Morning

Summary: Jack and Sue are newlyweds. Jack's POV. One shot. Fluff.
Please excuse any typos…I wrote this one rather quickly.

x x x

I could watch her sleep for hours.

The way her long, blonde hair is tousled and falls to frame her face; the soft, gentle rise and fall of her chest, the way the early morning sunlight casts a glow over her face and she smiles in her sleep…

She's beautiful.

I prop my head up with my elbow and memorize everything I possibly can about her, reminding myself that this is real. This is our life now; it's not an undercover assignment or a dream. It. Is. Real. And what a reality it is.

I want to wake her up for a reenactment of last night's events, but I also want her to enjoy her sleep and get plenty of rest.

My decision is made when she begins to stir, and I lean over to give her a good morning kiss as if it were my favorite hobby. Well, it actually may be my favorite hobby. No, no. It is my favorite hobby.

She doesn't even open or eyes or miss a beat before responding. "Levi, you better knock that off or Jack might get jealous." Then she opens her eyes and smiles at me – a big beautiful smile.

"Hey, now. I think I give better kisses than Levi." I pretended to act hurt, but I can't wipe away the grin that seems to be permanently plastered to my face. I'm a happy man. A happily married man to be exact.

She pretends to think about it for a minute. "Eh, maybe," she teases.

"You wound me, Thomas."

She stretches her hand out in front of her and admires the silver wedding band that is now on the same finger as her engagement ring. The diamonds sparkle as they reflect in the light of the early sunrise. "In case you forgot, Agent Hudson, I'm a married woman now. Thomas is my maiden name," she teases again.

"Oh, no, I would never forget that. I guess I'll just have to come up with a new nickname for you."

"Just as long as it is better than…" She pauses and signs S-P-A-R-K-Y.

"It will be," I assure with a grin. She shivers and goes to pull the blanket and the sheet up higher. "Cold?" I ask. She nods, and I pull her close enough to keep her warm but still keep her far enough away so she can read my lips.

"Much better," she sighs contently and closes her eyes.

I bring my thumb to her cheek and gently caress it to get her attention.

She smiles as she opens her eyes. "Mmm?" she asks, sleepily.

"You were amazing last night," I offer before I plant a kiss on her forehead.

She blushes. "I hope it was as good for you as it was for me," she offers, unsure of herself.

"It was," I answer sincerely. "Really."

"This is still somewhat new to me…maybe I'm doing something wrong."

"I can assure you that you weren't doing anything wrong," I sign for emphasis, "but we can practice as much as you want, you know…" I trail off as I wag my eyebrows up and down.

She laughs and it is music to my ears. "I'd like that," she grins.

I lean forward to kiss her but she pulls away.

Confused, I frown.

"If that isn't what is bothering you, what is bothering you?"

This woman can read me like a book. "Why do you think something is bothering me?" I try to play it off, unsure if now is the time to bring it up or not.

She runs her fingers along my arm. "Because I know you as well as you know me. I know there is something on your mind." Her fingers make their way from my arm to my face. "Jack, what is it?" She presses when I don't respond right away.

I sigh heavily trying to come up with the best way to frame this conversation. We've only been married for less than seventy-two hours and I don't want to put my foot in my mouth and say this the wrong way. "I realized something last night and I've been thinking about it ever since," I begin. "Well, actually, I realized it a long time ago, but last night…last night it really hit me."

"I'm not following…"

"Sometimes…sometimes I take it for granted that you speak and read lips so well. Sometimes I find myself forgetting that you are deaf and that is not fair to you."

"Jack, I've spent my entire life trying to get people to look past my disability…trying to fit in. I know I'm different and I can handle that. Does …" She pauses for a long moment. "Does it bother you?"

"No! God, no! Absolutely not!" I cup her face between my hands and run my thumbs along her cheeks. I pause only long enough to place a kiss on her lips and a butterfly kiss on her nose before I continue. "It's just that last night, I realized it was dark and there were some positions," I raise my eyebrow, "where I temporarily forgot that you couldn't see my lips and read what I was saying… I should have known better. I should have made a point to make sure you knew what I was saying. That you knew how beautiful you are and how much I love you and you deserve to know that every minute of the day and especially when we are in the middle of…"

"Ssh, ssh," She brings a finger to my lips. "Stop rambling, honey. It's okay."

"No, it's not," I shake my head as I catch her hand in mine and kiss her fingers. "It's not fair to you. As your husband I should know better than that. I should be aware of it all the time and make sure you are aware of what is going on."

"I was very aware of what was going on," she winks and pushes herself closer to me as she throws her leg over mine. "For as long as I've known you, you've been in my corner. You gave me a chance. You treated me like an equal when certain people didn't even want me on the team. I don't think there is any reason to be concerned about sometimes forgetting I can't hear you in the heat of the moment. I just think it means that my deafness doesn't bother you…I like that. "

"Yeah?" I question, amused by her thought process. It does put me slightly more at ease. "Well, do you know what I like?" I point to myself to emphasize my point.

"What would that be?"

"You."

"Luckily, I like you, too…almost as much as I like Levi."

"Come here you," I laugh as I pull her in for another kiss and flip her over – this will never get old.

I kiss her neck in that one particular spot that is more ticklish than the others and she laughs as she throws her head back against the pillow. "So…what do you say? Can I take you up on that offer to practice some more before Levi decides he needs to go for a walk?" The sparkle in her eye is mischievous, her hands already wandering.

"I'd say that it would be one hell of a way to start the day," I smile.

And what a way to start the day it was….