A/N: Hey! Someone took my title! (It was going to be fireworks, but not anymore!) Anyway, this is my first time writing for this site. I'll post as often as possible. Please be nice! And if you're not... oh, well! Me gots thick skin.

Howie shrugged his shoulders and continued. "Well, I guess when all's said and done I can't be mad at you if you're still here."

Phew! Sue thought. Crisis averted... for now. Looking in Howie's eyes told her this discussion wasn't over.

"Well, me and Otis here just stopped by to bid one of our favorite FBI agents a fond farewell and drop off a going away present." Otis produced a small box from the pocket of his leather jacket. "I guess it's a welcome back present now, huh?" Howie added sheepishly.

"Sue, I'm glad you didn't take that job," Otis butted in, "but we've gotta split. We have a business meeting to get to." Otis waved and stepped outside the bullpen, knowing that Howie wouldn't leave without having a few last words and not surprised when his "partner" teared up.

"You gave us a scare there, you know? Next time you think of leaving, drop a guy a line." His words were softened by a small smile. Howie was out the door with a wave and Sue had to take a deep breath before she could return to Levi.

"Come on, boy," she called once she'd hooked him up. The room was quiet for a few moments after she left, but slowly returned to the same silent paper-shuffling they'd been doing all day. No one was incredibly surprised when Jack discovered he needed to go get a file from another department, the name of which was mumbled unintelligibly as he rushed out the door.

Bobby, Lucy, D, and Tara all shared amused glances. Bobby's grin grew a bit when he saw Myles smirking and shaking his head, muttering, "They're awfully slow on the uptake, but they'll get it yet."

Hey, guys! Thanks for the kind reviews. Fair warning, this story won't be pure fluff, but it is for now! Hopefully the posts will get longer as the story continues...

Jack hurried toward the park, grateful when he found Sue throwing a stick for Levi from a bench. Levi lived up to his Wonder Dog status by returning the stick in seconds and anxiously awaiting the next throw. Sue was ready to discipline him when he jumped up on her, but turned to see Jack calling her name.

"Sue, we need to talk for a minute." Sue nodded her head and tossed the stick, sending Levi a few yards to their right. Jack waited until she was looking back at his face before he continued. "Nice throw."

"I'm sure you didn't come down here to talk about how to throw a stick for Levi."

"You're right, I didn't." Jack rubbed his hand on the back of his head nervously. "The other day when we were talking Myles kind of interrupted before I could finish my thought. Sue, I'm glad you didn't go, but I still need to say what I was going to say. It's been too long - I've never told you how much you've affected me. I think I'm in love with you, Sue, but I've been too scared to do anything about it. I almost lost the chance to be with you. I won't lose it again."

"Scared, Jack? Scared of what?" Sue had a hopeful look in her eyes tainted by the uncertainty of his fear.

"I don't know. Of breaking the rules. Of hurting the team. Of hurting you." The honesty in Jack's eyes stunned her. After all this time he was finally being open and honest with her. Looking her dead in the eyes he added, "Of losing my heart with no hope of ever regaining control of it again."

Sue had dreamed of this moment. Her uncertainty was long forgotten; he hadn't said he was scared of her or her lack of hearing. He had concerns for her, not about her. She could definitely get used to it. "OK, let’s take care of those in order: even Garrett agrees that the rules are antiquated, and I'm sure the team would survive. I'm a big girl, Jack, and I can take care of myself. For your heart, I can't speak for you, but the last time your heart went out of control you were awfully glad I was there to fix it." They shared a smirk. Enough time had passed that it didn't hurt as much to talk about Jack's close call.

"Sue, if I trust anyone with control of my heart it's you -- if you'll have it, that is." Jack felt like a boulder had been lifted off his shoulders; sharing his feelings with someone he trusted really was all it was cracked up to be.

Sue felt suddenly lighter herself. It was good to know that she wasn't alone in her feelings. Jack took her hand tentatively while looking her straight in her eyes. Her eyes were bright with joy, her cheeks turning pale pink at his touch. Neither one could find anything of any importance to say, so they just walked back to the office in silence, hands locked together in a bond that spoke of something deeper than just simple hand-holding. They had more between them now and that could never be separated.

Whew! So the site decided to finally work for me again. It's been locking me out a lot! Well, that just means that tonight you'll get a few LONG posts from me! TTFN

Bobby glanced up as Jack and Sue came back in the room, not surprisingly together. He caught Jack's eye and got a subtle nod before he buried his face in a file, trying to hide a grin.

~~Last night

Bobby ordered himself another root beer as he processed what Jack had told him. "Not that I'm not happy for you, Spark, but what finally made you come to your senses?" He continued off Jack's confused look, "Come on, Jack, even Myles saw this coming. We just didn't see it coming so soon."

"That dossier just keeps on growing, doesn't it? First my quirks and now my love life." He looked pointedly at Bobby's hand, which he self-consciously stopped drumming on the table. "Never mind what started it, I just wanted to tell my best friend that by the Fourth of July I would either have a girlfriend or a broken heart."

"I don't think you have to worry about the broken heart, mate, but the old ball-and-chain might be a concern." Bobby winked at the waitress with a wide smile as he pulled a few bills out of his wallet. "Now how about that hockey game?"

~~

Five exhausting hours of paper work later everyone was ready to go home for a rare three-day weekend. Tara stretched and asked, "So, where should we all meet on Monday?"

Lucy looked pointedly at Myles, a disapproving scowl contorting her features. "I suppose we can get together at our apartment, if it's all right with Sue."

Sue nodded her head in agreement. "We won't all fit in Tara's apartment, and it's not fair to make D and Donna rush home from Davey's reading and prepare for company. I'm sure we don't want to try to cram into any of your bachelor pads, either."

Myles rubbed his hands together. "Well, Lucy and Sue's it is! I'll see you all Monday at 4; I'll bring the gazpacho." With that he left the bullpen and strolled cockily toward the parking lot.

"Sue, Lucy, is there anything Donna and I can bring?"

Sue shrugged her shoulders before replying. "Tara, do you still have that list you passed around?"

Tara produced the list with a flourish and began reading. "Jack, you agreed to bring the burgers, Bobby has the hot dogs and buns, D's got the soda and punch, I've got the ice cream... and what do you know? Myles actually did sign up with gazpacho."

"One small problem," Lucy interjected. "We don't have a grill."

"No problem," Jack jumped in almost too quickly. "I have a hibachi. I can come by early to set it up on the fire escape."

"So we'll make a fire on the fire escape. That sounds like fun." Sue tried to wipe the smile off her face, but just the idea of Jack coming over early made her tingle.

"OK, so it's a deal." Lucy smiled broadly, still picking up file folders from everyone's out boxes. "Hey, Bobby, isn't this Tara's box of paper clips?" Lucy held up a box of pink paper clips, complete with a bright pink box covered in smiley faces. Dmitrius had to stop himself from laughing out loud by answering his ringing phone.

"I ran out," he explained as he returned the box to its original home. "I still didn't take your Taz pen."

"Your case gets more and more convincing by the second, doesn't it?" Lucy turned back to Bobby's desk and picked up Tara's stapler.

"I think Bobby's a kleptomaniac with a weakness for office supplies." Sue smirked as she noticed Bobby's embarrassed grin.

"All right, I'll make a trip to Staples this weekend." He looked at Tara slyly, slipping the stapler into his drawer and clicking the lock into place. "Sorry, love, but the stapler is mine."

Lucy dropped the last of the files into her in box and picked up her purse. "Well, Sue and I have some serious cleaning to do before Monday. See you all then." She went down to the parking lot to wait for Sue and Levi. Tara waved and followed her out, followed closely by Bobby.

Dmitrius hung up the phone with a grimace. "Looks like I'll be spending the weekend suit shopping with an unhappy son," he said glumly. "Sue, I don't know if Donna and I will be on time on Monday, but we'll be there," D promised. He left Sue and Jack alone in the bullpen, still gathering their things.

Jack took the opportunity. "Sue!" he called. As expected, Levi pawed at Sue's knee and stared at Jack. She looked over and he continued. "Do you have any plans for the weekend?"

"Lucy wasn't kidding when she said we have a lot of cleaning to do," Sue answered dolefully.

"Well, I was kind of hoping Cinderella could maybe take a few hours off, maybe catch a movie with Prince Charming?"

"Well, you certainly have a high opinion of yourself, don't you?" Sue smiled to take the bite out of her words. "Any particular movie, Charming?"

"Lady's choice - just not a chick flick, please." Levi went over and put out a paw for Jack to take hold of. "Dog movies are fine, though," he assured her with a wink.

They were just headed out when Bobby returned to the bullpen, a mischievous grin on his face. He stopped short when he saw Sue and Jack were still in the office. "I thought everyone left."

"We were just on our way out. Now, Crash, I've never seen you come back to this office after leaving for the day, especially when it was for a long weekend, unless you were up to something." Bobby ignored the silent question, still standing out in the hallway so Sue and Jack could walk out. "All right, I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later." As he rounded the corner Jack looked once more over his shoulder to see Bobby disappear quick as a flash back into the bullpen. Jack just raised a curious eyebrow before continuing toward the parking lot. He had an important date to plan.

At least he thought he did until his cell phone rang.

D groaned when he saw the number on his caller ID. This can't be good, he thought with a sigh. "Yeah, Jack, what's up?"

"D, I need everyone back to the bullpen now. We've got a case and Ted seems to think we need to work on it over the weekend. I don't have any details on it yet, but Ted himself will be by to brief us as soon as we're all here."

This got D's attention. "It's gotta be something big if he's calling us all back for the weekend. I'm on my way." Dmitrius ended the connection before making a u-turn. He waited for a red light before dialing Donna. "Hey, listen, sweetheart, it looks like I'm going to have to work late tonight... Yeah, well, I thought I was leaving, too, but I just got off the phone with Jack and ... Yes, I would appreciate if you take David suit shopping. Thank you so much... I always am. Love you!"

Dmitrius never liked having to cancel on his family for work, but sometimes he had no choice. This was one of them, and while he didn't like it he knew that he could lose his job if he wasn't available. By the time he got back to the office he was his regular self, over the disappointment of not being able to spend time with his son that weekend. It was a good thing for him he was in a good mood; he burst out laughing when he saw what was going on in the bullpen.

Jack and Sue were standing over by her desk, watching the scene play out in front of them. Tara hadn't left the building yet when she got her call from Sue, so she'd simply turned around and gone back to her desk. What she found when she got there was not much. All she had left on her desk was her computer monitor and her phone, her Tasmanian Devil pen sitting neatly in the middle. Then she looked across the room to see Bobby sitting calmly at his desk, arranging an assortment of Beanie Babies he'd recently acquired from her desk among the rest of her stuff. When he'd realized he was caught, he just smiled his sweet smile and Tara knew she couldn't be mad at him, but still the lecture ensued, with Bobby making every effort to be witty and charming and get his butt out of the sling he'd landed in. He finally wound up on his knees, chuckling between the words of his plea for mercy even as Tara was choking back her own giggles.

"Come on, Tara, I just figured that if I'm going to get blamed for all your stuff disappearing, I may as well have done it." He flashed her a Manning smile along with a pair of puppy dog eyes and she knew it was over.

"OK, OK," Tara relented, "I'll forgive you if you put everything back. But there must be penance!"

"All right, love, what's the sentence?" Bobby asked, hanging his hand in the fashion of a man condemned.

"I'm not sure yet, Agent Manning, but I'll let you know. Now mush!" Bobby made a show of lugging all of her stuff back across the room; he'd originally figured she wouldn't see it until Tuesday morning so he'd have some time to recover from the first transfer.

"You may want to think of investing in a U-Haul," Jack suggested helpfully. He ducked the stuffed sea horse that Bobby threw at his head, which managed to catch Myles a he came into the bullpen.

"If I'd had some warning I would've worn my Kevlar," he commented wryly, scooping the sea horse off the floor and presenting it to Tara. "I assume this is yours?"

"Actually, I believe that sea horse goes to Bobby," D interjected.

Myles raised one eyebrow when Bobby accepted the stuffed toy. "You people just get weirder and weirder every time I leave."

"Ever think that maybe it's not the rest of us, mate?" Bobby slid the last photo back into place on the desk and submitted his handiwork for Tara's inspection.

"Very good," Tara said appreciatively, "although I'll still have to figure out a suitable punishment."

Ted walked into the room and the mood instantly sobered when they saw the expression on his face. "All right, listen up, people." Jack caught Sue's attention and directed it toward Ted. "We've got to get this under wraps NOW. I trust you all remember that nothing pertaining to any case can be discussed with anyone who is not an FBI employee?" The team all nodded their heads; they were in for a doozie. "Good. Now I'm only coming to you with this now because it needs to be settled by Monday. Take a look." He pulled out a copy of the route the President was planning on taking to Arlington National Cemetery to honor the dead on the Fourth.

Jack took the paper from his hand. "OK, that's the President's route. We've all seen it; we set up his security detail." The paper was passed around the room as Ted spoke, stopping at Tara.

"The problem with this copy is that I just found it on the Internet," Garrett explained. "I need you to find out who put it out there on the web and who leaked it from the Bureau. You have to re-work a route and security for him, too. I have a press conference set up for 9:30 tomorrow morning and I want to have something good to tell the reporters."

Tara had already begun clicking away at her computer. She got the web site off the bottom of the print out and was trying to track down its creator and any visitors; her first job, however, was removing the map. Jack organized the team into tasks. "OK, Tara, you've gotten started over there, Sue, I want you to take down any names and addresses Tara digs up and try to verify them, run them through the database, and print out whatever you find. Myles, you get on the line with Secret Service and alert them to the change in plans. Bobby, D, let's see if we can work a new route for the President." And with that they were off.

Four hours later they all felt like they'd accomplished nothing. Tara had come up with a short list of IP addresses of visitors to the web site, but she still hadn't managed to track down its creator. Sue had pulled up all their suspects' names and last known addresses, but none of them looked like likely candidates. She'd only paused once to take a call from a concerned Lucy wondering why she never came home. A Secret Service agent had joined Bobby, Myles, Jack, and Dmitrius in poring over the map, trying to find another route, but someone seemed to have a problem with every alternate route. They finally broke for the night when yawns became more frequent than words.

"All right, guys, let's pick it up here at 7 tomorrow. Get a good night's sleep." Jack yawned as he dismissed the team, stretching his arms over his head in an attempt to wake himself up for the drive home. The stretching didn't help, but when he saw Sue approaching his desk he was suddenly wide awake.

"I guess we'll have to put that movie off to another time," Sue said disappointedly. "Good night, Jack." Levi followed Sue sluggishly out the door; he was used to being asleep by now. Jack watched them leave with the sinking feeling that his job might have once again just blown something good.

********************************************************************************
*

Tara turned around and drove back the way she had just come. She had been nearly home when she realized he left her purse in Myles’ car when they’d gone to lunch with Bobby. Of course, they couldn’t have taken Bobby’s car, who lived so much closer to Tara’s. Now she had to drive all the way across town and hope to catch Myles awake.

She pulled up in front of his house around 10:45. There seemed to be only one house on the block where anyone was awake, and thankfully it was Myles’. She closed her door quietly and climbed the steps, her finger pausing over the doorbell when she saw something interesting through the window just past the porch.

Tara moved over and got a better look through the window over his desk, shocked at what she’d found. There was Myles, still in his suit and tie, balancing his check book using a pen topped by no other than Yosemite Sam. She bit down on her lip to keep from laughing out loud while she snapped a few pictures on her cell phone. Tara returned to the porch and rang the doorbell like a normal person.

Myles looked at his watch, wondering who in the world was ringing his doorbell so late. He was surprised to see Tara. “Good evening.”

“Hi, Myles. Sorry, but it seems I, umh, left my purse in your car today.” She was trying, but giggles kept slipping out between words.

“I’m glad you’re so amused.”

“Actually, I’m kinda tired and I was kinda cranky until I realized what a great place this would be for a party.”

“Yes, the house is about right, but,” he amended, seeing where this was going, “the neighborhood is not. I’m sure a barbecue wouldn’t be quite so out of place at Sue’s and Lucy’s, as we agreed.”

Tara pushed her way into the house, earning a raised eyebrow from Myles. “Sure, but if we have it there some of you guys are going to wind up sitting on the floor again, and I’m sure that barbecuing on a fire escape is breaking some kind of law. Now, if we had the party here, I could definitely see things going better. Barbecue in the back yard, you’ve already got a table and chairs and we could bring over some more, dessert in the living room…”

“Tara, Tara, Tara, nice try, but this party is not going to happen here. Besides, even if it did it would be unthinkable to have anyone eating in my living room.”

“Well, you’re wrong on one thing.” Tara was pushing the buttons on her cell phone, getting ready to forward her most recent photo. “The party will be here.” She showed Myles the message she was about to send; she’d even added a little quote that said “Now we know where he gets his personality.”

“You wouldn’t!”

Tara just raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders, her thumb hovering over the send button.


A/N: OK, that's it for now, guys! Thank you all for the encouraging reviews. They're what keep me coming back!

Woo Hoo!!! I finally got back in! OK, so this part won't be much, but there's more coming soon. I've got to get rid of this darned writer's block... Oh, who am I kidding, laziness. Thank you all for reading and reviewing!

Saturday, July 2


Bobby was the last one to get to work. Even this early on a Saturday morning he was his usual cheerful self, but everyone else in the room with the exception of Tara was far from being theirs. He slipped over to her desk. “Did someone go to Grumpy’s Bakery for the donuts today?”

Tara smiled brightly, motioning to Myles with her head as she picked apart a jelly donut. “You’d have to ask Myles. I think he picked up this bad mood with the donuts this morning.”

Bobby noticed that the man he’d come to grudgingly regard as a friend seemed to be even more grouchy than normal. He decided to let it slide for now. He looked at all the other long faces in the room and attributed them to the extra early hours when they each greeted him in turn. Jack called their attention to the front of the room for their start-of-the-day briefing.

“OK, here’s what we’ve got: Secret Service Agent Ray Delaney will be joining us within the hour so we can try to put all our heads together to form a new route for the President. Hopefully we’ll have that done within the hour -- remember, the President’s safety is our number one priority. Once we get that taken care of we’ll worry about our leak. We should be OK since it’s just us and Agent Delaney. No one else will know the President’s route, excluding the President himself, until just before his departure. For now, we have a little while to discuss this amongst ourselves, so let’s see if we can at least get us agreed on a route before Delaney gets here.”

Tara posted a blank map of all the surface roads from the White House to Arlington National Cemetery on the big screen and started an American flag graphic at the White House. “Nice touch,” Lucy gave her approval before starting another pot of coffee. I have the feeling we’re going to need a lot of this stuff, she thought with a sigh. Making coffee was not her favorite thing to do.

After nearly 15 minutes of debating the team had only managed to move the flag three blocks from its point of origin. Bobby just felt his impatience starting to kick in when Agent Delaney decided to show up. He took one look at the screen and the trail of blue the flag left behind and said dismissively, “That will never do.”

“Look, Delaney, we’ve worked this route over every possible angle. It seems what we have so far should be good. What problem do you see with it?” D demanded.

“Easy! I’m not trying to cause a problem, it’s just that these two blocks were on the original route. I don’t think we should use them is all,” he answered in a soothing tone.

“You’re not causing a problem. We’re all just a bit tired, overstressed, you know how it gets,” Sue tried to intervene. It worked - for now.

Bobby began to explain their logic. “We figured those first two blocks shouldn’t be a problem because nobody in his right mind would try to assassinate the President that close to the White House. Besides, the more direct a route we plan the fewer chances for anyone to get a shot at him.”

“Yes, but the more direct the route the more predictable the route will be and there’s no guarantee that any potential shooter will be in his right mind.” Delaney leaned back against Tara’s desk, looking up at the screen. He continued with a sigh. “All right, I can see where you’re coming from with this, but I have another idea. What if we use the same route?” Suddenly Agent Ray Delaney had seven pairs of disbelieving eyes glued to him.

“Come again?” Bobby was sure he’d heard wrong.

“No, think about it. You’ve already managed to take his original route off the internet and everyone and their mother knows that we’ve been trying to rework this thing.”

“How does everyone know that?” Myles wondered out loud.

“Somehow the press got wind of it. My guess is that whoever posted it on the web site wanted to talk about the president’s faulty security and that guy leaked to the press.” Everyone looked back and forth at each other; if the press knew this much about what the FBI was doing, then someone wasn’t doing their job properly.

Jack had more important things to worry about at the moment than some leak he was nowhere near. “OK, for the sake of argument let’s say we do use the same route. Tara, bring it up on screen and we’ll take it from there.”

The team, along with Agent Delaney, finally managed to agree that using the original plan would be the best route. Who would expect them to go back to a plan they knew was compromised? Jack and Bobby were more than a little uneasy with the decision and they voiced their opinion at first, but eventually they realized it had taken them so long to get everyone else to agree they felt they shouldn’t waste any more time tracking down the leak. They all broke for lunch, with Agent Delaney taking his leave to return to his post with the President.

Ray Delaney strode quickly out of the Hoover building, pulling out his cell phone on the way. He waited until he was in his car to dial the familiar number. “OK, looks like we’re still on.” He listened for a few seconds before hanging up and dialing another number. “Yes, Sir, this is Agent Delaney. I think I found your leak… Yes, sir, one FBI Special Agent Bobby Manning…”

Ooh, I see I found a nice little button to push to get some replies! Hmmh, maybe I should make him a traitor... JUST KIDDING!!!! :laughs: (Look at my avatar and you'll know whether he's guilty or not.) Thanks for the replies, guys, and here's a little bit more for you.

Lunch was over quickly. Everyone was anxious to find where their leak was. The mood in the bullpen was so tense Tara thought she should break it up a little, so she caught everyone’s attention. “Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe I should let you know that Myles has graciously changed his mind and will allow us to use his house for our Fourth of July festivities.” Mild shock was the only word Tara could think of to describe the looks on her colleagues’ faces; total defeat was the only word she could come up with for Myles.

“Why the change of heart?” Sue asked, totally ignoring the imaginary daggers Myles was hurling at Tara.

“Call it a holiday miracle,” he said snidely. “Just make sure you don’t eat anywhere where there’s carpet.”

“O-K.” Jack had by now noticed something was up between Myles and Tara, but he had to leave it alone to answer his phone. The rest of the team was sending looks back and forth between Myles and Tara when a sudden outburst caught their attention. “WHAT??? That’s not possible… No, I know them too well… I don’t care who said what, it wasn’t any of them… WHO??? This is just ridiculous! … I will take it under advisement. Good-bye.” He dropped the phone and fell back into his chair. Everyone waited expectantly for him to say something but he didn’t say a word, just stared straight at his desk.

“Jack? Who was that?” Sue was the first to speak up.

“That was the Vice President. He said he had information indicating the identity of the leak we’re looking for.” He looked around the room, studying each of their faces before resting on Bobby’s. “He said he was told it was you.”

It was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop -- never mind a pin, you could hear a grain of dust hit the floor. Bobby was the new focus of their attention, but none of them held any accusations in their eyes. Bobby looked at the faces of his friends, each equally angered at the accusation but nowhere near as mad as Bobby was. He knew better than to try to open his mouth or make a move when he was so mad, so he just lowered his eyes and tried to control his temper.

“Do we know who gave them the tip?” Dmitrius asked once he recovered the power of speech.

“No. He wouldn’t tell me who made the accusation.”

“We all know this is absolutely ridiculous!” Myles piped in. “Sure, he may be messy and more than a little annoying…”

“Thanks,” Bobby interjected, but that didn’t even slow Myles down.

“… and he may still be drumming his fingers on the table,” he continued once he stopped tapping his face with his pen, “but he is no traitor.”

Bobby continued his steady beat, only louder after Myles pointed it out.

“I know that and you know that, but we still have to prove it - without Bobby’s help.” Bobby threw Tara a look; there was no way he would just sit there and let this thing happen to him.

Jack spoke up before Bobby could get started. “If we let you investigate, the whole investigation would be considered tainted,” he explained, stressing the word “considered” to reassure Bobby of his faith in him. “We’ll figure it out, Bobby.” There’s no way in the world I’m going to let anyone break up my team, Jack thought with venom. “All right, people, let’s get to work.”

OK, time to get cracking. Let me know what you think!

Whew! I made my deadline! As promised, here's a good bit more. Posts should be a bit more regular for the next few days... and yes, lilsmoochiegirl, my computer feels better. It thanks you for the kind wishes!

Ted Garrett stormed into the bullpen. “Hudson, Manning, my office.” He was back in the hallway almost before the sentence had left his mouth. Jack and Bobby shared a nervous glance before following him.

Once all three men had squeezed into the small office and found seats Ted began to speak. “Manning, I want you to know that I have the utmost faith in you. I believe that you are a true patriot and you take your job here seriously.”

“Why do I have a feeling there’s a big huge ‘but’ coming somewhere in there?” Bobby wondered out loud. He didn’t have to wait long.

“However,” Garrett continued pointedly, “there has been a serious accusation bought against you.”

“Yeah, we know. I just got off the phone with the Vice President and he filled us in on the situation. Ted, I can tell you this is absolutely ridiculous!”

“Hudson, I know my men and I know what they’re capable of. I agree with you that Bobby probably isn’t the leak, but it seems that someone managed to convince the Vice President and he managed to convince the director that it’s worth looking into. Bobby, I have no choice but to place you on suspension - paid, of course, since you’re innocent until proven guilty.” Garrett said the last part with sarcasm; what kind of “innocent until proven guilty” is suspending someone when the only evidence they have of wrongdoing is one man’s word?

“Garrett, I don’t think that’s the right-”

“No, Jack, I knew it was coming,” Bobby interrupted. “There’s nothing Ted can do about it. I guess I’ll go pack my things, make that trip to Staples I promised Tara.” Bobby walked slowly out of the room, clicking the door shut behind him.

“That was too easy,” Jack warned his superior. “I’ll go by his apartment later.”

“Jack, I need you to clear Bobby. I won’t have him or the bureau going down for something he didn’t do.”

“Yes, sir.” Jack’s posture as he left was that of a determined man; there was no way he would let someone drag his best friend’s name and career through the mud. Everyone noticed the change in his demeanor when he came back to the bullpen. “All right, let’s get this cleaned up.”

Agent Ray Delaney stood in the alley way, leaning up against the wall as he fiddled with his fingers. He looked up and finally saw his contact approaching. He knew the guy’s street name was El Lobo and thought the name was played out, but this guy was taking the nickname a little too far. Lobo had let his hair grow out in a shaggy cut that looked like fur, he had a poorly groomed beard, and his teeth looked horrible. It looked like he hadn’t seen a toothbrush or a nail clipper in weeks. Delaney could hear Lobo mumbling as he approached.

“…personas tan tontas, pensando que pueden ser mas inteligente que yo. No pueden guardar al presidente ahora; no cuando el Lobo esta trabajando.” He stopped talking to himself when Delaney cleared his throat. “You have the new plan?” he asked with a thick accent.

“No, amigo, I don’t have a new plan. I told you on the phone we were still on, and I meant it. They’re going to use the same route.” He laughed out loud as he thought about it. “Oh, they were so willing to use the same route. Lazy government workers!”

“¡Cayete! You want someone to hear you?” He looked surreptitiously up and down the alley. “Do you have my money, gringo?”

Delaney fished an envelope out of his pocket. “Half now, half later, as agreed.” Lobo was smart enough not to count it in public, but Delaney knew he would later and knew better than to mess with El Lobo. It was all there. “Monday you take him out, then we meet here at 10 p.m. and you get the rest of your money and I never have to see you again.”

“Like I ever want to see you again, feo.” Lobo took off abruptly, still muttering about the government.

“And Lobo,” Delaney called after him, “no more internet games, huh?” Lobo merely waved and kept going. Delaney sighed; this guy was going to be the death of him yet.

********************************************************************************
*

Jack rubbed at his temples. The tension headache that had been building since that phone call early this afternoon was showing no signs of letting up. A look at the clock told him it was also way past his bed time. Everyone had stayed late, not willing to leave before Jack in a tremendous and well-appreciated show of support. He was grateful that they were there, but the more he thought about the predicament his best friend was in the more frustrated he got. Bobby was in trouble and Jack was trying his hardest, but he couldn’t get him out of it. He suddenly wished he was alone in the bullpen so he could throw something. Jack settled for getting up and storming out to an interrogation room, taking his stress ball with him.

Sue sensed Jack leaving almost before he stood up. It was what she’d been waiting for all night: Jack would storm out and have a few minutes of a temper fit, then he’d calm himself and come back good as new and ready to tackle the problem. The problem was, she didn’t want him to have to be alone when he broke down. She let him have a bit of a lead before she excused herself to follow him down the hall. This time there were no grins, no sarcastic comments about them being together. There were only sympathetic and understanding expressions in the eyes of their coworkers.

Sue watched from the other side of the two-way mirror as Jack bounced the little rubber ball repeatedly off the far wall. His pace soon slowed, his breathing ragged and uneven, and then Sue saw something she didn’t expect. Jack sat down, his hands linked behind his head, and he was biting back tears.

She opened the door and timidly poked her head around. “Jack?”

Jack didn’t answer audibly, in fact the only acknowledgement she got was a flick of his eyes, but she knew she was welcome here. She took the seat across from him, waiting until he was ready to talk. “I can’t help him.” He took a breath to steady his voice, then decided it was just better not to use it. He mouthed the rest, focusing on a point on the wall behind her. “He’s my best friend, he’s had my back more times than I can count, and now when he needs it most I can’t help him.”

“Jack, you’re doing all you can. We all are,” Sue responded, not entirely sure she had his attention since he was still staring at that wall. “Jack, we’re a team. We’ll figure it out.”

“We have to. If we can’t clear him, he’ll lose his job. If he loses this job over this he can never get another job in law enforcement again. If he can’t get a job in law enforcement, the only thing he’ll have left to fall back on is his gambling, and we don’t want to go there.” Jack’s voice faded again toward the end of that sentence. He took a few minutes to collect his thoughts, then rested his hands on the table and chose a new staring point on his hands. “I’ve run over this case a thousand times and I still can’t figure out how to prove it wasn’t him. I don’t have any idea who the leak could be. Without the real leak the Vice President and Secret Service are going to want a scapegoat, and it seems that Bobby might have to fill that role.”

“You know, Jack, we know who the leak isn’t; it’s not any one of us. That’s as good a place to start as any.” Sue put one of her hands over his and finally got him to look her in the eyes. She took this as a sign to take a new tack. “Jack, we’re all exhausted. Why don’t we call it a night? We can get a fresh start in the morning.”

Jack looked at his watch, then ran a hand down his face, resting it on his mouth. “11:30. Bobby’ll still be up.”

“What was that?”

“Sorry,” he said and signed. “I said Bobby should still be awake. I promised Garrett I’d stop by and talk to him, make sure he’s all right.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” she offered.

Jack thought about it for a few moments before nodding his head. “Thanks.”

Sue nodded and led him by the hand from the interrogation room back to the bullpen. Tara noticed the linked hands with satisfaction; Dmitrius took the set look on Jack’s face as a positive sign. Sue offered a little smile to let them all know that Jack was OK, but when she opened her mouth to speak Lucy shushed her and pointed at Myles. He was fast asleep, his feet on his desk and his head against the wall. He still had a file folder open in his lap. It was a priceless picture (which Tara took the opportunity to add to the file in her cell phone), but Jack decided to wake him up and let him go home.

“All right, people,” he said a little louder than necessary. Myles started a bit, but he tried to conceal the jump by removing his feet from his desk, much to Lucy’s amusement. “Let’s call it a night. I’ll see you all at 7 a.m. again tomorrow and if any of you think of anything tonight, please give me a call.” The last part held more of a pleading note than he’d intended, but he didn’t care anymore. His best friend’s neck was on the chopping block and he felt like he was quitting on him.

There was a general commotion of shuffling papers, rustling coats, and sliding chairs, but none of their usual lighthearted chatter. They each took a moment to say good night to Jack before they left, all soon engrossed in their own thoughts of the case and their friend. Once again Sue and Jack found themselves the last two in the room, Levi’s chin resting on Jack’s knee.

“Jack, you look a little worn out,” Sue said a little more blatantly than she normally would have, but she really didn’t want him driving. “Do you want me to give you a ride to Bobby’s? I said I’d go with you anyway, then I can drop you off at your place tonight and pick you up in the morning.”

“No, Sue, that’s OK. I don’t want to make you go out of your way.”

“It’s not a problem, Jack, and besides, the way you look right now I can see old Sparky coming back for a visit.” Sue successfully lightened the moment, miming a car taking a flying dive off of a bridge. She linked arms with Jack and grabbed Levi’s leash on their way down to the parking lot.

It was a quiet ride over to Bobby’s apartment, Sue unable to read Jack’s lips while driving and Jack unwilling to talk while in this mood. During the walk to the door the silence persisted, the lighting on the block being substandard at best and Jack’s mood souring further with every step. He had a niggling in the back of his mind that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but it was definitely weirding him out. “I probably should’ve called before we came,” he thought out loud as he knocked for the second time. “This guy can sleep like a log.” He didn’t want to say it out loud, but he was surprised Bobby would be asleep by midnight on a weekend, especially with something this big gnawing at his mind. When he knocked a third time and received no answer he fished out his spare key to Bobby’s.

When he got inside he nearly fell over, and he backed up so quickly he nearly knocked Sue over. “It’s not a pretty sight,” he explained, making sure she couldn’t see inside as he slammed and locked the door. “Besides, he’s not in there. He probably went for a run.” Jack wished he could believe what he just said, but that niggling feeling just kept on taunting him as they climbed back into Sue’s car. If the ride over to Bobby’s was quiet, the ride over to Jack’s was dead silent. Jack’s mind kept wandering back to what he’d seen in the apartment, and he knew that whatever lay in the near future for Bobby wasn’t looking good for him at all.

A/N: I apologize for my Spanish. I don't use accent marks and my grammar is generally horrible, but I figure it came close enough. Stay tuned to find out what Jack saw in Bobby's apartment... :whistle:

A/N: Posting more, posting more... BTW, for the record, I do not advocate drinking. I think it is a disgusting habit and moreover I do believe that it is immoral to become drunk. I also acknowledge the beliefs held up by the creative forces behind this show. That being said, Bobby's condition here is meant to be a testament to his disturbed state, not a regular habit nor one that I suggest.

Bobby sat back in the uncomfortable booth, slamming yet another empty beer mug down to join the others. He was glad he’d left his car keys in his apartment; there was no way he’d be driving home tonight. He signaled once more to the bartender for another beer, and the young man was more than happy to oblige. It was rather quiet in the small bar at two o’clock in the morning and the bartender was anxious for Bobby’s tips. He placed the foamy beverage down in front of Bobby as the bell on the front door jangled to signal the arrival of a new customer.

“What can I get you?”

“How about a nice, strong cup of coffee for the guy in that booth back there? I’ll have one too, please.” Jack looked over at his friend, saddened but not surprised that he’d found him here. “How long has he been here?” he whispered.

“Oh, since about eight o’clock,” the bartender answered. “He’s a well-paced drinker, that one.”

Jack walked over to the table and stood at the end of it staring at the empty mugs and the one that was about to join them. “Mind if I sit?” Bobby didn’t answer, so Jack slid into the bench across from Bobby pushing beer mugs across the table. “I thought you were going to Staples.”

Bobby stared moodily into the mug in front of him, a few sips short of being empty. “Why did you come here, Jack?”

“Because I know you. Because you shouldn’t have to go through this alone. Because I saw your apartment.”

“You didn’t have to come.”

“Yes, I did,” Jack insisted. “I know what you can do to yourself, and I’m not going to let it happen.”

Bobby merely nodded his head in acknowledgement, allowing the conversation to lapse into silence. He knew he could be self-destructive at times, and Jack had saved him from himself more than once. He was one of the few people who had seen Bobby at his lowest and he was grateful that he never held that against him.

The bartender came and set the coffees down on the table, collecting a couple of the empty mugs before returning to his post. “Bobby, we’re going to clear you.”

“Do you have any leads?”

“Nothing solid,” Jack said. As Bobby hung his head he rushed to add, “Not yet. But we will.”

Bobby’s thoughts were running around in circles, as they had been all night, when all of a sudden his head shot up. “What was that about my apartment?”

“You tore it up, man. I’ve seen you get mad and throw a thing or two across the room, but geez, your couch was upside down.” Bobby slammed his head against the back of the booth, a look of total frustration crossing his features. “Oh, don’t tell me it wasn’t you who tore up your place?”

“Sorry, mate, I can’t do that.” He looked long and hard at the last bit of the flat, watery beer before pushing it aside and switching to coffee. “This day just keeps getting better and better.”

“Oh, man. Do you want me to call DCPD?”

“Better you than me, Jack. I haven’t seen the place yet and I’m not quite sure they’d believe me right now.” He was right. Bobby hadn’t had enough to drink for his thoughts to be incoherent, but his speech was getting there. Between his accent and the slight slurring even Jack was having an interesting time making out what he was saying.

Jack already had his cell phone out and dialed the familiar number. “Yes, this is Agent Jack Hudson. I’d like to report a break-and-enter.” He gave Bobby’s address as they collected their jackets and began the five-block trek back to Bobby’s apartment. “Yes, I am the one who discovered it… No, the resident is a friend of mine, who was not home at the time of the break in… Myself and another FBI agent, but she never entered the apartment… Yes, I can get her down there right away.”

Bobby tuned out the rest of the conversation, opting to wallow in self-pity for the time being. A sudden thought hit him. “Jack!” Jack held up his hand in a silent signal for Bobby to wait, then snapped his phone shut and gave him his attention. Bobby offered a grim chuckle, totally devoid of any humor whatsoever, as he asked, “What do you think will happen if I get arrested for public drunkenness while on suspension for suspicion of treason?”

Not knowing how to answer, Jack clapped Bobby on the shoulder and then dialed Sue’s number. “Lucy, it’s Jack… Yes, I know what time it is, but I’m afraid I need you to wake up Sue for me… Lucy, now is not the time for matchmaking.” Bobby couldn’t help but grin as he imagined what the devious rotor was saying on the other end to make Jack turn so pink. “Sue! Hi. I’m sorry to wake you, but I need you to come meet me at Bobby’s apartment… No, no, Bobby’s -” he was about to say all right, but thought better of lying to her, “Bobby’ll be OK, but remember when we were here earlier?… What I thought was bad housekeeping was a break-in… OK, I’ll see you soon.”

The police car was just pulling in outside of the apartment building as Jack and Bobby came walking down the block. Jack grabbed the cops before they got into the building, his identification in his hand. “Officers, I’m Agent Jack Hudson. I reported the break-in.”

“Agent Hudson, we thought we’d find you inside.”

“Well, I saw the mess earlier, around midnight, but I had no reason at the time to believe it was a break-in.” He gestured to the tall man sitting huddled on the stoop. “That’s Agent Bobby Manning. He’s the resident.”

“We’ll get to him in a moment. Agent Hudson, did you or the other agent, Ms…” the young officer trailed off as he flipped through his notes.

“Ms. Thomas, Officer Carter,” Jack provided patiently.

“Yes, did you or Agent Thomas touch or move anything?”

“I was the only one who entered the apartment. I unlocked the front door and used the doorknob, but that was about it.” It was then that Jack noticed the second officer had disappeared. “Where’s your partner?”

“SOP, Agent Hudson. He took the camera upstairs to photograph the apartment.” Jack almost burst out laughing when he got his first good look at the other officer’s face. The young man hurried out of the building, the camera strapped securely around his neck, his face making Jack almost believe he was a 12-year-old boy who forgot his new jacket at school. “Simmons, I thought I sent you up to get some pictures.”

“I forgot the key,” the shame-faced rookie explained.

Oh, boy. That makes two newbies, Jack thought with disgust. He pulled his key out of his pocket and handed it to the officer. “Would you mind if I come up with you? I’d like to have a look around for myself.” Jack almost added, “You’ll get to work with a real FBI agent!” to the end of his request to make it more appealing, but Officer Simmons’ over-eager expression made him swallow it back.

“No, of course not, Agent Hudson.” He cleared his throat trying to adopt a more professional tone before he continued, “But we should do it now, before any evidence is potentially tainted.”

Jack chuckled silently at the obvious attempt to fit in with the “big boys”. He turned to see Sue’s car rounding the corner just in the nick of time. “Why don’t you head up? I’ll be there in just a minute.” Officer Simmons nodded briskly and bounded up the four steps to the front door.

Sue only had to search for a moment to find where Jack was; surprisingly enough there was only one cop car around and only two officers that she saw working the case. Jack walked toward her and met her half way. “Jack? Where’s Bobby?” She was surprised to not see him, it being his apartment and all.

Jack pulled his MiniMag flashlight out of his pocket; talking to Sue in the dark had been a problem before, so he’d learned to come prepared. “He’s over there, sitting on the steps. He’s had a few beers.” That was still bothering Jack; according to his past experiences with Bobby, when something got him down he’d first get angry and throw something or beat into a punching bag (or wall, whichever was closer) before he’d resort to drinking and he’d only seen Bobby drink twice counting tonight. Bobby must have been depressed from the outset to go straight to a bar. He’s worse off than I thought. I’ll have to keep a closer eye on him. Out loud he asked, “Sue, can you stay with him? I’m going to go upstairs, help the rookie go over the crime scene.”

Sue nodded her assent and walked with Jack over to where Bobby sat in the same hunched position as before. “Hey, Bobby,” she greeted him, surprised when he didn’t answer. She put a hand on his shoulder and moved aside to let a very worried Jack go past.

Sue kept calling Bobby’s name and was so busy trying to get a response out of him she didn’t notice that Officer Carter had walked up behind her. “What are you, deaf?!” he asked in frustration, unaware of the surprising answer.

This one comment roused Bobby out of his state of shock as he bolted up and turned on the young officer. “Well, very good there, Officer Carter,” he spat. Sue was surprised at the rage he was emitting and totally unaware of what sent him over the edge. “I see your deductive skills are very finely honed. If you want to speak with Ms. Thomas, you POLITELY tap her on the shoulder or walk in front of her to get her attention. If you have a problem with that, Officer J. Carter,” he said pointedly, “badge 2237, then you should really get over it or I will have a word with your supervisors. Do you understand me?” All traces of a slur had faded, but his Aussie accent increased tenfold. At the meek nod he received, he added, “You will not treat Sue or any other member of my team with that kind of insensitivity or rudeness if you value your badge.” Bobby stormed off into the building, ready to see the damage done to his apartment.

Jack had heard the noise and went to the window overlooking the street. He would never admit it out loud, but he was glad Bobby finally exploded like that; the ticking time bomb of his temper was no longer a major concern. I’m just glad he didn’t have his gun on him, he thought wryly. The thought caught him off guard and he turned to check the end table where he knew Bobby kept his gun when he was off duty. He looked on, around, and under the table, but he came up empty. Bobby came up just as Jack came to a sickening conclusion: “They have your gun.”

Tell me what you think!!!!

Sunday

Jack sat up and rubbed his eyes before trying to stare at the screen once more. “I can’t figure this out,” he said to no one in particular. “We have no identifiable leak and no idea who broke into Bobby’s place.”

“You may think this is a bit inane, but let’s start from the beginning again, shall we?” Myles, not quite awake himself, yawned before he continued. “OK, so we worked out a route for the President to follow. Who was in on it?”

“Just us from the FBI,” Lucy said with some disappointment.

“That’s it! It’s gotta be!” Jack stood up and slammed his hand on the desk. To answer the questioning looks he explained, “We’ve been reviewing all the FBI employees - Randy, the other guys in the filing room, the courier, guys who just popped in while we were working. We seem to have forgotten that we weren’t the only ones in the room.”

“That’s right,” Tara agreed. “Agent … whatever his name was worked with us on that. He also seemed very insistent on getting a copy of our plans on a disc instead of paper.”

“Yes, I remember,” Myles continued in almost a growl. “The rodent made me copy it onto three different kinds of discs before he was pleased.”

“Why did you make the copies instead of Tara?” Sue asked. She’d noticed a weird dynamic between those two recently, as if the balance of power had shifted.

“There’s nothing wrong with a friend doing another friend a favor every now and again, is there?” Tara smiled to herself, ducking behind her computer monitor. “So, what do we know about this Agent…”

“Agent Delaney,” Lucy provided, “and I’ve been waiting for you guys to get it. Here’s his file.”

Jack accepted the thick folder with surprise. “Oh, you’re good.”

Lucy just smiled, stating simply, “I know.” Jack scanned the file quickly, dropping his head when he saw no red flags. “If you’re not finding anything, that’s because you’re reading the file I got from the Secret Service before he came in to work with you guys. This,” she said, producing another folder with a flourish, “is a collection of what I’ve dug up from different government agencies and more local departments.”

Jack flipped through the file. He only stopped to read what was next to the little red Post It notes. “Very cute, red flags,” he muttered under his breath. “How did this guy ever get a job in law enforcement? He’s been arrested for breaking into the CIA’s computers, he tried to kill a few cops in Michigan, and he has no record of ever graduating high school. He’s been in jail more years since eighteen than he’s been out.”

“And according to my sources, what you don’t have in front of you from before he turned eighteen is a pretty interesting but sealed read.”

“Listen to this: his brother was drafted to go to Vietnam and was killed in the line of duty. Six months later he torched city hall, saying they had it out for his brother and sent him on purpose. Lucy, this is great!” Sue exclaimed as she read over Jack’s shoulder. “Makes me want to make the coffee around here a little more often.”

“You might want to hold off on that coffee making, Sue. I need to talk to you in the interrogation room.” Jack pulled her along the hallway. He closed the door securely behind her and turned off the sound system before he turned to Sue. “Looks like our date is back on.”

“What? Jack, we can’t go see a movie now, not until we catch Delaney and clear Bobby.”

“I don’t know. My favorite kind of date has always been following around a slippery agent with a great girl until we can catch him with his hand in the cookie jar.” Jack ha a huge smile on his face, convinced they would finally find the end of Bobby’s ordeal.

“Me, too,” Sue picked up his lead. “And I always like to record my dates - you know, for future reference.”

“You know, there is a real date in the future somewhere,” Jack reassured her. Sue nodded, understanding why he wanted privacy, then followed Jack back to the bullpen.

An hour and a half later the DC police had found Agent Delaney and relayed his location to the team, where Jack and Sue were wired for audio and video feeds to Tara’s computer.

“All right, Sue, it seems we’re about to stop in a quaint little bar over on Sixth.” Jack picked up her purse and passed it to her.

“Sorry, Levi, you stay here.” Sue dropped a milk bone on the floor to keep him distracted while she slipped out of the room, ignoring Lucy’s pleased grin at the sight of them strolling hand in hand. Myles shook his head, a similar grin on his face, then followed them down as their backup.

****************************************************************

Lobo looked out of one of the bar windows, cringing internally as Delaney reached in his pocket again. Someone’s going to get suspicious, he thought, coolly glancing around the bar for a back exit. He found it and stole into the alley. He nearly turned tail and ran when Delaney abruptly turned to face him, striding confidently into the alley. And he works for the secret service? Lobo wondered.

With a flourish Delaney produced the gun wrapped in a plastic bag from his pocket. “Here! Take it! I don’t want to hold on to that anymore! Once Bobby realizes it’s missing I can’t be found with it on me.”

“SHHHH!! Will you keep your voice down, gringo? You act like you’ve never done this before.”

“Oh, yeah,” the agent loaded his voice with sarcasm, “it’s almost every day that I help the … idiota … who wants to kill the man I’m sworn to protect.”

“Yeah, and it’s also not every day you get to avenge your brother’s death.” Lobo snatched the plastic baggie from Delaney’s hands and stuffed it into his back pocket. “This should get the job done. That FBI team will be too distracted to protect el presidente and I’ll finally get my clear shot. Let me ask you: why this agent?”

"His apartment was the easiest one to break into," he replied suspiciously. "What are you, a cop? All you need to do is plant that gun on somebody and they'll think Bobby was the leak and provided the weapon."

"Will you cayete?! You're going to get us caught, gringo."

“You just make sure he dies,” Delaney spat with disgust, turning to walk back down the alley toward his car, “and after I pay you, I never want to see you again.” He stopped short when he heard the tell-tale click of a gun cocking. “That wouldn’t be smart. You’re still missing half your money.”

“Just remember how easy it is for accidents to happen,” Lobo warned as he shoved his gun back into his jeans. With that he casually turned and strolled away, leaving Delaney to wonder if he’d live to see Tuesday.

“FBI! FREEZE!” Jack shouted, jumping into the alley with his gun drawn. He watched as Myles cuffed and frisked Lobo.

“Well, well, well,” Myles said as he pulled out the plastic bag from Lobo’s back pocket. “What would you be doing with an FBI-issued handgun? Do you have a badge I should know about?”

Lobo sat staring silently at Delaney, fury building in his eyes. “You, gringo! You led them here!”

“Oh, he didn’t have to,” Bobby explained, emerging from behind a dumpster. “You know, it’s really not too bright to discuss these things so freely in a public alley. You never know where you might find a parabolic microphone that might pick up everything you say.”

“So, you’re both under arrest. Anything you say can and will be used against you…” Myles’ voice trailed off as they escorted both prisoners to his waiting car.

“Well, now that that’s taken care of…” Jack switched off his microphone and the video camera attached to his lapel. “Sue, would you be my date to the party tomorrow?”

“It looks like our future finally came.”

********************************************************************

Monday

Tara rang the doorbell at Myles’ house, delighted that she was the first to arrive. He opened the door to find a cell phone waving in his face. “As promised,” she stated simply, holding up the phone and a gallon of cookie dough ice cream.

Ignoring the ice cream completely, Myles lunged at the phone and pushed the delete button. “Much better. Now we can finally end this narcissistic power struggle. Oh, for the love of ice cream,” he rolled his eyes, “did you have to bring raw cookie dough?”

“Hey, my contribution, my choice.” Tara’s smug smile was all she needed as she walked through the living room toward the kitchen. “I’ll put this in the freezer before it melts.”

Within minutes Jack, Sue, and Lucy showed up, all following Myles through his house to deposit their offerings on the back porch. There was some friendly chatter, some of their usual conversation with debates about legal points, ice cream flavors and such, but they were all still waiting for the same thing. With the next ring of the doorbell they got their wish. A strongly accented voice floated back to the porch, “Myles, you really must tell me how you got all the color out of this house. It is incredible.” Myles appeared in the back yard rolling his eyes, followed by what appeared to be a rather large bag from Staples. “I believe I owe you this, Tara?”

Glad to have Bobby back to his usual self, the party began with the lighting of the coals. It was another hour before Dmitrius joined them with Donna, immediately picking up on the hand-holding between Sue and Jack the others had so far let slide. “You two getting comfortable over there?” he asked under his breath when Jack got up to refill his drink.

Jack’s face fell; Dmitrius certainly could get him in trouble for inter-departmental dating. “You know, D, you don’t have to put your job in jeopardy here.”

“You know, Davey quoted a section of a certain historical document I’m sure you’re familiar with. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’ I think this qualifies as your pursuit of happiness, and as your equal I feel it would be violating your unalienable rights to report this pursuit.” D had a glint in his eye and a smile a mile wide on his face.

“Thank you, D.” Jack walked back over to his seat and made himself comfortable next to Sue, his hand seeming to grab hers of its own accord. This resulted in smiles all around the yard as two types of fireworks began, one ignored by the two who were simply lost in each others’ eyes.

END

A/N: Well, that's it, folks! Sorry about the long wait. It's been a crazy week. (Darn cars! grrrr) Thank you all for reading and reviewing. It means a lot to me. For those of you who are writing your own challenge stories, I look forward to reading them!!!!

That's a great ending, kittn. Simply purr-fect (no pun intended).

hehehe... pun intended or not, thanks for the encouragement! I'm working on another story right now, but I'm trying to finish it before I start posting so I don't post as erratically as I did with this one. I hope to see you there!

glad they were able to clear bobby
lol love tara black-mailing myles to get her way
aww so cute jack/sue