Chapter 63

"Sorry, darling," Charles interrupted swiftly as he stepped away from the wall. "Before you start, maybe you could tell us who you are?" he questioned, his training kicking in. "I mean Tara and Myles seem to know you but…" he hesitated, looking at the other blank faces in the room.

"Right, well…" Shelby nodded glancing at Amber again as she dug into her handbag. "Special Agent Shelby Forrester," she announced dramatically as she flipped out her badge.

"Special Agent?" Michael questioned leaning forward, his brow furrowed in curiosity.

"Forrester?" Liz stammered, looking from Shelby to Amber in confusion.

"I thought you were a nurse?" Myles inquired, wondering if someone knew of the danger that they were in and had assigned her there without telling him.

"I am…or more like I was, before I went to the Academy a few years ago," Shelby confirmed, returning her badge to her bag. "And before you ask, we were there investigating another case when you showed up," she told them, patting Tara's leg under the blanket reassuringly.

"It wasn't until I found out about the connection to Kelly that I asked Liz for the transfer to the security team," Amber declared as everyone began to digest the information they were being given. "After what he did to our family, we couldn't take the chance he would get away again," she stated as she come up to stand beside Shelby.

"Had I known about the connection between you and Kelly, I never would have agreed to the transfer," Liz affirmed sternly. "You still have an OPR review to answer to," she reminded the young agent, who looked down remorsefully.

"Oh my word!" Tara exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention as Myles leaned in to make sure she was okay. "You're sisters!" she gasped, seeing them for the first time side by side.

"Yes," Shelby confirmed, blushing slightly at the attention they'd garnered. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you, but no one at the Bureau knew except Personnel."

"We didn't want it interfering with our jobs, since I'd only been there a few months longer," Amber continued. "But we felt with Shelby at the hospital and me with the others, we had all the bases covered when it came to Kelly," she shrugged slightly.

"Well, thank God that Shelby was there that night," Myles avowed, stroking the back of Tara's hand gently with his thumb.

"I'm just sorry you got hurt too," Tara apologized to Shelby.

"Hey, I'm fine. The ribs are still a little sore but I'm back to work," Shelby smiled reassuringly. "Your friend told me that God has a plan and puts people into place to make his plan work. You can't question it or rush it, only be happy you're there when you are needed," she declared quietly.

"Sue," Tara and Myles said together, looking at each other knowingly. The silence in the room stretched for a few moments as everyone contemplated their roles in the plan God had for them. Was it really fate that had brought them all together? they wondered. Or something much more powerful?

"Wait!" Liz suddenly stated. "I assigned you to the ICU, Amber, and you were there the day Tara was brought in. Why didn't Agents Hudson and Manning see you?" she questioned puzzled.

"Well, actually, they did. I told them what room Tara was in," Amber smirked, running her fingers through her hair. "I was so nervous that they'd remember me from the hospital when they brought Tara and Myles to the beach house," she sighed. "Thankfully, they were more concerned about the two of them that they didn't notice me."

"Koala boy didn't notice a pretty woman like you," Myles scoffed. "I think I'll suggest he needs to get his eyes checked," he laughed as he dodged Tara's playful swipe.

"Or you were just so good at being undercover that you blended right in," Mrs. Kersting smiled, putting a different spin on the new information.

"Something like that," Amber chuckled, happy that everyone was taking it all so well. "I worked my way through college as an EMT so I had the medical background, and I was only a volunteer so…," she shrugged.

"That would explain why I caught you in Tara's room!" Danni exclaimed suddenly. "You were checking on her," she stated understanding. "Got to admit finding you there in the middle of the night was a little freaky," she shrugged.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Amber grimaced. "Not that I didn't trust Charles, but I just wanted to see for myself. I couldn't handle it if someone else got hurt because of that man," she frowned, her eyes darting towards Michael.

"Hey, we're all okay," Michael smiled, pulling Annie close to his side. "Not exactly the way I would go about getting a couple of weeks off, but what the heck! We got the bad guys and I got the girl," he grinned, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"First 'your woman' and now a 'girl'…you are really digging yourself in deep, mister," Annie warned with a flirtatious smile.

"So now that's done," Charles stated, draping his arms across Shelby's and Amber's shoulders. "How would you two ladies like to join me on a run to the cafeteria for some burgers?"

"Sure," Amber agreed, satisfied the camaraderie of the team had not been lost.

"Wow, I've never had two sisters before," Charles flirted as he held the door for Amber and Shelby.

"Just remember we're both armed when you make another comment like that again, blondie," Shelby cautioned, laughter dancing in her eyes as they left.

"Uh oh," Charles groaned as he followed them out, causing everyone else to chuckle at his antics. They knew things would soon be back to normal.