Both Maggie and Jubal knew exactly why Jennifer had left the table and they both were so thankful for it. Jennifer arrived back at the table just as the waitress had arrived with the bottle of wine and Jubal had told her that it would only be the ladies taking wine. Their starters arrived as the waitress was pouring the wine. Maggie smiled when Jennifer sat back down,
"I'm guessing from your surprise when you seen me that Jubal didn't tell you that he was bringing someone?" Maggie looked at Jennifer as she spoke
"No he some how seemed to leave that part out when he text me" Jennifer raised an eyebrow looking at her brother
"Hey, at least I told you that it wasn't anything bad that I wanted to see you about" Jubal could feel Maggie looking at him "Okay so maybe Mag's reminded me to tell you that it wasn't anything bad"
Jen shook her head laughing "Well at least that did stop me from thinking that it was something to do with your…" she managed to stop herself before saying drinking
Jubal had leaned back in his chair and had his arm resting along the back of Maggie's chair again, his fingertips drawing shapes on her shoulder enjoying the feel of her skin under his fingertips "My drinking?" Jubal smiled softly looking at his sister "It's okay Jen, Maggie knows that I'm in AA."
Jennifer visibly relaxed when she had Jubal confirm that Maggie did in fact know about his drinking, she had guessed it when the woman hesitated over taking a glass of wine, but she wanted them to confirm it. Jubal had rested his other arm on the table and his shirt sleeve came up a little and Jen noticed the light mark on his wrist "You've had a rough time at work?"
Jubal looked to were Jen's eyes were looking on his wrist and he realised why she was asking, he would have made a joke had he not heard the concern in her voice and seen the concern in her eyes. Maggie had reached her hand over resting it on Jubal's thigh to encourage him to be honest with his sister, he had pulled Maggie a little closer to him thinking about what she had been through the last couple of weeks
"It has been a rough couple of weeks at work, so yes the band appeared for a few days when one of my agents were fighting for their life in hospital, but Maggie took me to a meeting and knew why the band was on my wrist"
Jennifer was a little surprised about how open Jubal was in front of Maggie, that made her realise that he cared about this woman deeply, one of the hardest parts of his recovery was being so honest with those in his life who had been affected by it which included her.
"I'm glad that you went to the meeting and I know the band is a vice you are allowed to use. But didn't they say anything at work when you didn't have Maggie there?" She knew that without having someone around to lean on he would have got stressed again so would have been snapping on the band a lot
"Erm yeah about that…" Jubal looked at Maggie smiling and then back at his sister "We actually work together"
"Well technically…" Maggie couldn't finish her sentence as Jen jumped in
"Oh my God, Jubal is your boss?"
Maggie couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped as Jubal groaned covering his face with his free hand as his sister had said that a little too loud and a few people in the restaurant had looked at them "Yes I am one of the agents that Jubal is in charge off, we also have his boss that works with us too" Maggie squeezed Jubal's thigh gently finally getting him to drop his hand from his face as he looked at his sister
"And you guys are allowed to erm date?" Jennifer was surprised that Jubal had started to date someone he worked with she knew he tried so hard to keep his personal and work life separated which is why she had never met anyone that he had worked with
"There is no rule against it, it's okay you can ask that Maggie knows you are a lawyer" Jubal laughed softly especially when Maggie gently nudged his ribs and he looked at her "What?"
"You sister is just trying to find out about her brother, you telling me you left your job training at home when you met her husband?" Maggie raised her eyebrow looking at Jubal and now that had Jennifer smirking as she seen that Maggie had no problem handling her brother
"Exactly! Maggie is right, I can't just leave a part of me out, so yes I was hinting at is there a rule against it, you know I'd rather my baby brother didn't need a lawyer"
"There is no rule against us dating, we have to disclose to my boss, and no before you ask we haven't done that yet but we have talked about it"
The waitress had cleared away their empty starter plates, and Maggie had leaned back in the chair sipping her wine and she smiled when she felt Jubal's hand run along her upper arm slowly, the movement wasn't missed by his sister as he normally wasn't affectionate in front of other people.
"So how long have you two known each other?"
"We have worked together for just over five years"
Maggie chuckled watching Jubal and his sister and she looked at Jubal "Stop answering your sister like you are on trial, if you actually give her information then it means less questions"
"It must be tough for you to know that your girlfriend is right so much of the time" Jennifer smirked looking at her brother she couldn't help but tease him gently, it was her duty as his older sibling
"Oh he's had to admit twice within in the last week that I've been right"
"Not that she's been counting or anything" Jubal laughed as he kissed Maggie's temple relaxing more seeing that her and Jen seemed to genuinely be getting along, his sister couldn't hide if she didn't like someone
"So come on baby brother spill or do I have to treat you like a hostile witness on the stand?" Jen raised her eyebrow looking at Jubal.
"Eh no. I think you both would enjoy that a little too much" Jubal pulled a face looking at the two most important women in his life, he smiled when he felt Maggie leaning against him as he had slid her chair closer to him with his foot, something that of course his sister had noticed.
"We've worked together since Maggie moved here from Indiana five years ago, we've been dating for just over a month. No one at work knows yet, well I think my boss knows that something might be going on between us, oh you remember Dr Stevenson, he erm caught us…"
Maggie laughed at how uncomfortable Jubal had got and she looked at Jennifer "He caught us making out like teenagers in the hospital"
Jennifer couldn't stop the laugh that escaped at the thought of her brother getting caught making out by a man that he really respected "Next time I see Tom I am definitely asking him about that… Wait why you were in the hospital?" Jen was looking at Jubal and Maggie as they were sitting so close together
"Eh… he was there because of me.. I had got clipped by a bullet, nothing major, but someone abandoned the JOC and turned up at the hospital"
Jen raised her eyebrow "Did you really just brush off the fact that you got shot?"
Jubal now was the one laughing as he looked at his sister who was shocked as Maggie smiled softly "It really wasn't a big thing, the bullet just hit some bicep muscle. I told them that no one had to join me at the hospital, but my partner insisted on following and then when I was told I could see my partner I was surprised when this guy walked in to my cubicle" Maggie smiled looking at Jubal remembering how worried he had looked when he arrived that day at the hospital, he leaned down pressing a kiss to Maggie's cheek and temple leaving his lips at her temple for a minute
Jennifer leaned back in her chair sipping her own wine watching the couple across from her who were clearly in love"You totally keep him on his toes at work don't you?" Jennifer couldn't help the smirk that appeared which caused Maggie to laugh as the smirk reminded her so much of Jubal
Jubal rolled his eyes playfully "Oh you have no idea, I tried getting Tom to say that she had to sit out the rest of the case"
"And how did that go for you?" Jen already had an idea about the answer but she wanted to hear, it wasn't often she heard or seen someone stand up to and handle her brother so well
"Oh it went great.. she was back in the field within a few hours fighting with a suspect while I listened on Coms"
"Hey you are the one that told me I could only go back in the field as long as I kept my Coms on at all times"
"I was hoping you would deny that request and then Isobel would have kept you in the JOC"
Jennifer was now covering her mouth laughing "I'm sorry, it's not funny that you were fighting with a suspect, it's funny that you actually stood up to my brother and by the sounds of it got your way. I really wish I could have seen that"
"Just ask Tom next time you see him, he witnessed it, he found it as funny as you are right now" Jubal almost grumbled out which just made his sister laugh a little more
"Okay I think Tom needs invited to dinner soon.." Jennifer had gathered herself to stop laughing as she poured some more wine for her and Maggie and leaned back in her chair again "You don't think that's maybe why your boss thinks that something is going on between you two?" This time there was no teasing from Jen it was a genuine question
"We are very careful at work, because we don't want the others knowing until we disclose to my boss, and we don't want to disclose until we know we have to"
"I'm sorry but how have trained FBI agents not seen what is going on between you two, I mean you two talk to each other without talking"
Jubal raised his eyebrow looking at his sister "What do you mean we talk without talking?" Maggie was as confused as Jubal about that one, and Jennifer realised they didn't even notice they did it
"When the waitress asked about a bottle of wine for the table you both looked at each other and it was like there was a conversation going on between you, it seemed like Maggie was unsure and you were trying to tell her it was fine.. I don't know maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think I am" Jennifer didn't want them to think she was overstepping or make them uncomfortable
"Oh that" Jubal chuckled softly "Yeah that's how the conversation was going in our heads, without saying the words. At work the other's be watching the way that you were but we were like that at work before we started dating"
"You two could do that communicating without talking thing before you started dating?"
"Yeah, honestly though that is part of our job. We have to be able to read each other, at times our lives depend on it" Maggie spoke this time for them looking at Jennifer "It is different at work though, when we do it, it's about the case, it's never been anything personal, so they are putting it down to us just working well together after working together for five years"
"You guys must be extremely careful at work for no one else to have noticed"
"We are, but I slipped up the other day and that's why I think my boss knows that something is going on"
"You get caught staring at Maggie the way you were when she walked in here?" Jen couldn't resist teasing her brother making Mags chuckle
"You brought the jokes with you tonight I see… but no.. I was running an operation from the JOC, had thirty to forty agents, cops and swat team members all on standby waiting for my word when and if to move.. Maggie was undercover at a meet with a potential hitman, she didn't have a wire, her partner lost sight of her and he couldn't find her"
Maggie had moved her hand from Jubal's thigh to rest it on the hand that was back on her shoulder, she knew he wanted to tell his sister this, he clearly trusted her and it was good for him to say it out loud to someone other than Maggie. Jubal smiled feeling Maggie squeeze his hand gently and he continued as looked at his sister
"I forgot that my boss was beside me, I heard the panic in Maggie's partners voice and I may have frozen for a little bit too long before I was able to pull myself together enough to talk, walking and moving away from the desk may have taken much longer than that"
"And you really think that tipped your boss off to something? I mean wouldn't that have been a normal reaction if one of your agents is missing and especially when you both said you guys have been having a rough couple of weeks?"
Maggie was speaking before Jubal could even get a chance "Not for your brother.. he doesn't freeze in the JOC no matter what is happening, he's the one who keeps us all calm in any stressful situation, he runs everything from there, so we've never had him hesitate for even a second. So him taking too long that day and Isobel having to step in and talk would have been a sign to her that something was wrong"
Jubal couldn't stop the smile on his face listening to Maggie talk about him that way, she had hinted about thinking he was a good boss around his kids, but hearing her now to his sister really did make him aware that she truly did believe in him at work. Jennifer had also got a smile on her face as she listened to Maggie talk about her younger brother that way, she had heard people talk about her brother's job with the people she knew in New York but to hear it from someone that actually worked with him was pretty amazing for her to hear
"Well with disclosures you can tell your boss that you guys were waiting until there was something to tell so I'm sure she'll understand. Do the others feel about my brother as their boss the way that you do?"
Maggie smiled nodding her head "They do.. Your brother is very well respected by everyone on the team, we couldn't imagine anyone else running the JOC the way that he does"
"It's a pity the higher ups didn't feel that way when he went for his bosses job, they wanted to be seen to be hiring females in top jobs so they didn't look biased against women" Jen had it out without really thinking
"Jen…Don't" Jubal looked at his sister, he knew she had been mad when he hadn't got the Job before Dana and Isobel
Maggie and the others had heard that Jubal had gone for Dana and Isobel's job but it wasn't something her and Jubal had discussed "You are right, part of them probably hired Dana and Isobel because it looked good that they were hiring women, but I don't think that's the only reason"
Jennifer was confused about Maggie's words "You don't think he could do their job?" Jubal wasn't sure either what Maggie had meant with her words and was now curious
"Oh he could do their job with his eyes closed.. No one on his team doubts that, and anyone that does doubt that clearly doesn't know him.. but there's no way they are ready to let him out of running the JOC, he knows every single one of those agents names, every single one of us will do anything he asks off us and none of us want to disappoint him, new agents and analysts coming in want to be assigned to his team. Not every ASAC earns that kind of confidence and respect from their team. He stands up to his boss to protect us and to get us more time if we ever need it. There is no one else that could run the JOC the way that he can, and to move him to a big office with extra paperwork, that's not using Jubal's skills the way the New York people need to keep them safe.. And that's not my biased answer, you could have asked me before we started dating and I would have given you the same answer"
Jubal had no idea what Maggie was going to say but listening to her he had to swallow the large lump that had formed in his throat, he had no idea what he had done to deserve such meaningful and incredible words from this incredible woman beside him. He wasn't even sure that he could trust his voice right now as he could feel tears in his eyes again, for the second day in a row thanks to Maggie, he turned a little to face her more
"You really mean everything you just said?"
Maggie may have been looking at Jennifer as she spoke but she had felt Jubal tense up when she started to talk and how he had relaxed the more she talked, she turned to face him more and she smiled that smile she kept for only him
"Every single word.. we all heard you had gone for the job but none of us wanted to bring it up unless you did.. But Jubal none of us wanted to lose you as our ASAC, Kristen will tell you she's a field agent because of you, Stuart came back from Boston to New York because it was to work for you, OA looks up to you more than you realise, that case you and him fought on, he turned up at my doorstep two nights in a row because he felt like crap for the way he spoke to you. Isobel runs everything by you before it comes to us and not because she feels she has to it's because she really respects your opinion.. and well I hope by now that you know exactly what I think about you both at work and home"
Jubal was really struggling once again to find words, this woman rendered him speechless more than anyone else in his life. He was reminded that his sister was with them when he heard her sniffing, he turned his head looking at his her
"Jen are you crying"
"No" she wiped a tear from her eye and chuckled "yes..okay yes I am"
Maggie looked at Jennifer "Oh my god Jennifer I am so sorry I didn't mean to upset you, I get your anger about Jubal not getting a job that he is more than capable of doing"
Jen shook her head looking at Maggie "That's not why your words upset me, I'm not even upset, they are happy tears. I have never, and I really mean never heard anyone speak about my brother the way that you just did and to know that his team feel the way you just said makes me even prouder of him. I know that every single word you just said is the truth and for the first time in years I'm actually glad that he didn't get the job because it means that he got to continue to work with you and fall in love with you"
