I haven't been part of a challenge before so the fun I thought I would have while doing it... wasn't quite there. I was a wreck trying to figure out how to do it, what, when, why! All the time the looming deadline mocking me from afar, only serving to make matters even worse. I have all these things in my head but I can't get them out because I freeze up and get confused and and and... A sonorous bellow of thanks must thus be given to the lovely and sublime EndlessSummar who holds my hand with unwavering support and encouragement but at the same time does not hesitate to whip my ass back in shape when I drag my feet (which I tend to do) (a lot). That said, here is my take on Jack Rader from 2x03 :)

The door to Jack Rader's apartment swung open lazily, his form casting a long shadow in the dim light as it filled the doorway. He cast his gaze slowly around the huge space that greeted him, filled with expensive furniture and even more expensive trinkets and knick knacks. This was home and he had done very well for himself, but Jack didn't feel well. It had been a rough few days and the anticipation and excitement he had initially felt had completely dissipated as he pulled his car into the undercover parking that night.

He walked in and tossed his keys on the end table in the hallway, taking the time to shut the door with a kick of his heel. The tie around his neck was quickly undone while he walked and discarded onto the sofa, nothing more than a cumbersome symbol of a life that didn't fit him the way he thought it would. His shoes were next to go as Jack made his way to the kitchen, the soft padding of his socks on the hardwood floors the only sound apart from his slow, steady breathing. His tie didn't remain the only adornment on the sofa for too long however, when minutes later Jack returned to it glass of wine in hand, bottle of wine in the other and made himself comfortable.

He rested his head back and closed his eyes, allowing the swirl of merlot in his mouth to glide its velvety body along his teeth and tongue before finally making its way down his throat. He needed his mind to stop, his mind that wouldn't, his mind that was swirling with the past two days and what going back to The Lightman Group had been for him after all this time. So much time, he thought with a heavy sigh, and it still had the same effect on him. The incomparable Cal Lightman wasn't even there but he may as well have been for all the difference it made. Yes, Jack Rader had done very well for himself, but being back there – his old training ground – it was like all the insecurities of that time returned in floods. Luckily his time away had left him with one good thing and that was his ability to hide it well. Or was that something he had picked up from Cal? He couldn't be sure either way but he was glad for it.

The call had come early the day before, there was a crisis with a local blood bank and the CDC requested the assistance of The Rader Firm to find out who was responsible for the blood-tainting. When Jack heard that they would be working with The Lightman Group, his interest was piqued. When he heard that Cal Lightman was out of town and that Gillian Foster was leading the case, he made his decision to handle it himself. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but if you're going in with a dagger and that man is Lightman, the easiest way is through Doctor Gillian Foster. But was it a dagger he was holding? Or even a grudge? A friendly rivalry is what Jack always referred to it as. There wasn't enough room for the both of them at The Lightman Group, or both their egos at least and that's all it was. He just wanted to have some fun at his ex mentor's expense. Then he had seen her.

Gillian had caught him a bit off guard to say the least. She was as gorgeous as ever and they fell into their old routine easily and comfortably, he flirted shamelessly and took blows at Lightman while she blatantly warded him off and defended the man without exhaustion. Something was different this time though, Jack surmised. He wasn't sure if it was because he was different or because things had perhaps changed during his absence but Gillian almost seemed to enjoy the attention she was getting from him. There were even moments where he was sure she was flirting back. A soft chuckle left his throat at this thought; the idea that there was the remotest chance for anything to happen between him and Gillian was laughable at best. Even years back, with his untrained eye, he could sense the depth of the connection she shared with Cal and there was nothing and no-one that could disrupt that.

A soft knock at the door broke into his thoughts that were now a bit hazy halfway through his second glass of wine. Jack opened his eyes and trained his ears, not sure if he had imagined it or not. The knock came again, just as softly but this time he was attuned to it and recognized it to be outside of his head. He slowly made his way to the door and Gillian's smiling eyes greeted him as he opened it. He took a step back as if the sight of her made him do so but buried his surprise with a quick grin.

"I saw the interview," she started haughtily and with a slight cock of her head. Flirting? He thought again and his smile widened. "and I wanted to thank you. You didn't have to do what you did but it was nice and unexpected."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're not here to thank me?" he asked suspiciously. "You just came by to check if I've been taken over by body snatchers haven't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" Gillian said with a giggle. Laugh? No, that was a giggle. Flirting, Jack decided and stepped aside, holding the door open for her to enter.

"The surprise in your tone when you spoke about my interview kinda gave it away," he said as he closed the door behind her and followed her in. "but not obvious, Dr. Foster. Never. It's your secret weapon, after all." Fine, he'd flirt back.

"What is?" she asked, turning to him.

"That," he said simply as he pointed to her face. "It's how you've managed all this time with Lightman. The master himself can't get through that." He watched her closely as she rolled her eyes at him. "Impenetrability – it's what you need to survive him and nobody else can seem to get it right."

"I see you haven't forsaken your dramatic flair."

"Nothing drives home a point quite like an arrow dripping truth and-"

"-brightly colored fantails for that extra sense of drama, yes I know," Gillian finished his sentence for him.

It was something he used to say quite often and hearing it come from Gillian surprised Jack. The fact that she remembered at all must have meant that he had made some kind of impression on her, something he didn't think was possible with Cal consuming every minute of her day on most days.

"I know what you're thinking," Gillian's voice made his smile falter a little but not for long. "and I also know that you only toyed with me to get to Cal and when it didn't work, you left."

"If you're so sure about that why did I hear just a hint of a question in your voice?"

"Don't analyze me."

"Just an observation."

"I would go for overactive imagination," she shot back and Jack got the feeling that she was enjoying this little banter they had going.

"Yeah well I'm leaning more towards you seeking confirmation from me." He watched her face closely as he spoke and the almost imperceptible upward thrust of her chin spurred him on. "I'm right, aren't I? And that face, that tells me you knew I'd deny it." Gillian surveyed him with a schooled expression, offering only a slight smirk. She knew she had to be careful with him, he was taught by the best after all.

"That smile," he continued as he stepped closer to her, his eyes not leaving hers, "that tells me you kinda like the fact that I did."

"You're delusional," Gillian's voice came out a bit choked but she stood firm and didn't waver from his gaze.

"I'm good," Jack responded, a mischievous gleam now dancing in his eyes. "and more importantly, I'm right."

"Keep it in your pants, Jack. I'm not Cal, you don't have to impress me at every turn."

"No, I've already done that – impress you, that is." He was close enough to her that their faces were only inches apart. Jack wondered if Gillian's resolve would win and she would stand her ground or if her loyalty to Cal would cause her to falter. She gave him his answer seconds later with a mumbled

"I should go." Gillian finally dropped her gaze from his and moved around him toward the door.

"Gillian," he called after her and waited for her to face him again. She did, and her demeanor was visibly guarded but she was still listening to him, he noticed thankfully. "I know you think you know why I left when I did," he started, the playful flirtation in his tone replaced by a deep sincerity. He saw on her face that she recognized this because her features softened immediately.

"You think I was arrogant, jealous of Cal or whatever but you're wrong." Jack watched as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other and knew that she wasn't buying it. He pressed on nonetheless; whether it was the wine or just the experience of working with her again, he was determined to change her opinion of him. "You know what it's like to stand next to someone like Cal Lightman. The truth is that you don't, there's never any room. It's always a step behind and to the left."

"Cal and I are-"

"Partners, yeah, you told me," Jack quieted her protest midway. "Do your associates feel the same?" He saw a quick flicker of uncertainty behind her eyes that confirmed his suspicions. Jack knew that they didn't really see Gillian as Cal's equal, it was easy to pick up on with the way they questioned her decisions more so than his.

"Does anyone else see it like that?" he continued. "Is that why the CDC asked my firm to assist you with the case?"

"There was a biological threat and the CDC was following protocol." Gillian's response sounded stiff and strained.

"Would they have sent me if Cal wasn't out of town?" This time she didn't say anything, this time Jack knew he had gotten his brightly colored fantail point across. "Exactly. He casts a big shadow, Gillian, and I was at a time in my life and career when I was working to become something. I was never jealous of Cal. If anything, I worshipped the man. But then I stopped." Jack's voice dropped a little. "I saw what I was worshipping and it terrified me. There I was, breaking my back to become the same thing." Gillian's eyes dropped to the floor, he could tell that she knew where he was going with this. He knew that better than anyone, Gillian Foster could understand what he was trying to say.

"Cal Lightman is a broken man; he's angry, bitter and lonely," he said. Gillian was still not looking at him. "I didn't want that… so I left. I took what I learned – the good parts – and I made a life for myself and you know what?" He tipped her chin with his index finger so that she was looking at him again and Jack saw that her eyes had misted over. He was right, she did understand. "Now I can stand next to him. I don't feel that shadow anymore. For that to happen I needed to step outside it. Does that make sense to you at all?"

Gillian studied him closely for several seconds, her features clouded over.

"What?" Jack asked slowly, stepping back to study her as well.

"I'm trying to see if you've been taken over by body snatchers," she said, trying to keep the smile in her eyes from reaching her lips. Jack didn't try as much and fell prey to fits of laughter, which Gillian soon joined. "Seriously, I don't know you this way," she said after a while. "This isn't the Jack Rader I came to distrust and be slightly irritated with."

"Well, a lot has changed," he responded and a silence fell over them suddenly, weighted by their equally solemn consideration of his words. A lot really had changed.

"Cal is complicated," Gillian offered eventually.

"That's putting-"

"-it mildly, yes I know and I can understand how he can make the worst mentor ever. But I also get how he can make the best one, and you're a perfect example of that," Gillian said. "Look at you, your suit, this place… whether you stood next to him or not, whether he even noticed you were alive, or barely spoke to you, or used you to further his own agendas… your life is different because of him. Better even."

"Are we still talking about me?" Jack teased.

"I really should go," Gillian said with a soft smile that he returned easily. Like always, any reflection on herself was met with the toughest defense. "Good night Jack and thank you again," she greeted him before disappearing into the hallway.

Jack moved quickly to catch a last glimpse of her as she made her way into the elevator. He had been unsure when he had placed the order a few hours ago; Gillian was really mad at him for doing the interview with Mackenzie and he thought for sure that it was the final blow to their already tenuous relationship. But after this, there wasn't a question in his mind anymore. There was no way she would throw out the roses that would be delivered to her the next day, he considered with a smile. In fact, there was a good chance they might even make her happy.