It was a crisp December morning. A week before Christmas. Monica was glad that she finished her holiday shopping a month ago. Walking into the building, Cody was the first one to greet her. "Monica! Donovan didn't make you disappear." he joked.

"Don't go there Cody. Give the man a break." Monica replied sharply.

"Ouch. I was just teasing." Cody sulked back to his computer, "Someone needs her caffeine this morning."

"I heard that." Monica replied getting a cup of coffee. "What's going on?" Monica asked, looked around the room. Barely any of the computers were on. No case files on her desk. No sign of work.

"We're getting an early Christmas present. A week's vacation." Alex remarked handing Monica the sugar.

"Paid vacation." Cody chipped in. "A week's vacation paid."

"Really? What's the occasion?" Monica asked, not believing them.

"Donovan has to go to Washington for business." Alex explains.

"While the robot is away, the humans can play." Cody smirked.

"Business? I see." Monica commented, smiling.

"Alex, you will let Jake know I'm away on business?" Donovan asked walking down the stairs, "Monica, I thought I told you to come in on Tuesday?"

"I wanted to make sure my latest "case" was okay." she replied, studying Donovan's face.

"Tuesday? How come she didn't have to come in until Tuesday?" Cody asked intrigued.

"I'm special." she replied, glaring at Cody.

"As I explained to Alex and Cody, I'm going to Washington on business. I'll be leaving for the airport in a few minutes." Donovan said grabbing his carry on bag.

"Light traveler." Alex commented.

"Years of practice." Cody remarked.

"Do you need a ride to O'Hare?" Monica asked.

"No. I'm going to leave my car there." Donovan remarked starting to walk out the door.

"Come on, I'll drive you. Why pay the price for long term parking." Monica said tossing his keys to Alex.

"Alright. If you insist." Donovan smiled, walking out the door.

"He's smiling?" Alex said amazed.

"I'm scared." Cody said watching Donovan leave. "Hold me Alex."

"Hey Cody," Monica said over her shoulder, "He wasn't built after all."

Alex and Cody looked at each other. "Did we miss something?" Alex asked Cody.

"I think we did." he agreed.


It was only a fifteen-minute drive to the airport. Neither one spoke much. Monica knew what the real reason he was going to Washington. "Are you you're okay with this?" she asked.

"Yes, I should've done this a long time ago." he replied.

"Good luck boss man." Monica said as Donovan got out of her car. "Donovan, when you see her again, tell her I want to meet her."

************************************************************************

Frank Donovan made sure his bag was secure under the seat before he settled down. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes. He was hoping to catch some sleep. He hasn't slept very well over the last couple of days. Images of the past kept invading his sleep. Maybe I can get a few hours of peace, he thought, drifting off.


He hated going to these functions. Boring conversation. What I hate more than boring conversation is wearing a tuxedo, he though loosing the tie. He was enjoying his current assignment in Budapest. A beautiful city with good food. Business, that's all this dinner party was. Frank Donovan disliked this part of the job. He would make a few more rounds of conversation and then call it a night. He grabbed a glass of champagne from the waiter walking by and started to walk across the room.

"Frank, it's good to see you." a voice called to him.

"Ambassador O'Brien, how are you tonight?" Donovan asked.

"Good. Good. Frank, I have some people I would like to introduce to you later," the Ambassador said. Donovan nodded his head at the Ambassador, acknowledging what was being said. But his eyes were on a young woman across the room. She was laughing and smiling. The Ambassador realized that Donovan wasn't listening to a word he was saying. He could have told him that the place was burning down. He followed his gaze and saw what he was looking at. "I see," he laughed, patting Donovan on the back. "You found something more interesting than conversation. I'll see you later Frank." Donovan watched her walk outside. "If you will excuse me." reaching for another glasses from the waiter, Donovan followed her.

She was leaning over the railing, taking in the view. "The party's not that bad." Donovan said, walking up to her, handing her the glass. "No need to jump."

"Funny." she replied. "Maybe I was trying to get away from your company."

"Really," he said, laughing, "I'm not that bad either. Where are you going?"

"Back inside. Suddenly it got crowded out here with you and your ego." she replied walking back into the building.


Donovan laughed as he watched her walk back into the building. Intrigued, he followed her. She was weaving her way into the room when suddenly an arm wrapped around her waist. She turned and saw the man from the balcony. He pulled onto the dance floor and held her close.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Dancing." he replied moving her across the room. She relaxed in his arms, enjoying the dance. The next thing she knew, he stopped dancing. "My pager. I must go. We'll meet again, soon." he said leaving.

True to his word, they meet a few days later. Of course, she didn't know it yet. It took some doing. She was a guest of the Ambassador. Her name was Elizabeth Abernathy and she worked for the State Department. Donovan also found out that she was going sightseeing Vasarcsarnok, the Central Market Hall. He knew some people who could help him.

It was a simple plan. All his buddies had to do is make it look like they were going to rob her. Donovan would walk by and see what was happening, then save the day. Of course, they way you want things to go, usually never happen the way you want them to go. Everything started out fine. Sergi and Han grabbed Elizabeth off the street and dragged her into the alley. They were acting like they were going to rob her. Donovan then came upon the scene. Sergi had a knife to her throat. Donovan was yelling at him in Hungarian not to hurt her, that wasn't part of the plan. He saw the look of fear erase from her face. Anger replaced it. She knew what was going on! After kneeing Sergi and punching Han, she turned her anger on Donovan.

"You stupid, crazy son of a bitch! What they hell were you thinking?" she yelled at him. Not giving Donovan a chance to explain anything, she punched right in the face and stormed away.

Donovan awoke with a start. Putting his hand to his face, he realized that he was dreaming. It seemed so real, he thought.

"Excuse me, Miss," Donovan stopped the flight attendant, "How long until we land?"

"We'll be landing in about forty-five minutes." she replied.

"Thank you," he said picking up the phone. "Sean, it's Frank Donovan. I need a favor."