They've not yet tired of the novelty of being so close. In the early hours of the morning, when dawn is just breaking over the horizon on the late spring day, he holds her near to him, the warmth of her pressed along his side and her leg hitched over his hip. He's waking knowing he should still be sleeping, watching for the telltale signs of her waking as well. She's at such peace as she slumbers, features soft and lax and mouth pouting just slightly.
It's the noise that has her blinking awake in sleepy annoyance; the kitchen door being opened (with the force of a hip because it still jams now and then), the thudding of a bag to the floor, and then before it even resisters in his mind, a voice calling out for him as footsteps rush up the staircase.
"Dad! Do you have the forms I asked you to sign. I have to go to-"
He has just enough time to tug the blanket up over Gillian's bared back before his daughter's standing at the open door to the room, two heads turning to look at her as she looks into the space blinking furiously.
"I-I'm sorry," she spews in her shock, yet just the tiniest glint of happiness peeks through after initial surprise. "I'll just..."
Emily makes a gesture as she turns and leaves as quickly as she'd come, her feet down the staircase the only sound apart from their breathing.
One moment, two moments, three pass them by and then Gillian's fully awake and laughing, the sound muffled against the muscles of his chest.
"It's not funny, love," he says, hardly able to keep the amused smile off his face. "That's my daughter. Gonna have to face her eventually."
"Hardly the way you'd planned to tell her, huh?" she asks, mirth lighting up her features as she raises her head from him, the ends of her hair brushing over his skin in the wake of her movement.
"Why're you not bothered by this?" he asks, moving into sitting and levering himself off the bed.
Gillian follows his lead, swinging her legs over so her toes meet lush carpet and scanning the room for the rest of her clothing.
"Didn't you hear her? She was happy, Cal. That's a lot less to be concerned about than if she weren't," she tells him.
She collects garments and holds them up over her naked chest as he thinks over the words, pulling his discarded jeans on over his hips. Gillian tosses him his wrinkled T-shirt, which he catches in one hand.
"Go, go. Emily needed something," she encourages when she sees him just standing there.
He scratches his head once, then pulls the shirt over his head, ruffling his sleep-tousled hair even further. He leaves the room and closes the door behind him to afford Gillian her privacy as she dresses.
She comes downstairs into the kitchen minutes later, fully dressed and handbag hitched over her shoulder, ready to leave. Emily is sitting at the kitchen island talking with her dad in hushed tones and nursing a warm beverage between her palms. They both turn at her periphery presence; not quite joining in, but not quite willing to be too far removed either.
"Hi," she says quietly, warming a loving glance over the both of them.
"Going somewhere, love?"
"I'm supposed to meet my mom in just a few hours," she says, making a show of glancing at the wall clock. "I should go home, get ready."
"Stay?" he requests softly, the invitation so warm from his tongue.
"Cal," she chastises slowly, her grip on the strap of her handbag tightening.
"Stay," it comes from Emily this time, nearer a demand than an offer.
"Em, if you need some time to-" Gillian tries, not wanting to be the source of tension in the room as Emily had just learned of her new relationship with her father in a rather shocking way.
"I don't," she disrupts smoothly. "I think it's great, Gill. I mean it'd be better if you had some clothes on, but it's good. Don't go."
Her resolve wavers even as an embarrassed blush rises over her cheeks, her body leading her steps forward before she even makes the decision.
"Just for a bit," she concedes, making her way over to the island.
"Good," Emily smiles. "I've already poured your coffee."
She returns the smile, effectively hiding her surprise as she sits down in the stool next to Emily's, squeezing her shoulder in thanks.
She sips at creamed coffee and makes conversation as Cal cooks breakfast for the three of them, feeling sadness creep over her as she realises that she really does have to leave this happy domesticity in only a few more minutes.
It's as they pile their dishes in the sink that Gillian sighs.
"I really do have to go," she says, frowning at her wristwatch.
"I'll walk you out," Cal says and Emily takes that exactly as it's meant, saying her goodbye before Gillian and Cal leave the room.
Cal lingers in the hallway as Gillian slips into her heels. He retrieves her coat from the hook and approaches, holding it out for her to slip her arms into. She turns to face him once she has, her smile lining up precisely with his in her three inch heels.
He leans in to press a kiss against her lips, just a soft and quick caress. He pulls her into his embrace, arms wrapping tightly around her as he tries to forget for a moment that she's not spending the day with him.
"I still think this is a dream sometimes," she confesses, quiet words close to his ear.
"Is it everything you imagined?" he asks in reply, voice going wistfully soft as he pulls back from the embrace.
She smiles, thinking there aren't enough words in existence to describe how much happier she is than she thought possible. She lets it be seen, lets it lace her words and move her body.
"More than," she says.
And somehow the words are more than enough.
A/N: sorry this one took so long. Been busy. Hope it's worth the little wait. More stuff soon and some is very different :)