Collide (EN/US)

Edward and Alexis

Nina had woken up late because spent most of the night looking forward to her first day of school in New York.
She had graduated 1 year ago from law school and spent that last period physically preparing to join the FBI and have a career she so admired.

She and Edward moved to Chicago when she was still a baby and her mother had died in an FBI action, and stayed there for 22 years.

Returning to New York after such a long time was unplanned, but Edward decided to leave the CIA and agreed to spend time as an FBI consultant in NY while Nina prepared for her special agent selection. She would have some theoretical classes and practical training before taking the exam. The whole process would take about 6 months and they still didn't have many plans after that, but Edward liked being close to Nina and she, being very attached to him, asked him to move in together for the next few months.

"Oh my God, I can't find my car keys and if I don't leave in 5 minutes I'll be late on my first day." She said as she ran from side to side trying not to forget anything.

"Come on, I'll take you. I have to stop by the office anyway to talk to Sam." replied Edward already holding his keys.

"When do you really start?" she asked as she tucked her cell phone into her backpack.

"Tomorrow." He replied excitedly. "I just hope I don't have to participate in your process because I haven't given training in years and it would be terrible to teach you." he smiled as he opened the door for them to leave.

"Yeah, it would be terrible." Nina giggled and grabbed her unzippered backpack. She and Edward had talked about it and she said she wanted to keep their relationship as private as possible so she wouldn't have to deal with people talking about her privileges.

She knew that the experience of being Edward's student wouldn't help if she wanted to conquer her space on her own, especially in NY where he had been one of the main agents in a big and famous action with a serial killer. Sam, the head of the NY office was also her godfather and a good friend of Edward. Whenever they met in Chicago he would tell her about Edward's famous stories as a young man and how he was known to have left the NY FBI before his 30s with a promising career.

The one who ultimately gained from the move was the Chicago office, where Edward worked for 8 years before joining the CIA.

A few minutes later, already at the door of the big NY office building, Nina got out of the car running while Edward waited to park. Nina ran to the elevator and arrived at room 456 where the first class would take place just before it started.

The rooms in this office had big glass walls and, apart from the door area, everything was glass. Nina did a quick count and estimated that there were about 30 people there. Almost everyone already in the seats.

She quickly sat down in a front-row chair, relieved to have arrived on time, and realized that the professor was already in the room.

"Come on guys. You have 8 minutes to go to the bathroom or get water. When our class starts, no one will be able to leave and no one will be able to come in either, ok?"

Nina was so anxious that she decided not to go out for anything else, until she heard a tap on the glass wall beside her seat and saw Edward holding her cell phone. She looked in her backpack and noticed that the zipper was open and it had probably fallen into the car.

"Damn it!" She said to herself and ran to the door that was open as a student came in.

"I can't believe I lost my cell!" She said to Edward as she pushed the door behind her. "I only have 5 more minutes of freedom." She smiled, picking the cell phone from his hand and taking a deep breath.

"Thanks dad. I'm so anxious I ended up leaving my backpack open."

Edward placed a kiss on her cheek and patted her shoulders trying to calm her down. "Don't worry. This training is one of the best and you will definitely do well."

He knew Nina was looking forward to attending the same training as he and her mother and she thought it would be a good way to connect and learn a little more about her.

"Thanks." she smiled.

"We'll talk later, right?" He said already almost on his way. "Send Kate a kiss. She'll freak out when she finds out you're Milla's daughter." He said smiling.

Then, Nina remembered that she had forgotten to update her father about the class schedule changes.

"Ooh dad, I forgot to tell you. There was a change in the professor board because professor Katherine took a leave of absence because of an accident. The substitute will be..." Nina took out her cell phone to look for the name that wasn't there when the door behind her opened.

"Alexis Hichmann." she said, just as Alexis showed up to tell her about the start of class.

That's when their eyes met and for a few seconds they were in another place, as if nothing around existed. She was more beautiful than ever and he looked like he hadn't aged a day.

"Is that Edward Waldorf?" said one of the students, drawing the attention of the entire class to him. The door was open and Alexis held the handle, motionless.

"Oh no!" lamented Nina, still with her back to the room.

She knew that at some point it would happen but she was hoping it would take a while. She thought that if Edward wasn't in classes and trainings she could have a normal life, but Edward attracted the attention of people everywhere and had just become known in her class.

At least, if they didn't know she was her daughter, she could have a little more peace.

When his presence was noticed, the excited students asked him to come closer, but Alexis didn't like the idea at all.

"Agent Wardolf won't be able to attend class today. You can make an appointment with him at another time, okay?" Alexis said looking away from him and taking a deep breath.

"Sure." he replied to the students, not looking at her. "I will be here for the next 6 months so we will have other opportunities." Edward waved at them and said goodbye. "See you soon." He winked at Nina without letting anyone notice and kept the discretion she wanted about them.

As soon as Edward walked away, Nina turned to walk into the room thinking how awkward that encounter had been.

She knew her father and even her tone of voice had changed.

"Excuse me" Nina said politely to Alexis as she walked past her.

Their eyes crossed and she realized Alexis was looking at her in surprise. This was the first time they had seen each other, but Alexis seemed to recognize her.

"Oh my gosh, she looks exactly like Milla." thought Alexis, still frightened by everything that was happening.

Nina went to her chair and felt a little uncomfortable. She didn't know if it was the curious looks from those people who wanted to know what she was talking about with Edward Waldorf or the surprise in Alexis' eyes when she saw her, not to mention the awkward moment when Edward and Alexis saw each other.

There was something there that she needed to understand, and suddenly the class wasn't as interesting as she'd imagined.