A/N: First an apology. Sorry folks but I have a terrible habit of assuming everyone has seen all the episodes of STFBE and thank you to 71cottes for filling in the blanks.

Dan Malone was in 'Hit and Run' and right at the end he suggested going out for a coffee some time and Sue agreed.

Mark Marshall's name came up in 'Concrete Evidence' as an agent from another Unit.

And Zoja, you're thinking of Scott Mundeen.

Enough waffle! Thank you for all the reviews and enjoy!

o-xxx-o

The sun had been shining in D.C. for the last week and the girls had taken it as a positive sign of an early spring, with shopping sprees, new wardrobes and romantic getaways the main topics of conversation but this morning they'd all woken to lowering clouds, cold temperatures and snow flurries turning the mood in the bullpen to gloom and despondency. Myles opened his mouth to speak but Lucy was way ahead of him.

"Don't you, dare..."

"I believe you owe me an apology." The Bostonian gloated smugly.

The rotor scowled at him. "Okay, you were right and we were wrong."

"Thank you."

"So much for the romantic weekend," Tara sighed. "I'm just glad I didn't pack away all my warm sweaters."

"Did you and Stanley have somewhere picked out?"

"There's a place we like to go up the coast. They have a sauna and a spa and…"

"My idea of hell…" Myles groaned.

"So, what would your perfect weekend be?"

"A visit to an art gallery or an exhibition followed by a leisurely lunch to discuss what we've seen and a brisk walk home to burn off the extra calories."

"Sounds very… educational," Tara commented.

"You mean boring. No wonder there's no sign of a Mrs Myles Leland on the horizon."

"Excuse me Ms Dotson but I don't see a ring on your finger either."

"Maybe not, but I'm working on it," she winked at her female colleague. "What's up?"

"My phone..." Pulling it out of her pocket Tara checked the message.

"It's probably Stanley telling her not to even think of going shopping because he's already cut up their credit cards."

"It wasn't a message smart guy, it was a reminder."

"Something good..?" Lucy queried curiously.

"Carly's birthday, it's next week." All the smiles in the room faded. "So, do we get her a present?"

Lucy shrugged, "I guess…"

"Perhaps we should get something little for Judy too, so she doesn't feel left out?"

"Why, not..? You can add them to the pile you bought for Christmas and they can un-wrap them when they come home. I'll be happy to…" He broke off abruptly when he noticed a figure in the doorway and tried to convey with a discreet jerk of the head that they had company.

"If, they ever come home," Lucy sighed and Myles threw his hands up in disgust.

"What?"

"Behind you..."

They both turned in time to see Jack disappearing back down the corridor.

o-xxx-o

Bobby returned fifteen minutes later and walked into an invisible wall of unhappy silence. "Whoa, I think I liked it better when everyone was full of the joys of spring. You're not gonna let a little snow shower dampen your spirits are you?"

"Actually, it was more like an Arctic blast," Myles muttered without looking up from the file he was reading.

"What's going on?" He quickly scanned the room. "Where's Sparky?"

"Ask little Ms Sunshine over there."

"Luce?"

"I didn't know he was there."

"I tried to warn you…"

"And how exactly was anyone supposed to figure that out?" She asked mimicking the movement he'd made. "I thought you had a crick in your neck or something."

"What did you expect me to do, write it in a letter and tie it with a red bow?"

"Would someone please tell me what happened here?" The Aussie demanded in exasperation.

Between the three of them they managed to give him the whole picture.

"I thought we'd agreed never to talk about Sue and the kids when Jack was around?"

"We thought he was still at his meeting, we had no idea… Sorry…" Tara returned to her desk and sat down, immediately grabbing one of her furry creatures and stroking it.

"How long's he been gone?"

"Maybe, twenty minutes. Bobby…"

"Forget it Luce, what's done is done. I'll go see if I can find him."

"D was looking for you."

"Thanks Harvard, I'll see him on my way out.

o-xxx-o

"You know, there's a whole bullpen full of worried people back there," Bobby stated as he sat down on the park bench next to his friend. "Even Harvard's concerned, must have been quite some exit you made."

"They were talking about Carly's birthday."

"Yeah mate, I know." He put a reassuring hand on Jack's arm.

"I let them down Crash, Sue needed my help and I let her down."

"You played it by the book, that's all anyone could have done."

"Then the book's wrong!" He snapped angrily. "And now she's out there, somewhere, just her and the girls. No friends, no family, no husband…"

They'd had this conversation over and over but, just like the first time, he didn't know what to say to make it any easier. "Sparks, there was no choice and if it was anyone else, you would have accepted that a long time ago."

"But it's not anyone else, it's Sue and Judy and Carly… Maybe if…"

"You need to stop torturing yourself. It wasn't any penny-ante street crime they walked in on that day, it was a contract killing and if they'd found her… I don't think you need me to tell you how that would have gone down."

Jack covered his mouth with his hand and screwed up his eyes.

"They're out there somewhere Jack, living and breathing and Mark Marshall and his unit are still working on finding the killer. I'm damn certain they won't give up until they catch him."

"She didn't say 'goodbye'."

"What? When..?"

"The day S.O.G. came and spirited them away. She wouldn't even look at me, just put the kids in the car and climbed into the passenger seat without a glance in my direction. She was so angry. I know she blames me for destroying her life."

"She was completely blindsided, mate. She was scared and worried for the kids and yes, probably angry too. But this is our Sue, she never liked being protected from anything, you of all people should know that. Once she'd calmed down and thought it through, I'm sure she would have understood. She and the girls are alive and safe because of what you did. Hold on to that."

They sat in silence for a while then Bobby looked at his watch and slapped his knees with the palms of his hands before standing up. "Well, I don't know about you Sparks but I have a job to get back to and I'm freezing my assets off sitting here. You, coming..?"

"I'll be there in a minute."

"Make sure you are, okay? I have an appointment with Metro and D needs to see you about the money laundering scam, then tonight we're going out on the town."

"Bobby, I don't think…"

"Beer's on me and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."

o-xxx-o