Only Hope {Ethan Hunt/OC}

* The Truth Comes Out *

Laura was awakened by a voice gently whispering her name. Once her eyes were open, she found Ethan above her, brushing her cheek softly. She smiled briefly before she stood up from her sleeping spot and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day. She showered before dressing into casual business attire, and put her hair up in a bun with tiny wisps of brown hair flying around. Since Kittridge had no idea about her, she figured she wouldn't be spotted on the train. 

Once they left the safe house, the team made their way to the TGV. Luther and Laura got on as co-workers, while Claire got on separately, and Ethan got on with a mask. Laura sat across from Luther as he set up his equipment diagonal from Max and her associate. Laura pulled out a pen and a crossword puzzle to do as the train took off.  The brunette heard the phone call between Max and Ethan before Max found the NOC list under her seat. Laura smirked after the conversation ended and Luther jammed their signal. 

Laura and Luther found it amusing when Max bickered with the man sitting beside her. When Luther spotted Kittridge behind Laura, he made a nodding motion to look behind her, which she did subtlety before giving Luther the go-ahead to leave. He left the jammer on the table as Laura continued to do her crossword. Unfortunately their plan had a slight problem when a train waiter snatched the phone and took it to Luther. Laura noticed one of Max's men following Luther, which caused her to jump into action. 

As she passed Max's seat, she glanced at the computer and smiled when she realized they delayed the download enough for it to not complete until they were out of the upcoming tunnel. Within that time, Laura figured they'd already have Max arrested by then. She carefully trailed behind the long blond-haired man following Luther until Luther came up to the bathroom and stayed for a while as the man attempted to get inside. Laura carefully pulled her knife out as she stood behind the man. 

"I wouldn't move if I were you," she whispered to him, "There is a knife that comes very close to stabbing you, so why don't you move on." 

The man straightened up and slowly made his way to the next train car, sitting in an empty seat. Laura sat beside him, keeping the knife pointed to his side. 

"Now look out the window," she ordered. 

The man did so thankfully, and Laura watched as everyone in the car was minding their own business before she knocked him out with her elbow. Avoiding the attention, she placed the knife back on her person, and left the car only to find Kittridge and another agent standing by the bathroom Luther was in. She smiled politely before finding her seat and getting back to her puzzle. Several minutes later, she watched as the train sped into the tunnel, and Max exclaiming at the lost connection. 

Laura became confused when the train came to an abrupt stop, leaving the Max's download incomplete. The brunette woman watched as Luther showed Kittridge where the NOC list was. Luther sent a smirk Laura's way, which she nodded in response. Her watch beeped and her eyes went wide as she answered it. 

"Meet me in the next train car," Ethan said. 

Laura did so without gaining attention from Kittridge and found Ethan in just a white shirt that looked beaten up. She smiled when she saw his charming smirk appear. She sat down next to him saying, "We did it. You're cleared." 

He sighed in relief as he placed his hand on top of hers, and thanked her. She cocked an eyebrow in confusion. She didn't know what she had done that was actually helpful. For the entirety of her being around Ethan and his team, she had been the one standing in the corner, only there for moral support it seemed like. So why did he feel the need to thank her for something she didn't do? 

"I know you didn't do as much as you thought you were going to do, but I think you did well. And I think you should join the IMF. You have skills they're looking for, and you can learn more." 

Laura simply smiled at him before saying, "Not without you."