Disclaimer: I do not own Lie to Me or any of the characters in this story.
A bit of a revelation in this chapter... Let me know what you think.
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Strangely, on either side of the closed bathroom door, both halves of the couple were thinking similar thoughts.
As Gill stepped into the bath and picked up her glass of wine it was no surprise her mind wandered straight to Sophie, wondering what she'd look like now and how big she'd be. She was positive her little girl would be beautiful. She knew she should stop thinking of Sophie as hers, but she couldn't. For fifty seven days her whole life had revolved around that tiny human being, and Gillian loved her more than she ever could have imagined loving anything. Her heart ached thinking about the loss of her baby girl, even more than it did when she thought about her failed attempts at conceiving in the past, or the few times she'd succeeded and miscarried. She'd actually held Sophie in her arms. Bonded with her, watched her cry, soothed her, rocked her to sleep and gotten lost in how peaceful and innocent she'd looked laying in her crib. She hated to say it, but when it really got to her- the days when she was so overcome with grief she thought she wouldn't even be able to get out of bed- she found a dark part of herself. A tiny part, usually well-hidden, even from herself, that wished something would happen to Sophie's birth mother so she could take her back. Those days made her despise herself. How could she wish that on another human being? Sophie was old enough now that she'd recognise her mother and would have formed a bond with her. She'd feel the loss, and Gillian didn't want to put her through that, even if it meant having her back.
Cal, meanwhile, was sitting on the bed. His first thought had been to go to the mini bar and pull out one of the little bottles of scotch he was so fond of, but he couldn't put Gill through another night of his drinking. He didn't have a drinking problem, he just got a bit carried away on occasion. The times he did were few and far between, and usually only when something had affected him deeply, but he could choose to control his little binges, and he did. He brushed his thumbs over the worn corners of an old photograph taken from a sonogram that he carried in his wallet. His baby. His little boy. They'd lost him a few months into the pregnancy, before they'd told everyone Zoe was expecting, and afterwards the only thing that had kept Cal on track was Emily. He had to be strong for her. Zoe seemed to cope reasonably well. As much as he'd loved her, she'd always been cold and somewhat detached, and he couldn't say she broke down on a regular basis. She'd been upset when she'd found out- understandably so- but it was Cal who'd been deeply affected by it. Zoe had chosen not to talk about it and Cal, known for his ability to avoid his emotions, had done the same, refusing to confront the pain he felt when he thought about the son he'd lost. He'd never told anyone about it. Emily was too young to know what was going on, so it was a secret he and Zoe shared, and without a doubt the biggest one he had. They'd tried for another child after that, but hadn't succeeded, and Cal was certain Zoe had started taking the pill again without telling him to avoid falling pregnant and risking losing another. It pained him when Gillian talked about him not understanding, but he never gave it away. His sadness could have easily been mistaken for empathy, and he didn't want to make those situations about him. Gillian needed his love and support, not to have to comfort him.
Both Cal and Gill stared straight ahead for a long while, thinking about the children they'd lost. Eventually Cal put the photograph away and got out the room service menu, wanting to be a little more composed before he faced Gill again. The brunette in question emerged from the bathroom a short time later, empty wine glass in hand, wrapped in a towel. "My robe is out here," she told Cal.
Cal smiled affectionately. "I can't say I'm complaining," he admitted, standing up and kissing her cheek. "You're beautiful," he told her softly, eliciting a slight blush from Gillian before moving to fetch the silk bath robe she had brought with them. He ran his hand down the back of the towel as he handed her the robe, unable to resist touching her. "I've got the room service menu out," he told her, sitting back on the bed.
"What looks good?" Gill asked, slipping out of the towel and into the robe. She was glad they were back to 'normal', moving comfortably around each other and neither of them arguing or crying.
Cal ran his eyes up and down the menu again. "If you were looking at it your mouth would say linguini," he mused. "but your eyes would tell me what you really wanted was....." he trailed off, considering his options. "Tempura prawns for an entree, no mains and for dessert, the 'Chocolate obsession'- layers of chocolate cake separated by layers of milk and dark chocolate mousse, covered in chocolate ganache."
Gill laughed and sat down next to Cal on the bed, resting her head on his shoulder while she looked at the menu. "Close," she conceded before grinning. "I'd skip the entree."
It was Cal's turn to laugh this time. "Of course you would."
"Oh! They do have dumplings, though," she pointed out.
"Again with the meat you can't see?" Cal asked, amused. "Do you do it just to get a rise?"
"I do it because they're delicious," Gill smiled, licking her lips. "And you know how I can be once I get it in my head that I want something in my mouth," she said, the double-meaning not lost on Cal, who grunted.
"You behave yourself," he told Gill with a chuckle. "We don't need to give your mother any more ammunition."
"It's not like she'd know..." Gill replied, tilting her head so she could look up at Cal demurely.
Cal moaned quietly this time, deep and low. "You're doing that on purpose."
"I know," Gill smiled. "Is it working?"
Cal shifted on the bed. "What do you think?" he asked.
"I think you love me and you're not going to be upset with me when I want to order dumplings," she grinned, stealing the menu away from him and then reaching to pick up the phone.
Cal rolled Gill onto her back then, tickling her when his body was covering hers. "Oh, that's what you think, is it?" he asked playfully, nipping gently at her neck.
Gill couldn't control the urge to laugh when she felt Cal's fingers on her sides. "Cal!" she squealed playfully. "Cal, stop tickling me!" she giggled, wiggling underneath him.
"You wanted to get a rise, now you've got one," Cal grinned, continuing to tickle her.
"I can feel that," Gill laughed, referring to the bulge now pressed against her stomach.
"Oh, you're a comedian now?" Cal asked with a laugh, ignoring Gill's request from earlier and sucking on a patch of flesh to leave a small but well-defined hickey on her neck.
"Cal! Don't!" she laughed, not really minding. She could always cover it with make-up, and she secretly liked that Cal wanted to mark her as his. As they both rolled around laughing on the bed, all of her worries were temporarily forgotten, along with the phone, which was now laying discarded on the pillow to her right.
"Uhh... ma'am?" the operator's voice came from the other end of the line. His words went unheard.
