I don't own Graceland! My native language is Dutch and I'm dyslectic so sorry for any mistakes.
This is my very first Graceland fanfic and my very first one-shot. I hope it's not too bad...Enjoy!
Protecting Our Family
The group had gone to The Drop to enjoy their night off. All the cases of the week had coincidental all been closed around the same time and they knew that didn't happened very often. It was something to celebrate. Johnny walked grinning towards the group and Mike shook his head in disbelieve. Johnny nodded and showed Mike the phone number on his hand.
'Don't tell me she believed that the key was the key of a plane,' Mike said.
'Oh, she did,' Johnny replied and he laughed. 'You are still smarter than any of the girls I dated. So I think it's time for Levi to buy us some more drinks!' There were some cheers and even a little drum roll. Mike was about to get up when Charlie pulled him down.
'No!' she said. 'Our Levi shot the guy so we should buy him drinks all night long.' Mike smiled and leaned back in his chair.
'Drinks will be on me then,' Briggs announced and he got up. 'Same for everyone?' He got some nods and 'yeahs'. He walked over to the bar and turned his head to watch his roommates for a moment. Johnny was telling one of his stories with wild hand gestures and everyone was laughing. He noticed Charlie looking at him and he offered her a smile so she could continue listening to Johnny.
'Here you go,' the bartender said and Briggs took his tequila shot in one gulp. Now he was ready to continue the night. He took the drinks back to the table. Briggs grabbed his beer and he held it up.
'To another great ending,' he said and everyone joined him in his toast. It hadn't actually been that great of an ending. Jakes almost got a knife in his gut and without Mike, Briggs and Johnny would have been shot. They all came back home, that was great, but four covers had been blown this week. So some alcohol was necessary.
'Stop putting your thinking face on,' Charlie told him in a whisper. 'It looks like you're not having any fun at all. Do you even know what we're talking about?' Briggs took one look and saw Johnny nodded at a blonde tall girl in the corner of the room.
'Johnny is talking about his next victory,' Briggs answered and Charlie rolled with her eyes.
'That boy is too obvious,' she replied.
'Best moment will be when he finds out that she tried to hook up with me a couple of weeks ago,' he smiled and he took a sip of his beer, watching Johnny walk over to the girl. Charlie shook her head laughing at him.
'Who needs more drinks?' Paige asked while she rose from her chair. Johnny looked a little annoyed for she interrupted his story, which had just come to the best point, but then he nodded. The others nodded as well and she walked over to the bar.
'Same as before,' she told the bartender, who gave her a nod and went to get the drinks. A guy sat down next to where Paige was standing and he smiled at her.
'What's a pretty girl like you doing here all alone?' he asked and he leaned a little closer to Paige. She turned to him and offered him a fake smile.
'Not alone here,' she answered him and the bartender handed her the drinks. Before she could turn around, the man had placed his hand on her lower back, dangerously close to her ass.
'Get your hand off me,' she ordered him.
'Ah girl, just playing,' he said and he lifted his hand from her back. Paige sighed.
'You need any help?' Briggs asked and he put his arm over her shoulder, clearly giving the guy the message to back off. Typical Briggs.
'I'm fine,' she answered him and she shrugged his arm off. She didn't need his protection. She could handle this one guy.
'Yeah dude,' the guy stupidly said. 'The girl and I were just talking. You could back off a little.' Briggs glared at the guy and Paige gave him a nudge, trying to get him before he was going to hit the guy and been thrown out of The Drop again.
'Aww, sweetheart, stay a little longer,' the guy said and he reached out for Paige. Wrong move, she thought and Briggs slapped the guy's arm away. He gestured Paige to head back to the table with the drinks. She was almost there, when she noticed Briggs hadn't followed her and was still standing in front of the guy, having a staring contest.
'Paul!' she yelled at him and he finally walked away from the guy. She gave him a glare. 'I could have handle it myself.'
'I know,' Briggs replied with a smile while taking one of the beers from the tray she was carrying and he sat down. Paige put the tray in the middle of the table so everyone could get their drinks and she sat down as well. Of course he knew it. If only he could act that way.
Briggs glanced around the bar to see where everyone was. Johnny was still chatting up the blonde girl - Monica, if he remembered correctly - and Briggs couldn't help but smile. If only Johnny knew what he was getting into. For the next couple of weeks Johnny would be stuck with this girl if he kept this up. He turned his head to the bar and saw Paige talking to one of her friends. She had been surprised when she saw her friend walk in so Briggs guessed they hadn't seen each other in awhile. Mike had found his girl Abby again so he had left them as well.
'Stop checking up on them,' Charlie told him when she gave him a nudge
'I wasn't checking up on them,' Briggs lied and he turned back to his beer. Charlie shook her head in disbelieve but didn't comment on it. Jakes sighed and put his drink down.
'That's it for me,' he said. 'I'm going back to the house. Early morning tomorrow...what about you two? Are you staying or leaving?' Charlie nodded.
'Sure,' she said. 'Early night isn't that bad once in awhile. Though Paul might stay to do some protecting from a distance.' Jakes started to laugh and Briggs frowned at her.
'Definitely Papa bear's job to protect the cubs,' Jakes joked.
'I'm not protecting them,' Briggs said. 'I'm coming with you.' He stood up and walked over to the bar to pay the bill.
'Leaving?' Paige asked, who was standing close to him with her friend. Briggs gave her a nod. 'Okay, I will see you back at the house.'
'Yeah, have a great night,' he told her. The bartender handed him his card back and he walked out of the bar. Johnny had joined Charlie and Jakes. Briggs started to smile.
'You could have told me you and Monica had hooked up,' Johnny told him. 'She told me that an astronaut had dumped her...and there is only one astronaut in that bar...'
'Oh be glad you're here,' Briggs said.
'Well Johnny does have something with the crazy ladies,' Jakes smiled.
It was a quiet morning at Graceland as most of the house was still asleep or slowly awaking. Briggs calmly walked to the kitchen to start his breakfast. Graceland had one day off. Tomorrow it would be all back to business so this was a day they all should enjoy and for Briggs, this day was starting all right. He heard the front door opening and he caught a glimpse from Paige.
'Good morning,' he greeted, a little surprised for her to return only just now. Normally she didn't stay until the next morning when she was out with some friends. She always went home. 'Nice night with your friend?' It confused Briggs more when Paige didn't answer him and walked towards the stairs. He noticed the difficulty she had walking. He walked into the foyer.
'Paige?' he asked a little worried. Her shoes were missing and her right foot was bleeding like she had stepped in glass. She didn't have her shoes with her and Paige never left her shoes behind somewhere.
'Paige, what happened?' Briggs asked more urging. Paige slowly turned around to face him and he felt angry rise up. She had a black eye, split lip and there were bruises on her neck. He stepped closer towards her and reached out for her. Paige immediately took a step back. Because of that and for the fact she still hadn't said a word, he knew something was wrong.
'Charlie!' he yelled and he felt bad when he saw Paige flinch. When he heard movement he yelled for Charlie again. This time he did hear movement and soon he saw Charlie coming downstairs.
'What?' she asked, clearly not happy with him waking her up but when she saw Paige, her entire posture changed. 'Oh shit...what happened?' She walked over to Paige and placed her hand on her arm. Paige did flinch but she didn't pull away like she had done with Briggs. She pulled Paige into a hug and tears came. Briggs ran a hand through his hair. There was definitely something wrong.
'Take her upstairs,' he told Charlie, who nodded and carefully guided Paige to the stairs. They left a trail of bloody footprints behind. Briggs took a deep breath and he could come up with only conclusion: someone had attacked Paige.
Briggs shot a glance at Paige's closed door and then continued pacing back and forth in front of it. He was waiting for Charlie to come out and tell him more...to confirm his suspicions. Jakes, Johnny and Mike had all passed him earlier, shooting him confused looks, but apparently his face and posture withheld them from asking any questions. The door handle went down and Briggs stopped pacing. Charlie slipped out of the room.
'She's trying to get some sleep,' she told him before he could even open his mouth. 'How is she?' he asked. 'Did she tell you anything about what happened?' Charlie shook her head.
'She hardly spoke a word,' she answered. 'Only that she didn't want to go to the hospital when I suggested it. She is bruised and in pain...also she is sorry for pulling away when you approached her...She didn't mean to. She said it was just a reflex.' Briggs took a deep breath. He didn't blame her for pulling away. She had clearly been through a lot. He had seen the fear in her eyes when he had reached out. He looked at Charlie, who was staring at him. He needed to know one thing but could barely bring himself to ask the question.
'Do you think that...umm...she was raped?' he asked and Charlie gave him a slow and hesitant nod.
'I think so,' she said. 'She would have taken more when it would have been just an attack...she had more bruises on her torso...possible bruised or cracked ribs. There was also a faint imprint of a muzzle underneath her chin...Someone pulled a gun on her.'
'Fuck,' Briggs cursed and he headed to the stairs. Charlie grabbed his arm to stop him. 'Don't do anything stupid,' she warned him but he simply shrugged her arm away and stormed off.
Paige pulled her legs towards her chest and hugged them. She fought against new tears as she heard Briggs' curse and Charlie's warning. She felt awful and it was not just because of the pain. She had seen the worry in Briggs' eyes. There was even a hint of guilt. He had reached out for her, to comfort her, and she couldn't face him. She was an DEA-agent, trained to handle herself. She should have been able to fight him off. It had been just one guy and he had taken her down so easily. She had been weak and nothing like the agent she was trained to be. He had overpowered her so quickly. She wasn't strong enough. She had felt the effects of the alcohol and just wished she had drunk less. When he had pulled out the gun...she had just given up. She had stopped fighting.
A faint knock on her door made her look up and she saw Charlie walking in. Paige saw that Charlie wanted some answers but she didn't push for them. All she had done was taking care of her. She hadn't mentioned the bruises when she helped Paige change into her comfortable pajamas after that much needed shower. She hadn't pressed for a trip to the hospital. Most of all she didn't ask the questions Paige didn't want to answer.
'Here are some painkillers,' Charlie said and she handed Paige the pills with a glass of water. 'Take them. I can see you're in pain.' Paige swallowed the pills to please Charlie. They might help for the physical pain but not for the shame. 'Do you need anything else?' Paige shook her head while Charlie took the glass and put in on the nightstand. 'I'm going to make you some soup. You should try to eat something.' Paige wasn't hungry nor did she want to think about food, but it was Charlie. As Charlie walked towards the door, Paige felt panic rising inside of her. She hated herself for feeling the panic, but she didn't want to be alone. Being alone was what scared her the most right now.
'Please, stay,' she whispered and Charlie abruptly turned around.
'Okay,' she said softly. 'I will just head out to tell DJ to make the soup for you. I will be right back.' After Paige gave her a faint nod, Charlie walked out of the room and she could hear her walk down the stairs. Not long after Charlie returned and she sat down on the bed, looking at Paige. The concern in her eyes made Paige break down. She didn't deserve their worry or concern. She had been weak. Charlie pulled her into a tight embrace and gently stroked her hair while she cried. And for the first time since early that morning, Paige felt some feeling of safety return.
'So Charlie told you to make soup?' Johnny as he walked into the kitchen where Jakes was preparing the soup. Jakes nodded. 'For Paige?'
'She never said, but I guess so,' Jakes answered.
'So Paige is sick...' Johnny carefully concluded. Mike joined them in the kitchen and placed his bowl in the sick, catching what Johnny said.
'Why do you think Paige is sick?' he asked.
'Because that...' Johnny pointed at the pan, '...is Charlie's famous Sickness Soup. She will make it whenever someone in the house is sick and she forces you to eat it all. Another one of her family recipes. It's also very good.'
'But usually Charlie is the one making the soup,' Jakes added and he threw some vegetables in the pan. 'She taught me how to make it the one time she, Briggs and Donnie were sick and she wanted them to eat the soup. She trusted my cooking skills enough that she thought I wouldn't mess it up completely.'
'But you only got the chance because we basically locked her in her room,' Johnny said. 'We had to force her to stay in bed.'
'But Charlie isn't sick this time and still you have to make the soup.' Mike said to Jakes. 'She doesn't seem to want to leave Paige's room.' They were silent for a time, watching Jakes finish the soup. All three of them realized there was something bad going on. When Johnny tasted the soup and agreed it was finished, Jakes filled a bowl and headed upstairs.
'This is not good,' Johnny mumbled and Mike nodded in agreement. They look questioningly at Jakes when he returned downstairs. He looked serious and worried.
'And?' Mike wanted to know.
'Nothing good is going on,' Jakes answered. 'I wasn't allowed to go in, Charlie was blocking the view into the room and she didn't answer any question. She just headed back into the room. There is definitely something going on and we're not included.'
'Paige did only come back this morning,' Mike remembered. 'And Briggs yelled for Charlie...which wasn't in his normal tone...more like a worried tone.'
'You're right,' Jakes said. 'Charlie sounded pissed off when she went downstairs...but there was no yelling or arguing. And she came back upstairs fairly quickly with I guess Paige.'
'So Paige came home late, we're not allowed to see her, Charlie and Briggs are worried and he was standing in front of Paige's room like a guard dog earlier...' Mike summed up. 'Could it be that something happened to Paige? Maybe someone attacked her...'
'Briggs did look extremely pissed off standing in front of the door,' Johnny noted. 'He is never that protective or pissed off unless something bad happened...remember when Lauren had that black eye...'
'We need to find the bastard,' Jakes said.
'Well, Briggs stormed out of the house not long ago,' Mike noted. 'I think someone is already paying for what happened...'
The front door was thrown open and Jakes, Johnny and Mike saw Briggs walk in with a bleeding cut above his eye. They had been sitting in the living room for quite some time now, waiting for someone to tell them what was going on and what they could do.
'Briggs,' Mike called him over before he could disappear upstairs. He noticed Briggs' badly bruised knuckles. 'Are you okay?'
'I'm fine,' Briggs answered curtly.
'Did you get the guy?' Mike asked.
'I did,' Briggs then answered. Mike hadn't expected anything else. When Briggs wanted his revenge, he usually got it. And with one of them hurt, he would really want to get revenge, not really caring what he had to do for that.
'Is he still alive?' Mike carefully asked and Briggs hesitated with his answer, averting his eyes. For a moment Mike feared that Briggs had gone too far. That he actually had...
'He is,' Briggs then said and Mike let go of the breath he was holding. 'But he will keep away from women for the rest of his life.'
'Hey Briggs, Paige is going to be okay, right?' Johnny asked from the couch and Briggs turned to him.
'I'm going to make sure he will,' he assured him. 'We will make sure...'
'Briggs, what happened to Paige?' Mike then asked the question everyone wanted to be answered.
'Yeah man, we seen you storm out and Charlie is barely letting us upstairs,' Jakes said. Briggs sighed and walked over to the couch. He winced as he said down.
'Paige came home this morning bruised...' he started. 'Last night...or early this morning she was attacked by some jackass.'
'The guy from the bar?' Johnny asked and Briggs nodded.
'Yes, it was him,' he said. 'And I took care of it so there is no need to do anything...and leave Paige alone for now...let her come when she feels ready to come. She's pretty bruised and in quite some pain.' Jakes, Johnny and Mike all nodded and Briggs headed upstairs.
'She fell asleep some time ago,' Charlie told Briggs when they were both standing in Paige's bedroom. He glanced at the bed where Paige seemed to be sleeping peacefully. At least she wasn't having nightmares; that was a good thing. 'She also ate some soup...'
'Did she tell you anything?' Briggs asked, keeping his eyes on the young agent.
'No, all she did was cry before she fell asleep,' Charlie answered. 'She doesn't want to talk about it, Paul. So I didn't press her. We should do this at her pace...let her tell the story when she is ready.' Briggs shook his slowly in disbelief and ran a hand over his face.
'I should have stayed at the bar,' he mumbled. 'I should have stayed at The Drop till she was ready to go home...so she didn't have to walk home alone...'
'Paul, she is a grown woman and a trained agent,' Charlie told him. 'Of course we left her at the bar. We have done it so many times. We all walked home by ourselves without any trouble. Paige can take care of herself...This...this was just fucking bad luck. It could have happened to anyone, at any day...'
'But it happened to Paige when we left her alone,' Briggs argued. 'We should have stayed.'
'We never did before,' she told him. 'Stop putting the blame on yourself, Paul. That isn't helping her or anyone else. There is only one person to blame, and judging from your face and knuckles - which I will have to clean - he already paid.'
'Not enough,' Briggs growled. 'She tried to fight him off...that is how I knew for sure. He had a bruised jaw, scratches on his neck and face. She had tried to fight back...'
'And that was because she was trained well and she could take care of herself,' Charlie told him again. 'But...we can train so well and still fail. We can't fight a gun...Have you talked to the guys?'
'Yeah, I told them about the attack,' Briggs answered. 'I left out the rape...since Paige probably doesn't want anyone to know. You know...the guy even joked about it, Charlie. He joked about attacking and raping her!'
'Then he is lucky he is still breathing,' she replied. 'And hopefully he is wise enough to stay away from The Drop and run like hell when he sees anyone of us.' She placed a hand on his cheek and made him look at her. 'It's not your fault, Paul. You're not to blame.' Briggs took a deep breath. 'Now let me take care of that cut!' He wanted to argue but soft whimpering from Paige made them both turn to the bed. Charlie gave him an apologetic look and he gave her a nod.
'Go,' he told her. 'I will clean this cut.'
Briggs sat in the chair near the window, watching Paige sleep. She had slept almost the entire day and was still sound asleep. There had been a few nightmares but it was rather quickly resolved, thought they kept returning. Charlie had gone to her own room for just a few hours of sleep. Briggs didn't know where Jakes, Johnny or Mike were but he was in Paige's room, close by when she needed him to be. He turned to the bed when he heard Paige mumble. Her eyes were slowly opening and Briggs got up.
'Hey, how are you feeling?' he asked worried.
'Bruised,' Paige answered softly and she winced when she tried to sit up straight. He had to stop him from reaching out for her. Paige uncomfortably averted his eyes when they met.
'Do you need anything?' he asked. 'Some more painkillers?' Paige shook her head. 'I found him.' It got Paige's attention and she looked at him with fear. 'He will never bother you again.' Her lip began to tremble and she broke down. Briggs wanted nothing more than comfort her but he didn't know if he could do it. If she would be okay. So he stayed in front of her, clearly visible for her.
'I'm sorry,' she mumbled. 'I'm so sorry.'
'You have nothing to be sorry about, Paige,' Briggs told her. 'I saw the bruises and scratches on the guy. You fought back, as good as you could possibly do...'
'It wasn't enough,' Paige said.
'It was enough,' Briggs contradicted. 'It was enough, Paige. You can't fight a gun.' Paige stared at them and then slowly she moved her shaking hand towards him. Briggs sat down and took her hand in his, squeezing it softly. While he gentle rubbed circles with his thumb on her hand, a faint smile appeared on Paige's face. It didn't quite reach her eyes yet, but it was a start. It was a sign it would be okay, one day. He just had to protect her a little more.
Paige sat on the chair, looking out of the window. There wasn't much to see. Only the wall of the house next door, but she didn't mind. She just needed to see something different than her ceiling. She barely remembered how she got from the bed to the chair, but she did remember how painful it was. Stiffness had overtaken her body from lying in bed almost all day. She took a deep breath and rested her chin on her knees. It was quiet in the house and she was alone in her room. It had taken a lot but she convinced Briggs and Charlie to leave the room. She didn't want to see them worry about her anymore. Because of her weakness this had happened, even though Briggs told her she had done everything right...She didn't believe it. If she had done everything right, it would not have happened. She would have been able to fight him off. It was her own fault. Paige closed her eyes but quickly opened them again as flashes came back. They had each time she closed her eyes. With the flashes came the feeling of his hands on her, touching her all over. A shiver went down her spine. She wiped away the tears that managed to escape. Crying wasn't what she needed. She needed a shower. A shower to wash the feeling, the filth, away. Only for a shower she had to go out of her room...walk through the corridor where she could run into...A soft knock on her door pulled Paige out of her thoughts and she turned her head towards the door.
'Paige?' It was Briggs and she let go of the breath she was holding. The stupid constant fear... 'Can I come in? I have some of Charlie's soup.' Paige stayed seated in her chair, just staring at the door. 'Paige? Are you okay? I'm coming in...' The door handle went down and as the door opened, she could see Briggs. As soon as he saw her, his face went from worried to relieved.
'Hey,' he said and he put the tray with bowl of soup on her desk, before walking over. He sat down on the edge, facing her.
'Hey,' she replied softly. 'Thanks for the...umm...soup...but I'm not hungry...'
'Charlie told me I couldn't leave till you ate every last drop of it,' he said and Paige looked out of the window again. She didn't want food, didn't they get that? Some bowl of soup wasn't going to make it all better.
'Please go,' she told him and Briggs sighed.
'Paige...' She snapped her head towards him.
'No, I don't want soup!' she told him forcefully. 'Or you two fussing and worrying about me! I don't deserve it...' The last part barely came out in a whisper and she didn't dare to look at Briggs after she said it. His hand slowly reached out for her and rested on her knee. It made her a little uncomfortable but she didn't mentioned it or shrugged his hand off.
'Paige, it's not your fault,' he told her again, but it didn't make her believe it. 'You didn't ask him to attack you...or to rape you...' When she heard him say those words - in front of her - it made Paige break down. There was a moment of hesitance but then she left his arms around her. Hugging her as a comfort. And one of his hugs was what she needed, even without knowing it.
Briggs had carried Paige back to her bed, making it easier for himself to hold her and making Paige a little more comfortable than in the chair. He held her while she cried and gently stroked her hair, alert for any signal it was too much for her. But Paige slowly calmed down again.
'Thank you,' she whispered.
'Don't mention it,' he replied. 'I think we both needed it.' She glanced up at him and he gave her a comforting smile. Her black eye and split lip hurt him to see. It still made him feel guilty. 'I shouldn't have walked away.'
'I shouldn't have stayed,' Paige said and they looked at each other. He pulled her a little closer and rested his chin on her head.
'What did you tell the guys?' Paige asked him. He could see shame in her eyes and he cursed in his head. She felt shame for what happened...for something she shouldn't feel shame for. She had fought against him.
'We told them you were attacked,' Briggs answered her. 'And that the guy was dealt with, for now...They are worried about you.' Paige averted her eyes. 'It's okay, Paige. They're just worried about you being attacked and staying up in your room.'
Briggs had managed to get a few hours of sleep and he was on his way back to Paige's room, after getting a cup of coffee. Just to make sure she was okay. Last night he and Charlie had talked and decided to cut back on the protectiveness and concern for Paige. Briggs didn't want to but Paige had made it kind of clear she wanted them to back off and maybe in this way, she could find a way to deal with this. But when he opened the door, Paige's room was empty. Her bed was slept in, but Paige wasn't there. He turned around but he didn't move. Where would Paige be? He couldn't hear the shower running and he hadn't seen her downstairs. He turned back to the room and noticed a piece of paper on the nightstand. He quickly walked over and grabbed the paper. Right away he recognized Charlie's handwriting. Gone to the doctor. Paige finally agreed. - Charlie. Briggs grabbed his phone and called Charlie right away.
'Hey, Paul.'
'Hey, how is Paige doing?'
'Doctor is checking her out right now...and the police is here as well. Paige agreed in reporting the guy as well, though it was reluctantly.'
'How much convincing was needed to get her to the doctor? She had been in her room for two days...'
'Early this morning she walked into my room; saying she wanted to see a doctor to get checked out. She never really told me what changed her mind. Maybe it was the pain or maybe it were the worries.' Briggs immediately knew what Charlie meant by worries. He had the same worries. Paige had refused to do anything or tell anything. The guy could have a disease or she might end up pregnant. 'Briggs, I have to go back in...'
'Yeah. Call me when anything comes up or when you need me.'
'I will. I will call when we're on our way home, in case she still refuses to see the guys.' Charlie hung up and Briggs put his phone back in his pocket. He was relieved Paige got some medical attention. She needed it. Hopefully everything would turn out okay.
Briggs looked up from the couch when he heard the front door opening. He reached for his phone and noticed he didn't miss any calls. Charlie said she would call when they were on their way back. But it were Charlie and Paige who walked through the front door. Silence fell in the room when the others noticed Charlie and Paige as well. Paige stood uncomfortably next to Charlie, who slowly touched Paige's arm, gesturing to the stairs. But Paige stayed in her spot. Briggs glanced at Charlie, who shrugged. The front door opened again and Jakes walked into the room. He stopped when he saw Paige and the others in silence. He was the first to recover.
'Who wants to watch The Town with me?' he asked.
'Ah, man, not again,' Johnny answered. 'You better watch it in your own room. I have seen that movie already too many times with you. How can you keep watching it after twenty times?'
'Thirty-seven times,' Jakes corrected him, 'and it's just a good movie.' Briggs saw Paige relax at little. Charlie walked towards the couch.
'Everything okay?' Briggs asked Charlie, who gave him a short nod.
'Guys, I need all of you in the kitchen,' she then announced. 'I have something to say.' Briggs, Jakes, Johnny and Mike got up from the couch and they followed Charlie and Paige to the kitchen. Mike stepped aside so Paige could take a seat on the bar stool, which she took. Charlie pulled out a pan from the cabinet and put it on the stove.
'What you need us for in the kitchen?' Jakes asked.
'Are you expecting us to cook?' Johnny asked.
'I'm not planning on poising everyone,' Charlie said and they all started to laugh. Then she grabbed.
'It was the end of age of virtue,' she started to tell and the group started to smile, 'and the authorities shut it as immortality and hedonism intensified. Finally Pope Sixtus the Fifth declared an end to Protestantism. Prisoners swept away Italia like a flood. Their cruelty was boundless and as time passed transgressors realized there would be no reprise. My great grandmother's great grandmother's great grandmother ran the kitchen of the Cathedral di Napoli. Her name was Francesca. As Francesca prepared her famous ragu for the inquisitors, she heard a knock on the Cathedral's door.' Jakes knocked on the island counter top. 'Nicolo, a handsome cordwainer, begging for sanctuary from the Inquisition. Knowing this kid would face torture or death, Francesca put Nicolo in the pantry. She promised the keep her ragu warm until the local vicar declared the city cleansed. After three long days, the inquisitors finally left Napoli. Nicolo survived on the promise and smell of the ragu. They fell in love and vowed the pass on the sauce to their children and their children's children, until the end of days.' They all started to clap and Charlie smiled. 'I know we mostly do only yearly Sauce night, but I figured another Sauce night would be a good plan.' Jakes, Johnny and Mike walked away. Paige leaned towards Charlie.
'Thanks, Charlie,' she said and then she walked towards the couch. Briggs walked around the kitchen table and leaned against the kitchen counter. Charlie put a few tomatoes in the pan and she turned to Briggs.
'I know what you're doing,' he noted.
'I'm just making Francesca's famous ragu,' she said and she took a breath. 'Soon you will be pulled into a case...and this way I can stay at Graceland without Paige feeling like we're checking up on her.' Briggs smiled and nodded his head approving.
'Smart,' he smirked. They glanced over at Paige, who was actually laughing, sitting on the couch with Jakes, Johnny and Mike. 'Seems like getting out of her room did her good...'
'That is how it is with the kids,' Charlie smiled. 'They make each other feel better. Family does that. It will take some time, but Paige will be okay. Will you be okay as well?'
'I will,' Briggs assured her. 'We will just have to keep protecting our family.'
The End