new york wolves } { of undercover cases and interrupted dates

[killmypatience]

Beckett: [she manages to beat him home for once, waiting in the kitchen with dinner for her husband to get home, and she'll greet him with a nervous smile] Hey.

Derek: [and he will have had a long day full of nothing but chasing down leads that go nowhere and there's still a killer out there with a cold trail. But eh, he's home and his wife is gorgeous so he will smile] Hey. [and then he will notice that smile] Something wrong?

Beckett: Not ... wrong exactly. But I do have to talk to you about something.

Derek: Alright. Let me just go get out of this suit and into something comfortable.

Kate: [nods] Sounds good. [and she'll go make them up plates]

Derek: [and he will wander back in five minutes later in his jeans and a t-shirt, barefoot and smiling a bit] Smells good.

Kate: I ordered in. [and she hands one off to him before heading towards the table] So I can't take all the credit.

Derek: You could have fooled me. And here I was thinking you were going to surprise me having taken cooking lessons or something when I wasn't paying attention.

Beckett: [she laughs] With what time?

Derek: Hey, I don't know what you're doing over at the FBI. You could tell me you're working a case and really be taking lessons. [and he will lean in to kiss her as he takes a seat next to her]

Beckett: [kisses him back] Good point.

Derek: So how was your day?

Beckett: Good. But that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about because this case came up. And they want me to go undercover.

Derek: Undercover? How long?

Beckett: Not sure, but hopefully not long. Maybe a week or two.

Derek: [nods] Well, I could move back in with my sister so that you can have a safe zone and not have my presence risk your operation.

Beckett: [she shakes her head] They're setting me up with clean records on the other side town. They don't want me anywhere near where someone could accidentally run into me and blow my cover.

Derek: [nods] Alright. But I'll probably spend a lot of time there anyway, just because I don't think I'll like being alone that long.

Beckett: [she nods] That's fine. I'm sure Laura will be happy to have you.

Derek: Of course she will. To babysit.

Beckett: [she laughs] I think she and Javi are working on having another one so babysitters are an asset right now.

Derek: [winces] Details I don't need, Kate.

Beckett: [and that gets him a look] That wasn't that graphic.

Derek: No, but I know what goes into that business so it becomes graphic. [and he will look at his fork a moment as he thinks about the next bite he's about to take]

Beckett: [she pauses for a moment, watching him] I'll be okay, Derek. I've been undercover before.

Derek: No, I know that. [and he will put his fork down] I was thinking maybe after that though.

Beckett: [frowns] After what?

Derek: After you finish this undercover gig.

Beckett: What about after it?

Derek: Maybe you and I could think about making a little one ourselves?

Beckett: [her eyebrows go up a bit at that because this was not the conversation she was expecting to have before this case] Maybe. Can we table this discussion for after, though? I'm really not in the headspace for it.

Derek: [nods] Yeah, but I do want to come back to it. I know it'll never be a good time, but that's why we make time.

Beckett: [she nods] No, I know. After this case is solved, we'll come back to it.

Derek: Okay. Then I'll survive you being gone for a week or two.

Beckett: Good. [she grins a bit as she finishes her food, before leaning in to kiss him gently] And you could always give me a really good send off.

Derek: [grins] Well, I don't have a lot of time to prepare, but I'm sure I can throw something together.

Beckett: I have faith in you. I think you can pull it off.

Derek: I may just need a few minutes to stretch. You should stretch too. [smirks]

Beckett: [she laughs] Stretch? Really?

Derek: I'm getting some ideas now, and we're both going to need to be nice and flexible.

Beckett: Okay. Well, you limber up while I do the dishes.

Derek: Yes ma'am. [and he's going to go stretch. In the living room. Shirtless.]

Beckett: [yep and she's going to do the dishes and then come out to enjoy the view]

Derek: [and yes, he is totally going to make a show of it for you, beautiful and sexy wife]

Beckett: [well, if you're going to do that she is just going to enjoy it until he makes her get involved]

Derek: [and he will look over his shoulder at her] Aren't you going to join me?

Beckett: I was, but now I'm just enjoying the show. Besides, you never told me what I needed to stretch.

Derek: [and he's going to move swiftly in that werewolf way, spinning around and going to grab her, lift her, and pin her to the wall all sexy wise with a smirk] Well, it may be too late now.

Beckett: [she laughs as she goes before wrapping her legs around his waist to keep herself steady] Guess we'll have to see how naturally limber I am.

Derek: Guess so. [and he's going to just spend the rest of the night testing her flexibility until they are exhausted and tangled up in each other]

Beckett: [which will hopefully lead to good sleep for both of them]

Derek: [oh yeah. the best kind of sleep]

Beckett: [and she will be up early to shower and pack up everything she needs before moving back to his side of the bed and placing a hand on his shoulder gently] Derek?

Derek: [and he will groan and look up at her] That time already?

Beckett: Unfortunately. [she leans in to kiss him goodbye] I'll check in when I can, okay?

Derek: Only when it's safe to do so. I'll be fine. You just focus on staying safe and getting the job done. [aka he's going to worry anyway]

Beckett: [yeah, she knows, but she's going to miss him too] I'll see you in a few weeks.

Derek: [and he is going to just answer her by pushing up and kissing her deeply]

Beckett: [hums softly as she kisses him back, holding it for as long as she can before pulling back and heading for the door]

Derek: [and he will give her that smile that he'll be okay, and she needs to go save the world. But when she's gone and the door closes, he's going to just sigh and sink back into the bed a bit, staring at the ceiling before reaching for his cell phone and texting his sister] So is there a bed I can crash on at all?

Laura: [IT'S EARLY DEREK. but she will fumble for the phone and blink at it before texting him back] Always. Why?

Derek: Will tell you in person. I'll bring breakfast with me.

Laura: Okay. Take your time, I'm going back to sleep. [It's Javi's day to deal with her son's concept of "morning" because it's usually before the sun comes up.]

Derek: [he will, taking time to shower, call in "sick" unless he's needed, pack a bag for a few days, and then catching an uber over to the bakery to grab the small breakfast buffet that he will carry up to the Hale apartments. He'll let himself in easy enough, dropping the bag on the floor and heading to the kitchen]

Malia: [and he will be greeted by his nephew and Malia, who still lives there because I don't think we've established otherwise yet] Are those doughnuts?

Derek: Of course they are. Donuts and a few bagels in case Peter happens to stop in and complains about the choices. [he will smile at the two of them] You got morning Tommy duty?

Malia: [she shakes her head] Laura's still asleep and Javi had to get in the shower. I was already up.

Thomas: Doughnuts!

Derek: Well, if you want to go do something, I'm probably crashing here for a few days anyway.

Malia: Did Kate kick you out?

Derek: No. She's working on a case and won't be home for awhile. I don't like being in the apartment alone for an indeterminant amount of time.

Malia: Oh. Okay. I guess you'll be crashing in Cora's room since the guest room is Tommy's now.

Derek: Not like Cora needs it anymore since they live downstairs.

Malia: [she nods] I just don't think Laura's cleaned it out completely to have it ready for guests though.

Derek: It'll give me something to do then. [because distractions are totally what he needs]

Malia: Whatever you say.

Thomas: [tugs on his sleeve because everyone is talking around him] Uncle Derek, doughnuts!

Derek: [and he will look down at Tommy because damnit kid stop growing] Yes, kiddo, I brought donuts. I even got one with sprinkles just for you. [and he will be hugged as Derek goes to pull one out of the box for his impatient nephew]

Thomas: [grins as he takes the doughnut from him and shoves it in his face just as his mother comes around the corner]

Laura: [... sighs] Yay sugar. [she doesn't sound happy, just tired]

Derek: I will take full responsibility for chasing after him for the next hour. [and he will smile at his sister]

Laura: You better. [but she will come over to give him a kiss on the cheek anyway] What are you doing here?

Derek: Beckett's working a case that is putting her out of pocket for a week or two. You know I don't survive well in a vacuum.

Laura: So we're a distraction. Fair enough. [she pats his shoulder and moves towards the kitchen] Coffee?

Derek: The best distraction. [sucking up - not at all. please feed him Laura] And yes, please. [totally grabbing himself a donut too]

Laura: [and she will fix them both coffee] Maybe you'll actually lure our sister out of her happily married bliss.

Derek: Is it even safe to venture down there?

Laura: Well, they still go to work, so ... at some point.

Derek: I just don't want to expose myself to things I'd rather never learn about them two. [smirks]

Laura: Then call first.

Derek: That involves using the phone again, right?

Laura: Usually, yes.

Derek: I'll try to remember that. [you remember why you love your smartass little brother, don't you?]

Laura: [uh-huh] We're also having Peter and Nadia over for dinner this weekend so you can sit in for that too.

Derek: [nods] I can do that. I have to probably go to work once I get rid of this terrible cold.

Esposito: Yeah, you look like you're on death's door. [coming in as he's getting his suit all nice and crisp looking on his sleeves]

Laura: [she smirks] You do also realize that you decided to hide out in your boss's house.

Derek: I do, since he knows that it's not good for me to work on the day my wife has gone on an assignment and I'm going to be completely distracted and worthless.

Esposito: So your same MO as normal?

Laura: Kate is smart and she's tough, Derek. She'll be okay.

Esposito: She always is.

Derek: Yeah, I know, but I just worry, and she's going to be out of contact for the time so... [he needs distractions]

Laura: [she nods, because she gets that, before she glances back to her son] Well, you can start with cleaning up your nephew which you so graciously covered in frosting and sprinkles.

Thomas: [grins]

Derek: I can do that. [and he will pick up Tommy and toss him in the air] You want to spend the day with your Uncle Derek, kiddo?

Thomas: [laughs as he's thrown and is definitely into it] Yeah!

Derek: [and off they will go to the sink for washing hands and faces]

Esposito: [leaning into Laura, keeping his voice low] I'll give him a break today. I remember what going undercover is like for Ryan, and Derek's looking for something to keep his mind off her going into that kind of environment where he can't even know what's happening. But tomorrow his ass will be back at work.

Laura: [nods with a small smile] I expect nothing less. But that doesn't mean he won't be staying here until she gets home.

Esposito: Then we put him to work. Babysitting. While maybe I take a long weekend and we go take a mini vacation?

Laura: Oooh I like that idea. We could get a hotel room and sleep. [and do other things, she's mostly teasing but sleep. sleep is important]

Esposito: Real sleep, without cell phone or alarms. Take advantage of him while we can.

Laura: I like it. Let's do it.

Esposito: It will be done. [and he will kiss her] You guys behave while I'm gone.

Laura: [kisses him back] Will do. Have a good day at work.

Esposito: [and he will sneak around to kiss Tommy goodbye] You be good, hijo. No driving mama loco. Comprende?

Thomas: [waves hand at him] Bye, Daddy.

Beckett: [so off they go to spend some time in the park, and the next few days go off without a hitch, until Derek gets a call at his desk at work]

Derek: [and he will reach over while reading a file] Detective Hale.

Beckett: [and it's just a dead air line, though since Derek is a werewolf, he might be able to hear some breathing and ambient noise]

Derek: [yeah, that's not good. He's going to stand up, putting one finger in his other ear and closing his eyes to focus his hearing.]

Beckett: [yep, mostly dead air. and they'll wait a minute, and when the person on the other end doesn't hang up the phone clatters to the ground. There are footsteps heading away from where the phone is left. Not long after, there are footsteps heading towards the phone and a gruff male voice on the other end says: "That bitch couldn't have gone far on foot."

A second voice: "Think she got in a car?"

"Nah, we would have heard it." And then the footsteps take off again]

Derek: [and he is going to snap his fingers to get Gloria's attention, and then point at his phone because he needs a trace on it NOW]

Gloria: [blinks at him, but does as she's told, running a trace and trying to triangulate the signal]

Derek: [and he listens and when he doesn't hear the footsteps coming back, he will debate a moment before whispering softly] Are you there?

Gloria: [nope. no answer buuuuut ...] Signal's coming from fifty fourth and third.

Derek: Stay here and keep on the line. Text me if you hear anything important. [and he's going to go grab his keys, badge and gun]

Gloria: [takes the phone and nods] Take back up!

Derek: [of course he won't. because he knows its Kate and she is undercover and he can't risk blowing her cover further.]

Gloria: [well, she tried]

Beckett: [and when he gets there, he'll definitely pick up her scent, and that of the two men, and ... blood]

Derek: [and he's a Hale so he's great at staying in the shadows and he's going to follow Kate's scent and hope it's not her blood]

Beckett: [well, that would be wrong. There's no blood drops or a trail to follow but the scent lingers in the air - and while the scent of the men follow it for a while, eventually it diverges from hers - she steps into an empty theater being renovated and they keep heading down he street]

Derek: [and he will make sure he's not being followed, and then he is going to slide into the theatre]

Beckett: [she's hiding in one of the boxes hands pressed against a gash in her side and just trying to breathe. She knows she needs to tie it off but she needs more hands for that and she doesn't have them. She's leaning against the box so she stays hidden and has her eyes closed trying to breathe]

Derek: [and when he gets the scent of her blood - yup, that is a worried husband who will appear at her side, clearing the box first with the gun outstretched in front of her before closing the box seat door and getting to her side] Kate.

Beckett: [her eyes open when she hears his voice and there's a slightly dazed smile] You got my call.

Derek: Yeah, I did. [and he's going to access her injuries] You need to get to a hospital.

Beckett: Are they gone?

Derek: They're still looking for you but they went a different way.

Beckett: Okay. [she winces as she starts to move] Hospital might not work.

Derek: Why not?

Beckett: They have contacts there. They'll find me, and finish what they started.

Derek: [nods, thinking] Fine, then we'll go to someone I know is on my side.

Beckett: Okay.

Derek: [and he is going to help her tie the wound off, and then he's going to pick her up]

Beckett: [she winces as he does, and shakes her head] I can walk, we'll draw less attention that way.

Derek: You sure?

Beckett: [she nods] Yeah. Yeah, just get me there.

Derek: [and he's going to get her to the car, and then he will text Marcus to meet him somewhere NOW]

Beckett: [and she's just going to hang out in the passenger seat as she drives]

Derek: [and they will eventually pull up to a medical office that is closed but there is one light on, and a blonde waiting at the back-door waving for them to come in. Derek will park and go to help Kate out of the car and to the door]

Beckett: [and she will just let him lead her inside, clinging to him to keep her steady at this point]

Marcus: Hello, Agent Beckett. You’re going to be okay. Derek, but her up on my desk. [which is already covered in a medical drape]

Derek: [and he will help guide Kate up onto the desk]

Beckett: [and she's going to be useless for a bit until she's all better and maybe has slept a bit. The gash is deep but it hasn't hit anything vital]

Derek: [and once Marcus had gotten her patched up, he took her to a crappy motel in New Jersey to rest and texted Javi, his sister, and the team that he will be out of pocket for the rest of the day. Then he just waits for her to wake up while watching through the window]

Beckett: [it'll be a few hours, but eventually her eyes will open, and then she will jerk awake when she doesn't immediately recognize her surroundings]

Derek: Hey, relax I'm here. [and he will close the curtain and go to sit on the bed next to her]

Beckett: [she turns and sees her husband and part of her relaxes, but not a whole lot] Where are we?

Derek: Crappy motel in Secaucus.

Beckett: [exhales and nods, before glancing down at where she's patched up] How?

Derek: You may have dialed me when you dropped your phone, and I traced the signal and found you. [he gives her the phone he had found and smiles] You remember me finding you at the theatre or Marcus patching you up?

Beckett: [she nods] No, I remember that. I just didn't remember the medical attention, or getting here.

Derek: You passed out while Marcus was treating you. I drove us here to get out of the city in case whoever hurt you was still looking for you.

Beckett: [she sighs and nods] Probably. Along with half the FBI.

Derek: You can check in now.

Beckett: No, actually. I can't. [sighs softly, running a hand over her face] My handler was the one who sold me out.

Derek: ... Seriously?

Beckett: Yeah. He's been getting paid off by the guy we've been trying to nail the entire time, and I found it. So he sold me out to keep me from saying anything.

Derek: So we need to get you back to headquarters so that you can tell them what's happening.

Beckett: If there's anyone I can actually trust there that he hasn't already turned against me.

Derek: We're four hours from DC.

Beckett: I don't know. I ... I need to think.

Derek: Well, we're safe here. I also grabbed some food.

Beckett: [she nods] Okay. [she glances over at him] I'm sorry.

Derek: Sorry for what?

Beckett: For dragging you into this.

Derek: [chuckles and takes her hand as he sits at her side] Kate, you've been dragged into my family's messes before. Don't be sorry, just let me help when I can.

Beckett: [she nods] I don't know what I need yet. [she pats down her pockets for a moment, before pulling out a small flash drive] But I do have this.

Derek: So you need a computer. [thinks] The hotel has a business office. When we're ready to go, you can go in there and look at the file while I pay the hotel bill.

Beckett: [she nods] Once we know for sure that I have something, I might know someone I can pass it to.

Derek: And if it's encrypted, I'm sure Stiles would enjoy a challenge.

Beckett: Oh, definitely. He is certainly good at that.

Derek: [squeezes her hand] You want to try and eat something?

Beckett: [she takes a deep breath and nods] Yeah, I'm starving.

Derek: [and he will go over to where there are a few bags and bring her a sandwich and drink he grabbed at a deli while driving]

Beckett: [and she will eat very slowly because pain and ow are not exactly conducive to an appetite] Did you find anything else when you found me?

Derek: Your phone, and there was blood. I wasn't really looking for anything more than you, to be honest.

Beckett: [she nods, taking a deep breath as she leans back] Thought I'd ask just in case.

Derek: I could go back and get blood samples later. I can tell what's yours and what's not.

Beckett: We'll see. If what I have here is good, we may not need it.

Derek: [nods] So where do I need to take you once you're ready to move?

Beckett: Somewhere with a computer that we can't be traced to.

Derek: That's why I said we should use the computer here after we check out.

Beckett: Well, if they don't let us, we should find a library.

Derek: Or an Apple store.

Beckett: That'd work too.

Derek: How are you feeling now?

Beckett: Tired. But I'll be okay if you want to get moving.

Derek: If you need more time...

Beckett: I don't think we have it. They'll figure out I called you once they check and see if you're at work.

Derek: That's why we're in Secaucus in an hourly motel paying cash under a fake name.

Beckett: Yeah, but they can track the GPS on your phone.

Derek: I pulled the sim cards. [sighs] Kate, I've been on the run before. I know all the tricks to keep hunters from finding me.

Beckett: [she closes her eyes] I know, I'm sorry. I'm just ... [scared? a little]

Derek: [and he will go over and hold her, kissing her gently] I got you. I promise I covered my tracks and for the moment no one can find me, not even my sister.

Beckett: [sighs as she leans into him] I hate this.

Derek: I'm not all that fond of it myself. But it's temporary. We'll figure this out.

Beckett: I hope so.

Derek: Come on, let's head to the lobby. Just make sure you look very satisfied from the hours we've spent in here. [he smirks a bit]

Beckett: [rolls her eyes at him as she slowly gets to her feet and follows him out to the lobby]

Derek: [and while he goes to pay for the hours they've had the room, there is a typical desktop computer that has a crappy printer and probably sticky keys. Sorry Kate you get what you pay for]

Beckett: [gross. does it even have a usb drive?]

Derek: [yup. not that old. Probably slow though]

Beckett: [well, she'll put on her gloves and give it a shot, plugging in the usb and trying to get into the file but ... yep, it's definitely encrypted]

Derek: [and he's going to talk cars with the dude behind the desk, trying to give kate more time]

Beckett: [and she will close it all down and remove the drive, before heading back to her husband] Ready to go?

Derek: [grins, putting his arm around her should] Oh yeah, ready to go sweetheart. [and he will wink to the guy and go to guide Kate out to a car that is very much not Derek's car.]

Beckett: [and she'll wait until she slides into the passenger's seat before glancing back to him] It's encrypted. So we may need to get this to a computer guy.

Derek: Then I think we're going to need a burner phone. You could probably use a new outfit too. [since she had blood on hers]

Beckett: Probably a good idea. Is there are mall near here?

Derek: I think so. Grab the GPS device in the glove box.

Beckett: [and she reaches forward to pull it out and hands it off to him]

Derek: [and he will type in the information and look, there is a strip mall not that far that has a T-Mobile and a TJ Maxx in it.] Perfect.

Beckett: [nods] Let's go.

Derek: [and off they go and when they get there] Split up or stay together?

Beckett: Split up for now. Meet you in the food court when we're done?

Derek: See you there. And see if you can find me a shirt or two and a pack of underwear. Just in case.

Beckett: [nods and off she goes to find new clothes and what not]

Derek: [and two phones are purchased on a month to month family plan that Derek paid for an entire year because Hales have money like that, and he will go grab a coffee and wait for her in the food court]

Beckett: [and she will come back with clean clothes and a TJ Maxx bag] Find everything you needed?

Derek: We are now the proud owners of two very crappy old iPhones. [holds out one to her]

Beckett: Lucky us. [she smirks as she takes it from him] So who's going to be our computer guy?

Derek: I think my future brother in law will work just fine.

Beckett: Okay. Let's see if he can meet.

Derek: [and he's going to connect to the wifi and open up Skype to call Stiles]

Stiles: [and he is going to be at work and completely weirded out when his Skype starts to ring]

Adam: [blinks as he glances over] You need to take that?

Stiles: I probably should. [and he will get up and go find a quiet corner before answering] Derek? Why are you calling me on Skype?

Beckett: [will inch her chair closer and lean in so she can listen]

Derek: Can't really go into details, but I need you help with a case. How long until you get out of work?

Stiles: Um... [looks at the wall clock] Maybe an hour or two, but I have -

Derek: Good. Meet me at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Newark.

Stiles: .... Cora and I have a date set up tonight.

Derek: [looks over at Kate]

Beckett: Where's the date?

Stiles: A small Italian place on Bleeker.

Beckett: You know what, don't worry about it. It can wait until tomorrow. I'll fill Mac in when we get back to the city.

Stiles: ... Do I want to know what I'm getting involved in?

Beckett: Nothing any different than what you usually deal with every day.

Stiles: You are so not instilling any confidence in me.

Beckett: It's for a case. But the people I normally would go to at the FBI might be compromised, or I would go to them.

Stiles: If you two get me killed, you're going to answer to Laura.

Beckett: We are not going to get you killed, don't worry.

Stiles: I'm just making it clear.

Derek: Stiles.

Beckett: We'll see you tomorrow.

Stiles: See you tomorrow. [and he will hang up and run a hand through his hair]

Adam: Everything okay?

Stiles: [deep breath and half smile] I hope so.

Adam: Let me know if you need any help.

Stiles: [slides back into his seat to get back to work] Will do.

Cora: [and when he's ready, his girlfriend will be at home waiting for him]

Stiles: [he will be coming home, smelling like the subway and some guy's cologne because he was spraying it on himself while on the subway and sprayed it right on Stiles] I smell like a H&M store.

Cora: [sympathetic face] Do you want to shower before we go?

Stiles: Yes, because otherwise this is what you are going to smell if I don't.

Cora: [gestures towards the stairs to the bathroom]

Stiles: [and off he will go. He will take a quick 5 minute shower and then go and get into some date worthy clothing and reappear] Ok, I'm ready.

Cora: Okay! So where are we going?

Stiles: This little Italian place down on Bleeker.

Corra: Ooooh. Baked pasta.

Stiles: Made by real Italians.

Cora: I approve already.

Stiles: Shall we? [he ordered an Uber while he was getting dressed and it's pulling up outside in 2 minutes]

Cora: We shall. [and she will grab her purse and off they'll go to their Uber]

Stiles: [and they will get dropped off at the Italian place where a table for two is waiting for them]

Cora: It smells so good in here.

Stiles: I know. I could live here.

Cora: Have you been here before?

Stiles: No, but the bakers down the street I'm at often and the smells from this place waft down the block.

Cora: We should come here more often.

Stiles: I would be down for that.

Cora: We don't really have very many "places."

Stiles: No, we don't. We have a pizza place, that's about it.

Cora: We should try and find more places.

Stiles: Just means we need to go on more dates.

Cora: I wouldn't be opposed to that.

Stiles: Neither would I. I really like how we do this. Just focusing on us again.

Cora: Me too.

Stiles: [leans forward a bit] Plus I also enjoy looking forward to our after dates too.

Cora: [she laughs] Oh, I'm sure. [she shakes her head as she looks at the menu] Anything interesting today?

Stiles: I think I'm going to try the lasagna.

Cora: [she nods] I meant at work.

Stiles: Oh. No, just the same old stuff. Though your brother called me on Skype a few hours ago.

Cora: Why did he call you on Skype?

Stiles: I thought he had butt dialed me at first. But he was wanting me to look at a file for a case he's on or something.

Cora: Oh. That's still really weird. I didn't know he knew how Skype worked.

Stiles: Maybe Kate has been teaching him about the wonderful world of technology.

Cora: Maybe. She might have insisted that he get himself up to speed.

Stiles: About damn time.

Cora: Agreed. But that is enough talk about my brother for this date.

Stiles: Yes, totally enough. So what shall we talk about?

Cora: The wedding? [let's put this pre-wedding]

Stiles: That's a good topic.

Cora: So we have a venue. And we have a bridal party?

Stiles: I think so. I've got Hal and Scott for sure.

Cora: And I've got Alexis and Malia so we're even.

Stiles: Does Malia mind walking with Scott, or should I add Jeremy and you need to find another girl?

Cora: [she shakes her head] No, she'll be fine.

Stiles: Jeremy can hang out with Allison....

Cora: Won't they be on separate sides?

Stiles: [wrinkles his nose] Do we want to do the whole sides thing? I mean, beyond the fact I'll be greatly outnumbered, it's so not fair to the pack.

Cora: I don't know? I mean, a lot of our friends could sit on either.

Stiles: We could do three sections. Bride, Groom, We Are Not Choosing a Side.

Cora: Like as a separate aisle?

Stiles: Yeah. Think like concert seating. Middle section and two sides with an aisle on either side of the middle.

Cora: Do you think the venue is big enough for that?

Stiles: Let's be real, Cora. I have like five people tops who will be sitting on my side. Everyone else is your side or middle don't want to take sides people.

Cora: Okay, maybe we shouldn't do sides then.

Stiles: Plus my dad would probably sit on your side anyway just to mess with me.

Cora: [laughs] Well, your dad does love me a lot.

Stiles: Pretty sure he loves you more than me.

Cora: That I'm not sure of.

Stiles: Well, maybe that's not fair to him, but he would sit on your side.

Cora: So we'll just have no sides then. Anyone can sit wherever they want.

Stiles: I think that is best. So Tommy as ring bearer?

Cora: Of course. He's already been trained.

Stiles: Unless you want to have our kids with the ring and flowers.

Cora: Our kids?

Stiles: The dogs.

Cora: Oh. No, they're not as well trained. And I don't think the venue allows pets.

Stiles: We're short a flower girl.

Cora: We could skip the flower girl and just give Tommy a flower crown?

Stiles: Oooo, we should ask Castle to be the flower girl. [grins]

Cora: [smirks] I think he's a little tall.

Stiles: But he'd have so much fun with it.

Cora: I'm sure he would. But Alexis will veto it based on aesthetics.

Stiles: [sighs then smirks bigger] Martha.

Cora: No.

Stiles: Ok, no flower girl. I'm going to file a complaint that Hal and Alexis did not provide one for us in time.

Cora: Your complaint is noted.

Stiles: So reception. Do you think Peter and Castle are going to let us pay for it?

Cora: Probably not.

Stiles: Will they let us plan it?

Cora: Yes.

Stiles: Then I think we need to choose food.

Cora: Chicken or fish?

Stiles: Chicken. [ew, fish? really?]

Cora: [some people like fish] Salad or vegetable?

Stiles: Veggies.

Cora: I think they'll give us a spread of appetizers to choose from.

Stiles: And cakes, we have to try the cakes.

Cora: We can definitely try all the cakes.

Stiles: And we need to make sure they smush into each other's faces well. [smirks]

Cora: I think we're supposed to save that for the wedding.

Stiles: Well, yeah, but we should test now to make sure they aren't too stick, or flaky. We don't want to completely ruin our outfits.

Cora: I don't want to ruin what I'm wearing to the tasting either.

Stiles: We can wear bibs at the tasting and not look ridiculous in front of our friends and family.

Cora: I thought that was the point of shoving cake in our faces?

Stiles: For the tasting, not at the wedding.

Cora: No, I mean I thought we were going to look ridiculous anyway.

Stiles: Well, yes. But we won't be wearing a bib at the wedding. [because it's the bib that he finds ridiculous, not the cake smushing]

Cora: I think we're just talking about this in circles and should worry about this at the tasting.

Stiles: Okay. [because nope, there will be cake smushing. even if it's like a tiny piece]

Cora: [sigh] So yeah, I think other than like ... the vendor stuff, we don't have a whole lot to worry about.

Stiles: Just surviving to get to that day, that's about it. [because Stiles knows he's going to probably fuck up and piss Cora off at least once during this whole process. it's Stiles]

Cora: I think we can handle that much at least.

Stiles: So do I. [and he has no idea what Derek and Kate are going to be dropping on his lap tomorrow so hopefully this stays true]

Cora: [fingers crossed as they finish up their meal] So. What's next on this date plan of yours?

Stiles: Well, our favorite Italian cafe is down the street. I figured we could take a walk, then get coffee and dessert there, and then we can head home and snuggle.

Cora: I think that sounds perfect.

Stiles: [and they can do just that, with a lot of aggressive naked snuggling]

Cora: [yep, so much naked snuggling]

Stiles: [and then they will wake up to the real world where he has to leave his beautiful naked fiancee and go to work where he will see his less beautiful and fully clothed brother-in-law to be]

Beckett: [yep, he and Kate will be hanging out in Mac's office since it's one of the few places in the lab that doesn't have glass windows, and Mac will call him in first thing in the morning]

Derek: [and he will be just doing the hypervigilant thing watching the hallways and logging faces of everyone passing by the doorway.]

Stiles: [he's getting coffee first. No offense, but he wants a really big cup of coffee. preferably filled with espresso but there is a limit on how many Starbucks will give you at one time - pesky lawsuits - and then he will be there] Morning everyone.

Mac: [nods and waves him in, closing the door behind him] Stiles, have a seat.

Beckett: [because she knows how that sounds...] You are not in trouble.

Derek: At least not about this.

Stiles: Such a good way to start a morning. How are you doing, boss?

Mac: I'm fine. But we have a project we want you to work on ... somewhat off the record.

Stiles: Off the record as in not here where people can see what I'm doing, or as in volunteers outside of paid work?

Mac: As in we need you to follow the chain of evidence procedures to the letter, but all reports come to me and me alone. No filing it on the department servers until I give order to otherwise.

Stiles: [looks at Derek and Kate with the "what the hell did you two get involved with" look before nodding] Alright, what do I need to do?

Beckett: I was undercover with the Irish mob. I was making progress until I found out that my handler was on O'Rierden's payroll, and when I did, he tried to have me killed. Before I escaped, I managed to get about ten gigs of information off of their computers that I hope will be useful in proving this, but until I know who's involved in this at the FBI and who isn't I don't know who I can take this to. So I was wondering if you might be able to take this and locate any kind of ledger or payment records that might help me figure out if Rogers was working alone.

Stiles: [nods] Yeah, that should be easy. Question is, do they know you have this information?

Beckett: I don't think so? But honestly, I have no idea.

Stiles: Alright, then I'm going to need to find a laptop and remove the wifi chip so that it can't get any signal first. If they think you have it, there's always a chance they could have spyware looking for people accessing them and we don't need it to set off a signal on the network for them to trace. Let me go see if I can find one in our equipment locker first.

Beckett: [she nods] Okay. Thanks, Stiles.

Stiles: Give me like, thirty minutes. Where do you want me to set this up, boss?

Mac: Your office should be fine. Adam's already been looped in and the rest of the techs are being diverted elsewhere.

Stiles: Alright. I'll meet you guys there. [and unless he's needed, he will head off to find a laptop and when they get to his station he will be holding a mini screwdriver in his mouth as he is working on removing the wifi chip]

Beckett: [nope that's all they need and Beckett is going to stay in Mac's office just in case since the tech lab is pretty much four glass walls and everyone can see inside]

Derek: [and he will keep her company so that she isn't pacing around like a caged tiger]

Stiles: [and he is going to start working on the files, trying to see what kind of encryption they are using]

Beckett: [and the encryption is good, but it's not like CIA level good. They're a local mob scene, not a highly organized terrorist organization]

Stiles: [oh man and here he was hoping for a challenge. So that said, he'll be in after about thirty minutes of running his software on the encryption and then will start going through the files to see what he can find!]

Beckett: [some of it is generic business stuff - "invoices" and what not. some are emails but those don't really have anything overtly useful in it, but eventually Stiles will come across a locked excel file labeled "brianne wedding"]

Stiles: [ooo, wedding ideas from the irish mob, let's see what they have to offer... no, ok this is weird let's go and crack this one open - two minutes later he's in]

Beckett: [And the front page of the spreadsheet is what looks like a list of wedding vendors and their prices and information, as well as commentary by the bride, fairly harmless, if he moves to the different sheets in the book, he'll find that the pages that follow it are quite different. These sheets refer to balances on certain "accounts" - some for people they're extorting, and some who they're paying, as well as what they're paying them for]

Stiles: Boss, can I borrow you a sec... [click, click, click wow this is a lot of people]

Mac: You found something?

Stiles: Yeah, a whole lotta something.

Mac: [goes to lean over his shoulder to have a look] Some kind of ledger?

Stiles: Yeah. The front sheet is his daughter's wedding file, but after that, it's like person after person and a complete ledger.

Mac: Run the prominent names and see what you find.

Stiles: Got it. [and he will go to his actual computer, looking up each name and creating a powerpoint presentation with the info in the ledger and in the crime database and other databases he has access too. Because he likes making presentations, ok?! It's like murderboarding. And he'll forget to eat lunch because he's just so engrossed into all of this work]

Mac: [and he will leave him to do that and get back to his own cases until Stiles is ready to present. but in the end, while there are a few other FBI agents on the list, none of them goes above Rogers' rank, so all of the higher ups are safe to talk to]

Stiles: So what do we do next? [because he gets to keep helping on this, right?]

Mac: I think that's Beckett's call to make. Grab a laptop and let's take this back to her so she can have a look.

Stiles: [and he will transfer the powerpoint to the wifi disabled laptop and then they can follow back to where Derek and Kate are]

Beckett: [sits up a bit when they come back into the office] Did you find anything?

Stiles: Yes, but not sure how significant it's going to be for you. [and he will give her the powerpoint presentation]

Beckett: [takes it from him and flips through it, identifying several of the compromised agents when she sees their name, but ...] There's not a lot of higher ups here. I should be able to take this to Weller or Reade without a problem, I just need to actually get to them without Rogers seeing me. [she looks up at them all] It also might be a good idea to run bank records and confirm that these payments were real. O'Kiernan does everything in cash, so they would have been large cash deposits.

Stiles: I can run the financials without raising any flags.

Beckett: No, I think we should loop Weller in first. He might want to have Patterson do it since this is technically our case. But I'm sure she wouldn't complain about you staying with it so long as you don't get in her way?

Stiles: It's your call, or well, your boss and my boss because even I'm not stupid enough to try and run something down in this on my own.

Beckett: Smart boy. [she glances to Mac] Do you think you can try and get a meeting with him?

Mac: I'll make the call this afternoon. Until then, you should go and get some rest. The bunk rooms downstairs should be free - I'll send someone down to let you know when Director Weller is here.

Derek: Thanks Mac.

Stiles: I can go grab something for lunch if you're hungry. Because I'm starving myself.

Beckett: Lunch would be good. Thanks, Stiles.

Stiles: No problem. [and he looks at Mac for the whole can I go?]

Mac: [he nods] I'll let everyone know when Weller gets here.

Stiles: Awesome. [and he will head out to go find lunch for him, Derek, and Kate and hopefully not get snatched by Irish mobsters!]

Beckett: [nope, Stiles is fine, no one knows he's involved]

Stiles: [yay because Cora would kill all of them if he got mobster-napped]

Beckett: [she would and they're not looking to incite her to murder today]

Stiles: [and he will drop off sandwiches since he's familiar with the entire Hale family food preference menu] So, I'm assuming that all of this isn't really good since you're in hiding here]

Beckett: Nope. I'm pretty sure Rogers is still trying to kill me.

Stiles: You really think he's going to stop just by talking to your boss about this?

Beckett: No, but I'm hoping if we go with evidence Weller will arrest him. After that ... I don't know.

Derek: [and he's going to just stay quiet at her side because he's been worried about all this already]

Stiles: You probably won't be able to work there anymore, you know.

Beckett: We'll see. I'm not the first agent in that building that's been the target of an assassination, and my purview wasn't really undercover work. I was on loan to another unit.

Stiles: Yeah, but if he's there, he'll have friends there. He'll still be able to get information if he doesn't get caught.

Beckett: Well, the other names you came up with are basically his entire unit. Weller will want to clean house. And again, it's not my unit, so my cases won't even be relevant to him. It's not like he didn't know who I was before, Stiles, he was my handler for this case.

Stiles: [rubs at the back of his neck] So he pretty much already knows your entire life.

Beckett: [she nods] And it's not the first time, either. I've gotten through it before, I'll do it again.

Stiles: Yeah, but you may want to keep Laura in the loop. [and he will look at Derek because it shouldn't be Stiles telling their alpha there's a danger to a pack member out there]

Beckett: [and she'll look at Derek too because there's still some things she doesn't get about the whole pack structure]

Derek: [deep breath, and then looks back at Beckett] If there's a chance they'll come after me in retaliation for this, or try to use any of us to lure you out, Laura needs to know. Plus Javi's feelings would be hurt and he will make you feel guilty for not asking for help for at least a year or two.

Beckett: That I knew. [about Javier] But I don't think they will. They're more likely to freeze me out and try to make me look dirty than they are going to try and bring anyone else into this. He wants to stay an FBI agent if he can. If I go away, then there aren't any more threats to him - at least that he's aware of.

Derek: But he knows you, which means he knows you're not going to just go away.

Stiles: Yeah, I barely knew you when I first met you and you are so not the give up and run type. Just saying.

Beckett: Which is why I'm saying, he might try and kill me, but he's not going to go for collateral damage.

Stiles: Yeah, and what would his plan then be for dealing with your grieving detective husband and brother in law? Plus I mean, if it was me I'd be worried you would have sent the information to someone in case you were killed so who would that person be and how can I find that information.

Beckett: Well, his original plan was to have mob hitters kill me, so he likely figured that Espo and Derek would just turn on them.

Stiles: Right, until Javi or Derek asked who hired them.

Beckett: They wouldn't have to be hired. I was undercover in their operation. That would have been motive enough. [she huffs] I don't know, Stiles. Right now my only concern is getting this guy out of my bureau. I'm sure Weller will have a better idea of how to handle this than I do.

Stiles: [holds up his hands] Sorry, I just have to make sure I'm looking out for the rest of the pack too. Since, you know, you're part of it. Kinda goes along with the whole right hand man gig.

Derek: I'll talk with Laura later, after Kate gets to talk to her boss and we know more about what's going to happen next.

Beckett: [nods and runs a hand through her hair] Thanks for the sandwich, but I think I should try and get some sleep.

Stiles: I should probably get back to work anyway. [pushes himself up off the floor] Let me know if you need anything else.

Derek: [just nods]

Beckett: [nods as well before leaning back and flopping onto one of the bunks]

Derek: [and once Stiles is gone, he will go and sit on the other one, yawning]

Beckett: You should sleep. You've been up longer than I have.

Derek: I will. Just debating on if I should at least text Flack to let him know where I am.

Beckett: Didn't you let him know already?

Derek: I didn't give him a lot of detail. I know if you were in deep, I'd be the first person that whoever wanted you would try and find that information out from. I left it vague.

Beckett: [she nods, before shifting to lie on her side] I meant it when I said I didn't think he'd draw the pack into it.

Derek: I know you didn't. But the thing is, it's not so much him drawing the pack into it but the pack coming in to circle around you to protect you. That's what a pack does.

Beckett: Yeah, but I don't want that. I didn't ask for it. It's not really something that's going to help me in the situation I'm in.

Derek: Yeah, but it's the reason you're not a bled out corpse in an abandoned theatre.

Beckett: I didn't call the pack. I called my husband. [to her, there's a difference]

Derek: I know. And that's why I haven't called my sister at all to tell her what's going on. [but it puts him on very shaky ground]

Beckett: [she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, shifting so that she's facing the ceiling while she thinks] You can call her if you need to. But I'm not going into some kind of werewolf witness protection, Derek. I need to see this through.

Derek: I know you do, Kate. But you said it yourself - this guy knows you. And if he knows you, that means he knows about us. And he knows who the must vulnerable members of our family are. And who they could hurt the most to bring you out of hiding.

Beckett: And I'm telling you that he's too smart for that. And the guys that I was working with don't hurt kids. So if he wanted someone really vulnerable, he would have to do it himself, and if he did, he would lose whatever standing he had. [she sighs as she looks at him again] You're right. He does know me. And he knows that all he has to do is wait, and I'm going to come for him again. He doesn't have to lure me out - he already knows I'm coming.

Derek: [and he is going to sigh because he knows she will go at him no matter what he felt or asked, so he just went to lay down and stare at the ceiling]

Beckett: [it's not that. It's just that she's never been good at being told that she needs to let someone else protect her - she'd rather protect herself. Honestly, if she had been sure that Rogers was the only corrupt agent in play, this never would have happened. He would have never even known. In reality, she's just keyed up and too focused on the case to consider letting anything go right now]

Mac: [but after a few moments of silence, there will be a text to Derek from Mac that Director Weller is here]

Derek: [and he will rub at his eyes] Kate, Weller is here.

Beckett: [sighs as she pushes up into a sitting position] Is he coming down or are we going up?

Derek: I'll ask. [which he will do]

Weller: [knocks on the door to provide that answer]

Derek: I guess here. [and he will get up to open the door once Kate is up and looking ready]

Weller: [and behind the door is a gruff looking man who looks over both of them and is Not Happy.] Detective Hale, do you mind if I have a moment alone with my agent before we get started?

Derek: [and he will look to Kate because it's her call on if she trusts this guy]

Beckett: [and she nods, because she kind of has this coming] It's okay.

Derek: [nods, and he will head outside. Of course, he is a werewolf so he will hear everything anyway]

Weller: [mostly it's a lot of yelling. Angry yelling, but mostly caring yelling. Weller yells because he cares. And it's mostly regarding concern for her well-being and making sure that she's okay and ... yelling at her some more for breaking protocols.]

Derek: [yup, he's been on the other side of caring yelling from Flack for most of his adult life. There's a small smirk on his lips at that, knowing that it was usually deserved]

Beckett: [and eventually tones come down to normal levels and they both emerge from the bunk room] Let's head upstairs. He wants to review what Stiles found before we take it over to his tech expert.

Derek: [nods, going to take her hand and squeeze it] Sounds good.

Beckett: [and they head upstairs again where Mac will call in Stiles to his office and Weller will lean against a wall and loom, because he's also good at that]

Stiles: [and he will give his AWESOME presentation again because who doesn't like powerpoint presentations about evil doers?]

Weller: [which is appreciated but...] Do you still have the original flash drive?

Stiles: Yeah.

Weller: [he nods] I want to take that back to our tech specialist at the FBI and run it against a few things. Some evidence has come up in the last few days, and I want to verify it's authenticity.

Stiles: [licks his lips because huh, pack reactions] Well, technically chain of evidence has that it's going back to Agent Beckett.

Weller: And as Deputy Director, all evidence in all FBI cases is under my purview. Especially when it comes to charges of corruption.

Stiles: So I guess Agent Beckett will have no problem giving it to you after she signs off on taking it back from me. I mean, we don't want to have to explain a break in the chain of evidence protocol, right? [because ordering Stiles around does nothing, really but make him more obstinate]

Beckett: [sighs] Yes, that's fine. I can do that.

Weller: Thank you, Agent Beckett. I'm sure Patterson will appreciate Mr. Stilinski's dedication to procedure. [his tone is so dry]

Stiles: [so salty. But he will take the evidence bag he dropped the flashdrive in out of his laptop bag, along with the form, and hold it out to Beckett with a pen.]

Beckett: [and she will sign it over into Weller's custody]

Weller: Thank you. Go home, don't leave. I'm putting a detail on your apartment.

Derek: I'll make sure she stays. [he will too]

Beckett: [looks like she's going to protest but she knows that both of them are going to overrule her so she just huffs and nods] Fine.

Weller: Good. Once Patterson has the results, I'll let you know.

Stiles: Let him know if he needs any help.

Weller: She. And I'm sure if she has any questions you'll hear from her.

Stiles: I stand corrected.

Derek: Come on, Kate. Let's go home.

Beckett: [she nods and goes to follow him out]

Weller: [turns to Stiles with a small smile] Do you have a card?

Stiles: Oh yeah. [and he will reach into his wallet to pull out one.]

Derek: [and he will hold her close as they head to the car]

Weller: [and he will take it with a nod] I apologize for how late she may end up calling.

Stiles: I'll warn my fiancée now so she doesn't get twitchy.

Weller: Good idea. [and with a nod, he will head back to the bureau]

Stiles: [and he will... just go back to work. I guess?]

Patterson: [yep, and eventually he will get a phone call because questions!]

Stiles: [and it's probably during couch snuggle time?]

Patterson: [probably, sorry Stiles, but if you ignore her she's just going to keep calling so probably better to answer]

Stiles: [ no he was prewarned so he will apologize to Cora as he pulls himself free to take the work call] Stilinski.

Patterson: Hi! It's Stiles, right? I'm Patterson, I work under Kurt Weller at the FBI? [she also sounds like she's twelve a little]

Stiles: Hey, yes, it is. Weller mentioned you might call.

Patterson: Awesome. So I wanted to know if you made any edits or saves when you had the file did you save it to a desktop or anything like that?

Stiles: I only opened it on an unconnected laptop where i disabled the wifi chip. I didn't edit it, but I did cut and paste data from the spreadsheet to the powerpoint presentation.

Patterson: But you didn't save it at all?

Stiles: I didn't, but I'm sure that Excel autosaved a ghost copy of it somewhere.

Patterson: No, that's not what I'm looking at. See, while Kate was AWOL Rogers brought us the same file with a few changes, so I'm trying to figure out which one is the real, accurate one and which one was edited to throw the other one under the bus.

Stiles: Is the file info showing a save time between 9am to 1:25pm today? Because that's timestamps it was in my possession as chain of evidence.

Patterson: Yep, and then the IP address matches up with the one for the Crime Lab. Just double checking. Now I gotta sort the rest of this out.

Stiles: [thinks] Did the file that dude bring you have encryption on it?

Patterson: A really shitty one, but yeah. But I wasn't expecting CIA level encryption from the Irish mob.

Stiles: Neither was I, but the file I was working on had an okay encryption on it. Better than I would have given them credit for even if it still took me three minutes to open.

Patterson: Oh. I mean, I do dark web stuff all day so encryptions aren't that hard for me. [sorry Stiles, she's really good] Took me a minute, maybe? But I'm pretty sure they were the same on both.

Stiles: Okay. Because if they were different I'd be worried he would make it too easy to crack so that you could get in.

Patterson: [she snorts] He so does not know computers well enough to keep me out of anything and he knows it.

Stiles: So what's different in the file?

Patterson: Everything in your file that has Rogers name on it? Has Beckett's instead.

Stiles: Of course it does. [thinks] The save date before I opened the file lines up to about three days ago. That would have been when Kate downloaded the file. She mentioned trying to open it once but she couldn't get passed the encryption, which is why she brought it in to me.

Patterson: Yeah, that makes sense. Rogers file pull was after that but he never placed it on any other computer, which is why I'm going to have to dig a little deeper in the file history.

Stiles: Would it help if I brought the laptop to you?

Patterson: I'm not sure because it doesn't look like any serious changes were made on that computer, but if you want to come by and work on this I wouldn't say no to having another sounding board around.

Stiles: Yeah, I can do that. I'll bring it over anyway. What's the address?

Patterson: [and she'll give him the address for the NY FBI headquarters] I'll let security know you're coming.

Stiles: Thanks. Be there in about an hour. [and he'll hang up and head back to the livingroom to look at Cora] Sorry, need to go deal with a work thing

Cora: The thing with Kate?

Stiles: Yeah. I'll be home late.

Cora: [she nods] Make it up to me later.

Stiles: [leans down to kiss her] Hopefully it won't be with bringing you breakfast.

Cora: Mmmmm. [smiles as she kisses him back] Have fun with your new tech friend.

Stiles: I will. Don't wait up for me. [and off he will go but we will have to pick this up tomorrow because bedtime]

Patterson: [and we will return to him coming to the FBI building in New York, and security will wave him through and into the elevator, past the floor that Kate normally works on, and up to the floor where the Deputy Director of the FBI and the higher level cases do most of their work. He will be dropped off at Patterson's office, where his crime lab ID is up on one of the screens and the tiny blond woman there, glances between them to make sure she's got the right person] Stiles?

Stiles: [he's totally running on caffeine at this point. when he walks in with the biggest coffee the Starbucks girl would give him] Hey. Patterson, right?

Patterson: That's me. [she's got maybe 6 different screens running all kinds of code, but she'll hit a few buttons so some of them go dark] Sorry. Those projects are classified.

Stiles: Hey, I get it. [and he will reach into his laptop bag and pull out a starbucks bag] Cake pop?

Patterson: Oooh yum. [she will, thank you]

Stiles: [and while she eats that, he will take out the laptop he picked up on his way over] So this one is disabled from any network connection and it's what I used to open that file.

Patterson: [nods as she looks it over] Cool. May I?

Stiles: Go ahead.

Patterson: [and she'll boot it up and go to town] I pulled up the save history on both files and put them side by side. [and both of them are fairly identical, except when they got to Kate's - Kate's pull point from the computer was a few hours earlier from Rogers' and had the additional save at the crime lab]

Stiles: [right, since she wouldn't have been able to open it at the hotel. He leans over her shoulder] Can you look at the metadata history of both files and see when the data in those specific cells were edited?

Patterson: That's what I was thinking. But there mob was smart - they kept individual sheets for everyone on their payroll and so it's a lot of data to sift through. The file itself is huge.

Stiles: Can you code it to look for the timestamp addition of the word Kate in that file, and the name Roger in this file? It's the same data cells and spreadsheet in both files so it's just the word difference.

Patterson: Maybe. The thing about Excel, though, is I don't know if it saves that kind of data ... [but she'll give it a shot! she places the laptop to the side for a moment and starts typing on her fancy table computer]

Stiles: You guys always get the cool toys. [wants her computer]

Patterson: [laughs] You don't know how much I had to yell in order to get them to give me the good stuff.

Stiles: Well, I'm the lowest man on the totem pole so I get the hand me downs.

Patterson: Eh, hand me downs aren't all that bad. It's just a matter of weeding out the out of date stuff to replace and hoping you don't leave any duds behind. [she pauses for a moment, before she lets that algorithm run and pulls up the files again on a separate screen, and running a quick find on both sheets. A bunch of words get highlighted, mostly names, but they don't match completely on each side. She points to the one searching for Kate's name] What's the missing line that's not highlighted?

Stiles: [and he will squint to look at the screens and give her the correct answer]

Patterson: Hah! This is why you find and replace!

Stiles: But it only works if spelt correctly. [points at the screen] Those letters are inverted. someone was typing too fast.

Patterson: Yeah. They were typing Kate's name too fast. Why would they do that if they had all the time in the world?

Stiles: Because they didn't. They didn't know where Kate was and how she was going to get back in touch with the Bureau, so they had to work fast and make it look authentic. [smirks]

Patterson: Exactly. So it's not a smoking gun, but it's definitely a something's fishy.

Stiles: [looking at the screens] I've been running financials but I'm wondering if we can track both of these sheets to deposits in both Kate and Roger's personal bank accounts. See if any dates and dollar amounts match.

Patterson: Or even the activities themselves. I mean, what are the odds they were both in the same places at the same time with zero alibis?

Stiles: [and he zeros in on one date] Holy shit. Okay, I highly doubt Kate would take a money drop on her wedding day. [point at one specific date] I didn't even think of that.

Patterson: Exactly. I mean, unless there were some Irish mobsters hanging out in the bride's section?

Stiles: [and he will look at the dates again, going back a few years] Yeah, and she would have been with the NYPD still from here back, and not even having daily dealings in that precinct.

Patterson: Okay, so we're fairly certain that Rogers is full of shit, right? That's the conclusion we're drawing?

Stiles: Hey, I'm biased to Kate myself. You need to make the impartial judgement on the data. But to me, the facts are leading to that conclusion.

Patterson: [nods for a minute] Well, the algorithm is still running, but the fact that Rogers file was pulled from the computer after Kate's kind of lends credence to the fact that if his was right, she had to have enough time to edit the file, save it, and then fix everything back the way it was again.

Stiles: Right. And that's if she could crack the encryption, which she couldn't and came to me to do.

Patterson: That's not going to give us much - defense would argue that it could have been a con to make her seem less technologically capable than she actually is. Someone inside their organization would have been able to access the file as needed - if this was a frame job, she could have convinced someone to make the necessary edits and give her the copy to come to us with, no hacking necessary.

Stiles: True.

Patterson: Here. [she moves over to one of the terminals and logs herself in before gesturing for him to take a seat] You take the dates from the Rogers list and see if they add up and I'll take the Beckett list. Once we're done, we'll compare notes and hopefully the metadata search will be done by then.

Stiles: Alright. [and he will find a place to put his coffee that won't interfere with the computer and get to work on it]

Patterson: [and between confirming the dates and the metadata info, they manage to come up with a nice pile of evidence to drop on Weller's desk when he comes in in the morning, that says Rogers did it]

Weller: Great. I will take it from here. Go home and get some sleep, both of you.

Stiles: Will do. Do I need to sign off on anything for consultant hours back to the crime lab?

Weller: Nope, I called Mac and took care of it already, so you're set. Go sleep.

Stiles: Awesome. Thank you. [and to Patterson] Nice working with you.

Patterson: You too. You ever need me to return the favor you know where to find me.

Stiles: Thanks. [and off he will go to head home and probably just crash into the bed since it's morning]

Cora: [yep, and his fiancée will just curl into his back and pull him close while he sleeps. she doesn't have to be anywhere today it's a weird off day for school]

Stiles: [yay jewish holidays? But he is exhausted and will pass out, probably not stirring until at least lunch time]

Cora: [that's fine. She'll doze a bit because he's warm and cozy, but eventually she'll have to get up to take care of the dogs]

Stiles: [and he will just curl into her wram spot and scent left behind, and by the time she comes back he is taking up 2/3 of the bed. Sorry Cora your fiancé is a starfish]

Cora: [and she'll just sick the dogs on him because that seems fair]

Stiles: [groans oh and that's fair?!] Cora..... [puppy whining]

Cora: [laughs as she nudges Bucky and Sadie over, so that she can climb into bed next to him] You were taking up the whole bed, I had to get you to move somehow.

Stiles: [whines and curls up into her] You could have just asked.

Cora: You're right, I'm sorry. [but Bucky and Sadie are just going to settle on any little part of the bed they can find]

Bucky: [Which will be right between Stiles' legs FYI]

Stiles: No you're not. [but said lovingly]

Cora: [kisses his forehead gently] Go back to sleep.

Stiles: [mutters something but nope, listening to her and going back to sleep]

Cora: [and she will settle in to hang out with him and maybe do some grading]

Stiles: [and eventually his stomach and bladder are both going to weigh in on the "wake up asshole" conversation and he will stir] What time is it?

Cora: [glances over at the clock] Almost one?

Stiles: [groans and he shifts to get up] Have you had lunch yet?

Cora: [she shakes her head] Nope. Hungry?

Stiles: Yeah, but I gotta pee first.

Cora: Okay. I'll be here.

Stiles: [and he will try to pull himself free from Bucky to head to the bathroom where his body is very thankful because that was a lot of coffee you drank before bed, Stiles]

Cora: [and she'll finish up the class she's grading before he comes out]

Stiles: [and he will yawn and be pulling off his shirt because it smells like yesterday's sweat] So what do you want for lunch?

Cora: Burgers?

Stiles: [and he's drooling] Yeah, that'd be good.

Cora: Burgers it is. [and she'll swing up to get dressed so they can head out] Do you have to head to work later?

Stiles: Not that I know of, unless Mac calls me in. Otherwise I'll be getting a lot of overtime. [and he will go to look for where he left his phone]

Cora: [nope, no messages from Mac. Stiles can stay home] So you can make up our date to me.

Stiles: I guess I can. [smiles] When I'm fully awake and able to appreciate you properly.

Cora: Good. [grins back before putting on shoes] Okay. To lunch we go.

Stiles: [and he will find a new shirt to wear and then off they go to five guys?]

Cora: [yep that's perfect. om nom burgers]

Stiles: [Double burgers with fries and milkshakes]

Cora: [ooooh even better]

Stiles: So, do you want to take a walk after this, or head back home to the couch?

Cora: A walk could be nice. Do you have a place in mind?

Stiles: Maybe along the Hudson? Or in the park?

Cora: If we go to a park, the children will know and they will judge us. [she means the dogs, not random children]

Stiles: Should we go home for the children then?

Cora: I think that might be best.

Stiles: Alright, but only if because it will tire them out and we won't have to worry about them trying to get between us later.

Cora: [she nods] Exactly.

Stiles: [and so they stop to get the kids and head to the park for family time]

Cora: [where the puppies are sufficiently tired out]

Stiles: [so they will get food and water and the babygate to keep them in the kitchen goes up, and then he will join Cora back on the couch] Should we go back to where we left off in the movie?

Cora: Sure. Do you remember what happened before that?

Stiles: Mostly. Up to when we started kissing.

Cora: Mmmm. So are you sure you don't want to start over?

Stiles: We've got the time to start over.

Cora: We do, And I wouldn't want you to get confused and have to explain it to you.

Stiles: Then let's do it. [and he will lean back to let her cuddle up against him]

Cora:]and she'll cue up the movie and go get comfortable because her fiancé is good for cuddling]

Stiles: [yes, thank you werewolf genes. Not that he wasn't cuddly when he was human but he twitched a lot]

Cora: [she never minded the twitching]

Stiles: [he did. But that was a long time ago now.]

Cora: [yes it was, and she loves her cuddly werewolf fiancé]

Stiles: [and he loves HIS cuddly werewolf fiancée]

Cora: [And it's good that they're all on the same page]

Stiles: [yup. and look, it's that point in the movie again where Stiles remembers leaning down and kissing Cora]

Cora: [and she almost laughs as his timing is exactly the same as last time]

Stiles: [he knows. That's why he's doing it]

Cora: [well, she'll still happily kiss him back, because kissing Stiles is fun]

Stiles: [and kissing will add in some heavy petting]

Cora: [she definitely likes that too]

Stiles: [this may become a favorite movie. just because it has a great romance action sequence]

Cora: [mmmmhmmm and eventually she'll start tugging at his clothes]

Stiles: [and since the kids are penned up in the kitchen, he will gladly let her undress him while he goes piece for piece with her clothing too]

Cora: [and she is very glad they have their own place now because now they don't have to worry about someone walking in on them either]

Stiles: [yup, they could become home nudists if they wanted]

Cora: [they could, but winter in New York gets cold]

Stiles: [they just keep each other warm]

Cora: [They do, but what if one of them isn't home?]

Stiles: [then they just stay in bed under the warm blankets]

Cora: [eh, she'd rather have sweats]

Stiles: [okay, so only nudists when they are both at home]

Cora: [that's good. They can do that.]

Stiles: [starting right now, right?]

Cora: [definitely starting now, since they're already naked]

Stiles: [good, because now that they are naked, he is going to kiss his way all over her body]

Cora: [and she will enjoy that sliding her fingers through his hair as she does]

Stiles: [and those lips will take special time on her breasts, and then sliding his tongue down to the valley between her legs]

Cora: [which she will arch up into his touch, letting off lots of happy sounds to let him know how much she enjoys his attention]

Stiles: [and he will keep doing the things that make her make those noises before he is really ready for some attention himself, and his hand will go looking for a couch cushion condom]

Cora: [and once he finds it, she will pull him up to kiss her, wrapping her legs around his waist]

Stiles: [and he will kiss her, laughing against his lips] Hold on a sec, I need to get it on first.

Cora: [smirks as she kisses him again] Do it faster.

Stiles: Hard with your legs in the way. [and he will grab them and put them up on his shoulders so that he has access to put the condom on]

Cora: [and she will shift a bit to get comfortable so because she knows he likes this position]

Stiles: [and yes, he does, because he can get in so much deeper, as he will demonstrate as he thrusts in]

Cora: [which will get more happy moans out of her, arching her back a bit as she does, but she's not as fond as it because it makes it slightly harder for her to be an active participant. she doesn't hate it though]

Stiles: [he knows, and eventually he will let her slide her legs around his hips as he leans in to kiss her]

Cora: [and she will sight happily as she kisses him back, rocking her hips up to meet him more]

Stiles: [and he will keep going until they both get to that ice and happy point]

Cora: [and she will drop down onto the couch next to him with a happy sigh] Mmmm.