Chapter 3

While the San Antonio Field Office was significantly smaller than the office in DC, the building was buzzing with activity by the time Bobby and Tara arrived. The two agents sat in an uncomfortable silence as they waited to see the Special Agent in Charge (SAIC), having barely spoken to each other since leaving Reagan National more than three hours ago.

Glancing at the tall Aussie out of the corner of her eye, Tara couldn't believe after everything she'd done to stay away from him these last several weeks, she was now here posing as his wife. She'd been trying so hard to get those kisses at the hospital out of her mind and go back to being just friends. Looking down at the ring that glittered on her finger, she realized just how hard that was going to be.

Things were just so complicated that Tara had wanted to back out of this assignment when Garrett had first suggested it. While Rob as an obstetrician never understood her job, Stanley worked for the government, so she never knew she'd messed up with him until one day he just stopped returning her phone calls.

When Bobby was so highly against going with her on this trip, it brought back the hurt Tara had felt when Rob and Stanley left. As she had listened to him trying to get out of the assignment, her anger grew until she stubbornly accepted just to spite her colleague.

Now, she didn't know how she was going to last another hour let alone several days, especially in the same house with him, without blowing their cover. Tara could feel her heart race whenever he accidentally brushed against her. Without looking at him, she could tell when his eyes were on her and her breath quickened.

Some agent you are Williams! Tara admonished herself silently. You can't even sit next to him without acting like a schoolgirl!

Tara jumped noticeably when the object of her thoughts reach over and touched her hand. Startled, her hazel eyes locked with his, and she saw the disappointment and sadness in their blue depths before a curtain came down, effectively locking her out. She opened her moth to apologize, but he nodded curtly toward the man standing in the doorway.

"Special Agent in Charge Wayne Franklin," the man drawled, stepping forward with his hand outstretched as Bobby and Tara stood up.

He looked like many of the agents back in DC, except instead of suit pants and dress shoes, SAIC Franklin wore jeans and cowboy boots. Tara noticed as he approached, he had the typical extra large belt buckle and couldn't help but wondered if they'd find a cowboy hat on the back of his chair in his office.

"Special Agent Bobby Manning and this is my wife, Special Agent Tara Manning," Bobby stated as they shook hands. Tara felt a little leap in her chest when Bobby called her his wife. However, her joy was soon squelched when she noticed the pointed way he made sure they didn't touch as they stood there.

"Welcome to San Antonio," SAIC Franklin smiled, oblivious to the tension between the couple before him. "I hope your trip was pleasant."

"Yes, thank you," Tara plastered a fake smile on her lips as she struggled to grin up at the dark-haired Texan. "The weather is a bit of a change from DC," she admitted, failing to catch the glare from Bobby as the tall agent took her arm in his, leading them down the hallway to his office.

"Texas sometimes takes a bit of getting used to," he explained, not even caring if Bobby was following. "Even though I know this is only a temporary assignment, I hope you…uh, and your husband," he added, almost as an afterthought when Bobby cleared his throat behind them. "I hope both of you enjoy it here so well that you decide to make Texas your permanent home."

"Well, I like Texas already," Tara chuckled, Bobby bristling behind them as they entered the SAIC's office.

"What can you tell us about our assignments?" Bobby asked, placing his hand on Tara's waist as he almost physically pulled her away from the other man. Franklin's eyes widened, dropping his arm as she was wretched from his side.

Tara glared up at the scowl on Bobby's face, unable to read what he was thinking as his arm snaked its way around her waist, pulling her close to his side. Unable to pull away without making a scene, she turned her attention back to the SAIC, trying not to think of the way Bobby's fingers felt through the thin material at her waist.

Chapter 4

Later, Tara sat fidgeting in the passenger seat of their rental car as Bobby drove them towards their temporary home in the San Antonio suburbs. Fortunately, the Bureau was able to find them a temporary house and have it furnished, so they wouldn't have to spend their time cooped up in a cramped hotel room. Thank God for that, she thought with a sigh of relief.

However, since they didn't officially report to work until Monday at their respective offices, the couple still had a lot more problems to figure out. Like how are we going to make it through this case, if we are not even talking to each other, she wondered, stealing a glance at Bobby as he maneuvered the car expertly through traffic.

Bobby looked so lost that it scared her. She'd never seen him look this way before and regretted that he was hurting because of her. However, Tara was so afraid of being hurt again that she felt the only way to prevent it was to stop it before it happened. Unfortunately, she'd completely shut herself off, blocking out everything from getting to her.

Tara knew she couldn't let it continue if they were going to make this assignment work. They were going to have to rely on each other for back up, at least until Jack and Sue arrived next week. They couldn't do that with so much tension between the two of them.

But how can we get back to the way things were, without me revealing why I had to push him way? Tara sighed.

"You okay?" Bobby asked, peeking over quickly before returning his eyes to the traffic in front of them.

"Huh?" Tara stammered, having not expected him to speak when he did. What was he talking about? she wondered nervously.

"You sighed," Bobby stated curtly as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Look, Tara, I know you don't want to be here with me, and if there was anything I could do to get someone to replace me, I would," he groaned, his eyes transfixed on the road as his hands gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. "But I figure I've got to be a better choice than Myles…," he continued.

"That's an understatement," Tara muttered loudly, not realizing she said it aloud until Bobby glanced in her direction.

"Well, at least that's one thing we agree on, shelia," Bobby smiled slightly before turning back to the road. "I don't want to make things harder for you, Tara, uh…" he hesitated, running his hand thru his hair as they sat at a traffic light.

"You're not making things harder for me, Bobby," Tara insisted, placing her hand on his arm reassuringly. When he looked down at her small hand, she jerked it back placing it on her lap. Why did I do that? she wondered as she twisted her hands together.

"Then what am I doing wrong, Tara?" he groaned as the light changed again. "You can barely look at me, and we haven't spoken more than three words to each other in six weeks. What's happened to us? What have I done?" he demanded, slamming his hand against the wheel with such force that Tara jumped in her seat.

"Bobby, I'm sorry," Tara whispered painfully, seeing the hurt she'd caused etched on his face. "I don't want to hurt you, but what was happening between us just couldn't work," she said softly. I don't want to get into this now, she sighed silently.

"How do you know it won't work when you won't even give it a chance?" Bobby questioned, glancing over quickly as he drove.

Tears formed in her eyes as she searched her mind for some reason that he would accept. How can I get him to understand that I'm not worth it? Tara wondered as she studied her hands, clinched tightly in her lap. Why won't he just drop it?

Tara didn't know how long they drove in silence, jumping when he reach over and put his large hand over hers. Bobby didn't pull away, keeping his hand there while he pulled off onto the side of the road. When he stopped the car, she slowly lifted her eyes to his again, afraid of what she might see.

"Tara, please talk to me," he pleaded, taking her hands between his. "I don't want to do anything that will hurt you, and if I have, I'm sorry, but please don't shut me out," he begged, his eyes searching her face.

"I can't, Bobby," Tara cried, trying to pull her hands from his but he held fast.

"Okay, Tara, I won't push now," Bobby told her, stroking the backs of her hands with his thumbs. "But one of these days, I want to know what happened," he vowed.

"Can't you just let it go?" she murmured quietly, lowering her eyes to their entwined hands.

"I can't let it go," Bobby stated with such determination that Tara looked back up. His blue eyes sparkling with resolve, he said softer, "I'm sorry, but I just can't."

Tara hated feeling so weak, but that was what happened to her whenever she was around him lately. During the years they'd worked together, she never noticed much more than his little quirks.

However, now she become aware of every tiny aspect of the man who sat across from her – his dimples when he smiled, the way he cocked his head to one side when he was thinking, his swagger when he walked. Tara could no longer just think of him as a colleague and friend, as he'd found his way through the wall she'd built up after being hurt by the other guys she'd dated.

"Tara," Bobby interrupted her thoughts. "We can't go back to how things were before those kisses at the hospital, but I won't push you into more, if that's not want you want," he promised. "You're one of my best friends, and I don't want to lose you, so I'll back off," he told her.

"Bobby," Tara whispered, touched by the sacrifices she knew he was making.

"And when we get back to DC, I'll talk to Garrett about a transfer…" he sighed, gazing unseeingly out the windshield.

"NO!" Tara exclaimed, her cry jerking his attention back to her. "I don't want you to leave. I don't want to lose you either, Bobby, but I just need time," she explained, her eyes sad.

Why did I let him kiss me? Tara wondered as memories of their kisses flooded her memory. He'd been through so much that day. I needed to be the strong one, and I wasn't. Now he's suffering for it, she sighed, wishing she could go back in time and make everything better.

"Then I'll give you time," Bobby said quietly, his eyes intense as they watched her. "I'll give you all the time you need, just don't shut me out," he requested pleadingly.

Their gazes locked as Tara searched for a reason not to believe him, but she couldn't. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he meant what he said, and he was going to give her time. Maybe I'll be able to get him out of my head with time, she thought hopefully.

"Thank you," Tara agreed softly, not knowing what else to do. "All I want to do is go back to how things were before," she sighed.

A dark shadow crossed his face as the muscle in his jaw twitched, and Tara thought he was going to argue. Instead, Bobby released her hands and shifted back behind the wheel.

"Ok, shelia. Now that we have that taken care of and you are back talking to me," Bobby started slowly. "Maybe you could help me find the house, 'cause I've been lost for the last fifteen minutes," he admitted with a grin, peeking at Tara out of the corner of his eye.

"Give me the directions," Tara chuckled ,shaking her head. After everything, he can still make me laugh, she thought. "Good thing one of us brought a map," she stated, pulling it out of the glove compartment where she stashed it.

"A map?" Bobby gasped dramatically. "Really men don't need maps!" he maintained proudly.

"No, they just get their women to do it," Tara retorted, her smile slowly fading as she realized what she'd just called herself. Wide eyed, she glanced over at him uncertainly.

"Of course," Bobby agreed, the smile on his face not quite masking the longing in his eyes as he gazed at her. "Now see if you can figure out where we are. I'm hungry and the sooner we get this stuff unpacked, the sooner we can check out that restaurant Myles recommended," he said, only a slight catch in his voice belied the enthusiasm in his words.

"Okay, okay, I'm working on it," she smiled back shyly. "What's the name of that road up there?" she asked as she went back to studying the map. It felt so good to be joking with him again, she thought, happy to have things finally back how they were before.