Linda paced the front hall as if she was a caged animal; her face a panorama of all the emotions that she'd suppressed for years.

"Pride will be alright," Percy assured her, wondering if her words meant anything; Linda knew him better than anyone!

"Oh, I know," she replied, "I know. It's just that the last couple of days have been really nice and now-"

Stopping abruptly, she clamped her mouth shut and headed down the hall,"Sorry...Maybe I'll just go see what Laurel is up too."

"Hi, baby," she murmured, finding her daughter in the living room, "I'm sorry that I got you mixed up in all this."

"Well, you're not getting rid of me," Laurel teased, "if that's what you mean."

"Oh, no," Linda smiled weakly, laughing and choking up at the same time, "I don't mean that, but I appreciate you saying it."

"I feel more nervous now than I did while dad was here," Laurel admitted, shuddering, "All I can think about is Angelo's face. He was so angry!"

"Don't worry about your father," Linda ordered tensely; Laurel hadn't ever filled her in on the details of what had happened.

"I agree," Percy said, "Pride is the last guy that you need to worry about."

Laurel shook her head, frowning deeply, "I know, but I've just got this feeling..."

*~0~*

Forcing aside a nagging feeling that he should've kept Lasalle at the office as a matter of procedure instead of sending him out with Gregorio, Pride entered the interrogation room looking like someone who was spoiling for a fight.

"We meet again," he said venomously, hating the FBI for staying his hand.

"Hello," Lopez answered cautiously, greatly surprised to see Pride; he tried turning his wrists but the cuffs held fast, "Do you know what time it is?"

"That doesn't matter to you," Pride answered coldly, "You'll be here as long as I want."

"If you say so," Lopez shrugged indifferently "So, I guess that you're with NCIS?"

"Dwayne Pride," Pride introduced himself, "Special agent in charge."

"I didn't think that Laurel was the kind of girl to press charges over a little discipline," Lopez started to explain, "She was being mouthy and—"

That was as far as he got before Pride slammed his head into the table,

"Keep your filthy hands off my daughter!" he snapped viciously.

But the conversation stopped when a tremendous crash shook the building.

Reeling from the shock, both men had the air knocked from their lungs, but Pride regained control just a little faster and after reassuring himself that Lopez wasn't going anywhere, he spun around and raced down the hall at a stealthier run, all the while cursing the fact that he wasn't armed, Peeking around the corner, he saw a truck idling inside a large hole in the wall and three huge men ransacking their desks.

Adrenaline raced through his body as he pulled out his phone and left Lasalle a text message.

Situation at headquarters. Return immediately. No sirens.

*~0~*

Lasalle's phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out while slowing for a stop sign.

"It's Pride." he said, answering Gregorio's questioning look.

"Why doesn't he just call?" she asked.

He glared at her for a moment before reading the message, then accelerated while doing a hard u-turn.

"Hey!" Gregorio snapped, grabbing the dashboard as the momentum slung her forward, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Got a situation at the office," he answered tersely, mashing the accelerator to the floor.

"Can't he take care of it himself?" she asked, exasperated.

"He wouldn't call if he could," he answered, "Pride doesn't do that."

"Alright," she shrugged.

Lasalle's phone buzzed again. Pride's message read, Three Syndicate men. I'm unharmed.

Lasalle swore softly; this wasn't good. He wasn't armed either.

"You armed?" he asked.

"Of course," she answered loftily, her eyebrows arching upward, "Always am." Reading between the lines, she asked, "What, you're not?"

"I was taking you to the hospital to meet Brody!" he snapped.

She rolled her eyes, "People are so backwards down here."

"Nah, you just gotta get out more," he said, a tiny smile appearing for just a moment.

Then he slung them around a curve and Gregorio swore as she threw her hands up in time to avoid hitting the dashboard again, "You need to learn how to drive!"

"You'd do the same thing if it was somebody that you cared about," he answered, "You got a knife I can barrow?"

"I'm not a chef."

"Look, I need your help right, alright? If something happens to Pride—"

"Alright, alright," she acquiesced, holding up her hands, "I do have a knife. You take my gun though."

"Thanks."

"I just hope that we're not too late."

"We better not be."

*~0~*

Lopez smiled broadly as he listened to the ransacking and sat back to wait; his men would have him out of here in a few minutes. As he waited, he mulled over what he'd learned during his brief visit with Dwayne Pride.

Laurel's father, he thought, then chuckled and mused softly, "Linda, you lied to me."

Her ex was obviously not a deadbeat dad!

But this realization troubled him. Why had she lied when he'd questioned her about her past? Did she suspect something was off? If so, what had tipped her off?

Suddenly, the door flew off its hinges and his men sauntered in, interrupting his thoughts.

"Hey, boss."

"It's about time," Lopez smiled coldly, "Hooks, Crooks, and Scarface; my favorites."

They stiffened to attention, his tone reminding them that he wasn't someone to let your guard down around.

"Your girl told us that you'd probably be here," Hooks answered, shrugging nonchalantly, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Maybe I won't beat her so hard for the next couple of weeks," Lopez nodded and laughed, thinking of his secretary. Cocking his head, he asked, "What'd you do with the agent?"

"What agent?" they asked together.

Lopez swore under his breath, "You let him get away? You fools!"

"We didn't see anyone, boss," Scarface babbled, "We-"

Lopez silenced him with a murderous glare, "Scarface, Scarface, you didn't look for guards? Perhaps, you're not cut out for this kind of work after all." He jerked his arms forward, hoping to break the cuffs with brute strength, "Maybe I should cut you out, hm?"

But the cuffs didn't break and, after a brief pause of shock, the three henchmen actually relaxed.

Lopez glared at them in fury; he liked it when his employees were afraid of him.

*~0~*

While her daughter, sat, stood, or just fidgeted listlessly, Linda paced the room, vigorously rubbing the goose bumps on her arms.

They were driving Percy crazy, but how could she ask them to stop?

Finally, Linda noticed her discomfort and forced a smile.

"He'll be fine," she said, trying to take control of the situation, "I know him better than anyone and I know that he'll be fine."

Walking over to stand next to Percy, she whispered softly, "After Dwayne and I married, I paced all night the first time he was called out on a case."

Snorting softly, she remembered the past and continued, "I learned to live with it at first and things were actually really good." Glancing at her daughter, who was flipping through a magazine, trying to pretend as if she wasn't listening, she said, "Then Laurel came along and I had to learn how to not go crazy all over again." She bit her lip, "It was harder; I was scared to be a single mom."

Sighing, she finished, "When I divorced him, I thought that I'd finally find some peace at night." Shaking her head, she stared at Percy with haunted eyes, "But all I did was let myself forget what a good man he is."


Author's Notes: First off, I want to apologize profusely for this absurdly delayed update! Call it life.

Random thought: It's hard to write Gregorio as if she is still new to the scene!

So, where is Pride...any guesses?