Here we are. C'mon people, let me hear it!
She drove him to the pickup point the morning after, or to better say he drove himself. She was with him in the car of course, there was no amount of friction and fear that would keep her from seeing him off, but Cal had understood that if he was the one driving it would feel less like she was letting him go against her will.
It might have looked like a silly way to go about it, but Cal had found out the night before that there was nothing silly about the way she felt. They had talked more the night before, forcing themselves to eat something and delaying his packing as long as possible. Gillian had been willing to concede that her fear might be a bit irrational, but Cal had not dared agreeing with her. Yes, he was surprised that she felt so strongly about it but he couldn't really say that he didn't understand where she was coming from, what with his track record of doing crazy things and all. So he had listened to her and accepted her doubts, acknowledged her fears, even when she had let it slip, later in the night when they had been trying to catch some sleep, that she had a bad feeling about this one.
They had been up almost all night talking, and even though they hadn't even come close to scratching the surface when they had to part they decided not to drag it further. When they got to the small airport where the military flight was departing from, Cal got out of the car and went to get his bag from the trunk, stopping to give Gillian a look as she stood leaning on the passenger's side door. He sighed and let the bag drop on the spot, vaguely aware of a bunch of people in uniform waiting for him, then walked over to her. It was still before dawn and the structures around them didn't cast much of a light, but as he approached Cal saw her face and smirked to himself. She had been looking pretty much the same way since the night before, not liking the fact that she felt so frightened and was letting her irrational emotions drive her thoughts and actions.
"Remember," she said then once he was close, her voice low as much as her eyes, looking down at her own feet. "You promised."
"I did," Cal whispered softly, then planted a quick light kiss on her forehead. "And I will."
Gillian nodded absently and took a deep breath, then put her hand on his chest and gently pushed him away. He smirked but didn't reply, there really was no need to make a scene or put up a show for the army people behind him, so he nodded and stepped back, picking up his back and walking towards the chunky plane waiting for him.
Surprisingly, the first day went by without Gillian feeling like she wanted to rip her hair out. Sadly, that was simply due to Cal's long flight time, meaning that for roughly 16 hours or so there was nothing going on with him aside from an uncomfortable seat on a very loud aircraft with no inflight entertainment and, she suspected, no drink service.
During the long day, Gillian busied herself with regular work and setting up the communication with Camp Lemmonier, wanting - needing - to make sure that Cal had the support he needed. And that she didn't have to interact with him through a dodgy feed from an underground bunker. The time and distance helped to ease the tension she felt inside, at least in part, and of course she had way too many things to think about. They didn't have much information on the case, not much material to get through, but she still tasked Loker with gathering as much as possible and Torres with working some sort of schedule with the staff to make sure there was always someone available. The time difference was significant, and Gillian wanted to ensure Cal had all the support he needed whenever he was online. He hadn't been wrong on the fact that they needed to work the case. Two people were dead, killed by American soldiers on foreign soil, and there were a lot of issues attached to that matter. If someone had ulterior motives in digging up the truth, Cal needed backup to make sure there was no funny business at play behind his back.
Later that day, when they first established contact with Cal, they both looked tired. He had been travelling for hours, moved three times from planes getting smaller and louder at every change, going from the still cold weather of Washington in late February to the far higher temperature of the Horn of Africa; she had been locked up in the office, not going out not even for lunch, scrambling to stay busy and be ready for that moment. On top of that, neither of them was done for the day: Cal was supposed to get over jet lag and fatigue and get to it, start interrogating the soldiers who had been at the village, and Gillian was going to watch as he did so.
Cal had planned on starting with the soldiers, the one who had taken the deadly shots and then the other on the scene, but once he had arrived Captain Faulkner had informed him that there had been a change of plans. Thinking they were sending the right kind of message, that the US Army had all the intention to play fair and investigate the matter thoroughly, he had arranged for the villagers to be brought on base to be heard first. Cal believed in his good intentions, he had spent hours talking to the young officers during the journey to Djibouti and he was sure that man really was interested in the truth, but after three hours of talking with some of the locals it was clear that Faulkner hadn't thought it through.
Watching from the lab in Washington, feeling stiff all over for the lack of movement and starting to give in to the fatigue, Gillian could see that clearly and she wasn't in the least bit surprised when Cal put a stop to the parade of villagers after the third interview. When the civilian left the room with the translator Cal held back the Captain, then Gillian saw him fumble with the camera to point at the both of them and look right into it.
"I'm jet lagged and severely tea-deprived love, so please tell me you see what I see," he addressed her directly.
Gillian smiled softly, then adjusted her composure and pulled the chair closer to the screen.
"Yes," she said then, addressing Captain Faulkner in equal measure as she explained. "Captain, I am afraid we're not going to get anything useful in this setting."
"Why?"
"They are too scared, it's hard to get a good reading out of them."
"Dr Foster, I can assure you that we are treating them with the utmost respect and attention-"
"And I can vouch for that Captain, but that's not the point," Cal jumped in, straddling his face and scratching the beard on his chin. "Put yourself in their shoes. They saw two people from their village being killed, and then you load them up in the back of a military truck and drive them to a base with about 3000 soldiers. Your intentions are good, but it's backfiring big time."
"I- The Major and I thought this would show that we want to be thorough and transparent about this." Faulkner shook his head, his eyes going back and forth from Cal to Gillian. "What do you suggest then?"
At those words, Cal immediately threw a glance at the screen showing Gillian's face. Her muscles were already tensed, a mask of concern confirming that they were having the exact same thoughts. Even after getting together, twice, there were still many occasions in which they didn't see eye to eye but when their brains clicked together like that it was usually a great feeling. Too bad that under the circumstances, when their agreement came down to him rolling his ass over to a remote Somali village where people had just been killed, being on the same page didn't sound that good.
Gillian looked down, feeling Loker's eyes on her. He had drawn the short straw of covering the first shift, and had been watching with sincere admiration as the bosses had jointly conducted the interviews as if they had been in the same room. It had felt that easy for her too, despite the fatigue and everything else they had easily slipped into the familiar routine and tackled the interviews in a way that had nearly made her forget there were miles between them. The much needed break was changing all of that, as it usually happened when things went from 100 to 0 in the blink of an eye. Not only now that things had slowed down she had time to remember where he was, but the latest development was adding to how she had been feeling all day and pushing things in the worst possible direction.
Still, she appreciated the fact that Cal understood the next step should have come from her, just for peace of mind and some kind of twisted poetic justice.
"Would it be possible to arrange for the interviews to be conducted at the village?" She asked then, hating the sound of her own voice as she did so. "Over there they would feel less like prisoners or suspects, more in their element."
"Do you really think it would help?" Captain Faulkner mumbled, shifting uncomfortably on his seat.
Cal noticed that the officer directed his question to him rather than Gillian, and he clenched his jaw disappointed in the young man who was quickly losing merit points in his eyes for doubting her. On her side, Gillian easily picked up on all the telling signs of that particular brand of annoyance, possibly the most powerful and deepest kind of love he was capable of showing to her. Yes, they've had the famous occasional arguments about whose name was on the door but that had been dealt with, and sometimes they still had to push the boundaries of each other's skills, but Gillian knew Cal had never truly questioned her abilities. And even though she knew she didn't need validation, not even from him, when it came so organically it was something she profoundly cherished.
"Yes, Captain." Cal hissed then, hands in his pockets to hide his closed fists. "They would feel more comfortable and less pressured to say what they think you might want them to say." Then he rolled on his heels slowly and glanced at Gillian on the monitor before carrying on. "Can you arrange that, in a safe and controlled way?"
Gillian felt her heart take a deep plunge inside her chest, feeling that knowing that was where things had been heading for a while did not help to cope with the moment. But she kept up a brave face, trying to convey to him with her expression that no, she did not like it but yes, she did understand that it had to be done. She also wanted him to know that she could see it, that he was doing all that he could to keep good on his promise, and when Cal gave her a tiny self-loathing smirk Gillian knew the message had been received loud and clear.
The rest of the call went on with Captain Faulkner asking questions about what he would have needed, not making any promises and buying some time to make the necessary moves. Being the military, and apparently eager to get to the bottom of that, it probably wasn't going to take long to come up with something, and Gillian was glad to be able to be part of the conversation. That way she could hear with her own ears what kind of planning Cal was asking for, knowing he was going out of his way to ask for details about safety measures and that it was mostly for her own benefit.
When that part of the conversation was over it became obvious that Cal was done for the day, and he asked Faulkner if he had any clue as to where he could get some rest. The Captain told him he was going to find out and inform his men that the other villagers could be taken back home, then excused himself with Gillian and left the room. Left alone, Cal dropped on the nearest chair and leaned forward on the table, grabbing hold of the laptop. Gillian chuckled when she saw his face inch closer as he pulled the device closer and stopped the recording, then smiled softly when she had an even better look of his tired features.
"You look like crap," she said then, and he smirked in reply.
"Thanks," Cal quipped in response. "You too by the way. You should go home, Gill."
"There are a couple of things I would like to check on these interviews, as long as they are fresh."
"Pardon me for saying so darling, but you look anything but fresh," Cal implied softly, his face melting in a concerned expression.
"I'm not the one who went through a bunch of different time zones in one day," she pointed out, feeling the corners of her mouth tugging upwards in a smile she couldn't hold back. "And whatever little rest I can get would come a lot easier if I can talk to you for a bit."
It was then that Loker coughed absently behind her, reminding both of them that he was very much still in the room.
"Don't worry Loker," Cal quipped then, addressing him even though he was out of sight. "We're not going to get on with some remote action."
"We aren't?" Gillian shot in response, faking disappointment as Cal bit at his bottom lip and stifled a laugh. "Too bad."
He chuckled and shook his head, glad to see she was in a better mood than the last time he had seen her. To some people, like poor Loker who clearly didn't know if she was serious or not, that side of her might have looked out of character. But Cal had known her a long time, and that occasional playfulness had always been part of her personality. It was easier to see it come out when she was happy or, as in that case, when she was too tired to care to hide it for some reason,
"Uh, do you want me to replay the interviews?" Loker asked then, not sure he was supposed to say anything at all.
"No, it's ok. Cal is right, we're all too tired to get anything out of it anyway." She smiled then with honest reassurance. "Why don't you go home and get some sleep? I'll get to those with Torres in the morning."
Loker nodded, although technically it already was morning, then picked up his stuff and said good to both before leaving the room. Left alone, sort of, Cal and Gillian looked at each other through the screen with tiredness for a few seconds, then Gillian kicked off her shoes and propped her feet up on the desk, resting the laptop on her lap and bringing it a little closer like he had done.
"You really do like tired, love," Cal stated then with a soft voice. "Why don't you go home and get some sleep?"
"I'll try to get some rest here. I have to be back in a few hours anyway, no point in going home. Mind if I take the couch in your office?"
"You know you don't have to ask for that," he chuckled, then took a long sigh that was in equal part fatigue and longing. "So far so good? I'm afraid this little road trip can' be helped."
Gillian smiled fondly at him, knowing he was checking that he was behaving as she had requested. It was nice, but it also felt wrong in many ways.
"It's ok, Cal. I guess it's fair to say I overreacted."
"I wouldn't say so, love." He huffed, leaning back on the chair absently caressing his beard as he spoke. "Regardless of the conditions of the interviews today, those villages are clearly on edge. They still saw someone they knew being brutally killed, that sort of thing can get people easily riled up."
"I know, but I trust Captain Faulkner can manage this. He seems really keen in making right of this situation."
"He has a daughter, the same age as the victim," he informed her with a sad look.
"That explains then," she nodded to herself. "Did you speak with Emily?" He groaned loudly and nodded. "That bad uh?"
"She called me a variety of names, even less of a fan of this than you are. Watch out, she'll probably give you an earful as well." Gillian chuckled but wasn't surprised, she had already considered the possibility. "She'll be fine, I told her I promised you I'd behaved and that seemed to help."
"I'll call her in the morning and keep her updated." He nodded, thankful, then Gillian sighed softly. "Why don't you get some rest Cal? You need it more than anybody else."
"Good idea, I sure could use some shut eyes. Speak to you later then?"
Gillian nodded and they exchanged a quick goodnight, not wanting to drag the conversation. They were both exhausted, physically and mentally drained, and the last thing they needed was to get stuck in an endless loop of no-you-hang-up-first just for the sake of it. Cal killed the feed and she closed the laptop with a sigh, then left the lab and did exactly what she had told him, walking straight to his office. She had already decided she was going to spend what was left of the night there, and quickly settled in with the blanket and pillows she had previously prepared, closing her eyes and trying to focus on the fact that, at least for the time being, Cal was safe and sound.
I hope it's not too confusing, I really did try my best to get this arc right! You'll be the judge of that