The Nomination

This scene rounded off the trilogy Lizzy wrote to give us an idea of what Jack and Sue may have been thinking during the episode, The Kiss, as well as a delicious glimpse into what could have been! Very romantic and real, this scene is easy to get lost in, and it ties in very well with the episode. Lizzy's a very talented young lady with massive potential, and I would love to see her work in the Showcase soon!

Sue pulled into her parking spot with a heavy heart. Weary and ready to fall into bed as soon as she walked into her apartment, she wished it were later. Lucy would have been asleep already, and Sue wouldn’t have to dodge her roommate’s questions. The team had all known that she and Jack were going back to Callahagn and Merced that evening to download software onto Hilary Kern’s computer. It was inevitable for Lucy to be curious about how it went.

Shutting the car door firmly, Sue locked the vehicle and headed for the front door to her apartment building. Wrapping her coat tightly around herself, she felt the winter wind kick up. Using her key, she unlocked the complex’s door and stepped inside. She decided against the elevator, hoping a brisk walk up the stairs would help warm her up. With each upward step, Jack’s face became clearer in her mind, a gorgeous smile upon his lips.

She shook her head as she reached the top of the stairwell, trying to remove the haunting picture of a certain FBI agent out of her mind. Looking down at the floor, Sue let her feet numbly lead her to the apartment she knew so well. Two paces away from the door, a pair of feet, not her own, stopped her. “I’m sorry,” Sue stammered, her eyes traveling upward. The last thing she needed was an angry neighbor, especially when she felt like she could break down and cry, at any given moment.

“Jack!” she breathed in surprise. Clearing her throat, knowing by the tightness she felt there that she was barely loud enough to be heard, Sue let her eyes drop to the floor. “What are you doing here?”

He gently tipped her chin up, so she could see his lips. “About twenty seconds after you left, I realized that there was more I needed to say… that I should have said,” he began to explain. “I passed by your car on the road and figured I’d make it here before you did.” He smiled. “I got here about a minute ago.”

“Oh,” Sue replied, not surprised that she had missed his car in the parking lot. She hadn’t been paying attention to much of anything, except her own thoughts. “So… what were you wanting to talk about?” Her heart clenched in her chest, afraid to hear his response, dreading yet another friendly reason for action, as his motives had always been before.

“Tonight,” he answered. Her stomach flip-flopped. “About what happened before Janice came in.” He rocked on his heels, hoping she’d say something.

Sue blushed as she spoke. “I think I got the program completely loaded on the computer before we… before Janice came in.”

“That’s good.” Ashamed of her thoughts, she chastised herself for thinking he may have meant more. Jack nodded before stopping his rhythmic heel rocking. He waited until he knew Sue was watching him. His heart pounded so loudly that he wondered if even Sue could hear it. What am I doing?

“That wasn’t exactly what I meant, though, Sue,” he told her, shakily. “I meant after the spyware.”

Her eyes widened for a long moment, before she slowly answered him. “You mean the change in our cover story?”

Jack nodded again, and a smile fought against the frown Sue wore. Once again, her heart’s beating raced. “I guess you could put it that way.” He groaned. “I’m just going to say this. Sue, I didn’t want to do that… to put you in that position. I…”

“Jack, it’s ok. It’s part of our job.” She tried to hide her disappointment with a forced smile.

“I know, but- I guess what I’m trying to say is that I didn’t want it to happen that way. I always thought it’d be different.”

“There was no way we could have known that Janice was coming back. It still worked out.”

“Sue, I meant kissing you. I wanted it to happen, just not that way.” He cringed in frustration, trying to say what he wanted to and make sense doing it. Sue swallowed hard, as she watched his lips form silent words. “I didn’t want it to be a forced thing… for a cover.”

“You wanted to kiss me?” Sue asked, her voice slightly above a whisper. She kept a straight face, trying to contain her excitement until, just in case she had misunderstood him.

Jack smiled sheepishly. “I’ve wanted to for a while.”

“Why didn’t you?” Sue implored, letting her curiosity control her lips.

“I didn’t know that you wanted me to,” he replied with raised eyebrows, his voice low and husky. Sue looked down, not knowing what to say. She couldn’t hear his voice, but the darkened chocolate brown of Jack’s eyes told her that his heart was in his words, and he was looking at her with a desire she had never seen before.

“Do you think we…”

“Should try it again?” he interrupted. Both of them smiled. “It could be good for our cover.”

“Good point,” Sue added, as Jack took a step forward. “We could use the practice.” Her voice was stronger now, as she kept up the banter. “Who knows when we may need to use it again.”

“We very well might have to,” he agreed, taking her hand in his and lacing their fingers together. A lump grew in Sue’s throat, as he felt him squeeze her hand, then lift their joined hands to his lips and lightly brush her knuckles with a kiss. Her heart leapt into her throat at the slight touch. Sensing her surprise, he wiggled an eyebrow playfully, giving her a crooked smile. Sue felt her cheeks burn with even more intensity. Jack gently slid his arm around her waist and tugged, bringing her closer to himself. He slowly leaned forward and she froze, watching him approach. When he didn’t pull back, she closed her eyes, waiting and shivering in anticipation. Her heart dropped down to her stomach (and was well on its way to her toes) when she felt his lips graze her cheek, bypassing her waiting mouth completely.

He had fully intended to pull away, just to tease her, to buy himself more time so he could compose himself before kissing her soft lips. However, when he heard her whisper his name, her voice so quiet and strained, he was hopelessly stuck. Her kissed her cheek again, dragging his lips down to her jaw line, and followed the trail it blazed to her chin. Sue had placed her left hand on his chest, and as his mouth crept its way up to her lips, her fingers crept their way up to his shoulders, and wrapped themselves around his neck. He breathed out, long and deep.

Jack’s warm, minty breath tingled her senses, as his lips hovered above her own. She could feel him studying her, but couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes, afraid that the dream of his touch and adoration would fade upon waking. He didn’t leave her waiting for long, suddenly kissing her with enough fervor to knock her off her feet. She laughed against his lips, suddenly knowing that this could be no dream, as it was much better than anything she had ever experienced in sleep. She returned his kiss eagerly, pulling herself against him, finding strength and boldness in his touch.

Jack caressed her back with his hands, still in awe of what was happening. Toying with her, nibbling her lip slightly, soothing it with a kiss, pulling back and leaning forward, Jack found that he felt more enjoyment then than he had ever felt before. Sue meant the world to him, and now, she was his, claimed with a kiss—their kiss.

You can find this story, and all of LizzyM87's other stories here in her archive page. Comments are always welcome!