Declassified

Declassified Part 47 Girls' Night

      Andy pulled Alex against him. "Be safe." He told his little brother. "Don't take any unnecessary risks."

      Dan gave Alex a quick hug, shaking his head at Andy. "The biggest risk he could take is hugging you, Andrei." He teased, not seeing the scowls Andy and Thalia gave him. "Come home in one piece."

      As Dan let go, Andy grabbed him around the shoulders and led him away. "Ow, careful." Dan protested under his brother's rough grip.
      "Give them space."
      "Are you okay?" Alex took Thalia's hands as his brothers went out of earshot.

      She nodded, standing on her toes to kiss him. "Yes."
      Alex kissed her, wrapping his arms around her. "I'll be careful, Thalie."
      "You better be." She smiled at him, trying to feel as confident as Alex was.

      "You be careful too." Alex told her. "Don't fall off any mountains or rip out any organs while I'm away."
      "No promises." Thalia smiled. "You Petrovs are dangerous men."
      "Exactly." Alex told her. "I don't need to be careful. All of Russia needs to be careful."

      Thalia pressed her hand against the centre of his chest and gave him a serious look. "You do need to be careful."
      "I will be careful." Alex laughed. "I told you. I have you to come back to." He smiled. "Plus, I'm not out there alone." He reminded her. "Remember Dave?"

      Thalia frowned, trying to remember. "The contact?"
      "Yeah." Alex kissed her forehead. "He asks about you."
      "Really?" Thalia asked, surprised.

      "Yeah, I talk about you all the time." Alex was clearly happy to distract her. "He thinks you should come back in the field too."
      Thalia shook her head, feeling a little proud that their Russian contact remembered her. "Well, if you see him on this trip tell him I said hi."

      "I will." Alex promised. "I'll call you if I can." Thalia nodded and they kissed. "I love you, Thalia."
      "Thank you." She said sincerely, and they both laughed.

      "See?" Alex smiled at his girlfriend. "I need to come back so I can hear you say that to me some time."
      "I'm getting there." She felt her cheeks heat up as she realized it was true.

      When Alex finally got onto his plane, Thalia managed to smile as she waved goodbye, but as soon as the doors shut she felt a tear spill down her cheek.

      When the plane started taxiing down the runway she realized Andy was next to her, holding out a package of tissues. Thalia smiled at him gratefully and pulled one out as they watched the plane take off.

      Dan threw one arm roughly around Thalia's shoulders. "Come on, Thal." He pulled her away from the window. "What do you want to do tonight?"
      Thalia shook her head. "I guess I'm having a girls' night." She took a deep breath and forced herself to smile. "Lily and Kate and a couple of my friends."

      "Really?" His face brightened as they walked through the airport. "Can I crash your party?"
      Thalia laughed. "No. You can't." She told him. "Besides, what about Jess?"

      Dan made a face, opening the door out of the airport. "She'd already be history if you hadn't tricked me into another date with her." He pointed out. "I was thinking about trying to get your friend Jillian's number."

      "I thought you were interested in Lindsey."
      Dan shrugged. "I don't know. She's hot too, but she's playing hard to get." He grinned at the redhead. "Why? You're not okay with me dating your friends anymore?" He challenged her.

      Thalia looked like she was thinking about it as they crossed the parking lot. "I'm okay with you dating my friends." She said finally. "But I don't want you to deliberately toy with them." She looked at Dan. "If you're mean to them it's going to be hard on our friendship, Dan."