So this fic is from a prompt from diana-of-wales. I'm really not sure what happened while I was writing this, it just took off and kept going for a while. So that's why it's kinda long. Anyway, I'm really low on prompts/ideas now, and I only have a few left that I've written. So I'm kinda desperate - if you have any ideas at all, I'm keen to hear them.
Anyway, enjoy, review and leave me some ideas!
-Scottie.
"Riley and Gabriel have to attend sometime of formal event in Washington…"
"But I'm not in the Secret Service any more," Riley frowned. "So why am I being sent to one of their gigs?" Lillian shook her head and gestured that Riley come over to where she and Nelson were watching a computer.
"See this guy?" Nelson pointed out someone on the screen. "He's a Syrian national. Married a naturalised American citizen. However, our guy here has been collaborating with some nasty people." Riley nodded.
"So you want me to go in and keep and eye on him, stop him from pulling anything while the President is around?" Lillian nodded.
"Exactly. Gabriel will be going in as well, and the two of you need to maintain your cover at all costs." Riley nodded.
"And the Service has been briefed?" Nelson nodded.
"Jameson spoke to Agent Griffin who is the DL for this protective job." Riley rolled her eyes. "They've been alerted they are not to show any recognition of you, but they will allow you to do what you need, provided the President is in no danger." Riley nodded.
"Seems pretty standard." She straightened up. "So you said Gabriel and I were going in. What exactly are our covers?"
"I cant believe we're going in as a married couple." Gabriel laughed from across the room.
"Doesn't seem like a bad idea. No one will question us when we argue all the time." Riley took a moment to stop punching the bag and stare at Gabriel over her shoulder. "What?" He said, holding his hands in surrender. "I'm just saying." Riley rolled her eyes and went back to punching the bag. Gabriel sighed and stood up, walking over to Riley.
"I mean, we could've just gone in as Secret Service agents again," Riley grunted, throwing some extra effort into targeting the bag.
"Too hard to stay close to our friend from Syria that way." Gabriel reached out and put a hand on Riley's shoulder. "Come on, Captain America, you don't need to bust the bag." Riley shook her head in exasperation. "Besides, we have a ball to go to," Gabriel grinned, and reached down to unwrap one of Riley's hand wraps. "When he was done, he dropped to one knee and pulled a box from his pocket. "So, Agent Neal. Will you fake marry me for tonight?" He threaded a ring onto Riley's hand, and she sighed in exasperation.
"Jackass." Gabriel looked wounded.
"That's not a nice thing to call your husband," Gabriel called after her as she walked out of the room.
Three hours later, Riley was lying on her couch flicking through TV channels while she waited. Soon, there was a knock at the door before it opened, and Gabriel stepped through wearing a tuxedo.
"Wow, you clean up nice," Gabriel smiled as Riley stood up and turned the TV off.
"You don't look too bad yourself, Gabriel."
"Ready to go?" Gabriel asked noting Riley's lack of shoes. She nodded and scooped her bag from the counter and quickly pulled her shoes on.
"Let's roll," Riley said as she straightened up. Gabriel offered her his arm and she gently threaded her arm through his as she locked her apartment door. Gabriel led her down the stairs and to the front of her building where a limo was waiting. He opened the door for her and helped her in before closing the door and walking to the other side of the car. He climbed in, and the driver began their night.
"So Riley," Gabriel grinned. "Or should I call you Mrs. Hill?" Riley just smiled.
"Mr. Hill," she giggled a little, and then chuckled at the expression on Gabriel's face. "What, you've never seen someone that can go with their cover?" Gabriel shook his head.
"I didn't think you could giggle," he winked. "Maybe you should use that when I say something particularly charming tonight." Riley sighed and turned to look out the window.
"Remember Gabriel, we're here to keep an eye on our Syrian friend, not cause any problems." She heard his indignant sigh.
"O ye of little faith. We'll get the job done." Riley raised an eyebrow. "Smile," Gabriel said. "We're here."
The car pulled up alongside the building and Gabriel thanked the driver before leaving the car. He jogged to the other side and pulled the door open, offering a hand for Riley as she stepped from the car. They walked arm in arm to the front door where they showed their invitation and "ID" for the evening, before being waved through to the ballroom.
"Well Mrs. Hill," Gabriel placed a hand on Riley's back, and a shiver went down her spine. It was not unnoticed by Gabriel who did his best to smother a grin. "Shall we go meet some people?" Riley smiled up at him and nodded.
They spent the next 45 minutes chatting to other people they ran into, making themselves look like they were just part of the crowd. Just as they had begun talking to a newlywed couple, the husband being a nuclear physicist which made for both interesting and awkward conversation, Riley turned and leaned into Gabriel's chest in whispered into his ear.
"7 o'clock," she whispered. "And it looks like he's brought friends." Gabriel chuckled and gently kissed her cheek.
"Excuse us," Gabriel said. "We're just going to head to the dance floor for a while." The couple nodded and smiled.
"It was nice to meet you," Riley smiled and waved politely as they headed onto the dance floor. Gabriel placed his hand on Riley's back and took her hand in his and Riley put her hand on Gabriel's shoulder. Gabriel pulled her against him, so their foreheads were touching.
"Nelson, we have a problem," Gabriel mumbled, as the pair swayed on the dance floor. "Looks like our guy may have brought some company."
"I'll run facial rec on them, see if they'll be any trouble."
"Already done," Gabriel replied, smiling at Riley as though they were having a conversation. "One of them, name is Adad Asar, he's suspected to have been involved in the transport of RedX, the other guy, Sargon Elyiah, he's clean."
"So that doesn't help in figuring if they're pulling something tonight." Riley shook her head as Nelson's voice crackled through their earpieces.
"If he's clean, this could be some kind of initiation." Gabriel nodded, and moved his head to the side of Riley's, making it look like he was whispering in her ear.
"And if it is, they may have more guys in here." Riley pulled away from Gabriel.
"We need to get the President out of here." Gabriel reached for Riley's hand and they slowly walked from the dance floor. It was crucial they didn't panic the Syrians, or all hell could break loose.
"Nelson, tell Griffin to move. But tell him that they need to do it subtly." Riley rolled her eyes.
"They're good at subtle, Gabriel." He glanced at her.
"Not when the President is in danger, they're not."
The President had been cleared from the building, and Gabriel and Riley had been given orders to take the three Syrians into custody. Fingers still interwoven, they began to walk over to the Syrians, stopping in front of them.
"Excuse me sir," Gabriel offered his hand to Adad. "My wife and I noticed you three gentlemen, and we were trying to guess where you were from." Adad shook Gabriel's hand.
"See, I think you could be from Turkey, maybe Lebanon, but my husband-"
"Please go now." Sargon spoke with a thick accent, and Gabriel turned to look at him.
"Sorry if we offended you," he said. "We were just -"
"Leave. Now." Gabriel took a step back, and Riley wrapped her arm around Gabriel's back, and they walked away.
"Nelson, we're going to need back up to get those guys. They've got guns, and we don't have vests." There was no reply, and Riley put a hand to her ear.
"Nelson?" She looked to Gabriel.
"What's going on?" He frowned for a moment.
"Something's blocking our signal. I'll try and get through to Nelson with the chip."
"Everybody down!" The sound of gunshots and screaming erupted from not far behind them, and Gabriel and Riley ran over to a table, and crawled underneath it. The tablecloth was long enough that if they pressed themselves against the wall, they wouldn't be seen by a casual glance.
"You'd better work quickly," Riley muttered, watching feet passing in front of the table. Gabriel frowned again. "You were right," she mumbled a few moments later. "They do have more men." Gabriel looked at her.
"That's not the worst part," he whispered. "Secret service are locked out. They cut external power, and the security automatically seals the doors. We're trapped."
They had stayed hidden for the best part of an hour now. Gabriel had gotten through whatever was blocking the radios, and everyone was aware of what was going on inside the building. Riley had almost decided they were safe when feet came into view of the tables, and the cloth was lifted up. They were greeted by the barrels of three rifles pointed at them, and Riley immediately slipped into her cover, crying out and hiding her face in Gabriel's jacket.
Gabriel held his hands up.
"Please, don't shoot!" Rough hands reached under the table and dragged Gabriel and Riley out, and Gabriel was mildly amused to see that Riley had summoned some tears from somewhere. "We heard the gun shots and hid," Gabriel blurted. "We didn't know what was happening. I swear!" One man - not any of the three they had identified earlier - stepped forward and pulled cable ties around Gabriel's wrists, locking them behind his back. Riley was still whimpering and clutching his jacket when the man tried to reach for her wrists.
"No, please no," she cried out, struggling out of his grip. Her efforts were rewarded by a sharp backhand to her cheek. Riley dropped to the ground, the unexpected blow bringing real tears to her eyes.
"Hey," Gabriel called. "Leave my wife alone!"
"I suggest you stay out of this," the cable tie guy sneered. "Or your wife will be worse off than this." Riley let out a sob as the man dragged her to her feet and cuffed her hands, shoving her towards Gabriel. He tried as best he could to be concerned for her, but that was harder to do with cuffed hands. "Now walk," he said, placing the barrel of a gun on each of their backs. Riley sniffed and they began walking.
They were pushed onto the dance floor, where a number of other people were laying face down, their wrists cuffed in a similar fashion to Gabriel and Riley's. With no warning, they were pushed down onto the ground where Riley landed awkwardly on her shoulder, and muffled another cry as she felt something pop. Gabriel rolled as he landed, and ended up on his back where he started yelling at cable tie guy.
"Leave us alone! We didn't do anything. We're just lawyers!" The guy sneered and thrust his boot into Gabriel stomach.
"Shut up now." He whispered, a menacing tone in his voice. Gabriel just glared at him until a foot made contact with his face and he grunted. The man rolled Gabriel onto his front and walked off.
"Gabriel, are you alright?" He turned his head and Riley could see the gash on his forehead.
"I'll be fine." He noticed her shoulder, and the awkward position it was in. "But I think asking if you're alright is a better question." Riley grimaced.
"I think my shoulder is dislocated, but there's nothing I can do about it."
It only took twenty minutes for the SEAL team to infiltrate the ballroom and another seven seconds to take out the hostiles. Fifteen seconds more and the doors opened, and people from every agency rushed in. Paramedics followed closely through the doors, and people were freed from their cuffs and checked over for injuries. Gabriel and Riley were among the last to be freed, as they were at the far end of the room. As soon as Riley's hands were freed, she groaned and rolled onto her side, her good arm reaching for her shoulder.
"Yep," she moaned. "Definitely dislocated." A paramedic moved over to Riley and checked for any further injuries.
"Ma'am, we're going to need to take you to a hospital to get that set." Riley shook her head.
"Is there anyone that is seriously injured?" The paramedic nodded.
"A few GSW's, lots of broken bones, and a number of people have gone into shock." Riley waved the paramedic away.
"Take care of them," she said. "I'll get to a hospital another way." The paramedic frowned.
"I'd rather not leave it where it is," he said. "It'll cause ligament damage, and -" Gabriel interrupted him.
"Go," he said. "I'll take her to a hospital." The paramedic frowned, and Gabriel reached into his wallet for his ID. The paramedic nodded.
"Don't wait too long," he called as he headed away. "You'll just make it worse for yourself." Riley rolled her eyes, and turned to Gabriel.
"Looks like you might need a few stitches yourself, Mr. Hill." She raised her good hand to his forehead to inspect the wound. "Or some superglue." Gabriel laughed.
"Come on," he said, standing up and carefully pulling Riley to her feet. "Let's get going. It's been a long night."
The night didn't get any shorter, and even after flashing his badge, Gabriel and Riley were stuck in the ER waiting room for a few hours before they were called through. Riley's shoulder was soon relocated, put in a sling and prescribed some painkillers while Gabriel got away with a small patch of superglue, painkillers and a promise to not headbutt anyone for a few weeks.
Gabriel led Riley to the car he had somehow procured after the ball, and she got in, sighing as she sat.
"I cannot wait to get out of this tux," Gabriel muttered as he started the car. "I hate suits." Riley rolled her head sideways to look at him.
"You hate suits. Really?" He shrugged.
"Why do you think I joined the army? No suits." Riley nodded.
"Sure. Nothing to do with the whole macho man thing you've got going on?" Gabriel looked bemused.
"Macho man? I don't know what you're talking about." Riley laughed.
"Leave my wife alone?" She laughed. "That's really going to stop a bunch of terrorists." Gabriel shrugged again.
"I was just going with it. Besides, that's going to leave a sweet bruise." He gestured to the dried patch of blood on her cheek where the guys ring had made contact with her.
"I know, right?" She smiled. "It'll look great at whatever ball Lillian has planned for us tomorrow night." Gabriel's head snapped to her.
"What? Another ball?" Riley burst out laughing.
"I was joking," she choked. "But that was a far greater reaction than I could've hoped for."
"Shut up."
They soon arrived back at Riley's apartment building, and Gabriel parked the car and escorted her up the stairs to her apartment.
"You know I can walk on my own," she mumbled, a wave of tiredness crashing over her suddenly. Gabriel nodded, silent for once, and she assumed he was similarly exhausted. She barely made it through the front door without collapsing.
"Gabriel," he had just turned to begin back down the stairs. He turned to her and blinked. "Do you want to stay here tonight?" He blinked again and nodded, stepping inside the apartment and locking the door behind him. Riley led him into her bedroom and pulled a set of pyjamas from her drawer. "I'm just going to change," she mumbled, forcing back a yawn. She closed the bathroom door and immediately changed out of the dress and into her more comfortable pyjamas. Turning on the tap, she splashed some water on her face, wiping away the tear stains and blood from earlier in the night.
When she returned to her bedroom, Gabriel had kicked off his shoes and socks and taken his tux off leaving him in his boxers, stretched out half under the covers of one side of her bed. Smiling slightly, she crawled into the other side of the bed and turned the light off.
"Good night, Mr. Hill," she mumbled, moments before sleep overcame her.
Thanks to Careeseforever, NCISRookie33, Halle Alexis, Burt00, halaA, Yessiree, TheShadowWhoHidesInTHeDark, krazyy989, TVDFan4Ever, Kong Liu, Confidential Brunette, philosophizingwonder and cytpotter for the reviews, special thanks to diana-of-wales for both the review and the prompt.
Also thanks to evynn. paul for reviewing, I've just realised that your username has been missed every time I've been to thank you. (I blame the site - apparently it looks too much like a web address).