July 12, 2010

Future fic. Inspired while watching "Dirty Bomb" – the part where Curtis calls Jack "Jackie."

I wasn't entirely sure what to title this, but I figured I could always change it.

I don't have any clue what anybody's parents' names are… They're never really mentioned. I don't know where Jack's mom's name came from, but… I made an assumption as to his dad's name.

And siblings' names are never mentioned, either. =\

Did a little research on small towns in Wisconsin and decided to make this one (about 900 people) Jack's hometown. And I'm going to say that Sue is from Cambridge, because according to MapQuest, it's nearly six hours from DC. And Cambridge is about 550-560 miles, or 9.5-ish hours from Jack's hometown. So it's about 14-15 hours from DC to Jack's hometown, depending on which roads you take. Probably a little longer with stopping for gas…

I own nothing. Except all five DVD volumes! =D

Okay, so "Alone for Christmas" might have some of the same ideas. I only read the first couple of sentences. If I'm copying anything from that story, it's because I didn't read it.

If I'm copying any other fics, I apologize. I haven't read as many STFBE fics as I would like to, because of grammar and the fact that most of the websites I've looked at haven't allowed me to read them without being a member of the site.

"Jackson Samuel Hudson! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

To prove her point, his mother rested her hand on her chest, sighing as she motioned him inside.

"Sorry, Mom. I wanted to surprise you," Jack chuckled as he gave her a hug.

"Well, you succeeded," his father chuckled, patting Jack on the back. "You're home a day earlier than you said you'd be!

Jack didn't get a chance to respond to that, interrupted by a sound from the doorway.

"These are heavier than I thought," Sue said from behind him, juggling Levi's leash and their suitcases as she walked into the house.

Jack's mother frowned and his father rushed to Sue's side, taking the suitcases from her grasp.

"Hello there," Mr. Hudson smiled. "Jack mentioned he was bringing a friend home for the holidays…"

He turned to his son, frowning, "But he's forgotten his manners. Leaving a young woman to carry everything inside for him…"

Jack stepped over to Sue, reminding her, "I thought I told you we'd get those later?"

Sue shrugged, smiling innocently. "I thought I could handle it. And I didn't want to—"

Jack held up his hand, smiling as he stopped her. "Never mind."

He turned to his parents, smiling as he introduced them.

"Mom, Dad, this is Sue Thomas, the coworker I told you about."

He looked back at Sue, indicating his parents. "Sue, meet my parents."

"S-A-M-U-E-L and H-E-A-T-H-E-R," Sue signed and finger spelled, looking to Jack for confirmation.

When he nodded Sue smiled, looking at the Hudsons. "Nice to meet you both."

Heather's eyes widened as she realized, "You're the deaf coworker?"

Sue nodded, smiling. "Good deduction. This is Levi, my hearing dog."

Levi held up a paw, his tongue lolling out as he looked at the couple.

"Oh, how cute!" Heather gushed, patting Levi's head. "He's so polite."

"Unlike someone I know," Sam mumbled with a wink as he narrowed his eyes at Jack, who rolled his eyes and sighed.

"So, tell me," Sam continued, ignoring his son. "What brings you here, Sue?"

"I… I didn't quite…?" Sue frowned, and Jack tapped her shoulder.

"He wants to know why you came with me," he said, signing part of the phrase as well.

"Oh!" Sue caught on, looking at Sam with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, your mustache makes it a little hard to read your lips."

"I keep telling him to shave," Heather informed her, glancing at Sam with a frown.

Sam only shrugged as Sue explained, "I was going to go home for Christmas, but my parents decided last-minute to go away for the week. I didn't want to intrude on my brothers' plans, and the rest of the team had already gone home for the holidays…"

"I told her she could come with me—that you guys wouldn't mind," Jack informed his parents, giving them both a look.

"Of course we don't mind!" Heather exclaimed, her face lighting up as she stepped closer to Sue. "Here, I'll show you to the guest room so you can at least unpack."

Jack sighed as he took Sue's suitcase from his father, ignoring the glint in Sam's eye.

"She's cute," the older Hudson whispered slowly, his eyes narrowing playfully.

"Dad, you're happily married," Jack groaned, knowing where this was going.

"Yes, but you're not," his father insisted. "And—"

"And nothing," Jack interrupted, glaring at his father as he followed his mother and Sue down the hallway.

"Jack never told me he was named after his hometown," he heard Sue telling his mom, and he smirked as he leaned against the doorjamb.

"Maybe it just never came up," he suggested, and Levi turned, alerting Sue to Jack's presence.

"Oh!" Sue smiled at him as she turned around. "Did you say something, Jack?"

"I said, 'Maybe it just never came up.'," Jack repeated, smiling.

Sue frowned playfully, arguing, "You told me you were from a small town."

"You didn't ask which one," he retorted, grinning.

Before Sue could reply, Heather interrupted, "I'm guessing you're both pretty tired from that long drive…?"

"Actually," Jack countered calmly, "I'm not all that tired. And besides, I'd like to stay up and talk with you and Dad for a while."

He glanced at Sue, the question hanging unspoken between them.

"I'm not all that tired, either," Sue smiled, signing for Levi to follow her as she walked toward the door. Jack didn't move, and she looked down briefly as she stepped past him into the hallway.

"What? You've never heard of 'Ladies first?'" Jack asked with a grin, pushing himself away from the doorway.

Sue only shook her head with a smile, heading down the hallway into the living room, Jack and Levi both at her heels.

Notes: Let's just say Jack drove the 14 hours from DC to Jackson pretty much straight through. We'll say they started at like eight am and stopped a few times along the way, arriving at around 10:30 pm.

Jack's siblings are with their in-laws for the holiday…?

Words: 790

Time: A few hours. Took me forver to post. Don't ask why.

Influences, Borrowed Ideas, and Other Random Crap:

The Pilot ep, of course.