Chapter 4

Cal drove the three hours back home and when he got closer, glanced at the clock. He picked up his phone and dialed Gillian's number.

"Cal?" her voice said immediately.

"Yeah."

"Where are you?"

"On my way to see you, we need to talk, where are you?"

"Walking out the door of work, should I stay here?"

"Nah, I'll meet you at your place within the hour."

"Cal, is everything all right?"

"I think it will be, darling."

Gillian frowned when the line went dead. She rolled her eyes knowing she would have to wait until she saw him to figure out what the heck was going on.

Forty five minutes later, she heard a knock at her door.

"Hi," she greeted as she moved to the side to let him in.

"Hey," Cal replied as he leaned in and kissed her cheek then walked passed. "Something smells fantastic, please tell me you made enough for two, I'm starving."

Gillian grinned as she followed him into the kitchen. "You know I did."

Cal made himself at home and grabbed a glass then poured himself a glass of wine. He walked back to the island as Gillian poured his favorite dressing over the top of a pre made salad and handed it to him.

"Sit, eat," she said as she grabbed his shoulders and directed him towards the table.

Cal did as directed then dove hungrily into his salad. Gillian grabbed her salad from the counter then sat down next to him.

She smiled at his exuberance. "Maybe I should have made you a bigger salad."

Cal blushed. "I haven't eaten all day!"

Gillian frowned. "You look tired too; do you want to talk about it?"

Cal swallowed hard and sighed. "Can we get though dinner first, Luv?"

Gillian nodded and reached over to swipe at a smudge of dressing on the side of his lip. "Of course."

Cal's eyes darkened with desire and he blinked and looked down but not before she saw his reaction.

Gillian stood and hid a small grin as she opened the oven door and took out their plates from warming and then brought them to the table. "Plate's hot," she said unnecessarily.

Cal had seen the oven mitts on her hands and nodded. "Thanks." He smiled as he looked at the grilled barbecue chicken breast with sweet potato and grilled asparagus. "Looks fabulous!"

Gillian frowned as she took a bite of her chicken. "You sound surprised."

"I thought I'd get a chocolate fudge sundae or something…," he joked.

"You want me to take that away?" Gillian said as she nodded towards his plate.

"Are you kidding me, its delicious."

They made small talk through the rest of dinner and Gillian started to clean up when Cal suddenly shot to his feet. He quickly stacked the dirty dishes and put them on the counter next to the sink.

"This can wait yeah…we need to talk."

Gillian shrugged. "Sure…okay."

Cal started to walk to the living room as Gillian grabbed their glasses and the rest of the wine bottle.

Cal was pacing when she walked in behind him and set everything down on the coffee table.

He took her hands and led her to the couch and motioned for her to sit. Gillian looked at him oddly but sat and was surprised when he sat directly in front of her and leaned in close.

"I did something today that I didn't want to do but I really had no choice."

Gillian frowned and folded her arms across her chest as she sat back angrily. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

Cal ignored her and continued. "I received a call from a woman who asked me to meet her at her home."

Gillian rolled her eyes. "If this is going to be about how wonderful she was in bed, I really don't want to hear it!"

Cal shot her a look of sadness then shook his head as he sighed. "No, she was an older woman who has custody of her granddaughter."

At the mention of a child, Gillian softened and opened herself up to listening to the rest of the story.

"When I got there she started asking me questions about…um…" Cal swiped his hand across his face, clearly distressed about telling her.

"Cal!"

"…you and Alec."

"Me and Alec?" Gillian's mouth dropped open with shock. "Why?"

"She also started asking me about how close we were?"

"Who was this woman?" Gillian demanded again, a touch of anger peppered into her tone. "And why the hell was she asking about Alec and I?"

Cal shot to his feet and began to pace the floor as he related the story about how Alec had approached Sophie's mother.

Gillian began to cry at the news of Alec's betrayal. "That bastard!"

"Yeah," Cal commiserated. "But there's more…"

Cal went on to tell her about the money Alec paid to Stephanie and then her eventual death due to drug overdose.

"That poor baby, she was just a kid trying to raise a kid!" Gillian cried out. Her face fell as she quickly realized that wasn't the end of the story. "Oh my God!" What happened to Sophie?!"

Cal sat down beside her again and took her hands in his. "Isabel has been raising Amy…Sophie…alone but…Darling, she's dying and she wants to make sure that Sophie is taken care of when she's gone."

Gillian's mind started racing. "She'll go into the system! She'll be bounced from house to house and she'll never…"

"Gillian!" Cal said forcefully to get her attention. "She wants to release custody to you. She wanted to know if I thought you'd be willing to take Amy…Sophie back…"

Gillian couldn't catch her breath as the shock of his statement swept through her body.

Cal squeezed her hands. "Breathe Foster…come on now…deep breath, Darling, come on…with me…breathe in…good…now out….okay now in…."

After a few cleansing breaths, she smiled weakly at him. "I'm fine, Cal."

He seemed satisfied by her answer so she continued. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her I thought you would…"

"Of course, I would! I just don't understand…why didn't she come to me? Why didn't she ask me?!"

"She wouldn't ask if you were still with Alec and she said you'd been through too much already and if you weren't interested she didn't want to put you through any more pain."

Gillian was touched by the older woman's concern and got up and started pacing the room. "I can't believe this is happening again…I should probably hire an attorney this time and…well first…I guess I should plan to go shopping tomorrow then leave first thing on Saturday and …"

"No, Luv."

Gillian whirled to face him. "What do you mean no?!"

"We have to get Amy….Sophie…tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!"

"Gill, I think making sure Amy is taken care of is the only reason this woman is holding on. I promised her I'd bring you back tomorrow to get Amy."

"Tomorrow…" Gillian nodded as she took in the news, she started to pace again. "Then I should go to the store tonight…pick up a few things…some snacks and some milk and…" Struck by a thought, she stopped suddenly and looked at him curiously. "Cal, you said you promised Isabel you'd get Sophie tomorrow?"

"At's right…"

"What were you going to do if I said no?"

He shrugged his shoulders as he looked at her and started to walk towards her kitchen. "I told her I would adopt Sophie myself."

"What?!"

"I knew you wouldn't say no…and if you did…"

"Cal?" she prompted as she reached for his arm to turn him around.

When he was facing her again, he raised his hands out to his sides and shrugged. "She's still your daughter, Gill, always has been…she may have been somewhere else this past year but she's still yours and I'd raise her myself until you could come to terms with…"

Gillian knew at that exact second that she was never more in love with him then right now. "Oh, Cal!" she said as she walked to hug him.

Cal hugged her tightly then backed away slowly. He was taken aback when she followed him to kiss him. Her tongue begged for entry and he frowned with confusion but opened himself to her. His hands rested on her waist while she flung her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

They were panting heavily when she pulled back. She smiled when he looked away guiltily. She gently grabbed his head and turned it back so she could look into his eyes. "I love you, Cal."

"Gill…" he started as he shook his head.

"Not because you're helping me get Sophie back, not because I'm grateful and not because I'm over emotional right now. It's because you are one of the sweetest, kindest men I know and I've wanted you for so long. I am so sick of that blasted line that I created and…I wish I hadn't let so much time pass before I…"

Cal leaned forward and stopped her ramblings by kissing her. He ran his hands through her hair and held her head as he kissed her with all the passion he had been holding at bay.

They stepped back again and looked at one another in surprise.

"I love you too, Foster."

Gillian sneered at the name. "Don't ever call me that name again! I want to wipe out every tie I've ever had to Alec."

"Okay…"

"As soon as I can, I'm changing it back to my maiden name."

"It's kind of soon but…" Cal took her hand and looked at the floor shyly. "You could consider changing it to Lightman..."

Gillian's mouth dropped open with shock. "Did you just…I…Cal? I did hear you right….you did just ask me to marry you, didn't you?"

Cal was so afraid he overstepped his bounds and was petrified of her reaction; he shoved his hands in his front pockets as he rocked back on his heels. "Look, I know I'm not the easiest guy to be around and I realize that you'd be slumming…"

"Yes!"

"What?!"

"Yes! I'd be honored to be your wife!"

"Really?" he asked with shock.

"Really!"

"Fos…" he began, then rolled his eyes at the mean look she shot him. "Gillian, are you sure, Luv?"

Gillian leaned in and began to kiss him passionately. Within a few minutes, she had started to pull his shirt over his head. She was running her hands up his back and over his shoulders when he pulled her hips against his so she could feel how ready he was for her.

"Gill?"

"Now, Cal…make love to me…" she demanded.

Cal was more than happy to do her bidding but suddenly stopped. "No!" Cal leaned away and took her hands in his then looked into her eyes. "Bloody hell…I am so going to regret saying this but Darling, this has all been such a shock and things are moving way too fast."

"Fast? Really? We've been dancing around this line for months…"

"I don't want you to regret…"

Gillian kissed him again. "I won't."

Cal kissed her lightly then stepped back. "I'm not going to blow this! I'm not going to let us rush into this! We have a huge day tomorrow and then your life is going to have a major upheaval when we bring Sophie home. If you still feel this way in say…a week or two…I'll make love to you every night for the rest of our lives."

Gillian looked at him and nodded. "Deal…so seven days from now…exactly one week, you're promising me we'll be together?"

"Yep."

"Okay, I can wait seven more days."

Cal grinned. "This is going to be the longest week of my life."

"Cal…I love you but I haven't stopped thinking about Sophie this entire time. Did you see her?"

"I did, she's changed but I could still see traces of that little cherub that sat in your arms all day."

Gillian grinned. "I don't know if I can wait until tomorrow to see her."

Cal took a deep breath. "It's a three hour drive. We could go there now and rent a hotel room then see her first thing in the morning."

Gillian could see the tiredness in his eyes and shook her head. "Why don't we just go to sleep now and wake up early and leave?"

"Whatever you want, Luv." Cal nodded as he reached for his coat. "I guess I should get out of here then…"

"No! Stay here with me."

"Thanks but the mattress in your spare room is horrible!"

"Then maybe you should sleep in my room. We'll go to your house in the morning and you can change before we leave."

"Okay."

"You left your gym bag by Heidi's desk. I picked it up and threw it in my trunk."

Cal pointed at the car. "Um…Okay, I'll just go grab a pair of sweats and hop in the shower if that's all right."

"Of course."

Cal grabbed his gym bag from her car then walked into her bathroom. He saw that she had thoughtfully left out towels and a washcloth as well as a new toothbrush. He showered in record time and as the warm water beat down on his back he could finally feel the day catching up to him and the tiredness was seeping in.

Gillian was lying in bed propped up on pillows reading when he walked in. Her nightgown was a navy satin and not only did it make the blue in her eyes pop, it showed an ample amount of cleavage.

Cal groaned aloud. "Hey."

She glanced up and saw his damp hair and naked chest. His sweat pants rode low on his hips and she swallowed hard.

He saw the desire in her eyes that mirrored his own. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," he grinned. "I should probably head to the guest room, yeah?"

Gillian smiled weakly. "No, please? We can do this…"

Cal frowned as he climbed in as she reached over and turned out the light. He sighed when his head hit the pillow. He put his arm around her and Gillian scooted against him then draped a leg over his. "Gill, I don't thing you should do that."

"Sorry." She said as she removed her leg then leaned in for a kiss.

Cal kissed her then settled back down and closed his eyes.

Gillian fidgeted for a while longer until Cal turned over and held her. "Shhh, Luv, you've got to try to relax, we have such a big day tomorrow."

"I can't sleep! I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve."

Cal nodded and started to caress her back lightly. "I know Darling," he mumbled tiredly.

Gillian pushed at him lightly. "Roll over," she directed.

Cal frowned then turned the other way. He moaned when Gillian began to knead the muscles in his back. She smiled when she felt his breathing even out and continued to massage him until she heard his light snores. She slipped quietly from the bed then closed the bedroom door tightly behind her before she walked into the kitchen.

She busied herself cleaning up from dinner as her mind raced with things she needed to do to prepare for a toddler to come to her house.

When the dishes were put away and the counters cleaned, she grabbed a pad of paper and started her list. She quickly completed two pages of things she would need by tomorrow which included mostly food and clothing items and the daily essentials. A third list had bigger items such as furniture and a stroller.

Gillian was restless and knew she would never get to sleep. She went into the spare bedroom and started to clean it, knowing it would become Sophie's room. She found the old photo album in one of the drawers and took it into the kitchen to have better lighting.

She stared at each one of the pictures for several minutes before she moved onto the next. She was trying to familiarize herself with Sophie's features again and she allowed her mind to imagine what she looked like now, just eighteen months later.

Gillian frowned when she found a picture of Alec holding Sophie. She brought it closer to her face to really look at it. She frowned and finally set it down on the table in disgust.

She saw a movement then blinked in surprise to find Cal was leaning against the doorway looking at her. He blew out a tired breath as he came over. He picked up the photo then stared at it as he sat down next to her.

"I can't believe I never saw it before…" She began as Cal stared at her then grimaced remorsefully and looked away. Gillian chuckled derisively. "You saw it all along didn't you?"

He frowned at her and shrugged. "What am I supposed to say?"

"I don't know…that he was never comfortable holding her! Every damn picture in this box is of me and Sophie and the few that I have of him look like this. He never loved her! He never became comfortable with her! How could I have not seen this?!"

"You saw what you wanted to see, Luv."

"I make my living knowing when people are telling me lies…I can hear it in their voices the second it leaves their lips. But not Alec…he told me everything I ever wanted to hear and I believed every one of his lies!"

Cal leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You were madly in love with your newborn daughter and like every new mother you assumed everyone else was just as enamored with Sophie as you were."

"Well, I certainly thought her own father would be!"

Cal pulled her into his embrace. "I'm sorry he wasn't. I'm sorry he cost you all these months with Sophie but you know what? Starting tomorrow you'll make up for all that lost time and you'll have your little girl back in your arms again."

Gillian cupped his cheek and kissed him. "Thanks to you."

Cal shook his head as he tried to stifle a yawn. "Sophie's grandmother knows you are the best choice to raise that little girl. You are the reason she got a hold of me."

Cal was exhausted and Gillian was finally starting to grow weary as well. "Come on, let's get you back in bed," Gillian said as she stood and reached for Cal's hand.

"You gonna stay put this time?" Cal grumbled as he followed behind her.

"I will," Gillian promised as they climbed into bed. Cal spooned up against her and held her while they fell asleep.