A/N:  I know it took Donovan a while to figure out Jessica's connection to Melanie, but he didn't have the insights into her thoughts that we did.  ;)  lol   Thanks for your patience with me regarding that.

***

Cody was the first to awaken.  He groggily untangled himself from the blanket and sheet that somehow became twisted around his lower extremities.  Rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the heel of his hand, he noticed, as he walked past, the bed Donovan had occupied the previous night was empty.  Thinking he probably rose early and went out for coffee for the group, he made his way to the bathroom and took care of the call of nature. 

When he exited the bathroom, he had a clear path into the room Alex shared with their new 'friend'.  Cody wasn't sure exactly what he thought of the woman.  After all, the first thing she had done when she met him was to touch his computer.  He didn't take too kindly to that.  However, Boss Man seemed to take a liking to her, and that wasn't something that happened very often.  At least, not in the time Cody had known him. 

As he walked back toward the beds, he noticed Donovan's shoes neatly tucked underneath the one Donovan had used.  Surely he wouldn't have gone out barefoot.  Not Frank Donovan.  He sure as hell isn't in here, Cody thought as he headed for the 'girls' room. 

The moment he crossed the threshold his chin nearly hit the floor.  He drew closer until he loomed over the two sleeping forms.  Legs completely entangled, they lay facing each other.  Jessica's cheek was pressed firmly into the meat of Donovan's bare chest and his chin rested on top of her head.  His arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly against him.  "Oh, you did not sleep in here, leaving that bed empty while I was tortured with the night sweats of one Jake Shaw!" Cody spat forcibly, startling everyone in the room awake. 

Shocked into wakefulness, Donovan tried to pull himself to a sitting position, but found himself wrapped around Jessica and could not easily move.  Not only did his arms completely envelop her, but also his legs were so tangled with hers he was astounded that they had managed to wind up the way they had.  Not that he really minded.  At this point, if there weren't other things pressing, he could have cheerfully made a career out of untangling and entangling himself with her again and again and again.  He enjoyed the feel of her in his arms, her body pressed intimately against his.  He could still feel the way her curves molded to him as if made to be a part of him.   

They knocked heads when they tried to disentangle themselves from each other; each emitted a painful 'ooof' and then backed away from the other to untangle their limbs.  It took all his effort not to burst out in laughter at the shocked expressions on Alex and Cody's faces.  Jake had yet to awaken, so he only had to deal with the shock of two instead of three.  Of course, Jessica's mortified look only further urged his laughter to subside.  If he were to let loose with the hilarity of the situation, he felt sure she would never speak to him again.

"Holy Shit!" Alex cried, surprised.  "Puh-lease tell me my boss did not do the nasty in the same room where I was sleeping!"  She rose up onto her knees and bunched the blanket around her lower body.  "God....damn!"

"I...we...oh!" Jessica stammered.  Oh God.  If only she could curl up and disappear.  She turned an exasperated look toward Donovan.  Say something, damn you!

"Cody..." Donovan began.

Cody stood, arms crossed over his chest, still quite indignant that he was made to double up with Jake when there was a perfectly empty bed he could have slept in.  "I still can't believe you made me sleep with Jake," he groused.

"Get over it, Cody.  We have a little something we need to discuss.  Call room service...have breakfast and coffee sent up."  He paused when Cody shot him a disgruntled look before he turned to head back to the other room.  "When you're done with that, call Kersh and make arrangements for Melanie to be put in protective custody."

Cody stopped dead in his tracks and turned around slowly.  Alex took in a sharp breath and stared, jaw open, at Donovan.  Jake wandered sleepily into the room.  "Did you say make arrangements for Melanie? Did she turn up?" he asked sleepily, tying his robe securely around his middle.

"You could say...I was hanging on to her for safekeeping," Donovan quipped and winked at Jessica, who slowly slid down onto the bed and covered her head under the blanket.

***

"Why did you change your identity...er...Melanie?" Alex asked curiously before taking a bite from her bagel.  She glanced across the small table where the group, except for Donovan, sat eating the breakfast Cody had ordered from Room Service.   Donovan stood leaning against the balcony doorframe drinking his coffee.

Donovan watched as her clear moss eyes clouded to a murky haze.  There was nothing like asking someone who had been through hell to feel its flame again.  It had to be killing her.

Jess dropped her gaze from the group for a moment before lifting her chin, determined to tough out the emotions that raged through her.  Thinking too much sent her into a state of depression.  For the most part, each day she was Jessica Crenshaw.  She had convinced herself of that, literally beating it into her subconscious in order to make it through each day.  Melanie Burgess was just a phantom who surfaced in her nightmares.  It was easier to deal with the tragic loss of her sister and niece.  Especially since they were all she had left in the world.  Her eyes focused on Alex as she said, "I would prefer if you didn't use that name.  Jessica or Jess...please."

Alex nodded.  "I'm sorry..."

"No, it's okay.  I've become 'Jessica Crenshaw' for all intents and purposes.  I almost see Melanie as a separate person."  She pushed the eggs benedict Cody had ordered for her around on the plate.  Somehow, food was not a very appetizing concept at the moment.  "It was my way of dealing, I suppose," she admitted, ashamed of her cowardice.  She chanced a look around into the faces of the team, but instead of seeing abhorrence at her behavior, she saw only compassion.  "However, the identity change was a necessary evil."

"What do you mean?" Jake asked curiously before downing the remainder of his coffee.  As an undercover agent, changing names and identities were part of the bargain, but what would be the reason for an everyday citizen?

"Oddly enough, the suggestion came from Officer Tollbridge," she replied and pushed her plate away.  She gave Cody an "I'm sorry" sort of look before sitting back in her chair.   "I spent weeks after my sister and niece's deaths trying to convince the homicide detectives there was more to the case than just a hit and run."  She sighed as the unwanted memories flooded her mind and brought with them the searing pain of loss she had so desperately tried to escape. 

"And what was their response," Donovan asked, moving toward the group and sitting in the empty chair next to Jessica.  He started to reach for the coffee pot but stopped when her hand curled around its handle.  "Thank you," he muttered as she filled his cup to the brim.

"They bucked me every step of the way," she admitted and answered his 'thank you' with a smile.  "As time passed, Tollbridge did a little investigating on his own.  That was when he discovered his report had been changed.  There was no mention of Drevin getting out of his vehicle to make sure Laura..."

Donovan watched as her hands began to shake and heard the audible catch in her voice.  His eyes held hers for a moment, silently attempting to offer her even the slightest of comfort.  What he wanted was to touch her, hold her, tell her to take her time and he would help her through this.  It was what he wanted, but knew he could not.  He had already screwed up enough in front of his team.  How would they react if he reached over and pulled her into his arms?  Still, there had to be a way to convey his message to her.

"...my sister, Laura...was dead," Jess stammered.  She was so close to breaking down, so very close.  When Donovan's eyes locked onto hers, she felt an odd sense of reassurance.  The dark depth of his eyes was fathomless and she knew she could easily lose herself within them.  She nearly jumped when she felt his thigh press against hers, but held back the surprise she felt at his touch.  It was warm and soothing and she pressed her thigh against his in return.  Just the slightest touch and she was his.  Sad, really, and yet, she welcomed the feeling. 

Donovan felt the return pressure of Jessica's thigh against his.  It wasn't exactly the way he wanted to touch her, but it would have to do.  He wasn't sure where her mind had drifted off to, but she had stopped speaking and her eyes had glazed over just a bit.  "Go on, Jessica," he urged softly, trying to bring her back into the conversation.

Jess took a breath to compose herself and regain her train of thought.  Where was I? Oh, yes...the report.  "There was no mention of me at the scene at all." 

"How did you go about changing your name?" Cody asked suddenly.  "When I did the background check on both Jessica Crenshaw and Melanie Burgess, the name change should have shown," he insisted.  After all, he was a computer genius, and a legal procedure such as that should have been easy for even a novice to find.

Jess bit her lip and cringed just slightly.  "This is off the record.  If you do any follow up on this...well, I don't know what I'll do, but I'll definitely be pissed," she assured. 

Alex blinked.  "Well, that has to be the wimpiest threat I've ever heard."

Jess shrugged.  "I'm too messed up to think straight right now.  I'll get back to you on that," she replied with a hesitant laugh.

"Off the record," Donovan stated matter-of-factly.  "It will go no farther than this room."

Jess nodded and curled her hand around her mug of coffee.  "I'm an Enigma."

"Er...huh?" Jake commented. 

She smiled slowly, turning her attention to Cody.  "Surely you know what I mean."

Cody's eyes widened momentarily and then he released a gasp of astonishment.  "You know Enigma?" he asked excitedly.

"Okay...I don't like being behind Cody in the 'I get it' category," Alex admitted jokingly.  Jake was quick to agree.

Donovan turned slightly in his chair, facing her.  "Enigma?  The computer hacker?"

"The same," she admitted, her eyes fixed on his steadily.  She was waiting for him to go off, demanding more information about the Hacker.  The FBI and any other acronym she could think of wanted Enigma.

"How do you know Enigma?" Cody asked.  Completely awed, he added, "Enigma hacked into the IRS data base last year and shut them down for weeks!" 

"Cody," Alex interrupted.  "You sound as though you're proud of that accomplishment."

"Who me? Naw..."  When Jessica remained silent, he prodded, "Come on...at least tell me if Enigma is male or female."

"Why?  You need a date?" Jess asked smoothly.  "No, I will not even reveal that.  Sorry.  I gave my word."

"I won't tell anyone," Cody assured.

"Can we get back to the matter at hand?" Donovan scolded.  "Jessica..."

Jessica would have laughed at Cody's 'little boy' excitement if it weren't for the harsh look Donovan carried on his handsome face.  He was in full swing business mode and he wanted answers.  "Tollbridge...he was seriously freaked over the files being altered.  Begged me to stop nosing around, but wouldn't tell me why."

"He suspected someone on the force having a hand in it," Jake suggested.  "And he felt you might piss off the very person who altered those records."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Jess agreed and pushed back from the table, taking Donovan's former position at the balcony door.  "After Drevin jumped bail, Tollbridge got me the name of the bondsman who put up the money."

Alex leaned back in her chair.  "And Nordstrom hired you after you contacted him?"

Jess shook her head.  "Oh hell, no.  Nordstrom thought I was a pest at first.  He put another of his people on the case."  Jess paused as something clicked in her head.  "Oh, Jesus!  It never dawned on me that this was anything but coincidence.  That hunter was gunned down behind a roadhouse in Texas while supposedly tracking another jumper unrelated to the Drevin case."

"Damn," Jake exclaimed.  "So how did you become 'Jessica'?"

She shrugged with great effort, as if the weight of the world rested on her shoulders and even that slight movement was a difficult task.  "I bugged Nordstrom daily for information. I mean...I was really persistent.  He was the person who gave me Addy." 

"Bugging a person would not gain his respect enough to hand over a job like this," Alex insisted.

"I guess I just irritated him enough to where he felt responsible for me.  Kinda got under his skin, he said."  Jess smiled wearily remembering the times she goaded information out of Nordstrom.  "But he was impressed at how I handled Addy, and so he offered me a job."

"How'd you hook up with Enigma?"  Cody asked, not able to let that topic die.

"I really don't know how or why he hooked me up with Enigma," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest.  "But I think now, it was because he knew that other hunter was killed because he was on the Drevin case."

"So, Nordstrom got you in touch with Enigma?" Donovan questioned as he moved to stand at the other side of the balcony door, facing her.

Jess nodded.  "You'd be surprised just what money can buy in this country," she said offhandedly as she fingered the glass to the balcony door.  "It was amazing really.  Enigma mirrored my former life.  Driver's license, dental records, social security, fingerprints...the whole nine yards.  If you run my prints...Melanie Burgess will not come up, I assure you."

"How much did this cost," Cody wondered aloud.

"You planning on going into business for yourself, Cody?" Alex teased.

"Ha ha.  No, just curious."

"Let's just say it was worth every penny.  And you'll get no more information from me about Enigma," she insisted, turned a hardened gaze on Donovan.  His face became unreadable, but she wasn't afraid of him.  She had made a deal and would not renege.  No one would get anything from her regarding the wanted Hacker.  "I owe Enigma more than money.  It's possible that I owe my life."

Donovan nodded, signaling the end of the interrogation.  "As I stated, this is off the record.  As far as I'm concerned, you took matters into your own hands, wore down Nordstrom until he gave you a go at Drevin.  Whether he knew you were the victim's sister or not, is another question, but really doesn't matter at this point."  His eyes followed her movements as she reached for the door to the balcony, gave him a nod of thanks, and slipped through.  He watched her for a moment as she stood at the edge, gazing off into the horizon.  She seemed very small and lost at that moment.

"So what's our next move, Boss?" Jake asked quietly.  His eyes watched Donovan as Donovan watched Jessica.  It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that strong and stoic Donovan had a fixation for the Huntress.  How long would it take 'Superman' to know he had fallen?

"At the moment, we're waiting for orders from Kersh.  He wants Melanie taken to a safe house and will call with the location," Donovan answered. 

Donovan's hand closed over the doorknob and he turned it slowly.  Don't go out there.  Don't go to her.  It's something that can never be.  Don't set yourself up for the fall.  He shrugged off the annoying little voice that whispered at the back of his brain.  Her pain weighed far heavier on his conscience than his heart's self-preservation.  It wasn't really in danger, was it? 

Quietly, he moved up behind her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.  He drew in a surprised breath when she turned without hesitation and slid her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.  His arms went around her and drew her even tighter against him.  He whispered soothingly to her as the sobs wracked her body.  He held her and offered her his strength until she quieted and pulled away slightly.  He looked down into her tear-streaked face, her eyes still brimming with tears, and he was at a loss as to what to do to make things right.

Jess offered a little smile.  She was embarrassed by her behavior in front of him.  "I think I ruined your shirt," she joked, hoping to alleviate her own discomfort.

Donovan chuckled and placed a finger under her chin.  "Not to worry.  I have others," he assured her. 

Silence descended upon them as they gazed into each other's eyes.  Each wanted what the other wanted, but they were powerless to act upon it.  Donovan felt the greatest urge to kiss her, to crush his lips to hers and taste her sweet mouth.  Jessica wanted him to do just that.  The noise from the door opening drew them apart, each going to their respective corner of the balcony.

Cody had the decency to appear not to have noticed the position he had found Donovan and Jessica in.  "Hey Boss.  Kersh is on the line."

Donovan nodded and glanced over at Jessica, who stood with her back to him, gazing out over the landscape.  "Fine." 

He followed Cody back into the room and took the cell phone that was handed to him.  "Donovan."  He listened briefly as he was given the location of the safe house he and his team were to escort Melanie to.   He ended the call and turned to Jake, Alex, and Cody.  "We're going to Philadelphia."

"I'll make the arrangements," Cody piped up and booted up his laptop.  A few minutes later, he closed it down.  "FBI has a jet ready for us at O'Hare.  They'll be ready to take off by the time we get there."

"Good job, Cody.  We'll inform Kersh when we're en route."

"So, it's back to Philly, huh?" Jess questioned upon entering the room. 

Donovan nodded.  "Crime Syndicate Task Force has some questions for you."

"Sure, whatever," she said, sighing.  "Let's just get this done."

***

To be continued...