Sue clutched Jack's arm as he helped her back to the car. When they reached the vehicle, Jack stopped and touched her face. Signing, he said:
"Dearest, we found out what was 'wrong'. But you do not seem to be happy about it?"
His fiancée looked up at him with fear in her eyes.
"Jack, how do you and the others live in the world…hearing…like this? It is so distracting! I can hardly concentrate! When that doctor was testing my hearing it felt as if I were going mad! How can I live like this?"
"It will get easier." Jack took her hands in both his own. "Remember how you first came to the F.B.I? Even interviewing Howie daunted you to no end. Now you face hardened criminals and extract confessions without blinking an eye. I know that it is unusual, to suddenly have another sense – but in time, you will learn what the noises mean, and learn to ignore those which are not overly important. That is what most of us hearing people do. In the meantime," he pulled something out of his pocket, "you can use these."
Sue looked at the white little items lying in the palm of his hand.
"What are they?"
"Earplugs. The best that the F.B.I can offer. We agents use them when we go to target practice. I have stood next to a moving freight train in them and not heard a thing. You can wear them in the office and lip-read like you always have, without being distracted by sound." He gently brushed her hair out of the way and placed the little white earplugs in her ears. "How do you feel now?"
Tears rushed into Sue's eyes.
"Ever so better! I feel…normal…again!" She began to laugh hysterically. "All my life, I simply wanted to be like other people, and now, when I miraculously have my hearing back, I take refuge in the world of silence. Who would have thought!"
Jack embraced her and pressed his lips upon her forehead.
"I am glad that they work for you. Everything will be alright."
Sue suddenly pulled back and gazed into his eyes.
"By the way, have you mentioned anything about my new fifth sense to the rest of the team or to anyone?"
"No, since we were not sure, I would not dream of talking about it," he replied.
"Good. Do you mind keeping it just between the two of us for now? I am not quite sure how I feel about the whole thing as of yet, and I do not think that I can bear all the jokes and hazing that the others are going to inflict on me as soon as they find out."
"Of course. Just be sure to wear your hair down, just the way I like it, in order to conceal those earplugs. However, there is one thing which we do not need to keep just between the two of us, my love."
"How we feel about each other," Jack smiled. "I talked to D. He said that that nonsensical policy about no-dating between two co-workers was quietly moved off the books about three months ago. You would think that the F.B.I would mention that in those ridiculously long memos it sends us ever week."
"Could this day get any better?!" Sue laughed.
"I am hoping that it can." Jack pulled out a small box from his coat pocket. "If you remember, there was something missing from my impromptu proposal a few days ago." He opened the top, revealing a beautiful, sparkling diamond ring.
"Jack Hudson," Sue whispered. "It is the loveliest ring I ever laid eyes on. You know me too well."
"And I look forward to getting to know you even more in the future," her fiancé murmured, drawing her into a deep kiss.