Disclaimer: I don't own Frank, Jake, or anyone from the UC team.

Frank Donovan hurried down the stairs from his office, hoping that one of his team hadn't left yet for the night.

"Jake?" he called.

"Over here!"

Frank followed his voice and saw Jake standing at the door, just about to leave. He sighed in relief, walking over to him. "Glad I caught you."

"What's up?" Jake asked.

Frank looked around, as if making sure no one could hear them. "Has Alex left?"

Jake nodded.

Frank hesitated, as if not sure how to say what was on his mind.

"Something wrong?" Jake asked, thinking it odd.

Frank shook his head. "Tomorrow is Alex's birthday."

Jake smiled. "Yeah. We wanted to throw her a surprise party, but she figured it out and told us no way. We would've told you if we planned anything…"

Frank nodded, knowing that they wouldn't leave him out of their plans. "I wanted to buy her something, but I have no idea what."

Jake thought for a minute.

"I was actually wondering if you would help me pick something out for her?" Frank asked. "You've known her a lot longer then I have…"

Jake looked at him, trying to hide a grin. Frank Donovan, asking for help? "Sure. Got nothing better to do."

Frank looked immensely relieved. "Thanks. I'm not really sure what kind of things she likes…"

Jake laughed. "Yeah, Alex is a picky person. You wanna go now?"

Frank nodded. "We'll take my car."

Jake followed Frank to his sleek silver and black 2002 Volvo S80, and they got in it and left.

"Where am I going?" Frank asked.

"Burger King."

"What?" Frank said, looking at him.

Jake laughed. "I'm starved."

Frank smiled, shaking his head.

They went through the drive through, and when Frank handed Jake his bag, he said, "Drop anything on my car seat, and you're a dead man."

Jake laughed. "Make sure you kill me after I help you find Alex a present."

Frank gave him a look.

"I won't drop nothin', don't worry," Jake said, eating a French Fry. "But you, on the other hand…"

"I never drop anything," Frank said, trying to drive and eat his hold-the-mayo chicken sandwich. Just then, a handful of lettuce fell out of his sandwich.

Jake saw, and started to choke.

Frank started muttering as he tried to look at his seat and drive at the same time, while throwing a concerned look at Jake.

" 'I never drop anything'!" Jake quoted, half choking, half laughing, as Frank pulled into the breakdown lane.

Frank sighed as he put the car in park, picking the lettuce off his leg and the seat. He cringed at what he knew he would see on the leather, but, to his shock, there wasn't a mark there. He turned on the dome light, thinking that the streetlight they were under wasn't giving a good enough view, and saw that the lettuce had obviously not been sitting directly on the chicken, and so had no grease on it.

"What?" Jake said. "No grease mark?"

Frank sighed in relief. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing!"

"Wow," said Jake. "Are you lucky. Good thing you don't like mayo, either!"

Frank nodded, wrapping his sandwich a little better before pulling back into the traffic. "Where am I going now?"

"Humm," Jake said, still chuckling. "The mall in Water Tower Place is the closest, we can try there first."

"All right," Frank said, throwing a glare at him as if to say, 'stop laughing'.

When Frank turned into the mall a few minutes later, Jake asked, "How much you willing to spend?"

Frank shrugged. "I want to get her something nice. She did save my life a couple months ago…"

"Yeah," Jake nodded. They'd been on a case where Frank had gotten grabbed as they searched a building for a smuggler, not knowing about the man's accomplices. If it hadn't been for Alex's skilled marksmanship, Frank would've been a goner for sure.*

"I know where to go!" Jake suddenly said. "The jewelry store."

Frank parked as close to the mall door as possible. "I know that diamonds are a girl's best friend, but before we go in, what do you have in mind? I want to get her a present, not an engagement ring."

Jake laughed. "Not everything is that expensive, don't worry. She likes bracelets. Silver."

Frank nodded. "Sounds good."

They got out of the car and went inside, taking the elevator up to the ninth floor. When the doors opened, Frank spotted the H. Horwitz Co. sign, and they went in.

The place was huge. Frank had never been in that particular store before, and he couldn't believe the number of bracelets to choose from, as he peered into the cases.

"May I help you?"

Frank looked up to see an older woman smiling at him. "I'm looking for a bracelet," he said.

She laughed. "Well, you came to the right place."

Frank smiled, and stood up straight.

"Who's the lucky lady?"

"A coworker," Frank said. "Her birthday is tomorrow."

"Ah! What a sweet friend she has."

Frank smiled at the compliment. "It's a hard decision," he said, glancing down the loooong table.

"What kind of woman is she?" the woman asked.

Frank thought. "Well…"

"Depends on where she is at the time," Jake spoke up, joining them.

"How do you mean?" the woman asked.

"We're cops," said Jake, not going into detail. "So she can be tough, but on the other hand can be emotional and…" he searched for a word that wouldn't be considered chauvinistic. "Delicate."

"Is she feminine?" the woman asked.

"Oh yeah, she ain't no tomboy. Hey, actually, here's her picture…" Jake said, taking out his wallet.

Frank looked up, from the counter. "You carry a picture of Alex in your wallet?"

"No," said Jake. "I found it outside the nest yesterday and picked it up. Must've fallen out of her car or something."

The picture showed Alex and Carlos Cortez. She was snuggled against him, smiling.

The woman saw the look Frank and Jake gave each other, and wondered what it meant. "She looks like a sweet woman."

Jake nodded. "Yeah, she can be."

Frank shook his head, hiding a grin. If Alex had been there to hear that, Jake would've regretted it.

"How about something like this," the woman said; walking a few feet down the counter.

Frank and Jake followed her, looking at what she was pointing to.

"That's nice," said Jake.

"I agree. Can we see it?" Frank asked.

"Sure."

The woman took it out, and handed it to Frank. "Over the sterling silver it has a rhodium finish, to prevent tarnish and give it the platinum look."

Frank nodded, as he studied it. It was delicate looking, but not too thin, with diamond cut facets all over it. What amazed Frank is that it looked like it could be worn on a date, and to work. "I like it. What do you think?" he asked Jake.

"I think it's perfect, actually."

Frank nodded. Looking at the price tag, he saw that it was pretty costly, but seemed worth the price.

"I'm sure she'll love it!" the employee said. "Look, it has a special clasp so that it can't fall off."

Frank smiled. "I'll take it." Getting out his wallet, he took out his American Express card and handed it to her.

The woman smiled and brought it to the cash register. After ringing it up, she placed it nicely in a gift box and wrapped it in pretty paper.

"You get good service in this place," Jake commented.

Frank nodded, signing the credit card slip, and taking the bag and credit card from the smiling woman. "Thanks for your help," he said.

"Anytime, young man! She'll love it, I'm sure."

Frank smiled. He and Jake said goodbye, and left.

"That wasn't as hard as you thought, huh?" said Jake.

Frank shook his head. "It would've been very hard if I'd been by myself. Thanks, Jake."

"No problem, boss."

Just as they were about to step into the elevator, a loud voice suddenly rang through the mall.

"HELP! WE'VE BEEN ROBBED!"

* 'No More Monkey Business': ?storyid=957539