AN: I first of all want to apologize profusely for the extremely long and unacceptable break that I took between chapters. There is no good excuse, and I will try my best to not have it happen again.

On the plus side, while I was getting comfortable at University, dealing with some health issues, as well as large amount of school work and writer's block, I have been working on parts of Ale's story with the team.

I have found momentum with this specific plot line, though, and I will be hopefully be updating much more often.

Once again, I am so sorry for the delay. It certainly was not my intent to let the story go without update for so long. Thank you for all who are still following Ale and the team, and I appreciate your support.

Truly.

Ale wasn't sure how Nate was going to pull off the church service. As the new reverend, it was extremely important that he make a good impression on the congregation. The problem, however, was that Nate was going to have to not only sound like he knew what he was talking about, but he would also have to win over an already skeptical and angry group of people.

She was almost positive that it would be one of the single most hilarious things she had ever seen.

Sophie could tell Nate was a bit nervous. Religion had always been something that Nate wavered on. She was surprised that Nate had chosen to be on the front lines of this one, at all. That said, Sophie also knew that Nate could convince people of anything, especially those who are afraid or confused.

As the sermon got underway, the team could clearly see Nate failing…miserably. At some point during the service Ale had a cough attack, excusing herself to the back room. When Nate went to introduce Ale as his daughter, music started playing behind him. Suddenly, Ale was standing on the altar, the church's choir behind her. Ale looked at Nate, smiling as a dutiful daughter would.

Ale launched into song, the choir backing her up beautifully. By the end of the piece, the entire congregation was on its feet, singing and praising right along with Ale. She sounded amazing, and her voice and message was so pure that it made the rigid church goers loosen up.

After Ale finished Nate formally introduced Ale, and then launched into the story of their family and how they came here. It was Nate's 'honesty' that seemed to win over the crowd. After the service Nate and Ale wandered around, introducing themselves to all of the guests.

Everyone told Nate how brave he was for taking care of Ale on his own, and all of them commended Ale on her voice and made sure to tell her how beautiful she was.

Once the church was empty Eliot, Hardison, Sophie, and Parker all filed back into Nate's office. Their church clothes were gone, but their smiles still intact.

"Ale, you are exceptional!" Sophie squealed, pulling Ale into a hug. The rest of the team agreed, raving about how she saved the day.

"Nate did a good job too once he got his head out of his ass," Ale smiled, slipping off her high heels. She had been schmoozing and playing the part of a preacher's daughter since they had stepped onto their flight and she was exhausted.

Eliot could tell Ale was tired, but she was happy. She was a part of the team now, and it suited her well. Eliot was amazed with Ale and her performance earlier in the day. She was ingenious and had gotten Nate off to a great start, which was the largest part of the battle.

"So, what is the next step?" Sophie asked, looking at Nate. "You had a successful first couple of hours here. How do you plan on figuring out who is really responsible for selling drugs?"

"That's a good question. First things first is checking into our rental house for our stay. Then we figure it out," Nate shrugged.

For not having a plan, he was extremely calm. For some reason, he had complete faith that everything would work out well. That the team could do it. He didn't see the need for a plan, at least not this time.

LIFE GOES ON

Ale was picking up some stray bibles in the pews, waiting for Nate to bring the car around. Sophie, Eliot, and Parker had already headed to the house to make sure they weren't seen with Nate and Ale.

Ale was humming along to the song she was just singing when she heard footsteps in the aisle.

"Can I help you?" Ale asked, turning to the source of the sound. A boy a little older than Ale's supposed age leaning against one of the pews, his hands in his pockets.

Ale could easily tell that he had been at the service, but that he was no good Christian guy. He didn't buy into religion, skepticism and exhaustion with faith pouring off of him.

"It sucks, doesn't it?" he said, Ale ignoring the voices in her ear.

"Who is in there?" Eliot growled, Sophie asking as well.

"Ale unless you figure out who this is I can't tell you how to handle him," she chirped.

They were silenced, however, when Ale spoke.

"You mean smiling for the crowd? Yeah. It does," Ale scoffed. "How do you know about the good life?" Ale asked, leaning against the pew she was standing near.

"My dad was the old pastor here. But then he, you know," the guy shrugged, looking Ale up and down.

"Yeah. I do. I'm sure you didn't come here to talk to me about how that made you feel though," Ale teased, the guy laughing.

"No. I came to invite you out. I know a tired preacher's kid when I see one. And they usually aren't as hot as you. So I'll pick you up tonight, at your house, wherever that may be, and we can go raise a little hell."

Sophie, Nate, Eliot, Parker, and Hardison were shocked. They had no clue how Ale knew how to handle him without even knowing him. Hardison was working to find anything he could about the boy, although he had a feeling Ale didn't need any information.

She seemed to have him figured out.

"First of all, I don't even know your name. And second of all, if you are going to take me out, you are going to have to pass the Holy Father test."

"I'm Alex. And bring it on, church girl. I've been passing it my whole life," Alex winked, Ale pretending to be enticed.

"See you tonight, then," Ale smiled, sighing with relief.

Once Alex left Ale's com went crazy, everyone asking her a million questions. To be honest, Ale had no clue how to answer them—she was just as confused as the rest of them.

Ale met Nate in his office, neither one of them saying anything as they drove to the house. Nate was unsure what to say, as he was both pleased and shocked with how well Ale did. And he was also a little shocked with the new player in the game. He was not expecting the son to be a factor in the whole scenario.

Once they got to the house Ale immediately went inside, sitting down next to Hardison as he started telling the team everything he knew about the boy.

"What I don't understand," Ale sighed, finally slipping off her heels and looking relaxed for the first time all day. "Is why he would even care I'm here. If he hates church so much, and he is as sick of religion as I think he is, why would he still show up today?"

"That's what you need to find out," Nate shrugged, speaking for the first time since the team had left the church. "Let's steal us a preacher's son."