A/N: Answering your pleas :) Hadn't come 'round to say I sincerely appreciate all your comments! Still waiting for the inspiration to come back and make me able to either finish stories I've started, and/or to write a whole new one...

Difficile est longum subito deponere amorem

(How difficult it is to abandon a long cherished love so suddenly)

Catullus, Carmina, poem 76 (56 BC)

VII

Almost unnoticed the days went by, in that same loosened atmosphere they had both been hoping for at the beginning of their journey together, but now had little trouble in creating. She was ridiculously happy ever since they kissed on the doorstep and seamlessly this feeling lasted throughout the days and nights as she was able to give in to something she had been longing to do for years.

She almost regretted Oscar's return for it would demand more time and devotion to their actual assignment; not that of her heart. But at the same time it was thrilling as well when they had spotted him getting out of the a car. Their equipment made it possible to take a gander who was behind the steering wheel despite the tinted windows and they relayed the pictures to the Bureau, where after processing through NCIC an interesting name popped out. Oscar had been in the company of a known international arts and antiques trader that had popped up in numerous frauds and other cases. News from Pennsylvania trickled down as well that there had been a burglary in a mansion where only one or two exquisite items had been stolen. Now, they couldn't connect him to it, but the coincidence was at the very least remarkable, if not preposterous.

It began to become clear that Oscar might not be as spotless as he tried to appear to the outside world. They still couldn't picture Tamsin in all this, and the possibility couldn't be ruled out she was kept in the dark as much as anyone else.

"You know what he said last night?" Sue said as she put back a few plates from lunch in the kitchen cupboard. "No," Jack said, "unfortunately I can't read lips."

"Only good that I can, isn't it," she quipped and playfully brushed the tip of his nose. "Despite numerous, often successful, attempts to distract me."

"I have no idea what you're referring to."

"What he said, or what you were doing?" He smiled. "What he said…"

"He said the goods from the job were to be delivered to a warehouse in Southeast. Unfortunately, he didn't mention the address as he was pacing back and forth." She let her hand slide over his shoulder as she sat down again. "But I could've missed out on one or two things thanks to you…"

"Glad I could help…" He stole a kiss from her. "What did they say at the office?"

"I haven't heard from them today, yet."

Outside, the soft and friendly weather had changed with the winds, driving out the warm rays of the sun as grey clouds closed the sky and the first tokens of fog were creeping over the soil. Temperature had dropped overnight and through the forming clouds, moisture replaced the dry circumstances of before. Patches of anthracite Nimbostratus menacingly slowly rolled over the far hills as messengers of the rainfall to come. Sue looked out the window at the forming rags and warmed her hands on the cup of tea she still held. "Weather is getting cold."

"Let's hope it won't keep Oscar from his useful habit of having a smoke outdoors and handling a few calls."

"That would be a setback," Sue acknowledged. His frequent outdoor activities were all recorded by CCTV installed that covered most of the Beckett's premises, motion-sensitive camera's with night-vision that enabled clear footage even at dusk and night. For Sue it was the ideal footage to study, having the time to make sure she got everything that was being said, instead of making ad hoc decisions and assumptions. It had given them useful information already they knew from getting reports back from the team.

"When are we going to move in?" Sue had turned her gaze away from the developing disconsolateness outside. "I don't know, we have circumstantial evidence now at best, nothing solid. He's a cool customer, Oscar, might take a long time to catch him red-handed. If at all."

I wouldn't mind if this job took forever, she thought. "We'll just have to wait and see."

"Exactly," he said. "And meanwhile, make the best of it which, I must say, we're getting good at lately." Levi, until then calmly lying on the kitchen floor suddenly heaved his head at the same time as Jack turned his head.

"HAPPEN WHAT QQ"

"DOOR," he said. "ME GO." She nodded and put her cup in the sink to wash it as he left the kitchen, followed by her dog. She smiled at the sight, like it's always been like this. She had her back at the entrance when she felt Levi's paw gently nudging her thigh. She turned to see what was happening. She frowned, suddenly feeling a knot in her stomach. "Sir?"

"Thomas," Garrett said. "Could you join us in the living room?" His serious expression had her worried something was terribly wrong. She dried her hands on the towel before she followed her supervisor to the living room. Her eyes sought Jack's who, upon meeting, displayed the same worry she felt. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Thomas."

"Then, what brings you here? We didn't know you were coming…"

"It is, as you undoubtedly are assuming, about the case we sent you out upon." Garrett sat back a little as he observed both his Agents. "First of all, congratulations on a job well done…"

"You mean Oscar's been arrested?" Jack broke through, frowning whilst at the same time displaying surprise. Garrett shook his head. "No, and I doubt whether that will happen at all." He pursed his lips, contemplating. "Then, what do we need to be congratulated for?" Sue asked, totally confused.

"Your undercover managed to work so well it took a while before we got news that we had to abort the mission."

"Abort it? We're just getting started, information is coming, we…" Jack was silenced when Garrett held up his hand. "If you let me finish… Unknown to us we're involved in a long-rolling undercover sting that our activities were about to infringe."

"I don't get it." Sue felt how nausea began to roam freely where joy had been before as she processed the words her supervisor said. "Oscar Beckett, the man you were sat about to be spying upon turns out to be an undercover agent in an international sting to retrieve stolen art and catch the perpetrators."

"What? What office?"

"Scotland Yard, acting in close interaction with Interpol and only known to the higher echelons of the FBI and the State Department and Department of Justice. That's why it took a while before they found out we were on him as well, possibly jeopardising the whole mission."

This can't be happening…

"When they did, alarm bells were starting to go off at a lot of desks and in a lot of offices in Washington, London, Vienna." He smiled apologetically. "We only heard early this morning. If that's any comfort." No, no, no comfort at all… She felt her heart sink as slowly everything began to fall apart of which she had dreamed before and was actually living the past few days.

"I do had to compliment you for your efforts, they never guessed where the information was coming from. The Attorney General wanted me to tell you."

"Err, Thanks?" Jack smiled uneasy, and glanced sideways at Sue. She looked forlorn and he more that understood why. He felt the same. I know, sweetheart…

"That means, effectively today, the assignment is over." Garrett stood up and gave both his Agents a hand. "It is as it is, I can't help it either. I'm as surprised as you are. I'll leave you to finish up here." He walked out of the room.

Jack sat motionless for a while, still dumbfounded at the suddenness of it all. One minute everything was okay, the next the sky was tumbling down on them like the grey clouds that rolled over the neighbourhood as the first droplets of rain ticked against the windows. I can't believe it's over… He looked at the precious blonde opposite of him whose tan has turned a little ashen and his heart pained. He gently tapped her leg and she slowly focused on him. "SORRY," he said. "ME SURPRISE SAME."

"ME KNOW," she answered. Her eyes looked into his and he saw regret and something he could only label as anxiousness surface in hers. "What are we going to do, Jack?"

"I don't know…"

"This can't be it….can it?" He was about to respond when the door-bell rang again. He got up to see who was at their door. "Hello," Oscar said, looking a bit uneasy, Tamsin was next to him. "Can we come in?" Wordlessly Jack stepped back and gestured they could before closing the door behind them. They stood all a bit helplessly in the hall before he escorted them to the living room. Sue got up from her chair, a pained expression on her face as Tamsin and Oscar entered the room.

"We, eh, don't know what to say really," Oscar began. "I can imagine you are as overwhelmed as we were when we had unexpected visitors this morning."

"You have no idea…" Jack sat down opposite the couple.

"We never knew," Tamsin said, "it simply did not cross our minds, once."

"I hope you're not mad at us." Tamsin looked at Sue and smiled. "No, of course not, dear. It's all part of the game."

"We wanted you to know that we won't hold a grudge or anything. In our line of work, one can expect things."

"Our line of work?" Sue sounded surprised. "You're both Scotland Yard?"

They shook their heads. "No, I'm originally Scotland Yard, Tamsin works for UNESCO."

"You're not married in fact at all?"

"Oh, no, quite the contrary: we are. That's why they asked us for the job." Tamsin smiled.

"I see," Jack said, "we still hadn't figured out your role in all this."

"From what they told us, you already figured out a lot about me," Oscar said. "Which is a compliment in my book, I must say."

Sue felt her thoughts drift away during their conversation, feeling immensely awkward and the bitter realisation things had ended once again left a bad taste in her mouth as well as a pained heart. Despite Oscar's plea not to feel guilty, she did, how could she not? It would've been different if they had done the right thing and he had been guilty, a satisfactory end. Now, set under these conditions, it felt as they had been found out, instead of them. She knew it was selfish, but she felt bad much and foremost about her and Jack. What had started to blossom ever so gently was suddenly smothered before it would have had a chance to grow.

She focused back on their visitors. "I take it this, marriage, is part of the cover as well?" she saw Oscar ask, "or is it real?" She suddenly felt nausea creep up and a chill clasping her heart.

"No," Jack said, "it is not."

"Oh…Well, I must say that I never got the impression that was not real," Tamsin said and smiled warmly, despite her best intentions Sue felt her world shatter as soon as his words that formed his response were comprehended by her brain. "Seems you were mistaken about that. It is…"

Seems I was mistaken about it too… She managed to get up, without sagging back when her knees were about to buckle. "If you'll excuse me…" she said and with the first few steps it felt as if the world was spinning round like she was profoundly drunk. Not stumbling over anything, she reached the kitchen where she rested her head against the doorframe as dizziness overtook her senses and his words poisoned her system like vitriol. Feeling the environment slowly took her breath away she knew only one way out to refresh herself and try to stop the bitterness from taking over. She had to leave and find peace of mind, undisturbed, trying to figure out what she would do now that everything had come apart. Strolling through Rock Creek, she had found such a place, and every now and then she visited that sanctuary to recuperate. Now, more than ever, she needed to be alone. Let the betrayal wither to a point that it might become bearable again.

Numbed, she slipped on her coat and left the house she once called home, without seeing back, feeling the first hot tears burning in her eyes waiting to be shed in sync with the steady trail of rain and moist that soaked the landscape and washed away the happy feelings that now seemed so distant.