Alvin ignored Hank most of the morning at work. He could see that Hank was trying to talk to him but the only thing on his mind was Caitlin. Once things were fixed with her, then he'd talk to Hank!
Caitlin hadn't called all evening nor that morning and he had no idea where she was or who she was with. He couldn't help but feel jealous. When things had been bad in the past, she had come to him; so who had she gone to, to get away from him? He knew that, in general, he could trust Caitlin and that he didn't need to fear other men, but seeing how broken she had been when she had left, he wondered if she would allow herself to make a mistake.
When lunch time rolled by, he got in his car. He was about to start the engine when the passenger door opened. It was Adam.
"What are you doing"? asked Alvin.
"We need to talk".
"Get out of the car".
"I'm serious", said Adam.
"Suit yourself", said Al as he turned on the ignition and left the parking lot.
"If you want to talk about what happened at the Gala, you're wasting your time", said Al.
"Trust me, I've got problems of my own to start sticking my nose in yours".
"Well go on then, what are you waiting for? Twenty questions"?
"I need you to tell me what I'm doing wrong with Kim"?
Alvin kept his eyes on the road. "Right now, I don't think I'm the right person to give you relationship advice".
Adam looked at him. "Cat's mad at you because of what happened at the Gala"?
Al stared him down. "I thought we weren't talking about the gala".
He then looked at him again. "Wait! What do you know? Do you know where she is? Is she staying with you and Kim"?
"What"? said Adam shocked. "She left"?
Alvin said nothing.
"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't know. And to answer your question, I don't know where she is. If Kim knows, she hasn't told me. The only reason I know that she's mad is because, we kind of witnessed the whole thing".
"Can you think of anywhere she would go"? asked Alvin.
"No. She probably went to a hotel or motel for the night. I'm sure she'll be home tonight and it'll be like nothing happened".
He pulled up on the Academy parking lot and stopped the car. "It doesn't happen like that Adam. I think that's where your problem is. You wanted advice? Here's my advice to you: A strong marriage isn't magically created when you say 'I do'. It's built on a lifetime of 'I dos', I do love you, I do cherish you, I do respect you and I do choose you. Stop thinking that because you're married that you can rest on your laurels and take what you have for granted"!
He got out of the car and headed towards the main building. As he walked down the hall he was stopped by Tom Fisher, an old friend.
"Well, would you look at what the cat dragged in! Good to see you Alvin".
They shook hands.
"How've you been Tom"?
"Not bad, can't complain. Looking for another new recruit"?
"Not this time Tom. Is Caitlin around"? he said looking around the hall.
Tom smiled. "Right, I heard about the two of you. Nice catch with that one".
"Yeah, thanks", he said not truly amused by his choice of words. But then again Fisher was on his fourth or fifth wife, so it came as no surprise to him.
"She's not here. She's on a two-day off-site tactical training. I'm sure she must have told you", he said eyeing Al.
"You're right. She did mention it, but it's been real hectic at work lately and I guess I forgot it was now".
"I hear ya. I'm sure it's hard being, not only on radio silence but also away from her for two days. Hang in there buddy, she'll be back tomorrow". He paused for a moment then leaned in towards Al. "Lucky for you, I'm married", he said winking.
Alvin tapped him on the shoulder, still not amused. "Well, keep it that way"!
When he walked back towards the car, Adam was behind the wheel. He stuck his head out. "We've got gunshots inside a house, let's go"!
Al jumped in the car and fastened his seatbelt as they drove off.
"So, how'd it go"?
"Nowhere. She's off-site until tomorrow".
"Ok so you still have two days to find how to win her back".
He looked at Adam. "Just drive".
Caitlin came out of the woman's locker room when she bumped into Sam. Everything she was holding fell to the floor.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going", said Sam as he helped her pick up her things. He made sure that every time he could, he would touch her. Her fingers, her hand, shoulder, knee.
She stood. "It happens, don't worry". She started to walk away. He hastened to catch up with her.
"I was wondering if I could have a few minutes of your time, since I bumped into you".
She stopped in front of the door of her temporary room. "Sure. What can I do for you"?
"I wanted to hand in my list of units I wanted to spend time with and I was hoping you could talk a bit about the Intelligence Unit. I mean you're the one here who knows the most about it, considering you were part of it and who's in charge".
"What do you want to know"?
"Everything".
She laughed. "If I tell you everything, you won't have the pleasure of discovering it when you go".
"True. Ok then what's Voight like as a sergeant"?
"He's tough. He doesn't take crap from anyone. But he's a great cop. He'll push you to your full potential and he'll stand by you. There aren't many sergeants like him". She smiled. "But then again maybe I'm biased. He is my uncle after all".
He smiled back. "Then I'll add it to my list. You've got me intrigued about the unit and the man himself. I appreciate you taking the time. Good night".
As he returned towards the barracks, he deviated from his route to a quiet and hidden location he had scouted during one of the breaks. He took his phone out and turned it on. He sat in the dark with pride as the feed, from the camera he had placed in Caitlin's room when she was in the locker room, came to life on his screen. Caitlin was closing her computer. He then watched captivated as she got out of her tactical gear and into a tank top and shorts. She sat in bed for a while, much to his dismay, before finally falling asleep. He waited an hour then shut his phone off and headed back towards her room.
He opened the door slowly, entered and walked over to her bed. He watched her for a few minutes, taking in all her beauty. His hand remained steady as he gently pulled down the covers and let his fingers trail down from her shoulder, over her breasts and down to her thigh. She shifted in her sleep. He placed the cover back over her body and walked out of the room. It was a shame. He wanted her but he couldn't deviate from his plan because of his attraction. It was too bad that she would become collateral damage.
As she slept. Little did she know that soon, it would all be a nightmare!
Alvin opened the mail and sorted through it. He headed for the bar and picked up the bottle of whiskey. He grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it. He then thought about Caitlin and what Meredith had said about him going dark. He emptied his glass in the sink then took the bottle and did the same. He opened up the garbage can and tried to push the bottle in it but it was nearly full. He cursed as he took the garbage bag out and closed it. He headed outside to the collective dumpster. As he got closer to it, he heard things fall to the ground. He cursed again as he looked down and realized that the bag had tore on the side due to the pieces of the mirror that had cut it open. He grabbed the bag with two hands and threw it in the dumpster and headed back to pick up the pieces.
"You dropped this", said a woman's voice. He looked up to find a young woman in her twenties with a packaging in one hand and a garbage bag in the other.
"Probably", he said as he stood up.
"Well, it's not mine and I saw it fall out of your garbage bag".
He took the box with his free hand. "Thanks". He picked up a few more things as she got rid of her garbage bag and headed back from where she came.
He emptied what he had in his left hand and then looked at the package. His eyes widened upon seeing it. He opened it and took out its content and looked at it. He felt a rush of disbelief, then came a hint of anxiety to finally leave a feeling of overjoy as he read the digital screen that said:
Pregnant 3+
It didn't matter that they had never talked about it. He didn't care how it had happened. All that mattered was that she was carrying his child, their child. Caitlin was pregnant!