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“I’m just saying, Nina, that I don’t think there’s any rush for us to set up a savings account for Dougie”
“I know it’s not like he’s going to be going off to college or buying his first car anytime soon…I just…We know life can be unpredictable, and I just want to make sure we’ve done everything we can for him”
Turning to hold the door open for Stuart as he followed her inside of the bank with Dougie in his arms, their adorable little boy currently preoccupied with running a toy car up and down the back of his Daddy’s neck, Nina paused to lean forward and press a kiss atop Dougie’s blonde curls, deciding to follow the action up with a quick peck to Stuart’s lips, a ‘just because’ kiss
“Okay. You’re right. We should make sure we’ve got something in his name we can build up a fund as he grows”
Pleased that Stuart was being so understanding about spending their Saturday morning off together in a bank, Nina lead the way to the queue for the tellers, soon finding herself mesmerised by watching her boys interact when Stuart adjusted Dougie to be up on his shoulders, eliciting a happy squeal from their little boy - She barely noticed what was going on around them or how slow the line was suddenly moving, her attention entirely on the two boys she called home
Stuart’s attention, however, was not so one set
He’d noticed their surroundings, and his strange reaction was the first indication to Nina something was wrong
Clocking some suspicious movement up ahead while Nina pulled silly faces at Dougie and earned herself some babbled “Mama”’s alongside his heartwarming giggle, Stuart recognised what was about to occur a whole 60 seconds before the scene began to unfold, a timeframe that left him with little opportunity to react or warn Nina - He had just enough time to achieve his main goal, making sure Nina and Dougie were as safe as they could possibly be
Thrusting Dougie into Nina’s arms abruptly and taking her off guard, Stuart ignored her bewildered look, taking a few long steps back with a small shake of his head, a silent request she not voice her question as he put some physical distance between them
“People, I apologise for the change in your morning plans. This bank is now ours…Do as we say if you want to avoid consequences. My friend here is going to come around for your phones and wallets. If you’ve got anything of value, cough it up”
Seeing Nina’s eyes turn fear stricken as she registered that they’d found themselves caught up in a bank robbery off the clock - And worst of all, when they had Dougie with them - Stuart tried his best to offer her reassurance with his eyes as he unfastened the watch around his wrist, handing it over alongside his keys and phone - He was suddenly glad the device was dead in a way he had been far from just twenty minutes ago
He’d complained to Nina on the car ride here that he’d forgotten to charge the device when he got home from work last night, and she’d promised him he could borrow hers if he needed to make any calls
She’d also pointed out that if anyone needed to get in touch with him and couldn’t reach him on his phone, they’d know she was with him and try her next
Now the previous frustration in his life was a turning into a small miracle, saving his lock screen snap of Nina and Dougie cuddled up fast asleep together from revealing the very thing he now needed to keep to himself
“No wedding ring?”
“I’m not married”
Answering truthfully, Stuart watched as the man moved onto Nina next, claiming from her her phone, keys and a chain he’d given her for her last birthday that sported three little charms - A D, an S and a heart - his breath catching when the man’s eyes lingered a little too long on Nina, scanning her body in a way that made Stuart’s stomach churn - What made him pale further was the question the man posed to Nina, a question she thankfully answered in the way he desperately needed her to after a fleeting cast of her eyes to his
A look issued and then retracted so quickly he’s not sure anyone else even noticed the movement
“You ain’t married either?…Kid got no Dad?”
“Single Mom”
Feeling his shoulders drop in relief when Nina avoided admitting to the true nature of their relationship, Stuart cast his mind back to the last time he’d seen Nina’s lock screen, again finding himself grateful when he remembered that she’d changed the image just a few days ago after Dougie had had a particularly cute moment - Until then her lock screen had been him and Dougie playing together at the park, but now it was a messy Dougie sitting amongst a mess of cheerios and milk after tipping his breakfast over his head
Good, that image would add to the single Mom story, no man in her life to be seen
“He a crier?”
“He’ll be fine so long as I’m holding him”
Feeling pride swell in his chest for the excellent mother Nina was when he saw how she’d turned Dougie to shield him from seeing anything that might alert him to the sudden tension in the room - Presently he was still content in her arms playing with his toy car - Stuart forced his pride to remain inward, along with his sudden fear of something Dougie might do or say - What would they do if the boy was to reach or cry for Daddy?
They’d cross the bridge if they came to it, but he hoped with every bone in his body that his little boy would be content with only his Mommy for the time being
Offering Nina a very small smile over the shoulder of the man now moving onto the next civilian caught up in this mess, Stuart took reassurance from the one she gave him back, her hands noticeably tightening her hold on Dougie as she drew comfort from the familiar weight in her arms - He could use some of the little boy’s magic cuddles right about now too, but he’d gladly give them up for Nina and Dougie’s safety
He’d do anything to make sure they got out of this safe
No matter what it took
No matter what the price to be paid was
He just hoped Nina would forgive him if what it came down to was a price she’d have to pay
Two hours into a trip to the bank that was supposed to last twenty minutes at most, Stuart sat alongside the other men huddled in one corner, trying his best to blend in with the group - They’d separated them by gender to cause suffering, tearing husband’s and wife’s away from each other to leave people vulnerable
They’d done basically the same thing to him too, but they didn’t know that yet, and he hoped he’d be able to use that to his advantage
Trying to catch a non-obvious glimpse of Nina across the room in the women and children’s huddle, Stuart thanked a God he’d lost faith in that Dougie had fallen asleep, his little arms wrapped tight around Nina’s neck as his head rested on her shoulder
“What’s taking so long?…Can we leave, please? We won’t tell the police anything…We just want to go home to our families”
Wincing at the plea from his right, Stuart heard the squeak of a boot as the apparent leader turned and began his walk towards them, intendant on confronting the innocent man attempting to limit the repercussions of this situation
“What did you say?”
“Please”
Moving slightly to his right as the agent side of him fought for dominance, Stuart got himself closer to the man incase he needed to intervene, watching as the man’s bravery dwindled away when he was faced with a gun pointed directly at his head
“Don’t shoot him. He’s just…He just wants to go home. We all do”
“You got someone waiting for you at home?”
Having successfully diverted attention onto himself and away from the civilian caught up in a situation that was clearly traumatising him, Stuart shook his head negatively despite the truth of that question, keeping his eyes firmly away from Nina so that he didn’t have to see her reaction to him inviting further danger his way
“Not me. Home’s a bachelor pad”
“What do you do?”
“Wha…”
“Nice clothes. They don’t look cheap so you obviously ain’t broke…What do you do?”
Knowing that either the truthful - Or semi-truthful - answer he could give here was risky to him and the people around him, Stuart instead opted for a lie he hoped was believable - He couldn’t admit to his Wall Street days for fear of them seeing him as leverage for more money, something they were clearly seeking, and he most certainly couldn’t reveal his current career
“I’m an accountant”
“That pay well?”
“Well enough…You already have my wallet, take what you like”
“Oh we will…H, open up the accountant’s wallet. Let’s see what kind of cash he’s carrying”
Completely forgetting about his FBI building access pass sitting tucked in behind his drivers licence, Stuart felt that a crisis had been averted when the man moved his attention away from him and back to clearing the registers, at least until ‘H’ called out to his buddy with glee at finding something in his wallet, a something that had sweat gathering at the back of Stuart’s neck instantly when he recognised the small rectangle - A rectangle he knew Nina would recognise too, giving her a quick heads up before he was caught in a lie
“Well Well Well, what do we have here?…The accountant is lying. We got a Fed”
“This guy?…Ain’t he a little scrawny?”
“Stuart Scola. FBI…That’s you, ain’t it, Nice clothes?”
“Well it looks like we just found ourselves some leverage…Get him up. Separated from the others. Let’s see how much his colleagues care about him”
Feeling himself dragged to his feet, Stuart obliged easily for the benefit of the civilians around him - And more importantly Nina and Dougie - falling to his knees unceremoniously when one of the group took a cheap shot to the back of his legs
Staying down as he awaited the threat to pass or the interrogation to begin, Stuart went over his cover story in his head, still determined above all else to get his family out of this situation safe
Bloodied, bruised and interrogated, Stuart ignored the pain in every bone of his body in favour of continuing to fight, his eyes firmly locked on his attackers or the floor staining red before him, never on Nina, and most certainly never on Dougie - He hadn’t allowed himself to glance in their direction in over an hour, so he had no idea how she was reacting to watching him get hurt like this
He imagined not well, but he couldn’t find out
It was too great of a risk
No matter how much he needed to see them, to see the love Nina had for him in her eyes and be reminded that he had so much in his life to fight to return to, he just couldn’t
So he kept his eyes downcast and played the part of a single man with nothing major to loose
A part he was playing almost too well
Feeling her heart leap to her throat when one of the attackers delivered yet another blow to Stuart’s midsection, Nina fought with everything she had to hold back the tears brewing in her eyes, fighting every instinct she had to rush forward and save her partner - Not her work partner, not today
Someone significantly more important to her
Her life partner
Focusing her attention on the unspoken task Stuart had set her - Get Dougie out of this safely, no matter what - Nina ducked her head into the collar of her son’s tiny T-shirt, allowing it to absorb the few tears she allowed to fall before she pulled herself together, pushing aside agent mode and partner mode, allowing herself only to exist in this moment as Dougie’s mother - That was the best way for her to help Stuart
Her revealing how much he meant to her would do nobody any good
That didn’t make it hurt any less to watch him be beaten, to watch helplessly as blood stained his shirt and the floor around him before his body finally lost the battle of consciousness
Eavesdropping on the plan unfolding as their captors revealed who they’d stumbled across to those waiting outside - One of the FBI’s own, at least one that they knew of - and made their demands, Nina prayed for some kind of miracle, for help to arrive at a speed faster than she knew it would - She’d been on the other side of these situations before, she knew action did not come quickly
The only difference was that she’d never been on this side before
She’d never before been watching the love of her life drift in and out of consciousness, each time wondering if his eyes were ever going to open again, or if life as she and Dougie knew it was forever changed
Stirring awake following the most painful blow he’d taken yet, Stuart began to wonder if this really was the end, at least when he began seeing a miracle play out before him - Teams running in, civilians being escorted out around him, the threat neutralised, Nina and Dougie amongst those finally finding out what it meant to be free
If this was it, at least God had given him a vision to offer him peace as his end came, a vision of hope for his family’s future
There would be trauma to overcome for Nina, Dougie would never know his father’s love, at least not directly, but they’d be safe, they’d live on
They’d be the best legacy a guy like him could ever hope for
“Stuart!…Take Dougie! I have to get back inside and see Stuart!”
“Nina…”
“I’m going back inside. I’m getting Stuart…Whether I have to go against direct orders or not”
“Hand over Dougie”
Gratefully handing over her son to people she knew he was safe with, Nina rushed back inside the emptying bank with one thing on her mind, only one figure before her worth fully registering - Stuart’s slumped form
Dropping to her knees with a force she knew would result in bruises - Bruises she quite honestly couldn’t bring herself to care about right now - Nina got close enough to search for signs of life, inserting herself into the huddle around the love of her life - He moved, just barely, but he moved, and her heart started to beat again
“Is he…Is he okay?…Is he going to be…”
“We need to get him transported as soon as possible, Ma’am…He’s got a fight ahead of him”
Knowing her role in Stuart’s recovery from those words alone, Nina got in the paramedics way temporarily, leaning down next to Stuart’s head to press a soft kiss against his temple before her lips found his ear, where she whispered words that would give him the reasons to fight he needed
“Dougie and I are safe…Come home safe to us, Stuart”
Her reward was his eyes cracking open, his handsome blues locking with hers and telling her all she needed to know
He was going to fight
She was going to fight alongside him every step of the way