Title: Witch Hunt
Author: DancingStar
German title: Hexenjagd
Crossover: PSI Factor / Sue Thomas F.
Pairing: Connor/ Lindsay, Jack/ Sue
Spoiler: One year after my fanfiction "Blood on the dancefloor"
Rating: 16
Category: Mystery, Horror, AU
Summary: The evil rises in the woods of Virginia.
Comments: I wanted to write another Halloween story. Even if it's a bit late for that... But you know: From today there are just 353 days till next year´s Halloween :-)

Witch Hunt

Peter locked up the driver's door of his car with trembling hands and hurried to Jack and Sue, who were waiting for him with Sue's hearing dog Levi at a parking lot. They were in a small town in Virginia to study a very mysterious kidnapping case. They got into this situation by chance.
It was late October, tomorrow was the day of Halloween, and it was unusually cold and wet for this time of year. Peter had to wear his thick winter coat so he didn´t feel cold. In addition, it was the middle of the night. "What's going on?", Peter asked. He noticed the police was already here and examined an apartment. The lights of police cars were reflected on the wet asphalt of the dark parking lot.
"Two girls disappeared. They were twin sisters", Jack said, "The mother reported her daughters´ disappearance." The mystery was that much young women disappeared in this town, lately.
"So there´s now a total of ten," Peter sighed and turned to them, "We should call Connor and Lindsay."
"They won´t be pleased if we get them back from their vacation," Sue suggested.
"They won´t be pleased for sure when they learn we failed in this case and didn´t ask for help."
That was true and Sue let it happen that he grabbed his cell phone and first called Connor, who spent his vacation in the mountains by himself, and then Lindsay, who was still at home.

A bit reluctantly Connor noticed how his cell phone on the glass table almost rang to death.
"I... I should answer the phone," he said and struck the blanket to the side to get up.
"You always have an excuse," replied the pretty frustrated woman which he left behind in the bed and he turned around to her. "That's not true and you know it," he said, answering the call.
His girlfriend was still offended, because they were disturbed every time, when she needed a little romance. And they should change urgently, she thought. She watched eager to see how Connor was talking to the caller and asked why exactly his team got the case. She had no idea what was wrong and she didn´t ask him to explain, when he came back to her. "Trouble at work?", she asked again and began to kiss his neck because she knew how much he liked it.
"You won´t like it, but I think it's urgent. I have to return."
"That's right, I´m not pleased. I...", at that moment she was interrupted by her own cell phone and now it was her turn to stretch for her phone and answer the call.
"Lindsay, where are you?", Peter at the other end of the line asked very upset, "I've been trying to reach you at home."
"I'm not at home," she apologized. She and Connor secretly traveled to Niagara Falls and spend some wonderful days before they returned back to work. Moreover, this little trip to Niagara Falls was their honeymoon after they got married today. "I visited my parents spontaneously," she apologized again and pulled the blanket tightly. Of course it wasn´t the first time she and Connor secretly spent time together, but now she felt caught. "What... What happened?", she asked and listened to Peter. It didn´t surprise her that he also asked her to interrupt the holidays and after she had agreed, she hung up and looked at Connor with a heavy heart. "So were done for today," she said disappointed.
He stretched out his hand to place it on her cheek so she looked at him.
"It has just begun," he promised her, "We have enough time to catch up our honeymoon."
"That´s small comfort." Their wedding took place today and she had some better ideas for tonight instead of driving home with him in a car.
"I know."
She nodded sadly. "When will we leave?", she wanted to know and then pick up the clothes which were spread on the floor, but he grabbed her wrist.
"Give us two hours," he asked, "We´ll tell Peter you had been stuck in traffic and I missed my plane."
When he pulled her close for a kiss she wasn´t smiling in disappointment.

Next morning, Jack and Peter were waiting that the local police had finally ended their search for clues in a small, ramshackle house in the woods. They wondered why they hadn´t noticed the ruinous building before, but probably it was because they had enough work to do. In this area, there were also several abandoned, old houses in the woods which were once used as bee yards. Peter knew forgetting to check these houses was foolish and he also knew there was no excuse.
"There´s something dangerous out there in the woods," Peter said and Jack looked at him briefly.
"I know... I've also watched Blair Witch Project. The end of the movie was very scary. Something must have killed the two people when they were in the house."
"I wasn´t talking about this movie", while Peter spoke, he noticed the car, which was now parking behind the Mobile Lab. Connor and Lindsay got out and greeted him. He had informed them briefly on the phone about what was happening here. All they knew was that ten young women, who lived here, had disappeared. Peter told them the press fortunately had no idea about their presence, because surely they would have announced this case as a Halloween joke or they would have called it a Halloween murder. But then Connor noticed Sue and Jack.
"Why is the FBI here?", he asked. He knew Sue and Jack: In the past they had worked together in some cases and Sue was a talented, though deaf, investigator. That Jack and Sue were sent by the FBI was a bad sign, Connor thought.
"First everybody believed this was a criminal case," Peter told while they walked between some scrawny trees, "But then we found this in an old, dilapidated house." He handed them an A4-sized paper, which was packed in a small FBI- bag. "This is a pentagram," Lindsay said. On the paper, a star had been painted, which was surrounded by a circle.
"I believe we´re dealing with a sort of coven," Peter announced and put his hands in the pockets of his thick winter jacket, "I would like to hear your opinion."
Connor wanted to ask him, if he actually had called him to interrupt his vacation only because of that but then Lindsay said: "I believe you."
"Well. This isn't the only reason why I called you", they went on through the forest. The weak winter sun tried to give some heat and the hard frozen leaves rustled under their feet. "The problem is," Peter began, "Until now, ten young women, who lived here, disappeared..."
Connor nodded: "You already told that on the phone."
"Last night another young woman disappeared. In the evening she was out with her friends, they were watching a movie at the cinema and her best friend says, after that they had a late dinner in her apartment. This morning she didn´t show up at work and her apartment was empty. The bed wasn´t used... Jack and Sue were already there. They say there are no traces of burglary. Neither the windows nor the door."
"Maybe she ran away," Connor suggested.
"Her car was still in front of the house and it didn´t look like she had taken some clothes. In addition, she hadn´t taken her dog with her... If it´s true and she ran away, why would she do this without car and without her wallet?" Now Peter showed them another bag, which contained a wallet.
"What makes you so sure she was kidnapped?", Lindsay asked and Peter fumbled again in his jacket pocket.
"This was found in her apartment," he showed them another piece of paper on which a pentagram was painted.
They had no idea they were being watched at this moment...

On the same evening, when darkness fell over the forest, a small figure with a humped back was cooking supper in an abandoned hut. It was a woman who was wrapped in a blanket and a shabby dress, she was standing in front of a large pot and stirred liquid. She hummed happily and with her spoon she pushed the black tufts of hair under water, which was about to appear. Then, with her spoon, she pressed a human hand also into the liquid.

Near the forest there was a small motel. It wasn´t very nice and not very comfortable, but it would suffice until the case was solved. Because of the national meeting of grain traders all motels and hotels in the little town were fully booked. And this was the only motel that allowed them to park the Mobile Lab at the parking lot. Probably the parking lot wasn´t needed by the motel guests.
"How long will we stay here?", Lindsay asked when she and Connor wanted to get some fresh air on the terrace of the motel. Peter, Sue and Jack were set off to get some dinner in the small town.
"I don´t know," Connor had to admit this answer wasn´t very pleasant. Actually, he and his wife should be in a hotel at Niagara Falls and spend their time with starting a family.
"I'm not happy as well," Connor admitted, pointing to the car, which stopped now in some distance in front of the building. Sue, Jack and Peter got out and walked inside the hotel with several bags. Levi followed them excitedly. Probably he was quite distracted by the smell of the food.
"Let´s go inside," Connor suggested and while they were on the way to the main entrance door, Lindsay held his hand and finally they also entered the motel. Sue prepared the dinner at a group of dining tables, which weren´t needed today. Sue gently placed a little Halloween decorations aside.
"Sandwiches. Wow!", Lindsay sat down next to Connor and Peter.
"I'm sorry," Sue said, "At that time, only a Subway- Restaurant was open."
"No, sandwiches are great."
They stayed for one hour then Sue and Jack left with Levi so the dog could have a walk outside. Peter wanted to stay here and talk to the owner of the motel. Meanwhile, Lindsay said goodbye to Connor and whispered in his ear in an unnoticed moment he should come by to visit her later. Connor was shocked she actually thought in such a scary place they could...
"I found something!", Sue suddenly rushed in and she was really excited, "Well, actually Levi found it: Levi was just away for a few seconds and suddenly he dragged a severed arm."

They immediately went outside to see Levis finding. "It´s not just a severed arm," Peter began, "It´s a severed, female arm. The fingernails are painted."
"Could be the arm of a kidnapping victim," Jack suggested, "That's pretty scary." He remembered today was Halloween.
Peter went to the Mobile Lab to bring a bag into which they could pack the severed arm. He didn´t know if they had so huge bags at all. When they had brought the arm to the lab, Peter took skin- and blood samples for Anton. Anton wanted to join in two days.
They were busy with the severed arm until 2 o´clock in the morning and because she looked very tired, Connor sent Lindsay to the motel so she could rest a little. Connor asked Jack if he thought it was wise to contact the families of the missing women. Perhaps by chance a related person knew if any of the women owned a pink nail polish. But Jack said it wasn´t a good idea: "They would want to know where we got this photo from," Jack had picked up the photo of the fingers and the nail polish, taken by Peter.
"Furthermore, it´s very unlikely that a related person knows what nail polish is owned by one of the young women," Sue said and Connor had to admit this made perfect sense.
"We should go to bed, too," Connor suggested. Together they went to the motel and each of them entered a room. Connor knew, Jack and Sue were a couple since one year and they shared a room whenever they could. At home, this relationship was a secret so they actually liked joining the OSIR and being out of town.
Connor wanted to leave and look for Lindsay. He didn´t want to spend the night with her, but just make sure she was resting. So he knocked on the door of her room, but she didn´t answer. He knocked three times, even called her name and when she still didn´t answer, he picked up a key at the reception of the small motel. Connor and Lindsay didn´t share a room here. It took some time before they told their friends about the good news.
"Lindsay?", when he entered he realized she wasn´t here and he left the room to see Jack, Peter and Sue. He knocked on their doors and his friends and Levi came out of their rooms.
"What's the matter?", Sue asked confused.
"Where is Lindsay? Did you see her?", a voice in Connor's mind, told him it was strange that all of her belongings were still in her room.
"She maybe drove away?", Sue suggested.
"No, the car is still out there," when Connor said this, he was freezing cold. He recalled about the last woman who had disappeared and she had also left no traces and definitely didn´t leave by car.
He hastened to come to Lindsay´s room, followed by Sue, Jack and Peter. The bedside lamp was on, but otherwise the room was eerily deserted.
A stack of clothes was on the bed and Connor identified the clothing as Lindsay´s: She had just worn this sweater and black pants today. Connor ran quickly into the bathroom and saw that a white bathrobe was on the ground. He believed she had been wearing a bathrobe when they were at Niagara Falls. Because after their short break they didn´t travel home, but directly came to Virginia, she had no opportunity to exchange her luggage and now Connor was sure this bathrobe still belonged to a nightgown. He noted he couldn´t find it anywhere and she probably would not...
Connor wondered what had come to her mind so she was walking outside in the cold without a jacket and without shoes, when he saw her coat hanging over the chair. But the longer he thought about it the more he didn´t believe she was only gone for a walk. She would have asked him if he would come along because of course, Lindsay was aware of the situation.
"Get a look at that!", Sue said and Connor and Jack immediately stood beside her. Connor was shocked and amazed at the same time that he hadn´t noticed the Pentagram, which was burned in the carpet beside the bed.
"What if she's been kidnapped?", Sue suddenly asked. She also believed, Lindsay hadn´t left the hotel late at night.

"We examined her room exactly," Jack said half an hour later and Connor was still nervous: he had tried to call Lindsay, but he noticed frustrated the cell phone also was in her room. Now he was at the Mobile Lab, walking up and down and tried to stay focused. He wouldn´t help Lindsay, when he could barely think straight.
"There are no traces of burglary," Sue murmured, "It´s the same situation. The same happened to all these young women who disappeared."
"You really believe Lindsay had been kidnapped?", Jack asked and Sue reluctantly nodded.
"I don´t think that Lindsay and the eleven young women were kidnapped by the same person," Peter said suddenly, "All previous kidnapping victims were under 25 years. Lindsay is much older."
"Why are you so sure it´s just a copycat?", Sue asked.
"But it isn´t less dangerous," Jack added.
"First we should take care of the eleven girls. Lindsay is old enough..."
"I can´t only sit around!", Connor angrily said, "We need to look for Lindsay!"
"Lindsay would want we first help the young women."
"You don´t understand," Connor yelled, "I have a responsibility for her!"
"We are responsible, too!", Peter objected.
"I can´t let my wife down, Peter!"
"What?", Peter's voice was almost inaudible. Jack and Sue didn´t dare to say a word.
"You´re right," Connor replied, "She is my wife. We got married the day before yesterday." For one moment there was silence. But then Connor said: "I can´t stand if she dies because of I only sit around and wait. I know it's wrong to put my personal wishes about our case, but..."
"I'll help you," Jack suddenly announced and he wasn´t a bit surprised Sue joined him. They were waiting for Peter´s decision and he gave in: "Well, we´ll look for Lindsay." He went out and Sue, Jack and Connor were relieved.
"Congratulations," Sue said when Connor walked past her, "Even if it´s an inappropriate moment."
"Thank you."

Lindsay woke up with terrible headaches and when she could see clearly, she realized she had to be located in a shabby wooden house. She tried to move but she noticed her hands were tied. Lindsay tried to free herself and only then she noticed the old woman standing in front of a cooking pot and the woman was humming a few seconds more cheerfully to herself. The woman turned away from the cooking pot and limped slowly toward her. When she came closer, Lindsay saw the woman´s dirty hair and dirty clothes. Her face was covered with innumerable warts and scars and her walking stick was as crooked as her back.
"You're awake," the old woman croaked. She now stopped directly in front of Lindsay and Lindsay could see the woman's skin was additionally covered with some kind of water spots.
"Where am I?", she asked and now she discovered a cage that hung in the upper corner of the room. In the cage sat a figure whose clothes were dirty, too. She was a young woman who had put her hands in despair at the bars of the cage and she was crying.
"What did you do to her?", Lindsay asked and continued to free herself from the shackles. She lay on a cold, hard ground.
"Please help me!", the young woman in the cage cried and at that moment the old woman stopped staring at Lindsay hungrily. She spun around, reached out to the cage and this was ripped into a thousand pieces by an unknown force. The young woman rushed screaming into the large cooking pot. The witch was limping back to the pot, stirring the liquid around and there was no sign of life of the girl. Then she returned to Lindsay with a goblet and a knife in her hand and freed Lindsay´s right arm from the shackles.
"If you don´t fight back, it will be less painful," she said with a raspy voice and put the knife on Lindsay´s wrist.

At the same time, Connor awoke form a microsleep when for one moment it felt as if he had heard a scream. He was still sitting at his desk. 10 minutes before he had called the local police and asked if they already had a track. Luckily, Sue was so reasonable and informed the police about Lindsay´s disappearance. Connor hated himself for he had fallen asleep because of exhaustion, after he, Jack, Sue and Peter couldn´t find Lindsay in the forest. He struggled to stay awake and find a solution where his wife could be.
Jack watched him very anxiously and like Connor, Sue was very tired. He sat down beside her. She just had ended a conversation with the FBI headquarters in Washington.
"I don´t like the idea of leaving you alone, but you should get some sleep. We won´t help Lindsay if we fall asleep."
"I'm not alone," she smiled at him, "Levi is with me."
"Yes, of course," Jack looked at Levi, who sat down in front of them, "Take good care of her," he said to the dog and Levi rubbed his nose with his right paw.
"See you," Sue whispered and left the Mobile Lab, accompanied by Levi. Jack watched them very worried. When Sue would disappear without a trace, too, he wouldn´t get through this for one second. Jack tried not to worry when he called Peter. Peter had just driven to town to check the hospital. Lindsay may have been already brought there but Peter didn´t have good news.
Half an hour later, Jack heard a noise at the door and Levi entered the Mobile Lab.
"How are you?", Jack wanted to know from Sue. Sue gave him a hug, but then she broke up a little.
"I'm fine, but is there any news?"
Jack shook his head slowly. "No, I'm sorry... You were sleeping for while?"
"No, I can´t. I´m sorry. I´m really worried about Lindsay. She´s my best friend", Sue said, "When we came here and joined this team, she was the only one who was friendly and appreciated my work from the beginning."
"Really? I didn´t get the impression that Connor..."
"Connor was very friendly, too," Sue had to admit, "But Lindsay´s my best friend. That's all I can say."
Jack took another look at Connor who was still sitting behind his desk. "We´ll find her. I promise you."
Sue nodded wearily. She also noticed how Connor was sitting behind his desk and his hand went through his hair in despair. She felt as if they would have to promise him to find his wife. Connor suddenly got up, grabbed his jacket and hurried to the door.
"Where are you going?", Jack asked.
"I need some fresh air!", Connor replied and when he reached the door, a Halloween garland broke. Furiously, he grabbed the pumpkin-colored paper streamer and tore it away. "I hate Halloween," he said, "I really hate it!"
Sue knew that wasn´t true. He liked Halloween because Lindsay was practically crazy about it and she remembered very well about the party in New York they had last year.
"Shall we come with you?", Sue suggested worried, but Connor explained he wanted to be alone. He was by himself on the terrace of the motel and walked up and down restlessly. The wind fought with the trees in the forest and created a sound that almost sounded like the howl of a wolf. Connor was helplessly fumbling in his jacket pocket. While he was in college, he had been smoking for some time and at this moment he would do everything for a pack of cigarettes, if only it would calm his nerves. Connor quit smoking almost 18 years ago, but now it was a good time to start again, he thought.
When he angrily kicked a stone off the terrace, he saw a little light in the forest. It flickered and then it was changing its color. "Connor," he suddenly heard a voice and he knew exactly who it was.
"Lindsay?", He almost shouted it out into the woods, but the voice didn´t reply. The light in the forest was gone.
Connor ran back to the Mobile Lab as fast as he could. "I know where she is!", he cried, "Sue, call the police... and an ambulance."
"But ..."
"I heard her voice!"
Jack now got up from the table where he sat at. "Are you sure?"
"I saw a light in the forest... and if you don´t believe me, stay here. But I'm looking for my wife", Connor grabbed a flashlight and left the Mobile Lab. He didn´t care if Sue and Jack didn´t believe him, but at least they should know where he had gone. Connor ran hastily through the woods, right in the direction from which the light had come from and after half an hour's walk, he arrived at a small, semi-dilapidated house. He wondered if this was one of the wooden huts that were already checked by Jack, Sue and Peter, but the smoke which came out of the chimney and the stench of burning flesh regarded him with suspicion.
Connor walked around the house until he found a door. He pushed the rotten wood aside and entered the room.
The beam of his flashlight flickered across the floor and finally the light hit something that looked like human feet. Connor came over and he actually saw a woman lying on the floor. Her skin was covered with small ice crystals, her eyes were wide open and she wasn´t breathing. "My God," Connor whispered and took a step backwards. He stumbled over something and when he turned around, there was another young woman lying on the floor.
When Connor´s flashlight shined across the room, he counted a total of ten young women. Everyone was frozen like ice and lying on the floor. But the room wasn´t cold, he realized. As he noted, one of the women had only one arm and he immediately remembered the severed arm, which was found in the woods by Levi.
He went to the next door and found himself in a slightly larger room that was lit by a fire. A large pot hung over the fire. The beam of the flashlight flickered across the room again.
"Lindsay!," he dropped the flashlight.
"Connor," she said his name relieved when he finally reached her, freed her hands from the shackles and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Then she began to cry and Connor asked her what was wrong.
"She´s a witch," she whimpered, "She´s evil... Did you already find the other young women?"
He nodded. "I found only ten of them."
"Connor, she eats these girls. First she kills them and then... then she throws them in her over-sized pot", Lindsay sobbed again and embraced Connor even more. He thought this sounded like a horror story, but when she added she had been watching, he grabbed her wrist. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, she didn´t touch me."
"Doesn´t look like this", he discovered the dirty bandage on her right wrist.
"I'm really fine", she wiped a tear away from her face.
"Where is she now?"
"I don´t know. She left."
"Don´t worry," he said when he hugged her firmly, "I'll get you out of here before you even get a blood poisoning... Can you walk?"
"Yes," she nodded and he helped her getting up. Then he put a hand on her shoulder. He noticed a dark, small figure standing in front of the door through which he had come in and Connor felt that Lindsay immediately hugged him tighter.
"She´s the witch," she whispered.
"You can´t take what´s mine," the voice croaked.
"What's yours?", Connor asked, "How can you even think one of the girls, who you've kidnapped, is yours?"
"So you found my pantry," the voice said.
"Get out of my way", Connor replied and the old woman looked at him with surprise. She hadn´t counted on contradiction. Connor made a step toward her and decided to use the element of surprise when he shoved her back into the fireplace. Then he grabbed Lindsay's hand and they both ran out of the house as fast as they could. Lindsay cried softly when her bare feet touched the muddy forest ground. She didn´t know why, but suddenly they stumbled and both fell to the ground. Probably they had stumbled because of the root of a tree.
"We have to run," Connor was breathing heavily. Both were dirty. The ground was wet and cold. Probably it started thawing in the night.
"I can´t," Lindsay sobbed exhausted and felt like Connor put a hand under her knees and another hand around her shoulders. Then he lifted her up and started running as fast as he could. "Hurry up", Lindsay whispered, who had her arms around his neck, "She´s coming closer." She could see a small figure, whose clothing was on fire.
Connor suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back and they fell to the ground again.
"You can´t take what's mine," the old woman said and Connor cried out in pain. Lindsay rushed to him, but he didn´t calm down.
"Let him go!", she cried, tears running down her face. He had come to save her and instead he suffered in unbearable pain now. "Leave him!"
Now Connor began to tremble and his hand with which he kept hers stiffened.
"Connor," Lindsay cried, hugged him tightly and suddenly it was over. She gasped for air. Connor and Lindsay tried to figure out why the witch might gave up and they saw how Jack was standing behind the old woman with a metal object, obviously the wheel cross, and hit her. Then the old woman fell to the ground and Jack saw the blood on her ear.
"Is she dead?", Sue asked excitedly. She hadn´t finished saying this, as the old woman's body dissolved into dust and only her skeleton was left.
"Ding Dong. The witch is dead, "Jack muttered then he and Sue went to Connor and Lindsay. Sue immediately reached for her cell phone to call an ambulance.
"Are you okay?", Jack asked and Lindsay nodded. She kept Connor in her arms and tears run down her face silently. "Fortunately, you followed me," Connor muttered relieved.
Sue took off her long coat and put it around Lindsay, who was freezing in her thin nightgown for sure.
After the ambulance had arrived, a doctor took care of Lindsay immediately: The paramedics put her on a stretcher, wrapped her in blankets and cared about her wound at the wrist.
"How do you feel?", Lindsay took Connor ´s hand worried, when the first analgesic showed its effects and she sank into the soft pillow of her litter. She noticed Sue and Jack came to her.
"I'm fine," Connor said, "Now that you're safe again."
"Did she hurt you?", Sue asked, looking anxiously at Lindsay's bandage, which had been renewed only a few minutes ago by the paramedics.
"She...", Lindsay swallowed hard, "She ate one of the young women while I was watching it... Before that she hurt me... and then she drank my blood."
Talking about this was hard and luckily the doctor now announced it was time to set up to the hospital. "I´ll accompany you," Connor said and Jack promised to get the car back to the Mobile Lab. The paramedics pushed Lindsay´s stretcher into the ambulance and Connor sat down beside her. They drove to the hospital together.

Connor visited Lindsay every day in the hospital. Physically she was fine, but Connor was very worried about her mental state. After she had gone through these terrible things, he had expected she wouldn´t let anyone get close to her, but he was glad she behaved normal. Peter also visited her every day. He reported about the results of their current case and Lindsay asked him why Connor didn´t talk to her about this. Then Peter asked her to try to understand him: after all, he almost lost his wife. Then she noticed Connors visits in a completely different way: It occurred to her he was with her as long as possible and he cared for her very touching. The worst were the nights, however: Since she returned, she was afraid of the dark and she almost begged Connor to stay with her. That's why he had already spent two nights by the bedside of his wife on a very uncomfortable chair. Sometimes she woke up at night, screaming and crying at the same time, because she again had a nightmare in which she was unable to escape the man-eating witch. Connor then lay down next to her, embraced her and then she was able to sleep quietly for the rest of the night. He wished he could free her from these nightmares, but he knew this wasn´t possible.
"How are you?", Connor asked anxiously.
"Thank you, it's all right. What about you?"
"Why do you ask? Do you need anything?"
"No, I am...", both were interrupted when suddenly the door of Lindsay´s room opened and Jack, Sue and Levi came in. Sue carried a bouquet of flowers and Jack had a gift. "How are you?", Sue asked and after she had hugged Lindsay she put the flowers in a vase.
"Thank you, I´m very fine," Lindsay reassured, "Connor is a great nurse."
"It's nice to hear this... By the way we brought you a gift," Jack said and put the package on the table. Lindsay thanked him again then Jack asked when the big day would take place. "What do you mean?", she didn´t understand and looked at Connor.
"When should we take time for your move? We´d be very happy to help... As far as I know you still have two different apartments. If you're married, you should live together in one apartment."
Lindsay suddenly laughed and Sue agreed. Jack, however, had no idea what was so funny.
"I suppose you are the expert in such matters, hm?", now also Connor asked when he handed his wife a glass of water and sat down beside her in bed. He liked Jack's idea, because a new home would certainly be good to get Lindsay distracted.
"No, but I know how things like this should be: you're in love, draw together, get married and...", Jack said and swallowed. For a moment, he seemed think about if he should...
"You don´t want to...!", Lindsay suddenly asked and pressed Connor's hands excitedly. Then Jack decided to take Sue's hand and didn´t kneel down. "Sue, I... Oh God, I don´t know where to start. Sue, the disappearance of Lindsay showed me life is too short to let it slip away... and you know I´ll be there for you forever and you know how much I love you and..."
"Oh my God!", Lindsay yelled excitedly and Jack stretched out to see her. "Shut up, Lindsay. I´m just trying to ask Sue if she wants to move in with me", Jack exclaimed and even though Lindsay was expecting a marriage proposal for Sue, she was delighted Jack asked at least if they wanted to live together. Jack now focused on Sue. "So? Do you want to move in with me?"
"Yes," Sue smiled, "I do."
"Very nice," Lindsay said, still excitedly.
"After our move is complete, we should help Jack and Sue," Connor said when he noticed Lindsay's questioning look, "What? After we´re married now, we should move in together and when this is done, we should think about the next step."
"What´s that in Jack's order?", she asked. Jack and Sue now left the room with Levi and so they wouldn´t be able to listen to what they were talking about. Maybe Sue could see it...
"Starting a family", he grinned and kissed her, "I mean, if you want."
"Yes," she nodded with a smile and couldn´t wait for the day on which she was allowed to leave the hospital, "I do."

Fin