Going to be a bit before I can post again. I generally come up with the new chapters for the week over the preceding weekend; then I proofread, edit, and change completely (if I need to), and post the chapters during the week. Therefore, don't expect new chapters between Friday and Sunday. Thanks for your understanding :).

She leaned back with a sigh, and a brilliant smile on her face as she looked at him. Thank you God. I have my man back again.

As wonderful as it was to wake up to Sue's face and be kissed by her, he rapidly became aware of the pain in his chest and side that she had distracted him from. He grimaced, and she immediately leaned forward, concern written on her face. "What is it Jack?" He grinned wryly.

"Well, I did just get shot." He winced again as he tried to shift slightly. "Guess the drugs are wearing off." He grimaced again, but tried to shrug it off. To distract himself, he turned to Sue.

"What happened yesterday? I remember the raid, clearing rooms," his face clouded, "getting shot and not being able to breathe...then it goes dark and I woke up to your beautiful face. So what happened?"

Sue looked like she was ready to cry remembering it. "You had a .45 caliber pistol round that blew through your vest. It ricocheted off your rib and took a crazy path right along your lung, but didn't puncture it. It left between two of your ribs in your side. You had a sucking chest wound... I... we thought we were going to lose you. The path of the bullet is little less than a miracle."

Jack looked at her, his mind going over what she had said. "A pistol round went through my vest? How?" Sue grimaced this time. "It was a missed recall. There was a step missed in manufacturing and the folks in inventory never grabbed that vest. D is investigating."

Jack grinned mirthlessly. "I wouldn't want to be the one responsible. D is going to kill them."

Sue smiled brightly at him. "Isn't it nice to know you are taken care of by your family away from your family?"

Jack smiled gently. "Particularly by the blond haired beauty in front of me." Sue leaned down to kiss him. When she pulled back, she saw Jack looking over to the door and blushing furiously. The nurse that had chased everyone else out was standing there with a pan in her hand and a broad smile on her face. "Hello Handsome." She winked at Sue. "Handsome's girl, I'm Eleanor. Gauging by the paleness of your face and the grimace, Jack, your painkillers have worn off. I'm here to give another dose."

She moved briskly, yet gently around the room as she pushed additional drugs into the IV. "You'll drop off shortly, so tell your lady goodnight and let her get some sleep." She looked significantly at Sue, who nodded. Eleanor nodded in return and left rapidly. Jack grinned tightly at Sue, waiting for the drugs to take effect.

"Always figured that the first time I shared a room with you, I would also be sharing the bed." Sue smiled shyly back and blushed deeply, stroking his cheek gently. "Get healthy, my dearest. There will be time." Jack's eyes began to glaze and droop.

"I love you, Sue. Know that. I love you with my whole heart..." Sue leaned over him. "I love you just as much, Jack." She kissed him softly, pulling back only when she felt him go limp, sleeping deeply. She smiled at him, kissed his forehead and went to sleep, dreaming of laying in his arms through the night.

Sue woke and stretched luxuriously. That's when she realized that there was a cold, wet nose shoved into her ear. She let out a loud squeak and pulled back, looking accusingly at Levi. "You can't let me sleep at all, can you?" That's when she realized that she wasn't at home. She was in a hospital room on a cot, and Jack was in the bed in the middle of the room. He snored lightly. Then she realized that there was a tall man in the room, leaning over Jack. She shot out of bed, "Hey!"

Bobby turned to her, grinning. "Easy there tiger, I'm not going to hurt him. I just wanted to make sure he was alright. He looks much better than he did yesterday." He winked at her. "A little lovin' does a lot to help a man to heal." Sue blushed, but she responded cheekily, "I'm doing my part to help him. Now you can do yours." Bobby raised an eyebrow. "I ain't kissin' him." Sue laughed and handed Levi's leash to him. "Go walk Levi."

Bobby grinned, but didn't take the leash. "Sue, you need to get out a bit. Jack won't go anywhere, and the nurse that I spoke to said that he wouldn't be waking up for another hour and a half to two hours. Go walk your doggie, get a shower, a cup of coffee, and then get back here. I'll look after him until then. After he wakes up, I'll head back to the office." His grin slid away. "We need to make sure that Abdul wasn't working with anyone else. You hear about what Myles found in the room during the raid?"

Sue shook her head. "No, I haven't. I was...preoccupied." Bobby nodded, "Naturally. Myles found 30 lbs of high explosives, wired and ready to rock. He failed to remember that current needs a return path to make a circuit. It's a good thing too, otherwise none of us would have made it back." Sue's mouth dropped open, horror in her eyes. I almost lost them all...

Bobby looked at her and laughed grimly. "We've made a name for ourselves as the best unit in the FBI. He left a note stating that he was killing all of us to open up things for other terrorists to work. He played us like a fiddle, becoming a serial killer to lure us in, and let it slip that he was going to commit a terror attack...just not where. We need to make sure that he's all there is." After a second he, quite unnecessarily, added "Oh, and he died." Sue nodded. She expected, especially since Bobby and Myles were in the room with Jack. She didn't expect anyone to survive who shot one of those three when the other two were in the room.

Bobby stood briskly. "Now get out of here, Ms. Thomas, and get ready for the day. The bag in the corner is courtesy of Lucy, with clothes, books, cards, etc." When Sue stood there for a second, Bobby flapped his arms at her "Shoo! Shoo!"

Sue giggled and said over her shoulder, "I'm not a pigeon. I'll walk out instead of fly."

In an hour and a half she was cleaned, groomed, caffeinated, and ready for the day. So was Levi, minus the caffeine. She skipped happily back into the hospital, drawing many a bewildered gaze, and walked into Jack's room. Bobby glanced up, a hand straying to his hip, then relaxed when he saw it was her. "Howdy Sue. All ready for a day of Jack-sitting? He may just wake up some time today." Sue grinned at him. "Don't worry, I'll say good morning for you."

Bobby returned the grin. "Right...I'm sure you will remember that when you kiss him good morning." He winked as Sue blushed. "I'm off to the office. If you need anything, give us a call." With a hug, Bobby walked out. Sue settled in with her cup of coffee and a book, while Levi settled in next to her with a huff. In a bit, Jack began to stir. Sue, who had been watching him with one eye, closed her book and walked over to him. Leaning over, she began to kiss him gently, bringing him fully to wakefulness. He began to respond, but when he started to lift a hand to pull her closer, he winced at the pain in his side that it caused. Sue felt it and broke the kiss, leaning back slightly with a concerned look on her face.

"Jack, are you ok?" She felt foolish immediately after asking. No Sue, he's just been shot. He's not going to feel good. Jack grinned at her sheepish smile. "Sue, I fell asleep to your kiss, and woke up to your kiss. Life doesn't get a whole lot better than that." He laughed, and winced, slightly. "Well, for having been on death's door last night, I'm feeling pretty dang good. I'm actually thirsty, and kinda hungry. But I'm going to have to see if there's a fine nurse to push something for me, cause this kinda hurts."

Sue smirked at him and began to tease him, but the worry was still in her eyes. She hated to see him in pain. "Wuss. And women go through childbirth without pain meds without complaining." Jack raised an eyebrow. "Right, without complaining. Just killing their husband's hands, and threatening them if the man ever touches them again." Sue grinned. "Yup!"

Jack rolled his eyes. Sue leaned down again, and pressed her lips to his. He moaned softly, but she felt it against her lips and grinned into the kiss. She pulled back just enough to be able to focus on his eyes. "I never get tired of kissing you." Jack smiled with the eyebrow still raised. "Even with morning breath?" "Even then." She kissed him again, running a hand along his jaw line and down his neck, drawing a sharp intake of breath from Jack. She pulled back and stood up straight, stretching her back. "You need to get back on your feet. It's going to kill my back to keep bending over to kiss you."

Jack grinned, then his eyes shot over to the door and he blushed. Sue followed his gaze and saw Eleanor standing there with a tray with food and a box of what was likely medical supplies. "I said the bed is adjustable, and when does he get better it can support two people." Eleanor said with a wink. "Alright Jack, let's get some pain meds in you, then you need to eat and drink. Have you eaten Sue?" She made sure to face Sue enough so that she could read the words. Sue was touched, not many people tried to, let alone treated her like she was normal.

"Yes, I picked something up this morning when Bobby was here. Oh, Jack, Bobby said to say good morning. And tell him I remembered to tell you that." Jack looked at her questioningly and nodded. Sue didn't elaborate. Bobby probably would anyways, and she didn't want to be teased just yet about forgetting to tell Jack until someone else had brought it back into her head.

Eleanor gave Jack some narcotics to take and a glass of water. "It'll hurt to swallow for a bit, hon. Just muscle through it, then wait for 20 minutes for it to take effect. Then you should be able to eat without too much discomfort." She drew back from them both and smiled. "You two are so cute, I love it! Reminds me of my hubby and I when we were your age. Anyways, if you need anything, just ask. I'm going to be leaving soon, as I just pulled a double shift. Barbara is going to be your nurse until about 7 pm, and then Monica overnight, then I'll be back Saturday at 7am. Any questions?"

"Yeah, is there daily mass here? Umm...where is here, actually? I don't know what hospital I'm in." Jack said sheepishly. "Oh, hon, you're in St. Thomas Aquinas hospital. Yes, there is daily mass, and yes, I'll put your name on for them to bring Jesus to you each day if you can't make it. The chaplain always brings Him around after mass. This afternoon, depending on how you feel, we might be able to get you up there for mass. I'll talk to Barbara."

"St. Thomas Aquinas hospital, eh? One that I haven't been in before. Anyways, thank you Eleanor. I appreciate everything that you've done for me, and for Sue. It means a lot." "No problem, Jack. Just get better so that you can save your young lady's back." She gave them both a wink and a smile and excused herself.

Jack smiled at Sue. "I like her. She's fun." He took a breath. "Anyone call my parents yet?" Sue nodded. "Yes. They will be around lunchtime...so about 3 hours." Jack grinned a little wider.

"Of course they are. Can't figure that I can get better without them being right here. But you'll get to meet them, which is great. Oh, Sue..." He had noticed that she began to look nervous as he spoke about his parents. "They will love you. Just give them a chance to actually get to meet you, and you will see that. Relax, sweetheart." She smiled slightly, and he raised an eyebrow at her. "You just don't ever do as you're told, do you?"

She grinned impishly at him. "Nope." He returned it. "Just you wait until I'm back on my feet." She leaned over to kiss him again. Then she settled into her chair next to his head and handed him a book as she picked up her book. "Read for the next 15 minutes. Then eat. Then take a nap if you can. I'll wake you when your parents get here."

Jack smiled at her. "Bossy little thing, aren't you." "When you're hurt, yes. I want what's best for you, so I'll give the orders." Jack felt like the smile was pasted permanently on his face. He may have been hurt, but he'll live, and he has his love by his side just reading. Oh, how he loved that they could just sit and be with each other, reading. It was something that he had dreamed that he would have one day since he was 16, watching his mom and dad do the same. It sounded silly, and he knew it, but it made him more than happy.

"Yes dear." She laughed. "Now you're getting it."