Author's Note: Thanks to all my loyal reveiwers. But I should warn you. It's not over, as Sands said, Dupree will come looking for them...cocky grin

Unbeta'd

The sun had been down for a while. Cerise leaned on Sands, Lily was asleep against him. El drove slowly through the village and towards a small house. He put the car in park and looked at his home for a long moment. "Undo the red and yellow wire." Cerise said softly from her spot. El reached down and did as she said before getting out.

"Take Lily inside." Sands said softly to Cerise. Sarah was preparing to get out, when Sands grabbed her by the back of the shirt. "Sarah and I need to have a little chat." Cerise started to open her mouth, but closed it, shaking her head. She took Lily from Sands' lap and got out with El.

Sands got out and made his way around the car, getting into the driver's seat. He closed and locked all the doors in the car with the switch on the door.

"What Sands?" Sarah asked, keeping her eyes forward, watching El lead Cerise inside the house.

"What do you think, Sarah?"

"I don't know, Sands, you tell me." Sands turned his head towards her and grinned a sickening sweet mocking grin.

"Correction sugar butt, you're going to tell me."

Sarah folded her arms over her chest. "Tell you what?" She replied.

Sands leaned over, curling his finger for her to come closer. Then he whispered in her ear, soft and dangerous. "Knock the fucking game off, Darcy. I know who trained you and what you were trained for." Sarah's head whiped around and she stared at him. Sands leaned back against the driver's door, taking a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it. He gave her a smug look as he exhaled smoke.

"Which I would say, you didn't really live up to him, back there at the hotel..." Sands said to break the silence, with a gesture.

"Fuck you!" Sarah snapped.

Sands just continued to grin. "So fess up, Sarah. I know you were my replacement."

"IF you died." Sarah replied.

"So you say." Sands said boredly, flicking his ashes off in her general direction.

"No, you're right," Sarah said finally, "Actually, my orders, from HQ are to keep your ass ALIVE! And that comes straight from Doddson."

"Is that so?" Sands asked, disbelief in his voice.

"You got it Cowboy."

"And what would Doddson care if I lived or died?"

Sarah leaned over and tapped Sands on the side of the head. "You've got to much information in that brain that if you died, the CIA would lose."

He pushed her hand away. "Fuck the CIA!" Sands snapped. "What the fuck have they ever done for me!"

"Well for one, they've kept your ass ALIVE!"

"You call this fucking alive!" Sands snapped angrily, "I have no fucking eyes!" With a quick motion, he pulled off his sunglasses. Sarah gasped, despite herself.

Sands leaned forward, and grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her closer. "Tell me, what the fuck you're doing here, Sarah. And no lies, I'm fed up with lies."

Sarah fought to gather herself and said slowly. "I'm here to keep you alive, like I said. Doddson gave me the orders directly. Sammy too. I'm to keep you, and Cerise alive."

"Why?"

Sarah sighed. "Think about it Jeff, for the past few years, I know you've heard the rumor, I know you've heard that there was a power struggle going on in the Company. It goes much farther then that, Jeff. It's a fucking war. And the good guys, need you and Cerise alive. That's why you rose so fast in the ranks! You were given so much intelligence because we knew where your loyalties lay."

"You fucking used me." Sands replied.

Sarah sighed. "No lies. We used you to get to the traitor, yes... Just listen to me a moment, Jeff..." But Sands was already getting out of the car.

El had led Cerise into the house by the side door and he turned on the lights. The house was small, but comfortably furnished. "I have...a room you can put her in." El said softly, nodding to Lily. He turned and led Cerise down the short hall and opened a door. Cerise followed and looked in. It was a little girl's bedroom. Nothing expensive, but still very obvious. "Thank you." Cerise said softly as El stepped away from the door.

Cerise carried Lily over to the little bed and laid her down, pulling the blanket over her. Lily rolled over, her thumb still in her mouth. Cerise smoothed back her hair and leaned down, kissing her on the forehead. "You're very lucky." El muttered in the silence. Cerise stood from the side the bed and looked at him.

She was silent a long moment, before she said quietly. "I'm sorry you lost your daughter."

El looked at the floor, trying to grasp the right words. "It has been...a long time." El said finally with a sigh.

Cerise walked over to him. She'd found a common ground with the man she'd disliked at first. Slowly, she placed a hand on his arm. El looked up, meeting her eyes in the darkness. "You never stop loving them." Cerise whispered. El nodded.

They were silent a longer more, before El asked. "How is it, you came to love Sands?"

Cerise sighed, looking back at Lily. "He showed me the other side of the man. I discovered he isn't always a cold hearted ruthless bastard."

El laughed softly a moment and looked back at the floor.

"His human, just like the rest of us El. He's capable of love."

"So I've seen." El muttered, looking back down the hall at the sound of the door slamming.

Sarah stalked down the hall, seeing El standing in the door way of one of the rooms. She stopped next to him, looking at Cerise. "I don't care if that son of a bitch gets lost in the desert or falls in a snake hole!" She snapped.

Cerise sighed. "Now what happened?"

El looked at Sarah, swallowing down his smirk at her anger. She was cute when she was pissed off. "He interrogated me!"

Sarah snapped. Cerise shook her head, unable to keep from grinning. "Sarah, luv, you KNEW that was going to happen."

"Yeah, but did he have to do it THAT way..." Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Where'd he go?" Cerise asked. Sarah shrugged. Cerise sighed again, moving past the two.

Sarah shook her head watching Cerise go. "She's his keeper." Sarah muttered.

El smiled slightly looking her over. "She seems to do a good job of it."

"It's only cause he wont get mad at her. She's his soft spot." Sarah said, rolling her eyes and looking back at El.

"And who's your keeper?" El asked her.

Sarah suddenly fond her stomach was doing flip flops as she looked El in the eye. "I...uh..." She struggled with the words as she felt El leaning forward a little more. El couldn't believe he was doing what he was doing. This was all moving to fast for him, but here he was, leaning in to kiss this woman. "I could use a new keeper." El said softly. Sarah turned her face up wards. She felt his lips brush hers.

Cerise closed the door behind her and looked around in the darkness. "Over here, Cherry." He said from the shadows near the side of the house.

She moved towards him. "How'd you know it was me?" She asked softly.

He pointed down, to her sandals. "The way you walk."

"I'm surprised you know it by now..." She muttered.

Sands smirked from behind his cigarette. "I learned it a long time ago." He said.

Cerise looked up at the cloudy night sky. She leaned up against the building next to Sands. "So now what?" Cerise asked him.

Sands shrugged. "I'm at a lose, Cerise."

Cerise shifted uncomfortably. "I shouldn't have asked, I know what now...we wait for Dupre." She muttered.

"That's the plan...so far." Sands muttered. Cerise looked over at him. He turned his face towards her and grinned slightly.