Chapter 34

Thanks to everyone for sticking with this story, I so appreciate it. I'm sorry for the delay, but things in life sometimes get in the way. In the past month, we celebrated my daughter's birthday, lost an uncle, and welcomed a new great niece into the world. It's been a busy few weeks! Thanks, too, to eveyone who took the time out of their busy schedules to read and review this story. I love hearing from everyone! As always, I don't own anything but the ideas.

Sue had returned Maryanne Holt's phone call the next morning. She wanted to check in with Sue to see if she's given any more thought to the guest speaker spot she'd talked to her about. Sue explained to Maryanne that she would love to help, but wasn't sure when she'd be able to do it. Maryanne suggested sometime the following month. Since school had just started, it would be good to let the kids get settled. Sue agreed to check with her supervisor and let her know.

The next morning was Thursday. Sue made her way to D's office door.

"Come on in Sue." D called.

Levi scratched at Sue's leg urging her forward.

"Hi D." Sue said sitting in front of her supervisor's desk.

"What's up?" D asked smiling at her.

"I wanted to run something by you. Last week, I was approached by a woman who asked me to speak to her school about bullying. They're doing an anti-bullying campaign at the school, and since there have been some incidents recently, she thought now was a good time." Sue said in basically one breath.

"How do you fit into the scenario?" D asked.

"Well, technically, I am handicapped." She took a deep breath. "One of the reoccurring incidents at the school pertains to a young man who is blind." Sue explained.

"And, you can relate…" D continued.

"Yes. I can." She answered.

"What would be your roll?" He asked.

"I would tell the kids my story growing up, and what it was like, how I felt being picked on because I was different. Then I will show them what some hard work and understanding can do for you." Sue said.

"A rags to riches type of story if you will." D added.

"Yes. I would like to do this. I will keep the conversation about job details to a minimum. I think it's important for the kids to see that we're normal people. That we have the same hopes and dreams and desires as the rest of the world." Sue said.

"I like the idea. Any time we can put the FBI in a positive light, it's good for the agency." D answered. "How much time will you need?" He asked.

"That's the problem. I don't want to take any since I'm just getting back from sick leave, but I will probably need a few hours the day of the speech." Sue said hesitantly.

"I think we can do that." D answered.

"Thanks D." Sue said as she got ready to leave.

"Oh, Sue…" He called to her. Levi again indicated she was wanted. "Break a leg out there!"

"Thanks."

Sue left D's office and immediately phoned Ms. Holt to give her the good news. The following night Sue began writing her speech she would give to the student body in just two short weeks.

Jack sat on her side reading the paper. He sat on the couch while she sat with her legs across his lap. Jack put his paper down and began to rub her feet. Sue looked up from her note book and smiled.

"Are you trying to start something Mr. Hudson?" She asked smiling at him with a raised eye brow.

"That depends." He answered as his hands began to rub her ankles and calves.

"On?" Sue retorted.

"Is it going to get me anywhere?" He asked smiling a devilish smirk.

"Noooo." Sue answered. "Besides, I have to finish this speech." She leaned in and grazed a quick kiss across his lips. Jack smiled and went back to rubbing her feet. "Thank you."

"So, how's it coming?" Jack asked.

"I'm not sure. I'll let you hear it when I finish." Sue said and stuck her nose in the notebook and began writing feverishly once more.

XOXOXOX

Two weeks had passed and it was finally time for Sue's speech to the students on bullying. She had notes on cards and a prepared speech written out in case she went completely blank, which is what she feared would happen. She paced the hall reading and rereading her notes until she had them committed to memory.

"Sue." Lucy and Jack said at the same time. Sue looked at them. She looked scared to death.

"You ok?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She said. They chuckled at her. "I can do this." She said.

"We know that." Lucy said, trying to encourage her.

"Why am I so nervous?" She asked, not really expecting an answer.

"First time in front of an auditorium of students?" Lucy suggested. Sue looked up at her, frazzled.

"Sue, you'll be great. Relax." Lucy reassured her.

"Luce? Will you keep Levi with you for a bit? I don't want to give away the fact that I'm deaf- at least not at first." Sue said.

"Sure." Lucy agreed, taking Levi's leash in her hand. Sue looked out at the auditorium to see it filling with students and faculty. Ms. Holt took the stage and got everyone's attention. She previewed Sue's appearance and soon the entire student body gave a less than enthusiastic welcome. Sue walked with as much confidence as she could muster out to the podium, shook Maryanne's hand and paused. Once she saw the commotion settle, she began looking around as she started to speak.

"Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for having me today." She saw some of the students grumble and roll their eyes in the first few rows. It was evident she needed to change things from a stereo typical speech or she was going to lose them fast.

She looked at her wrist, as if checking the time. "Well, that has to be some sort of a record… I've been up here exactly 38 seconds and I've already lost 6 in the front row alone." She paused and looked around. Some of the students in the front row bowed their heads. "At that rate, the entire room will be snoring by my second page!" Sue laughed. There was a hush across the crowd, and then a low laugh ruptured into outright laughter.

"I wanted to tell you a little about myself." She walked out from behind the pedestal and took the microphone with her. "Well, I'm an FBI agent for starters. My team and I spend our time chasing down the bad guys of this world. Now, even though I can't talk specifics, I can tell you we've hunted some of the world's most notorious criminals. Caught some, lost some… but we keep fighting. When I was younger than you are, I was Ohio's state figure skating champion. Yes, that's where I'm from, Ohio. I grew up there with three brothers." She paused and looked out into the audience. She smiled as the students began to look at each other and whispered to one another. Sue pulled the microphone back to her lips.

"Oh, you're wondering why I was asked to come here. Yeah, I can see where it wouldn't be obvious. To you, I must look like any other woman. I have lots of friends, a pretty easy life. I have a great job, great family. I've got it made, right?" Sue asked. Most of the kids smiled, and shook their heads in agreement.

"I want to introduce you to one very important member of my family." She said and motioned for Levi to join her on stage. "This is Levi." There were lots of 'awe's' and 'how cutes'' throughout the audience. "Levi is not only a member of my family, but he is my hearing dog." She looked out over the students and saw a look of shock and surprise. "Levi is a service dog. He helps me with my daily necessities, things like… he lets me know when my phone rings, or when someone is at my door, or trying to get my attention. He's a big part of my life." Sue signaled for him to rejoin Lucy off stage. Sue looked into the front row. "That's a very good question." She said smiling at a young blonde girl. "I read lips. I can also sign." Sue said smiling. "Actually, I know a few words in Spanish, French, and even Russian, but I am only fluent in English and ASL." Sue explained. A teenaged boy with curly brown hair and freckles blushed dark red at Sue's attention.

"But, the reason I'm here today is to talk to you about something that seems to becoming an epidemic within schools." She paused. "No, that's not really true. This isn't something new. This isn't something that's becoming an epidemic, it's something that is an epidemic." She looked around, making contact with some students. "All too often, because you're different, you become a target. I know, I was one. As a child, my classmates didn't know how to treat me. They didn't know sign language, and I couldn't read lips as well as I can now. They didn't know how to communicate with me. I spoke with a lisp, and an accent, so I was different." Sue continued. "It's not easy. I wish I had been more outgoing, more persistent. I wish they'd been more patient, more understanding, but we can't go back, we can only go forward…" She continued telling the kids what it was like growing up and how she overcame the adversity that came with being deaf.

When Sue was finished, she received a standing ovation and a roar of applause. She blushed profusely and thanked everyone for coming. She ended her visit with words that she hoped would stick with at least one student. "Remember, as you approach your day, we're all human. We're all basically the same. We all feel happiness, sadness, pain, fear… try to take that into consideration when you deal with someone who is different than you."

When Sue walked off the stage, she was smiling from ear to ear. Lucy hugged her tightly congratulating her on such a great lecture. To her great surprise, and delight, she was greeted by the entire team. Everyone had been there to cheer her on. Sue spoke with Maryanne Holt, thanking her for the opportunity to reach out to the kids. She had left a stack of business cards with her email and contact info if anyone had any questions.

As Sue walked out of the amphitheater she was filled with satisfaction and pride. She was able to tell her story and get across to the kids that it didn't matter how others thought she was handicapped- she didn't.

Sue and Lucy walked into the office together to a roar of applause. Sue bowed and walked to her desk and right back to work. Jack approached her desk, depositing a sandwich and cold water on her desk. She smiled gratefully and dug in while checking emails and phone messages.

"You were great up there today!" Jack said. "I could see the kids actually listening to you. I think you reached a couple of them." He said.

"Yeah, I could feel that too." Sue smiled. When she opened her email, she was surprised to see she had a few emails already from the school. The first two were thank you's from the school and Maryanne Holt. The others were from students. Sue was pleased they'd taken the time to email her, but had to put it on hold when D bolted into the room with news of a possible break in the case she and Jack had been working on.