Chapter 82

"What heated discussion did you and Mark have yesterday?" Alex asked when she came downstairs. "He had a school project that's due today, about where babies come from. So we had the whole birds and the bee's conversation." Ryan explained briefly not wanting to elaborate on that statement. "It's a bummer that I missed it. I would've loved to hear how you explained it to him." She laughed and he shook his head at her.

"I have some good news for you." Alex announced when Mark came out the bedroom, hair still damp from his shower. "I figured that after a week you're bored with Ryan and I." Alex started.

"No, what she meant to say was that she's hurt because she didn't get to bond over stuff like you and I did the other day." Ryan chimed in and the teen laughed at the two of them.

"Anyway, we caught the guys, their court hearing is today and once it's done, you and your family are free to go. They won't bother you anymore." Alex told him.

"Like seriously? I won't have to look over my shoulder anymore? They won't come back for me?" Mark asked incredulous. "Seriously buddy, you're a free man now." Ryan laughed and ruffled his hair.

"Thank you. For taking a strange kid into your home and keeping me and my family safe." Mark smiled and hugged the two of them simultaneously. "We'll do it again if we have to. You're always welcome here." Alex told him when he pulled away.

Mark disappeared into his room and packed his clothes, while he waited for the tutor to show up. Ryan explained that he'll come home during lunch time to pick him up and then they'll drive over to the safe house his family is at and he'll take them home. This thing could've turned out badly if it weren't for these guys who took him in, and for that he is grateful.

"Okay, so Clive came home last night and we talked but it still feels weird, how can I make it less weird and awkward?" Nimah asked. The four of them were walking around the block. They just signed in and left again to do patrol duty. They weren't even sure of there was such a thing but they needed some girl time. They stopped and bought a pretzel for each of them and a bottle of water, taking their time as they walked back to the office.

"Surprise him when he comes to be tonight. Sleep in your birthday suit." Natalie stated obvious looking over towards her. "I still have some morals, Natalie." She acted shocked maybe not as much as her sister but it's still there. "Or you can cook him dinner in your birthday suit." Shelby added and smiled. "Oh, so that's how you ended up where you are now, by cooking dinner like that." Alex laughed shaking her head.

"And she's not denying it either, I'm proud of you!" Natalie high fived Shelby while Nimah still looked at them in shock. "I don't have any words for the three of you anymore." She answered. "Hey, careful there, don't count me in on all of that." Alex interrupted her.

"Oh come on, I'm sure you've done something like that with the Special Agent." Nimah nudged her in the side. "On our honeymoon, I might've done something similar, but I am not topic of discussion here." Alex stopped them before it went any further. "I mean, nothing wrong with being a lady in the streets and a freak in the sheets." Shelby shrugged as they walked their way back to the office. "Okay so how do I do this guys?" Nimah asked amused as she caught up with them.

"Nice of the four of you to join us." Maranda said when they entered and she waited for them at the door.

"We were just out looking for…"

"No no no, I don't want to hear it. Paperwork on your desks and reports that need filing. I want it in my office by the end of the day." Maranda reprimanded.

"But what about.."

"I don't wanna hear it Parrish." Maranda said walking away. The four of them looking at each other as they made their way over to their desks. Their fun little conversation cut short as they slumped down to start working and doing the part of the job they all hated, as their punishment.

"No, I cannot go out for lunch today. I'm sorry." Alex said when Ryan came down into their office. "Uuuhh I'm not really here to see you, sweetheart. Wait what are all these?" He asked looking at the bunch of papers in front of them. "The headmaster caught them sneaking around and now they're in detention." Caleb said and Natalie threw a crumpled up paper ball at him. "We've all been there. You ready to go?" Ryan asked and Caleb got up and walked towards the door. "Wait, were are you two going?" Shelby sat up looking at them. "We're going on a ride along." Ryan smiled and the two of them left the office.

The girls did their paperwork as the day went by surprised by how much work they got done when they actually got their heads in the game. The other agents in the office walking in and out handling cases while they were being secretaries. Trying to finish all of it before the end of the day.

A tall, light skinned woman with black hair and brown eyes entered the building about half an hour later. She looked around the place looking lost. She wandered over to the reception desk. "Good day ma'am, how can I help you?" Roxanne asked when she looked up and saw the woman. "Hi, uhm I'm not sure if this is the right place, but I am looking for Ryan Booth." The woman explained. "Sure, his office is on the second floor first door on the left." Roxanne explained and the woman nodded and took the elevator up to the second floor.

After their last incident Roxanne avoided going into Ryan's office and Alex made it clear that she's not going to come between them with her tricks. She's lucky Ryan didn't report her otherwise she would've been out of a job again, so now he stuck to doing mainly just that. Her job and keeping her nose out of other people's business.

The elevator's steel doors opened up and the woman walked around, feeling out of place. There was no one in the office the receptionist told her to go to and she walked around looking for someone she can ask if she's on the right place, when Liam came out of his office.

"Excuse me, I am looking for Ryan Booth. The lady at reception said this is his office but here's no one." She explained and Liam nodded. "Ryan left about an hour ago I'm not sure when he'll be back, but you can wait in here if you want." Liam offered pointing to one of the chairs in front of Ryan's desk. "No, I don't want to intrude, I'll come back another time." The lady answered.

"Is there anything I can help you with? Can I give him a message?" Liam asked concerned. "Uuhmm, I don't even think he knows who I am. My name's Catherine, I am married to his father. I don't think he'd want to see me, can you please just tell him his father passed away this morning." She said softly. "Here's my number, he can give me a call, I don't want to bother him." Catherine handed Liam her card and left his office.

"Mrs Booth, I'll call him and ask how far he is. I think you should tell him this in person. I'm Liam O'Connor one of his superiors." He extended his hand and shook hands with the lady. "I'm sorry for your loss." Liam said and stepped outside Ryan's office to call him.

Half an hour later Ryan came upstairs and looked for Liam. "What's up? You called me five times." Ryan said when he stepped into Liam's office. "Someone in there to see you." Liam said pointing towards the younger man's office and he nodded, walking out the door.

"Hi, I'm sorry for intruding. Liam O'Connor said I can wait for you in here." Catherine stood up when Ryan entered. A handsome young man he grew up to be. Dressed in a black suit and a light blue shirt, he did have a lot of features in common with his father when he was his age, she thought.

"It's no problem, Ryan Booth. How can I help you?" He asked extending his hand to shake the woman's hand. "I'm Catherine. Catherine Booth, I don't think you know me but I was married to your father." She explained and Ryan nodded.

"How's he doing?" Ryan asked walking over to lean on the front of his desk looking at the woman in front of him. Her face fell a bit when he asked that question. "You know he had kidney failure. We've been looking for a donor for fifteen months and he didn't find a match. He didn't get accepted for the trail and went back on dialysis. At his last check up things were worse than what the doctors thought and he was hospitalized. His kidneys didn't function anymore and it was one problem after the other." She explained and took a deep shaky breath. "He was admitted again two days ago, and he passed away this morning." Catherine said softly and Ryan stared at her with a blank expression.

"Wait, what? He died?" Ryan asked trying to make sense of it all, and the woman nodded. "I'm sorry. I'm probably the last person you want to see, but the last time he saw you, he was really proud of the man you've become and everything you've achieved, Ryan." Catherine told him and he just nodded his head. "I'm sorry for your loss, Catherine." Ryan sympathized, she smiled at him and nodded before walking out the door.

He sat down behind his desk, not knowing how to feel about any of this news he just received. He just needed to let it sink in first. A knock on the door brought him out of the haze he was in. "Ryan, I am sorry. If you want to take a few days off, by all means." Liam said not walking any further into the room. Ryan didn't look up to make eye contact with him he just nodded his head.

He had no idea how much time passed since he'd received the news. He just sat there, even after Catherine and Liam left starring at the wall in front of him. He grabbed his car keys and cellphone and rushed down to the parking lot, he remembered about Mark and went to pick him up at home, and getting his family to take them back to their own house, explaining that they're safe now. He then decided to get Phoebe. It was 2PM and he didn't want to tell Alex about anything because then she'd start worrying about him and he couldn't deal with that right now. So he drove down to his daughter's day care to get her.

It was the little things she did that made him feel better. The fact that small things amused her and made her happy and giggly. How she finally managed to stuff her little hands into her mouth and the way she laughed and smiled whenever her rattle made a noise. The cute babbling and cooing noises she made whenever she was playing or when you talked to her. Ryan just sat there with his daughter on his lap watching her, not knowing how a baby can change your whole outlook on life and how you can love a tiny little human so much. She fell asleep after some time and he didn't lay her down, he kept her in his arms watching her as she slept.

After work, Alex unlocked the door putting the two grocery bags on the kitchen counter. Ryan sat on the couch with the now wide awake daughter, who woke up from her sleep. He still didn't lay her down on her play mat, the two of then watching some silly cartoon.

"Hey, you left early." She said kissing him, sitting down next to the two of them kissing Phoebe who smiled said something in her language when she saw her mother. "How are you my baby?" Alex questioned kissing her cheeks continuously. "I went to go look for you and they told me you were gone already." She stated, the little girl oblivious to her mother's words more concerned with stuffing her little fists in her mouth. "I left early when I took Mark back home, and I went to get her." Ryan explained to his wife.

Alex played with Phoebe while talking to her husband but he seemed distant, only answering in one word answers or responding with the occasional yes or no when need be, not like other times. Alex thought maybe something bothered him that happened at work which could be why he left earlier. She saw Liam and he didn't mention anything. She figured she'll just ask him about it later. She got up to pack some of Phoebe's things away that she bought, handing the baby back to her father. But when she came back Ryan was still acting weird. It was the way he looked at Phoebe as if he never wants to let her out of his sight, wanting to know what she's doing at all times wanting to know that she's okay.

"Are you okay, babe?" Alex asked when she came back from the bedroom. He laughed dryly shaking his head and she came down the steps. "What's going on? Talk to me." Alex said taking a seat on the coffee table sitting opposite him. Ryan looked up at the roof and took a deep breath before he continued. "My father passed away this morning." He told her.

"What? Ryan I am so sorry." Alex sympathized, knowing how it feels to have lost a father. "His wife came to work today, and she told me. His kidneys were failing and one problem led to another and… and he died." He admitted, having to say the words making it official yet it sounds strange to say it out loud.

"And you know what the worst part is? Is that I keep on thinking. What if I got tested and just gave him one of mine, would he be okay?" He put Phoebe down on the play mat where she kicked her feet out happily trying to grab them but couldn't quite get to it.

"We kept in touch, after the last time he was here. He kept asking me if I'll allow him to see Phoebe and I kept saying no. She was his first grandchild and he never saw her." Ryan whispered the second part. "I know he wasn't the world's greatest father but he was still my dad. And there wasn't just bad times, in actual fact there were more good times than bad, and I loved him even though he walked out on us." He explained twisting his hands together staring at his daughter.

"We still spoke four days ago, and he told me he know he screwed up but he'd like it if him and I could go golfing this Saturday, and I told him I'd be there. And… and now he's gone. I don't have a father anymore." He admitted softly and Alex's heart ached seeing her husband like that.

"Hey, I may not always know what to say, or what to do to make this hurt any less. But I need you to know that I'll always be here for you. No matter what. Even if you just want to vent to someone. I am so sorry, Ryan." She really didn't know what else to say. Instead she moved closer to the edge of the table and Ryan dropped his head on her shoulder.

"Thank you, sweetheart." He whispered in a shaky voice.

I'm sorry for this sad and emotional chapter, but I felt like I needed to spice things up a bit since I wasn't happy with the last two chapters. What do you guys think? Drop me a review on your thoughts and suggestions, hope you enjoy. Lovies-S