Sue sighed, taking her seat behind the table next to Trevor, as she came back from the toilet. Just for formality, she stated that she's back, but she could as well forget about it and it'd do no difference. Her boyfriend was so occupied in talking with the two men sitting nearby, that he probably didn't even notice that she was gone. The two women, who were his friends' dates, were very busy gossiping about everyone in the room; Sue had no doubts that they had to know each other very well, and they weren't really willing to include her in the conversation. So she just sat there, wondering how long it was going to take for the whole event to take; she couldn't wait to go home, even if it meant facing Jack.
She couldn't say that people weren't kind towards her, just the contrary. They all behaved politely, exchanged some words with her, but as soon as everyone were present and everything fell into place, she was forgotten. It made her very uncomfortable, even more because the only person she knew was Trevor, and she couldn't just go to another place to find someone to pass the time with. She's barely met those people and she definitely wasn't going to bother them with her company, if it was so clearly unwanted. So she just sat there, getting more and more upset as the time was passing. Her anger was mostly focused on Trevor; she came as his date, and the truth was that she could just stay home and it'd be exactly the same. He really didn't need her to sit at his side and stare at the wall, or at the people around, and it's not like he even thought about asking her to dance. She couldn't help but felt hurt by it; yes, it was true that she didn't feel very comfortably on the dance floor and was always hesitant to accept the invitation. It took Jack some time before he convinced her that he really didn't mind taking chances, that his dancing skills were definitely not enough for him to think of anything other than just swaying to the rhythm of the music. Trevor didn't even try.
Some time later she decided that she had enough. Most of the mean were drunk, the woman crowded in another place and were engaged in a lively talk, and she was like a spare prick at the wedding, so she could as well leave. She took out her Blackberry, with hope that maybe she missed a text message or a phone call from Jack, that Emily was being difficult and didn't want to take a bath or go to bed, but there was absolutely nothing. She sighed, knowing that she just had to lie and approached Trevor, who was in the middle of telling a funny story about his best friend, for the second time this evening. She patiently waited until he finished and got his attention, only to have him brush her off. It was when something snapped inside her and she just picked up her purse and walked out without telling anything to anyone.
She found an empty taxi, gave her home address and soon was standing in front of the door to her apartment. From the street she could see that all the lights were out, there was only a glow in the living room window, which had to came from the TV. She carefully turned the key in the lock, and being as quiet as possible, she stepped into the apartment. She was immediately greeted by Levi, who came out of Emily's room. It was only a moment before he decided that it's time to go back to keeping an eye on her daughter. She was surprised that Jack didn't go out to greet her, but she assumed he was focused on TV, so she just made her way to Emily's bedroom. She saw the girl sleeping peacefully on her back, her arms and legs spread in all the directions, her mouth partially open. Her pillow was already on the floor, and the duvet kicked down to the end of the bed and Sue just smiled. She lifted the pillow and placed it back on its place, but above the child's head. She sat at the edge of the bed and brushed a strand of her away from her face, then leaned down and kissed her forehead. She took a moment longer to cover her, tucking her in. Then she glanced to the side, where Levi's lair was lying and of course, the dog was there. Ever since Emily was born, he was always sleeping in her room; he was very protective over the little girl. He was even called a baby monitor sometimes, because he always ran to her when only Emily started to cry or he sensed that something was wrong, for what she was always grateful.
She left the room and slowly made her way to the living room. A grin spread at her face the moment her eyes landed on the couch. If only it was a little bigger, so Jack could actually spread on it, she'd be looking at the exactly the same scene she just saw in her daughter's room. Not that she ever had any doubts about it, but Emily's sleeping habits were yet another thing she inherited after her father. She slowly approached the couch, with the intention of waking him up but ended up watching him sleep. She didn't even know where the thought came from, but she knew that he'd have never acted like Trevor did this evening. Whenever they went out together, he was always making sure that she didn't feel uncomfortable, and even though he wasn't always at her side all the time, he was paying attention to what she was doing, always ready to come and rescue her if needed.
It only then dawned at her, that the reason behind it was told to her straight to face by Lucy few days earlier. After spending some time with her grandmother, who had fallen sick, she returned to DC and the women left. Even though she didn't have a chance to meet with him yet, she knew that Jack was back and Sue wasn't surprised, that she wasn't happy with the way Sue acted towards him.
"You're a stubborn idiot, Sue." were miss Dotson's first words, when Sue related everything to her. "It was breaking everybody's heart to watch you so devastated after his assumed death, to watch you cling to practically nonexistent possibility of him coming back to you. Then you met Trevor, and I thought that maybe he'll be able to help you really move on, but all I could see was you looking for Jack in him. Every time you two fought, it was because he wasn't like Jack or didn't do something like he'd do! And now you have the man back and all you do is push him away. I don't get it Sue, why torture yourself like this? You love him, Emily adores him, and from what everyone say, he loves you both very, very much. What more do you want?"
She ignored her friend completely, it wasn't true. She wasn't looking for Jack in Trevor, she did move on. Of course, he was present in her heart and probably always going to be; she married him after all, they had a child together, a daughter, who reminded her of him with the way she looked and what she did. But she stopped clinging to this mentioned hope long time ago, she accepted that he wasn't going to be back and just because he was, it meant nothing. Yes, there was a time that she couldn't imagine things to be this way between them, but it was time when she was hopelessly in love with him. Now everything was different.
No matter what her mind was telling her, her heart seemed to have a life on its own. She tried to muffle its ridiculous desires, but found it difficult. It was screaming at her that Lucy was right, but she couldn't agree. She didn't even know how it happened, but she found her fingers slowly tracing the line of his jaw, caressing his cheek as he was sleeping. She could see the years influence on him, the signs of getting older more visible in him than they'd probably be if all the circumstances were different, but it didn't make him any less handsome. And his eyes, those wonderful, brown eyes she came to love so much, and she was so happy to see Emily got.
His eyes! Sue gasped, realising that they were open and he was looking at her. She withdrew her hand immediately, feeling her cheeks burn and she could only be grateful for lack of light inside the room, as she was sure her face had a deep red colour. She stood there, frozen, feeling her heart beat quickly in panic, and watched him slowly stand up from the couch, his eyes glued to her. She turned her head like she was looking around, but she didn't really see anything and trying to find a way to escape, she started walking towards the door. She didn't go far, thanks to the darkness she didn't see one of Emily's blocks and stood at it. She didn't have her shoes on and made a muffled cry when the edge of it stuck into her foot, losing her balance in an attempt to ease the pain. Jack reacted automatically, wrapping his arms around her to catch her, and steady her on her feet.
She was a little taken aback, when she was already standing normally, but his arms remained where they were. She looked up, at his face, and found herself gazing straight into his eyes. She didn't know if it was the feeling of his arms around her, or the look in his eyes, but she shocked even herself by cupping his cheek and moving closer to kiss him. She could sense his surprise in his initial lack of response, but then he tightened his grip, pulling her closer, kissing her back. It could hardly be described as a gentle kiss; it was passionate and needy, speaking volumes of the frustration, longing he felt, yet at the same time showing her just how many feelings towards her were still present in his heart, and how much he missed her. The moment he reciprocated her gesture, she was lost to the world, everything what mattered were all the emotions he was waking up in her and she was sure it would end only in one way if not for sudden wave of consciousness, which helped her realise what she was doing.
She pushed Jack away, flying out of his arms, and looked at the floor, embarrassed. She tried to say something, but she felt unable to form words and all that left her mouth were some pointless sounds.
"I... You.. I didn't... I'm sorry!" she finally stuttered, unable to look up at his face.
"It's.. It's okay. I-I should go." he said, when he finally encouraged her to raise his eyes with a gentle touch of his hand on her arm.
"Yeah... Thanks for staying with Emily..."
"Anytime."
She sighed with relief, when he left the apartment, and rested her forehead against the cold surface of the door. What enticed her to act this way she was never going to know, and she felt guilty. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't stop thinking about how right it felt to be in Jack's arms, to be kissed by him. She shook her head; she shouldn't be thinking this way. Just because she was really upset with her boyfriend didn't mean, that she could come and kiss another man, even if it was the person, who at one time – and actually still – was her husband.
Jack, on the other hand, felt like new strength came to his body. He was grinning widely all the way to his apartment, barely able to tame all the happy emotions awaken by the kiss. Most importantly, there was hope; the very same hope he was slowly losing, that he actually had any chance of winning Sue's heart back. Yet, the simple fact that she did kiss him, as well as the eagerness in it and the way she pressed her body against his, it all made him think that it was obviously the fight, that wasn't lost just yet. It didn't matter she pushed him away or that she was probably going to act like nothing happened next time they see each other. It was all he needed. For now.