Time was slowly passing by, and if their moving to Wisconsin wasn't kind of forced, their life could be called almost idyllic. Sue was very quickly accepted into the area's community, but that wasn't anything surprising. The Hudsons were very respected family, and so was Jack, and everyone didn't have any doubts, that if he cared about Sue strongly enough to marry her, she had to be a great person as well.
They well all curious to meet her; the rumours about her existence spread after his visit to Wisconsin a few weeks earlier. The information that Jack Hudson had a wife was a big surprise for them, because they were all convinced that sooner or later he will marry Allie Willingham. It didn't surprise them, that he didn't come to his hometown after her accident, because they knew that people believed him to be dead. Yet, when it turned out that he was very much alive, and he finally showed up, it became clear that they were wrong. Just like they suspected, Allie's memory loss didn't change anything between them but it was obvious, that there wasn't anything deeper between them than friendship. And it wasn't possible to happen, that nobody would notice the gold band on his finger, so the rumours spread pretty quickly. When he heard most of them from Caroline, Jack couldn't stop laughing; there were some, which were quite close to the truth, but most of them were far from it, and few were absolutely ridiculous.
Their curiosity was raised even higher, when the Hudsons started spending more and more time in the house, which for a very long time belonged to the Mayfield family. They knew, that the older of Samuel Mayfield's grandsons were living in the house, which previously belonged to his paternal grandparents, so they believed that they either were renovating it for the younger one, or decided to sell it. It was only when Jack, Sue and Emily arrived there, that all their questions were answer and their curiosity satisfied, even if only a little. Everyone knew that he was happy with his life in DC, and nothing suggested that he might want to return to his hometown, but when according to the plan, the information not to reveal their presence there to anyone outside of the local community spread around, they kind of understood everything. The ideas of reasons behind their sudden appearance were varying, but they all had one thing in common – they came because they were hiding, what was in fact true.
Sue was actually a little surprised by the friendliness, which she was greeted with, but definitely didn't mind it. Yes, of course, they approached her with a little distance at first, and she felt uncomfortable when everyone's head turned in her direction whenever she was shopping or spending some time outside with Emily, but despite her fears, felt very great in that place. She missed her family and friends of course, and would rather being able to at least call them, but she also met a few great people there and they made sure, that she wasn't dwelling on what she was missing too much. Despite what she thought to be a strange first meeting, she became really good friends with Kate Durham, whose daughter, Mia, was only two months older than Emily, and the girls became pretty close as well.
They met during Sue and Emily's first visit to the big playground. There were two in the town, and the smaller one was located much closer to their home, but this time it was really crowded. The day was absolutely wonderful, very warm and sunny, and most of the kids were out of their house, to enjoy it. Because of it, there was practically no place for anyone else and they went on a longer walk, to the other one, where there wasn't any less people, but much more space. When they reached it, she even managed to find a free bench to sit on, with a very good view of the whole playground, and Emily sat with her for a while, before Sue managed to convince her not to be afraid.
She could see that spending time with her cousins had a really great influence on Emily, and even though she was probably never going to completely overcome her shyness, she was much more open to playing with kids. This day, however, was the first time she approached someone by herself, and Sue considered it to be a huge success. This someone was nobody other but little Mia Durham, sitting alone in the corner of the sandpit, even though there was a lot of children around. Nobody seemed concerned by it, even the person she came with, and she had no doubts that they had to notice it. The intense red colour of her hair was definitely not something, what could be easily missed, and she also suspected it was one of the first things that made Emily notice her.
She watched the scene carefully, as her daughter slowly walked to the girl and even though it was a little too far to see her lips clearly, she obviously had to ask if she could play with her. Sue's eyes widened a little in surprise, when she noticed the girl stare at Emily with a blank look on her face for a moment only to notice her hands move, recognizing the gesture easily. It then dawned on her, that she must have had no way to communicate with other kids, because she was sure that they didn't know even a little ASL, and it discouraged her. Emily, however, did. Sue taught her it, and even though she wasn't using it very often, she was a very clever 'student'. Her level wasn't much worse than children her age, for who it was a first language, and Sue smiled, when she noticed her daughter sign in response.
She watched the two girls, very aware of the surprised gazes from other people, who were present on the playground. It didn't really shock her, because most of them had absolutely no idea that she was deaf; they never realised, and she didn't really see the reason or need to inform them, either – she barely exchanged a few words with them, usually their contact was limited to exchanging a good morning upon meeting each other somewhere. She wasn't in any way hiding it and wasn't afraid of it becoming a common knowledge, because it was inevitable to happen now. She got to know the place well enough, to understand how it all worked here, and everyone either knew or wanted to know everything about the others, so there was no doubts they were going to ask her where Emily knows the sign language from.
She was pretty sure, that this curiosity was sooner than later going to get the better out of somebody, so she wasn't surprised when Levi placed his paw on her knee, alerting her that someone was speaking to her. She turned her head and looked at the woman, who she had no doubts had to be the girl's mom because of the very same red colour of hair. She greeted her with a smile, and realised that she probably asked her a question and was expecting an answer, when she noticed how taken aback she looked like.
"If you said anything to me, I'm afraid I don't really know what it was. I have to see your lips for that."
"Oh…" was the only thing the woman said at first, and just when she was about to explain her what she meant, it seemed to dawn at her. "Oh!" she repeated, taking a seat next to her. "You are the reason why this girl knows more than just a few basic signs… You're reading my lips right now, aren't you? That's how you know what I'm saying to you, even though you can't hear it..!"
"Yes, that's right." said Sue, and it was now her, who was taken aback, because of the sudden excitement, which she noticed appearing in her companion.
"Oh! I'm sorry! You must think me crazy right now!" the red-head suddenly understood the slightly questioning look in Sue's eyes. "It's just… My daughter is the only deaf person I have ever encountered… I know, of course, that despite this she can have a perfectly normal life, but meeting you allows me to see it on my own eyes…"
It became obvious very quickly, that Kate was a very talkative person, but Sue didn't really mind that. The woman always remembered to make sure she could read her before speaking, but what brought them closer the most were the ASL lessons. They were actually more like practices, because both Kate and her husband were attending the ASL course, and as she noticed, were both very dedicated to learning it. She had no doubts it was because of Mia, and it only made her feel more sympathy towards them, especially that despite making sure that she knew ASL, her own parents never were very eager to learn it themselves, depending almost completely on her skills to read lips and speak, knowing just basic signs. As it later turned out, Jack knew Mike from school; they were in the same class, even though Sparky didn't really remember him. They have never been friends, and it was very possible that they never exchanged more than few words back then, but Jack Hudson was known by everyone. But, the developing friendship between their wives and daughters made them get to know each other better, and soon the Durhams became one of the Hudsons' best friends.
Also, the bond between the Hudson brothers developed, and was now stronger than ever and the same was with the rest of their families. They spent a lot of time together as well. When someone looked at the kids, playing together, they couldn't believe that those boys some time earlier weren't delighted that their only cousin was a girl. Now, their bond was more similar to that of siblings, but it wasn't that surprising because of the amount of time they were spending together. Caroline really wanted to make Sue feel at home, but also helped her a little with getting to know better the community, and the way everything worked around. Sue quickly saw, that it was indeed pretty specific, even for a small town because, after all, she came from one, which wasn't much bigger. Still, she was grateful for her, and very glad that Emily seemed to be opening up, mainly under Brian's influence but Tyler's too.
The idyllic period, however, couldn't go on forever. It has been almost e year since they came there, and during this time they both became very comfortable in that place. It was difficult for them to believe that it was such a long time, which they haven't seen their friends, or Sue's family for, but the days were passing inexorably. They both worked really hard to make their relationship return to what it was, and not only succeeded, but managed to make their bond even stronger. There were moments that she really couldn't believe, that she decided to give him a chance mostly for Emily's sake, but deep in her heart she knew, that it was also for her own sake as well.
Because of successfully hiding for such a long time, they started to think that perhaps they managed to escape, only to be showed how wrong they were. They also saw, that Jack's belief in the people from the area wasn't groundless, and they proved their loyalty very much, when the danger finally appeared. Even if they didn't know, that they shouldn't reveal Jack and Sue's presence in town, they would realise the seriousness of the situation when the black van with darkened windows, which they have never seen before. The three men sitting inside not only weren't one of them, but didn't look like people they could trust and they kept insistently asking about the Hudsons' location. It was clear they weren't pleased, that nobody wanted to give them any details.
It was mostly thanks to Caroline and Mike, that Jack was informed about their arrival. Just like he planned, he was working in his family's company, helping his brother to manage it and deal with legal matters. When he left home that day, he didn't even notice that the battery of his cell phone was dead, and didn't realise it until his brother stormed into the room, which was made to be his office, and informed him about the most urgent call from his sister-in-law. Being unable to reach him personally, the first idea Mike Durham got was go to his brother's house, and Caroline didn't hesitate even for a second before calling her husband.
The moment he heard the news, he ran out of the building and into his car, completely ignoring Timothy, who was running after him, intending to accompany him. On his way he dialled the number given to him before they left DC, which he was to use only in case of emergency and then threw the cell phone onto the passenger seat, knowing that it was designed only for them to give the FBI signal that they were needed without requiring him to tell the details. He didn't care at all how many traffic regulations he broke on his way home, but he wouldn't be surprised if someone told him that all he could on his way. He only wished not to be stopped, to reach the house as fast as it was only possible, knowing that the FBI needed at least fifteen minutes to get there, and Sue was going to need him until they show up. Next to the one he always had in the glove compartment of his car, there was also kept one gun at home, but he knew how Sue was with using them and it didn't make him feel any better. He had no doubts that if needed, she wouldn't hesitate to use it, but would most probably feel horribly about it afterwards.
When he finally reached his destination, he noticed a black van parked in front of the house, and cursed loudly. He took his gun and practically jumped out of the car, but before he could run inside heard a gunshot, and the sound of the bullet, hitting glass of the front window. He immediately hid behind a car, thinking that he should have expected that someone was going to make sure nobody was going to be able to get into the house. On his way he pretty much guessed what the plan had to be – catching them unprepared, when he was at work so Sue and Emily were alone. Even though they could succeed as well even when he was at home, their chances to succeed were higher when he wasn't, even if only because Sue wasn't as good with the gun as he was.
When the series of shots stopped, he waited a short moment before taking a much better position to defend himself and leaned out a little from behind the car, wanting to find the place the shooter was hiding and managed to do that before he needed to hide again to avoid the bullets. Even though it wasn't that long, for Jack it seemed that the firing was lasting forever before he finally managed to hit the other man. Even though he managed to hurt only his arm, before he managed to reach to his gun again, Jack kicked it away from him and few of the neighbours run out of their houses, one of them carrying a rope. He didn't even look behind himself, convinced that being so outnumbered, the man, whose face he now recognized but didn't remember the name, didn't have any chances. He simply ran straight into the house, calling out his wife's name and stopped dead, when he got into the living room.
One of the organisations' more important members, Pierre if he remembered correctly, was standing in the middle of the room, aiming his gun at Sue's head, who he was holding in front of himself, while looking straight at Jack with a cheeky smile on his face. Quickly glancing around, Jack didn't notice Emily or Levi anywhere, and understood that Sue must have hidden them somewhere. She had a few bleeding wounds, the worst on her forehead, as well as a lot of scratches but it didn't surprise him that much. Pierre was known amongst them to be probably the most brutal of all, and it never mattered to him if he was dealing with a man, woman or even a child. Jack's anger only raised, having no doubts that she had to receive a strong beating from him before he arrived.
"Jack!" exclaimed Sue, a hint of hope very audible in her voice, when she noticed her husband, while her eyes were full of fear.
"Jacques! C'est magnifique! [That's great!]" he exclaimed. "J'ai commencé à penser que vous ne serez jamais venir! [I started to think you'll never come!]"
"Laissez-la partir, Pierre. C'est moi que vous voulez, pas elle. [Let her go, Pierre. That's me you want, not her.] "
"C'est là que vous avez tort. Quel plasir aurais-je, de la laisser partir, si je peux te voir souffir pendant que je prends lentement la vie de l'une des personnes les plus précieux de votre vie ? [This is where you are wrong. What fun would I have, letting her go, if I can watch you suffer while I slowly take the life of one of the most precious people in your life?]"
Jack cursed in his mind, knowing that his best option was making sure he wasn't going to do anything to Sue before the FBI will arrive. There was no way he could risk a shot, the way he was covering himself with Sue's body made it much more possible, that he'll hit her.
"Lâchez votre arme, Jacques, sauf si vous voulez me voir envoyant une balle en plein dans sa tête. [Drop the gun, Jacques, unless you want to see me sending a bullet right into her head.]"
Another man, Jean, came into his sight and Jack knew, that he didn't have another choice. He had no back-up, was alone against two armed men, while Pierre could indeed very easily kill Sue just pulling the trigger, and he lowered his gun, placing it on the ground, and after the man ordered him to, he kicked it into a far corner of the room, where he noticed another one. He slowly walked to the wall, all the time praying for the help to come, just like he was ordered to and his eyes widened in surprise, when he saw Pierre let go of Sue, only to hit her in the head so hard, that she fell to the floor.
"Vous salaud! [You bastard!]" he yelled and any bit of rationality left him.
It would be a huge understatement to call his actions crazy, but it made him lose any self-control he had. He threw himself at Pierre, managing to throw the gun out of his hand and punch him very hard, while Jean, shocked by the sight in front of him didn't react immediately. It was obvious he didn't expect Jack to do that, but recovered very quickly. It all happened within seconds. Jean raised his arm, aiming his gun at Jack and pulled the trigger. Hudson heard Sue desperately yelling his name and he felt as if his heart stopped for a moment, when she suddenly appeared in front of him, covering him and crying out, when the bullet dived into her body. She fell to the floor, and in the next moment Jean did that as well, while a group of people stormed into the room.
Somewhere in his mind the thought that the FBI finally arrived appeared, but the only thing he could really focus on was Sue. Nothing else existed in his world in that moment, only his wife, lying on the floor, bleeding heavily from the shot wound in her stomach. He was immediately at her side, one of his hands immediately pushing hers away from the bleeding wound and pressing it hard, praying for the bleeding to stop at least a little. Someone shouted to him that the ambulance was already on its way, but it wasn't enough. She needed the paramedics here, not on the way. He kept repeating to her that she needed to be strong, that everything was going to be fine, to open her eyes because she couldn't lose her consciousness, even though he knew she couldn't hear any of it. His heart jumped, when he suddenly gazed right into her eyes.
Her eyes were closed, but she was still conscious. She had no doubts it was Jack, who was holding her and leaned her head in his direction, resting it on his knees. The pain was horrible and the need to close her eyes, to run away from the pain was growing stronger. She was fighting it, a part of her was aware that she shouldn't give in, but it was becoming more and more difficult. She reached out her hand and touched Jack's cheek with her fingertips, feeling as if she was using the last of her strength. It was then, that she knew that losing this fight was inevitable, and her arm fell heavily onto the floor. The last thing she saw was Jack's eyes, those wonderful brown eyes, filled with fear and desperation, as well as tears, before everything went black.
A/N: This time I decided to add the note at the end, mostly because the first thing I want to say is: Please, don't kill me. I really will do my best to update as quickly as I can, so you won't be left with this cliffhanger for long. :) As you noticed, I jumped ahead in time - I've done some thinking and decided that doing it will be the best. At first I wanted to write a little more about the life Jack and Sue were leading in Wisconsin, but changed my mind because it really wasn't turning out the way I thought, it was more like needless lenghtening the story. We really are slowly approaching the end of it, there are just a few chapter left before it will be complete. Oh, and I don't know French, and completely relied on Google, so if there are mistakes, I'm sorry. I'm eager to correct them, only tell me how :) Thanks :)