A/NWell, this started out as a drabble, then a short story and it is now a very long one-shot. it is written for Emma who requested it. it's mainly Matt centric but all the others are mentioned. theres a second part coming, though maybe not tomorrow. Hope you like it!!!!
Disclaimer: anthing to do with Standoff belongs to FOX. I own Aileen, Mike, Bethany, Jackson, Tyler and Lachlan
Matt walked through the FBI office, sending smiles and greetings to the appropriate people before sitting down for another day at work. He looked down at his cluttered desk before turning his gaze towards Emily's frighteningly quiet and blank desk next to him.
"Wishing you were somewhere else" teased Frank, breaking Matt out of his thought as he walked up behind him.
"Nah, just thinking about the paperwork I have to get done before Cheryl comes in" grinned Matt, running a hand through his unruly, dark hair distractedly.
Frank sat down on the desk shaking his head before smiling at his friend.
"Mate, staring at her desk isn't going to make her appear there" advised Frank "How long has it been since you saw her anyway?" he asked teasingly.
Matt ducked his head, embarrassed slightly at how lost he seemed without his partner by his side.
"Hour and a half" he muttered, avoiding direct eye contact with Frank. After all, one look of longing seen and he would be teased forever by tactical, something he wasn't to keen on happening.
"Well, don't spend the whole day staring at her desk" grinned Frank, pushing himself up, to head down to tactical headquarters. He had a meeting in the kill house he couldn't miss "Remember, it is half your fault she isn't here" he yelled over his shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah" waved Matt, acting annoyed despite the grin worming its way onto his face.
He looked over at Emily's desk one last time before turning back to his own.
"Right" he muttered, drumming his hands against the wooden surface. He sat back, tapping his foot absently. "This is not good" he sighed. One day without Emily and he was completely lost.
He turned to face Lia and Duff as they came down the hallway, chatting about the New Mexican place round the corner from Lia's apartment.
"We should go" suggested Duff before noticing the sly grin Matt had plastered on his face.
"Where ya going?" asked Matt, hopping up out of his chair to face the two.
"No where" answered Lia quickly. A little too quickly noted Matt.
"We were just talking about the New Mexican place down the road from my place and Duff suggested that the team check it out some time"
"I see" nodded Matt "the whole team?" he asked, noticing Duff's disappointed look.
"Yeah" smiled the young man, masking his annoyance at missing his date. Maybe if everyone like it he could bring Lia back there another time he decided.
"So, you two up to anything today?" asked Matt, hoping to hitch a ride with someone who actually had plans for the day.
"I've got a pile of paperwork" sighed Duff "Frank's loaded most of his off on me so I'm stuck doing that"
"Yeah, I've got a meeting all morning" nodded Lia "why?"
"Oh, no reason" sighed Matt.
"You bored without Emily, Flannery" teased Lia, punching him in the arm softly.
"Hey" he cried, pouting, while rubbing a hand over his arm.
"Think you hurt his pride more than his arm" grinned Duff, heading off towards the elevator "See ya later" he called over his shoulder before turning the corner.
"So" smiled Lia, turning back to a sulking Matt "Think you can handle one day without Emily?" she teased "or will we have to drag her away from her day and bring her in?"
"No, no" sighed Matt "I'll be fine. Go have fun at your meeting" he said, waving his hand in the air for emphasis.
"Only if you're sure?" asked Lia.
Matt gave her a pointed look, before returning to his desk. He threw all his paper work to one end, leaving a small clear area in front of him. His desk had cluttered up so much over the last 10 years that Cheryl swore some of it was antiquity now.
There was stationary and pens of all shapes and sizes sticking out from odd angles underneath the piles of unfinished paperwork on one side. He had sworn Emily had organized them the other day but obviously she hadn't, after all even he could not get his desk to the state it was in, in three days.
On the other side were the fire extinguisher, and an assortment of baseball balls and paraphernalia that he wasn't allowed to take home, for fear the house would end up like everything else he owned. Emily had pointed out to him some time early in their relationship that he, under know circumstance, was allowed to clutter the house with his junk. So naturally Matt, never one to throw something of value out, had dumped everything on his desk. It was days like today though, when he couldn't find anything that it didn't seem like such a good idea.
Finally behind the assorted junk he had collected was a line of photographs each showing a different time in his life. The first was of a small family on a pier. The two young boys, one with dark hair the other lighter, where dangling their legs over the water, pointing to something floating beneath them. The mother was trying to get the boys to look at the camera while the father had his arm slung around her holding her close to his side. Despite the commotion, all four where grinning and Matt felt oddly comforted by the content looks on his parents faces, especially after a hard day.
The next few photographs showed the team at various events. The annual baseball game where the guys had smashed Jameson and his crew in an unforgettable match, the Christmas party from Emily's first year where she and Matt were standing quite comfortably with each other despite it being a time when no one even had an idea about their relationship, the last one from a recent Christmas party. Cheryl stood with her new husband Mike, matching smiles gracing both their faces. Lia stood next to Duff who from the looks of it was trying to pin her beneath the mistletoe for a kiss. Frank stood with his arms wrapped around his heavily pregnant wife Aileen as she leaned back against his chest. Their fourth child, Bethany, had been born three nights later on Christmas Eve and the whole team had crowded in to the small hospital room to see the latest in the Rogers clan. Little Bethany, now three years old, was Uncle Matt's little princess, much to Franks annoyance and the two had great times tricking her daddy into embarrassing situations he refused to talk about.
The final picture, the newest, had been taken a few weeks earlier and showed another small family, though instead of a pier, they were at a park and this family had three boys, not two. A brown haired, four year old stood in between his parents, grinning wildly at the camera. Unbeknown to the camera (and the parents) he had had a spider in his pocket that was no longer there and was about to make himself known to the other members of his owners family. The next boy, a curly haired two year old was trying to escape out of his fathers arms to chase the ducks down by the river. He had quacked at them all afternoon till on had run towards him causing him to bolt into his dads lap where he had stayed until then. Now, with the fear forgotten, he was back to his game and was quite annoyed that the ducks wouldn't follow his lead. The youngest, a soft haired baby boy, was curled up, fast asleep against his mothers warm chest where he remained for the rest of the afternoon, deep in the land of nod.
Matt smiled softly, watching his family over the years. As much as he loved his parents and team mates, no one made him happier than his family now, his three crazy, gorgeous boys and his beautiful wife.
"Hey Matt" called Cheryl "How long have you been here?" she asked from her doorway.
"Two hours" replied Matt, surprised how much time had passed already.
"Have you gotten anything done in that time?" she asked again, not caring who in the office heard.
"Umm, not really" replied Matt sheepishly, 'so much for appearing unlost' he thought.
"Matt" sighed Cheryl "you're going to be stuck here for the rest of the day so you may as well make the most of it" she advised.
"I know, I know" sighed Matt dramatically, turning back to his desk and mountains of paperwork.
Cheryl watched him a few seconds more, noticing the tell tale signs of being separated from Emily and the boys. It was a look she got quite often sometimes and she wondered if Matt knew how lucky he was to be able to work with his wife. 'Of course he does' she smiled 'the man literally breaks down whenever she's not around'
She wondered towards his desk, shaking her head at the state of it compared to Emily's. It still amazed her sometimes that the two were so different.
"Matt" she said laying a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah" he said, swivelling around in his chair quickly.
"Calm down" she smiled "You'll see Emily and the boys tonight"
"I know" sighed Matt, smiling at the picture on his desk "I'm used to not seeing the boys, it's just weird not having Emily with me, which sounds kinda pathetic but…" he trailed off leaving the sentence open for Cheryl to finish.
"I know" she nodded "but I do have to give Emily some time off every now and again" she grinned "I know you and the boys treat her like a slave but I can't"
"We do not" defended Matt, feigning shock "I am nothing but a wonderful, supportive husband" he replied.
"Yeah, right" laughed Cheryl "from what I've heard you and the boys are dead to the world once the baseball starts"
"Hey, is it so wrong for a man to enjoy the little moments like watching baseball with his three sons?" asked Matt.
"Well when you put it like that" conceded Cheryl, laughing at Matt's serious expression.
"I mean it would almost be a crime not to with three sons and all" he continued
"Whatever Matt" smiled Cheryl, standing up once again "unlike some people I am actually going to get my paperwork done now so I can enjoy the barbeque tonight at your place" she teased.
"I know, I know" sighed Matt "I have to get mine done"
"Well you better get going, at this rate you won't make it to your own party" said Cheryl, walking into her office.
Matt leaned back in his chair, smiling softly, before diving into the pit of paperwork litter his desk.
Half and hour later he sat back exhausted, ready for a coffee break. He glanced at the clock. Surely it wasn't too much longer till he could return home to his family. 10:30 am it read, 6 and a half hour to go.
He lay his head in his hands, promising to never allow Emily a day off again.
"Matt, get back to work" called Cheryl, not even looking up form her desk.
"Yeah, yeah" he muttered.
He may have been completely lost without Emily, but at least it meant a big reunion tonight. Every afternoon without fail, no matter how small the gap between seeing the boys had been they always had a big hug and kiss for he and Emily, followed by a long story about preschool from Jackson, and finger painted masterpiece from Tyler and a babble from little Lachlan who had almost started talking.
The only thing getting him through the day was the promise of this little moment with his family. After all those little moments were the best part of the day, and he wouldn't give them up for anything.