Barton Hallow

Chapter 1

Watching Lucy walk away from him the night he proposed to her had to have been the hardest thing Alec had ever done. He remembered it too vividly for his own good. They had been under cover for weeks before hand so her longer hair was now dyed a dark blonde and hanging loose around her shoulders. The mission was finally over and they had just gotten off the aircraft that brought them home. She had on a pair of high-waisted jeans and a long sleeved shirt tucked into them.

Alec remembered that he never thought she looked more beautiful. It was a simple proposal. He quickly pulled out the ring, got down on one knee, and softly asked her for her hand. A glimpse of something he hadn't seen in her for a while flashed across her eyes and she walked away. Lucy walked away. There wasn't an answer, no tears, nothing. She was completely cold to the situation.

After that Alec didn't see her for weeks. He had looked for her everywhere at headquarters but she was nowhere to be found. They didn't have another mission together for a while so Lucy thought that she just must have been ignoring him. Or thinking about his proposal. He wished. Alec thought that watching her walk away from him was the hardest thing he had ever done until he witnessed her with another man. He had a beard and tattoos and Lucy looked happy. The archer had never been angrier in his entire life.

He went back to headquarters and climbed up to the highest place he could find. There he stayed. About two hours after he began sitting in rungs over the aircraft wing, he got hungry and walked to the kitchen. Sitting there in the kitchen was a young short girl with long brown hair and large glasses on. Joanna. He had seen her around before but never really remember her. They had never exchanged words or glances. She happened to notice him as well while she was busy shoveling a salad into her mouth. A soft blush dusted her cheeks and she coughed lightly, swallowing her mouthful.

"Hello. I'm Jo. Are you one of the agents I've yet to meet?" She asked him with a small smile on her face. Alec's expression remained unamussed but he generally liked her so far. She seemed sweet and her hand was out stretched to shake.

"Agent Kaiser. Alec. Nice to meet you Jo," Alec stated and grabbed her hand as gently as he could and shook it. She was no Lucy, but she was different. Maybe...better...more suited for his needs at the time.

Alec and Jo started dating a few weeks after their meeting. He took her to fancy places that she liked but really she just wanted a simple relationship. Alec did his best to give that to her. He still hadn't seen Lucy after he witnessed her with the tattooed man. Perhaps it was for the best. Most likely. He hoped that she got wind of his new girlfriend and was upset by it. He knew he was falling for Jo and he didn't want to stop himself. She was human and normal. That's all he wanted, was normal.

After a year of dating, Alec knew that he wanted to propose to Jo. He was a bit skeptical about it though because of his last attempt at this kind of thing. Lucy had just walked away from him. He had returned the ring he bought the assassin and gotten a new one just for the dark haired girl. It was large and beautiful and he knew she would love it. He took her out to dinner to get ready for the proposal. They were eating together and he looked down at his lap and produced the ring from his pocket, smiling softly down at it.

"Jo...I have something to ask you." Alec announced and then pushed his chair backwards and got down on one knee in front of the girl. She gasped and brought her hands to her mouth in surprise at the sight of the ring. "Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

"Of course I will marry you!" Jo yelled while smiling widely. He easily slipped the ring onto her finger like it belonged to her already. Before he could smile and hug her, Alec saw a figure out of the corner of his eye. A tall girl with a tight purple dress and shoulder length red hair was standing in the crowd of clapping people. She was a sight to behold. Alec couldn't help but feel glad that the girl had dyed her hair back to red. It just seemed to fit her more.