About Time

Chapter Twenty One - Wrapping Presents

"You should be able to go home this afternoon. You need to see your doctor in about three weeks for an amniocentesis."
"I've already made the appointment." Cal piped up from his seat in the chair across the room. He hadn't left since he'd gotten here. Emily had come home for Christmas in a few days and he'd gotten her to bring him changes of clothes and Sophie to visit every day.
"That's great. Someone should be in with your discharge papers in a few hours."
"Thank you." Gillian told him and he left.
Cal got up from his chair.
"I told Em to just stay at the house and we'd be there later."
"I'm ready to go home."
"Me too."
"You could've have gone home any time you wanted."
"And leave you alone? Not a chance."
"Thank you. For staying."
"Wouldn't have had it any other way."

"Mama!"
Sophie ran outside as soon as Gillian got out of the car.
"Hey, Sophie!"
"Emiwee me cookies!"
"Emily gave you cookies?"
"Yeah. You twoo!"
"She made some for me too?"
"Yeah!"
"Well then why are we still standing here?"
"Inside! Inside!"
Sophie grabbed Gillian's hand and starting pulling the laughing woman into the house, leaving Cal to get their things out of the car.

"Cal, can you watch Sophie for a few hours? Christmas is in three days and I need to go to the house and wrap presents."
"Sure, love. Call me if you need me?"
"Of course."
She went outside and got in her car. Ria had come to the hospital with Emily one day during the week and drove it home.
Gillian didn't know exactly when Cal's house had become home instead of her own. She'd started referring to her place as the house and Cal's as home. So had he. He'd never really asked to her to move in. It was more like he just told her to stay so she did.

She went into the bedroom and saw her sheets were thrown back, the exact position she'd left them in a week ago. But now she noticed the little spots of blood that she hadn't noticed then. She took the sheets off of the bed and just threw them in the dumpster outside. She didn't really even need them anymore and they were ugly anyway.
Gillian went back inside and pulled Christmas presents out of the closets, from under the bed, the top of the pantry. She was usually finished wrapping them by now but the hospital. visits had set her back.
She wrapped Sophie's and Emily's and Cal's and Ria's, who she'd gotten in the Secret Santa exchange for Emily's annual Lightman Group Christmas party tomorrow.
Gillian wondered who had her. When she'd asked Emily, the young woman had just smiled and walked away. It couldn't be Cal, he told her he'd gotten Anna.

When Gillian wasn't back by 8:00 that night, Cal got a little worried so he called her. She didn't answer.
"Em!" He called into the living room.
"Yeah, Dad?"
"I'm going to Gill's. I'll be back later."
"Okay."
Sophie was asleep in what had become her room upstairs.

Cal pulled into Gillian's driveway. Her car was still there so she hadn't left.
He unlocked the front door. Her living room floor was covered in wrapping paper and tape and scissors and Cal saw her cell phone beside a stack of wrapped presents on the couch but she wasn't in there. She wasn't in the kitchen either. He checked her bedroom but she wasn't there either, there was nothing but her bed and it didn't even have sheets.
Finally, he checked the spare bedroom.
Gillian was curled up in a ball on top of the comforter, fully clothed and fast asleep. Cal grinned as he heard her light snoring. He went back into the living room and called Emily.
"Dad?"
"She's fast asleep over here. I'm going to stay with her for the night."
"Okay. Do you want me to bring your pajamas or toothbrush or something?"
"No, it's fine. I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay. Night, Dad."
"Night, Em."
He went back into the spare bedroom and quietly opened the top drawer of the dresser. He had pajamas here, he also had shirts, pants, ties, and shoes in the closet, and a toothbrush in the bathroom because he tended to end up here a lot after a particularly hard case was over. Gillian had casually suggested one morning that he just bring things over for such occasions so he had.
Cal changed and brushed his teeth and went over to the bed. Gently lifting Gillian so he wouldn't wake her, he carefully held her in one arm while he pulled down the covers. He lightly put her back down and climbed in beside her before pulling the covers back up over them both.
Gillian never woke; she just scooted closer and buried her head in his chest. Cal soon drifted off to the sound of her even breathing.