A/N: It took me so long to write this chapter, because I was rewriting it probably more than ten times. And I have to admit that I still don't like the way it turned out but I want to post it today as my updates are probably going to become less frequent soon, when I start working. But, this story is my main focus right now, so it shouldn't be that bad. Especially that I still have some things planned for it :) Well, I hope you're going to enjoy it at least a little.
Two weeks passed, July came and the summer started for good. The weather was exceptionally nice that year and even though it was raining, it was happening mostly at night; days were almost always warm and sunny. This gave the opportunity t spend a lot of time outside, and the Hudsons used it a lot. Jack, who was still waiting for the decision regarding Sue's application to think seriously consider his options about returning to the FBI, took over the responsibilities of the babysitter, which was taking care of Emily while Sue was at work. The young woman was happy, because she had some holiday time and could resume working when he would finish his leave.
They fell into the new routine quite easily. Jack was coming to Sue some time before she was leaving in the morning. Then he occupied himself until their daughter woke up and – depending on the weather – prepared her breakfast, made sure she has done her morning toilet and helped her get dressed, so they could go out or just find something to do at home. They were going out much more often than not, and a week was enough for the people living around to connect him with his girls. Some of them remembered him, because it used to be – after all – his apartment and their curiosity was raised high because they also remembered that he was working for the FBI, and with his sudden disappearance assumed that he must have died in the line of duty. There was also second group of people, who weren't living in the neighbourhood at the same time as Jack. Those knew only Sue and Emily, and they were mostly convinced that the girl's father just didn't want to be in the picture either because he was too immature to think about taking responsibility, or didn't want to share his life with a person like Sue. He understood that for them, Emy had her mother's surname and they didn't know that it was her married name. Their views, especially the latter, were infuriating him just like all the other people, who thought about her as different or less capable or whatever just because she couldn't hear. But, accordingly to her plea, he just ignored them and took pleasure in watching their astonished faces when they realised that he was the child's dad and now, that he could, was very much in the picture.
What he didn't know, however, was that it quickly spread around that he was a wonderful father – loving, caring, protective, attentive and much more. Sue had a lot of chances to read people complimenting his parenting skills, when she was shopping in the local store or even just walking, but stayed unnoticed. She only had a small smile on the outside, but inside her heart, she felt extremely proud. They were both very lucky to have him in their lives and the more time passed, the more convinced she was getting that giving their relationship a second chance was the best thing she could do. The last time she thought about her life to be so great was back before he left for this whole assignment, but now, that they had Emily, it was more complete. What she always wanted the most was a family and over the past days she had the chance to have it. And she hoped that they were going to stay this way, because now she couldn't imagine her life in any other way, without spending time with both of them after work. Of course, all the obstacles standing in their way didn't just disappear with the moment Jack shared his story with her. It did allow her to see the whole matter from his perspective and understand his decisions; she would do the very same thing in his place. And with this understanding, her uncertainty was soothed and the wounds could start to heal. It was going to take a while, but in time she believed she was going to be able to trust him completely again. Perhaps they were meant to be together after all.
Jack stretched a little, sitting on the bench and closed his eyes. He could hear a lot of children's voices around himself and just a second earlier saw Emily play in the sandpit with few other kids. He knew that they will have to head back in a moment, Sue was going to call them where they are because she had the dinner ready. He insisted that she didn't have to cook, that he'll prepare something but she didn't want to hear about it. He knew that his cooking skills weren't the best but he didn't think they were that bad either; especially that he had some opportunity to improve them, but Sue was stubborn and there was no convincing her otherwise. This evening at least they were going to eat in town. He straightened himself when he heard a distressful "Daaddyyy!"; he was quite certain it was Emily's voice but looked around. There weren't many fathers on the playground, in fact he was the only one there and his eyes immediately looked in the direction of the sandpit. He noticed Emy slowly walk towards him and crying; he looked at her carefully, and didn't see anything what could be the reason for her distress. Only when he glanced at the teddy bear, which she was holding by the arm, he noticed that its leg was torn out and in her other hand.
He stood up and came to her, immediately picking her up. The child snuggled into him, and he held her, trying to calm her down and carefully making his way back to the bench.
"It's okay, Princess, don't cry. It's just a teddy bear..." he bit his tongue, he had the sentence that she had many others in her room but realised that it might only make her cry more. Sue told him that this one was her favourite, he liked the fact because it was the one which came from him, so it wouldn't be very comforting.
"Emy's favouite..." she mumbled, looking at him with huge, teary eyes.
Jack sighed and hugged her tightly, kissing her head tenderly. He could feel that she was calm now, but held her for a while longer when it dawned on him that in this whole distress, she has called him 'Daddy'. His heart skipped a beat and he could feel it swell with pride. It didn't really reach him earlier but she did call him that, for the first time.
"Let's go home, Mommy should already be back." he suggested and the girl nodded.
Sue was indeed back from work and knew that something happened the moment they stepped into the apartment. Usually, Emily was just running to her and chatting about what she's done with Jack during the day, even though sometimes Sue had some problems with catching what she was saying. This time, however, she saw her nestled against Jack's chest and allowed him to explain everything to her. Sue agreed with him, that it was no big deal despite the toy holding a special place in Sue's heart now, that she knew it was a gift from Jack. For their child however, it seemed like the end of the world and she was grumpy for the rest of the day, what made them a little guilty about leaving her with Bobby and Darcy for the evening.
The couple suggested to babysit her, wanting Sue and Jack to spend some time only with each other. They didn't really have much opportunity to be alone, only sometimes in the morning when Jack would arrive earlier and in the evenings, when Emy was asleep. Their friends had no doubts that spending time with their daughter allowed them to repair the damages present in their bond, but they were both convinced that they could use some time one-on-one. So one day Crash suggested, that he and Darcy would like to spend some time with Emily, claiming that they missed her as they don't get to babysit her often anymore now, that Jack is back and the two of them are giving it a try. Not that Sue didn't believe him, it was a fact that all of her friends were spending less time with her daughter, but neither she nor Jack missed the hidden suggestion underneath it. They still agreed, and even the suggestion that Emily was in a bad mood didn't change Bobby and Darcy's minds.
"Here is my beloved Miss Sparky! Did you miss your uncle?" Crash took the girl from her dad's arms, while she nodded. "Say bye to Mommy and Daddy, we're having a sleepover tonight!"
"Everything you might need is in the backpack. If anything, don't hesitate to call at any time of the day or night." Darcy grinned, listening to Sue and took the bag from the blonde woman.
"I know Sue. It's not the first time we're having a sleepover, remember? Don't worry about your little girl, she'll be fine. Just enjoy yourselves."
"And you don't have to hurry to pick her up." added Bobby with a wink, and Jack sent him a deadly glare.
He knew exactly what his friend implied, and then glanced at Sue. Her attention was focused on Emily, who was now in Darcy's arms and she was telling her to be nice, what meant she didn't notice that Crash said anything. Hudson felt relieved; he could be paranoid but the last thing he needed was for Sue to think that he set the whole situation up to get into her pants. Not that he didn't want her, if he claimed so it would be the biggest lie in his life, but they weren't at this stage yet. It could look simple from the outside; they were married, now back together and obviously the fact that they were extremely happy with each other was quite perceptible, but it was much more complicated. He could want her, need her even, and be quite sure that she reciprocates this feeling judging by what he could feel in her kisses, but he was going to wait for when it'd feel is the right time. He didn't want them to jump into something and later regret that it was too early; they had time, they were in no hurry. He didn't wait three years to have her back in his life and then suffered during the longest few weeks in his life, when he was quite convinced that he might never have her back, to now ruin it with disability to control himself. But his friend didn't have to know all of it, and the look would have to be enough.
"I have to admit that I didn't make any big plans for tonight..." stated Jack, when they left their friends' apartment and headed to the car.
"That's good, I am too tired for a busy evening." she smiled and got into the vehicle.
They left the car at Sue's place, so they could just walk home and then he took her to one of their favourite restaurants. It was small, cosy, inexpensive and didn't require any elegant clothing, but the food was delicious. They used to visit the place quite often in the past, but with Emy they didn't eat out that much and didn't manage to end there yet. The room was, as usually, almost full but they were lucky to find a table in the corner, where they would have at least a little privacy. Jack always hated the tables somewhere at the front; it could be ridiculous but it always felt for him as if everyone were staring at what he was eating or eavesdropping on the conversation even though they wouldn't even know what they talked about. Being in no hurry, they enjoyed their time and didn't 'eat and run'; instead they ordered additional drinks and sat there, chatting about everything and anything.
The weather, however, wasn't very nice for them. Just like they almost always did, they were slowly walking home, enjoying the warm evening. One moment Jack heard a strange, a little swishy sound and suddenly a huge rain fell.
"Come on, my apartment is right behind the corner!" he caught Sue's hand and pulled her towards his place.
They had a lot of fun, running in the heavy rain. They jumped into the building, almost knocking one of Jack's neighbours off her feet while she was standing in front of the mailboxes and checking hers. Even though they were running and it was very close, they were already soaking wet and dripping onto the floor. The woman sighed exasperated, shaking her head and Jack only chuckled when he heard 'Like children!' behind them, shouting apologies to her as they were going upstairs and into the apartment.
When they walked inside, Sue looked around. She hasn't had the opportunity to be in this place before; she never really had any reason to come here. Ever since they decided to get back together, Jack was practically only sleeping here, and spending the rest of the day at her apartment. It was quite visible, that he wasn't present there often; it was quite empty, as he had only the absolutely necessary furniture there and didn't do much around. It was bigger than the one she was living in, that apartment had only a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, two bedrooms and a small anteroom, while this had all of this and two more rooms, even though the space inside was a little smaller than in the ones at her place. Jack admitted he bought it because it was nice and the price wasn't high because it needed renovation, as well as the previous owners wanted to sell it quite quickly and now it had additional advantage of being situated quite close to her apartment.
"Here, take this. They will surely be too big, but they're at least dry." Jack handed her his T-shirt and sweatpants, which he brought from the room he used as the bedroom. "There is the bathroom and if you want to take a shower, just tell me and I'll bring you a towel."
"If you don't mind..."
"Not at all."
A short moment later he knocked on the door to the bathroom to give Sue a towel and then went to the bedroom to take off the soaked clothes. He wasn't only wet, but also quite cold thanks to the material and it was a nice change to be in something dry. He then went to the kitchen and by the time Sue joined him, he had two mugs of hot tea ready for them. His clothes were indeed much too big for her, but she didn't mind. When she was at home, she actually liked to go around in some of those clothes of his, which she kept because they were loose and comfortable.
"I'm afraid I have only tea and coffee, and the latter at this hour is not the best idea."
"It's okay, it's hot and that's all that matters. I see it is still raining..?"
"Yeah, it doesn't look like it's going to pass soon. I think it's going to be best if you just stay here for the night. And don't worry, I know that the couch doesn't look or feel comfortable to sleep, so you'll take the bed."
"I'm not going to be this cruel for you, Jack. Spend one night on this couch and you won't be able to stand straight tomorrow."
"The only other option is to share the bed and it's a bad idea." He was surprised by the expression, which the sentence caused to appear on her face. Was it possible she felt hurt by it? His eyes widened at the realisation how he made it sound. He placed his hand at the side of her face and lifted it a little, with the intention to make her look up at him. "I'm not sure I'd be able to be so close to you and keep my hands to myself..." he added, and it made her blush a little, but a small smile still spread her lips.
"I actually hoped I would get to snuggle to you, instead of a pillow..." it was his turn to smile and he leaned towards her, pressing his lips against hers.
"Very well, then."
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to himself. This position didn't really allow them to have a conversation, with Sue unable to read his lips, so they just sat in silence, enjoying the peace as well as the closeness between them. He finished his tea and glanced at her; just like he thought, she fell asleep against him. He wasn't surprised, he noticed that she was quite tired. He carefully turned to put his arm under her knees and stood up, lifting her with himself. Careful not to step on Levi, who lied down next to the couch and seemed to be asleep as well, he made his way to the other room and placed Sue on the bed, covering her with the duvet. For a moment he hesitated but then slipped under it as well, joining her. He chuckled, when she moved closer to him in her sleep and wrapped his arm around her, holding her. He hid his face in her hair, breathing in her scent. How many times he found himself lying restless in his bed, remembering how it felt to hold her this way, dreaming to be able to lie like this? Definitely a lot, and he had to admit that it felt even better than he remembered. He placed a loving kiss on her head and closed his eyes; for the first time in months, the sleep took him so easily.