Title: Second Chances
Author: lovewinter
Keywords: JS, Brian
Rating: for all
Disclaimer: nothing is mine

Thanks: to Sharon and to Diane for all their hard beta work. Luckily this was short! THANK YOU!

A/N: this is set during the episode 'Believe Me', so it is very 'spoilerish' for who lives outside the USA and Canada (I think). I'm sorry for my English, but as you know it is not my language. Be patient, I am trying to improve. :)

BUONA LETTURA!

Second Chances

Samantha was sitting on a bench in Holben Park. Her fingers were pinching her nose and then, opening her eyes, she sighed: Brian wanted to be a part of Finn's life.

What he said was right – a son needs his father during his life. She had to give Finn a chance to know his father. She knew what it was like to grow up without a father. She couldn't be so selfish. But his timing was so wrong! She and Jack had just rekindled their relationship… Another man in the mix was not what she needed.

Would allowing Brian in their lives destroy what she now had with Jack? How would he react? For the first time in years he had let her 'drive' their relationship, he was relaxing and in some weeks his daughter would join him in New York. He already had enough on his plate.

Her phone rang. The caller ID said it was Jack. He had called twice since she had been sitting there, but she was not ready to talk with him. She needed to figure things out and she needed to do it alone.

Why now? Why did Brian have to come back now?

Her phone rang again. It was Jack again. Why couldn't she get a moment's rest to think?Samantha slowly rubbed her fingers over her forehead, trying to clear her head. She didn't know how to handle this situation. She had her son to consider. Though Brian had signed his rights away, she knew that sooner or later she would have had to deal with him again. But not now. Not while her life was changing so much.

The phone rang again and again, it was Jack. She hesitated but then realized it could be work. She decided not to answer. She got up from the bench and tried to shake off her thoughts. She had to focus on the job right now.

When she arrived at the office Vivian filled her in on the case. Samantha heard the words, but they could not penetrate her thoughts. Samantha's mind was elsewhere. It had never happened before, even in the worst moments after the affair with Jack or after the break-up with Martin. This time her choice would affect not only her life, but her son's life and also her relationship with Jack.

Jack was talking with the MP's daughter and Samantha was trying to find a way to avoid him for at least the next hours. While she was walking down the corridor, texting a message to Danny, she 'ran into' Jack.

He wanted to know where Samantha had been and she had to talk with him. But the office wasn't the right place. And the corridor was filled with people. But Jack would not let it go.

The last thing Samantha wanted to do was discuss Brian and her private life in the corridor where everyone could hear. But what Jack wanted, Jack got. She tried to be discreet, but her anger rose and the conversation started to escalate to a shouting match.

Luckily, Danny interrupted them. Sam breathed a sigh of relief; Jack did not. He was visibly irritated. She needed some more time and a quiet place to figure out how to handle the subject of Brian with Jack.

She went back to her desk and tried to concentrate on her job – they had a man to find.

During a coffee break Elena asked how her meeting with Brian went. Samantha had to answer, Elena was being gentle and she was worried for her, but Sam hated talking about her private life. And Brian was not a subject she wanted to discuss with anyone. Samantha confessed to Elena that she didn't know how Jack could handle Brian's return. She feared that Jack couldn't accept Brian in her and Finn's lives. Elena told her that she needed to know that as soon as possible.

As much as Sam wanted Jack, she knew Elena was right, but it was not so simple. What if Jack did not want Brian in their lives? She had to think about Finn's future. She might be faced with having to make a choice between having Jack in her life and having Finn's father in his life. She had waited so long for Jack, why did Brian have to come back now? It was too soon for Jack. He had just begun to let her in, he had let down his defenses and she could not take advantage of his vulnerability. If she let Brian stay around her son, how would Jack handle the situation? She knew Jack was trying to change, but his cynical looks and sarcastic comments would surely return. Could she allow Finn to grow up with the friction between Jack and Brian?

Later that afternoon she had to go to Jack's office. They had found the statue and Martin was following a reliable lead. She had to inform Jack. She had avoided him all day, but now she had to face him. At least they would be in his office.

Jack surprised her. He was understanding, even if he admitted that he didn't want Brian in her life, he said that the decision was hers.

Who was that man? Where did Jack Malone go? He was allowing her to make a decision without his interference. It was a totally different man from the one who, only few months before, tried to sabotage Brian by digging up the charges that turned out to be false. The same man who had so often interfered in her life and tried to control her. The 'old Jack' felt it was his place to make decisions for her. This 'new Jack' said that he would support her, whatever she decided. Samantha was shocked. But she was unsure if Jack would be able to support this decision. Maybe he was really changing. She wanted to make their relationship work and with this 'new Jack' they could have a chance.

Samantha went back to her desk and dialed Brian's number. She invited Brian to come to see his son after dinner. She didn't know if Brian would be always there for Finn, but she had to take the risk. Finn deserved a chance to know his father. She grew up without a father and she knew how hard it had been.

The case resulted in a happy ending. Samantha collected her things to go home. Her job was done. She was anxious to go home to her son and, surprisingly, she was excited for Brian to get to know Finn.

Two hours later Samantha was waiting for Brian's arrival at her apartment. She scooped her baby and tightened him in her embrace, and then she sat down on the carpet in the living room and started to play with Finn.

"Hey, little boy! I have a surprise for you! Your Daddy is coming to meet you! Do you want to know him? Yes? Heee!" Sam looked at her smiling baby and she felt she couldn't keep Brian away from all that; he had to get to know his son.

"You know, I am nervous, I really want to make the right decision for you… I'll never let him hurt you. You are the most important thing in my life and I want to give you what I never had. I love you, little one!"

Her son had the power to make her relax. When she was with him she forgot her past, her job, her insecurities. Being there with her baby was her whole world.

While they were playing, there was a knock at the door.

"Who's that? Who's that?" Sam took her son and carried him to the door. She opened it. Brian was there and when he saw Finn, he broke out in a broad smile. She had thought the situation would be awkward, but now, standing there the three of them together, she was happy. Brian seemed really interested in being a part of Finn's life. It was in part her fault that he signed his rights away; she was hard on him, she treated him unfairly, but she had to know, she had to protect her unborn child. Since her son's birth she had been given so many second chances. A second chance to turn her life around; a second chance with Jack. She felt she should also give Brian a second chance.

"Come on in!" And she closed her apartment door.