Why hello! Long time no see... *everyone is thinking that Deliwiel needs to get a life* XD So here's the beginning of my Jack-whump story... It's my first time really writing something that wasn't Mac-whump centered, so I'm not sure how I've done...

Also, this first part... a bit of explanation. I am not one to ship a ton of relationships, but if I see a couple I think is cute, I definitely wouldn't mind if they got together. For me, that's Jack and Diane. This story is not a romance, this first bit is probably the most "romancy" thing you'll see me write, and it's honestly one of the first things like this I've written as well, so I'm not sure how it turned out. Basically I just needed to set the story, and it seemed to flow decently, at least to me.

I'm not sure how I feel about Diane's explanation of Riley, so let me know what you guys think...

"I'll take two," Jack said, holding up two fingers and smiling at the food truck server. He accepted the platters of food and walked back over to the table where Diane Davis was sitting, waiting for him. "Here ya go," he said as he set down her burger in front of her. "Hope I remembered everything you like on there," he added, watching her as she lifted the food to her mouth. She took a bite, nodding as she chewed and swallowed.

"Oh yeah, you remembered everything," she assured him.

"Good to know that my memory is as good as it's always been," Jack said cockily, leaning back and stretching in his chair before sitting forward again and digging into his own burger.

"So, are you ever going to be able to tell me exactly what it is you do?" Diane asked a few minutes later. Jack wiped a bit of mustard off his lip as he regarded the woman sitting across from him.

"Probably not details," he finally said. "All I can really tell you is that Riley and I work for the Foundation, and that I guard your daughter with my life," he assured her. Diane stared at him for a minute, her face not giving away any of her thoughts. "Am...am I in trouble still?" Jack asked, leaning forward a little to look her straight in the eyes.

"You're always in trouble Jack," Diane replied with a small smile. "In fact, you are trouble."

"Well I would disagree with you on that, but I know that that would only end badly for me, so I will just agree with you; yes, I am trouble," Jack said with a wink. The two of them finished their burgers with no more talk about work, though Jack knew that probably wouldn't be the last time he was asked about his job and the work he had dragged Riley into.

After finishing their food, the two of them stood up and began walking down the street hand in hand.

"She missed you, you know," Diane said, looking ahead of her as she spoke. Jack glanced at her.

"Yeah, she told me the reason why she's been so mad at me is because I...I did exactly what her dad did when I left," Jack replied, quieter than he had been all day.

"For the first few months after you left, it seemed like she was going through the stages of grief," Diane continued. "I heard her talking to herself, muttering about how she knew you weren't actually gone. When she would go to school I would check her computer; she had been trying to track you, find you any way she knew how. She seemed to skip the anger stage, moving right into bargaining. I think she was trying to bargain with you," she said, turning to look at the man she was next to.

Jack didn't talk. He knew Diane still had more to say, and he honestly didn't know what he would have said at the moment. "Her depression stage didn't last very long, which I was grateful for. The depression was replaced by anger though, and even though she tried to hide it, I could tell that it was eating her up inside. I don't think she ever moved on from anger, if we're being honest. She learned to hide it, but I knew. She never moved on to acceptance."

"Diane, I'm so-"

"Shush. I wasn't finished. I was going to say that I don't think she moved on from anger until you came back into her life. She was obviously still royally PO'd, but when I saw her again with you in Canada, despite the situation that we all found ourselves in, that was the most…I don't even know how to describe it, but she was different than the last time I had seen her."

Jack was once again unsure of what to say. "I...are you saying that…"

"I'm saying that you came back into her life," Diane finished. "After so many years, you came back and she saw that she had a second chance with you. That's more than she ever got with her dad, and I wanted to thank you. Thank you for being there for my daughter, and for giving her a seconds chance."

Jack was unsure if she meant second chance as in getting her out of prison, or simply by coming back into her life. "All I ever wanted was to mean something to her," he said. "I never thought I did; that's part of the reason I left, besides the fact that I seemed to be putting a strain on your relationship together."

"The first thing anyone needs to learn about Riley is that it takes a while to gain her trust. She looked up to you, Jack," Diane assured him.

"So what you're saying is don't mess up again?" Jack asked in clarification, giving the beautiful woman next to him a quick smile. She smacked him lightly on the chest.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," she affirmed. "Because you know that if you hurt my little girl again, I will end you," she added, staring Jack dead in the face.

"Sir, yessir," Jack said, saluting the woman, his eyes wide. Diane lifted her eyebrows at him. "Ma'am," Jack backtracked quickly, smiling as he did so. Diane laughed at his expression, and neither of them saw a man running full speed at them.

The man crashed into the pair, causing Diane to stumble a bit and knocking Jack completely to the ground. "Hey!" Diane yelped as she fought to maintain her balance. Jack struggled under the man for a moment before finally managing to throw him off.

"Hey man, you gotta watch where you're goin'!" Jack exclaimed as he got back on his feet.

"Find Alyona," the man said, looking Jack straight in the face. "Tell her 'White Rabbits.' I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," the man muttered as he hurried away, not giving the two another glance. They stared at the retreating figure in confusion.

"What was that about?" Diane asked.

"I have no idea," Dalton replied, rubbing his shoulder a bit. "Maybe a drunk." The pair continued walking down the street, eventually pushing the man who had run into them to the back of their thoughts as they continued to talk and catch up.

0-0-0

Jack settled on his couch, propping his feet up on the recliner and leaning back a little as he turned on the TV. The first channel that popped up was the News, and after realizing there were no games on, Jack returned to the news channel.

"...we go now live to Felicia, who is live at the scene . Felicia, tell us what's going on."

"Well Tom, police have put up a barricade up, but from what we've heard, a man, who has been confirmed as Serbian Mafia member Boris Savic, was found murdered tonight right next to the harbor. Police are not confirming the cause of death at this time, but his identity has been verified."

The reporter kept talking, but Jack was more focused on the picture that had popped up on the screen. Staring at him was the face of the man who had literally run into him and Diane earlier.

"Dude was a member of the Serbian mafia?" Jack muttered to himself in surprise. He sat thinking about the man for the next few minutes, then he pulled out his phone and texted Diane.

"Are you watching the news right now?"

"No, why?"

"That guy that ran into us today? He was a member of the Serbian Mafia"

"Really? What's the news doing talking about him? And what do you mean 'was'?"

Jack was about to respond when the lights to his house shut off, plunging the rooms into darkness. The agent stood up, his hand immediately going to the drawer in the end table where he kept his spare gun. He slid the drawer open and grabbed the piece, pointing it in front of him as he walked around the couch. He felt around on the wall, flipping the light switch a few times, and when nothing happened, his gut feeling that something was wrong solidified even more. Jack heard his phone buzzing over on the recliner where he had left it, but before he could move or do anything about it, a piece of plastic was flung over his face and pulled tight.

He jerked against the person holding him, flinging himself forward and causing the man to stumble, giving Jack enough leeway to reach up and yank the plastic away from his mouth. He immediately turned around and rammed his gun-toting fist into the face of the man who had attacked him. His attacker blinked a few times, but other than that gave no indication that he felt any pain, even though his nose was pouring blood. Jack was a little taken aback by how calm the man was reacting, but he didn't have time to think about it as a creak behind him alerted him to another intruder.

Jack whirled around, bringing his gun up and firing a shot. He had a small moment of satisfaction when he heard a grunt of pain as his recently-fired bullet found a mark.

The dark house made it harder to see where his attackers were, but they had made a mistake by turning off his lights. Jack knew his way around the house; these men did not. Jack hurried down the hallway, avoiding the clothes basket he had lying in the middle of the hallway. The men following him were unaware of the obstacle and Jack chuckled as he heard them grunt when they tripped over it.

Jack ducked behind a corner, waiting for the men to walk by. When he saw two shadows passing by, he reached out and grabbed one of them, flinging that man into his partner. The two of them crashed into the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, giving Jack the perfect opportunity to launch himself at the intruders.

He collided with the one closest to him, using his momentum to swing himself around, dragging the guy to the ground as he kicked out, catching the second intruder in the gut. The first guy recovered faster than Jack was expecting, and from the streetlight shining in through a window, Jack saw the glint of a knife right before it was swung towards him. He jumped back in the nick of time, barely avoiding having his stomach sliced open. He delivered a punch to the second man's face as he attempted to get up. "Stay down," Jack growled, turning back to the man with the knife.

He heard a soft whistling noise and held up his arm instinctively. He hissed as he felt his forearm burn, the knife having successfully made contact. Sirens sounded in the distance, and everyone froze. The sirens eventually faded away, but the pause still gave Jack enough time to try and gain the upper hand. He sprung back into action, hitting the wrist of the hand holding the knife and sending the sharp weapon clattering away. The dark figure on the floor began to move, and Jack kicked him, causing the man to collapse once more. "I said stay down!" he repeated crankily as he brought his gun up, aiming it towards the remaining man. "What do you guys want?" he asked, his breathing only slightly increased after his fight.

"Where is it?" the man at gunpoint asked in a thick accent. Jack's forehead crinkled in confusion as he tilted his head.

"Where is what?"

As he waited for the other man to answer, Jack heard footsteps behind him, but he was too slow in turning around. Pain exploded at the base of his neck and he dropped like a rock, unconscious before he hit the floor.

Okay, you can't fault me for that cliffie, I had to get you hooked on the story somehow, right?

...Did it work? Or did I scare you all off with the first scene with Jack and Diane? XD

Did the story make sense? Were you able to follow it OK?