The loud rumble of a motorcycle was heard through the miami dade police departement ,Parking next to the hummer he turn the ignition off took his helmet off and looked at the pristine building people coming in and out , police officers taking supect in others being released .
Fiddling with his keys in his hand he made his way inside the building not many things had change since he was last here .Patiently he waited for the elevator once it finnaly came two lovely ladies steped out , using his natural charm he winked at them playfully the 2 young girls walking away gigling and whispering .The door closed on him grinning from ear to to ear .Moment later he was on the floor he wanted walking out he seen another lovely ladies at the front office , leaning agaisnt he desk he smiled his boyish smile at the obvious young officer .
'' Hi '' he simply said smilling .
The young officer who's attention at been elsewhere turned to face the source of the front of her stood a man in a leather jacket dark t-shirt , dark jeans and necklace around his neck she couldnt quite make what it was , with a faint scar above his upper lips , blushing at the dimple smile he gave her .
'' Hi ..how...how can i help you '' she smiled back .
'' im here to see lieutenant caine , a lovely lady such has you wouldnt happen to know where he is ''
Blushing further she looked down tucking a strand of hair behind her ear .
''yes Lieutenant Caine is in his office would you like me to call him for you''
'' if im not too much trouble '' he smiled back .
The young officer dialed Horatio number still blushing at his attention , while she waited for horatio to pick up he looked around the lab barely recognising anyone since he worked there.
''Does Calleigh Duquesne still work here ''
'' yes she's at a crime scene rigth now ''...'' yes hello Lieutenant Caine there a mr...sorry i didnt get your name she whispered ''
'' Berkeley ...Jake Berkeley ''
'' Mr Berkeley here to see you sir ...ok ...yes sir ''
'' Lieutenant caine will be here in a moment ''
JAKE: thank you sweetheart ! he winked one last time.
It didnt take long for horatio to show up welcoming Jake with a bright smile and a firm handshake .
HOR: Jake it's been a while .
JAKE: yeah i know ...sorry i didnt call you back i was on assigment only got your message yesterday and since i was in tampa i thougth i'd ride in .
HOR: No worry !Your still on assigment ?
JAKE: no was over 2 days ago .Im glad it's over im telling one year undercover it wreck you .
HOR: Tell me about it , so should i take it that your presence here indicated that you've taking up on my offer .
JAKE: you know ...why not ..i've been thinking for a while now to quit ATF.
HOR: Tired of the undercover ?
JAKE: yeah !
HOR: when can you start .
JAKE: i still have a few things to settle before i leave the ATF so how about next week is that ok with you .
HOR: Perfect! You need help to get settle down in town .
JAKE: nahh i'll just crash at an hotel until i find a suitable place .
HOR:Alright ! Wait here i 'll get the paperwork form Andrea , once your done just bring them to human ressource.
While Horatio asked Andrea, the girl jake just flirted with , for the required paperwork Jake took another moment to look around the lab obviously searching for someone , when finanly his sight settle on her , he had to check twice that the girl walking with her head down wearing jeans , long blouse , running shoes , and hair in a pony tail . Jake almost pinched himself to make sure that this was indeed his bullet girl , not that he had never seen her in this attire , but usually she reserved that for lazy sunday not a long day at work .
Scratching his head Jake looked closely again when he had no doubt that indeed it was here Jake wondered if he hadnt step in alternate dimension .
Slowly he made his way to her stopping just short of a few step , she hadnt notice him right away to entrance in her report but when she collided with hsi chest apologising even before she notice who it was ...her whole report falling on the floor .
CAL: ohh dear god im so sorry i wasnt looking ...
Kneeling to retrieved her report , Jake did the same to help handing her one of the pages she finnaly looked up .
CAL: Thank you...ja...Jake ...
JAKE: Hey there officer pretty !
Pushing herself on her feet Calleigh was completly taken a back by the arrival of her old flame.
CAL: What ...what are you doing here .
JAKE: Well i...i work here again !he said with a huge dimple smile .
CAL: ohh ..ok ..welcome back .
JAKE: Thats it ..thats all i get welcome back ..we havent see each other in 4 years and no hey jake how you doing you can do better then that.
In one swift move jake pull her into a tight hug swirling her around with chuckle , caught of guard Calleigh squealed of surprised holding tightly onto her report .
Putting her back down with a loud chuckle Calleigh felt slightly dizzy ,smilling lightly at jake foolishness.
JAKE: So tell me about you ...what you been up too...are you married ...got any kids ...you and Delko must be married by now since you dump me for him ...
Her smile quickly faded from her face , white has a ghost she took a step back from him , Jake wasnt stupid he knew he said the wrong thing he just didnt know what it was.
CAL: Listen i ...huh i got work to do ...we'll catch up later ok .
Tapping his chest lightly she pass by him taking a deep breath to force a smile , Jake was completly taken a back by her behavior .
Walking back tot he front desk where Horatio was waiting having seen the whole scene , he had hope that the return of jake would had least bring some bit of happiness to Calleigh but apparantly she seemed unphased by it .
JAKE: did i miss something, because that girl is not the caleligh i know ...the calleigh i know would have died before someone caught her wearing that ? he said pointing his thumb toward Calleigh walking down the hall away from him .
HOR: Jake you' ve missed a lot of things !
Horatio gave a faint nod toward the wall behind Jake , swirling around Jake was even more confused when all he seen was the wall honoring fallen officer .
Jake looked back at Horatio his brow tighten together he looked closely at the wall not sure what he was looking for .
His eyes scanning every name none of them he knew ,he stopped at the very last one , straigthening himself , Jake stared at the man that a few years ago had stolen the heart of Calleigh from him .
JAKE: Delko ...he asked Horatio unable to grasp the news .
HOR: yes ...he said with sadness in his voices .
JAKE: what happened ?
HOR: long story ...you ...you should ask Calleigh .
JAKE : you telling me shes like this because of him .
HOR: Like i said Jake ...you should ask her ..maybe talking to you will help .
JAKE: I'll give it a shot .
Horatio cell phone rang taking a step back he took the call while Jake still grasp the death of eric . Sure the 2 hadnt been the best of pal but he always respected his friendhsip with Calleigh even though Jake alwasy knew Eric was only waiting for him to screw it up before he swoop her in .But after all those years Jake now knew he never had a chance , Calleigh reciprocated his feeling and Jake was simply the third wheel between them .
HOR: jake im sorry but i got a call out , fill the paperwork and hand them to human ressource i'll call you later ok .
JAKE: Sure thing Horatio thanks .
Horatio rushed out toward the stairs last thing Jake saw of him he was putting on his sunglasses.
With his hand in his pocket whistling Jake gave one final wink to andrea before stepping into the elevator .
'' HEY HEY HOLD THE DOOR WILL YOU ...'' a woman voices came .
Just has the door were closing jake put his hand between them , they immediatly reopened allowing the 2 women to step inside .
'' thanks ''...'' JAKE''!
JAKE: Natalia...Maxine... nice to see you again ... how you 2 doing ?
NAT: Im good ! thank you how about you ?
JAKE: Im peachy !he winked
MAX: Hummpp ...peachy pffft .
NAT: Maxine it's not a way to treat an old friend .
MAX: Him my friend pffft did you forget he arrested us .
JAKE: ahh come on your still mad about that .
MAX: YES...that was the most humiliating day of my life ...
JAKE: next time to go sleep around with your friend ex .
MAX: Ohh you little ...hummmppp.
JAKE: nice reply ! he laughed at her stepping out of the elevator followed by the 2 women
NAT: Anyway what your doing here ?
JAKE: I'll be working here again soon .
MAX: OHH HELL NO !
JAKE: yep you'll be seeing a whole lot of me missy .
Rolling her eyes Maxine choosed to ignored him walking to her car .
MAX: come on Nat lets go buy some shoes .
JAKE: Out for some retail therapy are we .
The last thing Jake heard before she slammed the door was a loud grunt and an evil eye .
JAKE: I think she likes me what do you think ! he laughed
NAT: Dont push your luck Jake! she laughed along with him .
Walking to the passenger side of Maxine car when she hunk her horn loudly Natalia chuckle to herself .
NAT: I'll see you later ok !
JAKE: yeah no problem you girls have some fun .
Natalia gave a faint wave before she got into Maxine car jake who's motorcycle happened to be next to her car sat on his seat buckling his helmet on he winked at maxine .
MAX: You think if i accidently run him over anyone will notice it wasnt an accident .
NAT: huh Maxine cop here i could arrest you just for that .
MAX: At least this time it would be for a valid reason .
NAT: He was just doing his job maxine .
MAX: Not a good one at that ...anyway enough talk about men tonight it's shoe time my friend.
Maxine drove out of the parking lot Jake motorcycle driving by them his motor roaring he waved at them before driving into the sunset .Maxine clutch the steering wheel her foot itching on the gas pedal grumbling to herself something that Natalia didnt quite get but found amusing .
Her arms steady her stance strong she took her position and fired a few rounds into the target .Having Jake back into her life brought back memories of a time where life was much simpler , of course back then to her it seemed comlicated having two men hovering around you could have it's complication .But she would give anything to have those day back even if it mean dealing with Jake and eric being in competition .
Feeling the need to vent a bit more she reloaded another clip , firing has her hands began to shake ,soon her vision was blurry, her whole body was now shaking .Unable to fire anymore she put the gun down , removed her ear muff .Pressing the back of her hand onto her lips she tried to gather herself but again the regret were hitting her hard .Again she wonder about the what if in her life . What if instead of letting Jake back into her life she would have let eric in sooner and they wouldnt have wasted all that time avoiding the inevitable .
Unable to control her emotion she leaned forward agaisnt the counter gripping the side with all her strenght .
when she heard the handle of the door being turned she straighten herself turning her back to the door , pretending she was working putting her gun away in her vault.
'' Hey Calleigh you there '''
She'd wished he hadnt come back so early that she would have more time to handle all the memories that his return brougth back .With a long deep breath she tried to keep her voices in check .
CAL: I'll be right out Jake ...give me a minute .
He heard the sound of her breaking voices and he knew right then he caught her crying .
CAL: hey ! she said faintly walking out of the vault avoiding looking at him .
JAKE: Hey ...you ..you ok .
CAL: Yeah yeah ...just tired , what you doing here i didnt think you'll be back so soon .
JAKE: Well you know i was laying in my hotel room watching some very bad movie then i thought what the hell i'll go bug Calleigh .
CAL: Thats the best you could come up on your first day night back in town .
JAKE: yeah ...so how about it , you want to go for a ride .
CAL: I dont think do i still got lot of work to do .
JAKE: It would be fun ..we could go to that coffee shop you love down the coast ...the one that sell machiatos .
CAL: You hate machiatos and that place been closed for a while anyway .
She pretended to go back to work hoping he would get the hint and leave her alone .
JAKE: we could just ride ...
CAL: NO thank you ...
JAKE: Come on Calleigh ! he insisted once more .
CAL; JAKE I SAID NO ! GOD JUST LEAVE ME ALONE !
Jumping at her sudden outburst Jake took a step back lookign down at the floor.
JAKE:Ok ..ok i can take a hint i wont bother you anymore .
With his hand in his pocket and his head hung low Jake turned around to leave , she didnt need to look at him to know she had hurt him , even if Jake always pry himself on being tough he had weakness and women were one of them .
Straigthening her hair and then her shirt , her eyes wander to her reflection into the door of her barely recognised herself ,Her eyes were bright red and tired her skin pale, her hair messy ,The women staring back at her was a complete stranger .
Walking backward from the refelction she turned on herself swiftly turned the light off in her lab closed the door , running down the hall she hope he wasnt gone yet .
Instead of waiting for the elevator she took the stairs jumping a few of them she pushed the glass door leading outside she scan the parking lot for any trace of his motorcycle .
She heard the loud noised of an engine revving, crossing agaisnt the yard toward the sound , she yelled his name has he began backing his motorcycle.
CAL ; JAKE ...JAKE ...WAIT WAIT ... she yelled but has he revved his engine to switch the gear Jake couldnt hear a sound , Shifting the gear he began driving away unaware of Calleigh calling him .
CAL; JAKKEEEEEEE ! she yelled to the top of her lungs .
Glancing into his rearview mirror Jake stop on his track , turning his body sideway he looked back to Calleigh standing a few feet away from his motorcycle in the middle of the parking lot .Without a word he patted the seat behind , without hesitation calleigh ran to him Jake handing her a helmet she put it on , sat behind him her arms around his waist .Once he was sure she was safely secure Jake drove away .resting her head agaisnt his back Calleigh closed her eyes the wind blowing her hair , her mind finnaly free of all the heart ache .
After what seemed a short run they stopped at an isolated spot near the beach ,Calleigh took her helmet off and slid off the motorcycle , with her arms crossed over her chest she overlooked the view jake had choosen , the waves crashing on the shores and the sun ready to call it a night .
Turning his motorcycle off Jake reach into his saddle bag and retrieved 2 cans of beer .
JAKE: Nothing like warm beer just like in Louisianna! he said handing her one .
with a corner smile she took one sitting in the sand her elbow brought up on her knees she took a long sip of her beer.
CAL: God i think it's been a while since i done that .
JAKE: Drink warm beer on the beach with a very handsome young men ! he teased popping his beer open .
CAL: Now i dont know about handsome ! she teased back with a sip .
Chuckling jake crossed his legs in front of him leaning back on his hand .
JAKE: i do remenber the first time we did this ! he smile a cheeky grin ...you let me get 2 second base .
CAL: dont think you'll get that lucky tonight .
JAKE: I do have more beer ! he laughed back
CAL: yeah but im older and very much wiser .
Laughing Jake took a long sip of his beer crunching the can in his hand when he was done .They stood silent for a moment the sun setting them into darknest .
Calleigh was the first to broke the silence .
CAL: so ..your really quitting ATF.
JAKE: yeah , i thought i'd my try something different .
CAL: You tried a few years ago and it didnt work , dint take long for you to go back undecover what makes you say this time it going to be different .
JAKE: I dont know ...he said with a hint of sadness that caught Calleigh off guard .
CAL: what happened .
JAKE: Let's just say my last undercover case didnt end very well.
She didnt say anything simply fixed her eyes on the moon aboved them , knowing Jake after all those years if she pushed the issue he would shut down and wouldnt appreciate her prying into his life , in some way jake was just like her , broken .
JAKE: i messed up ...like really messed up ...i mean according to ATF i did everything by the book but ...
CAL: But we both know that undercover work is not '' by the book '' has they said .
JAKE: No ...no it's not .
Again a silence fell between them jake watch has her sad eyes looked at the moon like she missed something, someone , he knew who somehow at that moment jake knew that the calleigh he had known all those years , was gone .
JAKE: you .. you really miss him dont you .
The words left his mouth before he couldnt even grasp their repercussion . To anyone else they were meaningless but to her it meant reliving the nightmare .Knowing she wouldnt open up on herself Jake took upon himself to tell his story .
JAkE: You know in my last undercover mission i had been under over a year and i didnt ever realised it ...it wasnt until we closd the case that i realised it been so long ,
CAL: You love that life Jake , you lived for it .
JAKE: not ..not the last year! he said taking a sip of his beer .
Diverting her eyes from the moon she tilted her head to the side to see Jake with his head down swirling his beer around .
CAL: what Happened .
JAKEL: i screw up with a kid who was way over his head ...
CAL: Im sure you were just doing your job ...
JAkE: It's not that simple...
CAL: not a lot of things are .
Once again she felt silence but this time isntead of looking at the moon Calliegh looked away at the horizon , Jake search his woords carefully for the next step but there wasnt any easy way to approach this .
JAKE: I ..i heard about Delko ...
He heard her long exhaled of breath her shoulder deflated , he thought her heard a whimper but through the sound of the waves crashing he wasnt so sure .
JAKE: You want to tell me about it ...
CAL: You want to tell me why you ''' really'' left undercover work .
JAKE: NO !
CAL: then no i dont want to tell you about it .
JAKE: would you rather i hear it from someone else .
Scoffing with a bitter laugh Calleigh eyed him shaking her head from side to side .
CAL: Of all the rumors that have been swirling around about that day im not even sure you'll even get the truth.T here so many rumors about what happened that it's ridiculous...my favorite one is that i killed him in a jealous rage ...she said bitterly, scoffing at the ridiculous idea .
JAKE: ok then tell me ...I wont judge you .
Finishing the remain of her beer she took a fresh one that Jake handed her giving her a bit of courage .
CAL: i dont even know where to start .
JAKE: Just start from the beginning .
CAL: i loved him it's that simple ...
Never , never jake had heard those words come out of her mouth when it concerned a man , not even to him , not even in the mist of a passion, she said many times that she loved spending time with him , loved her gun collection , but loved the real thing no it had never left her mouth .
JAKE: right ...he said a bit too bitterly .
CAL: Hey you wanted the truth !
JAKE: im ..im not being jealous ..i just never heard you say those words , so i guess he was the real deal huh .
CAL: He...he made me feel special ..like i mather .
JAKE: something i never did ...he said more to himself then to her .
CAL: you choosed your work over me Jake what did you expect .
JAKE: hey dont put this all on me ok, in all of our relationship you had Eric in the back of your mind so you want to talk about being fully committed look at your self first.
Pushing himself on his feet jake was now the one scoffing at her .
JAKE: Let's be honest calleigh you never really gave me shot , you always kept me at arms lenght .
Following his lead she pushed herself on her feet , glaring at him in that way that always made him feel uneasy .By now he knew he had touch a sore subject and she was down right piss.
CAL; You want to talk about committement ,,,really you Jake berkeley ...mr i rather go on undercover then commit to something .
JAKE; I ASKED YOU TO WAIT ! he yelled louder then he wanted ..
CAL; WAIT FOR WHAT JAKE ...LETS SAID I WAITED AND THEN WHAT ,,,HOW LONG WOULD HAVE GOTTEN BORED AND GO BACK UNDERCOVER ...
JAKE; YOU WERE GLAD I WAS GONE THAT WAY YOU WERE FREE TO GO CANNOODLING WITH DELKO...ITS BEEN 4 YEARS AND IM STILL IN COMPETITION WITH THE GUY ...WELL GUESS WHAT CALLEIGH I CANT FIGHT A FREAKING GHOST ...
CAL; NO ONE ASKING YOU...WHAT DID YOU EXPECT BY BRINGING ME HERE ...HUH ...TELL ME DID YOU EXPECT ME TO FALL IN YOUR ARMS AND FORGET EVERTHING ...
JAKE ; YOU REALLY THINK THAT LOW OF ME DONT YOU ...I SAW A FRIEND IN NEED AND I WAS TRYING TO HELP HER ...
CAL :I DONT NEED YOU HELP IM DOING FINE ON MY OWN ...
JAKE : REALLY! HAVE YOU LOOK AT YOURSELF LATELY
CAL; OHH THATS IT YOU DONT GET TO COME BACK INTO MY LIFE AND JUDGE ME ...
By now they were at each other throat face to face ,jake thank god she didnt have a gun on her or he would have been long gone but had to admit that his own temper had gotten the best of him .
JAKE: CAN YOU HONESTLY TELL ME THAT WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOURSELF IN THE MIRROR YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?
CAL: YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENNED ,...NOTHING , YOU WERENT EVEN HERE WHEN IT HAPPENED SO DONT YOU DARE JUDGE JAKE BERKELEY .
JAKE ; LOOK I GET IT THE GUY DIED ...
CAL; OHH NO NO NO YOU DONT GET IT HE DIDNT JUST DIED ...I KILLED HIM YES ...ME I KILLED HIM... ME...RIGHT ON BULL EYES HAS ALWAYS ...AND IF THAT WASNT ENOUGH THE RUSSIAN GOT TO HIM FIRST AND BURNED HIS BODY ...ALL...ALL WAS LEFT OF HIM WAS NOTHING BUT A CHARRED BODY ...BUT I...I CALLEIGH DUQUESNE KILLED THE MAN I LOVED .
By now Calleigh was sobbing her heart out but still face Jake straight on her eyes defying him to retaliate , but jake could only take a step back has the news sunk in , he knew it was bad he just didnt know it was that bad .
JAKE: Calleigh ...he said quietly his voiced full of concern , he opened his arms to her but she put her palms up halting him .
CAL: dont ! i dont need pity right now .
JAKE: I dont pity you , i just thing that right now you need someone to hold you , i have feeling it's been a while .
Slowly she let her guard down has jake step in and brought his arms around her tiny frame and put her head on his shoulder , Calleigh sobbing quietly .
CAL: i miss him so much ! she finnaly admitted
Jake tighten his hold on her stroking the back of her hair softly .
CAL: Im sorry i yelled at you .
JAKE: Hey im use to women screaming at me wouldnt be the first time ! he said trying to make her laugh , when she didnt he realised it would take more then a little joke to fix her but no mather what Jake would be a friend to her which was what she needed , more then anything , someone who wouldnt judge her who understood that sometimes our action had repercussion that we wish we could changed , more then anything .