When he woke up the next morning, Rossi immediately realized he wasn't alone in his king-sized bed. Carefully rolling over, he realized that Christine, still wrapped up in her bathrobe, was asleep on the far side of the bed. Studying her as she lay there, he realized how long it had been since he had seen her looking so calm and relaxed.
Quietly he got up and made his way to his bathroom. After completing his morning routine, he came out to find Christine waking up and stretching.
"Good morning, Sunshine," he greeted her. "Sleep well?"
"Sorry about this," she apologized to him as she rubbed her eyes. "I must have fallen asleep. What about you? Did you get some sleep?"
"After being woken up by a lovely lady in the middle of the night, things got much better," Rossi teased her.
"Don't get up," he interrupted her movements. "Just climb under the covers. After last night, you deserve breakfast in bed."
"As lovely as that sounds," Christine told him seriously. "I probably should get out of here before Sonia comes in for the day. Right now, she has a fairly good opinion of me and I'd like to keep it that way."
"You're worried about her opinion of you?" Rossi questioned.
"You should be, too," Christine pointed out. "She is related to you, isn't she?"
"She's my mother's cousin's daughter," Rossi explained.
"In other words, anything she says will travel through the family grapevine until it reaches - ?" Christine hesitated and looked at him.
"Are you sure you're not Italian?" Rossi was amused by her analysis. Then, he became serious. "You're probably right," he admitted. "Why don't you get up and get dressed, and I'll see you downstairs?"
After rushing through her morning routine, Christine hurried down the stairs and walked into the kitchen to the smell of Rossi making French toast.
"OMG!" she exclaimed. "You didn't have to go to all this trouble!"
"I wanted to," he replied. "Also, I want to take you out to dinner tonight. You can get dressed up and we can go someplace fancy."
"Oh, Dave," Christine smiled at him. "I would like that, really I would, but I don't have anything to wear – Honest!"
Rossi looked at her. "Every woman I have ever known has said that," he declared. "And, then, she shows up looking fabulous."
"Dave," Christine looked embarrassed. "I didn't have much to begin with because I didn't need it living at The Yoga Center. And, now, what little I did have, doesn't fit me properly, especially the tops. I have ordered some separates on-line, but I have no idea when they will get here. Until then – "
She paused and thought for a moment. "Could you maybe take me shopping instead?" she suggested. "If we go right away when you come home, there shouldn't be many people in the stores. You know I can't deal with crowds."
Rossi smiled at her. "Your tops?" he questioned. "It would appear that you, young lady, are what my mother would call 'Blossoming'. I believe it is to be expected."
"You know," Christine gave him a steely look. "I have never liked that expression. Not when I was a pre-pubescent girl, and definitely not now!"
"I stand forewarned, and I will pass that on," was his assurance. "Now, why don't you go shopping during the day today? Take my other car. It's just sitting in the garage."
Christine sighed. "Dave, I don't have a driver's license," she confessed. "That's why I haven't been going anywhere since I got here."
"What?" he questioned.
"My driver's license, my school ID, my work ID, my social security card – they were all in my purse in my car when I was abducted," Christine explained. "I have nothing!"
"But," he began again. "You drove to the hotel in Quantico. And, how do you –" he trailed off, baffled.
"I drove the vehicle belonging to The Yoga Center without a license," she admitted. "With great care and with one eye on the rear view mirror. I was terrified I would be stopped by the police and they would discover I have no identification. They could have arrested me as a possible terrorist!"
"Money? Cash?" Rossi was still trying to imagine.
"I have a debit card that my bank loads my 'allowance' onto once a month," Christine explained. "As long as I buy things on-line, or only get limited amounts of cash from ATMs, there isn't any problem. I did order a replacement social security card on-line last week, but who knows when that will arrive?"
"I had copies of my driver's license and social security card in my file cabinet, along with my passport," she continued. "But, like everything else, that's probably disappeared, too."
"No, it hasn't!" Rossi declared. "I don't know why I haven't thought to tell you, but your stuff is all here, in the basement."
"Here? All my stuff?"
"Yes. When your landlord contacted the FBI about whether he could rent your apartment, I contacted your family. Your brother and his wife came and decided they didn't want to do anything. So, I got Garcia, Blake, and Morgan, and we went over and packed up all your belongings. Besides your clothes, books, and papers, Reid said the two small bookshelves and the kitchen table and chairs were yours. I had Luis put everything in the basement here. You can have him bring your things up anytime you want them."
"My papers?" Christine repeated hopefully. "I had several research papers I was working on, preparing them for publication. Of course, by now all the research is probably outdated."
"And, just a minute – " Rossi hurried out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
When he came back, he presented Christine with a small jeweler's box. "I kept these for you."
"My diamond earrings!" Christine squealed. "Dave, I never thought I would see these again!" She stood up and threw her arms around him. "I know the holes in my ears have healed up, and I'll have to get them re-pierced but - Thank You!"
"Okay," Rossi was smiling as he extracted himself from her grasp. "We can go shopping after I get home tonight, but no getting your ears pierced at some hole-in-the-wall place. You can get them done next time you go to the doctor. I want to make sure you don't accidentally get an infection and I'm held responsible."