It is thrilling to know you enjoy ready this little novelette...musings of my mind as it were. Oh yes, Makemyday, you requested a happy reunion. Well, you know things are never that easy for our favorite lovestruck agents.

As you left last, Samantha was trying to get the waitress to tell her where Jack was staying. And the story continues...

Chapter 8 – You Can Run But You Can't Hide

Jack spent the day hiking around the lake and fishing. He was trying to enjoy his time outdoors, and as long as he could keep Samantha out of his mind, he did fine….but that only worked for a few moments at a time. His heart still held a dull ache that wasn't going away even though he was trying mightily to move on and not think of what he let slip through his hands. But no matter how hard he tried, the bottom line was still the same; he was miserable. The mere thought of never seeing her again seemed to choke off his air supply and he felt parts of him dying inside.

He finally snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head. Checking his watch, he saw it was pushing 3 pm and he figured he would head on back to the cabin and see about supper. He packed up his fishing tackle and casually made his way back. He made a mental note to call his girls when he got back to the cabin. He didn't have visitation rights for two more weeks and wasn't sure what he would do. He wondered if the team would contact Maria on his whereabouts. After the nasty deposition, it was clear that no one on the team had much respect for Maria anymore. He smiled wryly at the thought of Martin going to question Maria and both of them taking turns bashing him for hours on end.

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She drove slowly up the steep road until the little cabin came into view. She saw a Jeep parked out front, but didn't see any movement outside. She sat in the car a few moments, her mind reeling with anticipation. What would she say? What would she do? The image of his face as the elevator doors slid closed was burned into her mind and she shook her head to clear it away. Then a painful smile tugged at her lips when she realized she had put that pain into his face and shaking her head wasn't going to take it away. She had to see him. She had to gain his trust. She had to take the pain away. She had to convince him she truly loved him and she was so sorry that it took chasing him away to make her see the truth.

Taking a deep breath, she walked towards the porch, wondering if he was watching her through a window. Her hand shook as she knocked on the cabin door and listened for any response. When there was no answer, she slowly tried the door and found it unlocked. Stepping inside, she quickly looked around and called out, "Jack? Jack are you here? It's me……Sam". Only silence answered her back. She tentatively stepped inside, glancing over her shoulder one more time and feeling as if she was doing something illegal.

She saw a coffee cup on the counter, a rumpled newspaper on the sofa, ashes in the fireplace, and a few dishes in the sink. She felt strangely excited knowing he was still here and that he was near. Venturing further into the tiny cabin and turning left, she found the bedroom and bathroom. The bathroom had towels on the floor and water splashes on the mirror by his toothbrush. Smiling, she remembered the days when they were together and how she always ragged on how sloppy and "wet" he got the entire bathroom with one quick shower. She swore he had never hung a towel up in his life.

Turning her attention to the bed, she took two quiet steps and surveyed the scene. Of course, it was not made (another non-domestic trait of Jack's) some jeans tossed at the foot of the bed with a T-shirt and blue flannel shirt. The pillow still had an indention where his head had been and there was a strand of black hair against the stark white pillowcase. As if in a trance, she slowly reached for the pillow and cradled it to her chest, laying her head softly against the fabric and breathing in his scent. A lump caught in her throat as her mind whirled with images of Jack flashing quickly through her memory. This time the images were of Jack smiling, holding her hand, teasing her, kissing her, making sweet passionate love to her. The lump disappeared and a quiet calm came over her, making her feel safe and warm for the first time in months.

With resolve and determination, she went out on the porch and took a seat in a rocking chair near the front door. She would wait for Jack to come back to her. She would wait for as long as it took. She would not leave without him.

An hour waiting on the front porch flew by with the relaxing sunshine, clean air, peaceful quiet, breeze through the trees, and singing birds. Once she caught herself as her head snapped up, causing her to alertly look around, wondering if she had actually been sleeping, and if so, for how long. Stretching her legs, she saw some movement in the direction of the path leading down to the lake. Her heart began to pound wildly as she saw someone walking along the edge of the treeline toward the cabin. She would recognize that gait anywhere……it was Jack!

With his head down, he had on faded jeans, hiking boots, a green flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, sunglasses and a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. He was carrying a fishing pole and tackle box and strolling along easily. As he came further out of the trees, he still hadn't spotted her or her vehicle. Watching him and trying to control her breathing, something kept nagging at her. Something was "off" about him. When he raised his head slightly to avoid a tree branch, it suddenly hit her. Jack was growing a beard!

About that time, he saw the strange vehicle and quickly dropped the fishing equipment and went into a crouch back into the trees. At the same time, he instinctively reached his right hand to where his holster would have been. She giggled watching him and said to herself, "Oh Jack, you can run, but you will always be an FBI Agent". Fearing he would retreat into the woods, she slowly stood up and moved to the edge of the porch in plain view. She swore her heart would explode in her chest as she watched the recognition wash over his face. She almost cried when his face showed no emotion

He slowly stood up and moved away from the trees, taking a few steps into the clearing, but then he stopped. He looked at her car, then back at her, then let his eyes sweep the area all around the cabin. Suddenly very nervous and thinking this was a bad idea, she hesitated before taking another step forward. He rubbed his palms on his jeans and ever so slowly he moved toward the cabin, never taking his eyes off Samantha. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he stopped and looked up at her. She couldn't see his eyes through the shades, but his jaw was clenched and his face was tense. Her ears heard but her mind didn't understand when in a cold voice he said, "You shouldn't have come here. You shouldn't be here. Get in your car and please leave me alone."

TBC