"Cal, Doctor Roberts," Gillian made the introductions. "This is Cal Lightman."

"Doctor," Roberts acknowledged extending his hand to shake it. Cal had expected someone older and less good looking. Roberts was tall and dark haired and handsome, chiselled jaw line, the works, and he just reminded Cal that he was short, going grey (or at least just losing the colour in his hair, there were a few grey strands but thankfully it wasn't extreme), and well, old now...

"Thank you for the opportunity to meet," Roberts was going on.

Cal nodded, cut him off. "Gillian explain exactly what we do here?"

"Uh yeah," Roberts was a little startled by the abrupt change in subject but he maintained his composure well enough.

Cal studied his open face. He was nervous and unsure and he glanced at Gillian every so often, waiting for her to reassure him. She didn't though, she was watching Cal; bouncing in that little way that meant she was excited. Then Cal felt a hand on his upper arm. "I'll leave you guys to it," Gillian said lightly, which was her way of telling Cal to behave, to not be too obnoxious, and to actually interview the guy; at least for her sake. Roberts watched Gillian disappear out the door again and Cal watched Roberts. He was relatively open but he wasn't giving away too much. Once she had gone Roberts turned back to Cal and gave a nervous kind of 'what do we do now?' rise of his eyebrows. Cal just stared.

After a moments silence Roberts spoke up, "I've read your books."

Cal didn't react.

"I based my thesis on your..."

"Don't care."

Roberts looked nervous again and then seemed to calm down a bit. "My grandmother was raped and murdered in her home."

Cal's heart twitched for the guy but, nope... still staring.

"The bastard got away with it because no one could prove he was lying."

More stirrings in Cal's heart but he wasn't entirely impressed. "You want me to catch her killa?"

"No. I want to make sure that kind of thing never happens again."

"We don't catch rapists here." Well they did on occasion, but not the point.

"I meant the liars."

PJ

"Uh huh," Gillian acknowledged. Cal turned his body towards her. "And then I'm meeting Paul at three so we can go over contracts et cetera."

"Paul?" Cal murmured his question. "We on first name basis with him then?"

"He said I could call him Paul," Gillian pouted through her tone.

Cal shifted a hand down her rib cage and felt Gillian shiver underneath him. He kissed a trail down her neck, over the material covering her chest to her navel. He kept going, shifting the blankets up over his head as he went. "Cal," he heard her warn.

"Can't hear you," he responded as he reached the elastic of her underwear. Once upon a time they used to wear pyjamas to bed but as the years went by they tended to ditch more and more clothing as they got used to sleeping closer and closer together. Cal found it far too hot to sleep in anything but his boxer briefs and Gillian slept in underwear or a tank top, or one of his t-shirts, depending on how cold she was.

Cal heard Gillian moan softly as he used his fingers to pull the elastic away from her skin so he could tease her tongue along her skin. She squirmed slightly and then gave a huff. "Cal," she said a little firmer this time. Her fingers found their way into his hair. Cal shifted lower. "We don't have time for that."

"There's always time," Cal returned.

"Huh?" Gillian lifted the blankets.

"Don't watch me. You know I'm shy."

"We have to get up Cal and get ready for work. And Lewis will be awake any minute."

"I'll be quick."

"Just what every girl wants to hear," she retorted with an eye roll.

Cal grinned at her and then her cell phone started ringing. "You get that, I'll get this."

"No, Cal!" Gillian exclaimed his name as he burrowed his face into her underwear. She flinched as she reached for the phone. Cal knew for a fact she couldn't not answer a call when it came in; aside from when she'd gone to New York and blanked him for several days, she always obsessively reached for her phone. She liked being contactable, available, dependable, reachable.

The covers dropped back over his head and Cal used his hands again to peel down her underwear. She attempted to squeeze her legs shut as she answered the phone but Cal was already in there and his shoulders blocked her off easily. He could hear her talking quietly and then all of a sudden she sat up, her body scooting away from him towards the head of the bed so he was left with her shins. He shifted so he was in fresh air again and sighed.

"Ok thank you," Gillian hung up the phone.

Cal turned his head to look at her. "What was that?"

"Day care. Apparently there's a bug going around. They said to keep Lewis home today."

"Thought you had a meetin' with your new boyfriend."

Gillian gave an embarrassed kind of smile. She threw her phone onto the bed covers and slipped out off the bed. "Hey!" Cal complained. "We were in the middle of somethin'."

"No you were trying to start something," Gillian threw the covers back into place and straightened them on her side. "I'm trying to get ready for the day."

"What are you gonna do about Lewis?"

"Bring him to work for a bit. See if he's content. And you can take him at three?"

"I'll think about it."

"Funny," Gillian shot over her shoulder as she headed into the bathroom.

Cal stretched his arms above his head and startled as her phone started ringing again. He reached for it, checking the caller. It came up as a series of numbers, so her directory didn't recognise it. "Gill, your phone!"

"Can you answer it please?"

"Hello?" Cal picked up the call.

"Hello. I'm looking for Doctor Foster," a polite female voice requested.

"Docta Fosta?" Cal repeated. It had been a long time since he'd heard that name. "Um, yeah, all right, hang on a minute." Cal put his hand over the phone. "Hey Docta Fosta!"

Cal heard the toilet flush and then the sink. "Phone for you!"

"Who is it?"

"I don't know," Cal responded indignantly. "Do I look like your secretary?"

"A little bit. But he wears tighter clothes," Gillian gave him a bright smile as she came back into the room. She took the phone from him and walked to her dresser to pick out clothes to wear under her clothes. Light layers was Gillian's number one dressing rule. She wanted to look good but she hated to be cold and with the weather starting to turn it was better to be prepared.

Cal watched her move around the room. At first, her movements were confident. She picked out a bra and clean underwear, and a light tank top to wear underneath her shirt. And then all of a sudden she seemed caught off guard by whatever the person on the phone was saying to her and she came to sit on the end of the bed. She hadn't said much but Cal felt like he was intruding on her conversation. He looked away and studied the curtains while he listened in.

"I, uh, wow, that was a long time ago." A small pause. "I'm very flattered," and Cal was suddenly aware that her eyes were on him. He turned his head slightly to see her. She looked a little worried. "I'd have to discuss it with my husband." A longer pause while she listened. "Yes. I can call you back in the next few days. And thank you."

"What was that about?" Cal invited her to share once she had hung up.

"Uh. That was the adoption agency."

Cal's first thought was 'what have you done?' He sat up and shifted so he could see her face. She looked surprised. "What did they want?" He tried to ask without accusing.

"My profile is still on their books. From years ago. With Alec."

Cal filled in the blanks. "And someone wants you to adopt their baby?"

"Someone wants to meet me." She paused. "Or us?" She frowned. "I don't know."

Their bedroom door pushed open and a sleepy Lewis wandered in. His blue eyes squinted against the morning light like he had literally rolled out of his bed before opening them. Gillian's face immediately lit up. "Good morning Lewis," she greeted while signing the phrase at the same time, by bringing her hand firmly away from her chin, stopping it and then moving it to her outstretched arm.

"Mum, mum, mum," Lewis responded which is what he often said in place of words he didn't know. He signed the greeting in return even if it was lazy. Cal signed 'good morning' to him too. He asked how he slept. Lewis buried his face into his mother's chest and ignored his father.

"I love it when he does that," Cal muttered.

"I said I'd call them back in a few days."

Cal had to do a mental double take to keep up. "Well, what's the, who, what? I mean, what? Tell me more. I need more information. Why do they want to meet you? Cos they want you to adopt their kid? What? And who?"

Gillian shifted Lewis to the mattress next to her. He crawled over the bed to scoot under the covers on his mother's side, where it was still warm and smelt like her. Gillian turned so she was facing where Cal sat. "A young woman saw the profile Alec and I had with the agency. I don't know why it was still on their books. But there's a young woman who is interested in meeting me, or us I guess. She's having a baby girl."

Cal felt his heart suddenly still and his skin temperature drop a million degrees.

"A baby girl Cal."

"Aw sweetheart," Cal sighed. "Can I think about it?"