The silence in the office was unbearable. Laurel resisted the urge to fidget in her seat and she ran her fingertips over the fabric of her nicest slacks as she stared back into the faces of two people who had a hand in deciding her fate. Special Agent in Charge Thomas Madison, her unit's fearless leader and chief and her direct superior, was seated at the desk. Behind him stood Deputy Assistant Director Olivia Manning, the woman who ran the entire White Collar Crime Division in Los Angeles. She was Madison's direct superior and a seasoned White Collar veteran, having spent years as a special agent in the division. Now she ran the whole show and answered only to Assistant Direction Colin Dean, who was in charge of the entire FBI branch of L.A. Laurel was glad that Dean was somehow unable to attend this little meeting, because two pairs of eyes studying her was too much.

It was silent for an absurdly long time before Madison broke it. "You've done good work for us over the past couple of years, Agent Shaw. And before that with the L.A.P.D. And I must say when I got the call last night that you had...well I didn't believe it at first."

Laurel sat there in the chair, looking at the desktop and not saying anything at first because what was she going to say? Was she going to try and make some sort of excuse, pin the blame on someone else, try to worm her way out of taking responsibility for it? There were a few more moments of silence before she looked up at her bosses. "Am I fired?" she asked them bluntly. She couldn't wait any longer.

Madison and Manning exchanged a long look with one another, before Manning nodded once and Madison looked back at Laurel. She had worked with him since she started at the FBI, and he had mentored her in many ways. She was intelligent, resourceful, a fast thinker, and a damn good agent, and now she had made a costly mistake that she couldn't take back or run from. And Thomas couldn't do much to help her, but he would do what he could. "No, Laurel. You're not fired."

The woman seemed to slump a bit in relief, as though some tension had vanished without a trace. Olivia Manning spoke next, her tone was soft but also direct and commanding attention. "I'm sure you've realized this, Agent Shaw, but you need to hear it. This is far from over and it's going to be a long and difficult road for you. We're not going to fire you now, but if this goes to court and things go badly we may not have a choice. We may be forced to fire you. We may be forced to arrest you. It would all depend on the jury. And if things get worse..." She didn't have to elaborate on what "worse" meant. She meant if James Weller died. "If things get worse you will likely not have a chance in court."

Laurel didn't respond, but both of her bosses knew that she understood her predicament completely. Her fingers trembled slightly, but other than that she was composed and taking everything very seriously. After a moment Laurel looked up at Olivia and met her gaze. "I understand everything you're saying, Director Manning. I understand the severity of my actions and the consequences that I may be facing. I understand, and I am not going to run from any of it. What happened last night was my fault, and I plan to take full responsibility for my actions."

Olivia Manning's steel gray eyes studied the younger woman, looking for any traces of dishonesty and seeing none. She nodded her head in approval. Laurel Shaw had made a grave miscalculation and had made the biggest mistake any law enforcement officer could make. But she wasn't making excuses and wasn't trying to hide from what she had done. She could tell Laurel felt genuine remorse for her actions. Manning respected that. Shaw was a good agent, and a good person. It was a damn shame this had happened.

"Laurel," Madison began, "we're not firing you, but there will be some changes. Some restrictions for you." Laurel nodded, expecting this. "You can continue assisting in investigations. As well as gathering information and interviewing suspects and witnesses and such. But when it comes to active duty, going in to make arrests, confronting criminals...you'll be sitting those out. At best you'll be on van duty. At least for now, until any agreements are made or investigations into the incident are finished." Laurel didn't move for a moment, careful not to show emotion beyond understanding. It was disappointing, of course, but expected. She nodded. "You'll also need to surrender your weapon, until you've been deemed fit to carry again."

Maybe it was the confusion in her eyes that prompted Manning to speak. "You'll be seeing a therapist. Weekly. Effective immediately."

A therapist? Laurel looked from Manning to Madison, wanting to argue. This was ridiculous, she didn't need to see a shrink! Other than the remorse and guilt and the apprehension of the uncertain and difficult times ahead of her she was fine. Perfectly fine.

Then the memory of James Weller's specter in her apartment flooded back.

"These visits are mandatory, Agent Shaw. Non-negotiable." Madison's tone was firm and Laurel reluctantly nodded, before placing the gun on the desk in front of him. "Go home, Laurel. Fill out the incident report for the paralegal at Gibson Dunn. Lord knows you don't need any extra heat. That'll be all."

Laurel rose, smoothing her jacket and shouldering the handbag she made herself take. She nodded to the two superior agents and turned to head for the door. She touched the handle and then turned to look at the two of them again. "Sir, Ma'am, would it be alright if I had this weekend off? To go see my family before it becomes impossible for me to leave the city?"

Madison and Manning looked at one another again, sharing a wordless conversation before Manning nodded once. "That will be fine, Agent Shaw. Take care of anything you need to with your family," Thomas told her, and then nodded. "Thank you, Laurel."

Laurel pushed the door to the office open and made her way through the hall. She kept her head down and moved quickly. She didn't feel up for running into anybody in her unit at that moment, not even Eric. She didn't stop moving til she was out of the building and in the parking lot next to her car, which had sat there all night long. Laurel closed her eyes and leaned against the car, almost in danger of collapsing completely if she hadn't been bracing herself against the vehicle.