****

Alex was too busy beating the hell out of the dummy in the gym to notice Frank walking in. The fight she and Amanda had gotten into regarding Frank was wearing on her last nerve. Amanda had gone, left shortly after that. She left a note Sasche to give her goodbyes to Jake and the others for her. In that note there was no mention of Frank.

"If you hit that dummy any harder, you're going to have to pay for it when you break it."

"Go to hell Frank."

Frank sighed and held the dummy by the shoulders as Alex kept up the nonstop jabs and hooks. "What do you say we have a pleasant discussion instead of an argument."

Alex let loose a monstrous right hook at the dummy's jaw. In her mind, she was seeing Frank's face on that punching dummy. "What's to discuss? You.." she grunted as she smashed a left hook into the chest of the dummy. "seduced my sister..." a growl of pain escaped her lips as she followed through with her right elbow across the dummy's jaw "then broke my sister's heart..." she hooked her elbow back across the nose. "and then seduced her again only to shove her away."

"It's not like that and you know it."

"Right." Alex stepped back and shifted, kicking the dummy in the ear - along with Frank.

Frank hissed and stumbled to the side. "What is it you want me to say Alex?" He stood up and came around behind her. Jake, Monica and Cody came in to see what was going on. "Yes, I broke Mandy's heart in the beginning. I didn't mean to do it, but I wanted to save her the pain of what we do. I did it to protect her."

Alex had stopped and was listening. But when he said it was all for Mandy, Alex began to see red. "Oh what a bunch of bullshit!!" She spun around and got Frank in a headlock restraint. "What a sanctimonious bastard you are Frank Donovan! Did you ever stop to think that Amanda is a big enough girl that she can make her own decisions? Huh? Did you?"

Frank was surprised when Alex whipped around and succeeded in getting him into a headlock. However, he maneuvered her just past the sparring dummy onto the heavy-duty floor mat. "Watch your mouth Alexandra Cross! And it's not that she can't make her own decisions!" He got his arm pressed between her upper thighs and grasped her supporting leg. In a heave, he stood upright and picked Alex up and slammed her down onto the mat. He leaned over her, hands braced on his knees. "Don't make me out to be the bad guy here Alex. I asked her to stay and she walked away from me. She- URK!"

Alex's leg came up and her heel caught Frank behind the neck, dropping him to the ground. Cody and Jake were busy trading bets on who'd win.

"I got $20 on Frank. He's got her on weight and experience."

"I dunno Jake, she's got a lot of rage."

"Oh both of you just stuff it." Monica chided. "I got $50 on a dead even match."

As Frank tried to clear his head, Alex scrambled up and got onto his back, hooking her elbow around his neck again and pressing him down onto the mat face first. "You are a bastard, you know that? You think you know everything. Amanda gave you a part of herself willingly and what did you do?" She tightened her grip as Frank tried to buck her off. "All she ever asked of you in return was to let her in and love her the way she'd loved you. ACK!!" she snarled as Frank managed to roll her over.

The two of them rolled over repeatedly on the floor mat into one corner. Frank landed on his knees, Alex in front of him on his thighs with her feet braced on his calves with her knees pressed into his ribs. She grasped him by the shoulders even as his hands gripped the back of her neck. Jake and Cody were watching in amazement as Frank rolled Alex underneath him, then ooo'd and whistled as Alex shifted the momentum. Frank landed on his back with Alex sitting on his chest, her legs pressing his upper arms to the mat and her knees pressed against the side of his head. As Frank struggled underneath her, his legs flailing for leverage, Alex sat back and pressed her weight into his chest.

"This may come as a shock to you, Franklin Donovan, but there are other people in the world. You are not the end all and be all of knowledge and you do not always know what's best. OW!" she grunted as Frank's long legs came up and around her waist to lock ankles across her ribcage. "Geez!!" she grunted again as she found herself landing on her back with a thud, Frank's ankles catching underneath her chin. But Alex shifted her legs and locked her own ankles behind Frank's head, squeezing him until his face turned an unflattering shade of red.

"Which part of that is supposed to shock me Agent Cross? URGH..." he growled as she snapped her thighs, boxing his ears with her knees. He reached up and gripped her by the knees as he sat there, wiggling back and forth trying to get a little slip of space in between her legs. Eventually he shifted their position - he sitting with his legs wrapped over and around Alex's waist with his ankles locked under her chin and Alex with her arms wrapped around his shins and grasping his ankles trying to pry them apart while her own ankles were locked behind Frank's head and her knees pressing tightly against his ears - so that they both lay on their side.

"OK..." Alex panted a bit. "Let's just suspend reality for one little second. Say I tell you that Amanda is gone home to New York. What are you gonna do about it?" She strained with a soft growl trying to pry his ankles apart.

"I... admit I was wrong for leaving her the way I did in St. Croix." Frank groaned as he tried to stretch out of Alex's knee lock.

"And...?" Alex stretched, effectively putting a tremendous amount of pressure on Frank's head and neck.

"And what?" he snarled. He felt like his head was going to pop and this was getting him nowhere fast. He ran his fingers along her pelvic bone, tickling her.

Alex jerked and reached down to slap his hands away. When she did, Frank managed to break her knee lock and he rolled out of her grip, releasing his ankle lock under her chin. Frank pushed up to his hands and knees, trying to get the blood flow back to where it was all supposed to go. Alex, however, reared up on her knees and then dropped an elbow into the middle of Frank's back, right between his shoulder blades. With a loud cry, Frank dropped face first into the mat again.

"AND... you bastard.... you find Amanda..."

"Oh yeah. She's got a LOT of rage." Jake whistled.

She reversed and put Frank into another headlock, her grip on her wrist to put pressure on his neck was turning her knuckles white. "And you apologize to her for doing what you did." However, she pulled back too hard and Frank got to his feet easily. He staggered back a bit under the height difference, but leaned back far enough to get firm grip with enough leverage to flip Alex over his shoulder. She hit the mat with a thud, her breath knocked out of her for a moment. As she laid there, gasping for breath, Frank leaned over, his hands braced on his knees again as he himself gasped for breath. "Fine. I'll fly to New York and apologize to Starlet for doing what I did. But remember this, Special Agent Alexandra Cross... I still did what I did for your sister, to protect her. I was only thinking about her."

Alex looked up at him, her breath coming in short pants instead of gasps now. "OK..." With a snarl, she half rolled, half shifted her left leg over her right and caught Frank behind the knees in an explosive kick. Her kick swept his legs out from underneath him and sent him flying into the air for a brief few second before he landed with a crushing thud on his back next to Alex. As Alex's foot rested underneath his rear end, she was pinned in place. Frank was too stunned to move.

"You go girl!" Monica snickered.

"Just remember Frank." she panted again as she laid there twisted in half like a pretzel with her head next to Frank's feet. "She loves you... and you BOTH were wrong..."

"Fine... I'll pack my bags..." he wheezed. "Just as soon as I can move."

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