One more chapter to go after this one! It's written. I'm just editing it. It'll be posted soon. Happy reading :)
Sue let out a scream at the sight of the building exploding. Lucy's hands were over her mouth. Levi was whining and whimpering, and Ella was joining in on the fuss.
"No!" Sue cried. "No, no, no! Luce, please tell me Jack got out!" She looked anxiously at her friend.
"I...I don't know," Lucy said, her voice wobbly. She reached to press the button to talk to the team. "Myles? Are you there? D? Anybody?"
"Here," Myles said, coughing. "We're here."
"Is Jack with you?"
There was no response. Lucy felt such dread in her chest. She'd felt it the moment she saw everyone exit the building except for Jack. She looked at Sue, who was crying openly now.
"Myles? Is Jack with you?" she asked again.
"That's a negative, Luce," Myles answered.
"Oh. Oh no," Lucy said, clutching her stomach.
"Lucy?" Sue asked. "Is he okay?"
"He...he's not with them," Lucy answered. Sue collapsed to her knees, and she reached to hang onto Levi tightly. The dog let out a small cry before resting his head on her shoulder. Lucy sank into the chair and felt like she couldn't breathe.
...
Tara was sleeping now, and Bobby watched her. She finally looked peaceful. He knew she'd have a rough go after this for a while. He had meant what he said when he told her he'd be there for her. A noise at the door made him look to see Stanley standing there.
"Hey," he said. "I didn't know you were here."
"I was with her when it...when it happened," Bobby explained. "I drove her here. I didn't want to just leave her."
"Thank you," Stanley nodded. "It's very much appreciated." He went to sit down across from Bobby beside Tara's bed.
Bobby didn't say anything else as he watched Stanley look at Tara. He couldn't read the man's face very well.
"I want to marry her," Stanley said after a moment. "But I think she wants something from me that I don't want to give."
"That might hinder things," Bobby agreed.
"I hate to lose her," Stanley went on, looking at his hands. "But I don't want her to be unhappy either."
"I think you should be having this conversation with her..." Bobby attempted to say.
"I also can't help but think she's in love with someone else," Stanley cut him off.
"Y-You do?"
"Yes. We've grown a bit distant in the past month or so. I just have this feeling she's met someone else."
"Oh," Bobby said, swallowing. "I'm sorry."
"No, I'm sorry. I am rambling. I shouldn't have," Stanley said, sniffing hard and standing up. "Excuse me." He stepped out of the room, and Bobby continued to watch Tara sleeping. He wondered if what Stanley said was true, and that made him wonder who Tara could possibly be in love with.
...
"Jack? JACK!"
He groaned and opened his eyes, feeling the pain shoot through his body. He coughed.
"JACK!"
Hands were on his shoulders now, and he shouted in pain. The hands released him immediately.
"Jack? Are you all right?" Myles asked. Jack managed to turn his head to see Myles's worried face.
"Hurts," he said hoarsely.
"Well, you did jump out of a second story window after all," Myles agreed, looking up. Jack coughed again. He'd run hard and thrown himself out the window right as the blast went off. He'd landed on the delivery truck that had luckily been parked underneath, rolled after landing, and fell down the front of the truck to land on the pavement below. He was pretty sure he had a broken arm among other things. Myles helped him sit up, and the world began to tilt. He fell back down again.
"Just hang on," Myles said. Jack heard him radio for help. He thought of Sue. He hoped someone would tell her he was okay. He didn't want her to worry.
...
"Lucy? He's all right," Myles said, breathing hard as he hurried alongside the stretcher. Lucy and Sue were both watching on the monitor.
"Thank God," Sue breathed.
"Thank God indeed," Lucy agreed. "Keep us posted, Myles."
Sue's heart ached to see Jack hurt, but he was alive. That was what mattered the most. She'd go see him very soon. With Renner dead, the threat was no longer hanging over their heads.
"I can't believe he killed himself," Lucy said, shaking her head. "What made him decide to do that after all of this?"
"I don't know," Sue said. "We'll never know."
She looked at Ella, who was officially an orphan. She wondered what would happen to the little girl. She'd become rather attached to her, but she didn't know if she could be a good mother. She went to hug Ella and hold her tight. She'd think about this more later. For now, she wanted to get to Jack.
...
Bobby looked up when Myles and D came in with Jack on a stretcher. He dropped the magazine he'd been reading and leaped to his feet.
"Whoa! What happened?!" he demanded, rushing over to them. The staff stopped them from following as they took Jack away, but he gave Bobby a weak thumb's up before he rolled out of sight.
"He jumped out of a second story window," Myles answered, shaking his head.
"What the hell for?!" Bobby exclaimed.
"Renner was rigged to a bomb," Myles explained. "He was going to take us all out with him."
"Sweet mother of..." Bobby trailed off. "But...why?"
"We don't know," D shrugged. "I guess he thought taking out some FBI agents would complete his life's career. I don't know."
"Why are you here?" Myles asked, suddenly realizing. Bobby opened and closed his mouth, unsure of what to say.
"Um, it's not my place to say," he answered carefully. D raised a brow.
"What?" he asked.
"Did something happen to Tara?" Myles inquired.
"I cannot confirm or deny anything," Bobby answered vaguely.
D and Myles looked at each other, but they let it go. They went to go sit and wait for news about Jack.
...
Tara was discharged by the end of the day. She went to join the others in Jack's room. He was sitting up with his arm in a cast and sling. He'd also had a concussion and other minor injuries, but he was cleared to go home as well.
"Are you all right?" Lucy asked, seeing Tara.
"I'm fine," Tara answered. "Just a friend had an accident, so I came to be with her. Bobby drove me and then stayed to make sure I was okay." It was a big lie, but she couldn't tell them. Not right now.
"Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry! They're okay now?" Lucy asked.
"Yes. They'll be just fine," Tara nodded. She avoided Bobby's eyes. "I have to go, though. Stanley is here. We're going to have dinner. Glad you're okay, Jack."
"Thanks, Tara," Jack said. She smiled and started to walk out when she remembered something.
"Myles," she said, stopping next to him.
"Yea?" he asked.
"You need to look at a file on this," she answered, handing him Natalie's memory stick. "It's called 'Myles.'"
"Oh," he said, taking it from her. "Okay."
"See you guys later," Tara called over her shoulder as she walked out. She met Stanley by the entrance, and they walked out together.
...
The others had left. Sue had gone to use the restroom. Bobby was all that was remaining. Jack looked at his friend and could see conflict in his eyes.
"Just tell her," Jack told him. "Trust me when I say that you'll regret it if you don't."
"I can't get in the middle of that," Bobby gestured with his hand. "Her and Stanley. I can't. I won't be the reason they break up."
"What would you tell someone who's making this mistake?" Jack asked. "Huh? You'd tell them they were an idiot."
"I think the fall has addled your brain," Bobby answered, reaching to shake Jack's shoulder fondly. "You've taken the term crash to a whole new level. Rest up. We'll see you later."
"Coward," Jack called after him. Bobby just held up his hand in response as he walked out. He passed Sue in the hallway.
"Everything okay?" she asked him, seeing his face.
"Oh, yea. Just tired," he smiled.
"Okay," she said uncertainly. He gave another smile before leaving her behind too. He went home and did his best not to think about the look in Tara's eyes when she'd seen him in the room earlier.
...
Sue looked at Jack's beat up face and reached out to touch it gently. He gave her a small smile.
"I'm okay," he promised.
"You've given me too many heart attacks in a row," she accused. "My heart can't take another blow right now."
"It won't," he assured her. "I'm not going to be rushing out to do anything crazy for a while."
"Good," she said. She moved to hold his hand, and he squeezed it. The conversation about their relationship hung over their heads, and Jack was the first one to mention it. He couldn't take it anymore.
"Are you okay with...with us?" he asked. "Moving forward?"
"Yes," she nodded. "I am."
"I love you," he blurted. "I know it's really soon, but I've loved you since the day I met you, and after today...almost getting blown up...it just really made it clear that I needed to tell you."
"Jack," Sue said softly, taking her other hand to rub his non-broken arm. "I know."
"You know?" he asked, surprised.
"I suspected," she corrected. "Your kiss confirmed it, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't love you too."
"You do?"
"There's always been a feeling there for you since we met, and the stronger it got, the more afraid I got that I'd be the only one feeling the same way. I was afraid you'd reject me and I'd lose you, but then there were all these signs that showed you returned my feelings...I was just afraid to bring it up in case I was wrong."
"And now we have," he noted. "And you weren't wrong."
"I see that now," she nodded. "I feel silly for not saying something sooner."
"Don't," he shook his head. "There's a right timing for everything, and this is the right time for us."
She smiled, knowing he was right. All of their moments together led to this point in time, and they hadn't missed their chance, which she saw how much Myles was still affected by missing his chance with Natalie. She didn't want to feel the way he did right now.
"What do we do about work? Since it's not exactly allowed..." she trailed off.
"I will figure something out," he promised.
"Okay." It would be a worry for a different day. She trusted he would figure something out. If one of them had to move to a different team, then that's what would have to happen, but they would cross that bridge when they got there. Perhaps Garrett would let them keep working together since their team was good as it was.
"You and me," Jack smiled. "We're doing this."
"We are."
"Good," he nodded happily. She moved to rest her head against his, and he moved his hand to hold her close. Levi made a sound in his throat and lifted himself onto Jack's legs, giving him a look.
"Levi's on board too," Sue said.
"That's really good," Jack agreed. "I don't know what we would have done if he had said no."
Sue laughed and swatted him, and he pulled her in for a kiss. They were together. It could only get better from here on out.
...
Myles sat in his living room chair for a while, thinking. He played with the memory stick in his hands over and over. There was something he had kept back from everyone, including his sister. It was something he had sworn he'd never tell anyone because a part of him hated himself for being so weak. He wondered what he was going to see when he looked at the information on this stick. In the end, curiosity won, and he plugged in the memory stick and searched for the file. He clicked it open and felt frozen. Dozens of photos of himself popped up. There was a video file in there too, so he opened it first. He felt his heart clench when Natalie came into the frame and gave him a smile.
"Hello, Myles," she said. "If you're watching this, then it means something has happened to me. I've anticipated that I would die early from something in my career, and I guess I was right. You're probably wondering why I'm leaving you this video. I honestly don't know if you'll ever watch it, and you have every right not to. I hurt you badly not once, but twice, and I never forgave myself for either times. I should explain." She shifted in her seat, and Myles kept staring, speechless.
"I work for the CIA. I have for a long time. They recruited me not long after we got engaged. I never told you about it. I wasn't supposed to. I had to choose between a career and you, and I must tell you that I regret the decision I made. I regret it every single day. But...I also love what I do, and I've helped a lot of people. I don't know if I could have done the same thing without this job. Maybe. I'll never know. Anyway, Myles, I have to tell you something. I'm undercover with a man known as Renner. I've almost finished, but I think he's caught on to me. I think he knows I'm CIA or some kind of agent. Getting married to him was not part of the plan." She paused here, becoming a bit emotional for a moment before getting control of it.
"I had to prove I loved him, so marriage happened. I eventually had to prove my loyalty next, which led to me killing a man named Frances Doucet. The thing is, he isn't actually dead. I faked it. He's in WITSEC. You'll find my fingerprints on that gun, but it didn't commit murder for me. All of my files and information are on this laptop hidden in a secret file, and the rest are on this memory stick. I hired a PI over a year ago to keep tabs on you so that I would know you were okay. I hoped you would have married someone else by now. I hope it's not because of me that you didn't. I did love you, Myles, so very much."
Myles felt emotion in his chest again as he looked at Natalie on the screen.
"I still love you," she said softly. "Seeing you that fateful night over two years ago was something I think about every single day. I know I hurt you more when I left the next morning with zero explanations about anything, and I left you with no closure once again. I'm sure you probably hate me..." She trailed off.
"I don't hate you," Myles whispered.
"I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry for everything, but I'm not sorry for Ella. Myles, she...she's your daughter. Our daughter. I think Renner is suspicious and has been from the start, which was mostly why I agreed to marry him. I didn't want him to suspect Ella wasn't his. I had to fudge some dates to make him think otherwise. I know I have no right to ask this of you, but if I'm dead, could you raise our daughter? Could you be her father? I understand if you don't want to, and if you say no, then all I ask is that you make sure she has a good home somewhere. I hope you've taken out Renner so he can't come after her. He wanted her to be his young protege, but if he found out she wasn't his...he'd kill her. I know it. I love you, Myles. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me." She wiped at her face and reached to stop the video. Myles sat there stunned. He didn't know what to feel now.
For Renner had implied he'd killed her over jealousy and her leaving, not because she was CIA or that Ella wasn't his. But why else would he want her laptop? Myles shook his head. They'd never get an answer now.
...
Tara looked when Stanley came into the room. They'd had dinner and were now awkwardly hanging out in her apartment. She gave a weak smile back when he smiled at her. He sighed and sat down next to her, folding his hands.
"Tara," he started.
"I can't do this," Tara blurted out. His mouth stayed open for a moment before he closed it and nodded slowly.
"That's what I was going to say," he told her. "But I didn't know how to say it, especially after all of...this."
"I need to be with someone who wants kids," Tara said. "I'm sorry."
"I get it," Stanley said softly. "I think you should also be honest with yourself about who you really love."
"Wh-what makes you say that?" Tara asked.
"We haven't had our hearts into this for a while now," Stanley said. "I thought we had a shot, especially after the whole Adam thing, but I get the feeling your heart has fallen for someone else."
"I...I'm sorry, Stanley," Tara said sadly. "I really am."
"It's okay," he smiled back just as sadly. "I'm not angry. I understand. We had a good run, and if things were different, then maybe it would have worked out."
"Maybe," Tara agreed. She didn't know what else to say. In the end, Stanley came to give her a hug. She started to cry, and he cried a little too, but he gave her a smile as best as he could and patted her shoulders.
"Take care, Tara," he said. "I hope he returns your feelings."
"Goodbye, Stanley," she whispered. He gave one last smile and was gone. She sank down into the chair, her hands pressed into her face. She really didn't know what to do now.