Table of Contents

- PART 1

- PART 2

- PART 3

- PART 4

- PART 5

- PART 6

DANCING WITH SHADOWS

BY

C PARADEE

Ebook by
PDAFiction.com

DISCLAIMERS

Note: This story is a sequel to The Agent. While it is not necessary to have read it first, there are references in it that will not be clear without the background provided in The Agent.

Subtext: This story depicts sexual relations between two women who are in love. If that offends you, there are plenty of other stories you might want to read. If you are under 18 or it is illegal where you live, please stop and read no further.

Thanks: I would like to thank Alina, Buff, and Lunacy for beta reading and providing feedback. The story is much stronger because of their valuable input. Thanks also to Lori, Nancy and Verda for their help. I would also like to thank the people in the Expert's Directory who never tired of my endless questions. Lastly I'd like to thank Lunacy for creating and maintaining the Beta Reader’s Directory and the Expert’s Directory.

Comments: Feedback is encouraged. Questions and comments are welcome.

©July 25, 1999

DANCING WITH SHADOWS

PART 1

TONY VIGLIONI WALKED down the familiar hallway toward Huey’s office. Knowing she probably wouldn’t have a reason to visit this part of Quantico again, her thoughts flickered back in time to when she had last seen her ex-boss. It had been less than two months ago, yet it seemed a lifetime. The only life she had known revolved around her assignments. Tony remembered the uneasiness and fear she had felt when she made the decision to transfer. She hadn’t known if she could adjust to a "normal" life. Turned out all that worry had been for nothing. Not only was she adjusting, but she was happier than she ever thought possible. Smiling to herself, she acknowledged the transition wouldn’t be going so smoothly without Megan’s help.

Tony focused her thoughts on the upcoming meeting. She was looking forward to seeing Huey again. It would be nice to voice her concerns to him. I hope I’m wrong. If I’m not, it has to be someone from inside the agency. What would the motivation be? Well Huey should be able to figure that out. I’ll turn it over to him and be done with it.

Tony didn’t know many of the other covert agents. They basically operated in cells. There were usually just four agents to a cell, and none of them knew all the other members. Each knew only one other. That way, if anyone was compromised, the information they had was very limited and it prevented the whole cell from being exposed.

Tony stopped in front of a door with a placard attached to it identifying it as the office of the Director of Covert Affairs. Walking over to the secretary’s desk and stopping in front of it, Tony looked at the elderly woman fondly and smiled. "Hi Jean. How are you doing?"

Jean returned the smile. She had always liked this agent. The tall attractive woman was always pleasant and took the time to speak. "Hi Tony. It’s good to see you."

Picking up the phone, she said, "Mr. Straton, Agent Viglioni is here to see you." Nodding her head, she said, "Ok," and hung up the phone.

"You can go on in."

Tony flashed a smile and said, "Thanks."

Huey settled his large frame comfortably in the chair, leaned back and propped his feet up on the desk. He had an hour until his next appointment. It was the first one today he was actually looking forward to.

Tony Viglioni had called a couple of days ago asking to see him. Smiling, he knew the reason for the visit. Life in Cleveland had turned out too mundane for her. He’d known all along that she’d never be happy outside the fast life in covert operations. Maybe I’ll tease her a little first. Let her think we don’t need any more operatives now. Yeah. That would work. Smiling to himself, he picked up the cordless phone and began going through his messages, returning calls.

When Jean announced Tony, Huey stood up and walked to the door to greet the special agent. Smiling at her, he was amazed that he had forgotten just how attractive she was. Tony was wearing a mauve suit with a very light, rose-colored blouse accenting her olive complexion. Her thick black hair flowed loosely over her shoulders with longish bangs almost covering her eyebrows. Her skirt was fashionably short ending just above the knee, yet professional in appearance.

"Are you going to stand there and stare or are you going to ask me to have a seat?" Tony asked smirking, her blue eyes twinkling. She was used to this reaction from Huey and loved to tease him.

Huey’s face warmed at the comment, but not one to be caught short, he replied, "Hey, you can’t blame me for looking. And besides, if you didn’t come in here looking so good I might not have noticed."

Tony chuckled and said, "I look the same way I always look, but thanks for the compliment." She walked over to the chair in front of his desk and sat down. "Same old Huey. So did you get the files on my last two cases? I asked Jean to make sure they were available for this meeting."

"Yeah. I got them. But what do they have to do with anything? And how are you Tony?" Huey asked trying to keep a smug expression off his face, but not being entirely successful.

"I’m wonderful. And why are you grinning like a Cheshire cat? Got something up your sleeve? Whatever it is, it won’t work."

Huey’s smile lost some of its luster. Wait a minute. That didn’t sound like someone who was unhappy and wanted to come back to the fold. It was time to ask a few specific questions.

"How do you like Cleveland?" He asked, watching Tony closely.

Tony smiled and said, "I like Cleveland just fine. You giving me that assignment was the best thing that ever happened to me."

Huey, who had long ago learned to control his facial features when meeting with the operatives in his section, was just able to prevent his mouth from dropping open in surprise. The smile remained plastered on his face, but it no longer reached his eyes.

"Care to fill me in?" He asked in a neutral tone. Damn, I can’t believe she’s content there. What in the hell could have happened in Cleveland? I told everyone she was coming back.

Tony smiled and said, "I met someone wonderful. Guess I should thank you for giving me that assignment."

Huey watched the change come over Tony when she spoke. Gone was the teasing, all business operative he was used to seeing. She literally glowed. It was obvious that whomever she had met, this was not just a diversion. This was very surprising. One of the things that had made Tony so effective was her ability to not become involved. Whoever it is, they must really be something.

Huey left his position propped against the desk and walked around it to sit down in his chair. He needed to gather his thoughts. Things were definitely not going the way he’d planned

All of a sudden it dawned on Tony why Huey thought she’d made the appointment. Raising an eyebrow in question, she said, "You thought I wanted to come back?" Her voice rose as she finished the query conveying her surprise.

"Well Tony, think about it. What other reason could you possibly want to see me for? It made sense to me. You’re one of my best operatives. Couldn’t see you rotting away in a desk job."

"Was, Huey. The key word is was. I am now just a regular special agent like almost everyone else in the agency. I have a place to call home now, and I’m not going to throw that away. I never knew what I was missing. I do now. I’m not the operative you remember," she smiled kindly at her ex-boss, knowing he was disappointed.

"Well, what did you want to see me about then?" Huey asked, now genuinely curious.

"Could I see the files on the cases I asked for? I just need to verify something first," Tony replied, but imperceptibly tensed. This would let her know if her suspicions were correct. I hope I’m wrong.

"Technically, since you’re no longer assigned to this office, I can’t authorize that. Is there something specific you want to know?" Huey asked, picking up one of the reports and flipping through it. He had quickly scanned the files before the meeting and they looked like routine cases.

Tony raised an eyebrow and said, "I’m the one who wrote the reports."

"Well then it seems to me you should know what they say," Huey answered reasonably.

Tony knew Huey was just following procedure, but she’d wanted to look at them first to see if they had been altered, and if they had been, how they copied her signature on the bottom.

Sighing, she said, "Would you read me the impressions at the end?"

Huey picked up one of the reports and flipped to the last page. "This organization is deemed to be no threat to the security of the United States or to the safety of other citizens."

Tony felt a sense of relief flood through her. "What does the other say?"

Huey picked up the other case folder and located the summary. He began reading, "Based on the irrefutable evidence that this organization is planning a major terrorist activity, I recommend termination at the earliest possible time."

Tony’s eyes narrowed and in a steely voice, she said, "I never wrote that." Her thoughts turned to what she had written and for Huey’s benefit, she added, "My impression was that there was absolutely no threat from that group. They were merely soldier wannabes."

Huey forgot his disappointment and said, "What are you saying? Do you think someone falsified your report? That’s a very serious accusation Tony."

Looking pointedly at Huey, she said, "Yes it is. Unfortunately, it happens to be true."

Standing up, she began pacing back and forth in front of his desk. "I just can’t imagine why someone would do that. You know how rare termination orders are. I can count on one hand the number of cases in which I recommended termination. Most of my cases that were possible threats I suggested further infiltration of."

Tony had unconsciously reverted to her most intimidating persona and she met Huey’s look with cold blue eyes.

Huey’s mind registered the change in the tall woman standing in front of him glaring before he was even cognizant of it. She was radiating an essence of danger. Huey felt a chill run through him.

"Hey, take it easy." She certainly hasn’t lost her edge. I’d hate to be on the receiving end when she’s like this.

Tony forced herself to relax. Just turn it over to him. That’s what you came here for. You’re out of it now. Taking a deep, calming breath, she said, "Sorry. It just infuriates me that some asshole is doing this."

Huey thought quickly. This was very delicate. Tony was one of the best operatives in the agency. He had no reason to doubt her. But no matter what he thought, it was going to be difficult to try and investigate something of this magnitude on the word of one agent.

"Why didn’t you say something before now?" Huey asked.

Tony sighed. "Because I wasn’t sure. I needed some time to think about it. I was going to check it out on my own. But I decided it would be better to turn it over to you." With a little encouragement from Megan, of course.

"Ok. I’ll look into it. There is a possibility you could be called back to Washington to testify if evidence is uncovered to support your accusation."

Tony shook her head, saying, "Yes, I know."

Huey stood, indicating the meeting was over. Tony walked with him to the door.

"Good seeing you. Take care of yourself."

"You too," Tony said before exiting the office.

*  *  *

The sun emerged from behind the clouds and reflected off the large bay window in the hotel room. Megan raised a hand covering her eyes from the unexpected glare. She was sitting at a small table in the hotel room looking at a pamphlet about tourist attractions. It had been a cloudy, rainy day and this was the first time the sun had appeared.

Standing up, Megan walked over to the window and opened it. The bright light filtered through the window accenting the red highlights in her hair. Little dust particles danced through the air visible in the arc of light from the window to the floor.

Megan smiled at the sight. When she was a child, she used to try and catch the little flying specks. She never could though. Laughing at the memory, Megan thought, the sun always makes you feel so good. It had been sunny when they’d left Cleveland that morning bound for Washington, D.C. and a bit of trivia popped to the forefront of her mind. She remembered reading once that Cleveland was a top contender for the fewest days of sunlight per year. Amused, she thought, what a thing to be known for. A few minutes later the wayward sun once again disappeared into the clouds.

Megan turned her back to the window and looked around the hotel room. Tony probably wouldn’t be back for another hour or two, and she didn’t want to watch TV. She remembered seeing an entrance to the indoor swimming pool when they had arrived at the Marriott. That’s what I’ll do. It wouldn’t hurt to get some exercise. I’ve been kind of lazy lately. That thought prompted another of a tall, dark, beautiful woman who had been taking up a large part of her time. Grinning, Megan thought, not that I’ve minded.

Megan opened the drawer and took out her black Speedo. Looking around for something to wear over it, she spotted a white, cotton, button down blouse of Tony’s hanging on the clothes rack. It was perfect. Tony was so much taller than she was, it hung halfway down to her knees.

Megan thoughts turned to the last time she had borrowed one of her partner’s tops. Tony told her that maybe it was time for them to go shopping since she didn’t have anything of her own to wear. But the half smile and dancing blue eyes gave her away. Funny thing is, I have way more clothes than she does. I just like to wear her things. It makes me feel closer to her. Shaking her head, and smiling, she thought, you are just a hopeless romantic.

After donning the Speedo, she put on the long white blouse. Taking a towel out of the bathroom, she slipped on her thongs and headed toward the pool. Megan shivered in the cool air of the hotel air conditioning and by the time she neared her destination, she had goose bumps over the exposed parts of her body.

The warm humid air around the pool was a welcome reprieve. Megan was surprised to be the only visitor. Setting her towel on one of the lounge chairs, she removed Tony’s blouse and her thongs and dove into the water.

Megan swam the first length slowly and leisurely wanting to give her muscles a chance to loosen up. Reaching the end of the pool, she kicked off the wall, her well-toned leg muscles propelling her a quarter of the length of the pool. With powerful arm strokes and a forceful kick, she began pushing the muscles in her body wanting to give them a good workout. After swimming several laps, she slowed her stroke, just enjoying the feel of the warm water against her body. Rolling onto her back, she began floating, only occasionally propelling herself with a lazy stroke that generated a ripple traveling the length of her body before disappearing.

Megan's thoughts drifted to her relationship with Tony. A warm smile covered her face. I am so in love. Chuckling to herself, Megan remembered the first time she had seen Tony. She hadn't even wanted to meet her that day, but Tony had been very persistent. Her curiosity, spurred on by a very alluring voice, had finally gotten the best of her, and she'd agreed. Her life hadn't been the same since. It was hard to believe how new their relationship really was. They had reached such a comfort level with each other, it seemed they had been together for much longer than they actually had.

Her thoughts turned to their vacation. Megan was looking forward to seeing some of the sights. The Smithsonian museums were a must see. They’d probably spend several days at the museums. From what Tony had told her, most of the other major attractions were in close proximity and it wouldn't be too hard to see most of the monuments even with the limited time they had. A half-hour later, her body pleasantly tired, Megan swam to the side of the pool and pulled herself out using the bars at the deep end of the pool.

After toweling off, she sat down in the chair and watched the antics of two young children who were playing in the water under the close supervision of a woman. Her identity was revealed when one of the children addressed her as Mom.

She smiled over at the busy mother who gave her a grin and shook her head. A short time later Megan decided to head back to the room so she could take a shower and do her hair before Tony got back. They were going to go to dinner and then come back to the room and relax.

It had been a longer day than they expected. The plane had been delayed in Cleveland for mechanical reasons, and their arrival was two hours later than originally planned. When they finally arrived at the hotel, it was time for Tony to start getting ready for her meeting with Huey. Since most of the day had been spent at the airport or on the plane, they decided to start their sightseeing the next day.

Megan took a leisurely shower washing all the chlorine from her body and hair. Drying off, she put on her underpants and bra. Unwrapping the towel from around her head, she began styling her hair with the blow dryer. Megan had already decided to wear it loosely around her shoulders.

Tony opened the door to the hotel room and heard the hair dryer. Walking over to the bathroom, she stepped in behind Megan, and placed her arms around her bare midsection and drew her close, kissing an exposed part of her neck.

Megan saw Tony’s image in the mirror a fraction of a second before she felt the warm moist mouth against her neck. Her mind barely had time to register surprise before her body acted of its own accord, and leaned into the one behind hers.

Smiling at Tony’s reflection in the mirror, Megan said, "Hi. I didn’t expect you back yet."

"Weeelll, I could always leave and come back later," Tony drawled, smirking.

"I don’t think so," Megan retorted. Turning around in Tony’s arms, she raised her hands to the back of Tony’s neck drawing her head down and meeting her lips with her own.

Ending the kiss, she asked, "How did it go?"

"Fine. We can talk about it over dinner. You hungry?" Tony asked, glad the business portion of the trip was over and ready to start the fun part.

Megan smiled, "I’m starved. I worked up quite an appetite at the pool this afternoon."

"Oh no. Hope we have enough money," Tony teased.

"Very funny!"

"Well…" Tony grinned when Megan gave her a mock stare and said, "Ok, ok. Let me find something to wear." Slowly drawing her eyes down Megan’s body, she said, "I think maybe you should get dressed too or we might not make it to dinner."

Megan looked at her partner, cocked her head to the side and said, "Ok. But keep that thought."

Tony winked and said, "Count on it."

At Tony’s suggestion earlier they had decided to go to Chesapeake Bay Seafood House. It wasn’t known for atmosphere but it had great seafood and the dress was casual.

Megan sat at the table across from Tony and sipped on her coffee looking at her partner. The room was well lit and had a steady turnover of diners.

"You weren’t kidding when you said they had great seafood," Megan said before adding, "I’m stuffed."

Tony looked at Megan and smiled. "I used to come here a lot when I was in D.C. It’s probably my favorite seafood house."

"You never did tell me how your meeting with Huey went," Megan said. They had talked about where they would go sightseeing over dinner, and just enjoyed the good food. But Megan wanted to make sure Tony was ok with her meeting and that she was comfortable with turning over her suspicions to someone else.

"It went ok. I told Huey what I thought and he said he’d check it out. He did mention that if anything came of it, I might be required to return and testify."

"Do you think that’s likely?" Megan knew that most cases never ran according to schedule and she was not enthused about the possibility of Tony having to return to Washington.

"It’s really hard to say. He only has that one case to go on. It’s not much. But Huey’s quite tenacious and he has access to a lot of resources. Time will tell I guess," Tony said, shrugging her shoulders.

Megan finished her coffee and Tony asked her, "You ready to go? We can start walking until we see a cab. It’s nice out tonight."

"Sure. I could use a walk after eating all that food," Megan commented.

Tony laughed and said, "We both ate a lot. It’ll do us both good."

The earlier rain had cleared some of the humidity from the air and the night was clear and warm. Noticing the streets were still busy, Megan commented, "There’s a lot of people out tonight."

"D.C. is known for its night life. It wouldn’t matter if it was three in the morning, there would still be people on the streets."

"But not us," Megan said, a sultry smile lighting up her face.

Tony looked at Megan and saw the sexy provocative smile. Her heart skipped a beat before quickening and she agreed, "No. Not us."

Brushing against Tony’s body without losing a step, Megan said, "We have other plans."

Tony smirked at her partner and said, "Yes we do, so let’s find a cab."

Both women felt the cab ride back to the hotel lasted forever prolonged by the teasing touches passed back and forth that held the promise of what was to come.

Entering the hotel room they kicked off their shoes and embraced. Tony lowered her head and when her mouth met Megan’s soft moist slightly parted lips she felt a sudden jolt of pleasurable sensations. Raising her head and looking into the eyes of her lover she was captivated by the swirling gold flecks in the sea of green. Tony’s heart fluttered wildly, and placing a hand on either side of Megan’s face, her voice husky with desire, she said, "I want you."

Megan felt shivers run up and down her body at the sound of Tony’s low throaty voice. Looking into blue eyes almost black with passion, she placed her hands in the thick dark hair guiding the taller woman’s head down and meeting her mouth with her own. The lingering kiss quickly became deeper and more urgent as tongues sought and gained entrance thrusting around and against each other in a sensuous dance.

The passionate kiss ending, Tony moved her arms from around her lover and began unbuttoning Megan’s blouse. Her eye’s never leaving her lover’s, she eased the blouse down over Megan’s arms, her fingertips trailing its path until it fell to the floor. Moving her hands behind her partner she unfastened the bra and with fingers just grazing skin, she freed it from her lover’s arms.

Megan’s breathing quickened at Tony’s touch, pleasurable sensations running rampant. "Tony… hurry," she murmured and placed her hands under Tony’s top slowly moving upward until she reached the full firm breasts. Taking one in each hand, she began gently kneading them encouraged by her partner’s sharp intake of breath.

Tony leaned into Megan’s hands, moaning, the throbbing between her legs growing in intensity. She moved her hands down to her partner’s slacks unbuttoning and unzipping them. Sliding a hand inside, she ran her fingers across the soft skin above the curly hair. Feeling the shudder course through her lover, she moved her hand lower the middle finger gliding between lips laden with moisture before beginning its upward journey.

"Oh God, Tony wait…" dropping her hands from Tony’s breasts, she began pulling her pants and underwear down. Tony quickly drew her top over her head and tossed it across the room. Removing her bra, she undid her slacks and kicked them free of her legs along with her underwear.

Reaching for Megan, she said, "You are so beautiful." Pulling her close, she began backing up toward the bed her lips meeting the full sensuous ones of her lover. When they reached the bed, Tony fell onto it pulling her lover with her. Lifting them the rest of the way onto the bed, she began turning until she was stopped by Megan’s sultry voice and a restraining hand on her shoulder. "No. I want you here." A shiver ran through Tony’s body at the words and the throbbing between her legs became more insistent, her heart thundering uncontrollably as she relinquished control to her partner.

Megan looked into her Tony’s passion filled eyes and placed a fleeting kiss on her lips. Kissing her neck, she could feel her lover’s racing pulse. Running her tongue across her upper lip, she slowly moved her body downward urging Tony’s legs apart with her own. Running her tongue around the nipple, she caught it in her mouth grazing it lightly with her teeth, every moan her partner made driving her on. Her fingers moved to the other breast rolling the nipple between them. Tony moaned, "Please… Megan, I can’t wait… now," her hips moving against Megan’s abdomen her hands wrapped in her hair.

Megan felt her own desire escalate with each thrust of her partner’s hips. Shifting her body over until her legs were straddling one of Tony’s and still sucking on the firm sweet breast, she moved her hand down to the dark curly hair and separated the folds with her fingers placing three into the warm wet opening. With each thrust of her fingers, and the corresponding rhythmic movement of Tony’s hips, Megan’s own center was stimulated pushing her toward the brink along with her lover. Her senses on fire and her voice just a throaty whisper, she said, "I love you Tony." Tony’s hips raised off the bed and biting down hard, she stifled a scream of sweet release, her partner following her a few seconds later. Her body still shuddering from the aftereffects of the powerful orgasm, Tony held on tightly to her lover and murmured, "I love you so much."

*  *  *

Even though it was the weekend, the metrorail was just as busy as it had been the previous two days. Several stops later, Tony and Megan exited the train and began walking toward the mall. Emerging into daylight, Megan commented, "We have to get through the last three today because I still want to see the monuments."

Tony smiled at her partner, the dancing hazel eyes and winning smile contagious. Anything Megan wanted to see was fine with her. Tony had been through all the museums and wanted her partner to enjoy their brief vacation.

Several hours later, Tony and Megan were sitting in the restaurant area of one of the Smithsonian’s eating cold turkey sandwiches and drinking Coke and Pepsi respectively. Tony nudged Megan under the table with her leg. Megan looked up and smiled, "And what was that for?"

"What are you thinking about?" Tony had watched Megan drift off and was curious.

"I just can’t believe that we’ve been here all morning and have only been in one museum. Some of those portraits were gorgeous. There’s just so much to see."

"We’ve still got all afternoon. We may have to be a little quicker about going through them though," she teased her partner.

"This is probably really boring for you since you’ve seen them all before," Megan commented hoping she wasn’t boring Tony to death. She knew Tony would never complain and she wanted her to have fun too. But this was the third day they had visited the mall.

Tony reached across the table, brushing a wisp of hair out of Megan’s face. She looked into the hazel eyes gazing at her and was overcome with the love she felt for the young woman. Her eyes conveying the depth of emotion she felt, she said, "Megan, nothing I do with you is boring. If we sat home after work every evening and watched TV I wouldn’t be bored if you were right there with me."

Megan felt a warm glow fill her inside at the softly spoken words. A smile covered her face. Tony always made her feel so special. She knew her cheeks had reddened with the compliment, and said the first thing that came into her mind, "You are so sweet."

It was Tony’s turn to blush and she said, "Sshh. Somebody might hear you," grinning to lighten the moment.

Megan chuckled knowing Tony’s self image did not necessarily include the word sweet. "I know, I know, we have to keep your image intact."

Tony walked beside Megan through the American History museum content to follow her partner’s lead. She remained attentive to Megan, but had donned her public persona with all senses tuned to their surroundings.

Hearing a commotion Tony quickly located the source. A little boy was expressing his unhappiness vocally while lying in the middle of an adjoining aisle. His small legs were steadily beating a rhythm of their own against the floor.

Her attention momentarily diverted to the child, Tony didn’t see the man who came barreling around the corner of another aisle in time to stop him from clipping Megan hard almost knocking her into the American flag display she was looking at.

Reflexes automatically took over and she grabbed her partner’s arm stopping her momentum into the display. Tony’s eyes narrowed as she tracked the path of the rude tourist. Knowing Megan was ok, she said, "I’ll be right back," with every intention of explaining some manners to the idiot.

The hard impact against her shoulder had caught Megan unaware and before she even realized her balance had been disrupted, she felt a strong hand on her arm steadying her.

At her partner’s words, she quickly placed a hand on Tony’s arm. "It’s ok. Forget about him." She had seen the look on her partner’s face and knew just how overprotective she could be. "He didn’t do it on purpose. He never saw me."

In an unforgiving voice Tony growled, "He could have stopped and apologized," but the hand on her arm had dissipated some of the anger she felt and the rest drained away when she looked at the gentle kind face of her lover smiling up at her.

Megan was enjoying herself. Even though Tony was a little overprotective, it was so reassuring to know she was there for her. She felt safe and protected.

Tony heard a peal of delighted laughter and looked to see what Megan was looking at.

Megan turned to her with a wide smile on her face. "Look. It’s Dorothy’s shoes from the Wizard of Oz and the Fonz’s jacket. I can’t believe they’re in a Smithsonian museum."

Tony smiled warmly back at her companion. Megan’s enthusiasm was so special. She was such a delight to be around. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m going to do everything I can to make you always want to stay.

"Kind of cool, huh? I guess someone decided they must be part of the American tradition," Tony said unable to wipe the matching grin off her face when she met the happy sparkling eyes that greeted hers. Chuckling to herself, she thought, we probably look like two silly teenagers. But right now, I really don’t care. When she’s happy I’m happy.

The Natural History museum was less crowded than the American History museum had been, and the two women were able to look at the exhibits in a more leisurely manner.

"Hey look at this. I didn’t think those things still existed. I can’t believe there is actually an expedition looking for them right now."

Tony stood next to Megan and looked at the large display. Grinning she said, "When you were a kid, did you ever watch those Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea repeats? The submarine was attacked by one once."

Bumping her partner with a hip, Megan said, "I’m being serious. I thought they died out a long time ago," she said, turning her attention back to the giant squid display. "I wonder if they’ll find one? When we get home I’m going to go online and check for the updates on this web site."

Tony shook her head amused that Megan found giant squids so interesting. "Come on. Let’s go see the dinosaurs."

Megan feeling the need to get back at her partner, said, "Don’t tell me, Jurassic Park is your favorite movie."

Tony laughed. "Maybe not favorite, but I liked it. I thought the T-Rex was cool."

"You would. I’m surprised you didn’t like the raptors the best," Megan retorted before looking into the mirth filled blue eyes watching her and breaking into laughter.

Walking along, trying not to miss anything, Megan looked up when she heard Tony call her name.

When Tony had the smaller woman’s attention, she continued in a stage whisper, "Your stomach’s growling."

"What do you expect? You walk my legs off all day and all we eat is a sandwich."

Tony gave Megan an affectionate adaptation of her look, and said, "Excuse me? And just who was originally going to try to see all the museums in one day?"

"I know you’re not talking about me. I’m the tourist, remember? I don’t know any better. You’re supposed to be the tour guide. Just because you tried to starve me today, don’t blame it on me."

Tony rolled her eyes and said with an exaggerated sigh, "Somehow I don’t think I’m going to win this one."

"Got that right," Megan said grinning.

"Would the tourist care to join the tour guide for dinner back at the hotel? Room service with all amenities?" Tony asked, bowing her head.

Laughing, Megan said, "The tourist would be delighted to."

*  *  *

The wind blew softly bending the blades of grass around the water. Standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial facing Reflection Pool, Megan was filled with a sense of peace and well being. Tony stood next to her, their bodies barely touching, but both comforted by the contact. It was a quiet moment in an otherwise busy day.

Megan thought about all they had crammed into the last several days and of how considerate Tony had been making sure she got to see everything she wanted to, culminating in their visits to the monuments today. She had been a patient, attentive guide and saved this stop for last.

Megan thoughts turned to the remaining stop on their vacation. She wasn’t sure what the next few days would bring, and for now she didn’t want to think about it. Later would be soon enough. Megan raised a hand to brush a stray piece of hair out of her face. The breeze felt good after the hot afternoon sun.

The sun was beginning to sink but the Washington Monument was still mirrored in the water and Megan glanced up at her partner and found the blue eyes watching her.

Smiling, she said, "It’s really nice here. It’s so peaceful."

"I know. I used to come down early in the morning and sit on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and watch the sun come up." Tony knew a moment of pure contentment just standing there with her lover.

A short time later the two women began walking back toward the mall entrance to catch the metrorail back to the hotel.

*  *  *

The alley was devoid of light and quiet except for the muted sound of soft-soled shoes striking the pavement at regular intervals. A lone figure moved confidently down the alley at home in the darkness. Stopping in front of a door that would have been invisible except for the faint hint of light where the door met the frame, he opened it. His ears were assaulted by a cacophony of sound amplified by the deep bass of musical instruments reverberating off the walls. Walking down the dimly lit hallway, he stopped at a door with the word private written across it in gold script and entered, the din left behind.

The room was designed for comfort with four overstuffed chairs and two love seats arranged around a large marble top coffee table. The furniture was soft earth tones accented by plush beige carpeting. Lamps covered with ornately decorated glass shades lit the room creating uneven shadows on the wood grain paneling. On the other side of the room was a table that provided a large wood surface for anything from playing cards to holding a meeting. Tonight it would be used for the latter.

Looking at the five occupants sprawled comfortably around the room he nodded in greeting and received nods and murmurs of, "Hey Ben," in return.

Ben walked over and set his briefcase on the large table. Turning to the fully stocked bar he quickly perused the labels. Settling on MacAllan, he poured two fingers and then added ice. Ben was in his forties with chestnut brown hair that was just beginning to gray. At 5’10" and 180 pounds he was in top physical condition, and moved with the grace of a natural athlete. He was dressed casually in black chinos and a blue, button down sports shirt worn open at the neck.

Taking a large swallow of the scotch, he said, "Let’s get started." He waited for the three men and two women to take seats around the table, cognizant of the puzzled expressions on their faces. He had never called all the operatives to a single meeting before. It was the first time most of them had seen the others.

"I called this meeting tonight because we have a potential problem. An ex-wet Ops/infiltration agent has filed a complaint that her reports have been tampered with. This could cause us some serious problems. The repercussions from this accusation could close us down permanently. And I don’t even want to think about what would happen if the press got a hold of it."

Pausing, he ran a hand through his short-cropped hair. Only one man present knew him well enough to recognize that simple action as extreme agitation. "Our backers are already getting nervous. My sources say an unofficial investigation is being planned. For right now I am going to halt our activities and try to find a way onto the investigating committee."

The group had originally been formed as a means of quality control to check out some of the agents’ reports and to ensure the standards of the FBI were being upheld. They were fifty-three members strong, and their official function was to infiltrate random targets a second time and independently report their findings. The targets to reinfiltrate were provided by the Quality Control Division. Over the course of the last few years, there were several instances where these operatives’ impressions differed from the original agent’s.

Two members of the Quality Control Division, unbeknownst to the others and hiding behind the guise of what was best for the country, had begun earmarking some of the files for further action. Subsequently, an unofficial subgroup was formed consisting only of the operatives present at this meeting. Their sole function was to carry out termination orders.

One of the men, dressed casually in jeans and a maroon pullover, cleared his throat. Ben looked up at the sound. "You have a question?"

"Is this investigation being planned because of an accusation of one operative?" Sherman asked, knowing that for an investigation to ensue there had to be strong evidence of foul play.

"Yes it is. Her word carries a lot of weight with the Director."

"Well, seems to me they couldn’t very well investigate if the only complainant wasn’t around," Sherman answered, a cold smile turning up the corners of his mouth. At 35, he was one of the oldest operatives in the room, and the most deadly. He had been recruited into wet Ops straight out of the academy based on his psychological profile. Sherman enjoyed killing and felt absolutely no remorse. The Agency weeded out the recruits with sociopathic tendencies in the psychological testing. But tests don’t always accurately assess personality traits.

Ben met Sherman’s slate gray eyes and smug look with a smile. "That would probably work in most cases. But the fact that she is, if not the best, one of the best operatives the Agency has ever produced might make that a little difficult." Looking pointedly at Sherman, he continued, "Ever hear the name Viglioni?"

Sherman felt a strange sensation. Identifying it, he realized it was panic or as close to panic as he had ever come. Narrowing his eyes, he thought fast. This was a much more serious situation than Ben could ever imagine.

Viglioni was a legend in her own time. She had the distinct honor of never failing on a mission regardless of the danger to herself. She was said to be without fear and heralded by the Agency as the ideal agent. Sherman always felt those rumors were highly exaggerated, and only spread as an incentive to the male agents.

Deciding the best way to persuade Ben might be to sway the other operatives to his viewpoint, Sherman challenged him, "You think she’s better than we are collectively?"

"I never said that. But I can guarantee you that some of you would die trying to take her down. I’ve seen her in action. Trust me when I tell you she is not someone to be taken lightly. And due to her high profile it’s not a good idea. Now if you have any other suggestions, I’d be happy to entertain them."

"I still think we should just eliminate the problem. There are ways to make it look like an accident. No one would be able to prove anything. We’re finished if what we’re doing is uncovered. I don’t plan on going to prison or dying in the chair," Sherman retorted, and added, "I rather take my chances, and if some of us die, so be it."

"Yeah…"

"I’m not going to rot in prison…"

"He’s right…"

Ben slammed his empty glass down on the table and raised his voice to regain control of the meeting. "Stop your whining and listen up. The committee may not uncover anything. The Agency does thousands of infiltration’s each year. In view of that, the scope of our operation has been quite small. You kill her and it might be kind of hard to explain the dead operatives associated with the ‘accident.’ For now we lay low and wait."

"I still don’t like it," Sherman said and smiled inwardly at the agreeing murmurs around the table.

Ben shoved his chair back and stood up glaring at Sherman. "That’s enough. I’m in charge here, not you. Maybe you’d like to be assigned to a desk job. That can be arranged you know."

Sherman’s face reddened and he met the eyes of the man he had considered his friend. Ben was toying with their futures. He was willing to take a chance and compromise all of them instead of just eliminating the problem. The fact that his opinion was influenced by being directly responsible for this development never fazed him. He said, "Ok. We wait," thinking, but I intend to do what I have to.

Ben’s gaze drifted slowly around the table making eye contact with each operative. "If there are no other questions, you’re free to leave. I’ll be in contact."

The operatives began leaving the same way they had arrived, individually and at irregular intervals.

Sherman was the last to leave. Turning to Ben, he smiled and said, "Later."

Ben nodded and Sherman exited the room. Sighing, he poured himself another drink and took a large swallow. He hadn’t expected his authority to be challenged. When the backers had approached him about a way to eliminate potential threats against the government and other citizens, he had agreed to act as liaison and had personally chosen each member of the secret team.

They had also discussed how to administratively handle the cases that were to be acted on. They had a choice of not altering the records and taking the chance that one of the desk jockeys would notice the discrepancy when the termination report was filed or changing the reports. They had opted for the latter. But which one of those two old fools had been stupid enough to target one of Viglioni’s cases? Well it didn’t really matter now. The damage was done.

*  *  *

Megan thoughts had returned to the next stop on their trip. She was worried. She knew Tony tended to internalize things, but this was something they needed to talk about. Maybe she was rushing things. It was a major decision and if Tony wasn’t sure about it, she should wait until she was.

Megan moved from the comforting backrest Tony was providing and scooted around on the bed until she was facing her. Looking into the deep blue eyes that were watching her quizzically, she said, "You haven’t said a thing all weekend about…"

"I know," Tony said interrupting her. Tony closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair. Opening her eyes, she said, "I’ve been thinking about it a lot."

Megan looked into her partner’s worried eyes. Raising a hand to Tony’s face gently stroking her cheek, she said, "You don’t have to do this. There’s no rush. If you’re not ready Tony, it’s ok. Don’t push yourself."

Tony saw the concern on Megan’s face and the love shining brightly out of the green and gold eyes. A small sigh escaped her mouth. "I have to. It’s something I should’ve done a long time ago. Pausing for a moment, trying to verbalize her feelings, she continued, "You know all the stories we’ve told each other… about when we were kids… .well… .I guess it made me realize how much I miss my mother. Even if it turns out bad… .at least I’ll know."

Megan leaned over and hugged her partner. Tony relaxed against her lover before pulling away and saying, "I think it might be best if you just go on back to Cleveland and I’ll meet you there in a couple of days. If it doesn’t go well, I don’t want to put you through that."

Megan tried to hide the deep sense of hurt that filled her at the words by averting her face. She’s blocking me out. Turning back to face her partner, she said, "We planned this trip together. Not just the fun part, the whole thing. No matter how it goes, I plan on being there for you."

Tony felt a sinking feeling in her stomach when she saw the hurt on Megan’s face. Look what I’ve done now. I have to make her understand.

Reaching out, she placed her hand around one of Megan’s smaller ones. "I’m just thinking of you. I love you, and I don’t want to take a chance and ruin the fun we’ve had the last couple of days. It’s my problem, not yours."

Tony only had a moment to register the impact her words had on Megan before the hazel eyes started flashing and the face looking at her reflected anger.

"What do you mean it’s not my problem? I thought we were partners. I love you Tony and that means sharing. Not just the good but the bad too. After all we’ve been through I can’t believe you said that."

"I didn’t mean it like that…"

"Well just how did you mean it? It certainly sounded like that to me," Megan retorted, more hurt than angry.

All of a sudden the words she had uttered hit her from Megan’s perspective. Swallowing hard, her mouth dry, she moved over to Megan wrapping her in her arms. She felt the stiff, tension filled body against hers. "I’m sorry, Love. I didn’t mean it the way it came out. I thought it was selfish to drag you along with me for moral support. I wasn’t trying to leave you out."

Megan felt some of the tension drain from her body. "You forgot one thing. I’m here because I want to be. It’s a choice I made when I fell in love with you. It’s not up to you to decide what you think is right for me. Those are the kind of decisions we make together." Megan hesitated, then added, "If you don’t want me to go, fine. But remember one thing. It’s not just your problem anymore. It affects you, so it affects me too."

Overcome with emotion and unable to speak, Tony tightened her hold on Megan hoping the increased contact would convey the depth of her feelings and take away some of the hurt her words had caused. Finally able to verbalize, she said simply, "I want you to go."

*  *  *

Charles stood in front of the mirror tightening the knot in his tie, making sure it was perfectly centered. As one of the senior partners in the law firm he felt it was important to set the standard and this included professional appearance. Satisfied, he left the bedroom and walked down to the kitchen for his usual breakfast of two eggs, toast and coffee.

Barbara looked up when her husband walked into the kitchen.

"Morning," she said while setting his breakfast on the table. "How was the trip?" He had just returned on the red eye and they hadn’t had a chance to talk.

"Just routine," Charles said. He had been on a business trip for two weeks visiting some of the law firm's more prestigious clients. He traveled frequently for this purpose, but this trip had been longer than normal because the corporate agreement the firm had drawn up for one of the clients had been inadequate for their needs.

Smiling, knowing Charles would be pleased, Barbara said, "I saved some papers you might want to see. Megan made the headlines."

Charles looked up, his attention now fully on his wife. "Was it about that serial killer case she was working on?"

Smiling proudly, Barbara said, "Yes. She and an FBI agent were credited with solving the case."

"Let me see them."

Barbara handed him the two newspapers and sat down to join him for coffee.

Reading quickly, Charles smiled, very proud of his daughter. This reflected very favorably on the family image. He remembered when she defied him and entered medicine instead of following his footsteps and becoming a lawyer. Then, when she had told him she was going to be a pathologist of all things, he almost lost it. It was one of the very few times he had not been able to persuade her to his way of thinking. But if she was going to bring honor to the family, then maybe it wasn’t such a bad decision.

Charles looked up and said, "Invite her over for dinner. And Barbara… make sure she comes this time." His daughter was a little too independent for her own good.

"I’ll invite her. But you should know by now that whether she comes or not will be her decision." Barbara knew exactly why Megan didn't visit more often. The reason was sitting across the table from her. Charles just wouldn't quit hounding her about her job and personal life.

Charles frowned and said, "Make sure she realizes that she has an obligation to us."

Barbara looked at her husband and shook her head. When would he learn that this particular daughter was done bending to his will?

Finishing his breakfast he walked over to Barbara, kissed her goodbye, and departed for the office.

*  *  *

Tony had the cab driver drop her off at the corner to give her more time to go over in her mind, once again, how to approach her mother. She wanted to see her mother, but she had no idea what her reception would be. What if she doesn’t want to see me? What do I do then? I don’t even know what to say to her. Tony had spent the whole flight to Boston going over what she was going to say when her mother opened the door. Megan had simply said, "Tony, you will know what to say when you see her. Trust me on this one."

Sighing, hoping Megan was right, Tony began walking toward her mother’s house. She stood on the sidewalk looking at her childhood home. The small white house with green shutters had been replaced by gray vinyl siding and maroon trim. Her lips turned up in the barest hint of a smile when she saw the red roses around the base of the house and the plant hangers with brightly colored flowers adorning the porch. Her mother had always loved flowers.

Tony’s thoughts turned back in time to when she was four years old. Wanting to please her mother, she had picked a bouquet of beautiful little yellow flowers. She had been rewarded with a big hug and kiss. Her mother had told her they were the most beautiful flowers she had ever seen and put the dandelions in a vase on the kitchen table. They had remained there until they finally wilted and died.

It’s time, her mind nudged her. Tony snorted and thought, yep, here I am. A big bad fearless FBI agent and my stomach is in knots over seeing my mother. With the steely determination that had marked her success in the FBI, Tony pushed her doubts aside and walked up the sidewalk to the front door. Ringing the doorbell, she stood waiting for her mother to answer, her mind a contrast of conflicting thoughts.

Rosa finished dusting the coffee table and looked around the living room. She was in her late fifties, but had aged well. A handsome woman, her face was offset by a pair of deep blue eyes and short wavy black hair that was just beginning to gray. She wore a yellow dress with short sleeves and a full skirt. Rosa was 5'6" and still stood tall. Over the years she had put on a few pounds, but she wore them well. One of the pillars of the small community she lived in, Rosa was a kind woman and well liked by her neighbors. Her own life had had its share of tragedy, yet she was always there to listen to their problems and offer sensible advice.

Her eyes rested on the one shelf she hadn’t dusted yet. She always saved it for last. Walking over and standing in front of it, Rosa looked at the three pictures. Picking up one, she wiped the surface of it. Her first born, George, had been such a handsome boy. He had looked a lot like his father with his brown hair, brown eyes and roman nose. Setting it down, she picked up the next one. Running the cloth over it, she looked at the picture of Joey. He had been her youngest child. He had a heart of gold that matched his blond hair. The smile on his face was a testament to his whole personality, sunny. She returned the picture to its place on the shelf.

She picked up the picture she had saved for last. The picture was of a teenager with dancing blue eyes and shoulder length black hair. The high cheekbones gave the face a sculpted appearance. White teeth contrasted sharply with the tanned face smiling brightly out at her. The face held the promise of a beauty yet to be fully realized. She walked over to the couch and sat down, the picture in her hands, the dusting forgotten.

Holding the picture out away from her, she saw dark circles form under eyes that were now red rimmed from crying. The tanned face became pale and looked haunted. The happy fun loving teenager was gone. That was the way her only daughter had looked the last time she saw her at George’s and Joey’s funeral. She had been so lost in her own grief, she had been unable to share her daughter’s. She remembered Tony blaming herself for their deaths. She knew better, but she had been in shock from the cruel turn of fate and been unable to console her.

Rosa reflected on the words of her friend Joyce about a week after the funeral. She had said, "Rosa, sometimes there are very special people put on this earth for just a short time. They affect everyone they come in contact with. They spread love. They are a joy to know and a gift to be treasured. Accept the gift you were given and remember the happiness they brought you." The words had struck a chord deep inside her and allowed the healing to begin. She finally accepted their deaths and was able to move on.

Her thoughts returned to the present, and she asked the questions she asked herself every day. Tony where are you? Are you ok? Have you found happiness? Do you still blame yourself? Do you ever think about me or miss me as much as I miss you? She hugged the picture to her breast, the cold hard surface a poor substitute for the living breathing daughter she knew was out there somewhere.

She had tried to find her. Rosa had contacted all their friends and everyone else she could think of who might know where her daughter was. It was as if she had disappeared into thin air. The police did file a missing person’s report, but nothing ever came of it. Rosa doubted they even looked for her since it was obvious she had left by choice after the events of her departure were revealed. The last attempt she had made was several years ago. She had finally saved up enough money for a private investigator. He told her Tony had graduated from college and then entered the FBI, but there the trail ended. The only consolation Rosa had was knowing that her daughter had to be alive or the FBI would have notified her.

Rosa stood up and walked slowly back to the shelf. She lovingly set the picture in its place between her two sons. I love you Tony, was the thought she turned away from the shelf with.

Walking into the kitchen she took her shopping list off the refrigerator. Adding eggs to the list, she set it on the table and went to get her purse.

It was a warm pleasant day and Rosa was looking forward to the walk to the market. Her friends Mary and Gino owned it. The neighborhood had changed very little from when she first moved in so many years ago. It was full of Italian immigrants, and they took care of each other. It was often referred to as Little Italy.

Rosa picked up the shopping list and put it in her purse. She had just opened the back door when the doorbell rang. Shutting the door, she turned around and made her way to the front of the house.

PART 2

SHE OPENED THE front door and said, "Yes?" and a heartbeat later her eyes widened and a look of shock covered her face. A gasp escaped her mouth and she closed her eyes tightly, murmuring, "Mi Dio. Non e’ possibile, sto allucinando." She was afraid to open her eyes, and afraid to hope until she heard the barely audible, "Mom..."

The door opened and Tony looked into the deep blue eyes that met hers. Everything became surreal. She heard her mother say, "Yes," and then saw her face transform into a look of disbelief. She heard a gasp and her mother’s whispered words, "My God. It’s not possible, I’m hallucinating," and the eyes tightly closed.

Tentatively, she said, "Mom…" and watched the eyes slowly open revealing a myriad of emotions.

Rosa opened her eyes and looked at the tall woman wearing jeans and a blue pullover top standing in her doorway. The casual clothes did not detract from her natural beauty. Her heart racing out of control, she asked the question she already knew the answer to, but needed to voice. "Tony… is it really you?" Rosa raised a hand to her daughter’s face needing to touch her. Finally convinced her mind was not playing a cruel joke on her, she murmured, "Non sono pazza."

Tony’s mind and emotions registered several things simultaneously. Her mother was not upset with her. She seemed glad to see her. Could that be true? Had her long self-imposed exile been unnecessary? It certainly appeared her fears had been groundless. Not knowing what to say, and overwhelmed at the enormity of the thoughts churning in her mind, Tony stood there mutely.

Rosa gained a semblance of control and placed her hand on Tony’s arm pulling her into the house. Shutting the door, she turned to her long lost child. Walking up to her, sensing her daughter’s discomfort, she said, "I have missed you so much Tony. Would you give your old mother a hug?"

Tony covered the few steps between them and wrapped her long arms around her mother and felt the answering squeeze. During that one moment of contact between mother and daughter, feelers were tentatively sent out touching a bond severed years ago. "You are not old, and I’ve missed you, too," she said quietly to her mother.

Ending the hug, both women stood there awkwardly. Rosa said, "Can you stay for a while?" She almost laughed at the absurdity of the words. Her prayers had been answered, and now she didn’t even know what to say to her own daughter.

"Sure," Tony answered.

Rosa smiled. "Good. Sit down. I’ll get us something to drink. What would you like? I can make some coffee. I have orange juice…" She stopped when she realized she was just prattling on.

Tony felt some of the tension drain out of her. Realizing her mother was as nervous as she was, she said, "Coffee would be great."

Sitting on the couch, the rich smell of the freshly brewed coffee permeating the air, the two women looked at each other. Both noticed the changes that had occurred in the other over the years. Tony saw lines she never remembered on her mother’s face and a few strands of gray in her hair. She had gained a little weight but had really changed very little in appearance. Rosa was pleased to see that the young gangly teenager she remembered had grown into the beautiful woman she had always known her daughter would become.

Tony asked, "How are you Mom?" The question was simple, but it was a starting place, and Rosa accepted it for what it was and began to tell her daughter about her life. She told her about their friends, and brought her up to date on the small community she had grown up in.

"What about you? Where do you live? Are you married? Are you still in the FBI?" Rosa stopped when she saw Tony raise an eyebrow and look at her, the question clearly written across her face.

Rosa met her daughter’s eyes. "I tried to find you. I hired a private investigator. He told me you had entered the FBI, but couldn’t find out anything else."

Tony took a deep breath. Voicing her thoughts, she said, "I never meant for you to worry. I just thought it was best for me to leave."

The older woman looked at the troubled face of her daughter. She had not been there for Tony when she needed her, and had lost her. She was getting a second chance and she intended to make the most of it.

Reaching over, she took one of Tony’s hands between hers and began talking. "You left because you needed me and I wasn’t there for you. I couldn’t see past my own grief to share yours. I knew you blamed yourself but I was helpless to act. That was very selfish of me." Rosa paused a minute, gathering together the words that should have been spoken so many years before, "It wasn’t your fault. I know that now and I knew it then." Looking into Tony’s eyes, Rosa continued, "I’m so sorry, Tony. If there were any way I could go back and change things I would. But I can’t. Can you forgive me?"

The words impacted on Tony like a sledgehammer. Disbelief and relief warred with each other. After years of shouldering the blame in her own mind, she had to make sure. In a voice just short of incredulous, she asked what had been answered, unable to stop the question, "You didn’t blame me?"

Look what I have done to my own child. "No Tony. I never blamed you." Rosa’s voiced hitched and she had to pause before she could continue, "I’m so sorry I never told you that then."

An enormous weight lifted off her shoulders and seeing the tears spilling down her mother’s face, she gently squeezed the hand holding hers and said, "It’s ok Mom. Don’t cry," her own eye’s moist, she continued, "You’ll make me cry too." Leaning over, she hugged her mother and repeated, "It’s ok."

"You are still the good person you always were Tony," Rosa said when she was able.

Tony was a little embarrassed by the compliment and decided to change the subject by answering the questions her mother had asked.

"I live in Cleveland now, Mom, and I’m still in the FBI. I worked covert operations for years. That’s why the guy you hired couldn’t find me."

"Do you like it there?" Rosa asked.

"Yes." Smiling Tony added, "Some great people live there."

"You have such a pretty smile Tony."

"Mom… !" Tony said rolling her eyes.

Rosa said, "Well you do," and laughed at the familiar action by Tony.

"Have you met anyone?"

Tony looked at her mother. How do I handle this? With the straightforwardness that was her style, she met her mother’s eyes and said, "Yes I have. We are not married yet, but we have talked about a commitment ceremony."

"A commitment ceremony? That’s a strange thing to call a wedding. Is this something new?" Rosa asked drawing her eyebrows together in question.

Tony said simply, "I am in love with another woman." Seeing the shocked expression cover her mother’s face, she continued, "You’d like her Mom. She’s the most wonderful person I have ever known."

"But a woman Tony. Why?"

Tony looked into her mother’s eyes and saw her confusion. Words were inadequate to describe how she felt about Megan. But she had to try to help her mother understand. Tony began speaking, "She is kind and gentle and smart and beautiful and strong and she loves me." Tony paused and then decided to tell her mother the part Megan had in their reunion.

"Shortly after we met, I was injured. She took care of me and while we got to know each other we shared childhood stories. I told her what happened to George and Joey. She helped me to realize that it wasn’t my fault." Tony stopped for a minute and smiled at her mother. "Sooner or later I would have come back Mom. But it is because of her that I am here now."

The war waging in Rosa’s mind came to a screeching halt when the implications of the last thing her daughter said registered. She had watched Tony’s face change when she spoke of this woman. She would have to be blind not to see the love Tony obviously felt for her. Rosa wasn’t sure how she felt about this new revelation, but she was not going to turn her daughter away again. She appeared to be very happy and with that thought in mind, Rosa said, "Tell me about her."

Tony sighed inwardly with relief. This was going better than she had hoped considering her mother was a devout Roman Catholic. A large warm smile covered her face and she began telling her mother about the woman she loved.

Rosa watched the play of emotions cross Tony’s face when she spoke. If a person could glow, her daughter did. Tony talked for over an hour before saying, "I really should go now. Megan is waiting for me at the hotel."

Rosa had been caught up in Tony’s description of Megan and was intensely curious. She wanted to meet this young woman who meant so much to her daughter.

Voicing her thoughts, she said, "I’d like to meet her Tony. Could you go get her and come back? I’ll make lasagna for dinner. Is that still your favorite?"

Tony smiled, "Sure Mom, and your lasagna sounds great. What time do you want us to come back?"

"How about 5pm? I need to go to the market and pick up a few things."

"We’ll be here," Tony said, standing up and hugging her mother. "I need to use the phone to call a cab."

"There’s no need to call a cab. I can take you."

*  *  *

Paul Lewis followed the hostess to a booth in the rear of the diner. He ordered tea and thought about the call from Sherman. He had never requested a personnel file before. Their friendship had developed to a point that each fully trusted the other. But still, this was unusual and why a file on an operative? Shaking his head, he thought, it doesn’t make sense.

Sipping the hot tea, Paul thought about the first time he’d met Sherman. It had been three years ago. He was working his first covert assignment. He remembered his excitement when he was able to infiltrate a militia group that no one had been able to penetrate before. He was young and optimistic and wanted to make his mark among the seasoned operatives.

He left to make a routine drop and was unaware he’d been followed. Upon his return, the leader of the organization questioned him. He’d made up an excuse about seeing an old friend, but the leader was clearly suspicious and he came away from the meeting very uneasy. Later that night he pulled out the emergency transmitter and sent a message asking to be relieved from the assignment fearing his cover had been blown.

The next day he was advised to return to base. He almost made it too. The camp was a mile behind before his legs were knocked out from under him and he heard the echo of a high-powered rifle. In excruciating pain, he tied a tourniquet around his damaged leg and sent off an emergency transmission before passing out.

The next thing he remembered was Sherman putting him in the back seat of a car and transporting him to the hospital.

He now had a 5-inch steel pin in his leg and walked with a slight limp. If it hadn’t been for Sherman coming along when he had, he would be without that leg. But he was no longer physically fit to do covert work, and because of this, he held a deep-seated hatred for all militia groups.

When Sherman told him about what two of the committee members were doing, he requested a transfer to the covert files’ area. The rogue committee members reviewed all the cases in which the operative’s report deviated from the original agent’s report selectively choosing some for further action by Ben’s group. The cases they did not target were returned for filing.

Paul reviewed each of the files that had not been selected, and the ones involving militia groups, he copied and gave to Sherman. He altered the reports identically to the ones altered by the two committee members, and filed the termination order after Sherman personally eliminated each leader.

Sherman stood near the table for a moment and watched his friend. He was 28, but still looked like a kid. His red hair and freckles contributed to his youthful appearance.

"Hey Paul…" he said, sliding into the opposite side of the booth.

"Hi," Paul replied leaving his thoughts behind.

"Man you were a thousand miles away," Sherman said looking at his friend. "Did you get the file I asked for?"

"Yes. But what do you want an operative’s file for?"

Sherman quickly told Paul about the meeting with Ben finishing up by saying, "That was one of the cases you provided me with. The last thing we can afford is to have Ben uncover what we are doing. If she is eliminated, she can’t testify that her report was altered."

"I don’t like it. She’s an agent," Paul replied.

Well aware of Paul’s hatred of militia groups Sherman said, "If she had done her job in the first place, this would have never happened."

Seeing the youthful face age and become bitter, Sherman pressed on saying, "If we have to stop now, the militia groups win by default. You’re the one who loses. Your career is ruined because of them," pausing he added, "think about it. She is actually protecting them."

What Sherman said made sense. She was the one who was at fault here. But still not comfortable with targeting an agent, he said, "Ok. But Sherman… I’m not providing any more operatives’ files."

"Relax. I’m only doing this because it is necessary. I’m not crazy about taking out an agent either," Sherman said convincingly. "Don’t worry. She is just going to have an accident. No one else will be hurt. I’ll make sure she’s alone."

"Ok. The file’s in my trunk."

*  *  *

Megan laid her book down and looked at the clock on the dresser. Only ten minutes had passed since the last time she looked at it. Disgusted that she couldn’t lose herself in the book to help pass the time, she walked over to the window and looked out.

She knew it made sense that the longer Tony was gone, the better chance things had gone well. But her mind had decided to play devil’s advocate and insisted that if she were too upset she might not come straight back to the hotel.

Megan turned around when she heard the door open. Before she had a chance to ask how things had gone, Tony had crossed the room and wrapped her in a big hug, a huge grin on her face. Laughing, Megan said, "I guess things went ok."

"Yep. Mom invited us for dinner," Tony said, finally releasing Megan. "She’s making lasagna."

Megan hadn’t expected this. Suddenly nervous, she said, "She did?"

"Well after I told her about you, she wanted to meet you."

Trepidation filling her mind, Megan asked, "Did you tell her?" she paused suddenly at a loss for words.

Tony saw the worried expression on her partner’s face. Taking Megan’s hand, she led them over to the bed and sat down, guiding her lover onto her lap, her arms loosely draped around her.

"Yes I did," Tony paused searching for the right words. "I know there are times when I forget to think of both of us." Like last night, she silently added. "I never had to do that before." Tony looked into Megan’s eyes and continued, "But you are more important to me than anyone. You are a part of my life now. She needed to know that."

Megan’s mind struggled to grasp the enormity of the chance Tony had taken. She had been willing to risk a renewed relationship with her mother by telling her about them, yet she did anyway. Megan said, "I love you," and drew her partner’s head down, meeting her lips with her own.

*  *  *

Sherman sat at the table in his room carefully going through the file on Antonia Viglioni. He grudgingly acknowledged that it was quite impressive. She had excelled from the time she entered the academy and with each assignment became more proficient. What a worthy opponent she would have been to take on. Too bad he had to stage an accident.

The only thing he didn’t understand was why she had requested a transfer out of covert operations and taken a desk job in Cleveland. It was obvious she had a personal interest in militia groups because of her brothers’ deaths. So why did she transfer? It doesn’t make sense. Abandoning that train of thought, he decided it really didn’t matter anyway. It wouldn’t change the outcome.

Knowing he couldn’t plan what type of accident to stage until he arrived in Cleveland and became familiar with her schedule, Sherman wanted to cover anything that might come up. With that thought in mind, he began mentally listing the things he needed to do before departing. Request leave, rent a car, pack weapons and alternate identities, take pertinent information from the file, put the file in his safety deposit box and see about acquiring some electronic equipment. He knew the last item might be difficult. The agency usually provided this and he couldn’t very well ask for it.

Taking his suitcase out of the closet, he began packing enough clothes to last a week, making sure that he included a wide variety. If for some reason he was gone longer than a week, the hotel would have laundry services. Sherman then began mentally ticking off the other things he might need as he packed them.

Satisfied he hadn’t forgotten anything, he closed the suitcase and departed for the administrative offices to request leave. Ben had actually done him a favor by halting all operations. Since he wasn’t assigned to a case right now, he knew the leave would be automatically approved.

*  *  *

Megan looked in the mirror again checking her appearance for the third time. Making another minor adjustment to her makeup, she sighed and hoped she would make a good impression on Tony’s mother. I need to relax. I’m a nervous wreck.

"You ready yet?" Tony called from the other room.

Looking in the mirror once more, Megan answered, "Yes," and walked out of the bathroom.

"You look nice," Tony said, smiling at her partner.

Megan was wearing a pair of wine colored slacks and an off-white blouse. She had put on a pair of gold earrings with a matching rope style necklace.

Tony had donned a pair of white slacks and a teal V-neck pullover. A silver chain adorned her neck. She would have rather worn jeans, but Megan wanted to wear something a little less casual to meet her mother in, and knowing how nervous she was Tony had decided to dress in kind.

Megan smiled at the compliment before her thoughts turned once again to the upcoming evening. "Well… I guess we should get going," Megan said after looking at the clock. The last thing she wanted to do was be late.

Arriving promptly at 5pm, Rosa opened the door and invited them in.

"Mom, this is Megan. Megan, this is my mother, Rosa," Tony said smiling, while unobtrusively watching her mother.

"Hi," Megan said smiling. Looking at Tony’s mother she could see the family resemblance. Both had blue eyes and black hair, but there the similarity ended. Tony had high cheekbones, fuller lips and a smaller nose. Rosa was quite attractive in her own way, though.

"Hi Megan." Rosa smiled at her guest. She took in the beautiful woman with blonde hair highlighted with red, and soft hazel eyes. She was a little thing, but well proportioned and there was a warm smile on her face.

"Why don’t you both have a seat? Dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes."

"Need any help?" Tony asked.

"No. I’ve got everything under control. Do you two want something to drink while you’re waiting?" asked Rosa.

"No thank you," Megan said followed by "No thanks," from Tony.

Rosa went back to the kitchen leaving her guests to entertain themselves for a few minutes.

"Your mother’s pretty," Megan said to Tony.

Tony smiled, "I think so too, but I may be a little prejudiced."

Tony noticed Megan’s hands clasped in her lap. Putting her hand over Megan’s she said, "Hey, relax."

Megan smiled at her partner. "I’m trying. I’m just a little nervous," Megan said and thought, yeah right. Try very nervous.

"There’s no need to be," Tony said reassuringly.

Tony was surprised at how comfortable she was. It just seemed right to be here at her mother’s house with her partner. A few months ago if anyone had said there was ever any possibility of this, she would have laughed it off. Life is strange sometimes, she acknowledged silently. But this time in a good way.

Megan looked around the living room. It was decorated simply, but felt warm and cozy. The furniture was old but well cared for. There were little knickknacks in a shadowbox on the wall. On a shelf across the room there were three pictures. Focusing on them, Megan recognized a younger version of Tony and two boys. She knew they had to be Tony’s brothers. All three were quite different in appearance, yet the family resemblance was apparent.

Rosa bustled around the kitchen. Taking the lasagna out of the oven, she placed it on the table on a couple of hotplates. She had already set the table and prepared the salad ahead of time. She was looking forward to chatting with her daughter and her friend. Taking out a couple bottles of salad dressing, she called out, "It’s ready," and waited for her guests to join her at the table.

"This is really good," Megan said smiling over at Rosa.

"Sure is," Tony agreed.

"Thank you," Rosa said. Directing her attention to Megan she said, "Tony tells me you’re the Assistant Coroner in Cleveland. How did you get interested in that line of work?"

"One of my classmates was murdered when I was in college. That’s when I decided that I wanted to do my part to help stop the senseless violence. I felt I could do that in forensic pathology."

Rosa listened to Megan and heard the passion in her voice when she spoke about her job. It was obvious she had a good heart. She seemed so young for a job like that.

"Do you come from a large family?"

"Well… I have two sisters and one brother. I never thought of our family as large though."

"They must be very impressed to have a sister who is a doctor," Rosa commented.

Megan blushed. "No, not really. Charles is an attorney just like Dad, Ashley is a CPA and Taylor has an MBA."

Tony looked at her partner and said, "I think Megan’s being a little modest. She was credited with finding out how a serial killer was murdering his victims. No one else had been able to figure it out."

Megan thought, I’m gonna kill her. Looking at Rosa, she said, "Your daughter was credited with solving the case and made the front page of the newspaper."

"So did you," Tony retorted.

Rosa looked from one to the other and started chuckling. It had been so long since young people had been around. It felt good.

Tony and Megan looked at Rosa. "What are you laughing at?" Tony asked.

"You two," Rosa said smiling.

Megan and Tony answered a multitude of questions during the meal. Megan found Rosa easy to talk to, and had relaxed enjoying the dinner. Her outgoing nature reasserted itself and she often gave elaborate answers to Rosa’s delight.

When they were finished eating, Rosa said, "I made cannolis for dessert. Anyone want one?"

Tony’s mouth watered. Not only had her mother made her favorite meal but also her favorite dessert. "I do."

Rosa smiled when she saw the delighted look on Tony’s face. It was so good to have her daughter back again.

Megan had never had a cannoli and had no idea exactly what it was other than a dessert, but judging by Tony’s reaction, she was willing to try it. She had a weakness for desserts anyway. "I’d like one too, please."

Megan took a bite of the Italian delicacy. It was delicious. The pastry shell was filled with a blend of cheese, chocolate and fruit.

She and Tony both consumed two of them before helping Rosa clear the table and retiring to the living room.

Rosa sat in her favorite chair facing Megan and Tony on the couch. She had decided to be blunt. This was a personality trait her daughter shared.

"Tony said you took care of her when she was injured. What happened?" Rosa asked.

Megan glanced over at Tony who just shrugged her shoulders. Ok, where to start. "We were working on a serial murder case together. Tony had only been in Cleveland a few days and she was stabbed when we were investigating the area the murders occurred in," Megan said, trying to be honest but not wanting to embarrass Tony.

Rosa turned her attention to her daughter, "You were stabbed?"

"It was just a fluke. The guy got lucky," Tony hedged. "It was no big deal."

Rosa looked pointedly at her daughter. "No big deal huh? Have you been wounded before?"

Oh God. How do I get out of this one? "A couple of times, but never anything serious," Tony said knowing her comment was not entirely accurate, but she’d come out ok, so her mother really didn’t need to know the details.

Rosa had a feeling Tony was down playing her answer but decided to let it slide for now. Turning to Megan, she said, "Tony tells me she loves you."

Tony’s eyes widened and she had to stop her mouth from dropping open. "Mom," she said in a cautioning voice.

"Tony, I want to talk to Megan about this. You told me you love her." Directing her attention back to Megan, she asked, "Do you love Tony?"

Megan had become very uncomfortable. It just seemed so strange to be talking to Tony’s mother about her feelings. But this was a question she could answer easily.

Meeting Rosa’s eyes, she said, "Yes I do. More than I ever believed possible." Glancing at Tony, she continued, "I can’t imagine life without her."

Tony smiled at Megan and relaxed a little. Even though she and her mother had already had this conversation, she had not wanted her partner to feel uncomfortable. But it looked like Megan was handling it just fine.

Rosa met Megan’s eyes and what she saw there wiped any doubt about this woman’s commitment to Tony from her mind. She was also surprised to find that she liked Megan. She had been prepared not to.

Rosa was a religious woman, but she knew that God would never condemn two people for loving each other. Setting aside years of religious indoctrination, she made a decision.

"Well then I’m happy for both of you. But you do know you have chosen a path that will not be easy."

Megan and Tony both nodded, acknowledging the truth of the words. "We know that and we’ve talked about it," Tony said to her mother. "But it’s the right path for us and that’s what really matters."

"Yes it is," Rosa agreed.

"So Tony… how about telling me about some of your adventures?"

The rest of the evening passed quickly.

Tony looked at her mother and said, "The cab is probably here. We should get going." She had insisted on calling a cab because of the late hour.

Tony paused and then added, "Mom, I want to go to the cemetery while we’re here. Would you come with us?"

Rosa looked at Tony and said warmly, "Of course I will."

"We could meet you here at 9am," Tony said.

"How about if I pick you up from the hotel at 9am?" Rosa asked. "There’s no reason for you to have to take a cab here first."

"Ok. Thanks."

Tony and Megan stood up and walked to the door. Turning around Tony hugged her Mom and said, "Thanks. Dinner was great. We’ll see you in the morning."

Megan said, "It was nice meeting you. Thanks for dinner." Before she had a chance to turn around, she found herself being hugged by Tony’s mother.

Rosa said, "It was nice meeting you too, Megan. See you both in the morning."

*  *  *

Barbara was frustrated. Every time she called Megan’s number the answering machine picked up. It was 10pm, and it didn’t make sense that she wasn’t home yet. And it didn’t help matters that Charles kept insisting she keep trying.

Knowing that Megan and Ashley kept in close contact, Barbara decided to call her oldest daughter.

."Hello," Ashley said, placing the phone between her shoulder and her ear while taking the twins’ clothes out of the dryer.

Sitting down, Barbara said, "Hi. How are the kids?"

Surprised to her from her mother this late, Ashley said, "Hi Mom. They’re fine. Let me tell you bedtime didn’t come soon enough tonight. I don’t know where they get all their energy from."

Barbara laughed and said, "They take after their mother. You were quite a handful yourself."

Ashley snorted, "Yeah right. Why is it that all mothers love to tell their daughters that?"

Still chuckling, Barbara said, "Because it’s true. But the reason I called is because I have been trying to get a hold of Megan all evening and there’s no answer."

So that's why she's calling now. "She’s on vacation. She’ll be back tomorrow or the next day. I forget which."

Barbara was surprised. "Megan actually took a vacation? I can’t believe it. She hasn’t taken vacation since she started that job."

"I know. It’s about time she took some time off," Ashley agreed, preparing herself for the questions that were sure to follow.

"Where’d she go?" Barbara couldn't believe Megan hadn't even mentioned taking a vacation to her.

"She went to D.C. with a friend of hers," Ashley said, still expertly holding the phone while folding clothes.

"What friend? Has she met someone finally? It’s about time." Barbara said pleased.

Ashley smiled to herself, thinking, Oh yeah Mom. She sure has. But you’re going to go off the deep end when you find out.

"She went with the FBI agent she met while working on that murder case. What did you want her for anyway?" Ashley said, attempting to redirect the focus of the conversation.

"Your father wants her to come over for dinner. I showed him the articles in the paper. He’s really proud of her."

Ashley rolled her eyes. Yeah right. "You mean she finally did something he approves of? I can’t believe it."

"Ashley!" Her oldest daughter could be so impertinent.

The way Ashley saw it, she was only stating a known fact. "Well it’s true."

Deciding to ignore the last comment, Barbara said, "Well if you talk to her before I do, tell her I’ve been trying to get a hold of her."

"Ok. Mom." Ashley said. Once she finished with the clothes, she planned to call and leave a message for Megan so she could give her fair warning.

"Bye."

"Bye," Ashley said before laying down the phone. Her thoughts turned briefly to her younger sister and she smiled remembering how happy Megan had been when she told her they were going on vacation.

*  *  *

Sherman walked into the Renaissance Hotel carrying his suitcase and approached the desk in the lobby.

"Can I help you?" the desk clerk asked looking up.

"Yes. I have reservations for Scott O’Malley," Sherman said. He took a Visa card out of his wallet and handed it to the woman assisting him.

Once the paperwork was completed, he took the key he was given and headed for the second floor. Entering the room, he laid the suitcase on the bed and began unpacking his clothes. Finishing, he took out a map he had picked up before exiting the turnpike. Sitting at the table, he unfolded it and began locating the streets he had written down in his notes from Viglioni’s file.

After he located the street the hotel was on, Sherman circled it and began looking for Edgewater Drive. He found it in a suburb called Lakewood and circled it. Taking a yellow highlighter, he marked the route from his hotel to the newly marked street on the map, carefully noting that it could be reached off the Route 2 expressway. Next he looked at the downtown area searching for East 9th Street. The Federal Building was located on this street and Sherman knew this housed the local FBI office. He marked the shortest route from the hotel to the Federal Building mentally noting it was within walking distance. Committing the directions to memory, he folded up the map and put it in his rear pocket. It would be handy to keep in the car just in case he needed it.

It was still early and not wanting to waste time, Sherman decided to check out both places and become familiar with the routes.

Glancing at the lake while driving down the scenic route, he saw the waves breaking against the shoreline, an indicator that the weather report predicting thunderstorms was probably correct. He loved thunderstorms. The devastating power of lightening had intrigued him since he was a boy. It reminded him of himself. It destroyed what it hit.

Finding the exit for Edgewater, he exited the freeway. At the end of the exit he bore to the right following the well-marked route. The address he was looking for was a half-mile from the exit. Parallel parking on the crowded street, he sat in the car and looked at the apartment building. It was situated between two other apartment buildings and another complex was on the same side of the street he was parked on.

Getting out of the car he sauntered across the street entering the middle building. It had a security system that required you to ring the apartment of the tenant you were visiting. Sherman had already ascertained from the apartment number 412, that it should be on the fourth floor.

He rang the buzzers for two different tenants. He wasn’t surprised when neither answered. Most of the tenants would be a work during the day. He arbitrarily rang two others and smiled at his quick success when the door buzzer released. As was the case in most apartment buildings people often just released the door without checking whom it was.

Entering the lobby, he walked over to the mailboxes. Locating the box for 412 he noticed that in addition to the name he was expecting, Megan Donnovan was also listed on it. This was surprising considering Viglioni hadn’t even been in Cleveland for two months. Sherman decided this could actually work to his advantage.

The operative casually walked over to the elevators. He gave every indication of belonging in the building. Stopping on the fourth floor he walked down the hallway to 412 and stopped. It was the second to the last apartment and faced the north side of the building. This would be perfect if the apartment complex across the street had any vacancies. Smiling at his luck Sherman walked back to the elevator. This job just might turn out to be much easier than he expected.

Sherman took the elevator down to the basement. Looking around to make sure there was no one observing him, he took the electronic pick gun out of his pocket and unlocked the door that gave him access to the telephone and electrical lines. He didn’t expect to need to use anything here, but experience had taught him it was better to cover all contingencies. After checking out how the lines were routed to the various apartments, he returned to the lobby and left the building.

*  *  *

Tony cleared the table and threw out the empty Chinese food containers. After wiping off the table and putting the dishes in the dishwater she opened the cupboard. Raising her voice so Megan could hear her, she asked, "Want something to drink?"

"Iced tea would be great," Megan answered. She was listening to the messages on the answering machine. The first three were from her mother, and the next one was from Ashley.

Playing the last message, she heard, "If you are a homeowner…" quickly pressing the erase button, Megan thought, what’s the use of having an unlisted number? It never stops the telemarketers.

Tony opened the freezer and placed several ice cubes in each glass. Getting the iced tea out of the refrigerator, she filled both glasses and carried them into the living room.

Megan looked up when Tony walked into the room. She unabashedly watched her partner walk across the room with the feline grace that was integral to her.

Tony set the two glasses down on the coffee table before joining Megan on the couch. Leaning over she placed a fleeting kiss on Megan’s lips and said, "You shouldn’t look at me like that. We’ll never get anything done."

"It’s your fault for wearing those short shorts and showing off your legs," Megan said smiling.

"Well I guess I could put on some jeans," Tony said and started to stand. Megan grabbed her arm chuckling and said, "No you don’t. Laying her hand on Tony’s thigh, she continued, "I like what you’re wearing just fine."

"Well ok. If you insist," Tony teased. "Who called?"

"Ashley called once, and my mother called three times. Ashley said to make sure I call her before calling Mom." Musing aloud, she said, "Wonder what’s up with that?"

Tony handed her partner the portable phone and said, "Maybe they want you to visit. You said Ashley mentioned it last time you saw her."

Megan punched in her sister’s number and said, "Yeah. That’s probably it."

"Hello."

"Hi. What’s up?" Megan asked.

"Hey Sis, how's it going? Did you have fun on your vacation? Did you see everything you wanted to?" Ashley asked, the questions pouring forth nonstop.

Smiling into the phone Megan said, "It was great. I don’t think it’s possible to see everything, but I sure tried."

Megan poked Tony in the ribs with her elbow when she heard her partner murmur, "Ain’t that the truth."

Ashley laughed, and said, "I bet you did. Did you get any pictures?"

"Yep. I got some really good ones. Maybe we can do lunch one day next week. I can show them to you then," Megan said, looking forward to seeing her sister.

"Ok. I’ll look at my calendar tomorrow and give you a call. You’ll be at work, right?"

"Uh huh. I can’t believe how fast our vacation went. It sure doesn’t seem like we’ve been off a week and a half. How are John and the twins?"

"John’s fine. Been working long hours though. The kids… now that’s another story. I’ll fill you in on their latest exploits when I see you." Ashley loved to talk about her children and couldn't wait to tell Megan what they'd been up to lately.

"So why did you want me to call you before calling Mom?" Megan asked, while reaching for the glass of iced tea.

"Dad got back early Monday and Mom showed him the paper with you on the front page." Ashley gave Megan a chance to digest that little nugget of information and then continued, "So of course he’s bursting with pride and wants to see you."

Megan sighed. She should have known. He hadn’t approved of anything she’d done since she entered medical school. But her picture in the paper would be a big ego boost for him.

When Megan didn’t say anything, Ashley said, "You know you haven’t been over there for a while. They do miss you."

Megan sighed. "Yeah… I know they do. I’m just not comfortable there. Dad’s always got some snide remark to make about my career and it’s going to be really hard to take his enthusiasm all of a sudden just because my picture was in the paper."

"It’s up to you. But it would probably be best to go and just get it over with. Next time he’ll be back to normal anyway," Ashley commented. If nothing else, their father was predictable.

"Yeah, you’re right. Guess I better call them now. Thanks for the warning," Megan said.

"No problem. I’ll give you a call tomorrow."

"Ok. Bye."

"Bye."

Megan laid the phone down and looked at Tony. "You were right."

Tony had never met Megan’s father but already disliked him just from some of the things Megan had told her. "You don’t have to go if you don’t want to."

"I know. But I haven’t seen them for a while, and they are my parents. Dad can be very persistent, and he really doesn’t understand why I don’t visit much."

Tony met Megan’s eyes and said, "How can he not understand? It’s not like he supported you in anything you ever wanted to do."

Megan watched the expression harden on her partner’s face. She knew Tony had no use for her father. She also acknowledged that what Tony said was true.

"He honestly believes he was looking out for my best interests. I’ll just go and get it over with."

Tony’s thoughts were dark. In her mind he was nothing but a control freak that had used mental and emotional abuse, and on a few occasions physical abuse, to get Megan to conform to his wishes.

Pushing the dark thoughts from her mind, she knew that regardless of her personal feelings, she would support Megan’s decision.

"You do whatever you think is right." Quirking a half smile, she continued, "It’ll be over before you know it."

Megan smiled a silent thanks to Tony. She might not understand, but she was there for her and that was good enough.

Megan picked up the phone and dialed her parents’ number.

Barbara heard the phone ring and looked around for it. She found it on the kitchen counter, and picked it up, pushing the on button. "Hello."

"Hi Mom." Megan said, sitting forward on the couch.

"You’re finally back. Did you have fun on vacation? You never even mentioned you were going." Barbara said, wanting Megan to know her feelings were a little hurt about not being told about the vacation.

"Sorry, Mom. It was kind of a spur of the moment decision. But, yeah, it was fun. It ended too soon though." Megan said, standing up and walking over to the balcony.

Placated, Barbara said, "Well I’m glad you finally took some time for yourself. You spend way too much time at work."

Megan smiled to herself thinking, not anymore. "It was kind of nice for a change."

"Your father and I would like you to come over to dinner Saturday. He’s really proud of you." Barbara told her daughter, hoping what she said would convince Megan to accept. The last time she had come to dinner all Charles had done was belittle her job.

"Sorry Mom. We’re going to the game Saturday evening." Megan was glad she already had plans because Saturday was just a little too soon. She wanted more time to mentally prepare herself if her father decided to attack her job again.

Wouldn’t you know she’d have other plans. "What about the following Saturday then?"

That would work. "Ok. What time?"

Barbara sighed in relief. Now she wouldn’t have to listen to Charles complain about Megan never visiting. "How about 6:30pm?"

"Ok. See you then."

"Bye Megan."

"Bye." Megan disconnected the call and laid the phone down.

Scooting closer to Tony, she waited for her partner to move her arm before snuggling up against her.

*  *  *

Tony sat in her small cubicle in the FBI office going through her inbox. When she arrived, she had asked to see Mike Braxton. His secretary told her he wouldn’t be available until 1pm. Tony knew that was a crock of shit. He’d already been out to chat with some of the other agents. He was probably still pissed she refused to take all the credit for solving the case and had credited both the Assistant Coroner and the police department. After her statement, his claims that the FBI single handedly solved the case met deaf ears.

Leaning back in her chair, she picked up a new directive about surveillance techniques and began reading it. There really wasn’t anything new in it. The wording was just more ambiguous.

Bored, Tony decided to go see what the other agents in the office were working on. Walking down the aisle to John Austin’s desk, she said, "Hi John."

John looked at the beautiful woman standing in front of him. Smiling warmly, he said, "Hi Tony. Welcome back."

"Thanks. What’re you working on?"

"I’m just finishing up the paperwork on an embezzlement case. Have you met Keith?"

"No, not yet. How many agents do we have?" Tony asked.

John got up and walked with Tony over to Keith’s cubicle. "Right now, we have twenty. But we’re supposed to have twenty-eight, so we’re spread really thin."

"Tony, this is Keith. Keith, Tony."

Keith was short and slender with dark skin and black hair cut close to the scalp. Smiling a greeting, he stood and shook Tony’s hand. "Hi. I’ve heard a lot about you."

"Good, I hope," Tony answered automatically, smiling at the friendly agent.

"Mostly. But I don’t think you’ve made any points with the boss," Keith quipped. He decided he might as well give her fair warning.

"I figured as much," Tony said. She could care less what Braxton thought of her. He’d just have to get over it.

John took Tony around introducing her to the other agents that were in the office. After meeting everyone she returned to her office. Sitting down at the desk, she continued going through the inbox. The unimportant paperwork was wadded up and expertly banked off the file cabinet into file 13.

*  *  *

David looked up when Megan walked into the office. He was sprawled in a chair waiting for her. He got up, a big smile on his face and walked over and hugged Megan. Grinning at her, he said, "I’m glad you’re back. I missed you. How was the vacation?"

Returning his hug, Megan stood back, smiling warmly at her friend, and said, "Great. I took a bunch of pictures. I’ll bring them in tomorrow to show you. How’s the new house?"

"We love it. It’s so nice to have a place to call your own," David said. "I don’t think we’ll ever get all the boxes unpacked. But we already set up Mike’s office. He loves being able to have a place to work now and his boss loves his new drawings." Concern written clearly across his face, David continued, "But Mike’s not been feeling well lately. We think he’s got a sinus infection. He’s just miserable."

"Sinus infections can be serious. He should go to the doctor," Megan said. She knew that sinus infections left untreated had the potential to cause death.

Sitting back down in the chair, David said, "He has an appointment for tomorrow."

"Good. Tell him I hope he feels better." Megan sat down at her desk and put her purse in the drawer.

"I will." David was very excited about his new house and could hardly wait for Megan and Tony to come and visit. "When he does feel better, we want you both to come over."

Megan smiled warmly at David. "We’d love to." David had told her about their new house and she was looking forward to seeing it. She also knew her friends were planning on having a house warming party once they got the house in order.

David turned mirth filled eyes toward Megan and grinned, saying, "Oh and we have two new members in our family."

Megan looked at David cocking her head with a puzzled expression on her face.

Chuckling Mike said, "Two beautiful kittens. We just love them. One is black and white and we named her Velcro. The other is calico and her name is Huggy."

"Ooh. They sound adorable." Megan said. "I can hardly wait to see them." Megan had a big soft spot for animals.

Reluctantly changing the subject, Megan said, "So how’s the case load been? Anything interesting?"

David’s face turned serious. "No. Just the regular stuff. Dr. Whitehouse has been on a rampage lately though."

When David’s mood changed at the mention of work, Megan thought, this doesn’t sound good. "What about? I’m surprised he’s not still basking in the glory from the Press Conference."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. He sounded like a jerk when he kept telling the press that his office discovered how Mark was killing his victims. I think he’s still pissed that you made the front page."

Megan shrugged her shoulders, "I didn’t know that would happen. It would have been fine with me if it had been his picture instead of mine on the front page."

"Oh I don’t know. I thought you and Tony looked cute side by side on the front page," David said grinning.

Megan chuckled and said, "Well, I didn’t mind that part."

"You know, you’ll never convince him that it wasn’t staged and I think he’s already started exacting revenge," David said.

"What do you mean?" Megan asked puzzled.

"The two cases he assigned you today are a guy they pulled out the river who’s been dead awhile and a suicide that jumped from the 17th story of an apartment building." David looked at Megan sympathetically thinking, Whitehouse is such an asshole.

Megan sighed. Just what she wanted to do on her first day back. Resigning herself to her fate, she said, "Might as well get them over with. I’ll change and meet you in the suite." Turning back to David she added, "Let’s do the drowning first." Megan wanted to get the worst case out of the way.

Once the autopsies were completed Megan changed into her street clothes and returned to her office. Suddenly, all she wanted to do was hear Tony’s voice. Picking up the phone, she dialed her lover’s number.

"FBI. Agent Viglioni."

Megan felt some of the tension ease from her body when she heard the familiar, welcome voice of her lover.

"Hi," said Megan. "How’s it going?"

Tony smiled into the phone, "Hi yourself. Ok, but kind of boring. I'll be glad to get home today. She was always careful of what she said when at work. She was well aware that the phones could be monitored at any time.

Megan sighed. "Yeah. Me too. It’s been a rough morning."

"How so?" Tony asked concerned. Megan loved her job and this was an unusual comment.

"I think the great Dr. Whitehouse didn’t like me making the headlines instead of him." Megan said sarcastically.

"That really doesn’t surprise me," Tony said, thinking about the time that she had met Megan’s boss. "Anything I can do to help?"

Feeling more relaxed, Megan said, "You already have. I’ll see you later, ok?"

Tony smiled into the phone, "Ok. Take it easy, and don’t let him get you down. Just remember he’s a jerk."

"I keep telling myself that. Bye," Megan said already feeling better.

"Bye," Tony said.

*  *  *

Mike walked into the conference room and handed a file to each of the agents seated at the table. Walking to the head of the table, he began briefing them.

"One of our undercover agents has located the headquarters of a major money laundering operation. We’re going to set up surveillance in an apartment over an antique store across the street from the suite they are using. The owner has been quite cooperative and agreed to stay with relatives for the duration of our operation."

Mike looked at his notes and continued, "All the information you need is in the files you have been provided. There will be two teams of six agents. You will work in pairs covering each shift. You will work rotating shifts. Team 1 will work three days, be off one and then work two on a rotating basis with Team 2."

Tony looked through the file while listening to the briefing. She hated surveillance work. There was nothing more boring. Hopefully they would get the information they needed to nail this group quickly. Shift work sucked.

She looked around the table at the other agents. Keith and John she’d already met. Carlos, Brandon, and Steve had introduced themselves before Mike started the briefing. Mike had informed them that they made up Team 1 and he would be briefing Team 2 separately because he had not finished contacting all of them. They were being pulled off other cases to work this one.

"I will personally oversee this operation. At the end of each shift I expect a written report detailing the events that occurred. Leave it in my mailbox. Are there any questions?"

Tony almost rolled her eyes at the last announcement. You couldn’t oversee an operation from the office. It required an agent in the field or the very minimum a liaison in the field. This guy was a real piece of work. The surveillance would be worthless if they needed to move and had to find Mike. Why should she have expected anything else? It was bad enough the teams were being briefed separately. Any raw recruit learned that if you don’t have everything in place, including agents, you didn’t start the operation until you did. Basic Procedure 101.

"Since there are no questions the operation starts tomorrow. Keith and Tony you take first shift. Carlos and Brandon you’re on second shift. John and Steven you get the graveyard shift."

Mike looked at the agents. They all had inscrutable expressions on their faces. Uncomfortable, Mike said, "If there are no questions, you can go now."

After Mike left, Tony asked John, "Where did he come from anyway? He doesn’t know a thing about field Ops."

"Tell me about it. We’ve had to put up with him for the last two years. His daddy is a friend of the Director. It’s called politics."

"Great. That’ll be a real comforting thought next time my life’s on the line."

Tony unlocked the door and entered the apartment. After the briefing, she had reviewed the case file and agreed to meet Keith tomorrow at the Federal building at 6:30am. They would be traveling in vehicles provided by the agency to and from the surveillance site.

Walking into the bedroom, Tony changed into shorts and a T-shirt. She was home early and decided to make dinner and surprise Megan. Her partner was a better cook, and they had settled into a routine where she cooked and Tony cleaned up afterwards.

Deciding to make a chef salad, she took everything she needed from the refrigerator. Placing a tomato on the cutting board, she began cutting it into squares, her thoughts on her new assignment. She still couldn’t believe Braxton. Shaking her head at the absurdity of the situation, she hoped for a quick conclusion. The shifts required would mean less time with Megan, and that she was not looking forward to. The salad finished, Tony glanced at the clock. Megan was due home any time so she set the table, putting the salad in the refrigerator.

Megan entered the apartment and saw Tony standing in the kitchen. "Hi. You’re home early," she said smiling at her partner.

Tony walked over to Megan and said, "Yeah. I got a new case starting tomorrow and the briefing finished up early." Leaning over she kissed her partner.

"Are you hungry? I made salad for dinner."

Megan felt the stress of work slip away when Tony’s mouth met hers. Smiling, she said, "Sure am. Let me change first."

After eating, Tony was sitting on the couch next to Megan, her arm around her lover. Megan had just finished telling Tony about her day.

Tony shook her head disgustedly. "At least the idiot can’t save any more cases for you."

Megan snuggled closer to Tony. "I just got back to work and I can hardly wait for the weekend to get here."

Smiling ruefully, Tony said, "I’ve got to work Saturday. We’re doing surveillance and we’ll be working rotating shifts."

"You do? What about the game?" Megan said disappointed. She hadn’t seen the Indians all season and had really been looking forward to the game.

Tony had forgotten about the game. Seeing the fleeting look of disappointment on Megan’s face, she thought, thank God I pulled days first. "We can still go. It doesn’t start until 7:05pm. I’m on days for the next three days, and then I’m off Sunday and work evenings Monday and Tuesday."

Megan laid her hand on Tony’s thigh. Drawing an invisible design on her partner’s bare leg, she said, "Evenings? We won’t even get to see each other."

Tony sighed, and said, "I know. Hopefully it won’t last long."

Megan laid her head against Tony’s chest thinking about how long Monday and Tuesday evening were going to be without her partner while aimlessly running the tips of her fingers up and down Tony’s thigh. Feeling the muscles beneath her fingers tighten, she looked up and saw deep blue eyes gazing at her.

"Oh," Megan said smiling lifting her hand only to have Tony grab it saying, "Don’t stop now," before guiding her hand back to her leg and capturing Megan’s lips with her own.

Megan felt her body responding to the soft full lips of her partner and she moved her hand up cupping the area between Tony’s legs squeezing lightly through the shorts.

"Oh…  Megan," Tony murmured, her desire escalating. "I love you." Capturing an earlobe between her lips, she moved a hand underneath Megan’s top working her way up to the breasts fondling first one and then the other.

Megan loved the effect her touch had on her partner, but that was only a fleeting thought when her body reacted to Tony’s hands on her breasts.

Tony gently eased Megan onto her back. She wanted to see the full firm breasts her hands were kneading.

Laying over Megan and supporting her weight on her elbows, she lifted Megan’s top and lowered her head running her tongue around the nipple of one of the full breasts. Kissing each nipple, she looked into Megan’s passion filled eyes. Lightly kissing her lover she said, "This couch is too small," before kissing each of the nipples again.

Megan’s nerve endings were sending shivers up and down her body. Not wanting to stop, but her movement limited, she nodded in agreement, letting Tony help her up before they retired to the bedroom.

*  *  *

David opened the door and walked in. Mike was sitting at the table and looked up despondently.

"What’s wrong?" David asked, walking over to his partner. "What did the doctor say?"

"I’m allergic to cats," Mike said sadly, knowing how much David loved the two kittens.

David breathed a sigh of relief. "God Mike. You scared the hell out of me."

"But the doctor said we had to get rid of the kittens."

"I’m just glad that’s all it is. I know we’ll miss the kittens. But you’re much more important to me than they are," David said, hugging his lover.

"I just can’t believe that out of all the testing the only thing I’m allergic to is cats. It was nice having them around the house during the day when you’re gone."

Wanting to make Mike feel better, he said, "Once we find a good home for Huggy and Velcro, maybe we can get a puppy. Where are the kittens?"

"I had to put them in the den for a while. My eyes were really bothering me. You can let them out now."

"It won’t hurt them to stay in the den for a little while. I’ll just play with them in there," David said. "You know those pictures we took? I’ll take one down to Trading Times tomorrow and run an ad. They’re so cute it should be easy to find a home for them."

"Yeah, I guess. I still hate the idea of giving them to strangers."

David looked at Mike and said, "Don’t worry. If we don’t both like who wants them, we’ll just wait until the right person comes along."

Mike’s face brightened a little. "Ok. I guess I’m just a little overprotective of them."

"I think we both are. Why don’t we go out and eat tonight? We haven’t done that for a while. We could go to Diana’s."

Mike smiled, "Sounds good."

*  *  *

Sherman was sitting on the balcony in a lawn chair. He had spent parts of the last three evenings here. His surveillance equipment was set up, and based on the information gleaned, he had formulated a couple of different plans. Walking inside, he picked up the binoculars and trained them on the bay window across the street. It was early and the curtains were still open. He could only see the portion of the living room near the large bay window, but if this had been a regular case, Sherman would already have taken her out with a high-powered telescopic equipped rifle.

Smiling Sherman acknowledged this was fun. Careful meticulous planning was his trademark. But this case presented a real challenge. He had to develop the perfect accident. Not only did it have to take out the target, but there could be no suspicion that it was anything but an accident. Everything was going well though. Sherman still couldn’t believe his luck at finding an apartment in such close proximity to his target’s.

He had known the location of the surveillance case she was working on since Thursday. He had simply parked his car on a side street near the Federal building that gave him an unobstructed view of the garage entrance. When she left in the agency car with the other agent, he followed. This had actually been easier than he thought it would be. The early rush hour allowed him the luxury of blending in with the other drivers.

Sherman never acted until he had enough information. The location of the surveillance site was not of immediate importance, but he wanted to know where his target was at all times. If a contingency plan became necessary, he would be prepared.

When the lights went off in the apartment across the street, Sherman prepared to leave and return to the hotel. Smiling, he thought, soon.

*  *  *

Tony was getting irritated. They were at the Tower City station of the Rapid Transit and had been unable to board two other trains because of people pushing and shoving in front of them. She could see the headlight of another approaching train and decided she’d make sure they got on this one. She’d had enough of this particular crowd and just wanted to get home.

Megan looked at Tony and saw the hardening of her face. She had been remarkably restrained considering they had literally been shoved away from the doors of two other trains. She wished she had thought about the Garth concert before suggesting they take the rapid to the Indians game. It was always crowded at the station after a game, but nothing like this.

Placing her hand on Tony’s arm, she squeezed it lightly before letting go. She met Tony’s eyes and shrugged her shoulders, saying, "Next time we’ll drive, ok?"

"It’s not your fault these idiots are so damn rude," Tony said, relaxing a little. Quirking a half smile, she added, "But I would rather drive next time."

The train entered the tunnel and the jostling began again. After a particularly hard bump from someone standing behind her, Tony finally had enough. She had just started to turn around and let the asshole know she did not appreciate it when he stumbled forward losing his balance. Unable to stop her forward momentum with the weight of the man pressed against her, they fell from the platform onto the tracks and into the path of the oncoming train.

Megan watched horrified when her partner and the man fell onto the tracks right in front of the train. Screaming, "Tony…" she was on her knees in a second leaning forward, her upper body protruding over the tracks holding out her hand for Tony to grab. Before Tony even saw her, she was roughly lifted to her feet and jerked back by someone who had grabbed her around the waist. Fighting wildly, her mind imprinted with an image of her partner pinned beneath the man on the tracks, she yelled desperately, "Let me go!" But the screams of people who saw what happened had attracted the attention of the transit police, and her sight was blocked when they started pushing people back. All she could hear was the screeching of metal against metal when the brakes were slammed on.

PART 3

"STOP IT," THE stranger said harshly. "You could have been killed."

Megan stopped struggling. Turning her head to look at the stranger, her voice conveying a calmness she did not feel, Megan said, "Please let me go."

The moment he released her, Megan began pushing through the crowd, her heart pounding painfully, please let her be ok, but knowing it would be a miracle if she was. Pushing past the transit cop, afraid to look but having to know, she stood at the edge of the platform and forced herself to glance at the tracks.

When Tony felt herself begin to fall, her mind automatically registered that the ground was too close to do anything but ready herself for the impact. Adrenaline and reflexes honed by years of training took over, and the instant Tony landed she wrapped her arms around the man on top of her. Freeing her left leg, she drew it up until her knee was bent at a 45-degree angle. Using it to propel them, Tony shoved off rolling both of them over the track and out of harm’s way. On the far side of the tracks, she watched the train finally come to a stop several feet beyond them.

Tony lifted herself off the man and slowly stood up, her mind assessing the damage to her body. Her right thigh was throbbing, but she could detect nothing serious. Ignoring the stinging of the scrapes along her arm and hands and the pain in her leg, she held out a hand to help the shaken stranger to his feet, asking, "Are you ok?"

Grabbing her hand, and heaving himself up, he said, "Yeah. I’m ok. I think," and then added, "thanks."

"Then would you mind telling me why you were shoving so hard? You could have killed us both." Tony said, her voice hard.

The man looked at the woman standing there glaring at him and was suddenly very afraid again. He had just narrowly escaped death and this woman looked like she was ready to kill him herself. "Someone behind me pushed me. That’s why I lost my balance. I was trying not to fall into you. I’m really sorry," he sputtered.

Tony looked for any signs of deception and found none. It didn’t make sense anyway. He wouldn’t have lost his balance if he was just trying to push forward. "Did you see who was behind you?"

"No. First thing I knew I was falling into you," he said, anxious to convince her that he wasn’t responsible for their fall.

Just then, transit personnel spotted them and began shouting. "Over here! They look ok."

Megan heard shouts, but amidst all the chaos on the platform, she couldn’t hear what they were saying. Yanking her arm out of the grasp of the transit cop who had ordered her back, she jumped down onto the tracks. Crossing in front of the train to the opposite side, she saw several people making their way up the far side of the tracks, and one was unmistakably her partner. Megan broke into a run, never noticing the tears of relief that were steadily streaming down her face.

Tony saw Megan come around the front of the train and begin running. Separating from the group, she opened her arms to meet her partner.

Megan threw her arms around Tony and felt her partner’s arms encircle her. In Tony’s comforting embrace it impacted on Megan how close she had come to never knowing this feeling again, and she began crying harder unable to say anything. Tony held her tightly saying, "Sshh. It’s ok."

The other victim and the transit workers stood around uneasily. Tony looked up, her eyes hard, and asked in a tone that indicated there was only one answer, "Could you give us a minute?"

"Yeah, sure," one answered, and they turned and resumed walking up the side of the track.

Tony continued to hold Megan, both comforted by the contact. Megan gained a semblance of control and looked up at her partner. "I thought you…" and stopped, unable to continue.

Raising her hand to Megan’s wet face, Tony wiped some of the tears away with her thumb. "So did I," Tony admitted.

Taking a hold of the dry bottom of her tear soaked T-shirt, Tony lifted the edge to Megan’s face wiping it off. "We better go before they come looking for us."

*  *  *

Tony unlocked the door and pushed it open letting Megan enter first, and then following her. She was tired and her leg was protesting angrily, but she was worried about Megan. Her partner had been uncharacteristically quiet.

The paramedics had checked Tony over when she refused to go to the hospital. Since some of the passengers on the incoming transit train had been jostled when the driver slammed on the brakes, total chaos had reigned. There were no serious injuries, but it took over an hour before the police had completely established order allowing time for some of the local reporters to appear. When the police finally took her statement, Tony had been questioned for over an hour about the bizarre accident. It was just good to be home.

Megan was exhausted. The emotional anguish she had endured for those few minutes tonight had taken their toll. It had driven home again just how important a part of her life Tony was.

Turning and hugging Tony, Megan’s mind was still coming to grips with the fact that her partner was safe, that against incredible odds, she was right here. The familiar feel of Tony’s arms around her, and her chin resting on her head, began melting some of the tension out of her body.

"You ok?" Tony asked, softly.

Looking up at the concerned blue eyes watching her, Megan felt a twinge of guilt. Tony had hurt her leg and her arm was scraped up pretty badly, and yet she was still worried about her. She should be taking care of Tony.

Smiling wanly, Megan said, "Yeah. How does your leg feel?"

"It’s a little sore," Tony admitted. "Nothing serious though."

"I want to look at it."

Tony kissed her saying, "Ok." She was willing to do anything to make Megan feel better. Removing her jeans she watched Megan examining the bruises on her legs. The largest was on the outside of her right thigh extending from just below her hip halfway to the knee. Tony knew that was where she took the brunt of the weight of the man when hitting the tracks.

Megan’s trained eyes and hands were closely checking over her partner. "Ooh. This is really nasty," Megan said, looking at the angry gray and purple discoloration. The skin was swollen and warm to her touch.

Megan stood up and said, "We need to get some ice on that. It’ll help with the pain and swelling."

Tony kissed Megan on the forehead, and said, "Ok. But I want to take a shower first."

Megan raised her hand to Tony’s face and softly stroked her cheek, reaffirming that her lover was indeed safe, before saying. "I’ll get the ice ready."

When Tony went to take a shower, Megan got out a bottle of peroxide and some square cotton patches. Getting a zip lock gallon size baggy she went to the freezer and poured the contents of the ice cube bin into it. Closing the bag, she put it in the freezer along with the ice cube trays she had refilled.

Tony stood under the soothing warm water, an unbidden curse escaping her lips when it hit the raw skin on her arm and leg. Washing the dirt from her body, being particularly careful with her arm and leg, she thought about the unusual accident.

It didn’t make any sense. The guy that fell into her said he was pushed. But everyone on the platform was pushing and shoving. It would have taken a powerful shove to cause him to lose his balance. Why would anyone be shoving that hard?

When she got out of the shower and dried herself off, she was no closer to making sense of the events of the evening. Shaking her head, she decided it was probably one of those fluky things that sometimes happened.

After donning a sleeping shirt, Tony walked to the kitchen limping slightly. She eased herself down into one of the chairs, taking care not to aggravate her leg.

Megan had put the peroxide and cotton squares on the table and was waiting for her. Picking up a cotton patch, she thoroughly dampened it with peroxide.

"Let me see your arm." Looking at the scraped skin, she frowned and said, "You really got your arm good, didn’t you?" and started cleaning the wound.

Tony flinched when the peroxide came into contact with the raw area on her arm.

Megan looked up and said, "Sorry… I know it hurts. I’ll be done in a minute."

Once Megan had applied the peroxide to Tony’s arm and hands, she said, "Let’s go into the living room. You need to lay down so I can put the ice on the worst of that bruise," Megan said.

Tony laid down on the couch on her side watching her partner. She grimaced when Megan laid the cold ice against the warm angry bruise. Looking into her partner’s sympathetic eyes, Tony wondered for what was probably the millionth time how she had ever gotten so lucky.

Taking a hold of Megan’s hand she said, "I love you."

Megan bent down kissing Tony on the cheek. "I love you too." Standing up, she placed a hand towel over the ice bag and said, "Hold this in place. I’m going to take a shower," pausing a moment, she added, "and keep the ice on ok?" giving her partner a warning look.

Tony grinned at Megan. "Ok."

Megan insisted she keep the ice on for twenty minutes. Even though her skin was protected from the ice by a thin cloth, after about ten minutes Tony decided her leg hurt more from the ice than the bruise. When Megan returned to the living room, she removed the ice bag. When Tony started to get up, she said, "You might as well stay there. In twenty minutes it goes back on again."

"I think we should just go to bed." Tony suggested, smiling.

Megan returned the smile. "We will after the next time. Tomorrow you’ll be glad we did this," she said before taking the ice bag back into the kitchen and putting it in the freezer.

Tony wasn’t so sure about that, but Megan sat on the coffee table right next to her the whole time, and when her leg began aching from the ice, looking into the caring hazel eyes somehow made it hurt a lot less. But she was still glad when Megan finally removed it, allowing them to go to bed.

The fresh smell of rain wafted through the window, carried across the room on the cool breeze. Megan’s eyes slowly opened, the morning light brightening the room through the curtains. Her head was resting against Tony’s chest, the steady heartbeat echoing a soft cadence in her ear. Her arm lay across her partner’s midsection, and she could feel Tony’s arm resting across her back.

Sensing Tony was still asleep, she slowly lifted her head and looked at her lover. This was a rare opportunity. Her partner was usually always awake before she was. She is so beautiful. All the tension from the night before was gone and her face was relaxed and peaceful. The corners of her mouth were turned up and Megan smiled at the sudden thought that Tony must be dreaming about something good and she hoped she was in it too. Very slowly raising herself up so as not to wake her partner, she got up from the bed. Looking at Tony one more time, she leaned over and kissed her on the forehead before saying, "I love you," her voice no more than a whisper.

When Tony woke up, the first thing she noticed was Megan wasn’t there. She must have been more exhausted than she thought not to hear her partner get up. Moving, she realized she was very sore. Sitting up slowly, she eased her legs over the side of the bed favoring the bruised one.

Gingerly standing up, she tested it before putting her full weight on it. It was stiff and complained angrily when she put weight on it. Ignoring it, but compromising a little, she favored it slightly while walking to the bathroom.

Megan was in the kitchen cooking breakfast. "Morning," she smiled at Tony. "How does your leg feel?"

"Not bad. Still a little sore," Tony said, underplaying her discomfort.

Megan looked at Tony pointedly. "Just a little? You have remarkable healing abilities then, because it should hurt more today than it did yesterday."

You’d think I’d know better by now. Tony drew her eyebrows together and with a questioning look on her face, she said, "What? You didn’t know that?"

Chuckling, Megan walked over saying, "You’re incorrigible," before reaching up to kiss her.

Megan unobtrusively watched Tony ease herself into the kitchen chair and decided another ice treatment was in order.

After they finished eating, she filled another bag with ice and handed it to Tony saying, "I’ll clean up out here. Go put this on your leg."

"Megan, it’s fine. I don’t need any more ice." Tony said, in her most convincing voice.

Looking her partner in the eyes, Megan said emphatically, "No it’s not fine. It shows every time you move." Softening her voice, she said, "It really will help."

Tony was not the least bit happy about the prospect of putting the ice on her leg, but seeing the concern on Megan’s face, she took the bag of ice from her partner. Knowing Megan would be watching her, she walked into the living room trying not to favor her leg, grumbling under her breath, "This is really getting old."

Megan shook her head while watching Tony try to walk without limping. She had been through this with her partner before. For some reason, she seemed to think acknowledging pain was a weakness, and if you ignored it, it would just go away.

When she was finished in the kitchen, Megan went to the bedroom and changed out of her nightshirt and into a pair of shorts and a pull over top.

Tony had turned on the TV and was flipping channels with the remote. Finally settling on the Discovery Channel, she looked up when Megan walked in. Megan said, "Another five minutes and you can take it off. I’m going to do the laundry."

Oh no you don’t. "It’s my turn to do the laundry," Tony reminded Megan, although she was quite sure Megan didn’t need the reminder.

"Yeah, I know. But I’m not doing anything so I figured I’d just do it," Megan said, knowing she was pushing it, but hoping Tony would agree. She wanted Tony to take it easy.

Tony thought quickly. She knew Megan was only thinking of her, but she had no intentions of being treated like an invalid just because she had a bruise on her leg. "Ok. While you’re doing the laundry, I’ll go grocery shopping."

Megan almost rolled her eyes. Grocery shopping entailed a lot more walking than doing the laundry. The laundry room was only three doors down from their apartment.

Shaking her head, and smiling at the innocent look on Tony’s face, she said, "You win. Go ahead and do the laundry. I’m going to do the grocery shopping."

When Tony smirked, Megan walked over and planted a kiss on her mouth. "Just remember what they say about pay backs."

Tony sat up and took the ice off her leg. Walking with Megan into the kitchen she said, "How about picking up some peaches? Maybe a peach pie too?"

"Didn’t we just have that last week?" Megan teased. One of the reasons she had changed to the peach scented shampoo and bubble bath was because of how much Tony loved peaches.

Tony cocked her head to the side, and with a winning smile said, "Please."

Megan walked over and hugged her. "Like I could really say no to that."

Tony kissed Megan. "Thanks."

After Megan left, Tony took the clothes out of the hamper and put them in the laundry basket. Stripping the bed, she added the sheets and a few other loose clothes in the bedroom to the basket, and walked into the kitchen to get the laundry detergent from the pantry.

Tony was disgusted to find that she still had to favor her leg walking down the hallway. But on reflection, she decided she really shouldn’t be upset. It could have been a lot worse. She vividly remembered being awash in light from the headlight of the rapid and honestly didn’t know how they had managed to escape the wheels of the transit train. At least Megan seems better today.

Megan exited the elevator and walked toward her car. Passing another tenant, she stopped and turned to look at him again, but he was walking toward the elevator, his back to her. There was something about him that seemed familiar. Shaking her head, she decided he probably just reminded her of someone she knew.

Megan pushed the shopping cart down the aisles of the small Bi-Rite store. The prices were a little higher than Finast, or was it Topps now, but it was more convenient, and it was worth it just not to have to deal with the crowded larger store. Stopping in front of the fruit display, Megan looked at the peaches. Selecting a dozen, she thought, this should last her a while. Leaving the produce area, Megan headed toward the bakery.

Tony opened the door of the apartment and heard the phone ringing. Picking it up in the kitchen, she said, "Hello."

"What’s with you anyway? You’re not even back in town a week and you’re in the paper again. Just can’t stay out of the news, can you?" Brian teased, effectively concealing his concern.

Tony smiled at the familiar voice. "Good morning to you, too, smart ass. How are things in your neck of the woods?"

"Quieter than yours," Brian retorted before adding, "you ok?"

"Yep. Got lucky." Tony thought, Very lucky.

Brian glanced down at the newspaper he was looking at, and said, "Paper says you fell from the platform. Somehow I find that hard to believe."

Tony snorted, "Fell, huh? I don’t think so. Guy behind me got shoved, lost his balance, and we both landed rather unceremoniously on the tracks. End of story," Tony summed up succinctly.

"The story says it was a miracle you were both uninjured. Care to let me know how you managed that?"

Tony heard the concern through the bantering in Brian’s voice, and said, "I was able to roll off the tracks along with the guy that fell with me."

Brian thought about what Tony said. He had seen her in action and she defied imagination. He had the utmost respect for her and considered her a friend. "Ok. Just checking to make sure you were all right. When are you guys coming over for dinner? Shannon’s been asking and the kids are really excited about meeting a real live FBI agent," Brian said chuckling. "They’re at that hero worship age."

Oh hell. I'm gonna have to turn him down again. "I’m working on a case that involves shift work right now. How about I give you a call when it breaks?"

"Sounds good," Brian said. He was looking forward to having Tony and Megan over.

"See ya," Tony said, replacing the receiver.

Tony had just set the phone down when it rang again. Frowning, she picked it up.

"Hello."

"Tony?" David asked, hesitantly. He'd only spoken on the phone with Tony once and wanted to make sure it was her.

"Yeah," Tony said, resting her weight on her uninjured leg.

"This is David. I just wanted to make sure you were ok. The paper said…"

"I know. I’m fine. The paper exaggerated the accident," Tony ad-libbed, having no idea what the paper said because she hadn’t read it yet.

David smiled, and said, "Oh, good. We were really worried."

"Thanks for calling David," Tony said with mixed feelings. She wasn’t used to having people care one way or the other what happened to her, except for Megan. She appreciated his concern, but found it somewhat disconcerting.

"No problem. Talk to you later," David said, relieved.

"Bye."

Tony opened the door figuring the wash should be about done when the phone rang again. Exasperated, she picked it up saying, "Hello."

Barbara was taken aback. She couldn’t have misdialed. Megan’s number was programmed into the memory. Tentatively, she asked, "Is Megan there?"

Not recognizing the voice, Tony forgot her irritation and said pleasantly, "She’s not home right now. May I take a message?"

Why was someone else answering Megan’s phone? "Yes. Would you tell her to call her mother?"

"Sure," Tony said, hoping her tone hadn't been to brusque when she answered the phone.

Hanging up the phone, Tony opened the apartment door for the second time when the shrill sound of the phone once again split the air. Ignoring it, she closed the apartment door.

Megan took the grocery bags out of the trunk and loaded them into the elevator, holding it with the stop button. Arriving on the fourth floor, she pushed the stop button in, grabbed a couple of the bags, and went to the apartment. Tony heard her and opened the door, taking the bags and putting them in the kitchen. She walked to the elevator with Megan to get the rest of the groceries.

"Your Mom called and wants you to give her a call," Tony told Megan while they were putting the groceries away.

Megan looked up from putting a box of rice and some pasta in the cupboard. "Did she say anything else?"

"No. But I think she was surprised I answered the phone," Tony said, still looking through bags.

"This is going to be real interesting. You have no idea how nosey she is," Megan said, frowning. "Guess I'll call and see what she wants when we get done here."

Tony looked up and winked. "Just tell her you have a roommate."

"Well, that does happen to be true," Megan said, grinning at her partner. "Just don't make me laugh when I tell her that."

Tony drew and exaggerated "x" across her chest. "I promise to behave while you are talking to your mother." Smirking, she added, "But only until you get off the phone."

Megan's eyes started twinkling, and she said, "Is that a promise?"

"Do you want it to be?" Tony parlayed back, grinning.

Chuckling, Megan said, "You are so bad."

Looking in another bag, Tony smiled when she saw the peach pie. Walking over to Megan, she kissed her, and said, "Thanks."

Opening the last bag, she glanced over at Megan. "You got Dove Bars."

Grinning, Megan said, "Don’t tell me. You like those too?"

"Well… a little," Tony said, with twinkling eyes.

Walking into the living room to call her mother, Megan noticed the red light on the answering machine blinking.

"Someone else must have called when you were in the laundry room," she said, depressing the play message button.

Tony put the last few items away and arrived in the living room in time to hear the message.

"Hi, Tony. This is Mom. If you have time, give me a call."

Megan looked at her partner and smiled. "Must be family day today."

Tony shook her head. "Yeah, I guess it is." Some days you just couldn’t win. Sitting down on the couch, she extended her sore leg out along the side of the coffee table. It felt a little better that way.

Megan sat down next to Tony and dialed her parents’ number. "Hi, Mom. You called?"

Barbara smiled at the sound of her daughter's voice. "Hi. I just wanted to remind you about Saturday. "Who answered your phone?"

She sure didn't waste any time asking. "Tony." Glancing at her partner, and winking, Megan said, "She lives here, too."

Well this is sure a surprise, Barbara thought. Walking out to the kitchen to get her tea, she asked, "Since when? You never mentioned having a roommate. How did you meet her?"

"I met her working on the Shadow case." Deciding to downplay it and hopefully satisfy her mother's curiosity, she continued, "Tony's lived here for a while now."

"Is she the FBI agent whose picture was in the paper with yours? The one you went on vacation with?" Barbara asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes." Megan said, correctly deducing that Ashley must have told her that, but offering no further explanation.

She couldn't have lived there that long then. The article about her in the paper said she was new to Cleveland. "Ok. It was just a bit of a shock to hear someone else answer your phone." A thought suddenly occurred to Barbara. "Megan… you know if you need any money we could help you out."

Megan frowned, wondering where her mother had gotten that idea. "Thanks Mom, but my money situation is fine."

"Well, I just thought since you had gotten a roommate…" Barbara trailed off.

Megan’s brow furrowed and she pursed her lips. Holding her anger in check, she said, "Mom, I don’t have a roommate because I’m short of money."

"Well, just remember we’re here for you if you need some help. It’s nothing to be ashamed of." Barbara couldn't think of any other reason her daughter would have a roommate. There had to be some problem. Since Megan had left home, she’d always lived by herself.

Megan’s anger briefly surfaced, and her words flowed forth unchecked, "If my roommate was a guy, would you still think I needed money?"

Smacking her lips together in a disapproving sound, Barbara stated what she thought was obvious. "That’s different."

Sighing, Megan said, "No it’s not." Deciding to end the conversation, she added, "I’ll see you Saturday."

"Ok, dear. Bye." Barbara shook her head. She should have known better. Megan would never admit she needed help. She was too independent.

Megan glanced at Tony. "I can’t believe she thinks you live here because I need money. That’s my parents’ answer to everything." Megan paused and met Tony’s eyes. "One part of me wants to just tell them about us, but I know how narrow minded they are. They would never understand."

"If you think it would cause problems, there’s really no need to say anything about it," Tony said. She didn't want Megan to do anything that would make her uncomfortable or further strain her relationship with her parents.

"I know. But I would like to tell them. It would be so nice if they would accept the fact that we are together, like your mother did." Shaking her head, and looking down, she said, "Unfortunately, I just can’t envision that."

Tony reached over and put her hand under Megan's chin urging her partner's head up. Looking into the troubled hazel eyes, she said, "Hey. Come on. "Don’t worry about it. There will be plenty of time to tell them if you decide to." Smiling and winking at her, Tony added, "I don’t plan on going anywhere."

Some of the stress faded from Megan’s face and the corners of her mouth turned up. Tony certainly wasn’t the most talkative person she’d ever met, but she sure knew how to make her words count. Leaning over, Megan kissed her and said, "Good."

*  *  *

Megan peeled off the surgical gloves and dropped them in the garbage can, having just finished her only case for the day. The woman had been found dead in her home from unknown causes. Megan had quickly located the cause of death as an aneurysm in the brain. The woman had only been 36 years old. Megan had long ago realized you didn’t take anything for granted, and it had been really driven home over the weekend.

She thought back over her conversation earlier with David. She had told him about Tony’s accident and he had shaken his head in disbelief. He had commented that sometimes life was stranger than fiction, but it was amazing that no one had seen the impatient person who had caused the whole thing by shoving so hard. Considering how many people had been on the platform, Megan didn’t find it unusual at all.

Megan went to the locker room and changed out of her scrubs into her street clothes. A quick check of her inbox revealed a message from Tony. Smiling, she picked up the phone and dialed her number.

"Hello."

"Hi," Megan said, smiling into the phone. "I just got your message."

Tony smiled at the sound of her partner's voice. "Do you have time for lunch? I could come and pick you up whenever you’re free," she said, already missing Megan even though she hadn’t started her new shift yet.

"Sounds great," Megan said, delighted at the chance to see her lover again today. "How about 12:30?"

"I’ll be there," Tony answered, pleased that Megan wasn't too busy to go to lunch.

David walked in and sat down. Megan looked up and said, "What’s up?" knowing instinctively that her friend had something on his mind.

Flopping into the chair, David said, "Mike went to the doctor Friday."

"Is he ok?" Megan asked, concerned.

David smiled and said, "Yeah. But it turns out he’s allergic to cats. He tested negative on everything else, but we’re going to have to find a home for the kittens. So, I was wondering if you knew anyone who might like them? We’d really like to place them together. But I want a really good home. We’re going to miss them."

While he was talking, David pulled an envelope out of his pocket. Pulling a photograph out of it, he handed it to Megan saying, "I’m going to take this to Trading Times this afternoon. For just $10.00 extra they’ll put the picture in."

Megan looked at the picture of the kittens. One of the kittens was black with a white face. It had a splash of white on the chest and white stockings extending halfway up the front legs. The other kitten looked like an artist had taken black, orange and beige, and just splotched them arbitrarily over her back. Her chest, face, and legs were all white. The mismatch of color extended up to the top of her head giving the appearance of a hat.

"Ooh. They’re so cute!" All of a sudden Megan had an idea. But wonder what Tony would think about it? "Can I borrow this picture until after lunch? I want to show it to Tony."

"Sure," David said, hoping this meant what he thought it might. "They’re really good kittens. You wouldn’t even know they were around," pausing, he added, "well… most of the time."

Megan laughed at the look on his face. She knew that the kittens were probably a hand full. "Yeah, right," she said smiling.

*  *  *

Megan was waiting outside the building when Tony arrived. Walking over to the Buick, she opened the door and got in. Looking at Tony, she smiled and said, "Hi."

Tony smiled back at her partner. "Hi, yourself. Where do you want to go?"

Megan didn't really care where they went. She just wanted to enjoy some time with Tony. "How about Isabella’s? That’s close, and it’ll give us more time."

"Ok." Tony said, maneuvering the car away from the building, and merging with the traffic on the street. A few minutes later they arrived at the restaurant.

Following the hostess to a table, they sat down and ordered coffee before perusing the menu.

"I’m going to have the chicken breast salad. That’s always good," Megan said, laying down the menu.

Tony laid down her menu and said, "Then I'll have that too."

After placing their orders, Megan looked at Tony and asked, "Is a dog the only pet you had when you were a kid?"

Setting her coffee down, Tony wondered what prompted this question. "Yes. Why?"

Smiling at the questioning look on Tony's face, Megan asked, "Do you like cats?"

Playing along, Tony said, "Yes. They’re ok. I like most animals. Why? Do you want to get a cat?" She knew Megan must have some reason for asking.

Megan grinned, and said, "Sort of." She took the picture of the kittens out of her purse and handed it to Tony. "Aren’t they cute?"

Tony took the picture from her partner and looked at it. Glancing up, she said, "Yes, they are. Whose are they?"

"David and Mike’s. Mike is allergic and they have to find a home for them." Megan paused, and said, "I think we could give them a good home."

Tony quirked a half smile. "You do, huh?" Seeing the excitement on her partner's face, she thought, you can have anything you want if it makes you happy.

Stirring her coffee, Megan said, "Well, only if you want them too."

Winking at her, Tony said, "Are you sure we want both of them?"

A warm smile lit up Megan's face. "David wanted to place them together, and besides, they wouldn’t be lonely when we’re at work. Are you sure you don’t mind?"

Tony smiled at her partner. "No, I don’t mind." Like I could really mind. "It’ll be nice to have a couple of pets."

"Oh good!" Megan said, excitedly. "I just knew you wouldn’t mind. I’ll go get them tonight." Pointing at the black and white kitten, she told Tony, "This one’s name is Velcro and this one is Huggy."

"Velcro and Huggy?" Tony asked, amused. Those are certainly original names.

Megan grinned back, "I thought the names were kind of cute. David said he named them that because they were both so sweet and wanted to be close to them all the time."

Tony just shook her head. I just might have to tease David about those names.

After they finished lunch, Tony dropped Megan off, and said, "I should be home by midnight or at the latest 12:30am, so don’t wait up. You have to get up too early."

Nodding her head, Megan said, "Ok. See you later," not looking forward to spending the evening alone. Well, at least she'd have the kittens to keep her company.

*  *  *

"So, hey, Tony," Keith said waiting for her to look up. "How did you end up in Cleveland?"

Glancing at the other agent, Tony said, "I requested a transfer and this is where they happened to have an opening. How about you?"

"My family is here and I was engaged when I entered the academy. So when I heard there was an opening here, I put in for it." Pulling out his wallet Keith extracted a picture and said, "This is my wife," handing the picture to Tony.

Tony took the picture, looking at the attractive woman. Smiling, she said, "She’s very pretty," and handed the picture back to him.

It had been a very slow shift. There had been only one subject in the house they were conducting surveillance on all evening.

"What about you? You married?" Keith asked.

"No. I do have a significant other though," Tony said, not elaborating, but wishing she were at home instead of in the dingy apartment they were sitting in.

A black Chevy Van pulled up in front the building across the street. "We have company," Tony said picking up the camera. Focusing in the wide-angle telescopic lens, she snapped off several pictures of the two men clad in jeans and T-shirts carrying briefcases. Once they entered the surveillance site, she took a few pictures of the van making sure the license plate was visible.

Keith was monitoring the receiver and tape recorder. Coming to life, it began recording the conversation between the new arrivals and the lone occupant of the dwelling. Picking up a tablet, he began jotting down notes at strategic points in the conversation.

Tony kept her eyes trained on the doorway across the street. She wanted to see if they left with anything other than the briefcases they entered with. During the three days of surveillance, the agents had already picked up pertinent information on the destination of the money once it was turned in.

*  *  *

Megan locked the door and walked down the hall to the elevator. She was looking forward to seeing David and Mike’s new house and she was really excited about bringing the two kittens home. Megan loved animals and had taken many strays home as a child. Her father had refused to let her keep any of them, so this would be the first time she had ever had any pets.

Locating the address, she pulled into the driveway behind Mike’s Chevy Cavalier. The house was an attractive large white colonial with gray trim. It was set back from the street and had a large front yard. There was a two-car garage at the end of the driveway. Getting out of her car, she went to the side door. It opened before she had a chance to ring the doorbell.

David smiled at Megan. "Hi. Welcome to our abode," he said, standing aside so she could enter.

"This is really nice, David," Megan said.

"Wait until you see the inside," David said. They still had some boxes to unpack, but the house was mostly in order and he was anxious for his friend to see it.

Mike walked into the room and greeted Megan.

"Hi," Megan smiled warmly. She didn’t see Mike often, but liked him. He was a little on the quiet side, but was perfectly matched with David who was quite gregarious.

David and Mike gave Megan the grand tour. The house was decorated attractively and had a very relaxed, pleasant atmosphere. The curtains and blinds were color coordinated to match the area rugs that covered the hard wood floors. The windows maximized the outside light, and plants were generously scattered throughout the dining and living rooms. The kitchen was modernized with an abundance of wooden cupboards set against eggshell colored walls, offset by a bright yellow and blue border just under the ceiling.

"The kittens are in the den," David said. "Wait until you see them. I know you’re going to love them."

Leading the way, he opened the door just wide enough for him and Megan to squeeze in. "Every time I open the door they make a beeline for it. I don’t think they like being locked up after having run of the house," David explained.

Megan knelt down on the floor and held out her hand to the kittens. Naturally curious Huggy walked over and sniffed her fingers. Taking a few more steps she bumped Megan’s hand with her head and a quiet rumble began. Velcro, not wanting to miss out on the attention, came bounding over and pushed her body up against Huggy’s purring loudly. When Megan lowered her other hand to Velcro, stroking her head and back, the kitten arched into it contentedly.

David grinned, and said, "Looks like you’re a hit."

"They are just adorable," Megan said smiling up at David. "I don’t think you have to worry about finding a home for them anymore. But I should get going so they can get used to their new home."

"Ok. It’ll just take me a minute to get their things together," David said, before leaving the room.

Putting their food and dishes into a bag, he got their carrier and litter out of the hall closet. David took the carrier into the den and then put both kittens in it. Securing the door, Megan picked up the carrier containing the bouncing kittens and walked out of the room. David retrieved the litter box and followed her out of the den. "Just a minute and I’ll have this all ready for you."

Walking with Megan out to the car, he put the bag of food, litter and litter box into the trunk of her car. Megan sat the kittens on the back seat and fastened the seat belt around the carrier. It didn’t hurt to be safe. If she had to stop quickly, she didn’t want the kittens on the floor.

*  *  *

Tony drove the car along the familiar route singing along with an old Carpenters song. She had only one more day on second shift and then she’d be on the graveyard shift. While the prospect didn’t thrill her, at least she would be able to spend some time with Megan. The evening had been unbearably long.

Passing the entrance ramp at Edgewater Park, she turned on her signal preparing to merge with the oncoming traffic so she could move over to the right lane in time to exit. Moving skillfully between the two vehicles entering the expressway, she changed lanes. The car in front of her moved over into the left lane, and the one behind her followed suit.

Slowing as she approached the exit, the vehicle that had merged behind her pulled even and swerved into her lane. Tony jerked the steering wheel to the right moving the car onto the berm while simultaneously depressing the horn and thinking, damn idiot. He never even looked. But the thoughts barely had time to cross her mind before it registered that he was continuing to crowd her, forcing her further off the road. Suddenly the truck driver jerked hard to the right, violently slamming the heavy pickup into her car before bouncing off and continuing down the street. The sound of the impact echoing in the still night.

Tony fought to regain control of her car. The force with which the pickup hit her car propelled it through the snow fence. The wildly spinning tires of her car could not find purchase on the grass and it began slipping over the lip of the embankment.

While fighting fiercely to keep the car to the left, Tony’s mind processed the fact that if the car slid over the incline, it would most likely flip. She instantaneously made a decision to try and stop the car against one of the two trees on a slight incline that her car was rapidly approaching.

The wheels of the car fought against the direction she was attempting to steer the car, and with only seconds to spare, her desperate efforts were rewarded when her car impacted with one of the trees.

Before her body had finished its momentum forward, she was thrown violently back against the seat, her head banging the headrest when the air bag deployed.

PART 4

SHERMAN STRUGGLED FOR a moment before regaining control of the pickup truck. He heard the loud and satisfying bang from the impact of her car against the tree. Smiling, he exited at Clifton and made his way to a nearby bar where he planned to leave the truck. It was close to a bus stop that ran all night and it was an anonymous way of traveling back to his hotel.

Standing at the bus stop, he thought about the accident. His timing had been perfect. Sherman had selected the site the day before. It was the only stretch along her route home that had an embankment.

Sherman smirked. He would have rather her car gone over the embankment. But her car had hit the tree with such force it was unlikely she had survived. If Viglioni was alive, she would be seriously injured, and he would just visit the hospital and finish the job.

Getting on the bus, he walked to the back and sat down. The police scanner in his room would furnish him the information he needed.

Back in his room, he turned on the scanner and picked up the disjointed conversation between the dispatcher and the police. There had been little traffic and it might be a while before she was discovered.

The scanner clicked to life. "Dispatch to Unit 28 and Ambulance 1. I have a motorist on the line calling from a cellular phone relaying an accident at the Route 2, Edgewater exit. MVA versus tree. Condition of occupant unknown."

"Unit 28 copy."

"Ambulance 1 en route."

Smiling, Sherman thought, so far so good.

*  *  *

The whirling sound of a siren cut through the night. The ambulance slowed at each intersection before proceeding, the driver intent on arriving at the hospital safely. Pulling into the emergency entrance to the large community hospital well known for its trauma center, he swung the ambulance around, backing up to the emergency room doors. Getting out of the ambulance, he walked quickly around to the rear and began assisting the other paramedic by helping her move the portable gurney to the edge of the ambulance, allowing the legs to drop and lock into place.

The emergency room personnel met them at the door and the driver gave the following report while the gurney was rolled into the trauma room. "This is a 30 year old woman who was driver of MVA versus tree. C-spine precautions, vital signs stable, no obvious blunt trauma, no LOC, extraction time was 30 minutes."

Megan woke up feeling uneasy. She opened her eyes and looked into the green eyes of a purring kitten lying contentedly on her chest. Not fully awake, her mind processed several things, and one of them was anxiety. Automatically sensing that Tony wasn’t in the bed, she looked at the clock before sitting upright alarmed. Huggy meowed in protest at the sudden movement and loss of her comfortable bed.

It was 1:30am. Tony should have been home. She said she’d be home by midnight or 12:30 at the latest. Throwing the sheet off, Megan got up and walked into the living room and kitchen before proceeding to the bathroom wondering why Tony wasn’t home. It was possible she could have gone out with guys after work or something. People did that all the time. Yeah, but she would’ve called, her mind answered. Not if she didn’t want to wake me. Really? And she would take the chance of worrying you instead? Not likely. She is only an hour late. Maybe the report took longer than normal, or maybe they moved in on the surveillance site. That was probably it. But Megan didn’t believe that. The internal argument she was having had little impact compared to the feeling in her gut. She knew something was wrong.

Megan thought over her options and realized there was little she could do. But she wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing either. What if Tony needed her? Trusting her instincts, she decided to call the only person she knew who might be able to find out something quickly. She knew if this turned out to be a false alarm, she might be laughed at later, but she didn’t care. The feeling that something was wrong was too strong to ignore.

"Hello," the deep sleepy voice answered.

"Hi, Brian. This is Megan. I’m really sorry to bother you and it may be for nothing, but Tony’s over an hour late and I have a bad feeling," Megan paused, knowing she probably sounded ridiculous.

Brian wakened fully as he listened to Megan. He liked the young Coroner and knew she was a sensible young woman. If she thought something was wrong, then he would check it out. She was not prone to hysterics.

"Megan, stay by the phone. I’ll make a few calls and get back to you."

Megan paced back and forth in the kitchen. Tony, where are you? Are you ok? She was startled out of her thoughts 10 minutes later, when the phone rang.

Wasting no words, Brian said, "I’ll pick you up in 15 minutes. Tony’s been in a car accident. She’s at Metro."

Megan went through the motions of putting her clothes on, occupied with trying to keep terrifying images from appearing in her mind. Shutting her eyes tightly, her hands balled into fists, she finally won the battle. She would accomplish nothing by panicking.

Megan stood in the lobby of the apartment building waiting for Brian to arrive. What could have happened? Tony was an expert driver.

Trying to focus her thoughts elsewhere, Megan looked at one of the pictures in the lobby. It was a portrait of a woman from the Victorian era, but the picture began transforming and in her mind’s eye she saw Tony sitting across from her, smiling the special smile that Megan knew was reserved only for her. Scenes from the last time she saw her lover continued to play through her mind in slow motion. She saw incredibly blue, mirth filled eyes, shinning out of a perfectly sculpted face, and the quirky little half smile when Tony learned the kittens’ names. She felt the strong, soft hand gently squeeze her own and heard the softly spoken words, "See you later, Love," when Tony dropped her off after lunch. Choking back a sob, Megan thought, she has to be ok. She just has to.

The reflection of headlights against the lobby doors drew her attention from the picture, and she hurried out the doors and got into Brian’s car.

Megan was already asking, "What did you find out?" before the door was even shut.

Briefly glancing at the drawn face of his friend, and wishing he had something positive to tell her, Brian said, "Not much. The patrolman on the scene is still in the ER and I didn’t want to wait for him to call me."

Megan took a deep calming breath and looked at Brian. His short hair was disheveled from sleeping, and his unshaven face showed heavy stubble. Suddenly realizing just how quickly he had arrived, she said, "Brian, thanks."

Hearing the emotion in the young woman’s voice, Brian said, "No thanks are needed. You two are friends. I’m just glad you called me."

Brian sped through the streets, the siren blaring and the blue and white light on his car creating strobe effects in the darkness.

For Megan the ride lasted an eternity, her mind tormented with the thought, she would have called if she could.

Brian, in an attempt to make Megan feel better said, "You know Tony’s a real tough customer."

Megan smiled ruefully, "Yeah. I know. But this doesn’t make sense. Lately she’s had the worst luck. Two days ago she got pushed in front of a rapid, and now she’s in a car accident."

"It is unusual," Brian agreed, his mind processing the information and not liking the direction his thoughts were taking.

Tony looked at the lights overhead. With her neck secured in the uncomfortable collar, that was about all she could do. At least she was on a regular gurney now instead of the hard board the paramedics had insisted on moving her on. She knew they had only been doing their jobs, but all she had done was rub her neck and comment that she had a headache when they had finally freed her. It had taken them half an hour and the Jaws of Life to get her out of the car. Who wouldn’t have had a headache?

The emergency room team examined Tony and determined there were no obvious injuries. They told her they would take an x-ray just to make sure her neck was ok. If the films were negative, they would take the collar off.

Tony felt ok all things considered. She had already checked herself out and could move her arms and legs without any pain. She figured she probably sported a few bruises from the airbag, but other than that she had come out relatively unscathed.

Her thoughts turned to Megan and she fervently hoped her partner did not know she wasn’t home yet. It would worry Megan too much. Please be sleeping, Love.

Once the x-ray technician had finished taking the x-rays, Tony told the nurse, "I need to notify someone I’m here."

"Whom do you want me to call, and what’s the number?" the nurse asked.

Tony gave her the information and the nurse said, "It may be a little while because we’re really busy right now."

"Just make sure she knows I’m all right," Tony said. It was bad enough she couldn’t call Megan herself, and she wanted to let her partner know everything was ok.

An hour passed and no one had been back to her cubicle. Tony’s thoughts had alternated between the accident and her partner. She was tired of trying to figure out why that idiot had swerved his truck into her. All I want to do is get out of here and go home. Her thoughts turning dark, she thought, I’d like to get a hold of the guy driving that pick up.

All of a sudden Tony’s patience ended. She was sure there was nothing wrong with her neck. She felt fine. Megan should have been here by now. It would never have taken her this long, and she wanted to see her partner now. No matter how crazy her life had become lately, the one thing that was sure and comfortable and right was Megan.

Tony slowly sat up. Feeling no pain, she swung her legs over the side of the gurney and slid to the floor. Standing next to the gurney for a moment she decided her first instinct had been right, and she had somehow escaped serious injury. Walking over to the privacy curtain, she pulled it opened and looked down the aisle. There was a desk centered in the middle of the row of cubicles and it was there that Tony saw a phone. While walking to the desk, the doctors and nurses were busy with other patients and did not notice her. So far so good. Picking up the phone, she began dialing.

"What are you doing up?"

The high collar prevented natural movement, and Tony had to turn sideways to face the woman talking to her. She was confronted by the irritated face of a very angry nurse.

The nurse's reaction never even fazed Tony, and she said, quite reasonably, "Sorry, but I need to let someone know where I am. I gave the number to the other nurse an hour ago and since Megan is not here, my guess is it was never called."

The nurse said emphatically, "You need to lie down right now. You have not been cleared. Do you know the damage you could be doing to your neck?"

Tony’s persona began changing. In a low assertive voice, she said, "I will lay down once I call Megan," ignoring the nurse who continued to berate her for being on her feet.

She had to dial the number over again and this time tried nine first to get an outside line. The phone began ringing. On the fourth ring the answering machine picked up. Tony hung up the phone, thinking, Megan must be on the way, and followed the frustrated nurse back to her cubicle.

Brian parked in the emergency room parking lot and they entered the hospital together. Hurrying over to the information desk, Megan said, "I’m looking for Antonia Viglioni. She was brought here after a car accident."

"Are you a relative?" asked the woman behind the glass partition in a bored tone of voice.

Megan narrowed her eyes and said, "I’m her doctor."

"Oh. Come on back," she said, releasing the lock of the door that led to the emergency room bay.

Brian said, "Go on. I want to talk to the cop that was at the scene."

Megan quickly walked to the cubicle she had been directed to. Taking a deep breath, not knowing what to expect, she pushed aside the curtain entering the private cubicle. She saw the tall form of her partner lying flat on a gurney with a c-spine collar around her neck.

Walking over to the gurney she looked down at Tony, her mind quickly processing the fact that there were a few bruises on her arms but otherwise no obvious signs of injury except for the cervical collar. But that could be very serious. She looked into the deep blue eyes gazing up at her.

"I’m ok," Tony said smiling ruefully. "This is just a precaution," she said, knowing Megan would think the worst.

Megan placed a hand on her lover’s forehead and breathed an audible sigh of relief, the tight control she had put on her emotions finally dissolving.

Tony watched the expressions of fear, worry, concern, and relief flicker across Megan’s face. Her stomach tightened at the thought of all the anguish this had caused her partner. Taking hold of Megan’s hand, and looking into the concerned hazel eyes, she said, "Sorry, Love. I wanted to call you myself and let you know I was ok but they wouldn’t let me. When I finally did, you had already left."

"It’s not your fault," Megan said. "I just can’t bear the thought of anything happening to you and lately…  " Megan stopped and looked at Tony questioningly, "No one called me."

Tony’s brow furrowed slightly, "Then how did you know?"

"I woke up, you weren’t there and I just knew something was wrong. So I called Brian, and he found out you’d been in an accident and were brought here," Megan answered.

Megan’s simple answer left Tony speechless. She just knew? Looking at her partner, Tony’s words conveyed the depth of her feeling, "You just knew?"

"Well, yeah," Megan said, the corners of her mouth turning up into a smile.

Tony looked into the hazel eyes watching her. Megan was always surprising her with her insight on things, but this was really unbelievable. I am so lucky. Squeezing her partner’s hand, she said, "You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. I’m so lucky I found you."

Megan felt the warm sense of well being that only Tony could elicit in her. Leaning down, she met Tony’s lips for a fleeting kiss. "I’m just as lucky. Let’s get you out of here. I’ll be right back."

Leaving the cubicle and walking to the desk, Megan found a doctor talking on the phone. Waiting until he was finished, she said, "I’m Dr. Donnovan. Who is handling the patient in the last cubicle on the right?"

"You mean the MVA?"

When Megan nodded affirmatively, he said, "I am."

"What’s her status?" Megan asked.

"We’re waiting on the results of the cervical films. I’ll check on them. They should have been read by now."

Megan stood next to him while he called the radiologist. Hanging up the phone, he said, "They’re negative. I’ll write her release orders."

Tony and Megan walked out into the emergency room waiting area a short time later looking for Brian. Spotting him, they walked over.

Brian stood to greet his friends. Tony looked ok. The patrolman had said the car was probably totaled. This was one lucky woman… again.

"Well?" Brian asked, brusquely.

Smiling at her tall friend, Tony said, "I’m ok."

Shaking his head, in an exaggerated show of exasperation, Brian said, "I can see that. What happened?"

Tony chuckled at the expression on Brian's face. Shrugging her shoulders, she said, "You know Brian, I don’t understand it myself. A guy in a pick up truck deliberately swerved into my car. Just doesn’t make sense."

Brian thought about what Tony had said. I don't like the sound of this. "I’m glad you’re ok," Brian said, underplaying his concern. "But Tony, I have to tell you… this is getting old."

"Tell me about it," Tony said glancing at Megan.

"I want to talk to you tomorrow. You can give your official statement then," Brian said.

Smiling her appreciation, the three left the hospital.

*  *  *

Tony opened her eyes and was greeted by the filtered sunlight streaming through the curtain on the window. The familiar feel of Megan’s body against hers felt so comforting. Lately it seemed like the events in her life were out of control. It was almost as if whatever cosmic forces there might be were angry with her, and she was being punished for some unknown transgression. The two accidents elicited a feeling of coincidence in her that made her uneasy. Unfortunately, she had nothing to base her suspicion on, except a well-developed survival instinct.

But right now, here, with her lover wrapped in her arms, all the events of the last few days took a back seat. Tony lightly ran her hand through Megan’s hair, enjoying the feel of the silky strands against her hand. I wonder if you know just how important you are to me? I love you so much. Have I told you that lately?

Looking at the peaceful face of her partner, she hoped things would settle down in their lives. Megan didn’t deserve to be put through so much. The thought, I hope it’s over, floated through her mind, but that didn’t make sense. Nothing was going on… or was it?

Megan’s awoke to the comforting feel of even breathing and a steady heartbeat echoing in her ear. Her mouth curved up into a smile and snuggling a little closer, she thought, She’s right here, and she’s ok. I love waking up next to her like this.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft rich voice, "Morning Beautiful. You finally awake?"

A contented smile appeared on her face. "I was hoping you wouldn’t notice. I’m not sure I want to get up yet," Megan said, leaving her head on its soft pillow.

Tony grinned, loving this part of their morning ritual. In a minute or two, Megan would look up at her with those beautiful eyes and a lazy smile on her face. She knew her heart would flutter, like it did every time she saw her feelings reflected back at her through the eyes of her partner.

Megan raised her head and looked at her lover. "How do you feel?"

Tony looked into the sleepy hazel eyes peering up at her, and unable to resist, she leaned over gently kissing the soft sensuous lips before answering, "Fine. No headache or sore neck or anything."

Noticing how light it was, Megan said, "I guess we better get up. We’ve got a lot to do today."

"Yeah," Tony said, reluctantly releasing her hold on Megan.

Tony went to the bathroom and then turned on the coffee in the kitchen. As was customary, Megan had prepared it for brewing the night before.

Her progress was impeded by two meowing kittens waiting impatiently for their food while trying very hard to trip her by winding between her legs. Bending down and petting them both she smiled at the loud purrs her stroke elicited.

"Aren’t you two cute. I guess you must be hungry."

A quick search of the cupboards revealed a few cans of food and Tony opened one, scraping the contents of the can onto a saucer for the two kittens and placing it on the floor.

Walking into the bedroom, she drew her sleeping shirt over her head and tossed it on the bed. Opening the closet, she took out a pair of jeans and a pullover top.

Megan called work and told Dr. Whitehouse she was taking a vacation day due to a personal emergency. I can’t believe he didn’t give me a hard time. Not that it would have done him any good anyway.

Walking into the bedroom, Megan felt her heart flutter at the sight of her naked partner. She was gorgeous even with the additional bruises marring her body. Crossing the room, she stood in front of Tony her eyes running lasciviously down the length of her lover’s body.

Tony’s breath caught in her throat. Oh God. The sultry look on her partner’s face sent a jolt through her body. She was so sexy… so Megan. Her heart beginning to race, she bent her head and kissed the full soft lips turned up toward hers, while her body shivered at the light feathery touches of Megan’s hands.

Megan pulled back and took off her sleeping shirt basking in the appreciative look on her partner’s face. Tony’s raised a hand to Megan’s face, her eyes dark with passion. "You’re so beautiful," she said in a low throaty voice.

Taking Megan’s hand, she led her to the bed and lowered her body over that of her partner’s. Megan guided Tony’s head down, kissing her deeply, her desire escalating and goose bumps forming on her body when one of Tony’s hands found a breast and her fingers began teasing the nipple. All their plans for the day were forgotten.

*  *  *

Sherman worked the stair stepper steadily, his thoughts on the events of the previous night. He had called the hospital to find out Viglioni’s condition. They had told him she was still in triage and her status was unknown. He had gone to bed comfortable in the knowledge that she couldn’t have walked away from the accident uninjured, and he’d just pay her a visit in the hospital today.

After a leisurely breakfast, he called the hospital to find out what room she was in. He had been told they had no patient by that name. He just figured she was dead. But never one to leave anything to chance, he had called the hospital morgue. He was advised his "sister" had not been admitted to the morgue. Perhaps he had the wrong hospital. Calling the emergency room once again, playing the part of a very concerned brother, he was able to learn that she had been released the night before.

While this was only a minor setback, he wasn’t going to waste any more time trying to stage an accident. It was time to go buy a voice-activated tape recorder. He could listen to it at his convenience and be sure of not missing anything pertinent. He also needed to retrieve the tracking device from her car. That should be easy enough. FBI badges were quite handy for things like that.

Sherman continued mulling over different options. He had thought about taking her out at the surveillance site, but she always traveled there with another agent. It was too chancy to do it at the FBI lot.

Leaving his thought behind, he decided to go sightseeing. After all, he was on vacation. Viglioni could wait for a while. An opportunity would present itself, and when it did, he would take act on it.

*  *  *

Tony and Megan were sitting at the kitchen table eating chicken salad sandwiches. In another hour Tony was due to leave for work. Megan had wanted her to stay home, but Tony had convinced her that all they did was sit around anyway and she had the next day off.

"What did the insurance company say?" Megan asked.

"They’re going to have someone look at my car today or tomorrow. Personally, I think it’s totaled." Quirking a half smile, she added, "I think we need to go car shopping soon."

Grinning Megan said, "You like that Jeep you rented don’t you?"

"Well, it is kind of nice," Tony said, nonchalantly.

Megan laughed at the disinterested look her partner was trying to get her to buy. "Uh huh. Nice enough we had to ride around in it for an hour," Megan teased.

"I didn’t hear you complaining," Tony said, her eyes twinkling.

Megan’s face turned pensive. "No. You didn’t. It was an opportunity to spend time with you, and the way things have been going lately, I’m almost afraid to let you out of my sight."

Tony felt her stomach tighten. We shouldn’t have to live like this. Reaching across the table, she placed her hand on Megan's, not saying anything.

Her thoughts turned to the accident. There were so many unanswered questions. Why had the guy in the pick up deliberately rammed her? Was it just a drunk or a crazy? Had she just been in the wrong place at the wrong time? She might be more inclined to believe that if it hadn’t been for incident at the rapid station. How could she make Megan feel better?

Comforted by the contact, but watching her lover drift off, Megan said, "Earth to Tony." When the deep blue eyes met her own, she continued, "What are you thinking about?"

"Everything that’s been going on. It is so strange. I’ve never been prone to accidents and all of a sudden there are two in three days. Doesn’t make sense. I feel like I’m missing something. I just don’t know what," Tony said, looking at Megan.

Megan's sober expression mirrored her partner's. "I’ve been thinking about it a lot, too. When I woke up last night, I knew something was wrong. I don’t know why, but I just did."

Megan’s thoughts turned reflective. "The night you got stabbed in the flats… I remember thinking how it almost seemed like it had been deliberate." Megan paused for a moment, her face troubled by her thoughts, "We found out later it was." Squeezing Tony's hand, she said, "I feel like that now."

Tony saw the worry reflected in Megan’s eyes. What could she say? She didn’t understand it either. It was very troubling that Megan felt that way. Hopefully she was wrong and it was just the stress of the two accidents.

"Nothing else is going to happen. It was just a coincidence," Tony said, not sure she believed it, but hoping to allay Megan’s concerns.

Megan squeezed Tony’s hand, and looked into her eyes, saying, "I hope you’re right."

The phone rang. Tony let go of Megan's hand, stood up, and walked over to the phone.

Picking it up, she said, "Hello."

"Hi. Brian, here. What time do you get off tonight?"

"11pm. Why?" Tony asked, curious.

Brian thought to himself, here goes nothing. "I’m still concerned that this may not have been an accident."

"Yeah, I know. We talked about that earlier. I agree with you, but there’s not a whole lot I can do about it," Tony said, wondering why he was bringing it up again.

Plunging ahead, Brian said, "I’m going to have a patrol car follow you from the surveillance site to the garage to get your car and then home."

"Come on, Brian," Tony said, amused that Brian would even suggest such a ludicrous idea. "You got to be kidding. It was probably an isolated incident by a crazy. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Tony snorted when another thought crossed her mind, how the hell would she explain to Keith why she was being escorted around by the local cops?

Brian ignored her reaction and continued, "How about humoring me? What’s the harm?" He hadn’t expected Tony to accept the offer and knew he would have to work at it.

Megan looked at Tony while listening to her end of the conversation. Wonder what's up? She doesn’t seem very pleased whatever it is.

Tony glanced at Megan and saw the curious expression on her face. Suddenly her ego didn’t matter that much. There was something more important to consider, like Megan’s feelings. It would make her feel better, even if I think it’s ridiculous.

Wondering how she was going to explain this to the other agents, she said, "Ok. You already have the address. It’s on the report I filled out. I’ll wait until the car shows up before leaving," Tony said.

Brian couldn't believe she'd agreed. "Good. I’ll have someone there at 11pm," he said, hanging up. He didn’t want to give her a chance to change her mind.

Tony hung up the phone and sat back down at the table. Smiling at Megan, she said, "If it makes you feel any better, Brian is going to have a patrol car follow me home tonight."

Megan felt like a tremendous weight was lifted off of her shoulders. She hadn’t known how she was going to get through the evening. She would have done nothing but worry. The relief evident by the warm smile that covered her face, she said, "It does make me feel better." The thought crossed Megan's mind that she would still worry some, until Tony was home safe that night.

*  *  *

Sherman sat slouched in the seat of the car, cleaning his fingernails with his knife. It wasn’t that he needed to, it was just something to pass the time. The streetlight reflected off the stainless steel Smith & Wesson 357 magnum laying on the seat next to him. It wasn’t his weapon of choice, but it would do the job. It was loaded with .38 caliber hollow points. Hollow points were such a nice invention. They go in small and come out big. Sherman smiled to himself. Wouldn’t be much left of her head once the bullet had completed its trajectory.

Sherman saw the agency car enter the garage at the same time his peripheral vision noticed a patrol car pull into a parking place across the street. Probably taking a break from patrol.

He sat up straighter and trained his eyes on the exit, waiting for his target to emerge in her new Jeep. He grinned sardonically, It was so nice of her apartment to have the parking places numbered for the tenants. Once he knew she was in the apartment, he had gone to the garage to see what vehicle was in the parking space. Leaving nothing to chance, he had doubled checked later by parking in the same space he was in now, waiting for her to arrive for her shift.

When the sienna Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited exited the garage, Sherman shifted the car into drive prepared to move in behind her once an adequate space had passed. He felt a brief flicker of surprise when the patrol car pulled in behind the Jeep. That was no coincidence. A slow smile covered his face. She was running scared. Just as he had suspected, all the rumors he heard about her over the years were exaggerated. Shifting his car into gear, he pulled out and drove back to the hotel strangely disappointed. So this wasn't going to be such a challenge after all. Scared people make mistakes.

*  *  *

Tony turned on the coffee pot and took out a couple of bagels. Megan had to work today and was getting ready. Tony was supposed to meet with the insurance adjuster, but other than that had no plans. She was just glad things seemed to be getting back to normal.

She had already fed the kittens, and they were contentedly sitting next to each other meticulously cleaning themselves and occasionally each other. Tony smiled at them. It really was nice having the kittens here. They had slept on the bed with them last night, Huggy next to Megan and Velcro next to her. Huggy seemed to be the more mischievous of the two, not that Velcro wasn’t quick to join in whatever trouble her buddy found.

Tony smiled at the lovely sight that greeted her eyes when Megan walked into the kitchen. Her partner was dressed in a casual, sapphire blue suit with the jacket worn open over the matching skirt and off white blouse. The rich blue color offset Megan’s blonde hair and highlighted the gold specks in her eyes.

"You look really nice," Tony said, quite taken with her partner’s beauty.

Cocking her head and smiling at Tony, Megan said, "This is just my work clothes."

"So. You look nice no matter what you wear," Tony said, walking over and kissing Megan before adding, "Coffee’s ready. Want some orange juice?"

Megan gave her partner a hug and said, "You’re so sweet," waiting for her lover’s cheeks to redden like they did every time she told her that.

Watching Tony’s face darken a few shades, she continued, "Orange juice sounds good. You’re really spoiling me having breakfast ready every morning."

Grinning wickedly, she added, "You know you really are cute when you blush."

Tony rolled her eyes, the action in contrast with the warm glow she felt at her partner’s words. Fleetingly kissing Megan before releasing her, Tony got the orange juice out of the refrigerator and poured them both a glass.

"What are you going to do today?" Megan asked, wishing she had another day off.

"Wait for you to get off," Tony answered, and grinned at the surprised look on Megan’s face. Gotcha.

"Very funny. I meant really," Megan said, laughing while looking into her partner’s twinkling blue eyes.

"That is really what I’m going to do," Tony said winking at Megan. "But while I’m waiting, I’m going to call the insurance adjuster and then probably kitten proof the apartment."

"Good. Those two are too curious for their own good."

Megan finished her breakfast, and got ready to leave. Kissing her lover before departing, she said, "I’ll call you later."

Tony savored the short kiss and said, "I’ll be waiting."

They were still doing construction on the interbelt and it was the usual bumper to bumper traffic, moving at a crawl.

The slow drive did not affect Megan’s extremely good mood. It had been so nice to have a normal morning for a change. That was the way she wanted to start every morning… feeling secure and very loved. She wondered if this was something everyone in love experienced. It was such a wonderful sensation, and one she would never willingly let go of.

Arriving at work, there was no more time for the warm thoughts. They were backed up on cases, and before she knew it, the morning had passed and it was lunchtime. Telling David they would finish the other cases after lunch, she shed her gloves and smock returning to her office in her scrubs.

Opening the door, all thoughts of the cases she had just finished left her mind. There in the middle of her desk was a slender glass vase containing a dozen long stem roses. They were a beautiful scarlet red. Walking over to her desk, she picked up the small envelope secured in their midst. Opening it, she read, "I love you," and it was signed simply, "Tony."

Holding the card tightly in her hand, she bent over to smell the sweet pleasant odor they emitted. I love you so much, Tony. Warm fuzzy thoughts began flowing through her mind intermingled with the image of her smiling partner.

Oh, she’d gotten flowers before. But none would ever hold the special meaning these did. Tony had never given her flowers before.

Megan sighed happily and sat down in her chair, her emotions still running rampant. Picking up the phone, she dialed her number.

"Hello."

Megan loved listening to the rich low tenor of her lover’s voice. Smiling into the phone, she said, "I love you. They’re so beautiful. You are so sweet," her words tumbling out in the order the thoughts left her mind.

"I love you, too," Tony said, smiling into the phone feeling a deep sense of satisfaction at the happiness she could hear in Megan’s voice. "I guess you like them."

"Like them? Are you kidding? I love them! They’re beautiful." Megan paused, momentarily at a loss for words.

The silence lengthened because a very pleased Tony was grinning into the phone. Breaking the short silence, she said, "No more beautiful than you."

Megan felt her heart flutter at the words. "Thank you, sweetie, but I better go now or I may decide to come home and I don’t think the boss would like that."

"Sweetie!"

Megan laughed, and said, "See you when I get home."

"Bye."

Tony hung up the phone shaking her head. Sweetie? What was with that? She grudgingly admitted that it did sound kind of nice the way Megan said it. But she’d just die of embarrassment if Megan ever called her that in front of anyone.

*  *  *

Tony opened the oven door and looked at the lasagna. It would be done in about ten minutes. She had gotten the recipe Sunday when she talked to her mother. Thinking about the conversation, she smiled. Her mother wanted to come and visit. Tony knew Megan liked her mother, and had repeated the question for her partner’s benefit. Megan had smiled and… well, she really didn’t need to say anything. The expression on her face was all Tony needed to see. Her mother had sounded so pleased when she told her she was more than welcome to visit. So many things had changed in such a short time, first meeting Megan, and then the reconciliation with her mother. Life was good.

Her thoughts turned briefly to the inexplicable accidents. The bruise on her leg was still painful, and probably would be for a while. At least it didn’t hurt to walk on it anymore. Tony still couldn’t make any sense of the bizarre events and just wanted to get their lives back to normal.

Last night, while on surveillance, she had decided to surprise Megan with the roses and a nice dinner, then spend a quiet evening together and maybe watch a movie or something. Lately it seemed like all they did was manage crisis after crisis and then the aftermath of each. She could do without all the excitement and knew Megan could too.

Once Tony had everything ready, she walked into the living room to check on the whereabouts of the rambunctious kittens. She spotted them curled up against each other sleeping in the recliner.

Megan had informed her that cats slept 20 hours a day. She wanted to know 20 hours of what day. The kittens seemed to have unlimited energy, and it was a job sometimes to keep them out of things. Not that she minded. Tony was actually quite taken with the kittens. It was really funny that each kitten had seemed to gravitate toward one of them. Velcro always sought out Tony. Huggy seemed to adore Megan, and you could tell she felt the same way..

Tony looked around the apartment once more after meeting with the insurance adjuster. She had spent the better part of the day kitten proofing the apartment, and Huggy and Velcro had been only too happy to help. For some reason cords seemed to hold a special interest for the kittens. Well, at least now they wouldn’t have to worry about them hurting themselves while they were at work.

Tony turned toward the door when she heard the key in the lock. Megan walked in carrying the vase of roses with a smile that lit up her whole face. Walking over to her partner she wrapped her arms around her still clutching the vase in one of her hands. "I missed you. I really love the roses," Megan said relaxing against the tall familiar body.

Tony returned the hug, enjoying the feel of her partner wrapped comfortably in her arms. Looking into the sparkling hazel eyes, she said, "I missed you, too." Lowering her head, she met her lover’s lips and enjoyed a sweet, very satisfying kiss.

Megan laid her head against Tony’s chest smiling contentedly. "I guess I should set the roses down."

Smiling Tony said, "That might be a good idea. They are kind of prickly."

"Oops. Didn’t think about that," Megan said, releasing her partner.

Noticing the dining room table was set, she raised her eyebrows and walked into the kitchen to set the vase down on the table in there. She and Tony usually ate in the kitchen and she was surprised to see the dining room table prepared for dinner.

Turning to face her partner, she asked, "What’s the occasion? Are we having company?"

Tony looked at the curious expression on Megan's face, and smiled. "No. I just thought it would be nice to eat in the dining room tonight. Just something a little different."

Tony was sure full of surprises today. "Umm… smells good in here. What did you make?" Megan said, her mouth watering.

"Mom’s lasagna," Tony said, her smile widening at the delighted look on Megan’s face. "I thought you really liked it."

"Oooh good! I loved it," Megan said, giving Tony a big hug.

Tony kissed Megan, then released her saying, "It should be ready by the time you change clothes."

A short time later, Megan sighed happily and sat back in her chair. Smiling at her partner, she said, "That was delicious."

A warm smile covered Tony's face and she said, "Thanks, Love. Ready for desert?"

Placing her hands over her stomach and widening her eyes, Megan said. "You're kidding, right? I'm stuffed!"

Tony laughed at the expression on her partner's face. "I am too. Want to watch a movie? We haven’t done that for a long time."

Megan grinned, and said, "Sounds good. Do you have one in mind?"

Tony smiled back at her partner. Megan looked relaxed and happy, the stress of the last few days gone from her face. A sudden thought occurred to her, It's a simple equation really. When Megan is happy, so am I.

With that thought in mind, she said, "Why don’t you pick one?

Megan's forehead creased momentarily and she turned her eyes upward as she feigned deep thought, "Hmm… a comedy, huh?"

Laughing at the amused look on Tony's face, she said, "How about Sister Act? I love that movie."

Teasingly, with her eyebrow raised, Tony said, "I'm so glad you could think of one."

Megan was sitting in her favorite position, relaxing on the couch against Tony with her lover’s arm resting on her shoulders. She could watch this movie a million times and never tire of it. And somehow it was even more enjoyable watching it with her partner.

She loved the rich sound of Tony’s laughter and she had been pleasantly surprised when Tony joined in with the songs. I just love her voice. Lately there had been so little time for the simple things in their life. She had really missed this part of their relationship, and it felt really good to have it back.

Tony wasn’t sure if she was laughing more at the movie or at Megan’s delighted laughter. This felt so right. All the tension of the last few days was finally gone. One of her most frequent thoughts made an appearance in her mind, how did I ever get so lucky?

When the movie ended, with a smile still etched on her face, Megan said, "I just love the first time she leads the choir in church. The look on the Mother Superior’s face is too much."

Tony grinned and said, "Yeah. And the part when they’re cleaning up the neighborhood is really funny, too."

Looking at the mellow, contented expression on her partner's face, Tony felt a sense of peace. Leaning over and kissing Megan, she said, "How about desert?"

"You mean that wasn’t desert?" Megan asked, grinning.

Tony quirked a half smile and drawled, "Well…"

Megan winked at her partner and said, "I think I want to save the best for last. So what desert did you have in mind?"

Tony shrugged nonchalantly, "Just something I thought you might like." Standing up, she said, "I’ll go get it."

"I’ll help. I want to see what it is anyway," Megan said, wondering what surprise her partner had planned.

Tony opened the refrigerator and took out two pieces of carrot cake specially made by the bakery at the Giant Eagle grocery store. Each piece was totally covered with the rich cream cheese frosting that so enhanced the taste of the moist cake.

"Ooh. My favorite. How did you know? I never told you," Megan said, surprised.

Tony winked and said, "I have my sources." Actually Ashley had told her last time she happened to answer the phone when her partner was out on a case.

Megan sat at the table and pulled the plate in front of her, taking a bite of the delicious cake. "Let eat in here."

Tony chuckled and joined her partner at the table.

Megan savored each bite of the rich cake. Finishing she asked, "Feel like some tea? It’ll only take a couple of minutes to make some."

Before Tony had a chance to answer, they heard a dull thud coming from the living room. Tony rolled her eyes and grinned, saying, "I’ll go see what they did now."

Megan chuckled at the expression on Tony’s face. The kittens were always in to something. "Ok. I'll put the tea on."

Huggy sat on the coffee table looking at the silk flower arrangement. A white paw hesitantly hit the green leaf before quickly pulling it back. The eyes watched the quivering leaf and the paw reached out, more confidently now, and batted the leaf harder. Her head tracked the movement of the leaf and when it slowed, she struck it again.

Velcro crouched on the floor, body motionless, watching the movement of the leaf, her tail twitching back and forth. Suddenly, the black and white fur ball streaked across the floor and leaped up onto the coffee table. Sliding across the smooth surface of the table unable to get purchase, she slid into the basket housing the silk flower arrangement propelling it across the table and onto the floor before following it with an ungraceful landing. Standing up, looking indignant, she batted the offending leaves.

The original culprit, startled by the unexpected arrival of her playmate, jumped straight up into the air before landing on her toes back on the table. Crabbing sideways, all the hair on her tail standing on end, she danced across the table, and looked over the edge. She watched Velcro playing with the leaves for only a moment before jumping to the floor and joining in the fun.

Tony walked into the living room and shook her head when she saw the two kittens happily playing with the leaves of the silk plant in the middle of the floor. Shooing them away, she picked up the basket and the plant, putting it back together in a semblance of the way it had been before the kittens had attacked it.

Setting in up on a shelf, she started to walk back to the kitchen when she stepped on something. Lifting her bare foot, she plucked the offending item off of it, smiling when she saw what it was. The arrangement was realistic, but she never realized it had a ladybug in it. Just as she was about to place it on one of the silk leaves, she stopped, all senses on alert.

Placing the ladybug in the palm of her hand, she looked at it closely. Something was odd about it. All of a sudden it hit her. There were three antennas protruding from it. The extra one was slightly longer and thinner than the other two. Narrowing her eyes, she placed it back in the basket, her thoughts turning dark.

Tony walked into the kitchen and raised a finger to the center of her pursed lips signaling for quiet. Looking at Megan, her eyes imploring her partner to play along with her, she said, "I’m going to take a shower now. The kittens trashed the silk flower planter but I’ve put it back together again. Why don’t you put the darlings into one of the bedrooms?"

Mouthing, "Come with me," she left the kitchen and walked into the bathroom, Megan right behind her. Closing the door, she pulled the shower curtain and turned on the water. Turning and looking at her puzzled partner, Tony said, "We’re being bugged."

"Bugged? You mean someone’s been listening to us? Why?" Megan asked perplexed. "Who would want to bug us?"

Tony’s brow creased in thought. "I don’t know. I’ve got a bug detector in my bag in the closet. I’ll check the apartment and find out if there are any more, and if there are, where they are. I don’t want to get rid of them yet because that’ll alert whoever put them here that we found them. Once I get done, let's go for a ride. Then we can try and figure it out."

Megan placed her hand on Tony’s arm, delaying her departure. "How did you find out?" Her knowledge of bugs was limited to what she saw on TV or in the movies, but she knew they were not easy to find. She was also angry at the invasion of their privacy.

Tony smiled for the first time since they entered the bathroom. "It turns out that noise we heard was Huggy and Velcro playing with the planter on the coffee table. They got a little rambunctious and knocked it to the floor."

The lines of her face-hardened, and she continued, "I stepped on something when I was picking it up. It was a little ladybug. Something about it seemed odd, and then I realized it had three antennas. The third antenna was a little longer and thinner than the other two."

The irony was not lost on Megan. She mused aloud, "Real clever. A bug in a bug." Glancing up at her partner, she asked, "How did you know?"

Tony shrugged. "I’ve used similar ones in some of my cases. I’ll double check it, but I am sure that’s what it is."

Megan looked off into space, and spoke her thoughts aloud, "Something is going on. I knew it."

Tony placed a hand on Megan's shoulder, the contact drawing her lover's eyes to hers. She smiled ruefully at Megan and said, "I hoped you were wrong."

Shaking her head, Megan said, "So did I."

"I put it back, so watch what you say in the living room. The running water will keep whoever is listening from hearing our conversation even if there is one in here," Tony explained. "The main thing right now is to act normally. Come on. I’ll show you how the bug detector works. The one I’ve got is nice because it has a setting on it that allows it to vibrate like a pager instead of beeping so if anyone is listening right now, they won’t know what we’re doing."

After turning off the water, Megan followed her partner into the bedroom. Opening the closet door, Tony pulled out one of her suitcases and took out a small accessory bag. Unzipping it, she removed various small devices. Settling on one that looked something like a remote control, but was smaller, she put the other items back in the bag.

Picking up the bug detector, she turned it on to the vibrate setting and watched the red light. It would begin flashing if it detected a bug. The closer it got to the bug the faster the light would flash.

Megan stood out of the way watching Tony. The planes of her face had sharpened and there was no wasted movement in her actions. The few times she had watched Tony at work, she was always struck that this warm loving woman was also a very competent, and when necessary, very deadly FBI agent. Certainly not someone anyone with any sense would antagonize.

A complete scan of the apartment only revealed two bugs, one in the kitchen and the one in the living room. Tony smiled grimly. They knew what they were doing. Not coincidentally, both rooms had phones and most of their conversation took place in one or the other.

Tony and Megan sat in a booth in the back of Diana’s. She was sure they had not been followed, and she was an expert at detecting tails. No one had ever succeeded in following the operative unless she wanted to be followed.

Ordering a Coke and Pepsi respectively, Tony said, "I don’t get it. I think it’s fairly safe to assume I am the target. Coroner’s apartments are not likely to get bugged." She said the last smiling at Megan.

Megan sighed. "Just when I thought everything was back to normal for a change. You know Tony, I could really do without all this excitement," Megan said in a bantering voice, but was actually very serious.

"You and me both. I was willing to write off the accidents even though that guy deliberately swerved into my car. I know you had a feeling about them and I thought it was one hell of a coincidence, too, but I was hoping he could’ve been a drunk or a weirdo of some kind."

"Do you have any idea why someone would want to," Megan paused, unable to bring herself to say kill, and finished with, "hurt you?"

"No. I have gone over everything I’ve done in the past several months, and I can’t think of any reason anyone would want to… bug our apartment." Tony pushed her hair away from her face, and continued, "It has to be a pro. The bugs are very cleverly disguised."

Megan spent each day sifting through evidence and finding clues that were almost nonexistent. Moving the straw around in her Pepsi, deep in thought, the analytical portion of her brain was sorting through everything Tony had done since she met her. An idea began forming in Megan’s mind.

Tony was watching her partner, worried. She was absently playing with the straw in her Pepsi, her eyes trained on the drink. Tony was just about to interrupt her thoughts, when the hazel eyes met her own.

"What about when we were in D.C. and you talked to Huey? Any possibility someone could have found out about that? You mentioned Huey said you might have to testify. Maybe someone doesn’t want you to."

Tony looked at Megan thoughtfully. Nothing she could come up with made any sense. That was a possibility, even though it was kind of far fetched.

"You might have something there. It’s worth a shot. I’ll call Huey tomorrow. It just seems so extreme." Sighing Tony added, "If it is related to that, they must know the chances of uncovering the perpetrator is very small, so why bother?"

"Maybe there's more to it than you think," Megan said. "I can’t think of any other reason someone would be after you unless it has to do with some case you did before we met."

Tony shook her head. "No. You could be right. On the few cases my cover was blown, we ended up busting all the leaders and they are still doing hard time."

Tony took a sip of her Coke and continued, "We have to remember to act normally when we are in the living room or kitchen. Since the rest of the apartment is not bugged we can talk behind closed doors in the bedroom or bathroom. Now that we know there is a bug, we can use it to our advantage to lure whoever it is in."

"You’re not going to do anything dangerous are you?" Megan asked, becoming even more worried than she was.

Tony saw the worry on Megan’s face and said, "No. I’m just going to talk to Huey first and then Brian. I know I can count on them. I’d like to set a trap with Brian’s help."

Smiling reassuringly at Megan, she continued, "I won’t do anything on my own. But I think we both need to be very careful."

"I’m not the target here, you are," Megan said, relaxing a little since her partner wasn't going to try to handle this herself.

"We don’t know that for sure. I just don’t want to take any chances, ok?" Tony asked, her concern reflected in her eyes.

"Does this mean you’re going to take me to work again?" Megan asked, a small smile forming on her face.

"Yes. If you don’t mind," Tony said, relieved that Megan had suggested this.

"Mind… not hardly. Well, in that case, ok," Megan said smiling, hoping to ease some of the worry from her partner’s face.

PART 5

TONY DROPPED MEGAN off and headed home. She treated her surroundings with even more care than usual. She thought grimly, there will be no more accidents.

Arriving home, she exchanged the line from the jack to the phone with a 25 foot one and walked into the bedroom. Attaching a scrambling device to the phone, she made the first of two calls. Since phone monitoring was most often done remotely, she had no idea if the phone was tapped and wasn’t taking any chances.

Sitting on the bed, Tony said, "Hi Huey," when he answered the phone.

"Hi Tony. What’s on your mind?" Huey asked, surprised by the call. The phone was propped on his shoulder and he was looking at the messages that he had received.

Deciding to get right to the point, Tony asked, "How’s the investigation going?"

"I turned it over to Internal Affairs the same day you were here. Why?" Huey sat back in his chair, his full attention on the conversation now.

Tony stood up and began walking around the bedroom. "I have suddenly become accident prone and I found a bug in my apartment. Both of the accidents were a little too close for comfort. There is nothing I am involved in here that should elicit this kind of action. The only other thing I can think of is that it has something to do with your investigation."

"Anything is possible, but it doesn’t make sense. Internal Affairs runs a fairly tight operation and your current assignment is only available through your personnel file."

"Well how about humoring me and checking to see if my personnel file has been pulled?" Tony asked knowing the record could not be accessed unless a log was signed. Standing in front of the window, she continued, "I know it’s a long shot but I’d like to know so I can eliminate the possibility."

"Ok. I’ll check on it today."

*  *  *

Megan sat at her desk going through her inbox. She had already finished her only case for the day. Some of the results were back from the lab and she was pleased to see that her suspicion on the drowning victim had been right. He had been dead prior to entering the water.

David walked in and sat down, draping a leg over the arm of the chair. "Hi Boss," he said, grinning.

Megan chuckled. While it was true that she was his boss, their friendship extended to their work relationship.

"Hi. You want me to tell you what happened over the weekend, right?" she asked, smiling warmly at her friend.

"Well, it would be nice since we were too busy yesterday, and I did see Tony drop you off in that gorgeous Jeep, and you just happened to tell me enough yesterday to worry me." David said, settling back in the chair and crossing his arms.

"Yeah. Guess I did. Relax, it’s a long story," Megan smiled ruefully at her friend, and began relating the events of the weekend.

*  *  *

Tony dialed Brian’s number and waited for him to pick up. Wasting no time, she said, "I need to see you. When would be a good time?"

Brian listened to the terse statement and knew something must have happened. "Come on down now. I’ll make time."

"I’ll be there in twenty minutes." Tony said, relieved that he had time to see her so quickly.

Tony quickly walked across the squad room oblivious to the admiring looks from the occupants. Arriving at Brian’s desk, she said, "Hi," and sat down in the chair adjoining the desk, stretching her legs out in front of her and crossing them at the ankles.

Brian took in the controlled look on Tony’s face and leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He answered her greeting by asking, "What’s going on?"

Tony looked at Brian, and said, "I found a couple of bugs in the apartment last night. Apparently, someone is very interested in what I am doing. I’d like to set up a sting operation to lure this guy into the open. But I need some help."

"How do you know it’s a guy and how do you know there is only one person involved?" Brian asked, wanting to know how Tony had come to the conclusions she had.

"I don’t know if more than one person is involved, but I don’t think I’d be sitting here talking to you now if he had help." Tony paused, gathering her thoughts. Turning slightly in the chair, she rested her elbows on the desk. "Call it a gut feeling, but the type of incidents leads me to believe that he acted independently. I’m thinking it is the driver of the pick up that rammed me. I did get enough of a look to know it was a man."

Brian nodded his head. He had forgotten she had mentioned that in her report. He had also learned long ago to always trust your gut. "I take it you have something in mind?"

Tony smiled grimly. "Yeah, I do. I want to stage a meeting in my apartment where we set up a phony bust scenario for the surveillance case I’m working on. We can make it seem authentic by mentioning that some information has been leaked and that Braxton gave me the authority to call in you guys to prevent anyone from being tipped off about the bust. This guy obviously knows a lot about me and has to know I just finished working a case with you, so he should buy it."

Tony paused for a minute brushing the hair away from her face with her hand. She knew she needed help, but it seemed funny to be asking for it. She had always handled her own problems.

Brian waited quietly for her to continue. He knew her well enough to know that she was unaccustomed to asking for help and was pleased at the show of trust.

"The only way I can make this work is to have some of your people help. I want to set myself up as bait to draw him out. But I don’t want to be a sitting duck. I need to be covered by your guys," Tony said, watching Brian closely trying to gauge his reaction.

Brian was more than willing to help Tony out. He knew he’d have to call on his friends, since this was certainly an unofficial request. But he felt she was putting herself at too much risk.

"I don’t like the idea of you as bait. It’s too chancy. What if my guys don’t see him in time? I’d feel personally responsible if anything happened to you."

Tony sat up straight in the chair, and crossed her arms. "Whoever is doing this is definitely a pro. If I don’t set myself up, he’ll never show."

Brian still wasn't convinced this was the best plan and decided to try another tactic. "Does Megan know about this?" he asked, pointedly.

Biting off her initial retort, which was to tell him that was between her and Megan, she said, "Not yet." Meeting Brian's gaze, she continued, "There didn't seem much point in telling her until I knew if you were going to help."

Shaking his head, he said, "Tony, you've got someone else to think about. We’ll figure out something else."

Frowning, Tony looked pointedly at Brian, and said, "I know that. I’m worried about her. What if he gets frustrated and tries to get at me through her? I can’t take that chance. She’s too important to me. There isn't any other way. I have to do this."

Brian made a decision. "I’ll help you. But I got a feeling Megan is going to be pissed off at both of us."

Tony nodded her head in agreement. Explaining her plan to Megan was not something she was looking forward to.

Brian took a pen out of his pocket, and began jotting notes on it. "What’s the time line?"

"If you can get the others together in time, I’d like for everyone to come to my apartment this evening. I thought we could set up the sting for tomorrow night." Tony said, knowing what she was asking would be difficult to accomplish.

Brian looked up from the pad of paper and met Tony's eyes. "Moving kind of fast, aren’t you?"

Deep blue eyes met steel gray ones. "I have to. I have a feeling the attacks are going to intensify, and I don’t want Megan or anyone else I know jeopardized."

After a moment's thought, Brian said, "Ok. I’ll start notifying people. How about we show up at 7pm?"

Tony smiled, and said, "Sounds good. And Brian… thanks."

"No problem," Brian said, hoping he had made the right decision.

*  *  *

Huey hung up the phone and sat there thoughtfully, his elbows resting on the desk and his chin supported on a bridge formed with his hands. He had been concerned about Tony’s accusation and the ramifications of it since she had reported it to him. If her file had been pulled, then this was bigger than he had first thought.

Walking out of his office, he said to Jean, "I’m going over to Human Resources."

Arriving in the Records Room, he walked up to Sarah who was standing behind the sign-in desk.

Looking at the older woman fondly, he said, "Hi Sarah. I need the personnel record on Antonia Viglioni."

Pushing the login form across the desk, Sarah smiled and said, "Hi Huey. Just sign for it here. That record’s been kind of popular lately."

Huey looked up from the log. "What do you mean?"

"I just pulled it for someone else last week." Sarah said, a little puzzled by his reaction.

Taking the log back, she flipped a few pages back and began running her finger down the entries. Finding the one for Viglioni she murmured, "That’s strange."

"What’s strange?" Huey asked, trying to see what Sarah was pointing to on the log.

Looking up, Sarah said, "This isn’t the name of the agent who signed for the file. This has the Director of Quality Control’s name. The agent who signed for it was a young guy I’ve seen around. That’s why I didn’t question it. Can’t think of his name right now. Nice young man. I can’t believe I missed that. Oh, well. Maybe he was just signing the name of the person he was getting the information for."

"Let me see that," Huey said. Taking the log from Sarah and looking at the entry, he asked, "Did he remove the file?"

Frowning at Huey, she said, "No, of course not. You know that’s against our policy. I pulled it for him and he looked at it in the file room. He returned it within 15 minutes."

"If you remember who the agent was, call me," Huey said, before leaving. This was very odd. Regulations stipulated that the individual signing out the record sign the log no matter what the reason was for pulling it.

Walking back into his office, he said, "Jean, would you get Ed in Quality Control for me?"

Jean smiled, and said, "Sure." Once she got the Director on the phone, she put him on hold and dialed Huey. "He’s on three, Mr. Straton."

"Thanks." Huey said, before picking up the call. "Hey Ed, how’s it going?"

"Same as usual. What’s up?" he asked, knowing Huey did not make arbitrary phone calls.

Drumming his fingers on the desk, Huey asked, "Did you request the personnel record on Antonia Viglioni last week?"

Wondering what prompted the question, Ed said, "No. She’s not working covert anymore. I’d have no reason to."

"That’s what I thought, too. Thought you might like to know an agent signed out her file and used your name on the log."

"Do you know who?" Ed asked, suddenly very interested in the conversation.

Huey sighed. "No. But Sarah has worked in the Records Room forever and she said she’s seen him around. I may have her start looking through some pictures of the agents assigned here if she doesn’t remember who it was. She said he was young so that should cut down the list some."

"Keep me informed. I’d like a few words with whomever it was," Ed said, his voice hard.

"Will do." Huey said, before hanging up the phone. Settling back in his chair, he looked out the window. Sarah held the key to the investigation. He would go back to records and talk to her.

*  *  *

Megan walked to the waiting Jeep and opened the door and got in. Smiling at the woman she loved, she said, "Hi."

Tony looked at the bright warm smile lighting up her partner’s face and her heart sank. She knew her plan was going to upset Megan. If there was any other way, she would do it, rather than put Megan through the worry she knew this was going to cause her.

"Hi," Tony answered, unable to match the engaging smile with one of her own.

Looking at her lover, a feeling of trepidation came over Megan. Placing her hand on Tony’s thigh, she asked, "What’s wrong?"

Tony placed her hand over Megan’s and squeezed it, before shifting the car into drive and pulling out of the parking lot into the street.

"I need to discuss something with you. I figured we could stop at Friends, get something to eat, and talk there."

"Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this discussion?" Megan asked, her uneasiness growing.

Tony didn’t have an answer, and changed the subject. "How was work?"

Watching her partner’s face, Megan went along with the subject change. Alarm bells were going off and she wasn’t looking forward to the ‘discussion’ Tony wanted to have.

"Work was fine. I told David about the latest adventures of Huggy and Velcro. He wants to stop over and see the kittens. He and Mike are going to look at puppies this weekend."

"Did he mention what kind they were going to get?" Tony asked, happy Megan had gone along with her.

"He’s not sure. They’re thinking about a medium sized dog. Although, he did mention that they’re going to check the Animal Protective League, and the City and County Kennels first, and see if they can find a puppy there."

Arriving at Friends, Tony pulled into the parking lot and they entered the restaurant. After being seated, they both ordered coffee and the sautéed seafood with linguini.

Megan looked at the serious expression on her partner’s face, and waited patiently for Tony to tell her what was on her mind. When it became apparent Tony was in no hurry to begin the conversation, she decided her partner needed a nudge and said, "So what’s going on?"

Sighing, Tony said, "I talked to Huey today. He’s going to check and see if my personnel file has been pulled."

"Ok," Megan said puzzled. They’d talked about this last night. "Did he say anything else?"

"No." Tony was still trying to figure out how to approach her role in the sting operation with her partner. Deciding to be blunt, she continued, "I went to see Brian today."

"What for?" Megan asked, sensing this meeting had something to do with whatever Tony was reluctant to tell her.

Looking at Megan, Tony said, "I suggested we set up a sting operation to draw this guy out."

Megan knew there had to be more to it than this, and asked, "How’s the sting going to work?

Her face expressionless, Tony said, "We decided to set it up at the Red Chimney. Brian said a lot of cops from fifth district go there to eat, and if we run into trouble we’d probably have extra help."

"Tony," Megan waited until her lover met her eyes. "How do you fit into this?" And why do I know I'm not going to like it?

Glancing away from the piercing hazel eyes, Tony said, "I’m going to be outside in a parking lot across the street covering the front door of the restaurant. I’ll be parked in the Shopper’s Mart. He should feel fairly secure because of the traffic from the store and make his move."

Megan’s eyes narrowed, and she said, "You’re purposely setting yourself up," already knowing the answer.

Tony looked at her partner earnestly. "I have to. If it’s not realistic, it’ll never work."

Megan sat back in her chair, and crossed her arms. Capturing her partner's deep blue eyes with her flashing hazel ones, she said, "No."

Tony sighed. There was no mistaking Megan's anger. She couldn’t blame her partner for not liking the idea, and it was nice to know how much she cared, but she was going to have to make her understand.

Tony leaned forward. "Megan, listen to me. I know it’s dangerous. But don’t forget, this is what I am trained for. It’ll be ok."

Megan looked at her partner sitting across the table. She knew Tony was highly trained and very capable, but this left too much to chance. "There has to be some other way. What if he tries to take you out from a distance? No one can protect you then because no one will see him," Megan said, voicing one of her biggest concerns about the plan.

That thought had occurred to Tony, but she really felt he would want to make sure she was the one in the car. She now believed he had been behind both accidents and would be much less willing to leave things to chance.

Trying to allay Megan's concern, Tony said, "I don't think he'll do that. It leaves too much to chance."

Megan glanced out the window. This was just too dangerous. "That’s not good enough. What if you're wrong?"

Megan captured her partner’s eyes with her own, before continuing, "I love you. Twice in the past week I could have lost you. I couldn’t do anything about those times, but I can about this. I don’t want you to do this."

"I love you, too. And that’s why I have to do this." Tony then voiced her worst fear, " What if he tries to get at me through you? I’m not willing to take that risk. If anything happened to you because of me I could never live with myself."

"What about how I would feel if something happened to you? Doesn’t that matter at all?" Megan asked, momentarily hurt until a thought pushed its way to the forefront of her mind. This doesn't make sense. We are sitting here arguing and the thing we are both trying to do is protect each other. We need to work together on this.

Tony saw the hurt expression flicker across her lover's face. That was the last thing she wanted to do. I am really blowing this. "Of course it does." Tony sighed, "I just want this to be over and our lives to get back to normal, and I don’t know any other way to do that."

The waitress removed the uneaten salads and served their dinner. Neither woman was hungry.

Megan pushed her food around on her plate trying to think of likely alternatives and not having any success. Would this dangerous plan really put an end to this nightmare? Or would she end up losing her partner?

Tony felt guilty because she knew she was asking more than was fair of her partner, but felt she had no choice. The last thing she had wanted to do was hurt Megan's feelings. She had to end this and the only way to do that was take the offensive.

Megan looked up from her food. "When is this supposed to happen?"

Relieved that Megan had broken the silence, Tony said, "Brian’s going to bring some of his friends over tonight and we’re planning to have a staged conversation."

"There’s no guarantee this will draw him out," Megan mused aloud. "You really think this will work?"

Tony breathed a silent sigh of relief. Megan didn't seem so upset. "I think there's a good possibility it could."

Making a decision and praying it was the right one, Megan said, "Ok. What time are we going?"

Tony met Megan's eyes, and said gently, "We aren’t going. I am."

"If you’re going, so am I," Megan said, emphatically.

"You’re not trained for this. I am," Tony said, her eyes imploring her partner to understand.

"I didn’t say I would participate. I said I was going. And you can just stop right now, because if you think there is any way I am letting you put yourself in danger without being there if you need me, you better think again."

Tony looked at her partner and raised an eyebrow. She ruefully thought, I guess I didn't convince her.

Megan never gave her lover a chance to respond and continued, "So when do we do this?" There was no way she was letting Tony do this by herself. It was bad enough she was going to do it at all.

Tony gazed at her partner silently. She captured the hazel eyes with her blue ones and watched the gold flecks whirling around angrily. How can I ask her to do something I would not? This might not be such a bad idea. There was always the possibility the sting would not work. If Megan went, at least she would know she was safe. She’d just have to do her best to make sure she was out of harm’s way. Maybe Brian could assign someone to her during the sting.

Tony rested her elbow on the table and supported her chin in her palm. Quirking a half smile, she said, "Tomorrow night."

*  *  *

Tony sat on the couch next to Megan and looked at Brian and the other four officers gathered in her living room. Brian had briefed the others back at the station, and each knew that this meeting was simply to set up the trap they had devised. Each of the officers present had worked with Tony on the Shadow case, and had volunteered to help out.

Tony began speaking, "We just got word that one of the big players in a money laundering operation we’ve been doing surveillance on is going to be meeting with the local head of the operation. The meet is at the Red Chimney."

"We’re meeting here to discuss a sting operation. The reason we are asking you to help is because some pertinent information has been leaked. To avoid any other leaks, my boss set it up with Brian."

Nodding her head at Brian, Tony turned the briefing over to him. She wanted to give the impression that the plan would be all his idea.

Brian said, "Ok guys, this is what we’re going to do…"

*  *  *

Sherman sat in his hotel room listening to the tape. Not expecting to hear anything useful, his ears perked up when the conversation turned to the sting operation. This had real potential. Sitting down, he rewound that part of the tape and replayed it.

This just might be the opportunity he was waiting for. Getting out the phone book, he looked up the Red Chimney. He located the street on his map and decided to check the area out the next morning. If the location fit his needs, he would take advantage of this unexpected break.

*  *  *

Megan looked at the ‘watch’ on her wrist that Tony had given her to wear before she went to work. It was really neat. Her partner had told her that if she pressed the stem, an alarm would go directly to Brian, who would have the receiver with him.

It did make her feel a little uneasy. She hadn’t really thought about any danger to herself, even though she knew Tony was worried about that. But somehow, wearing this little gadget made it very real. But it wouldn’t do any good to dwell on it.

Preparing for bed, she realized this would be the first time she had to spend the night alone. Even the night Tony was in the car accident, she hadn’t spent the entire night by herself. She chuckled to herself. Geez, it was only for the next two nights. I’ll sure be glad when that case she’s working on is over.

Megan’s thoughts turned to tomorrow. She hoped the guy never showed up. The idea of Tony setting herself up as a target was very scary. And one that literally scared the hell out of her. There had to be another way, but she didn’t know what it was.

Sighing, Megan got into bed. Huggy and Velcro soon joined her and she slept fitfully, waking several times, against the backdrop of loud purring.

Tony arrived home with her usual patrol car escort. Getting off the elevator, she walked into the apartment. Megan was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee. Laying her gun down, she walked into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee.

Joining her partner at the table, she said, "You look tired."

"I didn’t get much sleep," Megan answered, smiling wanly.

Tony reached across the table and took hold of Megan’s hand and squeezed it. Ad-libbing for the sake of the bug, she said, "Is it because of the sting tonight?"

Megan sighed, "That’s part of it." All of a sudden she blurted out, "I hate sleeping alone."

Tony almost spewed coffee all over the table. She certainly hadn’t expected that comment, especially since her lover knew there was a bug in the kitchen.

Standing up, she walked around the table and leaned down, kissing her partner on the forehead. Holding out her hand to Megan to grasp, she led out of the kitchen and into the bedroom. Tony closed the door.

Placing her arms around Megan, she hugged her. "I hate sleeping alone too, Love. Hopefully this case will be over soon. We’ve got enough to move in on them anytime. It’s just a matter of waiting on Braxton to figure that out. He’s a little slow on the uptake."

After gently kissing her lover, she said, "If we’re really lucky, the sting will work tonight, and Braxton will order us to move in on the money launderers over the weekend."

Megan relaxed against her partner, the contact lifting her spirits. She smiled at Tony’s attempt to make her feel better. Looking up at her lover, she said, "You’re a real dreamer, too," in an attempt at levity.

"Me?" Tony said, winking at her partner, happy to see the smile on her face. "Not really."

Megan hugged Tony, and said, "Well, I hope you’re right." Reluctantly releasing the tall woman, she said, "You ready?"

"Yeah."

When Tony returned from taking Megan to work, the phone was ringing. Walking into the kitchen, she picked it up and said, "Hello."

A familiar voice asked, "Are you busy?"

Tony smiled grimly. This was a simple code they’d set up indicating she should go to a secure phone.

"Yes. Can I get back to you later?"

"Sure," Huey said, standing in his office looking out the window.

Hanging up, Tony carried the phone into the bedroom and attached the scrambling device. She knew it would be a lot easier to use the portable phone but they were notorious for being intercepted and the scrambler might not be totally effective.

After dialing Huey’s number, she waited patiently for him to come to the phone.

When he answered, she asked, "What’s up?"

"Your record has been accessed and it’s not clear who pulled it or why. It may just be a coincidence. I am still checking things out at this end," Huey said.

Tony's eyes narrowed and anger briefly flickered across her face. "I don’t think it’s a coincidence. So I’m going to go on the assumption that it’s another agent, or someone from the inside hired a mercenary."

There wasn’t much Huey could say. He happened to agree with her. "Be careful, Tony. I’ll call you when I know more."

Hanging up the phone, Tony was glad that she had decided not to include any of her FBI coworkers, because she had no way of knowing if they were connected to the attacks on her.

After taking a shower, Tony retrieved her gun and placed it on the night stand. Getting into bed, she fell into a light sleep, her subconscious mind tuned to wake her at any odd sound. Velcro and Huggy joined her a short time later.

*  *  *

Megan sat at her desk unable to concentrate on the lab reports she was looking at. Setting them down, her thoughts turned to the sting operation planned for that night. There was so much being left to chance and she was very worried about Tony’s safety.

When the phone rang, she welcomed the interruption.

"Dr. Donnovan."

"Hi. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. With the deadline for people who filed extensions drawing near, work has been unreal," Ashley said.

Megan smiled, glad to hear from her sister, "No problem. I figured you were just busy."

"Any chance you can get away for lunch today? Two appointments I had scheduled canceled and I’ve finally got a little free time." Ashley said, hoping Megan would be able to get away. It seemed like ages since she had seen her younger sister.

Glad for the diversion, and wanting to see Ashley, Megan smiled and said, "I’d love to. Where?"

"How about the Boarding House at 11:30?" Ashley chose a place close to where Megan worked figuring they would be able to take a little longer lunch that way.

"That’ll work. See you then," Megan said, looking forward to lunch

*  *  *

Tony set the bag of Chinese food on the table. Megan was changing clothes. Neither of them had wanted to cook tonight, so they had stopped at their favorite take out place.

Her thoughts turned briefly to their plans for tonight. She wasn’t supposed to make an appearance until 9pm even though Brian and the others would be there earlier to get in place.

Kris was going to pick up Megan at 8pm. Brian thought very highly of the policewoman, and she had not come to the apartment for the meeting, so her identity, if they had been observed, would be unknown to Tony’s antagonist.

Tony planned to leave around 8:30pm. She would be driving her Jeep, it would be easy to spot. Her thoughts turned dark and she smiled grimly, thinking, and then let the game begin.

*  *  *

John was casually leaning against the building near the mouth of the alley. He was hidden from the casual observer, but his position allowed him an unobstructed view of the sienna Jeep in the parking lot across the street. Should anyone see him, he looked every bit the part of someone waiting for a friend, and he added to the illusion by occasionally raising his wrist to peer at his watch.

All the volunteers knew that the chance of a successful conclusion to this operation was small. It had not deterred any of them, though. Every officer involved in the sting considered Tony one of their own. The fact that she was an FBI agent no longer mattered. She had earned her place among them and they would do their best to protect her. They had all been at their posts for over an hour and John knew that the likelihood of their target showing up now was slim.

John shifted his weight to his other foot and suddenly felt a blinding pain crash through his head before everything went dark.

Sherman put the blackjack back in his pocket and smiled, satisfied that his first objective had been reached. He pulled a roll of duct tape out of his cargo pocket. The cop shouldn't wake up for a couple of minutes and when he did, Sherman wanted to make sure he couldn't give an alarm. If everything went according to plan, he would be leaving the area by the time he woke up anyway, but he would leave no room for error.

Tearing off a strip of the duct tape, he laid the roll on the ground next to him and slapped the tape over the unconscious man's mouth, making sure it was tightly adhered to the skin. Rolling the cop over, he began securing the man's hands behind him by winding the tape around his wrists. Satisfied that he would not be able to get loose, he tore the tape and moved down to his feet, quickly and efficiently binding his ankles together in the same manner. Standing he put the duct tape back in one of his cargo pockets the whole procedure taking less than two minutes.

Grabbing a hold of the cop under his arms, Sherman dragged him further back into the alley behind a dumpster. He had already ascertained that they were on radio silence so he shouldn't be missed anytime soon. Completing his task, Sherman melted back into the shadows intent on seeking out his next target.

Sherman had been in place since early afternoon and had waited for the police to arrive. Their operation had been organized and planned well. The cops were strategically placed in and around the restaurant, and were well hidden. The officers inside the restaurant and the adjoining buildings would not hinder his effort. He would only concern himself with the cops stationed outside because of the potential for interference.

*  *  *

Tony sat in her car, all senses tuned to her surroundings. Brian and two other officers were in commandeered second floor locations on both sides of the street watching everyone who approached her car. If anyone got too close or looked suspicious, they were to key the radio once. There had already been three false alarms.

Sherman sauntered down the street toward the Shopper’s Mart with his hands in his pockets. Entering the parking lot from the street, he casually ambled across the blacktop in the general direction of the Jeep. Noting nothing out of the ordinary, he moved up to the blind spot on the vehicle, just standing there nonchalantly looking around. Satisfied that no one was watching him, Sherman began moving silently up the side of the vehicle. He was pleased to note that Viglioni had her eyes trained on the restaurant across the street.

Tony heard the radio key a moment before her acute hearing picked up the sounds of stealthy movement. Using her peripheral vision she saw a casually dressed man slowly moving forward from the rear of the Jeep. Watching his progress in the side mirror, she saw him pull a gun from his pocket and begin to raise it.

Waiting until precisely the right moment, Tony lifted the door handle and simultaneously slammed her weight against the door, hoping to dislodge the gun. She was rewarded with a grunt of pain and the dull thud of metal impacting against blacktop.

In one fluid motion, she grabbed her nine-millimeter and began exiting the car. The force of the blow had backed her assailant away, and she knew she would have to use the small advantage she had gained very quickly.

Sherman had just begun to turn toward Tony, when the door caught him squarely in the stomach and he doubled over in pain, muttering, "Fucking Bitch." At a distinct disadvantage, he knew he needed to get the gun from the ground, but she was getting out of the car way too quickly. Raising up from his bent over position, Sherman balled up his right fist and drove it upward into her chin.

Watching her stumble backward and hit her head against the door frame of the Jeep, he snarled, "You've met your match this time."

Bending over and reaching for the gun, he was startled to hear, "Stop. Police," accompanied by the sound of running footsteps. Growling a curse, escape foremost in his mind, he forgot about retrieving the gun and began running down the street with Brian and another officer close behind him.

Momentarily stunned by a combination of the vicious sucker punch and the impact of her head against the door frame, Tony saw an amazing multicolored light display in front of her eyes. Right after Sherman voiced his threat, she heard someone shout, "Stop. Police," and saw her assailant take off running, with Brian and one of the locals in hot pursuit.

Megan was inside the store furtively watching Tony. Her view blocked by the Jeep, all she could see was the top of her partner’s head when she began exiting the vehicle. When Tony fell back against the car, Megan bolted through the door of the store, any thought of danger to herself secondary to the automatic response to her lover’s distress.

Pushing off the car, Tony barely regained her balance before she was off and running. She heard the sound of shoes hitting pavement behind her and knew another officer had joined in the chase. Her long legs ate up the ground quickly, and within seconds she left the sound behind, steadily gaining on Brian and the other officer pounding down the street in Sherman's wake.

Megan got to the Jeep in time to see the back of her partner as she raced off down the street. She called out to her partner to stop but the plea met deaf ears, and Megan shook her head and leaned against the vehicle, thinking, at least she must not be hurt too bad. Did I really think I was going to stop her? Shaking her head at the silly notion, she walked to the door of the jeep that was still hanging ajar, and sat down in the front seat.

Tony lengthened her stride and her adrenaline filled body responded to her demands with a burst of speed. She drew even with Brian and the other cop and surged ahead closing the distance between her and her target. Dodging people walking down the sidewalk, and focused solely on the man in front of her, she could no longer hear the other pursuers.

Sherman had purposely stayed on the well traveled street darting around the people out for a stroll on the warm, humid night. He needed to increase his distance from his pursuers and knew they wouldn't take a chance of firing their weapons at him because of the civilians on the street.

Taking a quick look over his shoulder, he was startled to see the tall, dark woman closing the distance between them rapidly. The cops had been left far behind. Sherman thought quickly. She still had the gun in her hand, and while he was confident he could disarm her, he couldn't take the chance of locals catching up and overwhelming him by sheer numbers.

Seeing a group of civilians across the street oblivious to the ongoing chase, he ran out into the middle of the traffic dodging cars running directly into the group of people. Brutally shoving his way to the center of the group, he grabbed the arm of a young woman yanking her forward and then kicking her feet out from under her before forcefully shoving her to the ground. Savagely elbowing his way past the others, he broke into a dead run again, knowing that the chaos he had caused should slow the other operative down.

Tony followed close behind losing a couple steps while dodging cars in the busy street amidst the sound of squealing brakes and honking horns. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Sherman knock the woman down, but she was already being helped to her feet by one of the other women in the group. Dodging the innocent bystanders who had been drawn into the drama on the street, but losing a few precious feet in the process, she once again delved deeply within herself, demanding more from her body and began closing the distance that remained between her and the man she was chasing.

Sherman looked back over his shoulder and felt a brief flicker of concern. Raising his hand and wiping the sweat from his face, he thought, Damn woman just keeps coming. He suddenly smiled at a gift fate handed him. Two boys were riding their bicycles toward him. Running between them, he grabbed the smaller of the two, jerking him off his bike and kicking the bicycle into the other youth causing him to fall.

Sherman savagely smacked the kid hard across the face stunning him. With his large hand gripping the thin arm of the youngster, he half carried and half dragged him to the curb. Picking up the kid by his T-shirt and the waist band of his shorts, he heaved him into the street with enough force the boy stumbled, unable to get his balance and fell into the path of the oncoming traffic. The boy lay there frozen, his eyes wide with terror, as cars began slamming on their brakes, burning rubber into the road, attempting to avoid the living obstacle in their path. The angry honking of horns broke the silence of the evening and pedestrians began screaming and yelling when they realized the kid was petrified and unable to move.

Sherman faded behind the gathering group of civilians, too caught up in the terror in the street to notice him. Making sure he caught Tony's eye as she altered her path, he nodded, giving her a cocky two finger salute before turning and sprinting down the street.

Cursing silently at the ruthless maneuver, Tony reacted instantly and altered her path into the street. After several near misses while dodging the moving cars, she grabbed the kid by the arm and pulled him to his feet shielding him from the oncoming traffic with her body until they reached the safety of the sidewalk.

Leaning over, placing her hand on his shoulder, Tony asked, "You ok?" Sherman had slapped him pretty hard and there was a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. Shaking, the kid looked at her with awe filled eyes and shook his head up and down.

Satisfied that he was just scared and not hurt, she raced off down the street. Brian and the other two cops had caught up, but their target was gone. He could have turned down any one of a number of alleys or side streets. Not willing to give up, she began loping along at an easy pace, the locals joining her, as she ran up the street glancing down each opening she passed, hoping against hope to catch some glimpse of him. The few minutes it had taken her to rescue the child and make sure he was all right was all the head start her adversary had needed. Finally giving up the futile search, she slowed to a walk, the evening breeze cooling the thin sheen of sweat covering her body.

Sherman had reconnoitered the area earlier and planned several avenues of escape should they become necessary. When he finally succeeded in delaying Viglioni, he turned down the first alley he came to. Sherman ran across several backyards, vaulting several fences in the process until he came to the mouth of another alley. Running down the alley, he approached the rear of a three-story apartment building. With practiced ease, he jumped up and grabbed the bottom rung of the fire escape quickly making his way to the roof.

Sherman lay flat for a half hour to make sure he wasn’t being observed. When he was satisfied, he took off his jacket and then removed the thin surgical gloves he was wearing. Pulling a cap out of the jacket pocket, he put it on his head. After thoroughly checking the area again, he exited the roof.

Walking nonchalantly up the alley in his baseball cap and T-shirt, Sherman turned onto Fleet, walking some of the very same ground he had run down earlier, giving every indication of being one of the locals on his way to the bus stop.

Tony and Brian walked side by side back toward the Red Chimney restaurant. Brian was concerned about the whereabouts of two of his men that had not joined in the pursuit.

Taking his radio off his belt, he said, "Unit one to Unit three. Come in." He was relieved a moment later to hear, "Unit one, this is Unit three. Over."

The big man asked, "What's your 10-20?"

"Parking lot across from the Red Chimney. Units 5 and 6 are with me," the officer reported.

Brian said, "Unit One, out." He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the sweat from his face. Musing out loud, he said, "Doesn't make sense. What in the hell are they doing back there? Kris is the only one who was supposed to stay behind."

Tony had no idea and shrugged her shoulders. Her thoughts were on her assailant. Ruthless Bastard. What kind of lowlife places a child in jeopardy just to save their own ass? What if she hadn't got there in time? It was common practice to use diversionary tactics when being pursued, but there were certain lines a professional just did not cross and Tony knew she was dealing with a professional of some kind.. Her eyes narrowed, and she smiled grimly thinking about what she'd like to do when she got a hold of him.

Brian looked over at Tony and felt a chill. She had a professional aura that was frightening, even to him. But right now, she literally oozed danger. He had only seen this persona once before, and he still remembered the fear he'd felt when she had literally dragged him from his chair blaming him for placing Megan into the hands of a madman. Looking away, Brian almost felt sorry for Sherman. Almost, but not quite.

Megan, Kris and the other two officers saw Tony and Brian approaching. Megan left the group and quickly walked toward her partner, feeling a sense of relief. Tony appeared to be fine. But she was not prepared for the cold faraway look in her partner's eyes and felt a chill when she gazed into them.

Softly, she asked, "Tony, what's wrong?" and tentatively placed a hand on her forearm. She had been listening to the radio conversation between Kris and one of the other officers and knew Sherman had gotten away, but normally her partner would've just taken that in stride. Something must have happened to elicit this kind of reaction, and Megan found it frightening.

Tony shoved her dark thoughts aside and looked at her concerned lover. The dangerous glint began fading from Tony's eyes and she said, "The bastard tossed a kid into the middle of the street to get away." Tony looked away for a moment. "I expect that from the lowlife's I usually deal with, but he is supposed to be a professional."

No wonder her partner was angry. Worried, Megan asked, "Is the child ok?"

Tony placed her hand on Megan's shoulder needing the comfort the contact afforded her. Meeting her partner's worried eyes, she said, "Yes. He's ok. Two of Brian's guys are with him now getting a statement. They'll contact his mother and make sure he gets home ok."

Remembering Brian's comment about the officers that were left behind, she asked, "What's with Kevin and John? How come they stayed here? Kris was the only one that was supposed to stay behind."

Megan narrowed her eyes. She had her own suspicions about that. When she asked the officer why she wasn't joining in the chase, Kris had told her she wanted to make sure he didn't circle back to the restaurant. "She stayed behind because of me, didn't she?"

Tony looked at her lover, a small smile appearing on her face. "You didn't think I was going to leave you out here alone with this guy on the loose, did you?" she said, gently squeezing Megan's shoulder.

The irritation Megan had initially felt faded. She knew on occasion Tony could be overprotective, but it was so comforting to know she could always count on her partner. No, Tony wouldn't leave her alone if she thought there was any chance of danger and she loved that feeling.

Smiling wryly at her partner, she said, "No. Don't guess you would."

Tony grinned, and said, "Glad you see it my way. So, why did the other two stay behind?"

Megan looked at her partner, shaking her head. "You're not going to believe this. After you guys took off, Kris came over to the Jeep where I was sitting. She asked me if I'd seen John or Kevin. When I told her no, she tried to raise them on the radio and couldn't get an answer. So then we both went to their posts." Megan brushed a stray hair out of her face and continued, "We found both of them bound with duct tape. The last thing they remembered was being hit on the head. Neither one heard a thing. I checked them out and they're ok."

Tony listened silently. He had the advantage by knowing what they looked like. Had he been suspicious it was a setup or was he just being extremely cautious and not taking any chances? She didn't know, but then it really didn't matter any way. The operation had failed.

Just then Brian came stalking over, his face dark with anger. Looking at Tony, he said, "Do you know what that bastard did?"

Tony met his gaze, and said, "Yeah. Megan just told me. He had a trump card and he played it. He knows what we look like. That gave him an advantage."

Brian nodded, still angry. "Well, this was a total bust. Now what?"

Tony ran a hand through her hair, and looked off into the distance. Good Question. Now what was right? Turning back to face Brian, she said, "We wait for him to make the next move. The ball is in his court. Right now, we have no idea what he looks like or anything else about him except it's likely he is a professional, so we just wait."

Brian sighed. "All we can do really. Watch your ass," Brian said, and began to walk away. Turning around looking pointedly at Megan, he added, "Both of you."

Megan felt a chill. Lifting her head and meeting Tony's eyes, she said, "I really needed to hear that."

Tony felt a flicker of fear for her partner. After what she had witnessed tonight, she knew her pursuer would stop at nothing to get to her. It greatly distressed her that Megan had been inadvertently drawn into this mess.

Concerned she met her partner's gaze. "He’s right. Do you think you could stay at Ashley’s tonight? I don’t want you staying at the apartment all night by yourself."

"Probably. I’ll call her." Megan felt a sense of relief at the suggestion. The idea of spending another night in the apartment alone was not appealing at all.

Megan pulled the cellular phone out of her purse. After extending the antenna, she pushed the on button and dialed her sister’s number, relieved when she heard the familiar, "Hello."

"Hi, Ashley. Would you mind if I stayed there tonight?" Megan asked.

Ashley set down the glass she was holding, her attention completely on what her sister was saying. "You know you can stay here any time. What's wrong?"

Megan had never called at 10pm wanting to stay at her place. Something had to be going on.

"Remember what we were talking about at lunch Friday?" Megan didn't want to elaborate over the phone.

"You mean about Tony’s accidents?" Ashley asked, remembering how distraught her sister had been. "Are you both ok?"

Hearing the worry in her sister's voice, Megan said, reassuringly, "Yeah, we're fine and it’s about that. I’ll fill you in when I get there."

"Ok. See you in a few," Ashley said, before hanging up. At least they were both ok.

Megan turned off the phone, lowered the antenna and put it back in her purse. Looking up at Tony, she said, "I guess you're going to work."

Tony looked at her partner, puzzled. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I just thought with everything going on…  you did get punched in the face… and let me see your head. You hit it pretty hard. From what I could see it looked like you almost got knocked out." Megan had reached up and was feeling the back of Tony's head. "Yeah, you got a welt back here, all right."

Tony grinned at her partner. "Nice try, Love. But a little bump on the head isn't any reason for me to call off."

Megan had figured it might be worth a shot and smiled back at her partner. "Wait until you look in the mirror and see that nice bruise on your jaw," Megan quipped, exaggerating the injury.

Tony ran her fingers along her jaw. "It’s not very swollen. Can't be too bad."

Megan’s eyes were twinkling, and she said, "It's not. I was just kidding. I thought maybe I could get you to stay home."

Tony smiled, "Now there’s a thought. Wish I could, but you can bet I’ll be by to pick you up first thing in the morning." Tony paused and then added, "Unless you’d rather sleep in. Ashley could probably bring you home later."

"You better be there when you get off," Megan said, grinning, but only partially joking. Tony had to work evenings tomorrow and would have very little time to sleep, and Megan intended to keep an eye on things while she did.

Tony chuckled, and said, "Yes Ma'am. Let’s go see if Kris can take you to Ashley’s. I don’t want to take any chances just in case he’s still around and follows me when I leave."

"What about you? You still have to get to work," Megan said, worried.

Tony met Megan's eyes. "Don't worry. I’ll have my usual escort. I’ll be fine."

"There’s Kris," Tony said, spotting the policewoman. "Let’s see if she can take you over there now."

PART 6

SHERMAN LAY STRETCHED out on his bed in the hotel room, his head resting on his hands. He felt invigorated. Damn that had been fun. It had been so long since any of his cases offered a challenge, they had become almost boring. But not tonight. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so alive. What a rush! He had been set up and they still couldn't catch him. He had to give Viglioni a little credit. She wasn't too bad after all. At least she offered up a challenge. But the local cops were so inept, and talk about out of shape. They had been left in the dust.

His thoughts turned to the tape he had listened to. He knew she was working second shift tomorrow, and she was still being escorted to and from the surveillance site by the local cops.

A plan began to form in his mind. The more he thought about it the more he liked it. Why shouldn't he have some fun with this case? He deserved it. Who knows how long it would be before he found another worthy adversary.

Sitting up, he played different scenarios through his mind. Yep. It was perfect. Chancy and bold, but plausible. This would definitely be a challenge to pull off, and it would make the thrill of the kill so much more satisfying.

*  *  *

Tony unlocked the apartment door and opened it. Once they were inside, she locked it and walked straight into the kitchen. Megan followed her. The kittens appeared from parts unknown meowing loudly.

Megan smiled at them. "Oh. Poor babies. You probably thought we deserted you. Are you hungry?" She took a can of cat food out of the cupboard and emptied it into their dish. Placing it on the floor, she chuckled when the kittens attacked the food with relish. She put fresh water in their dish and after placing it on the floor turned to watch Tony.

Pulling a chair away from the table Tony kneeled down looking under the table. She reached for the tiny bug that had been secured there. Once she had it, she stood up and walked into the living room and plucked the ladybug off the silk plant. Megan followed her into the bathroom and watched as she flushed them both down the toilet.

"I’m so glad those are gone," Megan said, relieved.

"So am I. I’m going to check and make sure he didn’t put any more in here," Tony said, walking out of the bathroom toward the bedroom. A thorough scan with the bug detector revealed no other bugs, much to Megan’s relief.

Megan walked over and hugged Tony. "You need to get some sleep."

"I will. I’m going to take a shower first," Tony said, meeting Megan’s lips for a fleeting kiss.

Megan made a pot of coffee. She would put off errands until tomorrow when Tony was off. She was not about to leave the apartment while her partner was sleeping.

Looking at her ‘watch,’ she felt better. One press of the small button and help would be on the way. Megan hoped he had been scared off after last night. She knew Tony didn’t think so, but she could hope couldn’t she?

The ringing of the phone surprised her. Who would be calling this early on Saturday? Picking up the phone, she said, "Hello."

Huey had expected to hear Tony’s voice and paused for a moment before speaking, prompting Megan to say, "Hello," again.

"Is Tony there?" Huey asked, enjoying the sound of the pleasant voice.

"She’s a little busy right now. May I take a message?" Megan asked, wondering who the caller was.

"Yes. Tell her to call the shop."

"Ok," Megan said, before hanging up the phone. Tony had explained the phone code to her and when he had mentioned the shop, she knew the caller was Huey.

When Tony got out of the shower, Megan said, "Huey called. Isn't it kind of unusual for him to be calling on a Saturday?"

"Yeah, it is. He must have found out something," Tony said, picking up the phone and attaching the scrambling device before dialing Huey’s number.

When he answered, she said, "Viglioni here. I’m secure."

Huey wasted no time filling Tony in. "All hell has broken loose here. Sarah remembered who pulled your record, and when we put the screws to him, he sang. You have a very deadly wet operative after you. His name is Jess Sherman and he is good. Thought you’d better know whom you’re dealing with. I'll fax his picture to you."

Tony digested the information. She wasn’t really surprised. She knew her assailant was professionally trained, even though he had ceased to be a professional in her mind. "Any idea what this is all about?"

"He doesn’t want you to testify. He has a personal stake in this case. That’s all I can tell you right now." Huey had full confidence in Tony's ability to take care of herself, and knew she would use this information to her advantage.

"Thanks Huey. I appreciate it," Tony said, before hanging up the phone. So it was another agent and not a mercenary. In Tony's mind, the worst thing an agent could do was to turn against one of their own. There was an unwritten code of honor among the operatives.

Megan looked at the far away expression in Tony's eyes, and asked, "What’s wrong?"

Leaving her thoughts behind, Tony said, "It seems our "friend" is a rogue agent. I had hoped I was wrong about that."

Megan looked at the pensive expression on Tony's face. "You seem… disappointed or something," Megan said, watching her partner closely.

"I am. Agents don't go after each other because of personal agendas," Tony said, before adding very quietly, "no matter what."

Megan didn't know what to say to that. "There's nothing you can do about it right now. Why don’t you go lay down? We can talk about it when you get up. I’ll get you up if anything unusual happens."

Tony knew there wasn’t anything she could do right now, but she had one more thing on her agenda for the day. "Would you mind calling Brian and getting the name of the best locksmith he knows? I want an electronic lock installed today. We also need to call the security company and see if they can upgrade our alarm and change the code. Tell them it's an emergency and it has to be done today."

Megan was once again hit with the seriousness of their situation. They had no idea when or how he might strike again. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it," she said, happy to have something to keep her busy so she wouldn't have as much time to worry.

Seeing the worried expression on Megan's face, she did not have the heart to tell her that it probably wouldn't do any good. With the right equipment, a lock or an alarm could be disabled in seconds. Her hope was that since Sherman was acting on his own, he might not have the latest equipment. Until Sherman was apprehended, she would just make sure Megan was never in the apartment by herself.

"Thanks, Love." Leaning over and softly kissing her partner, Tony said, "I'm going to bed now."

*  *  *

Megan smiled at David and Mike, and said, "That was fun. I better get going now. I don’t want to be late."

"You’re a good player." David said, grinning at her. It had been fun having Megan over. They didn't see her much now that she had met Tony. He was very happy for both of them, but he did miss her visits.

"Nah. No better that you guys. We all won once," Megan said, chuckling. She’d always liked Pictionary. It was fun to see who could guess what you were drawing.

David and Mike walked with her to the door. "See you Monday," David said.

Smiling, Megan said, "Ok. Bye."

Pulling out of the drive and into the street, Megan looked around her. Tony had followed her to David and Mike’s house to make sure she wasn’t followed. Her partner had assured her no one had followed them, but the fact that Tony had thought it was necessary made her nervous.

Arriving at her parents' house, Megan got out of her car and walked to the side door of the two-story colonial. The house sat on a large lot with the deck facing a large pond. Woods bordered the back yard, and the front yard was gorgeously landscaped with flowers adorning the front of the house bordered by decorative stones.

With a light touch to the doorbell to announce her arrival, she opened the door and walked in.

Barbara walked into the foyer, smiled and said, "Hi, Megan," and then hugged her. "It’s good to see you."

"It’s good to see you too, Mom," Megan said, returning the hug with a smile.

"Your father’s in the living room. Why don’t you go join him while I finish dinner? It should be ready in about a half-hour. Would you like something to drink?"

Megan grinned, caught up in her mother's cheerfulness. "Do you have any iced tea?"

"Made some just for you," her mother, unable to wipe the smile from her face. She had missed her daughter. "Go on. I’ll bring it in."

"Thanks."

Megan walked into the living room. Her father was sitting in the recliner in an upright position. Even when he was off work, he had a professional appearance about him. He wore khakis and a sports shirt with the creases still intact.

"Hi Dad."

"Hello Megan." Waving his arm toward the couch, he said, "Make yourself comfortable."

Megan walked over and sat down. Knowing her father lived for his job, she said, "How’s work?"

"Very busy. We’ve had to add some associates because the firm is in such high demand," Charles said, proudly.

Megan smiled, and said, "That’s great. I know you’ve wanted to expand for a while now. What do Ken and Gene think about the new associates?"

Megan knew the other two senior partners had been reluctant to add more associates. They were concerned about their own profit margins.

"They’re ok with it. We’ve picked up some major new clients, and it allows us time to properly set them up. The associates can handle the routine clients."

Megan’s mother walked in and handed her a glass of iced tea. "Here you go."

"Thanks Mom."

"You’re welcome."

Looking at her husband and daughter, Barbara said, "Dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes," before turning around and walking back to the kitchen. Barbara was pleased. It looked like Megan and her father were doing just fine.

"I saw your picture in the paper. That was quite an impressive write up. It seems like a hard way to get a little recognition, though." Charles said, thinking of his personal agenda for his daughter.

"I like my job, Dad. It’s challenging to try and find evidence and clues to link together what happened to the victim." Megan smiled, warming to a topic she enjoyed. "It’s never boring, and I never stop learning."

She had decided to elaborate so her father would understand what she found fascinating about her job. Maybe then he would realize that she really was doing what she liked.

Charles looked at his daughter. She did seem happy. How could be make her understand that the Donnovan’s just didn’t work in public service? That detracted from the powerful image he had spent years developing. It was a constant source of embarrassment to him that his daughter was a pathologist. If she had to choose medicine, she could have at least chosen a field that was respected like surgery.

Charles stated his argument eloquently, the same way he addressed the court. "But Megan, that’s a gruesome job. I don’t see why you would want to work as a public servant for a pittance of money and little recognition, when you could be sitting in a nice clean office meeting with clients and making real money. It’s not too late to go back to school. With your brains you could probably finish in three years."

Megan looked at the earnest expression on her father’s face. "Dad, I don’t want to be a lawyer," Megan smiled, and continued, "I’d rather do the behind the scenes work. My picture getting in the paper was more of a fluke than anything else."

"If you call almost getting killed a fluke, then yes, it was. You put your life at risk helping to solve that case. You don’t make enough money to be put in that situation." Charles retorted.

"That was an exception. For the most part, my job is quite safe. A sociopath could just as easily target a lawyer," Megan said, watching her father intently.

Before Charles had time to formulate an answer, Barbara called from the dining room, "Dinner’s ready."

Charles and Megan walked into the dining room, and Charles assumed his seat at the head of the table.

Megan looked at the lavishly set table and delicious entrees her mother had made and smiled. There was stuffed Cornish hens, wild rice, asparagus and Cucumber salad.

"This looks great!" Megan said, smiling at her mother.

"I thought you might like it," Barbara said, pleased.

Megan ate, thoroughly enjoying the meal. She knew her mother spent a lot of time and effort in preparing savory meals and was an accomplished cook. She always enjoyed her mother’s creations.

Megan realized how much she missed this part of her relationship with her parents. Serious talk had always been avoided at the dinner table and the conversation revolved around their friends and family.

She listened to her mother talking about her plans for redecorating the den and offered her opinion. Even her father had a few ideas to contribute. Megan relaxed and began enjoying herself.

After dinner, Megan insisted on helping her mother clear the table and put things away while Charles returned to the living room.

Barbara looked at her daughter. "I’m glad you could make it today. We seem to have such a hard time getting together."

Megan had enjoyed the nice quiet dinner so much, and being an eternal optimist, she had to stop a minute, and remember why she avoided visiting her parents. "I know I haven’t been over much, and I miss seeing you both. But Mom, you know why."

"Your father’s only looking out for what he considers your best interests," Barbara said, smiling. "I know you don’t agree on that. But he really just wants the best for you."

"Yeah. I know. But what he thinks is best for me isn’t what I want to do, and I hate to cause hard feelings, so the alternative is to stay away. Looking at her mother and smiling, Megan added, "But I will try to do better."

Barbara smiled back at her daughter. "Good. Besides he’ll eventually come around. Just give him some time."

Megan chuckled ruefully. "Mom, I’m going to be 28 soon. I think if he was going to come around, he’d have done it by now."

Barbara sighed. She knew Megan was probably right. "Well, you never know. It still could happen."

The two women walked into the living room carrying coffee cups. Barbara gave one to Charles, and then sat down on the couch with Megan.

"Have you talked to Taylor lately? She just found out she’s pregnant," Barbara said, looking completely like the happy grandmother she was.

"Oh that’s great! I know they wanted to start a family. When’s she due?" Megan asked grinning.

"March 18th. Ashley, you and I need to get together and plan a shower for her. I thought January might be a good time to do it."

Due to their various schedules, Megan didn't get a chance to see her sisters very often and the idea of helping plan Taylor's shower really appealed to her. With a warm smile lighting up her face, she said, "Ok. That’ll be fun."

Charles took a sip of his coffee and asked, "What about you Megan? Have you been dating anyone?"

How did I know this would come up? Dating anyone… hum… not really, I’m already taken. Leaving her thoughts behind, Megan said, "No, I’m not dating anyone."

Charles looked pointedly at his daughter, and said, "You’re not getting any younger. If you wait too much longer all the suitable young men will be gone."

Barbara looked at her daughter. She was so attractive. She just didn’t understand why the men weren’t flocking after her. The problem was she just spent too much time at work to go out and enjoy herself.

"You know Megan your father has a point. You really should spend more time socially and less at your job. If you don’t go out you can’t meet people."

Megan took a deep breath. She wasn’t in the mood for this conversation right now. There had been too much happening in her life lately, and it wasn’t over. Her partner had put her life on the line last night so that their own lives could return to normal and she just didn’t want to play this particular game with her parents right now. With those thoughts in mind, she decided to put an end to the topic.

Looking her father in the eyes, she said, "I am very happy with my life the way it is. So can we please talk about something else?"

Charles was angered by what he perceived as a disrespectful remark from his daughter.

"You don’t run this house, and it would behoove you to listen to your mother and me on this. I expect you to show a little respect, and when I’m ready to change the subject, I will."

"Charles," Barbara said, hoping to avoid a potential showdown, "If she doesn’t want to talk about this right now…"

Charles was not about to be deterred. "Well when are we going to talk about it? She hardly ever comes over. I think this is as good a time as any."

Megan looked sadly from one parent to the other. This just didn’t make any sense. They were talking about her like she wasn’t even in the room. Standing up, Megan said, "I’m going to go now. Thanks for dinner. It was great…"

Rising to his feet, Charles said, "And just where do you think you’re going? I want to know when you’re going to start acting like a Donnovan? It’s bad enough you have that public servant job, so the least you can do is marry into our class of people."

Charles paused, unsuccessfully trying to calm down. "I know it’s not because there aren’t plenty of eligible young men interested in you. I introduced you to Eric and Jeffrey at the last party we had. They both asked you out, and you turned them down."

The stress of the last week had taken its toll and Megan's eyes began flashing, and her temper flared. Words fell freely from her mouth before she could stop them. "I already met someone. She’s a wonderful woman that I love more than I ever thought was possible."

Megan realized what she’d said when she saw the shocked expressions on her parents’ faces. I wanted to tell them, but not like this, and not today. Resigning herself to the explosion she knew was coming, she met her father’s widened eyes.

"You’re telling me you’re a Lesbian? You like women?" Charles sputtered incredulously.

Looking at Barbara, he said, "What did we do wrong?"

Megan looked at her father, and said, "Dad, it's not about that. It’s about love."

Shifting her gaze back and forth between her parents, Megan continued, hoping she could help them understand her feelings, "I am happier than I’ve ever been. When I met her, I knew there was something special about her. I never felt that way about anyone before."

Barbara didn’t know what to say. Her daughter’s face softened when she talked about her feelings. This was just such a shock.

Charles still couldn't believe his ears. "You’re going to disgrace the entire family. How could you do this to us?"

"No I’m not, Dad. You are respected and liked in the community. That’s not going to change, and besides, how would any of your associates know anyway?" Megan said, reasonably.

Barbara thought about the few conversations she'd had with Megan lately. Some of the things her daughter had said, now made more sense. She just hadn't been paying attention. "It’s that FBI agent, isn’t it?"

Megan looked at her mother, and said, "Yes Mom. She really is great. You’d like her."

Charles' face began to turn red, anger replacing the shock. "You are wrong. I will not allow you to disgrace the family like this. Until you come to your senses, you are not welcome in this house anymore."

"Charles," Barbara said, warningly. "Megan, he doesn’t mean that."

Megan felt her stomach tighten, and fought to control her emotions. Looking at her mother, she said, "I hoped you might understand."

Turning to look at her angry father, she said, "I’m sorry you feel that way," and then she turned and walked to the side door, letting herself out.

Barbara tried to follow, but Charles grabbed her arm and stopped her. "I meant what I said."

Barbara glared at her husband. "Charles you’re wrong. She’s our daughter."

Charles met his wife's eyes unflinchingly. "This is my house, and I will not allow her to disgrace it with her deviant behavior."

Megan got into her car very depressed. It shouldn’t have come to this. She knew she should have reined in her temper, but they would have had to know sooner or later anyway. Tony was too important to her. But she’d never expected her father to ban her from the house.

Putting the car into gear and pulling into the street, Megan was unaware of the tears falling down her face until she had to pull over, no longer able to see clearly. A little while later, her tears in check, she pulled back onto the road and began driving across town.

Megan turned the car toward the place she had always found solace, the shores of Lake Erie. It was still light out and the beach was not crowded, but populated enough to be safe. Megan parked the car, and walked along the beach, the ever present shells crunching under her feet. Leaving the beach in favor of one of the docks, she began walking across the warped, uneven boards, passing all the people that were fishing. When she got to the end of the dock, she stood for a moment looking out over the lake, before sitting down on the hard surface near the end.

The tears started again, and she let them flow unchecked. Mostly she felt so incredibly sad. She longed for the comforting feel of Tony’s arm around her. She knew her father could be very intolerant, but she’d just had not expected that reaction. Megan had always justified his actions by convincing herself, that in his own way, he was looking out for her. After today, she could no longer pretend that was true.

Megan stayed until the moon was visible and the other patrons began leaving before she finally got up and walked back to her car. A brief smile appeared when she remembered that Tony was off tomorrow.

Megan thought back to her conversation with Tony that afternoon, before she had followed her over to David's house. Her partner had insisted she go to Ashley's house until she got home from work, and had a chance to check out the apartment. Tony had assured her that she would be home by midnight, but to call first, just to make sure she was there.

Looking at her watch, Megan sighed. It was 10pm. She loved her sister dearly, but she just didn't want to see her tonight. Ashley had known she was having dinner with their parents' and would want to know how it went, and she just didn't want to talk about it. Her emotions were still too raw. The only person she wanted to see was Tony.

Sitting in the car, lightly drumming her fingers on the wheel, she decided to go home. She knew Tony would be mad, but with the new lock and alarm system installed, it should be safe enough. Megan really didn't think Sherman would come to the apartment any way. If he wanted to confront Tony in the apartment, he could already have done so.

*  *  *

Sherman was leaning against the vanity waiting for someone to get home. The closet door was already open so he could quickly and quietly move into it. He had known the girlfriend would be at her parents' house, and Tony would be working evenings from information he had gleaned from the tapes. He didn’t even bother checking for a tape today. After last night, it was obvious she knew about the bugs.

His thoughts turned to his target. He acknowledged a grudging respect for her. The sting operation had been cleverly set up and executed. It would have trapped anyone less skilled than he was. He chuckled softly. I never even suspected it was a setup.

The faint noise had attracted the attention of the kittens and they wandered back to the bedroom, looking at the strange man curiously. He had chased them out of the room once and they were leery of him, and poised for flight. Sherman stood up and stomped his foot down hard on the floor, frightening both kittens and grinning coldly when they ran. They come back again and I just might take some target practice.

Shifting the car into gear, Megan pulled out of the parking area and drove the short distance to the apartment. Parking in her usual spot, she took the elevator to the fourth floor. Punching in the numbers to open the electronic lock, she entered the apartment and was greeted by two meowing kittens. Stepping around them, she walked over to the alarm and deactivated it. Stooping down to pet the kittens, she smiled at the loud purrs.

"Did you two miss me? I missed you." Glancing around, Megan asked the kittens, "What did you two get in to while I was gone?"

Huggy and Velcro continued rubbing up against her legs and purring contentedly. Chuckling, Megan said, "Guess I’d better go look around."

Standing up, she walked into the dining room and then to the living room, dodging the kittens who were accompanying her. Everything looked fine. Megan walked down the hall glancing in the bathroom, surprised that the door was open. She thought she’d closed it when she left. One time of cleaning up toilet paper strewn all over the apartment was enough for anyone. At least she’d gotten lucky and they hadn’t attacked the new roll.

As Megan was closing the door, Huggy ran into the bathroom and jumped up on the toilet seat. "Oh no you don’t," Megan said, and lifted the kitten up carrying her out of the bathroom and closing the door.

Setting Huggy down, Megan walked over to the balcony. Opening the sliding glass door, she stepped outside and walked to the railing. The warm breeze felt good, and Megan looked up at the sky. The moon and stars were already visible, but tonight she took little joy in the sight.

Megan just wanted it to be time for Tony to get home. She bent down and absently stroked the soft fur of the two kittens that had joined her on the balcony.

Megan thought back over the events that had transpired at her parents’ house. She had done a lot of soul searching at the beach, and felt she had done the right thing by telling her parents about her and Tony. She did acknowledge she could have handled it better, but the outcome would probably have been the same.

It wouldn’t do any good to dwell on it, but she really hadn’t wanted to estrange her parents either. Why is everything so complicated? Megan knew there was no obvious answer to that question the moment it crossed her mind. She also knew that she was not willing to sacrifice the love she had found by living a lie, just to please her family.

Tony was the most important person in her life. She was her best friend, confidant, lover, and partner. Her life would not be complete without her. The love and happiness she’d found was not something she was willing to let go of, nor did she want to. In time, maybe she could help her parents to understand that.

Suddenly uneasy, Megan turned around and looked back into the apartment. Goose bumps had formed on her arms and the hair on the back of her neck was standing up. She’d felt for a moment like she was being watched. Shaking off the sudden chill, she decided she was probably just overreacting to all the stress of the evening.

Sherman barely ducked his head back into the hallway in time. He’d only been watching her for a minute when she suddenly turned around. He’d have to be more careful. He didn’t want to reveal his presence yet.

Walking back inside, Megan closed and latched the balcony door. Even though she remembered locking the door when she got home, Megan walked over to the door and double-checked the lock. It was bolted. Her overactive imagination was obviously at work here. The door had been locked when she got home and the alarm had been set. No one could have gotten in. But still uneasy, she walked down the hall and looked into both bedrooms, before returning to the one they shared.

Megan sat on the bed. It would be another hour at least before Tony got home. She might as well take a shower while she was waiting for her partner to get off. The warm soothing water would help relax her. Taking her nightshirt off the hook on the door, she walked down the hall to the bathroom quickly entering and closing the door so the kittens couldn’t run in.

Megan took a towel out of the linen cupboard and turned on the shower, adjusting the water. Undressing, she stepped into the shower and let the warm water cascade over her. She felt some of the tension begin to melt away.

Sherman opened the closet door. He was extremely glad they were louvered. It allowed him to see part of the room and enabled him to hear better. He’d always had high energy, and staying out of sight in the closet was very confining.

Grinning, knowing she couldn’t hear him, Sherman stepped into the hallway and looked at the bathroom door.

Megan turned off the shower and pulled the curtain simultaneously letting out a blood-curdling scream when she realized someone was standing there.

Tony jumped, startled when her partner screamed, and quickly moved forward wrapping her arms around her.

"What’s wrong? It’s only me. I knocked on the door first so you would hear me." Tony said, trying to comfort her shaken partner.

She'd been surprised to see Megan's car in the garage and figured something must be wrong since she had come home instead of going to Ashley's house like they'd agreed on.

Megan felt her thundering heart begin to slow. "Sorry. I’ve been a little jumpy tonight. I didn’t hear you knock and you’re really early," Megan said, clinging tightly to her partner, so relieved that her words came in a rush.

Tony continued to hold her partner, waiting for her breathing to return to normal. Megan, much calmer, looked up into the concerned blue eyes gazing at her. Smiling ruefully, and releasing her partner, she said, "Oh look. I’ve gotten you all wet."

Tony picked up the towel and handed it to Megan. "Here you go. I’ll go make us something to drink. Want some tea?"

Megan took the towel, still relieved to see her, and smiled.. "That would be great."

But Tony’s keen hearing had picked up a background noise when Megan screamed. That, combined with the fact that her partner was jumpy put Tony in a very dangerous mode. She knew the kittens could have made the noise she heard, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

Putting her finger up to her lips signaling for quiet, she waited for Megan to towel off and put her sleeping shirt on. Tony pointed toward the kitchen and waited until her partner walked down the hall and disappeared into the doorway.

Tony had set her gun down on the toilet tank when she entered the bathroom. For some reason she had wanted to keep it near. The thought crossed her mind that it was a good thing she had. Picking up the gun and flipping the safety off, she began walking very slowly and quietly down the hall, hairpin reflexes ready to react at the slightest provocation.

Sherman cursed silently. He had been surprised to hear the apartment door open knowing Tony wasn’t due home yet, and had moved back into the bedroom. Just when he was backing into the closet, a piercing scream had penetrated the air. Startled, he bumped his head on the doorframe.

He stood in the closet with his gun in his hand, listening for any sound that might indicate he’d been heard. Sherman still preferred the element of surprise, and would rather wait until Tony had settled in. The chances of her having her gun near then would be slim. He had already looked around the apartment and hadn’t seen any weapons. This led him to believe that she probably only had the weapons she carried on her person.

Megan walked into the kitchen, her heart pounding painfully. Tony thought he was in the apartment. The idea that someone could be in the apartment… or was in the apartment gave her the creeps. The thought that maybe someone had been watching her, caused a chill to course through her.

Her sudden chill turned to fear for her partner. Please be careful. The metamorphosis her partner had gone through was still imprinted on her mind, and she still found it amazing that the aura surrounding her partner changed instantaneously the moment she sensed danger. But that didn't diminish the fear she felt for her. If this guy was in the apartment, he had the advantage. Tony would have no idea where he was and what if she didn't see him until it was too late?

Standing just inside the kitchen, Megan strained her ears listening for anything that would let her know what was happening. She didn't want to get in Tony's way, but she had to see what was going on. She would be ready if Tony needed her help. Poking her head around the doorway, she took a quick look down the hallway.

Tony kept her back at the wall walking sideways to present the smallest possible target. She knew he was in the apartment. Her body was screaming warnings. Once she had gotten over the shock of Megan screaming and the odd sound had registered in her mind, her body had reacted instinctively and all her fine tuned senses kicked into gear.

Arriving at the bedroom doorway, she took a quick look inside before pulling her head back, not wanting to give her assailant a target. Quickly kneeling, her weight supported on one knee, she trained her eyes on the space under the bed.

Thankful for the light cast by the lamp, she could make out no unnatural shadows. Standing, she took a step through the doorway her back against the open door.

Velcro was following her favorite mom. This was a new game. Her mom was acting very funny. Slinking down the hall she stopped near Tony’s feet, and crouched down, her tail twitching.

Quickly boring of the game, Velcro ran down the hallway and into the other bedroom. Braver now that her mom was home, she walked over to the closet door and batted it with her paw.

Sherman silently cursed again. That damn kitten was back again. His view was limited through the louvers and he couldn’t see the entire room but he could see the kitten sitting in front of the door trying to get her paw through one of the louvers.

It was extremely quiet in the apartment, but that didn’t mean anything. Both women could be in the front part of the apartment.

Periodically peering around the doorway and watching Tony's progress down the hall, Megan suddenly realized she had left her ‘watch’ in the bathroom. Knowing instinctively that they might need it if that guy really was in the apartment, she looked down the hallway to see where Tony was. .Megan saw her partner look into their bedroom. Taking a deep breath, and moving very quietly, she started down the hallway to the bathroom.

Tony caught movement in her peripheral vision and saw Megan walking down the hall toward the bathroom. Her heart began beating faster and she thought, No, No. What are you doing? Get back in the kitchen. It's not safe. Waving her back, she saw Megan hold up a finger in a ‘just a minute’ signal. Go back, Tony pleaded silently. Keeping her eyes peeled for any movement from the bedroom, Tony stayed where she, was and breathed a silent sigh of relief, when she saw Megan hold up the watch and retreat back to the kitchen.

Now that her partner was out of immediate danger, Tony quirked a small grin. That was a good idea. It wouldn’t hurt to have help if they needed it. The thought surprised her. Nice to know her world had grown to include people she could count on.

Stealthily walking further into the bedroom, she looked at the closet. It was the most logical place of concealment. Tony moved next to the closet door and pressed her body against the wall.

In a sudden quick movement, she flung the door open before plastering herself back against the wall, her gun trained on the entrance. There was no movement, and she instinctively knew no one was hiding in there.

Moving away from the wall to the front of the closet, her body was poised to jump out of the way at any indication of danger. She looked in the closet. It was empty.

Sherman began slowly turning the doorknob. The kitten quit trying to put a paw through the louvers, and looked up at the moving handle. When the door began to slowly open, the kitten bolted out the room and into the hallway running past Tony and into the kitchen.

Tony noticed the kitten’s flight, and stopped outside the other bedroom door. Totally focused she listened for any sound coming from the room.

Megan paced back and forth in the kitchen. It seemed like Tony had been back there forever when, in fact, it had only been a couple of minutes. She almost jumped when Velcro came sliding across the floor, coming to a stop near Huggy.

Walking to the doorway she looked down the hall and saw Tony standing outside the second bedroom door before quickly pulling her head back into the kitchen. Maybe this was just a false alarm. Obviously there had been no one in the first bedroom. Yeah, right.

Sherman was pressed against the wall in the bedroom next to the door. Hearing nothing, he eased around the door only to bump into an equally startled tall, dark woman.

Tony reacted a millisecond faster and grabbed the arm holding the gun pointed at her, shoving it up and simultaneously pressing hard on a nerve in the wrist. Sherman had started to squeeze the trigger and the gun went off, the bullet imbedding in the wall.

Megan’s heart almost stopped when she heard the gunfire. Immediately activating the button on the watch, she ran to the apartment door unlocking it. Running back into the kitchen, she looked down the hallway, quickly pulling her head back when she saw that Tony seemed to be unharmed.

Sherman was unable to stop his hand from opening and the gun fell to the floor. Brutally driving his other elbow into Tony, he threw his weight against her propelling them across the hall, their momentum stopped when their bodies impacted against the opposite wall.

Having a slight advantage now, Sherman grabbed Tony’s arm and slammed it against the wall, causing the gun to fall from her hand.

Tony had finally got her breath back from the blow to her solar plexus, and she pushed away from the wall attempting to free herself, while simultaneously drawing her knee up in an attempt to incapacitate Sherman with a groin hit.

Expecting the move, Sherman jumped back out of the way and while Tony was off balance, he once against threw his weight against her driving her into the wall, raising his hands to her neck and choking her.

His grip was like iron and Tony resisted the urge to grab his wrists and attempt to dislodge his hands. Already feeling the lack of oxygen, she raised her arms and forcefully smacked her open hands against his ears with strength fortified by adrenalin. The blow caused a slight loosening of the choke hold and sucking in some much needed air, she brought her arms up between his and in an outward sweeping motion, she broke his hold on her neck. At the moment his hands loosened, Tony drove her head into his face, her forehead impacting with his nose, followed by a crushing blow to his chin with her elbow.

Sherman jumped back, tears blinding him. In excruciating pain, his hands involuntarily covering his bloody nose, he backed away from her trying to stay out of her reach in the narrow confines of the hallway. Lowering a hand to his pocket, he extracted a switchblade and pressed the button snapping the blade into place. Extending his arm in a slashing motion with the knife, he began to move toward her, his vision slowly improving.

Quickly back peddling, Tony began circling him, staying clear of the reach of the knife, looking for an opportunity for to disarm him and deliver a crippling blow. But Sherman was protecting himself by countering her attempts to get closer by leading with the knife. Turning sideways to present a smaller target, he circled warily, the dance of the two adversaries well underway.

Megan continued to observe the battle knowing it was best if she stayed out of the way. She had already started down the hallway once, before Tony broke the choke hold around her neck. She had watched Tony in action before, and had full confidence in her ability to protect herself. But this guy was heavier than she was, and it was obvious he was also very highly trained.

When Sherman pulled the knife Megan’s temper flared. She’d be damned if he was going to harm her lover if she could do anything about it. Tony didn’t have anything to protect herself with. Looking around the kitchen for a weapon, her eyes settled on the heavy round, paperweight sitting on the table. It was about the size of a baseball except it was flat on the bottom. A pretty yellow flower was suspended in the middle of it.

Grabbing the paperweight off the table, she waited until Sherman’s back was toward her, and then stepped into the mouth of the hallway. Waiting until Tony noticed her, she hefted the paperweight in her hand, and drew her arm back sending it forcefully through the air, satisfied when it landed solidly in the middle of Sherman’s back.

Megan knew it wouldn’t really hurt him, but her intent was to distract him so that Tony could disarm him.

Sherman was unable to check the automatic impulse to turn his head at the sharp pain that shot through his back when the paperweight hit him.

Tony immediately threw her leg up into a front kick, connecting solidly with his wrist. Sherman grunted in pain, both of them hearing the snap of a bone as the knife fell to the floor.

Holding his injured wrist against his chest, Sherman threw a brutal sidekick toward Tony. She danced out of the way and let go of a roundhouse that snapped his head back and stunned him. Immediately following up with a solid kick to the groin, Sherman dropped to the ground.

Tony reached down and picked up her gun, training it on the other agent. Her thoughts were dark, the image of a terror stricken boy laying in the middle of a busy street flickering in slow motion through her mind. Her finger tightened against the trigger.

Suddenly she felt a warm hand on her arm, and a concerned voice asked, "Tony… are you ok?"

Taking a deep breath, Tony said, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Just then the front door banged open and two uniformed cops entered the apartment with their guns drawn.

Megan called out, "Down there," and the two officers quickly walked down the hallway, taking in the scene.

Not knowing either patrolman, Tony said, "FBI. Would you cuff this guy to something?"

One of the officers grabbed Sherman hauling him to his feet and took him into the living room fastening the cuff to Sherman’s uninjured wrist and fastening the other end around the metal frame of the heavy computer table. Putting his gun away, he pulled out his radio and called for an ambulance.

The other officer asked Tony to surrender her gun. Knowing this was just routine procedure, she handed it to him.

Taking her weapon, the patrolman put his gun in his holster and began questioning Tony and Megan.

Brian arrived and walked into the apartment. Taking over the questioning, he quickly had a summary of the events.

When Tony got to the end of her statement she mentioned her gun had been confiscated,

"You never fired your gun, right?" Brian asked.

"No. Never had a chance to," Tony said, her face grim.

Brian had no doubt she would have liked to, though. Turning to the officer that had her weapon, he said, "Give her back her gun. She’s an FBI agent and they have jurisdiction on this case."

Tony picked up the phone, and called the number she had been given to reach Huey after hours. When he answered, she said, "We got him."

"You ok?"

"I’m fine. But Sherman managed to break his wrist in the scuffle," she paused, and then added, "and probably his nose too."

"With some help from you, I’m sure," Huey quipped back.

"A little," Tony said, smiling. "The local cops are going to take him to the hospital and then hold him until you can get someone here to pick him up."

"I’ll have someone there tomorrow morning."

When the apartment finally cleared out, Tony walked over and hugged Megan. Returning the hug, Megan asked, "I’m so glad you’re ok. How did you get home so early?"

"Braxton finally gave the word to move in. All the principal players were gathered at the site and when we let him know that, he realized it was too good of an opportunity to pass up."

"It’s finally really over."

"Um hum. You know you got a real mean fastball, Love. That was a good idea. Thanks," Tony said, smiling at her lover.

"I had to do something… when he pulled that knife…" Megan trailed off remembering the anger and fear she had felt.

Tony bent her head placing a soft kiss on Megan’s lips. "And you did."

Cocking her head to the side and raising an eyebrow, Tony said, "I'd like to ask you something." Gazing into Megan eyes, she said, "When I saw your car in the garage, I knew you were home. Why?"

Megan took in the serious expression on Tony's face, and looked away. She figured Tony would be upset about her coming home and considering what had happened, she was surprised she wasn't angrier. "I didn't want to go to Ashley's. I figured you be home soon and we had just put on the new lock, so I thought it would be ok."

Damn. I should have warned her about the lock. "Megan," Tony waited until her lover looked at her. Looking at the expression on her partner's face, she asked, "What's wrong? Why didn't you want to go to Ashley's? Did something happen at your parents'?"

Megan sighed, and answered the last question. "Yeah, it did." Releasing Tony, she said, "Want something to drink?" and then she turned around and walked toward the kitchen.

Tony watched her partner walk away and then followed her. It was obvious Megan was upset.

Megan put water in the tea kettle, and asked, "Is tea ok?"

"Sounds great," Tony said, watching her partner closely, trying to read the expression on her face. The closest read Tony could come up with was sadness.

Walking over to her partner, and looking into the troubled hazel eyes, Tony asked, "Want to talk about it?"

Megan peered into the warm blue eyes and felt the love and concern they reflected. Giving Tony a quick hug before releasing her, she said, "Yeah. I do."

The teakettle began whistling and Megan quickly made two cups of tea handing one to Tony. "Let’s talk in the living room."

Settling on the couch, Megan snuggled close to Tony. She wanted and needed the contact. Tony put her arm around her partner, and waited for her to begin.

By the time Megan had finished relating the events of the evening, her eyes were moist again, but no tears fell. She had already been through the gamut emotionally between her parents and fear for Tony’s life when she was fighting the other agent. There just weren’t any more left.

Tony had listened quietly while Megan talked. Not knowing how to make her lover feel better, she said, "I’m sorry. But Megan it sounds more to me like your Dad had the biggest problem with it, not your Mom."

"Yeah, I know. But ever since we were little, she always supported his decisions. She never stuck up for us." Megan paused, gathering her thoughts and then continued, "But you know what? I’m glad I told them. I love you, and if they can’t accept that, then maybe it’s better this way."

The depth of feeling she felt for the smaller woman snuggled against her, suddenly impacted on Tony. Capturing her partner’s eyes with her own, she said, "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

A warm smile covered Megan’s face, and she said, "Yes I do. Because I love you just as much."

*  *  *

Megan walked into the kitchen trailed closely by two meowing kittens. Opening the canister containing the Gevelia Colombian blend, she carefully measured 3 ½ level scoops into the filtered basket and filled the pot to the 5-cup level.

After turning it on, she took a can of cat food out of the cupboard and emptied it into the kittens’ dish. "You know you two could eat a little dry food once in a while."

Unlocking the apartment door, she retrieved the paper before locking the door and returning to the kitchen. Sitting at the kitchen table, Megan opened the paper and began to peruse the news.

She wasn’t surprised she had awakened before Tony. She had entertained the idea of just staying in bed waiting for her lover to wake up, but she’d had to go to the bathroom and figured she might as well stay up rather than take a chance and wake Tony. She’d only had a few hours of sleep on Saturday, and with everything that had happened Friday night and then last night, she had to be exhausted.

Tony woke up to the smell of coffee wafting into the bedroom. She loved the smell of brewing coffee, but she was surprised she had not heard her partner get up.

Walking into the kitchen after a stop at the bathroom, she smiled and said, "Morning Love."

Megan looked up when Tony walked into the room. Her eyes twinkling, she said, "Hi sleepy head."

Tony grinned, "Sleepy head, huh. Look who’s talking."

She walked over to Megan and bent down and kissed her. Getting a cup of coffee, she sat down at the table.

"Anything interesting in the paper?"

"Not really," Megan said handing Tony the part she had already looked at.

Standing up, she walked over to the refrigerator and opened the door looking for the can of orange juice she had taken out to thaw yesterday. Where had she put it anyway?

Tony took in the sight of her partner bending over looking for something in the refrigerator. She had an unobstructed view of her lovely muscular legs. Not interested in the newspaper anymore, she got up and walked over to the refrigerator and leaned over Megan asking, "What’re you looking for?"

Megan had sensed Tony behind her and wondered why her partner was so interested in what she was looking for. "I thought I took out some orange juice yesterday and I can’t find it."

Tony placed her arms around Megan’s waist pulling her against her body. Moving her mouth next to her partner’s ear, she breathed, "You have gorgeous legs." Stepping backward, still holding Megan around the waist, she began placing warm moist kisses on the side of her neck. Feeling the chair behind her, she sat down pulling Megan onto her lap.

Goose bumps ran up and down Megan’s body at the feel of the soft moist lips against her neck. When Tony sat down, she turned sideways on her lap and raised both of her arms placing her hands in her partner’s thick soft hair, pulling her head down meeting her slightly parted lips with her own. Thrusting her tongue deeply into Tony’s mouth, she felt her desire escalating with the answering plunge of her partner’s.

The passionate kiss was sending shivers up and down Tony’s body. Keeping her mouth locked on her lover’s, she lifted the edge of Megan’s sleeping shirt and moved her hand under it finding the breast she was seeking. Kneading it softly she felt her partner’s intake of breath and thrust her tongue deeply into her mouth her fingers lightly caressing a nipple.

Megan moaned and placed a hand on Tony’s chest and pushed back, breaking the sensuous kiss. "Tony… wait."

Tony stilled her hands, and looked into her lover’s passion filled eyes. Her voice throaty with desire, she said, "I want to make love to you, Megan."

Megan’s heart was already racing and the sound of the low sensuous voice sent another shiver down her body. "I want to make love to you, too," Megan said. Standing up on shaky knees, she extended her hand to her partner, "Come on."

Tony took hold of Megan’s hand and followed her into their bedroom. Tony pulled her sleeping shirt over her head and tossed it out of the way, watching Megan do the same with hers.

Tony felt a jolt to her core when she raked her eyes down the length of Megan’s body, from the full firm breasts, to the small waist and muscular abdomen, to the curly golden hair and the shapely muscular legs.

Megan felt every nerve in her body reacting to the way Tony was looking at her. Unable to hold back any longer, she stepped toward Tony and wrapped her arms around her.

Tony placed her hands on Megan’s buttocks and pulled her closer running her hands over the round firm skin. Megan moved her mouth to a dark nipple and sucked on it gently. Hearing her partner groan, she moved her other hand up and began kneading the other breast while she caressed the nipple that her mouth had captured lightly with her teeth.

Tony didn’t know how much longer she could stand there under the sensuous onslaught of her partner. Guiding them toward the bed, she laid down pulling Megan down with her.

Maneuvering herself over her lover, Tony lowered herself until she was supported with her elbows on either side of Megan. The swirling gold specks in the emerald green eyes that were darkened by desire captivated her. Lowering her lips to her partner’s, she kissed her deeply before moving her mouth to her neck, placing warm moist kisses along it until she found the pulse point where she stopped and sucked lightly.

Megan didn’t know how much longer she could hold out. The nerve endings in her body were all reacting nonstop, sending pleasurable sensations up and down her body. "I can’t wait. Take me Tony."

The words were an aphrodisiac to Tony and she parted Megan’s legs and moved her body down between them. Feeling the wet curls against her stomach escalated her own desire even higher. Kissing her way down to the full firm breasts, she took one in each hand kneading them gently before squeezing the nipples between her thumb and finger while continuing to kiss the silky soft skin between them.

Megan had already begun rhythmically thrusting her hips against her lover, her body demanding release. Tony continued to knead her breasts while she kissed her way down to the top of the golden curly hair.

Megan hands were on Tony’s head. "Oh God. Now, please." Tony’s body was reacting to her lover’s desire and her center was aching. Moving her hands from Megan’s breasts she placed them under her partner’s legs lifting them to her shoulders.

Tony’s heart began racing even faster at the sight in front of her. Lowering her head she began tasting the sweet musky fluid of her lover. Megan had both hands on her head urging her on. Tony flicked her tongue lightly over Megan’s center before returning to it and sucking gently.

Megan screamed her release, her legs locked around Tony’s head, as first one then another powerful orgasm ripped through her body. Holding Megan tightly until the last shudder passed through her body, she moved up next to her lover wrapping her in her arms.

"You are so good," Megan said when she found her voice.

"Only because I have a great partner," Tony said smiling at the woman she loved.

Megan raised a hand to Tony’s face and caressed the soft skin with her fingers. "I love you."

"I love you too, Love."

Megan began running her fingers lightly across the silky skin of Tony’s abdomen before moving her hand upward and tracing invisible designs on the perfectly formed full breasts.

Tony felt her heart start racing again and the throbbing between her legs increased in intensity. Megan smiled at her partner, her hands never stopping. Leaning over, she ran her tongue around one of the nipples before capturing it with her mouth and the lovers continued to explore the physical side of their love long into the night.

*  *  *

A week had passed since Tony’s assailant had been captured and their lives had finally returned to normal. Tony and Megan were watching the news after work.

When it was over, Tony said, "Huey called today."

"Oh really? Are you going to have to testify?"

"He doesn’t think so. They have so much evidence against what he is calling a vigilante group that he said I will only have to give a deposition, which I can do here."

"That’s good. I’m just glad it’s over," Megan said smiling at her partner.

The phone rang and Megan picked it up.

"Hello."

"Hi Megan," Barbara said, "it’s Mom," she added unnecessarily.

Megan raised her eyebrows surprised. "Hi Mom," she said, not knowing what to expect.

It sounded so good to hear her daughter’s voice. Even though it had only been a week since she had seen her, it felt so much longer. Barbara did not agree with Charles, and had decided regardless of how he felt, she was not going to ignore her daughter. She had always supported him, even when she didn’t agree with his decisions. This was one time she couldn’t do that.

And she had to admit she was a little curious. Well ok, very curious about the FBI agent that had apparently stolen her daughter’s heart. What was so special about her that she would risk her father’s wrath? Surely she’d known what his reaction would be.

"Mom… you still there?"

"Yes dear, I’m here. I was wondering when we could go to dinner?" Barbara paused, and then added, "I mean all three of us. You and me and your friend. I’d like to meet her if she wants to come."

The small smile on Megan’s face grew in intensity, and she said, "Just a minute. Let me ask her."

Holding her hand over the mouthpiece, she said, "My mother wants to meet you and thought it would be nice if we could all go to dinner together."

Tony smiled warmly at her partner, and said, "Sure. Whenever you want, Love."

THE END