Title: Quito's Gamble

Author: Gypsy and Dreamscape

Comments: Sure. Flames and Kisses are welcome all the same.

Gypsy: gypsybaby1@attbi.com

Dreamy One: sdjolly@bellsouth.net

Spoilers: None.

Archive: Please ask first.

Summary: A ghost from Jake's past is back to fulfill a promise, while other ghosts from past lives find Frankie. Will the ghosts leave their mark or will Frankie and Jake win in the end?

Disclaimers: The characters (Donovan, Jake, Alex, Cody, and Quito) involved the property of NBC Entertainment, a division of the National Broadcasting Company. No copyright infringement is intended. Original characters - Frankie, Shay, the babies, Thomas and any others - however, are the property of the author. So this means you can't sue us. Unless you want my car payment, collection of river rocks, unique goblets and our clones... who only mind us...

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Jake was in deep doo-doo. He faced Frankie with a mischievous grin on his face.

Frankie stood less than 5 feet from him with an incredulous look on her face. Down her front was a splash of light green paint that Jake had thrown at her from the small paper bowl in his hand. They'd been painting the fourth bedroom when Jake's playfulness took over. "You…."

"Holy Moses for once the woman's speechless!" Jake broke down in guffaws of laughter.

"Oh you…" she fumed and grabbed up the small bowl of darker green paint, pouring it over his head with a triumphant smirk.

It was Jake's turn to be shocked and speechless. "FRANCESCA!!" he sputtered as the green paint ran down his nose and dripped onto the covered floor.

"Whatsamadda baby?" she purred softly. "You can throw it, but ya can't take it?" She was so busy tormenting him that she didn't see his hand grab hold of the 3 inch wide paintbrush coated with the dark green paint. Jake smacking her lightly across the cheek with a loud 'plop' cut off her giggle and left her standing there in open-mouthed shock.

"Oh that is it!" Frankie grabbed up the paint tray and threw it at him. Jake's reflexes kicked in and instead of getting splashed with both colors of paint, it splattered all over the wall behind him and started to trickle down slowly. Of course, he retaliated by grabbing up the small can of light green and flicking the brush. Frankie ducked, leaving a smattering of paint to sprinkle the wall behind her.

Shouts of laughter mixed with mock outrage echoed throughout the still-empty house of Mr. and Mrs. Jake Shaw while the back bedroom wound up with an intriguing paint-job.

--

Three years. Three years he'd waited for this chance. Three years that he'd plotted and planned and worked things out. It had been three years of iron bars and routines and complete submission. Once he was King, once he had power. But then he trusted someone, and he was set up. This man, the one he called 'hermano', betrayed him and put him here.

Now he had a chance to put right the wrong done to him. Word had come that those still loyal to him were working to get him out. He would be King again. And this traitor would pay. His cellmate watched him quietly as he read "The Count of Monte Cristo". How ironic, a novel about a prisoner escaping to exact his revenge on the man who'd put him there unjustly. How prophetic...

"Hey.."

He looked up at the man, his espresso brown eyes watching him. "Yes?"

"Are you really him?"

"Him, who?"

"You know... HIM."

"If you mean am I Quito Real, then yes, I am he."

"Oh shit man!" The cellmate laughed easily now. "THE Quito Real? Man, I can't believe this. YOU, in here with me. Ain't that the shit?! Homies ain't gonna believe this when I tell them that Quito and I are cellmates man!"

"Not for long." Quito murmured and went back to reading.

"Not... not for long man? You got plans or somethin'? Whatchoo gonna do, fly out of here?" His cellmate began laughing again like it was all a great joke.

"Something like that." Quito smiled to himself as he kept reading. He had plans to concentrate on...

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