He had a bad dream and woke up scared. In the dream Tasha was leaving. She disappeared from his arms and nothing he did prevented her from going. It was no use shouting her name, it disintegrated in front of her and became nothing more than smoke.
He sat on the bed scared and looked to the side. There she was and she wasn't going anywhere. The brunette was sleeping peacefully. He thought about how many times he was there to lose her. How many times did she seem to slip out of his hands. Perhaps because of his own fault, for not knowing how to ask her to stay. For not knowing how to express what I felt. For not saying that I loved you from the beginning. For choosing someone else and not her.
But no matter how far they went, they always came back somehow. Fate brought them close. Until a time comes when they can no longer stay away.
xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx
The return to work was not easy for the team. Everything was different. Patterson was unable to work with Stuart, a technician who took over the lab in his absence. And it seems that not everyone was prepared to take orders from Reade, who proved to be authoritarian and difficult to deal with.
Both went on a mission and were all very nervous, as nothing was going as planned. During the mission, they witnessed the explosion of a satellite in a field close to where they were. They took all possible information on the spot and returned to the SIOC where they learned that North Korea was about to fire nuclear missiles at the United States.
It was not easy to find the mercenaries who were passing information to North Korea. With some connections to the CIA and also people with whom Jane had worked, it was possible to locate the location where the missiles were stored.
During the working day Tasha was alone with Patterson in the lab.
- Patterson! - The brunette caught the friend's attention. - Only I noticed, or do you also think there is something strange with assistant director Reade? - Throughout the day Tasha had been wondering about his friend's behavior.
- As well? - The blonde asked.
- He didn't say a word that wasn't giving order today. - Tasha explained.
- Give him a discount. - The blonde said after reflecting for a moment. - When I created my Wizardville app I contacted some friends to work with me. And giving them orders all the time was neither easy nor fun.
- I don't want it to be fun. I just want it to be normal. - The truth is that Tasha did not expect everything to be so different.
- Maybe we need to find our new normal.
- Let's try to get it. - Tasha said with little courage.
Reade was in his office finalizing reports on the last mission when Principal Hirst went there.
- Assistant Reade, what's going on? - The woman questioned him.
- Nothing I did today worked. - He explained discouraged.
- Do you want my opinion? - The woman asked trying to find a way to help him.
- Sure.
- Your team is back, and you're trying to compensate. Taking on too many tasks, doubting himself, and almost being killed. - She explained.
- Please get to the point.
- Be the leader I know. Your team is the best of the best. That's why we set up this task force, wasn't it? Encourage them, trust them and they will bring results. - Hirst finished talking and left him alone in the room.
She was right. Reade needed to take charge of the situation. And it would not be giving orders or arguing over anything that they would be able to work on. The truth is that seeing his friends all together again made him lose some of the control he had acquired during his tenure.
And in the middle of it all, there was Tasha. Her presence was there, stronger than ever. He had been surprised to see her. She was different, more beautiful, more neat, her hair had a new cut and new tone. But it was still the same as always.
Tasha had always been her best friend and suddenly she left and they didn't speak to each other anymore. And the circumstances in which she left the FBI were not very good, as Reade didn't even say goodbye. He had to confess that he missed him, but he had always been weak in making decisions, so he didn't have the courage to call, not even to know if she was okay, if she liked the new job, if she met new people, if she was with someone. He knew he had failed his best friend.
Sometimes he thought of her, of everything that happened between them. It seemed to be much longer than he actually did, but he still remembered the details of that night, the smell of her, the taste of the kiss, the intense way she gave herself to him. Maybe they should have talked about that night, but he was so messed up and had already dragged her into all his mess that he preferred to let her think it was just a night when the two of them were needy and didn't really think about what they were doing. And the way she left the other day made it clear that it was no more than a night for her.
Reade returned to the team and began to divide the tasks more carefully, making sure they were taking orders.
- All satellites have returned and the anti-missile is back online. - Patterson said as soon as everyone returned to the lab.
- North Korea has retreated the missiles. - Hirst completed. - They won't recognize the attack. Good job, everyone. They saved many lives today.
- Yes, I also want to thank everyone. - Reade spoke gratefully.
- No need to thank us. - Jane completed.
- Yes, I do. This job is very difficult and has just begun. If the next steps are like today, we will have some surprises. We will have to adjust some things. It will take us a while to get used to our new roles. But we are a great team.
- Let's drink to that. - Tasha proposed.
- Nothing like that. - Reade intervened. - We won't have any more drinks in the lab. It's a new rule, but other than that, little has changed here. - He explained.
At the end of that day, everyone felt they needed to make an effort to get their old friends back. It would not be an easy task to find this new normal, but with a joint effort it would work.
Reade was at home and had just finished showering and dressing when he heard the doorbell ring.
- Hi! - He greeted a smiling Tasha who was waiting at his door.
The brunette was in front of him carrying a box of his favorite beer. After all, she knew what he liked. Certain things did not change.
- Hi. - The brunette said. - I'm looking for my best friend. You saw him?
- I think he moved to Langley, but you can leave the beer here. - He plays with her while picking up the beer can. - Sorry for today. I was an idiot. I promise I'll get better. I'm still getting used to having you back. - He apologized.
- Me too. I will strive to respect your authority, although technically Keaton is my real boss.
- Do you work at the CIA now? - He joked. - Funny, you never told me about it.
- Love, if you are the courier, give a good tip for leaving the delivery area. - A female voice spoke from inside the house.
- Are you on a date? - Tasha asked trying to look natural, but she felt she had come at a totally wrong time.
- Not exactly ... - Reade started to explain.
- Hi. - A brunette, probably Indian, said pointing from inside the apartment.
- This is Zapata, from work. - Reade introduced her friend to her.
- Tasha, this is my girlfriend Megan. - Reade introduced the woman to her friend. - We were going to sit and have dinner in our apartment. - He made a point of emphasizing 'our' so that Tasha knew who he was dealing with.
Reade and Megan had been dating for a while. Shortly after Tasha left he met her and she was doing him a lot of good, which seemed mutual.
- Want to join us? - Megan offered. - The restaurant is great and we always order too much food. - She was very nice.
- No, it's very kind, but ... - Tasha didn't want to stay. It had been taken by surprise. If she had known that Reade was with someone she would never have gone there.
- Seriously, Tasha, we should have been here for centuries. - Meg explained. - I don't know any of Ed's coworkers.
- No, you and Ed scored something ... - Reade was surprised by the way Tasha said 'Ed'. She had never called him that, she was probably just imitating Meg.
- No, Meg. - Reade tries to dissuade his girlfriend's idea. - We set something up the other day.
- Love, she's already here. - Megan seemed adamant. She brought drink. She will stay. - The woman completed. - Tasha, you will stay.
- Right. I will stay. - What Tasha wanted was to get out of there. She knew she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And he never wanted to be a nuisance to Reade and his girlfriend.
- She will stay. - Reade has no arguments and makes room for Tasha to enter.
Maybe Reade should have told Tasha earlier that he was with Meg. But he didn't even have a chance. There was no way he intended to put them both in that situation. He knew that his friend was not comfortable, Reade knew her well. He wanted to talk to her, to apologize, but he didn't even know how to do it.
Dinner was quiet. Meg was a great person and did everything to make Tasha comfortable. After the friend left Megan didn't comment much, just said that she looked like a great person. Reade on the other hand was confused.
He thought he was fine with Meg, but Tasha's presence was now everywhere. At work, today in your apartment. And something he would never say, he was also in his dreams that night. She was there with that wide smile and bright eyes looking at him, and suddenly he saw Megan also smiling next to Tasha.
xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx
After wandering around the empty, silent house, he went back to bed. It had been so many years since it all happened, but he could see clearly and understand why it was so. He curled up next to his beloved, pulling her to him and placing a sweet kiss on her hair and soon fell asleep.