Hi... (awkward silence continues...)

Well, I think it's been almost a year since I started this story, around the time of my last march break at school here in Canada. Um... gosh, the last time I updated was somewhere in the summer I think.

If you will be so nice to read this, then I will see you at the bottom of the page where a very nice excuse awaits. :)

Disclaimer: Totally Spies belongs to Marathon Inc.


It was almost midnight and Sam strolled through the park on her way home. She'd left WOOHP with Clover and Alex only a little while ago but they parted ways almost immediately afterwards. Clover lived in the opposite direction and Alex was headed to a hotel where her parents were staying- they were prominent lawyers, they traveled for some very wealthy clients.

She passed by a familiar bench just outside the park. Standing in front of it for a second, she fancied herself a bit melancholic; the luminous moon against the dark veil of the night sky brought about a romantic feeling with it. She was alone, yes, but she could still enjoy the glow of the moon and wallow in her singleness. Maybe someone would pass her by in the night and look upon her illuminated face and join her on the bench. Although she doubted what kind of person she would meet at night in the park. That didn't speak much for this unknown man's character, but then again, she was in the same situation so she couldn't really be judgmental.

She smiled to herself. The day had been such a disappointment but this moment right now almost made up for it. Who cares if she was alone, she was happy in her lonesome. It felt nice to be by herself and able to think clearly. She wanted to cry for the sake of crying- the moment seemed to call for it, instead she looked ahead to the swings and shadows they produced. She squinted her eyes to see that the shadows began to change. She imagined it was because she was tired but let the shapes distort nonetheless. She saw a shadow on the swing that looked like a women. With long, wavy hair and a little flash of red- for a quick second- she thought it was a projection of herself. Behind the women was another figure. This figure was tall and the shapes allowed her to assume it was a man. He was pushing the woman on the swing, back and forth, gently. From a brief glance of him what caught in her mind was a subtle green, though not quite exactly that colour.

After a second or two, the figures were gone and the swing moved in the light breeze that ran through the park. The swings movement was almost ominous and Sam took this as a signal that she should head for home. Afraid of her mind producing more visions- Sam liked to scare herself- she broke into a run.

At her doorstep she twisted the knob quietly and walked in. When the door was closed behind her she drudged her way up to her room. It was 12:48 by now, and considering that her mother had an early shift at the office in the morning she was probably already in bed, fast asleep, so Sam could sneak into her room without worry of being caught. Her father was abroad on a business trip and she hadn't seen him in about a month- he wouldn't greet her with fury in the night either.

Sam set her alarm for 5:00 a.m. giving her ample time to get ready physically and mentally. She threw herself on the bed and dozed right off.

At 5:00 a.m. in the morning, Gabby, Sam's mother, woke up for work. Heading for the bathroom she saw it was already occupied, her daughter was up and brushing her teeth.

"Sam," she called, and Sam popped her head out of the door to look at her.

"Good morning, Mom. Did you sleep well?"

"I did, but did you? You weren't at home when I got into bed so you must have gone to sleep later I presume. You didn't think I failed to notice, did you?" Gabby cocked an eyebrow up causing Sam to smile nervously.

"You knew?"

"Nothing gets by me sweetheart and believe me, we'll be having a long talk about curfew later. Now, why are you up so early, it's the weekend you should be in bed till noon.

Sam loved her mother. Gaby wasn't strict on things like sleeping in late, and though she teased Sam about a curfew (even though she was almost 18), Sam knew she didn't mean it. "I'm going to get a head start on studying. Exams are in a month and I want to do well, I mean, I do start university next year."

"Sam, you won't be able to study so early in the morning with less than 5 hours of sleep. Go to bed and get up at 9."

"That's too late, mom." But Sam, too, thought that 5 was too early, she could probably sleep till 7 and still get ready in time. "I'll wake up at 7 then."

"Alright, as long as you're not tired."

Sam smiled towards her mother and went back to bed after resetting her alarm to 7:00 a.m. Two extra hours of sleep would do wonders, she was sure of it.

xx

It was 6:30 a.m. and Gaby was ready to head off for work. She decided to see Sam off before she left and give her a kiss. Entering her room, she saw Sam nuzzled under her blanket and smiled. Would she really be able to wake up at 7 and study, she doubted it. Gaby picked up the alarm on Sam's beside table and set it for 9:30 a.m. "Sweet dreams, Sammie," she said in a whisper. She kissed her on her forehead and left for work.

xx

In Sam's dreams she became quickly aware that what she subconsciously lived was an extension of the night. She was in the park again looking over to the shadow figures near the swings. The figures disappeared, like they had before, but reappeared a moment afterwards underneath a tree not too far away. They were more than just shadows now and Sam could make out vague outlines. Her previous assumptions were proven right and the two figures were indeed a man and a woman. Before she noticed, the sky had changed colour from the darkness of night to the pale blue hues of the early day, the sun rising in the distant. The man and women were sitting beneath the tree, the man's head in the women's lap looking up at her as she looked down. Sam tried to get a better look but things quickly changed. She was no longer looking at the pair from the distant bench; instead she was looking down at the man from the woman's body. She could see his face now but it did not register in her brain- it was there, it was a handsome face but to her conscious mind it was unknown. But in the woman's body she was no longer concerned with studying him, she moved and felt as the woman seemed to from afar a little while ago. She was filled with joy and moved her head down to kiss his awaiting lips. It was a soft kiss when they met and a hand brought her face in even closer and caressed her hair while the kiss deepened further, still retaining its gentle sweetness.

Again, everything had changed. Sam was back on the bench but the couple beneath the tree was gone. She was herself, or as much of herself as she could be in this dream, and a man came to sit beside her. It was the same man behind the swing and underneath the tree. Before sitting down, though, he stood in front of her as she looked up. His large figure covered the sun and what was produced thereof was an angelic figure, light flowing from behind, but his front form was shrouded in darkness. Trying to figure out his features proved to be a failed task, so Sam sighed and continued to look forward even as he moved and sat beside her, at last, restoring sunlight to her eyes. She wanted so badly to turn and look at him but she did not, nothing held her back but the time did not seem right. Something building inside her heart made her terrified, and told her that if she turned now, she wouldn't be able to stand the revelation.

Then, a hand took hers and held it for a long while on the bench.

He spoke. "Turn around Sam, look at me," he said. But Sam did not budge. "Please, look at me, Sam, please." But she still did not budge. The man tried one last time. He leaned in towards Sam's right ear, his lips a few millimeters away, and in a seductive voice that made the subconscious hairs on her neck stand up, he said, "Samantha, turn and look at me," and blew a light breeze into her ear.

His breath sent tremors down Sam's ear and resonated through her entire body. "Unforeseen revelations be damned!" she thought, and turned slowly to look at him. When her eyes caught sight of that colour they had seen before, she recognized the face almost immediately and then—

Sam's eyes shot open when her bed moved and did a 180 degrees flip. She was hurled down a long tunnel as realization hit her. She was being WOOHPed. "Why the HELL am I being whooped?" she thought. Before she could think of an answer she fell roughly on the velvet couch in Jerry's office.

Jerry was behind his desk checking papers. With his back facing a mangled Sam on the couch, he said, "Sam, now that you're here I can brief you and Tim."

"Scam?" Sam turned around in her spot and caught a glimpse of Scam who was standing in the far corner of the office with his hands folded and his head down. He wore a black, long sleeve turtle neck and black dress pants, his shoes were also black. Being a villain must make major dents in his wardrobe and colour choice. Sam chuckled to herself at Tim's expense and then pulled her attention back to Jerry who looked at her, appalled.

"Sam!" He screamed, which drove both Sam and Tim's attention towards him. Tim looked at Sam and smirked, he moved forward toward the couch.

"Sam, I specifically told you that we would commence at 9:00, why are you not ready? Honestly, Sam, I'm very disappointed in your lack of care for the mission."

"But Jerry-" Sam began to continue until Tim Scam spoke up, now immediately behind her and looking down at her over her shoulder. She shuddered when she noticed.

"Where is your professionalism, Sam?" He voice was laced with spiteful amusement. He was sure enjoying himself seeing the redhead camouflage into a ginger mess and glare in his direction.

"I don't need you to comment on my professionalism, Scam. Where was yours when you betrayed WOOHP for your own gain?" After she said this, her face returned to its normal colour and she smirked, knowing she had got him good. He looked back at her intently with pure hatred. His smile was gone and his lips were a hard line.

Sam continued to smile until he spoke again.

"At least I'm professional enough to dress for work." His mouth was upturned into a wicked smile and he knew he'd won the battle. Only a little while now until I win the war.

Goose bumps crept up all over Sam's body. She was at a loss for words, embarrassed beyond words. The air conditioning made her leg colds, which were bare under her flimsy, knee-length nightgown, with two buttons left undone from the top. The hairs on the back of her neck bolted up as she felt Scam's breath coming down from above her. She went back to looking at her legs while she pulled down the ends of her nightgown over them, a bit red in the face as she sat there in her summer sleeping gear, her hair unruly.

Scam, now indifferent about what had just transpired because he was no longer interested, went back to his corner. Sam released a small breath of relief.

Jerry cleared his throat. "Sam, I will WOOHP you back for 15 minutes, please be ready this time and remember, I will not tolerate this sort of behavior next time. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Jerry." As soon as the words came out her mouth she heard Scam chuckle in the background but she did not dare look or say anything to him, worried of another reprimanding by Jerry. Sam was a bit ashamed at her lack of readiness but it was overcome by the feeling of piety she felt for Jerry. This particular mission was really getting to him and putting him on edge, she realized, otherwise he was never this strict and quick to reprimand her.

XX

Sam was back at WOOHP after having been sent back home to quickly shower and wear proper clothing. She made a mental note to wear pajamas with pants this next time she went to sleep, just in case she was WOOHPed out of nowhere.

Jerry led Sam and Scam to a room on the seventh level of WOOHP's building. This was where the laboratories for weapons and software development were located. As they walked through the vast floor, Sam began to feel the aura of the WOOHP building change. She'd never really seen this side of WOOHP before except for a few times when she'd been there to test gadgets and visit Dean.

"Dean" Sam thought, smiling. Her gaze and attention shifted from Jerry and Scam and her eyes wandered to the walls near every door, searching for something she knew was somewhere close. Every door had a plate on the wall beside it that bore the name of the department head. From a conversation she'd had with Dean a few months ago, it seemed that he'd become head of the WOOHP Gadget Lab.

"Hey, Jer, how's Dean doing?" Sam asked curiously.

"It's funny you should ask about him Sam because he'll be accompanying you in the afternoon to the WOOHP archives. You can ask him then."

Hearing this confused Sam and she wondered why they'd be going there, but the profile she'd caught of Scam, who seemed to be scanning the familiar walls as Sam did before, looked indifferent and more 'in the know' than Sam was.

"Archives? Why are we going there?"

Jerry waved his hand as he continued to walk and trying to brush off the conversation for a later time, said "I'll explain when we've settled down." Sam began to pout but as soon as she had opened her mouth to say something in return, her eye caught a sign on the wall next to a door. It read, 'Weapons Development Lab' below it read the names of the department head and two technicians and engineers. 'Head- Dean Thompson- "Wait, what?" Sam was shocked. She'd remember Dean being in the gadget lab, but now he was head of the Weapons Lab? Since when?

This new information demanded answers. Sam ran up to Jerry's side, attracting the attention of Scam to whom she gave a quick glance, and drilled him with questions. "Jerry, why is Dean's name on Weapons Development Lab plate as head? What happened to the gadget lab? Did he get promoted or something?"

Sam was consistent with her questions and oddly passionate too, Scam thought.

"Sam," Jerry signed, "step aside so I can open the door."

"Huh?" Sam looked confused for as second until Jerry pointed to the space behind her. She was so caught up in thoughts of Dean she didn't notice they'd arrived at their destination. "Oh, sorry," she said, stepping aside with a red face, hands folded.

Jerry led the two into the vast room that astonished Sam with its equipment and style. The room held several bookcases along the wall where Sam stood with a plethora of books that held information she could only begin to appreciate with the sight of them. Opposite the entrance and with the wall on its right were glass windows that stretched from the ceiling to the floor revealing the beautiful city that lay outside WOOHP's walls, far below the floor on which they stood. There were various empty tables with computers and the odd paper and pen but nothing could distract from the large glass table that stood next to the right glass wall. It looked like a conference table because of the numerous chairs that occupied each side, but truly this area would belong solely to Scam and Sam and their task at hand. Two large laptops sat on the table with a USB beside the left computer.

Sam ran to the window opposite her, gawking at the scene below. "Wow," she said to herself in a low whisper and then knocking on the glass with her knuckles, turned to Jerry and said "I hope these are bullet proof."

"They are, Samantha," he replied with a smile. He turned towards the wall on his right and cleared his throat to call for Sam and Scam's attention, the former who had previously been making her way to the books while the latter flipped through a few himself, his eyes darting from left to right. "Over here," he said pointing to the plain wall, "is where we have the tablet." Jerry took a small control from his pocket and pressed a red button. A rectangular area from the wall came forward until it was completely detached from its original place. The rectangle piece parted in half along the centre and the two pieces slided along the surface of what was revealed to be a glass screen, and vanished behind it like snakes. The glass screen flashed blue and showed Jerry's desk in his office, the velvet couch in the background. "You can use the tablet for multiple things. It works similarly to the screen behind my desk. It can be used to communicate with me in my office or on my communicator, you remember it don't you Sam? The wallet, oh well, you know what I mean. And it can also work with the communicators you girls have. Other than a communication device, it can be used as a computer and a television, although I doubt you'll need the latter part."

"These books are useless," Scam said, interrupting Jerry in his explanation. "If this is all you have I doubt I'll have anything to rely on other than my own knowledge."

Sam smirked. "And that doesn't account for much, does it?" In a snide voice she remarked, "What happened to your ego, Scam? I thought only you could pass all the extensive security codes but now I hear you need books?"

Scam threw back an insult at her. "Don't meddle in things that miniscule intelligence of yours can't withhold." He added in a snide, "and for your information, Samantha, I created that software and prototype years ago with WOOHP technology that I've advanced far beyond, it isn't in me to remember useless knowledge from such a useless organization." An eye for an eye and then some –that was his motto.

"You two, please!" Jerry boomed, his voice frustrated, echoing off the walls and making it all the more deafening. "I know we have our differences and this adjustment is going to take time getting used to, but it is only going to last a few weeks so let us try to be civil for the sake of the mission." Jerry's voice sounded like it was almost pleading, and it made Sam uncomfortable to be in this situation with Tim Scam in the room, it made it all the more easier for him to feel superior to Jerry and Sam and revealed how desperate the former really was.

Sam smiled apologetically towards Jerry and reassured him, "I'm sorry Jerry, and I will try to be more cooperative." Jerry smiled back at her and folded his hands.

The room went quiet for a period of time in which Sam and Jerry turned their attention towards Scam, who didn't seem to care enough to pay attention, and was continuing to flip through books. When the quiet became all too apparent, his curiosity forced him to look up at Jerry and behind him to where Sam was standing. They were both quiet and continued to stare at him, and as he stared back at her he could tell that she was sincere in her previous statement of which he only caught the word 'cooperative.' He didn't care for her sincerity and even less did he want to return it. But he also didn't like butting heads with the ginger, the faster and smoother this could be over –the sooner he could carry out his own plan. He turned back to his book and held them in silence for a little longer. In the next moment, he spoke up in a disinterested voice, "whatever."

"Uh…" Sam was at a loss for words, she thought for sure that Scam would have some hard-hitting comeback but his 'whatever' seemed almost like an effort of his at trying to understand the situation.

"That means," Scam dragged out, the familiar smirk playing on his lips from what Sam could see of his profile, "anything to shut you up."

And there it was, he just had to return with a rude retort.

He waited for Sam to say something, but she held her frustration in and instead replied in a calm manner, baffling Scam.

"I'll try to try not to butt heads with you, Scam, but don't think I'll stay quiet and just let you pull your little punches; I have a very sharp tongue, and I'm not afraid to use it." Sam was very confident going into it, but she felt she'd just said something very embarrassing. Salvaging some dignity, she carried on weakly, "so…yeah. Oh god, I'm pathetic."

Scam was heavily amused. A thought came to him; he figured his time at WOOHP wouldn't be so bad as long as he had someone to torture, and Sam was easy pickings at this point. "Right…" He continued to smile evilly as he flipped through a large volume of Intensive Weaponry: The Physics Of It All.

After another all-too-long pause, Jerry cleared his throat and continued. He turned to Scam who paid very little attention to him, not even bothering to look up. "Hopefully, your tour of the archives and WOOHPs library will prove to be fruitful. As you know, I didn't intend it to take too long, but I'm sure you'll find something more useful in there. I'll have someone take you two on a tour, as Samantha hasn't been in that part of the building, and assist you along the way."

Sam began to talk, "Jerry, I've been-

But Scam's scoff cut her short. "I don't need any assisting, and I'd much rather her not tagging along. She's completely useless and nothing more than a burden."

Sam was red in the face. "Hey!" she yelled, but was ignored.

"Then humor me, Tim," Jerry said, forcing a tight smile at him.

"Jerry!" Now Sam was downright angry, she was already being ignored and insulted by Scam and now Jerry just slapped her in the face. But she held it all in as she was afraid of saying something stupid again. She made chocking gestures behind Scam's back- who made his way out of the door- and was caught by Jerry's cocked eyebrow. She desisted at once, until Jerry's cocked eyebrow turned into a knowing smile and low chuckle, causing her to smile in return.

As Sam and Jerry walked out the door, Scam standing in the hallway and waiting, Jerry pulled out his wallet, but not his real wallet, and began to play around with it and at once put it back into the pocket.

Arriving into the hallway with Sam, he turned towards her and Scam and said, "Dean will be your escort. He'll be waiting for you in front of the elevator down this hall," gesturing to his left, "on the 5th level. Now hop to it."

Scam walked towards the elevator but Sam hung behind. "Jerry, you know I've already been to the WOOHP archives and library, how could I be working here all this time and not have? It'll be nice to see Dean again," very nice, Sam thought, "but he doesn't need to be our guide."

"Sam, my dear, you haven't been to the restricted section of the library and archives, only top personnel are allowed down there and for that, you will need Dean."

"Wait, what? What restricted section, and why aren't I allowed to go there?"

"Well, it's the section of the library and archives I've locked off for only access by prominent figures in WOOHP, and for that, you have Tim Scam to thank, who used the information there for his own personal gain while he still worked here."

Both turned in Scam's direction, watching him as he stride towards the elevator, and looked at each other again. "Of course it's his fault, everything is his fault," she said, rolling her eyes as she was unsurprised at the fact that Scam was again the one to blame for her restricted freedom. "But, Jerry, surely you trust me, right?" Sam was a bit hesitant to hear what Jerry said next.

"Of course I trust you Sam, I trust Clover and Alex too, you're my best agents, but it would have been unfair to the other WOOHP spies who also aren't allowed access in there. But, if you are still interested in browsing the restricted texts, then I'm more than happy to take you there myself."

Sam couldn't stay too mad at Jerry for long, he was too fatherly to abuse with mental and verbal angst, but it was not for a lack of trying. "You know, Jer-

But she was cut off. Again.

"SAMANTHA!" Scam roared from within the elevator, making Jerry shoot his attention towards him, and making Sam almost jolt at the sharpness of his voice.

"Dear God," Sam let out, a hand at her chest trying to calm down her heart that seemed to skip a beat. She said a quick goodbye to Jerry and ran to the elevator, but not fast enough to make it seem like she cared at all for making him wait. As she ran, one thought also made strides in her mind: This would be a lovely excuse to strike up a conversation with Dean. The first time they met when he worked as a triple agent for Jerry against Terrance, he'd been so caught up by Clover that Sam didn't really have a chance to get to know him better. But now that Clover and Alex already had boys of their own, it seemed okay to go after Dean without potentially stealing him from her besties. They'd had so much in common-she knew that, they just needed some time together. All there other meetings had been very brief and trivial but this one could be so much more, she just had to try.

Getting into the elevator and not even registering that Scam was watching her, a toothy grin was plastered itself all over Sam's face. "I will make it happen this time." She pushed the 'close' button on the elevator and stared at her shoes, not quite focused on them. Behind her, Scam rolled his eyes, seeing right through her idiotic behavior.

"I'm going to enjoy making you suffer, Sammie." A crooked smile played across his face as the elevator doors closed.


Apologies are in order if you have been waiting for this for far tooooooooo long. So, I am very sorry.

In my last year of high school, I've been trying to deal with university and scholarships and the sort. I'm primarily an art student, so art takes up a lot of my time, especially since an end-of-the-year school show is coming up that I have to prepare for. I write because I love to, especially Sam/Scam stories because I love reading them, and I promise to be more frequent. At the least, I promise 2 updates every month.

One or two of you have asked where the Sam/Scam relationship is, and I've got to be honest, it will take time to develop, as it should, because they start off hating each other as they habitually do. It'll take time (hopefully just a few chapters) to have their relationship grow, as my chapters are very short and there will be a lot of twists and turns that bring them together.

That is all I have to say, SO SORRY again, and please REVIEW! REVIEWWW review REVIEW! Be sure to tell me what you think of the story so far!

Also, a tidbit, I like Dean so he will be a recurring character. You can only guess what that means for Sam and Scam.

Bye for now,

DemonsArePersonal