A/N: A special thanks to AgentAussie, cheliosfan, scifiromance and worrybugger for all wonderful reviews!

And now... another chapter. Enjoy! :)

25.

It was strange, being in his arms like this, strange but still nice, really nice. When he held her, she surprisingly didn't feel any worries. She didn't flinch, when his hand tenderly stroked her back, as Sue did every time another man touched her. There weren't a lot of them anyway… Besides her brothers and father, the other people, she allowed to do it was her doctor and Bobby, when she got used to him. The touch of the rest, even if unintended, made her feel scared. Jack's touch, on the other hand, turned out to be… natural. She's never felt anything like this before, ever since the beginning of their acquaintance, but now, in his arms, she was simply home. What was more, this thought filled her heart with a real hope for the future. Because if she didn't have the problem with the physical closeness now, then when the times comes, she will not be petrified by fear during her wedding night? Jack, as her husband (or actually a FUTURE husband), had a right to her. He earned the right to make love to his wife, and the truth was that Sue didn't really think about this moment as only about her marriage duty. At least not when it came to this exact man. A part of her actually awaited the moment with a quiet excitement and… curiosity.

Her first sexual experience was horrible, dirty and Miss Thomas thanked God that she couldn't remember this moment, even if it left this fear somewhere deep in her subconscious. With Jack, however, she wanted to feel what it was to become one with another person, to connect with them in the most intimate way possible. Physically she was fully a woman, but she was robbed out of the magical moment, when she should become one thanks to the man, who she chose, loved and married, and the blonde really wished for her future union with Hudson to at least a little compensate (for both of them) the loss, to wipe out what THAT man did.

She really wanted to be a good wife for Jack, a wife, who as him, could enjoy all the aspects of the married life. She wanted to be… normal.

What if, despite this, she wasn't going to be like this?

"You think too much, Sue." spoke the brunet, gently lifting her chin with his finger, so she would look at him.

Holding her close, he practically felt her internal battle, her dilemmas, and he didn't need to be a genius in psychology to understand, what was going around her mind. "Relax. Stop wondering what will happen." he convinced with a soft smile on his face. "We'll cross this bridge, when we reach it. Together." he added, gentry but insistently.

When she didn't answer, just looked at him uncertainly, he continued:

"Sue… I know that what you've been through has really affected your existence, your personality, but I want to tell you that it doesn't change the way I see you, and does not determine my decision." he said. "I want to be with you and Andy. No matter how long it's going to take for us to match. We have our whole lives for that, a lot of years together. I'm patient, Sue." he whispered. "I can wait for you for a very long time, and even if you never feel that you're ready for that kind of intimacy, that's okay. I'm not one of those men, who live for sex and treat their wives as a sexual thing." he said and she blushed. "I respect women. I also respect you. Your comfort and needs are as important to me as mine." he assured and added warmly: "I'm sure that there is a marriage somewhere there, in the world, who doesn't share it and they're still happy and satisfied. If that's God's will, we'll be one of those." he finished, really touching her.

"Jack…" she spoke quietly. "I… You don't deserve something like this, a person with my problems. You're worth so much more!" she protested.

"Sue…" he interrupted softly. „Stop, please! We've already talked about it and I made it clear what I think about it. If you're still worried about it, then I'll tell you what I deserve…" he said with determination in his voice. "I deserve an honest, clever, gentle, good, loving and faithful woman, and it happens that I've found all those traits in the one, who I look at right now. I want to be with you because you're the way you are. I want to be with you, because you're different than the women I know, and especially different than my ex-wife, who showed me just a façade, which we wanted to see for so many years, hiding her true self, while you openly show what is in your heart. I want to be with you…" he continued. „… because you put others in front of you and you're the least selfish person I know. I only regret that we didn't meet earlier, before Allie and I became a couple, before that man hurt you like that... I know, I feel that it would all be different then." he said with a fire in his eyes. "Do you know what I feel, when I look at you?" he asked warmly.

"N-No." she said embarrassed.

"Home, Sue." he answered. "I feel at home when you're next to me." he added. "Funny that I didn't feel this way when I first got married." he smiled, wincing. "Actually, I didn't even think about it, then. Not until I met you. Today I know what it's like and the thought, that it's going to be like this when we get married fills me with wamrth, happiness and peace. I've finally found my place on the Earth, Sue. I won't give it up for anything. A potential celibat is a relatively small price for this feeling." he stated.

"You speak like this now, but you're a man, Jack. You've got your needs and as a wife, I should fulfil them." she whispered, as red as it was only possible. "I owe you that!"

"You don't owe anything to anyone!" the brunet exclaimed. "Don't you understand? You give me more than I could dream about, Sue. You give me everything I need by just being here. The rest are just additions. Be with me. Just be with me. I don't demand anything else, I won't demand anything else. That's something I can promise and I do." he whispered.

For a moment, she didn't say anything. She just watched him with those deep hazel eyes, which found such a deep place in his heart, and then just snuggled to him again and mumbled:

"I still think that you're worth more, Jack, but if it's your will to burden yourself with such a defective good as I am, I can't prevent you. I can only promise, that I'll try my best. For you. For us. For our family."

Hudson sighed heavily, hugged her tightly and made her look into his eyes again.

"For me, you aren't and has never been a defective good, Sue. You'll believe me one day." he said. "Until then, understand that you're the only woman, who I want to be with. You're my woman, even if only on the paper." he added, making her blush deepen.

She felt a warmth in her body, when she saw those words, but because of her shyness she wasn't able to answer. So she just hid the burning face in the crook of his neck and felt relieved, when Jack hugged her again.

Soon after he started to shake strangely, so she curiously looked up and saw his smiling face.

He was laughing.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"I have just imagined our parents' faces, when we tell them about the wedding." he said playfully.

"Oi!" the blonde moaned, thinking about the reaction of her mother and the rest of the family, but it was just a moment later that she started laughing as well.

One thing was certain, it was going to be a very interesting conversation…

TBC