Hey Jealousy

Summary: A familiar face returns to the Sydney Water Police to help the detectives solve a difficult case, and Rachel can't seem to hide her jealousy. But is that what she is actually feeling, or is it something else?
Rated: T for the usual stuff.
A/N: I've always wondered about Rachel being/seeming jealous at times in the season four episode The Drill, so this story kind of continues on from that.

Jack was sitting at his desk, mulling over a decision in his mind. It had been three weeks now, and the detectives were still no closer to solving a series of strange, ritualistic-type murders. They needed help, Jack thought. Help from someone who was good at profiling serial killers. There was really only one person Jack could think of, but that wasn't the decision he'd been pondering.

It was whether or not he should tell Rachel about the 'one person' he was going to contact.

Fuck. Of course Jack had to tell her. The last time he'd invited Dr Fiona Hall-Jones without telling Rachel was like being caught in an expected rain storm without an umbrella. Jack sighed heavily, and in that moment, Rachel stepped into the office. His eyes followed her as she sat down at her desk. "Hey Rach, I think it's safe to say we need some help with this case. So I'm about to call Fi… Dr Hall-Jones, if that's alright with you. You remember her from the Handyman case a couple of months ago…?"

Rachel appeared to hesitate briefly, but composed herself just as quickly. "Why wouldn't it be alright with me?" she questioned as a frown formed on her face. "You're the Sergeant, Jack!"

Jack hid his annoyance over Rachel bringing up his rank. He didn't need the reminder that he was now her 'boss'. "Well… I thought I'd tell you this time, you know. That's all."

"Doesn't bother me," Rachel watched Jack nod before he picked up the phone and dialled a number. She continued looking at him closely while he spoke to Fiona. With every facial expression he made and with every little laugh, Rachel began to feel a weird, knotted feeling in the bottom of her stomach. What the fuck was it about Jack innocently talking to another woman that made Rachel feel this way? Why should she care? Yes, Rachel and Jack had a somewhat complicated history but it was exactly that as far as Rachel was concerned. History.

The sound of Jack hanging up the phone soon disrupted her thoughts and she looked away from him, blinking several times. "Fiona will be here a bit later this afternoon. We can brief her on the case then," Jack informed Rachel, trying to get a read on what she may have been thinking but didn't have any luck. Rachel had her 'poker face' down pat. "And I'll let Mick know she's coming as well."

"Goodo," Rachel simply answered, not bothering to say anything else to Jack for now. She still had that feeling in her stomach and she could tell it wouldn't be going away anytime soon.

—

When Fiona arrived at the Water Police, Jack went downstairs to greet her while Mick and Rachel waited in their office. Mick swivelled his chair around to face Rachel. "Looking forward to working with Fiona again!" he exclaimed with a smile. It seemed there wasn't a lot that could dampen his mood. "I thought she was pretty helpful when she was here last time."

"Yeah…" Rachel answered him, trying her best to sound enthusiastic.

But the lack of tone in her voice was immediately recognisable to Mick and he looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "You didn't like working with her?" he guessed, purely from her monotone, one-word response.

"I'm sorry, what?" she was a little taken aback by the question. "I didn't say that."

Mick chuckled quietly. "You didn't exactly have to, Rach! I think I've been here long enough now to know when you're not being totally honest." Mick wasn't quite sure of Rachel's reason behind not liking working with Fiona, but he didn't question it further, mainly because he could hear Jack and Fiona's voices and soft laughter coming from the corridor close by.

Being a gentlemen, Jack let Fiona enter the office first and quickly followed behind. "Mick, Rachel. You remember Dr Fiona Hall-Jones," he announced, pointing an index finger at the chair in front of his desk so that Fiona could sit down. "She's kindly agreed to give us a hand with this murder investigation."

"Nice to see you again, Fiona," Mick said with a genuine smile.

Rachel in turn smiled and nodded at Fiona in a quiet kind of acknowledgement. Although it was safe to say her smile wasn't as genuine as Mick's. This didn't go unnoticed to Jack, but he knew now wasn't the time to talk about it. They had work to get on with and that took priority over any petty feelings in the room.

—

Rachel wasn't sure why it always seemed to be her and Fiona left at the station while Jack and Mick went and talked to possible witnesses or suspects, but it happened once again. She and Fiona were by themselves, in the office, not doing a very good job at navigating their awkward and uncomfortable silence.

During the Handyman investigation a little earlier in the year, Rachel was adamant she was only annoyed at Fiona's presence because Jack didn't say anything about bringing Fiona in to help. This time, Fiona was sure the situation was similar because of Rachel's stand-offish attitude towards her. "You have a problem with me being here again, don't you?" she asked, not being malicious in any way.

Rachel couldn't help but look surprised; her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. "No," she replied after a couple of seconds, unsure whether it was actually the truth or not. She did seem to have a problem with Fiona, one which she didn't understand. "Jack told me he was calling you so it's not—."

"Look," Fiona said with a sigh; she wanted to clear the air with Rachel because she didn't like conflict. "Whatever's going on between you and Jack… I know it's none of my business, but you two obviously need to talk about it. And for whatever reason, me being here clearly isn't doing anything to—"

"There is nothing going on between me and Jack!" Rachel interrupted with a firm voice. She wasn't in the mood to hear any presumptions about her and Jack, especially coming from Fiona. The invisible brick wall had gone up around her and she became defensive without even trying.

Rachel's obvious defensiveness did nothing to deter Fiona's thoughts on the matter, but she decided to 'surrender' and raised her hands slightly, her palms facing Rachel. "Okay. Forget I said anything." Fiona looked down at the file in front of her and instead began focussing on the reason she was there.

It was quiet in the office for the next few long minutes, until Jack and Mick returned and broke the silence with information they got from a witness. "I mean, it's not a lot. But it could be something to go on," Jack finished by saying. He looked over at Fiona. "How'd you go, Fi?" he asked. "Anything in there that you think might help us?"

Fiona started to nod slowly at Jack's question, closing the folder in her hands. "I've got a few ideas on the killer, yes."

Rachel's eyes narrowed as she wondered how the hell Fiona suddenly has ideas from only just completing a five page homicide report; the same report the detectives had all read at least twice and didn't get a lot from.

—

The Cutter Bar was fairly quiet later that evening, and many members of the Water Police decided to have at least one drink before they went home. Tommy and Gavin were sitting at a table near the bar, laughing with some irony about the day they'd just endured. The way humans could behave at times never ceased to amaze them.

Rachel almost had to make herself go to the pub, because part of her didn't really feel like socialising with Jack and Fiona in particular. But she knew if she didn't show up, Jack would most likely question her decision and hold it over her somehow. When Rachel entered the bar, soft music was playing over the speakers—"Won't you come see about me? I'll be alone…"—but the song seemed to fade as soon as she saw Fiona, Jack and Mick all sitting together, with four beers on the table. One glass was full; hers, no doubt.

The knotted feeling in Rachel's stomach grew tighter and she froze. Shit.

Mick was the first to see her because he just happened to be facing the entrance of the bar. "Rach!" he called out to her before she had the chance to quickly turn around and leave.

Shit. Rachel feigned a smile and began walking over to the table, slowly. If only she could make time speed up; she would fast forward through this moment and be on her way home. Bed sounded really good right about now. "Hi," Rachel greeted everyone once she sat down next to Mick, trying to avoid direct eye contact with Jack and Fiona.

"Here, this one is for you," Mick carefully slid the full beer glass towards her.

"Thanks," it was one of the first genuine responses Rachel had given all day, much to her own dismay. She didn't want to be bitter about anything, it wasn't in her usual nature, but she couldn't help it. Seeing Jack and Fiona sitting comfortably next to each other somehow made Rachel feel a whole lot worse too. Was she jealous? And if so, why?

—

When Jack got home, he threw his keys onto the kitchen counter and sat down on the couch. He could tell there was something going on with Rachel, especially from her demeanour that evening at the Cutter Bar. But what Jack didn't understand was why something was going on with her. He and Fiona were colleagues; nothing more, nothing less. There was only one woman constantly on his mind. And that woman was not Fiona.

Jack sighed at his thoughts, and almost begrudgingly, pressed the power button on the television remote control. Why did he care that his life had come to this? Work, pub (sometimes), home, TV, sleep, repeat. He'd never had a problem with being a loner before.

Before Rachel Goldstein, that is.

—

Early the following day, the detectives were having a discussion with Fiona about a man she thought might fit the killer's profile. "He has certain 'serial killer' stereotypes about him… on paper anyway," Fiona was saying, mostly to Jack, who, from Rachel's point of view, seemed enthralled by her words. "Although I am a little hesitant for serial killers, or anyone for that matter, to be placed into stereotypes."

Rachel was doing her best to keep busy as Fiona continued to talk. Anything to distract her from looking over at Jack's desk. The laptop in front of her was doing a good job, but every now and then Rachel couldn't help but glance to her left. She forced herself to look away, and realised both of her fists were clenched. Rachel quickly relaxed her hands, hoping that no one saw anything. But she still didn't feel relaxed by any means.

"I'll get Helen to look Luke Davies up on COPS and we can go from there," Mick soon chimed in happily, before he got up and made his way to Helen's office.

With Mick briefly gone, Rachel decided that she needed to leave the office and came up with an excuse that would get her out of there for at least a few minutes. "I'm going to make a coffee. Would anyone else like one?"

"No, I'm good thanks Rachel," Fiona answered, as Jack nodded and said almost at the same time. "I'll come with you."

Damn. Rachel had been hoping to go to the meal room alone. Perhaps she should have used the bathroom as an excuse instead. "Okay…" she and Jack quietly made their way to the meal room. But once there, Jack saw that no one else was in the room and took the opportunity to speak to Rachel while they were by themselves.

"Look, Rach," Jack began, watching her get the milk from the fridge even though he knew she didn't have milk in her coffee. "I want you to know there's nothing between me and Fiona. It's purely platonic. And that's all it will ever be," he explained, in hope that by telling Rachel the truth, she would go back to being her normal self.

Rachel stopped what she was doing and looked at Jack with a blank expression on her face. She felt her heart start to beat a little faster before it returned to normal within a few seconds. "I'm not sure why you feel the need to tell me that."

"Because you've been acting weird ever since Fiona arrived. And you were pretty much the same the last time she was here as well."

Rachel came close to telling Jack what was going on in her head, but even then, she didn't really know what it was or how to explain it. Her thoughts were difficult.

Jack saw the look she was giving him and assumed she didn't know what to say. "Okay," he began softly, not pushing it further. "Let's just focus on work right now, and we can talk about… it… later on," Jack took the carton of milk from her hand and quickly poured some into his cup, before he walked out of the room. All with Rachel's watchful eyes closely on him the entire time.

—

Jack wandered back to the office with his coffee in one hand, still trying to work out what Rachel might have been thinking. Even though he knew work had to come first. As Jack sat down, he realised he must have had an indifferent look on his face because Fiona asked him if everything was okay. "Yeah," he replied with a nod, "All good."

"Excellent timing!" Mick soon exclaimed as he and Rachel entered the office at the same time, but through different doors. "Turns out Luke Davies does have a criminal record… and he also spent a few years in jail in the early 90's."

"What did he go to jail for?" Jack asked, trying not to glance across at Rachel. If their eyes met, he had a feeling it would be hard for him to look away.

"Drug and sex trafficking," Mick said. It was an answer that surprised Jack. "Mr Davies pleaded guilty and got a lighter sentence."

Jack rolled his eyes at Mick's last words. The guilty plea was almost an injustice to the justice system. "Of course he did," he answered sarcastically before his voice returned to a more normal tone. "Okay, so let's go and have a chat with him. You got an address?"

—

Arriving at a waterfront house in the affluent suburb of Vaucluse, Jack called for backup to be on standby, before he and Rachel cautiously made their way to the front door. The suspect, Luke Davies, was definitely a dangerous man if the COPS database was anything to go by, and Jack wasn't going to take any chances. As they got closer to the door, Jack indicated for Rachel to get behind him. Protecting her had become something he never thought about anymore; it was like an instinct. Rachel wanted to protest but decided not to. Arguing wouldn't have made a difference.

Jack knocked on the door a few times. It was followed a few seconds later by a disturbing, sing-song voice. "Come in!" Jack looked back over his shoulder, and he and Rachel shared a quick glance. Jack then pulled the portable radio from his pocket and spoke into it firmly. They needed backup now. He wasn't even going to think about entering the house without more officers there to help.

Luke Davies had other ideas, however. "I said 'come in'," the door swung open, and Rachel and Jack found themselves staring down the barrel of a gun before they could do anything about it. There was no emotion when Luke spoke. "Don't even think about trying any funny stuff with me, coppers."

—

In the cold, damp smelling basement, Jack tried desperately to free himself from the ties around his wrists and feet. "Oh fuck, it's no bloody use…" he eventually lamented, looking over at Rachel, who had also given up trying to untie herself. "Where the hell is our backup?" Jack then growled through gritted teeth but he wasn't expecting Rachel to respond. He shuffled himself so that his back against a wall and let out a sigh. "Come sit here with me."

Rachel slowly manoeuvred herself over to Jack and rested her back against the wall next to him. The knotted feeling in her stomach remained, despite Fiona not being there and her name hadn't been mentioned out loud either. Rachel then started to wonder. Was it actually Fiona who gave her that knotted feeling?

"You haven't said much, Rach. Are you okay?" Jack was obviously worried about her.

"Jack. We're stuck in a basement in the home of a psycho. Of course I'm not going to say much," Rachel answered, clearly agitated.

Jack started to shake his head. "Well… you were quiet yesterday as well."

Rachel looked over at him, somewhat amazed by his observation but not in a good way. Her eyes narrowed a little. "What, are you making note of everything I say and do or something? Jesus Jack."

He sighed, deciding he would try and level with her. "I care about you, so yeah… I do notice these things."

The hardened expression on Rachel's face started to vanish. Hearing Jack say that he cared about her came as a surprise for some reason. They'd been work partners, officially, for the last seven months, although they had known each other for over a year and a half, so it really shouldn't have surprised Rachel. Yet it still did. And part of her, illogically, almost started to blame Jack for the way she was feeling. It was stupid of him to care about her, she thought. "Why?" Rachel soon asked quietly. "You shouldn't, Jack. For your own sake."

Jack twisted his upper body to face Rachel. "It's not like I can help it. And even if I could, do you think I would change it?" his question was completely serious, but at the same time, he didn't need to hear an answer from her. He already knew what he felt.

—

Everyone back at the station knew something was wrong when neither Jack, Rachel or their backup were answering their radios or phones. "I'm heading out there, Helen!" Mick called out as he was just about to leave the building. "Fiona is staying here…"

"Take the Nemesis, it's quicker," Helen said, which brought Mick to a stop in the doorway. "Gavin and Tommy are ready to go. Some officers from Rose Bay patrol and the SPG are almost there, they will wait for you to arrive before they do anything."

"Thanks!" Mick ran out of the door, and down towards the wharf where the Nemesis was docked. Once Mick was safely onboard, Gavin untied the ropes and indicated to Tommy that they were ready to go. "Vaucluse, Mick?" Tommy confirmed, starting the boat.

"Yep!" Mick answered in a loud voice to make sure Tommy could hear him over the engine noise.

It didn't take too long for the Nemesis to arrive at a wharf in Vaucluse. Mick knew they would have to go on foot from there to Luke Davies' house, which luckily wasn't too far away from their current location.

When Mick, Tommy and Gavin were getting closer to the house, they spotted officers from Rose Bay and the SPG waiting for them. "Any sign of movement from inside?" Mick asked the officer in charge, Senior Sergeant Thompson.

"Not a thing. It's been quiet since we arrived," Sergeant Thompson informed Mick after they shook hands. "Is it correct that two of your officers are in the house?"

"We're assuming so because we've had no contact with them, or their backup, for about an hour," Mick answered with a nod. "The suspect is considered dangerous, so it's safe to say he'll most likely be armed."

"Okay, well, we've got experienced negotiators here. We'll try and make contact with him before we do anything else."

—

On the roof of the Water Police station late that day, Rachel was sitting on one of the benches thinking about what had happened. As a cop, she'd been in danger a number of times before so she was almost used to that part in a way. Her main thoughts were about Jack and the knotted feeling that was still plaguing her. It wasn't Fiona at all, she now realised. It was Jack who gave her that feeling.

As if on cue, Rachel heard footsteps approaching and the man she was thinking about appeared at the top of the stairs. His face expressed concern for her wellbeing. "How are you doing, Rach?" he asked softly, taking a couple of small steps closer to where she was sitting. "Are you alright?

Rachel wanted to snap at him; she hated the last question in particular, from anyone not just Jack. But the look on his face stopped her from saying something he didn't deserve. "I'm okay. How about you?" she said, after staring at him for a number of seconds.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, which was followed by a sigh. "Fiona will be going soon now that the investigation is over. But she said to say goodbye just in case she doesn't get to see you," Jack then paused briefly, giving him some time to think about what he was going to say next. "Are you gonna tell me what was going on with you while she was here?"

"Would it piss you off if I said I have no idea? Because I honestly have no idea," Rachel finally replied. She didn't want to say she was jealous, but she owed it to Jack to tell him truth, even if it lead to more questions instead of answers. "It's stupid, I know."

"You wanna know what I think? I think we need to sort out what is happening between us, because it's been bugging the absolute crap out of me for a while," Jack decided to speak his mind and he wasn't going to hold back this time. "And Fiona being here—"

"I dunno. Maybe it was some sort of jealously thing, alright?" Rachel conceded, not letting Jack finish. She still felt unsure about everything, and saying it out loud seemed to make even less sense than it did in her head. "But if so, I couldn't even begin to tell you why."

"It's because we had something good going on last year, whether you want to accept it or not," Jack was quick to respond, even though he probably needed a moment to let Rachel admitting she was jealous sink in. He sighed as his thoughts turned to what he'd been feeling and thinking about for over a year, and then, those thoughts came out in words he had no control over. "I'm still attracted to you, Rach. I always have been. And I don't just mean in a lust, fling type of way either."

The knots in Rachel's stomach seemed to finally disappear, but were instead replaced by what could only be described as 'butterflies'. She silently cursed him. Why did he do this to her? What was it about Jack Christey that drew her to him? After a few long seconds of silence, Rachel got up and stood near Jack next to the safety railings. "You're incredibly infuriating, you know that?" she said quietly, a little smile formed on her face.

Jack couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I know. But in a good way, right?"

Rachel rolled her eyes but remained smiling. She was certain she liked their relationship the way it was: friendly, trusting and perhaps, admittedly, a bit flirtatious. Sex would stuff that up if they went there this time around, surely?

Jack moved towards Rachel a little, almost as if he knew what she was thinking. But he had no idea. He just wanted to be closer to her. In that moment, and unbeknownst to Jack and Rachel, Fiona walked up onto the roof. She'd come to say goodbye, although as soon as she saw the way the two detectives were positioned, she turned around and quietly started to head back down the stairs. Fiona wasn't going to interrupt because they looked intimate, and Jack was her friend. She wanted him to be happy.

And Jack was happy, more or less. Even Rachel admitting she may have been jealous made him feel strangely content. Perhaps because he already knew, and it was almost a relief to hear that coming from her. "Where does all this leave us?" Jack eventually asked Rachel, before their silence got awkward.

Rachel took some time to think about the question, and then she asked herself a question. Remain colleagues and friends or see what happens if they became more? Shit. If being held hostage in a basement for three hours wasn't enough to tell her that life was too short, she didn't know what was. Rachel leaned towards Jack a little and whispered, "Come to my place tonight around 9 o'clock and we'll see, okay?"

—