Disclaimer: None of the original UC characters belong to me. Would that they did, but they don't. Don't sue...you can't get blood from a stone. Shay, D.J., Thomas, and all the original characters are mine.
Chapter One
Wiping the perspiration from her brow, she glanced up at the searing sun as it blazed down upon the city of Atlanta. "Another scorcher," she said to no one as she entered the large glass doors of the FBI's Atlanta Field Office. She smiled softly at the receptionist as she passed her on the way to the elevators. She sighed heavily as she reached out and jabbed the button for the eighth floor.
Stepping off the elevator, she headed for the office of the director of the Violent Crimes Task Force. She had been summoned from her vacation for an important meeting and wondered what lunatic was running loose on the city causing havoc and terror this time.
"Okay, what's so important that I had to call my vacation short?" she asked, sitting stiffly in the chair opposite her boss, Bryce Davoncourt.
"There's been a request filed for you to transfer to another branch and division of the government services," he explained, handing her a manila file.
She studied his features, the frown on his pale face, the purse of his thin lips, the way he nervously ran a hand through his soft brown hair and the angry glint in his steel blue eyes. He was not at all happy about the transfer orders. She had the uneasy feeling she would be less happy than he.
"Bryce?" she questioned with the reflection in her voice.
"Just read it, kid. It's self explanatory, but I won't pretend to be happy about it," he replied honestly. "You've become a valuable asset to me and I hate to see your talents go to waste."
"Well, thank you, Bryce," she replied, flipping open the file. She read slowly, at first, thinking she was seeing things. The file slipped from her hand and fell in a mish-mash heap on the floor. This can't be happening. "Are you telling me I have no choice in this?"
He shook his head. "It comes from the top. The Director in charge insists on meeting with you before you go in. She put the team together from day one and wants to meet its newest member."
Her shoulders hung slightly as she stood. "Do you mind if I get out of here? I have a lot of things to take care of. I need to make arrangements for D.J. before I leave town."
"I understand," he said with a meager smile as he walked around the desk to take her elbow. "And...Shay...if it doesn't work out..."
"Thank you, Bryce. You'll be the first one I call," she smiled sincerely as she hugged her former boss. "Tell the gang I'll give them a call as soon as I can."
She bade him farewell with a wave of her hand and headed back into the elevator, pushing the button for the basement garage.
She pushed the button on the remote and heard the decided chirp of her 2002 titanium Jaguar X-type sedan. She opened the door and slid behind the wheel. She turned the key and heard the rhythmic pounding of the Creed CD that's always kept in the player. "I lie awake on a long, dark night, I can't seem to tame my mind, Slings and arrows are killing me inside, Maybe I can't accept the life, that's mine, No I can't accept the life that's mine, Simple living is my desperate cry, Been trading love with indifference, yeah it suits me just fine, I try to hold on but I'm calloused to the bone, Maybe that's why I feel alone, Maybe that's why I feel so alone"
"I am alone," Shay sighed as she headed for home. This wasn't going to be easy.
************
"Married?" Donovan asked, staring blankly at the woman seated across the desk from him. "Are you serious?"
Monica nodded her dark head slowly. She had dreaded this moment, telling Donovan she was leaving the team. She was moving to California with her fiancé as soon as they were married...in three weeks. "There's already a replacement lined up."
"Excuse me? Who chose this new replacement?" he asked, clearly irritated.
"Director Burkholtz," she replied shortly.
A frown creased his brow as he regarded the woman who had been by his side as his profiler since he took charge of the team. "I'll take that up with Burkholtz. As for you, Monica...congratulations; I wish you all the best in the world." He smiled warmly, showing his sincerity.
"Thank you, Frank. I'm sure it will all work out."
************
Two days later found Donovan striding into the office of the Director of the Justice Department. He had to wait two days for the Director to get back in town, which had given him ample enough time to get suitably angry.
"Frank, sit down," Director Burkholtz insisted, moving around her desk to sit in the chair beside him. "What can I do for you?"
"I'd like to know where you get off choosing a replacement for one of my team members," he began, insolently.
"Whoa, whoa...check your gun at the door, Donovan!" she said, standing swiftly, her hackles rising quickly. "I put that team together from the beginning...including you, if you'll remember. I think I know good people when I see them!"
Donovan sat back in the chair and regarded his boss coolly. Her red hair gave clue to her volatile temper, although she did a damn good job holding her tongue most of the time. He had found over the past couple years she had a great fondness for his team and made many allowances for them. And, he had to agree, she was a great judge of character.
"Well?" she asked, waiting impatiently.
"Sorry, Deirdre," he replied, irked. He hated when she was right, even if she wasn't entirely right. "When do I meet Monica's replacement?"
"In a few days," she answered in a dismissive tone.
"Fine," he said, stiffly. Apparently, Deirdre Burkholtz wasn't about to give him any information about his new team member. "I'll wait to hear from you."
************
"Find out anything?" Cody asked, watching Donovan stride through the room and head for his office. He literally oozed frustration and Cody knew he was taking his life in his hands for even speaking to him, but curiosity was getting the better of him and he couldn't stop himself.
"No," he growled, taking the stairs two at a time.
"Hey, something new..."Alex joked, "Donovan in a bad mood." She sat next to Cody at his computer and poked him in the arm. "I'm surprised you lived through his last bout with the moody blues."
Cody rolled his eyes. "Man, don't remind me. He grouched around here for months after that op in Colombia. Here's hoping he gets over Monica leaving us sooner than he got over Sh..." he trailed off hearing Donovan lumber back down the steps. "She sells sea shells by the sea shore."
Alex looked at him like he suddenly grew another head. "Huh?"
"Yeah," he replied, hoping to cover his near slip-up. "That's what they had my niece say over and over again to help her get over her lisp."
"Oooohhhh," Alex said, understanding his lame cover-up.
"That was pretty sad, Cody," Jake offered, as he joined them after Donovan left the room. "You can't blame him for being out-of-sorts after Shay left the way she did."
"It was strange, the way she disappeared," Alex agreed. "She just...vanished. It took Cody forever to find her."
Cody nodded in agreement. "I have a feeling Renquist covered her tracks for her. I guess she had her reasons for leaving."
Jake nodded absently. He couldn't look them in the eye or they would discover the truth...a truth he swore he would never reveal. His cell phone rang giving him cause to turn his attention from the conversation. "Hello? Yeah, meet you in an hour." He ended the call abruptly and announced he had a lunch meeting and left before anyone could ask questions or ask to tag along.
************
He saw her immediately upon entering the dark restaurant; she was as lovely as he remembered. Her hair was longer, but the same gorgeous shade of honey-blonde and her sky-blue eyes were as intense as ever. "Hey, Shay," he greeted, kissing her cheek.
"Hi, Jake. How ya doin'?" she asked softly, waiting for him to be seated before she dropped the bombshell.
"I almost dropped the phone when I realized it was you. What're you doing in Chicago?" he asked, "And, where's D.J.?"
"He's with Dad at the hotel," she answered, fiddling with the napkin. "Jake..."
He could see something was bothering her and she didn't quite know how to approach the subject. "What's wrong, Shay?" He asked, showing his concern although he already knew why she was in town.
"I'm being reassigned," she replied, looking up at him pensively.
"I know," he said, smiling. "Who do you think suggested that you be transferred?"
"What?!" She looked at him in utter shock. "How...why?"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "When Mon said she was leaving...I thought about you. I mean; you have been profiling with the FBI for the past year. Not to mention that we all know you. That's a plus," he said before he realized it wasn't exactly a plus for all parties involved.
"Jake," she groaned, hiding her face in her hands.
"Look, Director Burkholtz wants the best, and...well, you're it, Shay." Jake reached out and pulled her hands away from her face. "It'll work out, I'm sure of it. Frank always puts the team first; you'll see."
"Jake, I haven't forgotten what happened and I'm sure he hasn't either," she protested.
"He doesn't have a clue what really happened, Shay," he reminded her. "Maybe it's time you let him in on your little secret?"
"Never," she stated flatly. "I don't want him to know this, Jake." Her eyes pleaded for him to keep her secret.
"Give the guy some credit. He's been around the block a time or two. There isn't much he hasn't seen," Jake reasoned.
"I can't deal with his pity or his disgust," she explained. "I realize we were only together for a couple days, but those were a couple of intense days. I left the way I did because I couldn't bear for him to feel that way about me."
Jake shook his head. As hard as he tried, he couldn't understand her reasoning. But, they were her feelings and hers alone. It was her life and no one could live it for her. "I'll keep my promise, Shay. I would never betray your trust. Now, can we get out of here? I'm dying to see D.J."
Shay laughed for the first time. "Okay, Jake. Let's go."
To be continuted...
