Charlie looked up to the blazing sun and clasped his partner to his chest. His legs were still shaking but he told himself that there was no longer anything to fear, the world span correctly on its axis once again, Reese was back with him and as far as he could tell, she was unharmed. His jaw smarted from where Nevikov had punched him but Charlie didn't care; he liked imagining that he would later look into the mirror and know that the man who made that mark was no longer a threat. As Charlie's inevitable bruising faded, so too would every effect that Nevikov's malevolent existence had exacted on the universe. He hoped that any effect he'd had on Dani would be just as quick to disappear. He wanted to ask if Nevikov had hurt her but couldn't bring himself to let go of her even enough to be able to bow his head and see her face. There was plenty of time. Right now he was in the moment and this moment was one of the best he could remember.

So they stood there mute, like branches of two trees that had grown together over time, limbs wound so tight that neither knew which tree it had originally belonged to any longer. Neither of them cared; it didn't matter where they'd come from and what had forced them together, they had their own thing going on now.

Dani stood with her face buried in his shirt, just below his neckline, her arms around his back in a vice-like grip. She had so many questions that she didn't know where to start. A million thoughts had raced through her mind the second she saw him ahead of Roman's SUV, ready to trade places with her. Some of those thoughts had scared her almost as much as the prospect of never seeing him again once he slipped into Roman's car. She felt like if she started with any one of the questions at random, the others would swell in her throat fighting to get out first and make her choke. So she remained quiet and still and waited for calm to descend, using Charlie's heartbeat to regulate her breaths. Her eyes stung but she couldn't let him see her crying. She knew he could probably feel the wetness on his shirt where her tears soaked him with her residual fear, relief and her confusion, but letting him see was another matter entirely. She could feel his chin resting on the top of her head and his hands on her back, she suddenly felt like she could drift off to sleep like this with him propping her up, inhaling the fragrance of oranges mixed with dust and the smell of him, which she hadn't realized she knew quite so well until now.

They could hear a siren in the distance. It was approaching and Dani knew it was for them. Still neither of them moved a muscle. Everything felt a little surreal but all that mattered to her was that she kept hold of Charlie, so she did. Vehicles pulled up, doors slammed and she heard the familiar crackle and blip of police radio. She felt hands that weren't Charlie's on her shoulders. Somebody was draping blanket over her despite it being around 85 degrees in the orange grove. She immediately moved to shove it off.

"Detective Reese, Dani, let them take care of you." It was Tidwell's voice behind her. "C'mon, let go.", he coaxed.

Charlie moved his arms to his sides but didn't step away. Dani turned her head to see a squad car, an SUV, the ambulance, the paramedic with the blanket and Captain Tidwell looking conflicted and wringing his hands. "C'mon Dani, let go. You're safe now." he repeated.

"You should go with them, Reese." Crews said hoarsely, the first words he had spoken since they had been reunited.

Dani looked at Crews. Something unspoken passed between them and she took a step back, allowing the paramedic to lead her off to the back of the ambulance towards a wheelchair.

Tidwell noted the wet spot on Crews' shirt. He wanted to chase his woman, gather her into his arms and fuss over her but he had professional duties to perform and the semblance of neutrality towards all his employees to maintain. "Detective, are you hurt?", he asked Charlie.

"No Captain, I'm good.", came Charlie's reply.

Tidwell eyed the red welt on Crews' face. "Nice work here.", he said quietly. "How is she?" he added, nodding in the direction of Dani, who was protesting to the paramedics that she didn't need a wheelchair.

"Okay I think. But she hasn't said much.", said Charlie, as both men gazed at her thirty feet away and scowling. "You should go with her to the hospital".

"I want to, believe me. But we need to go back to the office and get this whole business straightened out. There's some explaining to do." Tidwell narrowed his eyes at Charlie. "You wanna tell me what happened here? What did you do to Nevikov to get him to let her go?"

"Nothing you wouldn't have done yourself." answered Charlie, holding Tidwell's eyes.

Tidwell wasn't so sure. He detected the distinct tang of competition. It had made him feel weak and inadequate that he had needed to send Charlie after his girl. There was no challenge in Crews' tone but he hated the fact that Crews had been the one to save the day. Too many times he felt he lost out to this guy, and although Dani was with him and not Crews, knowing that the other guy in her life was pretty dependable in a crisis put Tidwell on edge. "Well, thank you.", he managed despite his misgivings, clearly now not speaking to Crews as his boss. "You might want to call a lawyer.", he warned him as a token of his gratitude.

The paramedics had helped Dani into the back of the ambulance and hooked her up to fluids. She continued to grumble as they checked her over but she kept her eyes trained on Crews. He and Tidwell approached as the paramedics' attentions receded.

Dani felt a flutter of panic when she realized that Crews was going back to the station and she was headed in the opposite direction to the hospital. He could feel it and assured her that he would come find her later. Crews ushered Tidwell into the back of the ambulance with Reese. The Captain felt that procedurally, he should accompany Crews to the station; one of his men was going to face some pretty stern questioning after all. Charlie insisted however, wanting Tidwell to stay with Reese because he knew he couldn't be there himself. "I'm sure these nice FBI agents won't mind giving me a ride." he said sarcastically, gesturing over to the SUV with the shaded windows. He knew they wanted him.

As the paramedics squeezed past to shut the back door of the ambulance, Crews locked eyes with Reese and she smiled faintly. It was 'goodbye' and 'see you soon' and 'thank you' and something else only the two of them understood all in one. Tidwell saw it but pretended not to notice the charge in the exchange.

The ambulance drove off, kicking back a cloud of orange-scented dust onto Crews. He turned and smiled beatifically at the attending police officers and the two FBI agents, picking an orange from a nearby low-hanging branch and giving it a sniff as he walked casually towards their vehicle.