Chapter two!
Sue is now getting acquainted with the Hudsons (moreso Samuel). At 10:30 at night. Haha.
I own nothing.
They'd settled in the living room, Sue, Heather and Levi on the couch and Jack and Sam in the adjacent chairs.
"So, Sue," Sam began, and Jack groaned at the glint in his father's eye. "Tell us about working with Ja—I mean at the FBI."
Sue shot Jack a glance before clearing her throat and asking, "Um, what would you like to know?"
"Oh, the usual," Sam reassured casually. "You know: coworkers, cases, that kind of thing."
Sue frowned. "I would think you already know our coworkers, and we're not really supposed to talk about cases…"
"So no new coworkers?" Sam asked, glancing at Jack.
"Nope," Jack replied. "Sue's the newest recruit, and that was a few years ago."
"Oh?" Sam asked, looking at Sue. "You're the rookie?"
"She's not a rookie anymore, Dad," Jack argued, smiling at Sue.
"I had a good training agent," Sue replied, her smile even wider than Jack's.
Jack saw his father looking back and forth between them, but ignored the action, instead clearing his throat and agreeing, "I suppose you did."
"Jack trained you in, did he?" Sam asked, his eyebrows rising.
Sue nodded slowly, looking curiously at the older man.
Didn't he already know this stuff? After all, Sue had been working with Jack for nearly five years…
"How was that? He wasn't too hard on you, was he?" Sam asked, smiling.
Jack chuckled and gave Sue a pointed stare before he replied, "She caught on pretty quickly."
"He said what needed to be said when it needed to be said," Sue put in, smiling slightly.
Jack blinked. He hadn't seen that one coming. He wasn't even sure where Sue had gotten that phrase, but it fit.
"I hear you two went undercover…" Sam grinned, throwing a wink at Jack, who groaned.
"Dad, have you been talking to Bobby again?"
"That was… a couple of years ago," Sue frowned, looking at Jack in confusion.
"Bobby may have mentioned it a few days ago…" Sam confirmed with a smile, continuing immediately, "So, how did that go?"
He glanced at Jack before looking at Sue again. "I assume Jackson was a gentleman? If he wasn't, I may have to teach him a lesson…"
Sam winked, and Sue glanced at Jack, who rolled his eyes and signed, He likes to tease.
Sue nodded slightly, her gaze focused on Sam as she replied, "Let's just say he wouldn't be my last choice of…"
She paused and cleared her throat, stroking Levi's head as the Hudson men exchanged glances.
Jack motioned for Levi to get Sue's attention again and tilted his head when her eyes met his.
"Last choice of what?" he probed, narrowing his eyes.
"Nothing," Sue assured him, clearing her throat again and keeping her eyes on Levi.
Jack sighed, dropping the subject for the moment and turning to his mother.
"So, what's new with you guys?"
Conversation continued in that direction for a while, and around midnight, soon after Heather and Sam had gone to bed, Sue began to yawn.
Levi had already fallen asleep with his head on her lap not long before, and Jack had to smile at the picture they presented.
Sue frowned at him sleepily, asking, "What?"
"I think you need to go to bed," Jack replied with a small smile.
"I'm fine," Sue insisted halfheartedly, yawning again.
"Don't make me carry you…" Jack warned, a smile playing at his lips as he pointed a finger at her.
Sue sighed. "I may just fall asleep right here."
Jack chuckled, smiling. "Well, I guess my parents being up early making noise in the kitchen won't affect you as much as it would me…"
Sue smiled back, nodding in agreement. "I guess not."
Jack stood up from his chair, stopping next to the couch as he left the room.
"I'm going to bed. You can stay up for a while if you want to, or just fall asleep right there if it works for you."
Sue smiled up at him tiredly, and he had to fight the urge to kiss the sleepy expression off of her face as he informed her, "If you need anything, my room's the one right across the hall from yours, the second one on the left."
Sue nodded, stroking a sleeping Levi's back. "Thanks."
"No problem," he smiled turning to leave the room, only to be stopped by Sue's hand on his arm.
Turning, he found Sue signing thank you with a very serious look on her face.
"I appreciate this. All of it," she whispered, and Jack settled his hand on top hers, smiling as he repeated, "No problem. And I mean that. My parents love you just as much as I—the team does."
His eyes went wide at his slip-up, but he corrected himself, hoping Sue hadn't noticed.
He cleared his throat before he signed good night and headed for his room.
Time: Bah. A couple of hours?
Words: 818
Influences, Borrowed Ideas, and Other Random Crap:
Definitely the Pilot and Newlywed Game. A few others, probably.
