"That was a pretty damn good shindig." Nick relaxed in a chair in the drawing room, his feet hanging over its arms as he sipped champagne and munched on some leftover pate. Gradually the crowd had thinned out until Derek had said good night to the last group of guests.

"It was lovely, wasn't it?" Rachel sat on the sofa, a glass of club soda in front of her. "One of the nicest we've had in some time." She turned to Alex, who only nodded.

"Hey, Alex, I didn't see you much," the young man said.

She rose from the coach to gaze out at the view. "Oh, I was all around the place, making sure that everything was okay." And keeping away from Derek, Mavis, and the mistletoe, for the rest of the party.

"I should have kept moving." Nick laughed. "Mavis almost caught me under the mistletoe. But at least someone got some good use out of it," he said. He gave Alex a big grin. "Nice going, honey."

"Oooh, I didn't see that," Rachel teased. "So Bernie got you under it?"

"No," Alex said softly. "Derek did."

"Derek?!"

"Yeah." The ex-SEAL laughed. "Who is that guy?"

Alex glared at him before she looked at Rachel. "Bernie did ask me out for New Year's Eve though. There's a party at the embassy."

"Did you accept? It sounds like you'd have a terrific time, sweetie."

She shrugged. "I told him I would unless something urgent came up."

"Does 'urgent' have a name?" Nick grinned at her. She shot him another look as the man in question entered the room. Alex casually walked over to a table to retrieve a glass of champagne. At least she hoped the others saw it that way.

"It was a great party, Derek," Rachel said.

"Yes, it was," he agreed. "Thank you all for your help." The three in front of him exchanged glances as he pulled several envelopes from his jacket.

"Listen, before you all go up to bed, I thought we might end tonight with a surprise." Good God, hadn't she had enough surprises this evening? He had said something about a prize...

The precept handed out the envelopes, each carrying the name of a member of the House. "Merry Christmas to all of you." They looked at each other. "Go on, open them."

"This better not be a pink slip," Nick said as he opened his.

"Airline tickets?" Alex looked at him in shock before holding up hers.

"Oh my God, Derek." Rachel stared at him. "Are you serious?"

"Where the hell is Bora Bora?" the ex-SEAL asked.

"In the South Pacific..." the dark woman whispered. Derek smiled at her.

"That's right. It's an archipelago, part of the islands in the South Pacific that make up French Polynesia," Derek told him. "South of Hawaii and east of Australia. Near Tahiti."

"Tahiti?!"

"We're going to a warm, tropical island?"

"For two weeks?!"

"With all that's happened this past year, I thought we could use a break." He looked at their stunned faces. "Unless you have other plans." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I should have checked with you, but I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Hey, this sounds great to me," Nick said before a huge grin broke out on his face. "I'd love to go."

Rachel laughed. "I think it would be great for all of us."

"What about David?" Alex asked her.

Her face fell. "He's got to work on Christmas, and then they're sending him off to a conference in Cleveland." She smiled at Derek. "So this would make me feel much better since I couldn't be with him or my daughter."

"Maybe I'll meet a gorgeous native girl," the young man said, "and spend the rest of my life with her on Bora Bora."

She heard the laughter of the others, but Derek was watching her. Two weeks on a warm tropical island with him... How in the world would she be able to handle her feelings then? Just the four of them, nothing to do but swim, explore the island, relax on the beach... In bathing suits...

"What brought this on?" Nick looked at Derek with a wary eye. "The Ruling House is okay with us taking off to the South Pacific for two weeks? How did you manage to convince them of that?"

"I told London that I planned to take a sabbatical unless they agreed to it." Dear Lord, more surprises...

"Are you serious, boss?"

"I've been thinking about it lately, likely due to what happened at the portal," Derek said quietly. He gazed at each of them. "I think I need one, and deserve one." He turned and looked out the window before his eyes returned to his team. "I've devoted a great deal of my life to the Legacy, and I think it's taken over my life."

End part 4