Falling in Stages
By: Mariel
Six weeks after their Thai dinner, Samantha sat at her desk and tried to pull herself together. They had just finished a particularly nasty missing persons case. The missing teen had been found, cut up into a number of pieces, stuffed into several garbage bags, and placed in various park garbage cans. Officially designated a murder, the case had been turned over to the NYPD. It had been left to Jack and Samantha, however, to bear the news to the grief stricken parents.
It was one of the most difficult things she'd ever had to do, and she knew she'd carry the memory of their grief the rest of her life.
Feeling tears begin to threaten again, she put her elbow on her desk and leaned her forehead against the heel of her hand.
- -
Walking though the silence of office space darkened for the night, Jack quietly approached the soft halo of light surrounding Samantha's desk.
"Hey."
Swiping a strand of hair out of her eyes, Samantha turned and sat back. Regarding him with haunted eyes that showed traces of recent tears, she said in a soft voice, "Hey, back."
"Shouldn't you be on your way home now?" he chided her gently.
"Shouldn't you?" She paused, and then asked, "And haven't we had this conversation before?" A small smile rewarded him for his concern.
"I believe so." His face still serious, he hesitated, then asked, "Do you feel up to some Thai food tonight?"
She looked at him, then turned her face away. "I didn't expect this to bother me the way it did. I don't know why-"
Taking a step closer, he touched her briefly on the shoulder. "It's okay."
He knew from experience that going home with something like they had experienced that afternoon still fresh in your mind wasn't necessarily a good thing, and the thought of Samantha allowing this to eat at her filled him with worry.
She looked up at him again. "It's a little late, isn't it? Won't you be expected home?"
He shrugged. "Sometimes it's better if I give myself some time to absorb the end of a case before going home. I thought maybe you'd like some time to talk about it, too. Maria isn't expecting me until later."
Token concern for Maria out of the way, Samantha quickly said, "Then yes. I'd love to go. Not that I was in the mood for it, but dinner kind of gave us the slip today. Come to think of it, so did lunch. Give me ten, okay?"
He nodded, smiling at her attempt to deflect the real reason for his concern.
- -
Fifteen minutes later, they checked out of the building and walked out into a gentle, early December snowfall.
Settled in the same booth they'd been shepherded to their first time there, Samantha said, "We were supposed to come back when we were celebrating something."
"I think maybe we can consider this a multi-purpose establishment. Besides, I figured you could do with some company. This wasn't a good case for you."
She regarded him with large eyes he couldn't read. "Thank you. I know I shouldn't let myself get so involved, but-"
"Sam, it's part of the job. I just don't want to see you get too mired down in the bad side of what we see."
She nodded. Toying with the chopsticks set to the left of her place setting, she said, "You know, you're the only person I let get away with calling me that."
His expression showed his confusion. "Calling you what?"
"Sam. Everyone calls me Samantha. I insist on it."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know," he said, wondering when he had begun to call her that. She put up a hand. "No, no. The first time you called me Sam, it felt right. It's kinda funny." She couldn't tell him that it had made her feel special somehow. As though there was a unique connection that only he shared with her.
"Well," he said, "if it's any consolation, you're the only one who can walk into my office unannounced, flop themselves down into a chair and tell me I need company. I don't usually let people tell me what I need."
She grinned, remembering the occasion of their first visit here. "Hey, I got dinner out of it."
Jack nodded. "Yes you did. I don't know what got into me."
"And here we are again."
He looked at her with a gaze she couldn't interpret. "Yeah. Here we are again."
Again, they felt a delicious tension rise between them. They were interrupted from further comment, however, by the waiter. After a few moments of discussion, they placed their order.
When the waiter left, Samantha said tentatively, "I feel as though I've known you for a lot longer than I really have, you know that?" She tilted her head to one side and looked at him, her eyes soft. "It's nice, though."
He felt himself falling, and knew there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Suddenly shy, they both veered to topics less personal.
They said what they felt needed to be said about the case, and then moved on to other topics. Then, before they knew it, coffee was being served. Again, Samantha looked at her surroundings with satisfaction. Feeling oddly content now, she looked over at Jack and said, "I like it here."
Jack looked at the mish mash of gaudy decorations that covered the walls and every available shelf and counter space. "I'm hoping it's the company and not the decor," Jack teased.
This time it was he who regretted his impulsive words. "Or the food," he hastened to add. "Sorry. I didn't mean-"
"The company's wonderful," Samantha said. "The food, however," she said with a quirk of humour, "is to die for."
- -
Jack walked her to her subway stop. Shoulders hunched against the cold December air, they stood at the top of the entrance and, reluctant to call it a night, continued to talk.
Seeing Sam shiver, Jack finally gave in to the inevitable. "You're freezing, Sam. Time to go. I'll see you in the morning."
She nodded, then reached out a hand and placed it on his chest. "Thank you for tonight. I appreciate it."
Jack felt as though a small electric shock went through him at her touch. "It was my pleasure. I think we both needed to take our minds off things. Now go home, and have a good sleep."
"You, too." She smiled and turned to descend the stairs. Again, she knew he watched over her until she was out of sight. Carrying that comfort home with her, she let it play on her mind until she drifted into sleep.
End
Stage 2