"What's the name of the guy we're looking for again?" Bobcat asks as the team moves through a bustling crowd in the city of Zlin, Czech Republic.

"Dan Draider" Ripley replies as he looks down at a map in his hand. "Dumbledore said he was last seen somewhere near here in the Czech Republic."

"We can be thankful it's not somewhere bigger like Russia, eh Captain?" Hernandez jokes.

"Definitely more places to hide in Russia." Paige says quietly as they continue to walk through the town.

"So, what's out plan? We just ask around for a man named Dan Draider?" Bobcat asks as they turn down an alleyway behind a muggle café.

"Yeah, around the wizarding parts at least." Ripley replies as they stop in front of a large brick wall.

Ripley pulls out his wand and starts counting the bricks from the left. He marks the ninth brick from the left with an 'x', then starts counting the bricks from the right. Paige takes a quick look around to make sure there is not anyone watching them as Ripley marks the ninth brick from the right with his wand. The wall suddenly cracks down the middle between the two x's and the bricks start shifting to the sides. A short brick tunnel appears as the last of the bricks shift into the wall, allowing them to pass.

"Ladies first?" Paige asks as she steps forward into the tunnel.

Her team follows her inside the tunnel. They exit onto what seems like the main street, a long cobblestone path leading them directly through the hidden Wizarding town. Street shops and small businesses bustling with the town folk doing their daily shopping.

"Split into two groups. We focus on this main road then we will branch off. Rip you want left, or right?" Paige asks as she turns to Ripley.

"I'll take the right, since you know… I'm always right." He replies with a smirk and a wink.

"You're lucky your adorable Ripley." Paige mutters as she heads to the left side of the road.

"I'll come with you Captain." Hernandez says before Bobcat could answer.

Paige looks back at Hernandez in confusion then looks over at Ripley.

"You sure?" Paige asks him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep." He says as he stands beside her.

Paige takes another look at Ripley who looks just as confused as her.

"Okay then, earpieces on. Rendezvous here when you're done." Paige instructs them.

"I'm going to start at the end of the street Captain." Hernandez says to Paige as he starts walking a head of her. "Where are you going to start?"

"I'm going to grab a coffee." Paige says cheerfully as she walks towards the now non-muggle café on the other side of the wall.

"You're going to grab a coffee?" Hernandez repeats as he turns around to look at her.

"Yeah. Let me know if you find something down there." Paige replies with a smirk as she enters the café.

"Yes Captain." Hernandez says as Paige watches him walk down the street towards the end.

She orders a coffee and sits down at a table outside after picking up her drink from the ready counter. She pulls out a tourist book of Czech Republic and pretends to read the pages as she watches the crowd move through the street in front of her.

"Who exactly is this guy hiding from?" Otakemaru asks Paige as she takes a sip of her coffee.

"He abandoned MACUSA back in the day. He's technically AWOL." Paige replies as she lights up a cigarette.

"You'd think after thirteen plus years they would have found him." Otakemaru adds.

"It gets tricky when you go over seas. Not as easy to track down when you don't have full jurisdiction."

"Captain are you really just sitting there drinking a coffee while we're out here walking the streets?" Hernandez asks Paige over her earpiece.

"I'm watching the streets. What is one less person asking around, you can handle this." Paige replies as she sips her coffee.

"MACUSA never asked you to find him before." Otakemaru remarks.

"I've never even heard of him before Dumbledore mentioned him." Paige replies as she focuses back on the people in the streets.

"Interesting." Otakemaru whispers in her ear. "I know how much you like when things are interesting."

"I do like interesting." Paige admits as she takes a drag of her cigarette.

Paige continues to sit at the café and watches the street as different witches, wizards and creatures pass her. The sun sets, and Paige watches until the streets become quiet with only the occasional person or group of people passing. The Café employees flip the sign on the door to from 'open' to 'closed' and start flipping up the chairs on top of the tables.

"The first days are always the calmest." Otakemaru comments as Paige starts to pack up her things from the table.

"Except that time in Las Vegas." Paige replies with a smirk.

"I thought we discussed not talking about Las Vegas ever again." Otakemaru snaps viciously in her ear.

"What now Captain?" Hernandez asks her over the earpiece, breaking up their conversation.

Paige watches a group of three men walk into the pub nearby, all laughing and enjoying their night.

"I say we head to the pub for a drink." She replies into the earpiece as she stands up from the table.

"You want to go to the pub?" Ripley asks her for clarity.

"I think she's lost it." Hernandez comments.

"If you don't agree you don't have to stay. Go back and set up camp along side the River in Zlin." Paige replies calmly.

"The pub is a good place to meet people." Bobcat chimes in.

"And a good place to over-hear conversations." Paige replies as she starts to walk towards the pub.

"Sit in pairs or by yourself, we don't want to seem too intimidating." Ripley instructs them.

Paige enters the pub first and approaches the bar, where a lone bartender stands chatting with another customer. Paige leans against the bar and patiently waits for him to finish his conversation.

"What can I get you miss?" The bartender asks her as he notices her standing there waiting for him.

"Bavorák" Paige replies as she puts her money on the bar counter.

He grabs her a glass and grabs a bottle from a tub of ice the bottle sat in on the ground behind him. He then mixes the liquor from the bottle with tonic water in the glass and slides it down the bar towards her.

"Thanks." She replies as she catches the glass.

She walks to a table over in the corner of the bar and sits with her back to the wall to see the room better. She takes a sip of her drink and takes note of all the people in the bar. She could hear conversations mostly in Czech, but some are in English. She takes out her tourist guide again and opens it to a random page as she continues to try and listen to conversations. A man stumbles over to her table, clearly very intoxicated.

"Hey pretty lady, can I buy you a drink?" He slurs out to Paige.

"No thank you. I already have a drink." Paige replies, not looking up from her book.

"Well, I'll buy you another one and we can drink together." He replies as he leans over her table.

Paige tries to think of what to say or what to do that will cause the least amount of attention to be drawn over her way. Before she could react a hand grabs the man's shoulder.

"Excuse me sir, I'm just trying to sit with my wife." Ripley says cheerfully to the man as the man stumbles backwards to get a better look at Ripley.

"You're wife?!" He asks as he looks back and forth between Paige and Ripley.

Paige smirks at Ripley.

"Yes, we're here traveling around Europe. Great place for our honeymoon, right darling?" Ripley says as he smirks back at Paige.

"Yes honey, I'm glad you found the place alright from the hotel." Paige replies as she pulls out the chair for Ripley to sit.

"I'll leave you two be then." The drunk man mutters as he backs away from them, heading back towards his own table.

"Have a good rest of your evening sir." Ripley says to him as he sits down at the table next to Paige.

"I don't even know where to begin with all the things wrong with me being your wife." Paige says to him quietly.

Ripley kisses her cheek to keep up with appearances.

"Just because I won't fuck you, you're going to divorce me?" Ripley jokes as he grabs her cup and takes a sip of her alcohol.

"Of course not, I signed up for better or worse Jack." Paige replies with a smirk as she closes her book.

"You're welcome for saving your ass from creepy drunk guy over there." Ripley says as he passes her drink back.

"My knight in shining armor." Paige replies as she rolls eyes at him.

Bobcat and Hernandez walk in together and sit at the opposite side of the pub.
Paige and Ripley make small talk as the night continues as Paige tries to over hear conversations happening in the pub and also keeping an eye on the others. They sit there all night until closing, with no new leads. They head out of the bar and head back through the wall.

"What now?" Hernandez asks in an exhausted tone as they exit the bar together with the small crowd that stayed until the place closed.

"We go to the next town and do the same thing all over again. We keep doing this in rotation until we either find something or nothing." Paige says to them. "We will set up camp and leave at first light. I'll stay up and do watch tonight."

"Good thing you had all those coffees." Ripley says with a smirk.

"Maybe she hasn't lost it after all." Hernandez jokes.

They walk back through the brick wall and back through the town of Zlin and back to the out skirts of the town to set up camp by the river.

"Enjoy your few hours of sleep boys." Paige says as she throws the tent bag at them.

They grumble as Paige sits under a tree by the river. They quickly set up the tent and turn in for their few hours of sleep, too tired for night time pleasantries.

"What are the chances we find someone who clearly doesn't want to be found." Paige asks Otakemaru in her head.

"I have to admit, the chances are slim. But your track record for hunting down people is near flawless. You were a solo Auror back in those days."

"Was I ever truly solo with you around?" Paige replies with a smirk.

"Oh man those days seem like the good old days now."

Paige rests her head against the tree and stares at the bank of the river.

"What do you think Severus is doing right now?"

"Its three in the morning. Sleeping is my guess."

Paige reminiscences about her meetings with him in the Forbidden Forest.

"You have no idea how good it feels to have sex in a bed instead of outside in the woods."

"Okay, stop. I already must be present during it. I don't need to hear these sorts of things."

"You're only saying that because he's a guy. If I were having sex with a woman, you would be wanting to talk about it until dawn."

"Yeah, it's a little weird it being the other way around."

"I'll try and tone down the fantasies for you then."

"No, those are fine I suppose. Some are actually kind of hot."

"I'm afraid to ask which one you think was hot."

"Yeah, I would be afraid too."

"I don't want to know then."

Paige tries to think back to her fantasies of her and Severus, trying to pin-point the one he would be talking about.

"Yeah, panicking and reminding me of all your fantasies isn't going to help you."

"Oh god I can't make it stop." Paige says as she covers her face with her hands.

"Uhm, oh! I know. Think of… the lake! By your cabin! Nice calm lake. Gentle waves lapping up against the shore. Sounds so calm and gentle. Not hard and rough like your fantasies."

Paige groans and stands up from the tree, bundling herself up tighter in her cloak in the chilly fall air. She looks up at the half moon in the clear night sky, wishing she would see Severus soon.


Paige kicks the side of the tent at dawn to wake up the others.

"Good morning boys, time to get up." Paige says cheerfully as she pulls the flap back from the entrance and enters the tent.

She sees none of them moving, all still fast asleep. Paige kicks the bottom of Ripley's boot.

"Lieutenant, It's morning. Time to rise and shine." Paige says as she looks down at him.

"Paige, I need more sleep." He says as he turns over, facing away from her.

"Well I'm going to keep moving then. Maybe it's better if we spilt up and do our own thing." Paige suggests as she kneels down next to Ripley.

Ripley turns back around to face Paige.

"No, don't do that. I'm getting up." Ripley says as he takes his blanket off.

"I'm serious Ripley. We could cover more ground and it would be less suspicious if we weren't grouped up." Paige replies as she grabs his arm to stop him from getting up.

"We don't know what that guy is going to do when we find him. We don't know if there's Death Eaters here or not. I think we need to stick together." Ripley comments, trying to reason with her.

"Listen, I know this isn't the most ideal situation, but we're going to out here for months if we don't use our time wisely." Paige says to him.

"And tell me, Captain. This doesn't have anything to do with you wanting to get back to see a certain someone." Hernandez comments, sitting up now.

"Hernandez, so you want to make an actual productive comments or are you going to continually sit there and make off hand remarks. If you do not trust me or my judgment, then I'm sure we can arrange a trip back over seas for you." Paige replies calmly to Hernandez.

Hernandez says nothing as he slumps back onto the ground.

"Paige, I don't like this. We have better odds of surviving if we're together." Ripley says to her.

"If you three want to stay in a group, that's fine. I am not going to argue with you on that. But we need to find this guy and the sooner the better." Paige replies.

"That's if he's even still here." Bobcat mutters from his side of the tent.

Paige looks at Ripley, trying to convince him in her mind to agree with her. He lets out a long sigh as he looks into her desperate eyes.

"I want check ins at this location EVERY week. Understood?" Ripley says in a stern tone.

"I can do that." Paige says, giving into his compromise.

Ripley wraps his arms around Paige in a hug.

"Be careful out there." He says to her quietly.

"I will. Keep yourself safe. I won't be there to watch your back." Paige replies with a smirk.

"I'll see you in a week."

"I promise I'll try not to be late."

Ripley breaks away from Paige and takes out his earpiece from his ear.

"Where are you going to go first?" Bobcat asks Paige as she stands up from the ground.

"I'm going to keep going east to Trinec." Paige replies to him. "I'm going to scope out that area for the week."

"I suggest we all spilt up in different directions and keep circling back to the same towns. If he's here he's going to surface eventually." Ripley adds.

"Alright then. Good luck out there everyone." Paige says to her team as she takes her own earpiece out.

"Just don't die out there Captain. I know I give you a hard time sometimes, but I'm actually quite fond of you." Hernandez says as he sits back up.

"The faster you find this guy, the less likely anyone is going to die. So, get your ass up and start looking." Paige says as she turns to leave the tent. "And love you too Juan."

"What about me?!" Bobcat yells after her.

Paige sticks her head back into the tent.

"Love you too Bobcat. Stay safe everyone."

"Every week!" Ripley yells as she leaves the tent again.

"Yes sir!" Paige yells behind her back.

Paige leaves the tent with a smirk. She felt more in her element being solo for this mission. She was still worried about her team, but it was a nice break from having to constantly watch their backs and can now focus on watching the people.


Paige arrives in a train yard outside a large steel works factory in Trinec, the morning sun now lifting higher into the sky. She hides behind one of the train cars as she sees steel workers filing into the front of the building to start their shift.

"Can't people watch from back here Paige." Otakemaru says to her.

"I guess there's only one way to get a closer look." Paige replies as she puts her wand back into her cloak and drops her bag on the ground.

She closes her eyes and morphs into her Animagus form, a fox. She cautiously approaches the front gates to the factory, getting close to the workers who were walking in a zombie like trance into the building.

She slowly moves in the opposite direction of the crowd in a crouch, watching the faces of the workers closely. No one seems bothered by a random fox sulking around in the grass as they continue their slow march inside the building. All but one man, who stops dead in his tracks upon slight of the fox. Paige stops as she looks at the man watching her. She sees him smirk, then continues walking with the others, taking his eyes off her.

"Interesting." Otakemaru whispers in her ear.

Paige watches as the last remaining workers enter the building, leaving her the only one left outdoors. Paige turns around and heads back to the train cars on the back side of the factory. As soon as she was in the cover of the train car she turns back into her human form and checks her watch.

"Let's see how friendly that man gets when it's lunch time." Paige says to herself as she grabs her bag and hops inside one of the train cars.

"You really think this guy is working some hard-working no-maj job?" Otakemaru asks her.

"Its where I would hide, and I would want the hard work to distract myself." Paige replies as she sits against the wall inside the train car.

"I guess it's the only thing we have to bank on right now." Otakemaru replies.

"We can work this angle and find something else somewhere else and keep rotating. We just have to start somewhere."

"Splitting up was the move."

"Ripley was right though; it puts us in greater danger."

"You guys would spook the guy if you were all together."

"How do you know he's not going to be hostile?"

"You think Dumbledore would send you to someone who would want to kill you?"

"Dumbledore works in mysterious ways."

"I think you're confusing Dumbledore with Jesus."

"More like evil Jesus if he's sending me to my death." Paige replies with a smirk.


Paige's thoughts wander to the idea of an evil Jesus as she passes the time until the workers take their lunch break. Paige could hear a loud whistle coming from the factory. She checks her watch and sees that it is noon.

"Show time." Paige says to herself as she stands up.

Paige turns back into her fox form and hops down from the train car.

"Maybe you should roll in the dirt to be more pathetic." Otakemaru comments with a slight chuckle.

"We don't want him thinking we have rabies or something." Paige replies to him as she trots back towards the factory.

She sees a lot of the workers outside smoking their cigarettes and enjoying the now warm fall sun light. Paige cautiously approaches a group of men standing around in a circle, most with cigarettes hanging from their mouth and some eating a sad looking sandwich as they speak in Polish. One man sees her as she sniffs the ground close to them.

"Get! Get!" The man yells as he stomps his foot, trying to spook her. Paige backs up and watches him cautiously.

"Eli, calm down. It's probably just hungry." The man who smirked at her earlier says in English, but with an accent as he approaches the group.

The man then takes a package of crackers from his pocket, opens it and throws one towards Paige. Paige, acting the part, slowly approaches the cracker on the ground and sniffs it. She slowly grabs the cracker, hating to have to eat something that was on the ground, but just does it as she backs away from them to enjoy her stale snack.

"What beautiful eyes you have." The man with the crackers says to her as he bends down to be closer to her eye level.

"You keep feeding it, it will become pest problem." Eli says as he kicks the man gently to knock him off his balance, resulting in the man falling to the ground.

Paige backs away spooked from the sudden confrontation happening in front of her.

"What the hell Eli." The man says as he stands back up.

Paige decides it time to get the hell out of dodge and just wait for the man after his shift. She turns and runs back towards the back of the factory.

"Now look what you did Eli, you spooked it."

"Good. You can barely feed yourself and you are going to give away food to some stupid fox, did you see the top of its ear, it is weak. It deserves to die like nature intended."

Paige stops and hides in the tall grass, still within ear shot. She wants to hear what the man would reply.

"If that was true Eli, then we should have killed you off long ago." The man with the crackers says with a chuckle.

Paige could hear a bit of an uproar as Eli starts cursing in Polish at the other man.

"So, we follow him home?" Otakemaru says as Paige runs back towards the train car.

"We follow him home." Paige replies as she transforms back into herself behind the train car.


Paige manages to sleep a bit as a cool breeze flows through the open doors of the train car keep her from over heating in there. Her sleep was restless though as flashes of the night where her and Hernandez were seen by Avery and Lucius appear in her dreams. A flash of green and a loud whistle wakes her from her sleep in a cool sweat as the last memory she has was a fox laying dead in the grass. Paige runs her trembling hand through her hair as she tries to push the thoughts of her dream down.

"You, okay?" Otakemaru asks her in a concerned voice.

Paige quickly wipes the sweat from her neck with her sleeve and stands up, looking at the now setting sun from the open train car.

"We better get going before we miss him." Paige says as she jumps down from the train car and transforms back into her fox form.

Paige follows her path to the entrance to the factory as she tries to find the man with the crackers from before. She watches as the mem leave exhausted and happy to be leaving after a long hard day of work. She cautiously moves through the grass, watching the crowd for the man. She finally spots him leaving the building, Eli not far behind him with a brand-new black eye.

"First round is on me Eli." Paige hears the man who had the crackers say to him as they continue to walk away from the factory.

"Make it the first couple of rounds and were even." Eli replies.

Paige looks towards the town, thinking about going back to the train yard to change back and head towards the bar.

"Hey, isn't that your fox from earlier?" Eli says as Paige looks back at them. "Told you it would keep coming back if you feed it."

"Ah, it's harmless. Aren't you?" the other man says as he kneels down facing Paige. "I can't get over those eyes."

"You're turning soft in your old age Vincent. It's just like a rat, only prettier."

"You just don't want me making new friends Eli." Vincent says with a chuckle.

Paige decides that she should get out of there while she was still feeling lucky enough. She turns to leave, and Vincent stands back up.

"Maybe see you tomorrow little fox." Vincent says to her as she trots away back to the train yard.

"Okay, so we either go to the bar or we do some research on Vincent here." Otakemaru says to Paige as she gets back to the train car.

Paige changes back to her normal self and hops up in the train car.

"He was too focused on my eyes. It might be a dead give away walking up to him right now. We do some research and if we find nothing we move on." Paige comments as she sits down against the wall where she was before.

"So, we wait until later tonight, break into the Factory and get his employee information?" Otakemaru asks her.

"Yep." Paige replies to him as she puts her hood up on her cloak.

"There's no way you found him this quickly." Otakemaru remarks

"It would be the fastest I found someone." Paige replies with a smirk.

"Just don't get your hopes up that you found the guy alright?"

"You want me to move to the next town?" Paige asks, perplexed by Otakemaru's comments.

"Look, I don't need you to tunnel vision here trying to get back home quicker. I know you're anxious to get back to see him."

"It's already been so long; it feels like the last time I was with him was nothing more than a dream."


Paige waits in the train car for night fall, tired but unwilling to fall back asleep in fear of having another nightmare. She looks up at the now little more than half moon in the sky then looks at her watch.

"Now should be good." Paige says as she stands up.

"Let's hope for a quick in and out." Otakemaru says as she jumps down from the train car.

Paige approaches the building, this time staying herself. She quickly moves her wand over her eyes, giving her night vision. She presses her body against the building and moves to the front. She moves to the front and checks the front doors, discovering that they are locked.

"Okay, now you think everything is going to be easy."

"Just testing my luck." Paige replies with a smirk. She moves along the front of the building to the side she has not explored yet.

She suddenly sees a light flash through the window she was at on the bottom floor. She ducks and presses herself against the wall under the window. She holds her breath as the light stays illuminated above her, and only exhaling when the light finally disappears.

"Who would have thought this place has guards?" Otakemaru whispers in her ear.

"Looks like we aren't getting in tonight. We need to scope out the place before entering. There could be more than one security guard here." Paige says to herself as she slinks underneath the windows to get to the back of the factory again.

She manages to get back to the train car undetected.

"Why would they hire security for a steel factory?" Otakemaru asks Paige as she hops into the train car.

Paige grabs her bag before hoping back out.

"Its one of their main money-making businesses here. That is worth protecting."

"Something still isn't sitting right with me with this Factory."

"I have the same feeling."


Paige spends the rest of the week going between meeting Vincent and Eli at lunch time and after work and scoping out the factory to watch how many security guards come in after hours. Eli slowly allowed Vincent to feed her his stale crackers at lunch if he did not decide to keep her as a pet. This gave Paige opportunity to overhear conversations closer than before as now the workers were getting used to this fox hanging around the factory looking for scraps.

At night Paige found out it was just a lone security guard that comes in at ten o'clock every night and wanders the building in random patrols. She was not overly concerned about him; it just gets tricky using magic in front of a muggle and having to wipe their memory.

She decided to not do anything until consulting the rest of her team and getting their input before making a move into the Factory.

Dawn was just breaking as Paige stood watching it rise over the horizon. Paige slings her already packed bag over her shoulder and apparates back to Zlin to keep her promise to check in with her team every week.

She appears by the bank of the river where they first set up camp when they arrived. They rest of the team was already there waiting for her when she appears.

"How did everyone's week go?" Paige asks them as she approaches them.

"I got nothing so far." Hernandez says in a sleepy voice.

"I might have a lead on someone. I've just been watching them for now and wanted your opinion Captain." Ripley says as he looks at Paige with tired eyes.

"That's so funny because I might have a lead on someone, and I wanted your opinion on it before going in." Paige replies with a smirk.

Paige and Ripley smirk at each other before Bobcat speaks up.

"I also wasn't able to get a solid lead Captain." Bobcat adds as he pulls out a little notebook from his cloak. "I haven't come across anyone yet who knows his name."

"That's fine. At least we kind of know where is hot and cold right now." Ripley replies to Bobcat.

"Okay, so what's your situation Rip?" Paige asks him.

"I decided to stay here in Zlin, took your advice and just watched for a bit. Found this guy that gets a coffee and a newspaper every morning. Overheard the barista call him Han Trader. I know it's a long shot, but it sounds similar."

"Your lead sounds better than my lead." Paige admits.

"Well, what's your lead?" Hernandez asks her.

"Just this Factory. I want to break in and look at the employee records to see if I can find out some more information on him, but they have a lone security guard that watches the place at night." Paige explains.

"One security guard? You can't handle one?" Hernandez asks her in disbelief.

"I didn't want to bring attention to something if you thought it was unnecessary. Something could go south, and I wanted a second opinion." Paige replies calmly.

"I think that was a good call Captain, we don't want to move to quickly with this." Ripley says as he looks over at Hernandez.

"Of course, you would say something like that." Hernandez snaps back at him.

"Is there some sort of problem I should be aware of?" Paige asks as she looks back and forth between Ripley and Hernandez who were glaring at each other.

"I wouldn't ask him that question Paige. He's just going to say everything's fine and bottle up whatever bothering him." Ripley says.

"You really want to do this in front of the other two right now Jack?" Hernandez asks Ripley in a raised voice.

"Whoa, time out here." Paige says interjecting. "Everyone needs to just take a deep breath."

"Every time I tried to talk to you Juan you say that your fine and walk away. What more do you want me to do? Chase after you while you throw a temper tantrum?" Ripley argues, ignoring Paige's comment to calm down and take a breather.

"At least that would show that you cared!" Hernandez yells back.

"Is this what all this has been about? You not thinking I care enough?" Ripley asks him in an offended tone.

Paige stands awkwardly between them as they continue to argue between each other.

"I swear Jack you care more about Asher here than you care about me and you're not even fucking her."

"Don't drag her into this. This is between me and you "

"Why are you never on my side?"

"Just because I don't blindly follow what you say or what you think doesn't mean I'm not on your side Juan."

Hernandez says nothing in response, instead he has a look of defeat.

"Listen, we can't be pulled apart right now. We need to remain strong together." Paige says breaking the silence.

"I'm on the same page as the captain." Bobcat chimes in.

"I'm going to go with Ripley and check out his lead together since it sounds more promising. Bobcat, I want you to go with Hernandez and scope out a new spot." Paige instructs them, trying to reign them back in, but also trying to give Juan and Jack some space apart.

"Sorry Captain, but I would rather be alone right now." Hernandez says as he walks away from them.

Ripley says nothing as they watch him walk near the riverbank and disappear into thin air with a small crack.

"Bobcat, you want to come with us or do some more searching." Paige asks as he looks away from the riverbank and to Bobcat.

"I think I should try and find another lead Captain, in case this one doesn't pan out." He replies.

"I agree. Meet back here in a week's time." Paige says as she looks to Ripley. "You ready to head into town Lieutenant?"

"Give me five minutes Captain." Ripley says quietly as he walks towards the riverbank where Hernandez just disappeared from.

"Stay safe Captain. See you in a week." Bobcat says to Paige as her eyes remain glued to Ripley.

"You as well." Paige replies, still not looking at him.

Paige hears a small crack from where Bobcat was standing as he disparates to a new location. Paige moves towards Ripley, concerned for him and his relationship. She stands silently next to him by the river, and watches the leaves and twigs float lazily by in the slow current.

"You ever think back to how simple being single was?" Ripley finally says, breaking Paige out of her river watching trance.

"Oh man, those were the days." Paige replies with a smirk. "Do what you want when you want. Didn't have to check in with anybody."

"No one hogging your blankets at night." Ripley adds with his own smirk.

"But there's always those things you absolutely love about someone though. So many moments of 'how did I survive in this world without them in it' type of moments."

"Sometimes, those things that attract you to someone ends up getting tiresome." Ripley admits as he finally looks over at Paige.

"I can't say I know what you're talking about."

"You're still in the honeymoon phase with him Paige. Give it a while longer and you'll see what I'm talking about."

"I think you're just grumpy right now and you need a cup of coffee and a bagel." Paige says, shaking off his comment and grabbing his arm.

Ripley allows her to pull him away from the riverbank and back towards town. They say nothing along the way. Paige's thoughts keep circling to what he just said about a 'honeymoon' phase.

"Some people just love differently and sometimes people's love just aren't compatible. This is not a reflection of every relationship." Otakemaru whispers in her ear as they enter the town.

"When did you become a relationship expert?" Paige asks him as they walk towards the alley behind the Café to get to the wizardry part of town.

"Do you think you would be happier with the ways things used to be?" Otakemaru asks her.

"I wouldn't trade Severus for anything. Not even my old single life." Paige admits as she glances over at Ripley. "Although sometimes I feel like I would be able to handle this mission better if I wasn't constantly thinking about him."

Paige and Ripley walk in front of the red brick wall and Ripley starts silently counting the bricks on either end.

"He's safe and sound at Hogwarts with Dumbledore. Nothings going to happen to him there."

"And what if he-who-must-not-be-named becomes wise to his ruse and kills him?" Paige asks Otakemaru.

"That's where you have to have faith in him like you do with your team."

Paige thinks back to her mission where both Locksley and Miller lost their lives. The thought was short lived as the wall moves in front of her and a tunnel appears.

"Ladies first, right?" Ripley says to Paige as he stands aside to let her in first.

"Glad you remember."

"Sorry for being such a downer. I don't know what to do and I have no idea what's gotten into him lately."

"Fear changes people." Paige replies as they make their way to the Café.

Paige goes in to order them coffee and bagels as Ripley grabs a seat outside to be alone for a minute with his thoughts.

Paige sets down the a coffee and a bagel on the table in front of Ripley.

"Eat. The carbs will make you happy." Paige says before taking a bite of her own bagel.

"Is that how you've been getting through this?" Ripley asks as he slides his plate further away from himself.

"Hey man, I've had this Factory worker feeding me stale crackers from the ground all week. Don't mess with me and eat your bagel I so lovingly got for you." Paige says as she sits down at the table.

"You ever get tired of always getting your way?" Ripley asks as he cups his hands around his coffee cup.

"No." Paige replies with a smirk as she takes another bite of her bagel.

Ripley stares at his coffee cup. Paige lets him be with his thoughts as she finishes her breakfast.

"Bagels here are so good. Not going to let this one go to waste." Paige says as she slides Ripley's plate closer to her.

"I am in literal turmoil right now and you're just sitting there stuffing your face." Ripley snaps as Paige takes a bite out of his bagel.

Paige chews and swallow the piece of food before replying.

"What do you want me to say Rip? This is your life. Why do you think it's a sinking ship?" Paige asks as she picks up her cup of coffee and takes a sip.

"I didn't say it was a sinking ship." Ripley says with an eye roll.

"They why are you treating it like it is."

"Look either tell me its my fault or not. I don't want to play your mind games anymore."

"Who says it needs to be anyone's fault?"

"Isn't that usually how it goes? One person messes up and the other either forgives them or not."

Paige takes another bite out of his bagel before continuing.

"Now, there isn't a set blueprint for everything Jack. Life is about compromises and willingness to accept that everyone's human and they make mistakes."

"Well, who made the mistakes in this instance."

"Hey, I'm only here to judge your choices in the field and not in your personal life."

"Ugh, why can't you just help me, Paige." Ripley groans as he places his head on the table.

"I'm trying to Rip." She replies as she places her hand on his head.

"Sometimes it seems so effortless to be with him, and sometimes it's boarder line unbearable."

"What makes it boarder line unbearable?" Paige asks as she strokes the hair on the back of his head.

"Well, you've seen him! He always thinks it is about taking sides. Sometimes I just don't think what he does or says is the way I would go about it." Ripley explains as he talks into the table.

"You are going to have separate thoughts about things, it's inevitable. It's learning how to navigate that is the tricky part."

"So how do you navigate it?" Ripley asks as he lifts his head to look at her.

"I'm not really in a position to tell you how because I don't know myself. I just try to stay true to myself and be honest."

Ripley rests his head back on the table.

"So, what makes it effortless to be with him?" Paige asks him as she continues to stroke his hair.

"He's just always charming at the right moments. And he knows how to make me laugh. And he does this cute little thing when he eats something really good." Ripley says with a bit of a chuckle. "it's a small thing, but he will take smaller bites of it and chew it longer just to hold onto this glorious moment of good food."

"So, isn't it worth at least trying to sit down and talk to him about it."

"He walks away from me every time I try!"

"Maybe he's just not ready to talk about it." Paige replies as she takes another bite out his bagel.

"Will you stop eating my bagel!" Ripley snaps

"You're more passionate about your damn bagel then you were with Juan back there." Paige replies with a smirk as she slides the plate back over to Ripley.

Ripley looks down at the bagel and says nothing.

"Why are you holding back?" Paige asks him.

"I'm scared alright."

"I don't believe that." Paige replies as she leans back in her chair. "Not my Jack Ripley. He's not scared of anything."

"Listen, believe it or not you're the closest thing I have to family since my real family disowned me. I have a hard time letting people in because I'm afraid they are just going to leave me."

"Did they disown you for your fashion choices because I'm actually going to be in the same boat as them Rip, I just didn't have the heart to tell you until now."

"I'm trying to be serious here Paige." Ripley tries to say seriously before bursting into a smile. "Damnit, sometimes... I fucking hate your guts."

"I know. But you love me for me and if you give him a chance, Juan will love you for you. All of you. Even the gay parts, which I'm sure must be his favorite thing about you." Paige replies with a smirk.

"Thanks for leaving most of the bagel for me."

"Just shut up and eat so we can follow up on this lead." Paige says before taking another sip of her coffee.