A Few Days Later
Jack opened his eyes to find Levi staring back at him. He gave a slight start before chuckling. The dog wagged his tail happily before giving Jack a hearty lick up his entire face and rushing off. He groaned as he sat up. His arm was still sore, and the cuts he got from leaping through the glass window were stinging a bit, but he felt okay otherwise. He got out of bed and made his way to the main area of his apartment to find Sue finishing with Ella's breakfast.
"Hey," he said when she saw him.
"Good morning," she said back. "Sleep well?"
"As well as I can with this thing," Jack gestured to his sling and cast. She handed him a plate of toast, which he took with his good hand. He sat down and started to eat. He felt happy inside. Sue had made the decision to stay on the pull out couch to help look after Ella while his arm was healing. It wasn't like they hadn't shared a living space before.
"Thank you," he signed to her, and she smiled. She got Ella settled in her play pen. Then Levi was pressing his nose against the door, indicating he needed to go out, so Sue grabbed his leash.
"We'll be back," she told Jack, who nodded.
"I can watch her," he promised. He gave her a smile before she went out the door. He was still thinking about their conversation about their relationship and how they'd spent the last few nights talking until late and just holding each other on the couch. He still couldn't believe how lucky he was that she loved him too. Then he looked at Ella. The little girl was standing in her play pen and was eyeing up his food.
"You just ate," he told her, pointing his toast at her. She giggled.
"More!" she called.
"Oh, I don't think so," Jack shook his head. "I don't want to get in trouble." He got up and went over to her, managing to pull her out and up into his good arm. He went to sit on the couch with her, and she poked at his cast.
"You know," he said to her. "It's been really nice having you around."
"Mumma," she said back.
"I know you miss her," Jack nodded. He smiled as she turned to snuggle into him. He could do this. He could be an adoptive father. She started to smack her hands against his cast and laugh at the sound it made as well as Jack's pained grunts from the impact when knocking on his door interrupted. He raised a brow at Ella.
"Should I answer it?" he asked. She nodded, so he got up to see who it was. He was surprised to see Myles.
"Can I come in?" Myles questioned.
"Yea. Sure. What's up?" Jack asked as he led the way back to the main room. Myles stopped and looked at Ella in his arms.
"May I?" he asked.
"Sure," Jack agreed, handing Ella over to him. Myles gave her a look, which Jack caught and gave a slight frown. "Did you find something out about Ella? Does she have family?"
"She does," Myles answered. He cleared his throat and then swallowed before looking at Jack again.
"Who?" Jack asked.
"Um...it's me," Myles managed to say. "I'm her family. Her father, to be exact."
Jack let these words settle in the space around his ears and stared at Myles as he did so. Then he looked back and forth between Ella and Myles, and he could suddenly see the resemblance. How had he missed it all this time?
"Wow," he finally said. "That...that's...I did not see that coming."
"You and me both," Myles nodded. "But it explains the feeling I get every time I'm around her."
"What feeling?"
"The one that says she belongs with me. I didn't know how to describe it before," Myles added. "I just felt a pull whenever I held her, like I never wanted to be separated from her."
"Well, it makes sense then. If you're her father."
"She told me I was."
"Who did? Natalie?"
"Yes. In a video message."
"Wait, wait, wait," Jack said. "I'm lost. You said your relationship with her was ancient history."
"I lied."
"So why don't you start telling me the truth then?" Jack suggested, reaching to hold his arm in the sling with his other hand. It was the best thing he could do to mimic crossing his arms.
"It was a long time ago when we were engaged," Myles started. He had moved to sit down at this point. Ella was content to sit quietly in his arms. She started to fall asleep. "I hadn't seen or heard from her in years. Then just over two years ago, I ran into her in a restaurant. It was a fluke. I didn't even know she was still around here. We had dinner. The attraction was still there, and I was weak. I still loved her, and she clearly still loved me, so we spent the night together. I thought I'd get some answers as to why she had left me at the altar years ago and maybe another chance to be with her, but when I woke up, she was gone. She left a note saying she was sorry and couldn't be with me despite her feelings. I never told a soul because I didn't want people to know what an idiot I was for thinking we could have another chance, that I couldn't stop loving a woman who did nothing but hurt me."
"You're not an idiot, Myles," Jack said quietly.
"Seeing her dead like that broke me," Myles choked. "Seeing that she had gotten married and had a child...that broke me even more."
"Did you suspect at all?" Jack asked.
"No," Myles shook his head. "I didn't. I felt drawn to Ella, though, but I just thought it was because she was a part of Natalie. Turns out it's because she's my daughter."
Jack was quiet for a moment when Myles stopped talking. Everything he'd just said ran through Jack's mind. He knew the reality of keeping Ella had been questionable after all, and he wasn't one to separate a child from their parent.
"Do you want to be her father?" he asked eventually, not knowing how else to word it.
"I...I do," Myles answered. "I really do. I know you've gotten attached to her..."
"She's your daughter, Myles," Jack interrupted. "I can't stand in the way of that. Besides, it's better to be an uncle anyway. We get away with more stuff." He grinned.
Myles gave a half laugh at this. He kept looking at Ella, who was now sound asleep.
"I want to make her proud," he said. "Both of them. I know I don't owe Natalie anything, but I owe it to Ella to give her a good home and keep her safe."
"We'll start the transition as soon as possible," Jack promised. "I'll get in touch with social services and let them know."
"They'll probably want a DNA test," Myles mused. "Which I'm fine to do, but I believe Nat when she says Ella is ours."
"All right," Jack agreed. Sue came back at this point, and she was surprised to see Myles. Levi ran to the couch once he was let off his leash.
"Hi, Myles," Sue said. "Everything okay?"
"I think so," Myles answered.
"Come here," Jack said to her, gesturing. "We have something to talk about..."
...
Tara was curled up on her bed. She didn't answer her phone. She didn't answer the door. She just wanted to be alone. The space inside of her that had housed her little baby felt so empty, and she tried not to think about how much she had imagined what that child would look like or who they would grow up to be. She felt more sad about that loss than the fact she and Stanley had broken up, and that made her feel guilty and bad.
Pounding on her front door startled her, and she had an idea who it was.
"Tara! I know you're in there!" Bobby called.
She made a sound in her throat. He kept coming over and calling, and she ignored him every time. She couldn't be around him right now, not after everything. He was also the reason she couldn't commit to Stanley, and she didn't want him to find that out because she knew he'd feel bad, and she didn't want him to feel bad. She pulled her pillow over her head and tried to ignore him. He stopped pounding after a bit, and it was quiet.
"I'm not going away," his voice said right above her head.
She shrieked, lurching out from under her pillow and throwing her second one at him out of pure instinct. He caught it easily.
"What're you...? How did you...?" she tried.
He held up his lock picks in return before putting them away. Then he sat down on the edge of the bed and gave her a serious look.
"I know you're hurting, but you don't have to hurt alone," he said. "Remember my promise?"
"I just need to be alone," she insisted, sitting against the headboard and pulling her knees in tight.
"You're avoiding me," Bobby reasoned. "Why?"
She pressed her lips together and gave her head a shake. She didn't want to get into this right now. He sighed and gave her a sad look in return.
"Was I wrong?" he asked softly. She gave him a confused look now.
"Wrong about what?"
"If you're asking me that, then I was definitely wrong," he said, moving to get up.
"That's not fair," she said after him. "You can't just come in here and spout a riddle and expect me to know what the hell you're talking about!"
"But you see, I think you do know what I'm talking about," Bobby shot back at her. "You just don't want to admit it."
"Admit what?!"
"I'm going to go now," Bobby said instead, walking away. Tara was up on her feet in an instant, running after him. She knew damn well what he was talking about. She just hadn't known if he'd felt the same way.
"Stop," she ordered when she caught up to him. His hand was on the door handle. He turned his head to look at her. "I know what you're talking about, but I didn't dare think it was something you felt too. Ever since our...moment...I've had this feeling inside of me every time I looked at you, and I didn't know why. I tried to convince myself I was happy with Stanley, and when I found out I was pregnant, it sank in that I couldn't ever be with you because I owed it to Stanley to try for the sake of our family. Then I lost my baby, and suddenly Stanley doesn't want kids and he's figured out I'm in love with someone else to boot, so he walks away. You coming in here and asking me if you were wrong felt like a trick question I didn't want to fall for because in the back of my mind, I feel that if Darcy comes back, you'd jump back to her again, so why get hurt?"
"No," Bobby said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't. Darcy wouldn't get a second chance, not when I'm in love with someone else...someone I always had a soft spot for and never realized what it meant until recently." He looked at her seriously. "You."
"You mean that?" Tara asked.
"Every word of it," he answered. Tara didn't know what to say next. Hearing him say he was in love with her had overwhelmed her. She knew she was in love with him too.
"Okay," she finally said. "Good to know we're on the same page."
"Are we?" he asked. She knew what he was implying. She hadn't said she loved him back. She was leaving him hanging. She started to nod when tears suddenly sprang to her eyes. She was awfully sick of these emotions just hitting her hard at random moments.
"Yes," she managed to say. "We are. I'm in love with you too, Bobby. So much." She blinked through her tears as he let go of the door handle and moved to gather her into his arms. She buried her face into his shoulder, crying and laughing now. His hand holding the back of her head was the most comforting thing ever. After she got her emotions under control, she tipped her head to look up at him. He wiped her remaining tears with a small smile on his lips.
And then he kissed her.
Hours Later: At the Bull Pen
Everyone was standing in a semi-circle looking at Jack, who was standing in front by the board with all of Renner's information on it. He cleared his throat, getting ready to start.
"So," he began. "Renner is now deceased. His three associates from Natalie's files have been located and arrested. This case is officially closed."
"Um, what about Natalie's prints being the only ones on the gun used to kill Frances Doucet?" Tara asked, looking around the room with a confused expression. She'd gotten the report earlier.
"Myles?" Jack asked, looking at him.
"Natalie was CIA," Myles said, making everyone except Sue and Jack look at him in shock. "She faked Doucet's death, and he's in WITSEC. She did it to prove her loyalty to Renner."
"Makes sense," Bobby agreed, thinking about it all. "And the PI? What was he for? I'm guessing the information she had on Renner wasn't from him if she was CIA and undercover with him."
"It was for me," Myles told them. Tara had known about that after seeing the file. She wondered what the video had said, but she didn't want to pry. She figured it was personal for Myles.
"She was keeping tabs on you," Bobby said. "Why?"
"That's irrelevant," Jack interrupted, trying to give Myles privacy. Myles held up his hands, though.
"It's all right," he said. "They can know."
"Go ahead then," Jack encouraged. Ella was moving her way back and forth between the team members by using their pant legs to hold herself up and Levi when she was traveling between legs.
"Natalie wanted to know where I was to make sure I was safe," Myles explained. "I wasn't entirely honest when I said she and I were ancient history. We had a chance meeting over two years ago, and that's the last I saw of her."
"You're Ella's father," D said, suddenly realizing. There were more shocked expressions around the room again.
"That's correct," Myles nodded. "I'm Ella's father."
"Oh my," Lucy said. She was the one who was most shocked.
"I can see it," Tara noted, squinting at Ella and then at Myles.
"Wow," Bobby commented. "So, uh, does this mean you're going to be a single father?"
"Yes, it does," Myles agreed. Ella was making her way to him next, so he bent down to reach for her outstretched hands. When she got to him, he picked her up and held her close. Nothing warmed his heart more than holding her in his arms. He tweaked her chin, making her giggle. He promised to keep her safe and love her forever. Sue met Jack's eyes, and they both smiled. As much as they loved Ella, they knew she was better with her father, and they could figure out their relationship without trying to be parents at the same time. They knew they'd see lots of Ella anyway. Myles would be relying on everyone's help, that was a guarantee.
"So that's it then," D commented. "Case closed. Ella has a home, and everyone's happy."
"Hear, hear!" Bobby called, clapping his hands together once loudly.
"Anyone want to grab a celebratory dinner?" Tara asked.
"I'm out," Jack shook his head. "You guys go ahead."
"I'm going to go get settled with Ella," Myles said. "But thank you anyway." Jack had called social services, and they had started the process of confirming he was Ella's father but agreed he could have Ella stay with him while they waited. Sue had helped pack up most of the stuff for Ella in his car earlier.
"I can help," Lucy offered. She was standing next to him now, her finger clasped in Ella's fist.
"Okay," he agreed. He moved to get his coat, and Lucy did too. They left together with Lucy talking excitedly to Ella about how all her honorary aunts and uncles were going to spoil her and love her.
"I promised Donna and the kids I'd be home for game night," D said. "But rain check."
"I'll go with you," Bobby said to Tara. "It can still be a party with just two."
"All right," Tara grinned. She still hadn't told anyone about losing her baby, and she didn't know if she ever would. She and Bobby walked out together, and they waited until they were in his car before reaching to hold each other's hand. It was their secret for now, not that it would last long with their very observant co-workers.
"And then there were two," Jack said to Sue. They were alone, and he knew that with no child to look after, she'd be returning to her apartment.
"Yes, there were," she agreed.
"Are you upset we didn't keep Ella?" he asked her.
"No," she shook her head. "She's still in our lives, and her purpose for us was completed."
"What purpose was that?" he asked, moving closer to her.
"Making us spend more time alone together," she answered. "Figuring out what we wanted."
"Powerful baby," he teased.
"She's good," Sue agreed. "I think she's off to work her magic on Myles and Lucy next."
"You think so?"
"Maybe," Sue said thoughtfully. "We'll see."
"I can make you dinner at my place, if you'd like," Jack offered.
"What can you make with one arm?" she asked, eyes sparkling.
"It only takes one hand to dial a phone," he retorted.
"And here I thought I warranted something a little more special for our first date," she said, faking outrage.
"If you were looking for an amazing chef, you've picked the wrong guy," Jack told her as she put his coat over his shoulder for him. He slid his arm through the one sleeve. She pulled him in by his coat and kissed him heartily.
"You can learn," she said after. Then she sprang away before he could pinch her, laughing at his facial expression.
"Come here, you," he said, chasing after her. Levi gave a woof as he scuttled down the hall with them. The elevator doors closed just as Jack reached for Sue's hand, clasping it firmly in his own, a smile on both of their faces.
The End
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited! I'm going to try to work on my other STFBEYE stories. It's been a rough few months, and I'm leaning more towards other stuff I'm writing right now, but I'm trying. Until next time :)