Author's Note: This version is longer than the first, partly because I hated some of what I wrote and also because I wanted to better explain Alex's work and her teammates, because they'll likely feature constantly in later works. So if it looks different, it's because of me. Sorry for any confusion!
Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.
It was a slow day for the members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Violent Crimes Task Force out of Los Angeles, California. There were many cases to be worked, many mysteries to be solved, but there was no evidence that pointed any of the agents piecing together the puzzle in the right direction, no facts that made the mindsets of the perpetrators at the time they committed the crimes any clearer. They'd all reached dead ends. According to Special Agent-in-Charge Amalia Martin, that was unacceptable, which was the reason they were all looking for answers they knew they weren't likely to find. They all enjoyed their jobs, though, so they kept digging, no matter how pointless they believed it to be.
Special Agent Alexandra Parrish ended her rather heated phone call with the United States Attorneys' Office for the Central District of California by slamming the receiver back in its cradle and heaving a long-suffering sigh. Her partner, Special Agent Adrianna Rosseau, looked across the room concernedly, having just reentered the premises after visiting a witness and therefore having no idea what was going on.
"I'm guessing your friend at the U.S. Attorneys' Office wasn't as helpful as you thought they'd be?" Special Agent Alana Campbell, another one of Alex's coworkers, asked as she made her way towards her own desk. There was no malice in her tone, just genuine curiosity.
"According to her, we cannot forcefully remove Peter Nowak's gun from his possession," Alex informed them both tiredly, burying her head in her hands. "It is his Second Amendment right to carry his firearm wherever he wishes, as long as it's authorized."
"And the fact that the gun he himself said he owns is the same caliber of the gun used to shoot Matthias Moore? What, does that not matter to them?" Rosseau asked incredulously. "The guy was there at the time of death, told us he saw the whole thing. What more do they want from us?"
"They want this case to be wrapped in a bow before we have enough to wrap it up," Alex replied exasperatedly. "You know, I usually don't envy Ryan, because lying to everyone you meet outside of the Bureau seems like an exhausting thing to do, but…" She shook her head. "If the lawyers on our side can't even be bothered to back our correct arguments, then what's the point of having them?"
"The public narrative regarding the judicial system and law enforcement in general isn't very positive right now," Campbell pointed out. "These badges might as well be targets that beg perps to shoot us." She took in the defeated look on her younger coworker's face and heaved a sigh. "Parrish, what exactly did the U.S. Attorneys' Office say they needed to get us access to that gun so that we can run Ballistics?"
"Proof that Peter Nowak was too close to Moore at the time of his death to be nothing more than a witness to the crime," Alex answered without pause. "But we canvassed the entire neighborhood, pulled footage from every security camera within two blocks. Nobody saw or caught anything at or near time of death."
"Nobody brave enough to speak up saw anything," Campbell corrected, causing both Alex and Rosseau to glance in her direction. "I have a CI who used to deal in our victim's neighborhood. I'll see if he has any useful information for me. He's over at Men's Central. I'll go tell Martin I'll be a while."
"If he's behind bars, then how would he know anything?" Rosseau asked as Campbell stood from her seat.
"Because his twenty-three-year-old daughter is in charge of distribution in that part of the city now, and she is the epitome of a daddy's girl. If something happened that someone in her crew knows about, then he'll know about it too. There are no secrets in that family." Campbell patted Alex on the shoulder as she made her way past. "We'll get him, Parrish."
"Yeah," Alex sighed, reaching for the landline on her desk when it began ringing. "This is Special Agent Alexandra Parrish with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. How may I help you?"
"Special Agent Parrish." Alex paused what she was doing when she realized the voice on the other end of the line belonged to none other than Emma Hayes, the Assistant U.S. Attorney who had turned down her request for a warrant just fifteen minutes before.
"Hello, Counselor Hayes," Alex replied politely. "What can I help you with?"
"After you called me about the warrant, I had one of our investigators look into Peter Nowak. You were right about him. Six years ago, he was arrested on charges related to illegal position of a firearm. Neither the DA nor the U.S. Attorneys' Office filed charges at the time, and it was completely erased from his record due to his friendships with certain politicians in this state, but it does give you probable cause to collect the gun for testing. I'm sending the warrant back with Special Agent de Lange."
Alex glanced up just in time to see Lucas de Lange walking towards her, an envelope with the U.S. Attorneys' Office's seal on the front of it. "Thanks, Luke," she said as he handed the envelope over. The special agent nodded his acceptance of her thanks before vanishing into thin air, likely to dig into another case they were struggling with. "Anna," she called across the bullpen to her partner, who'd returned to her desk several minutes before. Rosseau glanced up from her paperwork to raise an inquisitive eyebrow at Alex. "How do you feel about heading back to Brentwood?" She held up the envelope. "Warrant just came through."
"I should really apologize to Hayes for all the times she's been an excellent prosecutor after I was a bitch to her for doing something wrong," Rosseau said as she stood from her desk, grabbing her phone and purse from the desktop as she hurried after her partner.
Alex dialed Campbell's number once they were already in the car, telling her she didn't have to question her confidential informant anymore. Her fellow agent told her she'd be on standby, just in case Nowak wasn't as willing to cooperate as both Alex and Rosseau were hoping he would be. Alex approved her teammate's plans, then returned her attention entirely to the road before her.
After a few minutes, Rosseau finally spoke. "Don't you and Booth have that dinner tonight?" her partner questioned, causing Alex to glance quickly in her direction. "You've been talking about it for weeks now. I'm starting to think you're secretly married and it's an anniversary or something."
"We're not," Alex assured her friend with a wry chuckle. "We just haven't been able to spend much time together recently. Ryan's been working undercover more often, and it's not like this job only goes from nine to five. We haven't been on an actual date in over two months."
"And yet you're still happier in his presence than I ever was in my ex-husband's. Speaks volumes," Rosseau said just as they turned into Peter Nowak's driveway. "So," the brunette continued, climbing from the car, "do you think he'll run?"
Alex scoffed quietly. "Of course he will. He's the idiot who claimed to be a witness when he was the killer. Not only that, he kept the gun. There's really only one way to go." Alex climbed from the vehicle, her hand already resting on her firearm as she did so. She made her way towards the front porch, Rosseau trailing closely behind, and knocked on the front door. "Peter Nowak, it's the FBI. Open up!" she called through the door. She identified herself once more before trying the doorknob. To her surprise and great concern, it was unlocked.
She and Rosseau both cautiously made their way into the room, guns ready to be unloaded. They cleared each room on each floor, then met back up in the sitting area. "He's not here," Rosseau commented unnecessarily.
"Yeah." Alex reached into her pocket and dialed Headquarters. "This is Parrish. Yeah, we're going to need to be on the lookout for Nowak. Can you go ahead and call it in to the local stations? Thanks." She hung up, then turned back towards Rosseau. "The field office is working on putting out an APB. BOLO's being reported to the news stations as we speak."
"Yay," Rosseau replied sarcastically. "In other news, because of the U.S. Attorney's Office, an armed gunman who murdered someone in cold blood less than forty-eight hours ago is on the loose. You still want to tell me they're also the good guys in all this?"
"My boyfriend's sister is a prosecutor," Alex pointed out. "Things don't always work out the way they want them to, either. So yes, sometimes, the prosecutors are still the good guys in all this. This is one of those times."
"Let's just hope we catch him before he does any more damage," Rosseau said as they headed for the front door.
Alex sighed quietly. "Let's," she agreed as they walked outside and towards their waiting vehicle.
"So," Campbell greeted them the moment they walked through the door. "You're going to love this. Peter Nowak is in our interrogation room right now. He's already confessed to the crime. Hayes and de Lange are taking his statement right now."
"Let me guess; he's claiming innocence by way of insanity?" Alex asked, shaking her head when the blonde simply nodded. "Oh, don't you just love the people who make mockery of actual mental health issues to go unpunished for crimes they willingly committed?"
"Yeah, they're my favorite," Rosseau responded sarcastically. "Enough about this scumbag, though. You really need to get going, Parrish. That reservation's in two hours, and there's someone waiting for you at home. We can deal with the paperwork."
"Or, better yet, Luke can deal with it," Campbell suggested, causing both Alex and Rosseau to glance towards her curiously. "What? It's not like he's never done the same to me. Dumping work on each other from time to time is half of what makes our partnership work."
"I feel very bad for de Lange right now," Alex stage-whispered to Rosseau, causing Campbell to glare in her direction. "But I will take you up on your offer. Thanks." She smiled at both of them as she gathered her things, then waved one final time before turning for the door and heading in the direction of the elevators.
Alex was slipping into a black stiletto heel and trying to apply blush at the same time when she heard the front door open. A quick glance at the clock on the counter informed her it was seven o'clock on the dot, and she couldn't help but smile. Ryan Booth was nothing if not punctual.
"Hi," he greeted as he made his way into the master bathroom. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "How was your day?" he murmured against her skin.
"Mm," Alex hummed, tilting her head backwards slightly so that it rested against his shoulder, "I got the bad guy." She chuckled quietly. "Well, really, the bad guy got himself. He turned himself in while we were looking for the murder weapon. But he's still behind bars." She pulled away slightly so that she could spin around in his arms and look up at him. "How about you? How was your day?"
"We also managed to close the case," he informed her. "It'll be a difficult one to prosecute, but at least the guy's away for now."
"We were both successful today," Alex pointed out, causing Ryan to smile slightly. "That calls for a celebration. We couldn't have planned this dinner on a better evening."
"No, we couldn't have," Ryan agreed, pressing one more kiss to her cheek before pulling away. "I'll go wait in the living room, okay? I know how much you hate people being around while you're getting ready. But Al?" he said after she flashed him a grateful smile and then turned away. "You already look beautiful."
Alex smiled as he walked from the room. She didn't know exactly what she'd done to deserve him in her life, but she was going to do her best to keep doing it.
They arrived at Perch, the restaurant he'd first taken her to when they'd been celebrating her move to California six months before. They always sat in the main area – working for the federal government was enough to make anyone paranoid, and there were a lot of escape routes in a place almost constantly full of people – so Alex was more than a little suspicious when the hostess led them to a private room in the back of the restaurant.
Ryan ordered a bottle of wine for the table from the provided list, then gave the woman seated across from him his full attention. "You look like you're thinking over something on that side of the table," he commented after a moment. "Anything you'd like to talk about?"
Alex smiled slightly. "No," she assured him. "You?"
He smiled slightly at her. "Yeah, actually, there is. Not yet, though." He thanked the waitress who returned with their wine, then waited for Alex to place her order before placing his own. He reached across the table to cover her hand with his. "I love you."
"I love you too," she replied automatically. The words were no longer awkward; they came naturally.
"I'm glad." He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. They only separated when their food arrived.
Their meal seemed to pass extremely quickly as they discussed their weeks and what they planned to do with the weekend. Alex was laughing so hard that she was almost crying when the waitress came back to collect their empty plates and ask if they wanted to place an order for dessert. After deciding upon a slice of almond cake to share, they began their conversation once again.
It wasn't until the waitress left that Ryan stood from his seat, smiling at Alex when she looked up at him confusedly. Seconds later, he was on one knee in front of her, a small black box resting in his palm.
Alex stared at the diamond engagement ring for a moment before her eyes met his. "That's a ring."
"It is," Ryan agreed amusedly, obviously finding her shock to be adorable.
"When I was thinking about all the reasons we could be back in this room, this did not cross my mind," she admitted.
"Good," Ryan said. "Means I can still surprise you." He lifted her hand from her lap. "Marry me?" He continued before she could respond. "Look, every day I work this job, I realize I know nothing about the world around it. Everything's a lie. But you, you never have been. Even back when we were trying to protect each other, you were the light in a world of darkness. The more time I spent around you, I realized the world could fall apart around me and I wouldn't care, not as long as you and I were still here, together. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Alexandra Parrish." He drew in a deep breath. "So, what do you say?"
Alex had known her answer from the very first moment after he asked the question. "Yes."
And with that one simple word, their future marched onward.