Disclaimer: I do not own Lie to Me or any of the characters in this story.

Thanks for the reviews, and hi to the new people who have started following but I haven't heard from yet. Let me know what you think- this chapter's Cal and Gill's little chat, next chapter is Cal's birthday.

Cal strode into Gill's office confidently, leaving the door open. "Problem, darling?" he asked her casually.

"Don't you, 'problem, darling?' me," Gill told him. Her tone was quiet, but the underlying anger was evident. "Close the door." Cal did as he was told. "Sit."

"I'm not a dog, love," Cal protested.

"You're in the dog house, so you may as well be. Take a seat, Cal," she tried more politely.

Cal complied, slouching in one of Gill's armchairs with his legs stretched out in front of him. He'd intentionally chosen the one she liked to sit in. "I take it your little chat with Torres went well, then?" he asked, his casual tone only serving to irritate Gill more. He'd seen Ria in the corridor. She looked concerned, but not overly so. He was pretty sure she hadn't cracked.

Gill sat down on the other chair, her forearm resting along the arm of it. She ducked her head, giving herself some time to think, choosing her words carefully. "I know... that you love me," she told Cal, looking up at him without raising her head. "And I know that you want for me to be safe and happy, and that you would do absolutely anything in your power to make sure I am."

Cal squinted slightly, looking at her. He'd thought he'd been going to get an earful.

Gill reached out and held Cal's left hand with her own, rotating his wedding ring around his finger a little, then linking their fingers tightly. "I love that about you," she told him gently. "Every night I go to sleep in your arms I know that nothing bad will happen to me during the night. In the morning when I wake up and go to work, I know that no matter whose nose I end up poking my business in, and how they choose to react, you're going to make sure I'm safe, whether that's protecting me yourself, or keeping an eye on things and making sure Reynolds is where he needs to be before things get too hairy." She smiled warmly. "That's one of my favourite things about you, honey," she said, genuine affection on her face and in her voice.

Cal's chest would have swollen with pride, knowing Gill felt like he was her protector. That was the role he'd assigned himself, and he was damned if he was going to let anything happen to her. He knew, however, there was a 'but' coming here. He waited patiently, looking Gill in the eye. He was glad she wasn't yelling at him- he was pretty sure there was something in the male brain that, when a woman's voice got over a certain pitch, just shut down, and everything came out as an unintelligible screech.

"But," Gill said.

'Oh! There it is...' Cal thought.

"You have to let me fight my own battles sometimes. I'm a grown woman, Cal, and I'm a lot stronger than you give me credit for."

"Rubbish, love," Cal interjected. "You're the strongest woman I know."

Gill looked at Cal sternly, an indication he shouldn't interrupt again, before her facial expression softened again. "It doesn't mean I don't need you, or that you role you play in my life is any less important, but you need to trust that I can take care of myself sometimes. It's not healthy for me to not be allowed to do that. Sometimes I'm going to get hurt, but I'll end up pulling through, and it'll make me a stronger person. When things go according to plan that's good for me, too. I need to know that I can stand on my own two feet so that if one day you're not around, I'm not going to be completely helpless. You don't want me to feel helpless, do you?" she asked.

Cal continued to look at Gill, who looked right back at him. "Oh! Not a rhetorical question? Right," he decided after a few moments passed in silence. "Of course I don't want you to feel helpless."

"Then Cal," Gill said, bringing their joined hands to her face so she could kiss his knuckles. "Let me stand on my own two feet sometimes. If Loker said something about me, I have a right to know what it was so I can defend myself. It might be awkward or embarrassing, but it's not as bad as feeling like everyone knows what's going on but me."

"He was being insulting and disrespectful, love," Cal told her. "The details are unimportant."

"They're important to me," Gill said a little more firmly. "If people are making sexual comments about me behind my back, I have a right to know what they're saying," she repeated herself.

"Absolutely not," Cal argued. "Doesn't matter anyway, he's still fired. I'm not having him work here if that's how he treats you after all you've done for him."

"We need Loker, Cal," Gill insisted. "Torres is good- she's great, actually- but he's got years on her. Until she's up to his level when it comes to research Loker's still the best we've got."

"Listen to yourself," Cal said, unable to believe it. "I tell you he's making inappropriate comments about you and you still defend him. Is it any wonder why I won't just let you handle it? You can't help yourself, Gill."

"I can," Gill insisted stubbornly. "This is not a matter of judging whether he's right or wrong, it's a matter of whether we need him or not, and the truth is that we do, so I'm willing to put up with whatever it was."

"No, I don't like this. I don't like it at all," Cal argued, shaking his head.

"Cal," Gill said patiently. "I'm going to ask you to trust me. Let me deal with Loker. I'll see that he regrets his behaviour."

"Gillian, you're being stubborn..."

Gill rolled her eyes. "So are you," she said. "Please," she implored him yet again. "Trust me to deal with him how I see fit. It doesn't matter what he says about me, Cal. They're just words."