Chapter 4: The Truth Comes Out

You trusted me to grow
I gave my heart
To show
There's nothing more
I cherish more
I stand by you
For sure

Sue smiled through her tears, reaching up to cover the hand that gently stroked her cheek. "I appreciate your support Jack but it's okay. I told you that I'm fine; he really didn't hurt me. I was just so scared he would, and it's painful to remember the way it felt."

Jack let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, but the concern he felt for her was written all over his face. "I'm so glad to hear that he didn't hurt you. But obviously he did something; I can see how upset you are."

"He did but it's not what you think," she said softly.

"Please, tell me. Put my mind at ease," he pleaded.

Sue nodded. "When I woke up I could feel him on the bed, laying behind me. He was holding me around the waist, and I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. I was petrified, and I was sure he was going to rape me." Her voice choked up a little, and Jack took her hands in his again, looking into her eyes as she continued.

"I tried to stay still and pretend I was asleep, but I think he knew I was awake, and I could feel his lips on the back of my neck. His hands were all over me." Jack felt an involuntary shiver run up his spine as she described what had happened. "I started to cry and begged him to stop, to just let me go. It was all I could do. I tried to get away from him, but he was too strong. His hands started to go under my clothes, and I tried to prepare myself for what was going to happen, praying it would be over soon."

Sue was crying again as she remembered, and Jack handed her a tissue so she could wipe away her tears. "It was the worst feeling I've ever had, Jack. I just felt so helpless," she said, shaking her head. "It made me angry that there was nothing I could do. I just kept telling him to stop. Begging him. Then all of a sudden he stopped touching me and moved off the bed. Then he left me in the dark."

"Thank God he did." Jack put his arm around her, rubbing her back as she wiped away more tears. The fact that Lamont had even touched her killed him, but at least he had backed off without taking it any further. It was odd though, Jack wondered why he had changed his mind and left her alone.

"Yes. God was definitely watching over me. I know I'm lucky that he stopped when he did. After that happened I only saw him two more times before you found me---he didn't touch me again, though."

"Did he talk to you at all, tell you why he'd taken you?"

"Only a little bit," Sue replied. "He said that he took me to show someone how it felt to lose what's most important. That this person deserved to know how Lamont himself had been feeling for the last three years. He wouldn't mention any names, though. I didn't realize it was you he was talking about."

Of course, why would she? Jack thought. It's not like the two of them were an item. Yet somehow, Lamont had assumed right and had observed something that wasn't even clear to Sue. "Apparently while Lamont was in prison his wife divorced him and he hasn't seen her or their daughter since he went in," Jack explained. "He said in his confession that he'd been angry with me the whole time he'd been locked up. When he saw us together he thought taking you would be the perfect revenge. Now do you see why I feel partly responsible for this?"

"Please don't blame yourself. No one is to blame for this except Lamont," Sue insisted.

"Well, we're going to make sure he goes to jail for a long time," Jack assured her. "He may not have hurt you physically but to lock you in a dark room so that you can't hear or see is just cruel," he said, his brown eyes flashing.

"It was bad," Sue agreed. "I prayed a lot, and I just tried to stay focused on my family and friends. I definitely had a lot of time to think about my life." She was looking into his eyes with such intensity for a moment, and then suddenly she looked away.

Jack reached over, gently touching her chin, and she looked up, her eyes meeting his again. "What is it, Sue?"

"It's nothing," Sue replied, then she sighed and continued. "It's just funny how it always seems like you've got all the time in the world---going through this reminded me that anything can happen at anytime." She looked meaningfully into his eyes as she spoke. "A few things became very clear to me while I was alone in that room." Sue averted her eyes again, and Jack wondered what she could possibly be referring to.

His heart fell as he saw the faraway look on her face. Suddenly Jack was sure that despite how close he felt to her right now, he was not the man in her thoughts. Sue's hands were folded in her lap, and Jack touched them again to get her attention.

"What became clear?" he asked, signing and speaking.

Sue looked at him, doubt clouding her features and then stared at her hands for a moment, hesitating to answer. "I've been unsure for a while about where my relationship with David was going, and when I had all that time alone to think about it, I realized what I really wanted. I've just been too scared to do what needed to be done," she finally said.

"David's a lucky guy," Jack said, and then he was the one looking away. He could feel his face getting warmer, and he realized he'd been a fool to think she wanted to be with him when obviously she was happy with David.

"David's a great guy." Sue said, putting a hand on top of his. Jack forced himself to look at her and saw that her eyes were shining with tears again, but this time she was smiling. "But I don't feel the same way around him as I do when I'm with you." Jack was momentarily speechless and just looked at her with raised eyebrows. She laughed softly at his reaction.

"Okay, that's not what I was expecting you to say. Not that it doesn't make me very happy to hear you say it," he said, feeling like his face was about to crack in two, he was smiling so widely.

"You've always been special to me, Jack, but when I was alone in that room, afraid that I might not come out of it, you were in my thoughts almost constantly. The idea that I might never be able to tell you how I feel was unbearable," Sue admitted.

"I felt the same way the whole time you were missing. You're an incredible person, and I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. If you hadn't mistakenly walked into my office that day..." Jack's voice trailed off; he didn't even like to think about how his life would be if she hadn't walked into it that day.

"I bet we would have met some other way," Sue said, nodding. "I think we were meant to meet."

"I think you're right," Jack responded. "Still, when you and Levi walked out of the room that day I had this overwhelming urge to run after you and ask you to dinner, but I told myself that it was silly. I mean, we'd just met...but there was just something about you."

"I guess I made quite the first impression; I was pretty worked up over my new job." She laughed softly, remembering how she'd taken out her frustration on Jack.

"You had a quite the fire in your eyes; I thought you were beautiful. You still are beautiful." Jack smiled at the soft blush that appeared on her cheeks. "I couldn't stop thinking about you all morning and wanted to kick myself for letting you walk out of there."

"So, it was no coincidence that you found me at lunch that day?" Sue asked, eyeing him with an amused expression.

"Well...I was betting you would be taking lunch there, since you were new to the bureau, but obviously I didn't know for sure. I'm really glad you were, though." He squeezed her hand, and she smiled at him.

"So am I," Sue said. Jack felt overwhelmed with everything she had told him and all of the emotions he was feeling as a result. First relief at finding out Lamont hadn't hurt her, then shock and happiness as he realized she had feelings for him, too.

They had so much to talk about, but Sue looked exhausted, and Jack knew that with all that had happened in the last few days, now wasn't the time to make any decisions about where things would go from here.

"Meeting you that day changed my life," she told him softly.

"It changed mine, too, definitely for the better," he said with an affectionate smile. Sue looked like she was going to cry again and suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug.

He hugged her back fiercely, trying to forget how he'd felt while she was missing and instead thought about how wonderful it felt to hold her in his arms again. Sue sighed, and Jack felt her relax in his arms. He inhaled the sweet smell of her hair and wished he could somehow freeze this moment, what seemed like a perfect moment in time.

Sue pulled away from him suddenly just as Jack heard the front door close. He noticed Levi had put his paw on Sue's leg, letting her know that Lucy was home. They locked eyes for a moment, and Jack saw slight disappointment on Sue's face that he was sure mirrored his own.

Lucy walked into the room, eyed the two of them with a sort of suspicious amusement and then smiled brightly, almost as though she had been privy the conversation they had just shared.

"Hey you two," Lucy said brightly. "I managed to get out of there earlier than I thought, so I brought us some food." She was carrying bags of Chinese takeout, and Jack felt his stomach grumble as the smell of the food hit his nostrils.

"Smells good," Sue commented, smiling at their friend as she and Jack rose to their feet.

"Well, I know it's your favorite, and I figured you could use some yummy food right now. You seem to be doing better though, how was your afternoon?" Lucy asked, sounding relieved.

"I'm doing okay. We had a good talk," Sue replied, glancing at Jack with a smile. "I think it really helped me to talk about it with someone I trust."

"I'm glad. And you know we can talk until the wee hours tonight if you need to. I'm here for you, too." Lucy gave Sue a hug.

"I know, thanks Lucy," Sue said when they'd pulled apart. She turned to Jack. "Are you hungry?" she asked him.

"Starving," he replied, rubbing his tummy. "Do you even have to ask? Let's eat."

They both giggled at him, and the three of them went to work unloading the food onto the table. As they ate Lucy filled them in on some of what they'd missed at work that day, including the office gossip. Now that Sue was back Lucy had returned to her normal, boisterous self.

"Tara and Stanley are going out tonight, dinner and a movie," she told them, then sighed dreamily. "It sounded so romantic when Tara was telling me about it---I just knew things would work out with those two..."

Jack smiled at Sue, rolling his eyes, and she grinned back at him. Lucy didn't miss the exchange and raised her eyebrows.

"What?" she asked, gazing suspiciously at both of them.

"Oh, it's nothing," Jack replied. "I just get a kick out of how much you enjoy playing matchmaker."

"Well I'm pretty good at it, if I do say so myself," Lucy declared. "I know a good match when I see one." She eyed the two of them with a big smile on her face and took a bite of her food. If Lucy had known what Jack and Sue had been discussing before she'd come home she would likely have been feeling pretty smug at the moment. Lucy hadn't been very subtle in the past in her efforts to get the two of them together--she'd be thrilled to know that they weren't going to fight their feelings any longer.

"We went to visit Howie today, after we left the office," Sue said, attempting to change the subject.

"Oh good. How's he doing?" Lucy asked, between mouthfuls.

"A lot better," Jack supplied. "He's being released in the morning. His doctor said he's pretty lucky to come out of this as quickly as he has."

"I still don't understand why Lamont involved Howie in this," Sue said, shaking her head. "When I met him outside the restaurant that day I could tell by the look on his face that something was wrong. Then a split second later Lamont was forcing me into the van."

"That scumbag has a lot he's going to have to answer for," Jack muttered under his breath.

Sue shook her head, a confused expression on her face. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"No, I'm sorry--I was mumbling. I just said that Lamont has a lot to answer for." Jack was planning on getting some of those answers out of Lamont very soon. Sue and Lucy both eyed him curiously, but Jack knew he couldn't get into it with them, not while the feelings were so raw. They would probably try and talk him out of going to see Lamont, thinking he may lose his temper...it wasn't far from the truth either. Jack was determined to get answers one way or another.

When it came to someone he cared about deeply, he wasn't about to mess around. He needed to be sure Lamont wasn't going to have someone else carry out his vendetta against Jack while he was back behind bars.

You OK? Sue signed, when his eyes met hers again.

He nodded with a smile, trying to hide his inner turmoil. She could read him well and didn't look convinced. "I should probably get going, though. I've got a few things to take care of tonight. Plus, I'm going into the office early tomorrow."

"But tomorrow's Saturday, and I'm sure they can manage without you. There aren't any big cases on the go, right?" Sue pointed out.

"I wasn't planning on working all day but I'm going to make an appearance...unless you need me for something?" Jack asked, trying to keep a neutral expression for Lucy's benefit.

Lucy was grinning broadly as she watched the exchange.

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could do lunch...or something," Sue said hesitantly. "If you think you'll be done by then."

"Sounds great. Why don't I pick you up around 11:30---okay if I choose the restaurant?" Jack asked her.

Deal, Sue signed with a nod. Lucy chuckled softly to herself as she stood up, clearing the table of empty containers. Jack chose to ignore her reaction, knowing that she and Sue would probably be discussing things after he left. He'd happily stay out of that discussion for now and leave the women to their girl-talk. In a way, he was glad that they'd have something to distract them from the topic of Sue's kidnapping, even if the distraction happened to be Jack himself.

Once the three of them finished clearing the table Jack said good-bye to Lucy, thanking her for dinner, and then Sue walked with him to the door.

"Thanks for the shoulder, Jack. It means a lot just knowing that you're here for me."

"Always," Jack replied, pulling her into a hug. He suddenly felt greedy, wishing he could stay and just hold her like this all night. It wasn't possible though, he had something he needed to take care of, plus he knew that she and Lucy needed to spend some time together too.

It would hardly be fair of me to try and keep her all to myself, he thought with a smile. Jack loosened his grip on her but kept one arm around her waist. With his other hand he reached over, gently brushing aside her bangs, and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

When Jack backed away from her she had a look of surprise on her face, but it was quickly replaced with a look of happiness. She didn't say anything, though, just reached over and took his hand in hers. The look in her eyes said more than enough.

He smiled at her, loving the fact of how natural it felt to hold her hand. "Call me if you need anything, okay? Otherwise I'll see you tomorrow for our lunch date."

"Yes. I'm looking forward to it," Sue replied. Jack grinned at her, giving her hand a squeeze before he let go. They both said goodnight, and as Jack walked away from the apartment he knew what he would be thinking about when he went to question Lamont. He would be picturing how happy Sue had looked seconds ago---so young, strong, and beautiful. She was so full of life. He was going to make sure Lamont never put that life, or any other, danger again.