A/N: Sorry for the delays. This story picks up significantly and that got me into a writing frenzy, so I've finished multiple chapters and updates should be quick. Some details in this chapter may not seem like much, but they matter in later chapters.

x x x

It's already Thanksgiving. It's hard for her to believe that she's been here for a little over two months.

If she were in New York, Alex and her siblings would be deciding what to bring to their dad's house in Inwood for Thanksgiving dinner. Since work left no time for cooking, she could get by just picking up apple pies from a bakery—her dad's favorite—to cover dessert.

She'd always ask Bobby to join the Eames family for the holiday, but he'd have other plans.

The difference in her life then and now is hard to fathom. Her family means everything to her. Not being in New York right now is killing her.

Her knee cast is gone and aside from a couple of physical therapy sessions left, she's done with the medical appointments.

She's starting to run again. Bobby's been going with her on some easy runs, which also gives them some alone time. It doesn't compare to running in Central Park back home, but there's a nice track along Chicago's Riverwalk.

The counseling sessions haven't stopped, because her nightmares suddenly got worse. She thinks it's because of the time of year, missing home, and the fact that they haven't caught Malik.

Although if not for Bobby, there wouldn't be any progress.

He helped the feds find and capture nine associates working for Malik. Six are dead, and three are in custody, but those in custody haven't offered anything of use toward the capture of the rest. The feds believe there are at least five more at large, including Malik.

x

Wednesday – 7:00 pm (Thanksgiving Eve)

Redstone Women's Center

The four of them are gathered in Roni's room for a Friendsgiving dinner.

Ivy brought lasagna and dessert that she made in a friend's kitchen. Roni created a music playlist and selected a Christmas flick to watch afterward. Tess and Alex retrieved what they could from the mess hall in the way of plates and eating utensils.

Roni's room is similar in layout to hers, except there's no separate bedroom. It's all open concept. Their card table/dining table sits about 10 feet away from the edge of Roni's bed. The length of the bed is along a wall with a window.

While Ivy dishes up plates, Roni sets them on the table, Alex sits at the table and Tess sits on the edge of Roni's bed peering out the window.

"Tess? Something interesting out there?" Alex asks, chuckling.

"She's waiting for her delivery boy to stop by," Ivy answers with a smirk. She and Roni grab a seat at the table while Tess remains at the window.

"What?" Alex laughs.

"Gunther," Roni adds.

"Gunther brings contraband. He's not allowed on the premises, so he has to sneak in the back way," Ivy explains.

"Gunther's got a record of possession charges. He hasn't hurt anyone, but the sheriff said he was trying to break in one time, and he wasn't. Sheriff is a rat bastard," Tess responds, rolling her eyes.

Tess suddenly sits up and looks out, then lowers her gaze toward the ground. She unlatches the window and opens it sending a plume of cold air into the room. Then she reaches her arm out and pulls on a rope until the object reaches the window surface. Finally, she pulls a small backpack inside.

She grabs the envelope that lays on the bed, which Alex assumes is probably cash, and holds it out the window. A second later she pulls her hand back inside and the window is shut.

After inspecting the contents, she retrieves a bottle of wine and hands it to Ivy, who goes to open the bottle. Next appears to be a bottle of Whiskey. "For later," Tess grins. She also pulls out a few packs of cigarettes, and Roni takes one pack for herself. She puts the whiskey and her cigarettes into the backpack and shoves it under Roni's bed.

"It's like being back in college," Tess says. She walks over and takes the last spot at the table.

Ivy's got the bottle open and is pouring wine into some tea cups and passing those around. "I think we deserve something a little more festive than the mess hall's fine collection of environmentally-damaging solo cups, don't you? Oh…" After pouring the last cup, Ivy reaches inside her bag and pulls out a kitchen timer shaped like a pineapple. "Is there any chance one of you needs a cute kitchen timer? I got this from a friend. I think she shoved it into my bag when I wasn't looking as a gag."

Alex looks it over. "Umm… Actually, yeah, I'll take it."

Ivy hands it over. "Just curious, but why?"

She smiles. "Bobby's cooking Thanksgiving dinner for us tomorrow. A timer couldn't hurt, right?"

"Aww… He's cooking dinner for you. That's so sweet!" Ivy says, grinning.

They all start eating.

While still thinking about Ivy's comment, she says "Yeah, he's trying to make up for…"

She almost mentions how she misses her family and Bobby wants to give her a nice Thanksgiving, but she can't because her cover story says there is no family for her to stay with, hence the reason she was brought here.

Ivy's looking at her to finish her sentence, so she says "…umm… He tried to make me dinner once and it didn't go well. So I think he's trying to make up for that."

"While we're on the topic, Amy, how's your man?" Roni asks between bites.

"He's not my man. Just a friend," Alex responds.

"We've all seen him sneaking out of your suite in the morning or you going over to his place. How's the sex?" Tess asks.

"There is no sex."

"You two are having sleepovers without sex?" Tess muses, shaking her head.

"At least lie about it," Ivy jokes. "Some of us need to live vicariously."

Alex chuckles. "Bobby and I are good friends. It's not the time for a relationship."

Truthfully, she still doesn't know what they are. But if she doesn't want to say more on this topic, she should probably stay away from Tess's bottle of whiskey.

She doesn't mind the girl talk, or even the teasing. It gives her a sense of normalcy. If she didn't have these three ladies pushing her for details, it would be her sister.

"But it does look like he likes you. I could tell from that day when he came over to get your things after the break-in. He's very sweet. Very thoughtful. One of the good ones," Ivy remarks.

"Yes," Alex replies.

"And pretty hot for a guy in his 50s," adds Roni.

She smiles. "Agreed. He's hot."

xoxoxo

Bobby's apartment – 4:00 pm - Chicago

Thanksgiving

Bobby opens the door to his apartment, then holds it for Alex and enters after her. She hangs up her coat and then carries her overnight bag into his bedroom.

As she's looking through the bag for some chapstick, she sees the pineapple timer. She smirks, takes it out of the bag, and brings it to the kitchen.

Bobby opens the refrigerator. "So, there's turkey legs, potatoes and gravy, green beans, plus a bottle of pinot noir. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect."

"The turkey won't take too long, but I'll start that first."

While they're standing there, she presents him with the pineapple timer.

"What's that?"

"A kitchen timer. Thought it might come in handy."

"I won't burn the turkey. I promise," he chuckles.

He takes it from her, looks at it, and shrugs. "It's cute. Thanks." He sets it on the counter. "Oh… I have a surprise for you. It's at my desk." He gestures back toward the bedroom and she walks toward it, entering first.

They enter his room, and across from his bed is a desk and chair with a laptop already powered on but in sleep mode. He gestures to his desk chair. "Have a seat."

She sits down. Bobby grabs his phone out of his pocket, looks for something, and sends a text.

A moment later, the phone buzzes and he reads a returned text. "Okay."

He touches the mousepad to get the screen, opens a browser, types in some text, and an FBI secure screen shows. Next, he types in some text and a Zoom meeting window opens.

On the screen, she sees her siblings, in-laws, her dad, some nieces, and nephews including Nathan, gathered at the dining room table at her dad's. The screen is set back so they can try to fit most of them in the field of view.

She wishes she could be there.

Alex is smiling, laughing, and crying all at once. She looks over at Bobby, wanting to say something more than just thank you, but she's at a loss for words.

Her family is calling her name and asking how she is. About ten different people start trying to talk to her at once.

Bobby lowers his voice to speak to only Alex. "It's confidential. No one can trace this or hack it. No one will know from the bureau. Your family agreed that this is not to be shared with anyone. I'll cook dinner. Just enjoy some time with your family." He smiles at her, touches her shoulder then turns and leaves the bedroom, closing the door on his way out.

She turns back to the screen. Tears are running down her cheeks. "Hi… I miss you all so much!"

"We miss you too! We love you!"

xxx

2 hours later

Bobby turns on the oven light and bends down to peer inside. Turkey legs shouldn't be much longer. He switches the light off, looks over at the green beans, then turns the burner off. He checks the gravy next, stirring it first then grabbing a spoon to taste it. Still a little thin but otherwise perfect, so he tosses in some cornstarch and gives it another stir.

His bedroom door opens and Alex steps out. She blots her eyes with a wadded tissue in her hand, which is probably pointless because she's still crying.

She walks over to Bobby, who turns from the stove to talk to her.

Alex puts her arms around him to hug him. He grins at her response while hugging her back. "So, how are they?"

She leans back. "They're great. Thank you so much!"

"I was glad to do it."

"You have no idea how much that meant to me. To all of us."

She still can't share much with them, so most of the conversation was about her knee recovery and then the family updated her on their lives. She mentioned that she has a few friends. She's making the best of it.

"How did you arrange this?"

He shrugs. "Made friends with some tech guys. It's all good." He looks at her smile. "Totally worth it."

She rises up on her toes and kisses his cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The pineapple timer goes off and Bobby reaches over to turn off the oven. "So, I think we're ready."

x x x

Moments later, they're sitting down to eat.

"Well, I'm not much of a cook, but I think the turkey legs turned out okay."

"The turkey legs are great."

"I should have cooked the green beans longer. I like them a little crunchy, but sorry, I should have asked if you wanted them more done. Potatoes are a little overdone."

"Stop criticizing your cooking! It's all great."

"Gravy's still a little thin."

She shakes her head. "If not for you, I'd be eating a turkey bologna sandwich on white bread in the mess hall back at Redstone. I used to eat raw green beans as a kid. I think it was my mom's way of giving me something to occupy my hands. I liked to get into things." Alex chuckles.

Bobby's smile widens.

"What?"

"I'm just picturing you as a child getting into stuff. You know, I'd like to see some pictures of you as a kid sometime. More than just what your dad keeps around his living room."

"Really? Okay, I'm sure we can find some."

"Christmas?"

"You still think we'll be back in New York by Christmas?" asks Alex.

He shrugs. "We can try."

xxx

About 2 hours later, she's snuggled up beside Bobby on his couch watching some spy movie.

The movie's got intrigue, but also funny moments. They're laughing at the same scenes. Alex steals glances at him during the movie. Just being with him is everything.

During the movie, Bobby's phone buzzes. They're nearing the peak action moment, so Alex hits the pause, Bobby checks the display, jumps up from the couch, and says, "Gotta take this."

He wanders into his bedroom, shuts the door, and Alex lounges on the couch.

She assumes it'll be 5 minutes, but 15 minutes go by and then half an hour. Finally, the door opens and Bobby walks out looking pensive. He's holding his binder and checking something and she knows there's not going to be much conversation until he's worked it out in his head.

He sits down and the binder is closed and dropped on the floor beside the couch. He sighs heavily.

"That good?" she teases. She assumes it's about a case and he's not in the mood to talk about it. As she picks up the remote to restart the movie, Bobby covers her hand to prevent it.

"What?" She drops the remote back down on the couch and he turns in his seat to face her.

"I've got a UC inside Malik's group. I've been trying to figure out his next move."

She nods.

"This UC mentioned a dirty agent. Doesn't have a name, but Malik is receiving intel from someone inside the bureau."

"Kirkpatrick?"

He shakes his head. "It isn't Kirkpatrick. If he's in touch with Malik, it's probably to keep an eye on you and me."

"He's the one that left me the card with the pictures."

"I know. But there's no way to hang that on him. I already tried. Anyway, Kirkpatrick doesn't have good intel and he's the least of the bureau's concerns. This other inside agent is well-connected. Very smart. Very dangerous. He or she, and Malik are involved in something and it sounds like it's large scale. Possibly a national threat."

"Hmmm."

Bobby reaches his hand over and takes hers, then threads their fingers together. "UC also heard that Malik plans to find you again and punish you, and then try to frame me for everything."

"We caught nine of his associates. He's going to make sure whatever he does next doesn't fail," says Alex.

"Yeah."

"Did you call Dana while you were in there?"

Bobby shakes his head. "She left me in charge of this UC. As soon as I bring her in…"

"…you're going to get pulled from my case," she says, finishing his sentence.

"And probably get us both re-located in witsec. Might not even be in the same zip code."

"Then hold off on telling her. See what else your UC can find out. Even a name."

Bobby nods. "I need something big enough to hold over this agent." He squeezes her hand while meeting her eyes. "Eames, I'm worried about you."

"I'm worried about you too. But we'll get these guys."

He smiles at her, then tugs her arm, asking her to come closer. She grabs up the remote, cuddles up beside him and they restart the movie.

xxx