“I just might,” Laura smiled. It was good to take time out from her job, which constantly threatened to consumer her whole life. If it weren’t for Lacey and Chris, Laura had no doubt the job would be her life. She would have probably ended up going into the office today even though she had nothing to do, offering to help out someone else with their case or something. That was how some agents ended up – so dedicated to the work that there was no room for anything else. She knew more than a few colleagues who were divorced, just like she was herself.
Though, in her case, it had been the alcohol abuse that had driven Marcus away, not the long hours of work.
Chris opened his mouth to say something about a patient he’d been working with, but he didn’t even get through a full sentence before Laura’s phone started buzzing in her pocket, making her quickly fumble to get it out and check the screen.
“Sorry,” she said, and winced. “I think they heard us. It’s my boss.”
Chris sighed, leaning back and taking his arm from behind her shoulders so she was free to escape. “Go ahead,” he said, with a weary smile. The kind of look that said, ‘I wish you didn’t have to go, but I get it.’ After all, the nature of his own job meant he knew all about getting called up at the last minute to deal with an emergency.
Laura leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, then answered the phone as she walked out of his office with a wave. “Special Agent Frost.”
“Ah, Laura,” Division Chief Rondelle’s distinctive sharp tones came over the speaker. “I’m glad I’ve caught you. I know it’s your day off, but…”
“Don’t tell me,” Laura said, flashing a smile at Gina on the way out. “You want me to come in so you can brief me on a new case.”
“Got it in one,” Rondelle said. “Can I bribe you with the fact that Nate is also coming in and this will be your first case back together as partners again?”
“Bribe accepted,” Laura sighed, ending the call in favor of hustling to her car so she could get to the FBI headquarters faster.