A/N: Thanks to those who have read and reviewed. It means a lot to me. This chapter contains a little more revelation about Anisa's past and also has some suspense. A little humor, too. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing Flashpoint related...just my Original Characters and my story (and some really cool shoes...but that is another story altogether).

It's a Second Chance

Chapter 14

Dinner and a Movie

Tuesday (continued)...

The longer Ward drove the angrier he got. He needed to come up with a plan. That McConnell woman had just destroyed his life. He was not going to let her get away with it. He could just kill her, but that would be too easy. No he wanted her to suffer and he wanted to watch her suffer. But how? By this time he was home. He turned on his computer and began his research.

Spike was glad that the day had been slow because his ears were still ringing a little and there was a mild throbbing in his head. As he got dressed into his street clothes, he remembered the conversation with his mother from the evening before. She had taken one look at the marks on his face left by the broken window and begun telling him the job was too dangerous and that he needed to quit. She had insisted that if he loved his parents he would quit his job. He dreaded going home again. Spike pulled out his phone and noted that there was a voice mail from Anisa. He smiled as he listened to it.

"Hey what are you grinning about?" questioned Ed as he sauntered into the locker room.

"Nothing," Spike responded not wanting Ed to tease him, which is what was sure to happen if he found out he had been listening to Anisa's voice mail. Ed pretended to look away and then quickly snatched Spike's phone from his hand.

"What's this a voice-mail from Detective Anisa McConnell. I did not know we were working another case with them," Ed said sardonically. He pressed the phone to his ear as he listened to the voice-mail.

"Ed! You've had your fun now give me my phone," demanded Spike. At this point Sam and Wordy had wandered into the locker room. They saw the exchange between their teammates.

Wordy inquired, "What is going on here?"

Ed got a huge grin on his face and held up Spike's phone, "It seems that our little Spikey got a message from Detective McConnell. You guys remember her right?" Wordy chuckled and shook his head and Sam rolled his eyes. They both knew what was coming next as Ed hit the redial button on the phone.

Spike couldn't believe Ed just did that. "Ed, I swear if you don't give me my phone back right now, I am going to send a virus to your home computer that will take you years to undo."

At that precise moment, Ed said "Good afternoon, Detective McConnell, this is Ed Lane with the SRU. I am calling on behalf of Michelangelo Scarlatti. He was wondering if perhaps you might be available this evening for dinner and a movie." Spike could hear Anisa laughing through the phone. Ed covered the mouthpiece and said to Spike, "She's checking her calendar." Sam and Wordy were snickering in the background. Back into the phone, Ed said, "Oh your available, great. I will let you work out the details with Constable Scarlatti. It was nice talking to you, too," and he handed the phone to Spike. Ed was grinning from ear to ear.

Spike took the phone trying hide his discomfort at having his teammates know his personal life, before he was even sure what was really happening with it. "Hey, sorry about that," he said as he took the phone from Ed. He could still hear Anisa giggling. He decided to head out of the locker room to get some privacy.

"No worries...it was kinda funny," she responded. "So do you want to come over for dinner and we can rent a movie or something?"

Spike smiled at thought because he really was dreading going home. "Sure, do you want me to pick something up?"

"I tell you what. Why don't you pick out a movie and I will make dinner? Sound good?"

Spike answered, "Yep, sounds like a plan. See you soon." But before he left the building, he stuck his head back into the locker room. "Ed, I warned you. Be careful what emails you open." Spike turned and left.

Ed was chuckling at the threat although he knew Spike could do it if he had a mean bone in his body, which he didn't. "So gentlemen, what do we think of this budding romance?" Ed asked his teammates.

Wordy answered first, "He seems happier than he has in a long time and that has to be good, right." Ed nodded in agreement.

Sam was next to offer his opinion with a chuckle, "Well, she's cute and apparently has a good sense of humor. I think she seems like a nice fit for Spike."

Ed again nodded in agreement. "I think you are both right. It is about darn time he met a girl that wasn't made of metal. I think we should get to know her a little better, make her feel 'welcome' if you will. How about a team barbeque on Saturday night at my house?" They all agreed that would be fun.

As Spike knocked on the door of Anisa's apartment he started to worry that she wouldn't like the movie he had picked out. When she opened the door, she grimaced a little at the scratches and marks on his face. She stepped aside to let him in, "Ouch, does it hurt?"

Spike decided to lighten things up so he replied with a joke, "No, but I'm sure it is killing you." She just smiled and kissed him chastely. "Something smells good. What's for dinner?" said Spike following her into her apartment.

"A Moroccan chicken dish. I didn't have a ton of time so I hope you like it."

He followed her into the kitchen and thought about how great she smelled. As she was checking something in a pan on the stove, Spike slid his arms around her waist and lowered his head so he could inhale her scent. She turned in his arms to face him. She reached up and put her arms around his neck and said in a soft voice, "Mike, I'm really glad you are alright," and then she pressed her lips to his. He held her close and just felt comfort being with her.

"Me, too," he said smirking as she turned back to stir the dinner. He released her and set the table. She carried the plates out to table and he looked at her closer and saw some dark circles under her eyes. She looked tired and strained. "Tough day at work?" he questioned.

Anisa sighed, "Not really. Do I look that bad?"

Spike tried to recover, "No you don't look bad, maybe a little tired."

"Yeah, I didn't sleep that well last night." she responded.

Spike examined her face for a sign, "Wanna talk about it?"

Anisa shook her head as she started to take her first bite of dinner, "Not right now. Maybe later."

Spike just nodded and the meal continued on with each of them discussing their days. It was relaxed and pleasant. They shared ideas on the serial murder case which Anisa found really helpful. Spike's intelligence never ceased to amaze her. After they cleaned up they went into the other room to watch the movie.

"So, what movie did you bring?" Anisa asked.

"I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got a movie that has a little comedy, a little action and a little drama...I got 'Ocean's 11'"

"I love that movie!" Anisa said as she took the DVD away from Spike and went over to the DVD player to put the movie in. "And it has a little eye candy."

Spike smirked and said to himself, 'yes it does,' as he watched her bend over to put the movie in the machine. He was sitting on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table when she came over and nestled herself next to him with remote in hand. He put his arm around her shoulder and tucked her in next to him. Before she could hit play, Spike asked her, "You want to talk about your sleepless night? Was it because of me?"

She let out a sigh and responded, "Well sort of." She contemplated how much she was willing to tell him. She decided it was time he knew the whole story. "Last night I hadn't heard from you and although I saw you walk away from the truck, I couldn't get the image of the bomb in the truck out of my mind. It was a matter of my brain and my heart battling … my brain knew you were OK, but my heart wanted to hear your voice."

"I'm sorry. I called you as soon as I could." Spike felt horrible for causing her pain.

She put her hand on his and continued, "Mike, it's OK. I need to tell you my whole story. I hope it will shed some light on my reaction. I was not just in the military, I was in Special Forces."

Spike's eyes widened, "You're kidding! You know Sam was SF." As Anisa nodded, the look on his face changed from utter shock to a little smile, "You're pretty bad ass aren't you?"

Anisa just smiled and shook her head at his joke. Then she continued, "That day in Afghanistan we were on a extraction mission. There was an informant that was in danger and we were tasked with her withdrawal from the region. She was hiding in an underground bunker and all was going as planned. The opening to the bunker was small so I was to go into the bunker and get her out. The team was covering me and were supposed to get us to safety. We were ambushed while I was in the bunker. The Taliban soldiers were storming the bunker and the rest of the team were fending them off well. So, when I heard the gunfire die down, I managed to get the woman and her baby out. We did not know there was a baby involved but we had no choice. Sid took the baby and Jeff took the woman as I climbed out. Ryan, Sean and I were heading back to our transport when I felt something hit my back but didn't stop until Sean turned around and yelled for me to 'STOP DROP AND ROLL'. I didn't question him, I just did as I was told. I had no idea what had hit me." Spike knew how that felt.

"Sean was running toward me. As he got close I saw his body lurch forward and he fell on top of me. I heard an explosion nearby. I couldn't see anything, but I heard some gunfire and then quiet. I managed to roll Sean off of me as Ryan was approaching us. Sean's face was empty and blood trickled out of his nose and mouth. I held his head in my lap as he weakly blinked his eyes at me...and then he was gone. Finally, Ryan disengaged us and carried Sean's body out of there and we made it to safety." Anisa was surprised she was able to tell this story without completely losing it.

She turned to look at him, "When I saw you in the truck with that bomb, I thought, 'I cannot watch another man I...I care about die'." She took a deep breath and looked away from him. "I know it was irrational because I saw you walk away, but that didn't stop the nightmares last night. I kept waking up with your face morphing into Sean's and then Sean's morphing into yours. It was creepy and mildly disturbing." Wow it felt good to talk about it with someone other than Ryan. When she looked over at Spike his face was ashen.

"I'm not sure what to say," he muttered. "I'm sorry, I guess."

"Don't be sorry, Mike, it's not your fault. Unfortunately, that's just part of the baggage that comes with me." She stared at her hands in her lap, as they sat in silence. She knew that a was a lot to take in. Finally she picked up the remote to start the movie.

Spike placed his hand over hers and said, "Wait … Can we talk about this for a second? I want you to know that I don't ever want to cause you any pain. But this is my job and sometimes it is dangerous, just like yours. I'm not going to give it up... not for anyone," he said very gently.

"I know, I don't want you to give up your job, it's who you are. I was just trying to explain why I looked like crap. I could have made up a story, but I already told you I don't lie. I also thought that you deserved to know the whole truth about who I am. That way, when you go home tonight and contemplate this evening, you will be fully informed about the nut case with which you are dealing. It is always better to make a decision when you have all the facts. Don't you agree?" Anisa was speaking unemotionally, as if she were an attorney simply stating the facts of the case.

Spike just looked at her and said, "OK." 'This woman is perplexing' he thought to himself. He watched her turn away from him and press play on the remote and the movie began. They settled in and watched the movie. He put his arm around her shoulder because it felt right and she put her head on his shoulder because it felt good. As the movie progressed they relaxed into each other. Before the movie ended, he realized that Anisa had dozed off snuggled onto his chest. He liked the way that felt. When the movie ended he turned it off and just sat there a few minutes listening to her breathing. It was soft and melodic. He closed his eyes and "contemplated" the evening. Spike wasn't quite sure what to make of this whole situation. All he did know was that he finally felt happy with a girl. She was not like anyone he had ever dated and he couldn't quite figure her out. He felt himself start to doze off too. He shook himself awake because he had to get home and get some rest. He gently stroked her arm to wake her because he didn't want to startle her. When her eyes opened she looked around to get her bearings. She looked up into Spike's eyes. He was smiling at her which made his eyes twinkle and deepened his dimples. She blinked the sleep out her eyes and said in a sleepy voice, "How long was I asleep?"

"I don't know, maybe 30-40 minutes."

"Oh geez sorry about that," she said trying to push herself up, but he held her close.

"Don't be," he said as he brought his lips to hers. She responded in kind. When they separated and opened their eyes, they just sat there a minute before anyone said anything. Spike looked at the clock and saw it was 9:30. "I better head home." And they both stood up.

Anisa handed him the DVD and said as she walked him to the door, "I do love that movie, I was just really tired I guess."

Spike chuckled. "I really had a good time and dinner was great."

Anisa smiled at him and said, "By the way, I meant what I said the other night you know."

Spike cocked his head to the side showing his confusion. "What did you say?"

"That... I know me and my suitcases full of baggage are a lot to deal with and I completely understand if you want to walk away. Really... no hard feelings. There are plenty of girls out their who are not nearly as difficult."

They stopped in front of the door when Spike said, "You are not difficult, you are complicated and I find that intriguing." He circled her waist with his arms and said, "so, if you don't mind, I think I would like to persevere a little longer."

Anisa placed her arms around his neck and said, "I don't mind at all." They had a final parting kiss and Spike left. Anisa was floating around the kitchen when there was a knock on the door. She figured that Spike had forgotten something but when she looked through the peephole, she saw Mrs. Cleary.

Anisa opened the door, "Hi, Mrs. Cleary is everything alright?"

Mrs. Cleary walked in and sat on the couch and said, "Of course everything is alright. I just want the story on that young man. You've been seeing alot of him lately." Anisa chuckled and proceeded to tell her neighbor about Spike.

Wednesday...

Ryan and Anisa spent the day gathering information and interviews on the serial murder case. After work, Anisa went to her class at the university. When class was over, she was walking to her car with thoughts developing in her head about the paper she was going to write about the psychology of women killing their children. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the paper pinned under the windshield wiper on the passenger side. She saw that Spike had called her and she called him back.

"Hey, Mike."

"Hey yourself. How was class?"

"Oh you know, in the words of the Talking Heads...'Psycho Killers qu'est-ce que c'est'" They both chortled at that.

"Ed invited us to his house on Saturday for a barbeque. What do you think? Wanna go?"

Anisa still couldn't believe that Spike hadn't run for the hills. He was indeed persevering. "Sure. Sounds like fun." They continued to chat the whole ride home. As she was parking, they said goodbye.

Thursday...

Anisa walked out to her car on her way to work and she noticed a piece of paper under her windshield wiper. That was weird, she thought. She snatched it up and opened it. It was note and in very large bold type were the words: GAME ON!