Waiting For My Rocket To Come
By: Anti Darth Ani
Chapter III - Family Matters
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This chapter contains flashbacks. Instead of my normal ----- between scene changes, I'm going to have ---------- at the beginning and the end of my flashbacks, so you can tell the difference, okay?
Good.
A little Martin angst for all of you who are sick and tired of me picking on Samantha.
-----
"Samantha!" the female smiled, passing Martin to give Samantha a friendly hug as a greeting. Samantha looked at Martin helplessly, as she hugged her. Martin have a halfhearted shrug. "It's so good to see you again," she told Samantha. Samantha nodded and looked back at Martin again.
"You're taking care of my cousin here, aren't you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in a dirty way. Samantha let out a nervous chuckle and felt her face start to redden. Embarrassment… great. Martin pulled his cousin away from her and guided all of them over to the couch. "So, how have you been, Marty?" she asked softly, sitting down next to him on the couch.
Martin cringed. The little nickname twice in one day and it wasn't even 10 in the morning yet. He could tell the day was going to drag by very slowly. "I'm fine, Jaime. I told you not to worry about me. It's ridiculous for you to come all this way just to check up on me once a month."
Jaime tucked her legs up under her body and smiled at her cousin, "Someone's got to make sure you stay out of trouble in this big city. Don't want you getting in trouble with the law or anything."
Samantha smiled at Jaime's spirit, "We are the law, Jamie," she joked, resting her head on top of her hand, which sat peacefully on Martin's shoulder. Jamie laughed at this comment. The truth was that each month, her uncle sent her to check up on her slightly older cousin. Ever since his meltdown at the funeral, they had all been worried about him. Having Samantha with him helped reassure them that he was dealing with it, but Jamie saw the difference in Martin. It got smaller every month, but he still dealt with the issue as a whole.
"You're going to have to show me a real night on the town tonight," Jamie told Martin, raising her eyebrows. "I heard about this really great club in town-" before she could finish, Martin was already shaking his head no. Jamie put on a pouting face and glared at him, "Oh, come on. A girl's got to have a little enjoyment in her life every now and time. Am I right, Samantha?"
Samantha looked up from Martin's shoulder. "Oh, Jamie, I'm not getting pulled into this debate. We all know what a boring guy Martin is about clubs. 'They're too loud,'" she mimicked what he always said to her. Martin shook his head and held his arm upwards to indicate for them to stop their bashing on his habits. Samantha grabbed his hand and pulled it down. "No, wait!" he insisted. "I don't hate clubs. I just hate going to them with you, Samantha."
Samantha's jaw dropped. She slapped his shoulder as softly as she could to send him the picture. "That's not what I meant," Martin tried to explain. "What I meant is that you always want to dance and after a while, it gets a little tiring."
Jamie giggled at her cousin. "God, Marty, you are such a guy if you think dancing makes you tired. We have a lot to teach this man," Jamie told Samantha in a fake serious voice, patting Martin's shoulder.
Martin jumped up off the couch and turned around to face them. "I don't have to take this from you," he pointed to Jamie, "or you," he added, moving his finger to Samantha. He stressed the second you he said, watching Samantha cross her arms over her chest. "If you can't respect the man in the room, then get out of it."
Jamie gasped, placing her hand to her heart in a melodramatic way. "That hurts," she teased. "Really, Martin how could you say such a thing to us? I'm family and Samantha might as well be too." Samantha glanced away from Martin when Jamie said this. She could feel Martin's eyes on her, while he tried to think about something to say to Jamie. Jamie noticed the hesitation between them when a silence stretched between the three of them.
Samantha cleared her throat and unconsciously licked her lips before biting nervously on the top one. Her jaw moved back and forth and then she sniffed. She wiped at her nose quickly and turned to look at Jamie, a fake grin plastered to her face. "You can't teach a new guy old tricks, I'm afraid."
Jamie nodded, eyeing her cousin for a response. "Well," she stood up, straightening out her skirt, "I'd better be leaving. I'm meeting my friend, Melanie, at the Starbucks soon. Don't be such an outcast, Marty," she kidded, kissing his cheek before turning to look at Samantha. "It's good to see you again, Samantha." Samantha nodded and with that, Jamie made a beeline for the door, locking the bottom before shutting it close behind her.
"Martin…" Samantha started, but she had no clue what to say to him. Jamie's statement hung in the air even though she was gone. Martin grinned at her, but he gave up trying to, his face returning to a look of confusion and even maybe a bit of fear.
"Sam, I have to…" his sentence trailed off and he turned around, knowing it would be useless to try to explain his hesitation to her. Sighing, he closed the bedroom door shut behind him. Samantha let out a bit of her aggravation by slamming her fist into one of the plush pillows on the couch.
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"Martin," Samantha whispered. Or he thought she whispered. Maybe she was, in fact, yelling in his ear. Didn't make a lick of a difference to him now. Sitting on the edge of the bed, all he wanted was a nice glass of Scotch and the TV on. He wanted all of the pain to just leave him, go away and never come back. Why did he let it get to him so much? Part of his job included compartmentalizing feelings, so why couldn't he do that now?
"Martin," she tried again, and he could hear the pleading in her voice. For the first time in his life, he didn't care. Samantha sat down on the bed next to him, resting her head on his shoulder, but he just pushed her away. She wanted to cry in frustration. Couldn't he tell she was worried about him? Why wouldn't he answer a word she said? Everything seemed so crazy lately, she needed something to remain the way it was before.
"Go away, Sam," he muttered, kicking off his shoes and burying his head into one of the hotel pillows. Samantha sat there, shocked beyond words, wondering where his attitude was coming from. She wanted to help him get through this, but how could she when he wouldn't even look at her?
"Martin, just talk to me. Say something, anything!" she pleaded, pulling her own shoes off and crawling over onto the bed next to him, facing his back. She began to run her hand through his hair, murmuring soothing words against his ear. Her body wanted out of the itchy and tight dress, but she refused to move from the bed until Martin said something to her.
"I said go away, Samantha." This time, there was no mistaking the coolness in his voice. Suddenly, his skin felt like ice, causing Samantha to shiver. But she refused to give up that easily. She knew it killed him to think about it, but he had to face it sooner or later.
"Martin-" before she could finish, he pulled away quickly, standing back up on the side of the bed, "Just stop it, Samantha!" he snapped. Samantha sat up on the bed, her feet touching the ground near his legs.
"Just talk to me, Martin," she whispered urgently. "It kills me to see you like this. I need to know that you're okay."
Martin shook his head, pointing to the door, "Look, it was a bad idea for you to come with me. Maybe you could just go."
Tears threatened to pour from the corners of her eyes, but she wouldn't give up just yet. As Martin made to move away, she grabbed his hand between her two, "Stop being an ass, Martin," she begged. Having her call him an ass caused Martin to freeze in his tracks. Who did she think she was? But when he forced himself to look her in the eye, Martin felt all his resistance fled him. He silently sat down next to her. Samantha understood him better than anyone. She held his hand in hers and let him sob against her shoulder.
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Samantha looked up, jerked out of her memory when the bedroom door opened. She stood up slowly, walking towards the door uncertainly. Martin stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe. Samantha stopped when she stood in front of him. He held him arms apart and gave her a weak grin. Sighing, Samantha wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. She felt him bury his face against her neck, his arms wrapping around her waist. He clung to her like a life vest, afraid if he let go, he would drown.
"It'll get better, Martin," she whispered, running one hand through his hair. "I promise you that it will eventually get better."
"Sam, I…" he almost told her. But what would it mean to her in a moment of weakness on his behalf? He wanted everything prefect when he confessed his feelings to her. Martin didn't want Samantha to find out while he struggled to keep from crying on her shoulder. Soon, he told himself. I'll tell her soon. He heard her let out another sigh, but Martin choose to ignore it. Sometimes it broke his heart to think that he was the reason she felt like this. Other times, he didn't know why is was so important to her.
The shrill of Samantha's cell phone ringing broke the awkward silence between them. Before she could move to answer it, Martin's hand reached into her pocket to get it out for her. Samantha closed her eyes, holding onto his neck even tighter to try to enforce the dirty images of them together out of her mind. Martin flipped up the top of the cell phone and placed the phone next to her ear so she didn't have to let go of him. "Hello?"
"Miss Spade?" the voice on the other end asked. Very military like.
"This is she," Samantha replied, letting her arms unravel slowly from around Martin's next. She let them rest on his chest, palms set flat against his shirt. Her fingers began to play with one of the buttons while she waited for a response.
"We have a Brandon Spade in custody down here at the police station," the person on the other end informed her. Samantha nodded, even though she knew the guy couldn't tell.
"Well, I assure you I have no connection to this Brandon Spade," she informed him and saw the look Martin gave her. "It must be coincidence of the same last name."
"Really?" A long paused followed. "That's interesting because he tells me you're his sister."
By: Anti Darth Ani
Chapter III - Family Matters
-----
This chapter contains flashbacks. Instead of my normal ----- between scene changes, I'm going to have ---------- at the beginning and the end of my flashbacks, so you can tell the difference, okay?
Good.
A little Martin angst for all of you who are sick and tired of me picking on Samantha.
-----
"Samantha!" the female smiled, passing Martin to give Samantha a friendly hug as a greeting. Samantha looked at Martin helplessly, as she hugged her. Martin have a halfhearted shrug. "It's so good to see you again," she told Samantha. Samantha nodded and looked back at Martin again.
"You're taking care of my cousin here, aren't you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in a dirty way. Samantha let out a nervous chuckle and felt her face start to redden. Embarrassment… great. Martin pulled his cousin away from her and guided all of them over to the couch. "So, how have you been, Marty?" she asked softly, sitting down next to him on the couch.
Martin cringed. The little nickname twice in one day and it wasn't even 10 in the morning yet. He could tell the day was going to drag by very slowly. "I'm fine, Jaime. I told you not to worry about me. It's ridiculous for you to come all this way just to check up on me once a month."
Jaime tucked her legs up under her body and smiled at her cousin, "Someone's got to make sure you stay out of trouble in this big city. Don't want you getting in trouble with the law or anything."
Samantha smiled at Jaime's spirit, "We are the law, Jamie," she joked, resting her head on top of her hand, which sat peacefully on Martin's shoulder. Jamie laughed at this comment. The truth was that each month, her uncle sent her to check up on her slightly older cousin. Ever since his meltdown at the funeral, they had all been worried about him. Having Samantha with him helped reassure them that he was dealing with it, but Jamie saw the difference in Martin. It got smaller every month, but he still dealt with the issue as a whole.
"You're going to have to show me a real night on the town tonight," Jamie told Martin, raising her eyebrows. "I heard about this really great club in town-" before she could finish, Martin was already shaking his head no. Jamie put on a pouting face and glared at him, "Oh, come on. A girl's got to have a little enjoyment in her life every now and time. Am I right, Samantha?"
Samantha looked up from Martin's shoulder. "Oh, Jamie, I'm not getting pulled into this debate. We all know what a boring guy Martin is about clubs. 'They're too loud,'" she mimicked what he always said to her. Martin shook his head and held his arm upwards to indicate for them to stop their bashing on his habits. Samantha grabbed his hand and pulled it down. "No, wait!" he insisted. "I don't hate clubs. I just hate going to them with you, Samantha."
Samantha's jaw dropped. She slapped his shoulder as softly as she could to send him the picture. "That's not what I meant," Martin tried to explain. "What I meant is that you always want to dance and after a while, it gets a little tiring."
Jamie giggled at her cousin. "God, Marty, you are such a guy if you think dancing makes you tired. We have a lot to teach this man," Jamie told Samantha in a fake serious voice, patting Martin's shoulder.
Martin jumped up off the couch and turned around to face them. "I don't have to take this from you," he pointed to Jamie, "or you," he added, moving his finger to Samantha. He stressed the second you he said, watching Samantha cross her arms over her chest. "If you can't respect the man in the room, then get out of it."
Jamie gasped, placing her hand to her heart in a melodramatic way. "That hurts," she teased. "Really, Martin how could you say such a thing to us? I'm family and Samantha might as well be too." Samantha glanced away from Martin when Jamie said this. She could feel Martin's eyes on her, while he tried to think about something to say to Jamie. Jamie noticed the hesitation between them when a silence stretched between the three of them.
Samantha cleared her throat and unconsciously licked her lips before biting nervously on the top one. Her jaw moved back and forth and then she sniffed. She wiped at her nose quickly and turned to look at Jamie, a fake grin plastered to her face. "You can't teach a new guy old tricks, I'm afraid."
Jamie nodded, eyeing her cousin for a response. "Well," she stood up, straightening out her skirt, "I'd better be leaving. I'm meeting my friend, Melanie, at the Starbucks soon. Don't be such an outcast, Marty," she kidded, kissing his cheek before turning to look at Samantha. "It's good to see you again, Samantha." Samantha nodded and with that, Jamie made a beeline for the door, locking the bottom before shutting it close behind her.
"Martin…" Samantha started, but she had no clue what to say to him. Jamie's statement hung in the air even though she was gone. Martin grinned at her, but he gave up trying to, his face returning to a look of confusion and even maybe a bit of fear.
"Sam, I have to…" his sentence trailed off and he turned around, knowing it would be useless to try to explain his hesitation to her. Sighing, he closed the bedroom door shut behind him. Samantha let out a bit of her aggravation by slamming her fist into one of the plush pillows on the couch.
----------
"Martin," Samantha whispered. Or he thought she whispered. Maybe she was, in fact, yelling in his ear. Didn't make a lick of a difference to him now. Sitting on the edge of the bed, all he wanted was a nice glass of Scotch and the TV on. He wanted all of the pain to just leave him, go away and never come back. Why did he let it get to him so much? Part of his job included compartmentalizing feelings, so why couldn't he do that now?
"Martin," she tried again, and he could hear the pleading in her voice. For the first time in his life, he didn't care. Samantha sat down on the bed next to him, resting her head on his shoulder, but he just pushed her away. She wanted to cry in frustration. Couldn't he tell she was worried about him? Why wouldn't he answer a word she said? Everything seemed so crazy lately, she needed something to remain the way it was before.
"Go away, Sam," he muttered, kicking off his shoes and burying his head into one of the hotel pillows. Samantha sat there, shocked beyond words, wondering where his attitude was coming from. She wanted to help him get through this, but how could she when he wouldn't even look at her?
"Martin, just talk to me. Say something, anything!" she pleaded, pulling her own shoes off and crawling over onto the bed next to him, facing his back. She began to run her hand through his hair, murmuring soothing words against his ear. Her body wanted out of the itchy and tight dress, but she refused to move from the bed until Martin said something to her.
"I said go away, Samantha." This time, there was no mistaking the coolness in his voice. Suddenly, his skin felt like ice, causing Samantha to shiver. But she refused to give up that easily. She knew it killed him to think about it, but he had to face it sooner or later.
"Martin-" before she could finish, he pulled away quickly, standing back up on the side of the bed, "Just stop it, Samantha!" he snapped. Samantha sat up on the bed, her feet touching the ground near his legs.
"Just talk to me, Martin," she whispered urgently. "It kills me to see you like this. I need to know that you're okay."
Martin shook his head, pointing to the door, "Look, it was a bad idea for you to come with me. Maybe you could just go."
Tears threatened to pour from the corners of her eyes, but she wouldn't give up just yet. As Martin made to move away, she grabbed his hand between her two, "Stop being an ass, Martin," she begged. Having her call him an ass caused Martin to freeze in his tracks. Who did she think she was? But when he forced himself to look her in the eye, Martin felt all his resistance fled him. He silently sat down next to her. Samantha understood him better than anyone. She held his hand in hers and let him sob against her shoulder.
----------
Samantha looked up, jerked out of her memory when the bedroom door opened. She stood up slowly, walking towards the door uncertainly. Martin stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe. Samantha stopped when she stood in front of him. He held him arms apart and gave her a weak grin. Sighing, Samantha wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. She felt him bury his face against her neck, his arms wrapping around her waist. He clung to her like a life vest, afraid if he let go, he would drown.
"It'll get better, Martin," she whispered, running one hand through his hair. "I promise you that it will eventually get better."
"Sam, I…" he almost told her. But what would it mean to her in a moment of weakness on his behalf? He wanted everything prefect when he confessed his feelings to her. Martin didn't want Samantha to find out while he struggled to keep from crying on her shoulder. Soon, he told himself. I'll tell her soon. He heard her let out another sigh, but Martin choose to ignore it. Sometimes it broke his heart to think that he was the reason she felt like this. Other times, he didn't know why is was so important to her.
The shrill of Samantha's cell phone ringing broke the awkward silence between them. Before she could move to answer it, Martin's hand reached into her pocket to get it out for her. Samantha closed her eyes, holding onto his neck even tighter to try to enforce the dirty images of them together out of her mind. Martin flipped up the top of the cell phone and placed the phone next to her ear so she didn't have to let go of him. "Hello?"
"Miss Spade?" the voice on the other end asked. Very military like.
"This is she," Samantha replied, letting her arms unravel slowly from around Martin's next. She let them rest on his chest, palms set flat against his shirt. Her fingers began to play with one of the buttons while she waited for a response.
"We have a Brandon Spade in custody down here at the police station," the person on the other end informed her. Samantha nodded, even though she knew the guy couldn't tell.
"Well, I assure you I have no connection to this Brandon Spade," she informed him and saw the look Martin gave her. "It must be coincidence of the same last name."
"Really?" A long paused followed. "That's interesting because he tells me you're his sister."
