This is my first Sue Thomas fic…it's also my first fic about a television show…It takes place after Silent Night, it's what Jack and Sue did with the jerseys.

KEY: Thoughts-Signing

Sue

"I had a good time," Sue Thomas said as she embraced her parents at the busy airport, "I'm glad you came."

"I'm glad we came too." Her mother said, smiling lovingly at her only daughter.

Her father slung his arm causally around his wife's shoulders, "I wish we could stay longer, but your mom has her heart set on seeing all the kids before New Years."

Sue laughed, "I'm sure they'll all be as happy as I was to see you."

Before Mrs. Thomas could answer, an intercom voice called out, "Flight 128 for Manhattan is now boarding at gate C, Flight 128 for Manhattan is now boarding at gate C."

"That's our flight, honey." Mr. Thomas said as he leaned toward his daughter for a final hug.

Mrs. Thomas followed her husband's actions and waved back at her daughter as Sue called out, "Have a good flight!"

Turning to Lucy who had been standing quietly beside her she said, "Thanks for coming early with me, I know your plane doesn't leave for another hour."

Lucy smiled, that's okay, I wanted to be here early, and I really don't want to miss my flight to Atlanta.

You're getting good at ASL…Can I buy you a coffee before you leave? Sue smiled at her friend as they slowly made their way to Atlanta plane's gate.

"Sounds good to me!" Lucy said with a grin.

An hour and a half later, after waving Lucy off on her trip to see her mom, Sue unclipped Levi's leash and hung up the jacket her mother had given her just two days earlier, "Well Levi, what now?"

Levi looked up and with a doggy sigh, turned to the living room and hopped up onto the couch and made himself right at home.

"That's not very helpful, Levi." Sue said with a shake of her head.

Wondering toward her bedroom, Sue pulled off her jeans, replacing them with a soft, black pair of sweat pants. As she let her hair down she looked down at her shirt. The turtle neck she was wearing was a rather ugly shade of purple so she pulled it off too. She pulled open her closet doors and picked up a white long sleeved shirt. This'll work. Turning to the door a blue, black and white jersey with a white number 25 caught her eye. Smiling, she picked it up, and on a whim, pulled it on.

She glanced at the mirror. Although Sue had never seen herself as pretty, the woman starring back at her in the mirror was. Blonde hair lay on her shoulders, slightly wavy from being up earlier. She looked good in the hockey jersey and sweats and the innocent look of her face made her look almost angelic.

Sue felt safe, like Jack was right here with her. With a wishful sigh, she headed out to the living room. Sue stopped in front of the window overlooking the street. People were milling all around, most people still had off for Christmas. Standing in the living room, Sue couldn't help but wonder why she felt so lonely. She had been in the apartment by herself before. Listlessly she took in the silent world, glad for the warmth of the jersey. The jersey made her think of Jack and suddenly it hit her, she missed Jack. That's why she felt sad, she missed Jack! But why do I miss him so much? She wondered. Letting her mind think about Jack, it suddenly hit her. She was in love…the realization hit her and she gasped, she loved Jack Hudson…but how? She had only known him for a few months. The scariest thing was the question crossed her mind next, Does he feel the same about me?

Jack

In a small brick house in an even smaller town in Wisconsin, laughter was plentiful. There were two Hudson boys with their wives and kids and one single Hudson boy, the youngest, an F.B.I agent who had the best stories. Mrs. Hudson, the mother of the three boys, was busy cleaning up kitchen but still was part of the conversation. Her husband sat in an old chair, dozing off, having an after dinner nap.

At that moment, a girl of 6 and a boy 7 were mesmerized by the story their Uncle Jack was telling them, a story of a deaf woman who worked at the F.B.I and had her own hearing ear dog named Levi. Completely enthralled, it was tough to get either child to go to bed, even though it was nearly 11 o'clock.

"I'll finish the story tomorrow." Jack told his nephew and niece with a smile.

"You promise?" The little girl questioned.

"On my word as an F.B.I agent," Jack said seriously.

"Okay, 'night Uncle Jack." With the kids gone, the conversation continued, although it was slightly quieter.

"Is what you were telling the kids about a deaf woman at the F.B.I true?" Jack's oldest brother asked.

Nodding Jack said with a smile, "Yep, she works in my unit."

Mrs. Hudson had known her son longer and better than anyone else in the world. And since he had gotten home, he had seemed slightly distracted. That meant one of two things, he was worried about case or he had his eyes on a girl. Considering the smile on his face as he talked about this girl, Sue Thomas, she was guessing it was the second one.

Jack's mom was right. Jack was thinking about a girl, and it was Sue. A few hours later everyone else had gone to bed but Jack lay awake on the couch. He decided to get a glass of water, hoping that it might help him fall asleep. Standing up, he tripped over his suite case silently cursing; he moved his suit case and picked up the jersey that had fallen out. With a smile he pulled it on over his bare chest, surprised by how happy it made him feel…It was like Sue was right here in this house.

Forgetting about the water, Jack climbed back into bed. He closed his eyes and let images of Sue fill his head. Her smiling, her on the very first day he met her, her crying in the hospital. He thought about her all the time and the strangest thing was that he didn't know why. Jack didn't think it was purely professional…it wasn't professional at all. It hit him that night, right there on the couch that had been in his parent's living room as long as he could remember. He was in love with this girl. She had walked into his office, completely by accident and stolen his heart. Shaking his head he wondered what he was going to do, they could never date, it was against Bureau policy. And she had just gotten there, plus he had no plans of going anywhere anytime soon. Shaking his head he thought to himself, what's meant to be will find a way, and I'm willing to give fate a hand. His eyes popped open as another question hit him, what does she think of me?

There you have it! Please review and tell me what you think!

Agent Striker