Flint tapped his foot against the desert sand, and tried to refrain from checking his watch yet again. Even though he knew that standing alongside the tarmac was not going to make Falcon's team land any sooner, he felt better waiting outside as opposed to pacing in his office.

He had been packed and ready to go since earlier that day, but he still needed to wait until Falcon returned so he could be cleared to leave. The last four weeks had been spent chasing after one false lead after another. He had only been granted one brief 36 hour leave period during that time that had unfortunately occurred in the middle of the week.

Alison hadn't been able to take the day off, so they only had one evening together. He had stayed with Marissa during the day, and he had enjoyed the one-on-one time with his little girl, including lunch with Alison at the Pentagon but the time had gone by too quickly.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Tomahawk landed. Duke joined his side as Falcon exited and walked over to them. "Cross Orbac off the list. No storefront, no warehouse, and no secret Cobra base that we found. And once again the supposed CEO had no idea Orbac even existed."

"Okay. I still want a report, but take your time.," Duke said. "Anvil's already on his way to DC, so we'll wait for Monday for the debriefing."

Flint also took that as his cue to leave. "Good job, Falcon. I'm going to grab my things and get on the road too."

"Let me walk with you," Duke said. "So that should be the end of the Cobra anagrams, unless Alison has uncovered anymore."

"Not that I know of. But after this exercise, I agree with her that someone went to a lot of trouble sending us on wild goose chases."

Duke sighed. "And the Jugglers were more than happy to give us guns and the map."

They reached Flint's room. He grabbed his bag and Class A. The upcoming weekend he and Alison, along with Hawk, Stalker, Beachhead and several members of the Pentagon had been invited to the White House for a formal past and present military appreciation dinner.

Flint was excited for the event. Not only because it would give him a chance to see the inside of the White House first hand, but it would be the first date night he had with Alison since Marissa had been born. He gave his uniform one last look-over to make sure everything is in place.

"Doublechecking the monkey suit?" Duke asked.

"Yes, I don't want to look like an idiot in front of the others," Flint admitted.

Duke smiled. "Don't worry, once you open your mouth you'll take care of that."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Flint said with a laugh. "I'm sorry you won't be joining us."

Duke shrugged. "I'm not. You know I was never a fan of these formal events. Besides, with you and Anvil attending, someone needs to stay behind to keep the real work going."

Flint reached over to shake Duke's hand. "Thanks for the holding down the fort. Keep me posted on any developments."

"Unless something shocking happens, this time I'm going to leave you alone. Give my best to Alison, and enjoy your weekend."

Flint headed out to the tarmac fully intending to do that.

Alison walked into the nursery once she was done with her shower. Marissa's afternoon nap had gone on longer than usual and she wanted to check on her. Marissa had woken that morning with what sounded like a budding cold, and it looked like it hadn't gotten any better. Alison picked her up and brought her to the rocking chair. Nursing the baby proved difficult as her stuffed up nose made it hard for her to eat and breathe at the same time.

Flint stuck his head in. "I hate to rush you, but you probably should finish getting ready."

Alison nodded as she looked down at Marissa sleeping in her arms. She pushed the hair out of her daughter's eyes and she could feel how warm her forehead was. "She has a fever," she said to Flint.

He frowned as he walked in. "What do you want to do?"

She looked down at Marissa again. "I can't leave her. I know Mrs. Matthews could probably handle this, but I don't want to make her. Plus, I wouldn't be able to have a good time knowing she's not feeling good."

"Okay," Flint said as he kissed her. "I'll call Anvil. What do you want to do instead? We can order something for dinner."

"Dash, there's no reason why you can't go. We both don't need to sit here."

Flint hesitated. Alison figured he was contemplating his options. She knew that he had been looking forward to this affair as much as she had been. But while she was disappointed that she was missing her chance to dress up and potentially meet the president, she meant what she said. "Go ahead. This dinner is the whole reason why you flew here this weekend."

"Only because it meant spending the evening with you. I don't want to go by myself."

"You'll be with Hawk, Anvil, Beach and Stalker. Plus numerous celebrities and Big Wigs. You probably won't even miss me."

"Now that's not true. I was really looking forward to seeing you in that dress."

Alison was disappointed about that as well. It was a great dress she had picked out, and she had been thrilled that she had actually fit into it. "We'll just have to think of another occasion when I can wear it. Now go. And take notes. I want to know who shows up, and all of the President's best jokes."

Flint acquiesced. She had some second thoughts as she watched him dress, but that all went away as Marissa let out a pitiful cry as he was getting ready to leave. Flint asked her one final time if she was sure as he watched her try to console the cranky infant. She said she was, and he left a short time later.

She gave Marissa a warm bath, and some Tylenol which helped soothe her. Once she was settled, Alison made a sandwich and parked herself on the couch. She turned the channel to one of the twenty- four-hour news stations that had a pseudo red carpet style pre-White House dinner coverage. As she watched the interviews with the various high-ranking brass and celebrities, she imagined what it must be like to be there. She couldn't wait for the report from Flint later that night.

No sooner did she have the thought, that she caught a glimpse of him in the background. She beamed with pride until she realized that he was in deep conversation with a buxom brunette. A very buxom brunette who was laughing and hanging on his every word. The jealousy attack hit her fast and hard. "So that's why he didn't put up much of a fight," she mumbled to herself.

She was surprised at her reaction, and for the first time she could understand Flint's jealous fits. It wasn't easy being in a vulnerable position watching the person you loved fall under another's charms.

But then she looked down at her ratty, spit-up stained pajamas and she realized she didn't actually blame him. She had spent the last three months totally devoted to the care of Marissa, that she wouldn't be surprised if he was feeling neglected. Not that that would excuse any extramarital behavior, but as she rewound the clip she could see that wasn't the case. She knew her husband well enough to recognize his signs of lust and desire, and he was showing none of those.

Plus, she was secure enough in their marriage to know how much he loved her. So while Marissa was still, rightfully so, her top priority, she knew she should devote some of her time and energy showing her husband how much she loved him at well. With that thought, she decided that when he returned from this evening's festivities would be a good place to start.

"So, Flint, will you be joining us?" Stalker asked as he wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders. The dinner had ended and the Joes and their significant others were discussing getting a late night drink at a local bar.

The offer was tempting, as the night had been a lot of fun and Flint didn't want to see it end. But a bigger part of him wanted to go home to see Alison and Marissa. "Thanks, Lonzo, but I'll pass. I want to make sure Marissa's okay."

"I understand. It's hard escaping the ball and chain," Lonzo said with a laugh as his wife swatted him.

Flint said goodbye to the group, and then got his car from the valet service. During the drive home, he replayed the dinner in his thoughts. It had been a really fun night, but it would have been better if Alison had shared in the evening with him. However, he had a head full of thoughts and stories that he wanted to tell her.

He pulled up to their house and quietly entered. He figured she would be asleep already, and he was glad that he didn't have to fly back until late Sunday night, so he would have time to catch up with her. However, she surprised him as he tiptoed into the bedroom. "How was it?" she asked.

"I wish you could have been there. It was a lot of fun," he answered. He began to strip out of his clothes, but paused as he took a sniff of the room. "It smells good in here."

"I decided to treat myself to a bubble bath."

"Nice. So I guess Marissa is feeling better?"

"She's okay. I think she'll be fine in a day or two."

Flint climbed into bed and was very pleasantly surprised to find out that not only did the room smell good, but she did as well. And she was completely naked.

"I've been waiting for you to come home," she said huskily.

He responded immediately. She took control of the situation, and he let her. She apparently knew what she wanted, and he was more than happy to give it to her. Afterwards, he lay there, grinning like a loon, and asked. "I know I'm probably stupid for asking, but I need to know for the future – what brought this on?"

"I was sitting here by myself, when suddenly I realized I desperately wanted you."

Flint kissed her. "Were you watching a movie starring one of the young hot and upcoming actors?"

Alison laughed. "No. What I was actually watching was coverage of the pre-dinner festivities. When I saw my very handsome husband in very deep conversation with a very beautiful and well-endowed brunette. I decided I might have been overdue in showing my love for you."

"So wait, what you're saying is that you were jealous? I wish I could remember the woman who caused this."

"Were there several women that had caught your attention tonight?"

"No. That's the thing, I don't remember any. The only beautiful brunette that had my attention tonight was the one sitting in our house taking care of our daughter."

She leaned over and gave him a long kiss. "Good answer."

He kissed her in return. "It's the truth. And while I will never turn down another session like this, you know you don't have to do this to prove your love to me, right? And you do know how much I love you too?"

"I do. But I needed this for myself as well. I realized I had been so wrapped up in Marissa, that I forgot about you and me."

"So this was a good one?"

"This was a great one."

The next morning after breakfast, Alison put Marissa down on the floor on one of her colorful blankets for her daily tummy time exercise. She had forgone the routine the previous morning because of Marissa's cold but her symptoms seemed to have abated. Alison took a seat on the couch and when Flint joined her she asked, "Hey, can I talk to you about something?"

"You want to start trying for baby number two?"

"No!" Alison blurted out, causing Flint's enthusiasm to quickly fade. "It's way too early. I'd like Marissa weaned, sleeping through the night and possible potty trained before we bring a second one into the world."

"Really? Potty trained? You want to wait that long?"

"The exact timeline is negotiable. Which will talk about later. But what I wanted to ask you is do you think your parents might be able to take Marissa for about a week at the beginning of next month?"

"I think they'd love that. Why?"

"Richard wants me to attend a weeklong Intelligence training class at Fort Huachuca. I'd love to go, as it would be good to get a refresher course. Obviously, I can't bring Marissa, so I need someone to watch her."

Flint stared at her for a moment. "Al, I love that you want to keep my parents involved with Marissa, but I have to admit I'm a little hurt that you thought of them before me."

"Of course I thought of you, but I didn't think you could do it with your schedule."

Flint thought for a few moments and nodded. "I'm sure I can rearrange the mission plan to make it work. Tell me the exact dates and let me see what I can do."

"Dash, it's more than postponing a mission. You would have to take care of her full time. And I don't mean by sticking her in the corner of your office."

Flint shot her an annoyed look. "I wouldn't do that. When I have to be in HQ I can talk to some of the guys' wives to see if they'll watch her. Quick Kick did say Amber's been on a baby kick. I know I haven't been around a whole lot, but I am fully aware of what it means to take care of her."

Alison doubted the veracity of his statement, however she kept quiet. She figured he was going to be in for a rude awakening once he had to take care of Marissa by himself. But she was starting to think it was going to be good for him. "Okay. It would be easier on me since Fort Huachuca is a couple of hours away from HQ. It's too far to commute, but we could fly to Phoenix the weekend before and leave the weekend after. Let me know as soon as you can so I can make our travel arrangements."

"It'll be the first thing I work on once I get back. And if I can't make it happen, I'll ask my parents. Either way, you should go ahead and plan on going to the class. I think it'll be good for you to go. Maybe you'll uncover a way to find the ghosts we've been chasing."

Alison nodded. "That is a major reason why Richard is pushing for this."

Marissa, who had been content in her prone position let out an angry squawk. Flint rose to get her, but Alison held him back. "No, watch what she does." Marissa continued to express her displeasure until she braced her arms in front of her and lifted her head and chest. Pleased with herself, she smiled at her parents.

Flint clapped and then got down on the floor next to his daughter. He kissed the top of her head. "Who is the strongest and smartest three-month-old out there? My baby girl!"

Alison laughed. But she had to admit, Flint was correct.