"We're early," Cal noted as they pulled up in front of the house. He checked the time on the dash, then took the keys out of the ignition and rested his hand on his thigh. He looked across the road and up at the house. It was brick but the second story was weatherboard; it looked clean and tidy. The lawns were kept, the gardens clear of weeds, even though the house was currently unoccupied. Could be a full time job going around mowing the lawns of all the houses for sale.

Gillian sat back in the passenger seat, following his gaze. "I still think I like this one better than the others."

"You've not been inside yet," Cal pointed out.

She gave a little shrug and content smile. "The others were too far away."

Cal didn't respond. That was a pretty weak excuse for not liking the two they had already seen that morning. Although a practical one.

"Plus there is a really nice restaurant around the corner," Gillian pointed in the direction. Cal chuckled. "'George's'," she added. She looked over at him with a smile. "I have a good feeling about this place."

"Not supposed to get all excited," Cal warned her. "Supposed to play it cool," he made a 'smooth' motion with his hand.

"I will," Gillian insisted. And then added, "If you get any cooler you'll be noticeably nonchalant."

"I'm not nonchalant," Cal protested. Gillian gave him a sidelong glance. "I'm..." Cal tried. "I don't get all this," he gestured at the house. "You pick somewhere you like and I'll like it. That's how it works."

"And if I pick somewhere I like and you hate it?"

"If I hate, absolutely hate it, I'll let you know," he met her eye.

She watched him for a moment, her face so open, so full of joy. IT was always like that these days. Always. When they were around each other. Sometimes it still scared him how he was falling head long into the unknown. With Gillian right beside him, holding his hand. "So that last place?" Gillian asked.

"Didn't hate it," Cal clarified. "Didn't like it eitha," he added after a beat.

"Hm," Gillian noted. "That, is at least, a response."

Cal turned his head away to look out of his side window, so he could hide a smirk. The funniest thing was, he had suggested house hunting in the first place.

"I saw that," Gillian murmured. "Oh she's here." She unclipped her seatbelt and popped open her door to step out. Cal did the same and followed his partner across the road. He really didn't get the house hunting thing. He was more of a roll up, know in his gut whether he liked it or not, and make a decision. Whereas Gillian wanted to look at all her options and then pick the best of the bunch. On her system, they could look for years and never find something she considered appropriate. To be fair, if they used his system, they could still look for years and never find something that made his gut speak up but at least he would never settle.

Cal had not had much of a say during his first house buying experience. Zoe had picked their home back when they were getting married; Cal had no opinion and he had grown to like it. There wasn't anything about it in particular he didn't like; he had just never been overly attached. So it would be the same this time around to. He never saw a house he 'loved', only ones that were either completely hideous or were tolerable. If his wife, no, if Gillian was happy, then he'd be happy with it. But he wasn't stupid either. Gillian was looking for a response from him. She was doing this as a partnership whereas Zoe liked her dictatorship. So Cal realised he had to make more of an effort. For her sake. She tried so hard to make things even between them, and clear that she was not going to just go through their relationship on her own, dragging him along behind her. He was pretty sure she would walk away rather than go through that again. Considering Cal had resisted in his own way before and that marriage had fallen apart, perhaps it was fair to try it another way this time around, just like Gillian was. Not that they were married. Nope. He wasn't talking about marriage. But... it was just...

Jenny had been dragging them around half of America, if felt like. She didn't seem to understand the concept of 'only interested in houses in the District of Columbia, not Maryland or Virginia.' Gillian was too polite to shut the real estate agent down. She also countered they might find a real gem, which could be worth a longer commute. When Jenny went through her spiel Cal tended to switch off. This is what he did when they walked up the path and the real estate agent went on about how old the house was and some of the architectural features. The air was cool today, they were headed into winter, and all he could think about was how it made Gillian's cheeks turn a little red and that reminded him of when they were...

The front door opened at the end of a hall. Immediately to the right was a living room, which led through to a dining room and on to the kitchen. The kitchen was large with big bay windows along one wall. There were double glass doors that opened out to a deck and even though it was cold, the sun was shining. The room was flooded with light. Jenny unclasped the latch to push the doors open onto the wooden deck. The eaves of the house were extended to create a bit more shelter than normal and there were steps that led down to the lawn; another manicured garden. The en suite backed on to the kitchen, which placed the master bedroom across the hall. Next to that was another smaller bedroom, more like a cupboard or a study. Another communal bathroom was in the middle and finally, at the end of the hall, a medium-sized bedroom. Gillian nominated it as Emily's room.

Gillian was all bright smiles and attentive ears as they wandered around. The house was warm, considering, and bright. There was plenty of light and space and Cal watched Gillian mentally put their possessions in place. He wasn't paying particular attention to the real estate agent; he was more interested in watching his girlfriend, or partner, or whatever. His Gillian. His.

Then there was the inevitable: "So what do you think?" Jenny asked brightly.

"I like it," Gillian responded but she was being cautious.

"Feel free to take another walk through," Jenny directed. She indicated she was going to go check something in the front, which was code for leaving them alone to talk. As soon as she was out of earshot Cal reached for Gillian's hand and pulled her close against him. She gave him a surprised expression.

"I like it," Cal murmured, putting his arms around her waist in a loose embrace.

Her surprise became more pronounced as they stood belly to belly in the middle of the master-bed room floor. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah I can see us here."

"Really?"

"I'm not that close minded."

"I never said you were," she replied nonchalantly. She rested a hand against his chest and looked up to meet his eye. "Me too," Gillian gushed with a smile.

"I'm already picturin' takin' you on the kitchen bench," he whispered near her ear.

"Cal!" She exclaimed, eyes darting to the door of the master bedroom where they were standing. But no one was there. She gave his shoulder a little push and he grinned as he stood back, thrown off balance. She smiled too, but she tried to help it. "I was thinking about how big the shower seemed."

Cal laughed and she grinned bashfully again. Then she stepped forward again to kiss him, running her fingers through the soft hair at the base of his skull as her lips caressed his. It felt good. Now he was thinking about the shower.

"Well?" He prompted when they broke apart but he could already tell; this place was different. He knew her answer already.