A/N: Here we go with another update! I hope you're going to enjoy it and remember, if you kill me I'm not going to be able to finish the story ;-)
Consciousness was slowly coming back to her and she couldn't stop the smile, which was making its way onto her face. She just had a wonderful dream, and even though she couldn't really remember it now that it was fading, she knew that it finish with her, falling asleep in Jack's arms. She could actually feel his body pressed against hers behind her, his arm wrapped around her middle, his regular breath at the back of her neck and it was then, that she realised that it wasn't exactly a dream. Perhaps she did dream about it, but one thing was certain – it happened for real, too!
She opened her eyes and looked around as much as it was possible without moving much. She was pretty sure that she didn't come here on the previous evening, the last thing she remembered was sitting cuddled to Jack. She must have fallen asleep and he must have carried her here. The room was, just like the rest of the apartment, quite empty. There was a bed and a wardrobe, but that was it. The walls were empty and practically begging for being painted, the door has seen better days, too. It was pretty much like the rest, asking for renovation, which Jack had difficulties to find time to even think about. It seemed like he focused on the most important, absolutely necessary stuff and left the rest for when he'll have this time, but nobody knew when it would happen.
She spent a moment in this position, but as much as it could be comfortable for a longer time when she was sleeping, it started to change now that she was awake. She's made the decision to try and slip out of Jack's grip without waking him up and almost managed to, but just before she sat up she felt his arm come back around her waist and press her against him just before he signed for her to stay. She sighed, but smiled anyway and managed to turn around to face him. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be still very much asleep. He looked much younger with his face muscles relaxed, only the shade of a stubble was adding him maturity. She reached out and touched his cheek with tips of her fingers, enjoying the rough feeling under them.
"Sue..." he mumbled, his mind not really certain if he should go back to sleep or wake up, but the gentle touch of her fingertips giving him a ticking sensation was starting to drive him crazy.
"Hmm?" she smiled and moved her hand a up, touching his forehead and brushing some of his hair away from it.
He was fighting with the desire to sleep more and, not without some effort, slowly opened his eyes. He looked directly at her face, a warm, loving smile gracing her lips and immediately smiled, too. It was definitely the most beautiful sight he could imagine in the morning, even back when they were together he rarely got the chance to wake up this way because she was usually up much before him.
"Morning..." he said and moved his face closer to hers, capturing her lips in the gentlest and sweetest of kisses.
"Good morning." her smile only widened, when she felt him put his hand around her and press her against him, placing a kiss on top of her head. "Morning cuddle, hmm?" she felt him nod and chuckled.
Not that she had anything against it, she actually enjoyed to lie with him like this very much and if it was up to her, she wouldn't mind for the morning not to end. It's been a while since they could just be like this, cuddled to each other for practically as long as they wanted to. It wasn't late in the evening, when she would just start falling asleep tired after a day of work or while Emily was napping, when they knew she was going to wake up soon and they'll have to focus on her. Of course, they didn't complain; she was the best thing that happened to them, they loved her dearly and couldn't imagine that she wouldn't come to them, interrupting their moment of peace. But that didn't change the fact that now, when they could just enjoy it, they didn't find it wonderful.
He let out a deep, content sigh, placing another loving kiss on her head. His hand gently moved up from her side, landing on her head and he found himself stroking her hair with his fingers, slightly tangled in her locks. He just didn't want to let her go; it felt as if she was going to disappear the moment he releases her from his arms. For the last days he actually waited for this whole bubble to disappear, to wake up in the morning and realise that this whole giving it a try thing was just his dream, a wonderful work of his imagination. But now it felt real; she was so close, he could feel the warmth of her body against his, her scent present all around him, her hand playing with the hem of his t-shirt, her fingertips accidentally brushing his skin every now and then, giving him goosebumps. Yes, she was really there and it wasn't a dream and even though he was probably never going to know what it was he had done in his life that he deserved for her to be a part of it, he was the luckiest man in the universe.
They would love to stay like that all they, doing absolutely nothing, but it wasn't possible. They had to get out of the bed sooner or later, even if only to satisfy their growling stomachs, which decided for the right time to be rather sooner. He couldn't really offer her a lot of food, he wasn't even sure if there was anything actually edible in his apartment and it was soon decided, that they'll head for breakfast to her place. So they just changed from the clothes they were sleeping in and soon Sue's apartment was filled with a smell of pancakes and freshly-brewed coffee. He was sitting behind the table in the kitchen, going through the morning newspaper they got on their way and couldn't help but imagine that it was like a scene from a family movies. The only missing thing in the whole picture was a couple of children, walking in and taking their places behind the table as well, waiting for breakfast to eat it with their parents. A corner of his mouth moved up; perhaps in time.
"It seems like it's going to be raining today..." she said, looking through the window after they finished their meal and were drinking their coffee.
"Yeah... That would be it from our plans for a walk in the afternoon. It's cold today..."
"Speaking of what, I have to take something warmer for Emily to put on. I only gave her a thin cardigan because it was supposed to be nice and sunny today." with this words Sue stood up from her place and went to the girl's room. He could hear her talk to Levi, who was lying next to the door, as he always did when Emily wasn't home. Then, a sound of one of the drawers being slid out came to his ears, and few moments she appeared again, holding a small piece of paper in her hand. "What is this..?" she muttered in a questioning voice, eying the note carefully but she didn't understand a word from what was written on it.
It seemed to be written in French, which she didn't know at all. She could be able to learn a lot of things people believed she never would because of her disability to hear, but foreign languages were one of those things that just didn't work. Having a choice between Spanish and French she chose the first one, being told it's much easier than the latter and with the amount of work she had to put into everything, she wasn't up to another huge challenge. Yet it all turned out to be an absolute disaster and the only thing, which had anything to do with languages for her, was recognising when people spoke with an accent.
Jack looked at her curiously and reached out his hand; she passed the paper to him and noticed all the colour drain from his face. He stared at the note for a moment, his eyes wide, terror visible in his features. With shaking hand he placed it on the table and reached to the pocket of his jeans, when he had his cell phone. Muttering curses under his breath he finally managed to touch the right buttons on the screen and make a call. Sue watched him carefully, her heart jumping in her chest, her stomach in knot. What was written there, that it caused such a reaction?
"Is everything okay?" was the only thing he said, when he heard the voice on the other end. There was silence there for a moment. "Crash?"
"Is everything okay there, Jack? I was called to work at four in the morning, but when I was leaving your daughter was sleeping peacefully, perfectly fine. She didn't..."
He didn't manage to finish before Hudson moved the phone from his ear and finished the conversation. He pushed few more buttons, starting another one but after listening to signals of a free line for a moment, he reached the voicemail. He tried again, and once more, but it all had the same effect and he threw his phone onto the table in anger.
"Jack, what's going on?" asked Sue, watching him carefully, worry almost eating her.
"Later!" was the only thing he said, when he jumped up from his chair and started to gather his things to leave.
She didn't hesitate to do the same, even though she had absolutely no idea what was going on. She just grabbed her jacket, cell phone, keys, put on her shoes and shouted for Levi to follow her before leaving the apartment, quickly locking the door and running after Jack, who was already half way to the car. She has absolutely no idea how much traffic laws he has broken on the way to Bobby and Darcy's apartment but they arrived there in record time and he run up the stairs, taking few at once. Sue wasn't able to keep up with him and when she reached the right floor and then the door, she noticed it was open. She noticed it didn't look like Jack has just kicked it down but the man was inside. She walked in and realised, that besides the two of them, the apartment was empty. Her heart clenched; even though her mind suggested that they could just walk out, Jack's reaction suggested otherwise. She wasn't even sure how but she managed to but she made her way to him, make him stop and look at her.
"What's going on?" she said, in a voice that clearly told him that he wasn't going to dismiss her now.
He opened his mouth, but nothing left them. He almost jumped when the sound of his ringtone came to his ears and reached to his pocket to take his phone out. There was an unknown number displayed on the screen and it made his state only worse. His hand shaking even more than earlier, he somehow managed not to drop it to the floor and answer.
"Daddy!" his daughter's distressed voice was the first thing he heard and it made his heart sink. There were some noises, as if the phone was handed to someone else. "You really believed that you can run away from us, didn't you? I wonder, what is this wifey of yours going to say when she gets to know that thanks to you she's never going to see this little cutie again..? Or your friend, when he realises that it's all your fault that he'll lose his girl? Really, I thought you were cleverer than that, Jacques."
The conversation ended before he got the chance to say anything. Seeing the terror in his eyes only become bigger, Sue's fear only multiplied. Jack dropped the phone onto the floor, now completely white and fell to the floor by himself, covering his face with his hands. She kneeled in front of him and pulled the hands away from him to see his face.
"Jack, tell me what is going on!" she said through clenched teeth and the way he looked at her was breaking her heart.
"It's all my fault... They're going to kill them and it's all my fault..."