through the fire;

[usattorney]

through the fire;
They both considered this to be a stupid idea. Janet hated faking her enthusiasm with people she knew would only look down their noses at her if they knew what she really did and Luke didn't like being on the other side of the line. Still he'd agreed to be her date for this particular case, because Michael was going to be preoccupied actually breaking into the wine cellar and Holden sure as fuck wasn't going to do it. He scoped out the room as he walked through with Janet on his arm, his fingers laced with hers. "I'm so glad this was never us," he muttered to her.

"It would never have been us," she muttered back. "I don't go to these kinds of events and you don't drink wine." He was practically underqualified for the role, not knowing anything about counterfeit wine or undercover work in general, but Luke looked the part having pulled one of his best Armani suits out of the closet. His whole job was to be a distraction and he was distracting in the perfect combination of black suit and tie with the gunmetal shirt. It reminded Janet why he was ogled by women in the office and why she'd fallen for him in he first place. Plus the fact that he was willing to make himself uncomfortable for her counted for a lot in her book. "If you're thinking about the bullet in my arm," he whispered in her ear guessing her train of thought, "Don't."

Luke had forgotten about the Wexler case as soon as the wound had healed. Like he'd told Janet, getting shot had been a freak accident caused by a situation he'd chosen to be in, so he didn't care about it. He didn't think any of the snobbish people in this McMansion were going to be pulling a gun. Luke followed Janet to a table and stretched out in the chair while he continued to survey the room. They were both listening to Michael make his way into the building through a back service door. "I have to admit," Luke quipped, "it's pretty cool that he can pick locks."

Janet laughed. "Michael has a lot of practical talents," she replied. It was another reason why they made a good team; he had certain hands-on skills that she hadn't learned while she had been studying the finer points and legal details of financial crimes. Her partner would easily be able to make it through the open door downstairs, get into the cellar and thoroughly examine all of the bottles. They just had to buy him enough time and keep an eye on the potential suspects. "He's the total package." The implication being that they weren't—something that Luke didn't argue.

He still didn't have a solution to Bryan wanting him to become the next U.S. Attorney, but he didn't have the political capital for that. This whole situation was another example of that because people were definitely talking about them and he just had to sit there and take it. He squeezed Janet's hand to distract himself. "How're you holding up?" he asked. It had been seven weeks since Madrigal and they hadn't seriously talked since she came to visit him at his apartment. "I'm good," she told him. "Brad got Special Agent of the Year two weeks ago. I still don't like that I shot Petrov, but from what Barton told me at the gala, he'll be behind bars one way or another."

"As long as you know you didn't do anything wrong."

Janet nodded and was going to say something back but stopped when Michael's voice broke into their ears. "I'm in," he said. "Give me twenty minutes."

"Meet you in the parking lot in thirty." She let go of Luke's hand to set a timer on her watch before turning back to him. "Does this qualify as dragging you to another stupid party?" she joked and he laughed at her remembering that he'd sworn off going to any more functions with his boss. "No, because I don't actually have to do anything," he pointed out. "Though when this lands on my desk, Michael's going to have to give me a primer on counterfeit wine."

Such things weren't uncommon; Luke always asked for information on subjects that he didn't know about, and in particular Michael was familiar with several topics that he wasn't well-versed in. Which was another reason he didn't mind helping out. They may not be best friends, but Luke respected Michael so he was happy to provide an assist as much as he hadn't expected it to be this. He exhaled and looked for another topic of conversation. "So how was the gala?" he finally settled on.

"It was fine. We just mingled with all the Miami people and listened to a bunch of speeches. The important thing was being there for Brad in his big moment." Janet paused. "You were right. There are people who are going to get ahead, and there are people like you and me whose job is to fight." She didn't see herself making unit chief and knew Holden didn't either. Some agents like Michael and Brad were destined for those management roles, while they were made to keep working on the ground.

Luke shrugged. "It's just who we are," he said. "I'm not against settling down and having a life... But I understand it's against my nature." The thought of what he and Janet could have been had crossed his mind more than once. They could be married and raising a five-year-old daughter right now. But it was to his credit that when the idea popped into his head he understood how wrong it was. Their relationship would never sustain a marriage and as much as he loved Janet and Madeline, he didn't see himself being able to completely focus on a family. "I'd do it all again," he added, suddenly motivated to affirm that their failed relationship wasn't some kind of mistake.

Janet eyed him for a second. She'd speculated on what her life would've been like if she and Luke had stayed broken up—particularly with Brad Leonpacher, because they'd had that one-night stand not long afterward. Dating Brad would've been a lot simpler and easier on her and on Luke, since they'd both hurt each other. But she didn't regret trying a romantic relationship with him; he was still someone she cared about and at the time exactly what she thought she was looking for. "I'm glad we tried," she agreed. "You're worth trying for, even if we completely fucked it up."

"The more I think about it, I think we were always going to fuck it up." It was the first time he'd said that out loud. But Luke relied on evidence and what he knew from therapy and from what Janet had told him was that they weren't the people they wanted to be. There had been a genuine disconnect between how they saw themselves and who they actually were. Before she could comment on that—because he knew she would—he abruptly changed the subject. "My parents are coming to town in a few weeks," he said. "Would you mind saying hi to them? My mom was asking about you."

That was almost more news to Janet than Luke's admission about their relationship. "Really?" she blurted. "I mean, sure, of course I'll come by. But why was she asking about me?" Their breakup was the better part of two years ago now and she knew Luke had told his family.

"I have no idea," he admitted with a laugh. "Maybe she missed you. You're worth missing," he added, as if to pay her back the compliment she'd just paid him. For all the grief they'd given each other he'd do anything for Janet and he knew she would always be there for him. Whether it was serious situations like when she'd called him in Miami or ridiculous ones like this they'd always have each other's back. Luke would just refrain from asking if she wanted to get a drink afterward. He sat with his hand in hers, making aimless small talk while she kept watching the crowd to see if anyone was worth pulling aside. This fishing expedition would give them a better idea of who to look for.

Janet's watch was their cue to step outside. Luke reached into his pocket and easily faked a phone call, letting Janet follow behind him as if there was some sort of an emergency. They stepped out into the courtyard to find Michael, fixing his tie so it didn't look like he'd just spent a half hour examining bottles in a cellar. "Did you find anything?" Janet asked her partner without breaking stride.

"There are a couple that look suspect, but not the ones we've been looking for," he said. "We'll keep an eye on these just in case; I have all the details." He dared a grin in Luke's direction while they walked back toward the parked cars. "How was your afternoon out with the wife?"

"It wasn't that bad," Luke quipped back. "I think I might need to go play a round of golf." But he couldn't get the sentence out without his usual sarcasm. "I had no idea you were a pro at breaking and entering," he added, genuinely impressed with Michael's skills.

"Okay, the back door was already open," Michael pointed out. "And I told them it'd look better if I didn't have a key." But he was happy to accept the praise. He missed Janet glancing between the two of them, surprised that for the first time she could remember, they were joking with one another. It warmed her heart to see that they were getting along, even if only for a few minutes. She gave Luke a playful nudge to silently comment on that fact, and he snickered. "I don't know what you want a compliment for," he teased. "You just sat there and looked gorgeous."

"That is a compliment." Janet snorted, but as they reached Luke's car she stopped and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "Thanks for doing this with us," she said honestly.

"It's no big deal. It was an hour out of my day." He played it off, but they both knew even this small venture was something he wouldn't have done if anyone other than Janet and Michael had been asking. He was getting better at showing them he cared about them. Luke gave Janet a kiss of his own before she climbed into Michael's car and he headed back to his own office. "It's still a stupid idea," he said to himself, but he was laughing.