Chapter 9:

Both Jack and Myles had been running individual errands inside the Hoover building. Now, they were both heading back towards the bullpen, Jack slightly ahead of Myles. Myles sprinted towards Jack yelling "Hudson, wait up! I need to talk to you!"

Jack stopped and waited for Myles to catch up. "About what?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"About Miss Thomas." Myles replied.

"What about her?" Jack asked, confused.

"Well, I have the feeling I may have interrupted something important between the two of you this morning. You were obviously unaware, at the time, that Sue had changed her mind about going to New York. You need to tell her whatever it was you were going to tell her before I, unfortunately, interrupted."

"I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about Myles." Jack said with a slightly embarrassed look upon his face.

Myles just stood there, shaking his head in disbelief, staring at Jack. Then, suddenly he reached out his hand and smacked Jack upside the head.

"HEY, WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!" Jack yelled, in disbelief.

"I'm TRYING to knock some sense into you, Hudson!" Myles said, with annoyance evident in his voice.

"What do you mean?" asked Jack, still completely stunned that Myles had actually hit him.

Bobby joined them in the hallway "Hey, mates, you want to keep it down! You're being kind of loud, and something tells me that this is NOT something you want everyone in the Hoover building to hear."

They all three moved into an empty conference room, closing the door behind them, to continue the discussion.

Jack looked at Bobby, holding his head, and said indignantly "Myles just smacked me upside the head!"

"Owww, now, I know why you were getting so loud!" Bobby looked at Myles inquisitively, waiting for an explanation.

Myles raised an eyebrow and shrugged "What? I was trying to knock some sense into him!"

"Ahhhhh! I assume this has something to do with a very lovely sheila named Sue? Sorry, Sparky, but Myles, has a point! When it comes to you and Sue, you could use some sense knocked into you." Bobby smiled in amusement.

"Hey, Crash," Jack said, "I thought you were supposed to be my friend!"

"Sparky, I AM your friend! That's why I'm telling you this. You almost lost Sue to New York! What would you have done if she hadn't changed her mind? Would you have FINALLY told her that you love her? Would you have followed her to New York? Just something to think about, mate..." said Bobby.

"We’re just saying, you better tell Sue how you feel before someone else manages to snatch her up!" Myles warned Jack. "Like me..." he added.

"Or me!” Bobby chimed in.

"YOU WOULDN'T???!!!" Jack snapped, his eyes growing wide.

"No, WE wouldn't!" they responded in unison "But someone else might!"

"She's an amazing woman, Hudson, and she's beautiful, but I don't have to tell YOU that." said Myles. "Tell her you love her before it's too late! You would think with as many close calls as the two of you have had that you would have realized how important it is to not waste what precious time you've been given!"

"Myles, our resident cynic, going soft in your old age are ya?" asked Bobby, as he smiled in amusement.

"It was recently pointed out to me by someone that I should show my sensitive side more often." responded Myles.

"Listen, Hudson, you owe it to Sue, and to yourself, to finally admit to her how you feel! You both deserve to be happy. Don't waste any more time!" Myles urged.

"But what about the 'no dating within units' rule?" Jack protested.

"Oh, please, you expect us to believe that's the only reason you've never told her how you feel?" Myles asked as he rolled his eyes.

Yikes! I just realized how little time I have left to finish this story. What was I thinking? Please excuse me while I go panic...

tis*me!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Chapter 10:

Everyone had returned from lunch except for Jack and Sue.

"Hey, Luce" Bobby said, "You'd be proud of our Myles here! He might just give you a run for your money in the matchmaking department!"

Tara and Lucy exchanged inquisitive looks, and then they turned their gazes to Bobby and Myles. "Go on..." they said.

"Well, let's just say that Jack may FINALLY end up telling Sue that he loves her!" said Bobby.

"What did you say to him?" Lucy asked Myles, astonished.

"It wasn't so much what he said to him, as what he did to him." Bobby said.

"So, what DID you do?" Lucy eagerly asked.

"I smacked him upside the head!" Myles said smugly. "Someone had to finally knock some sense into him!"

"You did WHAT?" asked D incredulously.

"Yes, you heard me right! I smacked him." said Myles as-matter-of-factly.

"Now why didn't I ever think of that?" Lucy asked, as she and Tara burst into uncontrollable laughter. D, Myles, and Bobby couldn’t help but chuckle, as well.

"I guess that's why Jack keeps looking at you like he wants to kill you." said Tara to Myles, as the laughter died down.

"Yes, well, what can I say? I have a way of inciting those types of looks from people."

"Great, I spend three years laying the groundwork to get those two together, and now you’re going to take all the credit when they finally get together!" said Lucy, with slight disappointment. "Doesn’t really matter, though, as long as they actually DO get together!" she said with a wide smile upon her face.

"WHEN they finally get together, I think we can safely say it was a team effort!" Myles responded humbly.

Jack, Sue, and Levi entered the bullpen. "What was a team effort?" Jack asked, having heard only the last part of Myles’s sentence.

"Oh, nothing!" Myles, Lucy, Tara, Bobby, and D all said in unison, as they looked from Jack to Sue and then exchanged knowing looks with one another.

"What’s up?" Sue signed and mouthed at Jack, a confused look upon her face.

"No idea!" Jack mouthed and signed, as he shrugged his shoulders.

Welcome and great work. I loved the songs you selected. They fit perfectly. Can't wait to see where you will take this.

2 great posts, loved the picture of myles smacking jack around the head

can't wait for the rest

cath

This is exactly how I could picture it if we should be favored with a return of the show and they decide to get J/S together. I like the team effort senario. I can see Myles and Bobby finally talking to Jack just like this.

Chapter 11:

Jack sat at his desk staring at Sue, who was busy with her paperwork. He was so happy and relieved that she had decided to stay in D.C. He didn't know how he could have coped with her moving to New York. They had grown so close over the last three years.

Myles was right (though he wouldn't admit that to him); he HAD interrupted something important earlier. Once he found out that Sue had changed her mind about accepting the job offer in New York, he was relieved that Myles had interrupted. He would have just made a fool of himself by admitting his true feelings -- by telling her he loved her. If he had told her and she had gone to New York, it might have been different. If she reciprocated his feelings then, maybe, they could have started dating, since they would have no longer been in the same unit. And if she didn't reciprocate, well, he wouldn't have had to face the embarrassment of facing her every day at work!

He thought that Sue felt the same way for him as he did for her. There had been so many signs, on both their parts, that they loved one another. But what if he was wrong? He didn't want to risk losing their friendship; it was far too important to him to lose. He didn't want to endanger their work relationship; they were too good a team to ruin that.

"Jack! Jack! Yoohoo! Hello? Anybody there?" Sue asked as she waved her hand in front of his face.

"Hey, Sue, how long have you been there?" Jack asked.

"A couple of minutes actually. I was just wondering if you had any paperclips I could use, but it seems the answer would be no." she said as she looked at the pile of unwound paperclips atop his desk with amusement.

"Sorry" he said and signed.

"It’s okay. I’ll just get some from someone else. By the way, what had you so mesmerized?" Sue asked.

"You" he blurted out before realizing what he’d said. "I mean, I was just, errr, ummm, thinking about how glad I am that you decided to stay."

"Thank you!" she said and signed.

"Hey!" Jack said, "Would you like to come over to my place tonight to celebrate with pizza and a movie?"

"Sure, sounds like fun! Who else is coming?" Sue asked.

"Oh, well, I haven’t asked anybody else yet. Bobby, Myles, D do you want to come over to my place tonight to celebrate Sue staying?"

"Sorry, mate, Sue, I already have plans!" Bobby said.

"So do I" said Myles.

"Sorry, Sue" D said and signed. "Donna and I are taking the kids to visit relatives."

"What about you, Tara, Lucy?" asked Jack.

"Umm, we already have plans, too!" Lucy and Tara said in unison.

"Looks like it’s just you and me tonight!" Jack said to Sue as he smiled and winked at her. As he rested his head on his hand, he winced in pain.

"What’s wrong?" asked Sue, concerned at his obvious pain.

Jack looked at Myles with slight contempt and responded "Nothing."

"How 'bout you come over around seven o'clock? And you get to bring the movie." Jack said.

"Sounds good to me!" replied Sue.

Chapter 12:

Sue and Levi arrived at Jack's apartment just shortly before seven o'clock.

"Hey!" Jack said as he opened the door with a huge smile. "I've already ordered the pizza. It should be here in a while."

"You must be listening to music." Sue commented.

"How did you know?" Jack asked with surprise.

"Well, I can feel the vibrations. You must have it up kind of loud?"

"Yeah, I guess I do." Jack replied.

"Plus, your CD player says PLAY on it!" she said with a grin and a wink.

"Oh, yeah!" Jack said, a little embarrassed.

"So, what are you listening to?" asked Sue.

"Michael W. Smith's "This is Your Time" CD" answered Jack.

"Oh, yeah, he wrote the song "Pray For Me". I love the words to that song! What song's playing now?" asked Sue.

"This song is "I Still Have The Dream", but it's ending soon. The next song up, if I remember correctly, is called "I'm Gone"" said Jack.

"Sounds interesting! I'm not familiar with that one. Can you tell me the words?" Sue asked.

"Umm, yeah, I guess..." Jack said awkwardly. He knew every single word of this song by heart because it perfectly described his feelings for Sue.

As they both sat down on the couch, they faced one other. Jack began mouthing the words of the song, as Sue concentrated on his mouth, ensuring that she didn't miss a word.

"I See You Smiling At Me
And I Fall Into a Daydream
Don't Know What All of This Means
Oh, Is It Love?
Logic Is Slipping Away
My Heart's On A Runaway Train

I'm Gone, I'm Gone, Yes I'm Gone
I'm Gone, Yes I'm Gone, I'm Gone
And It Feels So Right

Each Time I Look In Your Eyes
So Glad You Came Into My Life
Much More Than An Emotional High
Oh, This Is Love
I Know That I've Made Up My Mind
I'll Stay For The Rest Of My Life

I'm Gone, I'm Gone, Yes I'm Gone
I'm Gone, Yes I'm Gone, I'm Gone
And It Feels So Right"

As they gazed into each other’s eyes, Jack leaned in closer to Sue, their lips almost touching. Then, suddenly he pulled away. Sue stared at Jack, a confused and dejected look etched upon her face. Jack cleared his throat and stood up.

"Someone's knocking at the door." he said awkwardly, as he pointed to the door. "It's probably the pizza."

It was just like she had told Myles; every time it seemed like Jack was about to open up and tell her how he felt, or in this case, show her how he felt, something happened -- someone interrupted!

Jack went to the door and paid for the pizza.

"Well," Jack said, "the pizza's here!"

"Yeah, I know!" mumbled Sue.

"What did you say?" Jack asked.

"Oh, nothing." responded Sue.

"What movie did you bring?"

"While You Were Sleeping" Sue answered.

"Again?"

"Yes, again! It's my favorite movie! Do you have a problem with it?" Sue said, perhaps a little too defensively.

"Nope, no problem." he said and signed. He had to admit he actually liked the movie too. He liked that the male lead's name was Jack. He found himself wondering if that was the reason Sue liked it so much, and then realized he was getting a little too cocky. "What if she doesn't feel the same way for me as I feel for her?" he thought.

After a short period of awkward silence, they comfortably settled in to a night of eating pizza and watching "While You Were Sleeping".

Chapter 13:

As the movie ended, Sue gently nudged Jack, who had fallen asleep halfway through the movie.

As Jack awoke, he said "Oh, is the movie over already? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to fall asleep!"

"Why didn't you just tell me you didn't like this movie? I could have brought something else?" asked Sue.

"It's not that I don't like the movie. I'm just very tired. Like I told you this morning, I didn't get any sleep last night."

As they stared at each other, Sue broke the silence. "Umm, I guess I better go. It's getting late, and I'm very tired. I'll see you later?"

"See you later" was all Jack could manage to say at the time.

Sue headed towards the door with Levi, her back now facing Jack.

"What is wrong with you Hudson? Don't let her leave yet! Tell her how you feel before it's too late! Besides if you don't tell her soon, Myles may hit you again!" Jack thought to himself.

"Sue, wait, please don't go! There's something I need to tell you! I love you!" Jack said.

Levi reached up and placed his paw upon Sue in order to get her attention. She turned around just in time to catch the last couple of words Jack was saying. She stood there stunned. "I must be imagining things! It’s getting late, and I AM very tired. He couldn’t have just said what I think he said. It’s just wishful thinking! Well, there’s only one way to find out!" she thought.

"What did you just say?" she asked, as she approached Jack.

"Umm, Sue, please don’t go?"

"No, not that...though I didn’t catch that."

"Umm, there’s something I need to tell you?"

"No, not that...though I didn’t catch that either."

"Umm, I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Sue." he said, a slightly embarrassed look upon his face.

"Jack, please, don't lie." Sue said with exasperation evident in her voice. "It may be late, and I may be very tired. It's been a very long and very eventful day, but I really don't think I imagined it."

"Imagined what?" Jack said, still hedging.

"Well, I only caught two words – ‘love you’..." she said, looking at him hopefully, her lips pursed.

He could see the look of hope in her eyes and knew he could no longer continue to avoid admitting his feelings for her.

"Sue, the truth is..." Jack said nervously, "I said...I love you! I love you, Sue! I have for a very long time! I've just been too afraid to admit it. It was what I wanted to tell you this morning when I still thought you were going to New York, but then Myles interrupted. I can't imagine my life without you!"

Sue stood there looking at Jack, overcome with emotion, tears streaming down her face.

Jack reached over and gently brushed away the tears and said "What's wrong?", a look of concern on his face.

"I love you too, Jack! I have for a very long time! And I can't imagine my life without you either! You have no idea how long I've waited for you to tell me that you love me!"

Jack and Sue embraced one another and shared a passionate kiss.

"Wow, that was even better than the kiss at Callahan and Merced!" they both said in unison, looking at each other in surprise.

"Gives a WHOLE new meaning to the nickname Sparky!" Sue blurted out. Her eyes suddenly grew quite large and her mouth gaped open at the realization that she had actually voiced her thought.

"Oh my goodness, I just said that out loud, didn't I?" Her voice was slightly muffled as she had dropped her head and covered her now crimson-red face with both her hands.

Jack laughed in amusement at the comment and at how fast her face could turn red when she was embarrassed. He reached over to remove her hands from her face and lifted her head so that she would look at him. "That's okay, I was just thinking about how I might have to start calling YOU Sparky! Or maybe, someday soon, Mrs. Sparky?" he said with a wink, as they embraced and kissed once again.

As Sue began raking her fingers through Jack's hair, he winced in pain, breaking their kiss.

"Okay, what's wrong? That's at least the second time today I've seen you wince in pain when your head was touched? And why do I get the feeling it has something to do with Myles?" she said with a questioning look upon her face.

"Myles smacked me upside the head!" Jack said, embarrassed. "He said someone needed to knock some sense into me so that I'd finally admit I love you!"

"Well, if I had known that's all it took to get you to finally admit you love me, I would have smacked you a long time ago!" Sue said with hearty laugh.


They were officially engaged a month later.

Chapter 14:

Returning from their reverie, Jack and Sue got back to the task at hand -- spring cleaning. Jack carried several boxes of books and photo albums into the study, so that Sue could arrange them in the bookcases.

Sue quickly went to work transferring the photo albums and books from the boxes to their respective places on the bookshelves. After having emptied two of the four boxes, Sue sat down in the window seat of the bay window. She needed a break. Her back had been bothering her a lot lately. As she sat there, she stared out the window, a smile quickly forming on her face, as she watched two neighborhood kids riding their bikes. She remembered the first time she and Jack had looked at their house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the first eleven months of marriage, they had comfortably lived in Jack's old apartment. However, after they had received their good news, they started looking for a house.

When the realtor had first told them about the house, Sue was very excited. From the description, it was her "dream house". It was brand new, on a cul-de-sac, in a great neighborhood. It had 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a nice sized kitchen with all the modern amenities, a formal dining room, a family room with a fireplace, a closed-in porch, a study/computer room, a 2 car garage, and a large fenced-in backyard. There was a large master suite with a walk-in-closet and a huge master bath. It sounded like the perfect house.

They both knew as soon as they started looking at the house that it was "theirs". They both saw glimpses of their future together there.

Bringing their children home from the hospital for the first time...
Reading to their children...
Getting ready for church and school...
Celebrating Christmases, birthdays, and anniversaries...
Sharing meals gathered around the dining room table...
Watching their children grow...
Marking the wall to show how much they had grown...
Teaching their children to ride bikes...
Bandaging skinned knees and kissing boo boos...

They could see their children running around in the back yard, playing with Levi, while they snuggled together on a porch swing. They could see themselves growing old and gray in this house.

They stared deeply into one another's eyes, shared a knowing look and a nod of the head. They both turned to the realtor and, in unison, excitedly said "We'll take it!"

They closed on the house just after their first anniversary, and were moved in just in time for Christmas. That was about four months ago, and this had been one of the first opportunities they had had to go through many of the boxes that they had hurriedly packed when they first bought the house.

After her short respite, Sue finished transferring the remainder of the books from the last two boxes to the bookcases. After emptying all of the boxes in the study, she returned to the bedroom that they were working on cleaning out.

wow this was a feast of posts to wake up to

loved it all



cath

My thoughts as well. You are doing a grand job.

Thank you both, so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it!

Chapter 15:

By lunchtime, they had managed to empty and clear away quite a few boxes, shred tons of confidential junk mail that had just been thrown into a box at the last minute, and gather quite a donation pile for their church and the Salvation Army.

"I think it's time for a lunch break!" Sue exclaimed.

As Jack was moving one of the boxes, a book fell out and opened up to the first page. He picked it up, and without even thinking about it, began reading the first part, with surprise.


********************************************************************
Today I met the man I'm going to marry! Okay, well, maybe not, but a girl can
dream can't she? Special Agent Jack Hudson...the most handsome and charming
man I've ever met!

There was a show I used to like to watch in college called "High Tide” with Rick
Springfield. Jack kind of reminds me of the younger brother on the show,
only older, and better looking!
********************************************************************


"What is that?" Sue asked, seeing the look of surprise upon Jack's face.

Jack's face turned red with embarrassment "Err, umm, I think it must be your journal from several years ago. I started reading it before I knew what it was. I'm sorry!"

Jack handed it to Sue, and she read the first passage. A smile formed upon her face, as she rejoiced in the fact that her dream had become reality.

"That's okay!" Sue said. "We ARE married; we don't have any secrets from one another, at least I don't think so. Besides, I figure we've already discussed everything in there. Hopefully, I didn't write anything too embarrassing in it!"

She handed the journal back to him.

"You mean, I can read it?" Jack said with a raised eyebrow.

"I guess, if you really want to, but I don't think you'll find it very interesting." Sue said. "Anyway, I'm going to go fix us some lunch. Are sandwiches and chips okay with you?" Sue asked.

"That will be fine, dear." Jack said, a little distracted, as Sue walked to the kitchen, and he walked to the family room to sit down on the couch and read the journal.


********************************************************************
This week we got a new supervisor at work -- Ted Garrett. After finally winning
over Eldridge, I now had to convince yet another person I was worthy of the
opportunity I'd been given to work in this unit of the FBI. I must admit I was
quite worried, especially when the buzz around the office was that Garrett
was thinking about transferring someone out of our unit. Everyone, especially me,
assumed that it would be ME! (I did NOT want to be transferred back to
fingerprinting! And I didn't want to have to leave the FBI or Washington, D.C.
I've already made so many good friends here -- Lucy, Charlie, Tara, Bobby, D,
and, of course, Jack!)
So, imagine my surprise today when I accidentally managed to see Ted talking to
someone about transferring MYLES! I cannot let that happen! I mean, sure,
he's been horrible to me, but he was on the team first, and he's an integral
part of the team! Plus, I know that I will eventually win his respect...
at least, I hope I will!

Lord, please help me to find a way to convince Ted Garrett NOT to transfer
Myles out of the unit...
********************************************************************


As Sue returned with lunch in hand, Jack said, "Why didn't you ever tell me that it was Myles that Garrett had planned on transferring from our unit, NOT you?"

"Oh, that's in there?" Sue asked. "Well, I didn't really see any reason for anyone else to know." she said matter-of-factly.

"But Myles was absolutely horrible to you in the beginning!" Jack said.

"Yes, that's true!" Sue responded.

"And if he had been transferred, your life, or at least your work, probably would have been a lot easier for you!"

"Perhaps," Sue responded "But it wouldn't have been right NOT to fight to keep Myles on the team. He WAS and IS an integral part of the team."

Jack was still amazed daily by the depths of Sue's generosity and compassion.

"Does he have any idea how blessed he was to have had you fighting for him?" Jack asked.

"Actually, he does." Sue said with a grin.

"Myles knew?" Jack said surprised.

"Not at first, but apparently he found out at some point. On the day that was to have been my last in D.C., he formally apologized for the way he had treated me in the beginning and he thanked me for having convinced Garrett to keep him in the unit."

"Wow! Myles actually apologized?" Jack said, still stunned.

"Yeah, it surprised me too!" Sue said with a grin.

See -- Myles isn't all bad -- he's mostly bluster!!!

kav

Chapter 16:

Jack's left hand held the journal as he read; his right hand rested gently across Sue's abdomen, as she was snuggled against him, quietly sleeping, exhaustion having overtaken her. Suddenly, Jack felt a sudden movement under his right hand, as Sue gently stirred.

"Did you feel that?" Jack asked Sue excitedly.

"Feel what?" Sue asked, still halfway asleep.

"I felt him kick!" Jack said.

"Or her..." Sue gently corrected.

"Yes, of course, I felt him or her kick!" Jack exclaimed.

Sue quickly fell completely back asleep, as Jack smiled at the memory of the moment Sue first told him they were expecting...

YES! I knew that was the reason they are cleaning out one of the bedrooms! It's great to see how comfortable Sue is with Jack reading her old diary...

So do we get to read about Jack's memory of Sue's big announcement?

Great story (I might have already said that, but just to be sure...)

I, too, was impressed at how comfortable Sue was with Jack reading her journal.
That tells a lot about their relationship

Sure, why not? I'm feeling generous today...

Chapter 17:

Sue hadn't been feeling well for a couple of weeks. So, she finally decided to take a day of sick leave from work. This morning, she began to suspect that she might be pregnant, but she hadn't told Jack yet because she didn't want to get his hopes up. They were both anxious to become parents, to share their love with a child of their own. They had discussed it frequently. They even already had a few names picked out.

A few minutes after Jack left for work, Sue headed out to the store to pick up a home pregnancy test. As she returned home, she quickly made her way to the bathroom to take the test. As she emerged from the bathroom, a huge smile upon her face, she looked down and gently touched her stomach. "I'm pregnant!" she said to her self, overjoyed.

She went over to sit on the couch. Levi came over to her and she pet his head. "Hey, boy!" she said. "Jack and I are going to have a baby! We're going to be parents!" she excitedly told Levi. "Don't worry, Levi, we'll still love you just as much!" she reassured him.

Sue resisted the urge to call Jack and tell him. She wanted him to know as soon as possible, but she wanted to tell him in person and in a creative way. And she wanted it to be a private moment between the two of them. She didn't want the rest of the team to know just yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, honey, I'm home!" Jack said to Sue, with a huge grin on his face, as he arrived home from work. He knew most people probably thought it was corny, but it gave him such a thrill to say it.

"Hi, dear!" Sue said in response. "How was your day at work? Did I miss anything important?" she asked.

"No, not really. It was kind of a slow day today." he responded. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked with concern.

"Yes, much better!" Sue said with a big smile. "Are you about ready for dinner?" she asked him.

Jack noticed that the table was already set for dinner, and there was a beautifully gift-wrapped package next to his plate. "What's that?" Jack asked, as he signed.

"It's just a little something I wanted you to have!" said Sue, trying hard to contain her excitement.

"But, why? What's the occasion?" he asked curiously. "It's not my birthday or our anniversary."

"You'll see! Go ahead, open it..."

Jack quickly unwrapped the package and pulled out a bib and a newborn outfit that each said "I Love My Daddy" on them. A huge smile formed upon his face. "Does this mean what I think it means? You're pregnant?" asked Jack stunned.

"Yep!" said Sue excitedly. "We're going to have a baby!"

Jack picked up Sue and gently spun her around. After placing her back on the ground, he showered her with hugs and kisses.

"Hey" Sue said. "I taught Levi a new trick. Watch this! Hey, Levi, come here, boy!"

Levi came to Sue, then looked up at her waiting for instruction. "Levi, where's the baby?" she asked.

Levi reached up and gently placed his paw on Sue's stomach.

"Good boy!" both Sue and Jack said with huge smiles on their faces, as they pet Levi.

Chapter 18:

The following day at work, Jack and Sue entered the bullpen a little later than usual. They had been on the phone all morning telling their family the good news.

"Hey, Sue is everything okay?" Lucy asked with concern. "I don't think I ever remember you having taken a day of sick leave since you started working for the Bureau."

"Everything's fine! I'm feeling much better today!" said Sue, trying to contain her excitement. Jack and Sue had decided they wanted to wait a while to tell the team they were expecting, at least until she'd been to the doctor. However, they realized it was going to be very tough to keep it a secret for too long, especially with Lucy.

Lucy looked at Sue and Jack with suspicion. She noticed the huge grin on both Sue's and Jack's faces and the knowing looks they were exchanging. A huge smile crept across her face, as the thought hit her. Realizing she could be wrong and not wanting to possibly spoil anything, Lucy went over to Sue's desk and discretely signed "Girl, you're pregnant...aren't you?"

Sue glanced at Jack, a questioning look upon her face. He shrugged his shoulders and mouthed "Go ahead! It's not like we can keep it from her at this point. You know how she is once she gets an idea in her head."

"Yes! I'm pregnant! Jack and I are going to have a baby!" Sue signed to Lucy, trying not to announce it to the whole team.

Unable to contain herself, Lucy squealed with delight, alerting the whole team. She quickly covered her mouth. Then signed "sorry" to Sue.

"What's going on?" asked Myles.

Jack approached Sue's desk, as she stood up. He lovingly wrapped his arm around her waist as he began to speak. "Well, Sue and I wanted to wait to tell you all, at least until Sue had actually been to the doctor, but we should have known it was impossible to keep a secret around here for too long!" he said with a grin as he looked at Lucy. "Why don't you tell them, dear?" Jack said to Sue.

"I'm pregnant! We're going to have a baby!" Sue said with excitement.

"Congratulations! That's great!" they all exclaimed.

Lucy, then Tara, hugged both Sue and Jack as they congratulated them. Then they excitedly started talking about how they were going to have to start planning a baby shower.

Bobby went over to Sue, a huge dimpled grin on his face, to give her a hug. "So, there's going to be a little Sparky running around soon, huh? Congratulations! You're going to make a great mum!"

"Thank you!" Sue said and signed.

Bobby then gave Jack a hearty pat on the back as he said "Congratulations, Sparky!"

"You're going to love being a father!" D said to Jack with a smile. "And Sue, you're going to make an amazing mother!"

"Thank you!" Sue said and signed, once again.

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Hudson!" said Myles. "May I suggest the name Myles, if it's a boy?" he said with a grin. "It's a great, distinguished name!"

The rest of the team just rolled their eyes at Myles's suggestion.

Chapter 19:

After Sue woke up from her nap, Jack and Sue returned to the bedroom that they were working on clearing out - the future nursery. Sue surveyed the room. They had managed to clear out quite a few boxes, but there were still many left.

"Well, we sure didn't get as much accomplished today as I was hoping." Sue said with disappointment. "I guess we'll have to resume Spring Cleaning next Saturday. There's still so much to be done! The time will go by so much faster than you think, Jack."

"Don't worry, Sue! We'll get it done in time." Jack gently reassured.

"I know, it just all seems so overwhelming right now!" Sue responded. "Troy has offered to help with painting the Noah's Ark mural, once we get the room cleaned out. And the team has offered to help move in furniture, once the painting is all done and dried."

"So, how do you envision the room, Sue?" Jack asked.

"Well, I thought we'd put a changing table on this wall" she said, as she pointed to the appropriate wall. "A dresser over here, and one crib on this wall..." she pointed once again. "and the other one on this wall", a wide smile appearing on her face. "And two rocking chairs side by side in the center of the room. I still can't believe we're having twins -- a boy and a girl! I've always dreamed of having twins!"

She placed both her hands on her ever-increasing belly, as Jack came up behind her and encircled her with his arms, gently placing his hands upon hers.

Well, this is the last chapter, though there is an epilogue, to follow shortly.

tis*me!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Chapter 20:

"So, did you enjoy reading my journal?" Sue asked Jack.

"Yes, I did!" responded Jack. "We HAD talked about most of the things written in there, but this was kind of like experiencing it 'firsthand'. And there was a surprise or two."

"I guess you think keeping a journal is silly?" Sue asked with a slight red tinge on her cheeks.

"Hey, I think I'm offended!" Jack exclaimed with a look of mock hurt on his face.

"Why?" asked and signed Sue, with a questioning look upon her face.

Jack reached in to one of the boxes labeled "Jack's stuff" and pulled out a leather-bound notebook with the word "Journal" upon it. He handed it to Sue, who opened it to the first page, and proceeded to read it, her mouth gaping open in surprise at the words she read...

********************************************************************
Today I met the woman I'm going to marry! Okay, well, maybe not, but a guy
can dream can't he? Sue Thomas...the most beautiful and amazing woman I've
ever met!
********************************************************************

Epilogue:

Family and friends of Jack and Sue Hudson gathered in the waiting room of the hospital, anxiously awaiting the good news. There were the expectant grandparents (Jack's and Sue's parents), uncles and aunts (Sue's brothers and their wives), and then there were the honorary aunts and uncles -- the FBI team, Lucy, Tara, Bobby, Myles, and D, along with his wife Donna. Even Charlie, Troy, Amanda, and Deanne, along with her dog Katie, had managed to make it there. Jack came through the doors of the delivery room, beaming with pride, holding a precious bundle in each arm. One was wrapped in a blue blanket with a blue cap upon his head; the other was wrapped in a pink blanket with a pink cap upon her head. The group began approaching Jack and the two new beautiful bundles of joy.

"Ohhhh, they're beautiful, just like their parents!" many of them gushed.

Though Myles, with his usual acerbic wit, said "Good thing they look like Sue!"

Lucy, of course, shot Myles an "if-looks-could-kill" icy stare for his comment!

Myles, in response, just shrugged his shoulders and raised an eyebrow, while asking "What?".

"How's Sue doing?" many in the group asked.

"She's doing great! She's exhausted, as you can imagine, but she's ecstatic! I need to get back in there with her soon, but we both wanted you all to meet the newest members of the Hudson family, as soon as possible. So, I would like to introduce you to -- Matthew Ryan Hudson and Lauren Deanne Hudson!" Jack made sure he looked directly at Deanne as he announced the names of the children, especially his new daughter.

Deanne was truly touched. A smile enveloped her face, as a tear escaped from her eye. She signed "thank you" to Jack.

"Thank you!" he mouthed at her, gratitude in his heart for the woman who had played an integral role in Jack and Sue finally getting together.

Jack returned to Sue, handing her their son Matthew, as he continued holding their daughter Lauren, who already had him wrapped around her little finger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three days later, at the Hudson house, Jack and Sue each sat in the nursery in separate rocking chairs, each rocking one of their new, sleeping babies, as Levi lay between them on the floor. They stared at each other with looks of pure joy and love.

"It just doesn't get any better than this!" Jack said breaking the silence.

"No, it doesn't. I love you, Jack." Sue responded, as she thanked God for her abundant blessings. She kissed her daughter's head, then leaned over to gently place a kiss upon the head of her son. She lifted her head slightly to gently kiss the lips of her handsome husband. She had never been happier in her life!

"And I love you, Sue!" Jack said.

Jack thanked God, once again, as he realized his "someday" had arrived
..."a wife" (he looked at Sue)
..."a couple of kids" (he looked at Lauren and Matthew)
..."a dog" (he looked at Levi)
and, as predicted, he was "happy in a place like this".

"Who could ask for more?" he thought.


THE END

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE: In case anybody missed it, the end alludes to the end of the "Breaking Up is
Hard to Do" episode.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow, that was.....well, that was just great! I had to read twice over the part about the cribs, before I really understood what you meant....twins! And Jack is soooo cute with a little baby, I can only imagine him holding two little ones!!!!!

Great job, tis*me!!!

Thank you for sharing this lovely story with us. Jack and Sue seem so incredibly happy. What a great reason for spring cleaning, to welcome twins into the family.

another feast of posts and they were wonderful
loved them





twins


cath

Great job! I enjoyed reading this story! twins....


Happy Easter!

Nicely done, tis*me! Welcome to the world of writing... you definitely jumped in with both feet!! Hope you're planning something else to share soon!

wonderful tis*me...I loved how you portrayed the way that their someday has finally arrived! wonderful story!

very much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I had a wonderful time writing it! Thank you again for all your replies!


Maybe I should have written that better!



Well, Jack is soooo cute, period!
So, holding two little ones...

You're welcome! Thank you for reading it! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks again for all your wonderful replies! They were very encouraging!

Glad you enjoyed them so much! Thanks for replying so regularly and so frequently!

Thank you Levi_rocks, justme_jp3, bell, and anyone else I didn't specifically mention for the wonderful replies! I want to thank everyone who read this story, especially those who took the time to leave replies! I had a wonderful time writing the story! However, once I started writing and posting it, I didn't have time to read anyone else's stories; so, I'm glad I now have the time to go read the other stories.

Don't know about that...I'll have to see...

I caught up in time to find it's over We really need an out of breath running smilie here. I enjoyed reading about blissfully happy Jack and Sue. And Myles was a riot.
kav

I just caught up your last posts and I have to thank you from my heart. You story made me laugh, smile, melt... I really love Myles' role in admitting Jack's feelings, I love their diaries and I love their little bundle of joy!!!!

You made me great time and nothing will destroy my today's mood!!!


Restie

Tis*me, I just caught up on your story and I want you to know it is incredible!! I laughed, cried and sighed through the whole tale!!

Are you sure you haven't written before???

Thanks for sharing your incredible talent with us!!!

Joy

Kav, thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Myles was a lot of fun to write! I want to thank you for taking the time to read my story and leave replies, especially since you were working on your own story at the same time. I don't know where you found the time! I'm looking forward to reading your story. I'm still playing catch up on all my reading!

Restie, thank you so much for the wonderfully kind words! I'm so glad you enjoyed the story! I really appreciate the feedback!

Suesfan, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! I really appreciate the compliments!


You are all so very kind!

I first read the story just now, and i must say that it is a really good first story ( a LOT better than my first fanfic)!! Great job!

I had heard about this story but had not had the chance to read it till now...it was so beautiful....

aww so sweet
cute names
lol myles whacking jack up side the head
so cute how they both had journals and from getgo knew they loved eachother...just took a while in telling the other of said love.
beautiful songs for their wedding/reception