Moira was confused.

She didn't realize she was staring at the spot where Gabriel had been standing just a second ago until one of Gabriel's teammates (friends?) came up from the basement with a sheepish smile.

"Morning, Miss Moira," he said, stuffing his hands into his front pockets and rocking back on his feet a bit. "I hope we didn't wake you up again?"

She shook her head. "Oh, no. You didn't."

He was tall, maybe around Gabriel's height, but with less bulk and muscle, and—now that she could see him clearly—quite handsome as well in that blond-hair-blue-eyed, All-American-Boy type of way. His eyes might even rival Chris Pine's.

Was it a requirement somewhere in the Navy that SEALs must be good-looking?

Because the other man with dark hair and a heavy Texan accent that was coming up the stairs was a different kind of attractive as well. "Good mornin', ma'am," he smiled, a dimple popping on his right cheek. "Is this guy harassin' you?"

"Hey!"

Moira huffed a laugh and shook her head. "He's being a proper gentleman."

"Ah, but it seems like we completely forgot our manners," he replied and waved his hand towards the blond. "This here is Arthur, but we call him Kid."

"Please call me Kid."

"And I'm Lance. The team calls me Cowboy. Feel free to call me whichever one you want."

Moira didn't realize her back had gone tense until her shoulders dropped as she smiled back at the two men. "Lance...and Kid. Got it. It's nice to formally make your acquaintance."

The two exchanged a look before Lance said, "Yes. Last night was definitely not one of our finer moments."

"You have finer moments?" Moira asked before she could stop herself. She would've felt mortified if Kid didn't laugh and Lance didn't make a show of tilting his hand in a so-so motion.

"I like you," Kid said as he came around to sling an arm around her shoulder. "I think we'd be good friends, Moira."

She grinned up at him. "That's a little too soon to say, don't you think?"

Before Kid could answer, Lance said, "Stick around long enough and you'll see Kid's tendency to jump in with both feet before thinking."

"I resent that statement," Kid sniffed as his arm slid off her shoulder. He perched his hands on his waist and narrowed his gaze at Lance while the other man walked over to the coffee machine. "I want your permission as a higher ranking officer to kick your ass later."

"Denied."

Moira's gaze bounced between the two as they traded more quips, amused, before she frowned. "What did Gabriel mean about not using me as bait?"

Their conversation came to a screeching halt and the two men shared another look. It wasn't long, and when Kid turned back to her with a charming smile, she opened her mouth to say something.

He beat her to it though as he asked, "Do you cook, Moira?"

"I can. Though baking is my strong suit," she answered warily as he steered her towards the stove by her shoulders.

Kid flapped a dismissive hand at her. "Then that's good enough for me. S'long as it's not Cowboy cooking."

Lance flipped his middle finger at Kid who laughed and poured himself a mug of coffee as well. Lance looked back at her and said, "You don't have to do anything, Moira. Do you want coffee?"

Moira shrugged and pulled out a frying pan from the cabinet next to the stove and said, "It's alright. I'll whip up some eggs. And yes, please put coffee in my cream and sugar."

Kid pulled a face as he stuck his tongue out. "Bleugh. You and Hawk are made for each other. That man's sweet tooth gives me cavities."

"He likes sweets?" Moira asked, brows jumping up her forehead.

"He has a stash of M&M's and Hershey's chocolate bars in his locker at the base," Lance added, scooping a generous amount of creamer into a mug. Moira was starting to like Lance more than Kid. "He doesn't share."

Moira laughed as an image of a cartoonish hawk squawking territorially over his nest, piled high with sweets, popped into her head. Then she raised a brow at the men. "You're not trying to distract me from my question, are you?"

Kid smiled at her, all faux innocence. "No," he said, drawing out the syllable. "Why? Are you getting distracted?"

Cheeky. "No. Just making sure."

"We're trying to ease you into it," Lance replied, handing over her mug of coffee before stepping over to the fridge to pull out the eggs. "In all honesty, we actually want to tell you."

"Really?" she questioned, skeptic, while Lance sets the carton of eggs by the stove. "Thank you."

"Really." Lance nodded as he stood back and reached for his own coffee mug to take a sip. "Will Hawk kill us? Probably. But we're short on options here, so we're telling."

Moira turned her eyes down at the mug in her hands and traced its lip with the pad of her thumb as she hummed, mind racing. She brought the mug up to take a sip and nodded at the sweet bitterness that hit her taste buds. Just how she likes it. She sat the mug aside and turned around to start up the stove. "Alright. Tell me then."

"Take the floor, Kid," Lance said.

Kid perched himself at the bar on one of the stools and hunched over the top with his arms crossed on the granite. "We want to use you as bait, Moira. Whoever set Hawk up is in the know at the CIA. They were able to get their hands on sensitive information and were able to twist it to suit their needs. Did he tell you what he got set up for?"

Moira nodded.

"We don't know if they're connected," Kid continued, "not really. It'd be nice if we have solid evidence that they are. It definitely would make everyone's life easier if it turns out they're working with Lanster. So, we need to draw out whoever did all this and we figured a way to do that, and draw out Lanster's men as well, is to use you as bait."

Moira turned her frown from the slice of butter sizzling on the pan up to Kid. "But how? I'm just a baker."

"Yes, but you know stuff now as well: this hideout, where we keep our stash in Georgia, and they'll want that, both the CIA and Lanster."

"So...how do you plan on using me as bait, exactly?"

Kid sat back as much as he could on the bar stool. "We send you back to your parents and make it obvious to the CIA. They'll get to you before Lanster could since your parents are under surveillance right now-"

"My parents are under surveillance?"

"-once you're with the CIA you'll ask for Agent Sloan if he isn't already the one to bring you in."

"Wait, bring me in? Why?" Moira wasn't liking this plan very much.

"They'll want to question you," Lance chimed in.

Kid nodded. "And Sloan doesn't believe Hawk turned. Thing is though, we can't work with Sloan and let him know of our plans for fear that we'll alert the real culprit. You can."

"And how does this tie in to capturing the culprit?" Moira cracked an egg into the pan. Her hands needed to do something.

"Leave that up to us." Kid said, mouth tilted in a dangerous smile that sent a shiver down her spine. Gone was the carefree, charming blond guy she had been talking to, and in his place was a man trained to kill. Just like Gabriel.

A hand landed on her shoulder and she jumped with a squeak.

Lance gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry. It's just that the eggs are burning."

"Oh, jeez!"

Gabriel still hadn't returned by the time she finished with the eggs, and Kid caught her staring at the front door.

"He's down by the docks, don't worry," he said, shoveling a tower of soft scrambled eggs into his mouth. "Hawk's a big boy who can take care of himself."

"Don't speak with your mouth full," Lance rebuked with a pinched face before throwing a balled-up piece of paper towel at Kid's face.

Kid sputtered when it landed on his plate.

Moira pushed away from the table and said, "I'm going to check on him."

She could feel Lance and Kid's eyes on her back as she rushed out the front door. She followed the stone path down to the river and stopped halfway. She needed a breather and the crisp morning air was doing her wonders. All around, evergreen trees rose high into the morning sky and the birds chirped-chirped away. At the end of the stone path was a two-story dock with a small wooden shed, but there was no sign of Gabriel.

Frowning, she continued down to the water and finally spotted the man standing at the end of the dock, hidden from view by the shed and what looked to be a sleek, jet-black speed boat. She nearly slipped as she stepped onto the dock and could clearly make out Gabriel's figure. He was shirtless once again, standing with his back to her by a plastic chair upon which he had tossed his shirt and...fishing.

For a moment, she watched as he reeled the line in, checked the bait, and threw it back out into the water only to repeat the process.

She needed to stop ogling this man's back, seriously. Shaking herself out of her fast-approaching R-rated thoughts, Moira made her way over to Gabriel and stepped up beside him, watching the water ripple as the dock moved beneath their feet with each small wave.

He stayed quiet as he threw the line back out into the water, so Moira followed his lead as she sank to the dock to sit and let her legs dip into the water. It was warmer than she expected.

"They told you," Gabriel finally said, voice hard.

Moira kept her eyes on her legs as she swished them through the water and hummed in confirmation. She peaked up at him when he didn't reply and took a minute to stare at his profile. If Gabriel ever found himself out of a job, he should definitely consider modelling. He even got the smolder down-pat.

After a few more minutes of casting and reeling the line back in with no bites, Gabriel huffed before dropping down into the chair behind him. He turned to her, a small frown furrowing his brows and tugging down at his mouth as his gaze flitted over her face. "You want to do it," he said, less a question and very much an observation.

Was she that easy to read? Twisting her mouth to the side she replied, "It's a good plan. Well, they make it sound like a good plan."

He grumbled something under his breath but she didn't catch it.

"And I know you're against it," she continued, "and I'm obviously no expert at this like you, but...I think it's a good shot to get you out of this mess. Both of us."

His eyes narrowed at her. "Those two clowns didn't set you up to do this, did they?"

"Oh no," Moira shook her head with a faint laugh. "No, I came here because you stormed off, and as much as I like Kid and Lance, you...I like you better."

Moira watched as his face remained impassive.

"And also because I cooked some eggs and there's a good chance there won't be any leftovers when we get back," she added.

That got him to huff, mouth tilting up in his usual small smile before he turned to properly look at her. Then he held out the fishing pole to her. "Wanna try?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Moira grinned as she took it.

"You know how this works?"

She nodded. "Yep. I went fishing with my granddad a lot as a kid. This bait still good?"

"Probably not. Let me change it."

So Moira held the fishing pole steady as Gabriel changed out the bait, and when he was done, Moira fell into the familiar rhythm of throwing the line out into the water and reeling it back in. Gabriel lowered himself into his chair before pulling his shirt back on. Moira silently mourned the loss of the wonderful sight of toned stomach and pecs, but just as silently rejoiced in the knowledge that the sight would forever be ingrained in her head.

A jerk on the line snapped her out of her thoughts. "Oh!"

Gabriel was back on his feet and by her side in an instant.

Moira reeled the line in, careful as the weight on the other end proved to be quite heavy. Finally, the line was close enough to the surface for Gabriel to reach. The fish, about ten inches long and quite fat, struggled around the hook in his mouth as Gabriel lifted it out of the water and worked on freeing it.

"Woah!" Moira laid the fishing pole down on the dock as she kneeled next to Gabriel to inspect her catch.

He held it up with a firm grip on its mouth and around the tail. "That's a pretty good catch."

Moira grinned. "We should name him."

Gabriel raised a brow at her, then at the fish. "Naming a fish..."

"Why not? It'll be fun!" she urged and cheered when Gabriel gave in with a sigh. "Alright! What's a good name to give him?"

"Don't ask me," Gabriel said upon her expectant look. "You're the one who wants to name it."

Moira mock-sneered at him. "Killjoy. Fine! I shall name him, Sir...Henry!"

"Henry."

"Yeah. Sir Henry's a good name."

"Including the title?"

"Especially the title."

He stared at the fish. "Okay. Sir Henry, it is. Back in the water you go."

Moira waved at Sir Henry as he quickly disappeared into the murky water of the lake, while Gabriel rinsed his hands in it. This time, when she looked at him, he caught her gaze and tilted his head to the side. The action reminded her of a dog, and it made her giggle.

"What?" he asked, and while his mouth did nothing, his eyes were clearly amused.

"Nothing," she shook her head, before sighing out the rest of her mirth. "Nothing, it's just...on the balcony...why did you kiss me?"

She did not plan on asking that, and if the minute way Gabriel's brows peaked was anything to go by, he didn't expect her to either. But, well, Moira had been wondering and the questions were killing her! The implications kept her up for most of the night and by the time she found something that resembled sleep, she heard the ruckus downstairs that led to her grabbing the revolver she had found in the nightstand drawer earlier in the evening.

Gabriel kept his eyes trained on her own, and Moira had to resist the urge to look away. She asked the question, didn't she? Now she had to bear the consequences because while she wanted to hear him say something romantic like he found her as attractive as she found him (seeing his photo every time she visited Mrs. Hudson and hearing all the stories about him did nothing but fan the flames of her crush on the guy), they literally just met and under very bad circumstances-

"I find you attractive."

Moira could swear her thoughts did a record scratch and half expected Gabriel to have heard it as well. "What?"

He blinked. "I find you, Moira, attractive. And I thought it was a good idea at the time. However, now that I've had a chance to evaluate my actions I can see that it was an inappropriate response to your pain-"

"Shhhhhhhh!" Moira quickly mushed his lips shut with one hand while she clutched at his shoulder with the other and willed herself not to knead the corded muscles there like some creep. Gabriel blinked at her again, and she can only imagine what she looked like to him: wide-eyed and blushing. God, her whole face felt like it was on fire. She cleared her throat. "Just...hold on."

Gabriel reached up and slipped his fingers around the wrist of the hand she has over his mouth and gently tugged it off. She let him, basking in the warmth of his hold as he ran a thumb down the length of her wrist. Her whole arm appeared so much paler and smaller against his tan skin and large, capable hands.

Moira finally tore her gaze away from their hands and back to Gabriel to find him already watching her. She started to nod. "Okay...okay. So you think I'm attractive, I can- I can work with that. That- That's fine! That's actually more than fine, I-"

"Moira."

"Hm?"

His lips slowly curved up in a gentle smile and, good lord, could this man get any more attractive?

"We were thrown together during a very high-stakes and adrenaline-pumping situation," he began to say and Moira nodded along as he continued, "I've been trained for that. You haven't, and we're still very much in the middle of this shit-storm. I don't want you making any rash decisions about feelings and attractions amidst all of the things happening right now...do you understand?"

Moira couldn't nod. Oh, she understood alright, just give her a second. "Yeah...I understand. I understand that you think you know exactly what's going on in my head right now! What, you think I have a savior-complex or something? Screw you!"

She yanked her wrist out of his hold and stood back up, perhaps with more oomph than necessary but she had a point that needed to be made. Gabriel was the one who's now wide-eyed as he stared up at her, still on his knees as she continued.

"Joke's on you, mister! I've thought you were very attractive way before we met! And that was even after seeing all of your baby pictures! So, you don't get to tell me what I'm feeling right this moment. If anyone's feelings should be questioned, it should be yours!"

Oh, wow, she was actually panting.

Gabriel slowly got back to his feet, still wide-eyed but not in shock. Was that..awe? He nodded, hands held out as if trying not to spook a cornered animal. "You're right," he said, gaze searching hers. "I'm sorry."

Moira swallowed, heart pounding in her ears. "Damn right you should be. Do you understand?

He nodded again, lips twitching in amusement. "Yeah, I do. Thank you for setting the record straight."

"You're welcome," Moria sniffed, eyed the hands he was still holding out, and asked, "So, will you kiss me now? For real this time."

Gabriel's entire body jolted when he let out a bark of laughter, the sound almost disbelieving, before he finally reached for her arms and pulled her in until they were chest-to-chest. He was smirking, so Moira pulled his head down to her level and kissed it off his lips. Who was smirking now? Well...Gabriel, but so was she, making it kind of difficult to continue making out.

So, they both pulled back and Moira laughed while Gabriel kept smirking, forehead pressed against hers.

"Hey, lovebirds!"

Moira jumped but didn't get far as Gabriel tightened his hold around her waist. When did he do that? She didn't get to ponder on that question for too long as Kid and Lance made their way down the dock towards them, both in a pair of swimming trunks and nothing else. Hooo, boy.

Lord Almighty above, save her from all of this testosterone, amen.

"What do you two want?" Gabriel asked them with a scowl.

"We thought we'd get in the water before the LT calls us in an hour," Kid replied right before he jumped into the river.

Lance shrugged. "What he said."

Gabriel kept scowling as Lance followed after Kid, and twisted so she didn't get splashed from the water Lance's cannon-ball shot towards them. Then he blinked and looked back down at her. "You said my mom showed you my baby pictures?"

Moira nodded despite her confusion at the seemingly random question. "Yeah, why?"

He groaned as his eyes screwed shut in pain and tilted his head up to the heavens. "Even the one in the pool?"

Oh. A slow grin curved at Moira's mouth. "Yep."

"I want to see all your baby pictures when we get back."

"Yeah, there's no way that's happening."

Gabriel argued back, and Moira countered it with a half-hearted threat, though she wasn't paying much attention. When we get back. That shouldn't have made her so giddy, but it did.

When we get back.