Friends Will Be Friends.
Summary: A murder dredges up something from Jack's past which has hidden from the team, and raises questions for Bobby. WARNING: Contains homosexuality. If you don't like that, don't read the fic.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Sue Thomas FB Eye, any others belong to me, including Scott Thomlison. I'm not making any money out of this, it's purely for fun and to satisfy my own twisted imagination.
" Hey!" Bobby said, dropping into the seat beside Jack's desk, " What's with the gloomy face partner?"
" Nothin'."
" Right..." Bobby frowned, his expression curious, " Jack? What's up, mate?"
" Nothin', okay?!" Jack yelled, shooting to his feet and striding out of the office.
Bobby watched him go, his face shocked, " What... just happened?" He asked, stunned, turning to face Tara and Myles, who were staring at him with identical expressions of confusion. Bobby stood still for a moment, then rushed out of the room in Jack's tracks, " Jack! Jack!" He followed his younger friend out of the room and to te elevator, where Jack managed to dash through just before the doors closed, " Damn!" Bobby yelled, punching the wall, then wincing.
He found the other man sitting on the steps outside the J. Edgar Hoover building, head in his hands, shoulders shaking. Bobby bent down, placing a gentle hand on Jack's shoulder, causing Jack to turn his tear streaked face up towards him.
Bobby lowered himself down onto the steps, his arm quickly, but softly snaking round Jack's shoulders, " What's up, mate?" He asked quietly.
Jack ran a hand over his face, " Uh... I don't wanna talk about it." His voice was small, like a young child's.
Ruffling his best friend's hair, Bobby sighed, " You know you can tell me anything, right?"
" Yeah." A breeze kicked up the dead leaves on the steps, and Jack shivered violently, suddenly very aware that he wasn't wearing a jacket or coat. Bobby pulled him closer and he leant into his friend's embrace, " I'm okay, Bobby, really."
Bobby gave him a disbelieving but didn't say anything. When Jack's mouth remained firmly closed and his gaze trained on the floor, Bobby said, " Come back inside, all right, mate?"
Jack turned slightly to look towards the building, " They're all gonna want to know what's going on." He replied quietly.
" And you don't have to tell them anything. Just like you don't have to tell me anything." Bobby tried to look reassuring, but knew he failed by the look on Jack's face, " Just come back in, all right?"
Jack sighed, then heaved himself up, " Yeah."
When the two men entered the office, the rest of the team were there. They all looked up as one, but at Bobby's pointed glance at them all, they turned away. Jack shot Bobby a grateful, if small, smile as he threw himself down into his chair. Suddenly he stood back upright and dropped a file onto Bobby's desk. Bobby looked up, his gaze questioning and Jack just nudged the file towards him. Bobby flicked through the file, his expression becoming graver as he read, " Oh," was all he said when he was finished.
" What?" Sue asked, have turned around to face her friends.
Bobby sighed, then said, " You guys remember my friend Scott Tomlinson?"
" Yeah." Lucy said, " Why?" She too turned round to join the coversation, with Myles, Tara, and D following her.
" He was murdered two days." Bobby said quietly.
Sue stood up and walked over to Jack, putting her arms around him. Jack didn't move, except to lean slightly into her embrace. Levi walked over and nuzzled Jack's leg. He bent down and patted the dog's head, smileing slightly.
" He was found in his apartment with a gunshot wound to the head..." Bobby paused, " Jack, you don't have to listen to this."
" 'M okay." He said, but his response was flat, almost lifeless.
Bobby regarded Jack for a second, his expression calculating. Then he seemed to come to a decision, nodding slowly, " He was spread out as if he was posed, and a paperbag was over his head. No one's been able to come up with a sensible answer to that one yet." He shook his head, " Why are killers always so weird? Apart from that... no physical evidence to speak of, and maybe two or three suspects. Jack... anyone you can think of who isn't on here?"
Jack shook his head, " No." He said shortly.
Bobby nodded silently, as D stepped fowards, " So what are we going to do about this?" He asked. Jack's head snapped round, and all eyes fixed on Bobby, who looked slightly surprised that everyone who looking to him for guidance.
Then he said slowly, " Well, Jack's too close, he can't participate in any investigation, he's too close... But nothing says that there isn't a way to get the rest of us in on it!" He seemed to become charged with a kind of energy, almost filled with excitement.
Sue quietly approached Jack, sitting down opposite him. She signed, " Are you okay?"
Jack sighed, rubbing a tired hand across his forehead, " Not really." He signed back.
" Australian, ya drongo!" Bobby's annoyed shout rang out across the room. Frustrated, he threw the phone down.
" What?" Jack asked.
" Stupid idiot!" Bobby shook his head, " Ah, it's just that stupid drongo two floors up. Micheal... Garry. Won't even let me have a look at the case for him. I'm sorry mate." His voice and expression were full of sympathy.
Both Bobby and Sue expected Jack to get to his feet and angrily give Garry a piece of his mind. Instead the young man just leaned back and said, " Fine. It's what I expected, I guess."
Bobby glanced at Sue, their expressions both worried. Bobby suddenly noticed how young and small Jack looked, and was. Clearing his throat, Bobby asked, " Jack... Do you want to talk?"
" I... wouldn't know what to say." He paused, " I don't know why I'm taking this so hard. We weren't even that close. I mean, if it was one of you two, I would understand why I felt like this. But Scott and I... we... you saw, we barely talked." Whining solefully, Levi placed his head in Jack's lap, looking up at him with large doggy eyes. Jack leaned forwards and gently ran his fingers through the hair on Levi's head. It was obvious that both man and dog were close, through a special bond they shared, their love and friendship with Sue.
" I think you two should go and grab some coffee, talk this over." Sue told them, realising that the two friends needed to talk, but she was getting in the way, like the space between their desks. They looked at her, questioningly, " Go!" She made shoeing motions with her hands, Bobby couldn't hold in a chuckle, and even Jack seemed unable to keep a straight face, a smirk sliding over his handsome features.
They both nodded and got up, leavng together. Sue leant back in her chair with a sigh. There was more to this case, she was sure of it. And she had a feeling that there was something that Jack wasn't telling them. He seemed out of character; maybe it was just the shock, but she had seen worse things happen to the young agent. This was different somehow. She tried to rack her brain for everything she could remember from where they had met Scott Tomlinson.
--
Four months earlier.
Jack walked into the office and frowned. It was empty except for the one man who was standing with his back to Jack, looking round the room with unconcealed curiosity.
" Scott!"
The older man turned, arms wide, " Hey Jack!"
Jack briefly hugged his old friend, then threw himself down in the chair behind his desk, slouching, " So what's up?"
" What? A guy needs an excuse to come visit an old friend?"
Sue had entered the room by this point and was listening quietly, keeping Levi back. Jack's eyes flicked over to her, not missing a thing, and she smiled gently.
" Of course not." He said, careful not to give away that Sue was there as Scott obviously hadn't noticed her presence.
As Scott and Jack talked, gossiping mostly, Sue observed Scott, feeling that there was something not right about the man, especially from Jack's reaction to him and to her presense in the room. The fact that he had barely acknowledged her or introduced her had to mean something. Scott was a fairly unassuming man, but had a large bone structure and broad shoulders. He was closer to Bobby's height than Jack's and had a greying bear and moustache. The corners of his eyes crinkled when he laughed and he did so often. He looked annd behaved like a kindly older man, but somehow there was something suspicious underneath that Sue couldn't quite see or interpret. Then, out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Jack's hands move in a purposeful way and she saw that he was signing something, " Run a background check on him. His name is Scott Tomlinson."
She nodded, then quietly got up, leaving quickly and quietly, sure that any typing on the computer would alert Scott to her presense. Levi glanced over at Jack who gave him a nod, and he padded out after Sue, even his expression was worried.
What Sue found when she ran the background check was enough for her to run and find Bobby. Scott Thomlinson was convicted felon, and he had just walked straight into the J. Edgar Hoover building.
" Gutsy." Bobby said, " Yeah, I know this guy, old friend of Jack's. He's all right Sue." She frowned so he said quietly, " I'll go keep an eye on them."
" Thanks." She replied, gratefully.
--
Now.
Jack groaned as he ran fingers through his hair. He and Bobby were sitting on opposite sides of a table in the local coffee shop, their coffee going cold, untouched in the mugs in front of them.
" Soooo..." Bobby began, " Wanna talk?"
" Not really." Jack looked as if he had a headache and Bobby gave him a small sympathetic smile.
" Ya gotta talk, Jack! I can't help you otherwise."
" Yeah..." Jack nodded slowly, " It's... Bobby, I... It's just..." He stopped for a second, " Look, can we talk about this somewhere else?"
" Sure, mate."
Getting up from their seats they made their way into the cold rain outside. The weather reflected Jack's mood and he couldn't supress a low, chuckle. Bobby looked over at him, a slight smirk on his face and they knew they were both thinking the same thing. Then, as one, they began to run through the rain, laughing like they had when they were younger and more carefree. As suddenly as the laughter had started it stopped, and tears were streaming down Jack's cheeks. Bobby reached out and grabbed him as he sank to the floor. He held Jack until the sobs stopped racking the young agent's body.
They ended up in Jack's apartment, Jack curled up on the couch, Bobby's arm around his shoulders.
" So, tell me about it." Bobby said.
Jack looked up at him, " Okay." He said slowly, " Look, this... is going to sound really weird." He paused, " I... never wanted you to know... it..." He trailed off, the smallest trace of tears beginning to form in his eyes.
Bobby squeezed his shoulders tightly, " What is it Jack? Talk to me."
" I... Scott and I were... together."
Bobby fought the impulse to pull away, but he knew that Jack needed him too much now, " As in... boyfriends?" He asked, shocked.
" Yeah." Jack whispered, sliding closer to Bobby. Bobby pulled him in close, hugging him tightly.
" It's all right Jack. You're still you."
" Andf it doesn't mean I'm gay!" Jack added quickly.
" In know. But if you were... it wouldn't matter."
Whoooo! First chapter of my first EVER Sue Thomas FB Eye fic! Apologies if any of the grammer is off... no spellcheck at the moment- my laptop doesn't like me. Neither does OpenOffice! Anyway, reviews would be nice- constructive critisism would be lovely... and much needed... as well as any quibbles about the timeline if I have anything wrong. I know some people may not appreciate certain aspects of this fic... and it's very different to most other fics in this category... don't sue me!!! Pardon the pun, lol.