Chapter Six

Monday

1:00am

Tyler woke up stretching on his bed. He sat up slowly and then got to his feet. Walking into the hallway, he noticed Jack's bedroom light on and his bed empty. Curious, he headed to the living room. Jack was sitting in his favourite leather chair, his feet on the coffee table, half a glass of scotch next to him, asleep. Tyler went to the kitchen and made himself a drink. When he returned from the kitchen, Jack was awake.

"Man, you really were out like a light," Jack said, rubbing his eyes carefully.

"Yeah, well I didn't have the benefit of being sedated for ten hours," Tyler joked, looking at Jack.

The hurt on Jack's face was obvious.

"I'm sorry, Malone. I was trying to be funny."

"It's all right," Jack said, softly.

"When did you wake up?"

"Six, I guess, the news was on."

"I'm going to finish this and get back to bed. I have to do the follow-up with the NYPD on your kidnapping at ten-thirty tomorrow morning."

Jack was staring ahead, sipping his drink.

"Jack, you need to go to bed. Do you want a pain pill?"

"No, no pain pills, please, Tyler."

"Talk to me, Jack. What's going on in that complex of grey matter?" Tyler asked, walking over to sit closer to him.

Jack closed his eyes tightly, trying to stop the memories that kept flooding his consciousness. A few moments later, he opened his eyes and looked at the open face of his best friend.

"I'm fine, just gotta get my head around some stuff."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah," Jack said, knocking back the last of his scotch. "Finish your drink and I'll tuck you in for a change."

Tyler smiled, finishing his cocktail in two large gulps before getting to his feet. He waited for his friend and they walked to the kitchen together, dropping off their glasses in the sink. Tyler headed for his bedroom, while Jack followed, turning off the lights in the apartment. Feigning annoyance, Jack tapped his bare foot on the hardwood floor.

"I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying," Tyler said, as he stripped to his shorts and got into bed.

Pulling the sheets up to Tyler's neck, Jack ruffled his hair slightly.

"Sleep well, you hippie."

"You too, rebel."

Jack smiled and turned off the bedside light before walking into his bedroom. He looked at the clock radio, noting that it was almost one-thirty. Sighing he got into bed and turned off the light.

6:30am

Jack woke up without the alarm, as usual. He was stiff, sore and still tired, but he knew he had to go to the office today, of all days. He had to. Taking a quick shower, with his left shoulder out of the spray as much as possible, Jack kept the cursing against the pain to a dull roar. But after shaving for the first time since Thursday, and getting dressed, it became almost a mantra; especially his tie. He walked out to the living room, opened his desk drawer and took out ten ten dollar bills, before leaving the apartment.

Amazed, Jack found a cab within two minutes and one block of his house. He walked into the lobby directly to the security desk.

"Agent Malone, I believe you need a new ID card. Let's head to the office."

"Thanks, Larry."

Jack followed the man in the dark blue suit and less than ten minutes later; he had a new ID clipped to the pocket of his suit jacket. He got into the elevator and headed up to the twelfth floor. It was almost seven and the sun streamed into the outer shell of the building. He walked out onto the quiet floor and into his office. There was a manila envelope on his desk. Opening it, he peered inside and then emptied the contents onto his desk. His keys, cell phone, wallet, and badge fell out. Sighing, he walked to the kitchenette, took his mug from the stack, and made a cup of coffee. He sipped it gratefully and walked back to his office. Sitting in his comfortable black leather chair, he pulled out a note card from his desk drawer.

S,

Please come to my office. I'll be back by ten.

J

He stood, picking up his cell phone, badge, keys, and wallet, before walking to Sam's desk, putting the note in her lower left drawer, as he used to do when they were seeing each other. Jack looked at his watch and went out onto the balcony. The predicted rain had held off but it was still cool and damp. Shifting his arm in its sling, he moved his head, hearing his neck pop. Using his right hand, he loosened his tie and undid the top button of his shirt. Standing in the relative silence of the early morning, he leaned on the railing until his phone rang, disrupting his reverie.

"Malone."

"Where are you?"

"I'm at work."

"I thought you were supposed to take it easy?"

"Tyler, I couldn't stay home today. Are you going?"

"Of course. Same spot?"

"Yeah. Eight-thirty?"

"Yeah."

"See you then."

"Right."

Jack closed his phone and walked back into the building. Entering his office, he shut the Venetian blinds before sitting at his desk. Sipping the tepid coffee, he turned his chair around to stare at the photographs on his credenza. Closing his eyes, Jack coasted; feeling the different aches and pains. Fifteen minutes later, he got up and left his office.

Taking the elevator downstairs, he unclipped his ID before leaving the building, slipping it into his jacket pocket. He started walking south down Broadway, turning west onto Vesey street. He passed by the new glass and steel building before flashing his ID and heading into the stone building beside it. At eight o'clock, he was standing on the roof of the Verizon Building. His ID was back on his suit pocket, and he wished he had his sunglasses. There were ten FBI agents who met every year at the same time. As he waited, he looked down onto the construction site below him, and let his mind wander.

8:35am

"Sorry I'm late."

Jack jumped slightly and groaned from the twinge of pain in his shoulder. He looked around the roof to see who else was there. He counted nine of the original ten and remembered that Max was the tenth man. They began to form two lines, facing the construction site.

The men waited in silence until 8:46am when they quietly started to recite the FBI oath of office. The silence resumed until 9:03am when the men chanted the National Anthem. Finally, at 9:43am, they chanted The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

9:16am

Sam walked into the office and sat at her desk, opening her drawer to set her purse inside. She stopped for a moment when she saw his note.

"Is Jack here today?" she asked out loud.

"I think Wednesday is his first day back," Danny replied.

"The blinds were shut in his office when I walked in," Martin offered.

Viv walked out of the kitchenette with a fresh cup of coffee.

"Viv, is Jack in today?"

"Sam, if Jack is coming in today, he won't be here until ten. It's the fifth anniversary. He's with his group," she said, sitting down at her desk.

Elena walked in at the end of the conversation.

"Who's with his group?" she asked, hanging her coat on the hook.

"Jack and nine of his friends from the FBI have a reunion of sorts. Jack was at the towers that day. Each year, they have a sort of memorial; that's all any of us know," Sam explained.

"Oh, I see," Elena replied, sitting at her desk in the now quiet bullpen.

10:05am

Jack stepped off the elevator and slipped into his office. He was tired, his shoulder hurt, and his emotions were on the surface. He picked up his half empty cup of cold coffee and went to the kitchenette. Dumping the old stuff down the sink, he made a new cup and then headed back to his desk.

Sam caught movement out of the corner of her eye and looked up to see Jack entering his office. She gave him a couple of minutes before she got up to go see him.

Knocking on the door, she thought she heard a reply and walked in. Jack was sitting at his desk, and looked up at her.

"Hi."

"Hi, uhm, you wanted to see me?" she asked nervously.

Jack stood slowly and walked up to her, stopping less than a foot away. He stared at her blonde hair, brown eyes and freckles before stretching his right hand to her face.

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior at the hospital. I didn't mean to upset you. It's…it's just when I saw you, I saw her; and then I began to –"

Sam put her fingers to his lips, silencing him, before pulling him into a gentle embrace. They held each other, listening to their breathing and feeling their heartbeats. A few minutes later, he pulled away, turning his back to her and wiping his face.

"Are you going home?" she asked softly.

"No, not for a while. I have to talk to Viv and Tyler. Then I have to call Glenn and set up some appointments," he answered, turning to face her.

There was a knock on the door and Anne walked in.

"I'll see you later, Jack," Sam said, leaving them alone.

Jack leaned against his desk as Anne approached him

"Did you go?"

"Yeah, we were all there."

"All of you, except Max."

Her voice broke and Jack looked up, seeing tears streaming down her face. He held out his right arm and she walked into his embrace.

"I miss him, too," Jack whispered, as he tried to be strong for her.

Anne cried for a few minutes before shifting to sniffles. He removed a handkerchief from his breast pocket, which she took gratefully.

"Are you staying all day?"

"Probably not, probably just a couple of hours."

"Okay, do you mind if I hang onto this, today?" Anne asked, gesturing with the handkerchief.

"No, of course not."

She walked up and kissed him lightly before leaving his office. He picked up his coffee cup with care and took a gulp for a little fortitude before walking into the bull pen.

11:00am

"Hi, Jack. How are you feeling?" Vivian asked, standing to give him her seat.

"Sore, tired, what's to be expected," Jack said, sitting carefully.

"I wanted you to read the report before I send it up the chain, if you're up to it."

"Sure, bring it on."

Viv handed him a manila folder. The tab read John M. Malone, Special Agent. He took another sip of coffee and opened the folder. When he came to the before and after photos of his face he stopped. He slid those aside and looked at the next set; photos of his torso before and after the bullet was removed. Taking all of the photographs, he turned them over as he started to read Vivian's notes. He took a deep breath and sat back in the chair. As he did, he looked at Viv's desk and noticed the Jessica Lambert file. Sitting up a little straighter, he opened it, sucking in a breath at the two photos that were on top. Abruptly, he stood up and walked out to the balcony. The rest of the team looked at him, unsure of what to do.

Tyler strode off the elevator to Jack's office. Finding it empty, he set his briefcase down before continuing to the bullpen.

"Is he still here?"

"He's on the balcony. He read his file and started to read Jessica's. He stopped after viewing the crime scene photos," Viv said softly.

The wind had freshened and the rain began as a fine mist. Soon Jack's face was covered in spray, his hair was wet and he began to feel cold.

"Malone, I cannot switch careers to play nursemaid for you if you catch pneumonia again," Tyler joked as he walked up beside him.

Jack smiled weakly and returned to staring into space.

"Seriously, Jack, you need to come back into the office, drink something hot, and then I need you to initial the report I'm sending in," Tyler said, standing on his right side and gently slipping an arm around Jack's shoulder's.

"When do you go back to Washington?"

"Tomorrow in the afternoon."

Jack nodded and dropped his head for a moment, holding onto the railing. He took a deep breath, and pushed off from it to follow Tyler inside. He passed through the bullpen, but didn't stop until he got to his office.

"What do you want, Jack, coffee or tea?" Tyler asked as the door shut behind them.

"I'm okay, let's just do this."

"Yeah, sure. Here's my report," he said, pulling it from his briefcase.

Jack took the report and set it on his desk. He tugged on his tie, loosening it more and opened another button on his shirt before he sat down in his chair. Tyler sat across from him and waited.

Jack started to tap his right splinted finger on the desk as he continued to read. Twice he shut his eyes and pressed the meat of his hand against his forehead as if fighting a headache. Twenty minutes later, Jack pulled a pen out of his desk drawer and signed as well as initialed the report; before handing it back to Tyler.

"Can I drive you home?" Tyler asked as he slipped the file back into his briefcase.

"Sure, but can you give me ten minutes?" Jack asked.

"I'll be in the bullpen," he replied, picking up his briefcase as he left Jack alone.

Tyler walked out into the bullpen and sat at the conference table. The other agents joined him.

"He's going to be leaving in a few minutes and he'll take tomorrow off, I think. I have to go back to Washington so if you could check on him, I'd appreciate it," Tyler said, rubbing his tired eyes.

The agents looked at each other and nodded in agreement, waiting for Jack.

12:00pm

Jack picked up the phone and dialed an in-house number.

"Dr. Bradley's office."

"It's Agent Jack Malone, is he available?"

"Of course, one moment."

"Jack? How're you doing?"

"Hi, Glenn, as well as can be expected, I suppose. Of course today didn't help."

Glenn opened Jack's file and noted the reference to September 11.

"Where are you?"

"In my office."

"Oh, okay. I though you weren't due back until Wednesday."

"I had some things I needed to do here, plus I met with my group."

"I see, are you going home soon?"

"Yeah, one more call, then Tyler's gonna drive me home."

"Good, you sound beat, are you sleeping at all?"

"Not much, the pain pills make me pretty sluggish so I stopped them. My dreams are the problem."

"Do you want to start Wednesday at eight?"

"Sure, Glenn."

"Take care, Jack."

"You, too."

Jack depressed the receiver and dialed again.

"Anne Cassidy."

"Hi."

"Hi."

"I'm leaving for the day; Tyler's gonna drive me home. I'm taking tomorrow off so I was wondering if you wanted to join me for dinner and breakfast then."

"I'd love to. Should I actually bring dinner?" Anne asked remembering that his larder was quite empty.

"Probably a good idea," he said, chuckling.

"I've missed your laugh."

Jack sat back in his chair and closed his eyes.

"Jack?"

"I'm here."

"I have to go. I'll come by around six, is that okay?"

"Sure."

"Bye, take care."

"Bye."

Jack hung up the phone and looked around his desk. Standing slowly, he left his office and walked out to the bullpen.

Danny looked up from the conference table.

"Hi, Jack."

"Hi, uhm, I'm going home. I'm back on Wednesday. Viv, would you look into when I can get my gun back? I think I have to requalify this month."

"Of course, Jack. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything."

"No, I won't. Thanks, all of you, for your diligence. It means a lot to me," Jack said, before turning to walk slowly to the elevator.

Viv and Sam brushed a tear from their eyes as Tyler quickly caught up with his friend.

"Nicely done, Malone."

"Do you have to go back to work tonight?" Jack asked, as they got into the elevator.

"No, I'm done, why?"

"Wanna get shit faced?"

"Jack, you can't drink. You're on pain meds."

"I flushed them. Strongest thing in my house is booze and aspirin. I'm sober."

"Oh, well then, yeah. But I need to eat something."

The elevator opened at the garage and they walked to Jack's car. He fished the keys from his pocket and tossed them to Tyler.

"Let's call Luigi's. I could go for some spaghetti carbonara."

"Between that and the booze you ought to sleep."

"Without dreams, I hope," Jack said, as he got into his car, bumping his shoulder in the process.

"What?"

Jack continued to murmur something as Tyler backed the car out of the parking spot. He looked at his friend, whose eyes were shut tight in pain. Tyler touched Jack's head and ruffled his hair, to try to show some support.

12:45pm

Tyler walked up the stairs with Jack behind him, as the pain from his injuries mixed with hunger and fatigue really began to take their toll. Finally, they were inside. Jack just leaned against the closed door, eyes closed, breathing quickly, trying to work through the pain.

"Do you want help getting out of your suit?"

"Yeah, let's start with a shot first."

"Coming right up."

Tyler poured a true shot of scotch and handed it to Jack, who downed it. He waited for a few minutes and then sighed as he walked to his bedroom. Tyler followed. Sitting on the bed, Jack untied his shoes, murmuring again. Tyler removed Jack's socks.

"It's a lot easier to help you get undressed when you're still not drunk, yet."

"Less fun for me," Jack replied, hissing a bit at the pain in his fingers and shoulder.

Ten minutes later, Jack was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. Tyler called Luigi's and ordered lunch as Jack made drinks. They sat in the living room, listening to The Who's Tommy, sipping scotch and waiting for their lunch.

1:30pm

The buzzer sounded and Tyler pushed the button to allow the delivery man upstairs. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and the apartment smelled of great food.

As the afternoon progressed, Jack kept a steady buzz, seemingly unable to get drunk. Tyler, on the other hand, passed out fairly quickly.