Chapter 174

The drive to the police station was severely long as Ryan sat there looking out the window, trying to figure out how he will get himself out of this mess and how he will be able to prove his innocence in all of this. He thought about who he'll call once he gets there since they'll allow him one phone call. He knew deep down he would have to call his wife but he wasn't sure what he'd say to her or how she would react, so he settled on calling Caleb.

"Hello?" Caleb answered hesitantly.

"Caleb I don't have a lot of time. I'm in police custody for some accident Liam and I got into and they're blaming me for it. I need you to let Alex know about this in some subtle way. Please." Ryan said everything he could think of as quickly as he possibly could.

"Woah, my boy what happened. You can't just drop a bomb on me and not explain it." Caleb said even more confused.

"Dammit Caleb I said I can't talk long. Just do what I asked please, I'll explain the rest when I can." Ryan said frustrated when the officer cleared his throat indicating that he had to end the call.

Caleb turned to his wife who had their boy on her hip. "That was Ryan, he's in jail you need to find a way to get Alex here and inform her about what went down, but in a subtle way since she's pregnant."

"What?" Shelby asked looking at him her brows furrowed in confusion. "Caleb none of what you've just said made any sense. Start again." She said and set CJ down waiting for him to start the story from the beginning again.

Alex pulled up to a red light when her phone rang. She pressed a button on the steering wheel and before she could even answer the phone politely Maranda started speaking. "Alex, I need you to listen to me and not over react right now." Maranda started and by the tone of her voice she knew something was wrong as her boss wasn't someone to make social calls at the end of the day to just find out if you're still enjoying work.

"Okay." Alex said reluctantly as she pulled away when the light changed.

"Liam and Ryan were in an accident They're both fine but a kid got hurt in the process, they're in custody and might be facing charges if the kid doesn't make it through the night." She said not knowing if that was informing her in a subtle way or if she just dropped a bomb on the poor woman.

"Wh..what? A..uuhhhmmm…o..kay. I'll get over there as soon as I can." Alex said confused, both in the sense that her husband who just so happen to be working for the FBI is in police custody right now and the fact that he was in a n accident but he is fine apparently, or the fact that he might be charged with the most horrible thing out there if the kid who got hurt doesn't make it through the night. Without thinking twice she turned into the road that led to her best friend's apartment. It may be bad timing but she's going to need someone to look after Phoebe while she goes down there to find out what is wrong.

"Mama?" Phoebe questioned knowing this is not their house but she doesn't have time to explain right now. Alex knocked on the door maybe a bit too loud and a few times too many when Shelby opened seeing the look on Alex's face and the email that was sent out from the office briefing everyone on what happened. "Uhhmm, I'm sorry for interrupting, can she stay here for a little while. I nee-"

"Yes come in." Shelby said before Alex could finish her sentence, and she walked inside seeing Caleb behind the kitchen counter busy with his laptop. She smiled weakly in his direction and by the looks of it they knew what was going on and she didn't have to explain anything to them.

"I don't know how long I'll be, but I'll come pick her up when I get back." She said briefly as Phoebe made her way over to CJ where he was laying on the floor.

"No, Alex we can't let you go home. You're spending the night here. I mean Ryan can't run away so at least we'll know you're safe with us." Caleb shrugged seeing his wife glance at him.

"Seriously Caleb Haas?" Shelby shook her head at him.

"I'm sorry for having a dark sense of humor. Want some chocolate Phoebe?" He asked enthusiastically and the little girl made her way over to where he was standing in the kitchen as the two of them ate chocolate despite the looks of disapproval from the women in the room. "Come on, I'll drive you." Shelby offered as they walked out of the apartment.

Ryan and Liam both arrived at the police station and were sitting down while they filled out the required forms. Not that they needed to introduce themselves as they were well known since they were members of the FBI but it'll be a whole different story now that they are in custody. They had to hand over their badges and service pistols as well as other belongings that included their wallets. Cellphones, not as much as they lost it at the accident scene somehow. Ryan was nervous no doubt about that, he had no idea what to expect and Liam sensed it. "We didn't do anything wrong Booth." Liam said looking at him and Ryan scoffed. "Yeah well, with no camera footage at the intersection, or credible witnesses or the fact that if the kid doesn't pull through we're done." Ryan summarized just to let Liam know what however they look at it they are in deep trouble if someone doesn't come up with proof soon. A few minutes later they were taken into holding cells until it was time for them to be interrogated and Ryan had no idea just how cold and lonely this place could feel where he was alone in a cell with only his thoughts.

Shelby and Alex pulled up to the police station and Alex got out as she rushed through the doors and up to the counter. "Hi I'm looking for Ryan Booth." She said nervously keeping her hands in her pockets of her coat to keep them from shaking too much. "He is in custody right now, may I ask what you are in relation to him?" The lady asked behind the counter as Alex handed over her drivers license. "I'm his wife." She answered and the lady nodded typing something on the computer and then got up, and ushered Alex into a small room with dimmed lights. "He'll be here soon." She said closing the door behind her and Alex took a seat her leg bouncing up and down nervously as she sat with her elbows on the table hands entangled in her hair.

The sound of a lock turning at the opposite side of the room made her look up and her breath caught in her throat when she saw her husband being ushered into the room by a police officer. His shirt was stained with dry blood, and torn in a few places and he had some scratches on his face. And he looked like someone who hasn't gotten any sleep for a few days. Alex couldn't bring herself to not cry at the sight of how he looked right now. She got up and walked over to him, wanting to hug him let him know everything was going to be okay. "No contact." The police officer said and she looked at him not saying anything as both of them took a seat at the table. Ryan ignored the no contact rule as he held her left hand and twisted her wedding bands around her finger.

"Are you okay? Why didn't you call for clean clothes? Ryan what happened?" She asked biting her bottom lip trying to keep all her emotions in check, but failing at it.

"It all happened so fast. They came out of no where, and now the kid is in critical condition. If he doesn't make it I'm facing jail time Alex." Ryan said softly.

"Don't say that! We'll figure something out, there has to be proof that it wasn't your fault." She persisted but he wasn't so sure.

"Would you mind going by the hospital and try to find out how he's doing? His mom was rattled but I don't know her name." He asked and Alex nodded making a note of it that she will go find out in the morning and report back to her husband on it. "I'll miss the birth of our baby if I'm found guilty." Ryan realized staring at a spot on the table but Alex squeezed his hand. "No Ryan don't say that. We're gonna get you out of here." She sniffed but he shook his head.

A knock on the door startled them as the officer opened the door Maranda entered with another officer, nodding in the direction of Alex and Ryan. "I just came back from seeing O'Connor. I asked for all the video footage within the past two hours at the route you two were travelling on." Maranda started. "Two blocks away from the intersection where the accident took place you were caught speeding through a yellow traffic light." The officer showed the footage of the camera. "I had the sirens on I can't come to a controlled stop at every traffic light when we're on our way to a scene we'll never make it in time." Ryan argued. "Maranda are you gonna back me up here?" he asked looking at the curly haired woman and she looked back at him.

"Ryan if I were you I would stop talking right now. And on the next phone call you're allowed I'd suggest you call your union rep." She said slowly, yet there were some hint of compassion in her voice.

"Or better yet a criminal lawyer. Because if that kid kicks the bucket you're looking at manslaughter charges." The officer said looking at him. Ryan didn't say anything, instead he got up from his seat and walked towards the door, waiting for the officer who hasn't moved since he entered to open the door and let him out so he can go back to the holding cells.

"Ryan, wait!" Alex said her voice hoarse with emotion but her husband didn't turn around, he kept walking as the officer ushered him out. They left the two women alone in the room and Maranda walked over to Alex's side. "Alex, it may not look like it but I have faith in Ryan and Liam. Yes they're not always easy to be around but they're not criminals." The older woman stated offering her hand as the two of them walked out to the parking lot.

Alex got into the car without saying a word and Shelby looked at her. "Is everything okay?" The blonde asks and Alex shook her head. She bent forward leaning her elbows on her knees and her shoulder started shaking as she sobbed. Shelby waited until she calmed down while she rubbed a hand over Alex's back in an attempt to try and comfort her. Alex wiped her face with her hands and blew out a long and steady breath looking at her best friend. "It doesn't look good. He might get charged."

Shelby had no idea what to say so she just squeezed Alex's shoulder. "Hey his name is gonna get cleared, the truth will come out, it always does."

"He's spending a night in a jail cell Shelby. He doesn't even have clean clothes or a shirt at least, it's torn and full of dry blood. And he looks like he hasn't slept for days. And I just wanna hold him and tell him it's gonna be okay that we'll make it through this."

Shelby looked at her friend and she had no words that would comfort her. "I'm here, if you wanna talk or cry or just wanna sit in silence. I'll always be here."

Hey guys, apologies for leaving you on a high at the previous chapter. To be honest that wasn't what I had in mind but somehow after writing it I actually liked the idea and I had to think about how all of this will play out and what the outcome will be. So I have some ideas that I think will be cool for the next few chapters until we get over this bump in the road. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

Lovies-S