Val sat in the bleachers watching over the game. She had her arms crossed and she was shaking her head. Sam was playing her fifth game of the season and it looked like they were going to be losing yet again. Val just couldn't understand it. They looked so good during practice, but when it came to the actual game, they just choked. They hadn't won a game yet and the confidence of the team was slipping. They were close to giving up completely.
She understood that they were just kids and they weren't supposed to be playing at a professional level, but they weren't even having fun anymore. Sam was the best one on the team, at least in Val's opinion, but she could have very well been bias, but either way, there wasn't enough teamwork happening for them to even get close to scoring.
She heard mothers and fathers yelling to their daughters. They were shouting words of encouragement, but as soon as they closed their mouths, Val could see it in their eyes, they were just giving them encouragement because they were parents. They could tell that the team was terrible. Val blamed the coach. His name was Kyle and his daughter was on the team. It was clear that he showed favoritism towards her just because of who she was, though she couldn't play soccer to save her life. Anytime there was a special event of any kind, it was her that was put in the spotlight while all of the other girls were left on the sidelines.
Val felt that the coach didn't teach them the ethics of being on a team. She knew that each player had certain strengths and weaknesses. They needed to build their strength to compensate their weaknesses. And in turn they would build their confidence. Not to mention the exercise they were getting. But even more important, the kids had fun when they played and she feared that since they weren't doing very well that season that it was going to lose its fun factor.
Luke stepped up along the bleachers and looked through them until he found Val. She smiled as he stepped up the metal seats to sit down next to her. He had to work over that day so he was running a little late to the game. Val leaned over and kissed his lips gently.
"How we doing?" he asked turning towards the game. Val shrugged her shoulders and leaned back on the bleachers.
"Same as always. This sport is starting to lose its spark with Sam. I had to talk her into coming to the game today. She has it in her head that they're going to lose, so there is no sense in her coming at all. She's trying, but… there's no results."
Luke frowned as he watched Sam run from one end of the field to the other. She seemed focused on the game, which was always good to see in a child her age. There was a few times she had gotten the ball, but the rest of her team would leave her completely undefended so the other team was always able to get in close enough to steal the ball. The other times they wouldn't be set up in the proper formation and Sam wouldn't be able to pass it and she would always get overwhelmed. Luke could see that she was trying her hardest out there, but it was clear that it wasn't enough.
They had this discussion a few times since soccer had started. Val had expressed her concerns about Sam losing interest if they weren't able to win any games. Luke knew with each loss they were edging closer and closer to it happening and now it was.
"Dammit," he said as the other team scored wasn't enough time left in the game for Sam's team to bring it back, not even on a tie game. Luke could see that Sam was upset even from his spot in the stands.
"Also, Sam wants one of her little friends to stay the night tonight," Val said. Luke groaned looking to Val. The last time Sam had one of her little friends over, they were trying to play pranks on each other the entire night. Sam had placed a bucket on top of a door filled with glitter, with Val's help, so when someone opened it, the glitter inside would fall over whoever opened it. Well, the victim was supposed to be Sam's little friend, Stephanie. Luke had fallen into the trap and was covered in glitter of all colors.
Luke could remember turning away from the room he was about to enter and saw Sam poking her head around the corner. Her eyes were wide in a silent horror since she knew for certain that she was in so much trouble. Luke was ready to explode, but he managed to keep his composure as he quickly walked back to his room. He had slammed the bedroom door so hard the entire frame rattled. He heard Val gasp before he looked at her. She had her hands covering her mouth as she sat on her knees on the edge of the bed. She went to say something, but Luke raised his hand to stop her before she started.
"Don't say a word," he had said and Val and choked back a laugh. He walked into the bathroom and was sure that there was a trail of glitter behind him. As soon as he slammed the bathroom door closed, he heard Val bust out laughing. It had been days and he would still spot little flecks of the glitter still on his skin.
"Don't worry, it's not even Stephanie that's wanting to stay," Val giggled, but the vagueness was enough to put him on edge. Luke narrowed his eyes at her. She wouldn't look at him and watched one more time as they ran from one side of the field to the other.
"Not Tara," he said though he already knew the answer to that. Val finally looked at him and gave him a hurtful look that confirmed his worry. Luke sighed one more time and shook his head. It wasn't the fact that he really didn't like the girl, Tara, she was a sweet little girl and was never any trouble. It was just the fact that Tara...
Never...
Stopped...
Talking...
The last time that she had stayed, Luke prayed for a mission that would get him out of the States until she was gone. He had never wanted a mission so bad in his life.
"Tell you what, after this, let's take Sam for ice cream because she's going to be upset after this game. Then I'll take her shopping and get stuff for her and Tara then they can go and have a pajama party in the living room while you and me hide out in the bedroom until morning," she suggested leaning against him. Luke smirked as he raised an eyebrow at her earning a giggle from Val.
The game finally ended and Val and Luke waited until the stands cleared out a little so they didn't have to fight the crowds. Each soccer mom would go out of their way to come in close to Val and Luke so they could say hello to him. The only time they acknowledged Val's existence was when they were sending glares her way. Val even caught a few of the mothers adjusting their bras so their breasts appeared to be perkier. Luke politely said his hellos back, but paid them no mind afterwards.
Val was glad that Luke didn't even seem to notice the way they were acting towards him, but that didn't stop the feeling of possessiveness that she felt towards him when they came close. The mothers didn't talk to her or try to talk to her. When she had first started bringing Sam to her practices with Luke, the mothers would swarm them. Val found it a little odd that they flocked to them, but she figured, at least at first, that it was just their way of making the two of them feel welcome. Then she started noticing how all of the conversations were towards Luke the entire time. When Val would speak, all the other mothers would fall silent and look at her like she was vile. After that, she had kept Luke as far away as possible from the mothers, but that still didn't stop their stares.
Luke finally stood and Val followed after him and gathered up the blanket that she put on the bleachers so the heat of the metal didn't blister her backside. She stepped down the bleachers behind Luke and followed him to Sam who was bagging up her gear. She was moving slowly and her lowered gaze told them everything. Luke knelt down next to her and started helping her.
"You did good out there today," Luke said carefully. Sam stopped packing her gear long enough to look back at the scoreboard that still showed the score of their game. She looked back to Luke without saying a word and started packing her gear again. Luke reached for her bag once it was zipped up, but Samantha jerked it out of his reach and threw it over her shoulder. She bolted for the parking lot. Val sighed and shook her head.
Samantha rode with Val which she found a little odd of her since she was practically Luke's shadow. Val couldn't think of anything to say to her on the way to the ice cream shop. What could she say without bashing the other girls on her team? It wasn't their fault that her coach didn't know what the hell he was doing and she couldn't tell Sam that either because that would undermined him and Val didn't want to set that kind of example for her at all. Maybe that was why she wanted to ride with Val.
Val was really enjoying have Samantha around all the time. She was a smart little girl with an affinity of pranks. She followed Val around all the way up until Luke walked through the door, then everywhere Luke was, Sam was.
Val wasn't sure where she stood with Sam. Sure, she was Luke's girlfriend, but what did that mean for Sam and Val? Was Val a friend? Was she more of a mother figure? She definitely didn't want to be stepping on any toes when it came to how Luke and Shana were raising Sam. Val wanted to give her advice, but she wasn't sure if that would be overstepping her bounds on something that would be reserved for a parent.
With Shana and Jerry being married and for the fact that he had been in Sam's life since the beginning, Val knew he was allowed to treat her different. They had found a nice little system to where the three of them could raise her and now here she was wondering where she fit into the whole thing.
When they pulled into the ice cream parlor, Val saw the small grin on Sam's face. Sam loved this ice cream parlor. They ordered their ice cream and found a table to sit at. Sam stared down at her banana split as she pushed it contents around rather than eat it.
"Daddy, I don't want to play soccer anymore," she said in such a quiet voice that Luke or Val barely heard her. Luke leaned closer to her.
"What?" he asked though Val knew he heard what she had said.
"I don't want to play soccer anymore," she said a little louder, but this time she met his gaze. Luke frowned as he leaned back as he eyed his ice cream cone.
"Why wouldn't you want to play soccer anymore?" he asked. Samantha shrugged her shoulder.
"Because I'm no good at it," she said as she continued to push her ice cream around. Val slouched over her treat a little.
"Yes, you are, Sam. Why would you say something like that?" she asked deciding to follow along with Luke. Sam seemed to coil into herself a little.
"Then why haven't we won any of our games?" she asked then finally took a bite of her ice cream. Val glanced to Luke who was staring at Sam out of the corner of his eye.
"Because your coach is a dumbass," Luke reasoned bluntly. Val rolled her eyes and chuckled. Sam just stared up at Luke. Val wouldn't have went with that approach, but it was already out there. Luke grinned looking down at his daughter before he wrapped a big arm around her. "Tell you what, you don't have that many more games left. If you stick it out for the rest of the season, I'll be your coach next year." A smile stretched across Val's lips and Sam's eyes lit up. She stared at Luke in a daze for a moment.
"Really?" she asked finally.
"Yup, but you gotta hang in there for the rest of this season." Sam nodded quickly then stood so she could hug him.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she repeated over and over. She sat back down all jittery from Luke's promise. Luke smirked to himself as he watched her out of the corner of his eye.
Val took Sam shopping after they had ice cream so they could load down on all kinds of goodies for their evening and had even bought her new pajamas for the night.
When they had arrived back at the house, Sam practically tore the seatbelt out of the car she tried to get out so fast. Val shook her head as she turned her Barracuda off. The house they had bought wasn't anything too special. It was in a calm, quiet neighborhood. It had a roofed porch extending along the front part of the house. It had a two car garage out back similar to the way Mia and Brian's house was.
The house itself was a four bedroom, two and a half bath with two stories not including the basement. When stepping into their new home, it was an entrance room. Beyond that, was the living room. The living room was large, open, and warm. There was a hallway that led farther into the house. The kitchen was big enough that they were able to put their dining room table in since there was no dining room. The master bedroom was downstairs along with one of the guest bedrooms that Luke used as an office of sorts.
Their bathroom had a tub and a stand in shower, but the tub was currently gone since Val didn't like the fact that it wasn't a claw foot tub. She had coughed up over a thousand dollars for an antique tub. Luke would have never imagined anyone would spend that much on a tub and had voiced the fact several times. Upstairs, was another guest bedroom and Sam's room with the other full bathroom. The half bath was down in the basement.
When she stepped in the house, she was practically assaulted by Thor and Loki, the dogs that Luke had gotten her for their anniversary. She had named the Rottweiler Thor and the Doberman Loki. She claimed that it was perfect for them since they were like brothers, but not really, just like Thor and Loki in the comic books and movies. Thor was a little more high strung and excitable while Loki kept a cool demeanor though he did have random bouts of playfulness. They had grown quite a bit though they were still not full grown.
Val could hear the shower running in their bedroom as she passed by it to drop the groceries in the kitchen. Val could hear Sam talking to someone on the phone and discovered that it was Tara. Val was impressed that Sam was even able to get a word in with that child.
Once the groceries were put up, Val made her way into the bedroom. She started digging through her drawers trying to find something that she could wear around the house. She had sweated out in the hot sun and it felt like her dress was sticking to her. She put a pair of shorts on the dresser before she started digging around in another drawer for a shirt to wear. She heard the bathroom door open and she could smell Luke's soap immediately. She paid him no mind as she rummaged through her drawers.
She felt Luke's big hands rest on her waist and felt his hips press against her rear. Val straightened up a little and glanced at him over her shoulder. He smirked down at her. Val giggled at him and turned to face him. She ran her hands up his bare chest slowly before linking her fingers behind his neck.
"Have I told you how incredibly sexy you are?" she asked in a teasing manner, though she really wasn't teasing. Luke scoffed, but his smirked remained.
"Not today," he said. Val reached up to kiss his lips gently as she giggled again.
"Well, then, you are incredibly sexy," she said and kissed his lips again. Luke's grip on her tightened as she felt herself being lifted into the air. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist and rested her hands on his broad shoulders. They continued to kiss as Luke made his way over to the bed and laid her down on it gently. She sighed leaning her head back a little so Luke could kiss down her neck.
"You know, that was really sweet what you did earlier," Val said in a low voice as Luke pulled the straps of Val's dress off her shoulders so he could kiss her skin there. Luke hummed in question. "When you said you would coach Sam's soccer team next year. That was really sweet." Luke hummed again as he pulled her dress down a little farther to expose her breasts to him. His kissed at her flesh slowly earning a groan from her.
"And just to think, this time next year, you're going to be the coach of, at least, eleven eight year old girls," Val said with a giggle on her breath. Luke froze suddenly and lifted his head. Val stared at him as the sudden realization washed over him. Luke had agreed to be Sam's coach without thinking about there being other little girls on the team as well. Eleven prepubescent, whiny, needy little girls.
"Fuck," Luke said making Val laugh. He dropped his head on her chest and groaned. Val bit her lip as her fingers tickled the back of his neck.
"Lucy, I'm home!" they heard Hector scream as he entered their groaned in annoyance as Luke lifted his head to look back to the bedroom door.
"Fuck!" he mumbled as he pushed himself up from Val's body, but Val pulled him back to her.
"You think if we ignore him he'll go away?" she whispered kissing at his lips. They heard Hector yell out for them again, then they heard Samantha running downstairs to greet him.
"Doubtful," Luke answered her as he attempted to get up again. Val let him slip away from her as he stood at the edge of the bed. He reached out to pull Val up from the bed as she pulled the straps of her dress back up and she ran her fingers up his chest slowly.
"Rain check?" Val whispered giving him almost pleading eyes. Luke nodded his head slowly before he stole another kiss from her. They heard Hector scream out again somewhere in the house and Val rolled her eyes. He could be really annoying sometimes if he wanted to be. "I'm going to go see what he wants." Val stepped around him and let her fingers brush across the skin on his chest until he was out of her reach.
As soon as the door latched, Luke's phone went off on his nightstand. He walked over to it and picked it up.
"Fuck," he grumbled as he answered it. It was work. They were calling him out for another job. He had noticed over time that he was working more and more. The world was getting darker and more dangerous with each passing day. Corruption and greediness was taking over and it was up to him to end it all. He had to. He had to do it for Val and Sam and everyone else that he cared about. They were giving him a week to get everything set up and get to his first destination. He had wanted a job and he supposed that he had gotten what he wanted. Unfortunately, he was still going to have to put up with Tara's excessive talking.
He stepped out of the bedroom quietly and made his way into the kitchen where Val, Hector, and Sam were. Sam was attempting to talk to Hector in Spanish. She was speaking slow as if she was struggling for the right words. Val and Hector watched her as she tried to speak to them in Spanish with grins on their faces.
Val had been teaching Sam how to speak Spanish since they had spent that time together up at his cabin. She claimed she wasn't sure how to properly teach her how to speak Spanish, so she would speak to her only in Spanish sometimes as a way of teaching her. Sam was getting better and better at it, but there was still a lot for her to learn. Luke was even starting to pick up on some of it.
Sam had finished speaking and paused as if she waited for their approval. Hector praised her in Spanish, then corrected a couple words that she had messed up and made her repeat them to him. She had repeated the words back to him, but Hector shook his head on one. He told her that she needed to roll her R's on a certain word and Sam repeated the word putting emphasis on rolling the R's in the middle of the word. Hector shook his head once more and started making a purring sound as he showed her how to roll the R's. Sam started making the sound back to him and Val chuckled.
Hector was really good with Sam. She had warmed up to him almost immediately. Val had told Luke that the only reason why she did warm up to him the way she did was because Hector was on the same level as her mentally. After Sam ran off, Hector got down to why he was there which was something about an investment that Val had given him money for. It had paid off handsomely and he was giving her the profits, excluding his fee of course.
Later that day, the dossier for his latest target arrived. The target was a leader of a cartel that ran drugs and weapons. The target had one of the biggest files that he had ever received from DSS. Apparently, the cartel had bribed the local authorities to look the other way on everything. The target was one of the biggest cartels in the world. The target basically had an entire army at their disposal and Luke knew that this target was going to be a difficult one. It was going to be hard for him to get close since he knew he wasn't going to be able to rely on the local authorities for anything. He was going to need someone extra on his team.
He had decided to send a message to Elena to see if she was able to help them out a little. Elena had shown a lot of promise when she had joined his team to take Dom and the others down even if she ended up in Dom's bed at the end. She had messaged him back almost immediately saying that she accepted his offer to join them. When Luke had told Val about Elena joining him and his team, she got really excited.
She had said that she still kept in touch with Elena though she didn't say anything to Dom about it for fear of it being a little awkward for him and Letty alike. Val really liked Elena. She had watched over her brother and helped him heal when they had thought that Letty had been killed. And when Luke had showed up with proof of her still being alive, Elena had encouraged him to search for her and willingly let him go so he could be with Letty. She had fit in very well with the rest of the team and they had accepted her as one of their own quickly. Val was glad that Elena was going to be joining him because she claimed that she would be able to watch his back, though Luke reassured her that Hank, Ben, and Jamal was going to be there with him as well.
Elena had arrived a couple days later and Val had insisted that Elena stay with them until it was time for all of them to leave. She would need to be briefed and cleared by the DSS in order for her to leave with Luke. She had mentioned about wanting to come to DSS so they had to start with the proper paperwork for her transfer if she was able to pass their tests, though Luke said she had nothing to worry about.
Val had practically clung to the blond woman when she showed up on their front doorstep. She was practically vibrating with excitement as she practically drug Elena inside. Luke had said his hellos to her before he left them alone to catch up.
Elena had asked about Letty, though Val knew it was just her way of asking about Dom. Val sighed looking down at her glass of wine and ran her fingers along the rim slowly.
"She still hasn't remembered anything. At least, from what she's told us. She says she has feelings though. Like a familiarity around some of us especially Dom." Val ignored the small flinch at the mention of Dom's name. Elena had really cared about him even to the point to where Val could say it was love. Val respected the blond more than Elena could imagine when she had told Dom to pursue Letty. That move took courage, courage that Val was certain she didn't have.
"And Dom? How is he?" she asked in a low voice. Val grinned a sad grin.
"He's good other than the fact that Letty still hasn't remembered anything. The doctors are saying that the memories could come back in segments or all at once, but it was going to take time. I think Dom is a little frustrated about it though since it's been over a year and still nothing." Val took a sip of her wine. They weren't sure if it was a head injury that had taken her memory or if it was the trauma of nearly being killed by an explosion. She hoped that one day, Letty would remember everything. It was such an odd feeling being around her best friend and she not remember anything about their past together.
They talked for a little longer before Elena claimed to be exhausted from the flight in. Val took her to the guest room and made sure that she had everything she needed before leaving her alone so she could rest. It was pretty late and Sam had already went to bed for the night. She was feeling a little drained herself so she retired to their bedroom.
Luke was already sitting on the bed with the dossier out in front of him as he continued to read up on his latest target. He sat in a pair of pajama pants and no shirt. He had one leg bent as the other dangled over the edge of the bed. She changed into some pajamas herself before crawling onto the bed behind him.
Luke felt her fingers run over his shoulders as she wrapped her arms around him. She rested her chin on his shoulder as she looked down at the file in front of him. She ran her fingers over his chest habitually. There were multiple reports on the target along with pictures and profiles on higher ups in the cartel. Some of the henchmen, so to speak, had already been captured and questioned for more information, which some of them gave up in the end.
Luke felt Val sigh behind him as her grip tightened around him. He looked at her as best as he could. Her eyes were distant and Luke learned that when she had that far away look in her eyes, she was thinking about something that her imagination was only making worse.
"I'll be back before you know it," Luke said in a quiet voice. He knew how much she worried about him while he was gone. Dom had told him about how much she changed when he walked through that door to go play hero across the globe. He had explained to Luke how distant she became like she always had him on her mind. Dom had also told Luke about how she seemed to dull with Luke not around. Luke couldn't lie, he felt a little guilty about how she felt when he left, but he had to do what he had to do. After being exposed to how dark and cruel the world could be, he felt that he was the only one who could stop it. There was a reason he was the best.
"You always are since I never know when you're going to be back," she said in a sad tone. Luke leaned away from her causing her to loosen her grip on him. He was grinning because he knew what he was getting ready to do was going to change her mood completely. She watched him with curiosity.
"I have something for you," he said reaching into his nightstand drawer. He pulled out a phone and handed it to her. It was an old brick of a phone and Val couldn't remember the last time she had seen a phone like that. She tilted her head a little as her curiosity rose. "You said shit needed to change. That you needed to be able to communicate with me while I'm gone so you know I'm okay." Val smiled at him as she brought the phone to her chest as if she was cradling it. Then she threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek hard. "If I tell you to toss that phone, you do it immediatly and make sure it's away from the house when you do toss it." Val frowned as worry touched her eyes.
"This is dangerous, isn't it?" she asked in a quiet voice.
"I don't want you worrying about me while I'm away. I had Tej set it up to where it can't be traced to your exact location, but there is a possibility. The number you text is already programmed in there. And when you text it, I'll call you as soon as I can," he said. Val nodded in understanding.
"Thank you," she said kissing his lips. "This is the best gift you have ever gotten me." Luke chuckled as he reached back and pat her thigh.
"At least you're cheap," he teased.
"Hey!" she snapped at him. Luke laughed, then he paused.
"Wait a minute, what about the dogs? I figured that would have been the best gift," he said truthfully. Val shrugged her shoulders.
"Those were only my puppies for one night. Now they're Sam's." Luke hummed in agreement. It was the truth. Those dogs slept with Sam every single night and followed her everywhere. They only responded to her and they seemed to ignore anyone else who walked through the front door. They would show a little excitement, but that soon went away as they took off to find Sam wherever she was in the house.
Val sighed again as she rested her chin on his shoulder again. She tightened her grip on him. They sat in silence for a moment.
"I'm going to miss you," she whispered quietly. Luke stayed quiet as he always did when Val said that to him. Val couldn't help but have a sinking feeling in the bottom of her stomach at Luke's mission. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was a different feeling than when he normally went off on a mission. She said a silent prayer asking God to protect Luke while he was away. "Promise me that you'll come back to me."
He moved away from her so he could look her in the eye. He studied her for a moment as if wondering where that had come from. She had never asked him to promise her of his return. She seemed a little worried about his departure, but that was nothing new with her. She always had that look in her eye when he was getting ready to leave, but there was something different there. An extra hint of worry. He sighed as he reached down to grab the file. He closed it and tossed it on his nightstand.
He reached back and pulled her to where she was sitting in his lap. She looked up at him with begging eyes as she waited to hear him promise her. He reached up and cupped her cheek with his large hand.
"I always come back, Val," he assured her. She closed her eyes slowly with a sigh.
"Promise me," she demanded in a harsh tone. Luke narrowed his eyes in curiosity, but he decided to oblige her.
"I promise," he said and it instantly brought a smile to her lips. She leaned against him and wrapped her arms around him.
Author's Note: Okay guys another chapter down. Drama, drama, drama coming in the next chapter. Hope you guys liked this one! Reviews and shit!
Much love to everybody!
Aven