With ease that always made Gillian envious, Cal unbuckled James from his 5- point harness and had the boy up against his shoulder in record time. The little guy had conked out on the way home from his two attempts at dinner. All the stuffiness at the first place had sucked the energy right out of him. The boy was now snoring softly near his dad's ear as his parents grinned at one another.

"With any luck he'll sleep through the night." Gillian softly caressed her son's sandy colored hair and kissed his forehead.

"Shhhh…don't jinx it!" Cal hissed before giving her a wink.

They moved toward the door separating the garage from the kitchen and Gill stepped ahead to hold it open.

Cal carried James upstairs and was able to pull off his shoes and fluidly change him into jammies as the boy slept on. Gillian watched from the doorway, hose clad feet a safe distance from stray Duplo blocks.

He started to stir slightly just as Cal pressed his lips against the child's brow. In horror, Cal pulled away and did several ungraceful ballet-like steps in his effort to exit the room quickly without setting one of James' (too bloody) many electronic toys off. All were gifts from Emily, Torres or Loker. All, whom of course didn't have children. Cal had made many mental notes for payback when any or all of them did finally have kids. He pulled the door shut, eyes wide.

Then they both listened carefully before Cal grabbed Gill's hand and took a few steps back. "Do you think it's safe?" His voice was only a low murmur.

"Hmmmm…"

They waited.

Nothing.

With a slow smile, his hand tightened on hers and brought her closer into a warm embrace and a sweet kiss.

Still nothing.

"Coast might be clear darlin'."

"Mmhm." She nuzzled into his neck and gave him a gentle nip before running her lips and tongue over it.

A low groan rumbled through him as his arms tightened around her, backing them toward their own room, hands falling to her hips possessively. His mouth pushed against hers brusquely as she eagerly opened up to him.

"Huuuuhhhhhh…." The long sigh reverberated through the boy's closed door and they both froze once again.

"Shit." The oath slipped out from under Cal's tongue, earning him a smack on the arm but not without a stifled giggle. "Bloody hell, its been, what? Over a week?" The Group had been inundated and they'd barely managed to kiss goodnight before falling into exhausted stupors.

"Oh. Poor baby." Her voice was low as she kissed his cheek before sliding her mouth to his ear and pulling the lobe between her teeth.

One hand reached down and cupped her butt as they waited another moment, Cal tense, Gillian amused.

Nothing.

Growling, he suddenly picked her up off her feet and continued down the hall toward their bedroom. She arms went up around his neck, kissing him thoroughly as they reached the doorframe. He hitched her up slightly and her legs proceeded to wrap around his waist, pulling him into a complete body hug. Growing warmth began to connect them even more.

"Mommy…?"

The little voice was now picked up through the nursery monitor on the dresser.

Cal let go and Gillian's feet lightly hit the carpet. Her maternal instincts were exceptionally strong and if he didn't allow her to go to their son, there could be blood.

She gently patted his chest before leaving the room and moving back up the hall.

Debating, Cal felt a similar pull before deciding to allow Gill to take care of James. If anyone could cajole him back to sleep, it would be her. Cal sometimes tended to inadvertently rile him up. He didn't mean to. It just sort of happened.

With a sigh, he stripped down to boxers and a t-shirt before grabbing his laptop next to the dresser. He could hear the toilet flush and the running of water, feeling a mixture of pride that James was trying so hard to stay clean and annoyance that he wouldn't sleep.

"Guess with all the apple juice, that was inevitable." Gillian came back several minutes later as Cal flipped the computer screen down and put it aside. She stopped as a well manicured but suspicious brow flicked up. "What was that?"

"What was what?" He looked up innocently.

"Were you looking at porn?"

"No."

She stared at him. He stared back.

"Stock market reports."

She blinked. "What?"

"Nothing can kill libido like Wall Street."

With a small grimace, she decided that he was telling the truth. "Well forget Wall Street. James is sleeping."

"Uh huh."

"Seriously." Gillian crawled on the bed toward him and watched at his eyes went from resigned to primal hunger.

As she approached, the "V" neckline of her dress gaped, giving him a perfect view of her cleavage. Instantly on his knees, he met her halfway, grabbing her upper arms to pull her up toward him. His mouth found the base of her throat as one hand grasped the tiny zipper on her dress and the other ghosted down to her hip.

Her hands sifted through his hair before cradling his smooth cheeks and bringing his lips to hers.

The dress was soon puddled somewhere next to the bed, leaving her in a short black slip. His t-shirt was discarded as well as her nails racked his chest, bringing a rash of gooseflesh.

"Mommy…?" This time the little voice held a sob.

Cal had been pushing down one strap of her slip, his mouth following it off of her shoulder. He stopped short and pulled away.

Gillian's face was flushed, eyes and mouth only partially open. She stared at Cal, disbelieving.

"Think dad might be good enough?" He moved to the edge of the bed, reaching down and recovering his shirt.

Indecision shone in her eyes. Mama bear was having an internal struggle. Cal couldn't help but smile.

"Okay. Give it a try." She flopped back, face constricting slightly.

He leaned down for a soft kiss before heading out toward his son's room.

"What's goin' on buddy?" He cracked the door and peeked inside.

The boy's cheeks showed tear stains in the rotation of the spinning nightlight. "Can't sleep."

Cal carefully stepped through the toy debris field to sit on the edge of the bed. He wiped the tears away with a gentle hand. "Somethin' botherin' you?"

Shrug.

"Can't help you if you don't spill kiddo."

"Bad thoughts."

"What kind of bad thoughts?" Cal tilted his head, studying the boy.

"Tula died."

Um…? "Who's Tula James?"

"Brandy's mom."

Brandy's mom. Who the hell was Brandy? "Is Brandy pretty upset?"

"Donne think she cares."

"She…doesn't care?"

"Uh uh."

They were quiet for a moment.

"James?"

"Huh?"

"Who exactly are we talking about?"

The boy looked puzzled. "Tula and Brandy."

Light slowly started to dawn. "They're not people are they?"

James frowned. "Class piggies."

"I see."

"They lived together. How come Brandy doesn't miss her mom?"

"Maybe she's just kind of private. A cryin' on the inside kind of Guinea Pig."

James thought about that. "Like you?"

Cal's mouth quirked slightly. "Yeah, like me."

"But you think she misses her?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. I was beginning to think she was evil."

A chuckle resonated through Cal. "Nah. She's not evil. Feel a bit better?"

"Uh huh."

"Ready to sleep?"

"Okay."

(BREAK)

"Asleep?" Gill looked up, having started a crossword puzzle.

"Here's hopin'." He jumped on the bed next to her. They watched one another for several moments while pretending that they weren't listening to the monitor.

Tossing aside the puzzle, she extended her arms toward him. "Where were we?"

He climbed up, hovered over her for a moment before pinning her with his lower half. "Somewhere around here I think."

"I don't think we got that far yet."

"Really? Are you sure?" He pushed against her and she gasped.

"I guess we could, um, make an exception."

Cal smirked before leaning down and kissing her with unrestrained passion. She made a little noise in the back of her throat while once again wrapping herself around him. Turning over onto his side, he pulled her along as his hands fumbled with her undergarments before caressing her inner thigh, fingers moving dangerously high.

"Daddy…?" The voice was now tentative.

Ahhhhh! Cal bit his cheek to keep the wail of despair from verbalizing before rolling onto his back and blinking up at the ceiling.

Gillian cast a long look at him before grabbing her robe and heading out once again. He could have sworn she was trying not to smile.

(BREAK)

"He needed some water." She stopped and eyed him suspiciously as she re-entered the room. "What was that?"

"Nothin'."

"Oh yeah? Can I see?" Sitting back on the bed she scooted close to him and leaned against his shoulder to peek at the computer screen.

"Heard 'bout this. Thought I'd check it out." Cal explained, voice slightly guilty.

Gillian narrowed her eyes at him before tapping "enter" on the keyboard. She listened and watched, her mouth hanging open slightly.

He gave a shrug when she looked at him.

"Cal, that's awful." The corners of her mouth twitched ever so slightly.

"How come you're tryin' not to laugh then?" One finger twirled around her face.

He had pulled up Samuel Jackson reading "Go the Fu** to Sleep" on You Tube.