A/N: My view of what could have happened if Sue hadn't changed her mind about going to New York. It focues mainly on Sue, Jack, Levi and people who they meet there, but the team will be present every now and then, too. I hope you're going to like it.

Signing. Flashback.

Chapter 1

He went out of the plane on the airport in New York and slowly made his way to the place where he could claim his luggage. When he finally had his bag he went out of the building and found an empty taxi. He told the address to the driver and leaned his head against the headrest, closing his eyes. He was tired, but still felt very happy. He couldn't wait to see the expression on Sue's face when she'll open the door and see him. She had no idea that he was coming; by now she was probably disappointed, or maybe even angry, that he didn't even call her to wish her happy birthday. He was ready to bet that she thought he has forgotten, but he didn't. He may have not had the best memory to dates, but twenty fourth of May, the day of her birthday, was one of those days which he remembered about. Actually, he remembered every important date connected to her person – the day of their first meeting, the day she became the part of the team, their fake wedding day, the day of their first kiss (even if it started as the part of their undercover investigation to avoid getting caught), the day when she announced that she decided to accept a new job in New York, and finally, the whole day before her leaving, which he was able to spend with her.

It was her last day in D.C. Her bags were in the boot of his car, because in the evening he was taking her to the airport. It took him a while, but he was able to convince Lucy to let him have Sue all for himself. Only when he explained to her what he had planned, she agreed but promised to kill him if he won't do everything he told her. He knew that he had to do it; it was his last chance before being separated from Sue, and he couldn't let her move to New York without knowing his feelings.

He tried to talk to her about it a few times. He almost admitted what he felt a few times but every time he tried to, someone interrupted. Only then Bobby gave him the idea of spending the last day with her, doing whatever she would want and he was pleasantly surprised when she accepted the offer.

"So, what do you have planned for today?" she asked through tears when she approached him, when he waited for her in front of the building, where she lived for past three years. She just said goodbye to Lucy, and the first thing he did was to take her into his arms and let her calm down. She leaned against him, buried her face in his shoulder and cried, and he held her in his arms, caressing her back and whispering comforting words, even though he knew that she couldn't hear him.

"I thought that today can be completely about yourself. I wanted to spend some time with you before you go to New York, but I also wanted you to remember the day forever in a good light." he said when she withdrew herself from him.

"Then you can take me to all important places here, so I can also say goodbye to them." she said, and he only nodded, opening the door to the car for her.

Until the evening, they have visited almost all of the places which meant something for Sue. There were a lot of places where she met her friends, where something important for her happened and she had tears in eyes almost all the time. Jack held her in his arms every time she wasn't able to fight them anymore; he didn't even think about saying a word about it, because he knew that it was a tough decision for her, but it really had a lot of advantages. One of them included him – with her leaving the team, they weren't working together anymore and it was giving them the chance to be something more if only she wanted it as much as he did.

"I'm going to miss this fountain…" she said, when they sat at the edge of it to eat lunch. It was exactly the same fountain, where they sit with Lucy and Charlie in the morning after spending the night in hospital, when Levi got shot on her first investigation. "I know that I say that in every place, but…"

"It's okay, Sue. I felt the same way when I was leaving Wisconsin to come to D.C.. I went out for a walk to see all of the important places for the last time before leaving the town, and I could remember everything that happened there during all those years… I almost regretted the decision to leave…"

"That's exactly how I feel… But, coming to D.C. turned out well for you, so maybe my leaving for New York will also be good." she sighed and smiled sadly. "But I'm afraid I'm not going to fit there, and I'm going to miss everyone from here."

"We'll be visiting each other, and I am sure that everyone will agree that you can call anytime if you want to talk. And if the people there won't accept you as you are, just call me and I'll be on the first plane to New York to tell them how stupid they are."

She smiled at his words, and he felt his heart jump. He always reacted this way when she was looking at him like that, when a smile appeared on her face and it was actually meant for him. He just looked at her for a moment, and she quickly recognized the expression in his eyes. He had it often for the past few days; sadness was most visible among all of the other emotions, but she could also recognize others. She placed her hand on his, and squeezed it.

"Something's wrong?"she asked and he sighed, smiling sadly.

"Well… I just thought that I'm going to miss our dinners, walks, talks… It won't even be a part of it on the phone… I'm going to miss you terribly, not only at work but personally… You are a wonderful person and you really changed everything for the better, including my life. You know, it's not going to be the same without you here and I actually can't imagine how it's going to be not seeing you every day in the morning and…" his voice broke, the sadness in his expression visible even more. He sighed again and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I was trying to say that for a few times now, but every time I wasn't able to finish… I really don't want you to go, even though I completely support your decision when it comes to the professional side of it. Personally I hate the fact that you're going to be so far away… We'll be able to talk and visit each other, but I still feel like I'm losing you... It also made me realize that I was an idiot, that I took for granted everything we shared for the past three years… I mean, for me it was something unusually special and I acted like it was going to stay like that forever, and now it became obvious that it won't look like this…" He made a stop, looking at her face, but he couldn't really read what she felt. She was watching him carefully, focusing on reading everything he wanted to tell her.

"I don't want you to leave without knowing what I'm now trying to say… And I'm not trying to make you change your decision, because I don't know if I'd be able to work with you knowing about all of it, but…" he raised his right hand up, making a combination of letter I, L, and Y in sign language – the sign which completely expressed his feelings.

He noticed the change in the way she looked at him when she noticed it. Her eyes widened, and tears immediately appeared on them, and after a moment of hesitation he felt her wrap her arms around his neck, as she hugged him tightly. He cupped her face in his hands when she moved away, and wiped the tears away from her cheeks with his thumbs. She had a huge grin on her face as she looked into his eyes.

"I love you too, Jack." she said slowly, before closing the gap between their faces and touching his lips with hers.

Her kiss was very shy at first, especially that Jack didn't respond to it at first, being completely shocked by her reaction. When it finally reached him that she said what she did say, he kissed her back, pulling her closer to himself and deepening the kiss. They had no idea how long they were lost in the passion, but when they parted, they were both panting. He touched her forehead with his and she opened her eyes slowly, only to get lost in the gaze of his brown ones.

"If it was supposed to make leaving easier for me, then it had exactly the opposite effect…" she said after a moment and Jack nodded.

"Yeah… But it made me realize that your leaving has good sides, too." he smiled slightly, and continued when he saw questioning look in her eyes "We can say that we're not in the same team anymore so there are no rules, which can stop us from trying to make it work. I don't think I'll be able to go back to the way we've been for past three years knowing, that you reciprocate my feelings…"

She only kissed him for an answer but he had no doubts that she felt the same way. They didn't need any words for an understanding, that they'll do everything they can to make it work.

"Sir?" he heard the voice, which got him out of his thoughts. He opened his eyes and saw the driver look at him with raised eyebrows. He looked around and realized that the car has stopped and they had to reached the place.

He paid the driver, took his bag out of the boot, and then went into the building. He found the door to her flat without problems, even though he has never been there before. She has left D.C. few months before, but none of the team members visited her in New York. It was Sue who came to D.C. two months earlier, when she had to meet with members of the Congress, and also visited her friends. He knocked at the door and waited; he could hear her shout "Levi!" and "Just a moment!", so he just laid the bag on the floor and waited. It turned out to be a great idea, because the moment the door opened, she threw herself at him.

"Jack!" he noticed a huge smile appear on her face and she didn't hesitate to hug him tightly. His arms, immediately went around her waist, pressing her even tighter against himself. She moved back only a little, to cup his cheek with her hand and place a gentle kiss on his lips. They stood in each other arms, in front of the door for a longer while, completely lost in the kiss. It started innocently, but it quickly changed into a very passionate one; they put all of their feelings into it, showing how much they missed each other.

"Come on in." she said after they finally parted, and he lifted his bag and followed her into the flat.

She closed the door behind him and he looked around. The place wasn't big; there was only one bedroom, the second and bigger room that Sue used as the living room, the kitchen and the bathroom. He knew that for Sue it was enough, and she didn't even spend so much time here. A moment later he looked back at her.

"Happy birthday" he smiled, when he saw a huge smile appear on her face.

"Thank you" she kissed his cheek, and he wrapped his arms around her waist again.

He felt her immediately melt into his arms, and he closed his eyes, breathing in her scent. He missed her even more than he thought. He could feel it only now, when she was with him, when he could take her into his arms, feel her smell, see her face and smile.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she asked when he let her go after a moment, still smiling widely.

"I wanted to surprise you, so telling you wasn't an option." he explained, and she nodded.

"You don't know how happy I am that you're here… I just wouldn't have made plans for tonight if I had known that you're coming. My friends are throwing a birthday party for me and I think it would be inappropriate not to come…"

"You're right, you should go. I'll be fine with staying here, I'm a big boy and can manage on my own…"

"There's no way I'm leaving you here alone!" she said immediately and he sighed. He could see in her eyes that there was no way of persuading her to do otherwise. "I'm sure that they won't have anything against me bringing you, but if you're too tired I'm going to call them that I can't make it."

"No! Don't do this. Just give me a while to freshen up and I'll go with you."

She didn't look convinced but she nodded. She was looking forward to this party, because it was a wonderful opportunity to spend more time with her new friends. Still, spending time with Jack was much more important for her, and she was ready to stay with him. His reaction, however, told her that he didn't want her to miss it so she just left the topic.

Almost an hour later they were both ready to leave the flat. Sue spend the time in front of the mirror, finding the perfect outfit, deciding what she was going to do with her hair and matching the jewelry. When Jack came into the bedroom she noticed his raised eyebrows, but at least one of the decisions was made because he immediately approached her and undid her hair, letting it fall loosely onto her shoulders.

"I think it's a good thing that I decided to accompany you. I don't know who is going to be there, but for me it looks like you want to make a huge impression on somebody…" he smiled, brushing the hair aside from her shoulder and kissing the exposed part of her skin.

"Of course it's my intention! You know, there is going to be this guy, who is terribly handsome and who I want to lose his head for me, so I have to look perfect!" she smiled at the expression on his face, and shook her head "I meant you, you know?" she added after a moment, and felt his arms around her waist.

"Yes, I just started to wonder if they know anything about me? About us?" he asked and Sue's smile faded a bit.

"I told them that there is a guy in my life, who lives in D.C. and I really love him, but I don't think that they believed me… I said that to make them stop trying to find a guy for me here, but it didn't work so I think it's going to be a bit of a surprise for them that you really exist."

"I can't wait to see their faces, then!" he smiled, and left to let her finish getting ready.