HI Folks! Well i want to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews and responses to Little One and its sort of Epilogue Back From the Fairy Tale. I love the suggestions for continuation and will consider them. I want to switch seasons right now and go back to right after Coastal Motors incident in S2. This is where I have set the confidential story Donna told Harvey when he mentioned Albuquerque in S9. I have expanded Harvey's role here and hope you will like it. Here's the first part. Please R&R. Thanks so much. Love - Carebearmaxi.

Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque

Harvey woke up at the sound of his cell. He hurriedly answered and noticed that the time was 2:00 am.

"Donna, what's wrong?" Harvey asked. Luckily, she had interrupted him the one night he had not picked up a sex partner in a bar or had Scottie in his bed.

"Harvey," Donna said with fright in her voice. "Are you alone?"

"Yes, what's the matter? Do you know it's 2 a.m.?" Harvey asked sitting up more comfortably leaning against the headboard. He reached over and turned on his light. He blinked because he nearly blinded himself. He had consumed about four glasses of Scotch before stripping and falling asleep. It had not been a good day. Mostly because his beloved secretary had taken an impromptu vacation in New Mexico. He had not heard about it until the other morning when he saw a large note on his desk taped to the top of his laptop.

Dear Harvey,

Sorry to take this vacation right now, but I need a break. I have some stuff I need to work out, and I cannot do it while I'm working twelve hours a day ten feet away from you.

Therefore, I got Jessica to sign off on my vacation. Sorry to go over your head, but she understood. I am going to Albuquerque for the Hot Air Balloon Races.

I will be gone about a week. All notes are under this note. Anything really bad see Rachel. She said she would pitch in for me.

See you in a week

Donna

Needless to say getting a call in the middle of the night from Donna while she is still on vacation did not sit well with him. However, she sounded like she was in trouble. He never wanted anything bad for her, and if it was in his power to stop it, he would. He had mentioned one time that if she were in any kind of trouble all she would need to do would hit his number on her phone. He prayed that she was not in deep shit. That only a little trouble was the reason for her call. Returning to work so quickly right after the Hardman problem and the Coastal Motors issue had been stressful on everyone including Donna. However, this sounded like a different problem.

"In New York it's 2 am, here it's midnight. Are you alone?' Donna asked again.

"Of course, I'm alone. What's going on?" Harvey softly asked. He could hear the thickness of her voice like she had been crying. I hate it when she cries. She doesn't deserve it.

"I'm still in Albuquerque but there's been a horrible misunderstanding and I am on a Navajo Reservation."

"Navajo Reservation?" Harvey asked in disbelief. "How the hell did you wind up there?"

"Long story, but you or someone has got to come and rescue me or somehow get the authorities to let me get back to the hotel."

"Are you implying that you've been kidnapped against your will?" Harvey asked trying not to laugh because if she had been in real danger the kidnappers would never have allowed her her phone.

"Don't laugh, Harvey! It's not funny!" Donna insisted. I knew it! I couldn't call anyone else to help. He is my best friend.

"Donna...Donna!" Harvey had to shout. She's really hysterical. So unlike her, she must really be frightened.

"Why didn't you just call the authorities? You called me."

"I tried but I couldn't get any of the police to believe me and then they said they couldn't go to the reservation as that's not their jurisdiction."

Harvey made a face which, of course, Donna could not see. He was silent just a little too long because Donna kept calling his name and making sure she had not been cut off.

"I'm here, Donna," Harvey said. "How's the battery on your phone?"

"It's at 95%."

"Good. Now, as briefly as you can, tell me what happened."

Three days before...

It was late October and the whole Coastal Motors incident was finally over. However, Donna had not quite returned to work as happily as she had wanted. She tried to tell Harvey, but he threw himself into his work after the Hardman problem and he never listened to her. Going over his head to Jessica to get her vacation approved quickly, Donna left Harvey a note and left for Albuquerque.

She had made the excuse that she wanted to see the famous Albuquerque Balloon Races. She had been invited by one of her girlfriends who was from New Mexico. She had called Shirley and she had said she would love to go with her. Unfortunately, Shirley backed out at the last minute leaving Donna to travel all by herself. Donna thought about not going and then Rachel said she should.

Donna arrived at the hotel which was beautifully decorated with adobe stone and turquoise American Indian motif. Donna walked around the lobby and noticed the casino. It was just a small room replete with one-arm bandits (slot machines), two BlackJack tables, a fully stocked bar, and one Baccarat table. As for late afternoon gamblers, there were a few high rollers at the Baccarat table. A couple of older women smoking like fiends at the slot machines, and an interesting dark complected man with long raven hair laying straight down on both sides of his shoulders. He was dressed rather well. Donna could not help but notice the way his expensive suit jacket sat on his shoulders. He wore a bolo tie over his clean white shirt. The man carried an air of sophistication much like the trainwreck of emotional unavailabilty who was her best friend. The fact she was trying to forget him for a little while coerced Donna's feet to run quicker to her room. She had done her best to protect the man during the Coastal Motors fiasco, but she bore the brunt of the damage. It had taken a lot of coaxing on Harvey's part for her to return to work at a firm that kept a fraudulent lawyer working but axed a protective secretary.

Although Jessica and Harvey had explained why they had fired her after her return and the triumph over Hardman's collusion with Travis Tanner, her hurt was still felt in some regions of her heart. Hence, the spontaneous vacation to Albuquerque. It was near Halloween anyway and she always requested it off. Now, her plans have killed two birds with one stone so to speak.

Donna arrived in her room and examined the accommodations. The view from her room of the Sandia mountains was absolutely spectacular considering she was in the middle of the desert. She rented a jeep from the airport and it took her all of 25 minutes to find her way to the hotel. She sat on the bed and saw the message notification on her phone. She knew it was Harvey and he was probably going to be pissed that she took her sudden vacation but that was too damn bad. She decided to leave him for later.

She started to unpack and then saw the bulletins that room service left on her credenza. Here there were directions to the venue for the actual Hot Air Ballooon Races as well other entertainment plans and a menu for the restaurant she spotted downstairs from where room service came. She also read that she was to receive a free room service breakfast tomorrow morning at 8 am as her room won some type of staff lottery. I hope the staff member wins something, too. It would suck if all your hard work went to a guest she thought.

A small terrace directly opposite to the entrance opened to a pool front. She slid open the doors and stood on the cement terrace. Their was a wonderful cool breeze whipping its way through her hair. The pool looked inviting. One of the swimmers saw her and waved. She was friendly and waved back.

He called to her then swam closer to the side of the pool and hung off the edge.

"Hi, I'm Doug. I'm in the room next door to you," Doug greeted her.

"I'm Donna. Is that pool heated? It seems a little cool to swim today," Donna asked. She placed her arms around herself as she walked out without her jacket which she had packed in her suitcase before boarding the plane in New York.

Doug who did not possess the physique of a god was a regular guy. He had a round face with a slight extra chin but he was friendly and he was happy that Donna was just as friendly.

"Yes the pool is heated to a comfortable 72 degrees like bath water. Would you like to join me?"

Donna nodded, "Maybe later. I just arrived, so I just want to get acclimated first."

"I'm sorry. You must be with your husband or boyfriend..."

"No!" Donna interjected. "Just me." What am I thinking? He could be a pervert underneath all that nice guy stuff. She felt, though, her people instincts were not wrong.

"Well see you later," Doug said as he swam away to do a few laps the length of the pool.

Donna went back in and decided to take a shower, dress up, and visit the casino to try her luck. She knew how to play Black Jack. Harvey taught her one time when they were on a trip to one of his big business clients who always dealt out of the same hotel room in the same casino. Harvey was a good gambler. "Play the man not the odds," she heard him tell Mike a few times when Mike was in a gambling situation. Donna assumed she knew what Harvey meant. Now it was time to try to put it into action.

After her shower she dressed in her favorite black low V-neck long sleeve opaque blouse with her black swinging pleated skirt just short enough to show off her long legs and, of course, her four inch stilettos which at 5'9"without heels only made her that much taller and more attractive to the tallest good looking men in the place. She had not really planned to meet men, but Donna was Donna and men were attracted by her red hair and her bright eyes and easy smile. She liked to flirt and banter and did with the best of them.

Before walking into the casino she scanned the place. It had only been a couple of hours since her arrival, but the casino seemed to have filled with more inhabitants. The interesting man who she thought was probably a Native American still sat at the Blackjack table. She thought she would try her luck at the slots first. Then if she was bored and he was still there, she would challenge her own luck equipped with Harvey's knowledge but probably not his skill by assuming a seat at the same Blackjack table.

As she had anticipated, the slots were boring. How many times can you hit a button or pull a lever and not get three of any kind? Donna grew bored as she thought she would and looked over at the Blackjack table. The man was still there. So, she sauntered her way over to the table and sat down next to the man, crossing her long legs enticingly. Her efforts had not gone unnoticed. He smiled at her and then resumed examining his cards holding his forehead thoughtfully with two fingers. He removed his fingers long enough to catch her eye.

"Hello," he greeted in a deep voice. It was not a smarmy voice, but not a polite one either. It was deep and resonated in the small area.

"Hello, I'm Donna," she said greeting the dealer who's nametag read Kinberly. Kimberly was so overly made up that Donna thought her face would crack if she smiled too widely.

The Navajo man said, "I'm Jack. Please to meet you. Are a Blackjack aficionado?"

Donna's eyebrows were raised at that question. "Not at all. My boss taught me how to play one night when we were on a business trip. So I'm going to see how much I remember," Donna stated.

"Playing cards. Was this all you and your boss were doing?" Jack said implying something between the words. Donna looked away and ignored his question as she figured the guy would say something like that whether she had put it out there or not. Always. Harvey and I have never done it since the other time. He's no longer interested, and I have to move on. I do have my rule, though.

They resumed to play as Donna was dealt two cards for her first round. She was dealt a King of Spades and 2 of Hearts. The house was showing an Ace of Spades. Well, it's only the first round. I will probably lose. Her turn came and she told the dealer "Hit me".

The dealer gave her a 7 of Diamonds. She held her hand up because she was as close to 21 as she was going to get without going over. Dealer announced "hold at 19". Jack had a Jack of Clubs, funnily enough, and said he was good. He turned both cards over and he had a Queen of Hearts. Jack was staying at 20.

The dealer revealed her card and it showed King of Clubs. Twenty-one, Blackjack exactly. The House won that hand and swept the cards up and gathered the chips.

Donna played for a few more hands and lost about $50. Jack had got her a Pina Colada of which she was not enamored. After about twenty minutes, as she finally was rising to go outside to look at the sky, Jack stopped her.

"Hey, pretty lady, would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

"I don't know depends where you want to have dinner," Donna said.

"I know you're from the city, but I am an honorable man and would not hurt you in anyway," Jack said.

"What did you have in mind?" Donna asked with a smile. No need to be rude. After all this was not Manhattan.

"I'm staying in Room 611. On the other side of this hotel is a club La Plaza de Caballero. It serves great Southwestern cuisine. Have you ever had authentic Southwestern Cuisine?"

"Jack, I have been in this part of the country before just not specifically New Mexico," Donna said in case Jack thought she was easily seduced by his dark Navajo looks and enticing food.

"I am sorry, Donna. How about it?"

Donna looked to heaven for an answer and then acquiesced. Why not? The races were not until Saturday. It was only Monday night.

"Sure. I will meet you there around 7?"

"I will be there. Do you want me to meet you at your room and we could walk together?"

Donna with her self-preservation warning going off in her head said, "No, I'll find it."

"See you tomorrow at 7, Jack," Donna threw back over her shoulder and sauntered outside exaggerating the sway of her hips because she knew Jack was looking.

This may not be such a bad trip after all Donna thought.