About Time

Chapter Twenty Nine - We're Going Home

That was, until she saw Cal push Poppy off of him a little too forcefully. Poppy fell to the floor.
"I told you, I don't want you. Now stay the bloody hell away from me!"
"Well, considering the woman I'm supposing you do want is currently glaring daggers at me, I might follow that advice."
Cal whirled around.
"Gillian? What are you doing here?"
"I caught a flight last night."
"That's a deflection, love."
Gillian didn't say anything and Cal realized she didn't want to talk about here.
"Come on." He told her and walked across the room and grabbed her hand, leading her out. He pulled her into an empty hallway.
"You're supposed to be in D.C."
"I didn't like the idea of you being in Vegas by yourself."
Cal caught her unsaid concern.
"You were worried about Poppy."
"And it seems like I had every right to be."
"You don't trust me?"
"Of course I do. Just not her."
"She won't bother me anymore. But I thought the doctor said you weren't supposed to fly."
"I called and asked. I just have to go in for an ultrasound when we get back."
Cal wrapped his arms around Gillian's waist and pulled her to him.
"And how do you feel?"
"Extremely horny. Which sucks."
"Why? I called and asked the doctor after we left. Oral is still allowed." He told her with a smirk.
Gillian stared at Cal before she started laughing. He never was one to beat around the bush.
"If you will wait until tonight, I will make sure it is worth it." He told her.
"Whoa, okay! Excuse me while I go bang my head against the wall and hopefully get amnesia so I'll forget I just heard that." Ben exclaimed.
"Oi, mate, don't pretend you haven't seen it before."
"What do you mean?"
"Both of you know exactly what I mean."
Of course they did. He was referring to last time they had been in Las Vegas. The night of the Poker World Championships. Ben had taken Gillian out when he'd seen her in the sparkly little black dress. They'd gone to eat and seen a show then headed to a bar before ending the night in Ben's hotel room. They'd been careful so that no one would see them. But apparently Cal had.
"Lightman, it was a one time thing. We were both drunk off our asses." Ben tried to justify.
"I know. I don't care."
"Cal-"
"Gillian, I said I don't care."
"Ben, can you give us a sec?"
"Yeah, I just came to tell you we got a lead. Just come in when you're ready."
He left and Gillian turned to Cal.
"I never-"
"Gill, I know. I was being a selfish arse and I was busy gambling with money that could have helped us. You deserved to go out and have fun. I'm sorry that I drove you to getting wasted. I wanted you to wait for me. For a relationship. Until I was ready. But sex? Sex was fine. I didn't realistically expect you to become a nun. But a no holes barred relationship? That's what we were supposed to have."
"And?"
"And what?" Cal asked, now confused.
"Is that what we have now? A no holes barred relationship? Because there are some moments when I still don't know if we're even together."
"Gillian-"
"I mean it, Cal."
"Yes. We are together and if you want me to get your name tattooed on my other arm, I will do it because I love you and I want the whole world to know that you are taken and will be for the rest of your life."
"Prove it."
Cal pulled Gillian close and smashed his lips on hers, trying to convey what he couldn't say with words. He ran his tongue over her lips and after a few seconds, she gave him access. They stood there in the hallway, tongues intertwined, until they had to part for air.
"Is that a start?"
Gillian didn't need Cal to prove anything anymore. He just had. Maybe not with words but he had told her just how much she meant to him. Still, she decided to mess with him.
"I'd say you're a little less than halfway there."
She spun around and walked away, leaving Cal to follow.

The lead the FBI had found happened to lead right to where Hugh Ellis had been killed.
It was a warehouse twenty miles outside of Vegas in the middle of nowhere. There was no parking or anything. It was almost as if it had been built for this particular purpose.
Cal and Gilliam got out of Ben's car and followed him to the door. Ben cut the bolts and one a silent count of three, opened the door and agents piled inside. Cal and Gillian went in as soon as someone called all clear.
As soon as they stepped inside, the smell of decaying flesh filled the air. However, they pushed forward, going deeper into the warehouse.
Gillian made it until the main room. The floor was covered in blood and there were sealed jars with human organs in them lining the walls. Even with that, she might have been okay had she not felt the sole of her shoe grow wet. When she looked down, she was standing in a puddle of blood.
She turned and ran. Out of the building, past the car. She kicked off her shoes before bending over as her breakfast and lunch came up.
When Gillian stood up, Cal was watching her intently.
"I'm fine." She said in response to his questioning look.
"We're going home." He announced.
"Cal, I'm okay. There's no need to-"
"The FBI wanted me here because they thought that since I once knew Ellis, I might have some idea who took him, when, how, or why. I'm not needed anymore. They can handle this from here. We're going home tonight."
"Are you sure?"
"I can't do anything else here. Didn't really do anything anyway. Ben will fill me in on the details as they become available."
"Okay."
Gillian was certain that if she never stepped foot in Las Vegas again for as long as she lived, it still wouldn't be long enough to even begin to come terms with what she had just seen.

They went back to the hotel and collected their bags, even stopping to tell Poppy goodbye before they headed to the airport. Their flight took off at six. Gillian fell asleep halfway home.
When they got to the airport, Cal just picked her up and carried her to the car and anybody who tried to tell him to wake her up so she could walk on her own got the finger, whether it was security, or an agent, or some random person at the baggage claim.
He drove home and laid her in the bed. He could fulfill his promise in the morning before they picked up Sophie.