By the time their entrees were served, they'd worked it out to a fair rhythm. His natural manners prevented him from speaking with his mouth full, she was grateful. The only thing she had to remind him on was not holding his glass or fork in front of his face while he was talking.

Gregori found it very amusing, as he bustled back and forth, treating them like royalty. "You see, signora, you are the first lady I see him with who keep him thinking, instead of charming you with his silver tongue." He chuckled as Myles shot him a look.

The Harvard grad smiled thinly, but there was a twinkle in his eyes. "Siete un signore e un pirata, il mio amico. Ora vada via."

Gregori laughed heartily as he walked away. Sue raised a brow at Myles. "Ok, English is hard enough. What did you say to him?"

"I told him he was a gentleman and a pirate, and to go away." He laughed as her brows shot up. "That's about the extent of my Italian, though, so you won't have to ask any more."

"I was starting to wonder," she teased. "Just don't try out your Russian on me, please."

"Deal." He picked up his fork and poked at his pollo piccata. "So why don't you tell me something about yourself I don't already know? That way, I'll be listening instead of talking, and you won't have to kick me."

Her brows went up again, but she smiled. "You learn fast."

"I bruise easy."

Sue laughed and reached for a breadstick. "You're on."

How could I have missed out on so much? He listened eagerly, resisting the urge to comment too much; it would not only throw off her rhythm, but he'd likely forget to clear her sight line to his lips as well.

"You're quiet." She laid down her fork and smiled at him. "Bored already, huh?"

He grinned sheepishly. "More like realizing just how big a—" he signed a "j" followed by an "a." "— I"ve been over the past two years."

She titled her head in that trademark gesture of hers. "Glad I taught you that sign?"

"It does come in handy in polite company," he grinned. "But I'm serious; I'm not going to apologize again, since I really don't want to get kicked, but will you at least allow me to say that I completely underestimated you, and won't make the mistake again?"

Her eyes showed her gratitude, but she sighed. "Myles, trust me, if it's not you underestimating me, it'll be someone else…" She trailed off, her expression sad for some reason. "What you did was completely natural for most people. But I'm glad you finally made the attempt to understand where I'm coming from." She forced a laugh. "It does make working together a much better atmosphere."

He nodded, but tapped the table in front of her to make her look up again. "You're still not really happy here, are you? What is it?"

Sue drew back a little. "It's… nothing. Never mind."

Myles raised a brow at her. "Now, I thought those were the two words you hate most of all to see on someone's lips. You're really going to use them on me? I'm trained in advanced interrogation techniques, you know."

His quip made her laugh a little. "I know. It's just… I think maybe it's just me, and I don't want it to slip out to the people who've been very good to me…"

He leaned back in his chair, contemplating her for a long moment. "You still feel like a special project, don't you? Like all you are to us is your lip-reading ability?"

She blinked. "How— I mean… you… how—?"

"Look." He folded his hands together on the table and leaned toward her, facing her directly and making sure he wasn't speaking either too fast or too slowly. "The fact that we use that ability without question or fanfare at this point should tell you something. You are a part of our team, Sue, an integral part. It's not just that you can read lips; I don't know if it's that you are used to depending more highly on your eyes, but you notice things that we often take for granted until you point it out. Samantha Dolan, the Hunter's pattern… I could go on. I mean, my observational skills are good, but they're not as fast as yours."

She started to speak, but he held up a hand. "But, and I have tried to make this clear to you on a number of occasions. You are not a Special Agent; and because you are not, the rest of us have a responsibility to keep an eye on you. It has nothing to with thinking you can't do the job, and everything to do with the fact that it is our responsibility. Different parts of the team fill different needs; it doesn't mean that any one part is more or less important than another."

Sue was quiet for a moment; then she raised a brow at him. "You get that speech from Jack?"

"No," he replied simply, "but I have suggested to him on occasion that perhaps it is a speech you needed to hear."

"Maybe." She smiled at him again. "Are we still going to the concert, or is Gregori going to start charging you rent for the table? Since you seem to bring quite a number of dates here."

"All my secrets are going to be an open book," he sighed dramatically. "Let's get out of here before Gregori gets me into any more trouble." He signaled for the check as she laughed.