A/N – I'm glad you guys are enjoying this story! I'll post as often as school and work lets me!

Chapter 8:

"Tell me what's going on Jack." Dimitrius asked, pulling up a chair next to his distraught friend.

"I honestly don't know. She hasn't told me anything."

"Maybe we're missing something?" Dimitrius suggested, trying to help.

"Sue and I spent most of last weekend together. She was fine, no problems at all." Jack started. Dimitrius added in,

"Monday morning, she was her normal self too." Jack sat thinking, until it dawned upon him,

"She got a phone call." Dimitrius looked at him,

"From who?"

"I don't know. That must be it, because after that she got up looking upset. I asked her where she was going. She didn't answer, and just left. I went looking for her in the parking lot, but she was in Ted's office asking for time off. Next thing we know, she's disappeared for two days, until I got her phone call that she was at the airport." Jack explained. Dimitrius continued Jack's train of thought,

"Which means she went somewhere. Probably somewhere a bit farther away, since she didn't drive." Myles walked in, as both men turned to look at him. He pulled up a chair, notebook in hand.

"I couldn't help but overhearing. She used a fake name at the airport, so as of yet, I haven't been able to track where she went. The phone call, however, that she received before abruptly leaving was from a number in West Virginia. The caller ID was blocked, but we're trying to figure out from who." They both looked at him quizzically. "What? You think I don't care what happens to her?"

"No, not at all." Dimitrius quickly answered, "we're just surprised you're so on top of this. Thank you. We'll see what Tara can do when she gets back."

"What do you want me to do on this murder case?" Jack asked quietly, though his mind kept straying to a beautiful blonde woman he knew and loved, Jack also wanted to get his thoughts back into work, distract himself until he heard from Tara. Bobby walked back into the bullpen just as Dimitrius was about to answer,

"They're on their way to the hospital." Bobby said, sitting at his own desk.

"The hospital? What happened!" Jack said, standing up. He thought she had just been going to Tara's doctor. Bobby responded quickly, as to not alarm his best friend.

"The doctor Tara knows works there. Tara thought it would be better than just a small clinic, in case it's more serious than we realized and she didn't want Sue to realize that she was going to take her to a hospital, not a clinic. She'll call as soon as she knows anything." Bobby refrained from telling Jack the part where Sue got so dizzy again and was unable to stand on her own, and so he had to carry her to the car. He figured that he shouldn't worry his best friend any more than he already was.

"Jack, why don't you help Bobby with the calling around, seeing if anyone had heard more about this murder and whether it was pre-meditated. I'm presuming you want to stay in the office?" Dimitrius asked, as Jack nodded gratefully. "Myles and I will head to the crime scene again."

-----

Jack had actually made some progress on the case, and was in the process of trying to track down some leads, when he noticed Tara walk into the bullpen. Seeing the look in his eyes, she headed straight for his desk. Bobby came over as well, anxious to hear the news of their friend.

"Where's Sue?" Jack asked, concernedly.

"She's fast asleep at her place." Tara answered, knowing that Jack wouldn't be happy with that answer. She was right.

"Alone?" He glared at her.

"The doctor said it was fine. She took a sedative, and she should be out for hours." Tara reported. Bobby asked,

"What else did the doctor say?"

"She said that Sue's obviously been under a lot of stress lately. She hasn't been eating or sleeping near enough as she should. Blood work will come back later today, but she honestly just thinks she needs a few days rest and relaxation." Before Jack could interrupt, she added, "She also thinks that she should be alone too much, but should be fine as long as it's not for extended periods of time. The dizziness, she thinks is from a combination of everything. She was not overly concerned, but we made another appointment for in 2 weeks, she's going to call me with the blood work later today, and we can go in to see her if anything else is wrong." Tara concluded. Jack felt bad having lashed out at her before, especially after everything she was doing to try and help her friend,

"Thanks Tara. I really appreciate it." She gave him a smile back, understanding what he was going through.

"I'm going to take first shift – you need a good night's sleep tonight. I'm sure Lucy won't mind me crashing in her bed." Tara announced.

"You can stay the night," Jack said, with a small grateful smile, "I'll go right after work until you get there though. Maybe she'll talk." Bobby reached over and patted his friend on the shoulder.

"She's lucky to have you mate. Even if you're both too stubborn to admit it. Why don't you head over there now? I'll finish up with these leads, and I'll call you if anything interesting happens." Jack thanked his two friends, before hurrying out the door to Sue's apartment.

-----

Sue woke up feeling very groggy and tired, the last few hours having evaded her memory. Noticing she was all alone, she took the chance she had, headed into the living room and dialed her parent's house.

"Hi mom." She said into the phone. "I'm doing okay, took the day off work. How are you doing?" She could tell her mom was crying. The news had been hard on her, but just as hard on her parents. "I know mom. I love you so much." She paused. "We'll be okay. I'm going to make this right, I promise. Tell dad I love him too. Bye mom." She hung up the phone, the tears streaming down her face. She grabbed the blanket off the couch and cuddled up, closing her eyes and letting her exhaustion take her over once again.