Title: May I Have This Dance
Authors: Angela Straatmeyer and Kathye Coyle
Rating: Ummm I'd say PG-13. I suppose there's a bad word in French.
Summary: While Face goes on a mission, Lexie and Becca have an adventure
Warnings: No biggies, though this one does focus more on Becca and Lexie.

PART 1

"You'll be back in time, right Dad?"

"When is it again?" Face turned to hide his smile and walked over to his dresser to pull out some shirts.

"Dad, it's Saturday!" Lexie bounced up and down on the bed, her feet hovering about an inch from the floor.

Templeton Peck grabbed a couple more items from his dresser then walked over to the bed and neatly laid them in his suitcase.

"Don't worry sweetheart. This is just a simple case. We'll be done and back long before Saturday night."

"Really?" Lexie watched as her dad opened up the safe behind the portrait of her, pulled out his gun, checked it and put it into the shoulder harness he already wore. He reached over and picked up his jacket from the bed and shrugged it on.

"Piece of cake." Face grinned at his daughter's annoyed expression until she smiled back, hopped off the bed and started lugging his suitcase towards the door.

"Why don't you let me get that while you run downstairs and see if Rebecca's here yet."

Lexie dropped the suitcase with a thud and raced downstairs to watch for Becca's car. Face sighed, looked up and whispered to the empty room, "I wish you could see her. She's turning into a beautiful young woman. You would be proud." Shaking off his melancholy mood, he picked up the suitcase and went downstairs. He had just reached the entryway when he heard a shout from the living room. He quickly reached over and turned off the alarm before the blur of motion that was his daughter ran past him, suddenly stopped, entered in a code on the alarm panel and then opened the door.

"I'll be damned, she remembered," Face murmured to himself.

"Becca!" Lexie grabbed the woman by the hand and started pulling her through the living room into the kitchen. "You've got to see a picture of the dress I'm getting for the dance!"

Rebecca leaned over slightly to one side to receive a kiss on the cheek from Templeton before being dragged away.

Face chuckled and glanced fondly after the two of them before going out to Rebecca's car and bringing in her luggage.

**********

Face came back downstairs after depositing Rebecca's luggage in one of the guest rooms and walked into the kitchen.

"...and then Kim said that Andy..." Lexie's voice stopped abruptly as she heard the door to the kitchen open and her dad walk in the room.

"Sorry to interrupt the gabfest, but I need to get going."

Lexie got up from the table and ran over to her dad, leaping up to give him a hug. He caught her and held her close for a minute before setting her back down.

"Lexie, remember, Becca's in charge while I'm gone. I don't want to come back and find out you've been disobeying her or giving her grief."

"Yes, Dad." She grinned, then the smile faded as a look of worry entered her eyes. "And you be careful." She shook a finger at him in warning. "Come back."

He took her face in his hands, and leaned down and pressed their foreheads together. He whispered, "I always do. I promise."

Rebecca watched from her seat at the table until she was sure they were done saying their good-bye's then got up to walk over to where the two of them were standing.

"I'll walk you out," Becca said as she linked her arm with Temp's. The two of them walked in silence to his car, just enjoying being together. When they reached the car Becca turned to face Templeton and asked in a whisper, "This case you're going on…it's not too dangerous?"

"Don't worry. We're just going to Ecuador to retrieve a young lady from a bad situation and return her to her father. Nothing could be simpler." Face leaned down and gently kissed her before getting into his car and driving off to meet up with the rest of the Team.

**********

The next morning, Becca was in the kitchen making a pot of coffee and wondering how long she should let Lexie sleep. 'We did stay up a little late last night, giggling and talking about everything, but it's almost nine and we weren't up that late,' Becca thought as she glanced at the digital display clock on the coffee pot. 'If we want to get to Rodeo Drive this morning, we need to get going.' Becca turned and started out the room to go and wake up her young charge when she saw Lexie slowly walk into the kitchen and plop herself down in a chair at the table in the alcove.

Becca eyed Lexie, wondering what to do next. Suddenly, a faint odor of burning food wafted past her nose.

"Aaaaaaahhh, the French toast!" Rebecca yelled as she ran to the stove and grabbed the skillet.

"Ow!" She dropped the skillet onto the counter, knocking the bowl of batter to the floor before the skillet fell to the floor also. Rushing over to the sink, she turned on the cold water and thrust her hand under the pouring stream. She thought she heard something that sounded suspiciously like laughter, but when she turned to look at Lexie all she saw was a concerned expression on the girl's face. Becca's eyes narrowed slightly as she saw the lips twitch in response. Their eyes met and they both burst out laughing.

"Are…you…ok?" Lexie asked between laughs.

"I'm fine. So much for French toast for breakfast though. I remembered your dad mentioning once that it was your favorite."

"Yeah, but I think you're right," Lexie commented as she eyed the mess on the floor, "No toast today. Besides we gotta get going. Mr. Elliot said he needed me to come in for a final fitting for my dress today so they can finish it in time for the dance."

A couple of hours later found Lexie and Rebecca pulling up in front of an exclusive shop on Rodeo Drive. Lexie hopped out of the car and ran inside before Becca had even turned the engine off.

"How does Temp do it?" she asked aloud as she followed the girl into the store. Blinking her eyes a few times to adjust to the indoor light, Becca caught a glimpse of Lexie as she wandered in and around the various pieces of art displayed in the front room. No dresses on racks in this store, Becca realized.

A short, stocky gentleman appeared in the alcove at the back of the store and smiled ingratiatingly at her as he walked toward her. He said in a heavy French accent, "Bonjour, Madame. Can I be of assistance?"

"Hey, Fred!" Lexie shouted. The man winced before recovering and putting a smile on his face.

"Where's Mr. Elliot?" He turned to look at Lexie, but before he could say anything another man appeared in the alcove.

"Ah, my beautiful little Miss Alexandra, you have wonderful timing. Mr. Devon was just putting the finishing touches on the dress."

"Oh, wow! Can I go see it? I can't wait," Lexie exclaimed as she ran over to Becca and began pulling her along towards the back.

"I think you will be most pleased with what my new designer has done, Alexandra."

"New designer?" Rebecca hissed at Lexie as they went into the elegantly furnished changing room. "I thought Elliot was designing the dress."

"Don't be silly. Mr. Elliot is a tailor. He only designs men's suits. He wanted to expand his business so he brought on a new partner, Mr. Devon, who deals exclusively with women's fashions. They're having their first show next month," Lexie informed her proudly.

"How do you know all this?"

"I overheard dad and Mr. Elliot talking when they thought I was still changing the last time we were here," Lexie said with a giggle.

Rebecca just looked at Lexie and didn't say another word as two older ladies brought in the dress and hung it on a hook placed high on the wall.

Several minutes later, Lexie stood in front of the mirror twirling around to watch the skirt of the dress billow out as she twisted from side to side.

"Oh, Jessica is going to be soooo jealous," Lexie boasted as she twirled again, before moving into some dance steps she'd seen in an old movie once.

"You look beautiful," Rebecca said as she gazed at the young lady in front of her now.

After the designer had come in to see what alterations were needed, Rebecca stood up and said, "I think I'll go up front and talk with Elliot about accessories while you change back into your regular clothes."

"Hmmm…ok…" Lexie said absent mindedly as she still twisted in front of the mirror, this way and that, trying to see all of the dress.

Lexie was rebuckling the strap of her sandal after changing back into her street clothes when she heard muffled voices coming through the air vent from the back office. One of the voices sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. Curiosity got the better of her, and she stood on the bench to get closer to the vent, so she could hear better.

"Have you located the drawings?"

"Yes, but we have a small problem."

"What problem? You assured me that you had access to the designs. I need those designs or I won't have anything to present at my next show."

"The drawings aren't the problem. One of the dresses has already been made. I don't know which one, but since all of the dresses in this line are variations on a theme, if he has the dress he could prove that he designed "your" dresses and not you."

"We just need to steal the dress too. That's all. What could be simpler? Now, where is this dress?"

"That's another problem. The girl the dress was made for is here right now for her final fitting. The dress won't be here tomorrow night when we come to get the drawings."

"What?" the first voice hissed.

"Shhh…someone might hear you," the second man tried to calm his companion down. She heard footsteps walk across the room and then the sound of the back door opening and closing.

Lexie jumped down and stood, frozen, in the center of the dressing room for a few moments. She tentatively opened the door, to see Fred waiting for her, a smile on his broad face. "Ah, mon petite Mademoiselle, if you will give me the dress, we will alter it and have it ready for you by tomorrow."

'Dang,' Lexie thought as she turned to look at her one-of-a-kind dress that had been made for her from Devon's new line. She reluctantly handed the gown to Fred, who briskly whisked the garment into the back room.

Lexie scrunched up her eyes as she tried to figure out what her dad would do in a situation like this. Not having any luck, she decided she should call him. Grabbing her purse off the bench, she scrabbled around inside it until she found her mobile phone. It had been a gift from Hannibal. Dad had objected but Uncle Hannibal had pulled him aside and had said something that changed his mind.

She wrinkled her brow and tried to remember the number she'd been given to call him at during this mission, but failed. Shrugging, she dialed the number she knew by heart, the number to her dad's mobile phone. After all, she told herself, he said it was just a simple milk run.

***********

"Murdock, cover us!" Face shouted.

The pilot nodded and stepped out from behind the tree he had been using for cover and sprayed the far end of the clearing with bullets, moving his rifle quickly and methodically from left to right and back again. Face and BA jumped up and ran across the clearing on opposite sides.

Face dove into the brush seconds before the captain stopped firing and pulled back behind his tree to reload. Rolling to his feet he shook his head slightly to stop the ringing in his ears. When it didn't stop, he frowned as it dawned on him what it was. Reaching into his backpack he pulled out his portable phone. He pushed the answer button and snapped, "What?" His head whipping from side to side with his rifle tracking, watching for any signs of trouble headed his way.

"Dad?" Peck's heart leapt up into his throat as he immediately thought the worst.

"Are you all right. What's wrong?"

"I'm fine, Dad. I just had a question I had to ask you."

"Alexandra Marie, what the hell are you doing calling me at this number! You know the rules! When I'm on a mission you only call the number I give you for that mission," Face hissed into the phone, his eyes narrowing as he watched a bush that was rustling suspiciously.

"I know Daddy, but I just needed to ask you about something." Lexie whispered tearfully.

Face sighed, then asked urgently, "Is it life or death?"

"No," Lexie admitted in a small voice. "But..." Her sentence was interrupted by the sound of gunfire coming through the phone.

"I'll call you tonight. Love you." Templeton pressed the end button on his phone and fired another warning shot over the brush. Quickly moving to the left he circled around behind the men that were still firing at the far end of the clearing. He came up behind a very large man and knocked him out with the butt of his rifle.

He saw BA waiting on the opposite side before falling into a mirror position with Face. After some quick hand signals, Face stepped out from behind his tree and aimed his rifle at the backs of the remaining three men.

"Stop! Put your guns down!" Face shouted in his broken Spanish. The men looked at each other without moving to comply. BA stepped out from behind his tree and repeated Face's order in his deepest growl. The men dropped their guns to the ground and raised their hands over their heads.

"Murdock, get over here!" Face yelled over to his friend who was still on the other side of the clearing.

"Be there in an itty bitty jiffy, Faceman." BA and Face looked at each other in amusement before turning their attention back to the men they had captured.

"Hurry up we've got to rendezvous with Hannibal at the village in half an hour," Face ordered taking point after they had tied up the 5 bandits. He spared a moment to think about his wayward daughter and hoped she wasn't getting into trouble.

**********

PART 2

Lexie listened to the dial tone until it turned into a busy signal before turning off her phone.

'Now what do I do?'

She remembered that on one of her favorite mystery shows they always talked about "evidence". 'That's what I need,' she thought, 'something that I can show to Mr. Elliot to warn him about this villainy.' She tucked her phone into her purse and sneaked out of the changing room, tiptoeing down the hall until she reached the door to the office. Reaching out her hand, she noticed it was trembling slightly as she tried the door knob. Lexie breathed a sigh of relief when the knob turned easily in her hand, and pushing the door open quietly, she slipped inside the office.

After closing the door behind her, she squinted as she tried to look around the darkened room. Giving a melodramatic sigh, she reached over and flipped up the light switch, flooding the room with light. Lexie walked over to the desk and looked down at it, not sure what she was supposed to be looking for. She picked up various pieces of paper with numbers and charts on them, but dismissed them as unimportant.

"What do you think you are doing, young lady?"

"Becca!" Lexie gasped in shock, dropping the stack of papers she was holding to the floor. "Now look what you made me do."

"What I made you do?" Becca repeated incredulously.

"Shhh, the bad guys might hear you!"

"Bad guys?" Rebecca looked at Lexie in confusion.

"Yes, they're going to steal my dress. We have to stop them."

"Who's going to steal your dress?" Rebecca felt as though she were several very important steps behind this whole conversation.

"The bad guys, of course. Oh and they're going to steal Mr. Devon's drawings too," Lexie added, as an afterthought.

Becca looked at Lexie standing behind the desk with a very serious expression on her face and sighed deeply. "I know I'm going to regret asking this, but why don't we just call the police?"

"Because we don't have any *evidence*." Lexie shook her head and frowned at the silly question. "Yet."

"Yet?" Becca squeaked. Then watched in horror as Lexie started sifting through the papers on the desk again. "Do you even know what you're looking for?" she asked hopefully.

"Nope, but I'll know it when I see it," Lexie said arrogantly.

The red haired woman rolled her eyes heavenward in a silent plea, then walked over to the desk and started helping the girl look through the files. Templeton was going to kill her when he got home. He had trusted her to keep his daughter out of trouble and now they were searching for *evidence*.

After several minutes, a thought occurred to Becca. "Lexie?" she asked quietly.

"Hmmm."

"Lexie!"

"What?"

"Why are we searching Mr. Elliot's office for evidence if he's the one that's going to be robbed?"

Lexie sighed dramatically, opened her mouth to explain only to shut it again when it occurred to her that she didn't know why. "Hmmmph."

Rebecca put her hand up to her mouth and pretended to cough to cover up the giggle that was threatening to escape.

The adolescent girl frowned at Becca, then suddenly hissed, "Ssshhh." She crept up to the door and opened it an inch so she could hear the voices of the two men who had just walked past the office better. Looking back triumphantly at Rebecca she proclaimed, "It's them!" Lexie tiptoed out of the office and started sneaking down the hall toward the fabric storeroom, following the sound of the two men's voices.

Becca followed behind in a more dignified posture mumbling to herself, "He's going to kill me. He's really going to kill me." She turned the corner and felt her arm being grabbed and tugged downward. She knelt next to her young friend behind some large bolts of fabric. Lexie put a finger to her lips and then cupped a hand behind her ear.

"Do you have them?"

"Yes, and the dress too."

"Well, give them over. If I want something for Friday's show, I must get started immediately."

"When will you pay me? I've risked everything for this."

They heard an exasperated sigh. "Meet me in an hour at the usual place. I simply must wash the taste of this distasteful encounter from my mouth with some Cabernet. You will receive your compensation when I am finished.

There was a brief silence.

"Yes, is there something else you need?"

"There's one problem. They might be suspicious of me if the designs disappear during the middle of the day. I need you to knock me out, to make it look like a robbery."

"You're asking me to knock you silly? My dear boy, I would be delighted."

"Yeah, well, use this. And don't forget to leave the door open."

Becca saw a small movement from the corner of her eye and quickly grabbed Lexie's arm while clamping her other hand over the girl's mouth. They heard a thud, followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor. The door to the loading dock was opened and footsteps could be heard fading away as the other conspirator walked across the room.

The older woman let go of the furious girl, who immediately darted around the fabric bolts and ran up to the prone figure in the middle of the room. As she knelt next to the unconscious man, Lexie hissed at Becca, "Why didn't you let me confront them? Now my dress is gone!"

"Lexie, contrary to the Nancy Drew Mysteries, it isn't a good idea for a young girl to confront two grown men who are in the commission of a crime. Your father would kill me. He still might, for letting you get *this* involved."

The girl stared down at her sandals, embarrassed but still defiant. She turned to finally look at the unconscious man and gasped, "Fred!"

Just then, Mr. Elliot came running into the room. "What happened?" he asked as he rushed to his injured employee's side. Fred moaned and started to sit up.

"Monsieur Elliot. I thought I heard a noise back here. The back door was open and then I felt something hit me. That is all I remember." He looked around frantically. "Merde! Monsieur Devon's designs! I was carrying them! Where are they? Oh, sacre bleau!

Rebecca watched in sardonic amusement as Fred made a brief search of the area before announcing, "They're gone!" He sat on a roll of cloth, holding his head in his hands.

Lexie unable to keep quiet any longer began, "Mr. Elliot..."

Becca quickly interrupted, "Let's get Fred into your office and lying down." She looked over at Lexie and shook her head in warning before turning to Mr. Elliot and asking, "Do you think he should go to the Emergency Room?"

Fred looked up abruptly before hastily saying, "No, I will be fine, mademoiselle. Just let me lie down for about a half hour or so."

While Mr. Elliot was helping Fred to the back room, Lexie whispered to Becca, "Why didn't you let me tell Mr. Elliot? He could've made Fred tell him who the other guy was."

"Fred wouldn't say anything and then he'd know that *we* know. This way, we have surprise on our side. When Mr. Elliot comes back we'll tell him what we heard and let him decide."

Shrugging reluctantly, Lexie plopped down on a bolt of fabric, rebellion showing in her flashing dark eyes. Rebecca sighed. Templeton was going to owe her one. She hoped he was enjoying his cushy escort job.

****

"Come on baby, pull up. You can do it."

"Murdock, the colonel wants to know how long 'till we land?"

"Oh about 10 minutes give or take an hour. How's the big guy doin'?"

"Hannibal's looking after him."

"Has the colonel told you what happened yet?"

"No and BA's unconscious so he can't tell us either."

"How bad is it?"

"Well, Hannibal got the bullet out and is giving him some blood even as we speak."

"Good thing Maggie insisted on us bringing that blood supply!"

"Good thing I told her that Hannibal said this was going to be a piece of cake."

"You're a very devious man, muchacho."

"Thank you."

"No. Thank you."

"Umm, Murdock?"

"Yes, Faceman."

"I know that you're the expert, but we seem to be going down rather steeply."

"Don't be silly. I have everything under perfect control."

"Umm, Murdock?"

"Yes?"

"What's that alarm mean?"

"That alarm indicates an excessive rate of closure to the ground."

"We're crashing?"

"That assessment is one hundred percent accurate Faceman."

"Should I do something?"

"Tell Hannibal to strap himself and BA in tight."

"Anything else?"

"Prayer would be good."

"Aaaah, prayer. I can do that. Umm…Murdock, find us a nice soft spot, OK? There's a little girl expecting me to take her to a dance, and she'll break my legs if I turn up dead."

"No worse than she'd do to me, Faceman. Trust me, muchacho, I'll get you back to her."

"Thanks, Murdock. See you on the ground."

******

continued