Author's notes: From what Rachel revealed about her father in the series, he seemed to be, shall we say, somewhat authoritarian? I always wondered what he would think of Jacob and vice a versa. This story is the result. I agree with Lattelady's notion that Rachel is not only an only child, but that her mother died when she was young and she was raised by her father, with whom she has a difficult relationship. (and yes, she is ok with this, Lattelady I mean, not Rachel. I'm sure Rachel is very sad that her relationship with her father is so rocky.) This story follows on from Snow Day and California Dreaming.

Disclaimer: No one else seems to want them, so why can't I play with them?

Prelude:

Jacob Hood sat quietly, a glass of scotch in one hand, two envelopes in the other. Envelopes with the return address of the California Department of Public Health. They were finally here, the certified copies of his marriage license and Maggie's death certificate. His lips twitched as he remembered his and Rachel's frustration when they discovered that it wasn't as easy to get a marriage license in Maryland as they had assumed. Jacob, without thinking, had checked the box on the application confirming that he had previously been married. That meant before a license could be issued, he needed to produce proof that he was legally free to marry.

Rachel had been appalled at his suggestion that they merely go to another county. After all, he pointed out, they both knew that he was legally free to marry, why worry about the paperwork? Rachel pointed out that a fraudulent marriage license meant that their marriage wouldn't be valid.

"But Rachel," he had protested, "who would know?"

"I'd know," she replied with her best glare.

They had just returned from a difficult case, one that had drained both of them physically, emotionally, and mentally. Neither of them had much sleep for the past four days and Rachel had fallen into bed, exhausted, as soon as they returned home. Jacob, unable to sleep just yet, sat down with his scotch and their accumulated mail.

He was tempted to wake Rachel to give her the news. He decided not to wake her; he had come to think that their original plan needed a few modifications. He knew she would object. Rubbing his hands over his face, he decided that maybe he could sleep now, it would be better to tackle Rachel in the morning.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Rachel slowly came awake, sighing contentedly at the warmth of Jacob's body pressed against hers; the feel of his arms around her body. They rarely shared a bed when in the field; Rachel worried that they would be discovered in a compromising position, so waking in his arms was an experience she savored.

"Morning, sleepyhead." Jacob brushed his lips across her temple.

"Ummm," Rachel murmured, stretching against him. "What time is it?"

"It's not quite 9:00."

"Good, considering the time we got in last night, I told Felix not to worry about showing up at work until after lunch." She turned in Jacob's arms and pulled his head down for a kiss. "So, how does a morning in bed sound to you?"

Jacob smiled against her lips, his hands running slowly over her body. The feel of her never failed to arouse him. He slipped his hands under her t-shirt and pulled it over her head. His one hand returned to the back of her head, holding her it in place as he kissed her, his tongue thrusting deeply into her mouth. His other hand slowly traveled down the length of her body. Rachel purred with pleasure as his hand found her breasts, his fingers gently massaging them, and before it slid to her hip, tugging her off her panties. He caressed her ass, her thighs, his hand stoked back up her body, lightly caressing her belly, her ribs.

Rachel hooked a leg around Jacob's hip pulling him closer. Jacob broke off his kiss and shifted his body, lightly pushing Rachel onto her back. He began kissing his way down her chest, lightly licking her nipples. His mouth left her breast and continued down her abdomen. "Ohhh, I've missed you," she murmured. She grabbed the back of his t-shirt, pulling it up and over his head. "That, you, feels so damn good."

Jacob kissed her belly and slid back up her body. "I've missed you too sweetheart." He groaned at feel of her hands running down his back, over his sides. Holding her against him, he kissed her deeply, his tongue teasing hers. He gasped as Rachel's hand ran down to the waistband of his sleep pants, sliding inside to grasp his hard cock. She squeezed him gently, running her hand over his head, and up and down the length of him. He buried his face in her hair. "God Rachel, you make me so hard."

Rachel eased the pants down Jacob's hips, and as he kicked them off, she gripped his hip tightly, arching her body into his, pulling him into her. "I need you Jacob; I need you inside me, now."

Jacob rolled on top of her. Nipping her shoulder, he murmured, "Umm, not just yet." Rachel wiggled impatiently beneath him, trying to wrap her legs around his hips, trying to coax him to come inside her. Her hands ran over his shoulders, her nails digging into his back. Jacob groaned and lightly bit Rachel's neck. "Patience, baby."

Catching her hands in his, Jacob pinned them on either side of her head. Without her hands distracting him, Jacob returned his attention to her neck. Using his teeth and tongue, he slowly bit and licked his way from her ear to her shoulder. His tongue followed the line of her collarbone to the base of her throat. Jacob trailed kissed down her chest to her breasts. Lightly at first, his tongue teased her nipples and as Rachel arched her back, he took a nipple into her mouth and bit down. He continued to lick, suck and nip her breasts until Rachel was writhing beneath him.

"Oh my god, yes, that feels so good, please Jacob, I need you, please."

Jacob smiled and licked the curve of her breast. "Soon, baby, soon, I promise." Releasing her hands, he slid down her body, licking and kissing her ribs, her belly, his hands caressing her. Rachel tried to grab his head, tried to pull him to her for a kiss, but he evaded her hands. "Not yet, sweetheart."

Parting her thighs, he moved lower, trailing kisses over her hip to her thigh. Rachel moaned in anticipation as he nipped the soft skin of her inner thigh. Her hips lifted off the bed and she squirmed at the sensations his lips were creating. Running his hands down her legs, he carefully pulled them over his shoulders, opening her up to him. Sliding his hands under her ass, he lifted her and ran his tongue over her clit. He licked and sucked her slowly, gently at first; increasing the pressure as Rachel's breathing grew more ragged. As he felt the muscles in her thighs begin to contract, he thrust his tongue inside her.

"Oh god, please Jacob, I'm so close"

"Almost, baby. You're so wet, but I think I can get you a little wetter for me." Jacob slid a finger inside Rachel, pressing upward. "How does that feel?" Rachel lifted her hips, tightening her muscles around Jacob's finger, moaning in response. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Jacob slid back up Rachel's body and braced himself above her. Looking into her eyes, he murmured, "I love you."

Rachel gazed up at him, wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you Jacob, but if you don't fuck me now, I will kill you."

"Well, when you put it that way." Pulling her legs around him, Jacob thrust into her. He was motionless for a minute, enjoying the feel of her; tight, hot, and wet around his cock. "You feel so good," he murmured into her ear, "so fucking good." Rachel's only response was to tighten her legs around his waist; she arched he hips upward, drawing him deeper inside her.

Jacob tried to keep the rhythm of his thrusts slow, wanting to prolong the pleasure of feeling Rachel, hot and tight around his cock. But he could feel her climax building in her, feel the first contractions of her muscles, her nails digging into his back. With a groan Jacob surrendered to the feeling of her, thrusting faster, deeper and harder, making Rachel moan his name as her climax swept over her. With a final thrust, Jacob came into her, collapsing on top of her.

They lay tangled up together for a few minutes, then Jacob shifted off Rachel, drawing her into his arms. He kissed the top of her head. "Umm, that almost makes up for you not letting me share your bed for the last week."

"What bed?" Rachel snorted, "I don't recall either of us being anywhere near a bed for the last few days." She cuddled closer to him. "Besides, you know you always enjoy homecoming sex."

"Homecoming sex?" Jacob raised his eyebrows. "Is that anything like prom night sex? I would have thought we were a little old for that."

"Very funny."

Jacob tightened his arms as Rachel stirred, preparing to get out of bed. "Wait, I need to tell you something."

Rachel looked at him inquiringly.

"Last night, before I came to bed, I went through the mail. And, well, they came."

Rachel screwed up her face. "What came?" Her face cleared, "you mean?"

"Yeah, the certified copies came from California. We can get married now as soon as we can manage it."

"That's wonderful news! You should have woken me up last night to tell me. "Rachel leaned over to kiss him.

"I was going to, but," Jacob continued sheepishly, "I wanted to talk to you about something, and well, I thought it would be best to wait until morning. I was thinking we might want to change our plans a little."

"How little?" Rachel asked ominously. "I thought we both agreed on a quick, quiet, secret ceremony in Maryland. "

"Yes, I know, but," Jacob took a deep breath. "But we also agreed that we'd tell Alex. Right?"

"Well yeah," Rachel answered, "but…"

"If we're going to tell her anyway," Jacob interrupted, "why not have her come with us? I mean, it would mean a lot to Alex, to me, to have her there." Jacob looked a little wistful. "Make it a little less like we were hiding."

"If you want Alex there, that's fine," Rachel shrugged. "Why did you think I'd object to that? You're right, if we're telling her anyway what does it matter if she's there for the ceremony?"

"Well, it's just not Alex I wanted to have with us."

Rachel looked puzzled. "What, you want Owen to come? Is that such a good idea? I mean, will he understand that he can't tell people that I'm 'Aunt Rachel?'

"Ahhh, not Owen."

Rachel looked at Jacob, puzzled. Then her eyes widened. "No, you don't mean Felix, do you?"

"I think we need to tell him." A stubborn expression came over Jacob's face. "I know we've had to keep our relationship from him. And I know you think it's for his own good that we don't tell him we're getting married. But I think we should let that be up to him."

"No, we can't tell him. Jacob, don't you understand? If they find out he knew about us it could be bad for him."

Jacob shook his head. "I think we need to leave that up to him Rachel. He's more than just a member of our team. He's a friend. I think he'll be hurt, he'll think we didn't trust him, if he only finds out later."

Rachel chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't know."

"Look, this is DC, right? Let's leave it up to him."

"What do you mean, this is DC? What are you talking about?"

"Plausible deniability." He shrugged. "We tell Felix we're getting married. That we wanted him to know and we'd like him to come. But, if he's worried about what the FBI will say, do, eventually; we can understand his not coming."

"Where does plausible deniability come in?"

Jacob smiled. "If he's not there, he can't really know if we're married or not. He could claim he didn't know a thing, thought we were just pulling his leg, pretending to be involved."

Rachel raised her eyebrows. "You think the Director would fall for that?"

"Doesn't matter, he can't prove anything, that's all that matters in this town."

Rachel was quiet for a few minutes. Much as she hated to admit it, she had felt bad about deceiving Felix. He was so obviously fond of the both of them, and they valued him, his unfailing good humor, his friendship. Maybe Jacob was right, they did need to show Felix the trust they had in him.

"Ok, then," she smiled at Jacob. "When do you want to do this?"

Jacob hugged her. "Let's call Alex, see if she can get away this afternoon. If she can, let's call Felix and ask him to meet us for lunch. We can tell him, ask him then."

"Good idea," Rachel nodded. "We should try to get this done before another case comes up. But why not just wait to tell Felix at work?"

Jacob looked at Rachel in astonishment. "You really want to talk about us, about us getting married, in the Hoover Building?"

Rachel burst out laughing. "Point taken." She pulled out of his arms. "Come on, we've got a busy day ahead of us, we better get moving. Why don't you call Alex while I take a shower."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Felix idly perused the menu in the small diner a few blocks from the Hoover Building. Force of habit had him arriving ten minutes before the time specified. Heck, he was the advance man. He couldn't figure out why the Doc and Agent Young had asked to meet him there for lunch though. Could it be? Nah, he shook his head. They couldn't be planning on telling him that he was being transferred. He thought he had made a real place for himself on their little team. Surely they couldn't have bad news for him.

The bell over the door rang, signaling some new arrivals. Felix looked up and saw the Doc and Agent Young entering the diner. He raised his hand to get their attention, frowning at the serious expressions on their faces. Damn, maybe it was bad news.

"Hello Felix," Jacob smiled at the big man. "Thanks for meeting us here."

"My pleasure Doc, ma'am. But I gotta ask, is everything ok?"

Felix's lips tightened as the pair opposite him exchanged a look that was definitely guilty. Damn.

Rachel began hesitantly. "It's like this Felix…"

"You're getting rid of me." Felix interrupted flatly. "You don't think I add anything to the team, so you're asking the Director to transfer me."

Felix blinked at the look of astonishment on their faces. "What, what's going on?"

Jacob and Rachel exchanged a long look. Rachel shrugged and nodded, Jacob took a deep breath.

"No, Felix, you don't understand. Of course we don't want to have you transferred. You know how much, I, we, rely on you out in the field. Your contributions to our work are invaluable. Honestly, I can't remember how Rachel and I managed before you joined us…"

Rachel cleared her throat loudly and glared at Jacob.

"Uh, well, what we really wanted to talk to you about..."

Jacob took Rachel's hand in his. He smiled gently at her and she shyly returned his smile. He turned back to Felix.

"Rachel and I, well, we've, umm." Jacob's cheeks turned slightly pink. "We've been together for a few months now. We're in love."

Felix's eyes widened as he stared at them. Then a big grin spread across his face.

"I knew it," he crowed. "I knew there was something going on between you two. Damn! That's great." A puzzled look crossed his face. "But why are you telling me now? I mean, why didn't you tell me then? I mean…"

"I know what you mean." Rachel reached across the table and touched his hand. "We didn't want to tell you before because we didn't want to put you in an awkward position." Rachel looked Felix in the eyes. "You know as well as I do, that my having a relationship, my being with Jacob is against the rules. When the Bureau finds out, well…" She trailed off shrugging.

"Damn," Felix said slowly, "I guess you're right, but." He continued indignantly, "you didn't think I'd rat you guys out did you?"

"Of course not," Jacob exclaimed. Rachel put a hand on his arm, shaking her head at him slightly.

"No, but I, we, didn't think it was fair to ask you to put your career on the line for our relationship. But now, well." She smiled at Jacob.

"Now we've decided to get married. You're a member of our team; you're a friend, it wouldn't be right to keep something this important from you. And we'd like you to be there, but we understand if you'd rather not."

"Not come to your wedding! Why wouldn't I want to do that?"

"Plausible deniability," answered Rachel. "If you're not there, you can always claim you didn't know. No one can prove otherwise. But," she shrugged, "if your name is on the license as a witness, well your goose may be just as cooked as mine."

"Plausible deniability!" Felix snorted. "What do you take me for? Some kind of slimy politician? Look, I appreciate your concern, but I don't think I have anything to worry about. Yeah, you're breaking the rules, but hell, it's not like you're doing anything illegal. I don't think any real agent, not even the Director, would expect me to rat out my partners over something like this." He grinned widely. "So, when are you two thinking about getting hitched?"

"This afternoon."

Felix's mouth fell open. "What? Now?"

"We wanted to do this sooner, but it took a while to get the paperwork in order. But now that we have all of that, we're ready."

Rachel nodded happily. "Yeah, Maryland doesn't have a waiting period so we're going down to Deale, picking up Alex and Owen and heading over to the courthouse. We want to get this settled before we get called away on another case."

Felix looked to Jacob for confirmation.

"I just need to call Frank with an excuse as to why none of us will be showing up to file the reports on our last case today. We were waiting to call to see if you'd be coming with us."

"Ok, then, let's do this," Felix said enthusiastically."

Jacob grinned as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Hello, Frank.

Yeah, we got in after midnight last night.

Umm, not bad, you'll get the report tomorrow.

Yeah, tomorrow, that's why I'm calling.

Umhm, Alex called this morning. Needed a favor since I'm in town.

No, nothing big, but she wanted to know if I could fill in as a speaker for Owen's class.

Uh, yeah, some science program was scheduled for today and the speaker cancelled at the last minute, since I'm in town Alex wondered if…

Good, oh, by the way, I'd like to bring Felix along to.

What do you mean, why?

Come on, think of it. Instead of some boring scientist, I'll show up with not one but two armed FBI agents. The kids will love it.

Yeah, ok, we'll see you tomorrow. "

Jacob flipped his phone closed, put his arm around Rachel and pulled her into his side.

"We're in the clear for the rest of the day, looks like we have a wedding to get too."