A/N: Thank you to Mariel for being a great beta, any mistakes are mine due to tweaking after she sent it back.

Disclaimer: WAT is owned by CBS and Warner Brothers and they should have taken better care of them. I'm just playing with the characters again.

NB: This is set about 4 months after the Without a Trace series ended. I'm not saying that this is what should have happened; it's just a version of what could happen and I'm not sure people will like what I'm doing -it's J/S of course, but it's going to be tough getting there. I'm not aiming for a long story like But Not Forgotten and the chapters will be shorter -at least that's my plan. There will be minimal mention of casefiles (I'm a bit over thinking them up) and little team interaction, except when required, so if that's what you like it's not my main focus. I'm also writing this to get a lot off my chest in the aftermath of the way the tv series ended and I've used a familiar character from season 2 to help me out.

The story is basically rated T, but with occasional excursions into M territory, I guess -like this chapter.

What Is Denied

Chapter One

Xx-

You can tell a lot about a man in bed.

Sam still couldn't clearly remember the one night stand with Brian that had resulted in Finn.

Too drunk, and way too stupid on her behalf.

She didn't regret the decision to have the baby –never, never that- but she was starting to regret other decisions she'd made.

Especially now Brian had finished with a grunt and had rolled off her to his side of the bed. Without looking she knew he was grinning broadly as he put his hands behind his head.

He's going to say something asinine.

"That… was awesome."

…And there it is.

She stared at the ceiling, forcing a smile in reply that was as real as her faked orgasm had been.

He's so easily pleased, it's tragic.

Martin had never really done it for her, not in retrospect –too much like a brother, she'd reasoned as afterthought.

But this, with Brian, was worse.

Much, much worse.

Choosing to live with a guy because you share a child is one thing-

Hoping your sex-life –a sex-life which was an expected outcome of living with said guy who is father of your child- would improve, was another.

Perhaps if she'd remembered that first drunken fuck they'd had, she wouldn't be here right now.

As she pulled the sheet up to cover herself, she certainly knew one other thing -about Brian's bedroom technique:

He's no Jack Malone.

Xx-

"I thought we were going to stay in touch?"

Looking up at who had just spoken, Jack pulled off his glasses, a smile lighting his face as he recognized the woman leaning against the doorframe. "Jessie!" he exclaimed standing up. "Come in, sit down."

As Jessica Prince did so, she frowned. "Christ, I don't know what you've done to your hair Jack… but it's awful."

"Thanks, it's good to see you too," Jack threw back as he sat down, feeling he should still blame Hanna for the look, but it had been a while and he had no real excuse. "How the hell are you?"

"Pretty good. I have to say your office is probably bigger than our whole department space," she observed, taking in the surroundings again after four and a half years.

"Ah yes, the Brooklyn-Queens resident agency in Kew Gardens -you've been there awhile," he stated.

Jessie looked surprised, but not in a bad way. "You've been keeping an eye on me?"

Giving a casual nod of his head, Jack contrived a slight smug look. "I read the memos that come through. You know you could have gotten a job around here after you finished Quantico."

"I didn't want any more help."

"Putting a word in for you at the Recruiting Office hardly counted, and you certainly took some time to apply."

"Well, there was stuff with my mom, you know, the breast cancer…" she reminded him, although Jack had remembered.

"Lorraine's fine now?"

"Getting there, her five year check is coming up, and we think it's all okay."

"That's great to hear… It's been a long time, Jessie -you look good," Jack complimented. She did; her face wasn't as drawn as it used to be and he was sure her hair was now a richer, redder shade of brown.

Jessie looked a touch taken aback, then awkward. "Uh, thanks, so do you."

There was a pause and Jack wondered if he'd said the wrong thing.

She stood up abruptly, confirming his thoughts. "Look, I can't hang around for long –I'm due back in court shortly but I just wanted to catch up."

Rising also, Jack wanted to apologize somehow. "We don't seem to have done much of that in only two minutes-"

"So… how about grabbing something to eat tonight?"

Surprised by her again, Jack was pleased at the invitation. "Sounds like a good plan."

"I'll try to be back here around 6."

"If I'm not here-"

"You're on a case, that's fine, no problems." She headed to the doorway. "I'll see you later," she said, flashing him a grin.

"Sure," Jack said as he watched her go, realizing he'd been too quick to think that he'd said something wrong.

Far from it, it seemed.

Later that afternoon, after checking himself in the mirror in the Gents, he ducked out of the Bureau for a quick haircut.

Xx-

Finished with her Thai beef salad, Jessie laid her fork on her plate. "Didn't you and Samantha have something going on a few months ago?"

Jack wasn't all that taken aback; looks like he hadn't been the only one keeping an eye on things. "We did, but it's over –she's with the father of her son." It didn't hurt him to say it anymore.

"Was it bad?" she asked taking a swig of her beer.

"Not really," Jack acknowledged. There didn't seem much else to say.

Facts were facts.

However, he was actually enjoying himself. It was the first time he'd been out for dinner in ages, and to have such an agreeable, attractive companion was a bonus. The last few months hadn't been easy; the thing with Samantha and their abrupt ending; then a month later his daughter returned to Chicago, the lure of being with her precious boyfriend becoming too much. It also hadn't shocked Jack that it hadn't taken long for them to split up on her return –he'd nearly said I told you so when Hanna had phoned him with the news, but her tears had stopped any flippant remarks from him. She had then proceeded to blame him for persuading her to stay in New York, as part of the reason for the break-up, and their father/daughter relationship was rocky yet again. He felt sorry for Maria, having to deal with the emotional detritus –as well as Kate's evident delight at her sister's unhappiness- but he knew she was better equipped than him for it.

Jessie was looking at her beer, contemplatively.

Jack indicated her almost finished glass. "You want another?"

"Oh, no, not at all." She leaned forward, an enquiring look on her face. "I was just wondering, is there… anyone now?"

Jack pushed his knife and fork together on his plate, resigned. "No, just me," he said quietly.

That's how it's meant to be, I guess.

It was something he was used to, ultimately.

He watched Jessie finishing her glass before she smiled brightly at him. "Then perhaps we should do something about that; let's go back to your place."

Yet another nice surprise from her.

Why the hell not?

Jack stood up. "I'll grab the check."

Xx-

Jesus Christ, she rode him like they were teenagers; he thought he was going to have a heart attack. He didn't mind that she liked being on top for most of it; it meant he could leave all the effort to her while he just watched, letting her set the pace as she held his hands down against the bed, giving her added thrust when wanted, which seemed to be quite a lot.

When she came she was loud, and it helped Jack along no end.

"That was fucking great," she purred, leaning down for a hungry kiss. "I always knew you had it in you."

"And I'm glad you dropped by today," he panted, wondering if he should check his pulse.

"Me too," she said, lifting herself slightly to reach down to grab the base of the condom, so he could slide out of her without spillage. She then lay beside him, pushing the hair away from her perspiration covered forehead. "Man, I needed that."

Jack wasn't about to admit that she wasn't the only one. Things with Samantha had dried up pretty quickly –certainly once Brian had moved in- and since then he'd gone to bed quite alone.

Taking the condom off, he wrapped it in a tissue from the bed stand. As he did so, he looked over at Jessie, he wasn't quite sure if she wanted to be held or not.

Perhaps she'd read his mind, as she got up. "Bathroom," she said, grabbing the small parcel from him.

Okay, so much for enjoying the afterglow.

His eyes appreciatively followed her naked figure as she walked out. She'd put on a little weight since he'd seen her last, and whether it was through working out or a healthy diet, it was all definitely for the better. He hadn't commented on the scar from her gunshot wound –thanks to Mark Casey- and she hadn't made anything of his own scars, sustained over the years. It was one plus of being with someone from the same line of work.

When Jessie returned, Jack had made a nice pile of pillows for them to lie against, but he watched in somewhat mute shock as she started to pull on her clothes.

She caught his look as she did up her bra. "I'm needed for work."

"I didn't know you'd been called out."

"No, I'm scheduled for a stake-out tonight… Didn't I tell you?"

"Ah… no." He would have remembered that being mentioned during the evening.

"My bad… I'll grab other my things on the way out. I'll call you," and she leaned in for a quick kiss.

"Okay."

Staring at his bedroom walls and ceiling, he waited until he heard the front door close before getting up and going to the bathroom.

While not quite believing the rapidity of the evening's events, Jack was pleased that Jessie seemed to have enjoyed herself. She'd been very different from his ex-wife, a million miles different from the frankly lackluster-in-bed Anne, and as for comparing her to Sam…

He refused to let a shade of regret about the latter ruin his thoughts or current mood.

As Jack started to run the shower, he didn't know quite what had gone on afterwards with Jessie's quick departure, but he knew one thing:

She'd been right.

It really had been fucking great.

Xx—

Samantha returned from court just before 5pm and was standing in the bull pen wondering what to do next. There were things to do and papers to sort, but she wasn't in the mood.

"Tough day?" asked Vivian, looking at her over a large bundle of files.

Samantha sighed. "Just frustrating; there's a continuance, and just more sitting around before that like yesterday. I wish I didn't have to be there so much." She looked over towards Jack's office, just in time to see him leaving. He wasn't leaving alone. "Who's that with Jack? Is that Jessie Prince?" Half question, half disbelief.

Vivian glanced over to catch a fleeting glimpse as the two people in question disappeared from view. "Yes. And it looks like they're going out again tonight."

Again? Samantha felt the familiar sting of jealousy, which took her completely by surprise. "Jessie Prince…" she repeated to herself as she sat down heavily, glancing again towards where she had seen Jack and Jessie.

Suddenly it was like the day had just gotten worse, and she didn't know why.

No.

She knew damn why.

Xx—

To be continued.