A/N: Damn, I forgot what I was going to say...this is another long one. I really don't mean for thesse to be so long, but I just write and can't stop! But, hey! More Ian! ;D

I grinned at Shaw's response, and let go of Ian again. I put my shoes back on, and went over to my camera and purse, where I picked them both up. Walking back towards Ian, I stood on the opposite side of the truck from him, kicked some loose Styrofoam out of my way, and I sat on the floor.

I didn't care about the gown anymore.

For a fleeting moment, I wondered if Dr. Chase was all right. I dismissed it almost immediately, shaking my head...she was with Ben, and that man escaped an explosion.

Ian sat on the floor next to me, closer to the front, and put an arm around my shoulders. I leaned my head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his other arm around me, also.

"Are you all right? Or going to be all right?" he asked me quietly.

"Yeah, I think I'm fine. I could use a drink right about now, though," I answered with a grin, looking into his gray-green eyes.

"Oh, and I say we never let Victor drive again," I added.

Ian chuckled, then leaned his head down and kissed me fully.

Within minutes, we were back at the Watergate.

Shippen and Victor said they'd take care of the truck.

Ian and I got off the floor of the truck, and followed Shaw and Phil back into the hotel.

Even though I was wearing Ian's jacket, I still didn't feel all that secure walking through the lobby, again.

Ian, once again, sensed that, and put his arm around my waist. I wedged myself as close to him as I could until we got to the elevator, where I wasn't as tense.

I only relaxed fully, when we made it back to the room.

As soon as I was in, I kicked off my shoes (in the direction of the bedroom), and made a beeline over to the phone that was on the 'kitchen' counter, putting my camera and purse on the passing 'dining room' table on the way.

I wanted that drink, and I was going to get it.

Picking up the phone, I dialed for room service. When I got them, I ordered a bottle of Guinness and a jigger of Jack Daniel's.

Like I said, I wanted a drink...or two.

After I hung up the phone, I leaned on the counter, and let out a breath.

"Beer and whiskey? That's not you."

I jumped a little, and turned around to face Ian, who was standing mere inches away from me.

"Yeah, well, after a night like tonight, I need it...and deserve it," I said.

He grinned, and gathered me in his arms.

"Why do you like that Irish stuff?" he asked without releasing me.

"Because it's good. Why don't you like it? Because it's Irish?" I countered, moving my head so my chin rested on his chest, and I stared up at him.

Ian grunted in response, and I just laughed. He then moved his hands to my ribs; I grabbed his wrists, and pulled them away from me.

"I don't think so, mister. I'm getting changed before anything else," I said, side stepping around him (as I dropped his hands), and headed towards the bedroom.

Once there, I went to my bag-o-clothes, and pulled out my pajamas, which consisted of a pair of shorts and a tank top. It was a little chilly to just be wearing shorts, so I went to Ian's bag and took out his sweatpants. Sure they were big on me, but I was stupid and didn't bring any of my own pairs.

After collecting the clothes, I took off Ian's jacket and threw it on the bed, then went into the bathroom, and took off the gown...finally. I wouldn't be wearing something like that again anytime soon.

I changed into the clothes, and felt extremely comfortable. Moving over to the sink, I let the water run until it was a warm temperature to my liking, then splashed it in my face to get the make-up off.

When I looked back up into the mirror (after drying my face), I noticed Ian off to my left side, the side closest to the door. I jumped, and spun around, leaning against the sink.

"God, Ian," I breathed. "Why do you have to be so damn sneaky?"

He took slow steps towards me, and when he was standing right in front of me, he pressed his body against mine and rested his forehead against mine, also.

"I like being sneaky," he whispered against my lips, then proceeded to kiss me.

My arms went under his and around to his back, while his arms went around my shoulders; one hand rested on my shoulder blades and the other on the back of my neck.

We pulled apart about a minute or so later, in order to breathe...but Ian didn't need air, and kissed down my neck and back up; his hands moved to my biceps.

"I see you stole my sweatpants," he stated, after another lingering kiss to my lips.

"I didn't steal them...I'm merely borrowing them for the time being, since I was dumb and didn't bring my own," I replied.

"You're not dumb."

"I was in this case."

Zing!

"We all forget things every once in a while," he said with a shrug.

...Touché.

I also shrugged and dropped my arms from around him. He let go of me, and I took my gown back into the bedroom. I put the gown back on the hanger it came on, and hung it on the closet door.

Ian followed me out of the bathroom, and searched the room for something.

"Do you know what I did with that pipe?" he asked me.

"The Meerschaum pipe from the Charlotte? Didn't you put it in a side pocket of your bag?" I retorted.

"Ah, yes," he said, and went to his bag, and dug through the side pockets.

I half expected him to say 'Eureka!' when he finally found it.

"Why do you need the pipe, anyway?" I asked.

"We have to figure out the next clue to keep up with Ben," he answered like it was common knowledge.

I rolled my eyes, then faintly heard the sound of knocking at the main door. Smiling wide at Ian, I ran to get the door...literally ran, calling 'I got it' on the way there.

I opened the door, and greeted the guy who brought my alcohol. Thanking him about a million times, I closed the door, and tookthe jigger and bottle back to the bedroom.

Ian was sitting on the bed; the pipe in one hand, a pen in the other, and staring at a notepad he had on the bed with him.

I stood in the doorway, staring at him. I slowly set the bottle and jigger on the floor, then just as slowly backed away from the room to go get my camera on the 'dining room' table.

Any chance I get to take pictures of Ian, I take it.

I got back to the bedroom and snapped a picture.

He looked up, shook his head, grinning, and looked back down at the paper.

I walked around the bed, snapping pictures as I went. After a few shots, I turned off the camera, and put it on the nightstand. I went back over to the door to grab my drinks.

I stood in the doorway, the jigger of Jack Daniel's at my lips. Ian looked up at me, and I tossed my head back, and downed the whiskey.

"WHOO!" I whooped, loudly, widening my eyes and shaking my head, as it burned a little on the way down.

"You all right," Phil called from the other room.

"Oh, yeah!" I called back, with a maniacal laugh.

I looked back at Ian, as he just looked at me and laughed heartily.

Picking up the bottle of Guinness, I went over to the bed, and lay on my side next to Ian.

"Tasty," I said, looking up at him.

"Hmm," he hummed as he leaned down, and kissed me, tasting the whiskey left in my mouth, and on my lips. "Very tasty."

Ian turned his attention back to the notepad, and I also looked at what he wrote.

On the paper, he wrote down the riddle that was on the pipe's stem.

"Okay, in all seriousness, we have to figure this out. Ben probably knows the next clue already," I said, taking the pen out of his hand and twirling it momentarily.

"Yeah..." he mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"So what was the first part?" I asked, rolling onto my back, and looking at the ceiling.

"The legend writ, the stain affected," he said, looking down at me.

"The legend and stain refer to the invisible map...which is on Declaration...which Ben has," I sighed. "Next?"

"The key in Silence undetected," he answered.

"The unknown right now. After that?"

"Fifty-five in iron pen."

"The fifty-five signers of the Declaration," I said, getting up and off the bed.

I took a swig of the Guinness, then paced by the foot of the bed. "And lastly?"

"Mr. Matlack can't offend," Ian sighed.

"And according to Ben, he was the scribe for the Continental Congress, and he couldn't offend it," I said, still pacing, and took another swig. "It all leads to the Declaration and an invisible map. We get that, but what does 'the key in Silence' have to do with it?"

"I don't know," Ian mumbled.

"Let's bring it up with the others. Maybe they could help. The more brains, the better. I'll search the web for anything," I said, and we went into the main room.

I noticed that Shippen and Victor came back at some point. When? I don't know. They could have been back before I went on my little run to the door, but again, I don't know.

Going over to Shaw, I asked him for the laptop, and set it up on the 'dining room' table, while Ian gathered the others near the couch.

I leaned back in the high back chair I was sitting in and propped my feet up on the table. While moving the laptop to my lap, I took another drink of that wonderful beverage in my hands.

"Gentlemen," Ian said, not too long after.

I cleared my throat.

"Andlady," he corrected, looking over at me. "Why is this word capitalized?"

He held up the notepad, and pointed to Silence, which he circled.

"Because it's important," Victor questioned.

I laughed quietly from my chair, looking back to the laptop.

Ian shook his head, with a half grin.

"Because it's a name," he said, looking at each man. "Alex?"

I shivered suddenly as he said my name...curse that effect he has on me.

"Mmm?" I mumbled, looking up at him.

"Try looking up Silence under a name search and see what you get."

I did that, and a Silence Dogood popped up. I clicked on the link, and read through the site. It turns out that Benjamin Franklin had an alter ego. When he was fifteen, he wrote letters to his brother's newspaper pretending to be some old lady named Silence Dogood.

I called Ian over to the computer, and showed him what I found.

With a little more research, we found that the letters were on display at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It wouldn't hurt to look at the letters. Maybe there was something we could get from them.

Ian called the front desk, saying we were checking out early the next morning...about six o'clock.

It was getting late as it was, so I finished off what was left of my Guinness, and went to bed. I took off Ian's sweatpants when I got into bed, and chucked them near his bag, then flopped down.

Ian came into the room, just as I was tossing the pants to the bag. He took off his clothes, leaving him just in boxers (yet again), and slid under the light cover next to me, where he pulled me against him and our legs entangled almost immediately.

I rested my head against his bare chest, and placed my hand on his hip; I moved my fingers back and forth slowly, as he did the same to my back.

"I told you that you were smart," he mumbled groggily.

"I never said I wasn't," I mumbled back, grinning. "We all just forget things every once in a while."

I tilted my head up, and we kissed before I moved my head back down and inhaled near his neck, then rested my head back next to his chest.

We fell asleep not to long after.

A/N: Next stop: Philadelphia! Coming soon!