Collecting her things, including her badge, she smiled at the men who were gawking in disbelief. Paige couldn’t tell if they were silenced out of awe, or comedy, or… what.

“You’re really arresting me?” A perturbed Dane asked as he followed her on her way out the door.

“Were you really going to arrest me?” Paige asked, genuinely curious.

“Yea…” He muttered from behind her.

“Then, yes, you’re really under arrest.” Paige informed him as she opened the passenger door of her car for him.

“What manners.” Dane mock-cooed at her. He made sure to give her a dirty look as he passed her to get into the car. “Where we headed anyways?”

“DC.” Paige said, though she didn’t feel like she needed to explain herself.

“DC?! I have to work tomorrow! You can’t take me to DC. Processing alone is going to take all night!”

“Shut up. You should have thought about that before you decided to hit on a Special Agent.”

“Yea, well, I didn’t know you were an agent, Red.”

“It’s Special Agent Kelly to you.” She slammed the door in his face and moved around the car to enter the car on the driver’s side.

“Hey.” Dane still had his hands cuffed behind his back. He leaned forward and held them out behind him to demonstrate his point. “I can’t do anything like this. At least cuff them in front, Special Agent Kelly.”

Rolling her eyes, Paige pulled a handcuff key from her pocket and un-cuffed his left hand. With the same quickness and speed that she had demonstrated earlier, Dane was fast moving in his actions.

His left hand shot out and grabbed a handful of Paige’s hair at the back of her neck. Simultaneously, his right hand swung around and caught the loose handcuff. Holding the point to her neck, Dane froze. He was gripping her hair tightly and pushing the point into her neck with more force than was needed to prove his point.

Paige felt a wave of nausea. The back of her head and neck were sore from the pressure. The front of her neck was screaming as cold metal was placed dangerously close to her jugular. How had this happened? Her eyes closed as she scanned her brain for anything that would help her. Her gun was in the glove compartment – farther away than she could reach. Her hands were absentmindedly wrapped around Dane’s wrist. Paige hadn’t done that willingly, it must have been her subconscious reacting on its own. Groaning softly, Paige forced herself to open her eyes. She wanted to see the smug bastard’s sick satisfaction when he killed a Special Agent. To her surprise, Dane released her.

“And that…” He muttered, rubbing his wrist where it had turned red from the handcuff. “Is how easy it is to lose control of a suspect.” Holding out his right wrist expectedly, Dane couldn’t help but grin. “Did I see a hint of panic in your eyes, Special Agent Kelly?”

Her answer was a smack in the face. When she could see the beginnings of handprint on his cheek, she spoke. “Now you’re charged with assaulting an officer.” Paige’s eyes were dark and she didn’t look at Dane again. Neither handcuffing him again, nor removing the one left on his wrist, she started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

“I can argue police brutality.” He examined his face in the mirror. “I can make out four of your fingers already.” Dane tenderly pushed on the welts, wincing from the heat under his fingertips.

Paige didn’t respond. There was no conversation to be had. She was pissed and she wasn’t going to deal with this damn joke of an officer any longer than she had to. As soon as she could get to the station, she would drop him off and leave. That was what her mind told her, but her heart was telling her she was kidding herself if she thought she was getting off that easily. Sure, anyone could drop off murderers and rapists, leave, come back hours later, and wrap up. But this was a fellow officer. Well, he had a badge anyways. There’d be questions on all sides, for both of them.

Sighing to herself, Paige pulled up to the all-too-familiar building. The building where she spent most of her adult life. The building where she would spend most of the rest of her adult life. Looking to her left, Paige noticed that her passenger had fallen asleep on her during the quiet three hour drive.

Maybe this was a stupid idea.

Rolling her eyes, Paige shook his shoulder gently. “O’Malley.” She shook his shoulder again, not so gently this time. “O’Malley, get your ass up, you’re still arrested.”

Grunting at the rude wake-up call, Dane forgot for a moment where he was. “Just another minute, okay, baby?” He grumbled, trying to roll over. When he realized that he couldn’t, Dane’s eyes popped open in surprise. Sitting up fully, he stretched and regained his composure. “Right, arrested. Let’s go, then?”

To Paige’s surprise, he willingly handcuffed himself and opened the passenger door. She was out of the car in an instant and at his elbow. “Don’t try anything funny.” She warned him in a low, but threatening voice.

“What? And get you in trouble?” Dane faked innocent eyes. But behind the hidden innocence was a look of mischief. Something told Paige that he knew just how much trouble she’d be in when she tried to explain herself to her superiors.

Arresting a fellow officer for such stupid reasons was always hard to explain.