A/N: Here's the next installment. So glad that the fandom is still alive. Enjoy!

The usual disclaimer applies.

2x17 Bullet Bump

It's not unusual that someone brings the nature of their relationship into question. It has always happened, behind their backs as well as bluntly, and happens even more often these days, now that both of them are divorced. People see a man and a woman working together as closely as they do, interacting the way they do, and start to wonder. So why now? Why did the comment of the sleazy campaign manager get under his skin?

You mean to tell me that neither of you have never been tempted to mix business with pleasure?

They are on their way back to the office. Cal is driving; Gillian is sitting next to him, checking her mails on her cell. It should be a comfortable silence. They are used to spending countless hours together traveling; you can't always talk. Today, though, the silence doesn't feel comfortable. At least not for Cal. He glances over at Gillian. She frowns the way she does when she is focused on something, such as her mails at the moment. Cal, on the contrary, has trouble focusing on the street, the provocative remark of the campaign manager the only thing occupying his thoughts.

Cal is quick on the comeback, had one on the tip of his tongue as soon as he had heard the question about business and pleasure whereas Gillian completely ignored it and continued the conversation. It bothers him, the ease with which she behaves as if nothing happened at all. It's not the question, it's her non-reaction to it that has gotten under his skin.

I know what it's like to work with beautiful women. You're not just a pretty face, are you, darling?

He has been flirting his arse off lately, trying to get a reaction from her that exceeds bland smiles. Cal knows that Gillian likes his attention, to some extent even the way he blatantly checks her out, but at the end of the day she basically condones all this. Granted, the innuendo has become their game by now, a spark amidst the routine that exists even in their intriguing field of expertise. Things have changed though; it is the first time since they met that neither of them wears a wedding band. So... mix business with pleasure? A year ago, the answer would have been an unambiguous no because Gillian was still married and that was about it. These days, things are different, but they seem to have an unspoken agreement to pretend they are not. Because otherwise? Hell yes, Cal would be tempted to mix those two things and he needs to know where she stands.

"Have you?" Cal asks. If the question is even as remotely on her mind as on his, then she knows what he is talking about.

"Huh? Have I what?" Gillian is distracted, focused on her cell. So that's a no. She hasn't given thought to the question. At least not the way he has done it. When Cal mulls over whether to continue the conversation or not, Gillian senses something is wrong. She stops scrolling through her mails and looks up. "What's the matter?"

"Have you thought about stopping to have coffee? Before we get back to work. You know... to mix business with pleasure," having decided that it's not the right time to delve into this particular subject, Cal overemphasizes the words and wiggles his eyebrows as a distraction. Gillian is used to his erratic behavior so that it will cover up his original intention. Hopefully. However, he needed to say the words on the off-chance that she will react to them all the same.

His plan works. To some degree, that is. Gillian doesn't see through him although she knows something is going on, fixing her gaze on him. "Coffee? Did you ask me about that earlier?" she thinks aloud. "I don't remember. And I think that guy had something else in mind when he made that remark about mixing business and pleasure...," her voice trails off. She glances over at him as Cal pretends to check the traffic to his left so that she can't see his face. Out of the corner of his eye he sees how she opens her mouth to say something else but then contains herself. He can practically hear her thoughts falling into place when she understands what just happened.

At some point Cal can't pretend to check the traffic any longer and darts a quick glance at her. Gillian's phone lies in her lap unregarded. Her posture has changed; she has straightened herself but still keeps an eye on him, waiting for him to acknowledge that he knows she knows. Cal wanted her undivided attention and now he has it. Yet, he needs several attempts before he is able to look her in the eye because it wouldn't be just that, not just business and pleasure. It's all or nothing when your business partner is also your best friend. They could lose everything. Both of them are aware of that.

It is one of those surreal moments that comes out of nowhere and can change your live. The tension when Gillian lets Cal read her is perceptible. She might not have had the question in her mind anymore when Cal started the conversation, but it has had the same effect on her as on him; she is just better at denying. Gillian has thought about mixing business with pleasure. Bloody hell, and how. Cal watches Gillian struggle when she forces herself to hold his gaze and not look away. She wants him to see it all. The truth and nothing but the truth. He sees longing, desire. And more. Doubt, unease. That's when he realizes she is reading him, too, because she reacts to his disappointment, reaches out and touches his arm. An apology. She's not ready. Not yet.

They just sit there in silence for a moment. Then her posture changes again. Gillian leans back and crosses her legs deliberately slowly, causing the fabric of her silk pantyhose to make a soft sound that tickles Cal's fancy. His eyes follow her moves of their own accord.

"I thought that would be what we do every day...," Gillian says, "...mix business with pleasure." Innuendo. She has led them back on familiar, firm ground. It's her way to reassure him that they are OK.

"Yeah luv, we do," Cal replies casually, only his husky voice betraying his contending feelings. "Wouldn't want it any other way."

So he gives her time and stands idly by when she falls in love with another man some weeks later. Well, not that idly because he sets up a file on him. However, Cal keeps telling himself that it's OK, that Gillian needs this before she can allow herself to need him. No one wants to be the rebound guy, anyway, but it still hurts like hell and he can only put a brave face on and pretend for so long. When he finally admits that he wants Gillian in the worst possible way, Cal knows that this is no truth that will surprise her. She already knows. He makes sure, though, that she can't miss the anguish in his voice when he says it because nothing, nothing even remotely feels like pleasure anymore.

To be continued