Sue found Jack at his desk, and she could tell from his body language that he was upset about something. Before she could approach him, she was slammed into by a ball of fur.
"Levi!" she cried, falling to the floor. She was immediately covered in licks and nudges from Levi.
"Are you okay?" Jack laughed, coming to her rescue. She managed to sit up, Levi still pressing against her tightly.
"I missed you too," she said into Levi's ear. She looked at Jack then. "I'm okay."
He stayed kneeling beside her, unsure of what to say. She buried her face into Levi's fur, feeling so thankful that he was all right.
"So," Jack said, clearing his throat. "How's Will?"
"He'll be all right, thank God."
"You're really close with him," Jack noted, rubbing the back of his neck. A part of him wanted to know, and the other part didn't. Sue adjusted Levi so he wasn't suffocating her anymore. She looked at Jack, realizing that this was probably why he was upset.
"He saved my life more than once," she started slowly. "He's a good friend." She put emphasis on the word "friend," hoping that it would make Jack feel better. Something did shift in his eyes, and he smiled, which Sue reasoned she was correct in her assumption after all. He helped her up, Levi still pressing against her legs anxiously and whining.
"He really missed you," Jack said, gesturing. "He was lost without you." Sue looked down at Levi and then back at Jack.
"I missed him too. I missed everyone," she added.
"Oh, hey, mate," Bobby said, coming in then. Jack stepped back from Sue, feeling hot in the face. Bobby noticed.
"Thank you for saving me," Sue said, hugging Bobby.
"Ah it was nothing," he grinned. She saw his bruise then.
"Are you all right?!"
"Oh yea. That Joe fella got a few swings at me. Nothing major," Bobby shrugged. "I'll deal with it when I get home."
"I'm just finishing up the paperwork," Jack said, going back to his desk.
"I just came for my coat," Bobby gestured as he took it off the hook. "Chat soon."
"Good night," Sue said, waving. Levi pawed at her to get her attention.
"He hasn't eaten," Jack told her. "He refused every time we offered him something."
"Oh, I should get him some dinner then," Sue said, rubbing Levi's ears. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yup," Jack agreed. She stood there a moment longer, wondering if he was going to finally say it. When he didn't, she felt disappointed. Perhaps that wasn't what he'd been upset about. Maybe he didn't have lingering feelings for her after all. Maybe she had imagined it. This made her feel a little sad.
"Good night," she said finally, turning to leave.
"Night," he responded. When she was gone, he banged his head on the desk, groaning. He had the perfect opportunity to say something, and he had chickened out. What was the matter with him?!
...
"Excuse me?" a voice said, startling Myles awake. He lifted his head, feeling groggy. The sun was up and filtering through the blinds, which meant he had spent the night here.
"Yes?" he responded.
"Why aren't you in your bed?" the nurse asked, crossing her arms and tapping her foot.
"Because I'm sitting here," he answered logically. She snorted.
"This isn't the time for games, Mr. Leland," she said. "You need to stay in your bed. You just..."
"Came out of a coma. I know," Myles cut her off. "But I promi-I need to be here."
"And why is that?"
"Because. You wouldn't understand, and you'll think I've lost my mind if I told you."
"Try me," she insisted. Myles sighed, wondering if he was going to regret this.
"Okay, when I was in my coma, she was there too. We called it Limbo," Myles said, pointing to Emily. The nurse frowned, looking back and forth between him and her.
"You're serous?" she asked.
"I am. I can't explain it, and I don't know how it happened, but we were together, and I told her I'd be here when she woke up."
"Well, it is kind of...odd, but I am a spiritual person, so I like to believe these things happen," the nurse said, nodding slowly. "And it's very sweet of you to sit vigil next to her."
"So I can stay?"
"No! Mr. Leland, your body is very fragile right now. Promise or not, you have to get back to your bed. I'm sure Emily would understand."
"A promise is a promise," Myles tried.
"Yes, and I promise you that if she starts to wake up, you'll be the first person I tell," the nurse said.
"I'd really rather be here..."
"MIS-ter Leland," the nurse said, impatient now.
"All right, all right," Myles said, getting up and heading back to his room. The nurse followed just to make sure. He grumbled as he climbed into his bed.
"Now, Emily is only checked in on about once every two hours, sometimes three if staff is short," she went on. "I don't want to catch you in there, or I'll have to tell the doctor."
"Then why did you just tell me..." Myles began, but she coughed, interrupting him.
"Get better, Mr. Leland," she said, winking. Then she was gone. Myles stared at the empty doorway for a moment before realizing what she had just done for him. He smiled to himself. She was all right.
...
Sue woke up with Levi practically on her head. She realized he was very happy to see her, but at the same time, she liked to be able to breathe.
"Shove over," she said, pushing him. Levi started licking her face instead. Giving up, Sue eventually got out of bed and headed for the kitchen. Lucy was already there.
"Good morning," she said. "Have I mentioned how glad I am that you're safe?"
"Yes," Sue smiled. She poured herself some cereal.
"I'm going to stop in and see Myles before going to work. I think they'll tell us when he can go home," Lucy finished.
"I'll come too. I want to see Will."
"So, this Will guy," Lucy started. "What's the deal?"
"What do you mean?" Sue asked.
"You just seem awfully attached to him is all."
"He's a friend, Lucy. That's all."
"Really? Are you sure?"
"Yes," Sue nodded. She couldn't help but blush a little, but Lucy didn't see it as Levi had pranced in and gave Sue the opportunity to bend down and hide her face. She didn't like Will that way. At least she didn't think so.
...
Jack felt nervous. He was up half the night thinking about Sue and what he wanted to say to her today. He hoped they would get a moment together at some point, but at the same time, he was afraid of her answer. She had told him Will was just a friend, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more there.
"Hey, mate," Bobby said, sauntering in. Jack noticed the bruise was darkening on Bobby's face.
"You look terrible," Jack laughed.
"I did my best," Bobby joked. He touched his face gingerly. "It's gonna hang around for a while."
"Helloo-oh my," Tara said, halting in her tracks after seeing Bobby's face. "Wow. Pretty."
"Purple really is my color isn't it?" Bobby asked, holding his face out so she could see it better.
"Well, they say yellow and purple are complimentary colors," Tara smirked. Bobby made a face at her in return.
"Good morning," Lucy said, coming in alone. Jack looked to see if Sue was behind her.
"She's at the hospital still," she said, seeing Jack doing this.
"Oh," he replied.
"How's Myles?" Bobby asked.
"Better. He's eating anyway, and he's already starting to boss me around, so I think he's going to be back to normal before we know it."
"Good to hear," Bobby said, sitting at his desk and starting his computer. Jack played with his pen while everyone else started their day. D was in the interrogation room already with Joe and Bruno. Bobby headed that way after a while to give him a hand. Jack couldn't focus as Tara and Lucy worked in the background. Sue still wasn't there, so he decided to go find her.
"I'll be back," he said to the girls, heading out. They shared a look with each other when he left. They knew.
...
Sue knew she had to get to work, but she was enjoying talking to Will. He was sitting up and making jokes, so she knew he was going to be okay. After a while, he grew serious.
"The CIA came to see me," he said.
"Oh?"
"Yea. They offered me a job."
"Wow," Sue smiled. "That's great. Congratulations!"
"Yea. I guess," Will agreed. Sue frowned, trying to understand why he wasn't happier.
"Is it not what you wanted?"
"It is, but...the job is in Europe," he sighed. He looked at her finally.
"Europe?" Sue repeated.
"Uh huh. I kinda wanted to stay in the U.S., D.C. to be exact," he finished.
"You did?"
"Well, yea. I mean, I wanted to get to know you better," he said, going a little red. Sue felt a little funny inside suddenly.
"Will," she started.
"I know, I know. You've got that Jack guy," Will said.
"Not exactly," she tried.
"Oh, so you're not together?"
"We've danced around our feelings for a few years, but we work together. It's not exactly encouraged, and I'm not sure he even still feels the same," Sue answered.
"How could he not?" Will laughed, gesturing at her. "You're amazing."
"Will," she blushed.
"I'm sorry," he said. "Well, from what I saw, I think he still has it for you."
"What do you mean?"
"Come on. What guy risks his life running through a warehouse up against an unknown amount of bad guys to save someone? By himself? And after getting shot?"
Sue thought about this, and Will knew she was realizing he was right.
"I'm leaving in two days, so before I go, if this isn't too awfully forward of me, could we...could we have dinner together?" he asked her.
"Of course," Sue replied. Will smiled again.
"Good. They're letting me go this afternoon since the wound wasn't deep and the stitching seems to be holding up, so I'll pick you up at seven?"
"Sounds good."
"Great," Will nodded. He knew he was really going to miss Sue, but he also knew he had found his calling with the CIA. He wanted to do good things for people, save lives. He didn't have anything else going for him anyway.
...
Jack's heart was hammering as he stumbled down the hospital hallway. He had approached Will's room just in time to hear him ask Sue out to dinner and her accepting. He felt crushed. It was obviously more than just friends between Will and Sue. He stood in the stairway trying to catch his breath. He'd done nothing but think about Sue and their relationship since she'd gone missing, and he'd spent all night rehearsing his speech and for what? She apparently wasn't interested. He waited a few moments to regain his composure before heading back to the office. She didn't need to know that he'd even been there.
If only Jack had heard all of that sentence from Will to Sue. You'll have to keep reading to see how this plays out ;)