Recovered Hope

_I don't own Sue Thomas F. or any of the characters._

**A/N:** I am a huge Jack/Sue shipper and I can't deny it. They're amazing, and so sweetly infuriating. But I also love Bobby/Darcy, the two of them are so great together! I know a lot of people think Bobby should be with Tara, but I just don't see the two of them together. For me, Darcy is just perfect for him and I was so angry, when they made her leave like that. But well, at least I can give her a chance to fix it.

_With thanks to fanka77, whose stories inpired me to write this. Dziękuję :-)._

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She has made a mistake, and now she was aware of it. The offer, which she got was so tempting that it was difficult to reject it. Because, how to say no, when someone is offering something, you have dreamt about, especially if all the important people think, that accepting it is exactly what you should do and encourage you to do so? Refusing it wasn't easy, not in this kind of situation, even if saying yes meant leaving everything behind, because of the necessary moving to the other end of the country. She decided to take a chance, leave the team, which she felt like a member of a family in, and end the relationship with a man, who she believed could be the one for her. She moved to California and now, half a year later she was back in DC, after this great chance turned out to be the biggest failure in her life.

She was very happy because of the offer, the promotion was very tempting and the warm climate of California was also inviting. However, the people, who she was working with, quickly showed her that it wasn't her place. She couldn't say they weren't open and kind, but she just couldn't get any good contact with them. Even after a month spent there, she didn't have any friends – all her colleagues just didn't really qualify to be called that, and didn't even show any sign of hope that they'll turn into her friend. She wasn't dating, because even though she tried, she understood there was no sense in it after three dates. Every evening, busy or not, she spent in her apartment and the emptiness there was overwhelming; it was making all the things she tried to forget about during the day strike her with double force. She quickly started to hate the place, but decided to wait, give it all a chance. Finally, after almost six months she stopped putting it off and after a few phone calls, was back in the place, where her heart was.

She didn't have to make amends to any of her friends, they welcomed her with open arms, glad to have her back. They supported her all along, but all missed her very much. Yet, she couldn't be completely happy because she missed the one person she cared about the most. She didn't have courage to go and see him, ask him to forgive her and give her a chance, after she treated him so horribly. He was ready to follow her to California, leaving his work and friends to have a future with her, and she pushed him away. She knew it hurt him, she could see it in his eyes when they were saying goodbye and she felt horrible with it. She didn't even count the nights she spent in her bed, crying and hugging her pillow, wishing he was there, with her, holding her in his arms, whispering comforting words to her with this sweet accent of his... As they were a couple, she really fell in love with this Australian accent, even though she never was this kind of girl. She found it sweet, and also extremely hot, and there were moments, when even the memory of him talking to her – especially in the heat of passion – was sending shivers through her body. She missed him, she would do everything to have him back, but she couldn't go to him and ask him for a chance – she just didn't deserve it.

She had no idea what brought her to this restaurant that day. After she came back to the capital city, she was avoiding it as much as possible, because it held too many memories of _them._ Wonderful, but horribly painful memories of what she could still have if she wasn't so selfish and blinded. She would never know what possessed her to push him away when he offered to drive with her to California, and she was going to regret it to the end of her days. But her mind was telling her that she just had to get a grip of herself, and start to move on without clinging to what could have been. It was probably the reason for her appearance in the restaurant, the very same one, which they discovered together during one of the lunch breaks they shared and which became their favourite. It was small, very cosy and had a very tasty food. There were often a lot of people, but most of them just stopped by to buy something and take it away. The few tables were, as always, occupied and when she stepped inside, she couldn't stop the smile, which appeared on her face when the smell of food came to her nose.

She made her way to the counter, trying to decide what to buy, memories of banters with Bobby coming to her mind all the time. She didn't even know when her turn came, and the voice of the young woman broke through her thoughts. She gave her the order, blinking away the tears that were threatening to come to her eyes. Few minutes later it was ready and she took the bag, and turned around to make her way to the exit. She didn't register the person standing right behind her and she barely took a step, when she walked onto the man.

"I'm sorry, I didn't..." she started, looking up and paused, when her eyes met the pair of the most wonderful baby blues she has ever seen.

Her heart jumped, her voice got stuck in her throat and she just stood there, staring into the very same eyes she fell in love so much. A wave of panic hit her, when she was looking at him and even though it was quite difficult, she managed to look away.

"I wasn't looking where I'm going, sorry." she eventually found her tongue and passed him quickly, feeling the need to run away.

He stood there a moment later, completely stock-still. He didn't expect to find her there, even though at the beginning he found himself often wishing to see her familiar figure in the queue. It didn't happen, and he finally lost the hope it ever will, until that day. He noticed her there the moment he looked through the window, blinked a few times but she didn't disappear. For a moment he was sure that it was just his mind making tricks, that it was just somebody similar but then she turned slightly and he noticed her face. His heart clenched, even though the pain she caused him was still fresh, she still possessed it. Whatever he was doing to move on, to forget her, to stop loving her, and ease the yearning, nothing worked. He wasn't even able to hate her, even though his brain was telling him that he should after she shattered his heart into pieces. He chose her over everything else and she pushed him away, but he just couldn't forget and think, how wonderful it all was.

These were, in fact, the best years of his life. Even though he was known of loving his bachelorhood, freedom very much, he couldn't deny that she was the one to make her think that sharing a life with one woman didn't have to be bad. He was often teasing Jack, because his love for Sue changed him completely, but he wasn't much different, he only didn't make it as visible as his friend. Just like Hudson had his Sue, Bobby had Darcy, but the meaningful difference between them was that Manning didn't dance around her but took his chances. And despite their unfortunate beginning, he found in her everything he could dream about, only falling deeper in love with her every time he discovered something new about her. The relationship with her was the best one he ever was in, but also the longest one and when he lost it, there was this emptiness nothing was able to fill. Six months after that he came to terms with the fact, that he'll never have her back. One glimpse was all it took for him to destroy any progress he made.

He wasn't able to stop himself from going into the restaurant and stopping behind her, the familiar scent of her perfume going to his nose, when he approached her. It was him, who gave her the first bottle of them for her birthday, and she fell in love in it immediately, never buying any other one. He was paralysed when she turned around and bump into him, a look of her deep blue eyes making his heart jump at all the feelings that were going through his body. Only when he heard the bell ring behind himself he came around and realised, that she walked away.

He made the decision without a second and found himself rushing out of the restaurant to catch up with her. He called after her but she was determined to get away and when he was close enough, he reached out his hand and caught her wrist, making her stop and turn around. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words left them. Instead, she just sighed and gathering all her courage, looked up at him.

"What do you want?" she asked, way harsher than she meant and she almost didn't manage to stop a groan. She wished she could just run away and hide, ashamed and embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude..."

"It's okay." he said before she was able to say anything else. "I..." he made a pause, he had absolutely no idea, what to tell her. "I had no idea you were in town." he muttered finally. "A longer visit or a short one?"

"Well, actually, it's not really a visit. I-I came back, maybe for good."

"Oh... I didn't know."

They were both surprised of just how uncomfortable it felt. They stood like that in the street, staring at each other, having no idea what to say. A part of her wanted to give up the strength and throw herself into his arms, crying heavily and asking for forgiveness, just like a piece of him wanted to gather her into his arms, hug tightly and not let go. But even if their hearts wanted that, they just couldn't do it; the whole situation between them was way too complicated for something like this to fix it.

"Look, I-.. I should go, don't want to stop you..."

"No!" he exclaimed, surprising them both. "I mean, you're not stopping me... Would you let me invite you for a coffee?"

She looked at him, surprise visible in her features and she was ready to find an excuse not to go, when she looked into his eyes once again. She could see a grudge in them, but there was also something more, what she didn't recognise and what was a mix of love, regained hope and determination. It was enough for her to push away all the reasons why she shouldn't do this and a small smile appeared on her face.

"Okay, why not." she said and caught a glimpse of his famous dimpled smile, which made her heart beat even stronger.

She has made a mistake by leaving, but maybe it wasn't so impossible to fix it as she thought. Maybe the meeting was the fate's way of showing them, that they weren't so lost as they thought, maybe it was trying to give them a second chance. One thing was certain – the long gone hope that there still may be something between them was back.


End file.
