The rain spattered against the window, CJ didn't notice, she was desperately wrestling with the controls of the plane. She flicked the auto pilot switch again, hoping to regain some control, her eyes were glued on the altitude dial, and she wasn't happy with what it was showing her. The plane was still falling, faster than before, the island in the distance may be too far away and the thought that she would be ditching the plane in the sea filled her with dread, her mouth was dry and heart was thumping. She dropped the landing gear, feeling the plane shudder as it locked in to place. "C'mon baby, c'mon..just a little further" she muttered as she used both hands to force the throttle back. She jumped in her seat as the thunder exploded outside, the sky in front of her was split with lightning and CJ shrieked as the plane tilted to the side before being buffeted upwards by a sudden sharp blast of wind.

She scrunched her eyes and focused on the Island, was it her imagination or was it suddenly so much closer? The wind blasted at the plane again, and this time she felt it surge forward as it rocked them from side to side. She gasped, could it be? Was the storm that had sprung up from nowhere actually pushing them on towards land? Her mind whirled as she calculated the new distance, they could do it, maybe. The fuel gage showed nearly empty, but if she were to floor it..it might work. Using both hands CJ struggled and opened the throttle to full, the engines screamed around her, the wind buffeting them even more. Again the thunder rumbled around them seeming to reverberate around the cockpit, the lightning that shot out in front of her was almost like natures runway. The rain was heavier now, were the bullets had ripped through the windscreen water was flooding in, sparks flew on the panel above the co-pilots seat, the warning alarm started screaming, the plane was speeding up and barely skimming the top of the waves when CJ cut all power and yanked the throttle back, she has to stop it some how and instinct told her the brakes would be useless. Finally with all her strength she pulled the nose of the plane up, just a fraction, but that was all that was needed. They had made land! The plane hit the edge of the jungle, the heavy rain had made the ground soggy and slippery, instead of hitting hard it skimmed across the top of the jungle banks , smashing bushes and trees as its momentum propelled it on. CJ brought her hands up and covered her face. Finally with a jolt that threw her out of her seat the plane stopped moving. She was dazed, her head hurt, the thunder rumbled above her and the lightning lit up the sky.

Another flash of lightning had CJ jolting awake. She gasped as she looked around the room, blinking several times as her head cleared. She jumped as thunder rumbled overhead, the sound of rain pounding outside making her look towards the open window. She sighed and relaxed, looking down at were Houston was lying, snoring gently, a smile of contentment on his lips. "Get a grip Parsons!" she whispered to herself as with a small chuckle she climbed out of bed, grabbing Houstons discarded shirt as she padded across to the cabinet to collect the remote and close the window to keep the noise out. As the window glided slowly closed she took a deep breath, revelling in the fresh taste of the air as the storm passed through, her eyes drifted out to the dark Loch, narrowing slightly as she thought she saw something. She walked nearer to the window and peered out, but shook her head slightly as she reminded herself that the Loch would be clear of boats during a storm, just a trick of your imagination girl she thought before turning to look back in the room.

She noticed the glasses they had put down earlier, and tiptoed over picking hers up and taking a small sip. She closed her eyes and sighed as the Malt liquid nectar slid down her throat and warmed her. Her mouth twitched as her mind wandered back to a few hours ago, her body still tingled were Houston had touched her. CJ was no nun, that was certain, she had dated more than her fair share of hot guys and had taken some of them as lovers, enjoying their company revelling in the time she was with them, she had thought they were special times, until last night. She wasn't even sure if she had drifted off to sleep after they had finished, or had passed out from the sensations that her body had bombarded her with, she just knew that she had never felt like this before, ever! Not even with Carl, and she had loved him she knew that, but not the way she loved Houston. It scared her a little, a lot, maybe it had always scared her, that's why she had pushed him back for so long, hiding behind friendship, afraid to let this flood of emotion drown her. Perhaps she could not have handled it sooner, perhaps she needed to know who she was before she could accept this overwhelming desire to be a part of something this special, she would have run away before, but now..now she could not think of her life without him, without being part of him, without being his..

"Penny for 'em!" She jumped as he whispered in her ear and wrapped his arms around her, then smiled as she leaned back against him, resting her head in his shoulder. "you ok?" he said softly before kissing the top of her head.

She nodded then turned in his arms to face him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you"

"I missed you" he said as he bent to kiss her

She giggled. "Missed me huh? I was only out of bed five minutes!"

"Uh huh, and I missed you. Knew you weren't by my side" he tilted her chin and looked in her eyes. She jumped slightly as final rumble of thunder rippled overhead "The storm woke you huh? Nightmare?" he asked as she nodded. "Wanna tell me about it?"

She thought about it before shaking her head. "Another time huh" she said with a small smile

Her eyes met his and he saw the flicker of the nightmare lingering, he hated that he couldn't take it away, so decided to take her mind of things in the best possible way he knew . He stepped back a fraction and looked her up and down, nodding in approval. "Likin' the new look slick! Guess I know why I bought this shirt now..suits you. Looks better on you than me, but d'ya know where it would look even better?" She shook her head a fraction, gasping as he suddenly reached out and quickly slipped the shirt off her shoulders.."on the floor" he finished as with a flourish he pulled it completely free and made a show of dropping it at her feet. "See?" His eyes were wide as he stared at her

She cocked an eyebrow at him and pursed her lips, glancing down at the discarded garment before looking back at him. "Kinda chilly now cowboy!"

"Look hot to me!"

"Ooh, poor Houston, poor!" She shook her head and went to say something else, but he silenced her with a kiss. He wasn't as gentle as before, he knew how she tasted now, how she felt, he wanted more. He pulled her tightly to him, ploughing both his hands in her hair and letting his lips plunder her mouth. His hips pushed forward, she felt his excitement and gasped against his mouth. His hands dropped to her shoulders , his mouth moved to her neck, he licked along her collar bone, let his fingers trace down her bare arms, lacing her fingers in his he pulled her arms around his back, and revelled in the feel of her breasts pushed against his chest. His mouth returned to hers, his tongue pushing deeper. In one swift movement he had lifted her off her feet and thrown her on to the bed. Before she could react he was leaning over her, his mouth bent to clasp on her breast, she cried out and her head fell back, she clasped one hand in his hair, the other gripped his shoulder. He glanced up at her his eyes dancing as he moved across to her other breast, more gentle this time, suckling rather than harshly drawing it in his mouth, the contrast left her breathless. He showered light kisses as he moved down, tracing down her ribcage, licking down towards her navel, his hand caressing were his lips had blazed the trail. His mouth went lower, again she cried out, she dug her fingers in the back of his shoulders, then all but dragged him upwards by his hair before kissing him back with her own passion, his equal with the way she teased and tormented him, letting her fingers glide over him, touching him, caressing him, demanding his attention, demanding him. She didn't know if she drifted off afterwards, or passed out from the sensations, she didn't care!

Even before he had opened his eyes Houston was smiling, he could feel CJ curled up against him and marvelled at how his body melded so well to hers. Automatically he tightened his grip on her, his smile broadening as he heard her soft protest as she wriggled in his arms, unknowingly causing a small explosion of sensation throughout Houstons body. He opened one eye and looked at her, hoping she was waking up, sighing slightly as he realised she was still sleeping peacefully, albeit with a smile playing on her lips. He reached over and pushed an errant strand of hair away from her face, it was obstructing his view, as was the duvet he was now pushing gently down her body, he leaned up slightly and studied her more closely, noting that he had inadvertently left his mark on her body, and was tempted to bend down and kiss them better, but hesitated as he glanced back at her sleeping face, and remembering how much she had been through the last few weeks decided not to disturb her, as he turned to lie on his back and look at the ceiling he thought to himself "I have a life time to disturb her like that" and smiled even more at the thought.

He was watching the shadows dance across the ceiling when he realised dawn was breaking. He looked over to the window and thought he was seeing things, the Loch had disappeared, replaced by a low lying cloud he thought. He pursed his lips together as he climbed out of bed, automatically scooping up his shorts from the floor as he passed, and stepping in to them as he got close to the window. He gasped in amazement as he watched the early morning sun breaking through the mist, silvery shards of morning dew reflected off the nearby trees giving the whole scene an almost winter feel, bit by bit as the mist lifted he could make out the shapes of the trees on the far sides of the Loch. As he watched the cloud appeared to split, the top rolling upwards, hugging the side of the mountains as it headed skywards, the lower part seeming to sink softly into the Loch itself. He jumped slightly as he suddenly felt CJ wrap her arms around him as she whispered "amazing!" into his ear. He cocked an eyebrow and looked sideways at her as reached back to pull her around and face him, "You talking about last night?" he asked softly, wriggling his eyebrows as she dazzled him with one of his favourite wide smiles.

CJ shook her head a fraction as she cuddled closer to him, turning her head a fraction to watch the last of the mist disappear. "Look Houston!" she gasped, her eyes widening as she watched the morning sun sparkle on a mill pond still Loch, "it's beautiful!"

Houston had his head resting on the top of hers as he watched with her, rocking her slightly as he said "Yes it is CJ", then he stepped back and slowly looked her up and down before repeating, "yes, it is!"

She chuckled as she stood on tiptoe slightly to kiss him, marvelling to herself at how well their bodies just seemed to meld together. Sighing as she stepped out of his hold she looked again towards the Loch, a memory from last night niggling at her as she looked over towards the far side, relaxing as she saw there was nothing there except water and trees, and the cutest little family of ducks waddling up from their private beach towards the decking area of the cottage. Following her gaze Houston chewed the inside of his lip for a second before asking, "CJ honey, now we're engaged, dontcha think that there shouldn't be any secrets between us?"

"Uh huh, I guess" she replied slowly, unsure where this was leading.

He looked over her shoulder before glancing back at her and added, "well, how about you tell me...uh..about the Green Ducks?"

CJs eyes snapped open and she grimaced slightly. "Houston, I got a better idea" she said eventually, taking his hand she started to lead him back to, the bed before telling him with a giggle, "how 'bout I show you instead?"

They ordered room service for their breakfast and relaxed in the sunken bath as they tucked into their full cooked Scottish traditional, complete with square sausages, washed down with two pots of tea . CJ was desperate to explore the area, but Houston was also desperate to make sure she didn't over do things so persuaded her to have a nap, promising to behave himself so that she could sleep a little longer, a promise he couldn't keep, much to CJs delight, but she did confess that their little rest had made her feel so much better. It took them longer to shower than normal, and CJ wasn't really sure she needed Houstons full assistance in getting towelled dry, and wasn't really convinced by his argument that he was just checking her injuries had healed and that he was just giving her a little nursing care, but she did give him full marks for his bed side manner Finally, dressed in shorts and T-shirts they set off to explore.

As Houston and CJ started to walk along the banks of the Loch, a car was pulling up outside the reception of the Lodge. The driver stayed were he was as the two passengers got out and made their way inside. It was a different receptionist on duty, relatively new to the hotel and spending her first time on the reception alone. She smiled brightly as the two men approached. "Hello, how can I help you? Do you have a reservation?" she asked.

The older of the two men stepped closer and cleared his throat before saying, "No, sorry we don't. We're looking for some friends of ours, newly weds we believe are staying here, we were wondering if you could confirm they are?"

The receptionist frowned a fraction. "I'm sorry sir, we don't give out personal information out about our guests!"

"Oh, of course" he smiled charmingly, "I fully understand that. It's just, well we missed their wedding due to business, and we were so hoping that we could surprise them by way of an apology, maybe take them to lunch, but well, we forgot exactly which hotel they were booked in, and now we might not get the chance to congratulate them, such a disappointment. We have their gifts to!"

The young woman was moved by his sincerity, and glanced over her shoulder as she quickly keyed into her computer. "Och sir, I'm so sorry" she told him as she tapped the screen with her pen, "but our newlyweds have already checked out!"

"Checked out!"

"Aye, you've just missed them actually. Looks like they checked out just before I came on duty, about an hour ago!"

The man looked down at his shoes, then glanced back at her as he asked softly. "Do you know where they might have headed off to?"

She smiled and nodded, almost whispering "The airport! We had the usual taxi firm booked for them, we always use them for taxi runs to the airport!"

He grinned broadly at her, then reached for his wallet, and threw a large tip down before he and his friend raced for the door. She picked up the cash and called out for him to come back, she didn't need it, but they were already in the car and on the move. She looked again at her screen as they drove off, gasping as she realised there was another honeymooning couple in the cottage, but they couldn't have meant them could they? So she quickly switched the display off, placed the money in her pocket, and chose to forget about it all.

Houston and CJ were just returning from a short walk along one of the private pathways as Houston saw a car drive out of the hotel grounds at high speed. He watched as the dust from the gravel pathway settled itself, then pulled CJ closer to his side as he asked her if she felt up to a short drive. "Sure!" she nodded, "but I'm driving!"

~"Aw CJ, c'mon! I'm not that bad!"

She just looked at him and raised an eyebrow, chuckling softly to herself as he had the decency to blush. They briefly popped into the cottage to collect a jacket each, and on Houstons insistence put a pair of trousers and a cardigan on the backseat of the car as well, just in case. As CJ pulled out of the main gates and onto the side road she asked "Anywhere in mind cowboy?" Laughing loudly as Houston waved a leaflet at her, "The Malt Trail! Houston!"

He smirked as he opened up and folded the leaflet to the page he had read earlier. "Yup CJ, a full list of all the distilleries in Scotland, and a map of how to reach them. Starting..uh..right here" He pointed at a small red dot on the map, CJ glanced quickly at it as she pulled out on to the main road, and followed the signs to Oban, chuckling to herself as Houston started reading the information leaflet out loud.

Roy Houston was not the most computer literate person around, and baby was not the most straight forward computer to use, he pressed the button he thought would bring him the details of the crash report, his eyes going wide as instead baby started blasting out music. Panicking he pressed several buttons at once, the music stopped, the blinds started opening and the screen flashed several images at once, too fast for him to see what they were.

"Roy Houston!" came a yell from behind him, "It told you to leave baby alone, CJ will get mad if you break it, took her a long time to programme it right, looks like it will take you no time to crash it all!"

"Well Chris, I was just trying to check something out.." he began to explain, stopping as Chris walked quickly across the room and stood in front of him, her arms crossed and eyes glaring. "Shhheeee, CJ trained you well!" he muttered as he sat back in his chair away from the keyboard.

Chris smiled slightly as she scooted him over to join him. "Yes she did, so, what do you need?"

"You can use this thing?"

"Uh huh," she nodded as she pressed several buttons and brought up a list of files, all had CJs name attached but then a different label, "I'm not as good as CJ, but I get by ok with what she has shown me, so what do you need Roy?"

Roy thought for a moment then asked Chris to bring up the passenger list for CJs flight. Chris looked at him but her fingers flew across the keyboard and in seconds the list was on the screen. He leaned forward a fraction, his fingers tapping on his knees. "Chris, the couple that didn't make it to the plane, how long before take off did they cancel?"

"Don't need the computer for that one Roy, Houston asked me the same question. They didn't cancel, they just didn't show up"

"Uh huh, yet CJ said that the pilot had waited by the door for her and helped her on board, he told her she was the last. How did he know if they were still waiting for the other couple?"

Chris tilted her head a fraction and nodded. "Hmm, maybe they had a schedule to keep to, CJ was the last to arrive before they HAD to take off? Do you think this is important?"

"Maybe, but I'm sure not sure. Something just doesn't add up Chris, just can't put my finger on it! CJ said she was the last, not the last they would wait for, she would have remembered something like that, she is always good with details"

"You sound like a proud papa when you talk of CJ sometimes!" Chris said as she smiled at him.

Roy chuckled and patted her knee. "I feel like it Chris! I mean Will is my son and I love him, but Matt and CJ, well, they brought me to LA and made me part of a family again, you and Murray..Hoyt and the Novellis..one big family, and those two are right at the heart of it. Flo and I couldn't have any more kids, though we would have loved it, and I think she would have loved being part of all this to. AndI tell ya, CJ is the daughter any father would be proud to have, so if I sound proud from time to time..well it's cos I am. Couldn't be prouder now the two of them have stopped being so stubborn and realised what we all knew! I can't wait to walk that girl down the aisle, assuming she asks me to!"

Chris laughed out loud as she saw the twinkle in Roys eyes. "I know she will Roy! I tried telling her you know," she giggled, "but oh no..Miss C J Parsons kept saying they were just friends. Yeah right. Wish I'd put a cash bet on with her! And stubborn, yup that's a good word for them!"

Roy was laughing now. "You're kinda fond of them yourself huh Chris?"

She stopped laughing but her smile brightened as she nodded. "Like you said Roy, they're family, so we gotta protect them right? They way they protect us?"

"We sure do honey. Besides, I'm sure you'll look fine in a bridesmaid dress!"

" I'm sure she will Roy, but we have other more pressing concerns right now!" Roy and Chris both turned to see Hoyt walking across the room towards them

"Hoyt!" Roy stood up as he saw the look in his friends eyes, "what's wrong?"

Hoyt rubbed the back of his neck. "They know it's not CJ"

"What?" Now Chris stood up. "Are you sure?"

"Jane Doe is dead, looks like an OD in the IV but we have to get that confirmed" Hoyt told them slowly

"Doesn't mean they know it wasn't CJ" Roy said as he sat back down again, his eyes still on Hoyt, "just means that they think she is dead. Plan worked, they went to the hospital, they took the bait"

"No Roy, they didn't" Hoyt passed him a clear plastic evidence bag, holding a single sheet of paper. Chris leaned forward to read it gasping as she saw the two words written in red ink. NICE TRY!

Roy sighed deeply as he handed it back to Roy, instinctively wiping his hands on his pants leg. "So, what do we do?"

Hoyt shook his head. "We have to warn them. Bring them back"

"Back!" Roy gasped

"We can protect her here Roy!"

"Like you protected her the night her house was blown up?" Chris asked quietly

"Not fair Chris, we didn't know for sure that CJ was the target, now we know we can get her the right protection, police guard, safe house"

"Make her a prisoner" Roy added softly

Hoyt s nostrils flared as he sat down next to Roy looking him straight in the eyes he hissed, "Do you think like I this Roy? Do ya? CJ is my friend, one of my BEST friends, I don't wanna see anyone hurt her, I just wanna keep her safe. And right now her and Houston are out in the big bad world alone, nobody to back them up, no idea that the clowns chasing them are looking for them. Roy, we gotta get them back! It's the only way to keep them safe, it's the only way to help CJ"

Chris put her hand on Roys shoulder and whispered "Roy, he's right!"

Roy nodded then took a deep breath. "I'll make the call, first thing in the morning!"

"Do it now Roy" Hoyt insisted.

Roy reached over and hit two buttons on the keyboard for Baby. A large picture of Houston and CJ flashed up, they were at CJs house, looked like a Christmas meal, their arms were around each other and they were laughing, another picture flashed up..the same Christmas meal, Hoyt was in the middle of CJ and Houston, Roy and Chris stood at the back with Will and his fiancé, Mama Novelli and Vince, everyone was looking at the camera except Houston and CJ who were looking at each other. Roy smiled as another picture flashed up, Houston and CJ on the boat, hugging each other and laughing, then another picture, and another. "Look at them Hoyt, look at them! They are not the kind of people to just sit back and let you babysit them, they love life and the want to be out there living it, not hiding behind a line of uniforms, they need their freedom!"

"Roy, I know, they love life, but if we don't get them back here immediately they are sitting targets, they could end up losing their lives, don't you see? I don't want to ruin their life, I want to save it. Please Roy, please..make the call"