A/N: My thanks to Mariel, my vacationing beta! I obviously need to put a tracking device on her... Thank you for the reviews, always appreciated!

Disclaimer: The usual, the WAT characters aren't mine and they're owned by CBS -who still suck.

Chapter Four

Xx-

Pulling into the motel parking lot in the light rain, Jack nodded at the property in question and asked, "Does this meet your seedy quotient?" He wasn't sure exactly where they were in New Jersey, but the GPS would get them home whenever they decided to leave.

Nodding, Jessie grinned at him. "The only time I come to these is when there's a body or a holed up perp involved."

Jack parked the car. "Not tonight I hope…" He looked around. "And look across the road, there's a sleazy bar with a faulty neon sign."

"Very classy," she observed dryly. Peering through the window glass she said, "We should check it out later; mingle with the locals." A thought occurred to her. "Do you think the room will have one of those old-school vibrating beds?"

Jack gave her a look that said so much. "Trust me," he said in a measured tone with a raised eyebrow, "if they do, we are not going to need it..."

After they'd booked in and found their room, Jack had barely flicked on the light switch when Jessie grabbed him and kissed him hard. She was well on her way to undoing his belt and jeans and nearly had him backed up against the closed door. Jack found himself gently protesting –as much as he liked her clear desire for him.

"Hey, slow down…" he laughed gently.

Jessie stopped her fumbling. "Please Jack, don't tell me you're not in the mood –it's been days…"

"But there's no rush, it's not a race..." Reaching a hand up to brush against her cheek, he then trailed it down her neck and across her shoulder.

She stilled at his touch, and, closing her eyes, sighed. "You're right and I'm sorry -slow is good..."

"And slow is also very… very… thorough," he said, bringing his lips to hers, his hands now sliding down her body with careful deliberation.

"Mm, I like it when you're thorough," she murmured against his mouth.

"And I can guarantee I will be…"

Xx—

All weekend getaways must come to an end, and theirs ended Sunday night with Jack dropping Jessie off at her place. He watched as she reached into the back seat for her weekend bag. "Can I walk you to the front door?" he asked.

"No, it's fine…" She looked over at the house. "I'd invite you in but I think Mom's asleep, I don't like to disturb her."

"It is pretty late... So, can I be fitted into your busy schedule this week?"

"All my spare time is yours," she said, kissing him.

"I'd like that." He kissed her back.

"That was a great weekend…"

"I didn't know threadbare sheets and biker bars were your thing."

"Neither did I!" Jessie laughed throatily before kissing him again. Then she pulled away and looked at him, as though she were measuring his worth. "You know Malone, you're doing a really good job at making me fall for you."

"Then tell me how I can complete it," Jack said, trying not to sound serious.

She kissed him one last time. "Just keep doing what you're doing; I think we're nearly there," and she got out of the car.

Well, Jessie may not have been there –Jack, however, was pretty sure he already was.

Xx-

Samantha was mad.

She had been boiling over all weekend.

The weekend she knew Jack was getting away with Jessie.

She'd been mad at Brian.

Mad at that Jessie Prince.

Mad at Jack.

Mad at herself.

Only Finn had escaped scot-free by default.

She jabbed impatiently at one of the elevator's up button, although it was obviously on its way.

"You know the relationship between both my daughters is important and I think it's always going to interfere in our relationship-" Jack had said, before she'd cut him off.

Jab, jab.

What a load of bullshit. The girls –certainly not Kate- hadn't caused any problems; even Hanna's New York sojourn hadn't been problematical overall. In fact she'd been cool with them both dating when she'd figured it all out.

And how could the girls have interfered if they were in Chicago anyway –by mental telepathy?

She remembered her next words clear enough.

"…You're breaking up with me, right?"

"Well, technically, yes -but I haven't finished yet..."

Why, why, why hadn't she let Jack keep talking?

She'd already made her decision: her brainless, near-sighted decision, but she should have let him carry on –well, she had after a fashion.

"You should continue, you're doing a wonderful job."

Oh yes, very funny Sam. I'm such a crack-up.

So...

What would -or should- Jack have said? she wondered, finally getting in the lift and pressing the 12th floor's button.

What about: I said I bought some time with Hanna, but knowing her, she might not stay in New York for long and then perhaps we can see.

She stood at the back of the elevator to let herself gently simmer, as more people piled in.

He could have been about to say something like that –it's what ultimately happened. He couldn't have been that stupid to not have seen it coming…

But me and my dumb ideas…

And top of it all, she was vacillating about asking Brian to leave.

She wanted him gone but didn't have the guts to say it.

The elevator finally made it to her floor as her mind went round and round. She strode out to find Jack –of all people- walking past on his way to his office.

"Morning Sam," he greeted warmly, smiling as they walked together, still basking in the high of his weekend-with-Jessie-excess. "How are you?"

Giving him a bright, sunny smile, she made sure it reached her eyes. "Wonderful, thank you." She couldn't help but notice how good he looked – damn, he was practically glowing.

He nodded. "Great –and we've just got a case. I'll bring you all up to speed in two minutes."

She nodded in reply, allowing herself to a last personal wallow before snapping into case mode as they walked.

What did I say before we left his office to go to Elena and Danny's wedding?

Oh yes.

"I'm not sure if I'm okay."

I should have listened to myself…

Then they diverged; him to his office and she to the bull pen.

Jack was glad she was in such a happy mood; he knew he certainly was.

Pending case aside, it was a pleasant way to start a new week between them.

Xx-

The phone calls with Maria had become more frequent over the past months, mostly thanks to Hanna's problems, but also with a mutual peace that had happened between the former husband and wife. Time and the imposed distance had cooled things down to a stage where they could talk companionably and honestly with each other. Jack was pleased with where they were.

He leaned back into the sofa, where earlier he and Jessie had eaten some Chinese take-out and watched some TV together before she'd left. It had been nice, quiet evening. "Does Hanna feel like talking to me yet?" he asked, unsuccessfully keeping the hope out of his voice. Kate had already given him updates on her schoolwork and social life.

"Not really," replied Maria. "You could try, but I think it would just be silence and the occasional grunt. Give her time."

"She's still taking it this hard? It's been quite a while."

Maria sighed. "Yes… Her teenage heart is quite irretrievably broken, it seems."

"Well, we've all been there and we all get over it –eventually," said Jack, thinking of Samantha and himself. This was greeted with silence from the other end of the line. "Ah… Maria?" he asked, wondering if the phone had died on him.

Maria's voice was quiet. "I know all too well how long it takes to fix a broken heart, Jack –and it can take quite some time to mend."

Oh.

Sometimes that big foot of his tended to get lodged in his mouth when his brain least expected it.

A different tact was needed. "Sorry," he said gently. "… So, what are the girls up to now?"

Maria was relieved at the diversion. "They dug out some of my cookbooks and are planning to bake some cookies for Kate's school fundraising tomorrow. I'm not quite sure what they'll end up like …"

"The girls learned to cook from you so I know whatever they make will be good," he complimented, remembering when Hanna cooked for him.

"Huh, thank you, Jack… Sometimes I feel I don't have the time to do it all properly, work, cooking and all that."

Jack caught the 'all that'. "Are you seeing someone?" he asked lightly.

"Ah…yes, I am."

"Good for you -from work?"

"No -a friend of a friend, his name's Daniel."

"Law?"

Maria chuckled. "No, he's an airline executive."

Jack gave a soft whistle. "Nice perks. How long have you been going out?"

"About three months," she said, hesitantly.

Jack found he was actually happy for her; a newer sensation. "That's nice."

"Thanks -how about you?" She'd known eventually about Samantha, both on and off –although she hadn't initially been impressed when they'd got back together unsurprisingly, but she'd accepted it. It had been when she'd found out he'd been going out with Anne that her full wrath had been unleashed, and she had quite firmly told Jack -after the miscarriage- that he'd dodged a very large bullet. He had thought she'd been a bit harsh at the time and had blatantly said so, but he now knew she'd been right, sure enough.

"Yes, I am actually. She's with the Bureau-"

Maria tsked. "Oh, please-"

Laughing, Jack shook his head. "Hang on a minute, she's in a different location, out in the Kew Gardens office."

"That's a change –I was beginning to think that particular pier had been over-fished by you," she said, with no waspishness in her voice. "Do I know her?"

"Jessie Prince, used to be in NYPD," Jack supplied, not feeling the need to fill in any extra details as nothing had happened way back then between them; he was in fact pleased he could talk about these things with his ex.

They had come a long, long way.

"No, don't remember her at all," Maria said after a moment's thought. "How long for you?"

Jack thought back. "It's been about a month and a half now." Probably more like two weeks in total, with Jessie's curious evening busy-ness and his own cases taking up his evenings from time to time. He'd given up wondering what she got up to and just went with the flow –or was trying to at least.

He could tell Maria was impressed. "I hope it all goes well for you," she said before there was another pause as a ruckus had begun in the background. "Look Jack, I have to go, seems the girls are having a crisis over which cookie recipe to use –a loud crisis at that."

Smiling, Jack said his goodbyes.

Things were definitely better in his life.

Xx—

It was what the teenager said that made Samantha pay attention.

He'd been taken by his natural father –whom he'd never known- before they found him.

Samantha was walking him to the car to take him to the Bureau.

"It was wrong," the not quite a boy-still not a man said out of the blue, wanting to get it off his chest. "He's not my father. He had no right to do that to me –or my family."

"But he is your father," Samantha felt she had to point out.

"He got my mom pregnant and ran off. He didn't raise me, he wasn't there for me. He's a stranger."

"When people are young they do things they regret-"

"My father is the man who took my mom and me in, the one who raised me as his own. They said I could find my natural father when I was older but I didn't… don't want that."

"But-"

"My dad is the one that raised me, not that fucked-up jerk," he said resolutely, his fists clenched in anger as he stood by the car.

Samantha opened the car door for him and watched as he got in. Knowing she was still delaying the inevitable about dealing with Brian, she tried not to slam the door.

She looked at the boy one more time and then skywards.

I get what he's telling me Universe, I really, really do –you don't have to make it any more obvious than it already is.

Okay?

Xx-

Yes, there she was –Jessie.

Back again on some made-up excuse, no doubt.

Samantha couldn't help watch them together though, as she ostensibly read a file. They were just inside his office and standing close together. Jessie was about to leave -his hand was gently stroking her upper arm, his face down towards hers as he quietly spoke. Jessie reached up and ran her fingers along his jaw –it was a small but very intimate gesture. He then took her hand in his own and turned it over, kissing the palm.

Samantha knew that particular expression on Jack's face from her own times with him –it was a certain look and now there it was, for Jessie.

Turning away from the display, Samantha was a bubbling cauldron of emotions as she nearly dropped the papers from the file.

Damn it…

She really couldn't fight it anymore.

Admitting it didn't help.

But…

She wanted Jack.

She wanted him back in her life.

She wanted to be with him.

And now it looked like he was in love with that Jessie God-damned Prince.

What the hell am I supposed to do now?

Xx—

TBC