Disclaimer: The characters of Sue Thomas FBEye do not belong to me. The character of Krista Manning does.

A/N: I've rediscovered my love for this show over the last few weeks. The character of Krista was an idea I had back when the show first aired, but I was too scared to write it. I'll probably add to this as I rewatch the show, but the updates might be infrequent. This chapter just gives Krista's background. Thanks!

Sue walked into the office, the first one to arrive for work. Or so she thought. Sue was at her desk and beginning to work when she spotted someone sitting at Bobby's desk. It was a little girl, one Sue had never seen before. She looked to be about eight years old, with brown hair that curled at her shoulders. She was bent over working on something, something that involved crayons and colored pencils. Curious, Sue walked over and introduced herself.

"Hi."

The little girl looked up and smiled. "Hi."

"I'm Sue. What's your name?"

"Krista."

Sue was a little confused. "Kristy?"

"Krista." Krista repeated.

"Sorry." Sue said apologetically. "Could you spell it for me?"

"K-R-I-S-T-A." Krista said.

"Oh. Krista." Sue said. "That's a pretty name. Sorry I couldn't understand you. I'm deaf."

"Really? You can't hear me?" Krista asked. "How do you know what I'm saying?"

"I can look at your lips and read what you're saying." Sue explained. "But sometimes words get a little mixed up and I need some help."

"You can read my lips? Like a book?"

Sue smiled. "Never quite heard it that way, but that's exactly right."

"Wow. That's cool." Krista said. "Do you work with Bobby?"

"I do. Is that who you're here to see?"

"Yeah." Krista seemed to notice Levi for the first time. "Who's this?"

"That's Levi. He's my hearing dog. He helps me with things like someone getting my attention, the phone, the doorbell."

"Can I pet him? Is he friendly?"

"Levi's a big old teddy bear. I don't think he'd let me hear the end of it if you didn't."

Levi eagerly took the invitation. He placed his front paws on the chair Krista sat in, whining slightly to get her to pet him. Krista gently rubbed his head, making Levi lick her hand gratefully. Levi soaked up the attention, and whined again when Krista suddenly jumped off the chair.

"Making friends, kiddo?"

"Bobby!" Krista ran to Bobby for a hug. She only came up to Bobby's waist, so he had to bend down to hug her back.

"Hey, my little ankle biter." Bobby said as he took his seat. "I guess you're stuck with me for a bit."

"That's okay."

"How about we go get you some breakfast and I'll call Mrs. Johnson?"

"Do you have to?" Krista begged, making the rest of the room, with the exception of Sue, laugh.

"I know she's a bit of a downer…"

"Bobby, please can I stay here? Jackie's only gone for today. Can I please stay here with Lucy?"

"I don't know, kiddo…"

Krista was smart. She knew exactly the way to tug at Bobby's heart and get him to bend to her will. She clasped both her hands together as if praying and begged.

"Pleeeeease?"

Bobby sighed and looked over to Lucy. "Luc?"

"It's okay with me. I love having her here."

"Alright, fine. One day, you hear me?"

"Yes!" Krista said, sharing a high five with Lucy at her accomplishment.

"Come on. Let's go get that breakfast."

As Krista walked out, holding Bobby's hand and talking the entire way, Sue turned towards the group. "Who's that?"

"That is Bobby's daughter." Jack explained.

"His daughter? I didn't know he had any kids." Sue said.

"It's a long, weird story." Jack said.

"But one she should know, now that she's gonna be part of us." Dimitrius said. "Bobby was married for a little while. To a nice lady that worked downstairs as a secretary named Lily."

"Krista's mom?" Sue guessed.

"Right." Dimitrius said. "When they met, Krista was four. Lily was in the middle of a divorce, but it was a real whirlwind romance. Six months after they met, they were married."

"Wow."

"Yeah. They were the perfect couple for a while. Krista absolutely fell in love with Bobby."

"Where's Krista's dad?" Sue asked. The mood in the room changed dramatically, and Sue looked from person to person. "What?"

"Lily got a call one night from Spencer."

"Spencer?" Sue asked.

"Her ex-husband. Krista's father." Myles explained.

"Spencer wasn't given any kind of custody or visitation when he and Lily got divorced." Jack said.

"Why not?"

"He would leave the two of them for days at a time, and he made a habit of taking out his frustrations with his hand on Krista's face. Of course, though, he would only do it when Lily wasn't around. Lily found out when a daycare teacher called DCF after Krista got in trouble and begged them not to call Spencer."

"He would hit her? At four?"

"She was three at that point." Jack said.

"So what happened?" Sue asked. "Why did Spencer call her?"

"He wanted to talk about seeing Krista, getting back into her life. Lily left Krista with Bobby and went to meet him."

"What happened?"

"They got into an argument. Spencer showed up drunk, Lily refused to talk to him, and she left to go back home to Bobby and Krista. Spencer followed her, shouted at her, and shot her dead in the street."

"Oh my God. Poor Bobby."

"Yeah." Jack said. "Bobby was devastated, but taking care of Krista gave him something to hold on to. He was already in the process of adopting her, and the rest is history."

"Wow." Sue said. "She's a really cute kid."

"She is. But, it's a good idea not to say anything about it when Bobby or Krista's around. It's still kinda raw for the both of them." Jack warned.

"Oh, of course." Sue said. "Thanks for telling me."

"Telling you what?" Bobby had come back inside. "Forgot my wallet." Before anyone could answer, Krista ran back inside and tapped on Bobby's knee, whispering something in his ear. "It's alright with me. Go ask her."

Krista walked over to Sue and grabbed her arm. "You wanna come to breakfast with us?"

"Sue, take my word for it. It's easier to just say yes. If you don't, she'll but you 'till you do." Bobby said.

Sue smiled. "I would love to. Let's go."