A/N: Some disclaimers I forgot to put in Chapter 1:

1. I own nothing; my cat and dog have made it clear they own me.

2. This is not meant to suggest anything about WaT's current horrible Sam pregnant storyline...like I fully expect the writers to do as they have done so frequently in the past, baby here is just a prop (like addictions, PTSD, Danny's brother, Martin's father, Jack and Anne, Vivian's heart...here today; gone tomorrow)

3. The CA fires reminded me I intended to do this story months ago (when fires were threatening a friend and her family, neighbors in WA -- thankfully they all came through fine.)

4. I've done enough research to sprinkle in some correct terminology, do not expect or even presume I actually know what I am talking about as I make no representations that I do.)

Finally, I write what I like and I hope you enjoy. If you don't, I'm sorry. If you do, great and if you want to let me know, greater still.

:-)

Enjoy. Laurel

Medley

Chapter 2:

Taking Over Me:

You don't remember me

But I remember you

I lie awake and try so hard

Not to think of you

But who can decide what they dream?

And dream I do…

Have you forgotten all I know

And all we had?

You saw me mourning over my love for you

And touched my hand

I knew you loved me then

Evanescence: Fallen, 2003

Sam lay on her couch thinking how her life had changed in the past couple of months. She'd known within a few weeks of that night that she was pregnant. How could she have been such a fool? Well, not so much a fool, she'd use birth control and so had he, still what did it mean when she, who always prided herself on not bringing her personal life into the office, now wore it front and center where everyone could see.

She'd always been so in control, so untouchable. She could flirt and hold her own in any situation and while she bristled when men in her field commented first on her physical appearance she'd always been able to back up her status with her abilities.

Now her life was spiraling out of control and had been for so long she didn't even know when it had first started. She supposed the first time was when she had met Jack; her attraction was instantaneous, hot, exciting, forbidden. Even now so many years later it stirred something inside her, the longing for him to be in her life was overpowering at times.

She had no one, no one at all she could talk to about this. Vivian knew of the affair but she couldn't talk to her, Martin and, of course, Jack but she couldn't talk to either of them. Besides those three people-–well, OPR knew and she sure as hell wasn't ever going to try to talk to anyone in that department about it. As it was she and Jack had gotten away by the skin of their teeth for that breach of protocol. Something inside Samantha told her that Victor Fitzgerald had something to do with that; if that wasn't irony she didn't know what was.

Fitzgerald, Martin Fitzgerald, she loved him once, didn't she? She was so confused, she'd always been able to have the men in her life, the ones she thought were in her life, be there for her, now she'd been turned down flat by both of them within the same week. They were supposed to be her friends weren't they; why the hell wouldn't either one of them help her when she needed it?

x x x

"Hi, Jack, got a minute?" Sam asked as she stood in the doorway to Jack's office. It was after 6:00 p.m. and she wanted to go home but she needed to ask Jack this now.

"Sure, Sam, come on in." Jack took his reading glasses off and put them on the desk.

Sam closed the door behind her and stood in front of his desk.

"Sit down." Jack indicated the chair across from the desk.

Samantha looked at it and then back at Jack who remained seated.

"Ah, no, that's okay. This will only take a minute. I just – um – I just wanted to ask you if you would—you see I signed up for—my doctor recommended I sign up for Lamaze classes and well, you know that the father isn't interested in being here for me and the baby so—I need a coach and I thought—I'd like you to be my coach."

There, she'd said it, now hurry up Jack, tell me you'll be there for me so I can run out of here, God, I never thought this would happen to me.

Jack leaned back in his chair and looked at her quietly, Sam couldn't read his expression; she'd always been able to read his expression

"Sam," Jack began slowly, keeping his eyes focused on hers, "there's no possible way I can be your Lamaze coach."

Samantha barely heard the rest of his words. She just felt herself grow cold inside, was it possible to grow so cold inside of ones body that the baby actually shivered? She moved back out of his reach as she saw him stand up and start to come around the desk towards her.

"That's okay. I just thought, you know, I just—I'll ask somebody else, don't worry about it. It was just a silly idea." Sam heard herself babbling and willed herself to just shut up and get out, she never babbled.

"It wasn't stupid and I'm honored you'd ask me but it's completely improper and you know you want someone who can be there for you and the baby when it's time to give birth and that can't be me."

"I know that, Jack. I was kidding, just wanted to have one over on you. Well, see you tomorrow." With that Sam fled from his office, trying to maintain some semblance of dignity.

She hid in the ladies room for almost five minutes before she felt brave enough to face walking back down the corridor and heading home for the night. As she exited the ladies room and slowly made her way down the corridor she noticed that Jack's office was dark, good, at least she wouldn't have to see him again tonight. Just her luck in her haste to make a 'semi-dignified escape' she'd gone in the wrong direction and would now have to pass by his office.

As she came upon the bullpen she noted Martin's desk light was still on and his coat was hanging over the back of his chair. He wasn't in sight but she figured he wouldn't be gone long.

Walking over to his desk she rested her hand on the back of his chair and felt his jacket fabric under her hand. Why not; he was her friend and it wouldn't be improper.

She pulled the chair out and sat down in it and slowly swiveled from side to side absently clutching the paper with the information for the Lamaze class. Good thing she'd stopped herself from using it to blot her eyes as she fled from Jack's office, now she could give it to Martin.

A few short minutes later she heard footsteps and smiled, she recognized his step. She slowly swiveled the chair around and saw him approaching. He looked surprised to see her but gave her a small smile.

"I thought you'd left for the night." Martin said as he walked over to her.

"I was leaving but I needed to ask you something." Sam stood up and stepped to the side so he could straighten his desk and shut down his computer.

He finished shutting down his computer and straightening his desk and turned to look her straight in the face.

"What did you need to ask?" Sam ignored the flatness of his tone.

"I signed up for Lamaze class."

Martin just looked at her and nodded. "Okay."

"Well, I don't know if you know much about Lamaze," She paused waiting for his easy grin; it didn't come so she moved on. "Well, there's the mommy and the father that attend Lamaze, of course the baby is there but, you know, that's 'cause mommy goes."

Martin's expression didn't soften, there was no smile on his face, no light in his eyes. Sam swallowed and moved forward.

"Well, anyway, I know I haven't told you who the father is and even if I did it wouldn't matter because first of all you don't know him and second of all he's made it completely clear he wants nothing to do with me or the baby so, I need a coach; I'd like that person to be you." As she said it she held out the paper with the information about the class.

There, she'd said it, guess practice does make things, well, if not perfect, at least a bit easier.

Sam stood there watching Martin for what seemed like a half an hour but was really less than 15 seconds, it was so quiet in the bullpen she could hear the click of the clock on the wall. Finally his a small curve appeared on his lips.

"You'd like me to be your Lamaze coach?" He asked her stonily.

"Yes, silly, I'd—I'd like it to be you." She reached out to touch his arm and was shocked when he flinched away, what was going on?

"When did you decide you wanted me to be your Lamaze coach?" Martin asked her. Sam could hear an undercurrent in his tone she didn't know how to decipher as she'd never heard that from Martin.

"What does it matter, I asked you." She snapped without thinking.

"Yes, yes you did ask me." Martin turned away from her and looked out of the bullpen. She watched him as he appeared to wrestle with his thoughts and then he turned back to her.

"Did you ask me because Jack said no?" He asked it so softly Samantha had to lean in to hear him and when she did she felt something inside of her harden.

"Why would you ask me that?"

"I saw you go into Jack's office. I saw you hold out that same piece of paper to him and I saw him shake his head no and I saw you stand there in disbelief."

"You were spying on me?" Sam spat back angrily.

"You're something, Samantha Spade. I didn't have to 'spy' on you. I was standing right at this table, facing the corridor and Jack's office. You knew that as you'd just walked past me on your way to his office."

"Did you enjoy the show?" Sam was hurt and angry an—she really didn't know what anymore but she sure wasn't going to stop swinging.

"Yeah, Samantha, the show was great. It was so good I walked to the file room and archived the papers I had been gathering up. I had no idea what you were in there talking to Jack about nor did I care as what you do is none of my business anymore, if it ever was. But then I come back from the file room and am getting ready to head home after a long day and just grab a quick dinner, maybe some of the game and head to sleep and here you are sitting at my desk waiting for me.

What do you expect me to think when I see you with the same paper and standing there in the same posture and same hand twisting gestures as you just did in Jack's office?"

Sam was so angry she wanted to slap him, how dare he not be her friend; he was the one who'd broken up with her and that had been over two years ago. She could ask who she wanted, what did it matter if he was her second choice.

"You know what the real irony is, Samantha," Martin's soft tone reached her ears and without wanting to she turned and listened.

"If you'd asked me, if you'd come up to me and said, Martin, I'd like you, as my friend, to be my Lamaze coach, I'd have said yes. But you didn't, you asked Jack and when he turned you down, you didn't even think or wait or anything—not like that would have made it better—but you came right to me, your second choice.

I know I'll never be good enough for you to consider as someone to love or to think of as anyone other than—I don't know anymore, Samantha, I thought we'd have a chance again at our friendship, but you've made it clear that I don't even rate that high for you. I'll never be anything other than your fallback plan and I can't do that anymore."

Sam stood there stunned as Martin flicked his desk light off, grabbed his coat from the back of his chair, collected his backpack and headed out of the bullpen leaving her standing there in the semi-dark.

Sam shifted on the couch and thought about the next day when she'd walked into the office. Jack had met her and tersely told her to head to tech and work with Lucy on some wiretaps that had come in from an old case. She'd spent the better part of the morning in there listening to enhanced audio, by the time she'd gotten finished with that and returned to the bullpen she'd learned that Martin and Danny and Elena were out running down some leads that had just popped up on a cold case.

The next day or so was much of the same and then they'd caught their newest case, David Braxton. She'd hardly had a chance to see or work with Martin, not that she cared she was still angry with him. She'd been paired with Danny on interviewing the man's wife. At least that had gotten her out of the office since the woman had only given birth four days prior.

It had been a little scary to see that tiny baby, Braxton's wife, Caitlin, had let her hold the baby, "for practice" and she'd been amazed at how tiny the little girl was. It didn't encourage her at all, all she felt was a sense of terror that in the next five or so months she'd be holding her own.

When she and Danny returned she had done her best to ignore Martin unless they had to discuss the case. She'd reviewed her notes to bring him up to speed and he'd gone through what he and Viv had found on the cell and phone records.

Thankfully the next day Jack had decided to send Martin and Danny to Utah to interview members of the crew Braxton had been working with. Sam was relieved, it would give her a chance to have some emotional space from Martin; she was still angry with him.

Sam decided it was time to get to bed so she got up off the couch and grabbed the remote to click the TV off. She'd had it on the news channel with the volume down low. She didn't want to hear the news she just liked having something on in the background.

As she looked at the TV the screen was filled with images of a forest fire. She watched amazed as the flames engulfed giant trees and then the camera panned back and she saw a huge area being eaten by the fire. She was about to click the TV off when a map came up in the corner and a member of the fire fighting crew started to speak, the caption underneath said, Abajo Mountains.

Knowing that was where Danny and Martin were heading she turned up the volume to hear the fire official finish giving the rundown of the fire.

"Initially we thought we'd be able to confine the fire and allow itself to burn out but the area is quite dry and there's been a treacherous wind that has allowed continued spotting of the fire as well as slopover, so it's been difficult to keep the fire contained."

"Can you explain what slopover means and spotting for our viewers?" The newsperson asked the FIO (Fire Information Officer.)

Good question, thought Sam.

"Slopover is when the fire spreads outside the boundaries of a control line. We had started setting in place some control lines once the fire made its presence known but the crowning nature of the fire – the fact that it's in the tree tops—combined with the wind conditions keeps pushing it against the barriers, some of which weren't completely set when the fire reached them, that's the ground part of the fire so it was able to escape the boundaries we had intended it to remain within.

The spotting occurs when the updrafts catch the burning embers and debris from the tree tops and carries them outside of the burn area and then drop them either into tree tops or onto the ground where conditions remain favorable with enumerable flash fuels available, dry grass, leaves, pine needles, tree moss etc. All of that is stuff we were intending to clear out during an upcoming prescribed burn but unfortunately Mother Nature decided to help us along."

"Thank you for that information, can you tell us how much of the fire you have contained at this time."

"At this time we've been breached on several of our borders and with the winds forecast to remain high it's going to be difficult to fight this with our normal aerial assault. I'm not ready to give a containment estimate at this time. Since the sun has gone down and the burning period, the part of ever 24-hour period when fire spreads most rapidly usually 10:00 a.m. to sundown, we'll work through the night to establish some additional control lines and get teams and equipment into position. I'm sorry, but that's all I can give you right now."

"Thank you. I'm Amy Palmer from—"

Sam clicked off the TV and placed the remote on the shelf next to it.

Well, happy times Danny and Martin. Danny, I hope you get to roast lots of marshmallows, Martin, I hope you get soot in your eye. Sam thought as she headed off to bed.

Taking Over Me:

I believe in you

I'll give up everything just to find you

I have to be with you to live to breathe

You're taking over me.

I look in the mirror and see your face

If I look deep enough

So many things inside that are

Just like you are taking over

Evanescence: Fallen, 2003