Author's Note: One more chapter to add to the mix…Not too many left, I think. I'll be ending this soon.
Terry and Samantha walked down the hall to their apartments later that night. The police had come to arrest the men and had taken statements from everyone there before they were allowed to leave. Before they reached Samantha's door, Terry stopped, wanting to ask her something.
"Sam?" He asked. "I know this is gonna sound kinda out of no where, but…"
"What?" She questioned.
He shrugged. "Look, how come you never get down on me for bailing on you? Not that I'm complaining, it's just…You never get mad, or anything. Why?"
She thought for a moment. "You said you wanted to be my friend, Ter. That's what it means. I guess I just believe in you…You can ask my…" She hesitated, then said, "Bill. He always said I'm kinda stupidly loyal to the people I trust."
"You trust me?" Terry asked, vaguely surprised.
"Yeah." Samantha said quietly. "You could say I'm a good judge in character."
"Hmm." Terry said absently, obviously thinking about something. Then, he shook his head slightly and remembered her previous hesitation. Thinking she had been about to refer to her parents, he asked, "What happened to your parents?"
She looked startled, then glanced away. "They…died. My father when I was little, and my mother a year ago. Cancer."
"Oh." He said lamely. "I'm sorry."
She shrugged. "Don't be. Wasn't your fault. You'd think, though, after all the chemo and radiation…" She trailed off. "Sorry."
"Hey." He said, taking her hand and pulling her closer. "You should never apologize for talking about things like that. Not to people who care about you. If I had done that when my father was murdered…"
"Oh my gosh…I'm sorry." She said automatically, then clasped her hand over her mouth.
He grinned at her. "Not so easy, is it?"
She let out a muffled chuckle and lowered her hand. "Nope. I guess we're both sorry for stupid things, then."
"Yup." He agreed, then gave her a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow."
She watched him walked off, then ducked into her apartment and locked the door behind her. Only when she heading for bed did she realize she his jacket was still over her shoulders. She lifted it and slid her arms into the sleeves, then peered at her reflection in the front hall mirror. She smiled slightly when she saw how big it was on her and hugged it close, almost unconciouslessly. Before she could contemplate her actions, though, she heard the phone ringing. She trotted to the kitchen to answer it.
"Hello?" She asked into the phone.
"Hey, Sammie." A familiar voice greeted.
"Di!" Samantha said cheerfully. "What's up?"
"Just calling to tell you I'm making a visit to Gotham." Diana informed her.
"Shway." Samantha commented, then paused. "Business?"
"Mmm…yes and no." Diana replied. "Main reason is Morrie got me to agree to a signing there. But, also a friend heard I was coming to town and asked to chat with me. Wanted some info about the non-writing aspect of my life."
"And you wanted me to tag along?" Samantha asked.
"If it's not too much trouble." Diana said.
Samantha smiled. "'Course not. Always happy to help. When are you getting in?"
"A week from now. I'm staying at Gotham Inn." Diana replied.
Samantha snorted. "You so are not. You're staying here. We have a happy guest room now."
"What about Bill?" Diana asked.
"Bill won't care. He's never here, anyway." Samantha told her.
"Have I mentioned how much I love you?" Diana asked, sounding grateful.
"Not lately." Samantha teased. "Want me to meet you at the airport?"
"If you would." Diana agreed.
The two chatted about mundane things for a bit, and Samantha mentioned the party.
"Ooo. Are we heading towards boyfriend-dom?" Diana teased.
Samantha stuck out her tongue before she remembered Diana couldn't see it. "No. Terry has a girlfriend. We're just friends."
"You still have to elaborate." Diana informed her.
Samantha grinned and told her about the dancing, both with Terry and Wayne. Then she explained about the incident, including her actions as Ferinus. Diana was the only one who knew who she was.
"So you actually got to meet Batman?" Diana asked. "And fight alongside him?"
"I know." She agreed. "Exciting, huh?" She yawned. "I am so slagged. I'm going to head to bed. Night, Di."
"Night, luv." Diana said, hanging up the phone.
The next morning, Terry opened his door and found Samantha walking towards him, holding his tux jacket.
"You left this." She informed him, holding it out. "Thanks for the warmth, by the way."
"No problem." He said, hanging the jacket on a coat rack and closing the door. "What'd you think of last night?"
"Well, now that the whole life in danger thing is gone, it was kind of a blast." She admitted. "Probably the most excitement I'll have all year."
"Not living in Gotham." He told her. "Get ready for a whole lot more of the same."
She kept putting off talking with him, telling herself she'd do it in another five minutes, until they had arrived at school and the bell for first period sounded. As she walked to her Zoology class, she mentally berated herself, feeling incredibly guilty.
Just a friend? Arabus asked her.
Stop it. She told him. This has nothing to do with that.
Really? Is that why you slept in his jacket last night? He retorted.
She blushed, then sighed. I don't want to talk about it, luv, okay? Not…not right now.
She could feel his disapproval, but he didn't push the issue. Fortunately, Dana didn't bring up the conversation she was supposed to have had with Terry, and the rest of the day went by smoothly. When she got home, she dug through the stack of papers in the living room to find the comics.
Instead, however, she saw her picture on the front page. She picked up the paper and quickly read the article. It talked about Batman's new helper, but the tone of the piece was more than a little mistrusting. Gotham News, on the other hand, which was another paper Bill read, seemed to enjoy her presence. Maybe the difference had to do with the fact that the author of the Gotham News article was a woman.
Samantha sighed and dropped the paper on the coffee table then curled up in the armchair.
"Maybe I should tell Terry about me." She thought out loud.
Why? Arabus asked.
She shrugged. "I know I can trust him, but he doesn't have any little cheats to know he can trust me. Maybe that would help."
So now you're giving away secrets just so he'll trust you? The wolf asked.
She frowned. "Why are you being so harsh?"
Arabus hesitated. He has a girlfriend, Sammie. This will only lead in trouble and…I don't want you to be hurt.
Samantha glanced down. "I know, Ara…Why am I doing this?"
Maybe you love him. Arabus suggested quietly.
Samantha let out a startled burst of laughter, then shook her head. "I don't think that's it."
The doorbell rang, then, so her wolf fell silent. She stood up and padded over to answer it, thoroughly pleased when she saw it was Terry.
"Hey Ter!" She greeted.
"Hey." He returned. "You busy? I thought we could go over our lines a bit."
"Sure." She agreed. "Come on in."
He followed her to the living room and plopped down on the couch.
"Bill's not home." She told him. "So we're free to act to our heart's content."
"It doesn't seem like your stepfather's home much." Terry commented.
"He's not." Samantha answered. "And, well, he's not really my stepfather. He was my mother's fiancé, but they never got married. When she died, he became my legal guardian."
"You don't sound too thrilled." He observed.
Samantha shrugged, attempting to sound light. "Bill used to be really sweet…He was the best. My dad died when I was five, so I never really knew him. But Bill was awesome. I so wanted him to be a substitute. And he was all for it. Took me everywhere."
"What happened?" Terry questioned.
"My mom died." She replied. "At first he was great, but then…I figured, okay, he was there for me when I grieved, and now it's his turn. But then he just…never stopped."
Terry put his hand on her shoulder. "That must be tough."
"Yeah. He really loved my mom." She said absently, staring off into the distance. Then, she smiled at him. "Hey, thanks for listening. I'd apologize for the sadness, but we've already been through that, haven't we?"
He grinned a bit. "Once is enough."
She nodded. "So, wanna start with the first scene?"
"Got my lines right here." Terry informed her.
She grinned and picked hers up off of the coffee table. "Go ahead, then."
"Anya." Terry told her. "I need to talk to you."
"What about, Richard?" Samantha asked.
"Us." He replied.
She looked up at him, hopeful. "There's an us?"
"I'd like there to be." Terry answered, looking down at his lines.
A smile broke out over her face. "You don't know how long I…" She paused. "I…Oh, Richard…." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I can't."
"What?" He asked, sounding surprised and depressed. "Why not?"
"You know why." She told him.
"John?" He ventured. "You said there was nothing between you two."
"There isn't!" She said immediately. Then, "Wasn't…."
"You said that there might have been, but now there wasn't." He continued.
"I just can't do it, Richard, okay?" She demanded.
He frowned, looking angry. "So everything we did means nothing? All of the conversations, what we've been through…..Nothing?"
She looked away. "I…I don't want anyone to get hurt, Richard."
"It's too late for that." He told her viciously. He then softened. "I love you, Anya. Can't you see that?"
She looked at him for a moment, then swallowed hard and turned away. "Just go, Richie. We have nothing left to say."
He stared at her for a moment. Then, "I guess I was wrong to believe in you, Anya. You're not the person I thought you were."
Samantha turned back, smiling. "Ooo! That was good!"
"Yeah." He agreed. "I almost believed us. And I only had to look at the script a couple of times."
"Me, too." She said, looking pleased. "Okay, now I'm hungry. Want something?"
"Always up for food." He replied.
She fished around in the kitchen and found leftover pasta, which she heated up. The two ate, talking about random things until Samantha sighed.
"What's up, Sammie?" Terry asked, using her more intimate nickname without even being aware of it.
"Look….Terry, you're probably the best friend I've got here. So anything I'm going to say is purely in your best interest, okay?" She told him. "I just want you to be happy."
He frowned, looking even more sober. "What is it?"
"I talked with Dana the other day." She started. "She's really upset, Ter. You never spend any time with her…And, before you get started, I know you have your job. I know she's over-reacting, but you know what? She kinda has a point. It's one thing to be loyal to your work, but it's another to leave in the middle of a date without so much as a good-bye. That's not shway, Ter, and you know it. And I know that's not who you are. I'm not saying you need to give up your work to be with her. And I'm not saying you need to compromise yourself by trying to spend as much time with her as you used to. Your job is part of who you are now, and if she wants to be with you, she's going to have to live with it. But you owe her a good-bye, Ter. At least give her that."
Aside from his initial protest, Terry had remained silent thorough-out her whole speech. Finally, he nodded. "You….you might be right. I got so caught up I didn't realize…I can't give up work."
"You shouldn't have to." She told him quietly.
He nodded absently. "But she shouldn't have to put up with a vanishing act. I'll talk to her. It's past time we talked. If she can't adjust to my new life…"
"I'll still be here." Samantha said.
He glanced up and they looked at each other for a long moment. Then, he smiled. "Thank you."
"Any time, Ter. See you tomorrow?" She asked.
"You bet." He replied.
