Alright, here's the intro. It takes place one year before Sam arrives when Spike is a rookie and Susannah is eleven. It's not much, but I had to have some beginning point. I promise you , it will get much better (I admit it does seem kind of corny right now). So hope you enjoy, and PLEASE review! -Susannah
She still remembered the first time she ever met him. It was at the BBQ her daddy was hosting for Team 1 of the SRU, their families, and most importantly, for the newest member of the team: Spike.
The day before that, she had a conversation with her daddy about it. More like an interrogation, really.
"What's his name?" she asked as soon as he walked in the door after work.
"So eager," he laughed, as he walked past her into the dining room, setting his bag down on the table. Her dad, Gregory Parker, was the boss of SRU Team 1. She had always been very proud of that. But right now she wanted to know as much about the newest member of Team 1 as she could, and was getting impatient.
"Daddy, his name!" She insisted.
"Michelangelo Scarlatti." Her daddy complied.
"Really? Is he Italian?" The little girl mused over this, until her distracted father finally answered her.
"Yup." He opened the refrigerator, eyeing the contents. It was a lucky thing she had hid that carton of ice-cream she had bought earlier. "Spike."
"Huh?"
"Everyone calls him Spike," her daddy clarified, shutting the fridge.
Spike. She liked that. Spike Scarlatti.
"How old is he?" She asked, sorting all the dirty laundry that would need to be washed out of her daddy's gym bag.
"Twenty-three."
"Wow. That's… young."
"He's a genius."
"Really? What's he do?" She wrinkled her nose as she pulled out a pair of his dirty socks.
"Defuses bombs. Hacks into computers. Techy stuff."
"Cool," she said, smiling to herself. Spike sounded better by the minute. "So what does he look like?"
"Sort of average."
"That helps a lot, Daddy," she rolled her eyes, "How about try being more detailed."
"I don't know, Sweetie. Can't you just wait until tomorrow? You'll meet him then."
She sighed as she scooped up her daddy's clothes and skipped down the stairs to the basement to start a load of laundry. She tried imagining what he could look like, but ended up picturing someone that looked vaguely like Luigi wearing an SRU uniform. She guessed her daddy was right. She would just have to wait until tomorrow. But that night, she stayed up for hours, the lack of knowledge driving her insane. She rolled over and squeezed her eyes shut, determined to get some sleep.
So Susannah Alexandra Parker's eyes drifted shut, and she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Lewis arrived early the next day. Lewis Young was very much like an older brother to Susannah, and they were really close. She did have a real older brother, named Dean, but he was only her half brother, and she hadn't ever seen him. Not that she could remember at least. She thought her daddy really missed him, but he always said it was okay because he had her.
After Lew came over, they played monopoly, and like always, he creamed her. He somehow always got boardwalk first. Then, she decided to ask him about Spike.
"So, how do you like Spike?"
"He's really great. I like him a lot already, and we've only been working together for a week."
"Well... what does he look like?"
Lewis laughed, but Susannah didn't see why he should. It was an honest question, and she just wanted to get this picture of Luigi defusing bombs out of her head.
"Lew!"
"Well… he's kind of good looking, I guess. Depends on who you are. He's not some blow your mind away kind of guy, although…" Lew paused.
"What?"
"He sort of has a unique face. You know, like one you wouldn't just forget."
She was just about to ask if he looked anything like Luigi, but at that moment, the doorbell rang. Luckily, it was just Ed and Sophie, and their son, Clark. Clark was like a brother to her too, but not an older brother. He was more on the same level, even though he was one and a half years older. But he used to know Dean, and sometimes she would ask him about it, because she knew her daddy didn't like to talk about Dean.
They all headed out back with Greg, but Lew and Susannah stayed at the window to watch for the rest of the arrivals. Kevin and Michelle Wordsworth arrived next with their girls, Julie, Carmine and Lily. They joined the group out back. Greg came back in, and a few minutes later, Jules arrived. Jules Callaghan was the only girl on team one, and was also very young, and very pretty too. Now they were just waiting on Spike.
Everybody was out back but Susannah, and Lew, who was in the kitchen preparing the salad. She was watching out the window when an unfamiliar car pulled up, and he stepped out.
"Lew!" she squealed, "Lew, he's here!"
"Just a sec!" Lew called from the next room.
As Spike walked up the drive, Susannah had some time to observe him. He was not anything like Luigi; much younger, and she thought him extremely handsome. His face was different; she thought he looked sort of… well... kind. But then, that was not the right word for it.
Lew entered the room, and suddenly the doorbell rang. Susannah's first urge was to run upstairs and hide. But that was stupid and childish. And why was she so afraid of him anyways? But she knew the real reason was because she was afraid of what he would think of her. She didn't know why, but she wanted Spike to like her more than anything.
Her train of thoughts was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, and Spike stepped in. Greg, who had come back inside, shook hands with Spike, and the Lew did too. She stood in the corner, trying not to be noticed, but then Greg said, "There's someone I want you to meet, Spike."
She turned crimson red as they all looked in her direction, but stepped forward when her dad nodded for her.
"Spike," Greg began, "this is my daughter, Susannah. Susannah, this is Spike."
"Hey," Spike said, smiling his biggest, warmest smile.
"Hi," she said shyly. And Spike saw it. I little girl, afraid of not being accepted. All alone in a big, lonely world. A girl who just needed a friend. And from then on, Spike was determined to be that friend. He couldn't explain what made him feel that way, but he somehow knew this girl was different. This girl was unique.
What he didn't know was this girl was going to change his life.
So as they headed out back to join the others, Spike whispered in her ear, "Friends?"
And she looked him in the eyes and responded, "Friends."
