The raid

When Noah received the message that the raid would be taking place any moment now, he glanced at his watch and saw what time it was. It was way later than he planned on making it, but with Steve recovering at home, the aftermath of the explosion, and neither of them being present at the office as much during the past few days, there was a lot to be done. Max had done his fair share, but he too had been occupied with other matters because of the whole Harold incident. Now Anthony and Rebecca were away as well, and he couldn't just leave as he pleased too. There are too many important decisions to make and not all of them can be left to the other people with high management roles or Max.

As one of the owners of the company, he felt that it was his responsibility to make sure the business keeps rolling on smoothly, even when things aren't the way they usually are. Noah strongly believed that, the troubles of upper management, should never become the burdens of those below. He was the highest organ in that chain, so in times like these he needed to step up his game, so his employees wouldn't have to worry about the future of the company for even a second. Especially not over personal trouble that he invited into their world. But now he had done all that could be expected of him in a day, and more. So, it was time for him to return to the place where he could truly rest; by Laila's side.

That is where he could forget all about his day. No matter how bad. And that is where his good days became great days. Just a single smile from her could brighten his day and could take away all his tiredness. She was his haven, his beacon of light even during his darkest days, and she was where home was. For his body, his heart and his soul.

He closed his laptop, and grabbed his bag and keys. He rushed to the place where he had parked his car, passing by the still taped off door to the garage, reminding him once more of the evils that Harold committed. As fast as he could, breaking some speed limits on the way, Noah made his way home. He opened the gates with his remote and parked his car right in front of the door. Not caring that it did not belong there since he had more important matters to care about at the moment.

The house was quiet. Most of the staff had already left for the day. It was after all just after midnight. With only two minutes left on the timer, Noah tried to find Laila. Not wanting to start watching without her. He was about to head upstairs, his foot already touching the first step, when he heard some rummaging in the dining room. He noticed the light coming from underneath the door and quietly headed over. He slowly opened the door and saw Laila standing there. She was arched over the table, holding a piece of fabric in one hand and a needle in the other. She was fully focused, not even noticing his presence. With the tip of her tongue sticking out, she stuck the threaded needle through the fabric in a flowing motion. Her hand moving swiftly and smoothly.

He slowly approached her and gently touched her shoulders, before placing his chin on top of her head. Laila glanced up with a smile and said, "Welcome home". Noah almost instinctively smiled back and placed a quick kiss on her lips before asking in a warm voice, "Not asleep yet? It is past midnight you know?" From Laila's reaction it was evident that she did not know. She became startled and immediately glanced down at her watch before looking back at Noah with a shocked expression and saying, "It is midnight!? I can't believe it is midnight already".

After this she started using her hands to illustrate the rest, while she seemed in a state of disbelief. "I just wanted to finish up this one thing, but then I noticed something else and then I was almost done, so I thought I should finish it all. But I didn't notice that so much time had passed. It is soo late. I have to hurry and get to bed or little Nick is going to dislike his mommy before I even get to meet him."

Noah chuckled before he rubbed Laila's shoulders and then folded his arms around her to turn it into a hug. "I promise he will forgive you for it. If he doesn't, I'll help you ask for forgiveness until he does. But before we both go to sleep, I have a surprise for you. I rushed over in hopes of you still being awake so you can watch it with me." Laila was a bit confused, wondering what it could possibly be that Noah would want to show her this late at night instead of insisting for her to go to bed. She asked in a curious tone, "Watch what?" But Noah didn't answer. Instead he decided that of telling her, he should just show her. He then pulled out his phone, and while he continued to lean on her shoulders and his head resting on top of Laila's, he showed her the live feed of the raid on Olivia's house.