A/N – I'm a little sad and disappointed that I didn't get any reviews on the last chapter! Now, I'm not the kind of person who will only write chapters if I get a certain amount of reviews, but please know how much it means to me to hear what you think. It really does encourage me to keep going. These next chapters might not be as long (maybe, I don't know) because I'm in the middle of midterms, but I figured I could post more "shorter" chapters… And be prepared for some mush – after all, it is Valentines Day!

Chapter 26:

Bobby turned over and cursed silently to himself as the phone rang. He glanced at the clock, which blinked 1:30 am.

"Manning." He answered groggily.

"Bobby - its Tara." Bobby sat up quickly, and rubbed his eyes.

"What's going on?"

"Serial killer hit again – Metro PD just called us about 15 minutes ago. Same MO." Tara's voice replied wearily. Bobby responded quickly,

"I'll be right there."

-----

Jack rolled over and looked at the clock again. His mind was reeling with thoughts from the evening and he knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep anytime soon. Instead, he made his way into the living room, where he heard quiet sobs coming from Sue's bedroom. The door was a little bit open, and he saw a dim light shining through.

Wanting to make sure she was okay, he peeked in, to see her sitting up and looking in a book, tears rolling down her face. Levi was fast asleep at the foot of her bed. She just happened to look up and see him; she didn't say anything, and Jack took it as a cue to come in.

Surprisingly for him, she moved over slightly, inviting him to sit down next to her.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked. She shook her head no. He looked down at the photo album she was flipping through. She pointed to a picture of a man with his arms tightly around her, and said in a small voice,

"That's Ben. Family reunion about 5 years ago." They spent the next 20 minutes, flipping through photos, as Sue explained to Jack the significance of all of them. He felt touched that she was letting him in on moments that were special to her, and he knew that although she was grieving for her brother and his family, it helped to remember the good memories too.

They got to the end of the album, and sat in silence, the clock nearing 2am. Jack wondered what she was thinking about, when she spoke up quietly,

"Why did he have to kill them? It's not fair." Jack's heart broke at the desperation and grief in her voice. He reached over and grabbed her hand, as she looked into his eyes.

"I don't know Sue. I wish I had the answers to make this all go away, but I don't. Just know that you don't have to go through this alone. Not anymore."

"I'm so sorry Jack. You deserve so much better than me. Look at how I've treated you the last week, and all you've done is show how much you care." Jack knew that he couldn't hide his feelings for her anymore, and the desperation in his heart to have her know that he loved her prayed that she would realize that he was there for her.

"Is that really what you think?" She looked away and shrugged. Jack knew what a hard time she had had in the past, being accepted by other people, and though since he had met her, she had dated a few guys and met quite a few that were interested in her, he had always seen that glimmer of doubt. He squeezed her hand and she looked up again, her eyes fresh with tears,

"Sue – it's time we both stop pretending. I've been falling for you ever since the day you walked up to my desk by accident and started yelling at me. I pushed it away, and tried to find those feelings with other people but it never was the same. You mean everything to me, and I'm tired of pretending like you're just a friend to me, because you're not. I'm not going anywhere, not ever."

"What about work? What about everyone else? It's different with me - I'm deaf, I'm not like everyone else. Plus, I'm a mess and I don't even know what to do with my life anymore."

"Enough about work and what everyone else thinks. And your deafness has nothing to do with anything, because it's who you are and that's whom I've grown to love. You're going to get through this. I know it's hard to see now, but one day it's going to be okay again." She looked at him for a few moments. Sue knew that if she couldn't trust Jack, she couldn't trust anyone.

"Promise?" She said in a hushed voice, her tired eyes reflecting all the pain inside. He nodded. She bit her lip, and couldn't help herself. "Are you saying that you love me?" Jack hadn't realized that he had admitted that he had grown to love her.

"I do love you Sue." He answered, his cheeks reddening slightly. She didn't say anything and Jack starting to get worried. Had he gone too far? Of course he had. She had just lost her brother and his family, and now he was telling her that he loved her? After 4 years he had to pick then? Her quiet voice spoke up a few moments later,

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" She asked.

"Of course." Jack responded. She turned off the bedside lamp, and crawled until the covers. Jack pulled the comforter up to cover her shoulders, and lay next to her, facing her, and rubbing his hand up and down her arm, comfortingly. He noticed she was looking at him intently, and matched her gaze until her quiet voice broke the silence,

"I love you too Jack." He gave her a small smile, as she closed her eyes and drifted off.

-----

Bobby rushed into the bullpen, which was busy with people running around, despite the early hour.

"What's going on?" He asked, heading towards D and Myles.

"SOG had lost Ben French earlier this evening. We think he realized he was being trailed. He left a note, saying that no matter how hard we tried we weren't going to catch him – whether we follow him or not. He's good. Another family, just outside of Washington." Dimitrius explained.

"So we need to find Ben French, and find him quickly." Bobby responded. They both nodded.

"Should we call Jack?" Tara asked, hesitantly. They all knew Jack had wanted to talk to Sue that evening, and if he had gotten her to open up, who knows what could have been happening at the apartment, especially if it had been as serious as they were worried it was.

"There's no point now. We'll call him first thing in the morning, unless we get some miraculous break in the case." D answered, as he headed quickly to his office to start making phone calls.