Just a Little Guy Talk

It had been a long three days. As Jack walked into his old office at 11 o'clock at night to turn in the final draft of the team's case report, he didn't expect to see Clark Medina still there. He especially didn't expect to see him sitting in his office chair swilling scotch and looking half lit.

He had to cut the guy a break though. He'd had a hell of a time the past three days, too. The missing kid that they'd all been searching for had been one of his best friend's sons. The story hadn't had a happy ending. The kid had been killed over his refusal to steal a test at school. It had been an accident….but still…

"Hey, I've got the final report here for the latest case." Jack said, laying the report in front of Medina. "It just needs your signature."

Glancing down at his desk, Medina nodded. "Thanks, I'll review it in the morning." he said as he lifted the glass back to his lips.

Jack shrugged and turned to leave, thinking that maybe he'd be able to get a few hours sleep before he had to get up and start again. It was his night to feed the baby.

"Hey, Malone!" called out Medina just as Jack got to the door.

Jack turned around to look at Medina. "Yeah," Jack said, expecting Medina to crawl up his ass about some other useless bureaucratic bullshit rule.

"Tell me something. How the hell did you do this job as long as you did? How the hell can you still have hope after a case like this?" Medina said despondently.

Jack took a good look at Medina. Bloodshot eyes. Wrinkled Shirt. Haggard expression. Yeah, he thought to himself…how many times did I look exactly like that?

Scratching his face, Jack took a moment before he answered. "You have to make your peace with the fact that you won't always get there in time. You won't always find them alive. You won't always save them. But, until you know otherwise, you always assume that the victim is alive. It's the only way I kept my sanity. And, it's the only way that you'll keep yours." Jack said in a quiet voice. He continued, "If you can't do that then get out now, man, because you'll lose yourself otherwise. I should know. I almost did."

Medina stared at Jack and asked, "If you could have this job back, would you want it?"

Jack inhaled deeply and thought about the question. Would he? "No, I wouldn't. This job…it had become my life. And, that came at a price. A price that I'm not willing to pay anymore."

Medina looked deeply into his glass. Looking up, he asked "It's because of Spade, isn't it?"

"I wasted a lot of years. I almost lost her. Hell, I did lose her for a time. And, I did it all in the name of this job. I'm lucky. She gave me another chance. But, she didn't have too. I certainly didn't deserve one. It's weird, this demotion…it was the best thing that ever happened to me in the long run. I found a life again. I found a family again. So, yeah…it's because of Spade. But, take some advice from somebody who's been where you are. You run the job…don't let the job run you. Just something you should think about." Jack said with a note of finality.

"You know I was really prepared not to like you," Medina said, again bringing the glass to his lips.

"The feeling was mutual, Medina. The feeling was definitely mutual" Jack said.

"Go home to your woman and kid" sighed Medina.

"Maybe you oughta do the same, man. The job will be here tomorrow…for all of us." Jack said, turning and walking out. As he left the building to make the drive to Samantha's apartment, Jack realized he felt strange. For the first time in years, he was at peace with the past, the present, and the future. It was a brand new day.

-The end