Chapter 1: Running Late

He rushed out of his car and practically sprinted inside his house. He was running late for his date with Cassie, he had been extremely busy at the hospital and couldn't seem to pry himself away.

Ever since the night he failed to save a patient, he couldn't keep his mind off it. The only way he was able to distract himself from it was working. Luckily for him, a surgeon at the hospital was out for the week and they needed Sam to cover for him.

Without the extra work he didn't know what he would do with himself and his thoughts, they were overbearing at times. One would think he'd be used to it, he was a trama surgeon after all, but it doesn't get any easier. At least not for Sam.

Even in New York, whenever he lost a patient he would shut the world out, his friends, his wife, even his own son. The disappointment he felt consumed him, all he could think about was how he could've done things better. He put all the blame on himself.

Now looking back, it was one of the main reasons his marriage didn't work out. He overworked himself and it made him grumpy or grouchy most of the time. No wonder Linda and Nick were always upset with me, He thought.

He was doing it again. He promised himself that wasn't going to happen to him again, he wasn't going to let it get to him. But it is. He was shutting the world out just like he did then. His son, the town, even Cassie.

Oh, Cassie. Everything was going so well with her lately. After such a long time of keeping his distance, they finally connected. He didn't plan on it, it just happened. It felt so natural, so right. All he can remember is one minute their talking about the Maldives and the next he's grabbing her by the neck, pulling her in and kissing her.

Ever since, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He confronted her the next morning and they had both agreed to take things slowly. The whole rest of the day she was on his mind nonstop, he felt like a silly teenager but mainly, he felt happy.

A few nights ago he had asked her to the annual lights festival, she told him about the complications but he was determined to convince her. Eventually he achieved his goal and she said yes. Sam was surprisingly excited to go to a cheesy small town festival, something he would've laughed at only a few years ago.

The thought of them together at the festival, holding hands, eating cotton candy, riding the ferris wheel, made him feel butterflies in his stomach. He didn't think he has ever felt that way.

Unfortunately all his happy thoughts and daydreams came crashing down as he heard the awful ringing noise in his ears. Time of death...were the last words he remembers saying that night. He closed his eyes for a second before feeling a hand on his back.

He opened his eyes to see a colleague telling him to go home and get some rest, the hospital was covered and they'd call him if they needed to.

Sat in his car still parked at the hospital, he stayed silent. He ran everything he did in his head repeatedly trying to find his mistake. It was a simple surgery, how could you mess it up. He said to himself.

He was about to drive home when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Cassie. She had texted him a couple of times asking about his whereabouts and now she was calling him. He wanted to answer, he wanted to so badly. He just couldn't bring himself to, knowing he would break down once he opened his mouth.

With that, he shut his phone off completely, he would deal with that part of his life in the morning.

A little later, he ran into Cassie at the Bistro. She suggested they should go out to dinner some time but looked a little disappointed when he said he didn't know when he was going to be free. Coincidentally, he got a call thirty seconds later saying he had a period of time where he was free. Turning back to Cassie, they agreed to go out.

Sam was quick to get dressed for his date, he was already running late. Almost speeding to the restaurant, he made it to where he was only a few minutes late.

He walked in the building, his eyes searching for her. He found her, she was seated at a table in the middle of the restaurant, waiting. Waiting for him. He took a minute just to take in her beauty, she was wearing a white dress, it was nothing out of the ordinary but she looked incredible nonetheless.

Finally he walked over to her from behind. "Hey Sam," she said without turning to look at him. It amazes him how she does that. "Hey," he said as he lightly laughed.

Sitting opposite of her he said, "Cassie, I'm sorry for being late. I got a little caught up at the hospital-" Before he could finish, she cut him off, "Sam it's okay, really, I know how hard you work and how much you love doing it. You don't have to apologize."

He smiled, somehow she always knew the right thing to say. They chatted about their kids, their jobs, and soon started to tell each other some random stories.

Cassie was in the middle of telling some story about Grace when she was little, he couldn't quite remember what it was about. All he could pay attention to was her, they way her face lit up when talking about the people or places that meant the most to her. The way her eyes sparkled and her smile widened.

He reached for her hand, "Have I told you how beautiful you are, not just tonight but all the time."

She blushed, "Sam, you're sweet. I have had an amazing time with you tonight, thank you."

"No Cassie, thank you. I have been so focused on work lately and this is exactly what I needed."

Sam, ever the gentleman, payed the bill and they walked outside, hand in hand. They made their way to Grey House, Sam had suggested he give her a ride but she wanted to walk. They were silent while they walked, just happy to be together. He noticed her shiver and was quick to take off his coat and place it over her shoulders.

After a short while they made it back to Grey House, he walked her up the steps to her front door. He took both her hands in his, "I know we aren't technically together," he started, " but I want you to know that I am really glad I have you in my life and I had a really nice time tonight."

"I had a nice time too, I hope we can have another nice time soon."

"Well, lucky for you after this week I will be going back to my regularly scheduled program," he laughed.

"Oh is that right?" She smiled, happy to hear they'd be spending more time together. "Mhmm," he nodded.

"Well, I guess I should say goodnight."

"Goodnight Sam."

He leaned in and sweetly kissed her on the cheek. He pulled back slowly, looking into her gorgeous dark brown eyes, lifted her chin with his finger and slowly leaned in. Their lips were about to meet when a bright light interrupted them. They backed away from each other and turned to find the light was coming from the headlights of a car.

"Are you expecting a guest?"

She shook her head no.

Turning their attention back to the car, a man came out, it was difficult to make out who it was. That is until he came closer into Cassie and Sam's view. They both stood there, stunned, they looked at each other unable to form any words. Then looked back at the man who was now only a few feet away from them.

Ryan.

"Cassie. Sam. Long time no see," he smirked.

TBC