Chapter 2

"Hey, how was San Francisco?" Grace asked Rigsby, trying to sound casual, but failing. She'd been busy trying to decide how to broach the subject the entire morning. Working without him there the day before had been strange and she'd missed him.

Rigsby looked up from his computer and smiled, "Seems like a good unit, nice people," he said and nodded a bit. He wasn't sure what more to tell her, a little surprised she was asking about it.

"What about the position? Did they want to hire you?" Grace asked, already fearing the answer. He was a great agent, she was almost certain they did. She couldn't bear to think about what that would mean for the team… for her. Not seeing him every day terrified her.

"They did actually," Rigsby replied, looking proud. "I can start next month." He had to break eye contact or she would see it wasn't actually what he wanted. Yes it seemed like a great job and the people had truly been nice to him during his interview, but it wasn't this job, it wasn't the CBI unit he'd come to love so much. And the people, they could never measure up to Grace.

"Oh wow… so you're actually leaving," she replied, hearing the sorrow in her own voice. "I thought you loved it here…"

Rigsby swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded a bit. He looked around the room. "Let's go grab a coffee in the breakroom," he suggested, not wanting people to eavesdrop what he was about to confess.

Grace nodded wearily, before getting up and following him.

Rigsby closed the door behind her. "I do, very much," he said. "I'm leaving because of us." He gestured between them.

Grace frowned and kept quiet for a little bit. "What do you mean? I did what I did so you could stay," she explained. "We're friends now, right?"

Rigsby shook his head, hating how he always had to be completely honest to her. "I can't just be friends Grace," he admitted and looked down at his feet for a moment before looking back up at her beautiful face. "I love you, so much," he started. "And seeing you with another man… it kills me. That's why I can't be here. Not anymore…"

"Wayne I…" Grace started, but he interrupted her.

"It's okay Grace, I understand. I really want you to be happy and if that's going to be with a man that's not me… that's okay," he said and gently cupped her cheek to make her look at him. "Really… but it's going to take time. And it'll work best if I don't have to see you every day," he explained as his fingers lingered on her soft cheek for a little while before he lowered his hand. "But God I'll miss you, so much," he confessed in a whisper, a few tears stinging in his eyes.

"I'll miss you too," Grace whispered, her voice trembling as a tear escaped her eye.

Rigsby had to keep himself from kissing her tear away, like he'd done so many times. He could only give her a sad smile. "I'd better go back to work."

"How long?" Grace asked.

"I'm not sure I…" Rigsby started before she spoke again.

"How long before you leave?" She asked in a shaky whisper. She could feel her emotion weigh her down, it felt as if she'd have to say goodbye to him forever even though he'd only be an hour and a half from where she was.

"Little over a month," Rigsby nodded. 'Five more weeks of torture,' he added in his mind.

Grace swallowed the lump in her throat. "Make sure we get enough time to say goodbye," she whispered. She knew it would be incredibly hard to do so, and there was a possibility she wouldn't even be able to let him go.

"I will," Rigsby nodded and used this as a moment to return to his desk, quickly wiping away the stray tear that had escaped his eye.

"What's gotten into you?" Jane asked as he saw Grace return to the bullpen, looking as if she'd seen a ghost.

Grace wanted to tell him to back off, not in the mood to discuss this, but no words could leave her lips because a small cry forced its way up through her throat. "Sorry," she choked and immediately turned to leave again, not wanting to cry in the presence of all of her coworkers.

Jane followed her to the elevator and up to the roof, where she stood watching over the city. "It's about Wayne leaving, isn't it?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Grace barely nodded, wiping at her eyes. "Did you know he was transferring?" She asked as she turned around to face Jane.

Jane nodded, "I did," he said and looked around a bit. "And judging by the tears on your eyes you do not want him to go," he continued. "He's tried really hard Grace, to continue working with you and to just be friends, but I can see it's taking a toll on him."

"I know," Grace whispered sadly. "I just… I didn't want the responsibility of knowing he transferred because of me… and now I still get it. Now he still loses the job he loves because of me."

"It's his choice Grace, just like it was the first time. He loves you and I know for a fact he would do absolutely anything for you," Jane said and gave her a small smile. "I know it's scary."

Grace swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat. "Maybe it's better this way," she mused. "There's no way we can be together anyhow, and I'm moving on with Craig… I should be happy."

"But you're not."

"I think I am," Grace defended as she looked up. "Craig is a good man, he treats me right and there are no stupid rules forbidding us from dating."

Jane gave a small chuckle, "But Wayne is the man you want."

Grace looked down at her feet and gave a small nod. "I love him, so much, but it's over and I can't keep stringing him along, that's not fair. He deserves to be happy and move on."

"I know that's not all of the story," Jane said and watched the small look of surprise on her face. "You're afraid of letting people too close, afraid of what they will find out about you. Now Craig, you can keep him at a safe distance, he's not a threat. Rigsby however, he'd almost broken through your last wall, hadn't he?"

Grace swallowed nervously, feeling incredibly comfortable with Jane dissecting her mind like this. She'd seen him do it before on other people, but being on the receiving end was something that was nerve-racking.

Jane continued, "you're afraid to let him in, afraid he'll turn away once he knows all of you," he said, her silence confirming his words. "Have you ever had this conversation with him? Told him you're scared?"

"In a way, but not like this," Grace admitted and wiped away some new tears that started to escape. "It's too late now, he'll be happy in San Francisco and I'll be happy here. I want him to be happy."

Jane nodded a bit, "He'd want the same thing for you Grace, but still I think neither of you can be happy without each other, but that's just my interpretation… I want you to really think about this conversation, you still have five weeks to make up your mind."

Grace nodded, "Thanks Jane," she replied as she let out a deep sigh, trying to calm her emotions. These five weeks were going to be incredibly hard.

TBC