Bittersweet Days Part 1

by Sammy

Much to Chris' dismay, the Sams have to work undercover for teh FBI

Bittersweet Days Part 1

written by Sammy

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Chris exited the Headquarters, walking to his car parked in the lot when he felt someone tapping his shoulder. He turned and stared in the beautiful face of a blond woman.

"Sgt. Lorenzo, I guess." she asked, a smile on her face.

"Shelby Kellman, what a surprise!" Chris replied, pulling her into a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I would really like to say I just came here to see you, Chris, but it's work."

"Oh. The FBI stuff again." he commented, grinning slightly.

"Yep. Look, Chris, I need some help for a case. I need you and Rita."

"Whoa, slow down a moment." Chris gasped. "A minute ago, I didn't even know you were here, and now, you're already asking me for help? Remember what happened the last time we helped you out? Rita almost got killed."

"I am really sorry for that, you know I had a hard time." she argued, sighing deeply. "This time, I really need Palm Beach's best homicide team."

"Just that Palm Beach's best homicide team doesn't exist any longer the way you knew it." Chris replied.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Easy, Rita..."

Chris was cut off by his cell phone in the midst of his sentence. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered immediately.

"Lorenzo... Hey, sunshine, why are you calling?... Yeah, yeah, I didn't forget about that..." Chris glanced over at Shelby. "Sunshine, I'm gonna bring someone over for dinner, is that okay?... No, I am not gonna tell you who it is... I love you, too. See ya!"

Chris finished the call and placed his cell phone back in his pocket.

"So, you'll come over for dinner, Shelby. That's an order!" Chris grinned.

Shelby rewarded him with a smile, "I'm coming over for dinner, okay. And, what did you want to say about Palm Beach's best homicide team?"

"I have a new partner." Chris replied.

"You have a new partner? Hey, you and Rita always seemed to be like siamese twins joined at the hip."

"Funny, that's something she said as well a long time ago..." Chris chuckled. "C'mon, I'll give you a lift to my place. My wife is waiting with dinner."

"Christopher Lorenzo has a wife?" she asked surprised.

"Boy, I thought you people from the FBI knew everything about everybody! Yeah, Christopher Lorenzo has a wife - at least I thought I had one for the last 3 years!"

Chris held the door open for Shelby as they entered the apartment. The first thing he saw was his little daughter lying on the floor of the living room, watching tv. She turned her head when she heard someone approaching.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed happily while Chris scooped her from the ground.

"Hey Ms. Lorenzo, what are you watching there?"

"Catoon." she replied, throwing her arms around his neck. Then she placed a big wet kiss on Chris' cheek. She turned her head and reluctantly peered at Shelby. She grinned a bit while she buried her face in Chris' neck.

"Pumpkin, that's Shelby. Can you say hi to her?"

"Hi Shabby!"

Chris bit his lower lips not wanting to laugh out loud when he saw Shelby's reaction to what Chelsea had called her.

"Shelby, this is my daughter Chelsea Rose."

"Nice to meet you, young lady." Shelby smiled, slightly irritated when she shook Chelsea's tiny hand.

"Where's your mama, pumpkin?"

Chelsea's hand reached out in the direction of the kitchen, "Makin' dinna."

"Ah, making dinner. Let's see what she's cooking."

Chris walked off in the direction of the kitchen, tickling Chelsea on his arm. The girl giggled and squirmed.

"Hey!" Rita exclaimed happily when she saw Chris entering the kitchen.

Chris sat his daughter down on the counter and approached his wife. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her tenderly.

"I missed you." he smiled, then his glance wandered over to the oven. "What's in there?"

"Lasagna. Chelsea insisted on lasagna."

Chris turned his head and looked over at Chelsea, who stood on the counter now, bouncing and trembling.

"Hey, hey, hey, stop that. You could fall down and hurt yourself."

Suddenly, Shelby appeared in the kitchen. Rita had turned her back towards her while she lifted her daughter from the counter.

"Uh, Chris?" she asked, grinning sheepishly.

Rita whirled around at the tone of Shelby's voice, "Shelby?"

"Rita?"

The two women stood opposite each other, staring at the person standing in front of them.

"I see you two still know each other." Chris chuckled.

"Indeed we do."

Rita stood her daughter on the ground, "C'mon, pumpkin, go upstairs. I'll come up in a minute."

Chelsea immediately took off in the direction of the porch. Rita caught her arm just in time.

"Other way, young lady."

Chelsea pouted lightly and waddled out of the kitchen.

"You two are married?" Shelby asked, glancing after Chelsea.

"Uh hum, 3 years." Rita replied, turning to Chris. "Can you look after the lasagna? I have to bathe Chelsea."

"I can do that, while you look after the lasagna, what do you think?"

Rita rolled her eyes, "Do I need to remind you what happened last time you tried to give her a bath? You ended up in the tub fully clothed. I think you better look after the lasagna, my friend."

"Fine, but don't say it's my fault when it's burnt!" Chris called after Rita who headed out of the kitchen. He risked a short look into the oven and saw that it still would take some time until the lasagna would be ready.

"Gosh, how did that happen? You and Rita? And a child?" Shelby inquired, leaning against the kitchen counter and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"As for the child part, I think you know how that happens." Chris teased. "And, for the other part, I can't give you a clear answer. It just happened. I think we both knew that we were in love for a long time before we told each other."

"Yeah, there was always something in the look you guys gave each other, I just couldn't put a finger on it."

Chris just smiled as he pulled two glasses out of the cupboard and poured himself and Shelby a glass of wine. He was about to look into the oven again, when he caught a figure running around in the living room. He leaned back and caught his daughter playing airplane totally naked in the living room.

"Chelsea! Chelsea Rose!" he yelled, placing his glass down and leaving for the living room. "What are you doing down here naked?"

"Wubba ducky, wubba ducky!" Chelsea giggled, as Chris scooped her from her feet.

"Your rubber duck is in the bathroom where you should be as well. C'mon, upstairs with you."

Chris lifted Chelsea in the air and let her play airplane as he carried her upstairs. He entered the bathroom and saw Rita running a bath for Chelsea.

"Look what I found downstairs." he uttered as he set Chelsea into the tub.

"Wubby ducky!" Chelsea exclaimed, reaching for the duck at the back of the tub. She lost balance and fell backwards, landing in the water, her head under water.

"Slow, slow, young lady!" Rita giggled while she helped Chelsea sit up. "What did you do downstairs, pumpkin?"

"Wubba ducky!" was the answer Rita got. Chelsea looked up at her parents and showed them her yellow rubber duck.

"My wubba ducky! My, my, my!"

Chris smiled and kissed Chelsea on her head before he left the bathroom. Downstairs, he found Shelby in the living room. She had a photo in her hands that she placed back on the table where it stood before when she saw Chris.

"She's a beauty. Your daughter I mean." she smiled nervously.

"She takes after her mother, what can you expect?"

"Yeah, yeah. Look, Chris, why I came here is the following. I need help - desperately."

"Let's sit down first." Chris suggested. He ushered Shelby to the couch and forced her to sit down. "Now, tell me."

"I've been working on a drug case for about a year now. Anytime I made a step forward, I made two back. I honestly don't know why, but I can't get my people to work this case right. I need some people from the outside. I thought of you and Rita. You are both good cops, and I trust you."

"Whoa, slow down for a minute." Chris cut in. "You want Rita and me working on that case with you? Why?"

"As I said, I trust you, and you are both good cops, not to say the best in Palm Beach. I lost 5 of my men already. They were all so green, none of them actually had the experience you two have. I don't wanna go through something like that again. I want to bust this guy, and I need your help for that."

"And, what shall we do IF we decide to do it?"

"Undercover work, Chris. I want you and Rita to go in as buyers. All you need to do is buy the drugs, and we'll come and bust them. I am not gonna lie to you, it can get dangerous, but I need you two."

Chris frowned, rubbing his temple, "Hmm, I need to talk to Rita about that, you know that. But there's one thing I can tell you right away. Rita won't go in undercover, no way. And, a BIG IF whether I will do it or not. I mean, look, Shelby, I would really like to help you out, but there's too much for me to lose. I have my wife and my little daughter. I need to think about them first. You told me you lost 5 of your men already, and I honestly don't wanna take the risk to be the next."

"I know you don't, but please, think about it. We need to act fast."

Suddenly, a beeper went off. Chris reached for his when he realized that his wasn't the one that had gone off. It was Shelby's.

"Ah, shit!" she exclaimed. "I need to go. Please, call me when you've come to a decision."

With that, Shelby left. Chris leaned back, folding his arms behind his head. Undercover work.... ever since Rita had left the force and Chelsea was born, he hadn't done any undercover work. It was his choice, and Cap. Lipschitz respected his wishes the best he could. There was just too much for him to lose, and too much for his family to lose if something should happen to him.

Chris snapped out of his daze when he felt someone climbing up on his lap. He opened his eyes and stared into a pair of small blue eyes.

"Daddy sweeping?" Chelsea giggled, planting a big wet kiss on Chris' cheek.

Chris didn't respond, but just began to smile. He pulled his daughter into a tight hug and held her close.

"Hmmmm, you smell good." he whispered into her ear.

"Shampoo. Peach. Mama bought."

"So, mama bought it. Let's see, are you all dry, pumpkin?"

Chris placed her on his lap and studied her. Chelsea giggled joyfully.

"Ah ha, ears are dry, hair is dry, how about..." he lifted her up, "that belly button?"

Chelsea laughed out loud when Chris began to tickle her. She squirmed in his arms, trying to stop him from tickling her.

"Me dwy! Me dwy!" she laughed.

"Yeah, I guess you are. C'mon, we go look after the lasagna. I hope I didn't burn it again, cuz if I did, your mommy certainly is gonna be really mad with me!"

"Yook new jammies!" Chelsea giggled while Chris carried her to the kitchen. "Yike Pooh, daddy!"

Chris smiled as he sat his daughter down on the counter, "You, my little pumpkin, look beautiful. You are the most beautiful little girl in the whole wide world, Ms. Lorenzo!"

He kissed his smiling daughter on the forehead before he turned to the oven. He opened it and pulled the lasagna out. It looked just about ready, so he turned the oven off.

"Where's Shelby?" Rita asked upon entering the kitchen.

"Ah, she needed to go. Work." Chris placed the lasagna on the table. "Voilà, lasagna is ready."

Chelsea immediately bent over it and smelled it, "OY! Yooks good!"

"Uh uh uh, put your fingers away, pumpkin. You can go set the table with mommy."

"Yeah, c'mon, you can help me."

Rita lifted Chelsea from the counter and stood her on the ground. The little girl immediately went over to the cupboard and sat down in front of it before she began pulling out her kid plates one by one. It didn't take her long to realize that the one she'd been looking for wasn't there.

"Uh oh, no Pooh!" she exclaimed, holding up two plates, one with Mickey Mouse, the other one with Disney's Hercules.

"Pooh is in the dish washer. You have to pick one of the others." Rita replied, placing two normal plates on the counter.

"Wanna Pooh, wanna Pooh!" she argued, crossing her arms in front of her.

"I said you should pick another one. No Pooh, Chelsea, it's in the dish washer. Look, you have plenty of other plates. Take one of them."

"POOH! WINNIE POOH!" Chelsea cried out loud.

Rita rolled her eyes before she placed the two glasses she had in her hands down on the counter and moved to her daughter. She scooped her from the ground and sat her down on the counter.

"You listen to me, young lady. I said Pooh is in the dish washer. The plate is dirty. Finished. You have to choose between Mickey, Donald, The Care Bears and Hercules."

"Winnie Pooh!" came out of Chelsea's mouth like a wail.

"No Pooh, Chelsea."

"Pooh!"

Chelsea was now at the verge of tears.

"Aw, I guess someone's really tired there. C'mon, I'll put you down, pumpkin."

Rita grabbed one of the dummies that was lying on the counter and handed it to her daughter. Without complaining, Chelsea took it and put it into her mouth. Then she raised her arms, wanting to be picked up. So, Rita picked her up and brought her upstairs to bed.

"I really don't know why you like this Pooh Bear so much, pumpkin." she uttered, gently stroking her daughter's hair. Chelsea just looked at her mother with sleepy eyes.

Rita placed Chelsea's bottle next to her and pulled the sheets up, safely tucking her in. Than she moved the Care Bear that was sitting in her crib closer to her.

"Sweet dreams, Chelsea."

Rita kissed her daughter on the forehead and went to turn off the lights. She looked at her daughter one last time before she left the room, realizing that she'd almost drifted off to sleep. When Rita entered the living room, Chris had already set the table for them.

"Is she sleeping?" he asked, handing Rita a glass of wine.

"She couldn't quite keep her eyes open once I'd put her down." Rita sat down at the table, "Now, tell me, what was it that Shelby wanted? I guess it wasn't just pleasure she was here, was it?"

Chris squirmed a little in his chair before he answered, "She offered you and me a job."

"She WHAT? She offered us a job? Are you kidding?"

"No, no, really. She told me she needed some help and wants us to work one of her cases."

"Did she tell you more? I mean, what is this about?"

"Drug dealing." Chris began to explain her. "She wants us to go undercover as buyers. She's been working on that case for about a year now and everytime she makes a step forward, she makes two back. She wants people from the outside working this now."

Rita raised her eyebrows, "You wanna do it?"

"NO!" Chris exclaimed immediately. "I mean, I don't know."

"It's tempting, huh?"

"Yeah, it is, but... I promised you I wouldn't do undercover work again. It's too dangerous. I've too much to lose now. You and Chelsea mean too much to me, more than anything else."

Rita smiled as she got and moved around the table. She sat down on Chris' lap and kissed him tenderly on the lips.

"Sam, I think she's in trouble. She needs help, so why don't we go and help her?"

"You mean you would be okay with that?"

"One condition. We have to work together on this one, partner."

"No way!!" Chris exclaimed, shaking his head.

"May I ask you why?"

"You want a reason? Okay, that reason is two years old and sleeping upstairs."

"You know I feel a lot better when I cover your back, Chris." Rita argued. "I mean, it's not that I don't trust anybody else, but..."

"I know what you mean, Sammy." Chris cut in. "It's just that I don't want to put you in any danger. Shelby lost 5 of her men already. I think it can get pretty dangerous, and I want you out of the line. I need to know that you are here for Chelsea if something ever should happen to me."

"Shhh." Rita placed her index finger on his lips. "As long as I am there to cover your back, nothing's gonna happen to you. And as long as you are there to cover my back, nothing will happen to me, I am sure about that. Chelsea is old enough now for a baby sitter. So, do we have a deal?"

Chris sighed, "First, we're going to talk to Shelby about it. If I think it's too dangerous, you're not going undercover. No way. I would feel a lot better when I know that someone is here for Chelsea. Besides, you still have to requalify at the shooting range before."

"Ah, you think I can't shoot anymore?" she teased him, but gave him a deadly serious look.

"Ugh, no, I didn't say that, but you know, rules are rules."

"Yeah, rules are rules. We go talk to Shelby tomorrow, and I will then call Harry and ask him about the requalifying, is that okay with you?"

Chris smiled and placed a tender kiss on his wife's lips, "Yeah, that's okay as long as I still have the right to say no. And now, I think we better eat that lasagna over there, it's getting cold."

Chris and Rita met with Shelby in Cap. Lipschitz's office the next afternoon. Chris still wasn't feeling very good about this. The two times he and Rita had worked together with Shelby weren't quite what you could call a walk at the beach. Rita had been held at gunpoint, and Chris never wanted to go through that again, seeing his wife held hostage. And now, being in Cap's office, somehow made this more official than he could accept.

"I am glad you came." Shelby coaxed as Chris and Rita sat down on the couch in the office.

"We didn't say yes yet, Shelby." Chris replied. "We just came to see what plan you have."

Shelby nodded as she pulled a folder out. She handed it to Chris who opened it immediately.

"That's Silvio Marcos."

"Hmm, that name sounds familiar. Wasn't he the one who was accused of killing two police officers a couple of years ago?" Rita asked, looking up from the file.

"Right, that's him." Shelby responded. "He went clean on that one as two of his buddies went behind bars for him. People say he has friends in high positions, and I somehow think they are absolutely right."

"And, what should we do?" Chris asked, somehow getting really impatient.

"Marcos is residing in Key West's best hotel for the last few weeks. He's working from there now. What I need you for now is to go in as buyers. I'll arrange a contact with Marcos, and you'll make a deal for cocaine that's worth $2,500,000. All you have to do is make sure he's there when you'll get the stuff, and your work is done. I am gonna arrange the rest."

Chris looked over at Rita, and then back at Shelby, "One question. Why did your plan fail before when it sounds so simple?"

"Marcos always learned that the buyers were from the FBI. He has his contacts to whoever I know. This time I'll make sure nobody in the FBI or anywhere else will know I'll have two cops working on this. I am not even gonna tell my team. That's our advantage."

"I still don't know if it's such a good plan." Chris argued. "I mean, look, Shelby, I really wanna help you out on this one, but you know I have a family to think of first."

"Wait a minute, Chris." Rita cut in. "I think we discussed this last night. We've done undercover work that was even more dangerous than this."

"Yeah, but we didn't have a child to think of when we did that. I am only thinking about Chelsea and her future."

"Shelby, Cap, please excuse us for a minute."

Rita grabbed Chris by his upper arm and led him outside the office.

"Listen to me, Christopher. Just by looking at you, I can tell this case is tempting you. I'd do it. You know what I think about people who commit crimes and walk free. Ever thought what people like him could do to Chelsea when she's older?"

Chris shook his head lightly, "In all my years on the force, do you know what the worst thing I ever had to do was? I had to tell a woman that her husband was dead while her little daughter was playing in the room. I'll never forget the expression on the kid's face when her mother broke down. She was about the same age as Chelsea is now. And, do you know why she had to see her mother like that? Because Marcos killed her father. Just thinking that someone has to walk in on you and Chelsea doing the same thing..."

"Shh..." Rita placed her index finger on his lips. "That's one more reason to put him in jail."

"Why are you so eager to do this, Sammy?"

"Maybe, because I stayed out of the line for more than 2 years and need to go back right now. Maybe, because I want to know that my daughter won't be in any danger of drugs when she's older. You never know, Sam."

"I am sorry, Sam, but I can't do this. For me, it's more important to know that I can always protect my little girl from any danger, no matter how old she is, and not risking my life right now because it MAY mean she's safer in the future."

Rita sighed, "Okay, it's your decision, Chris. If you wanna stay out, you can stay out, but Shelby needs help. I wanna help her. If you have a problem with that, I am sorry."

Rita started to walk back into the office. Chris groaned audibly and started to followed her. When they entered, Harry and Shelby were busily talking about something. Even before one of them could say something, Harry turned to them, a mischivous smile on his face.

"Chris, Rita, I think we have a solution for this." he grinned. "We're gonna make this unofficially official."

Chris and Rita stared at each other, not knowing what Cap was talking about. They shrugged their shoulders after they'd turned back to Harry and Shelby.

"Unofficially official means I am gonna put you on that case unofficially, because officially, Lorenzo you will be on personal leave. All right?"

Chris started to mutter, but Rita cut him off right in the sentence, "All right, Cap. But, what am I doing officially?"

"Officially, you're still at home. Unofficially, you'll be requalifying at the shooting range this afternoon."

"Officially, unofficially," Chris muttered, "does somebody ask me if I want to work this case or not?"

"You're not going to be asked, Lorenzo, you just have to do it. I promised you that I would keep you out of undercover work as long as I could. I respected your wishes that you didn't want to work with anyone other than Rita. Now, you have her back on this one. Now go, go! I think Ms. Kellman needs to fill you in on the details."

Chris was still muttering as they left the office, letting everyone know how unhappy he was.

"Oh, c'mon, big boy, stop sulking." Rita teased, patting his chest. "We're gonna work this one, finished."

"I just don't have a good feeling on this one. Sorry, Sam, but that's what I feel. Too many people have lost their lives already working this case, and I am not willing to be the next one. Honestly, I have no clue why you want to work this, Sam."

"That's part of me, and part of you, Chris, being a cop. That's what we are." Rita argued, sitting down on Chris' desk. "You can't tell me you don't want to see this guy put away."

"I want to see him put away, but why are we the ones who have to do it? It sounds like a close call, and I don't wanna risk my life, neither do I want you to risk your life. Tell me, Rita, you know what it is like to grow up without your parents, do you wanna do that to Chelsea?"

"Christopher!" Rita exclaimed. "You know tha I don't wanna do that to her, and I know we won't. You and me, we'll be there for her all the time, even if we work this case. I believe in that. And, you should as well. We're assigned, finished. And now, Mr. Lorenzo, I'll go and grab my gun to requalify at the shooting range. You can either stay here and sulk, or you can join me, your decision."

Rita turned on her heels and walked out the palm tree doors, leaving Chris and Shelby behind. Chris crossed his arms in front of his chest and let out a loud sigh.

"I really didn't want to cause any troubles for you." Shelby uttered.

"You don't know Rita's stubborness." Chris said, smiling a bit. "When she has something on her mind, nobody can change it. I guess she wanted to come back to work for months now, and this case gave her the opportunity. I just don't think the enthusiasm she puts into it is that good."

Shelby nodded, "See, I want this case to be started as soon as possible. Can you meet me later this afternoon, so we can discuss details?"

"Sure, whatever. You come over, and we'll talk about it. I think I should probabyl go after my wife now. See ya!"

Chris smiled at Shelby one a last time before he headed out of the palm tree doors, looking for his wife. He caught up with her in the locker room.

"Hey, can't you read, it says 'ladies' on the sign at the door." Rita uttered, opening her locker to grab her gun. She'd found it much safer to keep it in her locker than at home when Chelsea had started to get into almost everything.

"I am sorry, Rita." he said after Rita closed her locker. He forced her to turn around to look at him. He had a hand pinned on each side of her face, so she wouldn't be able to escape this conversation easily.

"You hurt me, Chris. You sounded like you didn't trust me out there anymore."

"You're the only one I do trust out there, sunshine, and you know that." He took a deep breath as he began to rub her upper arms. "Before we met, I never saw myself as a husband and a father, but you changed me, you made my life parfait. You and Chelsea, you are the two things in life I don't wanna lose. I don't know what I would do without you. I guess I overreacted a little, and I wanna apologize for that."

Rita began to smile. She placed her hand on his cheek and pulled his face closer to hers, tenderly kissing him on the lips.

"Apology accepted, Sam. To be honest, I don't know what I would do without you either. Seeing you working without me day by day, knowing that some bozo may try to play unfair with you made me almost crazy. But, now that we have the chance to work together, that I have the chance to watch your back really closely, I am not really worried. I have faith in you and me, in us, I know what we can do together. Why do you think we once were Palm Beach's best homicide team?"

"Still are!" Chris replied. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

They leaned in to kiss each other passionately. They let the kiss linger for a while thinking they would have their privacy in the ladies' locker room at least for a little while, when suddenly the door swung open and a young detective stepped in.

"OOPS!" she exclaimed, when she saw the couple leaning against the lockers, kissing, their hands roaming freely over each other's body. She turned on her heels and left the room.

Chris and Rita looked up and saw the door closing. They stared at each other for a moment, before they broke out in laughter.

"Whoever that was, I guess she now knows what else a locker room is good for as well." Chris teased, kissing his wife again.

"You're a dog, Chris. I really don't wanna know what you have already done in a locker room."

"Oh, I think I can show you." Chris made several steps forward to lock the door from inside. He had a mischievous grin on his face when he walked back to Rita.

"What are you doing?" Rita asked surprised, giggling slightly.

"I wanna show you what you can do in a locker room. It starts with undressing..." he reached over and slowly started unbuttoning Rita's blouse.

"Christopher!" Rita objected, taking a hold of his hands to stop him. "We're in the locker room! Someone may come in!"

"Why do you think I locked the door? We have this room all to our own pleasure. So, where was I? Ah, yeah, the undressing part."

Chris pushed the blouse from Rita's shoulders and began kissing her neck and her shoulders. It wasn't quite the fact that Rita wasn't enjoying all this, but she knew where they were and sometimes she really didn't know how Chris could forget about their surroundings while making love to her.

"We shouldn't do this in here, Chris." she objected. "It's not the right place."

"Uuhhhmmmmm..." Chris groaned. "Not the right place.... I remember a time when you were so wild, we could barely make it into the interrogation room."

Rita giggled as Chris pulled her up against him, "Down, boy, down, or I have to pour ice cold water over your head!"

Finally, Chris let go off her. He gave her his best puppy look, making her feel guilty.

"I'll make up for this tonight at home, I promise." Rita uttered, kissing him one last time. "I have to go to the shooting range now. And then, I have to pick up Chelsea."

"Okay, you go now, but don't forget that Shelby is coming over tonight to discuss work."

"I won't. See ya!"

"You ever thought about the fact that working in Key West means we'll have to find a baby sitter for Chelsea who watches her night and day for the time we're away?" Chris argued, while doing the laundry together with Rita.

"Don't worry, I talked to Frannie earlier. They are more than eager to take her."

"Frannie? Oh c'mon, Sammy, you know Chelsea doesn't like the way she always acts around her."

"I know that, and I talked to Frannie about it. She promised me no spoiling and no talking about herbs and that kinda stuff."

"You take her on her word? Whoo!"

"Chris!" Rita playfully smacked him with the towel she had in her hands. "Be nice, okay?"

"Okay. Now, tell me about the requalifying. How did it go? How much did ya get?"

"You really wanna know?"

"Yeah, absolutely, tell me."

Rita smiled, as she leaned in and whispered something into her husband's ear. His eyes grew wide.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Nope." Rita giggled.

"No, you are kidding me. That's too good."

"Ha, never underestimate a woman, Sam!"

"Whoa! And that after two years off of the force."

"Better than you, huh? I looked up your results."

Chris gave her a contrite look when Chelsea toddled into the room. She plopped down on the heap of laundry and smiled up at her parents.

"Pway wis me?"

"Mommy and daddy have to do the laundry, pumpkin." Rita said as she scooped her daughter up and stood her next to the laundry.

"UGH! Wanna pway!" Chelsea exclaimed, stomping her foot on the ground. "NOOOOOW!"

"Go, Sam, I'll do the laundry." Chris offered, smiling at his little daughter, "Show mommy the elephant walk."

"Ooh, yay!"

Chelsea turned and grabbed her nose with one hand. Then, she put the right arm through the whole between her left arm and chest and began to toddle out of the room, swinging her right arm.

"Eyephant, eyephant, eyephant walk. Eyephant walk down stweet, eyephant, eyephant, eyephant walk." she giggled.

"Did you show her that?" Rita laughed, watching after her daughter.

"Uh huh. My grandma used to play that with me when I was young. I liked it when she did that, she looked so funny. Sometimes when I look into Chelsea's eyes I think I see part of my grandma's eyes. The way she looks at me, it's unbelievable."

"I am a little sad I never get the chance to meet her. I guess she was a great grandma."

"Oh yeah, she was. She loved me, Sam, no matter what I did. That made her so special. She never disappointed me, and I hope I never disappointed her."

"No, you didn't. Just look at you now. She'd be proud of you, Christopher Lorenzo."

Rita smiled as she leaned in and kissed Chris when someone called for her.

"Mama, mama, eyephant walk!"

"I think I better be going." Rita giggled as she kissed Chris again. Then she turned and left the room. She found her daughter in her bedroom. Chelsea had climbed up on the bed, now jumping up and down.

"Hey, what did mommy and daddy tell you about jumping on the bed, pumpkin? C'mon, get down from there."

"Uh uh, no, no!" Chelsea giggled, still bouncing on the bed.

"I said get down from there."

Chelsea shook her head no. When she saw her mother reaching for her, she dodged to one side and jumped down from the bed, running out of the bedroom.

"Get me, get me!" the little girl laughed. She turned her head to look for her mother, so she didn't see she was running straight into the open door of the bathroom. With a loud bang she crashed into it and fell backwards on the floor. Chelsea immediately began to cry and sob.

"Shh, pumpkin, no harm done." Rita tried to soothe her, pulling her onto her lap. She cradled her in her arms while the little girl sobbed into her chest. Suddenly, Chris appeared next to them.

"What happened?" he asked as he knelt down.

"She ran into the door." Rita replied, brushing strands of her daughter's hair out of her tiny face to get a closer look at her forehead.

"See, nothing happened, pumpkin."

Tears still trickled down Chelsea's cheeks while Rita stood up, carrying her daughter on her arm. Rita was on her way to Chelsea's room when there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" she shouted loud enough for Chris to hear. So she went downstairs with Chelsea - who was sucking her thumb - to open the door. It was Shelby.

"Hey Shelby. Come on in."

"Hi Rita." Shelby greeted her after Rita had closed the door behind her. "Oh my, what did happen to you?"

"She ran into a door. Nothing serious, just the shock." Rita replied, carrying Chelsea over to the couch. She tried to sat her down, but Chelsea wouldn't let go off her.

"Uhm, I brought Chelsea something. Is that okay?" Shelby asked, opening her purse.

Rita nodded when she saw that Shelby pulled a Winnie Pooh doll out of her purse. Chelsea's eyes grew wide.

"It's for you, Chelsea."

Chelsea pulled her thumb out of her mouth when Shelby handed her the doll. For a moment, she stared at Shelby, then at the doll in her hands. She clutched it close to her chest when her thumb wandered back into her mouth.

"Hey pumpkin, what do you say?"

The little girl looked up at her mother wide eyed.

"What do you say?"

"Wank you." Chelsea murmured, her thumb still in her mouth.

Shelby smiled, "You're welcome."

"Ah, Chris is upstairs, but he'll be down any minute, so we can discuss work. Just let me take Chelsea to her room."

Chelsea began to shake her head frantically when Rita started to walk over to the stairs.

"Don't wanna, no!" she cried.

"Mommy and daddy have work to discuss, that's boring for you, pumpkin."

"DON'T WANNA!"

Chelsea began to pout and scream loud enough for Chris to hear upstairs. He appeared at the top of the stairs.

"What is going on here?" he asked, staring down at Rita and Chelsea.

"Ask your daughter what this tantrum is about." Rita responded, standing her daughter on the ground. Chelsea clutched her Pooh closer to her and looked up at Chris, giving him her best puppy look.

"Oh goodness!" Rita exclaimed, half laughing when she saw the look on her daughter's face.

"Oh c'mon, Sam, who can resist such an adorable little face?" Chris asked, half laughing himself as he scooped his daughter from the ground and carried her over to the couch.

"You'll be nice while mommy and daddy discuss work with Shelby, won't you?"

The response Chris got was a short nod from his daughter. He smiled, "That's my little girl."

Later that night, several empty boxes of Chinese food were sitting on the table in the living room along with papers, files and maps. Chelsea had drifted off to sleep already, her little head resting in Chris' lap. He stretched carefully as not to wake her up.

"I think we know everything we need to know now." he uttered, stifling back a yawn.

"Yeah, but I still want you and Rita to go through your background again." Shelby responded. "It has to be convincing, not just something written in a file. It has to be perfect."

"You can trust us, Shelby. Chris and I will keep everything in mind. It's not the first time we've done work like this."

"I trust you, that's why I want you working this case." Shelby closed the files lying in front of her. Then she handed one of the folders to Rita and placed the others back in her briefcase. "This will be the last time we saw each other till this case is over. We only keep in contact via your cell phone. No meetings, no calls using the phone in the hotel or a public phone, nothing. Before you drive on, you have to pick up the money at Cap. Lipschitz's office. I want you to be really careful with the briefcase. You have $2,500,000 with you."

"Clear, we got that." Chris nodded.

"You have to be at the Hilton tomorrow before 11am. Be careful when you approach Marcos. I am not going to pull any strings this time, you are on your own making this deal. Chris, your advantage is Rita. We know that Marcos is a ladies' man who prefers smart, gorgeous woman like you, Rita."

"We have everything under control, Shelby, don't worry." Rita assured her.

"Okay. I think we're finished here. Good luck."

"I think we can use some." Chris replied through gritted teeth.

Rita began to clean the table after Shelby left while Chris put Chelsea down in bed. When she got upstairs, she found her daughter peacefully sleeping in her parent's bed, her Pooh safely tucked in under her arm. Rita smiled when she felt two arms wrapping around her waist from behind.

"I thought I'd let her sleep with us tonight." Chris mumbled, nuzzling Rita's neck.

"Hmmm, I thought I promised you to make up for what happened in the locker room. You know that's not gonna be happening when Chelsea is sleeping with us." Rita replied huskily.

"I think I need my two ladies with me tonight. You can still make up for that another time, I'll keep it in mind, don't worry." Chris chuckled, pausing for a moment. "Do you realize that this is gonna be the first time we're away from her for more than just a couple of hours?"

"Yeah, I do. But, what I actually was thinking about was the she's growing up so fast. To me it seems like it was only yesterday when she was our newborn tiny little daughter."

Rita smiled as she turned in Chris embrace and placed a tender kiss on his lips. Chris framed her face with his hands and gently carressed her cheeks with his thumbs.

"I want her to stay that small all her life, Sam. I always want her to be daddy's little girl."

"She'll always be your little girl, Sam, no matter how old she is. Nobody can take that away." Rita paused for a moment. "I know what you're thinking about. It's this case."

Chris nodded, "I just have this feeling in my gut, and it's not a good one."

"As long as you go on pretending this case is dangerous, it's not gonna be any easier." Rita argued, tracing his lips with her thumb.

"But, it IS dangerous."

"I never saw you like this before. When we worked other undercover cases, it never was a question how dangerous it was. You always went in, telling yourself - and most of all me - that we could do it, that nothing's gonna happen to us. What is different now? It's a case like many others before."

"I really don't know what it is. But, I guess you're right. I should tell myself that together we can do almost everything."

Rita smiled shortly before she felt Chris' lips descending on hers.

"I love you, Rita. For every little thing you've done for me, for keeping my head up, for always believing in me, and most of all, for loving me the way you do."

"Ditto, Chris, I love you, too!"

When Chelsea toddled into the kitchen the next morning, her Pooh dragging behind her, she found her parents already sitting at the table having breakfast.

"Now hello, who's awake there?" Rita smiled. She plucked Chelsea from the ground and placed her on her lap. The little girl snuggled close to her mother, rubbing her eyes.

"Shewwios." she mumbled, her dummy in her mouth.

Rita handed her daughter over to her husband and got up to get a bowl, milk and the cheerios to fix her daughter's breakfast. A moment later, Chelsea dug into her bowl, still sitting safely on her father's lap. Chris looked over to Rita for a moment, before he began to talk to his daughter.

"Chelsea, daddy told you yesterday that mommy and daddy have to go away for a few days, do you remember that?"

Chelsea nodded while digging into her bowl again.

"Frannie will come to pick you up a little later. You're gonna stay with her and Harry for a few days."

The girl dropped her spoon and stared up at her father, "No, no, NO! No Fwannie, not goin'!"

"Pumpkin, it's only for a few days. It's going to be real nice. Think about all the things you can do with Frannie and Harry."

"NOOOO!" Chelsea cried. "She make kiss kiss, not yike, ugh!"

Chris began to smile, ruffling his daughter's hair, "I wouldn't like that either. See, she promised your mommy she's not gonna do that. And, when she does it, you tell her you don't like it, and she'll stop."

Chelsea shook her head frantically, so Chris leaned in and whispered something into her ear. Chelsea looked at her father wide-eyed and then nodded before she turned back to her cheerios.

"What did you tell her, Sam?" Rita asked astonished, sipping on her cup of coffee.

"Oh, nothing much, just that there's always uncle Harry she can go to and that he's gonna have a nice sweet conversation with Frannie if she doesn't stop." Chris replied innocently, grinning.

"That's it?"

"Ugh, yeah, no, not everything. I promised her a big bowl of ice cream when we're back."

"Christopher!" Rita exclaimed, laughing out loud. "Sometimes, I really don't know what I should do with you."

Chris was packing the car when he saw Frannie drive up the driveway. She parked the car, got out and walked over to him.

"Christopher, darling, I am sorry I am a little late. Where's my sweetheart?"

"She upstairs with Rita. You can go up and get her if you want." Chris replied, closing the trunk of his car. He grabbed Chelsea's car seat from the ground. "Where should I put this? You're gonna need it."

"You can put it in the back of the car. I'll go ahead and get my goddaughter."

Frannie walked into the house and used the elevator to get up.

"Yoohoo!" she yelled upon entering the apartment.

Rita appeared at the top of the stairs, carrying a bag.

"Fran, nice to see you. Chelsea is almost ready." Rita walked downstairs and placed the bag down on the ground. "I am so glad you can take her for a few days."

"We love to do it, honey. Chelsea is so a joy."

Rita smiled as she turned to look for her daughter. As she didn't see her, she called for her, "Chelsea, Frannie is here to pick you up. C'mon, pumpkin."

Chelsea toddled out of her room, dragging her Pooh Bear with her. She stopped at the top of the stairs, shaking her head. Rita sighed as she went to get her.

"We talked about this, pumpkin. Mommy and daddy have to work, and you have to be a big girl and stay with Frannie and Harry."

"Uh uh, don't wanna, mama stay." Chelsea whined, clinging to her mother.

"Mommy can't stay, pumpkin. I promise I'll call you every night to give you a kiss good night."

"Mama stay!" Chelsea begged, tears welling in her eyes.

"Please, Chelsea, don't make it any harder for me than it already is. It's only for a couple of days, mommy and daddy will be back real soon."

Finally, Chelsea began to cry. She clawed her fingers into her mother's shirt when she tried to hand her daughter to Frannie.

"NO, not goin'! MAMA STAY!" Chelsea screamed, punching her fists against Frannie's chest.

"Sweetheart, what do you think if aunt Frannie takes you to the playground, and we will both have lots of fun there?" Frannie asked, smiling at the infant in her arms.

"MAMA STAY!" came out of Chelsea's mouth like a wail.

"Go, Rita, I can handle this here."

Rita kissed her daughter on her head, "I love you, pumpkin. I am gonna miss you."

"MAAAAAMAAAAA!" Chelsea screamed at the top of her lungs, her arms reaching out for her mother when Rita left for the elevator.

Chris already was waiting impatiently down in their car. Rita hopped in and slammed the door shut behind her while Chris already sped off.

"Did it go easy with Chelsea?" he asked, shortly turning his head to look at his wife.

"She began to cry, like I expected. Was it the right thing we did, Chris? I mean, you should have seen her, when she begged for me to stay."

"Hello, who was it that was so eager to work this case, you or me? I told you from the beginning it wasn't such a good idea."

"Oh well, she's gonna survive it. Besides, she has to face the fact that we can't be with her 24 hours a day."

"Face the fact? Sammy, she's two years old. How can she possibly face any facts?"

"She'll see that it isn't that bad with Frannie and Harry. Now, let's start rehearsing you one last time on our way to pick up the money. Name?"

"Jordan Myers, born July 22nd, 1962 in New York. I've been working for several mobs till I started my own business a couple of years ago. I've never been involved in the drug business before, but my name is famous in the smuggling branch, mostly arms. For the last couple of months, I've been married to my partner in crime, Nadine. Good enough?"

"Yeah, for the beginning it's quite good. Let's hope you remember all the other stuff as well."

"Oh, I will, you can be sure about that!" A mischievious smile broke out on Chris' face, "Besides, I have my partner in crime right here next to me."

Chris and Rita checked into the Hilton on time. They were told that Marcos was having lunch every day at exactly 12:30pm down in the restaurant. It gave them just enough time to unpack their stuff and dress for lunch.

While the guy behind the desk checked their reservation, Chris' finger nervously tapped on the briefcase with the money he had placed on the desk in front of him.

"Stop that!" Rita whispered, placing her hand on top of his. "You're making me nervous."

"Nervous? Sammy, there are 2,500,000 bucks in that briefcase, that is making ME nervous!"

"We're gonna ask this guy if we can place that money in a safe deposit here, okay?"

"Just what I was thinking about."

About 15 minutes later, the money was placed in a safe deposit, and Chris and Rita were on their way to their room.

"WOW!" Chris exclaimed upon entering. Shelby had booked the Prince's Suite for them, while Marcos was residing in the King's Suite above them. "This looks terrific!"

"Hey Sam, it's the Hilton! What can you expect?"

Chris smiled as he wrapped his arms around Rita and pulled her closer.

"Can you see this, Sam? You and me, here, alone, for the next couple of days?"

"Christopher, it's work, not pleasure!" Rita chuckled, turning out of his embrace. "We need to get dressed for lunch, or do you wanna go meet Marcos in that?"

"What's so bad about my outfit?" Chris half sulked, looking down at himself. "I think I look pretty good."

Rita smiled as she placed a quick kiss on his lips, "You always look good, even if you wear nothing, but that is, ugh, inappropriate for lunch with Marcos. C'mon, there's something in your suitcase."

Chris rolled his eyes shortly, before he grabbed Rita's upper arm and dragged her back into his arms.

"Getting dressed means we first have to UNdress. You think I can help you with that?"

Rita gave him one of her looks, "How often do I have to tell you that this is work, partner. And no, you can't help me."

"Why?" Chris playfully pouted, slowly pulling Rita's shirt out of her trousers.

"Sa-am, please!" Rita uttered, trying to place Chris' hands aside, but she couldn't quite succeed.

Chris leaned closer, whispering something into her ear, "Give me 10 minutes, my lady. All I want is 10 minutes."

He began to kiss her neck while his hands slowly unbuttoned her shirt.

"Tell me you want me to stop, and I will."

"Stop, Chris."

Rita reached for his hands and placed them aside. Then she turned and started to walk away, but only to stop a couple of feet away. She turned back to face Chris.

"10 minutes?" she asked huskily, slowly walking back to him. "All you need is 10 minutes?"

Chris nodded, "10 minutes."

A big grin broke out of Rita's face before she turned again and headed for the bathroom.

"Too cheap, Sam, too cheap. It should take at least an hour!" she called, leaving a confused Chris behind.

"Women!"

It was shortly before 12:30pm when Chris and Rita walked into the hotel lobby. From their balcony, they had checked out the hotel's garden. It was the perfect place to watch someone in the restaurant without being seen.

"Shelby said Marcos has a good taste in woman. Let's hope this works." Chris whispered, only loud enough for Rita to hear.

"Why should it not work?"

"Yeah, you're right. Why shouldn't it work? You look stunning, Sam."

"Thank you, Sam!"

"You're welcome. Look, I'll be out in the garden watching you. Let's see if Marcos makes a move on you. You think you can handle that?"

"Sure, sure."

"But, don't let him go too far. I have the exclusive rights of your body!" Chris grinned and placed a quick kiss on Rita's forehead before he left her. He walked outside to the garden. A palm tree gave him the perfect hiding place without being seen through the huge window overlooking the garden.

"There we go!" he whispered to himself as he saw Rita following the waiter to her table. Chris looked over to Marcos, who had already noticed Rita.

"His gaze is already fixed on you." he smiled.

Inside, Rita was nervously playing with her wedding band. As she had her back turned towards Marcos, she didn't know what was going on there, so she couldn't tell if he showed any signs of coming over or not. The waiter had just brought her drink, when a shadow formed over the table. Rita's head whirled around.

"Why does a beautiful and charming woman like you sit alone at such a huge and lonely table?" Marcos asked.

"Who says I am beautiful and charming?" Rita replied, raising her eyebrows.

"I say it." Marcos smiled as he sat down next to Rita. "Silvio Marcos."

"It's my pleasure, Mr. Marcos."

"No Mister, my friends call me only Marcos. And you are?"

"Nadine."

"Oh, Nadine, what a beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

"You are a charmer, Mr. Marcos."

"Nadine, will you give me the pleasure to have lunch with me?"

"Thank you, but I think I would rather..." Rita stopped when a second shadow formed over the table. She looked up and saw Chris standing next to the table.

"Nadine, who is this?" he asked in a cold tone.

Even before Marcos could say something, one of his bodyguards walked up behind him. He stared at Chris and threateningly crossed his arms in front of his chest. Marcos raised his hand and indicated for him to go back to his table, before he got up and reached his hand out towards Chris, "Silvio Marcos. And, you might be?"

"Jordan Myers, Nadine's husband." Chris didn't accept Marcos' hand, but just glared at Rita. "Here I am gone for only 5 minutes, and you already have to go on search for Mr. Charming."

"Jordan, please!" Rita gasped. She shot Chris a look. He obviously was enjoying this just too much. "This is Mr. Marcos, don't you remember?" she said through gritted teeth, loud enough for both Chris and Marcos to hear.

Chris just stared at her, shrugging his shoulders. Suddenly, he smacked his hand on his forehead.

"Marcos, this is Mr. Marcos! Oh my god, I am so sorry I didn't recognize you. Accept my deepest apologies!"

Chris frantically shook Marcos' hand. Rita bit her lower lip as not to laugh out loud. Chris was acting parfaitment! Marcos didn't know what was going on, he just stood there, watching Chris shaking his hand with an open mouth.

"I already heard a lot about you. Everybody in my family in New York has spoken of the Silvio Marcos. Oh brother, the big boss of the drug business!! Have a seat, have a seat!"

Marcos still didn't know what was going on. He looked totally confused when Chris pushed him down to sit into one of the chairs.

"Everyone I have ever done business with has told me that one day, I should do business with Mr. Marcos. Hey, it's going better than I expected."

"I think you're mistaken here, Mr. Myers. I am not involved in any illegal business, most of drugs." Marcos replied, trying to get up, but Chris pushed him back down. Suddenly, he had two guerrilas standing next to their table again. Marcos raised his hand and indicated for them to return to their table.

"Who says I am in the drug business?" he asked, looking back and forth between Chris and Rita.

"Oh, almost everybody I have ever done business with." Chris uttered, leaning closer to Marcos, "Mob business, ya know?"

Marcos scrutinized Chris before he began to chuckle, "You want to tell me...?"

"Ever heard about the Fort Goldenstein coup?" Chris asked, taking a sip of the drink standing on the table.

"Fort Goldenstein? Sure. Some crazy looney toon stole everything that was in the armory in the Fort and smuggled it to Cuba."

"Nadine, did you hear that? He just called me a looney toon."

"You did that?"

Chris nodded, "Guilty as charged."

Marcos raised his eyebrow while he whistled softly, "So, you deal with weapons? What kind of?"

"Almost everything. Rifles, guns, torpedoes, bombs, grenades, anything you want, but lately this business is going downhill. Nobody needs any weapons anymore. They prefer chemicals instead."

"I see."

"You don't happen to need any artillery, do you?" Chris asked Marcos, and shortly looked over to Rita. She signaled to him that it was her time to interfere now.

"I don't think Mr. Marcos needs anything we have, Jordan, but I think we might need something he has." Rita interrupted their conversation. Marcos turned his head and smiled at her.

"Anything you want, sweetheart, anything you want."

"We could use a little of that white powder you sell."

"May I ask why?"

"Oh, let's say it's part of a trade Jordan and I have..."

"NADINE!" Chris exclaimed.

Rita looked up at him, giving him a look, "Jordan, darling, don't you think we can trust Mr. Marcos?" Rita turned back to Marcos, "You wouldn't tell anybody, would you?"

"Of course not!" Marcos replied.

"As my husband said, nobody needs arms any longer. We have a deal going with a new nuclear power weapon some Russian specialist has created. We want this weapon, but what he wants in return is pure cocaine for $2,500,000."

"Hmmm..." Marcos frowned. "You're asking me for pure cocaine?"

"Exactly." Rita purred.

Marcos abruptly got up and left the table without even saying goodbye. Chris and Rita looked at each other.

"I guess we just busted it." Chris whispered.

"Yeah, I think so, too."

Suddenly, one of Marcos' guerrilas walked up behind Chris. He stood there silently for a moment and scrutinized the pair at the table.

"Mr. Marcos wants to think about this for a while. He will contact you."

With that, he left them and returned to Marcos' table.

"I think we just got ourselves a deal, Sam." Chris smiled.

"Yeah!" Rita smiled back.

That same afternoon, Chris and Rita were walking at the beach of Key West. At this time of the year, the beach was crowded with tourists, but as usual, Chris had found a tranquil and remote spot.

"So, when was the last time we did something like this?" Chris asked, placing his arms around Rita's shoulders and squeezing her closer.

"When I was still on the force." Rita replied.

"No, I mean walking on the beach like this, alone, without anybody we have to watch."

"Hmmm, seems like a LONG time ago, Sam."

"Do you realize that this is the first time we're really alone ever since Chelsea was born?"

"Uh huh. Funny, I already miss her."

"What's so funny about that? It's only usual that we miss her, I mean, she's our little angel."

"Yeah, that she is." Rita smiled, placing a tender kiss on her husband's cheek. "Thank you."

"For what?" Chris asked surprised. He stopped and turned Rita towards him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him.

"I don't know, I just felt like saying thank you. You've been a great daddy and husband."

"Yeah, but I only can be good because I have the world's most gorgeous and wonderful wife and the world's cutest little daughter."

Rita smiled as Chris leaned in and kissed her again. They let the kiss linger for a while, not realizing that they were being watched from far. Marcos' guerrila stood on the driveway, looking down at the beach. Something about these two was bothering him very much; he just couldn't say what it was. They seemed so not gangster like, whatever gangsters were like, but those two just didn't seem to have the heart for being mobsters, no, not at all!

When Chris broke the embrace, he caught a glimpse of Marcos' man as he desperately tried to hide behind a van.

"We got ourselves some company, Sam." he whispered into Rita's ear. He took her hand in his and started to walk down the beach.

"Where is he?" she murmured back, though she didn't know why she was speaking low, there was nobody around to hear them.

"On the driveway. He's trying to hide behind a van. Let's act as if we didn't see him."

Chris stopped and dragged Rita into his arms. He kissed her passionately as they fell backwards into the sand, Rita landing on top of Chris.

"Let's give him something to remember!!" he chuckled while still kissing his wife.

"Make up a play for Marcos, Jordan Myers!" Rita replied, chuckling. She looked at Chris, her fingers wandering through his dark hair.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you, handsome?"

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you, beautiful?" he replied, pulling her face closer to him. He began to grin and yelled at the top of his lungs, "I LOVE YOU!"

"Shhh!" Rita chuckled, placing her hand on his mouth. Well, this didn't quite have the effect it should have because Chris began to kiss her palm. His tongue tickled her hand, and therefore, it was only a matter of time until she started to giggle.

"Stop, stop, please!" she pleaded, laughing.

Chris let go off her hand, but at the same time looked at her watch. A devilish smile broke out on his face.

"Sammy, do you realize that we have more than 2 hours before we have to get back to the hotel and check in with Shelby?"

"Uh oh, why do I not like the way this is starting out?"

Chris rolled her off of him and pinned her right under him, her hands above her head.

"You said 10 minutes was cheap, so how does 2 hours sound? You still have to make up for yesterday."

"Christopher!" Rita exclaimed, chuckling. "We're in a public place. They're gonna arrest us for lewd conduct." She paused for a moment, "I think I have a better idea."

"You think? Tell me."

"You let me go, and I'll show you."

Chris let go off her hands and pulled her to her feet. Then, he opened his arms and closed his eyes.

"Show me." he demanded, being really surprised when felt Rita taking his hand and leading him down the beach, back in direction of the hotel.

Rita walked out of the bathroom, dressed in a bathrobe, a towel in her hands to dry her hair. She sat down on the couch and grabbed the cell phone. They still had a little time until they were supposed to check back with Shelby, so she decided to call back home to see how her daughter was doing.

"Hey Fran, it's me. How's Chelsea doing?"

"Rita, what a surprise!" Frannie exclaimed on the other end. "We just finished taking a bath."

Rita smiled at the thought of Frannie trying to give Chelsea a bath. She could perfectly imagine how their bathroom had to look right now.

"Can I talk to her?"

"Sure, sure, I'll get her."

There was a little silence on the phone, before a low giggling was heard at the other end.

"Mama!" someone exclaimed joyfully.

"Hey pumpkin. Are you a sweet little girl for Frannie and Harry?"

"Yes, yes."

Rita looked up when she saw Chris leaving the bathroom. He only had a towel around his waist. He walked over to her, sat down next to her, and motioned her to give him the phone.

"Pumpkin, do you wanna talk to daddy?"

"Yes, yes!" the little girl replied eagerly, so Rita handed the phone to her husband.

"Hey pumpkin, what's up?"

"Wassup, daddy!" Chelsea echoed.

"Hey, I asked first, what's up?"

"Wassup?"

Chelsea seemed to have fun playing that game. Chris just smiled thinking about his little girl. How much he'd like to take her into his arms and tickle her right now.

"Okay, daddy goes first. Mommy and daddy are just sitting in their hotel room, thinking about their little pumpkin." Chris replied, looking over at Rita.

"Wassup, daddy?" Chelsea giggled again. "Fwannie wet, daddy! Miss my wubba ducky."

"Oh, you soaked Frannie? Is she nice to you?"

"Uh huh, no kiss kiss." Chelsea paused for a moment. "When you bag?"

"I don't know yet, pumpkin, but we'll come home as soon as we can. Mommy gives you a biiiiiig kiss, and so does daddy. We miss you."

"Miss you, too."

"Mommy and daddy have to go now. Hugs and kisses from us. See ya, pumpkin."

"See ya, daddy!"

Chris was about to place the cell phone on the table in front of him, when he heard a cracking noise in the phone.

"What the heck..?!?" he exclaimed. He moved the phone and there was the noise again. He moved it over the table when the noise became louder and louder.

"What are you doing there, Ch..."

Chris covered Rita's mouth with his hand. He gave her a wink with his eyes.

"Nadine, why don't you go and get dressed for dinner?" he said out loud, while removing his hand from her mouth. They both dropped to their knees, staring under the table. And, there it was, a wire.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea, darling." Rita purred, while Chris carefully scooted closer to the wire. What should he do now? He was sure this was Marcos' work. If he disconnected it, he would know they'd found it and that something was wrong with them. He looked up at Rita and shrugged his shoulders. She reached for a piece of paper and scribbled something down before she handed it to Chris.

"Leave it?" he mouthed to her.

Rita nodded, so Chris crawled out from under the table. He grabbed the cell phone from the table and slowly walked through the room.

"Nadine, where do you wanna go tonight?" he called, running over the bed with the cell phone, when the cracking noise appeared again. He leaned down and found a second wire behind the night stand.

"I've never been in Key West before, I don't know where to go." Rita replied, taking a look at the wire herself. She shook her head and gestured Chris to follow her outside on the balcony. She shut the sliding glass door behind them.

"We're wired! I don't believe this!" Chris exclaimed.

"I hope we're not filmed as well!" Rita uttered. "Gosh!"

"Uh oh!" Chris uttered, his thoughts wandering back to what had just happened some time ago in that room.

"Oh my god! Whoever placed that wire there heard us making..."

"... love." Chris finished the sentence. "Gosh! And you suggested going back to the hotel."

"How could I possibly know??? Besides, oh dear, they heard us using our real names! Our cover is gone!"

"That's it, we're outta here. I am not gonna spend even one more minute in here."

"Yeah, we're outta here."

to be continued...

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Standard Disclaimer: The characters of Christopher Lorenzo, Rita Lee Lance, Harry and Frannie Lipschitz and Shelby Kellman belong to Stephen J. Cannell and USA Network. However, the characters of Chelsea Rose Lorenzo and Silvio Marcos (and everybody else that never appeared on Silk Stalkings before) belong to me. No infringement intended.

Final note: At the beginning, this was not supposed to be a 2 parter, but the story somehow got longer and longer and longer, and I couldn't do anything else than to divide it into two parts. Part 2 is already done, it just need to be proofread. I promise it will be up asap!

Thanks to everyone I asked about the word lewd conduct. You won't believe how many people told me it started with 'L', but actually nobody knew the whole word! LOL! And I have to confess that I stole the title from my sis, hehehehe! The last thank yous go to my sis, too, for editing this little piece.

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