Title: Meddlesome

Authors: Crowded Angels & csiAngel

Rating: T

Spoilers: Includes reference to The Newsroom up to and including the s2 finale.

Summary: Lie to me* / The Newsroom crossover. Newsnight includes The Lightman Group in a segment. Mac sees an opportunity...

Disclaimer: We own neither show.

Dedication: Happy birthday, Victoria!

... ... ...

"Your voice is very familiar to me, have you ever done any voice-over work?" Cal asked, his hand hovering over the many switches, buttons and dials trying to decide which one he shouldn't press the most.

Herb's eyes were firmly rooted on the man's fingers. "Some, a few – don't touch that – years back." He flicked a switch back to its rightful place.

"It's a good voice. Deep baritone," Cal pressed another button before spinning to point at Gillian, "She would love to study your voice."

"No!" he snapped, turning screen four back on and burying the urge to use his deep baritone voice for a few choice words. He turned to address Gillian, "I mean: No thank you, ma'am."

Gillian nodded, a smirk tilting her lips.

"Please don't touch that," he snapped again before Cal backed off, his hands up as he turned his attention to Jake's boards of flashing lights. Gillian would swear she saw his eyes widen like that of a child on Christmas morning.

"Don't even think about it, man."

Cal liked that challenge. "Think about what?"

"Will," Mac announced into her microphone, "Philippa's ready for you to ask about the jury selection, then you'll be back in two."

Gillian's gaze flicked to the wall of monitors, watching as Will seamlessly handed over to the woman on the other screen outside the courthouse. "Does he always do what you tell him to?" she asked, impressed.

"If he knows what's good for him."

Gillian smiled, but it quickly disappeared as she noticed Cal tormenting Herb again. "We need to talk," she told her.

"Mac," Don called, swinging into the control room and passing her a folded piece of paper, "Maggie told me to give this to you."

"Don, Doctor Gillian Foster; Gillian, Don Keefer." She flicked her hand between the two, her eyes rooted on the message in her hand. "He's an EP for the 10pm show. She's part of The Lightman Group."

"We're here for the segment tomorrow."

"You're with the lie people?"

"We're more the truth people," Cal piped up, dropping to Jake's momentarily-vacated seat. "Unlike you guys."

"Cal!"

Don's arms folded over his chest, a smile on his face that didn't quite bely humour. "You got something to say?"

"Leave it out, Don," Mac placed her hand on his arm. "Charlie hired them to get our trust rating back. And he has a point."

Don acquiesced, slightly, and stepped back; his face was still contorted in a 'we can discuss this outside, knob-jockey' grin, his arms still crossed in perfect display of a plaid-covered gun show.

"Back in thirty," Herb told Mac.

Mac relayed the information to Will, who nodded, his eyes flicking up to the camera. "Mac?"

"Yes?"

"Everything okay in there?"

"Yes," she lied. "Why?"

"Because my teleprompter monitor is flicking on and off. Not that I don't like the challenge but…"

The control room looked to Cal, his fingers absently – yet purposefully – flicking a switch.

"Hey!" Jake shouted, turning from the switchboard as Don launched himself between Mac and Gillian.

"Okay! Don, come with me. Herb, bring Will back in five seconds." She practically pulled Don out into the hall.

...

Cal's eyes followed Mac as she led Don from the room. His gaze lingered, a moment, on their conversation, through the glass, before he turned his head and met Gillian's reprimanding stare. He shrugged at her, but knew that the grin on his face gave away that he was well aware of the root of her disapproval. The grin widened as she took the few steps needed to bring her to stand in front of him, and he looked up at her, defiantly, from his chair.

"Would it kill you to make a good impression?" she asked him, quietly.

"I wouldn't want to find out," he quipped in reply.

"Cal," she warned, "You've had your fun. Let them work in peace."

He swept from his seat, pushing close into her personal space. "Spoilsport," he accused, but a smile still hovered on his lips.

Gillian's responding smirk was practically victorious. "Yes, I am."

She turned away from him, knowing he would follow. They stopped in the back corner of the control room, a safe distance from all buttons and switches, and Gillian received grateful smiles, or nods, from everyone else in the room.

"We could always wait in the newsroom," Cal suggested.

"Where there's a whole new set of people for you to annoy? I don't think so."

"Sometimes I regret teaching you how to read people," he murmured.

"That wasn't my training, Cal. It just comes from years of knowing you." She faced him, eyebrows raised and the tiniest smile on her face. "Regret those?"

He met her eyes, steadily. "Not at all, love."

...

When she returned to the control room, Mackenzie's eyes immediately sought out Cal to check what he was up to. She found him standing in the corner of the room with Gillian, the two of them locked in conversation, their eyes light as they, apparently, teased each other.

Mac smiled, automatically. She didn't need to have had their training to recognise two people in love when she saw them. It made her happy; it made her fiddle, contentedly, with her engagement ring as she turned to the monitors to watch Will.

... ... ...

Having been in the office for over twelve hours and really needing a post-show drink, Mac and Will agreed to take their visitors to Hang Chews to discuss the next day's show.

Gillian and Mac went ahead whilst Will changed and passed his suit off to Jenny the sorority intern, before leading Cal down the street.

...

Mackenzie stepped into Hang Chews and held the door open for Gillian, their eyes quickly adjusting to the darkened room as Mac led the way to the bar. "Hi Chelsea, I'll have a… cosmopolitan, please."

"I'll… do you have any Jamesons?"

"Sure!"

"With ice, please."

"Two of those, Chelsea," Mackenzie smiled, thankfully, before turning to Gill. "I always feel I have to have something girlie when I go for a drink with a woman."

Gill nodded, "Cal gave me a taste for malt and nothing really hit the spot after."

"Charlie and Will like to think they introduced me to it but it was really my father."

"Will introduced you to what?" The man in question asked over her shoulder, Cal sliding up to Gillian's side.

"My alcoholic preferences."

"Definitely my influence," he nodded, smoothing his hand across her back to her hip as she leant against him.

"Yes dear," Mackenzie said, though slightly shaking her head to Gillian.

"You ordered, love?" Cal asked.

"Jamesons," Gillian announced just as Chelsea placed the two tumblers on the bar.

He scooped up one of the glasses. "Good choice," he took a sip.

"Hey!"

Mackenzie passed hers to Will, "Doctor Foster and I will be over here, how about you two boys head over there?"

Will took the proffered drink, placed a kiss in his fiancée's hair and gestured to a far alcove.

"See y'in a bit, darlin'."

Mackenzie ordered two more drinks and took a seat on the other side of the corner, laying out her file across the bar. She ran through certain areas of the next day's broadcast, where they would need Doctor Lightman's input and how Will would follow-up. If the show went as smoothly with Will and Cal as it had with she and Gillian, Mackenzie was confident the show would be a success and, ultimately, aid in their trust ratings with the public.

Mackenzie took a drink and curled her arm onto the bar, her head resting on her hand. "This place isn't exactly the most swanky place to go to in New York, but it suits us. Will, Sloan and Elliot can go almost-unrecognised and they can stock the good champagnes and malts if given a little heads-up."

"I like it. It reminds me of a few of the bars in DC."

"Mmm!" Mackenzie agreed, the glass to her lips. "Is that bar still there near the convention centre?"

"Still there," Gillian smiled. "There was a bit of a Congressional scandal there last year, but people are beginning to go back now."

"Congressional scandal? Heavens no!" she smirked, eliciting a giggle from Gill. "How long have you lived there?"

"About fifteen years now."

"How long have you worked with ?" Mac's gaze travelled across the bar to where the men were talking.

"Call him Cal. We started the business ten years ago. I was working at the Pentagon and had crossed paths with him. He saw that I was unhappy there, saw that I could add something to the business he wanted to set up and invited me to join him." She looked over to him, deep in conversation with Will - who seemed somewhat tense; she dreaded to think what Cal had said – and looked down to her drink held between her hands. "I owe him a lot for what he has done for me."

"You must know him very well. He seems..." Mackenzie began, not quite sure how to word it.

"Like a prick? Yeah, he gets that a lot," she laughed. "He has this wall up around people he doesn't know or like. He doesn't like people getting too close. If you can break through that, he's a really good person."

Mac nodded, "Will can be like that. He doesn't suffer fools and people make assumptions about him. He is honestly the most amazing man once he lets you through. He would do anything for anyone."

"I can see you love him very much."

Mackenzie nodded, taking a sip of her drink to stop herself mirroring the statement back to her. "Oh, he can infuriate me like no other, but…"

Gillian nodded, her eyes over to the far side of the room.

...

Meanwhile, on that far side of the room, Will and Cal had sat in silence for a while, watching Mac and Gill talk, frequent laughter gracing that conversation. Neither of the men had been keen on the idea of being left alone but, evidently, the women had things to discuss that did not include them.

Their silence had eventually been broken when Cal looked away to take a drink. He caught a glimpse of the expression on Will's face and couldn't help but smile. Will obviously noticed, questioning, "What?"

"You absolutely adore her," Cal voiced his observation.

He caught Will's smile before it could be successfully hidden. "Okay, I'll give you that, but it's a rather obvious one," Will conceded.

Cal's eyes shone with glee and he sat up straighter, delighted with the prospect of proving his skills to a non-believer. This part was always fun.

"You think anyone could have noticed that?"

"I think I'm probably not very good at hiding it."

Cal found himself smiling, sappily, again, so he shook it off. "Alright, let's not get girly... Shall we talk about something you think is less obvious?"

Will sat back in his seat, confidently. "Go ahead."

Cal studied him for a moment deciding on the best way to approach this. "Okay, I'll suggest a topic and I'll read your reaction to it."

Will nodded his co-operation.

"Mackenzie..." Cal stated, watching the movements of Will's facial muscles closely. He could tell Will was determined not to give anything away, but he knew that was futile. "You are completely in love with her but you worry that it'll go wrong again. But you're overcoming that fear because she is far more important."

Will remained silent.

"Also, you're very protective of her. In fact, you were ready to strike and all I'd done was speak her name... Right?"

Cal took a swig of his drink while he waited for Will to answer.

"That sounds accurate. But, of course, you could have guessed that."

Cal smiled, amused by Will's determination to call his bluff. "True, I suppose. Next topic?"

"Why not?"

"President Obama."

Cal was actually surprised by the reaction he saw this time. Knowing that Will was a Republican, he had expected some degree of negativity. The quickly shielded happiness was intriguing.

"Interesting," he muttered, trying to work it out. "You don't disagree with everything the President has done, but... That was a Mackenzie-based reaction. You associate mention of Obama with Mackenzie."

Will endeavoured to remain unreadable.

"Do I want to know?" Cal joked.

Will laughed at that. "I proposed to Mac on election night."

"Ah, that explains it... Convinced?"

"You could have Googled that."

"Fair enough... Okay, another topic... Your childhood. Is there much about that on the Internet?"

Will tensed at this subject and Cal wondered, for a moment, if he should stop. But, Will needed the proof. If the segment was going to be successful, Will would have to believe in what he was talking about.

"No," Will replied.

"Alright... Your childhood wasn't great. Your dad -" Grief and guilt clouded Will's eyes. "Your father passed away recently. I'm sorry."

Will shrugged off his sympathy.

"Do you want to change the subject?"

"No, go on."

"You didn't have a good relationship with your father, stemming, most likely, from abusive behaviour that you had to stand up against to protect your mother and siblings... You feel guilty that you didn't attempt a proper reconciliation before he died."

"You got all that from 'reading' me?"

"From your reactions to what I was saying, yes."

Will downed the rest of his drink in one. "I think we're ready for tomorrow," he declared, standing up.

Cal followed suit.

"I'm gonna call it a night."

Cal nodded, following Will to the bar to join Gillian and Mackenzie.

...

The ladies, as it turned out, still had a lot more to discuss. Both assured their respective "partners" that they would be fine making their own way either home, or to the hotel, and the two men bid them goodnight and walked out onto the dark street.

"See you tomorrow," Will said before turning to walk away.

Cal called after him, "Hey! No hard feelings?"

Will looked back. "Of course not."

But, even in the dim light, Cal knew he was lying.

...

Mackenzie arrived home not long after Will, finding him on the balcony with a cigarette and two tumblers of whisky. She kissed him hello – tasting a spicy mix of single malt and nicotine – and announced she was going to change.

He followed her into the bedroom. "How did it go with Doctor Foster?"

"Well, I think. She seems to understand what we're going for tomorrow and she gave me a few pointers on how to reign Lightman back in if needed, so just do everything I say during the show."

"As opposed to normal?" he asked, an eyebrow raised as he toed his shoes off.

"Yes. How was Lightman? Think you can handle him tomorrow?"

"He's a prick, but we'll be fine."

"Good." She placed her jewellery in the box on her dresser and sat on the bed to take off her shoes and stockings. "She said some interesting things about Lightman actually."

"How interesting?"

"Interesting like how good a person he is when you break through the fact he's a prick, how important he is to her and how thankful she was that he was around and got her out of her job at the Pentagon…"

Will whipped his tie from around his neck, "Goddamnit."

"What?"

He threw the tie onto the chair and turned to her, "You're going to meddle."

"I am not going to meddle!"

"You're going to meddle."

"Only a little bit…"

"Damnit, Mac." He spun back, yanking a drawer out and grabbing a tee and sweat pants.

"Hey, I am one-and-one; I need to make up for Jim and Maggie not getting together!"

"Are we not counted in there?"

She waved her hand dismissively, "We were a foregone conclusion; I knew I'd win you 'round eventually."

"Oh really?" he saw through the mirror as she shimmied out of her pencil skirt, the blouse hanging open at the sides.

"Mmhmm," she smirked.

He stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist, "Mac, Lightman and Foster are only here for one show. How about we don't try to match-make them in that time?"

She smoothed her hands up his chest and interlocked her hands over his shoulders, "Billy, you are on a mission to civilise, I am on a mission to gather rosebuds."

"If I kiss you right now, any chance you can delay this mission until, say, day after tomorrow?"

"If you kiss me right now, I may think about not including you in the mission; will that suffice?"

No, but he just really wanted to kiss her.

...

The next day, Cal and Gillian arrived at the newsroom during the second rundown meeting. Mac waved them in and they observed the process, with Cal occasionally chiming in with how they were 'talking bollocks' about an analysis of a court-room video clip, and how the woman covering the story from Washington (Jane) was 'totally clueless' and 'really hates you guys'.

If Charlie's vote of confidence hadn't sold the team to Cal Lightman, that statement had.

Mackenzie wrapped the meeting up and pulled Sloan to one side as the room quickly emptied. As per orders, Will asked Cal to his office to go over some points for the interview and Gillian waited for instructions.

Mac looked at her watch and Sloan nodded before they turned to Gillian. "Gillian, hi, sorry about this but I have to run off for a meeting. Will and I were discussing the segment last night, though, and feel it may be beneficial to maybe have you at the desk too. Would you be okay with that?"

"Well-"

"Excellent! This is Sloan Sabbith." She gestured to her almost like a magician's assistant would introduce a new elaborate set, and garnered a confused look from a smiling Sloan. "She's one of our co-anchors and will take you down to hair and make-up to get you ready, and wardrobe if you want?"

"They have Gucci," Sloan proudly announced.

"Okay, I'm really sorry I have to run but we'll sit down before broadcast." She squeezed Gillian's arm before sliding past her and quick-walking through the office, slowing down once out of sight because she didn't really have anywhere to be.

Phase one was complete, she thought with a smile.

...

During the next rundown meeting, Sloan and Gillian finally reappeared.

Jim was standing by the board, explaining the guests he had lined up and what they would bring to the broadcast. Mac was leaning against the far wall, trying to hide her smirk when the two women walked into the newsroom, both dressed impeccably for the show.

Her gaze, it seemed, was being followed by Cal who turned and damn near slid off the chair when he caught sight of Gillian. Without saying a word to excuse himself, Cal swung out the door and sauntered up to his partner, under the watchful gaze of Mackenzie and an exasperated Will.

"Well, well, well, that's where you were hiding?"

"Mackenzie said they may need me next to you on the show, so I had to dress accordingly."

"Yeah, dressed up to the nines," he circled her like a predator circling prey. "Whereas you're usually a six in the office."

"You're calling me a six?" Gillian's hand fell to her hip.

"A very high six," he stepped closer, Gillian leant away. "But in comparison?"

"You never were good at compliments, Cal."

"Hmm, I was always better with actions than words."

She scoffed – the only way she could disguise her hitched breath, flushed chest and inner rerun of any romance novel/nocturnal fantasy she'd had.

He looked to Sloan, "You look good too, love." His attention was quickly returned to Gillian, however, as she walked towards the meeting and he would swear black was white that her hips had an extra sway.

His head cocked to the side as he watched her walk and he wondered if the wardrobe department realised the fight they had on their hands to get those red-heeled shoes back from her once the show was over.

Cal was so mesmerised that he missed the excited yet conniving look shared between Mackenzie and Sloan, and Will's head falling to his hands.

... ... ...

Mac met Cal and Gillian outside the studio when the segment was over.

"That was brilliant!" she enthused. "We should definitely make this a regular segment. Would you be prepared to talk about that?"

"Would you be prepared to talk about Gill, here, keeping this dress?"

Gillian rolled her eyes and hit Cal in the arm. "It would be good to work with you again," Gill answered Mac's question, both women paying no attention to Cal now.

"Excellent! I'll be in touch about that during the week."

It was then that Helen, an assistant from Wardrobe, rounded the corner and nearly bumped into the group. "Ah, Doctor Foster," the young lady smiled.

"I'm on my way," Gillian assured her.

"We'll talk after the show," Mac said as Gillian stepped away.

Cal - who had insisted on wearing his own suit and was, therefore, not required - offered, "I could help you with that zipper!"

Gillian ignored him.

"Gucci always has that effect on men," Mac murmured when they were alone, secretly pleased that her plan had succeeded.

"Nah," Cal countered, "Gillian always has that effect on me, whatever she's wearing."

Not having expected him to admit anything like that, Mac turned, only to find Cal looking as surprised as she did.

He quickly threw up a wall of defence and shrugged off the remark, moving to open the control room door.

"Does she know that?"

Cal stopped, frowning at Mac although she suspected he knew exactly what she meant.

"Does she know how you feel?"

"She's pretty good at reading people." He swung open the door, but waited for Mac to precede him.

"But she's also a voice expert," Mac pointed out as she walked nearer to him. She stopped in front of him, on the threshold of the control room. "She'd probably like to hear it."

...

There were just under fifteen minutes of the show left when Gillian returned from changing her clothes and removing her make-up. She and Cal watched the remainder in Mac's office, at the Executive Producer's suggestion. Gillian thought it was probably safest so that Cal wouldn't inadvertently cut the broadcast.

Cal was mostly watching her though, Gillian noticed. His eyes only turned to the television screen whenever she redirected her gaze to face him. It wasn't the first time - wasn't even the hundredth time - that Cal had behaved oddly in all the years she had known him, but there was something very strange about the expression on his face this time.

When the show was over, she turned, in her seat, to look at him properly. She was surprised when he met her gaze.

"Everything all right?" she asked him. "You've been unusually quiet."

"I was paying attention in case there's a test," he grinned.

"Well, unless the questions are all about me, you won't do very well," she responded, tackling the topic head on.

Cal's lips quirked, briefly, into a smile. "Seems you weren't paying close attention, either."

"Difficult to when your eyes are burning a hole in my cheek. What's going on?"

"Nothing's 'going on'. I was just thinking."

"About?"

He looked momentarily nervous but answered nonetheless. "How beautiful you are."

And, accompanying her wide eyes, there was the hitched breath and flushed chest again.

"Cal..." She wasn't sure what he was up to; where this was leading; whether he was serious; whether he was teasing.

"It doesn't take Gucci for me to notice," he added, but it didn't really clarify his intentions.

"Well, that's... nice to hear," Gillian managed to comment through her confusion and intrigue.

Her words, inexplicably, caused Cal's smile to widen, to the extent that he seemed to almost laugh out loud.

"What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

"Cal." It was a warning this time, she was losing patience with the mystery.

Suddenly, Cal stood and moved towards the door. She watched him pass her and was about to protest his exit when he merely looked out into the newsroom before turning back to speak to her, talking quickly as if they might not have much time.

"Gill... I know I'm an idiot a lot of the time... You could have argued, there... But, you really do mean the world to me. And you really are drop dead gorgeous whatever you are wearing. I'm sorry I don't tell you that more often."

In actual fact, she couldn't have argued his idiot point because the gentle sincerity in his voice had already rendered her speechless by then. The rest of his little speech had completely stunned her.

"Do you know how many years Mackenzie was back here before Will worked up the courage to tell her he was in love with her?"

Luckily he didn't expect her to answer that. How she was supposed to form a coherent sentence when her throat was constricting, stomach was somersaulting and her mind was whirling with the implications of what he was saying, she did not know.

"Two and a half... Do you know how many years it is since your divorce?"

She heard the answer, three, in her head but couldn't voice it.

"Emily asked me what I was waiting for last year and I didn't know. And I still don't know. Gillian, I -"

The opening of the door cut him off. Mackenzie entered her office with a smile that promptly fell. "Did I interrupt something? Sorry. Sorry." She backed up. "As you were."

"No, you're fine, love," Cal told her before she had made her exit.

Mac looked between Cal and Gillian, unconvinced. "Are you sure?"

Gillian snapped out of her shock and smiled reassuringly at Mac. "Definitely."

Mac was still uncertain but she proceeded with her reason for going to her office. "Okay... I wanted to see if you've time for a celebratory drink in Will's office before you head out."

"Yes, of course," Gillian replied, standing up and looking to Cal to make sure he agreed. She also made sure to convey that they would continue their conversation later. But she couldn't interpret his responding expression.

"Great... Great," Mackenzie smiled but she looked significantly uncomfortable.

Mac stepped through the still open door, and Cal held back to allow Gillian to go ahead of him. As she passed him, he placed his hand on her arm. She stopped, turning sideways to meet his gaze with a questioning one of her own.

Smiling softly, he answered her with, "I love you, darlin'..."

Gillian felt her eyes widen but she also felt the tug of a smile at her lips.

"... And you deserve to hear it."

Smile widening, Gillian ducked her head, shyly. "And here I thought you preferred actions to words." She lifted her head and met his surprised eyes playfully.

"You agreed to a drink in Will's office."

"You told Mackenzie she wasn't interrupting."

"I'm an idiot."

Once again, Gillian didn't dispute that. "We'll pick this up later."

She moved to leave but Cal stopped her again. This time his lips landed on hers when she turned to query it. His hands moved to hold her head and hers held on to his waist to pull him closer.

When they could barely breathe, Cal pulled back, grinning at Gillian as he promised, "We'll pick this up later."

...

When Gillian and Cal walked into Will's office - at least three minutes after Mackenzie had - the tension she had detected in her office seemed to have gone. In fact they were both smiling widely and seemed utterly content with each other.

Will joined them shortly after and Mackenzie made sure to catch his eye and gesture, subtly, towards their guests, who were laughing together about something or other.

Will glanced in their direction before returning his eyes to Mackenzie. She grinned, victoriously and Will shook his head slowly. Another success: She was never going to give up meddling.

The end