Chapter 41

Vacation is over, sadly. It was nice to see family I haven't seen in a long time on both sides. I was lucky enough to spend nearly a week with my husband's sister and her family, and the same amount of time with my mom and my Aunt Pat (and extended family) without whom I wouldn't have this story to tell. Thank you everyone who is still with me on this story! Please review so I know you're still reading, let me know what you're thinking. Hope you enjoy!

The following morning the three ladies arrived at work and immediately start to chat about their dresses. Myles enters the bullpen to overhear their conversation.

"Oh, what do we have here? Three Cinderella's going to the ball?" He asked sarcastically. Tara and Lucy's heads snapped up realizing they were talking openly about something that only they were privy to.

"Uhh, no, not a ball." Tara says, quickly engaging Bobby in conversation about the latest case they've been working on. Jack walked in, heading for his desk when Sue and Lucy nearly attack him, both carrying files for him to "look" at. Myles regards them closely knowing something is askew.

Sue finally maked her way to her desk, and Myles is whisked away on a tip that was given to them by a forensics team. Sue and Tara exchanged relieved glances as he walked out of the door. Tara immediately put her face back into a file on her desktop while Sue began checking email. There were a couple from her mother indicating she'd missed a couple from her on her home email. 'Ooops' Sue thought. She continued to scroll finding one from Mr. Barkley about the speaking position he'd contacted her about.

'Dear Ms. Thomas,

I would love to set up an appointment this week sometime. I understand you're just getting back to work after major surgery, and would rather it be after normal work hours. I could stop by your home on Tuesday about seven. Is this suitable for your schedule?'

Sue quickly looked at her calendar then IM'd Lucy asking if they had plans the next evening.

"Only flowers, but we don't have an appointment. Why, what's up?" Lucy asked.

"Thanks." Was all Sue replied. Lucy stared at her best friend from her desk across the room, but Sue never looked up. She texted Jack, asking basically the same question. Jack answered no, also asking why. Sue didn't reply.

"Mr. Barkley, tomorrow evening would be perfect. I will see you then." Sue typed with a wide smile gracing her lips. This didn't go unnoticed by any of her coworkers.

"What's up with your pretty Sheila Sparks?" Bobby asked.

"I don't know." He quickly realized what had been said. "What do you mean mine? Sue's her own person…"

"Yeah, right!" Bobby teased. "Don't waste your breath!" Bobby elbowed him teasingly.

Jack made his way to Sue's desk trying to act nonchalantly.

"So, what's up?" He asked casually.

"I got an email from Mr. Barkley about that speaking position. He's coming by the apartment tomorrow night." Sue gushed.

Jack's eyes raised in surprise. "I didn't think you were that serious about it." He said. Sue looked at him concerned.

"Wait. Are you saying this is a bad thing now?" Sue asked. Jack quickly shook his head.

"No! I'm not saying that at all. I just didn't realize you were really thinking about taking this offer." Jack said.

Jack's phone rang, saving Sue from his inquisition. Sue watched him through her eye lashes.

"You busy? Take a ride." Jack nearly ordered.

"What is it?" Sue asked.

The couple headed out to the elevator. As soon as the door closed, and Jack was sure he and Sue were alone, he wrapped her in a tight hug. Sue was surprised by his actions.

"Jack!" She gasped, but barely got it out before Jack captures her lips with hers. After a passionate kiss, he released her holding only her hand. He'd left her blushing and breathless just as the doors parted and they took their leave.

They walked quietly through the main lobby of the J. Edgar Hoover Building. Sue trailed Jack by only a half a step, but it was enough that she couldn't see the smirk on his face. Once they were in the garage, Sue stared at him in disbelief.

"Jackson Samuel Hudson!" She exclaimed. "What do you think you're doing?" She was a bit more than irate. He couldn't hold back his chuckle.

"I missed doing that. I wanted to kiss you." He said. He tried to control his smirk. "So, I kissed you." Sue swatted his arm. "What? Hey at least I waited until the door was closed!" He teased. He leaned over and caressed her lips softly, then started the car and pulled out of the parking garage into the city traffic.

"Do we really have something to do or was that just an excuse?" Sue asked.

"No I have a lead on that smuggling ring we were investigating." Jack said. "So, since we have a half hour drive ahead of us, at least, do you want to tell me about the wedding plans?"

"What do you want to know?" Sue asked coyly.

"Well, since Myles apparently knows something… I thought since it's OUR wedding, I might get to hear the deets before the rest of the office does." He teased.

"Myles knows?!" She exclaimed. Jack nodded.

"Crap!" Sue said. "Ooops, did I say that out loud?" She giggled.

"I don't think Myles knows anything yet, but he suspects something's going on, and it won't be long before super-agent Myles Leland…" Jack began.

"The Third!" Both chimed in simultaneously.

"Will put it all together sooner than later." Jack finished.

"Great." Sue paused and looked out the window at the passing buildings for a long moment. "I suppose we're going to have to tell everyone soon."

"How about you fill me in first. We'll deal with the others when the time comes." Jack said with a playful smile.

"OK. The color is going to be midnight blue. Lucy is my maid of honor. Tara, and my two sisters in law will be my bride's maids. My little niece my flower girl. I wanted to talk to you about your sister… think she'd like to be a bride's maid?" Sue asked tentatively.

"My sister?" Jack asked surprised. Sue nodded. "I hadn't really thought about it."

"Could you talk to her? Maybe I can ask her?" Sue offered.

"Yeah. I'll do that." Jack agreed. "I was thinking of talking to you about having Christian, my nephew as the ring bearer, but he's kind of old for that."

"How old is he?" Sue asked.

"Ten."

"Yeah, way too old for that. How about a junior usher?" Sue paused. "Who are your groomsmen?" Jack shrugged. "What do you mean? You haven't thought about it?"

"Not really. We've been busy…" Jack began.

"Come over tomorrow night, I'll show you everything… well, everything except my dress." She smiled coyly.

"You got your dress? Can't wait to see it." Jack smiled.

"You will have to." She paused. "It's bad luck to see it before the wedding."

"I would love to see the dress, and you in it, but to be honest with you I'm rather anxious to see you out of it…" Jack said with a raised eye brown and a teasing smile on his lips. Sue blushed a dark red and gaped at him as they pulled up to the house of an informant. Jack quickly jumped out and onto the side walk, leaving Sue in the car, stunned by his forwardness.

XOXOXOXOX

The next morning, once the finite details were taken care of, Sue found herself thinking back to her meeting with Anita. Sue did some research of her own, and found out what Anita's address was. Sue stopped by her house that afternoon with a couple bags of groceries. When she arrived, she saw a police officer knocking on the door.

"Can I help you sir?" Sue called.

"Who are you?" He asked. Sue took her FBI credentials out and showed him. "Sue Thomas."

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"I could ask you the same question." Sue looked at her curiously. "Odd to see an FBI agent in the burbs…" The officer explained.

"Ahh. Friend of the family you might say." Sue said.

"The mother's?" He asked. Sue shook her head.

"No, Anita's- the oldest daughter." Sue said.

"Complaints by the neighbors about the baby crying and the little ones screaming. Just checking on things." He said. As Sue stepped on the porch, Anita came out to the porch to talk to the police officer.

"Your mother home?" He asked.

"No, she isn't Sir. Something I can help with?" She offered, her tone pleasant.

"Just wondering why the baby was crying so much, and the older children were screaming. Know anything about that?" He asked.

"Yes, Sir. The baby's crying because she's teething, and her gums hurt. We ran out of the numbing crap, until just a few minutes ago. The older ones are just a handful. We had to get rid of our dog today, and they're all pissy- I mean upset over it. I miss her too, but what can we do? Momma says us kids have to come first." She explained. "They're just actin gout. They can't explain how mad they are, so they're being stubborn. They'll get over it."

"I'm sorry about the dog, I can see where the kids are coming from though. Mind if I come in?" He asked.

"No Sir." She answered, opening the door. "Miss Thomas, it's good to see you again."

The officer looked around, checking cupboards and rooms.

"OK. Tell your mother I'll be by next week." The officer said as he walked to the screen door and onto the porch.

"OK." Anita said ducking back in through the door.

Sue walked through, closing the door tight behind her. Sue casually glanced around noticing how clean the house was. Everything was picked up, dishes done, high chair washed, floors swept.

"Jacob? Trash please." She commanded. A young boy about 8 came out and packed up the trash from the bathroom and kitchen and took it to the outside trash can. He walked back in, washed his hands and went to the table to do homework. "Thank you."

"Welcome." He said in a meek voice. "Nitie… what's for dinner?"

"Spaghetti." She said, he groaned. She couldn't hear the groan, but recognized the face and roll of the eyes.

"Where's your mom Anita?" Sue asked.

"Gone." Another young boy answered. Anita spun around giving them a warning look.

"Yeah, momma's been gone for a long time. Nitie says she's' comin back, but I think she's lying. I don't think mama loves us no more." A little tiny girl said from behind the chair.

"Any more." Sue corrected with a smile.

"You sound like Nitie now." She said with a grumble in her voice.

Anita spun around and glared at her younger siblings. "Damn it! I told you two!"

"Hey… don't." Sue said to Anita. There were tears in her eyes. They weren't sadness, or tiredness, they were tears of fear. What was she afraid of? Anita turned quickly around and put a pot on to boil.

"Hey, thanks for the food, but we get by." Anita said.

"I'm sure, but I wanted to drop by some stuff. I thought maybe you wouldn't have to work so hard if you had a little help- at least this week." Sue offered.

Anita didn't say a word.

"Hey, lady, can we play with your dog?" The little girl asked.

"It's 'excuse me' Lanie." Anita corrected.

"Excuse me lady, can we play with your dog?" The little one asked.

"Sure. His name is Levi." Sue gestured to Levi to go with the kids. They sat in the living room watching television while they played with Levi.

"Why'd you get rid of your dog?" Sue asked.

"Can't afford to feed her and us." She said sadly, not looking at Sue.

"Anita?" Sue asked softly. Anita didn't look up at her, she just continued to put away groceries. "You wrote to me. You said you understood what it was like to be an outcast. You told me that you had to work part time to help your mom get by." Sue took a step toward Anita. "Anita? How many people are living here?"

"Six of us total." She answered barely above a whisper.

"So, there's, you, Jacob, Lanie…" Sue began.

"Vinnie, Lizzie and mom." She finished.

"Vinnieis the baby?" She asked. Anita laughed.

"No. Vinnie is my fourteen year old brother. Lizzie is the baby." She said with a chuckle.

"Oh, sorry. Where is your brother now?" Sue asked.

"Working." She said as she put the pasta in the pan.

"He works?" Sue asked.

"Yeah, he tutors while he babysits the two kids down the street. He makes good money too." Anita said proudly.

"Tutoring?" Sue asked.

"Yeah, that boy's a genius. Straight A's, and doesn't really have to try." She gushed.

"That's great. Good to be gifted, wish I had been." Sue said, then shook her head. "No, no I don't. I had to work hard for what I got, and I think that's part of the reason I am the way I am now."

"Lanie, honey, please go shut off that television and set the table." Anita asked. Lanie got right up and did as she was asked.

"How long's your mom been gone?" Sue asked.

"She's just taking care of grandma. She'll be back in a few days." Anita lied. Sue knew she wasn't telling her the truth but decided to let it slide for the time being.

"Ah, I see." Sue said trying to sound convinced.

"Would you like to stay for dinner Ms. Thomas?" Anita offered. "I mean, it's the least we can do, seeing you brought us so many goodies."

"Thank you, but I have plans. Would it be OK if I stopped by next week? Just to check on things." Sue suggested.

"Yeah, that would be fine." Anita said.

"You might want to get the rest of that stuff put away." Sue said. "Come Levi."

Lizzie made her way into the kitchen following the yellow lab trying to get just one more pat on the head, one more lick on the hand. She stopped short of her quest when she spotted a package of cookies popping out of the top of the bag.

"Miss Sue brought cookies!" She squealed.

"Not before you have your spaghetti missy." Anita scolded.

"Just one?!" She whined. Anita smiled but shook her head no.

"You can have two after dinner. You take one now, you get none." Anita warned.

"Ms. Thomas?" Anita called to Sue. "Thank you. I really appreciate the food and all."

"You're welcome" Sue said smiling back at the young woman standing on the other side of the screen door. "Call me if you need anything."

"Thanks." Anita said as she closed and locked the door behind Sue.

Sue knew it wasn't the last time she'd see that young family.