Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Sue Thomas: FBEye. Which is sad. Very, very sad. Oh well. At least I have my dreams. Which, of course, will never come to primetime fruitation. Oh well.
AN: I love Sue and Jack. This maybe a little AU, however it's my story. I can do what I like. What I'd like, is for you to give me a review. I am using my Jedi mind tricks on you. 'You want to leave a review.' ... or not.
It had been three long weeks since Jack Hudson got out of the hospital. Though he'd spent a week there, which was far to long for him, the weeks following his release had dragged so slowly. He hadn't been allowed to go into the office, Dimitrius having threatened his life if he even thought about coming in early. His doctor had said that he could return to work when he felt he could move his upper body without pain, and when he didn't feel like crying when he took a deep breath.
He didn't feel those things, but it had been three weeks since he saw Sue, and no amount of pain would keep him from seeing her. He knew that dropping the information about Danny was a lot, but they had all been standing there, looking at him, wondering who the boy was. It had felt wonderful that Danny had wanted to see him, to make sure that he was okay after his accident, that he had called him 'Daddy' for the first time since meeting each other. The looks on his teams faces had said it all. They had called it, all of them, except Sue, had assumed that he was the once visitors father. It was a relief that they knew, that he didn't have to hold onto a secret anymore, hide anything from them. He hadn't known what to expect from Sue, but he didn't expect silence.
Struggling into his dress shirt, he maneuvered his body slowly, and with small motions into the sleeves, and straightened. The action of putting the shirt on cause him pain, but he wouldn't show it. He could stand and sit without causing himself much pain, so he wouldn't have to worry about that problem. But now he faced a problem. His tie. How did he tie the tie. It wasn't protocol, yet he couldn't imagine going in without one on his first day back. Though he wasn't supposed to go back in, he was getting awfully bored sitting around. Though he'd been spending more time with Danny, he needed to find out who had done this to him, and to Sue.
Stuffing the tie in his jacket pocket, he placed his sling back on tightly, taking the weight off his shoulder, and giving him such much needed relief. He'd started physiotherapy, and was slowly making headway onto his recovery. His surgeon had said a full recovery was possible, the pins holding his humorous together would have to stay in permanently, and his shoulder would recover. He'd done a lot of damage to himself taking the hit, but he knew it could have been much worse. Both he and Sue could have died in the warehouse, and he needed to know why they hadn't.
Driving was going to be hard. It wasn't the driving that was going to be difficult, it was going to be hard getting into the car, buckling him, and driving with his hands on ten and two. Though he rarely drove with two hands, he still wanted to be able to, if he needed to. He was lucky it had been his left arm that had been broken. He was right handed, shot with his right hand, and wrote with his right hand, he knew that he would be basically useless in the field, but at least he could be in the office, doing paperwork, and near his friends.
On the short trip from his home to his office, he thought about what he would say to his friends, and most importantly Sue. He knew that he loved her, and did her a horrible disservice by not telling her the truth. He didn't know why he'd kept it from them. Disgrace maybe. They came across med who didn't take care of their children. The disdain he felt, was the same as the rest of the team. Especially Bobby, and his absentee father. Bobby was nothing like the man, but he had regretted not knowing his real father, and had hid that from them. Now he was just like that man. Or, and he hoped that it was his real reason, he kept them to himself, to gather his thoughts on suddenly becoming a father.
He was scared. From the first moment he met Danny he loved him like he had never loved anything else. It was fierce feeling, full bodied, and it came with a large range of other things. Protectiveness, longing, and most of all interest. Most of their conversations revolved around Danny and his life. The things he liked, and the things that he did. He was in kindergarten already, Darlene having told him that Danny loved it, and sometimes it was all he talked about. He knew that Darlene had a death sentence over her head, her caner spreading without heeding the doctors efforts, and even five weeks after getting to know her again, he could see a change in her. More than scared about having a child, he was most scared that he was soon going to be a full time father. He wasn't worried about loving Danny, he already did, but he was worried about what type of father he would be.
These thoughts, and more swirled in his head all the way from the garage, through security, and into the elevator where he was left alone to ride three floors in silence. Not that he minded. He was used to silence by now, even though he missed the hustle and bustle of the bullpen. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the room early, hoping that no-one else was there, so he could get himself set up for the least amount of pain.
He was a little shocked to find that the office wasn't empty at all. Sue, Lucy and Levi were all there, working away. Technically Levi was lying on his pillow on his back, tongue lolling to the side, but they were all doing something. Lucy was on the phone, talking rather quickly, and animatedly. She smiled and waved at him, but kept going on with her conversation. Sue hadn't noticed him coming in, but he hadn't expected her to, and Levi rolled over and came over to him.
Patting the dogs soft golden, red fur, he knelt wincing at the pain it caused in his side. Broken ribs were the worst.
"Hey buddy." The dog licked his face, and Jack couldn't help but let out with a chuckle, he had missed Levi, and his always enthusiastic response to his presence. After a minute or two, Levi turned and went and nudged Sue. As he stood slowly, and awkwardly, Sue looked up and their eyes locked. Like the love sick teenager he often felt around her, his heart sped, and he could feeling his palms get a little moist with nerves.
He swallowed rather dryly as she stood, and he took an involuntary step towards her. She did the same thing, but stopped halfway through her motion, and stayed beside her desk. She signed, and spoke to him, and the sound of her voice reminded him of all the things that he loved about her. Which was pretty much everything.
"Hi Jack. How are you?" She took a whole step towards him, and he wiped his right hand against his pants, hoping that he could dry it.
"Good. I'm really good." A twinge in his ribs, and the wince that took over his face, betrayed his words, and instantly Sue was in front of him, standing so close that he could smell the flowery scent of her, and he swore his heart was going to beat out of his chest.
Her chocolate brown eyes were filled with concern and disbelief as she still looked in his eyes. He didn't understand why he was so attracted to her, she was beautiful sure, but that was just a bonus. Didn't understand the pull her was feeling to pull her into his arm, and hold her close.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little twinge in my side. I'll be fine." He wasn't sure if he were lying or not, the way he was feeling right, filled with love and longing, kind of removed all thoughts of the pain that he was in. Though he'd said the comforting words for her benefit, he could see that she didn't believe him. Not that he could blame her, he probably looked horrible. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. The doctors said there shouldn't be any scar." His eyes moved to her forehead, and the small line of red just above her eyebrow. He could see the marks from the stitches, and his heart ached for the pain he knew she must have been in. Though all the swelling was gone, and she was just left with the tiny mark, he knew that she had probably been reliving the night over and over again.
This time, as the need to hold her overwhelmed him, he gave in and because she was so close, he just wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. She hesitated for a second, then suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck. His heart sighed with relief and he gripped her tighter. She whispered into his ear, "I'm glad you are all right." They hugged for a long moment, but as far as he was concerned it wasn't long enough. He still didn't know how she felt about him having a child, but that was a conversation for another time, and a private place.
Pulling away from her, he saw the blush that tinged her cheek, and he said the words softly, ensure that he enunciated clearly, "I'm glad you are all right as well."
**
There were times in Sue Thomas' life that she wished she could hear. The view romance novels she had read, had implied that whispered words were the most romantic things that a person could do. She wasn't sure if her voice was whispered when she spoke the words into his ear, but she cold feel her love for him spill out. Though she knew she would never now tell him. She couldn't, not anymore. Once she'd learned that he had a son, she couldn't ever interfere with that. She still loved him, her heart almost burst with the feeling, but now there were complications.
She hadn't known what to say to him when she saw him. Though she'd avoided him for the last four weeks, she had wanted desperately to go see him, but as the face of Danny saying the words 'He's my Daddy!' flashed in her mind, she didn't go. She no longer felt any right to the man. Not that she'd had any in the first place, but before four weeks ago, there was no one else who had any interest in him.
Now this Darlene woman, and Jack's son, had the largest claim on him that any person could have on another. She was a God-fearing woman, and she knew that to do anything about the love in her heart would be wrong. That knowledge didn't stop the fact that as he'd pulled her close she wanted to melt into him, allow him to hold her until forever came, feel safe in the shelter of his arms.
She pulled away from him, hoping that at least a small amount of distance between them would allow her to put her heart in check, and stop it's racing. She would work on undoing her feelings for him later, for now though, she could rest safe knowing that he was safe, and out of arm.
"Welcome back." She looked over his shoulder quickly, ensuring that Lucy was still deep in conversation on the phone. She refused to read her friends lips as she had the conversation, not knowing who she was calling, or what the conversation was about. Turning back to Jack, she felt the smile start in her heart, and make its way to her face, warming her from the inside out.
"Thanks. It's good to be back." She nodded, and backed away from him again, stopping only when the back of her legs hit her desk. It's not that she wanted the distance between them, it's that she needed it. The urge to reach out and touch him again was almost over powering, and the space between them gave her a safety net. If he was far enough away, he wouldn't be in reach, and she couldn't reach out to him.
"Where is your tie?" She questioned, noticing that his usual office attire was missing. Though he would probably not be able to get dressed very easily, he was the type of guy to always dress properly. She knew that the subject was a safe one as well, far away from the topic of his son. That had been a bomb dropped into her lap, and she still wasn't sure if her wanted to discuss it with him.
He made a show pulling something out of his pocket, and came up with a scarlet colored tie. He smiled sheepishly at her, and went and took his leather jacket off. His baby blue shirt was clean and crisp, and she stifled a laugh as she noticed that he'd missed the buttons by one.
"Right here. What's so funny?" She laughed out loud at his face, and pointed to his shirt, not able to say that he probably shouldn't be working, if he couldn't even dress himself properly.
Breaking her rule about staying away from him, she moved back to him and took the tie from his hand, still laughing she tapped his chest, and replied breathlessly, "You've missed your buttons." She watched as his face turned red, and looked down at himself.
He reached for his tie, and she held it away from him. "I was going to get Bobby to tie it for me then I was going to put it on." His face was still red as he fixed the buttons on his shirt, and re-tucked it in. Looking back to Lucy, Sue could see that though she was still on the phone, she was laughing at her.
"You know it's not nice to play keep away with a cripple." His face had lost some of its former redness, and was replaced with a look she could only attribute to being embarrassed. She felt a small twinge of guilt, but it disappeared as she saw him start laughing. "Fine. You keep the tie. I'll just go to work." He turned quickly from her, and moved to his, sat down and pulled a file toward him. Deciding that she'd teased him enough, she moved to stand beside him. He didn't look up, but she could tell that he was smiling.
Placing the tie around her neck she tied it the way he liked, remembering the lessons her father had given her. Tapping his shoulder, she smiled widely at him, and her heart did it's tap dance again as he returned the smile, a twinkle in his eye. "Stand up please." He did as she asked, and she reached up and placed the silk tie around his neck.
She hadn't thought through how intimate the motion would be until she was half way through closing the top button of his shirt. She couldn't exactly stop now, so she just kept going, feeling her cheeks reddening to the same shade his had been moments before. Fixing the collars of his shirt she could feel his breath on her cheek, and felt the warmth once again spread through her body. She liked the feeling of being this close to him, and was wondering what it would feel like if they could stand like this anytime she wanted.
Shaking her head to dislodge those thoughts, she felt chilled as he'd backed away from her. Looking up at his face, she followed his eye line to the door and saw the smiling faces of Bobby and Dimitrius, laughing. She caught a few of the words they were saying, and she understood why Jack had moved away from her. It was almost as bad as it had been when they had been married undercover. The team still teased them mercilessly for that, not that she minded the subject, just the way that the truth was played out in front of them.
Looking back at Jack she read his lips, "No, Sue was just helping me with my tie. I'm a cripple you know." She immediately looked back to Bobby and D, and smiled at what their reply. "Sure. Because Sue would fix all of our shirts if we had slings."
"Hey. I would too." She would help them all if they needed it. Though she doubted whether or not any of them but Jack would cause her body, and emotions, to react in the same way that Jack did. It was unfair that he was suddenly out of her reach, both physically and metaphorically. "It just so happens that I would help any of you, if you broke protocol, and in turn broke yourself."
Bobby was the first to speak up, and she saw the smile that punctuates his words, "That's right. Only Sparky would rush head first into a tackle." Sue turned to look at Jack, and saw that he was smiling and waving off their teasing. By this time Tara and Miles had come in, and were all joining in.
"I agree. Jack would be the only one to get tackled then ask questions." This from Miles, who was looking as stuck up as he always was.
"He probably thought that if he allowed them to beat him up, he could get the upper hand." That came from Tara, and they all shared a laugh. Sue knew that none of them actually thought these things, and that they were all concerned with how he was healing. But teasing is how they dealt with their job, knowing that what had happened could have ended a lot worse. With Jack, and herself, coming home in a body bag.
"All right guys." D. waved his hands in the air, smiling to get the attention back to him. He was the leader of this team, and he obviously had something to say. "Let's fill Jack in on what we've learned since he's been on vacation."
Another laugh went around the room, and Sue looked back to Jack. Their eyes caught and he offered her a small smile. They shared something deeper than just a co-worker relationship now. Though she knew they had never really had that simple of relationship, feelings ran deep between them, but Sue knew why he had broken protocol, and she would be thankful for him until they day she died.
She nodded to him and turned back to D. giving him her full attention. She would thank him for saving her life one day, she just didn't know when.