Chapter 14 – Hear Me Out

Sue and Sylvia sat by the window in a comfortable little bistro downtown, certainly more than a little rundown from their shopping trip. They placed their orders with the waitress and sat back, taking this down time to finally relax.

"Thanks for coming along with me," Sylvia piped up. "It's been awhile since I've done some retail damage in this area."

Sue smiled. "It was my pleasure. Although I kind of wish you didn't ask me because I think my credit card is going to be mad at me for a little while," she replied with a chuckle.

"He'll get over it," Sylvia answered, smiling. Their coffees arrived. "So…how do you like working for the F.B.I.?"

Sue took a sip of her coffee thoughtfully and placed it down. "It's hard sometimes. Seeing the suffering some people go through but it's very rewarding too, being able to help people. I'm sure you know what that's like, being a doctor."

Sylvia nodded. "Yeah…I love it. The hours are long and arduous but…at the end of the day it's great…knowing that you're making a difference."

"How did you get into it? Did you always know you wanted to do it?" Sue inquired.

Sylvia stared thoughtfully for a moment. "I don't know really…I kind of got into it by accident. I did pretty well in science courses during high school. Dylan always said he could picture me in a lab coat commandeering my own team of nurses," she answered with a fond smile. "I don't know, maybe I just wanted to make up for all of the awful things I did as a kid."

Sue gave her a sympathetic smile. "You have a good heart, Sylvia. I can see that." Sylvia smiled a small smile and thanked her. "It puts my mind to rest," she explained. "Knowing that Jack was taken care of these past few years."

"Well, I can't take all the credit. I've only known him for the past year." Sylvia explained.

"A lot can change in a year…" Sue said wistfully.

Sylvia cleared her throat after taking a long sip of her coffee. "Is he different?" Sue looked at her poignantly. "Is he different from when you knew him?"

Sue paused thoughtfully for a moment and then smiled sadly. "Yes…of course but…maybe not in a bad way."


Bobby opened the door and let Sue into his apartment where he and Jack were getting ready for their 'guys-night-out'. Jack had been staying over at Bobby's place during the trial so the F.B.I. wouldn't have to keep on footing another hotel bill.

"Cinderella get to the ball all right?" Bobby asked Sue as he let her in.

"Yes, although her carriage looked a lot more like a limo than a pumpkin," Sue teased. "I hope you guys don't mind me crashing your guys-night-out."

"It's no problem," Jack jumped in. "It's nice to have a challenge on the pool table once in awhile."

Sue beamed brightly and Bobby excused himself to his room. "I just got to get some more stuff. You guys, sit, chat." He encouraged and bounded off to his room.

Jack smiled tightly at Bobby and then cleared his throat, turning to Sue where she stood there a little uncomfortably. "Uh…I invited Sylvia to join us afterwards…if that's all right?" Sue finally broke the silence.

"Sure, yeah, that's cool." Jack replied and sat down on the couch while Sue sat across from him. "So…did you guys have fun on your shopping trip?"

Sue nodded. "Yes, it was fun…and also very therapeutic. Retail therapy isn't just a myth," she answered with a smile.

"Did you guys…you know have lots to talk about?" Jack tread the topic very carefully, not wanting to seem nosy but of course Sue was too smart for her own good.

She smiled confidently. "You know I don't like to gossip," she teased. "Let's just say we never ran out of things to talk about, certainly."

Jack wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. "Oh…that's a good thing right?"

"Depends on who you are," Sue said mysteriously.

Jack chuckled. "Always keeping me on my toes. You guys certainly have that in common."

Sue smiled a bittersweet smile. "She has a good heart. Knowing that you were taken care of these past few years really puts my mind at ease."

"Well, she's a doctor. She has to take care of people," Jack joked. "And what about you?"

"I'm a F.B.I. agent, Jack, not that much has changed," she teased which brought a smile to Jack's face. "I've survived. At the beginning I didn't think I would…but I was blessed to have the rest of the team for support. I guess it's true what they say…wherever you are it really are your friends that make your world." To that Levi let out a whimper and stood up, Sue gave him a look, "No, I don't just mean human friends," Levi barked happily.

Jack smiled. "It's nice to see some things haven't changed."

Sue's smile faded a little and she looked down at her lap then back up. "But…a lot of things have haven't they?" Jack's smile disappeared and he looked at her with concern. "Look…Jack. I don't know what you plan on doing when this is all over. But…if you choose to stay I want it to be because you actually want to stay and not because…of some other reason."

Jack looked at Sue expectantly. "What other reason could there be?"

"Well um, you know if other people pressured you into it…or something," Sue quickly explained. She took in a deep breath. "You probably heard from Bobby that…David and I got back together for a little bit right?"

Jack nodded. "He mentioned it."

"Right…he probably didn't mention that…while we were back together he um…proposed."

Jack's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh…wow. That's…big."

"You can probably guess, I didn't say yes." Sue said matter-of-factly.

"I suppose you're going to tell me why?"

Sue stared wistfully at the carpet for a moment. "Because…I loved him but…it wasn't complete. Because I guess a part of my heart always belonged with you," she said finally. "And I thought when you came back you would either have to give that part back or take the rest of it." She paused for a moment.

"Sue…look," Jack began but Sue cut him off.

"No wait…I'm not finished," She took in a deep breath. "Jack…I love you, I always have," for that one moment Jack felt his heart stop but then Sue continued. "I always will too. But I don't know if that's that kind of love, yet…you know? I broke up with David not because I didn't want to marry him but…because I really didn't want to marry anybody. It just came at the wrong time."

Jack gave her a solemn nod and looked her in the eye. "Would you guys still be together if he hadn't?"

"It was all or nothing with him…I was willing to wait and see whether or not my feelings would change, so, maybe…" Sue explained with a fallen face. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that…I know we talked about not missing out on our chance but I want you to know if that if you do choose to stay…it might not exactly live up to your expectations."

Jack smiled a sad smile. "You know what my expectations are?"

Sue backpedaled a bit. "No…I just mean…I just want to know what you think, that's all."

Jack drew in a deep breath. "I think…Bobby's been in there for a really long time."

"Jack, I'm serious." Sue chided him.

"I know you are, but to tell you the truth, you know as much about what's going to happen after all of this is over as I do," Jack explained. He smiled a genuine smile at her. "One step at a time right?"

Sue broke into a reluctant smile and nodded slowly in agreement. "Right."