Ah, love.

Ain't it grand?

Lindsy

Whoops! Double posted!

See what happens to me when you write fuzzies! My mind turns to mush and you make me double post!

Not that I'm complaining or anything...

Lindsy

Oh Regina...I was reading your night post, but I get asleep , but that´s not the worst part, when I wake up I was very asleep, so I said I will turn off the computer and tomorrow morning I will read Regina´s post, ha ha..., my computer died!!! and and, well it´s not good (I have very important files there), so well...hope I can recover them

Right now I have my parents´computer, so I could finish to read your post, wonderful!!!!

See ya as soon as possible!

Tere

Busy day! Thanks for reading!! This post continues the day that started with last night's post. Thanks for your comments!!

Regina



Chapter 13

After three more hours of watching security footage, a bleary-eyed Sue and an over-stimulated Jack finally called it quits for the day. Sitting next to one another, working, basically the entire day was almost more than either of them could take, but they stuck to their task. They wanted to prove not only to D and the rest of the team, but to themselves, as well, that they could be more than professional in this first task after revealing their feelings toward one another.

When Sue stopped the DVD and closed the laptop, Jack took one look at her and said, “Work’s done for today,” and took it from her hands and put it carefully on the island in the kitchen. Coming back into the room, Sue sat on the couch, head leaned back, and her eyes closed. When he sat back down next to her, she stretched and rolled her head toward him, opening her eyes with a smile.

“Honey, I’m home,” Jack said, drawing her to himself gently as she reached for him. He was home. Any time, anywhere he was in her arms, he was home.

Kissing him gently, she pulled away slightly and said huskily, continuing the role-play, “Hi Jack, how was your day?”

“Mmmmm . . . . spent the day looking at footage with a beautiful blonde,” he said, kissing the corner of her mouth as she smiled at him.

“Watch it, buster. I hope she kept her hands to herself,” Sue giggled as Jack began exploring with his hands her ribcage, waistline, and back, tickling her gently.

“Couldn’t keep her hands off me,” he said as Sue dragged her hands up his chest and around his neck, pulling herself as close as possible as Jack deepened his kiss.

“Jack . . . Lucy’ll be home any time now . . .” Sue said, yelping as he found that tender spot on her neck that usually turned her into a puddle in his arms.

“I know . . . I figure we’d better enjoy what time we have alone, NOW, don’t you?” he asked her, waggling his eyebrows at her.

Sue smiled at him, gently stroking his face with her knuckles. “Sounds like a plan to me, Jackson,” giggling as his head dipped down so that he could nibble on her neck once more.

Levi stayed in his spot, but barked when he heard the doorbell ring. “Doorbell,” Jack said with a slightly irritated tone as he slowly extricated himself from Sue’s arms. “Thanks, Levi,” he said, laughing and leaning down to rub his head, thankful that he was not just Sue’s ears, but apparently his, as well.

Sue watched as he made his way to the door, then realized that she should probably check to make sure she was put together. Fortunately, t-shirts are easily smoothed down, and don’t have to be buttoned properly, and she pulled the ponytail out of its holder and fluffed her hair a bit.

Jack came back into the room, leading a visitor – D. He smiled and winked at her as he noticed that she had removed the ponytail holder and applied some lip balm to her swollen lips.

“Hi D . . . where’s Lucy?” Sue asked, curious as to why D would come to the apartment when he could just as easily call and get information from them.

“She’ll be here in a few minutes. Randy showed up at 4:45 with a problem he said only she could fix, and he wanted it before 8am tomorrow. It was that stupid manpower report,” he said, rolling his eyes at the very idea of the officious little man interrupting the work the team needed Lucy to work on for something like that.

“Oh, poor Lucy. That’s the report I usually do, and I was only halfway finished when I had the accident. Maybe I should call her and tell her to bring it home, and I’ll finish it . . .” Sue began.

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Jack exclaimed, shaking his head at her in disbelief. “OK, D, explain to Sue the concept of sick days, recovery, and what doctor’s orders of three weeks of doing NOTHING means, will you, please?”

“He’s right, Sue, Lucy said it won’t take her more than an hour to finish it up, and then she’ll be home. You’ve got to rest, you know,” D said gently.

“Yeah, well, she would rest, except she’s spent five hours transcribing surveillance footage today,” Jack said, a disgruntled look on his face and tone in his voice.

D had the grace to look a little embarrassed. “I know, and I’m sorry about that. Donna’s already read me the riot act,” he said sheepishly. “Hopefully, after tomorrow, we’ll have enough info from the footage that we won’t need any more transcribed.”

“Don’t worry about it, D. It’s part of the job, and my bodyguard here doesn’t make ALL my decisions for me,” she said, looking at Jack and reaching over to take his hand unexpectedly, causing his eyes to widen as he shot a look toward D. Sue just continued looking at Jack, a slow smile telling him that she had no problem giving D something to think about.

Clearing his throat loudly enough that Jack jerked his head over to see D smile broadly and wink at him, D decided to keep quiet about this development, which he thought was a long time coming, and concentrate on the matters at hand. He figured they would come to him in their own sweet time, and he would be ready for them. He just hoped he didn’t have to make a decision that any of them would regret.

“Uh, well, Jack, did you and Sue see anything interesting in your viewing?” D asked, seeing the couple’s color go down a bit and focus on the task at hand.

“We did, D,” Sue began, almost excited at what she’d seen. “Besides the dog we saw potentially being compromised this morning when you were here, we saw two other separate incidences involving service dogs. I didn’t know the one this morning, but I have met one of the ladies that I saw this afternoon. She’s an assistant in Senator Lewis’ office, and her name is Jane Harwell. She has limited mobility because she has a debilitating neuromuscular disease, and her dog is trained to help her if she falls or has a muscle spasm during the course of the day.”

“Jane Harwell . . . I’ll have Tara check her out first thing in the morning. Senator Lewis is on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence,” D said, seeing the look that went between Jack and Sue. “Is Ms. Harwell someone you think we can trust?”

“I don’t know her well, but we have met at some service dog charity functions,” Sue said with a slight shrug. “She seems very nice, but I wouldn’t be able to make that call until I see Tara’s research.”

“Thanks, Sue, Jack. If you two could, watch a little more tomorrow, and see if there’s anything else you notice, or anybody else that you might know. I hate to put all my eggs in one basket, so to speak,” D said, a worried frown on his face.

“D, what’s up? Has there been a leak of some kind? It might help us if we know what we’re looking for,” Jack asked.

D hesitated. He knew that these were special circumstances, but he was uncomfortable talking about this outside the Hoover Building. But then, on the other hand, if they didn’t figure out what was going on in the Raeburn Building, it could happen in the Hoover Building as well.

“We’ve gotten word that some names have been leaked to members of various committees . . . names of operatives . . . operatives that are deep undercover with different agencies, even military intelligence” D said, leaning forward in the striped club chair across from where Jack and Sue were sitting on the couch. Looking at them with a more serious look than they had seen on his face in a long time, he continued. “I don’t have to tell you two just how serious this could be. Any of us, at any time, could be sent into deep undercover. If there are names and faces floating around out there, and they get into the wrong hands, we’ll all be in danger. We’ve got to stop whatever is going on before it gets any further. If it gets to Hoover, CIA, Pentagon, or the White House, it could, honestly, wreck any operations going on, plus put lives at stake. We’ve got to stop this, and stop it soon,” D said.

“Wow,” Sue said, looking over at Jack, who was looking down at their clasped hands before looking up to meet her eyes. “Do you need Jack back in the office?” she asked softly, looking back at D.

“Not yet,” D said, hiding a smile as he heard the breath Jack exhaled, the breath that Jack didn’t even know he was holding, probably. “You may get a lot of company, though, if that’s OK with you, Sue.”

“That’s fine with me, and I’ll do what I can with Levi’s and my limited mobility. Can Tara make sure our Internet and Email is secure? That might help, too,” Sue said, squeezing Jack’s hand a little as she glanced over at him.

“I’ll have her come by and check it in the morning. Well . . . I’d better get home. Donna will be looking for me, and Lucy should be home any time now,” D said, sensing that the couple had been enjoying a little “down time” before he showed up.

“I’ll walk you out,” Jack said, looking at D with that ‘I need to talk to you’ look on his face.

“Sure thing. Sue, take care, and don’t let Jack boss you around too much,” D said, smiling at her.

“Don’t worry. I’m the boss around here, right Sparky?” she said, her cheeky smile lightening the mood considerably.

“Queen Bee’ might be more like it,” Jack said, smiling back at her, and then at D. Scratching the bridge of his nose a little, he turned and winked at her as D laughed and made his way to the door.

Standing in the hallway just inside the door, but out of sight of the living room, Jack said to D, “Are you sure everything’s OK for me to be off?”

“For now, Jack. That’s all I can promise you. I know you’re needed here, and there’s a lot you can do from here. Everything goin’ OK?” D asked, wondering how long it would take for Jack to crack about the change in relationship status.

“Uh, yeah . . . everything’s great,” Jack said, a smile slipping out before he could stop it, much to D’s delight. “. . . and D, thanks for approving my being off. There’s no way Sue’s mom or Lucy could begin to get her up and down the stairs of this building, even if Sue would let them.”

“Hey, not a problem. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call us. Lucy’s keeping us updated on things, but I’m sure she’s not telling us everything,” D said, his tongue in his cheek as he quirked an eyebrow at Jack.

I hope not, Jack thought, and then said, “Thanks, D. We’ll keep you posted, and anytime you need to call a meeting over here, let us know.”

“Sure thing, Jack. Talk to you tomorrow . . . better get in there and get supper started, young man,” D said, laughing as he closed the door, leaving Jack standing in the hallway, smiling, hands in his pockets, shaking his head.

Very astute Jack.


Another massage? The board's jumpin' with 'em lately!!! Not that I'm complaining, mind you...


You know, GIVING Jack a massage would probably feel just as good as receiving one from him!!!


Oh, as surely as He exists...

Tina

That was a great balance between the professional and the personal as Jack and Sue look to solve this case and adjust to this change in their relationship.

That was great!

Kim

Hope they could finish the case soon

Tere

That's funny to see that Sue gives some clues to D about their new relationship.
Jack's reaction is cute! He seems almost affraid to be caught!

I'm very happy for you and your husband about the job offer. Sure he'll do great in it!

I just got caught up on the last two posts. Very good, Regina. I'm really enjoying this story.

- RSL

That was a perfect post! The perfect balance between personal and professional.

Lindsy

Thud!I think I'm going to have acute problems from the multiple concussions I'm getting from reading on this Board. I adore this teasing, winking, playful kind of Jack. And I don't know what to think about the case...you've already mangled Sue and Levi -- are you planning to take anyone else down before you give us those dreaded words, "the end"?

kav

At least this will give Sue something to do... Oh wait! She already had something to do... Jack

Em

Today's post!

Now, Kav . . . do you really think I would just mangle people willy-nilly? It had to be done. After all, it's for Jack and Sue. (I would have said, "After all, it's for the children," but it didn't fit here - AT ALL. ) . . . and LittleEm! What you SAID!



Thanks for reading, and for commenting!

Regina



Chapter 14

Standing in the doorway, Tara raised her hand in salute and said, “Good morning! Someone called for IT assistance?” she giggled.

“That would be us. How are you, Tara?” Jack said, gesturing for her to precede him into the living room.

“Good. Where’s Sue?” She asked, looking around, noting Levi’s comfy spot on his bed in front of the window.

“She’s experimenting with independence,” Jack said, a slight growl in his voice. “She’s in the bathroom brushing her teeth and putting on makeup, and forbade me to hover outside the door unless I hear her scream.” Jack smiled sheepishly and shrugged. “Like she would know if I were . . . but somehow, I think she would . . .”

Tara nodded and laughed at the look of wonder crossing his face. “Sue’s a pretty smart cookie, you know,” she said with a smile.

Jack and Tara looked toward the door at that moment, having heard the bathroom door open, and a muffled “shoot!” come from the person maneuvering through the hallway with crutches. Trying to hide his smile, Jack waited patiently for Sue to make her entrance.

“You OK?” Jack said, and signed, a slightly worried look on his face.

“Jack. I went to brush my teeth. How much trouble could I get in doing that?” Sue said, a little irritated at herself. She had banged her injured leg into the side of the tub, and then coming out of the bathroom, miscalculated the distance between the door and her crutch, almost toppling her onto the floor. “By the way . . . thanks for following instructions,” she said blushing a little. “Hi Tara.”

“How’s the knee?” Tara asked, concern and good humor shining in her eyes.

“It’s not so much the knee bothering me as much as these CRUTCHES,” Sue said, ending the sentence with a huge sigh. She set her crutches aside and let herself drop to the couch, then tried to relax, breathing heavily with the effort of walking unnaturally with two sticks under her arms. “Jack’s certainly had his hands full with me.” As soon as she said it, she blushed furiously, her mind going immediately to their “dessert” after breakfast . . . when Jack certainly had his hands full.

Jack felt laughter bubble up inside him at her red face, and at the knowledge that Sue was every bit as bad a patient as he would be in similar circumstances. This case had probably come along at a good time. More down time would mean they would either be planning an elopement – soon – or Sue would be crawling out of her skin with boredom . . . although . . . if this morning was any indication, he was sure they could both think of SOMETHING they could do to occupy their time . . .

“Jack Hudson, don’t you laugh at me,” she said, trying very hard to hide her smile and remain aggravated. It was hard to succeed in the face of knowing brown eyes dancing merrily, and knowing that only the fact that Tara was there kept him from drawing her into his arms and kissing her until she forgot why she was irritated.

“Well, looks like you’ve been in good hands,” Tara said, then blushing at the implication of what she had said, adding fuel to the fire already burning Sue’s face.

“Yeah . . . well . . . how ‘bout that computer, Tara?” Jack suggested, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, and changing the subject before they got in any deeper.

“Sure . . .,” she said, sitting next to Sue, in front of the laptop. “I’ll install a program that will block out any interference from outside wireless signals. You’ll have to be attached to a land line to be totally secure, and I’ll make sure I can see your machine from mine at work. That way if you see anything you want me to look at quickly, an IM or phone call will get me there almost immediately.”

“Sounds good. Gosh. You know, one of these days, they’ll probably have metal detectors and anti-bugging devices standard equipment in every home and public building. Sad, isn’t it?” Sue said, thinking about how unfortunate it was that it was so lucrative to sell out one’s country, and how easily it was accomplished.

“Fortunately, we’re as smart . . . or I like to think, smarter . . . than your average terrorist, so hopefully we have the advantage. It is a shame we have to be constantly on alert, though, isn’t it?” Tara said, shaking her head as she installed the program.

“I guess we could look on this as job security?” Jack said, wondering which young woman would attack him first.

“Jack!” Sue and Tara said in tandem, causing him to laugh out loud at the expressions on both their faces.

“Just kidding. It was getting awfully deep in here,” he said, laughing.

Sue was constantly amazed at this man. The spark that had dimmed in his eyes since she almost left Washington was back, and with more power than ever. There was nothing, it seemed, that could get him down, as long as she was there, as long as he knew she loved him and he loved her. Smiling at him, she felt her knees grow weak as he smiled and winked at her as Tara sat, hunched over the computer. Sitting there, across the room, she felt as moved as she would have if he’d walked over to her and taken her in his arms. Was this the way it would be in the bullpen? Could they handle being so close to one another without acting on it?

Watching her closely, nothing else to do while Tara fiddled with the computer, Jack was having similar thoughts. He had visions of leaning her over her desk and kissing her senseless, or of her standing beside him at his desk going over a file and pulling her onto his lap, his hands running all over her. He’d said they could handle being in close quarters and remain professional, but could they? Having had a taste of the delectable Sue Thomas, could he focus on the job?

“All done!” Tara said clapping her hands together with satisfaction. She looked at Jack and Sue, both of whom seemed mesmerized as they stared into one another’s eyes. “Jack . . . Sue?”

Jack snapped to attention from his spot in the chair across the room, and Sue followed his eyes to Tara, not knowing that she had spoken.

“Sorry, Tara,” Jack said, rubbing his hand over his face to bring him back to reality. He didn’t WANT to come back to reality, but he knew he had to, because if he didn’t, he’d do something that would shock Tara.

“No problem. Couch sleeping starting to get to you?” she said, arching an eyebrow at the looks on both Jack’s and Sue’s faces.

“No, I’m sleeping fine. I know we’re not looking forward to another several hours of watching Raeburn Building security footage,” he said, grimacing a bit.

“Well, hopefully we can find enough about Jane Harwell that we can talk to her about the little problem going on at Raeburn. If that’s the case, then you’ll be off the hook for a little while,” she said, standing and picking up her laptop case. “Anything else you want me to look at while I’m here?”

“I think everything else is under control, technologically-speaking,” Sue said, smiling at her friend from her spot on the couch. Jack had come over and put a pillow under her ankle, caressing her foot as he did so, and then went to stand next to the couch as Tara prepared to leave. “One of these days, we’ll have to get rid of Jack and have a girls’ day,” she said, shooting a teasing look at Jack who twisted his lips in a smile and tried his best to look put out.

“I get no respect around here, do I, Levi? What would they say if we said we wanted to have a guys’ day? I guess we’ll just see who’s appreciated when it comes supper time, won’t we, Bud?” Jack said, laughing as Levi “woofed” in response.

“Levi’s enjoying Jack’s cooking,” Sue told Tara. “Jack gives him more treats than I do, so I think he’s thinking seriously about becoming JACK’S helper dog instead of mine,” she said indulgently, reaching up and smiling at Jack as he stood behind her, his hand automatically taking hers as she drew it to her cheek.

Tara smiled at the couple, knowing that things had certainly changed over the course of the last few weeks. She knew that they would share when they were ready, and she figured they were working some things out about the job.

The thought of the team being split up because of the non-fraternization rule made her feel a little sick in the face of two people so obviously in love, and with her own status uncertain. She’d caught Bobby watching her here lately. It seemed that every time he looked at her or spoke to her, she could feel herself blushing furiously. Ever since the night of the concert, when he had kissed her, she hadn’t been the same. She had continued dating Stanley, but as nice as Stanley was, he was no Bobby. Stanley had figured out that something had happened to change how she felt, and bowed out. When he was offered a transfer to Seattle, he jumped at the chance. Now she was alone, except when she was at work, which only encouraged her workaholic tendencies. Plus, at work . . . well . . . Bobby was there. Darcy was gone, but was Bobby still carrying a torch for her? To be such a noisy, guy, he could be pretty quiet about his personal life.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, she stood up and made her way to the door. “If you need anything, let me know, and if you find anything interesting in that scintillating Raeburn Building surveillance footage, give us a heads up and we’ll get on it. On a personal note, Lucy said that she’d be glad to stop by the store on the way home, if you will message her a list,” she said pointedly to Jack, who pointed and nodded at her.

“Will do,” Jack said, “and thanks for coming over, Tara. I don’t want Sue to get tired of just seeing my face all day.” At Sue’s gasp, he smiled and winked at her.

Tara simply arched an eyebrow and twisted her lips in a smile as she looked at them. “Something tells me that she’s not tired of you yet, Jack,” she teased. Bobby and Myles were already laying odds as to how long before Jack and Sue became an official “couple.” After the last two meetings, she thought she and Lucy were probably the closest at three weeks. After all, that’s how long Sue was “confined to quarters,” so to speak. The guys were saying two, but she didn’t think turtle boy would be quite that quick. Although . . . Lucy had a sneaky smile on her face this morning that told Tara she wasn’t sharing EVERYTHING she knew . . .

I think Jack and Sue were busted ten times over just there! And Tara is having thoughts about Bobby, eh????

kav

Haha! Lucy's being sneaky too!!!

Em

great post Regina!

Tere

So the team is trying to guess when they will get it out???
How sneaky they are!
Hum... Tara's musing about Bobby...
Will we have another side of this story???

By the time Jack and Sue get around to telling everyone about their relationship, there's not going to be anyone left that hasn't witnessed a hand squeeze, or a 'touch', or a 'look'... but that's just as it should be.

Oh, and just to be clear, when I said Jack probably had "other talents" that would come in handy, I didn't really mean cooking! Well, at least not that kind of cooking!!

Tina

Gina, this is delicious!

Very good post, Regina. Once again great job.

- RSL:write:

You know, I don't think it's going to matter who else is in the room, Jack and Sue will always be completely wrapped up in each other and totally oblivious to everyone else around

Lindsy

Regina, I just caught up, and this is wonderful!!!

My first thought was that if this is what physical therapy is like, I'm signing up immediately!! Jack and Sue are progressing very nicely in their relationship. I have to give them a lot of credit staying semi-professional in the surroundings they are in!!!

This is a very serious case that could have a lot of repercussions throughout the intelligence community!! Very good idea, Regina, and I can't wait to see how it unfolds!! Did I read that the guard was putting something on the dog's harness???

Jack and Sue are my kind of people - dessert after breakfast!! I love how each of the team members who have seen them recently have figured out that something has changed. I knew they would!! I think it's funny that they have a betting pool going!! Little do they know that even the "two week" bet has lost!! Did anyone bet on "immediately"???

Joy

You know, I have a feeling that if anyone could CHANGE their bet on how long before they become a couple, Lucy will be first in line!

Thanks for keeping up with this. This is a snippety post (and I'm down to a cushion of two and a half chapters . . . ) Things have been so crazy in "real life" around my house that I feel like I've just written a string of fuzzy posts with no rhyme or reason - I think it's called "writing as therapy?" Hopefully, the case will start making more sense. Yes - the guard WAS putting something on a service dog's harness, and yes, Jack has many talents, including, but not limited to cooking . . .

But then, you know. . .

Thanks for the comments!
Regina



Chapter 15

Six hours and two bleary-eyed federal employees later, by the middle of the afternoon Sue had found two more strange incidences of service animals not going through proper security channels. One was a slight acquaintance, even more of an unknown than Jane Harwell, and the other was a friend of hers from helping out at the Little Bookworm Club – Kristi Peters.

“Jack! I know her!” Sue exclaimed. Jack had gone to the kitchen to get them each a glass of ice water to wake them up.

“Figures you’d see something the minute I get up,” Jack said, smiling as he handed her the glass, waiting for her to rewind the footage to show him. Watching the screen, he, too, recognized Kristi from visiting the Little Bookworm Club with Sue. “Do you think she’d be a viable option to help us out?”

“Won’t really know until Tara and Lucy do the background check, but from what I’ve seen, she might be the one we’re looking for. It wouldn’t hurt to have two potential sets of eyes and ears in the Raeburn Building, would it? After all, Jane can hear, and from what I’ve seen, Kristi can read lips, like me,” Sue said, starting to get excited, and then a shadow crossed her face.

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked, seeing the slight slump in her shoulders. “You OK? This hasn’t been too much for you, has it?”

“No, Jack. I was just thinking how much I wish that I could be the one infiltrating the Raeburn Building, with Levi. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about raking up acquaintances, wondering if we can trust them. I hate not being in the thick of things, don’t you?” she asked, a pout beginning to form on her face.

Putting his arm around her and pulling her toward him, she could feel him laugh as he kissed the top of her head that had found its way to his shoulder. Tapping her nose to get her to look up at him, he said, “I know how you feel, but remember when we had the sniper case? I felt like I was the only one that could solve it, and I seem to remember somebody threatening to “take me out” if I put myself in danger like that again. Now who was that?” he asked, arching an eyebrow and pursing his lips in mock thought.

“FUNNY, YOU,” she signed, rolling her eyes at him before she spoke. “This isn’t the same. It wouldn’t be as dangerous, for one thing . . .”

“That YOU know of,” Jack qualified. “We don’t know how deep this goes. After your little brush with the media with the Simon case, and then the whole “get out the vote” fiasco, people know your face – and it’s a very pretty one, by the way,” he said, stopping to kiss her quickly. “Anyway, it’s a moot point. You’re not able, and Levi’s not able. The best we can do is help behind the scenes and get you well as soon as possible.”

Sue sighed loudly, causing Jack to give her a sympathetic look as he squeezed her a little more tightly. “I know,” she said sadly. “I know I’m not the only one who can do this . . . I just hate to trust an operation like this to someone who’s not used to working undercover, and who’s not used to hiding what they’re thinking and feeling during an operation.”

Jack snorted a little. “You and I had gotten TOO good at hiding our thoughts and feelings, if you ask me,” he said grimly.

“What do you mean?” Sue asked. She had an idea, but she was rather enjoying this newfound freedom to talk things out with him. They’d always been able to talk about things, but talking about themselves was a luxury that they both reveled in just now.

“Oh, it was OK when working an operation, but if we weren’t so good at hiding our feelings, we probably would have been able to see the signs in one another a long time ago, don’t you think?” he asked.

“I . . . guess so. Having been brought up the way I was, I thought I had to play it cool and wait for you to reveal your feelings first . . . and I’m glad, in a way, that I did . . . but we sure did miss out on some prime time together, didn’t we?” Sue asked, wistfully.

“Don’t worry. We’ll make up for it,” Jack said, smiling at her, encouraging her to think positively.

“I know, Jack. Have I told you today that I love you?” she asked as she took a deep breath relaxed, leaning back on his arm, yet holding her head where she could see his face, and where he could capture her lips in a kiss at any moment.

“I believe you have, but it bears repeating. And Sue? I love you, too,” Jack said, reaching down to kiss her tenderly. “You’re tired, aren’t you? Knee bothering you?”

“A little. My back is getting really tired of sitting on this couch so much,” she said, reaching around to rub her lower back.

“We’ll just have to make sure we vary your positions, then,” Jack said, waggling his eyes a little as she giggled softly, tugging at his hand that held her shoulder and kissing his palm.

“You’d better call D or Tara,” Sue said, her breath starting to become uneven and her blush starting to spread over her body as that delicious sense of well-being washed over her that tended to do that when she felt especially close to Jack. It was time for that distraction, again, or Lucy might just be in for more of a show when she got home than she bargained for.

Knowing Sue's personality, she really should have a hard time to stay put on this operation...
She enjoy too much been IN the action insteed of been the witness of it.
Jack, you should help her to distract a bit...

Happy, happy sigh......


Tina

Oh come on!!!! I'm sure Lucy would LOVE it!!!!!!!

Em

Keep going Regina!

Tere

That was wonderful.

Kim

I for one am not complaining about the amount of fuzzies.

Lindsy

Look at it this way - having Lucy walk in on them would allow HER to be in the thick of things!!! LOL

Joy

Very good, Regina. Love the fuzzies. Feel free to be as fuzzy as you want to.

- RSL

Thanks for the "fuzzy" permission! Wait a minute . . . is that anything like "fuzzy math?"

Thanks for reading!!

Regina



Chapter 16

“Sue, does it bother you for the team to meet up at the apartment? I mean, we can always do a conference call, instead, if that would be better,” Lucy said, watching with admiration, from the living room, as Jack made quick work of putting away the groceries.

Sue smiled, seeing Lucy shake her head in disbelief at the change in status over the course of the last two weeks. Even knowing that they were made for one another, seeing this side of Jack almost gave her hope that her own “prince charming” was out there somewhere.

“You know,” Sue whispered, a glint in her eye, “I once told Jack that if this FBI thing didn’t work out, he definitely had a future in housekeeping.” Sue and Lucy both giggled, causing Jack to turn toward them curiously. “Seriously, Luce, it doesn’t bother me . . . I’m stuck here on this couch anyway, so it’s no skin off my nose. Martha Stewart in there might need some advance warning, but I could use the company,” Sue laughed, throwing a humorous glance Jack’s way as he walked into the room.

“Funny . . . so when are your little friends coming over, Luce” he asked, giving her an exaggerated sigh as he continued their little joke. “Aw, man! I really wanted to wax the floor, knit a new afghan for the sofa, and rob the bee hives for my own honey before company came.”

“Jack, you know way too much about Martha Stewart for comfort,” Sue said, arching her eyebrow at him playfully.

“Convalescence after the heart thing. I watched more daytime TV than I ever had in my entire life,” he said, shrugging and shaking his head in disgust. “I hope I never have to do that again . . . although I did learn how to cut hot brownies so that you can eat ‘em hot and not have them tear into pieces!”

Lucy looked at him curiously. “How do you do that? Every time I try to cut into hot brownies, I just end up mad at myself for being impatient when they rip to shreds . . . not that I don’t eat them anyway . . .” she said, chuckling.

“Plastic knife,” Jack said, smugly. “A dinky little plastic knife, using a sawing motion, will cut them perfectly, and then when you dish them up, they still look good. It’s a good thing,” he said, winking at Sue, who was doubled over with laughter at both Jack's unexpected homekeeping knowledge and Lucy's look of blatant disbelief.

*

The next day, lunch meeting with the team – the pizza boxes were empty, soda cans collected for recycling, and Lucy was setting up the portable white board in preparation for the meeting. There were pictures of Jane Harwell, Kristi Peters, and a blowup of a guard allegedly putting something on a dog’s harness.

“OK, kids, here’s what we know,” D began, smiling indulgently at his team. He was glad to have them all together, even if it wasn’t in the bullpen. There was just something not quite right about having two of his team missing, and he certainly didn’t want any replacements, at least not while there was still information being leaked out at the federal level.

“Tara and Lucy have been doing background checks on Jane Harwell and Kristi Peters. Care to share?” D said, deferring to Tara.

“Since Sue doesn’t know either of them really well, we did the standard background check that is done for all federal employees. I know it was done before they were hired, but I wanted to go through the hoops myself to find out if there could be any skeletons hidden in their respective closets before we approached them. Lucy looked into Jane Harwell’s background, and I checked out Kristi Peters. Lucy?”

Lucy pointed to a picture of a middle-aged woman with short brown hair, wearing wire-framed glasses. “Jane Harwell, as we’ve already ascertained, works in Senator Lewis’ office as an administrative assistant. As Sue told us, she has a neuromuscular condition, which is the reason for her helping dog. In looking at past activities, I didn’t find much. She was married for seven years, then divorced, no children.”

“Ex?” Jack asked, trying to find something that might raise a red flag.

“Looked into that,” Lucy said. “Her ex-husband, Phil Harwell, was killed in a car accident five years ago, after the divorce, and before she was diagnosed. Pretty ordinary guy . . . worked at the Department of Agriculture in security, worst thing on his record was a tendency to drive too fast – which ultimately killed him.”

“What about Jane?” Myles asked. “Any skeletons there?”

“Not really,” Lucy said. “She is limited in what she can do because of her condition, so beyond work, all we could find was church attendance, and the occasional dog charity function. She’s not a leader in any of her activities, and from what we’ve found out, she wasn’t really a leader even before her diagnosis. She does have a brother with a bit of a shady past, but he’s apparently involved with AA and some other support groups to help him with addictions,” Lucy said, shrugging. “She lives in Georgetown, so she doesn’t have a long commute, and generally uses public transportation to get to and from work.”

“How about we put SOG on her for a few days and see about her habits before and after work? Could we do that?” Bobby asked, hoping that D wouldn’t see fit to sick any of them on it.

“Good idea,” D said, indicating to Lucy to make a note of that. “What about Kristi Peters?”

“OK, well, doesn’t seem like there’s too much on her, either,” Tara began. “She is deaf, but reads lips, like Sue. Works as a PR advisor for Senator Whitson, who, by the way, is on the Senate Committee for Military Intelligence,” she said, pausing for effect. She nodded when she heard Bobby’s low whistle. “Yeah. We definitely saw something being placed on her dog’s harness.” Tara pointed at the picture on the makeshift board of the dog in question.

“What’s her status?” Jack asked. He was sitting on the arm of the sofa next to Sue, her shoulder leaning on his thigh. Every time she moved, or he moved, their color escalated just a bit, but they were sure nobody would notice. They were both just trying to stay with the conversation without looking at one another.

“Married to Randall Peters, investment banker at Capitol Finance, downtown, one child – who by the way is also deaf, which explains her involvement in the Little Bookworm Club – and is involved in church activities and her local deaf club. Her husband was under suspicion of insider trading a few years ago when he worked as a stock trader, but nothing ever came of it and the allegations were dropped. He did change jobs pretty abruptly, and . . .” Tara paused to pull out a sheet of paper, “ . . . there was a rather large deposit made into a bank account in New York in his name around that time. I’m still waiting for some information from a friend of mine in the New York office.”

“PR people and law enforcement don’t usually go hand-in-hand,” Bobby surmised, shaking his head with a frown.

“True . . . but she does have more of a relationship to Sue, which could be in our favor,” Lucy said, looking at her roommate, surprised at the slight frown on her face. “What is it?”

“I don’t know. Just a feeling I have, I guess. Remember Carol? Her husband tried to kill her a year or so ago, after he faked his own death?” Sue looked up at Jack, seeing him nod.

“What about her?” he asked, wondering where she was going with this.

“Just a feeling I’ve gotten from being around her at Little Bookworm Club. Jack, you know how, when you’ve gone with me, most of the hearing parents of deaf children are among those working the hardest to be a part of their children’s lives?” Sue began, a pained look on her face.

“Yeah, what’s that got to do with this?” he asked, looking down at her, noting the heightened color on her face as she paused as if gathering her thoughts.

This could be a touchy subject. Their love, while not new, was newly revealed. They were still finding their way in many areas. One of the things that Sue had not brought up, because marriage hadn’t really come up yet, was the “what ifs” of children. What if one or all of their children were deaf?

Sue continued after thinking for a minute. “Kristi’s husband never comes to Little Bookworm Club. Kristi comes, and brings Janie, their daughter, but the dad is never with them. I thought she was probably divorced, or that he wasn't in the picture, because I’d never seen him.”

“So . . . maybe work commitments keep him away, or maybe he’s just rotten at signing?” Myles asked. He could definitely understand that. He didn’t think he would ever get past the rudiments of basic conversational sign.

“I don’t know. Maybe. I guess after the case with Carol, I look for things in marriages where one is deaf, and one is hearing,” she said, looking up and shrugging a little at Jack as he reached down to squeeze her shoulder with a nod. “Kristi never talks about her husband, and I’ve worked with Janie . . . what little girl doesn’t talk about her daddy? Janie doesn’t,” she said, a worried frown on her face.

“Interesting. D, could we put SOG on both Kristi AND her husband, Randall Peters? It might be worth our time to check it out just a little more before we approach anybody. What do you think, Sue?” Jack asked.

“I think it would be a good idea. I just feel uneasy about the whole thing, to tell you the truth. I just wish I could be the one going in there, and then we wouldn’t have to spend so many man hours talking about it,” Sue said, looking down at her knee in disgust.

D twisted his lips in a grin at the sight of Sue in a funk and Jack absently caressing her shoulder. He figured Jack and Sue had already had this conversation. “I’ll get with SOG as soon as I get back to the office, and have them follow these three around through Friday. After that, they can give us our report on Monday, and we can make a decision then. How’s that?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jack said, and then stood up. “If there’s nothing else . . . brownies and coffee, anyone?”

“Mr. Martha Stewart to the rescue,” Lucy mouthed to Sue, giggling quietly. Sue simply smiled and rolled her eyes at her roommate and then allowed her eyes to follow Jack into the kitchen.

“Now THAT sounds like a plan, to me,” Bobby said, following Jack into the kitchen.

Glancing over at Myles when the plate of brownies came around, Sue saw his eyebrows go up with interest. “Jack, how DID you get these brownies cut into such perfect squares? Did Lucy do this?” Myles asked, inspecting the delicacy carefully.

Lucy snorted as she saw Jack turn a shade pinker and heard Sue stifle a giggle. “Jack has many talents that have been hidden up to now, hasn’t he, Sue?” Lucy asked, arching her eyebrow significantly.

Sue rolled her eyes, meeting Jack's eyes, giving him a wink and a speculative smile . . .

Hum... Jack 'Stewart'... Interesting!
You picked my curiosity with those women, especially Kristi Petersand her husband--quite intriguing...

A man who knows how to cook and also knows cook's secret always become handy
I understand Sue´s worries, hope they could use one of the ladies for the job

Tere

I, for one, would like to read about some of Jack's other talents

Em

How apropos! Chocolate brown eyed Jack making brownies! Very neat, very perfect, very delicious brownies. I think HE'S a good thing!

And I'm in total agreement with Jack about daytime TV. Drives me bonkers! Or maybe that should be bonkerer?

Now, was that the tiniest smidgeon of angst I saw creeping into this fuzzalicious fantasy? All that talk about hearing and deaf couples...

Tina

The things we learn about that man... and Regina... to me it sounds like you've been watching just a little too much "Martha Stewart" lately.

Lindsy

Not me! I will admit, though, that I did learn the hot brownie thing on Martha Stewart a few years ago . . . and it WORKS! They look LOTS better than when you let them cool completely, even!

This is getting intrestinger and intrestinger.

Kim

I was doubled over laughing myself.

Brownies and plastic knives...wbo says that fan fiction isn't educational.

It's interesting how the case is bringing up the issue of a marriage between a hearing and a deaf person.

Maybe a smidgeon . . . it wouldn't be a good story without a LITTLE conflict, now would it? Glad you liked the brownie tip . . . one of my favorites for those last-minute potluck meals!

Posting early today! Thanks for reading!

Regina



Chapter 17

“So,” Lucy began, having shown everyone out of the apartment, and noting that Jack had gone to walk Levi. She had plopped down on the couch next to Sue, anxious to have a little girl talk while they could. They hadn’t had a chance to be alone since Jack and Sue had returned from their outing that seemed to change things forever.

“So, what?” Sue asked, smiling a little nervously at her. Lucy was like a dog with a bone. Once she started on an investigation, especially of a personal nature, she wasn’t going to let go of it until she got the information she was looking for. The FBI had missed out on a great interrogator in Lucy.

“So, you’ve been keeping an eye on couples that are “mixed,” so to speak – hearing and deaf. Why is that, I’d like to know?” Lucy asked archly, a smile on her face that told Sue that she knew all too well why. The serious look on Sue’s face had her worried, though. This wasn’t the look of a girl giddy with love. It was the look of a girl who was insecure in her ability to hang on to the love of her life.

“Lucy, ever since the case with Carol, I’ve just . . . well, I’ve wondered if that was a unique case, or if there would be a lot of underlying problems with a deaf person marrying a hearing person. I mean, I’ve had trouble just DATING guys that could hear. They would get tired of always having to face me, of my misunderstanding when I couldn’t decipher their words, and lots of things. It’s scary to think of linking yourself for life to someone who might, eventually, just plain ole’ get tired of dealing with me. Ya know?” Sue said. Pain was evident in her eyes as she shared her feelings with Lucy.

“You’re afraid Jack would tire of you? Is that it?” Lucy asked her softly, the tender light in her eyes almost bringing Sue to tears as she nodded in the affirmative. “Sue . . . I don’t think you have anything to worry about with that boy. I’ve seen him look at you when you’re not looking – for the last three and a half years, no less – and his face is NOT the face of someone who will get tired of making allowances.”

“Oh, I know that he thinks that NOW, but what about when we’re older? What if I develop other health problems, later? What if I had something like Jane Harwell in addition to my deafness? Or MS, like Deanne?” Sue said, her earlier happiness waning as she thought of all the negative “what ifs” that could happen to them.

“Sue . . . where’s your faith? Do you love him?” Lucy asked her softly, putting her hand on Sue’s shoulder as she saw the tears begin to gather in her eyes.

“Oh Lucy, of course I love him. I’ve loved him for so long I can’t even remember what it’s like NOT to love him. Even when I thought he didn’t love ME, I couldn’t stop loving him. Even when I tried to fall in love with someone else, I couldn’t stop loving him. I think that if I lost him today, I would go the rest of my life without anyone, ever again,” Sue said, letting the tears slip down her face, not hearing the door open, not noticing Levi hobble in and Jack standing at the doorway.

He had come in when Lucy asked if Sue were afraid he would tire of her, and as much as he wanted to burst in and tell her that he would NEVER tire of her, he stopped to listen to her reasoning. He would have waited longer, but her tears were tearing him to shreds. Walking in the room, he touched Lucy on the shoulder. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes, and nodded as she got up. Sue looked up when she felt Lucy leave her, and saw Jack sitting in Lucy’s place.

“Sue . . .” Jack began, wiping her tears away with his hands. His eyes were mirroring the pain that hers contained.

“How much did you hear,” Sue asked, almost angrily.

“Enough. Enough to know that you’re still not sure how much I love you. Enough to know that everything I know I feel for you inside isn’t enough if you don’t know it’s there,” he said, watching as she began to relax and crumple into his arms. He put his finger under her chin so that she would look at him. “Sue, I heard Lucy ask where your faith was? My question is, what about love? Do you love me?”

“You know I do, Jack. But is it enough?” she asked, tears finding their way down her cheeks.

Jack looked down for a minute, gathering his thoughts. “Sue . . . you asked me recently if I thought things happened for a reason, and I said that yes, I thought they did. I think that even the cases that come across our particular paths have a purpose for us. There’s always something we can carry away from them that we can use later. If going through that case with Carol helped you to know what you DON’T want to look for in a man, then it was worth it. I’m NOT Carol’s husband, Sue. I don’t want to control you, like he did Carol. You know that.”

“I know, Jack . . .” Sue began, to be interrupted by Jack.

“Sue, you know more about the Bible than I will probably ever know, but I seem to remember a whole chapter devoted to love in First Corinthians. For some reason I’ve had love on my mind a lot lately, and looked it up in your Bible here on the table the other night,” he said, smiling as she blushed a little.

“What did you read?” she whispered.

“I read this . . . “And there remains faith, hope, and love . . . and the greatest of these is love,” he quoted. “That stuck with me. We can have all the faith we want, and all the hope we want, but without love, it’s nothing. Sue, I LOVE you. I don’t just have faith in you, or in God, although I DO have faith, and I don’t just HOPE you love me or that I’ll keep loving you . . . I just plain LOVE you. I guess I just wonder if it’s enough for you,” he said, looking deeply into her eyes, not giving her the option of not responding.

“Carol thought her husband loved her, at one time,” Sue said quietly, staring into the dark brown eyes of the man sitting next to her.

“But what was it based on?” Jack asked her, stroking her arm as they sat.

“I don’t know, Jack. He talked about it being his “God-given right” to control her, and I can’t reconcile that with the God I know,” Sue said sadly.

“Neither can I,” Jack replied grimly. “If he truly loved her, he would not have thought he should control her. Protect her, yes. Love her, yes. Control her? No. I don’t want to control you, Sue. I just want to live my life with you by my side. Is that so much to ask? To know that you’re going to be with me, no matter what, until one of us goes on to be with the Lord? I heard you mention possible future struggles. Those things could happen to either of us, you know – not just you. I could just as easily get diagnosed with a disease or condition, and then again, I could get shot in the line of duty. We don’t know what the future holds, but we can make the best of the present we have. I guess that’s where the faith and hope come in. If we have love in first place, then faith and hope just come naturally.”

Sue laid her head on Jack’s chest, feeling his heart steadily beating underneath her cheek, knowing that his love was as steady as the gentle thud of his heartbeat. Looking up with a smile on her face even as the tears continued to fall, she cupped his cheek in her hand and simply said, “I love you, Jack,” before he bent down to kiss her fears and her sorrow away.

I just caught up on the last two posts...loved them both, especially the last one. I can only imagine how scary it would be for Sue to worry about finding herself in the same situation as Carol. I'm so glad that Jack came in when he did and they were able to talk it out.

- RSL

Jack, I'm so glad you eavesdropped. You need to work at dispelling Sue's fears. Great job!

Wow.

Kim

Wow indeed. Sue's fear, which came through loud and clear, centered on their differences, but EVERY couple has differences. Every couple has to make allowances and comprimise in areas. It's not unique to hearing/deaf couples. Sue needs to concentrate on the quality of the man she's fell in love with. Maybe she should take a look at another couple they helped... the Harmons (whose daughter, Katie, had gone missing). They were a hearing/deaf couple and Mr. Harmon could have been like Carol's husband, but his heart was different and he chose to cherish his wife instead. I think Jack heart is in the right place.

Tina

Tere

Now that's a man!

Em

Don't worry. These are happy tears.

Lindsy

Oh my goodness..I missed one night of and part of a day of internet and I had three posts to catch up on!!! That's definitely a girl sigh moment...I'm quite envious of that delicious sense of well-being washing over Sue. Jack is just so constant and bold and determined in this story and I love it. He'd determined to keep them moving forward and I hope you shadow them very closely and report back to us.

kav