've had, but she trusted the look on his face and nodded slightly to let him know she wasn't going to make a peep.

Cal nodded in response and removed his hand, using it to take hold of her and help her on her feet before dragging her away from the couch and to the door of the library. She was about to ask what the hell was going on even though the terror in his mannerism scared her, when Cal pointed at the images projected on the wall. There on the screen, sending images through in real time, a man that looked an awful lot like either of the Ward/Watron brothers was moving about the main lobby of the office with what looked like a rather big and pointy knife.

Gillian swallowed a gasp of fear and surprise and managed not to make any noises, but Cal had to pull her arm to gain her attention as he whispered close to her ear.

"Wait here," he instructed, his voice as low as possible. "I'll get him to come to the office, while I distract him you make a run for the cube."

"Cal, I won't-"

I won't leave you behind, don't ask me that! She wanted to say, but he shook his head and put something in her hand. She looked down, seeing it was his phone which was showing the same images from the surveillance cameras.

"I'll be right behind you, I promise." That was, Gillian realised with a wave of pain, the first true lie he had told her in hours. "Keep an eye on him, when he comes close enough to me you go for it."

"No, Cal. you're injured-"

"We don't have time Gill, quit arguing with me!" He was frustrated and, she realised, panicking as much as she was while watching Warton making his way around the office, checking random doors and rooms. He didn't seem to be familiar with the layout, which was buying them the time for that conversation, but they knew eventually he'd find his way to them. "Here."

Cal insisted, putting yet another object in her other hand. This one was much heavier, cold and oddly shaped, at least to someone like her who had never held a gun. Gillian looked down at the foreign item and then at him again, shaking her head.

"What about you?"

"I got another one from the safe. Just - Shit!" On the screen, Warton was turning the corner to the last hallway to his office. "Go Foster."

This time he didn't leave time to reply or protest, instead he pushed her inside the library and closed the door behind her, creating a barrier between them. He stared at it until he couldn't see her silhouette behind it anymore, hoping that meant she had approached the other door which gave access to the hallway, then he went to his desk and switched off the projector on the wall. For a brief moment, watching Warton moving about the office like a shark who had smelled blood, Cal realised that if he wasn't going to come to his office through the main door he might have just put Gillian in more danger that he'd care to admit, but sighed relieved when the man headed for the right direction. Running on adrenaline and fear, Cal made his way across the office to the space on the other side of the desk, hiding behind the corner and trying to keep an eye on everybody's movement through the cameras, having previously turned the computer screen so he could see it from there. He could see Warton coming closer, sadly he didn't have eyes in the library but he did on the halfway and he prayed Gillian would go along with the plan.

It was a terrible one and he knew it, especially because he had lied to her about taking a second weapon from the safe. He had been awake when Warton had showed up, going through the living nightmare of reading about the misdeeds of the very same name who was pacing around his office looking like Ms Bates on the hunt, and he'd had to think fast. Gillian's safety had been the main priority and his brain had immediately focused on finding a way for her to get to the bulletproof cube, which combined with the little time at his disposal, his fear and the pain of his injuries deciding to make an appearance despite the painkillers had left little time for effective planning.

He saw Warton eventually stepping inside the office on the screen and bit at his bottom lip, hoping Gillian would wait for the right moment before making her dash escape. But Warton stopped at the door, the hunting knife in his hand shining in the deem light, clearly surprised and disappointed the room seemed to be empty. For a second, Cal wondered why he looked so damn sure someone would have been there, but brushed the thought aside realising he had to deal with more pressing matters. He couldn't let the man wander further in the office with the risk of finding Gillian who, Cal was sure, would have struggled to use the deadly weapon in her hands. So Cal looked around in search of something helpful and grabbed the Massim ceremonial club from the wall, tightening the grip around it in a silent practice swing, then took a deep breath and used it to push one of the books on the nearby shelf, which dropped on the floor with a muffled thud.

As he had hoped and expected, the noise got Warton's attention and the man quickly turned in that direction, his neck snapping like a snake ready to deliver the deadly bite. A shiver of fear run down Cal's spine, he was a fearless man on most occasions but seeing Warton coming after him was a much stronger feeling than that of a dejavu, and he could feel his hands sweaty around the ebony club. He had done many stupid things in his life, exposed himself to danger and taken unnecessary riks, but probably none of them topped what he was about to do: luring a dangerous psychopath with a killer instinct right his way. Cal saw him approaching slowly, careful enough to walk around the desk and get a better angle instead of just turning the corner blindly, which did not work in his favour. For a second he wondered if Warton might also have a gun, but from what he had been able to read in his file before his arrival it was more than fair to assume he had a penchant for close range violence. Then, with yet another cold rush running through him, Cal realised that coming that way Warton might have seen the surveillance camera on the screen and therefore spot Gillian still holding her position by the door connecting the library to the hallway.

Damnit Foster! He cursed in his mind. I told you to run!

The unfolding of the events gave him no other choice. Warton was a nutjob but not stupid and wasn't going to just walk over to him and wait to be hit in the head, plus Cal couldn't take the chance of him seeing the cameras.

So he charged ahead.

He wisely didn't announce himself with a war cry despite the weapon he was holding, instead just jumped out of the corner and lunged forward in Warton's direction, swinging the club with the intention to hit him square in the head. Things didn't work out quite that way, Warton was not already injured, sleep deprived and slowed down by medication and easily ducked to avoid the hit. Luckily, Cal hadn't thought so much of himself to think that might not happen and was ready to move out of the way when Warton tried to counter attack with the knife. Then he dropped the club down on Warton's arm, who grunted in pain but didn't let the knife go and instead lowered his head to charge at Cal and push him against the wall. Cal felt the explosion of pain in his already sore rib cage, immediately followed by fresh pain in his back when it hit the wall, but managed to keep hold of the club and used the bottom part of the handle to plunge it down on Warton's head. The man howled in pain, the strike had hit the right spot, and backed away from Cal who tried to gather some fresh air for his lungs before going on the offensive again.

Warton was holding the back of his head with one bloody hand, the other one still on the knife, then looked up at Cal with a mixture of surprise, excitement and amusement. There were many things in that look that disturbed Cal, that wasn't the reaction a normal human being would have in that situation, but more than anything he had to keep blinking his eyes until his brain would accept the reality that, despite what he was seeing, the man in front of him was not Lucas Ward. Then, the element of surprise long gone, he let out a raging cry and swung the club again, whacking Warton right on his left side and hitting the jackpot of his kidney. It was a painful and nearly debilitating blow when accurate enough, and Warton did fold on himself in pain, finally letting the knife drop.

Cal tasted victory in his mouth, like many tribal warriors before him, for a moment forgetting about the pain all over his body, then stepped closer to deliver another blow. But perhaps he had waited too long, or the previous strike had not been as efficient as he had thought, because all of a sudden Warton lunged at him wrapping his arms around his waist and tackling him like a football player, diving the both of them on top of the desk. Cal tried desperately to keep hold of the club but it slipped away from his sweaty fingers as he hit the table, sending objects and stationery flying everywhere around them. One of the items that somehow survived the tidal wave was the monitor of his computer, and before Warton could lend the first punch on his face Cal could see on it that Gillian still hadn't gone for the cube.

Bloody hell woman! He moaned in his mind, then took the punch before trying to shake the bigger and fitter man off of him. Blindly, his hand went looking for something and, oh the irony, it seized around the support of the monitor. He picked up awkwardly, smashing as hard he could on Warton's head and gasping for air when the man growled and rolled away to deal with his own injury for a second.

"Go!" He shouted then, his eyes never leaving Warton as the man grinned at him like a possessed demon.

He didn't add anything else, not wanting to give too much away, but Warton wasn't born yesterday. Crashing on his temple, the monitor was now too damaged to show anything but the man had the intuition of looking at the door of the library behind Cal, who couldn't help but let out a very small yet telling reaction by widening his eyes. Warton's grin grew, he couldn't tell what exactly but he knew there was something there for him. The only thing Cal could do was to buy time and pray Gillian had finally decided to make a move, so he backed away from Warton and toward the door of the library, hoping he would not consider there might be another way around him.

As it turned out, it didn't seem to be a problem for Warton who tilted his head on the side with a loud crack of his neck, a gesture that only then Cal remembered Ward doing all those years ago. Then the man took Cal by surprise, swiftly locating and picking up his knife, ignoring the library altogether and making a mad dash for the same door he had come from. Cal looked at his speedy movement, horrified, banking on the adrenaline to shut down the pain he felt in various parts of his body and running after him. He wasn't that far behind, but Warton was faster and Cal hoped to God Gillian could be fast enough. Then, right before turning the corner to the main hallway heading for the cube lab, he heard something that nearly glued him to the spot in terror.

"Dr Foster!" Warton's voice echoed in the empty office, a note of sadistic pleasure in his words. "Nice to see you again!"