From Chapter 27

Christine had wanted to say more but she knew it would only aggravate the situation so she settled into his arms, when Mac pulled her into him.

Mac could feel his heart thumping in his chest and wished that it could drown out the single thought that was starting to embed itself into his mind.

She doesn't need you anymore.

Chapter 28

"Good night, Linds!" Jo exclaimed, all bundled up, when Lindsay entered their office.

"Have a nice evening, Jo." Lindsay said but Jo noticed the lack of her usual enthusiasm.

"Is everything okay?" Jo asked, as Lindsay slumped down on her chair.

Lindsay sighed before looking up at Jo.

"It's been almost a week since the Sparks case and I still could not get over it. I mean, the boy killed himself to escape his mother's abusive ways. He did not know who to turn to and he felt like there was no other way but to kill himself. I just can't get over it. A child should be able to seek and find safety in his mother instead of running away from her because she is a threat to his safety and well being." Lindsay leaned back in her chair and thought of the peaceful expression on Leo Sparks' face when they found him inside the car.

"His suffering had finally ended." Jo said as if reading Lindsay's mind.

"Hey babe, what's wrong?" Danny asked when he noticed the look on Lindsay's face.

"Sparks" Lindsay simply stated.

"Oh, not that again." Danny said, patting Lindsay's hair. "Let's go, they're waiting for us."

"Yeah, the change of environment might help. Go and enjoy the night." Jo said as she tightens her scarf.

"You're not going with us?" Danny asked as the three of them walked out to the hall.

Jo shook her head. "No, I'm not."

"Uh huh, why?" Danny asked, a smile starting to play at the corner of his lips.

"You have plans with Cade, don't you?" Lindsay asked, her eyes shining, the earlier despondency had already been cast aside.

Jo chuckled at Lindsay.

"Yes, I have, actually." She said smiling.

"I'm really happy for you, Jo." Lindsay said sincerely as they got on the elevator.


"…you'll know it's Jo." Don said, making the guys around him laugh.

"You'll know it's Jo what?" Jo said from behind them, as they got off the elevator.

"Busted!" Adam said, making Don and Sheldon laugh harder.

Mac was standing beside Don with a big smile on his face.

"Nothing, we were just exchanging anecdotes about your morning grumpiness." Cade said and gave her a quick kiss on her lips when she reached his side.

Mac looked away just as Cade's lips touched Jo's, suddenly feeling embarrassed to see them kiss, his smile gradually fading from his face.

"And you're not on my side?" Jo said, smacking his arm playfully.

"Uh, I don't want to lie in front of so many CSIs. They'll call my bluff." Cade said teasing her.

Jo glared at him playfully, before linking her arm into his.

"Okay guys, we'll go ahead. Enjoy the night." Jo said cheerfully, about to turn away from them.

"Oh no, Jo. You're going with us. We want to know more about Agent Cade." Don protested, looking at Mac for support but did not receive any. "We need to know if he's not some FBI agent who's under cover and is out to get you." Don joked, not noticing the uneasiness on Mac's face.

Cade noticed it, though. He did not know Mac that well, but he knew that look of uneasiness and for a split second, he wondered if the discomfort was because of him being with them or because both of them would be with Jo.

"Yeah, JD, your boyfriend seems cool, you might want to share him with us." Adam quipped but then scratched his head when he realized what he had just said.

"Uh, that did not come out good." He muttered, emitting laughter from the team.

"Come on, Jo. You can date tomorrow. Join us tonight. It's been a long time since the last time we went out together." Danny said.

Jo rolled her eyes at them before looking at Cade, her eyebrows raised. Cade knew that it was her way of asking him if he wanted them to join the team.

Cade shrugged before grinning at Jo.

"That's it! I like you already, man. One brownie point for you." Don exclaimed causing another round of laughter.

Jo did not have any intention of going with them especially because Cade was with her. Opportunities for them to be together were hard to come by and she wanted to make the most out of it. She was also worried of how Cade would feel knowing that Mac would also be with them. As for her, Cade's presence was enough for her not to be perturbed by any worries about Mac. In the end, she decided to let him decide if they should go with the team or not.


"Hey, you two lovebirds, you might want to tell us what's so funny about whatever it is that you're talking about. We need a good laugh too, you know." Don yelled at Jo and Cade who were walking a bit behind from the rest of them, making Jo laugh more.

"Oh, Don. You're just jealous because Lovato's not with us." Sheldon teased Don.

"Wow, way to go, Jo. Everybody's on your side." Don mocked her, before turning to face Mac, both of them leading the way to the restaurant.

"We'll be partners for tonight, whaddya say, Mac?" Don said patting Mac's shoulder, making Mac shake his head at him, smiling at his goofiness. "Then you Adam, you're with Sheldon." He said jabbing his thumb at Sheldon.

"Don, you haven't had anything to drink yet and you sound like you're already drunk." Jo said from behind, making the team laugh.

"Ohh, Jo Danville strikes back." Don said, stopping to wait for Jo. "Well, what's a lonely guy to do huh? You're happily walking with your boyfriend, arm in arm, while… look at me, I'm alone and unhappy." Don feigned a sad look on his face, trying to keep his smile from showing.

Cade could not help but chuckle at the scene in front of him. He had never witnessed such a light, loving relationship among team members in FBI. It was a novelty for him to see the admirable camaraderie this team had.

"Aww… come on, I'll be your partner tonight." Jo said, releasing her arm from Cade's to hoop it into Don's.

"Hey… how can you be so bold, Jo. He can see us." Don said in a low voice, pointing at Cade's direction.

"It's okay Don, he understands." Jo said, playing along with Don's game.

"Oh, okay. Don't worry man she'll be all yours when we get to the restaurant." Don said to Cade, making him laugh.

"You better make sure of that." Cade retorted, feeling comfortable around them.

"Jo, he's so generous, I don't want him to feel lonely. You can link your other arm in his, too. I won't mind." Don said smiling.

"Oh, thank you." Cade said, looping his arm into Jo's, enjoying the playful vibe around them.

Everybody was smiling and laughing as they watch the mini scene played by the three of them, except for one who was displaying a forced, tiny smile on his lips.


The newly-opened restaurant was bustling with people and an available table for eight persons at dinner time was almost next to impossible. Lucky for them, a table would be open in just a few minutes so they opted to wait at the bar instead of trying their luck on another establishment. The bar though, aside from being dim, lit only with subdued lighting, was almost the same as the main dining area in terms of the people milling around, waiting for a table. They split up into three small groups with Jo and Cade in one, Mac and Don in another group, and Danny, Lindsay, Adam and Sheldon as the last group.

When the maitre d' informed them of the availability of their table, Don stood up to look for Sheldon's group at the head of the bar near the doors, telling Mac to look for Jo and Cade at the far end of the bar, near the back. Mac was about to protest but Don had already immersed himself into the sea of people. Mac sighed and navigated his way against the throng of people who were coming and going around him. He finally located the familiar figure sitting on a stool a few steps away from him and he carefully picked his way towards her, dodging drinks and people as he went. He was only a couple of steps away from her when he suddenly stopped dead on his tracks, his throat suddenly went dry. He wanted to immediately turn away but his mind lost control of his body when his feet won't move, and his eyes stared at Jo and Cade who were tenderly and lovingly kissing each other, oblivious of his presence.

He felt paralyzed and could only be thankful when someone accidentally nudged him, breaking the spell. He turned away at once, feeling all the blood in his body rushed up to his head, making him feel a little dizzy. He had just taken a couple of steps away when he stopped walking upon hearing someone calling his name and turned around to see Don.

"Have you told them yet?" Don asked him, his eyes searching behind Mac when he did not see Jo and Cade with him.

"Uhh, no. No, I… umm, I didn't see them." Mac uttered, thinking of any reason he could come up with to get away from Don's gaze.

"Are you okay?" Don asked him when he saw the troubled look on his face.

"Yeah. I'm just going out to make a phone call. You go and look for Jo." Mac said, leaving a confused Don behind him.

Don went the same way Mac had gone and took only a couple of steps before he found Jo and Cade smiling at each other, gazing into each other's eyes.

"There you are." Don said, walking nearer to them. "Quit the lovesick look, our table's ready."

Cade grinned at Don's remark and at Jo's flushed face.

"Okay, how about the others?" Cade asked as he held Jo's elbow when she stood up from the stool.

"They're at the table except for Mac who went out to make a call." Don sighed heavily.

"I asked him to look for you guys while I go get the other group only to bump into him just now, on his way out telling me that he did not see you when you were just a couple of steps away from where I saw him." Don said, his concern for his friend growing as he speaks each word out.

"Oh you know how he is, he never liked crowded places." Jo said, noticing Don's worried look.

"Well, yeah. But when I asked him if he'd seen you yet he stammered his way just to tell me that he did not. And he got this troubled expression on his face that… I don't know. I'm just worried about him, I guess." Don finished, waiting if Jo would confirm his observation.

"Maybe it's something about work. You said he rushed out to make a phone call?" Jo said, trying to remember if there was any sign that they should be worried about Mac that she could had dismissed before.

Jo stopped walking when she felt her arm being stretched too far back. She turned around and saw that Cade, who was holding her hand, had stopped walking.

"What is it?" Jo asked him when she walked a couple of steps back to him.

"Detective Flack, where did you say you saw Detective Taylor when he went to look for us?" Cade asked Don when a thought crossed his mind.

"There" Don pointed at the spot where he saw Mac, thinking that Cade might have observed something too.

Cade looked at the distance of the spot where Don said he saw Mac to where they were sitting, and made some calculations in his head.

Jo saw the knowing look on Cade's face and asked him about it.

"Nothing. Just that it was really dark where we were sitting and the lights over head where he was standing might have obscured us from his vision." Cade said instead, not wanting to let both Jo and Don know what he had in mind.

Don shrugged at him relieved and disappointed at the same time when he had not observed the same thing Don had.

Jo kept an eye on Mac through dinner and noticed the discomfort Don was telling them earlier. She could only guess, though if it was something about work, or Christine. She did not want to ask him about it and preferred to just wait for him to talk to her if he wanted to, but she intended to keep an eye on him and make sure that he's going to be fine.


Jo shifted her body to face Cade, causing Cade to loosen his hold on her so she could move. He had been holding her from behind, watching her as her shoulders went up and down in synch with her breathing.

Jo let her arm drape around his waist, nestling up to him. Cade pulled her closer to him before placing a kiss on top of her head, making Jo open her eyes.

"You're not asleep yet?" She croaked when she saw him looking at her with no trace of sleep in his eyes.

"I'm not yet tired. Go back to sleep." Cade said kissing her forehead.

"Is something wrong?" Jo asked, drowsily, "You suddenly became quiet at dinner."

Cade shook his head at her before tucking her again into his chest, willing her to go back to sleep.

"I saw it, Cade. At the bar. Tell me what you did not say earlier." Jo said, pulling away from his embrace, struggling to keep her eyes from closing.

Cade sighed heavily, knowing that Jo would not let this conversation end without knowing the truth.

"I just made some calculations." Cade said lazily, hoping that his voice would lull Jo to sleep.

"When Mac was where Don said he was standing, and if he's really looking for us, it would be impossible not to see us." Cade said gently, trying to work out in his mind how to tell Jo what he thought had happened.

Jo heard what Cade said but her mind was still fuzzy with sleep and his breathing and low voice was easing her back into dreamland.

"But I thought you said…" Jo muttered against Cade's chest, not capable of even completing her question when sleep started to cloud her mind.

"I only said that because I don't want to create some… confusion especially with Don there." Cade mumbled against her head.

"The time when Mac went to look for us," Cade whispered as he tried to envision the scene again in his closed eyes.

"We were kissing, Jo. Not that he did not see us, but he saw us kissing that was why he did not go near us." Cade sighed, his arm unconsciously tightening around Jo as if by instinct.

"Hmm... It would be too… embarrassing for him to approach us?" Jo asked sleepily, unsure if it was Cade who was being vague or her mind had already fallen asleep.

Cade smiled bitterly when he realized how much Jo was struggling to stay awake, thankful that she was barely conscious, making it difficult for her to be able to form her perception. But at the same time hoping that Mac was really just too embarrassed to approach them.

"Yeah. He might think he was invading our privacy." Cade murmured instead. "Let's have some sleep before we go crime busting later." Cade said, trying to distract Jo's train of thoughts, stopping her from thinking more about it.

"Hmmm… okay…" Jo purred as her mind totally let go of consciousness, drifting her off to sleep.


Mac looked up when he heard someone knocking on his office door.

"Hey. I brought you lunch." Christine said smiling as she entered Mac's office.

"Thanks. I'm too swamped with work I did not even know it's lunch time." Mac said, giving Christine a quick peck on the lips as she put her purse down on the coffee table.

Christine looked at all the papers on Mac's desk and frowned.

"Lot of work, huh. You do this every day?" Christine asked, her eyes scanning his desk.

"Pretty much. Except if we have a crime scene to work on then I'd be out working somewhere in the whole of New York." Mac said, smiling.

"Okay, I'll leave you to it then. But don't skip your lunch." Christine said as she started walking out of his office.

"Thanks." Mac said as he sat back down to his chair.

Christine walked a little slowly, her eyes roaming around the lab as if looking for something. When she did not seem to find what she was looking for, she proceeded to the elevator and waited for it to send her down to the lobby.

Christine had just gotten off the elevator when she heard Mac calling her.

"You left your bag in my office." Mac said, handing the small purse to Christine.

"Oh, thanks. I've forgotten all about it." Christine said, hoping that Mac would not notice that she forgot her bag because her mind was preoccupied with something else.

Mac was about to say something when he heard a cheerful voice, chattering and laughing, coming from the lobby. He knew that voice by heart, and his heart started beating fast with her every drawl.

"What? I can't believe you haven't tried that. You should live a little, dahlin'." She said in exceptionally strong accent, which Mac knew was intentional.

Mac knew she was teasing somebody when he heard her use that heavy accent, and could not keep himself from smiling, waiting to see who had fallen victim to her merciless teasing.

"You show me how to live, dahlin'."

Mac's smile froze on his face when he heard the man's voice. He had already familiarized himself with that voice and knew who it belonged to even before he saw him.

"Hi, Jo." Christine said when she saw Jo and Cade walking in the lobby towards them.

"Christine! Hi! Haven't seen you for a while." Jo said, grinning widely at her.

Mac and Cade shook hands with each other and exchanged pleasantries before Mac introduced Christine to Cade.

"I saw you together the night you flew in. You walked past by the restaurant and you were so cute together, so happy." Christine beamed at them. "Hey, why don't you join us for dinner at the restaurant tonight? Say 7?" Christine said enthusiastically, earning a surprised look from Mac.

"But Christine… they might already have their own plans. Agent Conover is not always here in New York." Mac said in the most neutral tone he could come up with.

"Oh, do you have any plans tonight?" Christine asked, intentionally looking at Cade instead of at Jo.

Cade did not know what was going on but the look on Mac's face told him that this was something unusual for his wife, and something in his eyes told him that he did not want them to accept her invitation. He opened his mouth to decline her invitation and make up some excuse but Christine beat him to it.

"Come on, I'd like to get to know the person who's making Jo happy." Christine said, smiling broadly at Jo. "I'll get offended if you don't come." She added, turning her eyes to Cade, hoping that this would be enough to make him agree.

Cade looked helplessly at Jo but Jo was as shocked as Mac. Put under the spotlight, Cade did not have any choice but to accept her offer, albeit reluctantly.

"Okay, I'll see you tonight." Christine said, shaking Cade's hand and giving Jo a quick hug before she left.

Mac stood there, not quite sure what to make of the scene that had just happened. He was only able to focus again when he heard Cade's voice.

"I'll go ahead, Detective Taylor." Cade said, extending his hand to Mac, which he took in his, nodding at him.

"I'll pick you up tonight." Cade said to Jo, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Jo turned to face Mac and they both went up to the lab, neither one of them saying anything as if both were contemplating about the dinner tonight.


Mac kept on glancing at his wristwatch as if expecting someone to come or to call. Actually, he was not expecting anything at all. He was in fact, dreading the dinner tonight and as the time for them to go gets closer and closer, he could not shake the doubt that was starting to bother him.

For the past weeks, Christine's interest of Jo had instilled fear in him. He could not understand why was he scared, but somehow felt that it was logical for him to feel so. That fear got stronger after the argument they just had a couple of nights ago when he accidentally told Christine that he was worrying about Jo.

Mac was startled by his ringing phone and breathed deeply when he saw it was Christine who was calling him. Mac's forehead creased when Christine reminded him of the dinner, crystallizing the dread in him. After the call, he went out to look for Jo to remind her of the dinner before going back to his office to finalize some reports.

Mac, Jo and Cade arrived at the restaurant simultaneously, not knowing what to expect. When Christine came out to greet them, she told them that she closed down early so that she could join them. Otherwise, she would be spending the whole time in the kitchen, given the crowd at dinner time. After Christine ushered them to a booth near the window, she went back to the kitchen to serve the food. They all ate in silence at first, no one daring to initiate a conversation, aside from the compliment Jo and Cade would give Christine on her cooking skills.

The awkwardness waned little by little as the night progressed, starting from when Christine asked Jo how she and Cade met. Jo told her about her FBI stint and when she started dating Cade. The story then progressed into multiple stories as they answered questions upon questions from each other, making each of them feel relaxed.

Jo was telling some funny anecdote from her FBI days, her face glowing from all the laughter and red wine, her eyes radiant with glee, when Christine subtly glanced at Mac who was sitting beside her, silently listening to Jo. She did not expect to see what she saw and she felt her heart flinched in her chest.

Mac was staring, mesmerized at Jo. His eyes that were full of adoration, were fixed on her, so much so that he did not even noticed that Christine had been glancing at him since Jo started telling the story. His face was one of admiration that even a blind man could see how enthralled he was with the woman who was talking animatedly across from him.

Mac could only hear Jo's voice and nothing else. He could not hear the low humming of the radiator, the AUV that had just blared its horn, nor the clanking of the fork against the plate when Jo's hand accidentally brushed against it. He could also only see Jo, and no one else. It was like in a dream where your vision was only focused on the clear scene itself, while the edges were blurry making sure that you'd only take notice of the important thing, and nothing else. He saw Jo smile, laugh, roll her eyes, and gesture with her hands. He saw her shrug her shoulders, crinkle her nose, and lick her bottom lip. But he did not see the things that he should have seen.

Jo saw the serene look on Mac's face and could only be thankful that the anxiety Don had told her about had gone. She thought that since Christine had brought him lunch earlier, his anxiety the night before was brought by an argument they had had and they had finally fixed things up, and lunch was her peace offering for him. After that night in September when Mac poured his heart out to Jo, she realized that his marriage was not as happy as she thought. She knew that arguments between married couples would never be avoided. But for Mac to tell her everything, she knew that it had gone too much for him to make him open up to her like that. She could only be thankful now that they had seemed to sort their differences. The last thing that she wanted was for Mac to regress and go back to his shell; the shell that she had tried so hard to break since she met him.

Jo was talking jovially, looking alternately at Mac and Christine, when Cade took a sip of water. It was not intentional on his part. He just wanted to drink. But as he tipped the glass to drink from it, his eyes leveled with Mac's face. The water was almost touching his lips but it never did. Cade felt his heart hammered against his chest and his windpipes constricted too tight. He suddenly felt the need to swallow to ease his dry throat but ended up coughing when he almost choked in his own saliva.

Mac heard Cade's coughing and it broke the enchanting spell. He looked at Cade a bit shaken as if he'd just come out of a trance, oblivious of anything else that had happened before he snapped back to reality. He felt like he had lost his soul and it had just gone back to his body when Cade coughed.

"Are you okay?" Jo asked Cade, blotting his mouth with a napkin, her other hand patting his back.

"Yeah, I… just choked on the… water." Cade said, as he took another napkin and patted his shirt with it when the water that he was about to drink spilled on him when he coughed.

"I'll get you another napkin." Christine said, about to stand up.

"No, it's okay. Thank you. I'm fine." Cade said, smiling embarrassedly at Christine.

Christine looked at Mac who had not said a word yet, and saw the change in his expression. His forlorn look as he watched Jo patting Cade's back, while wiping at his mouth, told Christine so many things that she could had never known if this dinner did not happen. She just did not expect him to be this transparent. Then she bitterly remembered why he was this transparent. Jo was with them. He did not feel the need to protect himself. All of his defenses were down, because Jo was with them.

When they had settled again in their seats, Christine was telling them how she started the restaurant after Jo asked her about it, when Jo languidly leaned back in her seat, her right arm tenderly draped across Cade's knees, making Cade hold her hand, instinctively. When Christine told the story of her brother, Jo reached over the table to hold Christine's hand as her way of sympathizing with her.

Mac watched the exchange between the two ladies and the calmness on Jo's face as she molded into Cade's arm when he put it around her. She was so relaxed and so open that he could not help but feel the ache in his heart when he remembered how their relationship had changed after the Lewis case and then again after the Johnson case. He wished for them to go back to how they were, yet again. But he did not know how to initiate it when he did not even know what changed between the two of them and why.

It was already past 9PM when they decided to call it a night. Cade and Jo expressed their thanks to Mac and Christine before going out of the restaurant as Christine stood up to clear the plates. She was almost at the kitchen door when she stopped and looked over her shoulder at Mac who was sitting alone at the table they had just vacated.

Mac was looking down at the glass of water in front of him, while watching the two moving figures outside the restaurant from the corner of his eye. When he heard the faint sound of a car door being shut closed, he slowly raised his head and dared to look out the window, to look at the female passenger whose company he had just enjoyed, even without exchanging much conversation with her tonight. Her mere presence had been adequate enough for him.

Much like when… Mac smiled bitterly when he remembered that moment.

'…Your smile is adequate enough'

Mac could still feel how his heart had thumped in his chest then, making him smile wider, and foolishly at Jo.

Mac snapped out of the beautiful daydream when he heard the car engine's soft roar and watched as the car mingled with New York traffic. He watched the car until it was out of his sight, Jo in it with another man.

Christine went inside the kitchen when she saw Mac slowly turning his head away from the window. She placed the dishes in the sink before gripping its edge tightly. She took several deep breaths but it had only been in vain when tears started trickling down her cheeks. After a few minutes, she wiped at the tears and took in a single deep breath before going out of the kitchen to go home with her husband.