Days went by with Javí hoping that something would turn up that could give them the godfather's whereabouts. They still had time before the surrender deal was finalized. But since they weren't sending any new agents to Cali, Javíer's leadership felt hollow and useless. The most productive thing that he had done in days was keep the plant that Eve had given him alive.

It was sad how quiet the office was compared to the amount of Colombian cocaine currently flooding American streets. Javí barely recognized his office. Everyone else was treading water and collecting a pay check.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. Surprisingly, Eve cared. She cared a lot actually. Granted, she wasn't a DEA agent, or a CIA spy for that matter, but she couldn't hide her interest in taking down Cali. Slowly but surely, Eve had surprised him by essentially taking on Duffy and Lopez's investigation along with all of her secretarial duties.

Night after night once everyone had called it a day, Javí would find her alone at her desk going over the same Cornerstone info that he had combed through earlier. For an amateur, Javí was impressed with her dedication and the questions that she asked. It was almost like having Murphy back for half a second. Senator's daughter or no Senator's daughter, Eve really wanted to learn and was usually the last one to leave the office. And because his hands were essentially tied for the moment being, Javí had all the time in the world to educate her.

At first, Javíer had tried to take Ambassador Crosby's advice. He really did try to take it easy and focus on getting acquainted with his new job. But Eve had a way about her that pulled him out of that complacent fog and reminded him why he was back in Colombia in the first place. If it wasn't for their long after hour conversations, you would have thought that the godfathers of Cali were some kind of harmless fairy tale. But Eve took them seriously and saw them for what they were. In the end, Javíer wasn't sure if he was grateful for her enthusiasm, it just reminded him that there was a good chance that Cali wouldn't be brought to justice.

But Javíer's patience did nothing to help the crush that Eve had on him. Granted, she tried her best to keep her mind out of the gutter during their long conversations about the Cali cartel and the history of the cocaine operation in Colombia. But the more that Eve got to know him, the harder it was for her to stop liking him...and harder for her to stop picturing him naked late at night when she was alone in her big empty bed. At first, her hot new neighbour had appealed to her physically; how could he not. But now that she had experienced how Javí's mind worked, the more she liked being around him and looked forward to going to work every morning.

Eve often found herself mesmerized by his voice and how he could easily and authentically pronounce names and places. So much so that she enlisted the help of a friend to tutor her and brush up on her Spanish. She was done embarrassing herself every time she butchered the proper pronunciation. Unfortunately while she was growing up, Eve's parents had insisted that French was a more useful language for her to learn. Eve was kicking herself now that she was living in Colombia and couldn't roll her R's to save her life.

But try as they might to keep things professional between them, that connection of theirs just kept getting stronger. Many nights had gone by where Javí would walk her home after work and they would go through the same awkward goodbyes. No matter how tired they were, neither of them were ever ready to face the coldness of their empty apartments. More times than not, their lengthy work conversations would continue in their hallway. Anything to keep from saying goodnight to each other.

But during the day, Javí tried his best not to get jealous when he found other agents making excuses to sit around her desk. As it turned out, his secretary, much to his dismay, was the definition of a social butterfly. Whenever Javí looked outside his office he always found some young hot shot agent chatting her up.

As much as he hated it, he really couldn't blame them. After all, if Eve didn't have such a problem with dating her boss, Javí surely would have been the first one in line. Unfortunately, he was too busy feeling like a possessive caveman to notice the dread in her eyes and how quickly she dismissed her would be suitors so she could get back to work. But in his defence, Eve had been raised to plaster on a convincing smile on her face and put up all kinds of bullshit.

There was one new agent in particular, who Javí had never met, that seemed to be especially keen on Eve. He was younger than Javí and had long sandy blonde hockey hair that rested on the collar of his ill fitting shirts. But this new guy was handsome in a typical all American good guy way. So much so, that Javí was petty and hated him for merely existing.

This agent lasted longer than anyone else that had been sniffing around her and the two of them always seemed to be involved in heavy animated conversations. Not to mention that he and Eve always seemed to have a smile for each other that felt like a knife twisting in Javí's gut. But oddly, this guy wore a wedding ring so Javí was completely confused as to what his motives with Eve were. It really didn't make a lot of sense. If Eve wouldn't get involved with her boss, Javí couldn't see her dating a married man.

But little did Javí know, Eve and Chris Feistl were only friends. The best of friends really. The two of them brought together by their mutual hatred of photocopiers...and the Cali cartel. As it turned out, Eve wasn't the only one in the office that was chomping at the bit to take the godfathers down.

Eve's relationship with Feistl had started out innocent enough. As it turned out, after countless painstaking attempts, she was the only one on the floor that could get the office photocopier to work properly. Maybe it was patience, or dumb luck, but Eve seemed to have developed the magic touch.

One day, Eve took pity on the poor guy and offered her assistance before he threw the stupid thing out the window. Chris was so happy that she had fixed it and that it was finally printing off his forms, that he spontaneously bear hugged her and lifted her off the ground. But then, once she let out a squeak, he realized how unprofessional he had been and placed her back on her feet. He then spent about ten minutes sweating and profusely apologizing to her. Insisting that he was happily married and that he didn't mean to make her uncomfortable.

"It really isn't what it looked like." Chris tried to get her to understand as his heart pounded in his chest. He had been trying so hard to fit in and make his mark in Colombia. The last thing that he needed was his boss's secretary reporting him to human resources for sexual harassment.

"It's okay, big guy." Eve laughed at his reaction. She'd never seen someone's cheeks blush so red yet have the rest of his face so pale at the same time. "Relax, you're gunna pass out."

"You sound like my wife." Chris mocked as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You should come around sometime, I have a feeling that the two of you would really get along."

"Are you trying to set me up on a playdate with your wife?" Eve teased to try and break the tension and make him laugh.

"Yeah, I guess I am." Chris shyly smiled. "We haven't been here very long, and she isn't really fitting in with all of the other embassy moms."

"I see."

"I guess there's only so many times that you can talk about strollers, you know?" Chris shrugged.

"I totally get it." Eve smiled her big genuine trademarked smile that, until recently, had only been reserved for her boss. The truth was, Eve was lonely and jumped at the opportunity to have a social life again. "I'd love to meet her."

And from that one conversation, two of Eve's most cherished friendships were born. Chris then invited Eve over for dinner that night and introduced her to his wife, Emily. The two women clicked in record time, just as Chris suspected they would. Once the two women met, it was as if they had known each other their entire lives.

But Emily and Chris weren't the only Feistls to take a liking to Eve. Their four year old daughter, Molly, didn't leave Eve's lap the entire evening. Eve didn't mind in the slightest and humoured the little girl all through dinner and later carried her to the couch afterwards. Before they knew it, Molly had fallen asleep listening to the adults laugh and get to know each other.

"I should take her." Emily smiled adoringly at her daughter fast asleep in Eve's arms. Her chubby cheeks squished against Eve's chest as she snored away. "I swear, I've never seen her take to someone so quickly before."

"You should see her with my sister." Chris puffed out a laugh before he took a pull from his beer. "She runs for the hills."

"What can I say? My daughter is a great judge of character." Emily giggled with loving pride.

"She's the most precious little thing." Eve cooed as she smoothed the little girl's curls and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Just a little bit longer, if that's okay. I'm cuddle deprived."

"That's not what Chris said." Emily teased. Earning her a playful elbow in the ribs from her embarrassed husband. "I can't tell you how many times he's fantasized about taking a baseball bat to that photocopier since we got here. He was terrified that you were going to report him to HR for hugging you."

"Thanks, babe." Chris huffed.

The two of them were such an adorable couple and Eve could see why his wife wouldn't really fit in with all of the other American soccer moms at the embassy. Most of the women that Eve had met really didn't have a clue as to what their husbands did for a living or how important their presence was in the country. But Emily was well aware of Chris's job and the dangers that he faced. So she wasn't content to just play the role of a silent housewife. The Cali cartel had been on Eve's mind for a while now so she found it refreshing to "talk shop" with people other than Javíer.

It helped that Chris and Emily never said anything about her parents or her last name and treated Eve like a regular human being. Out of necessity, Eve had developed a radar for people that were nice to her for the wrong reasons. But the Feistls were good people who had no problem disagreeing with her or making jokes at her expense. Eve decided that she liked them before she had even finished her first beer. It was nice to be around real people for a change because, other than Javí, people at the embassy treated her like royalty and it was hard on Eve's soul.

Maybe because they had clicked so quickly, Emily had confessed to Eve that she had recently lost her sister to a drug overdose. That tragedy had been the catalyst for the two of them packing up their daughter and heading to South America to fight back against the cartels and possibly make a difference.

Unlike most couples stationed in Colombia, Emily was just as invested as Chris was in stopping the flow of cocaine onto American streets. Naturally, after Molly was put to bed, the three of them spent the rest of the evening discussing the DEA, Colombia politics, and the Cali cartel. Soon a deal was met between Eve and Chris that made Emily snicker and giggle at the two of them conspiring with each other like little kids.

"I can get you those files." Eve insisted after Chris had expressed his frustration at the lack of new information flowing his way. "I've been refiling all of that stuff for days now. But when the new stuff comes in, I can make you copies within the hour."

"Are you sure?" Chris groaned. Eve's offer was so tempting, but he was new and didn't want to piss anyone off. "I usually have to wait, what..at least two or three days for new intel to trickle down to me. By then it's usually too late to do something if a pattern of behaviour stands out."

"I'm positive." Eve shrugged, as if it were no big deal. "What harm could it do? You're going to get to read them eventually anyway. Besides, you have a higher security clearance than I do in the first place."

"Wait. You read Agent Peña's briefings?" Chris asked with a hint of jealousy and awe in his voice.

"No. I'd never do that." Eve winked before she took her last sip from her beer bottle; letting him know that she was indeed breaking a few rules for the sake of her ongoing curiosity.

"You're the worst liar." Emily laughed as she went into the kitchen to grab them all another beer. "We should start up another weekly poker night here. You're an easy mark, Capshaw."

"Teach me some Spanish, and we have a deal." Eve exclaimed as she playfully shook Chris's hand. "Colleen's been helping me, but she's been busy with her boyfriend lately...just don't laugh at me, because I'm a mess!"

"I think you've got yourself a deal." Chris smiled as Emily came back in the room and curled up on his lap.

"I wish I could make you smile like that..." Emily grinned as she rubbed her nose against her husband's.

"Oh, you do." Chris assured his wife with a wolfish grin.

"That's my cue to call it a night!" Eve laughed as she grabbed her things before the happy couple started making out on the couch.

As far as Eve was concerned, Chris and Emily Fiestl had won the lottery. Their tiny embassy apartment was so full of life that it was a long walk back to Eve's painfully empty apartment.

----------------------------

Javíer had just gotten home himself a few minutes before he heard Eve's door shut and a loud beep coming through the walls a moment or two later.

"You. Have. 25. New. Messages." A robotic voice stated followed by the unmistakable sound of Eve groaning in frustration.

"Evelyn, dear. It's your mother." A commanding foreign voice rang out through her answering machine. "You haven't gotten back to my assistant or your brother's secretary and I don't appreciate the radio silence. I know you're not happy about Colombia...but if you could just try looking at the big picture for once in your life -"

"Message. Deleted." Followed by Eve bitterly muttering. "Goodbye, mother."

A chorus of meaningless messages played after that. Men and women, young and old. All asking her how she's adjusting to life outside the United States. Some even went so far as to offer her use of their personal and political connections within the Embassy and State Department. All names that Javí knew well and probably couldn't get a meeting with if he tried. But here was Eve, offended by each offer and deleting each message without a second thought. Javí was impressed.

"Seriously, Evie?" An angry male voice suddenly snarled through the speaker causing both Javí and Eve to be caught off guard and jump at his bitter menacing tone. "You think you're gunna ignore me? Pick up the goddamn phone for fuck's sake - Message. Deleted."

Even though the offending message was gone, it felt as though the man's angry voice still hung in the air. Even with a wall between them, Javíer could sense that Eve was upset and it was hard for him to focus on the files in front of him. It didn't take a brilliant investigative mind or a gossiping deputy country attache to deduce that Eve had probably come to Colombia to escape some family troubles and possibly a douchebag ex.

Javi sighed as he ran his hand down his face. He really shouldn't be listening to what went on in her apartment; it was wrong but Javí couldn't help it. It almost felt as though he had company for a minute.

A moment went by and Javí heard a knock coming - not from his door- but from his wall.

"Javí?" Eve called out. "Are you up?"

"Yes." Javíer puffed out a laugh at her unconventional way of communicating with him.

"Do you mind if I play the piano for a little bit? It's...it's been a long day." Eve admitted as she chewed on her bottom lip and hoped that he couldn't hear the emotion in her voice. For as much as Eve had hated learning to play as a kid, she found that now that she was an adult, the piano had a way of calming her down and centering her. A feeling that she really craved at the moment. "It's late..I don't have to..."

"My abuela used to play." Javíer found himself confessing as he gave up on his paperwork, poured himself a drink and made himself comfortable on his couch. "When I was little...I remember falling asleep listening to her play."

"Any requests?" Eve took that as a yes and smiled as she sat down on her piano bench for the first time since her godfather had it delivered to her and tried to imagine Javí as a young boy.

"Lady's choice." Javíer sighed as he kicked his shoes off; wondering what cute and lively song she'd pick to match her outgoing cheerful personality.

But the last thing that he expected was to hear Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata start to ring out through the wall. Javíer wasn't an expert on classical music, but the haunting tune Eve expertly played was beautiful and far deeper than what he had been expecting.

It wasn't long before Eve had successfully lulled him off to sleep, just as his abuela used to do a lifetime ago. Even though he was on his couch and still in his work clothes, Javí had one of the best sleeps that he'd had since his return to Colombia; perhaps maybe in years.