Chapter 4

Alex was pleased. Dinner was going exceptionally well. Greg and his dad seemed to get over their initial discomfort. Gil was in rare form, talkative but not cryptic. And, best of all, everyone seemed to be getting along.

Ed let out a laugh. Gil had just finished telling one of his science jokes about an exploding outhouse. "That reminds me of the time Greg blew up the shed!" Ed told them.

Alex let out a laugh. "Greg blew up the shed?"

Greg smiled and covered his eyes with his hands. "Oh Dad," he chuckled. "Not this story!"

"What? What?" Alex inquired, looking at Ed.

"Greg was 14. I let him use the shed as his laboratory. I didn't want him playing with all those chemicals in the house," Ed started.

"A wise choice considering what happened," Gil added, letting out a laugh of his own.

"I know," Ed responded. "So, I was inside in my study when all of a sudden I hear this loud boom and the house shook. Well, I knew right away it had to have been Greg so I ran out into the backyard. And there was Greg," Ed stopped, letting out a laugh remembering the sight his soiled son and missing shed. "He was sitting on the ground looking at the space where the shed used to be. And he looked up at me and said, 'I won't be doing that again!' And I was like, 'No kidding?'"

The other three laughed, not just at the story, but also at the expression on Ed's face.

"What did you mix together?" Alex inquired.

Greg thought for a moment. "I can't remember!" Everyone laughed again.

Ed finished his story. "So the police and fireman show up, all wanting to know what happened. And I have no idea what to tell them. They wanted to know if I wanted to press charges!"

Greg broke in, "But he didn't. He saved me from a life of crime!"

Ed became silent for a moment in thought, while the other three laughed at the idea of Greg being a criminal mastermind. Then he questioned, "Didn't you get into some trouble as a teenager, Alex?"

Alex stopped laughing. "Wh-what?" she stammered, a little put off by the question.

"I remember in one of the last letters your grandmother sent she mentioned you running into some trouble," he replied.

Alex didn't know what to say. She thought about brushing it off because Ed didn't seem sure but she knew she couldn't as she looked into the faces of the two men to whom she promised she'd never lie to again. She took a deep breath.

Slowly she began to nod. "Yeah, I did."

"What?" Greg couldn't believe she hadn't told him.

Gil sat with a knowing look on his face. Alex was guessing Sara had mentioned her knowledge of the events to him. After all, Alex had lied and told Sara that Gil already knew. Sara probably couldn't wait to tell Gil the faults of his daughter. Although, Alex already knew he had a really good idea about them.

"When I was 15 I got involved with this guy, Dan Gregory. He was older and I was headstrong. He said everything the 15 year old me wanted to hear. Of course it all started with 'If only you were 18…'" She rolled her eyes at the remembrance of him. She couldn't believe she'd ever fallen for his lines. "Anyway, I got into some bad business with him, got caught and spent three months in juvenile hall. After I got out, I followed the straight and narrow. At 18 it was expunged."

Greg sat for a moment digesting what she had said. Gil subconsciously nodded. The version Alex had just mentioned basically matched what he knew.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," Greg finally replied and then looked at Gil for his take on it. He assumed Gil didn't know. But Greg could tell that this was not new information to him. "You knew?"

Gil raised an eyebrow in affirmation.

"It was no big deal, really. Just bad company," Alex added with a shrug. She wondered what exactly Gil knew about it all.

Greg let out a deep breath. She was right. It wasn't a big deal, at least not a big enough deal to make a scene here. They could discuss it later. Besides, if it had been anything too terrible, she never would have mad it into the FBI. "Crazy," was all he could think to say.

She gave a weak smile and leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear. He knew it was because he let it go.

They all sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. No one knew where to go from there in the conversation.

It was Greg who broke the silence. "Looks like we both like to drop bombs, too." Everyone laughed and conversation resumed.

The rest of dinner went well, with out any more snafus. As they got up to leave, Alex pulled Greg aside.

"Do you mind if I get a ride back from Gil? I thought you and your dad might want a little time to yourselves before you have to work tonight," she whispered in his ear.

"That'd be nice," he replied and then kissed her lightly on the lips. "Besides, I think dad wanted to go back to the hotel for a little while."

"Ok," she said, and walked back over towards Gil. "Do you mind giving me a ride home?"

"Not at all," Gil replied. "How come?"

"I just want to give Greg and his dad a little bit of alone time," Alex informed him.

"Good idea," Gil responded.

In the car on the ride home, Alex was dying to ask Gil how he found out about her record and how much he knew about it. She just didn't know how to broach the subject. She decided the best course of action would just be to ask.

"So, Sara told you?" she inquired.

Gil gave her a confused look. "Sara told me what?"

Alex sputtered for a second. "M-m-my record?"

"What does Sara know about your record?" Gil, still not understanding, asked.

"How did you find out about it?" Alex answered his question with one.

Gil let the Sara thing go for the moment. It was his turn to be honest with his daughter. "When you were kidnapped, I had a feeling there were things you weren't telling me. I had a friend do some checking up on you."

Alex frowned. She wasn't happy about it, but she understood. "Yeah, in your position, you have to be careful."

"Thank you for understanding," Gil replied.

"Thank you for not holding it against me."

"We all have our past indiscretions. You have overcome yours. There's nothing to hold against you," he reassured her.

She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek, a tear starting to form in the corner of her eye.

On another roadway, Greg and Ed were having a conversation of their own.

"Alex is wonderful, Greg. I'm so happy you've found her," Ed told his son.

"Found again, you mean," Greg responded with a slight chuckle.

Ed laughed as well. "Yes, again. Isn't it odd?"

"Very, but at the same time, comforting," Greg responded.

"Comforting?" Ed wanted some clarification.

Greg was silent for a moment. "Yeah. I know this is going to sound odd, but whenever I've gotten serious with a girl, I've always wondered what mom would think of her. Would she like her? And just generally be disappointed that she'd never get to meet her. But with Alex, Mom has met her. That makes me feel good about our relationship."

Ed started to slowly nod. "Comforting."