Sam pulled up in front of his house, parked the car, and ran a hand over his face. It was 3am, and he had spent all night in the hospital. He been awake for 20 hours, and he could feel his body shutting down, which was why he initially thought he must have been imagining things when he saw a light on in the living room over at Grey House.
Shaking his head, he frowned when he realised that the light was, indeed, on, and headed over, concerned that something was wrong. Cassie always left the foyer light on, so that guests could come and go, but the rest of the bed and breakfast was normally in darkness.
As he approached, he glanced through the window, tapping on it lightly when he saw Grace curled up on the sofa, fully dressed (including shoes), reading a book. Grace glanced up at the noise, raised a hand in greeting, and slipped to her feet to let Sam in, leading him back into the sitting room.
"Is everything okay?" Sam asked, as they both took a seat on the sofa.
Grace sighed. "Today will be the 6th anniversary of daddy's death," she revealed sadly.
"Oh Grace, I'm sorry, I didn't realise. Are you having trouble sleeping?"
Grace chewed on her lip for a moment, unsure if she should share the real reason for her midnight reading session with the man who had only started dating her mom recently.
"It's mom," she revealed eventually. "The night that dad died, she got a feeling that he had been badly hurt at about four in the morning. She ran out of the house right to where he had been killed. And now, every year, she gets that same feeling. But, it's like she doesn't really wake up. The first year she made it all the way down to Main Street. Luckily, Derek found her and brought her home. The following year, she got on to the front drive, where Brandon intercepted her on his way home from a night out. Now we take it in turns waiting up, so we can get to her before she leaves the house." Shrugging, she looked down at her hands, waiting for Sam to ask the questions he wanted to ask.
"Does she know that this happens?"
"She never remembers it," Grace replied. "We had to tell her because we can't get her back upstairs on our own; she fights us to try and get out of the house until she tires. Whoever is up puts her on the sofa, and stays with her until morning. She didn't know why she was waking up in a different room to where she went to bed, so we had to explain it to her. She's tried everything she can think of to stop it happening; she even went to the Doctor's for prescription sleeping pills! But nothing worked."
Sam frowned, hardly able to understand how bad it must be for Cassie, the poster girl for alternative medicines, to ask a Doctor for help. As they sat in silence, a shout came from upstairs, and in an instant Grace was on her feet and standing in front of the door. Sam could only watch as a distressed Cassie came running down the stairs, and straight into Grace's outstretched arms, pinning her against the door.
Cassie continued to struggle, trying to break free from her daughter's embrace, and the tears started to cascade down the teenager's cheeks, as she mourned the moment that her beloved father lost his life.
Sam stepped forward to try and help, but Grace shook her head. If she moved now, her mom would get out. So Sam stood helplessly for another three minutes, until exhaustion flooded through Cassie's body, and she sagged into Grace's arms, who slowly lowered them to the floor, running her hands through her mother's hair as they both wept.
Eventually, Grace composed herself, and struggled to her feet. She hooked her arms under Cassie's and tried to pull her upright, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Hey," Sam whispered, "Let me help."
Grace nodded, suddenly remembering that Sam had seen the whole thing, and watched as he easily lifted Cassie into his arms, the sleeping woman automatically wrapping her arms around his neck.
"You go to bed, Grace," Sam insisted. "I can look after your mom."
Too tired to argue, Grace pressed a kiss to her mother's head, nodded gratefully at Sam, and headed back up the stairs.
Sam adjusted his grip on Cassie as he considered his options. He could easily carry her up to her bed, but he didn't want to leave her alone, and he didn't feel comfortable just climbing into bed with her for the first time on the anniversary of her husband's death when she was asleep. So instead, he walked over to the sofa and tried to place her down on it, pausing when she wouldn't unclasp her hands from around his neck, forcing him to think of an alternative solution.
As the morning Sun lit up the sitting room, Cassie stirred, immediately feeling that she was curled up against a warm body. She couldn't remember whose turn it was to wait up this year. She thought it was Grace's, but the person she was lying on was decidedly more masculine. Brandon, maybe? Confused, she slowly opened her eyes to see Sam looking down at her. She was sat across his lap, with her head resting against his shoulder, one hand over his heart, which she could feel beating steadily.
"Sam?" she whispered. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey," he replied softly, running a hand up and down her back. "I got home late last night and saw a light on so I came over to check everything was okay. Grace told me what today was. I didn't realise; I'm sorry."
Seeing an embarrassed flush spread over Cassie's face, which she tried to hide by averting her gaze, Sam gently hooked a finger under her chin, encouraging her to look back up at him.
"Hey, it's okay," he said.
"I don't like people seeing me like this," she admitted. "It's bad enough that the kids see me, and have to look after me when they're mourning their dad too, but people always see me as someone that they can rely on. I prefer that."
"That's still how I see you," Sam reassured her, "But you're allowed to want a bit of comforting too. That's what I'm here for. I won't think any less of you, I promise."
When Cassie nodded, Sam leant forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, which she immediately returned. As they broke apart, she seemed to compose herself.
"Would you like some tea?" she asked.
Smiling, Sam replied without hesitation. "As long as it's the one that tastes like coffee."
A/N: I recently discovered Good Witch on Netflix, and have just fallen in love with the show and the characters, especially Cassie! This is my first fic for Good Witch, so I hope you like it! Please review!