Jackie smiled in relief as she opened the door, revealing Michael. "Thank you for coming," she greeted him, opening the door wider to allow him to enter.

"Of course," Michael replied, shrugging out of his jacket and hanging it on a nearby hook, "your message sounded serious." He paused to look at her carefully, "Are you ok?"

Jackie shrugged a shoulder as she shut the door, "I guess so," she sighed as she looked up at him, "I, uh, I needed a friend. I just broke up with Brian."

Michael's expression immediately changed from concerned to sympathetic, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Jackie replied, leading the way into the lounge room, "we weren't meant to be," she added, taking a seat on the couch. "No, honestly," she continued at his look, "I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life with him." She looked down, "Which I realised as he proposed to me."

Michael looked unsure how to process her comment, "I thought things were getting serious between you," he said finally, taking a seat next to her.

"Funny, that's what he said too," Jackie commented, "he thought he was doing what I wanted." She paused, "And I guess he was…in a way, but I didn't want to make the mistake of marrying the wrong person."

She glanced across at him, "I'm not against marriage, but I couldn't marry him."

Michael nodded, "So there's someone else?" he asked, attempting a teasing smile.

Jackie nodded, "Yes."

"Ah," Michael said, looking away, "and does he know how you feel?"

"No."

"Are you going to tell him?" Michael asked, studying his hands.

"Well, I've just broken up with Brian, I don't want to rush right into something new," Jackie chewed her lip for a moment, "but I didn't just ask you here because I needed a friend."

Michael closed his eyes for a brief moment, "Please don't ask me to play go-between Jackie," he said in a low tone.

Jackie gave him a confused look, "Go-between?"

"Between you and Robbie," Michael clarified, refusing to look at her, "I couldn't do it, I'm sorry."

Jackie hid a smile as a suspicion formed in her mind, "Who's asking you to?"

Michael caught the hint of amusement in her tone and looked up at her questioningly.

"For a detective you don't notice much," Jackie commented, losing the battle against her smile, "I'm not in love with Robbie, Michael," she said firmly, "I'm in love with you."

Michael stared at her, "What?" he asked after long moment.

Jackie's smile widened as she took his hand, "I'm in love with you," she repeated.

Michael looked down at their entwined hands and then back up at her face, "Jackie…I…I've always loved you," he confessed. "I should have said something before," he continued in a rush, "but I just wanted you to be happy."

Jackie squeezed his hand, "Well, it turns out that I can't be happy with anyone but you."

"I know you've just broken up with Brian and we should take this slow," Michael began after a long moment, "but I'd really like to kiss you."

Jackie smiled, "I think that might make me feel better."

Michael smirked, "Worth a shot then," he commented as he closed the distance between them and kissed her.