Sue was pretty sure she was dying. Well, either that or she was very, very close. She hadn't moved from the couch since she had woken up. A half finished cup of tea rested on the coffee table and there was a growing pile of tissues surrounding her. She sneezed fiercely, causing Levi to look to her with concern.
"I'm okay, boy," she muttered and sneezed again. "Okay, maybe not." As a testament to how sick she was feeling, not only was Levi on the couch, he was laying sprawled on top of her. Sue didn't mind, really, because he was keeping her warm. She grabbed the remote and channel surfed for a while, trying to find something to hold her interest.
Suddenly, Levi sprang up and started barking. "What is it?" Sue asked. "Is someone here?" Levi jumped off the couch and headed for the door. Sue sat up, but she moved to quickly and got dizzy. She fell back onto the couch, sighing. "Come in!" she yelled and hoped that whoever was coming in was friend and not foe. Levi came trotting back into the room looking happy, so Sue knew it must be someone he knew. Before long, Jack came into focus as he made his way into the apartment. Sue tried to sit up again, embarrassed that he was catching her looking so miserable, and this time managed to stay in an upright position.
Jack waved hello and set some bags down on the kitchen counter as Sue did her best to gather up the tissues and stick them in a bag on the floor. He came over and sat next to her on the couch, reaching out to feel her forehead. "How are you feeling?" he signed.
"Okay," Sue said, and saw the look of disbelief in his eyes. "Well, I have definitely been better. What are you doing here?" she asked as she pulled her blanket up further on her chest.
"I heard you were sick," he said, "and that Lucy was out of town. I wanted to make sure you were alright."
"You didn't have to do that, Jack," Sue replied, but inwardly she was pleased.
"Hey, it's nothing. Slow day at the office anyway."
She smiled sweetly at him and then sneezed. She blew her nose and leaned back on the couch with her eyes closed. "Sorry."
He lightly touched her shoulder getting her attention. "Don't worry about it. Are you hungry? I brought supplies," he said standing. "Chicken soup, crackers, tea, decongestant, more tissues…"
Sue signed "thank you," then spoke, "I'm okay, and I don't want to put you out. You probably have to get back to the office."
Jack smiled. "I can leave if you want me to, but I don't think the rest of the gang is expecting me back. Besides, I think they can handle one afternoon without me."
"One afternoon? I think they could handle more than that." Sue responded with a grin. She looked down for a moment, thinking, then met Jack's eyes again. They were such nice eyes… She felt herself blushing and fought to regain control. "Actually, if you don't mind risking infection, it would be nice if you could stay for a while."
Jack beamed and Sue knew she gave him the answer he wanted to hear. "Good," he sighed, "that's settled. Are you hungry?"
"Not really."
"How about some tea, then?"
"That would be great." Sue moved to stand, but Jack stopped her by gently pushing her back down onto the couch. He swung her legs around so she was lying down. "You need to rest. I may be a bachelor but I can manage to boil water. Don't move," he said, signing the last phrase for emphasis.
Sue saluted in return. "Yes, sir!" Smiling, she picked up the remote and resumed channel surfing while Jack busied himself in the kitchen. "I could get used to this," she thought.
Jack returned a few minutes later, setting two cups of tea and a small plate of cookies on the table. "They're anisette sponge cookies," he said, spelling out the phrase at her puzzled expression. "My mother would never forgive me if I served you tea without them."
Jack helped himself to one and sat next to Sue, who had propped herself up. "They're really good," she said, enjoying the treat. "And the tea is perfect."
"Fortified with Vitamin C."
"How thoughtful. Seriously, Jack, thank you. I didn't really like the idea of being alone all weekend long." At this Levi nuzzled Sue and moaned. "Well, alone except for you, of course," she said and patted his head.
"I understand what you mean. There's nothing worse than being sick and having no one to take care of you," he hesitated for a moment as his thoughts traveled to David and the question he'd been dying to ask.
Sue, picking up on his body language asked, "Jack? Everything okay?"
"Yeah," he replied, setting down his cup of tea and feeling slightly embarrassed. He always forgot how much attention Sue paid to body language. "I was just wondering…" he began, unintentionally turning away from her as he continued. She touched his arm and he turned back to face her. "Sorry."
"What did you say?"
"I was just wondering where David was."
"Oh…" For some reason the question surprised Sue, but she wasn't sure why. There was something about the look on Jack's face, like he was afraid the answer she was going to give was not going to be what he wanted to hear.
"We broke up," she said slowly.
It was Jack's turn to be surprised, and by the look of relief that seemed to wash over him, Sue figured her intuition had been right – and he was happy with her answer.
"I'm sorry," Jack said, gathering his thoughts. "Want to talk about it?"
Sue shrugged. "There's not much to say. We broke up a while ago. It was a combination of a lot of things: my job, his business taking up more of his time… In the end he said he felt like I had lost interest, that I seemed distracted when we were together. And I think he was right. He's still a good friend and we're both happy with that. No hard feelings."
"Wow, wish all of my relationships ended that well."
"Not all of mine have, either. I think it made it easier because we were friends first."
"You done?" Jack asked, pointing to her cup of tea. Sue nodded and Jack took the cup from her and set it on the coffee table. He was enjoying having such a nice personal conversation with Sue. They didn't get to do this often. He settled back on the couch, facing her. "I think the friend thing can make it harder. Like with Ally. We never talk any more."
This piqued Sue's interest. She had been wondering about Ally almost as much as Jack had been wondering about David. "What happened?" she signed.
"I don't know, really," he paused. "Well, you know we started dating again after my heart thing." He couldn't bring himself to say "attack," it was too scary.
Sue remembered his attack all too well – the absolute fear she felt at the thought she had almost lost him. And the guilt she felt at being jealous of Ally. Of wanting to be the one to take care of him.
"We were doing okay for a while," he continued, pulling Sue out of her reverie. "And then she went back home and would visit occasionally. She'd call a lot and it was still okay and then she started to get accusatory."
She held up her hand for him to stop. "Accuse… I didn't catch all of that."
"Accusatory," Jack said again while finger spelling the word. Sue nodded. "She began to accuse me of seeing other women. She had issues with my work schedule and then…" Jack stopped abruptly realizing he may not want to reveal the next part of the story.
Sue, however, was extremely interested and waited rather impatiently for him to continue.
"We were supposed to see each other one of the nights we were undercover together. She was in town for a couple of days, so we had planned to meet for dinner. Then the Dessa thing came up and I told her I had to cancel because of work. Needless to say, she wasn't very happy with me. And apparently she didn't believe me either because he stopped by the bureau looking for me. Bobby told her I was on assignment," he paused for a brief moment, "with you."
Sue's brow knit in confusion. "Why would Bobby tell her that?"
"I'm sure he had his reasons. He never really liked her… I don't know. Anyway, Ally became convinced that you and I were seeing each other. Rather ironic, isn't it, since at the time we were undercover and you were Mrs. Jack Hudson?" Sue smiled. "It all ended shortly after that."
She looked thoughtful for a moment. "David and I broke up shortly after that assignment, too. I guess our pretend marriage wasn't so great for you and me."
"Actually, it was great for us. It just wasn't so great for our significant others." Sue looked at him surprised and Jack blushed as he realized what he said. "I mean, our marriage was good for the Bureau," he stammered. "Well, at least there's no one else I'd rather pretend to me married to."
Sue laughed. He looked so cute when he got flustered. "Thanks, Jack."
And they settled into a silence thick with unspoken words.
Words crawled across the bottom of the television screen as Jack and Sue sat each lost in their own thoughts. After a few minutes, Jack tapped Sue's arm to get her attention. "What are we watching?"
Sue looked at the television for a moment, puzzled. "I think it's a soap opera, but I'm not sure. I wasn't really paying attention."
"You can tell me the truth. You love these things, don't you?"
"I'll admit I watched them when I was in college, like most of the girls."
"I guess I just don't understand the appeal," Jack mused as he watched a pretty blond prepare herself for some big event. "It's so unrealistic."
"That's part of the appeal," Sue offered. "Women who watch soaps want a break from reality. They want to believe that true romance still exists."
"Romance exists. Guys can be romantic."
Sue shot him a look that said otherwise and Jack turned his attention back to the screen. The blond was in a room that was decorated for a romantic evening, flowers in vases, low lighting, candles. A handsome man dressed in an impeccable suit appeared behind her holding an enormous bouquet of roses.
"Who are these people?" Jack asked.
"That's Blair and Max. One of the couples on the show. Though it's really cute because they're actually married in real life."
Jack looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "Just watched them occasionally in college, did you?"
Sue blushed. "So I might be a bit of a fan, though with working for the bureau I don't get to watch often any more."
"And you're saying women like this schmaltzy stuff?" Sue looked confused, so Jack clarified, signing "Sappy, being swept off their feet."
"Tell me, Jack," Sue replied curtly, "have much luck picking up women in bars?"
"Ouch."
"You could learn a lesson or two."
Formally reprimanded, Jack focused back on the television. Max had given Blair the flowers, which she had pronounced "perfect," and the couple was heading for the table. It was set with fine crystal and china, an empty vase conveniently available for the bouquet Blair was holding. Blair went to sit, but Max stopped her by taking her hand. He signaled to some anonymous person and music started to play.
"A dance before dinner?" Max's dialogue moved across the screen.
"Of course," Blair said as she smiled back. The lyrics for the song danced across the screen and Jack recognized it instantly. Apparently Blair liked it too, for she was beaming as Max swept her around the room. Jack was surprised when Blair started singing along with the music. She had a great voice.
He turned briefly to catch a glimpse of Sue who was watching the scene with interest, a small smile on her face. Even with mussed hair and a pink nose raw from tissues, Jack thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
He watched the show again, Max and Blair now swaying gently in each other's arms. The lyrics from the song displayed on the screen: "Lovely / Don't you ever change / Keep that breathless charm / Won't you please arrange it / Cause I love you / Just the way you look tonight."
As the song ended, the couple kissed passionately in one of those classic soap opera kisses and Jack had to admit that it was kind of nice, thinking that romance like that still existed.