Started June 1st, 2013

Note: Set a few months after the events of 9x01. Pretty massive spoiler!alert if you haven't seen that ep. I haven't read Tricks fic in about a year, so I hope this hasn't been already been done, but it's something that I needed to get out of my head.

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Thursday afternoon found the UCOS team in their office, trying to make a dent in the paperwork for the case they were wrapping up. Sandra had taken the opportunity to go through the mail the young girl from the mailroom had dropped off earlier that morning. She sat perched on the edge of the sofa, flicking through the pile, throwing one envelope after another onto the coffee table, unopened. Brian and Gerry were at their desks supposedly typing up their reports, but Sandra wondered how much had actually been written when all she'd heard for the last hour was them yabbering on about football.

"Gerry Jr's got practice tonight you should come down, watch a star in the making."

Sandra waited to hear an excuse from Brian but he surprised her.

"You buying dinner?"

"If I must." Gerry whined, but she knew he was thrilled. "I'll cook us up something when we get home. Esther not back yet?"

Esther, yes, gone away for the week to visit her sister.

Sandra smiled, throwing another envelope onto the coffee table. Poor Brian hated being in his house alone, he'd agree to just about anything not to go home. Gerry didn't care; any excuse to show off the pride and joy that was his grandson … and his cooking.

"Sandra?" She heard him ask.

What …how did he know she was listening to them?

"Football? Pass thanks."

"Dinner?" Gerry knew she rarely turned down an invite for food.

"If I must." She sighed, imitating his earlier comment. "Speaking of food, where the hell is Steve?"

Despite being the middle of January, the day had started off with clear, light blue sky and the sun, which hadn't been seen for days, was actually out. So Sandra had sent Steve down the street to pick up lunch at the new sushi bar.

That had been half an hour ago.

"Maybe he got lost?" Brian asked seriously.

Gerry scoffed.

Sandra was annoyed.

"It's like a minute walk up the road," she groaned, about to flick another envelope onto the table, but the scrawly handwriting looked familiar. She turned it over for a return address but there was none.

"Come over about 8 then?"

"What?" she asked now distracted.

"For dinner."

She nodded in acknowledgment, turning the envelope back over and checking the post mark. It had been sent from France a few days ago.

"Hey, look, a letter from Jack!"

She waved the envelope excitedly in the air, in Brian and Gerry's direction.

Gerry looked over at Brian confused, but he just shrugged his shoulders.

They both watched as Sandra turned back to the table and ripped open the envelope, pulling out a single paged letter. Like an overexcited child on Christmas morning, she was absolutely beaming.

Gerry covered his mouth with his hand, "Did you tell her?" he whispered, though he doubted Sandra was paying attention to their exchange anymore.

"Of course not…did you?"

Gerry just glared at him. Brian should know better, and he did, but that didn't stop him asking. There were many times when the three of them – Jack, Brian and Gerry - had discussed things only amongst themselves, as Jack and Sandra had, as Brian and Gerry still did. Brian wondered if Gerry and Sandra had private conversationsthat he wasn't privy to, like he used to with Jack.

Jack had been gone several months now, Sandra hadn't tried to contact him and she didn't think the others would either. She… they all respected him far too much to disrespect his wishes, even if she especially, didn't understand them. Sandra didn't know what she expected to read, maybe something to help her make sense of all this, thrown in with a few vineyard references and all the glorious wine she was missing out on. As soon as she began reading Jack's words though, Brian and Gerry watched her smile disappear, replaced with her "concentration" face, the look she got when she was trying to fill a hole on the murder board.

After a very long minute, Gerry couldn't stand it any longer.

"Weeeeeeeeeeeell, what'd he say?"

"He um…I need to…"

Sandra got up, dropping the letter back down on the coffee table but it missed and floated to the floor as she walked out of the office, the door slamming behind her.