I NEVER intended to make you wait so long for more of this. I got distracted by other things but I knew I would come back to this eventually. So here it is, the long awaited next chapter. I have suddenly found new inspiration for this story and, I think, sorted out in my head how I want it to unfold. Thanks to all those who have begged and pleaded for more of this, I hope you're not dissapointed...

As always, LTM belongs to people other than me. I still hate FOX for murdering my OTP, so yeah...bite me.

"Cal, you do know it's only four o'clock. Don't you think it will look a little odd if we go to dinner this early? We're supposed to be newly weds." Gillian found the voice of reason as Cal busily nuzzled her neck.

"Well, I do know a way we can kill some time," he tried, seizing her earlobe with his teeth.

She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you're not taking this more seriously. I think we need to review the tapes of the interviews before we consider doing anything else."

"I'm taking it incredibly seriously, it's just a question of priorities, love," he growled, reluctantly releasing her ear and attending to the computer screen.

Gillian turned up the sound as high as it would go so she could try to get a read on the voice of their current interviewee, a mid level manager who was in charge of receiving chips from the floor when cashiers came off of a shift. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. It was odd to watch herself doing things only a day before that she had almost no memory of, as if they had happened to someone else.

Cal rested his hand solidly on her shoulder, easily perceiving her discomfort. "It bothers me too, Gillian," he said softly.

She placed her hand over his briefly, just as something caught her attention on the screen. "Right there," she pointed. "From this angle you can see his hands under the table. Watch right here." She rewound the video.

"Mr. Kelly, are all of your transactions with cashiers monitored by camera."

"Yes, every one." The man at the table answered.

Gillian paused the video feed. "Look at his hands. They're relaxed in his lap in the beginning and then suddenly clenched right here when he talks about the video monitoring."

"Yet I don't see anything in his face to indicate that he's lying. He's leaving something out though, not telling the whole story. Keep going." He leaned in closer.

"What happens to the chips once you accept them from the cashiers?"

"Another manager and I count the chips and make sure that the balance is accurate with the cashiers account." His voice remained level.

"Anyone ever off by a bit?" Cal then asked him, leaning forward slightly in his chair.

Gillian paused the tape again. "You saw something Cal, right there. The tape resolution isn't good enough for me to see a micro expression but I know your body language."

"You certainly do," he muttered and was rewarded as a hint of color flushed her cheeks.

She started the tape again.

"There are many times that balances can be off by small amounts. We aren't required to report any amount under ten dollars unless the same cashier has more than three underages in one week."

Gillian could clearly see the man wringing his hands below the table, something that had been unavailable to them during the interview. "We were close to something there, Cal. You saw it in the interview, maybe we both did. He was definitely holding something back about the transactions between the cashiers and the managers."

"Absolutely. The question is, what is he not telling us? I may have gotten the sense of discomfort but I don't see that he told us anything completely untruthful." Cal squinted at the screen and licked his lip, chewing the corner of his cheek the way he did when he was either uncomfortable or in deep thought.

"Do you think he was coached? Did someone tell him exactly how much detail to go into? What to leave out?" She postulated.

"Possible. Go back just a bit."

They watched the tape again looking for something they might have missed. Suddenly Cal reached over her shoulder and paused the footage. "Right there, did you see that?" He backed up again and froze the feed.

Gillian could clearly see that Kelly's eyes had flashed to the precise location of the hidden camera for just a split second. "He knew he was being watched. He knew he had to say exactly what he'd been instructed to say and no more because the person coaching him would have access to this tape. I don't think he was so concerned about us seeing something as he was about what would happen if he didn't follow orders."

"You think someone threatened him?" Cal asked, already knowing the answer.

"I think this whole thing goes a lot deeper than we originally suspected."

Cal loved watching her mind work. "Hankins was the one who brought us in on this in the first place. Why would he set himself up to be caught?"

"What if he's just setting the board up so that someone else can take the fall? We've talked to the owner. Maybe Hankins was so close to getting caught he needed a way to point the finger in the other direction?"

Cal watched as her eyes lit up and her whole face glowed. Christ she's beautiful, now more than ever. He thought, wishing he could stop the turning of the world for just a few moments and simply stare at her.

"Let's see what else is on here." Gillian's voice interrupted his thoughts. She turned back to the screen and Cal could see how giddy she was to move on. They watched the rest of the footage in relative silence, squinting hard at the screen. They stopped and backed up but not one other employee seemed to be showing signs of deception coverage or what either considered to be above average discomfort with the questioning process. Suddenly the footage ended.

"Where's the rest? I know we interviewed Bolton and Hankins as well as two other mangers. I DO remember that much. What happened to the tape from that?" Cal stood up and moved to the dresser, grabbing his phone.

"Maybe Loker was still working on it back at the office?" She suggested.

"Maybe Loker never got it. Maybe there is no footage of those interviews. Damn."He kicked the bottom of the dresser.

"What?" she moved toward him, concerned. He had a hunted look in his eyes that frightened her.

"I don't like you being tangled up in this, love. Maybe it would be better if you went back to DC." He looked at her pleadingly, as if hoping she would agree without a fight.

"What if we both went back? I know you're not one to walk away from a fight Cal but you can't fight when you don't know who you're fighting against and you only have so many eyes in the back of your head. You can't do this all alone. I won't let you stay here by yourself. Either we both stay or we both go. At this point, I really don't know what the best option is."

"Gill, men like this? They have long arms. If they've got big enough stones to take on a casino like this one, well…if they think we've discovered something or that we could? Hiding back in DC really isn't an option." His voice was soft so as not to alarm her but she felt the edge behind it.

"Then let's go downstairs and play the besotted newlyweds. Let them think the only thing we can really focus on at the moment is each other and keep working on some way to get out of this. Honestly I don't see another way, short of fingering one of the middle managers, which is obviously what someone is hoping we will do." She reached out a hand and laid it gently on his arm, feeling the tension in his muscles release slightly.

"I won't set up an innocent man," he said.

"I know you won't. Cal, what about just calling in the gaming commission and letting them sort it out?"

"Already thought of that one as well, darling. Until I know who is in who's pocket in this town, I'm not calling anyone. I've got someone working on that end of it for me already," he said darkly.

"What would you do if I wasn't involved?"She asked softly.

He looked at her, eyes scanning her face slowly. "This is the first time I haven't been able to answer that question, Gillian, not even in my own head." He reached up and traced his fingers along her jaw. "I can't tell you how much that frightens me."

She opened her arms and held him, clinging tightly. Finally she felt him relax against her and pulled away. "If you're taking me to dinner, I need to clean up a bit first."

"I don't know, I think you're even sexier like this, if that's at all possible." He pulled her closer and let her feel that she had aroused him, even with an innocent touch.

"Cal," she said, unsure how to begin. She placed her hands against his chest. "Cal, I didn't ask you to have sex with me to open a door to something else."

"You don't think I know that, Gillian?"

"What I'm saying is, married or not married, I can't sort out how I feel about this with everything else going on. Once this is over…I don't want to make any promises alright?" She met his eyes but looked away quickly.

"Of course not, just promise me one thing," he stepped back from her slightly, trying to cover the fleeting look of disappointment he knew must have shown.

"Cal…"

"Promise me you'll let me wash your back in the shower this time." He flashed her a look that sent warmth shooting through her whole body.

She placed a hand on her hip, glad the awkward moment had apparently passed. "Really? Just my back?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Well, for starters," he drawled.

Without a word she untied the belt holding her robe closed and let her only garment slip from her shoulders. Turning, she began walking toward the bathroom, leaving a stunned Cal Lightman in her wake.

"Coming?" She tossed over her shoulder. "You'll have to hurry," she paused at the entrance to the bathroom, turning so her silhouette was framed by the doorway, "I'm starving."

"Bloody right," he murmured, shedding his clothes awkwardly as he followed her.

I don't know how long another chapter will take me but I CAN say it won't be 6 months this time!

PLease let me know how you like the continuation.