Chapter 45

After Alex brought them up to date on what happened during dinner, about everything from the new house, to the hooting and the baby they were both relieved to hear that everything is okay and worked out for the best. Alex got up from the dining room table and walked towards the couch where she discarded her handbag earlier, retrieved the latest ultrasound picture of their little munchkin and handed both grandmothers a copy. They couldn't stop smiling at the little person they were about to meet in a few months. "Thank you for dinner." Alex said getting up collecting the plates while heading towards the kitchen to start the dishes. "Uuuuhhmm what are you doing Alex?" Theresa questioned looking at her daughter as she's standing at the sink. "I am going to do the dishes." Alex answered carefully not sure why they'd ask her something like that. "No, you're not." Theresa said pointing Alex towards the couch. "For the next few days that we're here your job is to relax, we'll handle the rest of the housework." Theresa explained moving towards the kitchen to help Sita. Alex thought Ryan was hard on her but these two were on a whole different level. They talked about little things as Alex laid on the couch while watching her two mothers going about their business. They came over to join her on the couch afterwards to watch some TV and have a quick cup of tea before heading off their separate bedrooms.

Alex stood in the middle of the bedroom looking around and feeling somewhat out of place. Usually Ryan would be in the shower and she'd have to pick up the damp towel he'd leave on the bathroom floor, but tonight that part of her bedtime routine wasn't there. She got ready for bed, dressing in one of his old t shirts, and laying on his side of the bed clutching his pillow just so she could smell his scent. She missed him and it's hasn't even been a whole 24 hours that he's away from her.

As if on cue her phone rang and Ryan's name was on the screen. Her heart skipped a few beats and she couldn't help but smile feeling like a lovesick teenager all over again. "Hey, did I wake you?" Ryan sort of apologized not sure if she was in bed already, after all it was 10PM. "No, we all just went to bed a few minutes ago. I had to bring them up to date about everything from buying the house to the appointment we had today." Alex said smiling thinking back about the dinner conversation they had. "And? What did they say?" Ryan asked amused and laughing a little. "What do you think? You weren't nearly as hard on me as the two of them was." Alex answered. "I can imagine. But it's just because they care that they acted like that. We all do." Ryan stated honestly. "I know, babe. How are things over there?" Alex queried wanting to be sure that he is safe. "Nothing much happening since we got here. We're about to have a meeting in a little while where they'll probably give us more information on what we're dealing with." He explained. "Okay. Take care of yourself out there Ryan." Alex pleaded with him. "Don't worry, I will. I love you " He said thinking about his loved ones at home. "I love you too." She replied, talking to him a little while before hanging up. It took her some time before she fell asleep, since she didn't have her husband's arms there to hold her tight.

Ryan sat in his hotel room waiting for an email from one of the guys to tell him where they're meeting, when there was a knock on his door. He got up to answer and was surprised to see Liam standing on the other side. "Aren't you suppose to be in hospital O'Conner?" Ryan asked quizzically. "Supposed to be yes, I checked myself out and drove over here.." Liam answered nonchalantly. "Well come on let's go we don't have all week to catch these guys." Liam huddled and walked down the corridor. Ryan didn't have much choice but to follow his superior, he sure would like to know the whole story of Liam and his phobia of hospitals when this case is over.

They all headed downstairs to meet in the conference room they've reserved for the rest of their stay in the hotel until the case is solved. "All right people, thank you for being here I know all of you would be anywhere else but working on this undercover case for the next few days, but if we work together we can end this as soon as possible." Liam said handing out some case files to the special agents sitting in front of him before he went on.

"As you may have heard thanks to Prop 38 and AB 105 hundreds of inmates have been released from Chino. This release was only intended for nonviolent offenders, or at least that's how it was written, but that's not exactly how it was being enforced." Liam continued looking over the agents as the made notes while he went along. "Some will make their way into the drug division programme but most will probably end up back on the streets." He mentioned. "And looking to reclaim their territory?" Ryan question and Liam nodded. "While we're left to clean up the mess." He added to that statement. "Personally I agree with what Special Agent Booth said, but it's also the law of the land. And there's a handful of three strikers we need to pay special attention to." Liam said turning towards the whiteboard as he shows them some pictures of the three strikers. "There are the mugshots and the names of these people I need you all to do research on. Bobby Chow, Bernard Degreassi and Drew Watts. Find out what you can on these three and report back to me in the morning so we can decide a way forward." Liam concluded before leaving the room.

Ryan went back up to his hotel room, fired up his laptop and having is CI on speed dial as he tried to get some information on these guys. At 03:45AM his caffeine buzz wore off and he was too tired to continue working. He got into bed contemplating whether or not to text Alex. Yes she was probably asleep right now but he really missed her so he went ahead and texted her anyway. Sorry for texting you so late, but I just really miss you. And I love you. (ps: please wake me up at 6AM because I'll snooze the alarm and continue sleeping.) He was just about to turn of the light when the phone buzzed and Alex replied. Will call you later. Your daughter is laying on my bladder causing me to pee every half hour. We love you. He couldn't help but smile at his phone after reading that message. He turned the light off getting a few hours of sleep before he had to be up again.

Something short not much going on here. I am writing my Linguistics exam on Friday and my stress levels are through the roof but somehow writing some of this makes me forget about studying for a while. I'll probably be able to update frequently from next week on no promises but I'll do my best. Hope you enjoy the read. Lovies-S.