Charles poured the champagne carefully. He looked around the table. His mood was serious and solemn. "We need to make a toast." He took a step backward to allow the others to decide.

In a heartbeat, Yoko stood up. She held her glass aloft, her eyes shining with tears. "To our mother."

Harry bounded to his feet, his arm snaking around Yoko's shaking shoulders. The others were on their feet in an instant.

And then they all got silly, laughing and crying at the same time. Annie simply basked in the love of her new family.

"I've never seen Annie so happy," Nikki whispered to Myra.

"There's a reason for that, dear. Annie has never been this happy. I've known her all my life, and I've never seen such love as she has for all of you. I'm so happy for everybody."

Nikki squeezed Myra's hand to show she understood and, at the same time, telling Myra how much she loved her.

An hour later, Charles declared the party over, telling his little flock it was time to adjourn to the main house to discuss their next mission. "Unless, of course, you feel impaired with all the bubbly you've consumed, in which case we can adjourn till tomorrow."

Nikki threw a wadded-up napkin at Charles and ran to put on her slicker. The others followed suit.

Annie lagged behind and was speaking to Lizzie on the webcam. "Darling girl, I am so sorry you aren't here. I wanted to hug you and thank you for all you've done for all of us. I love you, dear girl."

Lizzie laughed. "It was my pleasure, Mom. I'll be back before you know it. Or, maybe you'll be here before you know it. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Sweet dreams, Mom."

"And the same to you, darling girl." Annie swiped at her eyes. How wonderful it all was. She looked at Myra, and said, "Imagine having nine children!"

"Just be glad they aren't in diapers or toddling around. You have the grown-up version. I'm so happy for you, old friend. So very happy. Now, come along, we have a mission to plan. You have the rest of your life to be happy. Right now we have a childhood friend who needs our help."

Once inside the main building on the mountain, Pearl tactfully excused herself and walked down the hall to her assigned bedroom. The others marched into the huge conference room, which they laughingly called Charles's lair.

This room was different from the climate-controlled underground war room back in McLean. It was also different from the war room on top of Annie's mountain in Spain. While this room still had a bank of computers and wall-to-wall television monitors, all tuned to the twenty-four-hour cable news channels, it also had windows. The furniture was cushioned, soft, and easy on the eye. There was even a thick Berber carpet on the floor, on which sat a large round table and matching chairs.