Gage

The fiery redhead got as far as the end of the hallway before someone called her name.

"Hey Gage!"

Oh crap. The panic built up inside her as the hurried voice drew closer, fast. This couldn't be good.

Should I run? Teleport? Her eyes darted across the hall for any sign of escape. There wasn't one.

"Gage," the average height male touched her arm, "I'm glad I caught up to you."

Well damn…too late now.

"Hello…what's your name again?" Gage turned to look at the man.

"Lucas," he blinked.

"Well Luke, aren't you supposed to be writing a statement?" she questioned.

"Yes, but the president said that it could wait until tomorrow." He gestured down the hall behind him. Gage turned to look - Olivia and Fitz were staring down the hall at them. Gritting her teeth as her mind went into overdrive - if she didn't leave with Luke, they would ask questions. And she would end up spilling information that Olivia needed to know, but not now.

"Gage?" Luke interrupted her thoughts. The petite woman linked her arm with his before stating:

"My friends call me Adee. You know: last name nicknames."

"Adee. I like it," Luke grinned. Gage shrugged, pulling him down the hall:

"You're driving."

Luke chose the Hard Rock Cafe, probably because he got the idea from the shirt Gage had changed into. She actually approved of the restaurant for a first date - not too romantic, but nice enough. Gage didn't do romantic. She didn't do dates, either. Which reminded her that she really needed to think of her payback for Olivia.

She had had the waiter sit them in the back corner, by the railing. She had chosen to sit by the wall and Luke had sat across from her.

"You look tired."

Gage stopped stirring her long island tea, "It's been a long week."

"So, what do you like to do in your free time?" Luke attempted to make small talk.

Gage sighed and sat back in her seat before responding, "Luke, I'm going to be truthful. The only reason I'm here is so Olivia won't get suspicious. I have a lot of work to do and frankly, I dislike journalists."

She waited for his reaction. Luke took a long sip of his beer.

"Well, it was worth a try," he laughed, "I guess I will see you tomorrow then."

Gage saw the waiter making his way back to their table, "I'm not leaving yet."

"You said you had work to do," Luke pointed out.

"But I'm hungry."

Gage ordered chicken and Luke had a cheeseburger. She learned that he liked old movies, go figure.

"Why don't you like journalists?" Luke asked.

"Because." Gage adverted her eyes to the floor below them. That was one question she wasn't about to answer. Her past with the media was complicated. Gage's eyes came in contact with a student below. They held their gaze, so she did as well. Then the boy tapped his friend, who was sitting beside him, and pointed at her. That friend pointed which caused a few more to look and those people caused even more to look. Pretty soon, the whole restaurant was staring and getting their cellphones out. Such wondrous technology, yet so annoying.

"Well this is awkward," Luke chuckled nervously.

"Might as well get used to it, Luke."

Gage picked up her tea and gave a half wave to the bottom floor before tensing. The one person she did not want to see walked in with his camera. Luke followed her gaze.

"We had better go. We don't want the new F.B.I. Director to get caught drinking her fourth iced tea. 'Twill all be over."

And it would because of that bastard downstairs who worked for CNN. Gage stood up and pulled out a twenty but Luke beat her to it. She puffed her cheeks out.

"Do not make me argue with you."

He placed the money on the table.

"We already had this conversation," Gage whined. She had told him that he wouldn't pay because, technically, she was the one who had asked him on the date. Luke had insisted that since she didn't really mean it, he was the one who had asked her on the date.

Luke laughed and grabbed her arm, pulling her to the stairs.

"Too bad we don't have time to argue," he stated.

Gage stumbled beside him. The thing about Long Island Iced Teas was that you didn't realize you were drinking alcohol until you started to stand and by then, you had already drank too many. She stopped at the stairs; she wasn't sure she could make it down without falling. More reporters filed through the restaurant trying to interview the person who had assaulted the president.

"If we can make it down the stairs without being seen, we can go out the back way," Luke said.

Gage pulled her hair tie out and let her hair fall down, trying to create a barrier. "You're going to have to help me down the stairs."

She laughed and linked her arm with Luke's. She was starting to lose her reasoning skills, after all.