Here it is. Finally. Not the dance, but all that leads up to it. Sorry for the long delay. If you've been sticking to this throughout, you deserve a medal for patience and stamina! You certainly have my thanks and appreciation. Thanks to Diane for the excellent beta-ing, and to Justine for her bang-on commentary! Happy New Year!
Too Good To Be True
By: Mariel
Chapter 25
Samantha walked to her desk on shaky knees. She sat down, picked up a pen and began tapping it in a staccato rhythm that counter-pointed her chaotic thoughts. What the hell was she going to do with what she had just seen?
Ten minutes later, she was still sitting there, still tapping the pen, and was still no closer to knowing. Replaying what she had seen in her mind over and over, she knew her interpretation was correct. There was much more between Terry and Janice than friendship. Her gut clenched at the thought that they could do something like that to Jack. For the first time in a long while, she had thought that perhaps he was happy; and that Janice was the one that had made him so. What would it do to him when he found out that the people he trusted most had betrayed him? Should she be the one to tell him? What if-
A gruff voice interrupted her reverie.
"What are you doing here? I thought I told you to go home."
Samantha jumped nervously and turned to look up at Jack's tired face. Not wanting him to see her disquiet, she glanced back at her desk and attempted to control her features. "I'm almost ready. There were just a couple things I wanted to clear up," she explained.
She felt his gaze on her, knew that if she turned, his expression would be curious, his eyes turned dark and questioning. He would have sensed, in that disturbing way of his, that something was wrong.
"So you're on the way out now?" he insisted gently.
She knew he was quietly willing her to turn and look at him. Resisting, she put away a file into a desk drawer, put her pen in her pen holder, and then got her keys and her bag out of a bottom drawer on her left. "I guess so. I'll finish up tomorrow," she said, still not turning his way. Desperate to avoid questions she would need to lie her way past, she rose, then glanced at him quickly. "So - I guess I'm on the way out. Don't you stay too late!"
Her light tone sounded forced, even to her own ears.
Jack tilted his head slightly to one side and continued to stare at her. His thoughtful expression told her he knew something was amiss. She stiffened when he began to speak, then relaxed when he only asked, "You meeting Martin at the airport?"
She knew she wouldn't be, but shrugged and said, "I'm not sure. I'll have to see."
He frowned, obviously surprised at her answer, but before he could say more, she turned, threw a 'see you in the morning' over her shoulder, and made a cowardly exit.
She felt his eyes on her back all the way to the elevators.
-XXX-
It was close to midnight when Jack arrived home. Surprised to see lights on in the kitchen, he walked towards the door and stopped when he saw Janice sitting at the table with a cup of coffee cradled between her hands. Something in the way she held herself made him take a deep breath before entering the room.
"Hey," he said in a quiet voice. "I didn't expect to find you here."
She looked up at him with shadowed eyes. She looked tired. And unhappy.
"What's up?" he asked, pulling out, and then sliding onto, the kitchen chair opposite hers.
When she said nothing and looked down at her coffee cup, his brow creased. The change in her since he had spoken to her last was disconcerting. Guessing it had something to do with Terry, he urged, "Come on, spill it."
She raised her eyes to meet his. "I've got a problem."
"Oh?"
"You already know what it is."
He held her gaze. "Maybe. My guess is it has something to do with Terry."
"You're a credit to the FBI," she said.
Jack frowned slightly. "I thought you two were getting along fine. Better than fine, to be honest. I didn't even expect you home tonight." Though his expression remained somber, his eyes glinted with gentle humour. "I mean, even as slow as Terry is, I'd have expected him to make his move by now!"
Acknowledging his attempt to lighten the mood, she tried to smile, but failed. "He did, and I wouldn't be here if I weren't such an idiot."
"So what happened?"
"I like him too much, Jack."
"And liking him is a problem because-?"
"You know my track record."
He shrugged. "So you've picked some losers and some it-didn't-quite-work-outs in your time. We all do, remember? It's not the end of the world. No one would get anywhere if they tried, failed, and then gave up."
She nodded and turned her eyes back towards her coffee mug. "What if I'm not what he needs? What if something goes wrong?"
Jack raised an eyebrow. "You're looking for a relationship with a guarantee?"
"Yes. No. I- " She made a helpless gesture with one hand. "-I worry about who would be hurt the most when it all goes to hell-" She stopped abruptly, and bit her lower lip.
His expression serious, Jack thought a moment, then said, "Janice, when you first arrived, you thought you'd fallen in love with the man you married - but that was only after he'd begun an affair with someone else. What was that all about?"
She looked at him, her eyes dark. "That's off topic, and you're trying to psychoanalyse me. Stop it."
"No. It's not and I'm not," Jack replied. "I just want you to think about it." He lapsed into silence and regarded her steadily.
She looked away and remained silent for a long moment. Then, in a voice so weary it almost hurt him to hear it, she said, "Because I wanted to love him. I should have loved him." Turning wounded eyes to meet his, she said, "And he should have still loved me." She lifted a hand, then let it drop back to the table. "I'm tired, Jack. Tired of trying, and then forgetting to try because I've got caught up in life, and then finding out I've lost whatever it was that I had. I'm afraid of going through it all over again with someone else."
He sat back in his chair and searched for a simple answer for a complicated problem. "So stop trying," he finally said. "Let things go as they go. Enjoy it for what it is now, and don't worry about the future. Terry is a good man. He deserves to be happy. So do you."
"But it's not going to last; I've proved it how many times now?"
"Four," Jack replied, "But who's counting? Maybe five's your lucky number - if you stop worrying about where you're headed and concentrate on where you are, instead." He knew she'd have plenty to sort out - her divorce from Charles, her career, and all the rest of it. Still, he held out hope that they would make a go of it in some shape or form.
Watching her as she considered what he'd said, he added, "If you think about this too much, you might ruin it, Janice. Look at how Terry feels about you. Look at how you feel about him. You can't erase past mistakes and disappointments, but you can give yourself a chance to be happy now. Why not just let yourself take it?"
She looked down, examining her thumbs as they rubbed the rim of her coffee mug. Her brow crinkled in a thoughtful frown, she remained silent a long moment. When she finally lifted her eyes to meet his, Jack knew that something of what he'd said had got through.
"Hell, maybe you're right," she said softly. "It seems I either don't think at all, or I think too much."
Jack saw the hope in her eyes and relaxed, though he kept his expression suitably serious. "This time, you're definitely thinking too much. Personally, I think that if you're going to think about anything, you should think about me," he said, his face still serious, his tone deadly earnest. "Because if you don't do something with Terry, I'm going to go crazy. He's like an over-sized Great Dane puppy where you're concerned. He slobbers all over the place. It's sickening. And messy. You need to put him out of his misery. Hell, I'd take it as a personal favour if you did."
Janice looked up at him sharply when his words began to sink in. Seeing the glint of humour dancing in his eyes, she felt tension ease from her and smiled for the first time since he'd entered the room. Tilting her head to one side, she regarded him warmly. "Perhaps I will, then. Only to help you out, of course." Her voice softened. "Thank you, Jack. You have a way of making things look easier. I do love you, you know."
Jack grinned. "Hey, what's not to love?" He sobered, and added, "Stop being frightened, and stop thinking you have to do things a certain way. You two would be good together; you just have to think outside the box."
Janice rose, and he could see that her mind was already elsewhere. "I guess I'll give him a ring, then," she said.
Jack looked puzzled, then his expression cleared. She wasn't talking about jewelry. Pondering the intricacies of friends who spoke a different English, Jack rose as well. "You do that. Tell him I said 'hi'. I'm going to hit the sack now." He leaned towards her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good night. Don't stay up too long."
She smiled fondly at his retreating back. "Yes, Papa."
-XXX-
The next morning, Samantha arrived to find Jack already at his desk. Standing in his doorway to say good morning, she noted that the pile of files that had been accumulating for several weeks on the office floor was gone.
Pushing the memory of the betrayal she'd witnessed the night before aside, she commented, "I see you got your filing done."
Jack looked up, his lips curved in a smile. Obviously in a good mood, he told her, "I'd have made someone a wonderful secretary."
Samantha stepped into his office and wondered if she's have the guts to tell him what she'd seen. "Bull," she said with a very unladylike snort. "Look at how long it took you to get around to the filing!" Her eyes surveying him closely, she changed topic and asked, "Any word from surveillance?"
Jack shook his head. "Nope. All's quiet there. And nothing new's come in, so we can continue to concentrate on Smith. Danny phoned in just a minute ago and said he'd be here by 9:30. Did Martin say when he'd be in?"
He'd expected him and Samantha to arrive together.
Samantha stilled, then admitted, "I haven't talked to him since he got back."
Jack looked at her, surprised.
"Oh."
The single word reverberated in the air between them, begging for an explanation. She felt him look at her. Trying to maintain a casual air, she met his eyes and smiled faintly. Refusing to respond to his unspoken question, she said, "I expect he'll get in around the same time as Danny. He'll want to know what's going on, too."
Even to herself, her voice sounded stilted.
Wondering what the hell was going on there, Jack nodded.
"I've been thinking it might be a good idea to look at Miquella's phone records," he said, still regarding her closely. "She hasn't mentioned having any unusual calls, but I'm wondering if maybe we might pick up something interesting if we look."
Samantha backed towards the door. "I'll work on that until the boys get in," she said hastily.
"Thanks," Jack said as she made a quick exit.
He eyed the door thoughtfully for a long moment after she was gone. Everything about the exchange that had just taken place felt wrong, but he couldn't put a finger on why. Finally, he picked up a pen, set aside his questions, and got down to doing some paperwork.
-XXX-
An hour later, Jack paused in the middle of a sentence he was writing. Not looking up, he said, "Samantha, if there's something you need to say to me, why not just say it?"
He'd called her back into his office so that he could clear up some of the ongoing paperwork involved in the Smith case. Asking her to bring in any of the files that had accumulated in the bullpen area, they had settled in - he in his chair, she in the one opposite it - to set things in order for distribution and filing.
A chill running through her, Samantha stared at him. "What are you talking about?"
Putting his pen down, he finally looked up at her. "You've been acting very strangely. It's disconcerting. What's wrong? Is there something you want to talk about?"
She stared at him, obviously uncomfortable.
"I'm fine," she finally said, making it clear she was not going to discuss whatever it was that was on her mind. "I'm just hoping that we've got everything here, that's all. We'll have to remember to check with Danny and Martin that there aren't any other reports we've forgotten."
He nodded, unconvinced. Pointless to press matters further, though.
His phone ringing saved them from more conversation. While he spoke on the telephone, she mimed her excuses and returned to work at her desk.
-XXX-
Martin and Danny arrived at the bullpen at the same time. When Martin went to his chair without saying anything in greeting, Samantha remarked, "You're back."
"Yeah, I am," he replied. His eyes asked why she had not called or met him, or been waiting at the apartment for him. Asked, but already knew the answer. Her absence, even more than his decision to go to the blasted wedding alone, had bore witness to the unspoken end of their relationship.
Danny smiled. "Aw, she missed us." His whole body crackled with energy as he walked over to his desk, sat down, and then swung it around to face the other two. "You don't know what you missed, Samantha. Houston was great. Not that we saw much of it, but it's always nice to get away once in a while."
Samantha smiled. "Why does everyone think they need to make me feel guilty about not liking Houston?"
"I don't want you to feel guilty. I just want you to see the error of your thinking," Danny grinned. Glancing over at Martin, who remained silent, he turned his gaze back to Samantha and asked, "What's up here?"
"Jack will be out soon. We don't have anything new - or didn't as of thirty minutes ago," she said.
Just as she finished speaking, Jack appeared. "Vivian not here yet?"
"Right behind you," a voice said.
Jack turned, a smile lighting his face. "Welcome back!"
Vivian smiled up at him. "Thank you. It's good to be back." She paused. "I think."
She hung her jacket on the back of her chair, then walked over and slid onto a chair at the bullpen table. "What did I miss?"
As the others moved to follow her to the table, Jack began to fill the three of them in on what had passed during the last couple of days.
"We caught sight of Smith outside Miquella's apartment, so we know he knows Miquella's location. He's grown a beard in the past couple of weeks, so he's being careful."
"Does he know we've seen him?"
"No. And we've got round-the-clock surveillance on Miquella now. He'll show up at some point."
"She keeping to a regular routine?" Danny asked, wondering how that would be managed, considering her choice ofemployment.
"Sort of. We've had her go to an employment office to make things look as though she's trying to go legit. It helps explain why she's not out looking for johns on the street."
Jack was interrupted by the phone in his office ringing. Excusing himself, he went to answer it. He was gone quite some time. When he returned, his team knew that something had happened.
"Well?" Vivian asked.
Jack raised his hands, palm up. "It's over," he told them. "They've got Smith. He showed up exactly where we saw him the other day, and NYPD picked him up on murder charges. He's lawyered up, and we're to close our files."
The team looked at each other in shock.
"So it's out of our hands, now." Samantha finally said, her voice showing her surprise.
Jack nodded. "Yeah, it is."
They all sat in silence, wrapped in an eerie sense of anti-climax. It was always this way, when they'd invested time and effort into a case and it came to a sudden end.
"Terry will be pleased," Vivian offered into the silence.
"Yeah, he will be," Jack agreed. He wondered if the NYPD had thought to contact him, and decided to give him a call soon, just to make sure.
"I'd have liked to have been there when they nabbed him," Danny said.
They all nodded in agreement. One of them being there would have brought a better sense of closure.
Danny sighed. Looking around the table at the others, he drawled, "Well, I guess that means I'll have time to order my tux for Saturday."
His words brought life to the group. Vivian smiled. "You mean you haven't already?"
The others stirred, welcoming the opportunity to shake off the sense of displacement the abrupt end to their investigation had brought them.
"I'm looking forward to the big event," Martin said, certain that although he and Samantha were on the outs, they would go together. Who knew? Perhaps they'd be able to straighten things out between them. At the very least, he was sure to meet up with people he knew, and that would be nice.
"Me, too," Vivian said.
"Ah," Jack teased, "so that's why you came back."
"Guilty as charged, "she smiled.
Jack rose. "Well, we might as well get our day started. Samantha, I need your report on yesterday; Danny, Martin, get your trip written up and your receipts in order. We were organising the paperwork on this case just this morning. The faster you hand everything in, the faster we can file it alway now. Vivian, find something to keep yourself busy. I noticed there's a pile of mail waiting for you."
His words elicited a flurry of activity as the team went to their desks to take care of their assignments.
-XXX-
Terry arrived several hours later.
Collapsing into a chair, he leaned back and drawled, "Another case successfully closed. We do good work, you know that?"
"We?" Jack asked. "I'm still trying to figure out what you've been doing the last few weeks. Besides, of course, the excellent work you did in charming a certain very wonderful woman!"
Terry grinned. "Hey, I was multi-tasking. It's a talent." His grin slid off his face. "I'm glad we got him."
"There's enough solid evidence to hold him?"
Terry nodded "Oh, I think so."
"Good."
They spent a brief moment enjoying the satisfaction of knowing they'd played an important role in 'putting away a bad guy'. Then, his eyes narrowed, Terry looked over at Jack. When he began to speak, Jack immediately braced himself for whatever was about to come out of his friend's mouth.
"Looking forward to the dance on Saturday?" he asked in a casual tone.
Jack nodded warily. "Yeah, I guess so. It'll be nice to have the whole team out for an evening. It doesn't happen often."
"Good. I was worried you'd try to weasel your way out somehow."
"Why would I do that?"
Terry looked at his friend with satisfaction. Good. He had no idea whatsoever what Janice was hoping.
Smiling, he answered. "I dunno. Just a thought. Glad to hear you're looking forward to it, though."
Looking at him doubtfully, Jack nodded. "Okay."
"I really wish I could be here for it. They couldn't have timed that damned conference for a worse time of year."
"You'll love every minute of it," Jack scoffed, knowing Terry was slated as a guest speaker. "I know how you like to stand up in front of people and show off what you know."
Terry's teeth glinted as he grinned. "Yeah, there is that, I suppose. And I gotta admit I talk a hell of a lot better than I dance."
Jack grunted. "Wait 'til Janice really gets to you, then. You're in big trouble, boy."
Terry's grin did not dim. "Yeah," he answered, happily.But not half the trouble you're going to be in soon.
Jack frowned, wondering what on Earth was making Terry so amused.
End
Chapter 25
FINALLY!