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Conversation halted as Abbie, Olivia and Alex were the first to step through the door. A wolf whistle cut through the air which hastily cut off as scowling Tyler and Tate stepped in after them and shot the offender a dirty look. The cowboy grinned and held up his hands in surrender as each Cowgal claimed their woman by wrapping their arms around their waist.
Olivia rolled her eyes, Alex shook her head and Abbie made gagging noises, which earned her a slap from Olivia. Alex told her to behave before taking Tate's hand and leading her towards the grill part of the Pub.
With help from an eager waitress they pushed a table up against a booth so they could all fit. They nodded at 3 of the FBI agents nearby. Elliot had informed them that the other two had returned to Helena where they planned to tail Wentworth when he got off the plane. There was excitement in the air at the thought of finally being able to catch the guy.
Olivia and Tate were really pissed that they were going to use Alex as bait but Alex told them it was fine. She wouldn't be going off on her own anywhere and would have people around her at all times. Olivia didn't dare comment that it was no different to last time and she was still shot. It was a silent elephant in the room between her, Alex and Elliot. Alex had made her promise to try and have fun tonight so she would.
Glancing at the menu she remembered the last mouth watering meal she had here. Not as good as Tate but if she couldn't eat Tate's meals then she would come here next. She forewent steak and requested pan fried trout. Alex chose the Cajun chicken, the rest all chose steaks of some sort, Elliot a large T Bone. Cheesy Garlic bread was ordered for the table for starters.
Conversation flowed between them, they were like 6 long lost friends. Tate and Tyler fit right in and if Abbie got too mouthy they were both quick witted and able to retaliate. Poor Tate managed to keep the blushes to a minimum and by the time the garlic bread arrived she was holding her own, despite her nearly permanent red cheeks.
Soon the teasing turned into telling stories much to Tate and Tyler's delight as they sat back to hear yet more stories about the women they loved. Whenever Elliot tried to tell a story about Olivia she got him straight back. Usually about times when she won foot races to catch the perps. Elliot argued that usually happened just after they had eaten dinner and he had a full stomach and carrying extra weight.
When their food came out everyone but Tate, Tyler and Olivia's jaws dropped at the size of the plate.
"Holy cow, and I thought we did things big in Texas" Abbie whistled and winked at the waitress who placed her plate down. The waitress paused for a second confused, then chuckled and shook her head while walking away.
Alex slapped Abbie across the back of the head
"Behave" she growled
"That hurt" Abbie whined
"Shall I call Serena and tell her you were checking out a waitress in Montana?" Alex teased then rose a surprised eyebrow when Abbie physically blanched and went a couple of shades whiter
"You wouldn't" Abbie croaked and Alex realised Abbie had indeed finally woken up
"You hurt her Tex, I will personally tear your heart out and feed it to Buster" Alex threatened
"No need for the threats Cabot, I'll tear my own heart out if I ever hurt her" Abbie replied, surprisingly solemn and earnest and drawing shocked looks from her New York friends. Alex and Olivia shared a look of surprise, they'd never known Abbie to be anything else but a party girl.
"Ok" Elliot cut in "Enough of the serious talk, you're spoiling my dinner"
They shot him a startled look and Olivia's look turned into a mock glare
"Not everything can be about your stomach El"
"No, but if you keep threatening Abbie I'm going to get indigestion, then you're all going to pay" he chuckled and Olivia rolled her eyes. Elliot's indigestion was well known in the 1 6.
"Spare us" she groaned "We'll save the threats until later, lets eat"
"Don't think you're out of the woods Carmichael" Alex had one last dig and Abbie had to grin
"Straight back at you Cabot, at least I was up front about being gay" and she waggled her brows while flicking Tate a glance.
"Enough" Olivia cut in when Alex sent a glare at Abbie and would have retorted "Elliot's right"
"I am?" Elliot blinked in mock shock
"Shut it Stabler and eat your steak. Let's save the banter for the pool games". That said she dug into her trout, groaning as the flavours exploded in her mouth "This is good" she sighed "Not as good as your cooking Tate" she assured when Tate shot her an affronted look.
Alex gave her lover a comforting pat before turning to her chicken, quite surprised how good it was. She agreed with Olivia though, no one cooked as good as Tate but it was a distant second.
Silence reigned at the table as they were busy consuming their meal. Tyler and Tate decided they would be the sober drivers for the night so the others could drink and the friends from New York proved they knew how to do it. Tate was very surprised with Alex's consumption of beer and that she managed to keep up with the others. She sure had a lot to learn about the woman she was in love with.
Olivia was about finished with her meal when she heard Tyler growl beside her. She looked up at her partner confused then in the direction she was looking. Oh for the love of God. Chase Ballantyne was striding towards them as if he didn't have a care in the world and a smug grin on his lips
"What the fuck does he want?" Tyler growled "I thought I'd put him in his place last week"
Tate, seeing where Tyler was looking turned to find Ballantyne but a few steps away. She balled her hand into a fist and reached for Alex's hand, hoping Alex would keep her calm. She wasn't sure if the guy had enough balls to attack her physically himself but she had no doubt that he was behind her getting knocked out earlier in the week.
"Tyler, out twice in a week, must be a new record" he grinned, what he might perceive as charmingly but to the rest it was just nauseating "Or did you know I'd be here?"
OMG, was this guy honestly for real? Olivia looked at Tyler who was just shaking her head sadly. Olivia couldn't believe Tyler had been putting up with this for 6 years.
"Chase what are you doing?" Tyler sighed "Last week wasn't humiliating enough for you so you have to come back for more. Take a hint Chase and leave"
"Come now Tyler I'm just being friendly" Chase hooked his thumbs in his belt loops and rocked back on his heels "We're neighbours after all"
"Unfortunately" Tyler grumbled quietly and then sighed "Chase I'm having dinner and a night out with friends. Do me a favour and leave me alone"
"Now that's not very friendly Tyler" as he looked around the table at the other people seated "You haven't introduced me to your friends" his gaze landed on Alex and he paused "Well hello there little lady, you look like you're all class. I'm Chase Ballantyne" he offered his hand.
Everyone jumped as Tate shot up from the table and shoved Chase backwards. Unprepared Chase stumbled, eyes wide.
"Fuck off Ballantyne, you're not wanted around here" she growled, face red, eyes narrowed and Chase showed his fear for a split second. Alex shot into action when Tate took another step forward and grabbed her by the hand.
"Sweetheart don't" she stood also, keeping hold of Tate's hand while pressing against her side "He's not worth it." She shot the disgusting man one of her famous glares, trying not to laugh when he shifted uncomfortably "Come sit down, Mr Ballantyne is leaving" She tugged on Tate's hand and pulled her back to the table.
"Is there a problem?" another voice asked and they turned to see that the FBI agents had been alerted and had come to do their job. Keeping Alex safe.
"No problem" Tyler stated "Mr Ballantyne is about to leave"
"Then we need to escort him to the door" said the older FBI agent who had done a 180 in his attitude towards the woman he was protecting and her friends. He clapped a hand on Chase's shoulder "Come Mr Ballantyne, let's step outside for a little chat"
"But..." Chase started but was cut short by a few gentle but firm hands that were ushering him out of the restaurant. Once the man was out of sight Alex turned to Tate with troubled eyes
"Tate, what was all that about?" she asked worriedly and Tate sighed
"You need to ask? He's the guy we're all sure is responsible in some way for my incident and then he dares to flirt with my woman?" Tate's eyes flashed "He was lucky I didn't lay him flat"
Alex placed a calming hand on her arm and rubbed it gently up and down
"I appreciate the gallantry Tate but you need to stay out of trouble. We don't want to give him any reason to get off on a technicality when we finally nail him" she warned and Tate looked contrite. She wouldn't apologise though, she'd just be more careful in the future. She gave a tight nod and received a squeeze of her hand from Alex in reply as they returned to their meal.
Unfortunately the atmosphere around the table was troubled after Ballantyne's visit and after the last person finished Abbie suggested they go play some pool and sink some beers. Hoping to lighten the mood everyone agreed and headed into the main section of the Pub.
Abbie and Alex challenged the two local players who were currently holding the table to a game. The cowboys smirked and agreed, probably thinking they'd wipe the city slickers off the table. Olivia bought a jug of beer and returned to table and chairs they had claimed as their own.
"Watch this" she whispered to Tyler "Those cowboys won't be smirking long"
"That good?" Tyler asked, brow raised in surprise
"Not as good as me but yeah" Olivia chuckled as she sat between Tyler and Alex and affording her a good view of the table. Alex slapped her lightly on the leg "Or Alex, she's a bit of a pool shark"
"Thankyou" Alex said primly and snuggled under the arm Tate had thrown around her shoulder. That was enough to have Olivia's own brow raising in surprise. Alex had never been into PDA, always cool calm and expressionless. Never emotionless though, Olivia had found that out and had spent many evenings comforting an upset ADA. Public Alex was very different to private Alex and she was honestly surprised Alex was letting the private one show. Pleasantly surprised.
She looked across at the pool table and saw the cowboys standing in slack jawed shock as Abbie calmly went about annihilating them, much to their friend's pleasure. Smiling she sipped her beer and sat back to enjoy.
The night continued with everyone pairing up to take on different cowboys who luckily took their ass whippings well. Soon they were mingling with the locals instead of keeping separate and the three New Yorkers were pleasantry surprised at how friendly everyone was. Abbie, a small town gal herself fit right in.
At midnight, with everyone but the skippers very merry, they decided to call it a night. On the drive home Tyler, with Olivia and Elliot took the lead with Tate, Alex and Abbie in the truck behind them.
Everyone was still laughing and for some silly reason Alex had called Olivia and they were still all swapping jokes and banter via speaker phone as they drove.
Tyler kept a sharp eye on the road, and one on the rear view mirror, still fully alert and checking to see they were not being followed. As they rounded a bend only a mile from home Tyler took a second to glance at her lover who was laughing freely at a comment Elliot had made. When she turned and looked back again she swore loudly, slamming on the breaks to wash off as much speed as she could, then accelerated and tried to steer around three of Callum's prize bulls standing in the middle of the road.
The truck managed to avoid the bovines nicely but the rear of the vehicle being so light fishtailed sharply, and suddenly the truck was circling out of control down the road, full of screams and swearing from the occupants and the horrified witnesses in the vehicle behind.
Tyler swore and growled desperately trying to gain control as they slid towards the ditch. As the steep ditch got closer she realised this was going to hurt, seconds before they collided throwing her sideways, her head making sickening contact with the side window and everything went black.
Oooohhhh a cliffy, hope you enjoyed.