As the time passed, it quickly became obvious for Jack that Sue was going to be very adamant, when it came to keeping the distance from him. Whenever he came to her apartment to spend some time with Emily – and now it wasn't only with Bobby on Sundays – they even barely talked. It hurt horribly, but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it other than just accepting the situation. It was, after all, his fault, even though he only did what he had to do. Still, his reasons didn't matter for her, she wasn't even interested in why he stayed away for so long, and he wasn't going to make her listen to him. She didn't want to know it, just like she wasn't very eager to have him back in her life, and limiting their contact to what was absolutely inevitable with him being in their daughter's life was the perfect evidence of it.
Emily, on the other hand, had exactly opposite attitude towards him. It was a little of a surprise for everyone, but it was visible that she took likening towards him already on his second visit with Bobby, when she didn't ignore Hudson anymore, but wanted him to join whatever she was doing with her uncle. Soon it was Manning, who could feel left out, but he didn't complain; he was happy to watch father and daughter have so much fun together, and was sure that it was a good sign. It definitely was giving hope that one day they'll share the special, strong bond, which is present between a parent and a child, even though the girl wasn't aware who Jack actually was for her. Yet, the connection somehow seemed to be there, even though only now it was elicited, and anyone, who has ever seen the two together was pretty sure, that Emily was on her way to becoming a real daddy's girl.
Sue could be the best witness to it. Every time after Jack has left, the girl wasn't chattering about anything other than what they did, how fun it was and what else he promised to do with her. They agreed that he could come more often than once a week, and she knew that it was a very good idea by only watching how happy their daughter was. There was a part of her that couldn't stop thinking that it should be the way it was supposed to be since the very beginning of the child's life, not only now, and even regretting that he wasn't there. He slipped into the role of father without any problems, it came naturally for him and it was obvious that he enjoyed it very much. She had no doubts that even though he knew her for a relatively short time, he loved Emily with his whole heart and would do anything for her. He was showing the qualities of the wonderful father she always imagined he would be, and it still made her quite happy.
She couldn't enjoy it fully, she still felt horribly hurt. She has been convinced that they shared something, what couldn't be destroyed, but it turned out to be wrong. Yes, she could see the look in his eyes, when she caught him watching her every now and then, to which Bobby referred as the look of regret mixed with love. It made her feel horrible, especially because of their child; she could see them being a utterly happy, little family if only he hadn't left, or at least came back, when he had the chance earlier. But he has made the choice, and quite clearly didn't choose them, and no matter how heart-warming it was to watch him with Emily, she wasn't willing to put her trust in him again, so he could break her heart once again. Besides, there was also Trevor, and she was content with the loose relationship they had.
No matter how hard she tried to avoid it, there was no way she could prevent the two from meeting. She didn't really want it to happen, because it was obvious for her that Trevor wasn't very positively set towards Jack, and if Bobby was right about Hudson's feeling in a smallest part, she didn't have to wonder what will his attitude be. When Trev reminded her of the formal gathering held by the company he worked in, she called Jack to ask if he could come to stay with Emily, who naturally couldn't come with them even if she wanted, but Sue knew that the girl wouldn't. Now, that Emily was comfortable with him, Jack was the first one she thought about calling in a situation like this. She didn't really know this, but there was no way for him that he would miss an opportunity to spend some more time with the little girl, who was almost the sole reason he lived, next to her mother, but for obvious reasons his focus was mainly on Emily. So, when he of course agreed to come, she didn't think it was going to be any different than it usually was - Jack always arrived first, being as impatient as his daughter, and then Trevor met her on the street, after giving her a sign that he was there. This time, however, when her phone started vibrating before the brunet arrived, she knew that they will just have to meet.
"Sue, you do realise that we have to leave in ten minutes?" asked Trevor, when she opened the door for him and let him into the apartment.
He noticed the grin disappearing from Emily's face, the hint of disappointment visible in her eyes, and the girl moved from her spot behind her mother to go to her room, Levi as always following her. When he looked back at Sue, he noticed her look at him with her eyebrows raised.
"Of course I am aware that otherwise we'll be late but you don't think I'm going to leave Emily alone here just because of it, do you?" he could sense anger rising in her voice, and he shook his head. It was not what he meant to imply, even though he thought now that it could sound this way.
"No, no, I don't. Did he at least inform you why he's not here, yet?"
"He didn't give me the reason, just wrote to me that he's sorry, he's already on his way and should be here as soon as possible."
Trevor made a face, but didn't tell anything else, just stepped into the kitchen to sit by the table. He sat there, impatiently waiting for the sound of knocking, while watching the clock on the wall. The time seemed to pass very slowly, yet the hands of the clock moved and Hudson still didn't appear. He was getting annoyed; he was really looking forward to this evening, introducing Sue to people, who as for now only heard about her, and to being proud that he had such an amazing date as she was. It was impossible not to notice that she was a very special person, and he had no doubts that his colleagues would have no problem with seeing it, and understanding why he was so proud that they were dating.
Twenty minutes later it became obvious for him that there was no way they were not going to be late, and his mood worsened even more. Being late for a few minutes would definitely be better than half an hour or more, and he had no idea what he was going to say to his boss when he'd ask him what was the reason behind it. Telling the man that Emily didn't want to let Sue go would not only be unbelievable, but also would make Sue angry at him for putting a blame on her daughter. He jumped to his feet, when the sound of knocking finally came to his ears, followed by Emily's ecstatic squeal.
"Jack's here!" he could hear the girl's footsteps, as she ran to the door, standing in front of it and he stood in the kitchen, watching the scene.
The girl stood in front of the door, impatiently waiting for her mother to come and open it. The moment Sue did it and Emily noticed who was on the other side of the door, the girl flew herself into the man's arms. Trevor was sure it wasn't something new, because Hudson was prepared for it and hugged her the moment she moved to him, and then lifted her from the ground and sat her on his hip. He looked at her mother, and his words were stuck in his throat for a moment, as he took in her look. She was dressed in a dark blue, elegant dress, which accented her body in just the right places. For a moment he could only think about how beautiful she looked, almost perfect – if only her hair was let loose instead of being up, she'd be a walking definition of perfection.
"I'm really sorry, Sue." he finally managed to mutter and cleared his throat, hoping it would help him get his voice under control. "There's been a car accident and I had to wait much longer than I thought, because the doctor was summoned to help."
"The doctor? Is everything okay?" she asked, audibly worried and he nodded his head.
"Yes, everything is fine. It was a routine check-up, it's just been a while since I had my heart checked."
"Well, we can be going now." only when the man moved closer, and touched Sue's arm to get her attention, Jack noticed that there was someone else in the room.
Hudson couldn't help but think of how possessively the man's voice sounded, unaware that the look he had on his face just few minutes earlier, which perfectly showed all the feelings and thoughts waken by the sight of Sue. It didn't go unnoticed by Trevor, and the last thing he wanted was to watch Jack eye the blonde woman this way. He let go of Emily, who started to wriggle in his arms, and the girl ran to her room, most probably to find something to play with her dad.
"I believe we haven't had a chance to meet, yet. Trevor Hartwig, Sue's boyfriend." he extended his hand and Jack took it, shaking it. Sue only sighed at the way they've done it, trying to convince herself that the expression on both men's faces didn't mean trouble.
"Jack Hudson, Sue's hu..." he stopped himself in the middle, realising that it wasn't a good idea, and corrected himself. "Emily's dad."
Trevor nodded and then turned to Sue. She felt very uncomfortable and wanted to leave as soon as they could, shortening the awkward moment. As always, she reminded Jack of everything, and he listened to her even though he could recite everything word by word. It wasn't the first time he was staying with Emily and he always managed very well. Soon, Sue and Trevor were gone and he rolled his eyes. He knew the man for barely few minutes, and he already didn't like him. It was a big effort for him not to punch him, when he touched her in the way, that made Jack's blood boil even though it was completely innocent. He could see the challenge in his eyes, when they shook hands and accepted it without hesitation. He might be in the loser's position, but he was going to win Sue's heart back, the self-confident look in Hartwig's eyes making him only more determined.
"Jack, come!" he was brought back to reality by Emily's voice and threw the unpleasant thoughts away from his mind, turning around and going to the girl's room to spend a great time with his daughter.