A/N – Day 3! Thank you to Scousedancer and Starfoxtwin and JAG389 for the reviews! And to guest, I'm glad that you are enjoying both stories.

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Chapter 28 – Where Frankie Tells a Story

J.P. was almost asleep, lulled by the sound of Alisha's humming, when the front door to the Green house swung open without warning and Berchem came charging into the room, followed by Benz, Smith, Cruz, Nishioka, and a slightly dazed looking Miller.

Kara glanced over at Alisha with a resigned shake of her head. So much for their plan to catch up on a quiet Sunday morning. "Did you forget where you lived Steven?"

Berchem waved a newspaper over his head gleefully. "Look what we have! Hot off the press! Danny! Get your ass out here!"

Alisha actually snorted. "You guys know that there is something called the internet, right? We saw the story hours ago."

"It's never too late to give Green shit," Berchem replied gleefully.

"Um, we brought you these," Miller said hesitantly, holding up two bottles of wine. "The house looks nice."

"Thank you Rick," Kara replied, smiling at the redhead warmly as she took the bottles. "It's nice to know that some of Danny's friends have manners."

Setting the wine down on the kitchen counter, Kara once again marveled at how comfortable she felt in this house, despite moving in less than two weeks prior. With Dahab's help the renovations, which had been at a standstill for weeks after Mark returned to Connecticut, were quickly completed and Dahab (with some input from Danny) had even found time to paint a mural of a dessert oasis in J.P.'s nursery as a surprise for Kara. One look at the intricate picture was enough to convince Tom to hire Dahab to paint a baseball field for Sam, and Kara was hoping that, as the man's English improved, Dahab might be able to find full-time work as a painter.

Suspecting that none of her guests had eaten breakfast, Kara piled a tray full of bagels and cream cheese, and took the time to refill the coffee pot. When she returned to the living room, Danny was standing in the doorway, wiping sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. Despite their company, Kara took a minute to give him a once-over, admiring the way his worn jeans clung to his hips and his shirt, drenched with sweat after a morning spent fixing a leak in the upstairs bathroom, outlined his abdomen.

"Hey, thanks Kara," Berchem said, taking a huge bite of a bagel before picking up the newspaper. Mercifully Frankie snatched it away before Berchem could treat them all to a view of his half chewed food. Shaking out the paper, Frankie began to read.

After a massive manhunt, Niels Sorenson was arrested two days ago in a sting conducted by the FBI in conjunction with NCIS. Mr. Sorenson stands accused of attempting to modify roseusvirus, commonly known as the Red Flu and one of the deadliest pathogens known to man, to create a biological weapon. Ms. Valerie Raymond, a well-known blogger who goes by the name of Valkyrie, has been credited with assisting the FBI with the take down of the wanted fugitive after Mr. Sorenson approached Ms. Raymond to assist him with the sale of the weaponized virus.

"Assisting the FBI?" Berchem interrupted Frankie with a snort. "That crackpot is getting credit for catching the guy after she tipped him off that the FBI was closing in?"

"What can I say," Alisha responded absently, the majority of her attention on the infant she was rocking back to sleep. "My mother is nothing if not good at spin."

"There's spin and then there's invention," Cruz countered. "That is pure-up fiction."

Ignoring the guys, Kara smiled at her best friend, dropping her voice so as not to be overheard. "You're pretty good at that. You and Sarah made any decisions?"

"Yes, we're going to start trying right after the wedding. Adam already gave his samples so it's just a matter of scheduling appointments around my schedule," Alisha replied. "It's hard to believe. I could have a baby with my chin and Sarah's fingers. I never thought that was possible. We're really lucky that Sarah's family is so open about our … situation. Not many guys would be willing to donate sperm to impregnate their sister-in-law."

Kara watched as Alisha stroked her finger down J.P.'s tiny cheek. How many times had she and Danny done that very thing? Pointed out that J.P. had Kara's nose and Danny's ears and Grandma Debbie's eyes? Each time taking for granted that J.P. was biologically related to both of them? Taking for granted how little planning (none, in fact) they had put into J.P.'s conception?

"You and Sarah are going to be amazing mothers," Kara replied.

Alisha gave her a devious smile. "J.P. will be six months by then. We could try together."

Kara glowered at her friend. She might have relaxed her one-and-done stance, but there was no way she was getting pregnant again anytime in the near future. "Don't you dare give my husband any ideas."

Doctors Rachel Scott – a world-renowned paleomicrobiologist, Quincy Tophet – a noted virologist, and Dennis Milowsky – an expert in vaccine manufacturing and genetic engineering, all of the CDC, have been credited with developing a vaccine for the Red Flu. It has been revealed that Project BlueNose, a recently unclassified mission by the United States military, was in fact a joint excursion to the Arctic by the Navy and the CDC to obtain samples from birds suspected of being the original carriers of the virus. According to Doctor Scott, these samples were critical to the development of the vaccine.

"It's a change from accusing her of being the next Doctor Mengele," Danny said dryly.

"Nice of them to give us credit," Berchem scoffed. "I mean, we weren't the ones freezing our asses off in the Arctic and then sweating our asses off in the middle of a dessert or anything."

Smith paused in the middle of spreading cream cheese on his bagel. "Why? Did you want reporters following you around?"

"Well, no," Berchem admitted.

"Did someone actually chuck a rock through Commander Chandler's window?" Miller asked, waiting until everyone else sat down to help himself to a bagel.

Nishioka chuckled. "Sure did. I got the scoop from Barker. Apparently Chandler caught the kid and read him the riot act. Guess the guy almost pissed himself he was so scared."

"Enough of that, pay attention, we're getting to the good part," Frankie interrupted, snapping the newspaper open again.

More recently Doctor Scott was able to formulate a treatment for the virus which has been effective in saving approximately 85% of victims in field trials. Two of these survivors, a Mr. Dahab Surur and his two-year-old son Jean, are currently in the United States for follow-up treatment, which will allow Doctor Scott to monitor their recovery on a long-term basis. [See picture page 1.]

"Rachel knew that picture was going to end up on the cover," Kara teased as Frankie held up the newspaper so everyone could get a good look at the picture of Danny and Jean plastered across the front page.

Doctor Scott said the breakthrough in developing the cure came by chance, when a routine blood test revealed that a member of her security detail was naturally immune to the virus. That man has now been publicly identified as Commander Daniel J. Green, USN, based out of Little Creek, Virginia. Correcting earlier erroneous reports, Doctor Scott assures the public that Commander Green is not an asymptomatic carrier of the Red Flu, but rather is immune and therefore cannot contract or spread the virus to others.

"See, all it took for you to get a promotion was to be accused of violating the international ban on biological weapons and then exonerated by the foremost expert in her field," Frankie teased, with a grin at Danny.

"Congratulations on the promotion, sir," Miller added.

Danny thumped the kid on the back. "We're off the ship. It's Danny now, remember?"

Sources within the military have confirmed that Commander Green was personally chosen to head Doctor Scott's security detail in both the Arctic and the Sudan. When asked why Commander Green's identity was initially withheld, Commander Thomas Chandler, a spokesperson for the United States Navy and the captain of the destroyer that transported Doctors Scott and Tophet to the Arctic, noted the sensitive nature of Commander Green's work. In response to inquiries about his time in the Arctic, Commander Green declined to comment other than to acknowledge that the mission was a life-changing event for him, as he was introduced to his future wife.

"You are the lamest excuse for a man I have ever met," Berchem said with a shake of his head.

"It got me the girl, didn't it?" Danny replied, winking at Kara. "Which reminds me, how's Heather? We should have dinner soon."

"She's fine," Berchem muttered before turning to Frankie. "Well, come on Benz, get on with it."

One topic that Commander Green was happy to discuss was the recent homecoming of his infant son, following a premature birth and several weeks in intensive care. [See pictures page 5.] Shooting down rumors of tension between the CDC and the military, Commander Green mentioned that he and his wife remain friendly with Doctors Scott and Milowsky, and will be attending Doctor Milowsky's upcoming wedding.

"You aren't actually going to that wedding, are you?" Frankie asked, looking at Kara rather than Danny.

Curling her feet under her, Kara smirked at Frankie's obvious unease. "Actually, we are. The wedding is on New Year's Day and we were planning to be in Connecticut for New Year's anyway, so we really had no excuse to decline."

"December will be busy then, assuming you guys are still going to Chicago," Smith noted before Frankie could comment further.

"We are," Danny replied around a bite of bagel, catching Kara by surprise.

"We are?"

This time Danny was the one to frown, quickly swallowing. "I thought Carlton talked to you about it."

Frankie picked up the newspaper again. "Shooting down rumors that his new bride was engaged in a long-term affair with fellow officer Carlton Burk, Commander Green informed this reporter that the Greens will be joining the Burk family for Christmas in Chicago…."

"It does not say that," Kara snapped at Frankie as Berchem began laughing hysterically. "Carlton invited us, but I thought you would want to spend J.P.'s first Christmas with your family."

"They understand why we can't make it. I mean, it's a big deal and Carlton wants everyone there when…." Danny trailed off, his eyes widening suddenly. "Oh, shit. He didn't tell you, did he?"

"Tell us what?" Alisha demanded, jumping on Danny's slip.

Kara stared at her husband, her mind racing as she considered what topics Carlton might discuss with Danny before telling her or Alisha. "He's going to ask Ravit to marry him, isn't he? That's why he wants us all there?"

Danny glanced between the two women with a dazed look. "Um, maybe, I don't know. You should probably talk to Carlton."

"Man, you are terrible at keeping secrets." Frankie said with a chuckle, picking the newspaper up again. "But Kara, if you happen to find pictures of rings on Danny's phone or slips of paper with a ring size that isn't yours, I wouldn't be overly worried."

Although Mr. Sorenson was found to be carrying samples of several viruses upon his arrest, Doctor Rachel Scott urged the public not to worry, stating that the samples were of several common viruses as opposed to the Red Flu. As a precaution, however, the CDC recommends that anyone who came into contact with Mr. Sorenson during the last thirty days see a doctor as soon as possible.

Cruz choked on his coffee. "Seriously? Do they actually expect people to buy that?"

"So Sorenson was carrying samples of the virus?" Miller asked, causing everyone in the room to turn to him. "Just asking."

"He was carrying enough of the virus to start a pandemic," Kara confirmed with a sigh. "The vials were still sealed, thankfully. Sorenson kept claiming that he was trying to find a cure, not start a plague. I think the guy is just crazy."

"His fiancée, on the other hand, there was something strange about her. She knew more than she was letting on," Danny added.

"Guess we'll never know," Alisha said with a shrug. "Anything they say is going to be buried under layers of lies and half-truths now that the FBI has custody of them."

"All I have to say is that I'm glad we were out to sea when the shit hit the fan," Nishioka said after a moment. "Captain Slattery ran interference on all of that stuff. If it wasn't for friends forwarding me articles, I would never have known my name was on the list at all."

"Hear, hear," Cruz replied, holding up his coffee cup like a toast.

Danny took another gulp of his coffee. "If you guys are done roasting me, I do have a leaky pipe that I need to fix."

"I'll help," Smith replied, and three minutes later, the living room was once again empty of everyone except Kara, Alisha, and a sleeping J.P. as all of the guys headed upstairs to discuss the plumbing problem.

Settling back in her chair, Kara smiled at Alisha. "It's nice having you home again. I missed you, Lish."

"I missed you too." A mischievous look crossed Alisha's face. "But now that I'm back and you have all of this space, there's only one thing to do. We need to plan a party."