Here is my contribution to the "Who's Afraid of Virginia Tech?" #Lietomelives day celebration! I'm not overly pleased with what I've come up with, but those of you who enjoy a 'case type' story should like it-I hope…

Garrett sat in the living room talking with Nathan while Megan took an empty tray to the kitchen.

"You have any plans for Spring Break?" Garrett asked as he set his drink on the table.

"I thought about going fishing, but Hannah has no interest in that. We'll probably do what she wants and paint the bathroom." Nathan shook his head. He and Garrett both laughed. "I'm not as lucky as you. You have a built in fishing mate." At Garrett's strange look Nathan added "Megan told me about your son. I didn't know you had any kids."

Garrett sat with his mouth open in surprise. Before he could say anything in response, Megan entered the room.

"I have brownies for dessert! I hope you saved some room for them." She smiled at the two men as she sat the tray of brownies in front of them on the coffee table.

Hannah came back from the bathroom right as Megan set the tray down. "Did I hear someone say brownies?"

Garrett and Megan walked Nathan and Hannah to the door and said their good nights. Megan walked back through the kitchen, turned off the lights, and headed up the stairs. Garrett set the house alarm and followed her up.

Once they were both in the bedroom, Garrett stopped and stared at her. She noticed him in the mirror. "Honey? What's wrong?"

Garrett walked toward her. "You told Nathan we had a son?" He shook his head. Before Megan could even answer he yelled, "Why would you do that?!" He grabbed a pillow off the bed and a blanket from the chair.

Megan followed him around trying to explain. "Garrett! Garrett! I just- it just came up-" She realized he was going to leave the room. "Where are you going? Why are you mad?"

Garrett turned to her with anger on his face. "I'm sleeping on the couch! And you know damn well why I'm mad!" He turned and walked out, slamming the door as he went.

Megan sat on the bed and cried.

Megan woke to the smell of coffee. She did her morning routine in the bathroom, put on her robe, and then made her way downstairs. She hoped Garrett had calmed down. She didn't like it when he was mad at her.

She saw him at the kitchen table reading the Sunday paper. He didn't look up when she entered. Megan got her coffee and leaned against the counter. "If you want, I could make you a big breakfast…"

Garrett looked up at her. "I had some yogurt, so I'm not hungry." He watched her for a few seconds. "Megan." He closed the paper. "Come sit down. I need to tell you something."

She walked over and sat down at the table next to him. Garrett reached out and took hold of her hand. She felt nauseous and her heart rate increased. He didn't look angry but she couldn't tell what was wrong and it scared her.

"Megan. I'm so sorry I have to tell you this, but, our son was killed in a car accident last night." Garrett watched to see how she would respond.

Megan froze. He did not just tell me that our son is dead. "What?" She started shaking. She looked around the room then back at Garrett. "What?!" She stood up. "That can't be! You're lying!"

He calmly stood up and stepped in front of her. He took both of her hands in his. "I'm not lying, Meg. He's dead."

"No!" She jerked and turned away from him. "No!" She grabbed her head with her hands. "You can't say that!"

Garrett tried to step closer to her but she backed away. "It's true Megan. I'm not lying to you."

She screamed at him. "You killed our son!" Megan turned and ran out of the kitchen. She went to the gun cabinet in their study. She unlocked it and took out a handgun. She stomped back into the kitchen.

Garrett was standing at the sink rinsing out his coffee cup. He turned right as Megan raised the gun and aimed it at him. "Megan! No!"

She yelled. "You killed our son!" She then pulled the trigger three times and watched as Garrett fell to the ground.

Gillian made her way into the office just before 8 AM. Anna was all ready there. As Gillian went by the desk, Anna stopped her.

"Good morning Dr. Foster."

Gillian smiled at her. "Good morning Anna. How was your weekend?"

"It was pretty good." She smiled at Gillian. "I have some messages for you. There's one from a Police Department in Virginia that sounds pretty urgent. I forwarded it to your line."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks."

Gillian went into her office and turned on her computer. She hung her coat up and walked around to sit at her desk. She saw the incoming message light blinking on her phone.

Cal came into Gillian's office just as she was hanging up the phone. She had a puzzled look on her face. "Morning darling." He walked around her desk and sat a cup of coffee in front of her. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Who was that on the phone?" Cal went back around the desk.

Gillian looked up at him as she picked up her coffee. "A detective from the Police Department in Blacksburg, Virginia." She took a sip of her coffee. "Mmmm. This is perfect." She waited for him to sit down. "They have a case they would like for us to consult on."

Cal thought for a second. "Blacksburg? Isn't that where Virginia Tech is?"

Gillian nodded her head. "Yes, in fact the case involves two professors from the university."

Cal sighed. "That's like four hours away. Can we do it remotely?"

Gillian shook her head. "I don't think so." Gillian took another sip of her coffee. "They have a wife in custody for shooting her husband. All she's saying is that she shot him because he killed their son. The husband is in the hospital. He's paralyzed from the neck down and has a collapsed lung. Evidently he has regained consciousness a few times but they aren't able to communicate with him well enough to understand what happened. They can't find any evidence that the couple had a son. The husband is indicating there was no son, but the wife is insisting there was and that her husband killed him."

"And they want us to figure out who's lying?" When she nodded he hopped up from the chair. "Pack a bag love." He smiled and waggled his eyebrows. "We're off for an 'over-nighter' in Blacksburg."

Gillian smiled and shook her head. She couldn't believe that no one in the office had picked up on their new relationship. Cal's declaration of love a few weeks back, while not surprising, did send her into a bit of a panic. Her relationships tended to crash and burn. She was afraid to admit her feelings for Cal. She feared it would ruin their friendship and jeopardize the business. She knew she loved him-had for years. But knowing how you feel and being willing to admit it were two different things.

Cal had understood her panic. Evidently he had gone through the same predicament months back. Gillian was happy to have some explanation for the terrible way he treated her. Who would have thought his actions could be compared to the little boy on the playground pulling the ponytails of the little girl he fancied.

Cal had promised not to rush her, but had started courting her in earnest. The past few weeks had been a whirlwind. Dinner dates, flowers, her favorite coffee nearly every morning… He was trying hard to prove they could make a real go of things. This would be the first case they worked together since things had changed between them. Gillian was a bit nervous about it being an overnight trip. She wondered how they would handle things…

TBC

The facts in this story are based on the play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?"