Busman's Honeymoon

by EHfan

When the government is worried something strange is going on in northern Idaho, they want to send the FBI's Special Science Advisor in to take a look. Jacob thinks it's the perfect opportunity to take Rachel on a honeymoon.

1. Chapter 1

A/N: The title of this story is a homage to a book by one of my fav authors – Dorothy Sayers. This story is set a month after the story "Father's Day."

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

Special Agent Rachel Young was silently seething. Seated at the head of the conference table she couldn't believe, in her own building no less, she had been treated with such disrespect. Shortly after they arrived that morning, Jacob was summoned by the Director to a meeting with Thomas Hager, the Deputy Undersecretary of Analysis from the Department of Homeland Security. When they entered the conference room the Undersecretary, along with another agent from Homeland, was already present.

Introductions were made and Rachel was about to take a seat next to Jacob. Then the agent accompanying Hager, Suzanne Corral, murmured something about how the information they were about to share was classified and need to know only. She suggested Agent Young be dismissed. Hager agreed; in his opinion Young's presence was unnecessary. Jacob objected; Rachel's security clearance equal to his own.

"Besides," he declared, "I'll tell her what we talked about after you leave anyway."

After a moment of startled silence, Frank Fuller intervened. He acidly pointed out that Dr. Hood was an FBI asset; it was up to the FBI to determine when and if his protection detail was to be dismissed. As a sop to the Homeland people, he caught Rachel's eye and, with a flick of his head, indicated she should take a seat at the far end of the table, as far from the principals as possible. Corral started to object, but Hager silenced her. He belatedly realized, as someone who had come to ask a favor of the FBI, he should be more conciliatory.

The story Hager told was succinct and to the point. A few weeks previously, the Homeland fusion center located in Boise City, Idaho forwarded to DC a report on the activities of a group known as the Sons of Zion. The group wasn't previously on their radar but their recent purchases had raised some questions. They had purchased lab equipment a few months ago and a week previously they had taken delivery of a small x-ray machine. The analysts at the fusion center concluded the group might be trying to develop some type of weapon. He tapped Corral to take the lead in investigating the reports. She was chosen since she was an expert on the various militia groups operating in that area.

Corral took up the tale. She reviewed the intelligence and, together with what she knew about militia groups, was convinced the matter should be taken seriously. Problems arose when she tried to verify the information. There wasn't much information about the Sons available. They were a new group with a limited internet presence. Satellite photos weren't helpful; many areas of their compound were shielded from view and, due to the surrounding mountains, aerial surveillance was impossible.

The only way to confirm the intel was to send in agents, to put boots on the ground in Idaho. The location of the compound presented a problem. It was situated in a relatively unpopulated part of the state; strangers in the area would arouse suspicions. Whoever was sent in would have to work undercover. Corral's plan was simple. The Sons were protective of their privacy. The compound was close to the Pacific Northwest Trail; hikers who strayed too close to their boundaries were often confronted and detained.

"How do they get away with that?" Jacob interrupted, "don't the local police intervene?" He snorted, "or in this day and age I'd think they'd get their asses sued off."

"They claim it's a citizen's arrest, the hikers are trespassing on their land and causing damage." Corral explained. "We suspect the Sons run background checks on the hikers while they wait for the cops. When the cops point out the land is part of the public right of way, they apologize." She shook her head, "from what I've gathered, the people they detain are only too happy to be on their way. "

Corral continued to outline her plan. Two agents would pose as hikers. When they were detained by the Sons, they would display some sympathy for and interest in the movement; ask if they could stay in the compound for a day or so in order to learn more about the group. This would allow them to look around and get some idea of what was happening. There was one catch; one of the hiker/agents had to have the necessary scientific background to judge what the group was doing.

"Which brings me to my favor," Hager said. "We'd like to use Dr. Hood as one of the two hikers."

"I'm not so sure about this," Frank frowned at the man across the conference table. "After all, Jacob is a civilian employee of the Bureau. It doesn't seem like a good idea to send him in undercover."

"I know, it's not optimal, but I can't see any other way," said Hager, "We're not talking basic surveillance; we need someone who knows their science, who can evaluate what's going on in there and let us know if we have anything to worry about."

"Why can't you use someone of your own?" Frank objected. "Surely there's someone in your science and technology directorate who can handle this job?"

"You'd think so," Hager responded. "The problem is none of them has ever been in the field, wouldn't know how to handle themselves if things got dicey." He tilted his head toward Jacob, "But Hood has and that's important. We'll…."

"Are you nuts?" Frank interrupted, glaring. "Jacob's not a trained agent, he's …"

"Be sending him in with one of our best agents," Hager finished smoothly. He indicated the woman sitting beside him. "Agent Corral will be going in with Hood to investigate what's going on in that compound."

"I already have a handler," Jacob protested. "Why can't Rachel accompany me?"

A flash of annoyance crossed Corral's face. Her career at Homeland had stalled due to her lack of field experience. When Hagar had asked her to look into the report from the fusion center she realized quickly it had all the earmarks of a career making assignment. She wasn't about to let some FBI nerd stand in her way.

Corral was wearing a dress with a deep V neckline. Leaning forward she hunched her shoulders slightly, emphasizing her cleavage. She smiled seductively at Jacob. "Oh, Dr. Hood, I hope I can change your mind," she purred "I've read your file and I've been looking forward to working very… closely with you." She reached across the table and lightly stroked the hand Jacob had rested on the table. "I think we'd make a great team."

Jacob raised an eyebrow and a faint look of distaste crossed his face. "Do you do that often Agent Corral?" he asked curiously.

The woman sat back in confusion. "Uh, what?"

"Use your sexuality to manipulate men." Jacob said matter-of-factly. "You're implying you'll make yourself, um," Jacob's cheek's turned slightly pink, "available if I accept you as a partner."

Rachel couldn't suppress a snort of laughter as a dull red flush crept up Corral's neck. The snort earned her a glare from Hager. She almost snorted again when the Director winked at her.

"I find this problematic on two levels." Jacob continued. "Either you did read my file and thought so little of me you actually believed that garbage would work; which makes you an incredibly poor judge of character." He cocked his head, "or, you didn't read my file and you don't know me at all."

He regarded Hager coolly. "And I'm sorry, but I have no desire to go out in the field, to put my life in the hands of someone like that. " He shook his head, "If you want my help it means I'll be working with Agent Young as I normally do."

"That's not acceptable," Corral snapped. "This is a Homeland operation, the matter falls squarely within our jurisdiction. I'm as fully trained in protective measures as Agent Young." She glared at Jacob, "you'll be perfectly safe with me."

Her words had the unfortunate effect of surprising another snort of laughter from Rachel; even Jacob's lips twitched in amusement. Corral flushed again as the double meaning occurred to her.

Smothering his own smile, Frank decided it was time for him to weigh in again. "I'm sorry Tom, but if you want Jacob for this operation it means taking Young as well." All amusement left his face. "You know as well as I do these militia groups can be violent, there's no telling what they'd do if they discovered Jacob was spying for us. I'm not about to order him into a dangerous situation if he's not comfortable with the agent who's providing back-up."

Corral opened her mouth to continue arguing but Hager silenced her with a look.

"Fine." Hager nodded in agreement, "I can understand Dr. Hood's position, I can't say I'd like to go out in the field on a job like this with a stranger either." He tilted his head toward Corral. "Corral will fill you in, give you all the information you need, the cover stories she arranged, the documents she's had produced."

Rachel took this as permission to join the group. Sliding down the table she took the empty seat next to Jacob. Smiling smugly she asked Corral about the cover identities. Her smile faded slowly as she took in the details of what the other woman proposed.

Jacob was to go undercover as Jacob Holmes, a high school science teacher from Boise. Corral would pose as Suzanne Combs, his girlfriend and fellow teacher. Corral had those names inserted into the employment records of the school district. They would claim to be spending part of their summer vacation hiking the Pacific Northwest Trail. The staff at Homeland prepared the necessary documents; she pulled driver's licenses and credit cards from a folder and passed them across the table to Rachel.

Frowning, Rachel brushed them away. "You've got to be kidding me? This is your idea of a good cover?"

"What do you mean?" Corral said angrily. "These IDs will hold up. What's your problem with them?"

"You have the two of you working at a school in Boise, for Christ's sake. It's the largest city in the state. Now, I'm willing to bet there might be a few members of this group who are from there. Might have actually gone to that school." Rachel raised her eyebrow, "What if they ask about other teachers at the school? What if they don't call the central office? What if they call the school directly or a friend who has kids there to check up on Hood?"

Corral squirmed in her seat, obviously the idea that a member of the Sons might be familiar with the school she selected hadn't occurred to her. "He says he's, we're new, haven't actually started working there yet. Or we could change it to a school out of state. I still say it will hold up. It's not like these guys have access to sophisticated identification programs."

"No?" Rachel retorted sarcastically. "How about Google? Think they have access to that? All they need to do is snap Hood's picture and do a Google image search. His face has appeared in the media dozens of times; there's no way to remove them all."

Hager looked confused. "What, are you trying to say that we can't send Hood in undercover?"

"No sir," Rachel answered. "But Hood's a civilian, he hasn't kept, hasn't had to keep a low profile. Any cover story is going to have to track his reality pretty closely." She titled her head, considering. "I'd say we put out a press release stating that Dr. Hood resigned his position as Special Science Advisor to the FBI to return to academia. We can hint there were philosophical differences; he left on bad terms. That should allay any suspicions he might be working undercover for the government."

"Good idea. What do you suggest for your cover?" Hager looked at Rachel with respect.

Rachel shrugged. "Mine will be easy. Unlike Hood, I have kept a low profile. No Facebook page, no LinkedIn account, no Pintrest, no pictures identifying me as a federal agent splashed around the Internet. If they do a Google search on me they won't find anything to connect me to the government."

She went on to explain that she had a good friend, a former law school roommate, whom she could trust implicitly. The friend was the CEO of a non-governmental organization that made micro-loans to women starting small businesses in Appalachia. Her friend, without asking any questions, would be glad to list her as an employee of the organization. So if the Sons checked up on her they would find ample evidence that she was a DC resident with a job they wouldn't find objectionable.

"All the Bureau needs to do for me," she concluded, "is to block my finger prints from coming up in an online search." At Corral's raised eyebrows she added, "we can't rule out the idea a local LEO may be a member of the group, running the background checks for them."

"Good," Frank said. "We'll just get to work on that press release to cover Jacob…."

Jacob cleared his throat. He had a few ideas of his own to propose on that subject. His faculty web page at Stanford, while not currently active, had never been deleted. He was sure Debbie, the administrative assistant at the Department of Applied Physics, wouldn't mind reactivating it and adding him to the list of current faculty. It would add credibility to his claims of returning to academia. Furthermore, if the Sons did happen to call to confirm his position, since it was July, the only person around for them to speak with would be her. Like Rachel's friend, she could be trusted to be discreet.

Sending a sideways glance at Rachel, he plowed ahead with another suggestion, one he knew she wouldn't like. One of the things that made Debbie so invaluable to the department was her superior computer skills. She was an accomplished hacker. Jacob further proposed asking Debbie to plant an article in an earlier edition of the Stanford Daily. The article would quote him as being disillusioned with his work for the Bureau and looking forward to being back in his lab and teaching. The article would conclude that he and his bride, the former Rachel Young, would be taking up residence in Atherton after spending their honeymoon hiking in the Pacific Northwest.

"Your what?" Rachel yelped. She couldn't believe Jacob could make such a suggestion. "What the hell are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking logically." Jacob replied. "The name of the group is the Sons of Zion, not the Sons and Daughters or even the Children of Zion. This suggests to me they're not just conservative, but a strongly patriarchal group. If your status is that of my girlfriend they may not allow us to stay, they'd consider you a woman of loose morals, a bad influence on the women and children in the group. Besides, as my wife, you'll be dismissed as merely an appendage to me. It will allow you greater freedom of movement."

Rachel wished she had kept her seat at the head of the table. At least from there she had a good view of the Director's face; she would have been able to judge his reaction to Jacob's proposal. Although, objectively it made sense, it was logical. On reflection, she decided it might make the Director more suspicious if she raised a fuss about posing as Jacob's wife.

"Yeah, ok, I can see that," Rachel injected a note of grudging acceptance into her voice. She didn't want to seem to be capitulating too easily, "but why do we have to be on our honeymoon?"

"They may have a skewed world view, but these people aren't idiots. They're going to be suspicious when a former employee of the Bureau suddenly turns up on their doorstep expressing an interest in their cause. I, we, need a neutral reason for being in the area, so a honeymoon makes sense." He flicked a finger at the fake IDs, "plus, we won't need these. As newlyweds who're in the process of moving cross-country, our different names on our real IDs are easily explained."

Frank sat in thought for a few moments. Young hadn't been the only one startled by Jacob's idea. It brought to the front of his mind the doubts he had about the continuing relationship between Jacob and Young. He wished he could be sure one way or the other if there was anything there. Every time he thought their relationship had progressed beyond the professional, a reasonable explanation would be offered that convinced him he was imagining things.

When Young was shot and kidnapped, he had been shocked when Jacob went off the grid, worked alone to rescue her. But it turned out Jacob was correct; if things had been left up to that bastard Wynne both Jacob and Young would be dead by now. Then there was Young moving into Jacob's building. He had almost had an apoplexy when Jacob casually informed him but when he tentatively raised the subject with McGruder he was surprised to find Ty approving. It seemed Ty had been concerned about the number of times DC had been shut down due to bad weather leaving Hood unprotected. Ty thought it showed good initiative on Young's part.

Now Jacob wanted to have Young pose as his wife. His explanation though was sound; posing as his wife would put Young in a role that might cause the Sons to underestimate her. And that just might save her and Jacob's lives if things started to fall apart.

"I like it," Frank declared. "The best lies always have a kernel of truth. And since you've been working together so long you won't have to remember a lot of phony backstory. Less chance of getting tripped up by details." He nodded in approval. "I think we can work with this."

Hager sent a sour look in Corral's direction. He was disgruntled by the performance of an agent he had personally selected for this assignment. A cover story she, as evidenced by the ID material she had available, took days to assemble was discredited by Young in a matter of moments. To add insult to injury, she and Hood then came up with an alternative plan in seconds; a plan that would not only hang together but didn't require much on the part of the Bureau to implement.

"Fine," he grumbled. "Corral will work with you on the logistics, she'll…."

"No need for that," Rachel said. "Agent Lee is more than capable of handling those details for us." At Hager's look of inquiry, she explained. "Agent Lee is the other member of our team; he handles advance support and recon." She looked over at Corral, "I suggest Agent Corral accompany us to Dr. Hood's lab. While she fills us in on the details of the report from the fusion center, Felix can get to work on our travel arrangements."

With the both her boss and the Director of the FBI agreeing with this course of action Corral had no other option than to smile and nod her acceptance. The Director waved them out of the room and informed them he and Hager would work on the press release and join them in Hood's lab when they were finished.

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

Agent Felix Lee looked up from his magazine as the door to Hood's lab opened and Agent Young and the Doc entered, accompanied by a strange woman.

"Hey, Doc, Agent Young. What's up? We headed out?"

His face fell as Rachel shook her head. "We're not, just Hood and me. This is Agent Suzanne Corral, from Homeland, she's going to fill us in on the situation while you, ah,"

"While you plan our honeymoon," Jacob said with a straight face.

Felix's jaw dropped and his eyes swiveled from the Doc to Agent Young. He wondered for a fleeting second if the jig was up, if the Director had confronted them about their relationship and they had owned up to their marriage.

"Your, your… what?" he stuttered.

Rachel sent Jacob one of her better glares. "Dr. Hood and I will be working undercover."

She sent a glare in Felix's direction as he burst out laughing. When he had recovered a bit, she explained about the report from the fusion center. She briefly outlined the cover story and requested that Felix set about making the necessary travel arrangements. They needed to be on the road as soon as possible.

Unable to suppress his grin, Felix made notes as Agent Young talked. After hearing the whole story he booted up his laptop. He also placed a call to the Library Unit to gather his own information on the Sons and the locale in which their compound was located.

While Felix worked quietly in the background, Corral began an in-depth briefing on what the fusion center had discovered. As she was explaining the significance of some of the purchases the Sons had made, Jacob's cell phone buzzed. He excused himself, it was Debbie. He had emailed her from the conference room asking her to call when she arrived in her office. He moved to the other side of the lab to discuss with her what he needed.

After finishing his conversation with Debbie, Jacob drifted over to where Felix was working. He had some definite ideas about his and Rachel's honeymoon that he wanted to share with the big man. To his amusement, Felix didn't need any help planning a suitable trip; he not only booked them into the best hotel in Spokane but he also found them a small inn in a town near the compound with a honeymoon suite. A smile tugged at his lips; he never suspected that Felix had a romantic streak.

Hesitating slightly, Felix glanced at Rachel and Agent Corral. Lowering his voice, he expressed some doubts about Corral's plan. From what he had discovered about the area, it might not be as easy to infiltrate the compound as she expected. Hands in his pockets, Jacob considered what Felix had to say. Tilting his head slightly, he proposed some modifications to the timeline. Nodding thoughtfully, Felix turned back to his laptop, ready to make the changes the Doc suggested.

When he rejoined Rachel and Corral, Rachel excused herself to make a phone call of her own. As she expected, her friend Heather accepted without question the need to add Rachel to her organization's website as an employee. She was intrigued by and glad to help with the undercover assignment. The hard part was telling Heather to instruct her staff to say, if anyone called to check up on her, that she had resigned from the organization due to her recent marriage.

"Oh. My. God." Heather squealed, "You're going undercover with that gorgeous hunk? As his wife?"

Rachel hung up after muttering that she really wasn't free to discuss the details of the op.

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

Felix was in the process of printing up airline and hotel confirmations when the Director and Undersecretary Hager entered the lab.

"Here's the announcement," Frank said. "We'll add it to a press release that was issued last month."

Jacob read the announcement with approval. It was short, almost terse, and gave the distinct impression he had been allowed to resign from the FBI rather than be fired. It included the information that he would be returning to his position at Stanford. Jacob suggested they alter the date slightly so it would line up with the article Debbie was inserting into the Stanford newspaper. Frank made the necessary corrections.

"Next item," Frank continued briskly, "what's the status of your cover stories and, uh, your, uh, honeymoon?"

Rachel smugly explained that by the end of the day both she and Hood would have easily verifiable evidence they were who they were purporting to be, recently married former residents of the District. Jacob would be seen to have re-established himself at Stanford and she would be listed as an employee of a NGO.

Nodding in approval, Frank turned his attention to Felix. "Agent Lee, have you finished making their travel arrangements?"

"All set," Felix announced enthusiastically waving his printouts in the air. "The Doc and Agent Young will leave DC on Saturday…."

"Why the delay?" Frank wanted to know.

"We have some shopping to do," Jacob answered. "We need to get Rachel new hiking boots."

Felix overrode Rachel's protests that she had perfectly good boots. He explained that his research had turned up information which threw some doubt on Corral's original plan. Felix looked up at surprise when Hager gave a huff of disapproval at his statement. He shot a confused look at the Director who, with a small smile, indicated he should continue.

It turned out there were few "through" hikers on the Pacific Northwest Trail. It was a new addition to the Park Service and portions of it weren't cleared. Most of the hikers on the trail were day hikers. In fact, the portion of the trail that bordered the Sons compound was one of the more popular stretches since the town about ten miles away was something of a tourist attraction.

Jacob took up the tale. This new information made him realize they needed a back-up plan. There seemed to be more hikers on the trail than Corral anticipated. While they had reports of the Sons accosting some hikers, they didn't know if they accosted everyone hiking in the area. Furthermore they didn't know anything about the hikers involved since they refused to press charges. For all they knew, those hikers fit some kind of profile the Sons developed.

Jacob felt it would be risky to count on the Sons detaining them. If he and Rachel wanted to be sure of attracting the Sons attention they needed to behave in a manner that would make the Sons curious about them, but not overly suspicious. They needed a reason to stay in the area in case they weren't confronted when they first arrived.

Nodding vigorously, Felix resumed explaining the travel arrangements he had made. The Doc and Agent Young would arrive in Spokane on Saturday and spend the night there. The next day they would rent a car and drive to Elmira, the town close to the compound. He booked them into a small B & B and they would spend the day making themselves conspicuous, exploring the town, talking to people about their upcoming hike.

They would tell people they planned to take the local bus to a town about two hours east that had an easy access point to the trail and hike back to Elmira, arriving there on Friday. A leisurely hiking pace would put them near the compound early on Wednesday. If the Sons didn't confront them immediately, they would camp there overnight and stay around for most of the next day. Jacob reasoned the group would surely be concerned about a pair of hikers who seemed to have established a camp nearby. When confronted they would claim they were taking a break from the hike due to Rachel's sore feet.

"Which," Felix concluded triumphantly, "is why Agent Young needs new boots."

"How come I have to be the one with sore feet?" Rachel asked, clearly irritated. "Why can't Hood be the wimpy one?"

Jacob shot her an amused look; he knew that Rachel hated any hint that she was less than competent in any endeavor she undertook. "I think we should do whatever we can to diminish you in their eyes. The less attention they pay you the better." He shrugged, "it's bad enough we can't hide my connection to the Bureau. We don't want them wondering if you're anything other than what we say you are."

Frank smiled in satisfaction; his people were showing up well in front of the pair from Homeland. He held out his hand for the documents Felix printed out. Flashing an uneasy look at the Doc, Felix handed them over. As he reviewed them, he raised his eyebrows slightly. "The honeymoon suite?"

Felix looked back innocently, "well, sir that is their cover story. And we don't know how extensive their background checks are, we, they need to stay in character."

"Good work Lee, only one problem." He smiled outright at Lee's indignant expression. "You need to book travel for yourself and Corral."

Corral looked up with hope. She had been sitting slumped in her chair, wondering how badly her career had been damaged by today's events.

Felix and Hager both burst into speech.

Frank cut short their exclamations. "I think it's necessary Tom. I'm not all that comfortable sending a civilian employee in under cover with only a single agent as back-up."

"So we're gonna join the Doc and Agent Young on their honeymoon?" Felix looked skeptical, "no offense sir, but that's gonna look odd."

Frank made a moue of impatience. "Of course not, I want you and Corral to set up a headquarters in Spokane, keep a watching brief." He looked at Hager, his expression turning grim. "If this thing goes bad I don't want the cavalry to have to far to travel." He turned his attention back to Felix. "I want you to get in touch with the Seattle field office. Let them know you're coming and that they're to offer you any and all assistance. I want you running point on this one, set up a command center that can react at a moment's notice."

A grin split Felix's face; the Director was entrusting him with the full authority to run this operation. "Yes, sir."

Hager agreed grudgingly, "It is a good idea. But why do you need Corral?"

Frank shrugged, "She brought us the problem, it's only right she should help clear it up."

Hager thought for a few seconds while Corral held her breath. She was well aware that her career hung in the balance here. She gave an almost imperceptible sigh of relief when Hager nodded. "Fine." He turned to the woman, "consider yourself seconded to the Bureau for the duration of this operation." He looked at her witheringly, "and pay attention, maybe you'll learn something."

"Yes, sir, thank you sir," she gulped.

….

The next two days were busy. Corral spent as much time with Jacob, going over the intel from the fusion center, trying to figure out what he should be looking for when they arrived in the compound, as she did with Felix and Rachel. They were receiving a crash course in the current militia movement and what Rachel could expect to find and how she might be treated.

When they weren't tied up with Corral, Jacob and Rachel went shopping. After Rachel selected her boots at a local sporting goods store, Jacob became absorbed in examining the selection of dried and pre-packaged foods. Rachel suggested they might want to focus on more practical items, like a tent and sleeping bags; she was surprised when he absently replied there was no need, they had plenty of camping equipment back at the house. She teasingly asked if they were remnants from his Boy Scout days.

"Uh, no, that stuff got thrown out years ago, the equipment I have now is much better quality."

Rachel gaped at him in surprise, "you were a Boy Scout?"

"Uh-huh, Eagle," Jacob pulled his attention from the food display, he smiled reminiscently. "It was my mom's idea. She said it wasn't healthy for me to spend all my time lost in my head or with my nose in a book. She made me do what she called normal boy stuff."

After the sporting goods store, they headed to a jeweler's to purchase a ring for Jacob.

Their wedding had been a spur of the moment ceremony a few months previously. Rachel assumed, since they hadn't talked about, or shopped for rings, that they would skip them. After all, it wasn't as if they could wear them. So when the court clerk asked for the ring, she was surprised when Jacob pulled a small shabby velvet box from his pocket. The ring it contained was a pearl surrounded by brilliants in an old-fashioned gold setting. He slipped it on her finger whispering that it had been his mother's.

It was Alex who told Rachel the history of the ring. Jacob's great-grandfather had it made as a wedding present for his bride. He was the last Hood to make his living as a waterman on the Chesapeake Bay and, according to family legend, the pearl came from an oyster he personally harvested. It served as a combination engagement/wedding ring in the Hood family ever since.

Rachel broached the subject of a ring for Jacob hesitantly. In the months since their marriage he had never mentioned a desire for a ring of his own. Seeing as she wore her ring on a chain around her neck, she felt silly expressing a wish for Jacob to have a ring that he couldn't wear.

But it would help their cover story. While not all men wore wedding rings most did. It was important they not do anything, act in any way, that would make the Sons question their story. Rachel tentatively suggested he might want to wear his old wedding ring. She was surprised when he told her he didn't have one.

"We both worked in labs where rings could be a hazard," Jacob shrugged. "We, uh, didn't bother with them."

Rachel hand went automatically to the ring around her neck, the question clear from her expression.

"No," Jacob said softly. "Maggie never wore that ring, She, uh, didn't care for it."

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

To Rachel's amusement, Jacob spent a considerable amount of time browsing the selection of wedding rings. He was bringing the same level of concentration to the selection of this pretend ring as to any problem they investigated in the field. After examining and trying on several styles, Jacob asked the clerk to bring out a tray of plain gold bands. Scrutinizing them intently, he picked out a wide band that was a warm rose gold. Slipping it on his finger, he smiled with satisfaction, it fit perfectly.

"I like this one, clean, simple, classic." He cocked his head at Rachel. "What do you think?"

"It's lovely, I've always liked rose gold."

"Good," Jacob turned to the clerk. "Now we need to find a matching one for the lady."

Rachel began to protest but Jacob's small shake of his head silenced her. After several attempts, the clerk found a rose gold band that not only matched the one on Jacob's finger, but also fit Rachel. When Jacob asked how long it would take to have the rings engraved with their wedding date the clerk offered to do it immediately. His eyebrows rose slightly when Jacob gave him a date from the previous spring.

When the clerk disappeared into the back room Rachel turned to Jacob in confusion.

"Why are you getting a ring for me? I love the one I have, it's part of you, of your family, I don't want another one."

"Maybe, but you're going to need another one eventually, tradition says your ring goes to the bride," his lips quirked up in a smile. "Unless you intend to tell our future son and his fiancée they have to pry the ring off your cold dead finger." His face sobered, "plus your ring is too distinctive. Agent Corral might ask questions when she sees it." He shrugged, "We're supposed to be newlyweds, it's best if we have brand new matching rings."

"Ok, yeah, I can see that," Rachel conceded, "but why go to all the trouble of having them engraved? It's not like the Sons are going to…"

Jacob framed Rachel's face with his hands. "Because," he said softly, "I think it's past time for me to have a real wedding ring."

He lowered his head to kiss her and Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck. They broke apart when the clerk loudly cleared his throat. After showing Jacob the engraving, he smirked at the two of them and wanted to know if he should box up the rings.

"No, we'll wear them," Rachel replied.

Taking Jacob's ring from the clerk, she slipped it on his finger. Smiling, Jacob did the same for her.

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

The atmosphere in the conference room was tense. Hager insisted on a final briefing before they headed out to Idaho. He prowled the room impatiently and snarkily inquired when they could expect Fuller to join them. Before anyone could answer, the Director strode into the room. Felix and Rachel looked at each other and suppressed their grins. The Director was clad in cargo shorts, a polo shirt, deck shoes and was wearing a ball cap. They had never seen him dressed so informally.

Frank also wore an irritated expression. "I'm right here Tom, though for the life of me I can't figure out why." He looked at his watch. "I'm giving you exactly fifteen minutes. Now what the hell are your concerns? Why did you call this meeting?"

"I thought," Hager said through gritted teeth, "that we should have a final run-through of what the plans are for this operation. This has the potential of being something big; I don't want the Secretary to be blind-sided by the press if something goes wrong."

"Yes sir," Corral burst into speech. "We're schedule to…"

Frank cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Tom, you might have questions about your people, but I have complete confidence in mine." He gaze went to Rachel, "Young, is there anything we should know, anything different from what we learned on Wednesday, which might affect this op?"

"No sir," she replied promptly.

His gaze travelled to Felix. "How about you Lee? You discover anything in the last two days that I need to know about?"

Felix grinned and answered in the negative. Frank gave a grunt and turned a baleful gaze on Hager.

"What more do you want to know? Until they get on the ground, have contact with this group, there's not much more they can tell us. I think we need to sit back and let this thing play out. Agreed?"

Hager reluctantly nodded. He turned to Corral. "I guess the four of you can head to the airport."

Felix once again showed the care he took in planning this undercover op. He shook his head, "Not exactly sir." At Hager's look of surprise he elaborated. "We can't be sure who these people are working with, how sophisticated their tracking is. I booked me and Agent Corral on a different airline than the Doc and Agent Young, we're even leaving from a different airport, have different connecting flights. There's no link connecting our trip to Spokane to theirs."

Hager nodded; these FBI people had covered every base, anticipated every problem. He only prayed that Corral could match their expertise and he wouldn't be left hung out to dry if a problem developed. "Fine, I guess I'll just wish you luck then."

Jacob stood and held out a hand to Felix. "Ok, this is it then. Here hoping we don't see you until this time next week in Spokane."

Felix took the Doc's hand and echoed his hope that there wouldn't be any need for his intervention in this operation.

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

Rachel sat back in her seat with a smile. Even after almost four years together, he still managed to surprise her. She had been slightly amused when Jacob insisted, contrary to their usual custom, on handling their check in in at the airport. She hadn't paid much attention to his low-voiced conversation with the agent; from force of habit she was mentally running a threat assessment on their surroundings. It wasn't until their flight was called for boarding that she discovered they were in first class.

"What the hell?" she gaped at Jacob, "first class?"

"I used my miles to get us an upgrade." He grinned at her mischievously, "after all this is our honeymoon."

To Rachel's discomfort, the stewardess overhead Jacob's comment. Cooing over what she assumed were newlyweds, the woman brought them glasses of champagne as soon as they were seated. Rachel waited until the flight was underway to quietly voice her concerns.

"Jacob, you do realize this isn't a real honeymoon?"

"Why not?" At Rachel's blank look, Jacob smiled and ran a finger down her cheek. "Look, I feel badly that you didn't get to have a real wedding." He put his finger over her lips to stop her protest. "I know, you said you were perfectly content with a courthouse ceremony. Still, I think you, we, deserve a honeymoon."

Rachel looked at him in exasperation, "this is a work trip, we're being sent undercover to investigate the possibility of terrorist activity."

"So it's a busman's honeymoon. The fact is that until we make contact with this group, we're on our own." He raised his eyebrows, "No local field office checking in on us, no local cops looking for answers, nothing to investigate." He lifted his shoulder, "we might as well take advantage of the opportunity and make our pretend honeymoon a reality."

Rachel looked at him intently for a few moments, and then she smiled and raised her champagne glass, "ok, here's to a real honeymoon."

Jacob smiled in relief. Putting an arm around her he pulled her close. "I'm glad you agree," he whispered, "because I've already arranged a few honeymoon surprises for you."