Title: BOUND TO HAPPEN
Rating: T
Keywords: J/S
Timeline: before the affair
Summary: what happened between Jack and Sam before the affair
Disclaimer: these aren't my characters, but I love them
A.N.: Huge thanks to all who helped me through this adventure. English is not my language, without Diane this story wouldn't be here. She is great! And huge thanks to Sharon, who helped me during my middle story crisis and led me to the end.
BOUND TO HAPPEN
Prologue: In the Beginning
Jack Malone was attracted by his new agent, from the beginning. Who wouldn't be? She was really attractive, young, full of life, strong, self-assured, and fearless.
Samantha Spade came directly from Quantico and his colleague, Vivian Johnson, asked him if two rookies in six months would be too much.
At first, he couldn't find a right answer. He thought maybe Samantha's good looks could have confused him, but no, they needed another agent. She was the right choice. She went along well with the team, she was very driven, he appreciated her toughness and sensitivity, and she truly cared about the missing persons they investigated.
He paired himself with her a lot, and Danny Taylor, the other new agent, with Vivian, with the excuse of pairing the senior agents with the least-experienced rookies, but soon it became normal. Samantha and Danny believed it was because Jack wanted both a man and a woman in interviews, but Vivian, who had known Jack for years in and out of work, knew better and asked several times if continuing was a wise choice.
There were many alarms but Jack decided to ignore them. The new young agent didn't seem to have a life outside work, only a few dates. Danny loved to tease her about the poor guy who fell in her web.
When their caseload increased, Jack and Samantha often stayed late at work and Vivian's phone started to ring. Maria, Jack's wife, wanted to know why her husband wasn't at home, especially since Vivian herself was. Vivian didn't have any proof, but felt in her gut that something was going on between Jack and Samantha. At work, they were always very professional, but there was something else, a strange light in their eyes, the easy banter, looks...almost as if they were flirting, a lot.
Jack's marriage was at a rough point. He and Maria were both working full time with two young daughters. Maria was a lawyer who loved her job, her daughters and probably Jack.
The situation wasn't simple. She was stressed. She felt like she was a single mother. Jack was with his work more than with her. He had been this type of man before their youngest daughter was born, but it was more noticeable now. He had his own unit, with two new agents to be trained, and the fact that one of them was a terrific young blonde didn't help Maria's attitude.
Jack never talked about his cases at home and Maria was grateful, but this choice created a crack in their relationship that years could only make wider.
During their long hours together working on cases, Jack and Samantha talked a lot, discovering what the other liked and disliked, when to talk or be silent, when a touch was needed...Jack started to open up without being conscious of it and Samantha soon became 'Sam'.
Jack Malone, an interesting man nearing forty, was falling hard for a blonde agent almost half his age.
Samantha Spade could feel the walls falling when she was with him. She felt safe and they understood each other, but something was nagging at her. Each case, each night, each meal together became her desire and hid a request for more than she was sure they would ever satisfy. For the first time in her life, she feared to make the first move with a man and, at the same time, feared not to.
All that they shared during their time together, lead them in front of her apartment door one night as they returned from a particularly sad case in Albany.
"It's still early. Do you want some coffee?"
That night wasn't the beginning of their affair. It would not officially start for another year.