Disclaimer: Alphas and all characters and concepts are property of its creators and the SyFy channel. No profits are being made from this derivative work.

AN: Added a whole other half to this chapter. The idea popped up and demanded to be included, but it needs to be in this chapter to keep the structure consistent.

I. Verse

The package is placed in front of her without ceremony, and Gary is pacing her office seconds later and looking at anything but her or the gift. He has wrapped it so precisely she can't tell where the tape is. The paper is a simple pale green, and there is no ribbon or gift tag.

"G-Gary? Is this for me?"

"Yes. You should open it. Open it."

Her eyebrows raise—even though he can't interpret it—and she eases open the paper—even though he's not looking. Gary has apparently picked up origami somewhere because there is no tape, just a series of folds and tucks that hold the wrapping paper tightly to the box. Inside she finds a gold cuff bracelet embedded with three strange charms, paired with a remote car starter.

"I don't—" she begins, but Gary cuts her off quickly.

"Smell—" he points to a half-globe studded with tiny holes. "Sight—" a small glass cube. "And touch," a silver cylinder. There is a hinge on one side and a bulky clasp on the other. A tiny switch is tucked up next to the clasp.

She looks up at Gary. He's got that adorable half smile on his face and he looks so proud, even though she has no clue what he is proud of.

"So we can reach you, when you're analyzing in the field. Hicks told Nina it's important to be able to reach us, and we couldn't tell you when you were in his apartment because you weren't listening. Now we can reach you, and then we can keep you safe." He actually meets her gaze as he adds, "You should be safe." His eyes slip away again, and he's flicking through signals like it never happened. She picks up the remote. He has crossed out the lock and unlock buttons with magic marker, leaving only the "panic" button. Smell, sight, and touch, so he can reach her. Oh. Oh, Gary.

"How does it work?"

"You put it on and when something happens, we press the button. Go ahead."

She clasps the bracelet around her wrist. As jewelry goes it isn't art, but there is a quirky charm to the look of it. On Nina it would look clunky, out of place. To Rachel, however, the slight weight is already comforting, like one her mother's old pieces.

"Go ahead," Gary waves at her, as impatient as ever.

She presses the button once, and her senses are assaulted with blue light, vibration, and Mexican vanilla, all from her wrist. She presses the button again quickly, and the light and vibration stop. The scent of vanilla, however, lingers.

"You can turn it off, if you need to. Dr. Rosen turns off his cell phone, sometimes. He says that there are boundaries and privacy is important." That last bit sounds like he's repeating something he's been told many times, but Rachel appreciates the effort he has made to remember. The work he has put into this little alarm system is stunning. For you, a little voice whispers before she can squash is. He made this just for you.

"Gary, this is…" brilliant, clever, shockingly thoughtful. Trying to keep her composure, she settles. "This is good, Gary." She smiles extra big, just for him. "This is really good. Thank you."

He must have caught some of what she means, because his grin is incandescent.

II. Chorus

Gary is ready to go at 6:00 pm, but they don't actually leave until 6:07 because Nina offers to give Hicks a ride, too. Once he's buckled into the backseat of this week's car—a red Camaro he really wants to drive, even more than the silver convertible last week—Nina begins asking questions. "So, Gary, did she like it?"

"Yes," Gary answers. He's certain. Her smile was clear, she thanked him, and she wore the bracelet the rest of the day.

"Did who like what?" asks Hicks from the shotgun seat. Nina whispers something he can't quite hear and then they're smiling at each other whispering in that weird way they always do. Gary looks out the windows; he's seen them like that before and once was enough.

"Good, Gary. That was a really good idea." Nina's talking to him again. "Very thoughtful of you."

He hums a noncommittal response and fiddles with his wristband. He doesn't know why Nina was so willing to help him with his project. She wants Rachel to be safe, too, he guesses. Nina likes to look after everyone.

"Did she say 'thank you'?"

He remembers that very clearly, making him smile as he tells her so.

"Did you say 'you're welcome'?"

That one he didn't remember.

"It's okay. You'll get it next time. You did put the replacement vanilla extract into your mom's cabinet, right?"

"Yes! She uses it to bake cookies, and she bakes every Saturday, so she would miss it if I didn't, so I did."

"Good." Nina pauses, and then tilts her head so he knows that she is serious. "You know, Gary, if you every need help with something like this, just come to me first. Bill doesn't always get this kind of thing."

"I don't understand. I fixed it. Why would I need help again?" He wasn't likely to need any more remote car starters or cell phone parts. Rachel was very careful and didn't break things like Bill and Hicks.

"I mean—if you ever want to do something nice for Rachel. I can help with that. Cameron will help, too. Right?"

Hicks starts at being included but answers. "Yeah. Anything you need, kid."

"I'm not a kid." That comes out automatically, even though he doesn't mind as much when Hicks call him that. "And thank you for the offer," he adds. Nina likes it when he remembers to say that.

He glances up at the front seat. They're looking at each other again. Nina is not using very safe driving practices; they should let him drive it they're going to stare like that. He hopes he can get make it to his house before Nina crashes the car.

Tomorrow, he's making sure Dr. Rosen takes him home.