Author's Note: In part two of the story, I made a note that there would be at least three parts to the story. Seems I miscalculated and there will be at least four or five parts to the story, hopefully no one minds too much. Reviews are always appreciated.
Part 3
Had he died and gone to heaven? Jack lifted his head and looked around the room. It was his room at his Mother's Savannah address. He remembered arriving and bleeding on Johnson the Butler and seeing his mother. There was a vague memory of a woman speaking French to him and his Mother telling him he would be fine. That explained the room, but how did it explain Samantha? Looking around the room again he noted his trunk that he used for transporting bodies was in the room. Then he noted Samantha's rumpled outfit was one of the ones he had purchased for her to wear when she joined him eventually. Had his Samantha been to his sanctuary?
Cautiously he reached out to caress her, half afraid that she would disappear if he reached for her. He ran his hand gently through her hair and let his fingertips trace the contour of her face. Softly in her sleep, Samantha sighed contentedly into his shoulder and nestled snuggled tightly against him. Jack studied her silently, enjoying being so close to his beloved Samantha. Slowly she roused and opened her eyes and smiled at him.
"Samantha," Jack breathed softly.
"Jack."
Neither said anything just staring at one another, uncertain how to proceed. Finally Samantha broke the silence, "They're brown."
"Brown?" he inquired in amusement.
"Mmhmm, you're eyes. Last night I wondered what color they were and now I know. Beautiful mahogany eyes with a kiss of burgundy," she replied.
"Glad they meet with your approval. Not that I'm not thrilled you're here, but may I ask why? Last time we met, I seem to recall you putting a bullet in me."
"It's not like I meant to," Samantha began.
An amused expression crossed Jack's face and he asked, "Then what did you think would happen when you pulled the trigger?"
"I was aiming for Sharon."
"Ah, so you know my Jill's name. Still I admit, I would like to know how it came to be that you shot me when you were as you claim, aiming for Sharon?"
"My foot slipped on a patch of ice."
Jack shifted slightly and winced as his leg throbbed. He noted with satisfaction that his Samantha flinched and looked worried witnessing his pain. Even better had been the undeniable flash of jealousy on her lovely face as they discussed his Jill. Seeing her reactions made it worth the pain of being shot, he decided. Carefully he considered what his next remark to her would be, Samantha was so close, he didn't want to ruin this tenuous bond.
"How did you find out Sharon's name? Did you catch her?" he inquired out of curiosity and to test the waters of jealousy a little further.
"I think it might be easiest to show you," Samantha told him, uncertain of how to explain her kidnapping Sharon and the journey to Savannah.
Cautiously, so as not to disturb Jack's wounded leg, Sam rose from the bed. She walked to the trunk and wheeled it a little closer and turned it around. Jack watched intently as she unfastened the latches. Samantha pulled the trunk open revealing a bound and furious Sharon, who began to protest loudly against her gag when she saw him. Never in his wildest dreams had he dared hope his Samantha would go to such an extreme. Now pride flowed through him and laughter rose up at the sight of the struggling Jill.
"I didn't know where you lived," Sam explained. "So I pretended to arrest Sharon, knocked her out, threatened her and it sort of grew from there."
"Someday I have a feeling I'm going to want to hear that part in greater detail," Jack smiled. "How did you find me?"
"Sharon mentioned you had a Mother, when all else fails, go home to Mom," Sam responded. "Your computer was on, under assets I found a list of addresses. I knew your Mother had to be roughly the age my Father is and thought with so many places you might have warm place for your Mother in winter."
Jack silently admired his Profiler and waited for her to continue.
"I decided to start out with the most likely place closet to Atlanta and that was the Savannah address and luckily, I found you."
"And the reason you brought a travel companion?" he pointed to Sharon.
"I kept her alive initially because I knew you'd have some sort of electronic security system. Then I found the case and made use of it, because-"
"Because-" Jack prompted.
Samantha hesitantly sat down on the bed. Shyly she looked at Jack, feeling slightly uncertain of how to proceed. Aware of her rising insecurity, he gave her a reassuring look and brushed her hand with his thumb. A tiny thrill rushed through her being so close to Jack and she found her voice again.
"Because I wanted my first time to be with you."
Any other man may have been confused by the remark or tempted to make a sexual joke of it. But not Jack, he knew exactly what first time she meant; his Samantha wanted to make her first kill with him. He'd dreamed of the two of them together in so many ways and showing others their omnipotence and reveling together in the ultimate high was one of Jack's most cherished fantasies.
"Samantha," he whispered intently staring into her eyes.
"I really like your security code by the way," she confessed.
Thrilled that his Samantha had solved the puzzle of his security code and figured out that the numbers spelled out 'Jack and Samantha Trades' on a phone keypad, Jack opened his arms to her. She moved carefully into his embrace, taking care not to hurt his injured leg. Almost nose to nose, they studied each other and let their breath mingle, neither one entirely believing this moment had arrived. Finally surrendering to the inevitable, their lips met softly. Not even Sharon's screeches of outrage could distract them, as the infamous Jack of All Trades and the Profiler who had so long pursued him, had their first kiss.
"Albert Jackson Newquay! What is the meaning of this!?!" Miriam demanded in outrage as she walked in on the couple's second kiss.
Samantha rose from the bed and stood in front of the trunk. At it's present angle, Miriam wouldn't see the contents, but it would make for a very awkward situation if she did. Reaching back with her foot, Sam pushed the trunk slowly closed while facing the intruder, trying to hide her slight panic. Jack on the other hand seemed vaguely amused and brought his arms over his head and adopted an expression of carelessness.
"Mother," he acknowledged her arrogantly.
Seeing her son was as incorrigible as ever, Miriam instructed Samantha, "You will control yourself under my roof. I'm too old to be a Grandmother."
Walking to the door, the older woman informed her son, "The nurse will be in to check your wound and change the dressing in a little while. Johnson will be up later with a walking stick so you may get out of bed"
Jack motioned Samantha back to the bed after Miriam left.
"So your name is actually Albert?" Sam questioned as she joined him.
"Mother uses my full name when she's irritated with me. I've always used my middle name Jackson. Although," he teased in a seductive tone, "I changed it to Jack a few years ago when I got rechristened the Jack of All Trades."
"Jack," Samantha sighed contentedly and moved into his arms.
They kissed and Jack let out a pained yelp as he unthinkingly started to roll over on top of her, intent on furthering his explorations of his Samantha. She pulled away and pushed the covers back to examine his injured leg and make certain he was all right. As she took opened the robe to get a look at Jack's leg, Samantha was treated to the sight of his impressive arousal. Leaving the bandage on his thigh in place, she was relieved to see it was pristine white so there wasn't any major blood flow from his sudden movement. Just as she was wistfully pulling the robe closed, the nurse came into the room.
Smiling at the pair the nurse said, "Bonjour. Comment votre jambe se sent-elle aujourd'hui?"
Responding to inquiry about his leg, Jack answered, "Meilluer. Quand est-ce que jusqu'a
moi peux partir ici?"
Glad her patient was feeling better and amused he wanted to know when he could leave, she told him she would have to examine his injury and see. As she opened the robe and began to work on removing the bandage, she gave Samantha a wink when she noticed her patient's considerable erection. The nurse changed the bandage and told him he could start walking a little with the cane later that afternoon and that he should avoid as she pointedly told them, strenuous activity for another week.
As she left, the nurse commented, "Telle virilite magnifique. Votre dame est la plus chanceuse."
Samantha laughed at the remark and asked, "Do you think your Mother could hire a male nurse instead? I'm not certain I like having other women comment on your manhood, even if they do think I'm fortunate."
He smiled, pleased by his Samantha's tiny display of jealousy. "My darling, the only woman who interests me is you and unfortunately, I get the feeling this next week is going to go very slowly."
For several moments they kissed, then broke apart before frustration took over.
At the sound of a muffled noise from the trunk, Sam inquired, "What do we do with Sharon until you're feeling better? I guess I could eliminate her quietly in here, but I kind of want to her to die screaming."
"Payback for Coop?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Jack," Samantha laughed and kissed him. "She played with you and I don't like to share my toys."
"Neither do I," he agreed though a hint of warning laced his tone.
"Jack, I would never have come here if I wasn't serious and ready to accept and embrace all that you are. In fact," Samantha said getting up and walking to her bag. "I have a little something for you. Close your eyes."
Intrigued, Jack did as requested. Sam picked up her new leather gloves and the small wrapped package. After placing her gloves under a pillow on the bed just out of sight, she placed the wrapped package in his hands. Climbing back into the bed, she smiled in anticipation before speaking.
"Ok, open your eyes."
Jack looked at the package in confusion and Sam explained. "I nearly bought this several weeks back and when I realized how I felt, I stopped on the way here to buy this. Even though it's not for two days, Merry Christmas, Jack."
Shocked to be getting a gift from his Samantha and still thrown from the entire affair, he moved shyly to open it. Whereas Sharon's gift had been ripped open, Samantha's was approached as a delicate puzzle to be savored and explored. Jack unfurled the wrapping paper and traced a fingertip along the Wilson's Leather logo on the box. Finally he opened the box itself and parted the tissue paper to reveal her gift. He took the smooth leather gloves out and looked up at his Samantha. As he pulled them on his hands and stared at them and her in wonderment, she retrieved their feminine mates from under the pillow and put them on.
Bringing her gloved hands palm to palm with his, she confessed, "I love you, Jack. I think I have for a long time and couldn't see it.. All this time I've been so absorbed by the deaths you caused, that I failed to see the lessons you were teaching me. A while back I tried to imagine my life would be like without you and your puzzles in it and I couldn't. We can't give up the game because to do so would destroy us both. The note you left on the corpse that it should have been me, you were right. It should have been me that killed with you."
Jack stared rapturously into Samantha's face as she continued, "I finally understand that you see yourself in me. Now my Jack, I'm ready to see myself in you."
The two pairs of leather clad hands trembled against one another as sapphire eyes met topaz. Intently the couple studied one another as they viewed themselves and one another for the first time without any interference or inhibitions. Jack drank in the sight of his Samantha, reveling in her finally acknowledging what he had known all along. Her admission of love fulfilled dreams and longings that had resided within him for nearly a decade. The adoration radiating from Jack's face offered Samantha all the reassurance she could possibly need that she'd made the right decision. All this time she'd been a slave to society's moral compass and Jack had guided her to her deliverance.
For nearly an hour the couple basked in their newly declared love, never breaking the contact between their hands and periodically joining lips as well. Finally, they forced themselves to contemplate the more practical aspects of their union. Although their discussion was held with Samantha firmly ensconced against Jack and with their gloved fingers interlaced.
"First thing, we need to get Sharon out of here and where she won't need to be monitored. I have a place on the edge of town here that I have the equivalent of a sound proof jail cell where we can put her for until we're ready to deal with her properly," Jack informed Samantha.
"Good, I'm tired of taking her to the bathroom, speaking of which I probably should do that in a little bit," she told him.
"Next, I think you need to go back to Atlanta and convince your irritating coworkers that all is normal and doubtless your roommate and daughter expect you for Christmas."
Biting her lip, she protested, "But I want to be with you."
Seeing his Samantha pout made Jack laugh gently as he explained, "As do I, but it wouldn't do for the FBI to launch a statewide manhunt for you would it?"
"I guess," she replied reluctantly.
"Besides, I plan to leave here tomorrow, even if I have to hire a chauffeur and limo. Mom and I don't get along for more than a few days at a time. We can meet somewhere for a nice romantic dinner late Christmas after your obligations are done," Jack placated.
Samantha perked up visibly at Jack's promise and asked, "What are we going to do about seeing each other? I can keep things quiet for a while at work, but they'll wonder about you and why Jack isn't attacking you. And when I start killing, it would be odd to investigate myself. What should I do?"
"That depends on you Samantha. You must decide what really matters to you. If I'm what you want and you're prepared to resign from the VCTF, then I have a way to convince them Jack is dead and for us to begin our life together. If you put your life on a path with mine, there will be no turning back and I don't want you to have regrets; so think it over carefully."
"Jack, there's nothing to think about. If you love me and want me, then I'm yours. You have only to say the word."
"Want you? More than life itself Samantha. God himself couldn't stop me from loving you," Jack told her and kissed her with brutal intensity.
Later in the afternoon, Samantha kissed Jack good-bye with the case holding Sharon in the back of her vehicle and Jack's cellphone number in her coat next to her heart. Jack made his way painfully down the stairs with an ornate silver tipped cane, so he could watch his Samantha until she was no longer visible. As she drove through Savannah with instructions on where to take Sharon, Jack sat through lunch with his Mother and endured a thorough grilling on his beloved Profiler.
Samantha drove to the address Jack gave her in the town's warehouse district. After getting out of her SUV and punching in the code he gave her, she was able to open the door and pull the vehicle inside. Getting back out and closing the warehouse door, Sam smiled as she surveyed her surroundings and spied several bulk crates of Cheetos in one corner. She opened the back hatch and pulled out the wheeled trunk which she drug into another corner where Sharon's cell waited.
"Same drill as before," she told Sharon as she opened the case. "Do as you're told or die on the spot."
Sharon meekly obeyed as Sam released her from the case and forced her into the cell. It wasn't going to be a fun place to stay, but it was clean. The cell was twelve by twelve, larger than a standard jail cell with a two foot expanse of thick plexiglass and a two foot wide plexi door on the front of it. Thick cement walls comprised the remainder of the space. Inside was a single bed, toilet, and a sink. Built into the cement was a simple microwave that was encased so it couldn't be removed and behind more plexi was a small television. There was a shelf lined with cans of food and plastic utensils. Sharon could be left there for at least a week or two until they were ready.
After sealing Sharon inside her prison, Sam smiled wickedly when her captive began to cry. Jack's Jill had heard every word of love and promise spoken between the couple earlier. She knew Sharon loved him or she wouldn't have been so stupid as to try to kill Samantha. But Sharon hadn't known Sam returned Jack's regard and now Samantha was Jack's completely. As she opened the door to the warehouse, pulled her SUV back out and sealed up the building, Sam decided that maybe it would be a good Christmas afterall.
When she returned to Atlanta, Samantha stopped home and was promptly yelled at by Angel. Her roommate screamed at her for abandoning the reunion and not calling her. Sam merely ignored the outburst and checked on her daughter. After giving Chloe a kiss, she soaked in the bathtub in rose scented bubblebath. Alone with her thoughts of Jack, she found herself counting the minutes until she could see him again. She missed him already she decided as she crawled into bed to make an early night of it. Ever since Samantha had to leave Jack she'd been fighting the temptation to call him. Jack however didn't believe in fighting temptation, to her joy as her cell phone rang just after she flicked off the light and a familiar voice greeted her.
"Jack!" she cried with pleasure as she heard his voice.
"Are you missing me even half as much as I'm missing you?" he purred.
"I feel like I'm losing my mind without you," Sam told him truthfully.
"Has everything gone according to plan so far?"
Sam laughed, "Sharon is in her cage. I've gotten back and everything is normal, even down to Angel fussing at me and complaining."
"About what?" Jack demanded, contemplating the need for her room mate's demise.
"Oh just that I didn't call and whining about the stupid class reunion I abandoned. No big deal, I'm used to it. Enough of the trivialities. How are you and how is your leg doing?"
Jack smiled and answered, "Since I woke up with you next to me, I've never been better. As to my leg, it'll heal. I have hired a car and driver for tomorrow and will be back in Atlanta around two in the afternoon. What are your plans for tomorrow?"
"Seeing you."
"What are you doing right now?"
Samantha teased sensually, "Well, I just got out of a rose scented bubble bath-"
There was a groan from the phone.
"Then I put on a white satin sleepshirt and slid into bed and then you called."
Another moan and Jack muttered, "And people say I'm evil."
At that Samantha began to giggle.
"Sleep with me tonight, please my Samantha," Jack implored. "Just lie back and close your eyes with the phone near your ear and I will do the same."
Pleased, though not entirely surprised by the request, Sam agreed. After both got settled into their respective beds they traded softly spoken promises of love. Eventually the stress of the very emotional day, coupled with Jack's injury and Samantha's travel adventure, lead to the pair drifting off. Each slept throughout the night, periodically rousing and falling back to sleep at the sound of the other's even breathing on the phone.
Samantha woke to the beep of her phone battery indicating it was low. She tried to speak to Jack, but the phone connection suffered from the low battery. After a quick dash to the battery charger, she switched the dead battery out for a fresh one and dialed Jack's number. He answered and they made plans to meet later in the day. Samantha, dressed hurriedly, she had a lot to accomplish before the day was out. Angel asked her where she was going and Sam told her she had Christmas errands to run and left the house.
It was early, about seven when Sam pulled into the parking lot of a 24 hour grocery and department store. The store wouldn't have everything she needed, but it was a starting place. Inside the store, Samantha took a cart and navigated through, adding item after item to her cart. When she finally reached the checkout an hour later, the cart was piled high with bags. As she loaded them into the SUV and headed for Jack's she was glad that she no longer had to take care of a hostage and it would be safe to use the elevator to reach the space Jack actually lived in, in the building he owned.
Samantha lugged her purchases happily to the elevator and then to the door. Inside her purse was the keys she'd taken from Sharon. Finding the key with the rose sticker on it, Sam opened the door. Dreamily she smiled as she punched in the security code, 'Jack and Samantha Trades.' Had a nice ring to it she decided and began to bring the items into Jack's lair. This morning she asked when they were on the phone, if she could stop by his place and do a few things to it. He'd laughed indulgently and told her to do her worst and that she was welcome to start doing some of the things they'd decided would be necessary.
First order of business was to bag the blood soaked sheets for proper disposal to avoid leaving forensic evidence lying around. Next Sam donned a pair of latex gloves from one of the boxes Jack had lying around and she began to place all of Sharon's possessions into garbage bags. From there Samantha did a little basic housekeeping putting fresh sheets on the bed in case Jack needed to lay down after his trip, the wastebasket of condom wrappers was emptied with annoyance, and then the fun began. Sam loaded Jack's kitchen with items from the bags and several flower arrangements of red roses and green pine were distributed around.
Samantha placed the bagged items in the elevator and took it down one level to the second door on the left which had an electronic lock on it. Jack had given her the code which spelled out in numbers, 'evidence to destroy.' Carefully, Sam dragged the bag with the bedding and the bags of Sharon's things into the room and shed her rubber gloves and closed the door. Ready to resume her errands, Samantha checked her watch and pulled on her leather gloves. The mall would be open and she had someone very special to buy for.
While Samantha raced about Atlanta, Savannah was treated to a very well dressed man, riding in an 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom Limo and leaning heavily on an elegant cane as he was chauffeured from one store to another. In addition to the driver, a very irritated looking man in a suit accompanied him. Jack made his way carefully into store after store, with his Mother's Butler, Johnson in tow to carry his purchases and a briefcase that had an obscene amount of money in it. Around noon and well past the end of Johnson's patience, Jack and his purchases were assisted into a slightly less elegant Cadillac sedan with a different chauffeur to drive him to Atlanta.
At precisely two in the afternoon, Jack arrived at his building and he allowed the driver to place his packages and bags in the elevator for him to take up to his living quarters. He was in a fair amount of pain having pushed himself physically to complete his shopping and before being dropped off he had to make a stop at one of his Atlanta safety deposit boxes. Despite the physical discomfort, Jack was happy. After he saw Samantha this afternoon, he would take enough pain medication to knock him out until a couple hours before he would see her tomorrow.
Christmas with his Samantha, he mused happily as he got off the elevator and struggled to get his packages to his door. After going inside and entering the security code, Jack stopped and smiled as he took in the tiny changes Samantha had undertaken. All signs of Sharon had been obliterated and seasonal arrangements with roses in them were placed around. After stowing away the things he would need to wrap and placing the things that were under the tree, Jack climbed onto his bed and laid back. On the side he usually slept on there was a fresh pack of cigarettes in the clean ashtray waiting for him and a snowman shaped bowl filled with cheetos. Ah, his Samantha was definitely a keeper, Jack smiled as he had a quick cigarette and laid back on the bed.
A little over an hour later, there was the sound of a key in the door and Sam entered bearing several bags. Jack started to rise up to greet her, but she motioned for him to stay in bed. After placing the bags in his kitchen, Samantha joined him in the bedroom and sat next to him.
"My Samantha," Jack breathed against her mouth.
"I missed you," she confessed as emotion rose in her throat. Their affair was so new, and yet, Sam felt like she'd belonged to him forever. She kissed him and allowed him to nuzzle her neck affectionately.
"How did you spend your day?" he asked as his mouth trailed along her collarbone.
"Mostly shopping, nothing exciting."
"Samantha, if you'll recall I told you when you allowed that clown Grant to paw you, it's the tender trifles of your day that gladden my heart."
"You also asked if I had any respect for the dead," Sam laughed reminiscently. As she remembered, just which dead person the statement referred to, a serious expression fell over her face.
Sensing the change in her mood, Jack knew immediately what the cause was and decided to address it before Tom could come between them. "My Samantha, I want you to think back and be honest with yourself. Think of Tom's resentment of your work and how he belittled it. He let his mother order you around like a servant and worse still he moved you next door to her and did nothing as what little relationship you had with him disintegrated. Do you remember shortly before I killed Tom when I called you at that restaurant? Tell me Samantha, why did he take you there that night?"
"Because-" her voice faltered. "Because he'd been working late. Tom was hoping to get tenure."
"Samantha, be honest, you knew better didn't you?"
"I-"
Jack hated to push her, he could see tears glistening in her eyes, but for their future he had to. "You knew he was cheating on you, didn't you?"
A single tear traced down her cheek and she nodded. Although Tom never admitted to it, she'd known.
"Samantha, did Tom please you? In bed, before any of his affairs or after. Did he ever make you burn?" Jack watched intently as she blushed and shook her head. "Don't mourn him any longer, in your heart you know he wasn't worth it and you felt relieved when he was gone."
"Yes," Sam admitted, tears still flowing.
"Now my Samantha, the truth shall set you free. Tom Waters was a mediocre human being on his best day and the only worthy thing he ever touched, he ignored and neglected. When he was gone, you were secretly glad on some level, but felt that made you a bad girl, didn't it?"
Sam looked at Jack, her tears stopping. Strangely she felt at peace with Jack's culpability and found herself feeling angry at Tom. Jack saved her the trouble of a divorce that would have been inevitable. Tom had talked of love and passion, that they would live out their dreams. Instead, all he gave her was irritation and feelings of inadequacy.
"Thank you," she told Jack and kissed him. Her worries cast aside, she asked, "What do you eat besides Cheetos?"
Jack gave her a wicked smile and placed a hand on her inner thigh, "Well as a matter a fact I love to eat-"
"I meant food," Sam cut him off in feigned annoyance.
"Sorry, you hadn't specified," he grinned, drawing lazy circles with his fingertip on her thigh and enjoying the tiny gasp she emitted. As soon as he was well enough he hoped to make her make that noise quite often he decided. Forcing himself to the topic at hand, he replied, "Red meat, pasta, candy, alcohol, pretty much anything I shouldn't have."
"Why am I not surprised," she laughed. "I brought homemade chicken noodle along with french bread and cheese for dinner tonight, but if you prefer we could order out."
Touched that she had been to so much effort, he assured her there was nothing he'd rather eat than the soup. Jack was so thrilled to have Samantha next to him, he would have eaten broken glass if it would have made her happy. Time passed rapidly in each other's company and before the knew it, it was time for Samantha to go home to Chloe and Angel to fulfill her obligations and avoid suspicion. Reluctantly, Sam got her coat and brought Jack a sack from the kitchen that was filled with magazines and books she'd bought to keep him company while she was away. As she fussed at his blanket one last time, made certain he had all her numbers, and checked to see if he had all the medication he needed, Jack reveled in his Samantha fussing over him and for the first time in a long time felt genuinely cared about.
Samantha went home dutifully and gave Chloe and Angel her attention for a while. Earlier, she had purchased an expensive and lovely gold bracelet which she gave to Angel and told her it was for all her help with Chloe and her understanding. Actually it was meant to get Angel off her back, but Sam felt the money was well worth it. They sang carols and after Chloe went to bed they put out presents. Samantha couldn't wait until they were both asleep and she could be alone. In her room she had bags of gifts for Jack and wrapping paper, if she couldn't be with him at least she could be doing something for him.
As Samantha wrapped on her bed, the cell phone rang and she answered breezily, "Santa's naughty helper, how may I service you?"
Jack laughed on the other end and inquired, "What are you up to?"
"Sitting on my bed wrapping presents and wishing I were with you. How about you?"
"The exact same thing. What time does Chloe go to her Grandparents tomorrow?"
"Angel is driving her around one and then my roommate is driving to Maryland through New Years. So Mr. Trades, you and I have all the time we want from tomorrow afternoon until the day after New Years."
"Good," he declared and lit a cigarette. Exhaling smoke, Jack said, "We should have roughly eight weeks after that of keeping things quiet and then, you're all mine."
Although neither wanted to say goodnight, Jack and Samantha hung up so they could finish their wrapping and get to sleep so they would better enjoy their first Christmas together. Sam put the finishing touches on her last package and finally closed her eyes, the most eager for Christmas day she could remember since childhood. Leaning on his cane, Jack put his gifts for Samantha under the tree and got into bed. Taking pain medication and an antibiotic to prevent further infection, he closed his eyes and thought about his Samantha.
Usually Christmas morning began with Chloe waking Sam up, but this year when her daughter woke up, Sam was drinking tea and watching the tree with a dreamy expression on her face. When Angel joined them, they began exchanging gifts, as predicted, the bracelet and a few well chosen words smoothed things over with Angel. As Sam was preparing a nice holiday brunch for the three of them, her room mate invited her to go to Maryland with her, that she hated for Sam to be alone. Politely she brushed off the invitation and watched the clock anxiously.
The exact second Chloe and Angel were out the door, Sam flew into action. Packing an overnight bag, Samantha filled it with a couple changes of clothes. After a quick shower, she put on a garnet velvet dress that skimmed her curves in a provocative, but elegant manner. In addition to her overnight bag, she hauled two large garbage bags towards the elevator. When she got downstairs, Sam told the agents on duty that she was going to several holiday parties and would be staying with some friends through the New Year. After she assured them she would be safe and that she had her gun, Sam loaded her SUV and drove.
She pulled into the private alley behind Jack's building and parked beside his cars, out of site from the road. Humming as she emptied her SUV and headed inside. Samantha struggled with her bags and finally got them into the elevator and pushed the button for Jack's floor. When she got off the elevator and walked to the door, it swung open. Jack stood in the doorway, leaning on his cane wearing black silk pajamas and a long black velvet robe. She sat the bags down and allowed him to pull her close with his free arm.
"Merry Christmas, Samantha." Jack smiled and kissed her gently.