A/N: Hey gang. Sorry about the long wait. But the first semester of university was a pain in the butt, and I had no time to do any writing! Sad face, right? But I'll try to do better! Please don't leave me! Well, this is the accompanying chapter to the Bobby/Jack conversation that took place last time. I really don't like it, but I hope you guys do. Please drop me a line and tell me what you think!

Chapter 5

Mikayla watched Sue and her informant Troy sign rapidly back and forth from the passenger seat of Sue's red Mustang convertible. She had calmed down enough that she was no longer crying; instead she had been filled with a crushing hopelessness. Her best friend (after all those years, Jack was still her best friend. That hadn't changed a bit.) was no longer speaking to her and he was the leader of the F.B.I team in which she had been placed. "And there's absolutely nothing I can do about it." Mikayla was jolted from her thoughts by Levi, whom Sue had just placed in the backseat. The friendly Retriever had shoved his head through the space between the seats and had begun licking her face.

"Levi!" Sue exclaimed as she slid into her seat, pushing him back into the back of the car.

"It's alright Sue. A little animal slobber never killed anybody."

"I'm so sorry." Sue replied as she handed Mikayla a tissue, which she used to wipe off the dog drool on her cheek.

"Really, it's fine. He's such a sweet puppy."

"I know. I don't know what I would do without him." Sue shifted the car into first gear, and they started cruising down the road. "Are you hungry?"

"A little."

"There's a little deli at the next intersection, if you feel like it."

"Sounds good."

They sat at a small table in the corner of the cozy delicatessen. Levi lay quietly underneath the table while the two women ate their lunches and drank their coffees.

Mikayla grabbed Sue's hand, causing her to look up.

"Thank you for this, Sue. It's nice to know that someone is willing to give me a chance." Mikayla said bitterly before taking another sip of coffee.

"I think more people are willing to give you a chance that you think."

"No. When it comes down to it, I'm the newbie that blew a gasket within her first hour on the team. Jack has the most support. He's worked with the F.B.I for a long time, and everyone is loyal to him. Not that I mind of course. It's to be expected. Jack's like…gravity. Or magnetism. Everyone is drawn to him; that's how it's always been. And he's such a sweet nice guy that nobody can bear to hurt him. Except me, it seems." Mikayla looked down at her half-finished coffee, tracing the lip of the worn mug.

"It can't be that bad."

Mikayla rolled her eyes. "If there's one thing that hasn't changed about Jack, even after all these years, it's that he values friendship, honesty and loyalty above everything else. And 15 years ago, after being friends our entire lives, I left. I didn't tell him why to his face, I didn't give him any advanced notice. I was just…gone. I threw our friendship out the window in his eyes. And I can't fix that, no matter how hard I try."

"Jack can be very forgiving." Sue commented, thinking of all the times he had been angry at her for doing something he deemed reckless, and yet he had still stood between her and the danger.

"Oh I know. I had my fair amount of screw-ups when we were younger. I have no doubt that he's already forgiven. But that doesn't mean that everything's fixed."

"Of course not. It will be hard work, getting back to where you were before everything happened. But I'm sure that God brought you back together for a reason. Maybe you both needed to grow up apart before coming back together."

"An unplanned teen pregnancy and my parents kicking me out doesn't exactly sound like God's work, Sue." Mikayla scoffed.

"Well you know what they say. 'The Lord doth work in mysterious ways.' And obviously you've both matured, despite being apart. A person changed a lot between the ages of 18 and 33."

"That's true. I never would've become the person I am without that time away from Jack. I just wish it didn't hurt so much."

Sue clasped Mikayla's hand between hers comfortingly. Mikayla looked up at her and smiled sadly. The two women sat in comfortable silence as they finished their lunches.

As luck would have it, the two duos ended up back at the Hoover building at the same time, leading to a relatively awkward elevator ride where Sue, Bobby and Jack began discussing one of their cases which left Mikayla standing in the corner, feeling alone again. She glanced down at her shoes, not knowing where to look, and subconsciously clicking her heels together.

Jack risked a look at Mikayla when he was discussing the drug trafficking case the team was currently working on. "Damn that nervous habit of hers!" Jack thought. He could distinctly remember the first time she clicked her heels in front of him. It had been the first day of first grade, and he had been a few minutes late according to the assigned meeting time their mothers had informed them of. They were going to meet in front of the school at 8:30, half an hour before school started. He had arrived at 8:35, only to find her nervously clicking the heels of her sneakers together. He hadn't been able to resist going up and hugging her from behind. She had just looked so scared and lost. "Just like now." Jack felt like kicking himself for putting that look on her face. Despite the bad blood between them now, he had never stopped caring. There was always a part of his brain that was on the lookout for her, no matter where he went.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the ding of the elevator. He held back to let Sue, Mikayla and Bobby out first. He heard Bobby strike up a conversation with Mikayla as they walked down the hall to the bullpen. He was surprised to see that Sue had waited for him.

"Hey Sue, what's up?"

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"Sue, if it's about Mikayla, I'm really not in the mood to hear it."

"I just wanted to say that she's completely heartbroken about everything that happened. On the car ride back, she mentioned that she felt like a 'colossal screw-up' since she lost her parents, her baby, and her best friend in less than a year. I just wanted you to know that she feels terrible."

"I know she does. It's just gonna take some time, but we'll figure everything out." Sue nodded her head as they entered the bullpen together. Mikayla had retreated to Garrett's office, leaving a less-tense atmosphere. Jack sat at his desk, surprised to find a piece of paper that obviously wasn't paperwork that hadn't been there before lunch. He picked up the paper, which was actually a photo with a Post-it note attached. The Post-it read: I don't know if this is out of line, but I needed you to see him – Mikayla. He picked up the old Polaroid and stared at it. In the picture, Mikayla was in a hospital bed, sweaty with her hair plastered to her forehead. A baby no bigger than a loaf of bread lay nestled in her arms. What caught his attention was the fire in Mikayla's eyes. She stared out at the camera with a look that said, 'Look Jack, I did it.' He had seen that look before, whenever he challenged her to do something out of her comfort zone. He let the photo fall back onto his desk. As it fell, the displaced air rustled the Post-it, flipping it over. He noticed the writing on the back of it. 'I wanted to name him after the most important man in my life. My dad abandoned me, and I didn't want him to grow up to be like his father. So I named him Jackson Christopher. I hope you and your dad don't mind.'

Jack threw his head back, so it lay on the headrest of his chair. He threw his arm over his eyes, trying to block out the fluorescent lights of the office. Now he felt like an ass. She had worked so hard to pull her life together after she became pregnant, and here he was, acting as if her issues were a personal affront to him. "So much for being a nice guy."

A/N: Yeah, so I hate this chapter. But I wanted to get it up. This is the first time I've posted a chapter without discussing the contents with proudtobeamerican18. I hope she's not too upset with me. Please read and review!