A/N: I don't really like this chapter, but I hope you are going to have at least a little different thoughts... I'll leave you to it :)
The whole team was happy when Dimitrius was chosen for their supervisor and over the years this never changed. It could be because he was their friend, but they all guessed that even though it could have some influence, he also wanted to be a fair person and knew them well enough to understand the situations they were sometimes finding themselves in, and rarely had any problems with giving them few days off if they needed then, even on particularly busy days. This time she didn't have to ask, she didn't even make it to his office; the moment he saw her in the bullpen he told her to take few days off and spend them with her family. Thanks to this, she was now sitting on the bench in the park, enjoying the warm feeling of the rays of the sun on her skin, keeping an eye on Emily at the same time. The girl was on the playground, located in the centre of the park and surrounded by benches, which were mostly occupied by the parents of those little ones, who were there. She watched her daughter in the sandpit, which she knew Emy always loved to play in; it always meant that another set of clothes was needed when they were leaving and knowing that if only she had the chance to, the girl would go to play there, Sue always had one ready in the bag. Telling her that she couldn't play there because they needed to go somewhere else later would be ridiculous and taking her to the nearest bathroom to change her clothes wasn't a problem.
The park was located near the Hoover building, and they were waiting there for Jack, who went to meet with his supervisor. Sue felt worried about this meeting, because as much as she understood that the best thing for them would be disappearing – at least for some time – she really didn't want it to happen this way. She just couldn't imagine being forced to restrain from any contact with people she cared about. Yes it was Jack and Sue, who she couldn't live without and she would have them with herself, but she would still miss her family and friends, not to mention that her parents and brothers would surely worry about her very much. She was sure that her mother would be complaining, especially if she was to hear that it was in a way because of Jack. No, she didn't blame him but she was aware that he was more or less responsible for this situation. Still, all the other circumstances, wouldn't be important for Carla Thomas.
To say that her mother had difficulties accepting the whole situation, when she learnt that Sue married Jack just like that, out of the blue and the man went onto this assignment, leaving her pregnant, would be an understatement. Mrs. Thomas couldn't deny that a part of her hoped that at one point in the future, her daughter will be with the man at least similar to what she believed Hudson to be. She couldn't, however, believe that he would so easily leave Sue if he truly loved her, but what annoyed the younger woman the most was that she completely didn't want to listen to her explanations. She believed that she was just trying to justify his actions, blinded by her love for him, which Carla had no doubts was very strong, even if those words were actually true. She tried to give as much comfort as she could and Sue would accept after the news of his supposed death, but the last conversation with her Sue had didn't go well at all. She was afraid how her mother was going to react to the information that he was very much alive and now back with her, and it turned out that she was right. There was a pause, indicating that Carla was silent for quite a while, and the words, which followed made Sue sure, that at this moment, they had the exact opposite views of what she should do. It seemed her mom believed that she and Emily would be way better without him, convinced that he didn't care about them as much as he should. She kept telling her that she had no idea if he wasn't going to leave again, if he wasn't going to bring troubles upon them because of this whole mission and hundreds of other reasons, until Sue just couldn't take it any longer and just hanged up. Still, she was absolutely certain that if they indeed hid in the Witness Protection Program, showed back up when it was safe and later tell their families what happened, her mother would only get more convinced that she was right.
She was gotten out of her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder, and she turned her face in the direction. She looked straight at Jack, who was standing with her with an expression on his face and in his eyes, which was completely unreadable for her and she couldn't find any hints as to how the meeting went. Jack, on the other hand, could see that she was quite impatient to get to know everything, and knowing that the next opportunity will arise only after their daughter was asleep – assuming it wasn't going to look like the previous night – he sat down on the bench next to her.
"So..?" she spoke up, when he didn't say anything long while after he took a seat next to her, and it was the reason why she was starting to get really worried.
"Well I was able to negotiate and we've got a choice, but I'm afraid you might not like any of the ways..." he looked at her sheepishly. "Just like I thought, Davison suggested the Witness Protection Program and wasn't keen on letting me suggest something less radical, but in the end gave in... I suggested that we might in a way, disappear... At least from here... There still would be risk that they might find us and we couldn't blame the FBI if anything was to happen, but if we were very careful it could work... We wouldn't be able to keep contact with everyone, but we could be in touch with our families..."
"Unless you meant the risk part, I don't really see the reason why I shouldn't like this..."
"That too... But he asked me if I know the place we could go to... I do know one, mentioned it to him and he said that it might not be that bad if we really are going to be very careful... But... It's the area, where I grew up..."
Sue nodded her head, finally understanding why Jack was so hesitant about sharing it with her, even if he had to. If they went there, they would be very close to his family and they had no idea how it would look life for them. They have never met Sue or Emily, and the truth was that she was afraid at the thought that they might one day meet, even though Jack kept assuring her that they were going to love her. Still, she couldn't know until they actually met and the thought that they might not like each other, while they would be forced to live so close - what in small town meant that there was absolutely no way to avoid each other – wasn't very appealing. On the other hand, she had to admit it still seemed better than completely cutting any connection to their current lives. The thought of not being able to contact their friends still hurt, but they were all aware of their situation and would definitely understand, as well as miss her as much as she them...
"Umm... Where would we live there? With your parents..?" was one of the first questions which appeared in her head as she kept thinking about it.
"My grandparents' house is empty, and I'm sure my grandfather wouldn't have anything against us living there for some time... I think he'd even be happy with this, hoping we're going to stay there forever... I can't say it's in perfect shape, but if I talked to my parents, I think they could have it made livable..."
"You were right... I don't fully like neither of those two choices. Still, Wisconsin sounds better than the Program... I see one problem, though. You're from a small town, people know each other and talk... If we suddenly appear there, we're going to be the topic number one, what kind of ruins the idea of hiding there."
"Good point, but my family is generally respected in the local community and we could use it to spread the information that they shouldn't talk about us outside of their little society and shouldn't mention our whereabouts to strangers... We would still be on their tongues, but only of the residents of those two neighbouring towns."
"Are you certain this would actually work?" she didn't seem convinced, because no matter what, one could never be absolutely sure what other people will do.
"Yes. They might be gossipers, but when it comes to sharing the information, they all keep it within the community. It's a specific area, those two towns are a little secluded and people, who come from them don't travel outside of them until they need and whenever someone new comes, they don't have the easiest start... It would be easier for you and Emily because they know me... I am not saying that it's the best idea and we really should go there, but that's all I was able to negotiate... I leave the final choice to you, but I have to tell Davison on Monday at the latest..."
"I think that Wisconsin is quite an obvious choice... As I said, I don't love it but out of those two, it's the better one..."
"You don't have to decide immediately, Sue. Think it through."
"There isn't much to think about and I am not going to change my mind. I can only get more convinced that this one is the right choice. Tell me one thing, though. Why did you suggest it?"
"We needed a place, which would be quite a distance from here, but it needed to be a place where we would have a place to live and work... We could use the house I mentioned, I could work in my family's company and it would go on somehow, until it would be safe to return to our current life."
The talk finished, when Emily ran to them because she wanted something to drink. They decided it was also time for them to slowly head back to the apartment. On the way, and later during working on the dinner, Sue kept thinking about it all and just like she said, she was only getting more convinced that they should choose Jack's home State. She could only hope that Jack's family was really going to accept her and her daughter easily, and now that the thought of meeting the Hudsons was much less abstract, she was a little scared. She didn't know just how much exactly he shared with them, and even though he knew what they were like so he could predict how they were going to act, she felt worried. What if they were going to think that she wasn't a right person for their son? Jack claimed that it didn't matter, that the most important thing for them would be that she was making him happy, but what if it was only what they claimed and in reality, it would be different?
She sighed; if nothing suddenly changed, she was going to see how it all will turn out pretty soon. All this worrying was pointless, because there was absolutely nothing she could do, and perhaps she didn't have to worry in advance. What really mattered was for them to be together and safe, and if it was what they needed to do not to lose everything else they had, she was up for it.