A/N: I hope everyone had a good Fourth of July! Thanks for you patience with this story the last few weeks. June was a busy month for me, and I've had a hard time getting these last few scenes to come together. But I hope to have more frequent updates from now on.

Alison walked into the bathroom, and closed the door behind her. She didn't need to use the facility, but she wanted to escape the activity in her living room. She shook her head at the irony. Earlier in the day, she was bemoaning the fact that she was all alone, and now she couldn't wait for everyone to leave.

Hawk and a trio of MPs had met her when the limo had returned to her home. After confirming that she was unharmed, Hawk took the two men into custody for questioning. Explaining that he wanted to avoid bringing in the local authorities, Hawk asked Alison if they could use her house as the interrogation room. Alison had assumed that what Hawk actually wanted was to avoid involving the Jugglers, but he couldn't say that in front of the MPs. She agreed to the request and led everyone inside.

Hawk had ordered his men to stand guard, while he spoke to Alison in the bedroom. She spent the next hour talking about the encounter with Hawk. He took notes and asked many questions, so at the end of the conversation, Alison was confident that she had conveyed every last detail.

Once they were done, Hawk told her to stay in the bedroom while he spoke to Destro's men, but she refused. She knew they weren't going to hurt her and she wanted to be there witness the interrogation. Within minutes it became clear that what Destro said about them had been the truth. They both were eager to talk, so they explained how they were former members of the Iron Grenadiers.

Hawk looked towards Alison, who shook her head no to indicate she hadn't heard of that term before. "What are the Iron Grenadiers?" he asked.

"Laird McClellan's personal army," the 'bad cop' replied proudly.

"But we had nothing to do with Cobra or any of their activities," the second man added quickly. "We provided mostly transportation services and protection detail. And honestly, we weren't very high up in the organization."

Alison couldn't help rolling her eyes. She could see that Bad Cop was annoyed with his partner so he continued. "It was the Laird's way of protecting his own interests since he didn't trust any of the other members of Cobra. Once Cobra disbanded, he also disbanded the Iron Grenadiers. He kept some of the guys around to continue to offer protection."

"But we didn't make the cut," Good Cop added.

"So how is it that you ended up being picked for this outing?" Alison asked.

Bad Cop shrugged. "We've received a call or two from his assistant to do an odd job here and there."

"Once again, nothing illegal." Good Cop was openly sweating as he kept staring at the MPs.

"I'm pretty sure kidnapping is illegal," Hawk pointed out.

"We didn't kidnap nobody!" Good Cop yelled out. "We made it quite clear to her that we were only escorting her to the meeting. She voluntarily got in our car."

Hawk looked at Alison who nodded. "He's right that I wasn't forced. But since I wasn't given a choice, I wouldn't exactly call it voluntary either."

Hawk and Alison continued to quiz the two men about Destro's whereabouts and dealings, but they learned nothing new. Both men claimed that since leaving the Iron Grenadiers they hadn't had direct contact with Destro until that afternoon. Once again, a nameless assistant had worked out the details of their assignment. All they had been told was Alison's home address, and the location of the small airfield they had taken her to.

After the third round of repeat questions, Hawk asked to speak to Alison alone in her bedroom again. "What do you think?" he asked after she closed the door behind him.

"I know that it's likely they are very good liars, or were coached on what to say, but I believe them. Just like I believed Destro's assertion that he's cut all ties to Cobra."

"I believe that as well. However, I don't think he's completely come over to the side of good. But I think you're right. Those two yahoos in there are not going to help us find him." Hawk remained quiet as he paced in front of the bed. Alison had seen the move enough time to know he was deep in thought contemplating his next move.

When he stopped, Hawk turned to her. "Unless you have any more questions, I'm going to turn those two over to the local authorities. They're no use to us, but I want to make sure they have the boy scout records they've been claiming they have. Then I'm going to check with the airstrip. I'm sure Destro covered his tracks, but I want to be thorough. I'm also going to assign the MPs to keep watch over you for at least the next forty-eight hours."

Alison initially balked at the idea, but she quickly determined that she liked the added protection. As Hawk made his phone calls, she excused herself to use the bathroom. She looked into the mirror and splashed water on to her face. She still had the feeling that what she had experienced that afternoon hadn't been real, which would explain her current calm mindset. She thought back to the time a couple of years in the past when she had first encountered Castle Destro, and the idea of a shared ancestry with the arms dealer.

She had been horrified at the thought. But then she had spent a few days researching her past, and as she had told Destro, had found no direct link. To find out that she had been wrong, should have once again upset her, but she seemed to be taking the revelation in stride. Maybe because her biggest fear at the time was having a link to Cobra would have threatened her spot on the Joe team. That was obviously no longer a concern. Or maybe it was because she now had a secure present and future, that she no longer worried about the sins of the past.

A few minutes later the doorbell rang, indicating the arrival of the local police. She reentered the living room, made her statement, and within a few minutes they left with the Iron Grenadiers.

After making sure a final time that she was okay, Hawk left shortly thereafter with the MPs. Alison watched from the window as two of the MPs took up positions in front of the house. She then took a heavy seat on the couch. As she once again replied the day in her head, she realized that she had never heard from Flint. That struck her as extremely unusual, so she rose to grab her phone. However he beat her to it, as it rang moments later.

"Thank God," Flint said after she answered. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Alison answered. Even though she could hear the worry and relief in his voice, she decided to tease him for the late call. "I was starting to think you didn't care."

"I'm sorry about that. I couldn't call you while I was flying."

"Flying?" Alison asked dumbly. "Where did you go?"

"Andrews."

"You flew here?"

"Once I figured out that Destro had you, and we lost track of your signal, I couldn't just sit at HQ."

"I'm surprised Anvil let you go."

"I didn't exactly ask permission."

Alison smiled. That was a typical Flint reaction, and she loved him for it. "Do you need me to pick you up?"

"No, I don't want you going anywhere. I'm calling a cab, so I should be there shortly. In the meantime you can tell me what the hell happened this afternoon."

Even though Alison had told the story a number of times already, she didn't mind recounting the ordeal for Flint. Once she was done she said, "So I hope you don't mind that I signed away our daughter's inheritance."

"Not at all. I agree with you that nothing good can come from having Destro in our lives." Flint paused. "I'm pulling up in front of the house now."

"Okay. You're probably going to need to check in with my new security detail."

He hung up the phone. Alison heard a car door slam shut and she met Flint at the front door. She grinned when she saw him and threw herself into his arms. Once he engulfed her in a hug she relaxed against him and gave into the emotions she had been holding back. Flint held her tightly until she regained composure.

Alison pulled back and wiped at her tears. "I'm sorry. I hate to admit it, but when Destro's men approached me I was pretty scared, and didn't know what to do. Even though they said they weren't going to hurt me, I didn't totally believe them until I was dropped back off here."

"It scared me too. I had so many different nightmare scenarios run through my head." Flint shook his head. "But it's over. The two of you are okay, and I'm here now."

"For how long?"

Flint grimaced. "To be honest, I don't know. I've been avoiding checking in with HQ."

Alison smiled and grabbed his hand. "How about you avoid that a little longer, while we spend some time catching up?"

An hour later the two lay together in their bed. Their conversation topics dwindled, so Flint thought it was time to bite the bullet and check in with HQ. However, he took the cowardly way and instead of calling Anvil, he called Duke.

"Flint, nice of you to check in. How's Alison?"

Flint gave her a squeeze. "She's doing okay. It was quite the scare, though."

"I'm sure it was." Duke paused. Flint mentally prepared himself for the command to come back to HQ that he knew was coming. But then Duke surprised him. "You ran out of here so fast, you never signed your twenty-four hour leave pass."

"My what?" Flint asked dumbly.

Duke laughed. "I guess you were expecting more of a reprimand?"

"To be honest, I was."

"Well, you're lucky that the general was in a good mood and apparently has a soft spot for men and their idiotic behavior when their wives are in trouble."

Flint looked at Alison. While he didn't regret his decision, he still felt the need to defend it. "What did you expect me to do? I couldn't," he began but Duke cut him off.

"Save the explanation. I'm used to your questionable rash decisions. Although in this case, I admit I would have done the same thing."

"Thanks, Duke."

"Don't thank me. Thank Anvil at OC bright and early Monday morning."

"I will be there."

Once he hung up, Alison grinned at him. "I'm going to guess you don't have to go back right now?"

Flint kissed the top of her head. "Nope. I can stay until tomorrow night."

"Wow. I guess you have restored your glory boy status?"

Alison's voice betrayed the hurt and betrayal she apparently still felt. Flint wrapped his arm around her. "No, Falcon has taken over that title. Anvil has been pretty fair and generous with granting leave, especially when family is involved. He gave Dusty a couple of weeks off to be with his mother during her latest health crisis, and Leatherneck has taken some time too, since his wife is pregnant again."

"Is that number three for them?"

"Three and four. Twin girls to join the two he already has. Wetsuit feels so bad for him, that he's actually laid off on his favorite jarhead jokes."

Alison laughed and snuggled closer to him. Flint laid his hand on her protruding stomach. "Can you imagine two in there?"

She shook her head. "No. It seems so crowded already."

They laid together quietly for a few moments, until Alison sat up and climbed out of bed. "I'm sorry, I can't lay like that for too long." As she redressed she asked, "Since Bradshaw is now a kind and benevolent leader, does that mean you'll have a chance to lead the Joe team here during the exercise?"

Flint stood up as well. "He's still working out the details. I don't think I'm going to be leading the main team, but I will be involved in some form or another." His answer was the truth, but the part he was leaving out was that when he went to Anvil to ask to lead the Joe team's main contingent, his request was shot down. Anvil said that because of the blemish on his record due to his affair with Alison, and his current issues with General Cavanaugh, he wasn't the best choice to be the public face of the Joe team. Flint knew those details would upset Alison, so he kept quiet.

"So who will be leading the main team?"

"Falcon. I wasn't kidding about his rise in status. It seems that eliminating one Cobra leader, and then apprehending another that is causing havoc around the country eliminates many of one's past sins."

Alison snorted. "I guess then I should have made more of an effort to take down Destro this afternoon. I would have liked to have been granted a blank slate."

Even though she tried to make the comment as flippant as possible, Flint knew that she meant what she said. He walked over to her and grabbed her hands. "You made the right call today. Trying to go up against Destro while unarmed in your condition, would have only led to disaster."

Alison rubbed at her stomach. "I know that. I really do. But it goes against all of my training of the last few years, so I can't help feeling disappointed in myself. But look at me. I can barely take down Destro's infant son."

Flint pulled her close. "It's only for a few more weeks. And speaking of the birth, I talked to both Duke and General Bradshaw, and both are on board with my plan. Regardless of where I end up for this exercise, I have been granted leave for the birth and the first couple of weeks after. So barring a major war breaking out with Cobra I will be here for you."

Alison settled against him. "I am glad to hear that." She pulled away. "So do you want to see the family tree Destro made for me?"