"So I said he'd have to do extra chores if he wanted one that badly and that we'd think about it," Gillian got into bed and sat while she took off her watch. "What do you think?"

Cal was staring at the wall while waiting for her. He wasn't listening, but he did notice she had gone quiet.

"Hello? Are you listening?"

"Hm?" Cal looked over at her. Expectant expression. Oh she had asked him something. "Uh sorry luv. What were you sayin'?" He fixed his face into focussed, interested listening.

"I was talking about Owen... All right what's with you? You've been distracted all evening."

Lewis had been pretty quiet too, but Lewis was always quiet.

"Uh," Cal started. He wasn't expecting the direct confrontation. He didn't have a lie prepared. What was he thinking? He should always have a lie prepared; he had got out of practice. No wait. That was the point. He wasn't in the habit of lying to his wife. And he had never lied to her to protect one of their kids. He and Gillian had an open policy. They didn't keep secrets from each other. He had almost made a big mistake. Thank god he had caught it in time. He could have totally killed his credibility.

"Cal?" Gillian prompted, her tone between careful and impatient.

Oh now he really was going to have to tell her. Gillian was right. He couldn't and shouldn't and wouldn't lie to her. Because she was his wife and because she was his best friend. He had almost hurt her feelings. Cal shifted so he was up on an elbow, facing her. "I should tell you somethin'," he started and Gillian scoffed a little as if that were obvious by now. "But. You can't say anythin' to anyone about it."

"Why what's going on?" Gillian asked concerned.

"It's," Cal started. Uh, no way was he going to be able to just blurt that out there. "Lewis," he finished lamely, his heart heavy once again as he thought about potential grandbabies and teenage pregnancies. It seemed so unreal but then they were having sex. It couldn't be that much of a stretch of imagination could it? Sex equalled babies. That's technically what it was for. Everyone must have had an 'oh god, could I be?' moment. Surely.

"Lewis?" Gillian repeated. "I thought he was quieter than usual tonight. What did he do? Is he in trouble?" Gillian's gaze was suddenly unrelenting.

Cal took a deep breath. Had to keep going. "Not quite, yeah, actually, maybe?"

Gillian gave him a bizarre frown. "What? Is it school? Did he get involved in something he shouldn't have? Did the cops bring him home? Don't make me guess. I'm worried now."

"All right, promise me you won't get mad."

Gillian narrowed her eyes at him.

"And you have to promise that you will absolutely not say anythin' to Lewis until he comes to you with it."

Gillian continued her death stare, to which Cal was immune.

"I promise he will come and tell you. I'll make him but you just have to wait for him."

Gillian's stare continued in the silence. Cal suspected she was weighing up his request. She was probably running through the worst case scenarios and how badly she would want to storm downstairs and yell at their eldest boy, compared to getting the insight from her husband. "Just tell me," Gillian responded, annoyed this time.

"Do you promise?" Cal pushed.

There was a long heavy silence and Cal could see she was still debating it. Finally she opened her mouth to speak and Cal was genuinely curious as to what she would say.

"Yes," she said quietly.

Cal felt a pang of guilt as he opened his mouth to blab. He hadn't really promised Lewis he'd say nothing but it still felt like a breach of confidence. Then again, Lewis had to know by now that whatever he told his father, Cal was more than likely to tell his wife. She was his wife after all. And his best friend. There was no getting around that. They were partners.

"Hollie might be pregnant," Cal told Gillian softly. He watched as her expression froze and her eyes went a little wider. That was probably exactly how he looked when Lewis had said the words to him.

"What?"

"Don't freak out too much," Cal told her while his gut churned. Easier said than done. He shifted closer, reaching out his hand to touch her, needing to ground himself, needing to ground her as well. It was better to tell, he decided. He needed someone to commiserate with. "She hasn't had a blood test yet. Just did one of them home tests and you and I both know those aren't always reliable."

Gillian stared at him agape. "He's seventeen!"

"I know that," Cal kept his voice purposefully soft, shifting to comfort mode right away. He noticed her arm was shaking. "And he's scared. Hollie's scared. They're just kids."

"Exactly they're just kids!" Gillian choked.

"Don't be mad at me," Cal urged gently.

"You told me you talked to him!"

"I did! A couple of times..."

"You were supposed to make him understand," Gillian's voice gained in volume as she got more wound up, as the news sunk in more.

"I did," Cal repeated, shifting so he was sitting completely. He reached out both arms to embrace her but she shoved him away, and as always, it hurt when she did it. Didn't she realise he needed her too? "I did and he promised me Gill, they were safe every time."

Gillian rolled her eyes. "Well obviously they weren't."

"Don't think the worse," Cal chided her gently. "That's our son. If he said he did somethin', you know he did. Condoms aren't a failsafe. They're a damn site betta than nothin' but..."

"Then they shouldn't have been having sex."

"Oh come on!" Cal exclaimed. "You think any talk from eitha of us was gonna stop him? It was betta this way. He came to me and talked to me about it. I gave him protection. He's come to me now, again. This is the best way."

"The best way?" Gillian asked him in disbelief.

Cal gave a little sigh. She was processing. That was all. He had to remember that. It wasn't personal. "It's betta that he came to us. What if she is pregnant and we found out about it four months down the line? At least now we know, right from the start. We can get involved straight away."

Gillian stared at him for a moment. "Are you suggesting?"

Cal waited for her to go on but she didn't and he felt dense. "Suggestin' what?"

"She gets rid of it?" Gillian's tone was almost conspiratorial.

"No," Cal responded sharply. "No not at all. That's not what I meant. I meant, we're there from day one. For our son. And for our grandkid. Isn't that the way you would ratha it be? Or would you like to just kick him out of home now?" His tone went low because if it came down to that then Gillian was going to put him in one hell of a position. She would be forcing him to choose, his son or his wife. And god his loyalty to Gillian was so strong but he wasn't sure he could do that to Lewis. Or any of his kids.

"Geeze," Gillian slumped suddenly. She gave him an annoyed expression. "I didn't mean it like that."

"All right," Cal reached out to thread his fingers through hers. Her hands were cold and she fell into him so her head was resting against his shoulder. Better... "It's not ideal and it's scary as shit but... I don't know what else to do but be there for him. This is Lew we're talkin' about. He's our son."

"I know," Gillian replied softly.

They were silent.

"Then there's..."

"What?" Cal prompted. What else was there?

"It might not be Lewis's."

Cal went still and the room went silent. "What?"

Gillian pulled back. "Yes, I know I'm a bitch for thinking it but... if Lewis swears they were careful every time who's to say that maybe, I don't know," she gave a half shrug. "Maybe it's not Lewis who's the father."

"Jesus," Cal muttered.

Gillian covered her face with her hands. "Yes I know. I'm awful."

'Well there was that,' Cal thought. And then there was worse: she could be right. Because he believed in Lewis but he didn't actually know Hollie that well, and he wasn't accusing her, neither was Gillian, but who's to say she didn't sleep with other boys? Oh god this whole thing could just get so freaking complicated.

Gillian smoothed her fingers down her face and observed her husband for a moment. "He's just a baby."

"He's a young man," Cal countered softly.

Gillian sighed. "I hoped to be at least seventy before I became a Gramma officially."

Cal gave a little smile, thinking of little Ethan and how much Gillian doted on him; how much she was his other Grandmother even if she felt weird about claiming the title. "And I had hoped for sixty before I became a grandfather in the first place, but we don't always get what we want."

Gillian gave him another annoyed glare but it was less intense than the ones before and Cal got the distinct impression she was trying not to smile. "Oh god," she groaned. "What are we going to do?" Her blue eyes pleaded with him, much like Lewis's had that afternoon.

"Not freak out," Cal started. Which is pretty much what he'd been telling himself since Lewis uttered the word 'pregnant'.

"Oh god Hollie's parents," Gillian groaned again, hanging her head and falling forward again, so her head was resting against Cal's shoulder once more.

"Don't know yet," Cal finished. He gave her fingers a squeeze. "Just like you don't know eitha. So... you know... don't act weird around Lewis tomorrow."

Gillian brought her head up to meet his gaze. "How am I meant to do that?"

"Pretend your cute little ass off," Cal deadpanned. Gillian's eyes filled with sorrow and Cal almost felt the need to cry. He so wanted to fix this for her and for Lewis. "Try?" Cal offered instead.

"I'm glad you told me though."

"Can't keep secrets from you," Cal admitted. He was glad he'd told her. He didn't really want to deal on his own, and she was his best friend, the first person he wanted to run to at the end of the day to tell her all that happened to him. Lewis was just going to have to forgive him this one.

Gillian gave a slight laugh. It was forced and less of a smile and more like a softening of her eyes. "That's a good thing."

"For you yeah, I broke our kid's confidence," Cal sighed.

Sort of. Maybe.

"Why am I not allowed knowing?" Gillian asked quietly.

"Because I said he had to tell you himself and he wanted to do it when he officially knows whetha he's gonna be a Daddy or not and I wasn't gonna do it for him."

"So much for that," Gillian mused. "And don't say that again."

"What?" Cal asked confused.

"Lewis being a Daddy. That's not right. Not yet."

"Agreed."