My Knight In Shining Armor (Sue Thomas FBEye)

Chapter Two

Sue moaned while slowly opening her eyes. She looked around, and gasped. She was lying on the floor of the formal living room, near the mirror. Outside the window, the freezing rain glistened under the streetlights.

"What a nightmare!" Sue sighed, her heart beating furiously against her chest. "But it felt so real."

She shuddered at the memory. Not that she believed a mirror could give her a glimpse into her future. The notion was just too ludicrous to entertain. Her wild imagination had simply run away from her.

She pulled herself in a sitting position, and pressed her hand over her pounding head, only to feel the stickiness of blood. She looked in horror at the deep gash in her palm, experiencing the painful laceration a second time in her mind. She choked on her saliva when she noticed the Capri pants and the t-shirt she was wearing, still damp from the storm in the park.

Her teary eyes caught sight the grandfather clock standing tall in the corner of the room. If the clock was right, she only had a few hours to change fate.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm. She would call Jack and explain. Explain what? That she somehow jumped through time and saw her future... a future without him. He would think she was crazy! She was thinking she was crazy. No, Jack wouldn't. He would listen to her, she rationalised. But would he believe her? How should she approach him? She devised a plan in her mind while she cleaned and bandaged her wound.

***

She took her blackberry and called his cell.

'Hudson.' When she saw his name on her screen, relief flowed through her. He was alive, she wasn't too late.

"Jack, it's me. I need to talk to you. It's important. I..." She paused when words appeared on her screen.

'Sue, we're on our way to... ' The message abruptly stopped, and her screen went blank. She'd lost the signal.

How was she supposed to warn him? She went to Tara's and Lucy's rooms. Both women were fast asleep. A gentle touch on her shoulder startled her.

"What is it, my child? Shouldn't you be in bed?" inquired aunt Gertie, examining her from head to toe, noticing her odd outfit, and her injury. "Did you go outside? What happened to your hand? Did you slip on the ice and fell?"

"Yes, no..." Panic rose again. "Emer... mergency," she stuttered.

The old lady stared at her, worry lines creasing her already wrinkled face.

"Could you... could you do me a favour and check if the phone is working, please?" No point in waking her friends up if they couldn't contact Jack either. Sue knew Lucy forgot her cell at home, and drained Tara's battery when she borrowed it earlier on, Tara warning her too late that she'd left her charger at home.

"Sure, let's go in the kitchen, and I can make you something hot to drink." She took her arm and led her down the stairs. "You don't look too good, child, and you're shivering."

The house was suddenly plunged in darkness. Tara's aunt patted her hand. Sue imagined she was telling her not to worry. After lighting a few candles, Gertie checked the phone. She was sorry to report the line was dead.

"Would you mind getting me another gown please?" Sue needed to create a diversion.

"Of course. We need to get you out of those wet clothes. Just wait for me." She retreated in the hallway.

Sue snatched her coat and purse, and slipped undetected into the night.

***

Slippery was an understatement. She had the best winter tires, yet they hardly gripped the ice. The rain was freezing over her windshield as soon as it touched it, her wipers barely able to prevent a built up. At the speed she was driving she knew she would never make it back to D.C. in time. Jack had been on his way when she talked to him, and she dreadfully imagined his destination. Early morning explosion, she recalled reading in the newspaper article. Early morning, glancing at the clock? Couldn't they have been more specific?