John and Shaw broke off with Nigel and Selma claiming they didn't want to head to see the town of Hell, preferring to head back to the ship and relax. Shaw had to throw in a comment about seeing Joss, making Selma blush and John want to throttle her. As they proceeded to pretend they were heading for the ship and Nigel and Selma walked away and were going to just walk to the close town of Hell; they circled back and kept distance behind them.

"Okay now that we got rid of them, explain why the hell you think that Richard is going after Nigel because of Selma?—she doesn't look abused and she sure the hell seems to really love the guy," Shaw demanded.

John kept eyes on the Wixoms. "Richard is a control freak. Apparently he controlled Selma's life to the point of probably telling the girl when she could use the restroom and when she couldn't," he explained. Harold hadn't mentioned that, but he wondered if Richard hid this part of his personality from his friend. It wouldn't surprise him if Richard hid the fact that he was controlling, dismissive of what Selma truly wanted because he wanted to play the role of the perfect father. Or did something in Richard snap after his wife died?

"So Richard could want to off her new husband for taking his daughter away?"

"I think Nigel derailed a lot of Richard's plans for his daughter," John admitted. "Nigel said that Richard wanted her to go to school for business and that when they met she was in business school. I bet Richard was trying to groom his daughter into taking over his business and becoming a Senator in her future; to be just like him. But then she met Nigel who gave Selma the courage to leave school and basically tell dad that she was done with business so she could be an environmental and human-rights activist which he didn't approve of."

"Why?—I mean that work is actually something worthwhile. Not many give a shit about lesser fortunate and Selma cares deeply. Selma told me a story while I stalled for time in the bathroom that she literally gave the shirt off her back, or rather jacket off her back, to a homeless pregnant seventeen year old who was freezing; who she then helped get into a government program that could aide her. The teenage girl named her daughter Selma after her," Shaw related. Shaw hated it, but she liked Selma. Selma was a rare breed of person and you don't meet many like her and her own father was either trying to kill her or the man she loved all because she wanted to help people?

"I don't know but we need to keep a close eye on anyone that tries to get near them. The more I hear about Richard the less I like the guy and the more suspicious I become," John murmured as he kept eyes on the Wixoms.

Shaw nodded. "I think you're right: I don't think Selma is the target anymore. It's Nigel. Nigel being a billionaire is just icing on the cake. Selma will be devastated if Nigel is murdered in place of her and she'll go running back to daddy and that's just what he wants. So he can and will manipulate her into doing what he has wanted all along," Shaw snarled. "I wish I wasn't stuck on this stupid island so I could bring Richard Gordon down! Damn it, I'd so shoot that prick or rip his cock off and shove it down his throat and watch him choke on it. No wait. His penis is probably the size of a peanut. No. I'll just shove his head up his ass!"

John's brows lifted as he spared a glance at Shaw who was angry and animated. "Wow. If I didn't know better I'd say you actually like Selma and Nigel," he feigned being shocked. He was glad that Shaw was growing a bit. She was warming up to Joss, Maddie who she clearly liked, and now Selma. Maybe after three plus years of trying to help coach her that not all people suck finally has paid off.

"Nigel I can take or leave. But yea; I like Selma," Shaw agreed quietly. "What the fuck is happening to me?—I'm growing soft," she griped.

John smiled. "No, Shaw. You're growing up." he said softly and Shaw looked at him instinctively but didn't comment.

"Finally," Donnelly beeped in.

Shaw groaned. "What do you want?" she demanded.

"Root and a few other agents along with NYPD finished their search of Richard Gordon's home and offices. Gordon freaked as he was brought in for questioning. Root found saved emails on his laptop in his home from Zenner; depicting their plot," Donnelly explained.

John patted Shaw's forearm. "Hold on Donnelly; we might have something happening," he murmured. Shaw looked at the Wixoms who had a good half mile ahead of them as they were leisurely following the two. Nigel was behind Selma as they walked as he had his arms around Selma's midsection. But it was the man that was picking up his pace to get closer to them that had John's eyes. "Rusty-colored hair, about six-four, and two-hundred pounds…" John begun, as he listed attributes of the guy that looked suspicious to him with the way he was hurrying towards the Wixoms.

"Muscular and appears to be in shape; all of which matches the description of Zenner," Shaw agreed.

"I'm not carrying." John admitted as they sped up their pace, still keeping an eye on the man, not wanting to make their presence known yet.

"Neither am I," Shaw complained. "This case sucks so badly. I don't even get to shoot the perp."

"I'm on my way," Donnelly added.

"We are nearly to Hell, Donnelly."John supplied as he looked at Shaw and she nodded as they broke apart and began sprinting forward. John let Shaw get closer to the man that they thought was Zenner. Richard had specifically asked for him; so he had to know what he looked like. But maybe Richard might not know what Shaw looked like or might not know that Control added a third wheel in Donnelly; one could only hope.

Shaw hurried and scanned the guy, not wanting to make a move and oust herself until she knew if he was Zenner or not. Shaw got close and saw the gun he was trying to conceal. Oh, it was go time and she felt adrenaline quicken in her veins, finally something to do!

"Excuse me," Shaw called out sweetly as she bumped into him, pretending to be a stupid vacationer. The man looked at her and his eyes widened in recognition. "Of course Gordon showed you my picture too," she growled as she launched herself onto his back wrapping an arm around his neck trying to put him in a sleeper's hold.

Screams filled the air of the others walking around them. John sighed, of course Shaw would go zero to eighty in a blink of an eye. He ran full speed towards where they were at and Zenner flung Shaw off his back and onto the ground hard before he kicked her in the gut. John's vision tunneled as he was kicking his partner.

Selma and Nigel turned around to look back to see what the commotion was and Selma screamed. Nigel pushed Selma behind him to protect his wife but he didn't need too since Zenner wouldn't take a shot at her, she wasn't the target, and now Zenner had a clear shot at Nigel.

Shaw wanted to gain the upper hand but currently she was curled defensively to protect her face and ribs from the harsh blows. At least he was looking at her and not the Wixoms and she knew Reese would be on that guy any second now.

John reached out just as Zenner raised his gun to aim at Nigel and wrenched the man's wrist backwards and he howled in pain as he dropped the gun. "Don't ever touch my partner!" John snarled as he punched him hard in the temple and the man staggered a bit before throwing his own punch. John dodged the blow, blocked the next and aimed a punch for his solar plexus to steal the man's air.

Screams erupted all over again as the sound of a gun went off and Zenner shouted as he fell to the ground and John looked over to Shaw where she was sitting on her butt on the ground, breathing hard, the gun Zenner dropped in her hand and a pissed off look on her face.

"I was going to aim for his nuts but you were in the way, Reese," Shaw muttered as sirens filled the air. "Donnelly is coming, late to the party as always," she said as she watched Donnelly running towards them.

John pushed Zenner onto his stomach before tugging his arms behind his back and waited for Donnelly to arrive. "Took your sweet time to get here, Donnelly," John joked as Donnelly huffed and puffed a few minutes later.

"It all happened so fast! You two are lucky I was near your location," he complained mildly. "Please tell me you have your badges with you?" he demanded, knowing they were going to have to prove who they were to local authorities.

"It's about the only thing of our real lives we could carry," John murmured as police started arriving.

John turned and helped Shaw to her feet and she winced as her stomach hurt from where that prick kicked her. He was lucky that Reese was standing where he was or Zenner would have been castrated. She turned when she heard her name being cried. Selma was struggling out of Nigel's arms as she ran towards her. Shaw frowned as she headed towards Selma.

"Are you alright, Sam?" Selma cried.

"Fine, Selma; had worse than a few kicks to the ribs," Shaw admitted still wondering if she could somehow get another shot on Zenner without it being considered excessive force.

"What happened?" Selma asked in fear.

"Someone was trying to kill your husband," Shaw answered matter of factly.

"What?" both Nigel and Selma cried in unison before Nigel went on to say, "No, it was Selma they were after."

"Shaw!" John called out and she turned to look and saw police were there and they were arresting Zenner.

She turned to look back at Selma and Nigel. "Why did John just call you Shaw?" Selma asked.

"Because that's my name; I'm not Sameen 'Sam' Jones I'm Sameen Shaw: FBI agent. That man was hired to kill Nigel Wixom by your father. Now excuse me, my partner needs me," Shaw stated as she turned around and left Selma and Nigel to look at her in stunned silence.


Selma looked shell-shocked as she stared at them with big eyes, and tears looming as she sat at a bench outside the local police station. John, Shaw, and Donnelly sat down with the Wixoms to explain everything in one of the spare rooms the local authorities let them use; from who they were, to the fact that Melinda Decker had broken into their room, to the fact that Richard Gordon confessed that he had hired Samuel Zenner, one of America's Most Wanted, to kill Nigel. Selma ran out of the room crying the moment she heard that her father confessed. Up until that point Selma believed that they had the wrong guy and then all hope that her father wasn't capable of such a thing evaporated. John pushed Shaw to be the one to go after her and when she glared at him he decided to go with her and help her console Selma. Donnelly stayed behind to talk to Nigel more, who looked shocked himself.

"My father hired that man to kill my husband on my honeymoon?" she said, sounding crushed.

Shaw and John nodded. John spoke up, "I'm sorry Selma; even without his confession there is a money trail. Your father paid a large sum of money to Zenner to try to kill your husband. Agents back in New York obtained a search warrant and they raided your father's home and we were able to uncover a series of emails sent back and forth with Zenner from your father, through a private email Gordon had. In his own words he requested the murder of your husband and the money he paid was half and that Zenner would receive the other half once Nigel was dead. Your father informed Zenner that you received death threats and that no one would know that Nigel was the real target."

Shaw added, "Your father played his part perfectly with going to our superior and requesting private security that you wouldn't know was there to 'protect' you. It was all in an effort to make sure that no one would ever dig too deep. He just didn't realize his biggest mistake was letting Nigel be in on the meeting because Nigel came up to Reese; making Reese suspicious as to why you were the only one that wasn't allowed to know about the additional security. And we believe the reason why was so he could 'daddy dearest' to you after the death of your husband."

"Why?—why would he try to kill Nigel? Nigel is a wonderful man who has been nothing short of amazing to me. He loves me as much as I love him, he supports me in everything I do, and someday he'll make a wonderful father to our children. I love Nigel so much, why…" Selma rambled before tears filled her eyes and her voice was choked off.

Shaw frowned. "We don't know the motive behind this yet. But we will," she murmured not wanting to say that it was either money related or because he wanted to get rid of Nigel so he could rule Selma's life again, or a little of both.

"How could he do this? How could he hire a hitman to try to kill the man I love?" Selma buried her face in her hands and cried. Shaw looked at Reese and he motioned at her and she made a face as she sat down beside Selma and touched her back. "How is Nigel ever going to look at me the same?" she sobbed.

Shaw frowned. "What do you have to do with your father?—he's the one that wanted to kill your husband, not you."

"But don't you see: I'm his daughter! How can Nigel trust me not to be like my fath-like Mr. Gordon?" Selma demanded as she lifted her face and the tears flowed freely, her face was twisted in agony, but also angry.

"Easy, because I love you," Nigel said. John, Shaw, and Selma all turned when his voice filtered into the conversation. He looked better now, not so shocked. Nigel sidestepped them as he crouched down near Selma's knees. "Richard is the one that plotted my death, not you."

"But…" Selma tried but couldn't manage more than that.

Nigel shook his head as he smiled lifting a finger to her lips, "No 'buts,' Sel. I love you more than anything in this world. And I know you love me just the same. You're not anything like your father; you're beautiful inside out," Nigel whispered as he rubbed away the tears that fell down her wet cheeks.

Selma cried as she flung her arms around Nigel's neck, crying hard all over again. John heard the steady litany of 'I love you' and 'I'm so sorry' pouring out of her. He motioned at Shaw to give them a moment of privacy and she nodded as she stood up. They huddled together as Nigel held his wife as she sobbed in his neck and was trying to soothe her.

"She's devastated," Shaw muttered.

John nodded in agreement, "Yea, but she'll get through it. She's got Nigel; someone that genuinely loves her and doesn't want to control her," he murmured.

Shaw and John watched as Donnelly exited and walked over to them, glancing at the Wixoms himself. "Is she going to be okay?" Donnelly asked in concern.

"I think so. Selma is stronger than she looks. But it will take time for her to come to terms with the fact that her father hired someone to kill the man she loves," John admitted. "I actually need to call my friend, Harold, and give him the heads up that the man he considered a longtime friend tried to kill Nigel who happens to be Selma's husband, who he adores."

"Wait, Harold, the billionaire, knows Richard and Nigel?" Shaw demanded. "Oh come on, you're the reason we got stuck on this case isn't it?"

John glared at her, but thankfully the conversation was dropped as Nigel led Selma over to them. Nigel kept a firm arm around Selma's hips and she looked a little better since learning what her father did. It seemed Nigel's reassurance that he still loved her had helped.

Nigel held out a hand to shake first John, then Shaw, and finally Donnelly. "I want to thank you three for saving my life and for protecting me and my wife from any possible threat," he said sincerely.

Selma slid from her husband's embrace and walked up to Shaw first and smiled. "I'm so happy to finally know the real you Sam," she whispered before hugging her. "Thank you for protecting him."

"Yea, sure," Shaw agreed awkwardly, not used to gratitude like this. Shaw hugged her before letting her go.

Selma hugged John next and he bent down so she could wrap her arms around his neck. "I'm so sorry, John."

"What for?" he whispered in her ear.

"For thinking bad thoughts about you and Joss for a little while because I thought you were cheating on Sam. When in reality you were just friends and partners, here to protect my husband."

He chuckled as he rubbed her back. "You didn't know and it's okay," he promised as he pulled back.

"Thank you for saving Nigel."

"You don't need to thank us," John countered.

Selma smiled. "Yes I do," she argued before moving onto Donnelly and hugged him much the same as she hugged Shaw and John. After a few minutes of chatting with Donnelly, Selma slid her arms around Nigel's midsection and addressed all three of them. "I'm not letting my father steal my honeymoon from me; so Nigel and I are staying for the last couple days of the cruise. How about dinner tonight?—our treat." Selma suggested.

John and Shaw looked at each other and then at the Wixoms. "Well we aren't sure, we need to call and check in with our superior to see if we are to report back immediately," John explained.

"Actually that's something I wanted to speak to you guys about," Donnelly admitted, which caught Shaw and John's attention. "Control is royally pissed that she got duped, so much so that she isn't making us hop on a plane right this second and come back to D.C.," he murmured.

"Wait, she's giving us the remaining of the cruise off?" Shaw asked in surprise. Control never gave them a real vacation. "She must be embarrassed as fuck that she got duped!"

Donnelly nodded. "And with the local authorities detaining Zenner right now until Control can formally request another extradition and send more U.S. Marshals out; our mission is complete."

Selma smiled shyly. "So that means we can do dinner then?"

John looked at the Wixoms. "How about tomorrow night?—I have somewhere I want to be tonight." he admitted. He could have dinner with Joss and Maddie and not have to pretend that he was just a friend.

Nigel smiled, "With your wife and daughter?"

"Wife?" Donnelly repeated.

Selma's eyes widened with realization. "Joss is your wife and Maddie is your daughter! Oh my god…her eyes! I should have known then that little girl has the most beautiful eyes. Now it makes sense that scorching kiss I saw between you and Joss, you're in love," Selma said and John fidgeted as he saw the sappy smile on Selma's face.

Shaw laughed at Reese's look before she saved face for him. "Go, explore the town of Hell before we leave port; don't let Gordon take that from you guys. You can focus on that dick when you get back to New York."

Selma nodded. "Yes. I'm not letting him steal my honeymoon from me. We wanted to go visit that town called Hell and damn it we're going to do just that," Selma said. Shaw smirked. Good, she didn't like how hurt Selma seemed before; now she was fully on anger at the moment. Nigel and Selma waved at them before turning and walking away hand in hand.

They watched them leave. "They look a lot less tense don't they?" Donnelly murmured.

"Yea," John agreed.

Donnelly looked at Reese. "Wife?"

"Nigel thought Joss is my wife because Maddie is clearly my daughter," John explained.

Shaw piped up, "So what the hell do we do now?"

John smiled. "We get to have three days of real vacation before we head back to D.C. to write our report and sit in a debriefing with Ma'am," he murmured.

Donnelly grinned. "I'm going to head back to my cabin and sit on my ass. Now that the cruise personnel know that I'm a FBI agent and the mission is complete I get to relax for the next three days," he said happily, although he felt bad for Demetrius and Flo since they now had to pick up more of the work. Donnelly turned to walk merrily to head back to the cruise ship.

Shaw looked at Reese as they began walking the way towards the ship themselves. "No more pretending to be married?—that means I can go on the prowl for a sex partner. Thank god, because you were cramping my style, Reese," she said with a snicker.

"And you think having a pretend wife wasn't getting in the way for me and Joss?!" he demanded. It wasn't exactly easy for him either. "And no more room sharing." he said thankfully. Because he didn't think he could sleep on that godforsaken couch anymore.

Shaw smirked. "Yea, you'll be shacking it up with Carter; so that means no more snoring." she muttered.

"Me…snoring, I should have recorded you!" he complained.

They fell into silence as they walked together until they boarded the ship. Shaw hurried for the Foyer Bar while he walked for the elevator. He couldn't wait to tell Joss the good news. But maybe Shaw and he were going to be forced to share the stateroom for the remainder of the cruise. He couldn't just invite himself to stay with Joss. He'd worry about that tonight. Right now he just wanted to go see Joss and Maddie-end of story.

John rode up to Joss's deck floor and the moment the elevator doors opened he hurried out of the elevator and immediately went to her suite number, knowing exactly where it was since it was next door to the Wixoms. He knocked hard on the door.

He waited only a few moments before the door opened and Joss smiled in surprise.

"John what a pleasant—" was all she managed because he cut off the rest as he reached in, grabbed her face and kissed her.


AN: For the most part the case is closed. A little more details will be sprinkled in as to what was the motive and such. But now let the loving commence ;D Next chapter:

Ch 20: No Sleep Tonight

Yep I'm dusting off all my songs. I was going to choose I Want Your Sex by George Michael but I thought it was a little too obvious then LOL. I think everyone is ready for the next chapter especially poor John and Joss. Thanks for reading!