Monroe found Alan sitting with Nick and Hank, the three of them deep in conversation, and from the looks of Alan's face, the conversation wasn't going too well.
"Alan," he said, interrupting. The three of them turned and looked at him and Alan glanced at Alona, who stood by Monroe's side, but said nothing. He glanced up at Monroe and raised an eyebrow in a sort of annoyed way.
"What?" he said.
Monroe glanced down at Alona and she looked up at him, fear bearing in her eyes. "Alona, go wait in the car," he directed.
"But Monroe-"
"Go. Now, Alona," he said. Alona gave him a look he'd never seen before, an angry, chilling look, and she turned and ran out of the Precinct. Monroe sighed and turned back to Alan. He opened his mouth to say something, but Alan stood up abruptly.
"What the hell is your problem? You can't just talk to my sister that way." Alan said, outraged.
"Alan, this is no time-"
"Bullshit, you listen to me, Eddie,-"
"Alan, shut the hell up and listen to me, this is important!" Monroe yelled. Nick and Hank exchanged glances, and Nick started to feel a little concerned about Monroe, who didn't seem like himself at all at the moment. Alan clamped his mouth shut angrily, but he was definitely listening now.
"I took Alona to go get some food, and she fell asleep at the table," Monroe began.
Alan gave him a wry smile and gave a short laugh. "That's what you're making such a big deal about? That Alona fell asleep in a restaurant?" he scoffed. Monroe clenched his fist; he was just over twice Alan's age, so he had to refrain from socking him in the nose, as he so deeply deserved.
"I'm not finished," Monroe said impatiently. Alan rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest and let Monroe speak.
"After a while, she woke up and she walked outside. I tried to call her back inside, but she wouldn't listen to me," as Monroe talked, Alan's smile faded and fear siezed his throat, causing him to swallow hard. He knew something had happened, and he didn't like where Monroe was going with this.
"She crossed the parking lot and she was about to step into the damn road as cars were flying by. I caught her just in time, but she kind of panicked and acted like she didn't know what was going on. I have no idea what the hell happened," he finished, waiting for Alan's reaction.
"She didn't know what was going on," Alan said finally. He didn't say it in a mean way, though.
"Is she ok?" Nick asked suddenly, standing up slowly.
"She's fine. I just don't understand why she-"
"You said she panicked when you caught her. What exactly did you do?" Alan interrupted, and Nick sat back down.
"I grabbed her away from the road and, well, I kind of yelled at her. I didn't know what to do, I just-it was instinct, I didn't know what to do," Monroe admitted. Alan grunted in an annoyed manner and rubbed his face.
"She's really ok?" he asked, holding his patience. Monroe nodded reassuringly.
"Alright," Alan said. "Just let me explain. Alona? Yeah, she sleepwalks. Do you know what happens when you wake up a sleepwalker?" he asked sharply, anger edged in his voice. Monroe opened his mouth, but clamped it shut as Alan continued.
"But you already found out what happens when you wake a sleepwalker, didn't you? Alona was confused and had no clue who you were, correct? She probably tried to make a run for it, she always does." Alan said, his voice more calm now.
Monroe nodded and sighed. "I didn't think about it at the moment, Alan, I just panicked. I'm sorry." he said sincerely.
Alan sat down and sighed. "It's not your fault. I get it." he said. He gave a short, humorless laugh and said, "I remember when Alona first started sleepwalking-scared the hell out of me. I couldn't find her for hours. She's been better lately, but she sleepwalks when she goes to sleep scared or super tired. I dunno why."
He stood up and brushed passed Monroe and said casually, "I'm going to go check on her. She seemed pretty pissed." he walked out of the Precinct, and as soon as he knew nobody could see him, he darted for Monroe's bug and got in behind the wheel. Alona was sitting in the back seat, her arms folded across her chest with a frown set on her face.
"What are you doing, Alan, you don't have a license," she said matter-o-factually.
Alan turned around to face her, "Are you ok, Ali?" he asked, using her nickname, Ali. She shrugged and nodded.
Alan grinned and turned back around, and grasped the wheel. He cracked his neck and his smile beamed. "Buckle up," he told Alona, who rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh and scrambled into the passenger seat next to him.
"Monroe has the keys," she said. He turned and gave her a look that said, "Please," .
It had taken him a while, but Alan finally hot-wired Monroe's bug and started up.
"Get in the back," Alan told Alona. Alona tilted her head from side to side teasingly, as though a song was playing, and gave him a sassy grin and buckled up in the passenger seat, refusing to get in the back. Alan shrugged and drove away from the Precinct, unnoticed.
"Where are we going?" Alona asked him. Alan shrugged again and Alona just sat back and looked out the window.
"Monroe's going to be very mad, Alan," Alona said warningly.
"Who gives a shit about Monroe," Alan said. "We're free. We can do what ever we want, Ali." A cocky grin spread across his face and Alona frowned, frustrated.
"You shouldn't talk like that. You know, Monroe helped us all those years ago-"
"Ok, I'm sorry. I'll try not to talk like that anymore. No promises, but I'll try," Alan interrupted, not wanting to hear anything more about Monroe and the past.
"You can try all you want, but you can't forget that Monroe helped us. We'd be dead, Alan, and you know it. You're just afraid to admit it, because you always want to be right," Alona muttered.
She rested her head on her hand and stared out the window, but she wasn't really paying attention to what she was seeing. She was too angry with Alan to really think much. Sure, she was only eight, but she could easily see when Alan was being a jerk, and lately, that was most of the time. She knew Alan, he always had to be right. Even when he knew he was wrong, he wouldn't admit it. He would just keep fighting for what he thought was right. But Alona knew that even Alan knew that without Monroe, they'd have both been dead. She watched her parents get brutally murdered and-
"Look, I'm sorry I've been kind of a jerk lately, Alona. I really am. It's not your fault, I've just been-well, honestly, I've kind of been a little scared. Monroe's friends, their cops-they have the power to keep us away from each other forever, you know. I just don't want that to happen, and I know you don't want that to happen either," he admitted. His grasp on the wheel tightened anxiously and Alona picked at some loose thread on her shirt quietly.
"I'm scared too," she murmured quietly. She reached over and grabbed his arm and kept close to him. "Please don't be so mean. You're my brother, Alan, but you scare me sometimes when you're mean," she said honestly. Alan laughed a little, even though she was being serious.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be such an ass-such a jerk, I mean. I guess I get a little worked up sometimes," he said gently.
"I know," Alona said simply.
"Want to play "I Spy"? Alan asked, grinning as Alona nodded eagerly. Alona went first, then Alan, but each time Alona went, the only thing she would spy would be Alan.
Hope you guys liked the chapter, please review! :)
