Chapter 35

Thanks to everyone who's sticking with this story. Thanks too for taking the time to review. I look forward to hearing from all of you.

Sue went to Jack's for dinner. They sat on the couch eating Chinese food, picking out of takeout cartons to fill their dishes. As Sue put an egg roll onto her plate, she saw just the very tip of a fury tail glide by the coffee table. She watched carefully as she nibbled on her beef lo mein. Jack was too busy eating to notice Sue was preoccupied. Jack's hand lifted his chop sticks to his lips holding a piece of teriyaki beef. Out of nowhere, Faith jumped straight across him and snagged the piece of beef out of his grip for herself.

"Hey! You little rat!" Jack exclaimed. Sue couldn't stifle her giggle. Jack raised his eyebrow. "Oh, you think this is funny?" He asked. As Jack was scolding Sue, Hope stuck her paw up from under the table and stole a chicken finger from Jack's dish. Before he could stop her, it was gone.

"Hope!" He yelled, lunging at her. The girls hid under the chair across the living room as they shared their stolen meal.

"Oh, Jack…" Sue giggled. He glared at her, but quickly softened his stare when she smiled at him.

"What was I thinking with these two girls?!" Jack laughed. Sue giggled again.

"I don't know, but you'd better take your own advice about the seagulls… cover your meal and you should be fine!" Sue laughed reminding him of their trip to Virginia Beach.

Jack poked another piece of meat with a fork and looked around suspiciously. When he didn't see one of the girls near him, he felt it was safe to actually eat.

"You know these girls are a precursor to children." Sue said before she could stop herself. Her cheeks filled with color. Jack smiled. He finished his bite of food and covered his plate with a napkin. He leaned in gently and kissed Sue on the corner of her mouth.

"Speaking of… we do need to talk about things…" Jack said.

"Things?" She asked. "What things?"

"Yeah… well, where we're going to live, and…kids… Now that you've brought it up…" He began. He leaned in and caressed her jaw ever so lightly. He switched sides and kissed the other cheek and down to her jaw, then to her neck.

"Talk… th-this doesn't feel like talking." Sue stuttered.

"You're right…let's stop talking altogether." He said placing their plates on the table and grabbing her shoulders and holding her close as his mouth captured hers. His lips melded to hers, gently sucking on her bottom lip. Their mouths moved together in perfect rhythm. Their pace slowed, but the intensity of the kiss didn't. Jack's hand moved down her arm, and back up to her face. Jack's arms went around Sue, pulling her to him, tight against him. He didn't relent his hold, his passion for her. Shyly, her tongue grazed his bottom lips lightly. Jack didn't hesitate letting her in. They pressed forward, both wanting and needy. Sue broke the kiss, but Jack didn't give her any peace. He followed the gentle curve of her neck to her shoulder. He reached forward and unbuttoned the top button of her blouse. Sue jerked back and stopped his progress. It was Jack's turn to blush deep red. He instantly took her hands in his and looked her deep in the eye. Sue settled and let go of his hands. They resumed their former play of unbuttoning Sue's shirt. Her hands shook as they rested lightly onto of his. He leaned forward and kissed the spot that was revealed when he pushed the shirt over onto her shoulder. His feather like caresses trailed on the exposed skin. Sue's breath hesitated as it hitched in her throat.

"J-Jack…" Sue attempted to say.

"Hmmm?" He asked as his lips played on the goose bumps that appeared on her skin.

"I thought… umm, I thought you wanted…" She paused.

"Wanted what?" He asked.

"Ummm…" She thought. "I thought you wanted to talk? You said something about kids…" She asked, pushing herself back from him. Jack attempted to lean in and kiss her again, but she quashed his endeavor. "Ut uh." She said smiling at him. "What brought on this line of thought about kids?" Sue asked, a bit more nervous than she intended.

"Well, I figure… we're getting married pretty soon, and children are usually a part of a marriage… and, well…" He began to stammer.

"Jack?" Sue said, interrupting his nonsense ramblings.

"Sorry…" He smiled nervously at her, taking her hands in his. "I love you Sue. But I have to be honest with you." He paused. "I've never even considered any of this before you. None of it."

"Wow. It's weird how men and women are so different in some aspects." Sue said.

"How do you mean?" He asked.

"You've never thought about marriage and kids, on a serious note. I, on the other hand, had my wedding and all 14 of my children named by the time I was 8." She said smirking at him, trying to gauge his reaction.

"14?!" he nearly shouted. Sue couldn't contain herself and burst into a fit of laughter.

"In my defense, I was 8, and had no real thought of what it took to have one, never mind that many children, or raise them." She giggled.

"Oh, well… that's good." He said looking a little more relaxed.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them.

"Umm… so…you're…not still thinking 14, are you?" He laughed hoping she would say no. She was quiet for a long moment until she smiled. "Realistically, do you want kids?" Jack asked.

"Yes." She said quickly and quite easily. "You?"

"I do." He smiled softly at her.

"Good." Sue said as she visibly relaxed. "How many?" Sue asked. Jack stared at her, not sure how to answer that. He swallowed hard.

"Umm… I don't know." Jack said smiling a sexy smile at her. "You know, we could work on the first one, and see how it goes from there." He said leaning in and kissing her on the neck.

"Jack!" Sue said swatting him away. "You're horrible!"

"No. I'm in love with you. I'm attracted to you, and I want to be with you." He said with a serious look in his eyes. The lust in his eyes caught Sue off guard making her blush.

"Jack…" She began. He stopped her in her tracks with a kiss. It was soft and non-assuming.

"I love you Sue. I truly do. And I can wait." He said smiling as his lips touched hers once more.

"Three." Sue whispered.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Three. I think three kids would be nice." Sue said. "But, I would like to start with one, healthy one." Jack smiled and raised his eye brows. "After we're married!" Sue added as he was about to pipe in with another suggestive comment.

"Three? Hmm, three." Jack said as he thought about it. "Three could work for me." Sue smiled at him, happy they agreed on the children they might someday have.

"When?" Jack asked. "And, I know you said after we get married, but how long?"

"I- I don't know." Sue said thinking about it. "It's not like I've ever had to worry about that you know."

"We can play it by ear." Jack said nervously.

"Why do I get the feeling that's not really how you feel?" She paused. "Jack? If you're thinking something, please tell me." Jack was silent for another minute. "Do you even want children?"

"Yes!" He said, a bit too loud, a bit too fast. "Sue, I honestly want children. I want you to be their mother." He said, trying to reassure her.

"But?" Sue pressed.

"Well, I thought, maybe… well, maybe we could have some us time before we started talking about babies." He admitted.

"You're the one who brought it up!" Sue said defensively.

"I know. I don't mean actually talking about them, but having them in our lives." He said.

"Meaning what?" Sue asked, a knot forming in her stomach and a lump in her throat.

"Maybe we should talk about some kind of birth control for a few months?" Jack asked more than stated.

"Yeah. Maybe we should." Sue said fighting the pain in her chest from turning into tears.

"Sue." He started, but it was her undoing. She turned away from him quickly to hide her tear stained face from him. "Sue?" He called, turning her shoulder. He didn't have to see the streaks on her face to know she'd been crying. He pulled her into his arms. "How did this turn into a fight?" Sue pulled back from him, crunching her eyebrows together. "I said, how did this become a fight? I thought we were talking honestly about our future, and all of a sudden you're angry with me."

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I over reacted." Sue said giving him a wisp of a kiss on his lips.

Jack pulled her into his arms once again.

"Sue, I want to have babies with you… ever how many you want, is ok with me. I like the idea of three, actually. I just want to keep you to myself for a little bit, that's all. I'm sorry if that's selfish." Sue shook her head.

"It's not. I don't know what's wrong with me. I over reacted. I'm sorry." Sue said.

"OK, so, when do you think we should have kids?" Jack asked softly.

"I don't know, really. Until you kissed me I didn't think I would ever have kids." She said sadly.

"Why would you think that? You're incredible." He said.

"Jack, we both know that I've never been like every other woman you've ever dated…" Sue began.

"You're not. If you were, I wouldn't be marrying you." Jack said matter-of-factly. There was an awkward silence between them. Jack took her hand in his, entwining his fingers with hers. "So, my kiss did that huh?" He asked smiling. Sue blushed and kissed him gently. "Tell ya a secret… Your kiss made me want to have kids." He smiled kissing her in return.