Redemption

Chapter Twenty

Jack and Sue were the last two left in the bullpen. Everyone else had gone home after they ended up at another dead end. Jack was engrossed with the file he was reading and he decided to finish with it before heading home as well. It had taken him a lot longer than expected, but it was worth it. More pieces of the puzzle were falling upon the table; he just needed to find a way to put them together.

Fortunately for his sanity, though, Sue was the only other one left in the room when he'd made that decision. So, she stayed to help. It seemed like she'd had a hidden agenda when she chose to stay, but he wouldn't complain. He liked her working so close with him when everyone else was gone. That way, they wouldn't be under heavy scrutiny like they were when the bullpen was a raging madhouse. He liked the fact that he could run his hands through her hair anytime he wanted or steal a kiss from her every so often without the fear of rules and ridicule. Unfortunately, until Garrett got back from wherever he was, late nights in the office would be a usual thing for them.

She pulled Bobby's chair right next to Jack's and they sat with their heads together as they mulled over the open file on his desk. The problem was that they weren't exactly getting any work done. It all started when Sue tied her hair up to get it out of her face so she would be able to read him better and Jack couldn't resist placing a kiss upon her bare, milky-smooth neck. She squealed loudly because she hadn't been expecting it and playfully hit him for it.

"We really need to finish this if we want to get out of here anytime tonight," she informed him with a smirk. She wouldn't deny that she loved it when she kissed him, but she'd like him to do it in a more romantic setting. The bullpen was far from romantic, but it did have its charms. It was like their second homes, for one thing. It was also quiet, though that wasn't a factor for Sue, which she teased him about when he brought it up the first time he'd done it. Another charm it had was that they were more likely not to be interrupted there late at night.

"I don't know, I'm kind of enjoying myself right here." He flashed her one of his signature smiles only to make her blush and he was satisfied when he saw the light pink tint creep to her cheeks. His gaze sifted and he caught himself staring into her eyes only to feel his heart begin pounding faster than normal. He felt like he'd just run a mile at high speed, but he loved the feeling. He hoped he could always feel this way when he looked at her. His smile widened as he moved a stray piece of hair from her face. That seemed like a mistake, because that only increased his heart rate and decided to just rest his palm against her cheek.

Her skin burned from his touch. Just the feel of his hand upon her made her feel whole. Her heart was racing and her mind was reeling. This was so wrong, but it felt so right. "What?" she asked breathlessly. His thumb began drawing gentle circles upon her cheek and it made her blush more and shiver at the same time. She loved that feeling and only hoped he would always make her feel that way.

He continued to stare at her as he thought of what to say. There was so much on his mind, but his voice wouldn't let him reveal anything. "You are so beautiful," he said softly as he signed the words. He wanted to make sure she read him correctly and the only way to do that was to sign.

"I hope that's not the only reason you want to be with me," she teased. She knew that wasn't true, she just wanted to read the words that crossed his lips. She wanted him to tell her how much he really loved her, but she knew they wouldn't come just yet.

He couldn't help but remain serious as he continued to stare into those gorgeous hazel orbs of hers. "You know it's not," he answered with a smirk and a chuckle. "I didn't just mean on the outside, though I won't deny that I find you to be so… sexy." It was the only word he could think of and he even blushed for saying it. But, even if he had the chance to take it back, he wouldn't. He saw her cheeks turn a darker shade of pink and her eyes lower from his. He instantly took her hands in his and squeezed them so she would look at him again. "I'm not finished," he said when she raised her eyes again. "Sue, you are so beautiful on the inside as well. You have the kindest soul I've ever met and I find that so attractive in you." He waited patiently for her reply. He knew this was a lot to take in and knew she had a lot of processing to do. He never expected her to answer so quickly, though.

"You think I'm sexy?" Her cheeks deepened even more in color. Where she had gotten the confidence to ask that question, she would never know. All she knew was that she was a whole different person when Jack was around.

He chuckled loudly as he saw the blood rush to her dace. He found her especially sexy when she blushed, but he refrained from saying that. Saying things like that could certainly get him into trouble. He inched his face closer to hers and made sure to keep his lips in her line of sight. "I think you're incredibly sexy," he answered, placing a soft kiss upon her pouty lips.

She giggled as she mumbled against his lips, "You are trouble, Jack Hudson," she kissed him back. Her entire body filled with warmth every time he kissed her and she waited for him to do it again.

"That's what everyone tells me. I never believed them, until now," he replied as his hand found its way to the back of her head to crane her neck to the proper position for him to kiss her deeper. She waited patiently for it, already becoming familiar with his looks of teasing. His lips lightly grazed hers, making her elicit a groan of longing. He knew that sound all too well, now. She wanted him to delve deeper into her and make her feel like she was whole. He didn't disappoint as her lips parted to let him gain access to her hot, delicious mouth. His tongue lightly danced passed her lips and over her teeth before it joined with her own. He was greeted by a moan that rose from deep inside of her. She was urging him to continue and he could only oblige.

Kissing her felt so miraculous and he didn't ever want to pull away. He felt like he was dancing on air and the rest of the world just seemed to disappear. There was no case, no bullpen, no FBI; it was just the two of them, together as one. He'd loved this woman before any of this had started, but he would admit that he was falling so much more for her, now. He wanted nothing more than to tell her, but those few technicalities of dating a coworker wouldn't let him.

The inner voices were screaming at him, yelling something about consequences, but he just ignored them. All he cared about was how wonderful being with Sue felt. He didn't want to string her along and make her believe that this was all for nothing. He wanted her to know how he felt, even if that meant he asked her to marry him. He laughed to himself. Bobby and Myles would usually refer to him as "turtle boy," but he would go to any length for her. He didn't want to lose her, this time and he would do anything to keep her.

He tasted wonderful, she thought as his lips ravished hers in their own gentle way. Usually, all of this would overwhelm her, but she'd wanted this—Jack—for so long that she wouldn't be scared; she couldn't let herself. She needed to be with him. She loved him so much that it made her heart hurt. Telling him would only make things more difficult than they already were. It wasn't that she didn't want to; she just couldn't. Things were complicated enough as it was. At least without her proclamation of love, it might be easier to slip back into their normal lives again.

Her inner voice scoffed at her. Who was she kidding? Things would never be the same between the two of them again. There was no going back, only forward. She would miss everyone when she left the team.

She felt him begin to pull away from her, so she nipped at his lower lips and gave a groan of disappointment as an incentive to continue. But, as she tried to force his lips back to hers, he didn't seem as willing to continue. "Jack?" She nibbled on her own lower lip in worry that it was because of something she'd done. She relaxed when she saw his look of reassurance.

He gave her a smile as he ran his thumb gently over her swollen, well-kissed lips. She looked even more beautiful. He signed "phone" to her because there was no way he could find his voice when he looked at her when she looked like she did. Her cheeks were flushed a dark pink and her formerly nicely-combed hair was askew from his fingers running through it. She was a sight to behold and it was because of that that he would miss everyone he considered family—which included Myles—when he left the team.

He waited until she gave a nod of understanding before he cleared his throat and answered the phone on his desk. "Hudson."

"Jack, I'm glad I caught you," the all too familiar voice of their supervising agent said as if the world was coming to an end.

"D?" He avoided Sue's gaze as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He felt like he'd just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He could have sworn his face was very red by the heat emanating from it.

"Yeah, look, we've got a situation... We've found the next victim." D seemed sullen but Jack couldn't understand why. This was good news.

"That's great." He glanced at Sue with a smile, which she returned.

"No, it's not… He's dead."

The smile immediately fell from the man's lips, which puzzled Sue. Hack didn't bother explaining at this point. He would fill her in later, because he wanted an answer first. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll explain everything later. Just get downtown as soon as you can. You don't need the address… you can't miss it." D immediately hung up, leaving Jack numb. They were trying to protect these people from being killed, but it didn't seem like they were doing such a great job. Five men were now dead and only God knew how many more were on the list.

He wasn't surprised when Sue's hand grasped his, but he was surprised when he felt his heart plummet from his chest and into his stomach. It was something he hadn't felt in a long time; not since Wes was killed before his eyes. But, this scenario was much worse than that. They had to find out who was doing this and they had to put a stop to it before anyone else turned up dead.