Sam was being rolled away for his last treatment dose. Nate was sitting on a chair in the corridor, his elbows propped on his knees as he was leaning forward. It had been a long week. At the far end there was Maggie leaning against the wall. She was still angry since she'd discovered who Sophie was and after Sterling had questioned her for hours. Nate could still remember their fight.
"I can't believe it that you've brought a thief into our lives!" Maggie shouted at him. Fortunately they were inside her house and not in the hospital where everyone could hear them. "She's a criminal, Nate"
"A couple of days ago she was your friend, nothing has changed." He retorted back.
"You've lost your job because of her"
"Who told you that?" he asked surprised. "That's not true"
"Sterling!" she crossed her arms in front of her. "He was so happy to give me all the shady details during the interrogation. Did you help steal anything?"
"Of course I didn't. It was actually the other way round. She helped me with some of my cases before she moved here in L.A. She decided to leave that life so she could live here with me"
She gave him a sarcastic chuckled. "Apparently that didn't work out." She sighed. "Will you be going to jail? Because if Sam…"
"I won't be going to jail. Sterling has nothing. He's just finishing. I've been careful and there aren't any evidence or something he could charge me for. Sophie had to leave for her safety."
"Well I hope you're not planning on seeing her again"
"Of course I will as soon as things settled down"
"Nate, she's a thief!" she exclaimed back.
"Yeah, but you had no problem accepting her money!" he shouted back defending the woman he loved.
Maggie gasped shocked "What do you mean?"
"Who do you think paid for Sam's treatment?"
"I thought IYS approved the claim. You said…"
"I've just let assume that. Blackpoole refused the claim, that's why I left IYS. Not before punching the guy!"
"I… I…" she didn't know what to say. "Sophie paid for Sam's treatment." She whispered.
"Yeah" he confirmed " She wanted to since the beginning, I was just being so stubborn…" he sighed. "She's a good person, Maggie, what she did what she does… it doesn't change that and I've acted like an idiot. So yes, I'm going to see her again and I'll probably crawl to her asking for her forgiveness"
That had been the last time they had actually talked to each other apart from a few words exchanged about Sam's health. Nate had been anxious all week. He was dreading the moment Maggie would hand him papers wanting full custody of Sam. He knew she had all the right cards to win that battle. He was currently an unemployed father with debts and in a relationship with a known criminal. Luckily after that night that Sophie left, he hadn't touched a drop of alcohol not wanting to add alcoholic on that list – also he didn't want to become like his father, but that was a long story.
Fortunately those papers hadn't come and he wondered if he and Maggie could resolve their issues, especially for Sam's sake.
Later that day Sam had been discharged from the hospital and now it was all about waiting. He was going to go back in a week to see if the treatment had worked. Nate and Maggie had worked out a schedule. Since the art curator had to go back to work, Sam was going to spend his mornings with Nate while Maggie was going to stay with her son the rest of the time.
Nate was reading a story to Sam while the boy was lying in bed. The six years old had already missed a lot days from school and Nate thought they could try some homeschooling.
"Daddy, when is Sophie going to visit us?" the boy interrupted his father.
Nate sighed. Of course his son had been asking about his girlfriend since the day she had left and Nate was running out of excuses.
"Soon, I've told you she had to go back to her family in England"
"But she hasn't called. Is she angry with us? Doesn't she love us anymore?" he sobbed.
"Of course she does" he reassured him patting him on the back. "She's just… it's complicated"
"Did you fight?" he looked down.
Nate ached for the sad tone in his son's voice . He was just a little boy when he and Maggie started fighting and falling out of love, but he was sure he could remember the shouting after they made sure he was asleep. He could still remember is own father and mother shouting when he was little. They used to bring him nightmares during the night.
"No… we…" how was going to explain to his little boy that the woman he so admired had to leave in a rush because Sterling was after her because she was a thief?
"You should apologize to her if you did. And maybe buy her a present and some flowers"
Nate smiled. "I'll be sure to do that"
Sophie had just opened the curtains of her bedroom and was looking outside at the unusual sunny day in London. She brought her arms around her body and took comfort in them. They were a poor substitute for the arms she was missing. Two weeks had passed since she had to leave L.A. Her informant had told her that Sterling was still looking for her. Two weeks since she last had seen Nate, hears his voice, felt his touch, his scent. She missed him so much it ached. After she had spent her days curled up in bed, Eleanor and Karen had managed to drag her outside with the help of an old friend. Tara Cole, a grifter like her, had a job in England and after receiving Eleanor's call, she came to visit for a few days distracting Sophie from her problems. It had worked for a bit, but her mind kept going to Nate and Sam. She wanted to know how the little boy was doing. Using her alias, she has found out that Sam had finished his treatment and was resting at home waiting to go back for the results. She was already working on a plan to gather more information. She sighed and walked away from the window. It was time to start her day. Her sister and niece had already left for something school related and so she had the day for herself. She decided she should eat something and went to the kitchen.
A knock startled her.
She wondered who it could be since they weren't exacting anyone. She opened the door and gasped at the familiar blue eyes she found at the other side.
"Hello Sophie"
A/N I know a cliffhanger! *hides* It's nearly finished everyone! Will I reach chapter 30? Thanks for reading! :D
