Sam was troubled; his usually easygoing exterior was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he walked through the streets of Boston, brows slightly furrowed, contemplating everything that had been going on within the last few years. The king, the taxes, the smuggling, the soldiers, his friends. The fights. The deaths. The rebellion. Even though everyone was too scared to say it out loud, he knew that was what it was. A rebellion.
He startled slightly as he heard a high-pitched scream from around the corner. Moving quickly, Sam made a sharp turn and took in the sight in front of him. A woman was being pressed up against the wall by a British soldier, his hands roaming her body greedily. The lady struggled beneath his grasp, trying desperately to escape him, but was outmatched by the soldier's strength and vile desire. Sam sprung into action within seconds; using the soldier's distracted nature as an advantage, he yanked the man off of the woman and landed a powerful punch to his face. The move stunned the soldier and Sam further capitalized by beating the pulp out of the guy until he lay bloody and unconscious on the ground.
Once that matter was taken care of, Sam turned to the shaken woman behind him. He checked her over for any visible signs of damage and was relieved to find none, although he knew she was nevertheless hurting and affected by the assault. He slowly moved towards her, slowing down even more when he saw her jump backwards at his movement.
"Hey," Sam spoke softly. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."
The woman tentatively looked up and met his gaze; Sam was slightly struck by the deep blue of her cautious eyes. He didn't think he had ever seen this woman before, because he was sure he would have remembered her if he had.
He carefully took another step towards her. He was pleased to see that she didn't attempt to retreat, instead standing still and seeming more inviting to his presence. He stopped walking when he reached a reasonable distance from the woman, one where he could be close to her but not too close as to make her feel uncomfortable.
"Does anything hurt? My friend is a doctor, he could take a look, if you want." Sam offered.
The woman shook her head.
Sam nodded. "Alright. Is there anything I can do for you? Someone you want me to get?"
Again, she shook her head.
Sam observed her. Although quiet and reserved, she did not appear extremely scared or outwardly traumatized. He decided to try a different approach.
"My name is Sam. It's nice to meet you, although I wish it could have been under better circumstances."
The woman stared at him silently for a moment, and then gave a small smile.
"I'm Caroline. Thank you for helping me."
Sam smiled back. He decided he liked her voice - quite a bit, actually.
"It was no problem at all. In fact, I was happy to do it. That bastard should be punished for what he did to you."
Caroline set her jaw. "A fair punishment would never happen. Not only is he a British soldier, he is also a man. Men will always believe men over women, no matter which one speaks the truth." The bitterness in her voice suggested this was not the first time something of this matter had happened to her.
Sam, despite never much concerning himself in the issue of women's rights, had to agree with her. It wasn't fair, but it was true. Women would never be considered equal to men.
"Still, this should never happen to a woman. Gender is not an excuse for assault." Sam said seriously.
No matter how rebellious, how thuggish, how ill-behaved Sam was ever believed to be, he did have rules. He had a strong set of morals, and one of them was that if a lady said no, it meant no. That was one he would never break.
"I'm glad you can recognize that. Many men don't see it that way." Caroline remarked.
Sam grimaced. "Well, men are often quite dumb, aren't they? I apologize on behalf of my gender."
"Thank you. I'll make sure to keep that in mind the next time I get violated by a man." Caroline said in a dry way that Sam didn't think was that funny.
"You shouldn't say that." He frowned.
"I know. That's precisely why I said it."
Sam was not used to women like her. Most women were quiet about their thoughts unless synonymous to their husband's, and even then were hardly spoken out loud. Of course, Abigail often added her input to topics that interested her, even sometimes clashing with John and creating an entertaining debate between the two. But other than that, hearing a woman's independent thoughts was a rarity. Sam wondered what it would be like if a woman held a position of power in the colonies, or even had just a voice in the changes quickly sweeping across Boston. Clearly, that would never happen, but Sam wondered what might occur if it did.
Caroline seemed almost completely at ease now. She appeared more confident and held herself a little straighter.
"It's beginning to get dark. I better get home. Thank you again."
Sam smiled. "It was my pleasure. Good night, Caroline."
Caroline smiled back. "Good night, Samuel Adams, leader of the rebel cause, and quite possibly the savior of Boston."