Somewhere around 4 o'clock in the morning, Caitlin woke up with a startle. Alvin was home and probably more drunk than not. She heard him fumble with the bedroom doorknob a couple of times.
"Caitlin"? he said in a semi-slurred voice.
She didn't answer him.
"Come on baby, open the door. We need to talk about this".
She sighed. "Go sleep it off on the couch, we'll talk about it in the morning".
He stood behind the door with his shoulders slumped over and put his head down. Coming to terms with the fact that she wasn't going to open the door, he headed back into the living room and laid down fully dressed on the sofa and fell asleep.
At seven o'clock, Caitlin woke up feeling exhausted. The gala, the events of that evening and waiting up for him most of the night had drained her. She showered, got dressed and headed into the living room. Alvin was still sound asleep.
"Well, at least one of us slept well", she grumbled quietly.
She hesitated on whether or not she should wake him to go to work, but resigned in doing so. She wasn't his mother and even though his reaction and actions at the gala and after were childish, he wasn't a kid anymore and he would have to deal with the consequences.
She grabbed an apple and a bottle of water and left for the Academy for a full day's work between tactical training and faculty meetings.
When Al woke up, the sun was shining through the window and he squinted. His head was throbbing and he smelled as if he'd spent the entire night in a keg of whiskey. He looked at his watch. It was almost noon. He sat up and looked around. He walked over to the bedroom. He knew it was useless and that she was already gone. The bed had been made. He headed for the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked darn right pathetic. He undressed, showered and put on some fresh clothes. He had a bite to eat and then looked at his phone that he had somehow managed to place on the kitchen countertop.
He had 20 missed calls. Most of them had been from Caitlin during the night, followed by a big amount from Hank, Meredith and a few from Adam. He frowned upon seeing that Caitlin hadn't tried to contact him since she had left that morning. He auto-dialed her number, but after a few rings, it went to voicemail. Not a good sign at all, he thought to himself.
Caitlin entered the meeting room that afternoon trying to show interest and focus but it was hard. All she could think about was Alvin, Hank and Meredith.
"Right', said Roberts. "First topic on the agenda is the firearm remediation. Late last night as he was returning home from the gala, Pearson was attacked by an unknown suspect and has multiple fractures in his right arm and hand. We still don't know how long he'll be out".
He turned his attention to Caitlin. "Caitlin, during his absence, I need you to step up and take over his remediations. Is that alright with you"?
"Of course. Is he OK"? she asked concerned about her fellow colleague.
"Yes, he's lucky in the sense that his arm is all that was injured. Thanks for taking that on, I know you already have your plate full. Stay a few minutes after the meeting and I'll pass on his schedule over to you".
Caitlin nodded and took a quick note on her notepad. Sure, it was going to make her spend more time at the Academy than she already was, but it was work. She was sad to hear about Pearson but relieved somewhat that she would be away from home, especially in light of what was happening. She sighed. This was not the kind of relationship she wanted. The kind where she dreaded going home and preferred being at work instead.
As she headed back to her office with Pearson's schedule for the next two weeks, her phone rang, it was Al. She sat down at her desk and put the phone down. She stared at it as it kept ringing. She was still hurt and mad and had no desire to discuss the matter then and there and mostly not over the phone.
She looked at the schedule and realized that she had remediation from 4-6PM. She smiled upon seeing the name on the 6PM slot. It was Sam Flanigan and she was glad that he had taken her advice.
At 6PM, Sam Flanigan arrived at the outdoor shooting range in an extremely good mood. He smiled as he stopped in front of Caitlin.
"So, you're taking over for Pearson"? he asked.
Caitlin knew that the recruits had been made aware of the situation. "Yes. Shall we get started".
He took the gun and headed for his slot. "I'm sorry it's so late. Pearson had no issues with 6PM. I hope it's not going to be an issue and that I'm not taking away from you time with your husband".
She shook her head. "Not a problem. Besides, I'm not married".
He looked at her as though he had made a terrible mistake. "I'm sorry. The other day, I saw you with that Detective near the car, I thought he was your husband".
She smiled. "No harm done, it's just that we're not married".
"You don't believe in marriage"?
At first she was taken aback by his question, but in the end, she herself had asked people that very question. It was always nice to hear other people's point of view on marriage.
"I do, it's just complicated, that's all. Are you ready"?
He smiled but not because he was about to pretend to shoot like an amateur, but because she had mentioned that her situation was complicated. He liked complicated. It meant that if he played his cards right, he might be able to draw a winning hand that would give him an advantage in his plan.
Caitlin watched him shoot a couple times from a standing position with the bipod. He had missed every single shot. She passed her hand in her hair. Maybe this was a hopeless case. She then automatically brushed the idea from her head. Nothing was hopeless! She was going to turn him a great shooter, no matter what it took.
He turned around and looked at her. "What am I doing wrong"?
"Everything", she said with a shy smile. She didn't want it to sound or seem too dramatic. "Your posture is good, but you're not taking into account the external factors and your breathing is too fast and harsh".
She pointed to the rifle. "May I"?
"Please, there's nothing that I want more".
She took it and he took a step to the side. "Once you are in position, you need to take into account the wind factor. Look at the trees around to identify its direction and the clouds to assess its speed".
"Don't we have tools for that"? he asked.
"Yes you do, but one day if those fail, you'll have to go at it solo. Often you only have one chance at taking a good and life-changing shot, there aren't always second shots".
"Once you've done that, you can calibrate your shot. Take a few breaths calmly before preparing to shoot. When you're ready, inhale, hold your breath in a relaxed manner, shoot and then exhale. Your breathing is interfering with your aim because it shifts your rifle".
He watched as she put into application what she had just said and sure enough she nailed it right smack in the middle of the target.
As she backed up, the wind blew her hair and his nostrils flared with delight as he caught the scent of her strawberry shampoo or conditioner. Inevitably, she bumped into him as she backed away from the rifle and he very carefully placed his hands on her shoulders.
"I'm sorry", she said embarrassed.
He removed his hands against his own burning desire. "No harm done".
"Ok, you're turn".
He shot again and missed although he had taken into the wind factor.
She shook her head. "It's your breathing. Your calibration was good. I'd like to try something if that's OK with you"?
He nodded.
"Ok, take your position and calibrate again".
When he was ready she placed one hand on his chest and the other on his back. "If this is making you feel uncomfortable, let me know, OK".
He shook his head as he looked at her and smiled. His blue eyes sunk deep into hers.
"Right, so… take a few breaths for me. Good, now inhale, hold and shoot".
She felt him inhale and his chest stopped moving as he held his breath. He shot the rifle.
"Now, exhale".
He stood up straight and they both looked at the target. "I did it"! he said proud of himself.
She smiled proud too. "Yes you did. Now I want you to keep doing that, on your own".
A half an hour later, they walked up the stairs towards the parking lot.
"What can I do to thank you"? he asked. "A drink perhaps"?
"Oh no, that's not necessary and on top of that it's against the rules. You want to thank me? Pass and graduate and when you're a cop, then you can offer me a drink".
"Fair enough. Can I sign up for another remediation next week? Same day, same time"?
She shook her head. "Unfortunately, I already have a full schedule next week".
"Oh", he said disappointed.
She felt bad. She remembered all the times some of her instructors had gone the extra mile to help her achieve something and realized it was her turn. "But I can fit you in at 7PM, if it's not too late for you"?
He smiled. "Really? That's great".
"Yeah, we can try to use the night-vision tool".
"Looking forward to it. Good night, see you tomorrow".
"Good night". She said as she headed towards the main building to pick up her things.
As she headed home, she wondered if it was really going to be a good night!