One year later…..

Jacob Hood breathed a sigh of relief as the old house on the Chesapeake Bay came into view. Even though it was nearly midnight there was still a light burning in the front room window. He hoped that meant Rachel had waited up for him. He should have been home hours ago, but a storm in Chicago had played hell with air traffic control all though the mid-west. He had been on the road, non-stop, for six weeks and he ached to hold Rachel in his arms again.

"Finally home, sir." Terrance Mason was dead tired. Normally, he enjoyed his duties as body guard and handler of the Special Science Advisor but today was not one of those days. Dr. Hood had been antsy; he was eager to get home and waiting in various airports had been trying to say the least. The good doctor had insisted on attempting to change their itinerary, to route them around the storms. He hadn't been patient or good-natured when his efforts were thwarted. Mason hoped it would be a few days before they were called out again.

The SUV had barely stopped moving before Jacob was out of the vehicle and up the front porch steps. He looked around expectantly, disappointed Rachel hadn't met him in the entryway. Surely she had heard the car pull up? He hurried toward the front room, smiling at the thought of seeing her again. His smile dimmed when he found only his sister Alex, working with her sketch book.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in." Alex rose and kissed her brother on the cheek. "We were expecting you hours ago."

"I called," Jacob defended himself, "We got back as quickly as we could." He looked around Alex, hoping Rachel had fallen asleep on the sofa facing the fireplace. "Where's Rachel?"

"Where do you think she is? It's almost midnight Jacob; she's where any mother of a three month old infant would be, in bed getting some badly needed sleep."

Jacob's brow knitted. While he knew Rachel needed more sleep than he did, he couldn't see why she would be sleep deprived anymore. "I thought Isaac was sleeping through the night now." He looked at Alex doubtfully, "at least I'm pretty sure Rachel told me that."

Alex looked at her brother in exasperation. "That's the only thing saving her from total exhaustion; instead she's only bone-tired." She waved her hand as Jacob opened his mouth. "I've been helping where I can, but Rachel's stubborn, you know that. She says her baby is her responsibility" She glared at him, "it would be nice if the child's father was around to help out." She broke off her tirade to look over Jacob's shoulder. "Oh, hello Terrance."

Terrance smiled weakly. "Good evening ma'am." He cleared his throat. "Um, I've locked up and activated the security system. Goodnight, Dr. Hood, Ms. Alex." He thankfully escaped to his suite of rooms on the third floor. It sounded as if Ms. Alex was winding up to read the riot act to Dr. Hood. He felt some sympathy for the man; he knew better than most how much Dr. Hood hated being away from his wife.

"I thought Rachel was doing well," Jacob said mildly.

"She's fine; but adjusting to a new baby is hard and her job doesn't make it any easier. The FBI and babies don't mix well."

"Come on," Jacob protested. "They're pretty family friendly. I mean, they have an on-site daycare and neither Rachel or I had any trouble getting leave after Isaac was born."

"Like that's all that matters. Do you have any idea of the difficulties she faces? Not only are women in the minority at the Bureau, Rachel is the only woman at her level in her branch or division or whatever it's called. Hell's she's one of only two women in charge of a unit in the whole freaking Hoover Building. She's put herself under a lot of pressure; it's as if she's afraid she'll come in for criticism if caring for her child interferes with her work."

"It can't be that bad, I'm willing to bet some of those men have kids too." Jacob snorted, "hell, Frank has three of his own, I'm sure they understand…"

"Please, like it's the same for men? And just how has being married, having a child, interfered with your work life, Jacob?" Alex glared at the brother.

Jacob bit his lip. He couldn't ague, she was right. The entire childcare burden had fallen on Rachel. He hadn't wanted or meant to stay away so long, but he was able to do so because she was there to pick up his slack. His shoulders slumped as he realized how he had failed not only Rachel, but his son. Alex took pity on him, she hated the stricken look on his face; she shook her head and suggested they both turn in for the night.

Nodding, Jacob picked up his duffle and headed for the bedroom on the first floor. He slipped in and saw Rachel, lying on her side, asleep. He abandoned his original idea of kissing her awake. As quietly as possible, he changed into a pair of sleep pants and slid under the covers beside her. He was pleasantly surprised when she wiggled against him, pushing her ass into his groin.

"Um, 'bout time you got here," she murmured sleepily.

Jacob gave a low growl of pleasure as he put his arms around her, pulling her tightly against his body. He nuzzled her neck while his hands found their way under her camisole. "You feel so damned good."

"So do you lover," Rachel wiggled her bottom, enjoying the feel of Jacob's hard cock rubbing against her. "But we have to be careful."

"What? Why?" Jacob lifted his mouth from Rachel's neck to look around the room, puzzled. Surely she wasn't worried about them waking the baby? He distinctly recalled her telling him Isaac had been moved to his own room weeks ago.

"Well, rumor has it my husband is on his way home. Oww." Rachel protested as Jacob nipped her shoulder.

"Not at all funny."

Rachel turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes it was." She kissed him passionately. "God, baby, I've missed you so much," she murmured against his mouth. Pushing Jacob onto his back, Rachel straddled him. Tugging off her camisole, she leaned over, her breasts brushing his chest, and began kissing his neck and rubbing her hands along his shoulders. She moaned with pleasure as Jacob's hands stoked her back and then down her sides, pushing her sleep shorts over her hips. Knelling up on the bed she slid the shorts down her legs and kicked them off.

Jacob's hands moved to her hips, his fingers digging into her as he slid her across his groin. Fumbling with the waistband of his pants, Rachel freed his cock. She ran her hand up and down his hard length. "I can't believe how hard you are already."

"I've missed you too," Jacob gasped. "Slow down sweetheart, you're going to make me come."

"That," she said with a small laugh, "is the general idea." Holding Jacob's cock firmly, she guided him inside her. "Oh fucking hell baby, you feel so, so good."

Leaning forward, Rachel braced her hands on his shoulders and began riding him with short quick strokes. Jacob's hips bucked up off the bed as his fingers dug into her thighs, trying to push himself even deeper inside of her. As her climax built her cries became higher and her breathing more ragged. She collapsed on Jacob's chest as the muscles in her body contracted and exploded. Jacob wrapped his arms around her and rolled them over, pinning her beneath him. With a few more quick thrusts, his own climax washed over him and he groaned with the release.

Jacob rolled off of Rachel and gathered her in his arms. Brushing the hair from her face, he gently kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry I was so late…" he began.

Rachel put a hand over his mouth. "Um, tomorrow?" She snuggled closer, "I have to get up by 5:00 so no more talking? Ok?"

Jacob licked her palm.

"No more of that either." She reached down and grabbed his hand that had begun stroking her hip. "I mean it. I'm exhausted."

"Why do you have to get up so early? We don't need to leave until 7:30; surely it doesn't take you two and a half hours to get ready?"

Irritation shot through Rachel. Levering herself up on an elbow she glared at him. "I leave here at 7:00 not 7:30 in order to drop Isaac off at daycare and make it to my office before 8:30. And yes, it does take me damn near two hours to shower, dress, give Isaac his bottle and some cereal and then grab something for myself."

"Bottle? Why did you stop breastfeeding? I thought…."

"Yes Jacob, a bottle." Rachel interrupted. "I decided to wean my son early despite the many benefits of breastfeeding because I missed my morning cup of coffee." Fumbling in the sheets for her discarded camisole and shorts, she quickly pulled them on. Rolling to the other side of the bed she yanked the sheets up. "Good night."

Jacob lay back in bed, contemplating Rachel's outburst. Alex had said Rachel was under a lot of pressure and it appeared she was correct. He waited until her even breathing told him she had fallen back to sleep. He reached over and turned off her alarm, determined that for one morning, at least, Rachel would have the help she needed. Gathering her into his arms carefully, he fell soon asleep.

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Rachel slowly came awake enjoying the feel of Jacob's arms around her. She felt slightly guilty for snapping at him last night. She knew he hadn't meant to sound judgmental; after all, she had been careful not to share with him the frustrations she experienced trying to adjust to being essentially a single working mother in a demanding profession. He would only have felt guilty and it wasn't as if he was absent on purpose. Lifting her hand she rubbed the stubble on Jacob's cheek. She was rewarded when he turned his face and kissed her palm.

"Good morning sweetheart. Sleep well?"

"Umm," Rachel purred. "Much better." She snuggled into Jacob wondering how long she had before her alarm went off; she smiled thinking of how she could make up for her harsh words. Levering herself up on her elbow, she looked at the clock; it was almost six a.m. Her good mood vanished instantly.

"Damn it Jacob, did you turn my alarm off?"

"Uh huh, I thought…."

"You thought what? That's we'd spend the morning in bed? Goddamn it, didn't it occur to you I've got a schedule? A very tight schedule and you can't just waltz in here and disrupt it."

As she was talking Rachel scrambled out of bed grabbing for her robe. "I've got to be showered and dressed before the baby wakes up. He's always up right around six; I won't even get my shower in now."

As if on cue, a babbling began to issue from the monitor on the dresser. Rachel closed her eyes and swore. "Fuck. I can't believe this, I've got a killer day ahead of me and now I'm going to be running behind the whole goddamn day." She opened her eyes and glared at Jacob, "I can't believe you were so selfish."

Jacob got out of the bed and faced Rachel, his hands on her shoulders. "I wasn't being selfish and I'm not disrupting your schedule, I'm re-arranging it. Since you're not breastfeeding, I figured I could take care of feeding Isaac while you showered and dressed."

The two of them stood staring at each other for a second or two before Rachel's shoulder's slumped.

"I'm sorry baby," she murmured. "I guess I'm so used to Isaac being my responsibility …"

"Hush, it's my fault. I shouldn't have turned your alarm off without telling you. Sweetheart," Jacob tipped her face up, "I know I've let you down, but trust me, you're not alone in this, not anymore." His lips twitched, "at least not today." He nudged her in the direction of the bathroom. "Go ahead, get ready for your killer day."

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Rachel was feeling much calmer as she entered the kitchen. For the first time in six weeks she hadn't felt pressured to shower and dress in record time. She smiled at the sight of Jacob, propped against the kitchen counter his attention divided between the infant in his arms, happily sucking on his bottle, and Terrance who was slicing a loaf of bread to Jacob's specifications.

"Good morning, it looks like you have everything under control."

"Almost." He handed her the baby. "Why don't you finish giving Isaac his bottle and I'll make your breakfast."

"Don't bother, usually I only have a cup of coffee and some toast."

"Ummm." Jacob looked disapproving, at this evidence that Rachel wasn't taking proper care of herself. "Well I'm still making French toast and bacon." He figured she'd eat it if it was placed in front of her.

In the guise of trying to integrate himself into Rachel's normal routine, Jacob carefully questioned her about her day. He was disturbed to see how little of Isaac's care she was willing to delegate. On days when she didn't have a lunch meeting, Rachel would spend that time in the daycare center feeding Isaac, playing with him, or reading him a story. She'd then send her administrative assistant out to get her a sandwich she's wolf down at her desk.

He set a plate of food in front of her and reclaimed the baby. As he expected, she dug in without further complaint. Putting Isaac in his highchair, Jacob began feeding him cereal while continuing his interrogation. In between spoonful's of cereal, he asked seemingly random questions about the matters Rachel had been dealing with at work. It was clear to him she had a full plate both at work and at home. How full her plate was became painfully clear to him when Alex entered the kitchen with a black and white cocktail dress in her arms.

"Here you go," Alex announced. "I was able to fix the seam after you went to bed."

"Oh Alex, thanks so much." Rachel looked up from her breakfast and smiled gratefully. "I wasn't looking forward to spending my lunch hour shopping for a dress for tonight."

"Tonight?" Jacob frowned. "You're going out tonight?"

Distracted by examining the dress, Rachel merely nodded and murmured in agreement. Jacob's lips tightened. "Can't you cancel? I mean, honestly Rachel, it's my first night home in weeks, I had thought we'd …"

Rachel looked up, a frown creasing her face. "No, I can't cancel. This is a work thing. It's a dinner in honor of the Director of National Intelligence. All of the Agents in Charge in my branch have been invited." Her lips curved up at the look of disappointment on Jacob's face. "You were invited too, I'll have my admin call and make sure you're added to the guest list." She titled her head, thinking, "you better make sure your tux is pressed and you have a clean dress shirt."

"Are you sure you don't want to leave Isaac here today?" Alex asked. "I'd be happy to babysit." She picked Isaac up and began to nuzzle his neck. "Or are you afraid I'll steal him away from you?"

"There is that." Rachel agreed with a laugh. "Thanks, but I'll have more time with him this way. Since you've solved my dress problem, I can see him at lunchtime and give him his dinner before we head off for the evening." Glancing at her watch she grimaced. "Speaking of time, we have to run." She shot a look at Jacob, who was still in his sleep pants and t-shirt. "I guess I'll see you later?"

"Uh, yeah." He tipped his head back to look up at her. "Why don't you let Terrance and me bring Isaac in and drop him off at the daycare later?" At Rachel's doubtful expression he raised an eyebrow. "I think between the two of us we can get one baby safely delivered to the Hoover Building." He stood and kissed her on the forehead. "Besides, this way you can be ahead instead of behind all day."

With a smile Rachel agreed. She collected her things and exchanged keys with Terrance. He would drive her SUV with its car seat. Looking remarkable more relaxed than she had in weeks Rachel left for work, for once not worried about how she was going to juggle her responsibilities.

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After Rachel left Jacob maneuvered to get his sister alone. This took a while since she had her own child to feed and get off to school, but he was determined to find out as much as he could about how things had been going in his absence. He belatedly realized he couldn't trust the reports he had been receiving from Rachel, she had obviously been shielding him.

He felt as if he'd been kicked in the gut when he found out Rachel had been ill and he hadn't even known. Her many time-consuming meetings, in various locations in DC, had led to an irregular pumping schedule, which, combined with a baby who was a fussy nurser, led to a serious bout of mastitis. Her doctor had recommended she abandon breastfeeding.

In addition, Rachel was working late almost every night. Since she was determined she would feed Isaac his dinner and put him to bed herself, they spent most nights at the apartment in the city. The only time Alex was able to give her any meaningful relief was on the weekends; even then Rachel was reluctant to, as she put it, shirk her responsibilities. Jacob grimaced; he should have remembered how proud, how independent Rachel was. How she hated to admit when she needed help.

Jacob was disturbed to realize in the weeks he had been gone Rachel's life had consisted of work, childcare, and then more work. Sitting thoughtfully at the kitchen table, he decided that for one night, at least, Rachel was going to get a break in her routine.

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As she took a quick shower, Rachel reflected on how much smoother her day gone with Jacob there. It was a relief to know she didn't have to do everything herself. While Alex was always willing to help, Rachel felt slightly guilty asking her for more than a minimal amount of assistance. After all, Isaac was her responsibility, hers and Jacobs. And Jacob had cheerfully and skillfully assumed responsibility today.

Since his day was much more flexible than hers, he had not only dropped Isaac off at the daycare center, he had also gone out and bought a picnic lunch. The three of them had eaten in the little park across from the Hoover Building. It was the most relaxing lunch hour she had spent since she had come back from maternity leave. Then at 5:00 o'clock, he had shown up in her office, Isaac in arms, and firmly insisted the few matters left on her desk could easily wait. As she carefully applied her make-up and did her hair, she hoped it would be awhile before Jacob was called out of town.

Wrapping herself in her robe, she walked into the kitchen of their DC apartment where Jacob was carefully spooning cereal into his son's mouth. "Your turn."

"I'm almost done. I can finish up here."

"No, let me finish while you go get ready. That way we'll … What's that?" Rachel spied a small box wrapped in silver paper with a white bow on the high chair's tray table.

"I don't know," Jacob shrugged. "Isaac put it there. I guess you'll have to open it."

"Isaac did, did he?" Rachel picked up the box, amused. She opened the card tucked in the ribbon. "For mommy on her birthday." She gave a small huff of laughter. "I'm impressed with his handwriting, but his timing's off; my birthday isn't until next week."

Jacob smiled and kept spooning in cereal as Rachel tore the wrapping paper off the small box. She gave a small gasp of surprise as she opened it, revealing a pair of pearl and onyx drop earrings.

"Jacob, baby, they're beautiful. Thank you."

"I told you, they're from Isaac, you should thank him."

"From Isaac, hmm. For some reason I think he might have had a little help."

"I did give him an advance on his allowance."

Rachel gave Jacob a quick hug. "It must have been a hell of an advance. I love them." She took the spoon from his hand. "Now you go get ready."

By the time Jacob had showered, shaved, and put on his tux Rachel had not only finished feeding Isaac, but she had him given him a sponge bath, changed his diaper and dressed him in a sleeper covered with dinosaurs. He took over, allowing Rachel to finish dressing. Rocking Isaac, he gave him his bedtime bottle. The doorbell rang as he as he was preparing to burp the baby. His brow creased as the doorbell rang a second time. Normally, Terrance would ring the bell once, as a courtesy, before letting himself into the apartment. Since no one had called from the security desk in the lobby, Jacob wondered who it could be.

He cautiously approached the door and peered through the peephole. He smiled as he recognized the young woman in the hallway. It was the babysitter, otherwise known as Rachel's new administrative assistant. Rachel told him the young woman often came to the apartment with her so they could work over dinner. Since her name was already on the list of accepted visitors, the doormen hadn't bothered to announce her.

"Jenna, good evening, please come in."

The young woman swallowed almost audibly as she took in the man before her. His hair was damply curling and his face smoothly shaved. He was dressed in a crisp white dress shirt with a bow tie and his black tuxedo pants were held up with suspenders. 'Shit and I thought he was gorgeous this afternoon when he was all scruffy.'

She belated realized he was holding the baby against a towel thrown over his shoulder. "Oh, Dr. Hood, you should let me do that. You don't want to risk him throwing up on your shirt."

Jacob looked down at the baby quizzically. "Would you do that to me young man?"

"Trust me, they always throw up on you when it's most inconvenient."

Jenna jumped at the voice directly behind her. Jacob looked amused. "Sounds like you have some firsthand experience Terrance."

Terrance came in closing the door behind him. "Yeah, I've got a bunch of nieces and nephews. And believe me, they know instinctively when you're wearing your last clean shirt." He checked his watch, "is SAC Young ready sir? If we don't leave now we may be late."

"I'm not quite ready." Rachel came into the room fastening her earrings. "I still need to put Isaac down for the night."

Jacob took one look at Rachel and absently thrust the baby into Jenna's arms. He crossed the room and put his hands on her shoulders. "You look beautiful."

The dress she wore was a vintage 1950's cocktail dress. The bodice was a stiff black taffeta, cut high on her neck, with a halter top that left her shoulders and upper back bare. While it revealed no cleavage, the tailoring clearly outlined the curves of her breasts. The full organdy skirt, with alternating panels of black and white, fell below her knees but drew attention to her slender waist. The dress was modest enough for an official function but still made Rachel look extremely sexy.

Jacob titled her face up but before he could kiss her, he heard a loud cough behind him. "We really do need to leave now."

Rachel broke away from Jacob to frown at Terrance. "I told you, I have to put Isaac down."

Terrance rolled his eyes and then made a show out of checking his watch. Jacob stopped Rachel before she could take the baby away from Jenna.

"I'm sure Jenna will manage." He raised an eyebrow to check Rachel's response. "And I'm sure occasionally being put to bed by someone other than his mother will not damage Isaac irretrievably."

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Rachel allowed herself to be hustled from the apartment. They arrived at the Willard Hotel without incident to Terrance's relief. Looking around Jacob realized the truth of Alex's statement Rachel did indeed work in a man's world. There was only one other woman there who was not an accompanying spouse.

Despite his dislike of formal gatherings, Jacob found he was actually enjoying himself. This was his first event as an attending spouse; he discovered once people in the intelligence community realized he was nothing more than an appendage, they lost interest in him. He was free to discuss children, schools, and the latest unofficial gossip with the other spouses.

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The post-dinner speeches were over and people were beginning to filter out of the ballroom. As they reached the lobby of the hotel, Jacob pulled Rachel aside.

"Why don't we have a nightcap? Isaac's in good hands, we don't need to rush."

"I don't know," Rachel asked doubtfully. "Don't you think we should get home?"

"Rachel, it's not like we have a teenage babysitter with a midnight curfew." He smiled at her coaxingly. "We should take advantage of having a bit of time to ourselves."

Smiling Rachel agreed. Taking his hand, she turned toward the bar off the lobby.

"Uh, I'll meet you inside in a minute." At Rachel's quizzical look he raised an eyebrow. "Restroom."

He waited until Rachel entered the bar. Turning he motioned Terrance to one side. "Is everything all set?"

Terrance nodded, handing over a hotel keycard. "Yep, I put your bag in the room and alerted Jenna you and SAC Young won't be home tonight. She offered to stay over, but I told her I'm good to go with spending the night with Isaac. We'll pick you two up tomorrow at 10:00 a.m."

Jacob nodded in satisfaction. He his idea to surprise Rachel with a romantic night in the famed hotel was working out as planned. He had spent the afternoon making the arrangements, shopping not only for the earrings but another, more personal present, as well. Knowing her fondness for sexy nightgowns, he was sure Rachel would love the confection of silk and lace he had selected for her. He thanked Terrance for his part in making sure things went smoothly.

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Jacob paused at the entrance to the bar, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. Glancing around the almost deserted room Jacob spied Rachel sitting alone at the bar, a glass of cognac in front of her. She was chatting easily with the bartender. With a small smile, Jacob approached her.

Before she could greet him, he placing a hand on the stool beside her. "Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

Rachel looked momentarily startled. Then her eyes lit with amusement. Looking around ostentatiously, she replied, "I don't think so, please, feel free to join me."

Jacob slid into the seat and flicked his eyes to the bartender. "A single malt, 18 years old, no ice." He returned his attention to Rachel. He held out his hand, "I'm Jacob, by the way."

"Rachel."

Taking the hand she offered, he brought it to his lips. "I'm very pleased to meet you. Do you come here often?"

"No, I'm here tonight professionally, you might say I'm a working girl. How about you?"

"A working girl, huh," Jacob's lips quivered at the double entendre. "I'm here for a work too, a boring dinner party."

"Oh, a political dinner?"

"Uh, no, a collection of spooks"

Rachel widened her eyes. "Ohhh, are you a spy?"

Jacob reached out and placed his fingers across her lips. "Shh, if I told you …"

"You'd have to kill me?"

"Umm, and that would be such a waste of such a lovely lady."

"Funny, you don't look like a spy."

"Well, not a spy really, but I do hush-hush work for the FBI."

Jacob picked up the glass the bartender had slid in front of him. "Well, cheers."

The two kept up their game, bantering and flirting with each other. Rachel teasing Jacob for details of his "secret missions," while he made up outrageous adventures. Rachel, her drink finished, reached out to capture Jacob's hand. She turned his wrist to check out his watch.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, it is getting late."

Jacob pulled the keycard out of his pocket and slid it on the bar in front of her. "We don't really have to leave."

"You got a room?"

He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and then slid his hand to cup her cheek. "Uh-huh, we can," he winked and rubbed his thumb across her lips, "continue our conversation upstairs."

With a laugh, Rachel picked up the card. "What a very good idea."

Jacob pulled his wallet out of his jacket pocket. Looking at the bartender, who was hovering nearby, he requested not only his own tab, but the one for the lady as well. Hand and hand they left the bar, the bartender looking after them speculatively.

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The doors to the elevator had no sooner closed when Jacob pulled Rachel against his chest. His one arm was around her waist, pulling her tight against him, while his other hand cupped her breasts. He buried his face in her neck, kissing and nipping at her throat and ear. "God, Rachel, you look so damned sexy in this dress. You can't believe how hard it's been for me to keep my hands off you until now."

Rachel titled her head, laying it against his shoulder. "Jacob, baby, you do realize they have security cameras in these elevators?"

"Yeah? Well, I'm sure if they're watching they think you look damned sexy too."

With a small giggle, Rachel twisted in Jacob's arms. Putting her arms around his neck, she ran her hands through his hair, pulling him into a passionate kiss. "With any luck, they don't monitor them in real time."

They kept kissing and touching each other until the elevator stopped on their floor. They stumbled down the hall, stopping occasionally to lean against the wall when a kiss became especially all consuming. When they reached the door to their room, Jacob crowded Rachel into the doorway, kissing the back of her neck as she attempted to open the door. They practically fell into the room when Rachel finally got it open.

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Two weeks later

Jenna Sawyer stared at the envelope on the desk, chewing her lip, uncertain of what to do. When she had come to work for SAC Young, she had been surprised to find one of her duties was to deal with Dr. Hood's mail when he was in the field. SAC Young was very clear about how she was to handle it.

She was to open anything addressed to Dr. Hood and place it into one of four categories. Requests for assistance from the Special Science Advisor were sent to the Director's office for evaluation. Speaking requests, or anything of an academic nature, went to SAC Young. Crank letters were thrown away. Any letter that could remotely be considered a threat was to be hand delivered to Detail Chief McGruder. But this letter was different. For the first time, envelope addressed to Dr. Hood also carried the words personal and confidential. Jenna was unsure if she should open this one or not. She was relieved when SAC Young entered the office.

"Umm, ma'am? I'm not sure what to do with this letter for Dr. Hood."

Rachel looked up from the file she had been reading. She was surprised by Jenna's question; the young woman had been working for her since she had come back from her maternity leave. Jenna was a quick study who never asked the same question twice.

"Why, who's it from? What do they want?"

"I'm not sure," Jenna replied hesitantly. She handed the manila envelope to Rachel. "It's marked personal and confidential."

Her curiosity aroused, Rachel took the letter-opener from Jenna's desk to slit the envelope open. It contained several black and white photos and another letter, sealed inside a plain white envelope. Jacob's name was on the inner envelope as well.

A faint blush stained Rachel's cheeks as she flipped through the photos. They were pictures of her and Jacob and they were obviously taken from the security footage at the Willard Hotel. There were two pictures of them in the elevator; one of them kissing and one where Jacob was fondling her breasts. There were also pictures of them kissing in the hallway and one where Jacob had her pinned against the door to their hotel room.

Placing the photos face down on Jenna's desk; Rachel slit open the second envelope. Her mouth tightened as she read the letter it contained. Jenna looked alarmed, wondering what was upsetting Agent Young so badly. After she had read through the letter twice, Rachel stood for a second, a grim look on her face as she marshaled her thoughts.

"Jenna, get on the phone with the Director's office. Tell them I'm on my way up and I need to see him on a matter of national security."

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"I think I discovered the source of the leaks," Rachel announced as the door closed behind her.

Frank looked up quizzically. He knew what she was referring to. During the last few months sensitive information had been getting into the wrong hands. What was so puzzling was the variety of things being leaked; it wasn't as if there was a mole or a problem in one department. Information from a variety of federal agencies was going astray . It had finally come to the attention of All-Sec; a group of representatives from the many agencies tasked with protecting the security of the country. Rachel was the FBI's representative and this matter had been at the head of its agenda at the last weekly meeting. She had alerted him to the problem soon afterward.

Rachel handed him the letter; he drew his breath in sharply as he read it. He looked up at her, compassion in his eyes. "Uh, look, Rachel, I know this looks bad, but surely those pictures were faked, Photoshopped. I mean, Jacob…." He trailed off, surprised by the sudden look of amusement on her face.

"I'm afraid the pictures are all too real," she said wryly. She handed the photos to Frank. "I am so not looking forward to having to share these with those guys in the All-Sec group."

As he flipped through the pictures, Frank couldn't keep a grin off his face. "Well," he said finally, fighting to keep a straight face. "I'm glad to see the honeymoon isn't over." He burst out laughing. "I've gotta say," he teased, "I never figured Jacob as the kind of guy…"

Rachel cleared her throat loudly. "Well, yeah." Her cheeks colored faintly. "We, uh, were celebrating my birthday."

Grinning, Frank returned to studying the pictures. He frowned suddenly, "Wait, isn't that the dress you wore to the dinner for the DNI? Where and when were these pictures taken?"

Nodding, Rachel confirmed his guess. "They were taken that night, at the Willard. Like I said, we were celebrating my birthday. Jacob arranged for an overnight sitter and booked us a room." She looked at Frank, all amusement wiped from her face. "But I think this is how the information is being leaked, someone is looking for blackmail opportunities at official functions. I need to bring this letter to the attention of All-Sec immediately," she hesitated. "I think it might be a good idea for you to attend the meeting, to make sure they take this matter seriously." She grimaced, "it might be hard for me to run the meeting once they get a look at those pictures."

"I see your point." Frank paused, "but I do have a question. Why did this blackmailer assume you're a, uh, well, prostitute? You know the group is going to ask."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Rachel dimpled. "You can blame Jacob's sense of humor. Remember how he had been on the road for six weeks straight?"

Frank nodded.

"Well, I made a joke about not recognizing him." She grinned, she didn't think she should share with her boss exactly where and when the joke had been made. "Jacob's idea of payback was pretending we were strangers when he joined me in the bar and I, well, I decided to play along." She shrugged, "whoever is behind these pictures must have assumed I was some woman Jacob picked up for sex."

"That bit might be best left out of the discussion," Frank said, shaking his head. "Set up the meeting; make it clear it's high priority and needs to happen ASAP."