4.

Zach was looking at me like he thought I was insane.

Maybe I was, I don't know. But I smiled, regardless. "Are you going to help or not?"

"You're crazy," he told me simply, not moving a muscle. "Absolutely crazy."

"Why is it so crazy for me to want to get back into top shape?" I asked as I continued to stretch. I had lost all of the weight that I had gained when I was pregnant with Josie, but I knew that I had lost a lot of my muscle tone, too. And I needed to get that back because sometime soon, I would be going back into the field. Not as an assassin; just as an agent.

He shrugged and smiled at me sheepishly. "I guess I just kind of thought that you would kind of become a stay at home mom now, you know?"

I laughed. "I will for now, but I'll want to go back eventually. While she's at Gallagher, do you think I'm just going to sit around here and do nothing?"

"Guess not." Zach began to stretch out his arms. "So what have you been doing? Your legs look a lot more muscled than they were."

"I've been running every morning before Josie gets up," I said. "Then, I find time to do some yoga while she's napping in the middle of the day. And I also do sit-ups and push-ups and stuff like that."

"And now you need me to help you with martial arts." He gave that cocky grin, as if he alone could make me become the spy that I had used to be.

I rolled my eyes. "No, I don't. I just need someone to practice with."

"Don't worry," he told me as if he hadn't heard my statement. "I'll train you up."

"My hero," I said sarcastically and then stood up. "Okay; let's go."

He began to walk towards me. "So, how often are you going to want me to come out here?"

I shrugged. "Not sure yet. Just every so often. I make the trip to Gallagher to see Joe sometimes, too. We could practice in the P&E barn then."

He nodded stiffly. "Okay, so, are we full out sparring?"

"Not yet," I told him, fearing that I would be far too sore the following morning if we did that. "I need to get back into shape slowly. Let's just kind of mess around with some different moves."

Zach swung his leg out, but I blocked it and hopped away from him. "I said half speed, Zach."

He grinned cockily. "That was half speed."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine." Then, I lashed out in a series of rapid punches and kicks. Within five seconds, he was on his butt on the grass.

He looked up at me, his green eyes wide from shock. "How did you do that? I guess we haven't studied those particular moves in our martial arts classes."

I helped him up and began to explain a little bit about my past. "My parents moved around a lot. Like, a lot, a lot. When we went places, they either left me with a nanny or took me to an expert that could teach me martial arts. I learned a lot of different styles. Kung Fu, Tai Kwan Do, Krav Maga, lots of different Korean styles. So, instead of just learning one way to fight like they do at Gallagher and Blackthorne, I learned a bunch of different styles and how to put them all together as one."

His eyes were gleaming. "Will you teach me some of what you know?"

I laughed. "You're here to work out with me, Zach."

"It'll benefit you, too," he claimed. "It counts as a workout."

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. "Fine. Why not? Which style would you like to go into first?"

"Krav Maga," he said immediately. "When did you learn that, anyway?"

"When we were in Israel," I replied as I re-fixed my ponytail. "But what you have to understand about Krav Maga is that it is more of a self-defense kind of martial art."

"So, it's basically counter-attacks?" he asked me.

I nodded. "It was derived from street fighting by a boxer and wrestler names Imi Lichtenfeld."

"When?" he asked, curious for knowledge.

"Nineteen-thirties," I replied.

"So what are their arm techniques like?" he asked me.

"Highly emphasized."

"Legs?"

"Low-risk," I said. "They tech high-risk in higher levels, but they're not encouraged. They're only taught so that you can recognize how to block someone that has a background in kick-heavy martial arts."

"What about the head?"

"There are some head moves," I smiled at him. "Care to start working now, or is there more to this interview?"

He laughed. "Let's go."

I taught him some basic holds first, and then I let him try to use them on me while I was using a different kind of martial arts. He was a fast learner, and he took criticism well. I decided that I really didn't mind having him as a student. And, it really was helping me get back into shape. At the end of two hours, we were both drenched in sweat and Zach had a little blood on his arm where the heel of my shoe had caught him when he'd been a little too slow.

"We should do this more often," he said as we went inside to get some water.

"We should," I agreed as I went down the hall to check on Josie. She was still asleep, so I went back out into the kitchen and drank a lot of water.

Finally, I said, "I'm planning on visiting Joe late tonight. You can ride with me if you want instead of running most of the way."

"Sometimes I hitchhike," he defended.

I rolled my eyes and ruffled his sweaty hair just like an older sister would. "You can use the guest bathroom to take a shower."

"Are you saying I smell bad?"

"Yes," I said as I stood. "And I'm about to go and take one, too."

He sighed. "Fine."

I rolled my eyes and headed down the hall.