A/N: It took me a little longer to update this time, but here we go. Thanks for reading, and also for reviewing - it is really nice to know your feeling about the chapters ;) Hope you'll enjoy! :)
Two days passed and so far, Sue could call it the best visit at her parents' house since she moved out to DC. Much to the surprise of Peter Thomas, his wife and daughter not only haven't argued about anything but seemed to get along pretty well. He even wondered if it wasn't the calm before the storm, which was just waiting for the good moment to come. On the other hand, he could see only one reason capable of making it come – the black-haired man, who was now in the backyard with his wife and daughter. Carla, however, instead of trying to reason with Sue why she shouldn't be with him, decided to watch the man carefully and judge his feelings towards Sue and Emily before saying anything about him. Everyone could see her attitude to him changing, and even though she was far from being so warm and open towards him as she was when they first met, she wasn't completely ignoring him. She wasn't entirely convinced that it was a good idea, and she was afraid he was going to bring troubles, but just like anyone watching him with his two girls, she could see that he indeed loved them very much.
"It's been a while since we last saw Susie so happy and carefree..." he said to her, when she stood next to him, as they were watching the three through the window.
"Yes... It's good to see her this way again..."
She smiled and drifted off in her thoughts, her eyes never leaving the scene outside the house. Perhaps Sue was right, and giving this man a second change was the right thing to do. He brought back this part of her daughter, which disappeared along with him and nobody, not even Emily, was able to make it return. If someone didn't know that the two were apart for so long, that he only met this little girl few months ago, they would never suspect it upon seeing them. They looked like a perfect little family, like it was this way forever. Obviously, it was meant to be this way and they all could only pray for it to never change.
Bill stepped into the room right about the same time, and smiled at the sight. It was good to see, that in the end his mother listened to him. He was never going to admit it to anyone, but he asked her to give Jack a chance to prove himself before she judged him. He knew his little sister well enough to know, that even though she had her moments of being naive, that she always tried to see only good in people, she guarded her heart much stronger than one would think. She would never give it all to someone, who she wasn't absolutely certain was a good person and Jack Hudson owned it completely. He had no doubts that deep in her heart Carla knew it as well, but his mother always had this tendency to think she knew what was good for Sue better than Sue herself, and it often blinded her to the facts. Right now, however, she seemed to see what he hoped they all would and he was happy that he wasn't wrong in his assumptions.
"For the first time in years, I don't feel like I can't wait to go home and we have to leave tomorrow evening..." Sue sighed, sitting on the grass, with her back leaning against the tree. She deliberately sat opposite to Jack, who held their napping daughter against himself; she really loved the image and it was more adorable only when the man was asleep as well. Levi was lying next to her, with his head placed on her lap enjoying the little bit of her attention he was getting, while she was scratching him behind his ears.
"I wish I could say we can stay longer, but you know it's impossible... It was difficult enough to convince the FBI to let us make such a long stop here... We wouldn't want to annoy them..." he reached out one of his arms and took her hand in his, squeezing it. "It's going to be okay, Sue. The time will pass quicker than you think, and soon we'll be making a stop here on our way back."
"On our way back, I'm taking a plane. There's been two days, and I still feel the few-hours nap on the front seat in my back... I'm pretty sure Emily will want to fly, too... But if you want to drive, I'm certain Levi will be happy to join you, considering how much he dislikes planes..." she grinned at him playfully.
"Ha, ha, ha." he narrowed his eyes, looking at her and she stuck out her tongue at him. "Right now you're lucky I have Emy here, but I will get you."
"I hate to interrupt, but they're going to be here soon."
Jack turned around to look at the house, and when Sue's eyes followed she noticed her brother standing in the door. She didn't have to ask her husband to repeat what the man said, because there was no other reason for him to come other than to remind them that her two other brothers with families were coming for dinner, and at the same time small family gathering. It was a rare occasion for all the children of Carla and Peter to be in Ohio at the same time, with Bill in San Francisco, Jimmy in Chicago and Sue in DC. Only Paul stayed closer, living with his wife and two children on the other side of the town. Sue missed her brothers very much, she always loved their meeting when they were all together, but this time her youngest older brother wasn't going to be there, or at least that was what she was convinced about. It was a huge surprise for her, when Bill, like a little boy, announced they were coming and she glanced through the window to see two of her brothers with their families walking towards the house. She had no idea, that the moment Paul heard that his sister and older brother were coming to his parents, he called Jimmy and suggested for to come as well. They all agreed, that they were going to make Sue a surprise, because even though she didn't tell them anything – and they knew that there was no sense to ask – they knew, that it might be a while before they were going to see her again. Judging by her face expression, they knew that it worked.
Hudson watched the family greet each other, holding Emily in his arms. It's been a while since she saw her uncles, and even though Bill managed to reach her, Paul didn't really have the chance because the last week was very busy for him and they didn't even have a chance to pay him a visit, as he spent practically whole day at work, coming back home at a late hour in the evening. Jimmy arrived just on the previous day, and from what Sue told him, they didn't see each other for quite a while and Emily didn't really remember or recognize most of the people, who came. Being the shy girl, who wasn't very open to people she didn't know well, she just clung to her dad and the two observed the rest talking happily. Jack remembered Sue telling him that Paul was the only one of her brothers, who was truly similar to their mother; Bill, Jimmy and her took their looks way more after their father, with the exception of the eyes, because Sue's were the only ones, which had the same hazel colour as Peter's. Soon it was time for him and Emy to be noticed, and he was greeted warmly by most of them. The only exception was Jimmy, who he could feel treated him with the same cold attitude as Carla but in contrary to her, didn't remain silent.
"So, you're the guy who captured my sister's heart, knocked her up and left for almost three years in belief that he's dead, shattering her heart to pieces?" he asked, looking at him with a hostile gaze in his eyes.
"Jimmy!" gasped Sue in disbelief, looked at the man with shock mixed with anger.
"What? You're going to deny any of this happened? All he had to do was show up, and you've already forgotten everything? I'm simply calling a spade a spade, Sue. He left once, he's going to do this again, and I'm actually surprised you can be so naive."
He walked away from them, while she stared at him as if he has just grew another head. She didn't know that nobody actually told him that Jack was going to be there and he just reacted, but it didn't change the fact that she believed he didn't have the right to treat her husband this way. Everyone was standing in silence and the awkwardness was starting to become overwhelming. Bill was the first one to rally, and followed his brother out of the house while the rest simply went to the dining room, where the table was almost ready. Only the Hudsons remained where they were. Sue turned around and went to the window, trying to calm herself before they were going to join the rest. Jack sat Emily on the couch, the girl now feeling much more comfortable with only her parents in the room, and was watching the two adults, not really understanding what was going on, even though she could feel that her mommy was upset. Sparky stopped right behind her, placing his hands on her arms and placing a gentle kiss on the back of her head. It took only a moment for her to turn around and look at him.
"Obviously, it was all going too good and something like this had to happen, I thought it's going to be my mom, though... On the other hand, he did inherit a lot of our mom's traits and even though I had no idea he was going to be there, I should have expected it when I noticed him... I'm sorry..."
"Sue..! There is no need for you to be sorry!" he spoke, after he cupped her face, lifting her head slightly and making sure she was looking at him. "I can't say that I wasn't expecting such an attitude from your whole family... From what they know, and they can't be told everything, this is exactly what I did and if I was on their place, I would blame myself as well. It was a nice surprise to see, that most of them either share this wonderful heart of yours or decided to give me a chance, and you shouldn't be angry at your brother. He's just protective, and he doesn't want you to be hurt."
"Funny, considering that I feel hurt by what he did." he leaned closer and placed a loving, lingering kiss on her forehead before he spoke again.
"And I just plan to prove him, that he doesn't know me at all. I am not leaving, no matter what, and he will see that I will be there, always. I think it's the best, and perhaps only way I can show him that he is wrong..."
Sue just sighed, but he knew it meant that she agreed with him. He pulled her to himself, holding her against his chest and soon felt her wrap her arms around him, nestling into his embrace. It wasn't long before he felt tugging on his sleeve and looked down to see Emily, standing right beside them.
"Huggy?" she asked, lifting her arms so he was going to pick her up. Sue and Jack both smiled, exchanging glances and she took the girl into her arms before he wrapped his arms around them both, holding them close.
They had no idea, that in the very same moment Carla stepped into the room to call them for dinner. A small smile made its way onto her face at the scene in front of her, and instead of interrupting, she turned around and silently walked back to the rest of the family. Yes, it seemed she was wrong about this man, and not for the first time she was happy that her daughter decided not to listen to her.