Disclaimer - I do not own Sue Thomas
This is part of a series of Christmas one-shots in various fandoms. If you like this, check out my profile page for similar stories.
This is set the Christmas after the last episode, with relationships pretty much how they were left there.
Just hear those sleigh bells jingling,
Ring-ting-tingling too,
Come on, it's lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you,
Outside the snow is falling
And friends are calling, "Yoo hoo",
Come on, it's lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you.
Sue stamped the snow from her feet, trying to avoid dragging the wet, slippery stuff into her apartment. She grabbed the towel she kept next to the door, and wiped Levi's paws as well.
"Levi, we got to start planning your walks better. 5:00 in the morning is too early," Sue told the golden retriever. He looked at her with his big brown eyes, then trotted off to lay down in his bed.
"I thought I heard something. What are you doing up so early?" Lucy asked, emerging from her bedroom.
"Levi needed to go on a walk. I guess he didn't realize that it's 30 degrees outside."
"Well, that just gives you more time for your date this afternoon," Lucy said, a twinkle in her eye.
"It's not a date. Jack and I are just doing one of those carriage rides around the monuments. It's a tourist kind of thing, but Jack said that I should go at least once while I live here."
"Yeah, but you and Jack, alone in a carriage for several hours?" Lucy left her question hanging, entering the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.
Sue tried to ignore Lucy's comment, but it still bothered her. She had always struggled with her feelings towards Jack, and she had the impression that he had feelings towards her, at least at one point or another. But there was the no-dating policy, and many other reasons why dating Jack would be a bad idea.
Sue put it out of her mind for now. She took a shower, hoping to warm up quickly. The hot water did just that, as well as relax her sore muscles. Sue didn't know what she would do without Levi, but sometimes the dog was quite the handful, especially when it snowed. She had had to chase him all around the park, and also got a citation from a police officer for having a dog off of a leash.
After her shower, Sue began to get ready for her mid-day activity. She was very grateful that the entire team had gotten the week off for Christmas. D and Donna were hosting a Christmas party tomorrow night, Myles had invited them to a Christmas Eve brunch, and everyone was planning on attending Midnight services with Sue and Lucy Christmas Eve. It certainly felt like the most wonderful time of the year.
Promptly at noon, there was a knock on the door. Levi jumped up to inform Sue, and she stepped out of her bedroom. Jack stood in the doorway, a smile on his face and a bag in hand.
"Hey Sue. You ready?" Jack asked,
"Yeah, just let me get my boots on." Sue had bundled herself up really well, trying as hard as she could to avoid the cold.
"Are you sure you're okay not taking Levi?" Lucy asked.
"I don't know how well he'll sit in the carriage. Jack will just have to be my ears for the next few hours," Sue replied.
The two looked at one another and smiled. Sue broke away quickly however, trying to avoid making this anything other than a fun afternoon between friends.
"Have fun you two!" Lucy called after them as they walked out of the apartment. Sue noticed her say something else, which she must have mouthed because Jack didn't give any response. "I want to hear everything when you get back."
Sue and Jack rode in Jack's car to the Lincoln memorial, the starting point of there journey.
"Ride for two?" The carriage driver asked. They nodded, and he helped them get situated, and handed them a heavy down blanket. "My name is James. I'll be your tour guide as well as driver. You two been to DC before?"
"We've both lived here for a few years now. My names is Jack, and this is Sue. Sue hasn't done this before, so we thought we'd try it out."
"Perfect, perfect. Well, hold onto your hats. Clem here is a good horse, and he'll never steer us wrong."
James began to explain about the Lincoln memorial while Jack pulled a pair of sandwiches out of his bag for lunch. Sue ate while Jack translated as much of what James was saying as possible, the driver focused more on the road and his horse than the passengers.
"Okay you two. Now here we have the Washington Monument. This was... Oh, dear. I'm so sorry, I've been talking much to fast. Is she deaf?" James asked, having turned around and noticed Jack signing for Sue.
"I am deaf, but I read lips. If you stop and turn around, I should be able to understand you," Sue explained.
"Okay, I'll try to remember. As I was saying..." James continued to talk about the Washington Monument, allowing Jack the chance to finally eat his lunch.
The afternoon passed in a similar fashion. Between stops, Jack and Sue had their own conversations, discussing their friends, their families, and their own lives.
"Do you remember when Bobby found that dead mouse in his desk drawer? I never knew he could squeal like that," Jack said, having landed on the topic of funny things.
"What about when we got Myles to put pen dots all over his face? That was pretty great."
The two fell into a comfortable silence at that point.
"This is beautiful. You rarely find couples that can work together," James observed, his eyes still carefully scanning the street.
"We're not a couple. We just work together," Jack said.
"What?" Sue asked.
"James just asked if we're a couple," Jack explained.
Sue blushed. "Why does everyone think we're a couple?"
"Probably because we both know how we feel about each other," Jack finally replied.
Sue's eyes widened. She hoped that Jack wasn't going to breach that subject. She didn't want anything that would change what they had. In her deepest dreams, she did want something to happen between her and Jack, but what they had was better than what would happen if they tried for something more.
"Sue, I didn't mean to startle you. I just..." Jack began to sign, slowly and methodically. I love being with you. You are the most wonderful, caring person I know. I know that we have rules that are keeping us apart, but I found one way that we could be together.
Jack pulled Sue's hands into his own, and said very quietly, "The FBI forbids those within the same team from dating. But, it doesn't forbid them from getting married."
Sue was shocked. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't believe she had read Jack's lips right. "Are you, asking me to marry you?"
"I'm asking you to give me, give us a chance. So, Sue, will you marry me?" Jack must have planned this, because he pulled out a box lined in red velvet. Sitting there was a beautiful diamond ring.
Sue's head was spinning. This was happening so fast. Her erratic heartbeat and uneven breathing was making it hard to concentrate. But all she could think was one word.
"Yes."
Jack pulled her close, and the two shared their first real kiss, a kiss full of love and passion that could never be taken away from them again.
Merry Christmas!
