"Ale?" Eliot whispered, knocking on Ale's door. When he heard a quiet come in he pushed his way into the room, Ale wrapped in a robe, her hair wrapped in a towel.

"Did you need something, Eliot?" Ale asked, smiling.

"I know you didn't eat," he smiled, Ale rolling her eyes. "And I checked in the kitchen, and there is nothing good there. So I didn't know if you wanted to go to the diner we saw down the road and grab something to eat."

Ale wasn't that hungry, but she did want to spend some time with Eliot. Because no matter how hard she tried to hate him, or just be friends with him, the connection she first had with him was still there, pulling her towards him.

"Fine. But only if you tell me about this wedding we have to go to," Ale said, Eliot rolling his eyes.

"You drive a hard bargain. But okay," Eliot laughed, leaving the room so that Ale could get dressed.

She quickly put on a pair of jeans and a plain cotton t-shirt, her hair still wet as it fell around her shoulders. Ale grabbed her phone, slipping on a pair of sneakers as she headed downstairs.

"Eliot are you ready?" Ale asked, looking in the living room. Eliot stood from the couch, Sophie and Nate sharing a look.

"And where are you two off to?"

"We are going to go grab something to eat. Does anyone want us to bring you back something?" Ale asked, smiling.

Sophie was so happy that Ale and Eliot were doing something non-job related. It was important for both of them. And Hardison and Parker did a lot of stuff that didn't revolve around the job…it's how they made sure they had a friendship not a partnership and how they made sure they didn't get lost in the job.

"I would love some pie if they have some," Sophie smiled, Ale nodding.

"You got it, Soph. We will be back in an hour and a half, tops. Then we can go over the new plan," Ale said, grabbing her bag from the couch.

"Take a coat," Eliot grumbled, standing.

"We aren't going to be sitting outside, Eliot. It will be fine," Ale laughed.

"Your hair is wet," he countered.

"We are in Georgia."

"Well you two have fun," Nate laughed, glad that Ale and Eliot were back to 'normal'. They were too polite and closed off for too long.

"Thanks Nate," Ale smiled, heading out the door.

"Get her to eat something," Sophie said quietly, looking at Eliot. He nodded, grabbing his coat off of the hook on the wall.

Once they were in the truck, Ale turned up the radio, good, solid country music coming from the speakers.

"So that was some quick thinking on your feet today," Eliot said, Ale looking at him and rolling her eyes.

"I don't want to talk about work. But yes it was," Ale smiled.

"What are we supposed to talk about, darlin', if we aren't allowed to talk about work."

"I don't know. Your niece. The wedding we are going to. Any old flames that might pop up at the wedding we are going to. Any new books you have read…"

While Ale continued to make a very sarcastic list of what they could talk about Eliot noticed a car following behind them with every turn. He decided to do a little test, taking sharp turns and going in a completely different direction from the diner.

After about fifteen minutes it was clear that the car was indeed following Ale and Eliot, but he wasn't sure why. There was the off chance that it was about the people following Ale, but there was also the chance that it had to do with the job.

"Eliot, you have been noticing that car, right?" Ale asked, looking at Eliot. He laughed, not surprised that Ale had noticed—he should have known she was aware of her surroundings, too.

"Yeah. I saw them about twenty minutes ago. Do me a favor and crawl into the back of the truck so you can see who is in the car."

Ale unbuckled, sliding into the backseat.

"It's Bo," Ale said, climbing back into the front of the truck. "How should we play this?" Ale asked, looking at Eliot.

Before he could answer, however, the back window was shattered with the sound of a gunshot.

A/N: Glad you guys are still enjoying Ale and the team! There was a request from a couple readers to have a picture of what Ale would look like. Below are two links…the first link shows what Ale mostly looks like, and the second shows the skin tone of Ale, as well as the kind of smile she would have.

Thank you all for reading, and I will have the next chapter up soon!

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