Ca.s.sidy tried to quell her rising emotions, still unsure what was truly happening with the agent. Jane remained intent on the small boy, keeping his attention firmly focused on her. "Well, that's why I am here. Your mom and I are going to go help Alex with a couple of things and then your mom will bring her home as soon as she can."

"Alex is working," he explained. "She catches bad guys."

"I see. Kind of like a superhero, huh?" Jane remarked gesturing to the figure in his hands.

"Yep," he said proudly.

"Well, do you think you could take care of your grandmother while your mom and I go meet Alex?" He nodded. "Good. I know how proud she will be of you for doing that, Dylan." He smiled at her. Jane put her hand on his small cheek and nodded her appreciation, taking a moment to look at a familiar expression. He looked a great deal like his mother, but that bluish hue in his eye, the way it twinkled; that, she thought, that was John. "Alright, then," she continued, regaining an upright position. "Let's get you to that agent so we can get you both home."

Ca.s.sidy nodded and headed to her son. "Dylan, I'll call you later today, okay?"

"Okay," he said.

Ca.s.sidy looked down at him and kissed his forehead. "I love you, Dylan."

"Mom," he moaned, a bit embarra.s.sed by her affection in front of their visitor. His response solicited a slight, but genuine giggle from his mother as she turned to Rose.

"Ca.s.sie, is Alex..."

"All I know is she is alive," she whispered. "I'll call you as soon as I know more," Ca.s.sidy a.s.sured her mother.

"Tell Alex we love her," Rose said with a tear of concern forming in her eye.

Ca.s.sidy smiled. "I will, Mom."

"Ready?" Jane called back as Ca.s.sidy picked up her bag and nodded. "It was lovely to meet you, Rose. I'm sorry it is this way. I promise I will make sure they both get back here safe and sound."

Rose smiled. "I appreciate that, Jane."

Jane corralled Ca.s.sidy with the soft grip of her arm. "Come on, I'll explain what I can on the way."

"What do you mean?" Admiral William Brackett bellowed.

"What part did you not understand?" Jon Krause answered through the phone.

"You expect me to believe that Claire..."

"I don't care what you believe, Admiral. The facts speak clearly. Claire killed Mercier."

"That's ridiculous, Jon. Why would Claire kill Elliot?"

"To keep him from meeting with O'Brien perhaps?"

William Brackett paced the floor of his s.p.a.cious study. "Why hasn't Callier called?"

"Perhaps he doesn't know yet," Krause offered. "I'm tired of cleaning up after your daughter, Bill."

The admiral's anger was rising fast. "You listen to me, Jon..."

"No, Bill. You listen to me. I have no idea what your daughter's game is. She has compromised us again. You put her in play. You put O'Brien in this and you positioned Strickland..."

"You know better than anyone how I felt about John."

Jon Krause peered into the small hospital room. "Doesn't matter. Has she called you yet?"

"No," the admiral answered curtly.

"You know where she will head?"

The admiral took a deep breath. "Back here, I would suppose."

Krause shook his head. "She'll cover her tracks, Bill. You taught her well. She knows no one can pin her or O'Brien. Agent Toles is a ghost in this now too. I'd be careful."

William Brackett responded coolly. "If I didn't know better, Jon, I'd think you just threated me."

"No. No, Admiral Brackett. Just a friendly caution. We are family after all, aren't we?"

A brief pause ensued as the admiral considered his answer. "Yes, Jon; we are. I will handle Claire."

"You do that," Krause answered smugly as he hung up the phone. He took a long look through the small window at the woman lying in the bed a few yards away. "Good luck with that Admiral," he snickered. "I think you may have just met your match."

Ca.s.sidy was still trying to process everything that the former first lady had told her, which was not much. Only that Jon Krause had reached Alex in time to get her out of a bad situation, that Alex was hurt, and that her old friend 'Pip' and the Merrows had known each other for many years. It had been quiet in the car for quite some time and Ca.s.sidy was becoming increasingly anxious. They had just pa.s.sed the sign for Hanscome Airforce Base and Ca.s.sidy's worry was growing by leaps and bounds. "Ca.s.sidy?" Jane called over, prompting the teacher to lift her head. "I'm sure Alex will be all right. Jon would have told me if..." Ca.s.sidy forced a smile in recognition of Jane's attempts to put her fears at rest. In truth, she was preoccupied with thoughts of Alex and sitting with the former first lady made her more nervous. She had been wrestling with how to divulge the truth about Dylan's father to everyone that mattered and a part of her was worried about what the woman seated beside her might think. Jane Merrow was as adept as any agent had ever been at reading people. It was both a talent and a skill; a skill she had needed to master in order to survive the military echelon and the political landscape her life handed her. Ca.s.sidy's expression was transparent. "Ca.s.sidy?"

"Hum?"

"What is it? I know you are worried about Alex. But there's something else. Is it Jon?"

"No. I don't know what she's going to think about that, though," Ca.s.sidy sighed.

Jane nodded and took in a deep breath. "He is a good man. Complicated, but a good man," she said quietly, looking out the window of the car.

"Jane?" The former first lady turned her attention back to the teacher. Ca.s.sidy wanted to speak openly but her anxiety over Alex's welfare superseded that need now. "Thank you."

Jane just smiled and clasped Ca.s.sidy's hand as the car pulled up to a gate and the back window rolled down. "Ma'am," a young airman greeted. Jane flashed a card. "Have a nice day."

"Thank you, Airman," she said with an acknowledging smile and rolled up her window. Jane tightened her grip on Ca.s.sidy's hand and looked over to her. "Anything you need, or Alex...all you ever have to do is ask."

Ca.s.sidy felt a genuine smile manifest. Jane Merrow had a calming presence. She took a deep breath and returned Jane's gentle squeeze. The unlikely pair occupying the back seat of the black sedan shared more than one thing in common; not the least of which was a deep love for the woman that awaited their arrival.

Ca.s.sidy walked down the long, narrow corridor beside the former first lady. She wondered how in the world her life had changed so dramatically in such a short period of time. Her fear was increasing with each step that brought her closer to the agent. She still had no idea what she would find. The idea of Alex helpless, Alex hurt, or Alex in pain was nearly unbearable. Images swirled through Ca.s.sidy's thoughts as she attempted to steady her nerves. A tall, somewhat slender man in an officer's uniform greeted them just shy of their destination. She noticed a smile sweep across Jane's face as he extended his embrace. "Janie..."

"Matt," Jane hugged him and pulled back. "How is she?"

The tall man looked at Jane and then turned to Ca.s.sidy. "You must be Ca.s.sidy." Ca.s.sidy forced a smile and nodded.

"I'm sorry, Ca.s.sidy," Jane began. "It was so crazy that day... So many people...You remember my brother, General Matthew Waters?"

He extended his hand and gripped the teacher's firmly. "Just Matt," he said before continuing to address them both. "She's out of surgery." Immediately, he noticed the color drain from Ca.s.sidy's face. "She's going to be groggy," he said. "The bullet went in through her upper chest and lodged in her shoulder. They had to remove it. Thankfully, it didn't do any major damage. The force of hitting the ground might be the worst for her with her back injury."

"Is she..." Ca.s.sidy began as her body again began to shake.

"The surgeon a.s.sures me, she'll make a full recovery. She was lucky she had on a vest. The second shot," a grip of his sister's hand stopped his explanation.

"Matt..."

"She's right in here. She's been asking for you since she got here," he said leading them to the door of Alex's room. "I don't know if she's awake."

Ca.s.sidy was already pushing the door open. Alex had her eyes closed and her face was pale. Ca.s.sidy took a deep breath and covered her mouth with her hand, attempting to stifle her mounting tears. She made her way to the agent's side and looked down on her. There was a large bandage wrapped around Alex's right shoulder and an IV ran into her opposite arm. The monitors beeped steadily in Ca.s.sidy's ear as she brushed the agent's hair gently out of Alex's face. She leaned down and placed a tender kiss on the agent's forehead. "Alex," she called softly. Alex licked her lips and an inaudible groan escaped her. "It's okay," Ca.s.sidy continued. "I'm here."

Alex still couldn't open her eyes, but the voice penetrated her. "Ca.s.s?" she managed. She had been calling for Ca.s.sidy for hours, sometimes imagining that her lover was already sitting beside the bed.

"It's me." Alex reached with her left hand slowly and Ca.s.sidy took hold of it. "You're all right."

"Mm....sorry..." Ca.s.sidy's tears escaped in a sob as the agent's fingers entwined with her own. "Don't cry," Alex whispered hoa.r.s.ely.

"Alex..."

"It's okay. Where's Speed?"

Ca.s.sidy smiled and kissed the agent's hand. "He's fine, Alex. He's with Mom."

"Mm." Alex wanted to speak but the sedation from surgery was still making it difficult.

"Are you in pain?" Ca.s.sidy asked trying to control her tears.

Alex shook her head 'no'. "Drugs," she tried to explain. Ca.s.sidy stroked the agent's hand and kissed it again. Alex could feel the warmth of her lover's tears as they fell onto her skin. She needed to see Ca.s.sidy and more than that, Ca.s.sidy needed to see her. She willed her eyes to open, if only as slits, and slowly the beautiful face she adored came into focus. "Missed you. Need my tacos," she forced the hint of a smile. Ca.s.sidy's sobs mixed with a heartfelt laugh as Alex's eyes met hers. "Love you, Ca.s.s."

"I love you, Alex. You scared me."

"Sorry," the agent strained to reply. "Tired."

"I know. Sleep. I'll be right here."

"Ca.s.s?"

"What, love?"

"How did..."

"I'll explain later. Jane brought me." Alex smiled as her eyes closed again.

"Ca.s.sidy?" Alex's grip tightened on the woman and Ca.s.sidy understood Alex had her own fears now. The agent hated hospitals. They reminded her of the past; a past that often plagued her dreams.

"It's me. I'm not leaving. I promise." As Ca.s.sidy's words registered the agent began to relax. "I can't lose you, Alex," Ca.s.sidy whispered as she sat in the chair beside the agent's bedside, never releasing the hand that held her own. Seeing Alex in the bed helpless, even for a moment, resurfaced all of the teacher's fears. She had never loved anyone the way she loved Alexis Toles. Alex was everything; the piece that completed the puzzle of her life. It was a piece she wasn't certain she would ever find. "Alex, you are everything to me. I can't lose you. I thought you left me," she confessed through her tears.

Sleep was claiming the agent quickly but she managed one word. "Never."

need you to send Dimitri to meet me," Claire Brackett said. Viktor Ivanov ran his tongue over his teeth and considered her request. "Viktor?"

"I heard you. Why not Mercier?" he waited for her response.

"I don't think Elliot will be meeting anyone soon."

"Interesting."

"Viktor...."

"The sparrow has sprouted teeth, then?"

"I need a cover," she said.

"That man; he is with you?" Ivanov spoke with obvious contempt.

"Da. On so mnoy (Yes. He is with me)."

"Berlin, v etot vecher. Hotel Adlon (Berlin, this evening. Hotel Adlon)."

Brackett nodded. "Understood."

"And, little Sparrow?" Viktor Ivanov took a brief pause. "Ne dumaj choeto bezplatno (Do not think this is a free pa.s.s)." With those words Claire Brackett heard the phone click and go silent.

"Well?" Christopher O'Brien asked impatiently.

"We are going to Berlin." Before the congressman could comment the redhead continued, "And you...you will owe the Russians your freedom, Congressman."

"What does that mean?"

"It means we are going home." She noted the relief on his face and chuckled. "And, it means you will have a debt owed."

"You...."

She laughed and kissed him. "You have no idea, do you? Just stop trying to lead, Christopher. That is not what you were chosen for."

"I am a..."

"You are a p.a.w.n on the board. Meant to follow. The sooner you accept that, the safer we will both be," she told him.

"Ca.s.sidy?" The teacher picked her head up from her hands and glanced across to the attractive woman making her way through the door. "I brought you some coffee," Jane said softly. Ca.s.sidy accepted the offering with a smile. "You look exhausted." The morning had worn on Ca.s.sidy. There were calls she needed to make but she did not want to leave Alex's side. "Why don't you just go get a little air?" Jane suggested. Ca.s.sidy let out a heavy sigh. "I'll stay with her."

"Actually, I do need to call my mother and Alex's family." Jane was a bit surprised by the latter part of Ca.s.sidy's statement, but pleasantly so. Alex's estrangement from her parents and the effect that sometimes had on her relationship with her brother was no secret to Jane. She could sense Ca.s.sidy's reluctance to leave as the teacher reached her feet and began to caress Alex's forehead tenderly.

"I promise, I will stay right here. Go on."

"I know...what if she wakes up and I'm not....."

"Ca.s.sidy," Jane placed her hands on the shorter woman's shoulders. "If Alex wakes up, I will let her know you stepped out to call Rose. She'll understand." She leaned in and whispered to the teacher, "Go on." When Ca.s.sidy turned her eyes had filled with tears and Jane took her immediately into a warm embrace. "I know."

"I can't lose her."