Page 83 of Operation: Sharp Angel

Shepherd nodded. “He was appreciative when I contacted him last night.” He scanned the table. “Anything else?”

“No, sir,” several team members said, coming to their feet.

“Becca, please stay. Everyone else is dismissed. Enjoy your long weekend. Next week’s assignments will be emailed to you tomorrow morning.” After the last person left, and the door was closed, Shepherd spoke to her. “It’s safe for you to go home, but I’d prefer you have one of my people with you the next few days, just to be sure.”

She smiled and nodded. “I’m sure Carter wouldn’t mind being my babysitter a few days longer.” And the truth was, she wantedthe extra time with him, especially if he potentially would be deployed the following Monday.

“What’s next for you?” Shepherd asked.

“I’m not sure,” she answered honestly.

“We could use you on the team with the domestic violence cases and to provide legal advice on other cases,” Shepherd said.

“Thank you, Shepherd. I will definitely consider it.”

“That’s if you can stomach the work we do. I purposefully let you see what happened at the warehouse last night so you could make a fair evaluation of possibly working for us.”

Shepherd truly impressed her. Carter had said once that Shepherd was calculated, played 3-D chess while everyone else was playing Chinese checkers. She believed that was true. “Can I take some time and think about it? I think first, before I commit to anything, I need a little time away to deal with everything that happened in the last month.”

“Of course. Reach out to Joe Lassiter if you need to,” Shepherd said. “The offer stands whenever you might want to take me up on it.”

“Thank you.”

Shepherd came to his feet and presented his hand across the conference table to her. She also stood as she shook his hand.

When she left Shepherd’s office, she went looking for Carter and Angel. She wandered down the hallway towards Angel’s desk. She found both Angel and Michaela in the kitchenette. “Hi,” she greeted, entering the room. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“Not at all,” Angel said. “How are you? I heard what happened last night.”

She wondered if Angel truly knew all that had happened. “I’m fine, thank you. It’s over and I get to go home today,” she said. “But I wanted to thank you again for everything you did for me.”

Angel embraced her. “You’re welcome. So, are you going to stick around and help on more of Briana’s domestic violence cases?”

“Probably,” Becca confirmed. “I’ll, of course, stay in contact with Simone Hoch and make sure her case proceeds, but I need to take a little time away before I dive into anything.”

“Completely understandable,” Michaela said.

“Wow, Michaela, you are carrying so low, much lower than when I saw you last, a few days ago,” Becca said.

Michaela flashed her a weary smile. “I am aware. Angel and I were just discussing that. I was at the OB this morning and he said the baby could come at any time. He seconded your medical opinion on the location of the baby,” she said with a chuckle. “I’m already dilated to three and one hundred percent effaced.”

“Looks like I might win the baby pool,” Angel said with a smile. “Why are you in? You should be at home.”

“I’m just wrapping up a few things in the lab and getting it ready for me to be out for an extended period. I had so much energy the last few days, but today I am just zapped.”

“Oh, you are close to having her. That is so typical,” Angel said with excitement. “Don’t you remember the day I had Johanna? It was Memorial Day, and we were all at Madison and Cooper’s house for a cookout. I felt absolutely drained, and that was after two days of having so much energy.”

“Diana timed your contractions. Yes, now I remember,” Michaela said.

“Are you having any contractions?” Angel asked.

Becca watched the two women and listened to their conversation, recalling when her sister had both her nieces. She’d been with Nicole the day she went into labor with Riley. She remembered it similarly to what these two ladies described. The memory caused tears to fill her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Angel asked, pulling Becca from her memories. She assumed Angel was talking to Michaela. “Becca, are you okay?” she repeated.

“Yes, sorry. I was just remembering when my sister went into labor with my niece, Riley. I was with her at her house.”

Both Angel and Michaela embraced her. “It’s okay, sweetie,” Angel said. “Cry, grieve, you’re going to have these days. Don’t try to hold back the tears.”

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