Disclamer- I own only my car, my TV, and the thoughts rolling around in my head.
Rating- PG13 just to be on the safe side.
Pairing- Martin and Samantha, with a little Jack/Samantha angst.
Summary- When the team goes out for drinks, Sam and Martin share a dance.
A/N- This story is a one shot piece, set after the episode 'Doppelganger Part 2'. I hope you enjoy it. The son used is called 'The Woman in Me' by Shania Twain.
That night, due to Sam's suggestion, Jack took the whole team out for drinks. Hanks was a nice little place a few blocks from their building. It wasn't too small but it was cozy and they had a live band playing with a small dance floor.
The five of them were seated in a booth close to the back of the bar, away from the stage. Martin, Sam and Danny on one side, facing the stage, with Viv and Jack on the other side, their backs to the stage. They had all been laughing at a joke Danny had told when the waitress came up to take their order. After they ordered drinks and a couple baskets of wings Danny, not so subtly, checked out the waitress as she walked away.
"Oh my God Danny, could you be any more disgusting?" Sam chided.
"What?" asked Danny innocently.
"I'm talking about the puddle you left on the floor from all your drooling."
"Hey, I was just admiring a fine looking woman. That is allowed, right Martin?"
"Now don't go bringing me into this," Martin said, putting up his hands in defense from the glare Sam sent him.
"She was hot though wasn't she?" Danny questioned, a little glint in his eye.
"Maybe," Martin said carefully, wondering what Danny was thinking, "I didn't really notice."
"You're trying to tell me, you didn't notice the incredibly hot looking waitress that took your order?" questioned Danny again.
"Not really," answered Martin, aware of the look Sam was giving him.
"Not really? Come on Martin, you got to give me a better answer than that."
"I guess I didn't really notice because she isn't my type."
"Blonde, skinny, big busted and hot isn't your type?"
"No," Martin stated simply.
"Then what is your type?" asked Danny, his eyes glancing in Sam's direction.
"Someone who is strong, intelligent, funny, beautiful, and most definitely not shallow. Everything that waitress isn't. Is that good enough for you?" answered Martin, wondering how Danny could possibly know about him and Sam. They had been so careful. And one look at Sam, he could tell she was wondering the same thing.
Danny simply nodded his head and let it drop, while Jack and Viv had watched the whole exchange with a mixture of amusement and confusion. Jack was just about to ask what had just happened when the waitress came back with their drinks.
"Here you guys go," said the waitress, eyeing Martin the whole time she handed out everyone's drinks. Then with a wink in Martin's direction, she turned on her heels and was gone. Danny was left open mouthed while both Jack and Viv laughed at him. Sam on the other hand, glared at Martin and elbowed him lightly in the stomach.
"What?" exclaimed Martin, while Sam just gave him a what-do-you-mean-what looks.
"Hey I didn't do anything, okay?" said Martin to Sam, looking a little scared. Sam turned her head away to hide the grin on her face.
"How is that even possible?" asked Danny incredulously. "I mean, why was she only checking Martin out? I am by far, way better looking than him, and I mean, it's not like he would even be able to do anything about it, even if she was his type."
"What do you mean, he couldn't do anything about it?" asked Jack.
Both Sam and Martin shot Danny a warning look, which luckily, Jack did not notice. Vivian on the other hand did notice, but chose not to say anything at the moment.
"Uh, I…. didn't mean anything by it," said Danny after catching the looks from Sam and Martin.
"Then why did you say it?" questioned Jack.
"Well I said it becau…" started Danny, but was cut off by the ringing of Jack's phone. Everyone waited in anticipation while Jack answered his phone, all wondering if they were being called for another case.
"Hello?" said Jack into the receiver. Then after a pause, "Hello Marie, yah, put the girls on."
He gestured to the group that he would take the call outside where he could here better. After they watched him step outside, Viv turned to Sam and Martin as Danny got up and joined Viv on her side of the both.
"Okay, which one of you wants to tell me what's going on?" asked Viv with a grin on her face.
"Well as far as I can tell, we are sitting here having a drink and wings on Jack's dime," said Sam.
"I'm not talking about all of us. I'm talking about what's going on between the two of you," Viv said, pointing to Sam and Martin.
"What do you mean?" asked Sam.
"Don't get defensive; I'm happy for you guys. And if you don't want Jack to know, I won't say anything," said Viv. "You know, I noticed you'd been a lot happier lately, but I wasn't sure why. Now I do."
"But how do you know?" asked Sam.
"Well I for one, figured it out when I saw the two of you outside during the drug running case," piped in Danny.
"And I just figured it out when the two of you shot Danny that warning look not to long ago," finished Viv. "How long have you two been together?"
"Uh…well…we uh," stuttered Martin, looking helplessly towards Sam.
"For a while," stated Sam firmly.
"Okay, okay, we don't have to know the details," said Viv.
"We don't?" asked Danny disappointedly.
"No we don't," Viv said to Danny, then she turned back to Sam, "But we do need to know if you want us to tell Jack of keep it a secret."
"Keep what a secret?" asked Jack as he came back to the table.
"Nothing," everyone said in unison.
"Okay," mumbled Jack. He wanted to know but because of the looks on everyone's faces, he decided to let the matter drop. And when he started to talk about the girls, Sam let out a sigh of relief.
An hour and a few more drinks later, they were still sitting around, sharing stories of one kind or another. Sam had been staring longingly at the dance floor for a while so Martin put his hand on her knee, under the table so that Jack couldn't see. Martin wanted so bad to take Sam out onto the dance floor, but he didn't want to risk Jack getting suspicious.
He gently squeezed her knee as her hand came to rest on top of his. She squeezed his hand in return and gave him a small smile, letting him know she understood. Martin slowly turned his hand and threaded his fingers with hers. She looked at him again with a smile and their eyes locked. They just sat there, staring into each other's eyes, until Sam felt a poke at her ribs. She turned away from Martin and looked to Danny with a questioning gaze.
"Do you wanna dance," asked Danny.
"As long as you don't try to feel me up," responded Sam.
"Oh I promise, I'll be the perfect gentleman," said Danny.
"Okay," said Sam as she took the hand he offered her.
As they walked towards the dance floor, Danny said, "I obviously can't try anything or your boyfriend might beat me up."
"Ha, ha, very funny. Now tell me what you've got up your sleeve," said Sam.
"What makes you think I've got something up my sleeve?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you're you, and you just asked me to dance."
"You know Sam that…that hurts," said Danny, pretending to be hurt. Sam just laughed, and as they reached the dance floor she put her hand on his shoulder and her other hand in his. The band was playing 'I Dare You to Move'.
"Okay truthfully?" said Danny, "I just thought that if someone else asked you to dance first, then maybe Jack wouldn't think anything of it if you danced with Martin."
"Wow Danny, thanks," said Sam. Danny just looked at the ground and blushed, feeling a little awkward. Seeing this, Sam said, "Who knew you could be such a romantic."
Danny grinned as he looked at Sam, "Yah well, don't tell anyone okay. I don't want to ruin my bad boy image." They both laughed at that then danced the rest of the song in silence. After the song was over, they made their way back to the table.
"If he gets a dance then I do too," said Martin as they walked up to the table.
"Oh, I don't know. Do you really think you deserve a dance?" joked Sam.
"Yes I do, besides, Danny may be better looking than I am but I'm a better dancer than he is," said Martin.
"All right than," said Sam with a smile on her face, "Let's go."
Martin got out of the booth and extended his hand for Sam to take. She placed her hand in his and they held on as they made their way through the crowd. Jack watched them leave with a hint of jealousy while both Viv and Danny had smiles on their faces.
When Sam and Martin got to the dance floor, Sam went up to the band to request a song. She came back to Martin smiling and stepped closer to him.
"What song did you ask them to play?" asked Martin as he placed his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to him.
"You'll see," was all she said as she put her hands on his chest.
The band finished the song they were playing then started another, as Sam and Martin began to dance. He pulled her even closer as she laid her head on his shoulder.
Then the lady began to sing, "I'm not always strong
And sometimes I'm even wrong
But I win when I choose
And I can't stand to lose
But I can't always be
The rock that you see
When the nights get too long
And I just can't go on."
Jack watched the whole scene from the booth. He did not like what he was seeing. How dare Martin be so forward, especially with Sam. Jack saw both times when Martin pulled her close to him, and he wanted to go over there and give Martin a good talking to, but he didn't. He knew how it would look in front of Viv and Danny, so he just sat there, letting the anger and jealousy build.
"The woman in me
Needs you to be
The man in my arms
To hold tenderly
'Cause I'm a woman in love
And it's you I run to
Yeah the woman in me
Needs the man in you"
Martin began to stroke Sam's back as she put one hand up on his shoulder. His other hand slowly made its way up her arm until he cupped her hand in his and placed it over his heart. He leaned his head against hers and sighed. He wished this moment could last forever. Not only was he holding her in his arms but if she picked this song for a reason, then maybe she, in a way, had just told him that she loved him. He was on cloud nine, and so was she.
"When the world wants too much
And it feels cold and out of touch
It's a beautiful place
When you kiss my face"
Sam had picked this song for a reason; she thought it was the perfect song for her and Martin to dance to. But now as she listened to the lyrics, safe and warm in his arms, she started to realize just how perfect it really was. She realized that what she felt for Martin was love, and instead of being scared about the revelation, she felt happier than ever. She was in love with Martin and she wanted everyone to know. But then she thought about Jack. She knew she didn't love Jack anymore, but she didn't understand why she couldn't let him know about her and Martin. Maybe because she would feel guilty, but she realized that it was Jack who called it quits. He would just have to deal with it. Plus it would strengthen hers and Martin's relationship. She could tell that he was still a little wary about her feelings for Jack. What better way to let him know that it was him she wanted, than to tell Jack that they were together.
"The woman in me
Needs you to be
The man in my arms
To hold tenderly
'Cause I'm a woman in love
And it's you I run to
Yeah the woman in me
Needs the man in you"
Sam slowly slid her hand out of Martin's and brought it up to his face. He looked down at her as she brought his head closer to hers.
"Wait, what about Jack, he might see," said Martin, wanting so badly to kiss her, but knowing how she felt about him knowing about them.
"Then let him watch," was all she said, the desire evident in her eyes.
"But I thought you didn't want him to know," said Martin confused.
"I've decided that I don't care anymore about what he might think or say. Plus it will be a whole lot easier if he knew."
"What do you mean?"
"As we were leaving the apartment tonight, he made a comment about taking me for a drink, so I subtly said that he should take all of us for a drink. If he knows about us, he won't try anymore of his advances on me."
"Okay, you make a very good point, but because I love you, I have to ask if this is what you really want."
"It is what I want, and Martin?"
"Yah?"
"I love you too."
With that she pulled him down again, and this time he didn't stop her. Their lips came together in the most beautiful kiss either had ever had.
All Jack saw was the back of Martin's head as he leaned down to kiss Sam. Before he could stop himself, Jack shot out of his chair and headed towards the dance floor, both Viv and Danny trailing after him. He was going to kill Martin for forcing himself on Sam. And just as Jack came to the edge of the dance floor, he abruptly stopped. Sam and Martin had turned a little, and Jack could now see that Sam had her arms around Martin's neck and that she was kissing him back. Viv and Danny had stopped just behind Jack, ready to stop him if he tried anything, but he didn't. He just stood there and watched as Sam and Martin slowly broke apart. He watched as she opened her eyes and looked into his. He watched as the most amazing smile spread across her face, and realized that she had never once looked at him like that.
Jack turned away from them as they started kissing again, and slowly, with his head down, walked back to the booth. He picked up his jacket and placed money on the table. She was happier than he'd ever seen her and he was happy for her. She deserved to be happy, he just wished that it could be with him. He slipped on his jacket and headed for the doors. He took one last look back at Sam, dancing happily with Martin, to the song 'Man to Man'. Then he went through the doors into the night, with the song's lyrics to keep him company on the drive home.
So there it is. I know, I know, I could have done a lot better with this, and I'm sorry. I swear I will try harder next time. And just in case you were wondering, the song 'I Dare you to Move' is by Switchfoot, and the song 'Man to Man' is by Gary Allen. And thanks for taking the time to read my story.