Underlying Attraction

Summary: Jack and Rachel struggle to deal with the underlying feelings they have for one another when Jack starts to date another woman.
A/N: I've had this story sitting in the doc manager for a while so I thought should publish it! And yes, it's another Jack/Rachel story from me! :)

Denial

Contemplating.

Rachel Goldstein was sitting at her desk contemplating everything. Everything from her life in general, to her career as a police officer and the decisions she had made, to the men she had been with… She mused over that last thought in particular: the men she had been with. One man, and one man only, kept coming to mind. It annoyed her, because she wanted to forget about what happened between them. She wanted to push aside the short-lived memories. But, there was something about Ja-

"So Rach," she heard Mick Reilly's sharp voice interrupt her thoughts in the distance, even though he was only a few metres away, "Are you coming to the Cutter tonight to meet Jack's girlfriend?" Mick stood up and grabbed his jacket from the backrest of his chair. He glanced in Rachel's direction as he pulled the jacket over his shoulders.

Rachel, whose eyes fluttered as soon as Jack's name and the word 'girlfriend' were mentioned, looked up from her desk briefly, "Oh no, I can't tonight. I've got David coming over after work." she said evasively. It was the half-truth; Rachel did have her son David coming over to stay with her, just not until much later on. There was more than enough time for her to go to the pub, but she just didn't feel like it.

Insecure wasn't often a word that Rachel used to describe herself, but it was how she felt about Jack Christey seeing another woman.

Mick pushed his chair underneath his desk, its wheels were loud as they spun across the hard floor. "Well, I'll let you know what she's like, I suppose!" he exclaimed, heading towards the door, stopping near Rachel's desk, "I've never seen Jack with anyone before. I wonder what type of woman he goes for!"

"Oh, he's probably the stereotypical type of man who likes women with blonde hair and big boobs," Rachel didn't miss a beat with her quick-witted response, "Very little personality, ya know, that sort…"

"Hah! I'll soon find out!" Mick beamed, "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah," she replied quietly, watching him walk out of the office. She then sat back in her chair, and tilted her head back, looking up at the ceiling as she thought about Jack. The thoughts were confusing. In her mind, Rachel was completely certain she no longer had any kind of feelings for Jack whatsoever, so what was it that was making her feel so uneasy about the thought of him with another woman? The thought of him in bed with another woman? She shuddered unconsciously.

"Are you coming to the pub tonight, Rachel?" Helen Blakemore appeared in the doorway. She had changed out of her police uniform, and was wearing a nice shirt and flared jeans.

Yet another person wondering if she was going to the pub. Rachel got rid of the annoyed look she was certain she had on her face and spun around in her chair, "No, no. I have David tonight…"

"Is that the truth?" Helen questioned her, wondering if it was the real reason why she wasn't going out for a drink.

"You think I'd use my own son as an excuse to not go to the pub!?" Rachel exclaimed, trying not to get too defensive but also knowing that it probably didn't work.

Helen raised an eyebrow. But she knew of the complicated history between Rachel and Jack, and because it was clearly a sensitive topic, she decided not to say anything more. "Okay, well, have a good night."

Rachel sighed heavily when Helen was no longer in the room. She let out a quiet growl in frustration, clenched her hand into a tight fist, and banged the edge of her desk with it. Were her feelings, or whatever they were, for Jack that bloody obvious to everyone but her?

The following day, the police station was full of gossipy conversations about the night before. Rachel walked into the office right in the middle of one of them, and immediately felt very uncomfortable about it. "I didn't mind her, Jack…" Mick was saying, acknowledging Rachel with a nod and smile when he saw her. "I mean, I think maybe… just maybe you could do a bit better than her," he grinned at Jack, cheekily, adding, "I just don't know that she is the right woman for you."

Jack rolled his eyes, "Right, yeah thanks Mick," he said sarcastically, before looking over at Rachel. He knew the reason she couldn't make it to the pub last night, but like Helen, he still wasn't entirely convinced by the 'excuse'. "How was your night, Rach?" he struck up a conversation with her, trying his best to avoid any kind of uneasy silence.

Rachel looked over at Jack, her blue eyes clearly surprised by the question, "Ah yeah, not too bad. Thanks," she eventually answered, nodding a couple of times.

"Good."

With his desk positioned partially in front of one of the windows, facing away from both Rachel and Jack, Mick smiled to himself knowing that neither of them would be able to see him. They couldn't be any more awkward if they tried.

The meal room was quiet when Rachel walked in, somewhat glumly, to grab her lunch a little later on in the day. Mick followed a few minutes later, giving her the first opportunity to ask him more about Jack's 'girlfriend', Nat. "So Mick, did she have blonde hair and big boobs?" Rachel sat down at one of the tables once she had taken her food out of the microwave.

Mick looked upwards slightly, thinking about what Nat looked like, "Not really blonde hair no, more like light brown. And big-ish boobs I guess," he then added, grinning childishly, "I have seen bigger in my time, though."

Rachel rolled her eyes at his last comment, before saying, "But you think Jack can do better than her?" she recalled the discussion she had walked in on when she arrived at work earlier that day.

He sat down on the chair opposite her, stuffing one half of a ham and salad sandwich almost entirely in his mouth. "Yeah. Jack's… a bit… too kind, if you know what I mean. And I can just see Nat being the kind of person who has two sides. Appears to be nice, but underneath the surface, is actually just a bitch."

She raised her eyebrows, surprised by his observation.

"Anyway," Mick continued to say when he noticed the intrigued expression on her face, "I'm sure you'll get to meet her one of these days and then you can make your own judgement of her!"

"Hm," Rachel looked down at her bowl of fried rice, suddenly feeling uninterested in the food in front of her, despite actually being hungry. She poked at the rice with her fork, watching it fall back into the bowl. Mick's opinion of Nat had surprised her; Rachel half expected him to think that Nat was an angel!

"Mick, Rachel…" entered Helen, hurriedly, "A body has just been reported... floating down at Hen and Chicken Bay, and it could be that of Lauren Crawley…"

"The missing teenager?" Mick somehow managed to mumble with his mouth full of food.

Helen nodded, using her hands to usher them to get up, "Yes. Jack's already left with Dave and the dive crew, but you two can go with the Nemesis."

"So much for lunch," Mick complained softly, as they quickly made their way outside.

Rachel gave him a look when they boarded the boat, "What? You ate your sandwich, what are you talking about?" she exclaimed, sounding annoyed.

"Well," Mick began, scratching his head, "I could've had something else to eat, you know… I'm starving!"

From the shore about 250 metres away, Jack, whose arms were folded across his chest, was watching Emma and Johnny dive down into the murky depths of the water at Hen and Chicken Bay. He then saw the Nemesis arriving, and went to meet Rachel and Mick once the boat was in a safe enough place at the end of a wharf. "Have they got her?" asked Mick, jumping onto the wooden planks of the wharf with a thud.

"Yeah, and forensics are already here," Jack replied, as the three detectives walked back towards the beach, "Woodsie and Johnny are in the water looking for any belongings she may have had with her. No I.D so far."

"So it's not Lauren Crawley?" asked Rachel, there was a frown on her face, "I mean, her photo has been all over the missing persons' posters lately."

"Hard to know for sure," it was an empty, lacklustre response from Jack, whose arms were still folded across his chest, "She's been beaten to a pulp."

One of the forensic officers unzipped the plastic blue bag, allowing Rachel and Mick to see the body. Whilst Mick was somewhat curious, kneeling down to get a better look, Rachel's reaction was to immediately turn the other way; the sight of the young woman's beaten and distorted face was unbearable for her to look at.

Jack watched her take a few steps back, "You okay?" he asked, when she had noticed that he was looking at her.

"Yep, I'm fine."

When the day was almost over, Rachel half-heartedly wandered up to the roof of the police building, sat down on one of the chairs and looked out at the beautiful harbour. With no confirmation on whose body it was at Hen and Chicken Bay, the only thing the detectives could do for now was wait. She closed her eyes and listened to the different noises around her: the soft horn of a ferry, traffic in the distance, some birds nestling in the trees singing their songs… footsteps…

Rachel opened her eyes in time to see Jack reaching the top of the stairs. She studied him for a moment, wondering what it was about the man who, on one hand, frustrated her so much she wanted to punch him in the face, yet on the other, attracted her so much she wanted to kiss him.

"I thought I might find you up here," Jack spoke softly, as he leaned back against the railing and looked across at Rachel, "You've been rather quiet today, Rach," he observed, an eyebrow raised out of interest. It was unusual for her to be so quiet, so subdued.

She didn't know what else to do except shrug.

"It's not about Nat, is it?" he asked the question that had been on his mind for well over a day.

Rachel frowned at the question, snapping at him, "What? No! Why would you think that? How could it be about Nat? I don't even know her!"

"Yeah," Jack answered, his voice sounding flat, "But you know me."

"Jack, what on earth does that have to do with anything?" she was very quickly becoming defensive again.

He stared at her, sensing her defensiveness straight away, "Everything," he said with the utmost confidence, "This is about you and I."

"What?"

Jack wasn't at all fed up, he knew Rachel well enough to know that she was going to be like this, "You and I," he repeated, ever so matter-of-factly, "You don't like the idea of me with someone else… and I don't -"

"That is not what this is about," Rachel interrupted him quickly, not wanting to hear the rest of what he had to say. Her eyes then hardened a little as she looked at him, "And this…" she pointed at him, then at herself, "This isn't even anything!"

"Yeah right," he scoffed, snorting softly. There was the slightest of pauses before Jack continued, "There's a sort of, unfinished business, between us, Rachel. You know it and I know it."

"Whatever you reckon, Jack!"

Later that same night, Jack, at home alone, sat back on the couch with a beer in one hand and the remote control in the other. Sighing, he turned on the television and changed the channel until he found something that he thought might be even the slightest bit interesting. It only took him a few minutes to realise that every program was boring, but he didn't care that much, as long as it kept him from thinking about Rachel.

Jack soon closed his eyes and let out another deep sigh.

Watching television had only managed to make him feel jaded. He wondered if Rachel had this kind of effect on every man she met.

"Forensics have I.D'ed the body found in the water yesterday," Helen, standing in the doorway of the office, informed the three detectives, "17 year old Lauren Crawley."

"All those 'missing' posters can be taken down now, I guess," Jack replied bluntly. He then asked no one in particular, "How could someone do something like that?"

"The world is full of crazies, Jack," Helen answered, handing Mick the forensics report she had been sent. "Cabarita police have informed her parents, but the investigation will be a water police one, obviously. So, I'll leave you three to it! Let me know if you need anything."

Rachel smiled gratefully as the Senior Sergeant left the office..

Mick was looking down at the folder in his hands, but looked up when he said, "Do you two want to talk to the parents and I'll go talk to Chopper?"

Rachel and Jack shared a brief glance, "Yeah," they both replied at the same time.

"This looks like it is going to be an easy case," Rachel stated, during the car ride back to the station. "Lauren's parents clearly think her boyfriend killed her, and in these cases, nine times out of ten, it usually has some kind of close family or friend connection."

Jack nodded once, "Agreed."

She looked over at him, as if to say, 'is that all you're going to say to me?'

When Jack did say something, it definitely wasn't what Rachel was expecting, "Look, Rach. We really need to talk."

"About what?"

Jack kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead, "I think you know what."

Realising exactly what he meant, Rachel sighed so that it was loud enough for him to hear, "There's really not a lot we can say, Jack."

"Oh, I think there is."

She refused to reply. Instead, she looked out the window and they sat in silence for the next 20 minutes.

Mick, meanwhile, was already back at the station by the time Jack and Rachel arrived. "Chopper said there were signs of intercourse," he told them as soon as they walked into the office, "There's not enough evidence to suggest whether it was forced or not, however."

"Semen present?" asked Jack, eyebrows raised.

Mick nodded, "Yep, he's having it sent off for a DNA analysis as we speak."

Rachel sat down at her desk, feeling exhausted for some reason. She really didn't know what to make of this case, despite seeing many that were similar during her years as a detective.

"In the meantime, I thought I'd go have an informal chat to the boyfriend, Andrew Plunket. Helen found a possible address for him in Kings Cross. Either of you two want to come?" Mick gave both of them an enticing smile.

Rachel looked across at Jack, "You go," she said to him, "I think I'll stay here this time."

"Sure, let's go the Mick!"

Rachel watched the two men leave, happy that Jack didn't appear to mind going with Mick. She decided to use the time to go and talk to Helen in private. Helen was the only person who knew of her past with Jack, and as such, the only person Rachel felt she could talk to about it. Rachel knocked on the door to the office, and saw Helen, who was sitting at her desk, motion for her to come in. "Rachel, what can I do for you?" she asked in a friendly manner. Her brown eyes appeared just as friendly.

Rachel sat down on the chair in front of Helen's desk. She exhaled, "Look, this doesn't exactly have anything to do with work, so if you feel I should talk to you outside of -"

"It has to do with Jack, am I right?" Helen figured out.

"Oh, geez!" Rachel laughed in irony, "Is it that obvious?"

The older woman smiled at Rachel sympathetically, "A blind man could see that you and Jack are still attracted to one another! Despite Jack's new… relationship, if that's what you want to call it."

She rolled her eyes, and with a slight shake of her head, forced herself to say, almost cry out, in denial, "But I'm not attracted to Jack! I mean, yes, maybe I was... once... but not anymore!"

"You can keep telling yourself that, Rachel, but I think deep down, you know you still are. And I highly doubt a strong attraction is going to magically disappear like that!" Helen snapped her fingers. "Jack's attraction to you certainly hasn't disappeared."

Rachel couldn't help but frown, "Oh that cannot be true, or else, why would he be with another woman right now?" as soon as she asked the question, Rachel felt as though she already knew the answer.

"Well, my guess would be that he's trying his hardest to get over you," Helen said as her phone rang. She held up her index finger to Rachel, wanting her to wait until she got off the phone. "Ah, Jack," Helen said, nodding along to what he was saying to her, "Okay, never mind. Go and see him another day," she soon hung up the phone and looked over at Rachel. "You may feel better if you admit it to yourself," Helen continued their conversation as if they hadn't been interrupted.

Rachel looked back at her and sighed, "Yeah, thanks," was all she could think of to say. There was no way she was going to admit to anything.

Not yet.

Jack made his way to the Cutter Bar early one evening, quite content at having a beer or two by himself. He was half way through drinking his second beer, when he looked up, having heard the recognisable sound of Mick's laughter. Jack then saw both he and Rachel at the entrance of the pub. "Oi!" Jack called out, deciding to let them know that he was there.

"Do you want a beer, Rach? My shout!" Mick walked towards the bar, looking back at her over his shoulder.

"I won't say no to that, thanks," Rachel replied, wandering over to the table Jack was sitting at. "Hi," she greeted Jack as she sat down opposite him.

"Hi there," he answered her with a smile.

Mick walked over to the table, holding two beers. He sat down next to Rachel, and placed one of the beers on a coaster in front of her. "Thanks Mick," she smiled at him in a thankful way.

Jack didn't really want to ask, but after having that day off, somehow felt obligated to, "How was work today?"

"Oh not too bad, was it Rach?" Mick answered, looking at Rachel, who nodded at him in agreement. "It's looking more and more likely that someome close to Lauren Crawley may have killed her. But there's still not a lot to go on as yet though."

Jack nodded slowly, "Probably over something rather petty."

"True," Mick agreed, pausing for a moment, "So… what were you doing here all alone, Jack?"

Jack's eyes narrowed a little at the question, "Just wanted to have a beer at the pub."

"By yourself?"

"Yeah," he replied simply.

Rachel felt like hitting Mick under the table to stop him from asking Jack anything else. It was nobody else's business but Jack's.

Jack, though, didn't really seem to be all that fazed by the probing questions, and he decided to add, "I'm seeing Nat later on, if that's what you're getting at, Mick."

Mick grinned at him, nodding, "Okay, okay! Fair enough, Jack!"

"Want another beer?" Mick asked Rachel, once Jack had gone home.

Rachel shook her head, feeling as though she had had enough to drink for one night, "Oh no thanks, Mick. I think I'll finish this one and head off myself."

"Alright," he nodded, there was a smile on his face, "I'm going to get another… be right back."

"Sure," Rachel answered, watching him casually stroll over to the bar. Out the corner of her eye, she noticed a woman walking towards the table she was sitting at. The woman stopped when she was standing next to the table.

"Do you know Jack Christey?" the woman, looking down at Rachel, quizzed, rather viciously. There was little warmth in her stone-grey eyes. "Do you?"

Rachel raised her eyebrows, wondering who the hell this woman was and why she was asking her that, "Um… yeah. I work with him. Why do you ask?"

The woman nodded confidently; it was as if she already knew the answer to her own question. "I thought you might know him," she answered in a smug manner, continuing to nod, "You're the woman he has feelings for, am I correct?"

"Pardon?" Rachel finally realised who she was talking to, and she felt every muscle in her entire body tense.

The woman smiled at her, but it wasn't a friendly smile, "I saw the way Jack was looking at you before," the smile on her face faded, and she leaned forward a little, "Stay the fuck away from him," and with that, she pompously walked away.

Rachel was left both stunned and confused. Having another drink suddenly seemed like a pretty good idea.

"Was that Nat?" Mick asked in surprise when he got back to the table with his beer, "What on earth is she doing here? Jack left a while ago!"

"Oh…" she shrugged, completely lost for words, "God knows."

Rachel still couldn't believe it when she arrived at work the following day. Who the hell did this Nat woman think she was? Just the thought of her pissed Rachel off. She was beginning to see what Mick meant when he said that Nat appears nice but underneath it all is actually a bitch. Although Rachel definitely only saw 'the bitch' in her last night.

She walked into the detective's office and was greeted by Jack, who to Rachel's surprise, looked as tired as she felt. His shirt didn't even look ironed, and the top button was undone, both of which were highly unusual for Jack. "Hey Jack," she said, deciding to honest with him, "You look like shit!"

"Yeah, thanks Rach," was all he offered in reply.

"Is everything okay?"

Jack nodded. He glanced over at Rachel, but there was an emptiness in his eyes that made it somehow seem as though he was actually looking straight past her, "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Your shirt... your tie," Rachel pointed out, "You're usually so swank," she told him with a small, dimpled smile on her face.

It was just the kind of smile that attracted Jack to Rachel in the first place. There were many things that attracted him to her, but that smile... he felt himself sigh. That smile was enough to make him feel weak in the knees. Jack shook himself out of his thoughts, realising that Rachel was staring at him with those big blue eyes... "Voilà!" he did the button up on his shirt, "That better?"

"A little," she grinned.

"Anyway," Jack wanted to change the subject, "How was the pub last night after I went home? Did you stay much later?" he asked, not knowing that the questions were going to put Rachel in a bad mood. He noticed the expression on her face change, and she almost turned completely pale. Jack frowned, "What happened?"

"Oh -"

Mick walked into the office, "Morning," he said to them, sitting down at his desk. He immediately faced Jack, his dark brown eyes gleaming as he said, "Hey Jack, did you know that Nat was at the Cutter last night?"

"Was she?" the question clearly surprised Jack, "What, after I left?"

Mick nodded, "Uh huh," he then looked over at Rachel, almost as if he was asking her why she hadn't told Jack about it. "I was at the bar when I saw her walking away from where Rachel was sitting."

Rachel shot him the most unimpressed look, before she glanced in Jack's direction, "I didn't know who she was until Mick came back and said something," she lied, not wanting to say what really happened in front of Mick.

Jack had known Rachel long enough to know that she wasn't exactly telling the truth, but he pursed his lips together, and just nodded, deciding not to ask her about it. At least not while Mick was there.