It didn't take Heather to understand that if there were ever going to be two things that were very, very bad to combine, it was flying with a hangover. She had still been too anesthetized by the alcohol on the flight going from Washington to New York to notice. However, on the way from New York to Zurich, she then knew that she no longer feared Hell. Hell was not fire and brimstone. It was being at 35,000 feet where there were no clouds to block the sunshine, and most of the other people in first class had their shades open.

Heather was slumped in her seat with a cool towel over her forehead. One of the stewardesses was nice enough to bring it to her the first time they hit some light turbulence, and Heather ended up in the bathroom. They were lucky that time. Next time the guy in front of her might have his laptop out again, and then they were all screwed. The stewardess brought Heather some aspirin and ginger ale and left her alone in her misery. If she had suffered all of this because of something a relative had done, they were dead. The plane bumped lightly and Heather groaned, nausea threatening to overwhelm her again.

Over the last several years, most of the family had started to use one travel agent for all of their needs. Carol was getting used to the family's odd needs, and eventually gave up on them keeping normal hours. She had demanded more than once to know when they actually slept. So, when Heather called her at three in the morning and said she needed to be in Zurich five minutes ago, Carol took it in stride. She also got a nice commission for off-hour requests. There was an account set up for them already with credit card information entered, so it was just a matter of booking the flight. She found one going to New York, and then another leaving there for Switzerland in the morning. Heather took it and then went to first dry off and then pack. She was already feeling not quite right, but it was going to have to be ignored. It was easy to ignore while she was busy. Sitting still, she was praying for death.

Heather didn't want to let anyone know that she was worried about what Liz and Cam and Janna might be up to. The last thing they needed was to actually be innocent and having their parents and brother jumping on them and dragging them back to the States. If Mom and Dad decided they were coming home, the kids wouldn't have a chance. They would wake up and be in Seattle. Still, she wasn't sure where they were supposed to be working. She knew it was a little café, but there were only about a million in France. She was going to have to take a risk.

She picked up the phone in the plane, and dialed Daniel's number. He would be much easier to deal with than their mother. Heather grinned when Tanya picked up the phone.

"This is the Raleigh Residence," the little four year old piped up. One of her favorite activities in the world now was answering the phone. Only big girls could answer the phone. Heather could easily picture her standing on the couch with the phone in hand. It was a cordless phone, but she still liked to stand on the couch when she was talking on it. Cyra tried to get her to understand that if she fell, she could get hurt, and then she realized she was her father's daughter. Tanya had her mother's dark hair and eyes and complexion, but she inherited a lot more from Daniel than just his nose and chin and mouth.

"And this is your aunt," Heather replied.

Tanya gasped, and then Heather could hear the couch groaning as she jumped up and down on it. "Aunt Heather Aunt Heather Aunt Heather are you going to be here soon 'cause Mommy and Daddy said you and Gramma and Grampa and Uncle Cam and Aunt Liz were and Santa is going to come and we can eat and I want a puppy."

"I'm going to be there really soon," Heather replied. Her niece certainly had a way with words. "And Santa is only going to come if you've been a good girl all year long."

"I've been very good," Tanya announced gleefully. "Can Santa fit a puppy in his sled?"

"Actually, your Daddy is the expert on what Santa can fit in his sled. If you'll let me talk to him right now, I'll ask him for you, okay?"

"Okay!" She scampered off to get her father. Heather knew from experience that there were only a few ways to get Tanya to get off of the phone and get one of her parents.

Her parents. Daniel and Cyra. Now if that wasn't a match made in slightly incestuous heaven, then Heather didn't know what was. About six months after they started dating, they were suddenly step-cousins by marriage. Daniel got away with saying they were cousins when he would adopt a Southern drawl while doing so. It was funny to them. Heather was still in high school when they first got together, and saw the first three months of their courtship as it was done from a distance.

Heather knew about her brother's relationships. They were close and liked getting each other's advice on the opposite sex. She had never seen him so struck with a girl before. She was sure he was about ninety percent in love with Cyra by the time he returned to New York for school. The two of them had such a sweet, perfect relationship for the next couple of years. Because of her mother's lifestyle, Cyra had been afraid to get in an intimate relationship with a man, but when she learned that Daniel wasn't Mr. Experienced himself, she had relaxed, and they both knew rather quickly that this was it for them.

Daniel had proposed to her right after he graduated and had started working for "The Truth". She had another year of college left, but accepted right away. Daniel had confessed to her a long time before about his "special abilities" but didn't tell her where they came from. Cyra had talked to Janice about it, and Janice told her that those things were real and they were just genetic, like hair or eye color, and told her that Cole was the same way. Of course, nobody mentioned that Cole wasn't an uncle by blood. Daniel had wanted to tell her everything, but there was no way he could think to bring it up. Then it happened.

Cyra's mother's second husband had a brother that had thought Cyra was "reel purty". Of course, that was when she was thirteen, but he decided that thirteen was old enough. He had tried for a couple of months to seduce her, and when pawing at her in the back of a truck didn't do it for her, he decided on the direct approach. When all of this started, Cyra tried to tell her mother, but catching her when she was sober enough to listen was a challenge in and of itself. Janice had taught her a lot of self-defense stuff, and that paid off big time when Ricky had broken into Cyra's bedroom and tried to rape her one night while her mother was out partying. Cyra managed to get away, and this time made it to an all night restaurant and called her aunt. Cyra didn't know what happened exactly, but she knew Janice had a talk with Ricky, and he decided that California looked good this time of year. As soon as he got out of the hospital, he left the east coast. He ended up in prison a couple of years later for armed robbery. The attempted robbery was later featured on America's Dumbest Criminals.

But Ricky finally got out and left California and decided to try his luck with Cyra again. This time he brought a couple of friends along. Cyra was alone in her apartment when they came in. She whacked one of them with a frying pan, knocking him out cold, and almost got away when the other one pulled out a gun. He ordered her to get over on there and get on her knees, and then there was a knock on the door.

Daniel had just left, but as he was going down the road, he had this really bad feeling that something was wrong with Cyra. He thought he must just be paranoid, but it was enough to make him feel physically ill. Nothing like this had ever happened to him, and he finally decided that looking dumb was better than ignoring this. He was startled when a man answered the door. Cyra was out of sight, and the gun was trained on the door. If she said a word, then Daniel was going to be shot. Daniel asked for Cyra, and he said that she wasn't there. He introduced himself as her Uncle Ricky, and that his sweet little niece had run out to get them some dinner.

Daniel had smiled and told them to tell her he dropped by. Ricky closed the door. He turned, and then the door damn near exploded off of its hinges, slamming Ricky in the back and knocking him to the ground. Daniel was in there in a second. He knew there was a gunman, and right where he was. Cyra had never seen anything like that before in her life. Daniel was moving so fast that he was almost a blur of speed, and when Ricky's friend took a shot at him, he seemed to dodge the bullet. The friend was out in an eye blink, his arm shattered from where Daniel twisted it to make him drop the gun. A single kick had propelled him into the wall, leaving a bloody stain where he slid down it.

Daniel had stopped for a second to make sure that Cyra wasn't hurt. Then he noticed Ricky was climbing out onto the balcony. Cyra's apartment was on the top floor of the building, three stories up, and Ricky was trying to escape across the roof. He told Cyra to call the cops, and then he went after Ricky. A friend of Cyra's lived on the first floor, and she ran down there to call them. She was still on the phone with them as she ran back outside to see if she could see what was going on up there. The other people were looking at her apartment, and not up and over at the far side. They didn't see Ricky charge Daniel, his greater weight knocking them both off balance, and Ricky's flailing gracelessness took them both over the edge of the building.

Ricky hit headfirst and died on impact. Daniel landed easily on his feet, not too far from where his fiancé was screaming. It wasn't too hard to explain later to the police that he had caught a gutter and slid down on the drain spout. It was a lot harder to explain to Cyra in private exactly why he could do what he did. She told him she needed to think about things. He said he would call her the next day. He did. She wasn't there. She wasn't at her apartment at all. Neither were some of her clothes and personal items.

Daniel ended up at Cole's, railing to him about women. Janice heard part of it, and couldn't keep the disgust out of her voice when she asked him what else he expected. Pregnant women were notoriously emotionally fragile, and he unloaded a lot on her after a traumatic experience. Both her and Cole were concerned when Daniel turned paper white and nearly passed out on the floor. After he left, Janice and Cole had debated on if he looked more like he was going to pass out first or just have a stroke. Daniel and Cyra's anniversary was in a couple of days, and later Cyra said that was when she was going to tell him what she had known for a couple of weeks.

Janice refused to say a word about where her niece might be. She had promised. However, Daniel had the resources of the CIA, FBI and military to help him find her. He did. Wasn't easy, but he did. Kidnapping her was the hard part. Actually, it was easy compared to the getting her to talk to him. It took hours of yelling on both their parts, and a lot of abject begging and pleading, but Cyra forgave him for not telling her. She had been worried about what she was going to give birth to, but Daniel pointed out his halfling cousins. They were normal. She finally agreed to marry him. He opened the hotel door, and she realized they were in Las Vegas. Daniel wasn't taking any more chances. Seven and a half months later, Tanya Elise Raleigh was born.

"Heather?" Daniel's voice broke into Heather's thoughts.

"Hey there," she replied. "Is it just me or has that child gotten more adorable since the last time I talked to her?"

He laughed. "More spoiled is like it. One of you need to pop off a couple of kids so Mom and Dad won't just have mine to spoil rotten. But she's going to have company soon enough, so there's hope for her yet."

It took a second for that to register in Heather's mind, and then she gasped. "She isn't? No way!" Heather sat up quickly in her seat, and then realized why that was still a bad idea. She let out a little groan at the movement screwed up her equilibrium and the sunlight assaulted her eyes, drilling into her head.

"Heather? You okay?" Daniel had heard the groan.

She sighed. "If I tell you the truth, then I get to ask one question, and you can't question me about it," she said. When he replied, she heard more of Dan Guevara than Daniel Raleigh in his voice.

"What's the question?"

"What's the café that the weasels are working at?"

There was a long pause. "Heather, is there something I need to know about? Where are you and what's wrong?"

"What's wrong is that I am seriously hung over and in a plane," she admitted irritably. "Jon called and asked me to do something for him, and while I'm in Europe, I'm going to shock the hell out of our little brother and sister." If they were the prime suspects, she was going to shock the hell out of them all right. For now, she could be annoyed at Daniel's laughter.

"You got drunk?" he laughed. He laughed harder at her rude reply that only consisted of two words. "They work at Au Pied de Cochon," he finally said. "So, you and Jon hooking back up and not telling us?"

"It's nothing like that," she grumbled. "Please, he's got Katie Raye in his back pocket right now. He asked me to help him with something very important, and I am not telling, so don't ask, and I said I would. And do me a favor and not mention this to anyone, okay?"

"Sure," Daniel replied. "As long as you don't mention what I told you to anyone. That's why we wanted everyone here for Christmas to spring the news on them."

"And everyone is thinking that you've got the article done."

"Not even close," Daniel groaned. "I've still got a few more interviews to do, and then put them into my outlines. Do you know what it's like to try and get Jhondie and Justin in the same room? It's slow going, but it's got to be done right the first time. But, I am going to enjoy the holidays, and then get right back onto it. You are going to be here, right?"

"Yes," she answered. "This shouldn't take long, and then I am going directly back to New York."

"I'll see you then baby sister."

"You too big brother."

She was about to hang up when Daniel said her name. "Yes?" she asked.

"He's only with Katie because he's not with you," he said, and then hung up quickly.

Heather slammed down the phone. She wanted to call him back and yell at him for saying something like that, but it wouldn't do any good. He'd just tease her mercilessly later. She smiled. In any case, she was going to be getting a new niece or nephew soon. She'd get revenge by spoiling that one rotten as well.

The rest of the flight was rather uneventful. They landed on time, and when she walked off the plane, there was Jon waiting for her. She was happy to see him until she noticed Katie standing there. It wasn't that she was angry to see Jon with another woman, but Heather knew that she looked exactly like someone that had spent a few hours throwing up in an airplane bathroom and getting no sleep, and Katie was standing there looking like a supermodel. Heather raked her hand through her red-gold tangle of hair, and smiled as she approached them.

Jon immediately hugged her and she kissed his cheek lightly. "I am so glad you got out here quickly," he said quietly in her ear.

"I'm just glad I survived the trip," she replied dryly.

He grinned. "Would you kill me if I said that I hope it was for nothing?"

She gave a weak chuckle. "Trust me, we both hope it was for nothing."

He stepped away from her. "Katie," he said, getting her to look at them for the first time, "this is my good friend Heather Raleigh. Heather, this is Katie Raye."

"Nice to meet you," Heather said politely with a tight-lipped smile. Jon felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He knew Heather. He knew that look. There were some people that she took an instant dislike to. Not that she was rude or mean to them, but they were simply distasteful to her. As a matter of fact, Heather didn't know most of the time that she was doing it. And Katie was getting that look now.

"You too," Katie replied almost dismissively. "Jonathan, we really have to get to Gate C. If we're not there to greet Edmond, he's going to think he doesn't matter."

"Sure," Jon replied. "Why don't you run ahead, and we'll get Heather's luggage."

Katie flashed him the smile that had made her famous and scampered off. Jon had the grace to look embarrassed at least. "The editor putting together the catalog she just did a shoot for wants to meet her," he explained as they headed to the luggage carousels. "He called about six hours ago and said he was going to be here. She hasn't stopped talking about it since. It's a big career break for her." He paused. "I think."

Heather smiled. "Not like I was here for her anyways."

They walked for a minute silently, and she noticed him looking at her. "You look good," he finally said.

She gave him a playful glare. "I know what I look like right now."

There was the slightest hint of seriousness to his voice. "I mean it," he said. "You really look good."

She wasn't sure what to say, but then the luggage started arriving. She only had one suitcase to find, and by the time she had it, Katie had returned with the editor on her arm. Heather figured that the reason why he was an editor was to get pretty girls to come near him. He was short and balding and about twenty pounds overweight. Heather knew overweight men that could carry it and still look good, but on his small frame, it really didn't work. It wasn't humorous until you added the oversized sunglasses and the goatee. Add the flamboyant gesturing, and then you just wanted to laugh until you cried.

"Jonathan!" Katie cried like she hadn't seen him in a month. "This is my darling Edmond. Edmond, this is the love of my life, Jonathan Hamilton, and it is Jonathan, not Johnny, and his dear friend Heather."

Edmond patted her hand. "No wonder you blossom here my darling, surrounded by so many lovely people. Come now love, show me to the car. We have so much to discuss and so little time to do it."

They walked off, and Jon grabbed the handle of Heather's suitcase, flinching a little at the weight. "I can carry it if you need me too," she said softly, teasingly.

Jon grinned. "You can be the hero next time." She laughed at their old joke and then they both walked out together.