Thank you for your reviews, I'm sorry for the time in between posts, but I have to divide attention to a multitude of things. Despite that, thanks for reading.

FBI Safehouse

Eastern Maryland, 10.12 AM

She had nestled close to him, feeling his warmth against her skin and she relived the dazzling moments of intimacy of just before. He held her close, stroking her hair, letting his fingers trail down her neck and spine, sending shivers through her body, he placed a soft kiss on her shoulder. She turned to have a better look at his face. He gave her a smile.

'You certainly know how to keep a man from being able to think straight Ms. Thomas,' he said. She smiled back as her finger drew circles on his chest. 'A mutual experience, Mr. Hudson.'

She let out a deep sigh. "WHAT?"

"NOTHING, ME HAPPY ME LOOK-at YOU." He smiled. "ME SAME-SAME."

She took his hand, and closed his fingers, but left his little fingers extended in a classifier 'I', with that she drew a 'J' over her heart. She smiled as she did it, looking at him. His eyes followed the movement of his hand. He looked into her eyes. "SIGN WHAT YOU? what did you sign?"

"YOU" she said and she repeated the sign with her own right hand, drawing the letter over her heart. "NAME SIGN cl. 'J' ME GIVE YOU. NOW DEAF WORLD WELCOME YOU I gave you your Name Sign, now you're truly accepted in the Deaf World"

He made the sign. She nodded, beaming. 'To become a true member of the Deaf World, you need a name sign. A Deaf has to give it to you. It usually is something we find uniquely yours, or something that happened we remember as typical of someone.'

"NOW DEAF WORLD ME ENTER ME? Now I'm in the Deaf World?"

She pointed at him, tapped her heart and then signed "IN" before her heart. 'You're already inside my heart.'

He repeated his sign. His lips curled into a smile. 'I like it., it's simple yet powerful.' He gave her a tender kiss on her hand. "THANK YOU, GIFT BEAUTIFUL"

"NAME SIGN YOU WHAT?" he asked, after they just looked at each other for a while. She showed him. Her right hand first forming the letter 'S', turning her hand and then the sign for "GROW": her right flattened 'O' hand, palm facing in, brought up through her left 'C' hand, palm facing in, fingers pointing right. She spread her right hand in a 5 hand, like a flower coming to bloom. 'Sue,' she said. 'The sign my mother gave me, for she saw me as someone who could blossom to become great.'

'Wow,' he said, and he signed it after her. 'She was right. But I never saw you using it.'

'I did and do, but you couldn't have known its meaning. Now you do, I'd want you to use it too, just like I will use yours.' He smiled. "fs DEAL"

She glanced at the clock, and got up a little. "TIME 10.30 MORNING, LATE YOU ME. It's 10.30AM already, we're late"

"PAH, NONE DIFFICULT, NOW DAY WORK NOT GO ME. Pah, that's okay, I'm not going to work today anyway"

She squinted her eyes a little, and began to smile. 'You're already settled here, aren't you?' she said, teasingly. He got up too. 'I think we've got little choice. Better make the best of it.'

'If I didn't know better, I would think it was a Sunday,' said Sue as she leaned back on her pillows, watching him get dressed. He raised his brows and impish grin played round his lips. 'So that's how you spend Sunday mornings, Ms. Thomas?……I'm shocked.'

She flushed, cheeks coloring at his comment. "ME TEASE YOU," he said laughing, loving the way she looked when she was flushed. "BLUSH YOU, ME THINK BEAUTIFUL YOU."

She shook her finger at him admonishingly, when he leaned over to give her kiss on her cheek. "HUNGRY YOU?" he asked.

'Famished,' she answered. 'I'll see what's around,' he said. He turned when he was near the door. 'You want me to walk Levi?' he asked.

'Would you? Thank you, I was about to ask you. I'm longing for a nice long bath,' Sue said as she got up too.

There was no awkwardness anymore, he suddenly realized when he watched how she slipped into a robe. There was a naturalness around it all, as if it had never been different.

He waited for her to look in his direction. Then he signed 'see ya later', a modified version of SEE, where the 'V' changed into an L loosely arched forward.

Sue frowned a little, but she nodded smiling, she had seen Troy using this one to his buddies.

oOo

Levi had seemed overly excited about exploring a whole new environment, the ability to hunt after some rabbits, having a stampede after his ball. Jack enjoyed watching the golden furred animal having fun as he walked down a winding sandy path, amidst birches and pinewood that led to the Bay. His hands in his pockets he wandered to the waterside. He stood on the small beach and stared over the Bay in front of him, he could make out land in the distance to his right, and houses. But he didn't recognize the surroundings.

Then his cell phone rang and he picked it out of his pocket: Garrett.

'Sir,' he said.

'Jack, how's everything?'

'We're resting in acquiesce, for now.'

'Well, you'll have to for the time being,' Garrett said. 'Last night could've gone horribly wrong, I'm not taking any chances.'

'They did exactly what they've been told to do,' Jack said.

'They tried to kill you and Sue, Hudson, but failed.'

'No, they didn't. They warned us. They gave me the opportunity to escape. Next time, we're dead before we knew what hit us. These guys were pro's, they hit exactly what they were supposed to. The rest is just collateral damage to them, no matter how gruesome.'

'Maybe, maybe not. The thing still is: it's not safe to come back.'

'I understand.'

'We're after one of the guys in the car in Chevy Chase, a Dmitri Scriabin, this could be a breakthrough.'

'That's good, what else?'

'That's about it, the good news that is.'

'Why? What happened?'

'It seems Norfolk was just a smokescreen for their next deal. Harbor Patrol found ten Africans in Baltimore, just off Hathaway Island. Slaughtered. Seems whatever deal they had, they were set up. Rumor has it, the Russians are responsible. Baltimore is down there, handling things, we're expecting more details.'

'Shit.'

'I know, this case has seen more setbacks than the Redskins this season.'

'I'm more of a Hockey-fan.'

'It was just a figure of speech.' Jack had to smile. He picked up the ball Levi had dropped near his feet, his eyes pleading for him to throw it away. Then he went after it in full gallop.

'How's Sue?' he heard Garrett asking.

'Getting better, shocked obviously, but she's more brave than I ever thought,' Jack said as he kicked away a few pebbles into the water and watched the circles they made when hitting the surface.

'Good, good to hear that. I'll have to go, I'll keep in touch if things change or we got something.'

'How's the team?' Jack asked.

'Good, upset, but determined to get them and bring you back. I've doubled manpower, we're going to nail the bastards, Jack. Say Hi to Sue for me.'

'Will do,' and Jack ended the call. He stood there, hands in his pockets, staring over the bay, thinking. How much had changed in the space of a few weeks. How everyday life could be so thoroughly turned upside down, and how things unattainable could become reality. He smiled as he thought of the woman he had just made love to. And who had made love to him. The events that had brought them here where the same that had him realize just how much he loved her, how much he wanted to be with her and protect her.

His heart made a little jump when he reasoned she shared the same concerns and passion for him. Then, suddenly, it hit him: he would want to die for her if it meant she was going to be safe. Hopefully it won't be necessary, the loss it means would kill her too.

He stood for a while, staring, but not seeing. Then he turned round and headed back to the house, with Levi trotting in front of him.