With immediate approval from Garrett, Sue and Jack were on their way to Lake Moomaw via car. They also brought a couple of suitcases and rented a room at a nearby motel in case they needed a couple of days to find Myles. Their mission was to find their friend now that they knew where he was possibly located. They wanted to make sure that Myles was okay there and that he was coherent as to where he was, who he was with and why he was there. Once they had confirmation that he would be fine on his own, they would leave him alone for the remainder of the two weeks. If taking a break from D.C. was what he thought he needed to get better, then they trusted him to do so; after all, he was an adult.

Sue was still livid with Myles, and Jack could tell that her anger towards him was eating her up inside. He agreed that Myles should have told one of them where he was going, so they didn't have to break into his house, wondering if he'd hurt himself. He also understood why Sue was so invested in Myles. Not only was he a good friend to her and Jack now, but for six years, she put a lot of time and energy into helping the man when he didn't want help from anyone else.

Jack assured his fiancé, "He's fine, Sue. He called you to tell you that he was okay, and that he was staying with some nice people."

"Yeah, but who are these people, Jack? They're strangers. They're not family and they're not friends. Myles would never go with somebody that he didn't know that easily; especially with someone like Wanda. It doesn't make any sense." She exhaled. "Myles is severely unwell, and he's probably not taking his medication if it's still making him sick. I don't even know if he's doing his behavioral therapy program anymore. Hopefully he let Wanda know about his condition; it's not fair to them if he's having flashbacks, panic attacks, and episodes of confusion and they don't know."

"I'm sure he did."

"The man is as stubborn as an ox. I doubt it." She shook her head.

"What's wrong?"

"We were talking at lunch the other day, and in the middle of our conversation, he couldn't remember my name. It was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say it. His mind was so preoccupied with his psychological issues that…" she trailed off.

Jack reached over to the passenger's side and patted Sue's leg as a means of comfort. "It's okay. If it's any consolation, he didn't remember my name either, and it hurt me too."

"Forgetting where you live and getting lost somewhere in the city, and forgetting to do certain duties at work that you've never forgotten before is one thing, but forgetting names of the people you're closest to is another. If he forgets Anne's name, then he's truly lost. Then what's next? Forgetting who we are? He has to start taking new medication and get a new psychiatrist or something."

Jack said, "Let's just take it one step at a time. We'll start by checking up on him. I'm sure he's fine."

Sue crossed her arms. "I can never tell with that man."

Jack responded, "You're right. I've worked with him longer than you have, and I still can't figure him out."

Sue challenged, "I thought you said that you knew Myles better than me?"

"I do. He tells you things that I don't know about. And he tells me things that you don't know about."

"What kinds of things?"

"I think I know why Myles' PTSD is worse compared to others in the Bureau. Now that I know about his condition, things are starting to make sense."

Sue was concerned. "What? How?"

Jack explained, "Myles once talked to me about his family issues. And the only reason he told me was because I forced him to. It was during the Callahan and Merced case after he said how damaged his relationship with Anne was. I wanted him to tell me about her because I needed to understand where their animosity came from, and he just…spilled his guts and told me everything. Everything that no one knows about and shouldn't…even you. But, I'm telling you because you've invested a lot of your time and energy into helping him, so I think you deserve it. Anyway, regarding his family, there was a lot of psychological abuse happening when he was growing up. It was a lot of unnecessary pressure and gaslighting, and his parents still do it to this day. I've met them, and Myles looks like a Saint compared to his folks. His dad in particular isn't afraid of belittling his kids, and embarrassing them in front of strangers…even when they're adults. And that's how hostility started between him and Anne, and carried on into their adulthood. He told me that he sees them at Christmas, but that's the only time of year, and when he comes back from Christmas vacation, he winds up coming back to the office in a worse mood than when he originally left. Luckily, he and Anne have a better relationship, and she goes to his place often now…even for Christmas. I think Myles has a lot of hatred towards his parents and will until they die…I don't think Myles will ever forgive them for forcing him and Anne to waste away any potential good memories they could have shared. Looking back, I think that's why his PTSD is worse off than others…because he's still dealing with the trauma that happened growing up. He was already a mess when he came to the FBI…and the stuff we see every day just added onto the problem and made him a ticking time bomb. Now, I'm not using this as an excuse for Myles' unwanted behavior, he chose that…but at least he's nothing like his parents, and actually cares about the people he's closest to. Don't tell him I said any of this to you. I told him that I would keep this strictly confidential."

"I won't…but this is just a theory?"

"Yes, the link between him growing up and his current condition is just a theory. I could be totally wrong."

After that, there was silence in the car. Then, after twenty minutes, he started:

"Hey, when are you and Lucy going dress shopping? You know I can't wait to see how beautiful you look on our special day."

Sue chuckled. "Soon. I could wear shorts and a T-shirt and that would still be acceptable for you."

"And I'd still think it's hot."

Sue said, "I did some digging on Bermuda. Swimming, caves, shopping, tropical…"

"And?"

"...I think it's the perfect place for our wedding."

Jack smiled. "Great! I'll start booking something the minute we check into the motel. By the time we get to our destination, the lake will be closed for the day, so we can plan for the big day a little bit."

"Great! We could talk about guests and make an invitation list."

Myles was sitting on a chair in the cottage's dining room. He was holding a frozen bag of peas against the back of his neck. That damn swan. Although it's proven that wing slaps from that bird don't cause serious injury, Myles could confirm that the whacks would give him a bruise tomorrow.

Wanda, nonchalantly carrying an empty wine glass between her fingers, waltzed past the man. Just before entering the next room, she stopped to see Myles, and what was ailing him. "Are you alright, Mr. Leland? I hope you didn't step in a gopher hole and take a nasty fall."

Myles gave the woman an annoyed glare. He answered, "A bird struck me."

Wanda crossed her arms and sang with a smile, "Must've been a big bird if it throat chopped you."

Myles did not answer her this time. He just pressed the bag of peas down harder, and groaned.

"So who did it?"

"Who?"

"You know…the bird? We have several angry birds around here," she exhaled, "Some of the Canada Geese have been a problem here lately…"

Myles interrupted, "No, there were no Canada Geese."

Wanda replied, "Ah! You're right. They've all migrated now. OH! it must've been Gary."

Myles gave Wanda a funny look. "Gary?"

"Gary the cob."

Myles said, "...It has a name?"

Wanda gave a high pitched squeak. "He does!" She said, "According to the locals here, he's been swimming around this lake for twenty-one years. Always causing trouble. He likes stealing a fisherman's hard earned work, likes being an instigator and he attacks anything that moves. Apparently, the older he gets the more irritable he is. Fortunately, Gregory and I have seen him, but we haven't endured his wrath. It looks like he took a liking to you though."

Myles groaned when he felt his injury throb. If his nightmares didn't stop him from sleeping, the sore on his neck would.

Wanda offered, "We've got some Brandy in the cupboard. Would you like some?"

"For what?"

"The pain, silly!"

Myles retorted, "You make it sound like I received a gunshot wound, and didn't have any morphine available. No, thank you."

"Suit yourself. The Walleye fish sticks will be ready in thirty minutes. Do you like TarTar sauce?"

Myles gave Wanda a glare that told her to go away, and she did. When she was no longer in sight, Myles thought about that swan. He was going back fishing tomorrow, and he was going to enjoy it this time; there was no way that that bird was going to ruin his day! If he came across it again, he would give it a piece of his mind…verbally of course. This was war. And Lelands find a way to win…they always do.

Chapter 14 is next…