By ValerieRichards
Disclaimers: I don't own the show or any recognizable character. I also don't own Nothing Gold Can Stay, that's owned by Robert Frost.
Author's note: Ok, so this is the second time I'm rewriting this story/chapter. Ever since I re-watched season one, I've really liked Kate's partner, Roger. I also wanted to write a 'Pierce's family' fic, so here it is!
POV: Angela and Roger.
Chapter 1
2010
Some of my coworkers were talking baseball and about different players' stats around the coffee pot. One of them gave a wrong stat and I turn to correct him. They looked at me like I had two heads. I rolled my eyes.
"You watch baseball" my partner, Roger, asked with a raised eyebrow as we walked back to our desks. I sighed.
"What is with males and their disbelief that women can enjoy the same things they do" I asked him. Just as I sat down, our boss came out.
"Pierce! New case" he called holding up a file. I got up and went over to him. I took a quick look at the file and a name caught my eye.
"Probert's old partner" I asked as I recognized the name from one of the stories I had been told. He nodded.
"Can't be on the case; protocol; but you can even if you're his partner. Besides, you're one of our best agents, especially with that brain of yours" he told me.
"I'll get started on it right away, sir" I told him. He gave me the name of the guy I'd be working with and left me to it. I went back to my desk.
"So, what do we have this time? Kidnapping? Terrorist threat" Roger asked. I looked up at him and sighed.
"We don't have a case, I do. Well, me and Ashford" I answered. He gave me a look and came to look at the file.
"Mick? Jeez. I'll get our old cases" he breathed. Ashford and I went over Roger's old cases and weeded out all the ones that were still in jail. I separated each remaining case into piles and one of them caught my eye.
"Rog, you never solved this one? The serial killer" I asked my partner. He looked over at the file and ran a hand through his hair.
"No, kept hitting dead ends. You think this has to do with it" he asked me. I shrugged. Suddenly, there was a small ding indicating that Roger got an e-mail. He opened it.
A friend has died and more may follow. And Eden may sink to grief. Better enjoy nature's first green. After all, nothing gold can stay.
"What the hell" Ashford asked once he saw the e-mail. Roger shrugged his shoulders when Ashford turned to him. He looked at me. I rolled my eyes. They didn't have a clue what it could mean.
"First line is saying that he's planning to kill again. The rest is taken from Robert Frost" I told them. They looked at me confused.
"Who" Ashford asked cluelessly. I sighed and put my head in my hands. These guys must've avoided reading or something.
"Robert Frost is a poet. It comes from his poem called 'Nothing Gold Can Stay'. You've never read a poem, have you" I sighed. I grabbed a pen and paper and wrote it for them.
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
"Basically, everything can't stay perfect, happy, good, or however you want to put it. That's what this person's trying to say" I explained.
"So, how is this going to help us find the person" Ashford asked. I kept going over the e-mail again and again.
"Well, this person reads, unlike you two, or has known someone who reads poetry. If you say or read a line from a poem, they might know where it comes from" I said.
"Well, that'll be helpful" Ashford mumbled. I gave him a look. That was all I could go on based on the e-mail, what did he expect?
"Hey, she's trying, ok? You've got to start somewhere and now you've got a little more than when you started" Roger defended. I gave him a grateful look. He had my back.
"Look, let's just keep looking. There's got to be a clue somewhere in these files" I said. For the next few days, we tracked down possible leads only for them to not pan out. Nothing was making sense and it was frustrating! Then, the boss came up to us.
"We've got another murder. Another one of your partners, Nicks. Same M.O." he reported. Roger's face fell. That did it for me.
"God damn it" I yelled slamming the rather heavy file I was reading down on my desk. My chair nearly flew into the wall as I jumped up and stormed out. A couple of minutes later, Roger settled next to me and yanked the cigarette out of my mouth that I had popped in there.
"Don't start, it's not a healthy thing for you" he told me throwing it to the ground. I sighed and rested my head against the building.
"I'm sorry Roger, I should've had a lead or something by now" I apologized. He looked at me, almost looking startled.
"How is this your fault? Every lead you got turned into a dead end. You didn't know they were going to kill another guy I worked with when they did" he told me.
"Nicks was your friend. I should've known they'd try going after someone else" I reasoned. In cases like these, the criminals usually go after others.
"Ang, I've worked with so many people, had so many cases over the years. There's no way you could protect everyone" he reminded.
"How can you have so much faith in me when I've basically gotten nowhere yet" I asked. Roger turned to me and made me look at him.
"Because, I know you and I trust you. You'll find something soon. Now, let's think. There's got to be something" he assured me. I sighed and went back to my former position.
"There's nothing, I looked. We won't get the findings for Nicks' case until tomorrow. I mean, they weren't even sure it was the same killer until they saw your name. You're the only connection" I told him.
"Not exactly. There were a couple of cases that the two both worked with me" he mentioned. My head popped up and Roger smiled.
"Then, there's gotta be something in those files" I said. Roger gently bumped me and I looked up at him. He gave me a small grin.
"There's the partner I know and love" he told me. I grinned and we went back inside. That's when Roger got another e-mail.
Two down, one to go. Everything's staring you right in the face. You'll see the connection in due time. Better hurry, you never know who's next.
"Ok, now what the hell does that mean" Ashford asked loudly. I swore and grabbed the files Roger said he worked on with his two partners.
"Ashford! Take these files! Look through them and try to find any connections besides Roger and his partners" I ordered. We started to look into any and all connections and checked them off as they failed to pan out.
"No lead. Are you sure this is it" Ashford asked nastily. Roger and I glared at him. I kept looking at the unsolved serial killer case. Something about that kept bugging me.
"Damn it" I cursed. Roger jumped a little at my sudden outburst and looked up at me. There was another partner! Another target that worked on the cases with him...including the unsolved one!
"What? What's wrong? What did you find" Roger asked me. He came over to my desk and looked at all the files, but still didn't understand.
"Your first partner! I've got to go" I told him throwing my jacket on. One of his eyebrows raised and he grabbed my hand.
"Wait, shouldn't you be going with Ashford" he asked me. I pulled out of his grip and grabbed my gun. I checked my clip quickly.
"No time. Ashford's looking into something else anyway" I told him. He reached over and grabbed his jacket and gun. I turned to him when I saw this.
"I'm coming with you. I'm not letting you go in without back up. We don't even know who the murderer is yet" he replied at my questioning look. I sighed.
"Roger, you're directly involved. You can't" I reminded him. He tried to fight me on it, but eventually lost. He gave me a look before I left.
"If you don't check in within an hour, I'm getting involved. I don't care about the consequences, you're my partner" he warned me. I rolled my eyes and left.
"Mr. Martinson? I'm with the FBI, I'm Roger Probert's current partner" I announced arriving at the warehouse where he worked.
"You are? Well then..." Rick Martinson began. Something heavy collided with the back of my head and I went out like a light.
Roger
I sat at my desk and looked at the clock on my computer. I looked up at the door, but there was no sign of Angela. Something was wrong.
"Hi, this is Angela Pierce. I can't come to the phone right now, but leave your name and number and I'll get back to you" her phone's voicemail said.
"Ang, it's me. Call me when you get this...something doesn't feel right and I'm worried" I admitted before hanging up. Fifteen minutes went by with no reply.
"Where the hell is she? I've tried contacting her, but she ignores me" Ashford asked, storming up to my desk. I glared at him and swallowed the urge to throttle him then and there. The boss came out when he heard the commotion.
"She went to find my first partner, but she's missing. She's not ignoring you! What do you have against her? She didn't do anything to you" I growled at him. Ashford went to say something, but my computer interrupted him.
The third is caught. Is there enough time? They need your help, they've gotten too close. It's all right there. Hurry, hurry! Their trust is running out.
"What the hell? This psycho isn't making any sense" Ashford complained. I read it over, Angela wasn't here to help, so I had to figure out what it meant.
"Shit! They've got Angela" I swore. My heart constricted and the room spun. They, whoever they were, were going to kill my partner and they were going to do it soon.
"Are you sure" our boss asked. I gave him a look as I nearly dove at Angela's desk. This asshole had said she had gotten too close, but which case was it?
"Angela once told me to follow and trust my gut. My gut is telling me that she's the one this person has" I told them. My gut was also churning inside of me.
"You're not supposed to be involved with this" Ashford reminded me. I glared at him again. I wanted to punch him in the face. Excuse me for worrying about my partner and friend's life instead of the fact that I wasn't allowed to be involved.
"I'm sorry sir, but protocol can go screw itself. Angela's had my back ever since we met, now it's my turn to have hers. She has to be safe and alive in order for me to do that" I spat. I tossed aside a file and moved onto the next one.
"Your first partner" she had said before she left. She was looking at...the unsolved murders! I grabbed the file and looked over it trying to see what she had seen.
"Check her computer" our boss suggested. I wiggled the mouse and checked the last thing she looked up. It was the address of my first partner. She was going to find him and that's what we needed to do.
"Rick Martinson, we need to go find him. That's where Angela was going. He lives out in the suburbs near..." I started. I looked at the file for the unsolved murders and then gulped. I jumped up like my partner did days ago.
"I live right near where the murders took place" Rick had said back when we were investigating. The victims were killed with the same gun we used...like my other two partners. Damn it! I told the boss and he called more units.
"I'm going! You can't stop me! I need to be there" I insisted. It was my fault that Angela was in this mess and I was going to get her out of it. The boss relented and we sped there as fast as we could.
"Not good. Your girl is in there, but so is a bomb" one of the guys reported. I tried to swallow, but there was a lump in my throat. When I heard that there was less than three minutes on the bomb, I took off towards her.
BOOM!
"Angela! NOOO" I cried. I had been halfway there when the blast sent me to the ground. The house she had been in was leveled to the ground. My heart stopped in my chest.
"We're partners, we're supposed to have each others' backs" she had once said. Look where being my partner got her.
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry" I sobbed. I should've gone with her! I should've stopped her from going alone! I should've...done something! It was my fault she was dead and it hurt like hell.
"Roger, will you stop blaming yourself? I'm a stubborn mule! It runs in my family and there's no way you could've stopped me from going in" I could hear her tell me.
"I should've known or at least been able to figure out that he'd go after you. Damn it Angela! It's my fault you're dead" I cried.
Pop! Pop!
"Shots fired" one of the men yelled. Shots? That means...I got up and ran to where they came from.
"You little bitch" Rick growled as he and Angela wrestled for the gun. Angela was alive! The bomb hadn't killed her! I couldn't get a clear shot and I wasn't going to try in case I hit Angela. Soon enough, she had the gun.
"I might be a bitch, but I'm better than you" she snarled as she hit him over the head. Once he was out, I put my gun back in its holster and grabbed my partner in a bear hug.
"You're ok! Thank god" I sighed as I rocked from side to side. She hugged me back and rested her head on my chest tiredly. It was over. It was over and she came out of it alive.
Ok, long chapter, but I wanted to show Angela and Roger's relationship and why they're as close as they are. Please R&R!