Chapter 3:

You know I'd fight for you,
But how can I fight someone who isn't even there?
I've had the rest of you
Now I want the best of you
I don't care if that's not fair

Jack knew that Sheridan was upset remembering her times with Luis. She hadn't shared all of the details with him, but he knew that it had been a heartbreaking separation. He wanted nothing more than to kiss away her tears and make her worries fade away. He loved Sheridan. She was a wonderful woman—beautiful, smart, and sexy. She was everything that he had ever wanted in a wife—and more—except that she couldn't seem to forget her separation from her past love.

Jack leaned closer, and put his arms around his wife. "Sheridan, you can't worry about Luis. I realize that you wish that things had ended differently between you two, but you have a new life now. A life with me and your beautiful Bella. I love you, Sheridan."

"Oh, Jack," Sheridan replied guiltily. Here she was bemoaning the loss of Luis with Jack, her husband, beside her. He loved her. Despite all of the hours she spent each day thinking of Luis and the life they could have shared, he loved her. It was unbelievable.

"Jack, I'm so sorry. You—I—" Sheridan collapsed against him in tears.

"Sheridan, it's ok. I understand that this will take time, but you need to stop thinking about him. Luis has probably moved on, found someone else that he can love. Sheridan, we live half a world away from Harmony. We're in London, for heaven's sake! If you choose to forget about him, you never have to see him again. Please, Sheridan. Build a life with me and Bella. We love you so much, sweetheart."

"I'll try, Jack, but I'm not sure if I can."

Jack gently kissed Sheridan on the lips, and she responded. Slowly, the kiss increased in passion and urgency.

"Sheridan…" Jack moaned.

Suddenly, Sheridan pulled back. "Jack, I'm sorry. I—I—I can't do this."

Jack looked into her eyes and knew that she was thinking of Luis. It was hard to believe that despite the 2 years that had passed, she still felt that she had to remain faithful to him.

"It's ok, Sheridan," Jack sighed. "Sleep tight, darling."

Oh, Luis, Jack thought. How did you make Sheridan fall so deeply in love with you? And more importantly, how can I help her get over you?

~*~*~*~

"And now for the main event!" the announcer roared into his microphone. "In this corner, we have first-timer Jackson Theodore Mitchell, VI! And in this corner, the undefeated Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald!"

Jack looked across the ring at his opponent. Luis looked rugged and vicious, but Jack knew that he could win.

Luis looked at him scornfully. "Why don't you just back out now, Mitchell, and save yourself a lot of embarrassment?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Lopez-Fitzgerald. This is one fight that I'm going to win."

Luis looked at him quizzically. Was there something this rookie knew that he didn't?

Suddenly, the fight began. Jack landed a strong right hook to the jaw before Luis knew what was happening. Left, right. Ribs, jaw. Jack wasn't thinking but instead was acting on pure instinct. He had wanted to hit this Luis for years, and now he finally had his opportunity.

It wasn't long before Luis was on the mat, gasping for air. "Please, no more," Luis panted. "You win."

Luis was quickly removed from the ring, and Jack caught his breath. Sheridan quickly ran into the ring, and into Jack's arms.

"Oh, Jack!" she cried. "I don't know how I ever could have loved Luis! You are obviously the better man."

She came willingly, and he kissed her deeply.

"Oh, Jack!" Sheridan said. "Jack. Jack. Jack!"

Jack was startled awake. He shook his head. "Sheridan?"

"Jack, you're going to be late. You have an 8 o'clock appointment this morning with Mr. Barnard. Now hurry up!" She placed a soft kiss on his cheek and walked off to check on Bella.

Jack realized that his fight against Luis had only been a dream, but what a dream it had been. From what he had heard from Julian and Alistair, Luis was a jerk. Jack honestly couldn't understand how Sheridan had ever loved him.

~*~*~*~

Luis sighed in frustration. He needed to find more evidence if he was going to put this creep behind bars.

"Troubles, Detective Lopez-Fitzgerald?" his buddy Hank asked as he walked by.

"That's putting it mildly," Luis griped. "I can't seem to find enough evidence to stick this guy behind bars. He did it, that much I know. I just don't know if the proof I have is enough to convince a jury."

"Well, what do you all have?" Hank asked.

"Well, I have these memos that were found in his file cabinet. They talk about a few of his 'clients' that he scammed. Then, there were all these shredding bags of paper in his office. Plus, there's this phone bill, listing the numbers of some of the victims. But I don't have anything that will show that it was him. It could have been anyone at his office!"

"Luis, couldn't some of the victims ID his voice?"

"Hank, these people are older. They have health problems. I'd rather not put them on the stand."

"Luis, they want to get this guy behind bars. If you ask them, they'd be more than willing to help you." Hank couldn't believe the workaholic his best friend had become in the years following Sheridan's departure. "Luis, I know that you spend all of your time here because you miss Sheridan so much. But you don't always have to try to do things the hard way. Talk to some of the victims and try to get a few to volunteer to go up on the stand. Then go home and hang out with your family. Sam's getting ready to force you to use your vacation days, you know."

Luis put up his hands in mock surrender. "Ok, Hank, you win."

"Great." Hank's face broke into a huge grin. "See you soon, bud."

"Yeah, Hank. Talk to you later."

Luis knew that Hank was right. Ever since Sheridan had left him, he had practically moved into the police station. His work replaced Sheridan and became his life. It wasn't long before Sam told him that he had made detective. Luis was happy since the higher salary would help out his family—but Sheridan wasn't there to celebrate with him. Sure, he had had his family, Beth, and Hank, but it just wasn't the same.