Sometime in 2007
His hair was at that awkward length again, the length that he wakes up with the best morning hair. It made her smile a slow smile as she tried to fix it. She was used to the phases of his hair growing out, he didn't like when people touched him, which made him hate getting haircuts. Ella refused to do it anymore, she'd tried cutting it once and it had turned out terrible.
He was sitting at a chair in the kitchen drinking coffee; she was sitting on his lap, trying to tame his hair. He'd already showered, but he refused to use product so his hair would be sticking out strange once it was dry. She knew why Gideon worked hard so that people would see him as a kid, and she tried to help by keeping him looking professional. Her breath hitches when his government issued cell phone rings.
"Is your go bag packed?" He would occasionally get called in for cases and have almost no notice before he left; this happened to the whole team. They all had 'go bags.' They were filled with everything that they could need for a week-long trip. She would empty it once a month, and wash everything that was packed, so they wouldn't start to smell stale and have him repack it. The team having to leave for a case usually coincided with him getting called in early, so, she stayed where she was a bit longer, only now instead of taming his hair, she was holding him, she was always afraid that this would be the last time. She never told him that, but she hated when he left.
She walked with him to the train, and they stopped and got coffee, he kissed her before walking through the turn styles. She waved, and walked back to their apartment. She spent the next four days waiting for calls and doing homework.