She curled into his embrace and sighed softly, "Do I really have to?"
"You really have to. I made coffee."
"Okay."
He kissed her tenderly on her forehead and carried her into the kitchen, settling her into a chair at the table. "Here," he murmured in amusement, putting a cup of coffee in her hands.
She blinked sleepily at him, and smiled. "Sorry. I'll be awake in a minute."
"Alright. I'll see you later."
Colby was still laughing when he stepped out the door, which made Don raise an eyebrow.
"Hannah just has a tough time getting up in the mornings," he explained.
"Eleanor's been up since dawn," Don said dryly. "She had tea and breakfast on the table before I even got out of the shower. She'd also put in several hours of work so she could spend the day with Hannah."
Colby grinned. Despite the wry tone, he could tell that Don was enjoying her companionship.
----
"Eleanor! Eleanor!"
She turned around to see Zoe waving excitedly at her.
Hannah smiled at Eleanor's astonishment. Zoe looked as excited as though she'd found a long lost friend, which was her cover. Hannah nudged Eleanor forward slightly.
"My dear Zoe! Fancy running into you here!" Eleanor managed to inject some enthusiasm into her voice.
Zoe's eyes laughed into Hannah's dancing ones. "It's been ages, Eleanor! What have you been up to? And who's this? Hello! I'm Zoe Reynolds."
"Hannah Evans. I'm visiting from the US."
"Oh! I remember Eleanor talking about you! You met when she was over there for a year!" Zoe exclaimed. "This is Danny Hunter, a very good friend of mine. We're both on holiday and came up to London for the shopping."
"Mind if we join you?" Hannah asked softly.
"That would be lovely! Where were you planning on shopping?"
"I wouldn't mind going through Harrod's for a bit, but I'd love to shop along Oxford Street for a bit, and perhaps make it over to Petticoat Lane as well." Hannah was starting to get excited about the day, although Eleanor was still looking a little doubtful.
"Were you shopping for something in particular?" Danny asked.
Zoe laughed, "Danny doesn't believe in wandering around aimlessly. He likes to have a plan, even for shopping."
Hannah smiled at the good looking young man. "I would really like to get a leather jacket for my boyfriend. And I need to stop at a jewelry supply place today."
"Jewelry supply place?" Zoe was curious now. "Do you make jewelry? Did you make your necklace?"
"Yes, she did," Eleanor decided to get into the spirit of things. "Hannah's very talented with the jewelry."
"Why that's just brilliant!" Zoe's eyes gleamed in real excitement now. Hannah was wearing a lovely piece now, but Zoe had fallen in love with the piece Hannah had worn to the Embassy party. "Perhaps you'll have time to make me a piece too?"
Hannah grinned, "I always have time to make jewelry."
"There's a place in Covent Garden," Danny said. "Why don't we go to Petticoat Lane after Harrod's, get the leather jacket, then head to Covent Garden for your supplies. We can go to Oxford Street after that if we're still able to walk." He rolled his eyes at Zoe when she laughed and punched him on his arm.
----
Braden stopped by the classroom after the class let out for the day. He held copies of Hannah's sketches in his hand.
"Any luck with those?" Don asked when he saw the folder that was also in Braden's hand.
"Some. Ali Sharef and Mahmet Hassan. MI-5 thinks they're part of an Al-Qaeda sleeper cell that's recently been activated. Carter isn't sure why they've focused on Eleanor Hill in particular, but he's putting additional officers at your disposal."
Colby's eyes hardened at the news. "What about the board members and upper management of those two companies? Any movement there?"
Braden shook his head, "No one's following them. It might have been a red herring."
"You think that they might have been targeting Eleanor from the beginning?" Don asked sharply. He hissed a frustrated breath when Braden shrugged.
"What are the ladies' plans for this week, do you know?" Braden asked, "I'll help you coordinate with MI-5."
"Hannah's meeting some of the Embassy wives here tomorrow. They're going to be talking about jewelry. I think Eleanor was planning on introducing her to some of her friends as well."
"More jewelry?" Don asked, relaxing enough to be amused.
Colby nodded, "Yeah, I think so. I think Hannah was planning on spending the rest of the week working on those commissions." He looked candidly at the other two men, "It's more expensive in London than we had anticipated."
Braden nodded in understanding. "What about Eleanor? Do you know what her plans are while Hannah's working on the commissions?"
"She can work from anywhere. I think she was planning on working from my flat," Don replied softly.
"That's simple enough," Braden sounded relieved, "I was afraid they were going to traipse all over England this week."
Don laughed, "I think we got our exercise this weekend."
Colby choked with laughter at Don's tongue-in-cheek response.
----
Colby's eyes widened in surprise when he got to the flat, and Don grinned in anticipation. The fragrance of Hannah's lasagna was unmistakeable.
"What's the occasion?" Don asked. He raised his eyebrows a little when Colby shrugged, sure that the younger man was embarrassed about something.
Eleanor came out of Don's flat carrying a salad. She laughed to see them just standing there. "Well, come on! What are you waiting for? An engraved invitation?"
"Did you have a good day?" Colby murmured as Hannah smiled and slid into his arms.
"Yes, we did. We found a fabulous jewelry supply place. Their prices were very reasonable. I should be able to make a decent profit from the commissions this week." She had been relieved to find a reasonable supply place. Hannah had been worried about their finances since Colby's reaction to the ticket prices at the Tower of London.
Colby hugged her gently. "It'll all work out."
"When do we eat?" Don asked, looking surprised when Eleanor elbowed him. "What?"
"They're having a private moment!"
"That's what I'm trying to prevent," he retorted.
Hannah giggled, "The lasagna's ready. Will you open the wine, Colby?"
Over dinner, Don told the women about the two men who were following them. Eleanor was not encouraged that additional officers were assigned for their protection, although it eased her mind somewhat that Zoe and Danny would be with them again.
"If it makes you feel better, maybe we could spend the next few days at the Embassy," Hannah murmured. "Maybe someone could spare us an office or something."
"We'll find out if that's possible," Don said, wishing he'd thought of that.
As Don and Colby discussed the possibility, Eleanor quietly cleared the table. Then Hannah brought out a cake lit with candles. "Happy Birthday, Colby," she said softly, eyes bright with love.
"Aww, Hannah," Colby was torn between happiness because Hannah remembered it, and embarrassment because Eleanor and Don were there.
"Well, blow out the candles and make a wish!" Don exclaimed. "I want some cake!" He was laughing at the younger agent's obvious discomfort.
Hannah handed Colby his present, her eyes soft with love and happiness at the expression on his face when he pulled out the buttery soft leather jacket.
"Oh, God, Hannah! This is fantastic!" The catch in his voice betrayed how touched he was by the gift. He pulled Hannah close for a hug and a kiss.
Eleanor smiled as she leaned against Don. She had been amused to find out why Hannah was so determined to get Colby a leather jacket, but even after shopping with Hannah the entire day, Eleanor hadn't known what to get for him. She'd ended up just getting him a wallet which he seemed to appreciate.
"Come on, I'll do the dishes. That can be your birthday present." Don grinned at the look on Colby's face. "And I'll let you keep your job."
"Who else is going to keep Megan and David in line for you?" Colby retorted.
Don laughed in delight, happy that things seemed to be taking a turn for the better for his friend.