“Damn, Alex, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Sarah. I’ll work it out somehow.”

“Teren? Can’t you do anything? You were there, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, but I’m CIA, and they’ll accuse me of interfering in domestic affairs — which is a real no-no for spooks.” She shook her head. “I think we just need to wait, Sarah. Alex is right. It’ll work out somehow.”

“Easy for you to say. You can go back to the CIA. They said you were cleared in that Philadelphia shooting.”

“Yeah. That means I can help Alex. Maybe we can find a few clues, and get her badge back. Worth a shot, don’t you think?”

Alex looked at her friend, who returned the gaze. One blue eye gave her a solemn wink.

Sarah noticed it, and felt better.

“Alright, then. I guess there’s nothing to do but wait. Hm, how about I take the two of you to breakfast? I can afford to be late this morning.”

“Well,” Alex raised her head, “actually, we can’t.” She glanced at the clock. “We have to be somewhere.”

“Where?”

Teren shook her head. “Don’t ask, Sarah.”

She opened her mouth, but shut it with a snap. “Got it. Not asking.” She stood from the couch. “Well, then, I’ll get out of here and on my way to work.” Sarah turned to Alex, who had stood up with her. “But, you will call me the moment you can tell me what’s going on. Right, Alex?”

“You got it, babe.”

Teren offered Sarah her hand. “I’m sorry I scared you, Sarah.” She grinned sheepishly, remembering an apartment in Germany. “Seems I’ve been doing that a lot lately.”

To her surprise, Sarah ignored the hand and hugged her instead. “I don’t know what’s going on, Teren, but I’m awfully glad you have a hard head.”

Teren turned red. Alex chuckled, then followed her friend to the door, reaching out for her own hug. “Thanks for taking care of Appleby. And my apartment and stuff. I really appreciate it, Sarah.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. You’re my friend, and my ex. Isn’t that what friends and exes do for each other?”

Alex grinned. “Yeah, but I think this morning went above and beyond the call of duty.”

They hugged again, and Sarah whispered, “You be sure to bring tall, dark and dangerous with you when you come for dinner, okay? We won’t even make you play chess.”

A soft smile crossed Alex’s face. “I’ll do that. Thanks, babe.”

Sarah kissed her on the cheek and left.

Alex turned to find Teren watching from the couch.

“That was an interesting start to the morning, eh?”

Teren laughed. “Yeah, I guess so.” Then she grew sober. “Dawkin’s plane lands at three-thirty, right? Do you want to go see David this morning, before we go to the airport?”

“Yeah. But I kind of want to wait until he’s home. Don’t think I could handle seeing David in a hospital bed. It was bad enough seeing you in one.” She bit her lip, embarrassed by her own words.

She got a smile from Teren. “It wasn’t fun from my viewpoint either.”

“No, I bet it wasn’t.” Alex sat down beside her. “Sarah just mentioned something about chess, and it reminded me of something I wanted to talk to you about.”

The smile slid away. “Okay.”

Alex took a deep breath.

“Do you remember when we were on the train? And we were playing?”

“Yes.”

“You remember what you said about the King, and the Queen sacrificing herself?”

Teren swallowed and nodded. “I remember. Why?”

“Am I still your King, Teren?”

Her partner stared at the floor, nodding.

Alex reached down and pulled her chin up, forcing the blue eyes to look at her.

“Well, then, this is a direct order from the King.” She took a deep breath. “The Queen is not allowed to sacrifice herself, ever, for any reason, not even to save the King.” Alex paused, watching the confusion fill Teren’s eyes. “Because the Queen is very important to the King.” The confusion began to clear, and Teren’s eyes widened in surprise. “Has the King made herself clear?”

Teren nodded again. Alex let go of her chin, and leaned in to kiss her.

They broke apart, both of them breathing hard.

“Alex?”

“Yeah?”

“Do we have to leave just yet?”

“No.”

“Good.”

Teren pulled the soft lips back to her own.

Alex was just sliding her arms into her coat sleeves when the phone rang. She reached for it, then decided to let the machine get it.

Teren joined her by the front door. “Ready?”

“Yeah, I think —”

“Alex? It’s David.” The voice from the answering machine froze her for a moment, then Alex practically leapt over the couch to grab the handset.

“I was hoping I’d catch you, but —” The machine buzzed as Alex picked up the phone.

“David?”

“Alex? Damn, it’s good to hear your voice, partner.”

“Your’s too.” Her voice nearly broke, and she felt Teren’s arms circle around her in support. “How are you? Are you home yet?”

“Fine, and yeah, I just got home. Ken’s here. He told me what happened. ” Alex swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Alex. I don’t know what else to say … “

“It’s okay, Dave. There’s nothing you can do. I’ m sure things will work out.”

“It’s not okay.” Her partner’s voice was angry. “They’ve got a traitor there, so they freeze you out. Stupid fucks.”

“Yeah, well, they have their reasons. Nothing we can do at the moment.” She glanced up at Teren. “Hey, Teren and I were thinking of coming over there in a few. Would that be alright, or will you be tired?”

“No, please, I’d love to see you both. Ken said something about Teren getting shot or something? Is she okay?”

“Yeah. Hard headed. She’s fine.” Teren squeezed her shoulder and grinned.

“Well, good. Yeah, you two are welcome anytime. Miri says she’d love to see you as well.”

Alex had to swallow at that. The memory of her phone call to Miri still made her stomach flip. “I’d love to see her, too. We’ll be over soon, alright?”

“Great. I’ve missed you, partner.”

“I missed you, too, Dave.”

“See you in a bit.”

“Right.”

There was a click, and then a dial tone, and for a moment, Alex stared at the phone in her hand. Slowly she put it back down on the base, and took a deep breath.

“He wants both of us to come over. “

“Good. We were headed over there anyway. Now we know he’s home.”

“Yeah.”

Teren eyed her blonde friend carefully. Her eyes were glassy, and she looked much younger than Teren had ever seen her.

“Alex? You alright?”

Startled, Alex turned, nodding. “Fine. Just a little left over jet lag. No problem.” She smiled at Teren, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

Teren raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue. She’d find out what was wrong eventually, but right now, she’d give Alex the space she needed.

“Okay, then. Let’s get going.”

Alex nodded, and led the way out the door.

Teren confronted her in the car. “Alex?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you worried about seeing David?”

Alex glanced at her partner, and shrugged.

“Still feeling guilty?”

“Mm. Maybe a little.”

“Is that the reason you’re being so quiet?”

They stopped at a red light, and Alex turned to glare at her. “You know for someone with a reputation for being silent you’re asking an awful lot of questions, Teren.”

It was Teren’s turn to shrug. “Sorry.” She paused. “So, is that the reason?”

Her partner sighed, and stepped on the accelerator.

“No, it’s not that.” She shook her head. “It’s Miri. I know you said she forgave me, but I still —”

“No, Alex, she didn’t forgive you, because there was nothing for her to forgive. She apologized, because what she said that night was out of line.”

“But I promised to prote-”

“And you did the best you could. Besides,” Teren smiled gently, “you promised to protect him from me. And I never touched him.”

The corners of Alex’s mouth twitched upwards. “No, you didn’t.”

“So, you kept your promise. The rest of it — well, that’s just something else we need to pay CJ back for.” Her face was grim. “And we will, pal.”