A/N: Okay, so I know I said this would be the last chapter but I've changed my mind. ;-D Hopefully my reasons will become clear when the final words are written. In the meantime, thank you so much for all the reviews and enjoy!
o-xxx-o
Shortly after they all returned from lunch, D strode into the bullpen, a serious expression on his face. "Sue," he waved a hand in her direction but receiving no response, asked Levi to let her know he was speaking.
"Dimitrius, hi, was there something you wanted?"
"Yes, I need to see you in my office before you leave this evening."
"Should she be worried?" Bobby asked curiously.
"He's probably going to give her detention for being late, yet again." Myles stated sarcastically.
"Or, make her stand in the corner for an hour."
"Or write lines on the blackboard." Tara offered.
While the Supervisor was pleased to see that the office banter had returned, at least for the present, he had more to say. "If you could all pay attention for a moment, I have an announcement."
"Uh-oh, here we go." The Aussie groaned.
"It's not that bad. I just wanted to let you know that another Agent will be joining the team very shortly."
Now both men groaned. "Please don't tell me it's another, wet-behind-the-ears, fresh out of Quantico, know-it-all..."
"And I'd appreciate it if you could all give him a fair go this time… That is unless you want to continue working short-handed until you all retire." D warned, ignoring the barbed comments.
"Well let's hope this one knows what he's doing." Bobby sighed.
"And that he has at least some command of the Queen's English."
"You mean like me, mate?"
"A slip of the tongue… I meant to say, let's hope he has a grasp of rudimentary English – unlike you lot from the colonies."
"Don't forget, the good old US of A was a colony at one time, too. Oh D, can you make sure he can actually hit what he's aiming at? I'm fed up with running for cover every time one of them pulls a gun."
"And they're computer savvy." Tara chirped in, raising her hand.
"And, he doesn't think that rotors are just the office slaves"
"You mean they're not?" Myles asked in mock-surprise earning his self a sour look.
"Enough!" D's voice silenced them immediately. "He's been an Agent for as long as we have, longer than some and I think he easily fills all those criteria."
"Good looking?" Tara asked hopefully then blushed.
"Single?" Lucy added.
"Good looking? No idea. Single? Afraid not… married. No kids."
"You mean he's boring," Bobby moaned.
"If I wasn't secure in my own skin… I might take that as an insult."
"I think it was meant as one." Myles observed.
"There's nothing wrong with being boring."
"Who's boring?" A familiar voice had them all turning towards the doorway. Tara jumped up out of her chair and gave the new arrival a hug, closely followed by Lucy while Sue just stared in amazement and Bobby remained where he was, not sure whether to join in with the welcome or deck him.
"And I thought Thomas was tardy."
"It's good to see you too, Myles."
Sue finally managed to shake herself out of her stupor and walked towards him.
"Hi."
"Yeah, hi…"
"Talk later."
"Count on it."
Taking a few steps forward, Jack stood in front of his best friend who was still seated. "Crash…" He held out a hand for what seemed like an age until Bobby made his decision and stood up, taking it and pulling him into a bear hug.
"It's good to see you, mate."
"You too and I'm sorry about not keeping in touch."
"Forget it Sparky, we all have."
"Thanks."
"No problem-o. So, what brings you back into this neck of the woods? Finally got bored with the Dairy State?"
"No."
"Well I have to say retirement suits you, you're looking good. Much better than when I saw you last."
"I feel good, great, in fact… Did you say retirement?"
"Come on Sparks, you didn't think you could get that little snippet by us, did you?"
"I didn't say he was retired, I said he was listed as inactive." Tara clarified in an attempt to defend herself.
"Same, difference" he shrugged.
"Not exactly…" Jack tried to help her out. "And 'was' is the operative word here." Before his friend could continue his cross-examination, D called him out into the corridor.
"Hey, you don't suppose he's our new team member, do you?" The petite Agent asked excitedly.
"He certainly fits all the criteria." Bobby agreed.
"Weren't any of you listening?" Myles sighed in exasperation. "D said the new guy was married, remember?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot." Their buoyant mood deflated in an instant.
The conversation outside was brief but before Jack could return, Sue was out of the door and signing at him furiously.
"Is it my imagination or have Sparks' signing abilities improved?"
"What? where?" Both Lucy and Tara came over to join him and he shuffled along so that they could all perch on the edge of the desk.
"You two are pretty good at ASL. Wanna tell us what's going on?"
"Looks like a disagreement to me." Tara shrugged. "Sorry, it's too fast."
"Luce?"
"You really expect me to spy on my best friend?"
"Why not..? He is…" Myles snorted.
"Come on, Luce, share."
"No can do, sorry."
"Looks like Sparky is too… he's made the sorry sign at least three times. You know if Levi had a doghouse, he'd probably be in it."
"I just hope she doesn't drive him away again." Myles muttered.
"Now there's something we can agree on." He stopped and made a show of banging his left ear with the palm of his hand.
"Now what's wrong?" The Bostonian asked irritably.
"I think I must be having trouble with my hearing."
"Why?"
"I can hear you lot and the people passing by outside but not Jack. His mouth is definitely moving but I'm not picking up a blessed word."
"That's because he's not actually saying anything."
"Yeah, right…"
Myles looked Heavenward. "Thomas is deaf."
"You don't say? I never would have guessed if you hadn't told me."
"Therefore, she can't hear the words she just reads lips so..."
"He's miming? That's cheating."
"Maybe, but you have to admit it's effective."
A few more silent exchanges and they were all smiles again. Bobby looked to his right in time to witness Lucy grinning like the proverbial Cheshire Cat.
"What? What just happened?"
"All I got was something about rings," Tara shrugged.
"Rings..?"
"Lord, give me strength." The other male Agent muttered.
"What? You think you know something we don't, Harvard?"
"No, but I believe Ms Dotson here does."
The couple walked back into the bullpen and Lucy signed to Sue who immediately crossed to her desk, picked up her purse and took something out. She gave the mystery objects to Jack while the rest of the Team looked on in confusion. Myles finally got to his feet and walked over to join them.
"I believe congratulations are in order." Shaking Jack by the hand he turned to his fellow sleuths. "Come on people, they're married."
Sue took the opportunity to hold out her left hand. "Want to put them back on for me?"
"Absolutely…"
"Thomas… I mean, Hudson… Sorry, but that's never going to work, much too confusing. I'm afraid you're going to have to stick with your maiden name."
"I intended too, at work."
"Wise woman," Bobby grinned, the penny having finally dropped. "You don't want word getting out that your judgement's going south, it could affect your standing in the Bureau. Congratulations Sparky, it's about time."
"Thanks."
"And you too Sue," he turned to give her a hug but couldn't get close enough as the other women oohed-and-aahed over her engagement ring. "I'll give you a kiss later, when the old man's not around."
"Oh you will, will you?"
"Most definitely, mate. I may have missed out on being your best man but I still get to snog the bride. And by the way Sue, if I ever need someone to share a confidence with, you'll be top of my list. You played it like a pro."
"Or Lucy, she can keep a secret too."
"You knew about this?"
The rotor just grinned.
"Okay, who else..?" He looked around the room but no one put their hand up.
"Just D," Jack assured him.
"So, does this mean you'll be working with us again, or not?"
"First thing Wednesday morning…"
Tara cheered loudly then looked embarrassed. "Sorry."
"Why not today? I know it's been a year and you're probably a bit rusty but any help is better than no help at all."
"Gee thanks."
"So, how about it..?"
"Sorry Crash, I only flew in from Wisconsin a couple of hours ago and I haven't even seen my newly redecorated apartment yet."
"You let a woman decorate your apartment?"
"Two women," Sue corrected, putting her arm round Lucy's shoulders.
"Geez mate, have I taught you nothing? I can just see it now… Pink bedroom, walls covered in that shiny white wallpaper with the little roses on it… Silly little froufrou cushions everywhere and lace… lots of lace… and with a bathroom to match, I'll bet. All your stuff banished to basement storage and absolutely no closet space."
"I had no idea you were such a chauvinist." The rotor stared at him in surprise.
"More like a misogynist," Myles added, re-joining the conversation.
"A, what..?" Sue looked to Jack for clarification but he just shrugged.
"Woman hater," the Harvard man clarified.
"Hey, I love women… Just wouldn't let them run loose in my private sanctum. A man's home is his castle, after all."
"I trust Sue. She'd never… Would you?" Jack asked suddenly worried.
"No," she stressed the word making it sound as though it should be followed by a 'not exactly'.
"Uh-oh..." Bobby grinned at his friend.
"You do like purple, orange and gold though, right?" Lucy queried.
Jack cringed and Sue put her hands on her hips. "I distinctly remember you saying, when we shared the house together during our undercover, that you liked ethnic tones."
"Earth tones..! I said I liked earth tones."
"Oh… sorry" It was her turn to cringe as she worried her bottom lip. "I must have misread your lips."
"Don't worry, Sparks, I'm sure you'll learn to live with it. Sunglasses and a few beers will probably help and if not, I have a spare room you can use."
"I have a question," Tara raised her hand. "If you're coming back to work, does that mean Sue's leaving?"
"No, she'll be here too."
"But what about the no-fraternization policy..?"
"Who's fraternizing?"
"Maybe not now but I'm sure there must have been some, you know... You're not going to tell me you missed out the fun part and jumped straight into the marital straight jacket."
"Of course not..."
"Then we're all ears, you never know when we might need to make use of it ourselves." He cast a surreptitious glance in Tara's direction before pulling out a chair for Jack to sit on.
"Somehow I don't think it'll work more than once. The powers-that-be aren't exactly thrilled at having to waive some of their precious rules."
"So, how'd you do it?"
"With a lot of help from my lawyer friend back home… We read and re-read the policy until we could recite it in our sleep and Sue and I had almost given up when he called me late one night. The rule, he pointed out, only applied to Agents working in the same unit, so if one of us wasn't, then our dating couldn't be classed as fraternization…"
"But, at the time, neither of us wanted to transfer." Sue interjected.
"And that's why you had yourself removed from the active duty register..." Tara exclaimed triumphantly, earning a bemused stare from the Aussie. "If you're not listed as active then technically, you're no longer assigned to any unit."
"Go on…"
"But since I was injured in the line of duty, provided I passed the physical and psyche exams, once I decided to return they were obliged to re-instate me…"
"Except by that time, you and Sue were married." Myles commented. "Very clever…"
"Sorry Harvard, you've lost me."
"That's not difficult. As far as I know, there are no rules prohibiting married Agents working in the same Field Office, in fact I believe that several already do."
"But in the same Unit?"
"That was a little trickier and I'm still not sure how D and I got away with it. He went to the S.A.i.C to request more help but they refused as he knew they would. Apparently, you'd all been making life difficult for any new arrival and they were well and truly hacked off about it. Dimitrius offered to try and find a replacement himself, they weren't happy but they agreed…"
"And at that point, you just happened to be available for reassignment." Tara commented.
"Naturally, they dragged out the rulebook but my friend had already briefed us on how to proceed. D asked if they would have had any objections to my returning had Sue and I not been married and they said 'no'."
"Thus falling head-first into our trap. " D stated from his position in the doorway.
"What trap?"
"The discrimination trap," Jack explained.
"They were trying to deny his application not on the grounds that he was unfit for the job but that being married might impact on his ability to perform his duties as an Agent. However, since they had no evidence to support their theory and the rules they were quoting were originally written to stop co-workers dating, especially out of their pay grade, and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, they couldn't really be applied in the case of marriage…"
"I can almost hear the laws being rewritten as we speak." Myles joked.
"Sorry, you've lost me again." Bobby scratched his head in confusion.
"Me too," Tara concurred.
"And me." Lucy agreed.
"I'm not sure I understood most of it either but Jack's friend did," D laughed. "And it worked…"
"Maybe because they didn't understand it, either…"
"That's what we were counting on, Crash," Jack confirmed. "Human rights and workplace discrimination appear to be a quagmire they didn't want to get bogged down in, but… they will be watching us closely and demanding regular updates from our superiors and if anyone lodges a formal complaint against either of one of us for inappropriate behaviour or raises any kind of objection to us working together, we'll both be out. I hope no one here has any problem with that?"
All eyes turned to Myles.
"What are you looking at me for? If the past months have taught me anything, it's the complete accuracy of that old adage – 'better the devil you know'. Provided they do their work efficiently and leave the other stuff at home, I don't foresee any difficulties."
"I think we can keep ourselves under control during work hours." Sue blushed and grinned at the same time.
"I'm not so sure…"
"Jack!"
"Kidding,"
"Good then that's settled, although I suggest we keep this in-house, so to speak. There are far too many people in this building who live to stir up trouble just for the sake of it. Jack, Sue, I need you both in my office, the powers–that-be have sent down a whole slew of 'whys and wherefores' for you to look through and sign."
"Looks like that law degree of yours might finally be of some use, Sparks. What say we all meet back here at the end of the day and go out for a little celebration?"
"Make it Friday and you're on."
"Sue?"
"Fine with me..."
"Good."
"Jack, mate" Bobby put a hand on his shoulder and took him to one side "…A quick word, before you go."
"Sure," he followed him to a deserted part of the office. "What's up?"
"About that guy, you know the one who shot you…"
"What about him?"
"Metro PD… Let's just say you won't have to worry about looking over your shoulder anymore."
"What happened?"
"We had his place under permanent surveillance and a couple of months ago he came back to collect some stuff. There was a shoot-out and he lost. Just thought you ought to know..."
"Thanks," he wiped a hand over his face then jumped when Levi touched his leg.
"Looks like the little woman's getting impatient mate," he slapped the shorter man on the back. "Careful you don't trip over the ball and chain on your way out."
"You're just jealous."
"Damn straight," The Aussie agreed quietly after he'd gone.
o-xxx-o
When they reached the parking bay, Jack slipped in through the passenger door while Sue ushered Levi into the back of the car.
"You don't want to drive?"
"No… thanks."
Slipping in behind the wheel she frowned when she saw him leaning back with his eyes closed, reaching across she gently stroked his arm. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I guess… no… maybe…" He gave her a bemused grin. "It's kinda weird, you know?"
"What is?"
"I've been in and out of this building a million times and yet… I don't know how to explain. It's all so familiar and yet it isn't the same. Walking into the bullpen, it felt as though I'd never been away but I have, for a whole year. I-" He shrugged. "I don't know."
"Well, then we take one day at a time. I'm sure you'll soon get back into it."
"And if I don't?"
"Then we'll deal with that too, if and when it happens, okay?" She squeezed his arm reassuringly and was rewarded with a soft smile.
O-K
"Good."
"Have I told you lately how much I love you?"
"Not for two weeks."
"True. Well I do, very, very much."
"And I love you." She leaned in to give him a quick peck on the lips but his arm slid round the back of her neck, holding her against him as he deepened the kiss before suddenly breaking away.
"What?"
He glanced up at the security cameras. "Big Brother's watching, remember?"
Sue sighed. "I guess that's something we'll just have to get used to. Especially after all those undertakings we had to sign and no doubt we'll be questioned about them when we take our annual lie detector tests."
Jack stifled a laugh, "reminds me of an old Drifters record my Mom used to play."
"What one?"
"Like Sister and Brother."
"I don't know it."
"I'll download the lyrics for you."
"Thanks. Are you ready to go home?"
"Oh yeah, that's one thing I am sure about."
"Then, buckle-up, please."
"Yes ma'am."
o-xxx-o
