Author's Note: Just some l stuff that I know has been done tons of times before, but there's something appealing about Jack and Sam at the bar scene late at night just talking. Enjoy.
Summary: When thought was suspended and reason became no more, they felt truly at home. Sometimes all it takes is a little scotch.
Characters: Jack Malone, Sam Spade
Chapter 1
The rain hadn't let up by the time Sam dropped her pen in surrender and buried her head into her hands. She could still hear the rain pattering on the roof above her. Sam yawned and checked her watch. 12:34. It was too late to call Martin and explain again why she had missed their dinner date for the second time this week. She couldn't bring herself to drive home.
She leaned back and sighed, considering spending the night right there in her swivel chair. Sam had an extra change of clothes in her cabinet anyway. All she needed was a toothbrush. She smiled at the bleary humor of it and closed her eyes. Sometimes she almost thought she preferred it when she was alone like this at her office. No one left in the building. Just her and the rain.
Sam stretched her body which had become weak from lack of exercise. The job had robbed her of all free time except for what she had now late at night. It was a sacrifice she was willing to make however. Her mother didn't understand it. She wasn't sure she did either, but one way or another she was drawn to this office day after day. Sam closed her eyes again and adjusted her body into a comfortable position.
Sleep seemed like such a perfect solution to all her problems…
"Jesus Christ, Sam!" She jolted awake, nearly toppling off her chair when she heard his voice from her doorway. He was as unkempt and ruffled as she was and shadows encircled his eyes. "What the hell are you still doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," she murmured sleepily. His coat was draped on his arm and his white shirt hung loosely over his belt untucked. "You want to come in?"
"God no," he snorted tiredly with a smile. "I'm not spending a second more in this hell hole, and neither should you." He looked at her reclined position. "You weren't thinking of camping out here tonight, were you?"
"It seemed like a perfectly good idea at the time," she shrugged, sitting up. "I'm trying to avoid Martin, honestly…" Sam shut her mouth, surprised she'd even said that. Jack's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly but resumed their drowsy state. "I don't know where that came from." He leaned against the doorway and picked up her coat from the stand beside him.
"Come on," he instructed gruffly. "I'm taking you home." She grunted. "Come on, now. Up. That's better." He helped her up from the chair and let her slide her shoes back on her feet before draping her coat around her. "Do you have your keys?"
"Yeah," she answered in a yawn, jangling her pocket. "I feel like a five year old." Jack laughed and walked her to the elevator, pressing the button with the nose of his umbrella. "Oh, shit."
"What now?"
"Umbrella." She slapped her forehead and groaned. "I left mine at home. Ah, screw it. I wanted to be wet anyway. I wouldn't have worn my heels if I hadn't." The doors opened and they shuffled inside.
They descended four floors silently, listening to the halfhearted music which still hummed over the PA. Sam held the rail encircling the car and leaned against the wall. She hadn't realized how tired she was until she was forced to walk. Jack's eyes had closed and he hung his head at his chest. The doors slid open and they piled outside into the lobby. The rain pattered on the steps outside and a mist rose above the pavement. Sam could barely see the dark outlines of the old trees surrounding the building.
"Are you ready?" Sam nodded and they plodded outside into the rain. The wetness soaked immediately into her legs though Jack made a valiant effort to shield her with his own umbrella. Halfway to the parking lot, Sam froze, causing Jack to stumble backwards when he realized she'd stopped. "Sam?" She breathed deeply, watching her breath come in puffs of steam from her lips.
Sam stepped out from underneath the umbrella and let the rain hit her fully. She closed her eyes and faced the sky, feeling the water trickle down her skin and cause her tailored suit to cling to her body. She turned in a small circle and laughed softly. Jack moved to her. She braced herself for his quick judgment. However, he said nothing and only watched her in silence. Finally, she looked back down to earth and found his eyes.
"I don't know why I did that," she stammered, cold. "I just needed to, I guess…" He smiled understandingly and draped his coat around her shoulders.
"You don't need to explain," he told her. She smiled, the rain streaming from her face, and came back underneath the umbrella until they reached her car. He held the umbrella above her head until she unlocked the door and was able to slide inside. "Will you be alright to drive?" She nodded. "Okay." He sucked in a deep breath and awkwardly raised his hand before shoving it back in his pocket. "Well, be careful." He smiled and turned to leave.
Sam grabbed his arm and he walked back to her. She looked at him, breathing deeply from the exhilaration of standing in the electrically charged rain. They stood close to one another, listening to the rushing of water hit his umbrella as the rain pounded harder. He looked into her eyes with obvious longing and confusion and his mouth parted slightly. A pain erupted deep inside of him as he opened his mouth to speak the words he wished he could incinerate as soon as they left his lips, but knew he had no choice.
"Go home, Sam," he told her, his voice threatening to break from strain. She looked up at him with dizzying brown eyes, her eyebrows crowning them in a heartbreaking expression. His heart pounded furiously inside of him as he repeated the words again. They killed him. "Go home."
Sam's throat constricted tightly and she swallowed hard. His face was almost totally masked in shadow. She knew then. It was over. It hit her like a bullet to the abdomen and she felt sick, but she knew. She slowly released his arm and looked down. She didn't look up again, and instead sank into her car, shut the door, and revved the engine into life.
The pain he felt as she pulled out from the lot was incredible. It tore through his whole self, gripping his chest in some mystical bind. Her blonde head disappeared into darkness as her car sped off on the highway. He leaned against the car next to where she had been parked, suddenly feeling very weak and very old. Jack fingered his umbrella and looked up its wooden neck. Then, very slowly, he lowered it to the pavement, let it drop, held his face up to the sky, and let the rain pour down upon him.
Sam wiped the uncontrollable tears from her eyes and focused on the wet highway. She lived only fifteen minutes away, but the drive tonight seemed as if the farther she drove, the tighter the knot in her chest grew. Damn him, she thought desperately. Damn him for being right. She wanted one night without thought, without judgment. A cry tore from her lips and she banged the top of her steering wheel in frustration. Why did it still kill her as much as it did? It was as if the affair had happened yesterday. She was supposed to be over it. She was seeing Martin. She was almost engaged to Martin.
A car honked its horn loudly behind her and she realized she had veered into its lane where it was attempting to pass her. She sniffed loudly and saw an exit through the rain pelting against her window. She needed to pull over. She couldn't drive in this weather, in this condition. Sam drove off the road into a small parking lot behind a store her cousin owned. Sam stepped out of the car, holding her cell phone out in front of her. Suddenly, she threw it in the back seat of the car and walked to the hood of the car. She lifted herself onto the hood and laid back against its warmth. Then, she closed her eyes. Peace.
An awful feeling hit Jack as he pulled off of the highway and made his way back to the apartment he had rented to comply to Marie's wishes of separation. It spread through his gut like a poison and made him freeze in the parking garage. Sam. He flipped open his cell phone and dialed her number. However, his finger hovered on the "send" button. He shouldn't. He should let it go, let her go. She was with Martin. He would take care of her. It was his responsibility now, he had no right. He looked down at his phone again. No. He had to call her. There was something wrong.
Jack held the phone to his ear and listened carefully. It rang once, twice, thrice, four times. No one answered. He redialed and called again and still no one answered. She probably had it inside her coat somewhere. It wasn't a problem. It wasn't his problem. Give them their privacy. Jack gripped his steering wheel, thinking. He couldn't. Sam. He shouldn't have let her drive when she was like that, in this rain.
The phone rang once, twice, three times….
"Hello?"
"Martin, it's Jack," he said, taking a breath. "There's something you should know…"
Martin threw off the coverlet of his bed as soon as he got off the phone with Jack. He jammed his legs into a pair of jeans and grabbed a jacket. A blind panic seized him. Sam was lost somewhere in the rain, alone, and not answering her cell phone. He grabbed his keys and kicked open the front door. He heard the emergency flood warning alarm echoing through the apartment from the radio, but ignored it. He had to get to Sam. Unlocking his car door, he threw himself inside.
Jack put his car in reverse and spun out of the driveway. He tried to think of where she'd go, where she'd run. He vaguely remembered her talking about an aunt who she used to run to when she was young and needed shelter, but doubted she'd go there now. The name stuck in his mind. Dalloway. She'd spoken of the name before, but when? He drove back to the highway and quickly aligned himself on the route to her apartment. He would find her. He had to.
