Secret Past

By Andie O'Neill

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/Angst

Parings: Nathan/Jack, Jack/OC

Summary: When a stranger arrives at Eureka looking for Sheriff Jack Carter, secrets about Jack will be revealed and nothing will ever be the same. Jack/Nathan Slash!

A/N: The happy conclusion to "Secret Past!" Hope you enjoyed the story! :D Thanks a million to everyone who reviewed this story! I really appreciated the encouragement!

Part Eight

Two Months Later

He never should have gotten up in the morning. He should have just stayed in bed and taken a day off. Because no matter how many good things life gave him, it always made up for it later…. Sheriff Jack Carter watched as Kyle Harrison, Ben's husband of a little over a month, stifled a laugh. He had a hand covering his mouth as he tried to hide his grin, but Jack could clearly see it. "I'm going to kill Fargo," he muttered to himself.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone run that fast…" Kyle told him, looking far too amused by the situation.

Jack was just about to threaten him with death when he heard a painfully familiar voice. "Oh my God," gasped Henry as he stood by the door next to Nathan Stark.

Jack groaned, turning around to see Henry with a mixture of shock and amusement on his face. Carter didn't even want to look at Nathan's expression. "Wow Carter… why so blue?" Nathan questioned, looking far too pleased with himself.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh very original… you are so sleeping on the couch tonight," he told Nathan in annoyance.

"It was worth it," Nathan assured him before looking over at Kyle, a question in his eyes.

Kyle's grin returned full force. "Fargo." Nathan nodded immediately in understanding before looking back at Jack whose skin was currently blue.

"Oh yeah, blue is definitely your color, Jack," Stark teased playfully, looking him up and down.

Carter would have loved to punch his soon to be ex boyfriend, but he had other things to worry about. "Okay seriously… we need to get Fargo back here so he can fix this now!"

Kyle shrugged. "Carter, the guy bolted out of here in one second flat. If he knew a way to fix it somehow I don't think he would have been running quite so fast," Harrison reasoned.

"Well somebody damn well fix it!" When Carter saw the mischief in Kyle's eyes he had to force himself not to growl angrily at the man. "And I swear to god if you tell Ben about this-"

"Tell me about what?" questioned a new voice, and once again Jack was groaning as Benjamin came walking through the door with two Vinspressos in hand. He froze the moment he saw Jack. "Oh my god! Uh Jack… bad day?" he questioned, grinning from ear to ear. "What'd you eat a smurf or something?"

Kyle finally let out a chuckle. "You know Benny… I think I finally figured out why you love it here so much!"

Jack glowered. Fargo was gonna be a dead man….

After nearly an hour of searching they finally managed to bring Fargo back to work on fixing the problem. In that time Nathan had called Jo Lupo to tell her all about why Sheriff Carter was going to be indisposed for the rest of the day… Nathan was sure he'd never heard her laugh quite so hard. As amusing as the situation was, Stark knew Carter was about to snap, and had led him to GD's infirmary to get checked out just in case there were side effects. He'd also taken the liberty of calling Eva and Allison to let them know he'd be staying with Jack until he'd been returned to his normal color. Nathan smiled, folding his arms as he watched Jack pace. "Fargo will figure something out, Jack," he assured him, hoping to calm the man down.

Carter sighed, sitting back on the bed. "Shouldn't you be with him doing something useful? I mean you are the resident genius around here…."

Nathan rolled his eyes, getting up from his chair to stand in between Jack's legs. "I'm too busy taking care of you. Besides, I already gave Fargo one of my best 'fix it or die' speeches. I'd probably just slow him down. Sometimes it pays having him absolutely terrified of me," he told Jack before giving him a brief kiss. "Now stop worrying."

Jack moaned, dropping his head in his hands. "I'm going to be blue for the rest of my life…."

Stark grinned. "Well, if it makes you feel any better blue or not… I still think you're hot. Blue just happens to be my favorite color," he teased.

Jack looked back up at him, giving Nathan his best threatening stare. Stark wasn't fazed. "You're really enjoying this aren't you?" he asked despite knowing the answer. Some things never changed… even if they were sleeping together.

Nathan shrugged, before giving Jack his best sexy smirk. He only used it when trying to charm himself out of trouble. "Oh yeah," he admitted, not even having the decency to look guilty as he moved in close and captured Jack's lips in yet another kiss, deepening it.

"You know I think I liked it better when you two were at each other's throats," Allison spoke from behind Nathan, and Stark immediately moved away in surprise.

He couldn't help but smile as he looked at his ex-wife. Excluding Zoe, Allison seemed to walk in on their private moments the most. Although she'd been very happy for them when Nathan had told her months earlier that he and Jack had finally begun a relationship, he also knew how weird it was for her to watch the two men that had spent so much time trying to chase her making out with each other almost every chance they got. It was painfully ironic. "So what's the verdict, Ally? Is he gonna live?" Nathan asked.

Allison looked at Jack, unable to stop the small giggle that escaped before clearing her throat. "He's fine… no side effects, other than being blue of course. Fargo's still working on a way to fix the problem, but last I spoke to him he said he was close so hopefully Carter won't be blue for too much longer."

"Thanks Allison," Jack said, though Nathan could his lover's frustration in the words.

Although Stark wasn't quite ready to admit it just yet, as amusing as it was to see his boyfriend turned blue, he had been worried for Jack. Carter tended to attract trouble everywhere he went. Nathan understood it came with the badge, but it was never easy to watch the man he'd been slowly falling for risk his life on a daily basis. "Thanks Ally," he spoke softly, hoping his eyes would convey just how grateful he was to have Allison.

"Don't mention it." Allison nodded her understanding, giving Nathan a warm smile and then left them alone once more.

"Now where were we?" Nathan asked, turning back to Jack.

Jack shook his head. "I was contemplating ways of how best to kill Fargo while you keep adding on more days you'll be spending on the couch."

Stark raised an eyebrow. It was obvious his charm wasn't winning Carter over just yet. "You know I could sleep at my own place… at least there I can sleep on a bed."

Jack just folded his arms, suddenly looking more confident. "You could… but we both know you won't."

"And why's that?"

Jack pulled him into a searing kiss, making Nathan gasp as he felt the kiss deepen almost immediately. He felt almost dizzy by the time Carter pulled away. "Because… Zoe's spending the night at Pilar's tonight," he whispered in Nathan's ear before jumping off the bed and walking out of the room.

Nathan smiled, shivering just a bit before he followed Jack. "God Bless Benjamin Mitchell…" he muttered to himself as he thought about how much the man had helped bring them both together. If the night went half as well as Stark expected, he was so sending Ben another fruit basket.

"SUPRISE!" Benjamin jumped back as he looked around Café Diem in a state of shock. What looked like half the town had found a way of cramming themselves into Vince's establishment. Once the shock wore off he looked over at his husband who looked quite pleased. "You did this?"

Kyle shook his head, nodding over at Sheriff Carter who'd finally been returned to his natural color… and just in time it seemed. "He was in Fargo's lab trying to get some stuff together for the surprise party when he got zapped with the blue ink Fargo was using to make your banner," he explained.

He didn't know what to say. In fact all he could do was smile as he walked over to the crowd that greeted him, congratulating him on turning thirty-nine. He hadn't really expected anyone to know since he'd only moved to Eureka over a month ago with Kyle, but somehow Carter had gotten the party together, though Ben wasn't sure how he'd remembered. Jack Carter had never remembered a birthday in his life, and that had sometimes including his own. It took him a moment to realize he'd told Jack inadvertantly about his birthday months ago at Cafe Diem while talking to Allison Blake, and he couldn't help but shake his head in amazement.

"Happy birthday, honey," Kyle spoke, giving him a brief kiss before greeting a few scientists from his department.

Ben took in a deep breath, watching the party kick into gear. "Thirty-nine… pretty soon you'll be forty. Now isn't that a fun thought?"

Benjamin turned around to see Jack Carter standing behind him with a small smile on his lips. "Yeah well, I got a whole year to get used to the idea. So… I see Fargo figured something out."

Jack looked down at himself as he stood in some slightly torn jeans and a dark gray shirt. "Scientists… I asked the guy for a friggin' banner and he just couldn't help himself," Carter muttered in annoyance.

"Guess it's just another thing to get used to around here." Benjamin had never had an interest in science. In school the only subject he'd ever really been awake for was Art. Painting had been his passion almost from day one, though he'd never had much time to pursue a career being that his father had been a US Marshall, and his grandfather… and his father after that. Art had never fit into that family tradition, and it'd been hell enough just getting his family to accept that he was gay. After quitting he'd finally had the time to do what made him happy… which was painting. "They're not so bad though…."

Ben could see Jack look over at Nathan who was talking with Zoe. Stark was laughing at something Zoe had said, his eyes bright, and Ben was sure not many had ever seen him look so happy. When he looked back at Carter he had a secret smile on his face... and suddenly Benjamin knew he'd done something pretty amazing the day he'd decided to bring those two together. "No… not at all," Jack agreed.

"So… not the spawn of Satan?" he questioned with a sly grin.

Carter laughed, glancing at Ben. "Oh no… he's still the spawn of the Devil, but he's my spawn of the Devil."

Benjamin snorted. Some things never changed. "Thanks Jack… for all this."

"It was the least I could do considering… Jo told me all about your little matchmaking skills," Carter told him, his eyes narrowing.

Ben grinned, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "What are friends for?"

Jack rolled his eyes, giving him a nod of acceptance. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, Jack."

He watched the Sheriff take a few steps before turning back around. "Oh and Ben?" Ben quirked an eyebrow. "If you ever do that to me again… I swear to god there will be no where on this planet you can hide. I was, after all, a US Marshall."

Benjamin laughed. "Don't worry, Jack, I remember! Somehow I don't think I'll need to pull out my matchmaking skills again though… got a good feeling about this one."

"Me too," Jack agreed.

Ben again looked over at Nathan. It hadn't been easy bringing Carter and Stark together, but he couldn't be more proud with the way things had turned out. Not only had he gained back a friend, but he'd also started a relationship sure to last a lifetime. Ben had already taken the leap and walked down the isle, and he had no doubt Jack wouldn't be that far behind him. Either way… life in Eureka seemed like quite an adventure, and Benjamin Mitchell was looking forward to every minute. With a wide grin he watched Jack walk over to Nathan, giving him a long drawn out kiss. He could hear Zoe's groan from all the way on the other side of the room and immediately laughed. "Gotta love this town," he whispered to himself before going off in the crowd. He had some partying to do!

The End