Voltaire63, 71cottes, AgentAussie: Thank you for all your support!

Clara: I'm glad you're enjoying it! I'm trying to make the grammar as authentic as I can, but having only been learning BSL for a short amount of time it'll be a while before I've got a hang of it fully!

Bgjk5272: Thanks! I'm trying to keep a chapter ahead, so there should always be regular(ish) updates! If anything happens I'll be sure to leave a note!

Doranwen: I have a few pairings in mind... but that would be telling ;)

I found characterisation quite difficult in this, especially with regards to Jack. I apologise if you don't think it is convincing! But this chapter is nice and long! ENJOY! I'm also struggling with formatting, I can't make line breaks even use shift + enter! If anyone knows how I'd really appreciate it!

All mistakes are my fault, and I own nothing other than the OC's! Reviews and constructive criticism are, as always, very welcome!

SPOILERS: Endings and Beginnings

The team looked up as Emilia passed through the office without a word. Grabbing her coat she left the room without so much as eye contact.

Garrett followed soon after, his expression serious.

"Is everything ok?" Sue asked, concerned that Emilia had left so quietly and quickly.

"It would appear that the unidentified male found dead earlier is most likely Agent Peyton's partner, Agent Jones from MI6. Until this has been officially confirmed I would ask that you keep this between us. Agent Peyton has taken leave for today but will be returning tomorrow to continue with the investigation." Garrett explained.

An unsettling silence fell over the bullpen. Sue knew what everyone was thinking; what if it was my partner? She looked over at Jack, and met his eyes. When she thought what would happen if it was Jack, tears filled her eyes. After deciding to take the New York job, her heart ached every time she looked at Jack. It was one of the reasons she stayed; after thinking long and hard about how much she would miss his kind words, his unselfish nature, and knowing she'd never meet another man who cared as much as he did she realised, she just couldn't leave. Not only would she be losing her home, her friends, she would be losing the one person she truly trusted and cared for. But if it had been Jack who had died, then all of those feelings would be a million times worse. Looking around the room she knew all of her friends were thinking a similar thing.

"YOU OKAY?" Jack signed, concerned at Sue's tear filled eyes. Sue nodded, and though he was not convinced he didn't push the topic.

"Did she not choose to take compassionate leave?" Demetrius asked, trying to pull his colleagues out of their not so happy thoughts.

"Perhaps it's that British stiff upper lip and all that." Myles reasoned, receiving a blank stare from most of his colleagues.

Sue turned to Lucy once the team had gone back to their work, worry etched into her face.

"Do you know if she has anyone with her?"

"I don't know. As far as I was aware she lives alone in an apartment nearby. She and her partner have only been here a few months." Lucy said, obviously also worried for the young foreign agent.

"Do you know where her apartment is? Perhaps we can visit. I don't think she should be alone." Sue asked her friend.

"I'll see what I can do." Lucy said, speeding out of the bullpen in search of information.

Three hours later, Sue and Lucy stood outside an apartment a stone's throw away from their own.

"YOU READY?" Lucy signed. Sue nodded and lightly knocked on the apartment door. After a few moments the door swung open.

"Can I hel-oh, hello," Emilia said, looking carefully at the two woman outside her door, accompanied by a beautiful golden retriever.

"We thought we'd just come and see how you're doing." Sue said, silently praying that she had not imposed on Emilia by just turning up.

"It is what it is." Emilia said matter-of-factly, "Please, come in."

Sue and Lucy walked into an immaculate apartment. It seemed as if everything had its own place, every surface clear and pristine. On the living room table, an empty bottle of wine sat by an empty glass. A black t-shirt was folded by the bottle, but the creases and marks indicated it had not been by the bottle long.

"Please sit down. May I offer you a drink? I have wine, as you can see, but also tea, cranberry juice and water. " Emilia said, moving towards the kitchen and picking out another bottle of wine. She moved over to the table, replaced the empty bottle with the full and swiftly discarded the bottle into the recycling. Sue decided upon cranberry juice, Lucy, not wanting Emilia to drink an entire second bottle of wine alone indulged in a glass.

Emilia set the glass of cranberry on the coaster nearest Sue. She then poured and passed a glass of wine to Lucy, moving a coaster towards her in a silent request to use it. She poured herself a generous glass of wine before settling into the armchair opposite, her eyes settling on the t-shirt before them.

"I knew something was amiss when he never called this morning." She sighed, tears filling her eyes.

"I'm so very sorry." Sue said, unsure how to console her.

"You were close?" Lucy asked, not wanting to pry but also wanting to know how to console her.

"When we came here we hardly knew one another. We were the two novice gents sent by MI6 for an 'easy solve' case. When we got here we found the case was far more complex than we had anticipated. You grow close to your partner, you know. We shared everything, David and I. He was my best friend, and it could have been something more. But we never got a chance to try. Those stupid rules. Those stupid, stupid non fraternisation rules. After the case we were going to go on a date, see where it went. Now I'll never know."

Tears slid down her cheeks, as she looked up to see the two women close to tears.

"I always thought, 'there'll be time later', but there wasn't. I guess we both thought our first international case wouldn't be our last. If only I'd tried before, instead of putting it off because of bloody bureaucracy!" She said slamming her glass down onto her coaster and dropping her face into her hands, as her body shook with sobs.

Lucy looked at Sue, but she looked as distressed as Lucy felt. Neither of them knew how to console her. Taking the plunge, Sue stood up and moved towards Emilia, putting her hand on her shoulder.

"I know you don't know us very well, and neither of us can ever understand what you're going through, but we are here to support you."

Emilia looked up and managed to force a feeble smile. Levi placed his head on her lap, receiving a small cuddle as Emilia began stroking his fur. The stroking movement was hypnotic and soothing, and she began to feel her breathing steady and her heart beat return to normal.

"Thank you," Emilia said, wiping the tears from her face. Lucy passed her a tissue from her handbag, and was met with an appreciative smile and nod of thanks. "I suppose we should get to know each other a bit, seeing as I just bared my soul to you. I believe I only know your names!"

They spent the next few hours talking. After a while the conversation became familiar and comforting. Knowing it wasn't the greatest idea, but spurred on by the multiple glasses of wine, Emilia blurted out the very thing she had tried so hard to conceal.

"When I came here, and I found that I was to be working with your unit I was concerned to say the least."

"What do you mean?" Sue replied.

"I suppose we are quite infamous!" Lucy joked, grinning at Sue.

"I understand you worked with Jessica Sanders on a previous occasion," Emilia said, watching Lucy and Sue's smiles slowly fade. "She was my mentor at MI6, and for a very long time, she was my role model."

Emilia smiled sadly, remembering back before Jessica had, to use her own words against her, gone rogue. She had been a supportive mentor, assisting her with issues she couldn't handle and introducing her to people who would be able to help her learn. When she found out about Jessica's deceit, she was heartbroken.

"I know what you're thinking, that she probably taught me all the tricks, all the dirty underhand tactics to get ahead and get what I want. But she wasn't like that when I knew her. She was passionate, intelligent, a woman in a position of power so dominated by men. I wanted to be her. And when I was told of her deceit, I was distraught. Ever since then it's like her actions are a stain on my character. Anyone who knows of our relationship looks at me with distrust. That's why I didn't mention it here. I already know Agent Hudson distrust me by association with MI6, why would I further worsen my standing?"

Emilia couldn't bear to look up at their faces. She was expecting the same reaction of distrust and disgust which usually came with her confession. But instead she felt a hand settle on her own.

"WE KNOW YOU OWN PERSON. YOU NO J-E-S-S-I-C-A." Sue signed, smiling supportively. "YOU KNOWN FOR OWN MERIT."

"THANK YOU." Emilia signed, "You do not know how much it means for me to hear that."

The next morning, Emilia met Sue and Lucy outside the Hoover building. Bracing herself, they walked toward the bullpen. Noticing Emilia slowly tensing up, Sue pulled her aside.

"Don't worry, nobody will say anything. It will be just like before. If you need to take a break just let me or Lucy know."

Emilia nodded, as her nerves were restricting her voice. They continued on and entered the bullpen only to be met by cold stares.

"What's wrong?" Sue asked, sensing the mood had gone sour.

"The case has been removed from our control," He said to Sue, looking at Emilia pointedly. "It has been transferred to Agent Peyton's unit, with Agent Peyton as the case agent presiding over the investigation."

"What?" Emilia managed to utter looking from Jack to Sue in shock, "I had no idea, I thought-"

"Thought what? You could waltz in here and sweep the case from under us as soon as you found enough to link it to your own?" Jack said, glaring.

"I didn't know it had been transferred, I can get it-" She began.

"Why didn't you tell us about your association with Agent Sanders?" Jack said his voice cold as ice.

The blood drained out of Emilia's face. "I didn't think it was relevant."

"Not relevant? Don't you think we'd have been a bit more on guard if we knew she was your mentor?" Jack asked, his anger evidently getting the better of him, "She put my team in danger. I bet she taught you everything you know."

"Jack, come on, that's enough.." Myles said, stepping in. It wasn't like him, but he could see the look of shock on Emilia's face; she looked like a deer caught in headlights. "She clearly didn't know."

Jack shot him a glare equal to those he had shot at Emilia but before he could say another word Emilia cut in.

"I apologize for not disclosing my association with Agent Sanders. It was wrong of me to do so considering the sensitive nature of her relationship with this team. I was unaware the case had been transferred into my care and I will do all in my power to have It returned to your hands. Excuse me."

And without another word, Emilia left the bullpen, speeding towards the nearest empty office to release the tears she had managed to withhold.

"Jack, she didn't know!" Sue said, shocked at his reaction, "Lucy and I were with her all of last night, she had no idea!"

"Jessica put you in danger before," Jack said to Sue, not even attempting to hide the passion in his voice, "I won't let her protégée do the same."

"But Jack, just because she was taught by Jessica, doesn't mean she is her!"

The bullpen fell silent, and Jack looked around, noting the looks of shock on all his friend's faces. He fell back into his chair, a wave of guilt flowing over him. Maybe he had over reacted. But at that moment Jessica's betrayal was so fresh in his mind, it was as if he just exploded and the words had left his mouth before he could even think. The look of shock and fear on the young agent's face made his insides squeeze with guilt and partnered with the Sue's evident shock and disappointment his insides churned and made him sick with embarrassment and shame. His anger came from a desire to protect Sue. As soon as he found out about Emilia's association with Jessica he began to fear Emilia could put Sue in danger; someone had already lost a partner, he couldn't bear it if he lost Sue because of this case.

Moving past Jack's desk, Myles walked into the halls in search of Emilia. Filling a glass with water from the fountain, he gently knocked on the door from behind which the sound of sobs was escaping. Entering the room, he saw Emilia sat in a chair her head resting in her arms on the desk. He didn't know what to do, and was grateful when Sue moved into the room, smiling at him as she passed.

"Emilia?" Sue said, gently putting her hand on her shoulder as Levi laid his head down on her lap, allowing her to gently stroke and rub behind his ears.

Emilia looked up, and swiftly wiped at her face to remove the tears which were still flowing.

"Jack isn't usually like this. His relationship with Jessica, it was more… personal than with the rest of us. Her betrayal affected him more than he thought it did. I'm sure he didn't mean what he said, it was fuelled by his concern for his team." Sue said, passing her a tissue.

Emilia nodded and continued to pet Levi, unable to yet form words.

"Myles has brought you some water. I'll leave you with him here whilst I return to the bullpen. When you're ready, you can go and do anything you need to do." Sue said, moving to the door to take her leave. She waited a moment at the door as Levi gave Emilia one last comforting look before following his mistress out the room, the door shutting softly behind them.

Now it was Myles' turn to look like the deer in the headlights. He didn't know what he was going to say to her!

Passing her the glass of water he sat next to her. Silence prevailed for a while until Emilia began to speak.

"Thank you for the water. You're very kind." She said, gesturing awkwardly to the glass. "Please let me apologise for the way I spoke to you before. I lost my temper and said things which I should not have."

"I'm glad to be of service. Let me apologise likewise. I was rather hasty to criticise the case and I see now that I did not make you feel particularly welcome." Myles responded, surprised at her impromptu apology.

Emilia stood up and Myles followed suit, although he was unsure what he was actually standing for.

"Would you be able to direct me to where I should go to get the case transferred back to your team? I do not think I am an experienced enough agent to head such an investigation."

"Yes, of course." Myles said, allowing her to move ahead of him as they left the room. As they left the room they met a sheepish Jack with Sue by his side in the corridor. Sue squeezed his hand as he stepped forward to speak to Emilia.

"Agent Peyton, I am sorry for how I reacted earlier. I acted before I could think and I am ashamed of what I said. Please believe me when I say I don't believe you are like Jessica. My emotions got the better of me and I said things which I regret saying. Please, forgive me."

His sincere apology took Emilia by surprise, and she found her eyes flitting between Jack and Sue, as if it would help her brain register what had been said.

"I am sorry that I have made this difficult time even worse for you."

"Thank you for your apology. I understand your shock at my association with Jessica. She deceived us all…" Her voice tapered off as she felt the same rush of misery and shame she always experienced where Jessica was concerned.

Jack registered Emilia's pain immediately; she had clearly been just as affected by Jessica's betrayal, and he felt his stomach begin to knot from guilt again.

"Anyway, what's done is done." She said, a feeble smile gracing her lips, "Myles is helping me get the case assigned back to this team and then I will be out of your hair."

"Please, if you could work this case with us we would appreciate it. Your insight would really help." Jack said, promising himself to find a way to make it up to Emilia in the future.

"Thank you." Emilia said, a genuine smile finally appearing on her face as she moved away with Myles to get the case back on track.