Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of UC: Undercover. I just borrowed them for a while. All other characters are mine with the exception of Sab – she belongs to herself. LOL Please do not use any of my characters without my permission.
Vacation From Hell Written By Jville
Frank looked at his watch while he filed the report for the team's last case. Finished with the mundane task, he walked over to the window that overlooked the heart of the nest. He was amazed at just how much the warehouse had changed since Bloom and his cohorts had tried to kill Sonny Walker some three months prior. The place had to be gutted and completely remodeled...some things still needed to be fixed, but for the most part, it looked better than ever.
The Bureau has replaced most of Cody's equipment and he was thrilled with all his new toys. They had reorganized how the office was set up and most of his equipment was located at a central point, which he called his Operations Board. It was no longer at the center room, but was to the side along one wall.
Since Jake's last cover was as a drug dealer who considered himself a pool shark, they had a pool table brought in for him to practice. When the team spent time relaxing, they engaged in a game or two...as they were now.
Frank closed his office door behind him...another addition that came with the remodeling. Now, he had privacy for meetings...or if certain members of the team needed a little chewing out. He went to his desk and picked up the phone as he sat down. He dialed the number without much thought and listened to the annoying ring over and over again. He was about to hang up when his call was finally answered.
"Good morning," he said, listening for a reply. "Did you get my note?" He paused and laughed when he heard the answer. "Is our meeting still on for this afternoon?" He paused again, awaiting the reply. "I'll make sure they're here." He hung up and headed downstairs.
It was the ladies against the gents, and the ladies seemed to be winning. They also had a wager on the game, and Cody was beginning to wish he hadn't bet so much.
He tried to talk to Jake without the girls hearing him. "Yesterday you were a pool shark…today you choke."
"You see, Cody, we just let them win. Let them feel confident…turn the tables on them, then play double or nothing."
Overhearing the conversation, Alex smiled. "I've had control since I broke. Just how are you building my confidence?" she asked, sinking another ball. "Seems more like I'm destroying yours!" The girls laughed at the expression on the guys' faces and tried not to show they knew she was right.
"Alex, where did you learn to play pool so fast? You couldn't hit anything last week," Cody whined.
"I had an excellent teacher."
"Really...who was that?" Jake asked.
"Donovan." Alex looked up from the table and smiled mischievously.
Frank was coming downstairs when he heard his name mentioned. "Did I hear you talking about me again?"
"Alex was just saying that you taught her to shoot pool," Jake said him.
Frank noticed the wad of money on the table. "I see you're betting on the game. You really shouldn't be gambling...unless you know it's a sure thing."
"Umm, did you teach Alex?" Cody asked, hoping to catch her in a lie.
"I just showed her the fundamentals. She's an excellent student and picked it up fast," Frank answered.
"Just when did all this happen? I'm here most of the time and never saw the two of you playing," Cody said, sure someone was playing a joke on him.
"Keyword, Cody, most of the time…not all of the time. Just ask Monica; I helped her too." Frank smiled at the girls before walking to the kitchen area.
Cody tried to take his money off the table, but Monica slapped his hand. "The game is in progress, you can't back out now."
"By the way…we're having a special visitor this afternoon at one. I want all of you to be on your best behavior," Frank said, opening a bottle of water.
Alex called her last shot. "Eight ball, corner pocket." She made it easily and Monica quickly grabbed the money, handing Alex her share.
Cody hated to lose, especially when money was on the line. He looked at his boss and an idea came to him. Frank had become a little friendlier to all the members lately. Cody wasn't sure if it was due to what happened to them during the ordeal with Sonny or what, but he was about to test the waters to see just how much of a friend Frank was. "Hey, Boss, if you're so good, why don't you help me win my money back?"
Frank stroked his chin while he considered Cody's request. He liked him, oddly enough. Cody was one of the best techs he had ever worked with and he loved his sense of humor…although he never showed it. Of all the team members, it seemed he spent most of his time with Cody. "Who would you like me to go against?"
"Anyone but me...I'll bet on you to win."
"Okay, so you don't lose anymore money this is how the bet will go. If I win…you get your money back. If I lose…you have to wash all the cars and vans for a month."
Thinking that Frank was a sure win, Cody agreed.
"I'll play Monica. Rack 'em." Frank watched Cody pack the balls into the rack. "Monica, I'm always a gentleman; the lady may break first."
Cody screamed when Monica broke and watched helplessly as the eight ball fell into the side pocket first. "NOO!" His expression, when he realized he had lost again, made Frank and the others laugh. "I'm never gambling with any of you ever again."
"Make sure you use plenty of wax on the cars. I like the way a car shines in the sun." Frank tormented Cody more by putting his arm on his shoulder while he spoke to him.
"Very funny! Ha ha ha," Cody said, pulling away from his boss.
"Who is this special visitor we're having later?" Jake asked Frank.
"You'll finally meet Bloom's replacement today. There seems to be some news that they want to relay in person."
So no one would be late for the meeting, Frank suggested they use the money from the bet to order in lunch. Alex and Jake were cleaning the kitchen area when the door to the nest opened. Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched as Frank went over to meet their guest. They saw a woman in her late thirty's…maybe early forty's.
She was very pretty, Jake noted. She was a little shorter than Frank...about five foot nine and rather thin for her size.
Alex whispered to Monica that the woman's hair color was not natural looking. She had shoulder length, deep red hair that she wore pulled back from her face. She looked very business-like in her navy blue skirt, white blouse with a ruffled collar, and a black leather suit jacket.
"Welcome." Frank escorted their visitor to the table and made the introductions. "Our main UC agents…Jake Shaw and Alex Cross. Our profiler…Monica Davis and last, but not least, Cody Forrester…our communications tech and lunch benefactor."
The team, except for Cody, broke out in laughter.
"It's an inside joke," Frank explained. "This is Special Agent, Elaina Blakely."
"Nice to meet all of you. I've read quite a bit about this team. Most of it was good," she said, smiling. She wanted to be as friendly as possible without appearing as though it was fake. Nor did she want them to think she would turn on them the way Bloom had; he never liked the unit and was determined to get rid of it. They finally found out why when he went after Sonny Walker.
"Just who wrote about us? It couldn't have been anything Bloom left behind," Cody asked.
"I gave her our case reports for the last 8 months," Frank explained.
Cody looked worried. Frank had let them put their critique of him in the reports. He told them his training officer taught him this. Cody's comments, as well as those of his teammates, were not always flattering. "The same reports you said only you would read? The ones with our remarks of what we thought of you?
Frank looked over at Cody, smiled, and said, "Yes Cody, those reports. The ones you fill out after each case." Frank placed his hands on Cody's shoulders and applied enough pressure to make him flinch. "You know, Cody; the reports with all the smart ass remarks about me and how I treated you."
Agent Blakely walked over to Donovan and squeezed his arm slightly, so he would let go of Cody. "If I may say something -- I read those reports, so I'd have some knowledge as to how all of you work together." She noticed that they were still uneasy about the reports. "I've only worked with Donovan before. Therefore, the reports gave me great insight into each of you. As for the comments, I had a trainee who was extremely critical towards me. Isn't that right, Mr. Donovan?"
"I don't think it's necessary to discuss the past," Frank said, hoping she would drop the subject.
"Would you like to know what Frank initially thought about me?"
"No, they wouldn't!" Frank said sternly.
"Actually, I think it would help them. You see I trained him, but he hated to follow orders directly." Elaina smirked at Frank while she continued the story. "He would try his way, and then I would have to rein him in. I would get him back on track to get the case solved. After it was over, when he turned in his report, I could always look forward to seeing one word in particular…"
Frank interrupted her before she could finish. "They really don't need to know that. What is this news you have for us?"
"I'd rather she finish her story, even though it was sounding familiar." Jake looked directly at Donovan and smiled.
"I'll keep it for another time." Elaina smiled devilishly at Frank. "I'm sure what I'm about to say will make all of you happy. I noticed the dates each of the cases started and ended. To say you people have been overworked would be an understatement," she said. "You haven't had more than a couple of days off at a time since Donovan took command months ago. So…all of you have two full weeks of downtime."
Elaina was sure that she'd get a loud response, but all she got was five people staring at her with their mouths agape. "This is not the response that I thought I would get," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "Hello! Anybody hear what I said?"
"All I can say is…I'm going to like having you as our other boss. We would never have gotten two weeks off from Bloom," Cody said, speaking first.
Elaina looked at her watch and picked up her briefcase. "I have to be going. It was a pleasure to meet all of you."
"I'll walk you to your car."
On the way out, Frank pointed out the surveillance cameras. "I know they will be spying on us since you told them we have a history," he whispered.
"At least, I didn't say anything about our current history. Are you afraid they'll use something against you?" Elaina asked quietly.
"They would if they could, believe me." Frank opened the car door for Elaina. He turned away from the camera and used sign language. 'Would love to kiss you, but will have to wait until tonight.'
Elaina signed back. "Agent Donovan, that's not very professional...although I feel the same way. Don't be late."
"Why is it that he always turns away from the camera? Doesn't he trust us yet?" Cody said while watching Donovan and their new boss.
Monica slapped Cody playfully. "Would you trust us? Besides I can see they're using sign language."
"Does anyone know how to sign?" He asked while the others walked away. "What are we going to do with our two weeks off?" It was useless to watch the monitors, since he didn't understand what they were saying. Instead, he decided to concentrate on his upcoming vacation.
Cody went home to his apartment. He was making a mental list of the things he had to do before he went on vacation. He knew he had to stop his mail and newspaper and he definitely had to call his parents so they wouldn't worry. He was getting his key from his pocket when he noticed light coming from underneath the door. He remembered closing the curtains on the windows before he left for work. Slowly, he quietly placed the key in the lock. Before he could turn it, the door flew open and he was tackled, sending him into the wall across the hall.
He tried to catch his breath while he pushed the person away from him. "Geez Sab! Give me heart failure, why don't you?" Inwardly, he was relieved it was his girlfriend and not an intruder.
"I'm just so glad to see you. You said you were going to be here at six and you're an hour late. You had me scared to death that something might've happened to you," Sabrina said, talking so fast and frantic that Cody had to put his hand over her mouth to get her to stop.
"Will you please calm down? Nothing happened. I just made a stop before coming home. I have some really great news…how did you get in my apartment?" Cody asked suddenly. He saw Sabrina wave a key in front of him. "You made a key to my apartment when you borrowed my jeep, didn't you?"
"I just wanted to be able to surprise you sometime…that's all," Sabrina answered, giggling.
Cody just shook his head; she was always surprising him. He turned her towards the door and gently pushed her into the apartment. "You certainly surprised me, that's for sure! Now for the great news I have. You know that tech convention I said we couldn't go to because of work…DefCon?" Cody asked while Sabrina nodded her head. "Well…my plans have been changed; we were given two glorious weeks off. We're going to LA!"
"That's great! I'm not working right now either, so this is going to be terrific." Sabrina grabbed Cody and kissed him, causing them to lose balance and fall onto the floor. It didn't seem to bother either of them. They laid there in each other's arms until Cody realized things were getting out of control. Using all his inner strength, he gently rolled Sabrina off him.
"Let's not get carried away here," Cody said, realizing he wanted more to happen, but he knew neither of them was ready to pursue that part of their relationship just yet.
Sabrina blushed. "Sorry, Cody, I guess I got caught up in the moment. I know we agreed to take it slow since we're both just out of bad relationships. Forgive me?"
Cody smiled and helped her up, then kissed her on the forehead. "I forgive you. Now, since I'm always stuck in the bat cave," he said, chuckling. "I figured we would go by train to LA. That way we can see the world I've been missing. Is that okay with you?"
Sabrina was thrilled just to be going with Cody. How they got there was no real concern to her. "It's more than okay with me! When do we leave?"
"Here's the itinerary I came up with; I hope you like it." Cody wrote down the information for her…including all the places they would be stopping to do the tourist thing. He made sure to include a day or two non-travel, so they'd have some time alone from the other passengers on the train.
Sabrina saw the private time listed and smiled.
Frank was curled up with Elaina on a love seat in their small house located in the suburbs of Chicago. There were boxes of all shapes and sizes scattered around the room, packed and ready to go since they were soon to move into a bigger home just outside of the city. They were kissing and whispering sweet things to each other when they heard someone clear their throat. Their son Derek was standing in the kitchen doorway waiting for their undivided attention.
"I've cleaned up the kitchen and put the dishes away. Now I'm going to go finish packing."
Elaina was surprised her son did the dishes without being told; however, she was dumbfounded to know he cleaned the kitchen as well. "What did you do with my son? You have to be an imposter; my son never cleans the kitchen," she said, noticing Derek and Frank glancing back and forth at each other. "What is going on with you two?"
Derek had been the typical sixteen-year-old lately. He rebelled at a moments notice if he didn't get his way, even with Frank, which never went over well. Lately, he had been dating a young girl, always wanting to go somewhere and needing money…even though they gave him an allowance each week.
Frank spoke up when he realized Derek wasn't going to answer her. "I've made a deal with him. If he'll help take some of the pressure off of you by getting things ready for tomorrow, we'll let him come back in a few days to go to his girlfriend's birthday party."
Elaina was not too happy at being left out of important decisions. She also didn't like that Derek went behind her back, hoping Frank would give him what he wanted. She rose to her feet and started pacing, glaring icily at each of them. "When were you going to tell me about this? The day of the party?" she asked.
Frank knew he should have discussed the plan with her, but he didn't think she would have a problem with it, so he made the decision himself. After all, he was Derek's father…legally...since the adoption went through a year ago.
"I don't see anything wrong with the decision I made. I never thought you wouldn't let him go to the party. After all, he did tell her he'd be there. You're the one that screwed up his plans by giving us two weeks off." Instead of calming her down, Frank realized she was becoming even more agitated.
"Am I or am I not his father? I thought when I adopted Derek; I'd be able to discipline and make decisions about his life without clearing everything through you first." Frank's words cut like a knife and he regretted saying them when he saw the look on her face.
Elaina stood toe to toe with him. "I know he's your son. I don't need to be reminded of that fact. Yes, you can make decisions without clearing them with me, but to make a deal like this…where he's going to come back here from Montana…by himself! I think that's a decision we both should've made."
"He won't be flying back alone, one of us or Megan will be with him," Frank said, hoping this would ease her mind.
Elaina softened her stance in front of him. "Have you asked Megan if she'd come back? After all, she's Sarah's nanny, not Derek's."
Frank cleared his throat and turned throwing a questioningly look toward Derek. "Derek, you can answer that…I hope."
Derek tried not to make eye contact since he had not yet asked Megan. "I haven't asked her, so I'll just go do that right now."
He started towards the stairs when he noticed Megan coming down them carrying his baby sister, Sarah. Megan was 19 and the daughter of one of Elaina's friends in Laurel, Montana, were they used to live. Meg looked tired; she had her hair pulled back in a ponytail and she had on a floppy t-shirt and shorts.
"That won't be necessary. I heard the question and I can come back with him." She walked over to Frank and Elaina. "It seems little Sarah, doesn't want to go to sleep without seeing Mommy and Daddy first." She handed Sarah to Frank after he sat back down on the love seat; meanwhile, Derek passed by them and headed up the stairs.
"I guess your big brother is in a hurry to pack," Frank said to his little girl.
"It's more like he wanted to get away from me before he had to answer more questions," Elaina said, smiling.
She walked over to sit down next to her husband and daughter while Megan excused herself and went back upstairs. Elaina put her arms around the two of them and placed her head on Frank's shoulder. "I love watching you with her; you're so attentive and loving. You know there was a time when I thought I'd miss seeing these moments." Tears started to well up in her eyes remembering the birth of her daughter.
Elaina was at home in Laurel, Montana, while Frank had gone overseas to work on a case. He was not due home for at least another week…maybe longer. She had not been feeling well that day, but had told Derek to go on to his ball game. An hour after he left, she started having severe pains in her back and side. She called for an ambulance and asked the ranch foreman, Hank, to go find Derek at the game. The doctor told her she was in premature labor and they'd try medication to stop it. The medication didn't work and the labor continued. She found out later, the doctor had told Derek and Hank to notify Frank as soon as possible because complications had set in. He arrived in the 12th hour of labor, which was also the time she began hemorrhaging and was taken to the operating room for an emergency C-section. Frank had the unbearable task of having to decide who was to be saved, if necessary. He ordered the doctor to save them both.
"Elaina, are you crying?" Frank asked.
"I'm okay," she said, sniffling
"You're thinking of what happened again, aren't you? I wish you'd just remember the good memories; not the pain you went through to have her."
"I do remember those memories. Especially, of you taking care of me and the sacrifices you made to do it." Elaina yawned and gave a big stretch while she stood. "How about we just go upstairs, put Sarah to bed, and then we should do the same. We have a long day tomorrow." She bent down and gently picked up her sleeping daughter. Frank stood next to her and kissed Sarah on the cheek before they walked up the stairs. When they got half way up, the phone started to ring.
"Go on…I'll get it," Frank said, turning and heading back down the stairs.
Jake had been walking around his old neighborhood, thinking about what he would do with his time off. He loved his work, but he had to admit he was getting tired of changing identities like he changed his socks. He found himself back at the Holy Cross Church and Orphanage where he grew up. He still stayed there when his job allowed, helping Father Mike with the orphans. Father Mike was the one person Jake could always count on for guidance and he hoped he wouldn't let him down this time.
"Good evening, Father," Jake said, entering the office. "I was wondering if you needed any help for a couple of weeks."
Father Mike looked at Jake with surprise. "Did you get fired from the team?"
"No…at least not yet. The new boss gave us a two-week vacation. I thought I'd help here if you needed me. You're always talking about repairs to the church…I thought I could do them for you."
"You know you're always welcome to volunteer anytime. I am glad you dropped by. I have something for you to look at." The Father handed Jake a letter from his desk drawer. "I wasn't sure about giving this to you. Some PI left it for you."
"Why?" Jake asked before reading it.
"He said it was from your mother. He somehow knew you and asked if you were still around." Father Mike sat back in his chair while Jake read the letter.
Although a bit apprehensive, Jake read the letter thoroughly. "This has to be some sort of sick joke. Why, after all these years, does she want to see me? How did he find me? How did she know who I was? I don't even have a real name." Jake had more questions running through his mind than he was able to ask Father Mike. "Did this PI leave his name or card?"
Father Mike reached into the drawer again to retrieve a card. "I thought you might ask for it. I insisted he leave it." He handed it to Jake.
Jake actually recognized the name. He had gone to the police academy with the man in question before becoming a federal agent. Lawrence Waters never even made it to Police Cadet; he washed out on the physical fitness requirements. "Figures he'd become a PI. I guess that explains how he might've found me. But still, not what led him to me."
"I think you should check this out," Father Mike suggested.
Jake's heart was in conflict with his brain. He secretly hoped one day he'd meet his mother and find out why she gave him up for adoption. He also wondered if he had family out there somewhere. Father Mike was right; he did need to investigate this further. Not wanting to tackle this on his own, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and pushed the speed dial for Alex's number. She didn't answer.
"I'm going out, Father. I'll see you in the morning."
Jake left the orphanage to run some errands, trying periodically to reach Alex. She told him she was going to use her two weeks off to relax at home, and since she wasn't answering his calls, he was beginning to worry about her. He decided to drive to her apartment to check on her. As soon as he arrived, he checked her apartment windows for a sign she was home. A light was peaking through one of the drawn curtains, so he tried her phone again.
Alex heard her phone ringing but ignored it. She was determined to relax and finish her bubble bath; she refused to answer any phone calls in the meantime. If it were important, they'd call back. Candles lit one end of the tub, soft music filled the room, and she closed her eyes, relaxing back into the warm, soapy water when the phone finally stopped ringing.
Within five minutes, the phone rang again. Alex carefully stood and wrapped her robe around, then went to the phone and answered it; her tone was less than polite after reading the name on the Caller ID. "Jake, this had better be pretty damn important!"
"Hello to you, too," Jake said, half laughing. "I need to talk. Are you busy?"
"Yes, I was, but since you interrupted what I was doing, you might as well come on over."
"I'm at your front door now."
"You're where?" Alex opened the door to Jake leaning against the doorjamb. "Get in here. What's up? Did we get an assignment to ruin our vacation?"
Jake stared at Alex, scantily clad in her robe. He had seen her in less, but that was in the line of duty. For some reason he was uneasy about seeing her this way. "Alex, do you want to put something on…I'll wait."
"Are we going somewhere? If not, I'm comfortable in this." She knew it probably made Jake feel uncomfortable, but he had interrupted her quiet time. She told him to sit down while she curled up on the couch. "What is so important that you felt you had to interfere with my bath?"
"Father Mike received this letter today…supposedly from my mother." He handed it to her to read. He tried to remain calm while waiting to get her thoughts on it.
Alex read the letter several times before commenting. "Jake, this is incredible if it's true. Knowing your mother is out there wanting to see you again, but on the other hand, it could be someone trying to set you up."
Jake knew she would be as suspicious as he was. He could always depend on her instinct, since it often matched his. He considered her his best friend, as well as, UC partner.
"I was wondering if you'd like to go with me to check her out. If it's a set-up, I may need backup. If it turns out that she's my mother, I may need a friend." He looked into her eyes, for the first time noticing how beautiful they were. He realized that he shouldn't be thinking about her in that way, and was suddenly uncomfortable with her close proximity...not to mention, lack of clothing.
Alex considered his request, knowing he wouldn't have asked if he didn't really need her help. "When do you want to leave?" she said, smiling at Jake
"First flight out to Billings leaves at 11:15 in the morning…I checked on the way over." Jake knew his partner well enough to know she would help. "I have tickets waiting for us."
Monica was glad to finally be home. She had left work hours ago, but had called a travel agent friend to join her for dinner and discuss possible vacation locales. After a lot of banter, she decided she'd just stay at home and catch up on some movies.
She was overcome by an eerie feeling when she unlocked her door and stepped inside. Attributing the feeling to being overtired, she ignored it and turned on the lights, tossing her bag and keys onto the counter. She decided to take Alex's suggestion and indulge in a hot, relaxing bubble bath.
As she came to the end of the hallway, a dark figure emerged from her linen closet. He grabbed her, pushing her into the dark bedroom. She broke away from him and tried to get to her nightstand where she kept her personal gun, but he grabbed her before she could open the drawer. "I bet you have a gun there. It won't do you any good," the stranger said.
Monica tried ripping at the mask he had on, but he hit her in the face. Dazed by the blow, it was difficult to keep fighting, but she pushed on, unwilling to face the reality of what would happen to her if she didn't get away from him.
She used all her strength to push him away, noticing in the process the Kevlar vest he wore beneath his shirt. Although she managed to get out from beneath him, he caught her and swung her into the door. A stabbing pain knifed her back, but she fought it off, swiftly raising her knee into his groin. When he doubled over in pain, she went for her gun.
She gripped it firmly, and shot for his head without taking time to aim. She missed when he ducked and ran off. She didn't hear him leave, so she carefully looked down the hall to the living room, keeping her gun ready at all times. When she neared the closet and reached for the door, it flew open, causing her to lose her grip on the gun, dropping it to the floor.
She and the intruder both struggled for it, but Monica reached it first. She managed squeeze off a shot, hitting him in the chest at close range. She had hoped it would do enough damage to let her get away, and was stunned when he quickly rose to his feet. She pointed the gun again, but he knocked it from her hand. He then picked it up and hit her with it, knocking her out cold.
When Monica awakened moments later, she laid there trying to get her mind as well as her eyes to focus. She was in a lot of pain, but knew she had to make sure the intruder was gone. She carefully sat up, feeling dizzy; she used the closet door to help get her balance while she got to her feet. The lights in the living room were still on, so she slowly made her way into the room. She saw no sign of the intruder…but the front door was wide open.
After closing and locking the door, she dialed Alex's number, but there was no answer. She then tried Jake's...busy. She wanted someone she could trust to be there when the police asked her questions. She thought of calling Cody, but he'd probably be with his girlfriend. She decided to call her boss.
"Frank, it's Monica." Her voice was shaky and she could hardly speak. "I need your help. I'm at home, please hurry." She hung up the phone without giving Frank a chance to answer. Explanations would have to wait until they were face to face.
It was about half an hour before she heard someone knocking. She looked through the peephole to see Frank. She was surprised to see Agent Blakely with him when she opened the door. And equally as surprised when he told her without ceremony that they were married.
While Frank looked around the apartment, Elaina took care of Monica by helping her over to a chair to relax.
"Monica, have you called the police?" Elaina asked, sitting down nearby.
Monica shook her head. "I only tried Alex and Jake, then Frank. I wanted someone I knew to be with me."
Frank brought a blanket back in from the bedroom and wrapped it around Monica, then called the Chicago PD. "We should get you to the hospital, you need to be examined as soon as possible," he said after hanging up.
"He didn't get the chance to rape me if that's what you're thinking. He seemed content with just beating me," she said, touching her cheek.
"I can see you put up one hell of a fight," Frank commented, helping her up.
They were about to leave when the phone rang. Monica picked up her cordless phone, "Hello?"
She heard a man's voice, "I have your gun. I can return it when you're alone." He laughed wickedly before disconnecting.
She threw the phone down. "It was him. He said he has my gun, and would return it when I'm alone."
Frank went to the window and looked out, but he didn't see anyone watching the house. "If he was watching, he must've taken off. I don't see anyone."
Elaina observed that Monica was having trouble breathing from the pain she was in. "We better go to the hospital, Monica, and see if you have any broken ribs. You're not sounding too good."
While Monica was being examined, Frank talked with a Chicago police officer. Elaina called home to tell Megan what had happened and they'd be home as soon as they could. When Frank was finished talking to the officer, he went over to sit with Elaina in the waiting room.
"I hate this part...the waiting. They never let you know what's happening behind those closed doors," he explained.
Elaina hated hospitals too, and understood exactly what he meant. She had done her share of waiting while Frank's health was in question, and she knew he had gone through hell while waiting for word of her and the baby. "I can tell you what's happening from experience; they're doing x-rays and probably stitching up her cuts. If she changes her story while talking with them; they'll do a rape exam," Elaina explained, even though he did know what was happening himself.
"I believe her. I don't think it happened." At least, he was praying it didn't.
The doctor finally came out of the exam room to talk to them. "Your friend will be okay. She has badly bruised ribs and back. She received stitches for the lacerations on her face and arms, but there should be minimal scarring. She'll be out in a few minutes and you can take her home."
"Frank, I really don't think she should be left alone," Elaina said.
Frank shook his head in agreement.
"Why don't we ask her to stay with us?"
Frank looked at her as if she had two heads. "Are you forgetting we're leaving tomorrow? I don't think she'll feel like traveling." Frank didn't want to desert Monica, but he also wanted this private time with his family. "Maybe she has a friend she can stay with."
"Are you forgetting that the man called and threatened her on the phone right in front of us? She needs to be protected from this guy until he's found," Elaina argued.
"I totally agree with you, that's why I asked for the Chicago PD to watch her and the apartment. She's one of my best agents, Elaina. I've made sure she'll be protected."
Elaina thought Frank was thinking more as 'Frank Donovan, family man' not as 'Agent Frank Donovan'. "Frank, you just said she's one of your best agents. I would think you'd want to be in control of her protection. I think as Assistant Director…I'm going to make it an order. She'll go with us."
"You can't give me an order; I'm on vacation…remember?" Frank was trying to inject humor into the situation, which was lost on Elaina.
"You maybe on vacation, but you're still an officer of the law…sworn to protect, so we're going to protect her, whether you like it or not."
Monica had heard part of the conversation when she walked out to join them. "I don't want to intrude on your vacation. I know you're worried about me, Elaina, but I think I'll be okay with the police watching my place."
"Sorry, Monica, but she made it an order and I have to follow direct orders. You'll spend your vacation at our Montana ranch with us. That's the end of the conversation." Frank knew the two worlds he lived in, work and family, were about to emerge into one. It was a thought he was not at ease with.
