Talk Tonight
MS Set during S2 'Bait'. Tonight was just the beginning for them.
Disclaimer: My Muse, my imagination and my dreams are all mine (but can be rented for a high fee). I'm sure if I owned the cast and characters we would have an enormous amount of fun (but I don't. I'm just borrowing them).
A/N:- As well as wokring on 'Thrown Down', I decided to go back and do a one-shot I've been meaning to do for, quite literally, a year. Obviously I've taken quite a liberty with this and have changed the JackVivian thing but hopefully it'll work. And yes in case you haven't noticed, yes I am currently obsessed with Season Two.
'Talk Tonight' – Oasis
Samantha watched him closely like she had been doing all evening. Now he was leaning across the table to Danny, pretending to conspire with him on a number of ways they could wind their new boss up and Vivian was smacking them playfully, reminding them that they weren't in high school anymore.
Her new boss turned to her then and caught her staring at Martin. Vivian gave her a knowing look and Samantha felt herself blush a little and look away from her female companion's gaze.
"Things are going to be different around here with Jack gone, eh?" Vivian said casually.
Samantha looked back up at her. "I guess." She said with an awkward smile. She shifted on her stool a bit and looked across at the guys smiling as they discussed football. He had a really nice smile. She had noticed it for awhile but it had really shone out today down at the harbour when he grinned at her as they flirted with each other from behind the safety of their sunglasses. She had felt the butterflies then. There had never been butterflies with Jack or Keller – there had only been attraction and then passion with nothing in between. This was different: just being around him made her jittery and nervous.
"Another round of drinks over here." Vivian called to the bartender over her shoulder.
Danny and Martin settled their attention back on their friends, their football argument set aside for the moment. "So, you going to make us work all ungodly hours like Jack did?" Martin asked, taking a drink of his beer.
"Damn right I am and I'm not taking any cheek from you two." Vivian said, shaking her finger at the two guys.
"Honestly Viv I'm hurt." Danny said, his hand on his heart. "You think Martin and I would really do anything to make your busy life any worse?"
"Well, if you do, I have the power to put you on call every night, not just every other night." Vivian said giving them an evil smile.
"Martin's up for that – it's not like he has much of a life anyway."
Martin chuckled good humouredly. "Oh how I wish you were wrong Danny." He said.
"Come on Martin. You mean to say that after being in New York for two years Danny still hasn't shown you all his good pick-up spots." Vivian said feigning surprise as their next round of drinks were brought to them.
"Of course not. He's scared of the competition." Martin grinned.
"Haha. You've got nothing on me and you know it." Danny countered taking a swig of his water before looking across the bar at Samantha. "You're quiet tonight Sam."
Samantha looked up quickly and caught Martin's eye. He was looking at her concernedly over the rim of his glass as he sipped his drink. "I'm just …… it's been a long day." She finished nervously with a weak smile at Martin. Martin rubbed her arm understandingly and Danny looked at them curiously.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Nothing." Samantha said but she knew that wouldn't satisfy Vivian and Danny. "It's nothing, I'm just a bit shaken up. The perp took me by surprise tonight and knocked me down, pointed his gun at me."
Vivian looked at her concerned. "Why didn't you say something? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Samantha insisted before nodding her head in Martin's direction. "Luckily Martin had my back."
"Here's to Martin - Sam's knight in shining armour." Danny said, raising his bottle.
Martin shook his head in embarrassment and swirled the beer around in his glass, thankful when Vivian started a new conversation about Reggie and everyone's attention shifted. After he had knocked down the hostage taker and punched him hard in the face, Samantha and him had cuffed him and walked him to the car. Then everyone had gathered round Jack to say their goodbyes before driving to the bar and he and Samantha hadn't had a chance to speak in between. Seeing her thrown down and being held at gunpoint had given him a big scare. Thankfully he had worked on instinct and he had sensed something was up. Two seconds later and …….
He shook those thoughts from his mind and tuned back into the conversation.
Half an hour later and Samantha was just finishing up her third Martini when she saw Martin down the rest of his drink and reach for his wallet.
"Alright, that's it I'm done." He announced, standing up.
"Already?" Vivian questioned.
"I'm out of here. Aren't you a mother or something? Don't you have to be home?" Martin laughed, throwing down some notes.
"Not tonight!" Vivian protested.
Samantha put down her glass. "You know what, I'm gonna get going too you guys." She said, standing up. She waited whilst Martin congratulated Viv again and smiled slightly when Vivian congratulated him back. After saying their goodbyes, they walked out, sharing a smile as they heard Vivian and Danny toasting Jack.
"Taxi!" Samantha called, spotting an empty one.
"Oh come on!" Martin sighed as it drove past. "Ah, there should be one soon." He said, sticking his hands back into his pockets. It was kind of chilly out now and he hoped they wouldn't have to wait long for a cab.
Samantha waved her arm out again but the taxi turned a corner before it reached them. Suddenly the road was silent and she and Martin were alone again. "You know, I didn't …" She started, turning to face him nervously. He gave her a curious glance. "… say anything earlier, but, uh, thank you." He looked back at her questioningly and she hoped that what she was saying was coming out more coherently than it sounded in her head. "For saving my life."
Martin didn't know what to say to that. He hadn't expected her to thank him – after all, the joy of working on such a close-knit team was that you could always rely on someone to cover your back. He looked at her feet and then back up. "You're welcome." He said because it really was the only thing he could think of without breaking into the 'I don't know what I would have done if you had got shot' speech. She held his gaze, staring straight back into his eyes and the thought of asking her out literally passed through his mind … but then straight back out as a car pulled up and Samantha turned to hail it. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
Samantha looked back at him. He was treating her to his wonderful smile again. "Yeah." She answered lamely. She wanted to ask him to come with her which was why she couldn't look away but then he said 'goodnight' and she automatically said it back and then he was walking away to hail his own cab.
She opened the door to the cab and looked back at him. It was either from the three Martinis or from the fact that she wanted him just that badly but from somewhere she managed to find the courage to call him back. "Hey, Martin!"
Martin heard her call his name and he thought it was probably to crack a last joke about winding the new boss up. "Yeah?" He answered before turning round to face her. She just looked at him silently for a split second before speaking.
"Do you want to share a cab?" She tried to make it come out smoothly, like it was no big deal, but she didn't really succeed though as what she was hinting at seemed to pass Martin by anyway.
"I live uptown." He replied, pointing over his shoulder. It was nice of her to offer to share a cab even though in New York you would never have to wait that long for another one to show up.
Samantha thought about dropping it and simply saying 'Oh, okay' and doing the sensible thing and going home alone but before she can even get round to processing this new idea the words "Yeah, I know." Had already come out.
Bang. It finally hits him. Was she really asking him what he thought she was asking him? He looked at her staring at him, waiting for an answer and for a second his brain just froze. Of course he wanted what she was suggesting, of course he'd thought about it multiple times but given the combination of him saving her life, alcohol and Jack leaving, was it really happening at the right time? However, when he looked back up at her he knew that no matter what rational thoughts he might be thinking, the irrational ones always took over and he started walking to the cab.
Seeing him coming towards her, Samantha guessed that was a 'Yes' and whilst she had hoped he would say 'yes', it was fifty-fifty whether things between them would happen like this. Now she had got what she wanted, a thousand things suddenly occurred to her: what kind of state had she left her apartment in that morning? What was he thinking right now and what the hell was going to happen in the cab on the way to her apartment?
"55 Marlborough Street please." She said as Martin slid in next to her. The cab driver nodded and pulled away. Now what?
Martin was out of his depth. Nothing in his past experiences had prepared him for this moment. How did one go from being work colleagues to lovers in a split second without there being any awkwardness? He looked across at her. She was looking in his general direction without making direct eye contact but when she saw him looking over, she gave him a small smile and even if he had needed winning over, that would have well and truly done it.
"Sam, I-" he started, looking at her searchingly. It was dark in the cab but he could still make out her features drawing him in. The sensible things he was going to say dissolved instantly and suddenly it wasn't awkward anymore. He leaned forward and for a moment their heads hovered centimetres apart before Samantha closed her eyes and brushed her lips against his.
She had waited for this moment for a long time and it was one of those rare things in life where the reality was just as good as she'd imagined it to be. It was soft but passionate, intense but not hurried, just enough to leave her wanting more, much more. When they broke apart, they stared at each other for the longest half a second of her life before they were kissing again – this time, more urgently than before.
He hadn't even noticed they'd stopped moving until the cab driver gave an awkward cough waiting for them to break apart. "There's been a crash up ahead." He said in a thick New York accent. "Looks like we're going to be sitting here for awhile."
Samantha leant forward and handed him $10. "Okay, we'll walk from here." She said, opening the door and motioning to Martin. "Erm, we're still a few blocks away but it's not too far to walk." She announced once they were on the sidewalk.
He watched her with a small smile. She was anxious and jumpy, barely knew where to look and she was doing that adorable nervous giggle that apparently only girls could master. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him as they walked slowly through the crowd, slowly moving his arm down to hold her round the waist.
Samantha wished he would say something otherwise she was about five seconds away from breaking into a fit of nervous jibberish where she would start talking about the weather and how filthy the streets of New York were.
"I'm glad you didn't get shot today." He said quietly, breaking the silence.
Samantha smiled inwardly and raised her head to look at him. "Me too." She said and then he bent down and kissed her lightly and they shared a smile. Suddenly she wasn't nervous, she was …. She didn't know what she was exactly but she was definitely bordering on comfortable. They walked past an Italian place she sometimes popped into after work when she was too lazy to cook. "Ah, nothing like the smell of Mama Vitigliano's freshly cooked spaghetti bolognaise." She said, half to herself.
"You hungry?" Martin said, squeezing her hip gently.
"I don't think I've eaten since my half a bit of bagel this morning." She said, slightly guiltily.
"And even that was my half of a bagel you ate!" Martin grinned.
"It's not my fault you just left it lying there … and in my defence, I was hungry." Samantha laughed.
"Come on, let's go and get dinner." Martin said in a sudden burst of decisiveness, moving his arm from around her and instead taking her hand and pulling her into the restaurant.
Thankfully at this late hour the restaurant was practically empty and any of the waitresses that might have recognised her had already left. Martin picked a booth by the window and instead of taking the seat opposite her, he slid in next to her, keeping her close which made her inexplicably happy. "I bet you don't get many girls asking you back to their apartment and then getting distracted by food midway." She said, opting to be decidedly upfront about it all.
"I don't get many girls asking me back to their apartment full stop." Martin said, putting his arm around her and kissing her.
"Mmm. That's the right answer." Samantha giggled as their menus were brought to them.
"Would you be liking wine this evening?" the waiter asked.
Martin looked at her to make the decision although they both already knew that mixing alcohol was never good. "No thanks. I'll just have an apple juice."
"Me too." Martin said, opening their menus.
She had been staring at the pasta dishes for about thirty seconds before she felt Martin take her hand in his and rest it on the table. She instinctively smiled. She couldn't even remember the last guy she had been out with who had done the whole cute, romantic hand-holding thing without it feeling forced. Sitting here with Martin, it just seemed so ….. natural.
Martin felt her move her hand a bit and entwine his fingers with hers and he felt stupid and insecure for asking it but he just had to make sure he knew for sure before this went any further. "Is this what you want?"
"I'm not sure. I might just go with the spaghetti after all." Samantha said, her eyes still looking down at the list of Italian dishes in front of her. And then at Martin's continued silence, it suddenly dawned. "Oh." She said looking up of him. "Of course." She said firmly. "This is something I've wanted for quite awhile." She added shyly. Then a quick jab of fear hit her. "Oh do you not-"
"No, no, I do." Martin said quickly, squeezing her hand. "Trust me I do." He said with a timid laugh. "It's just I have to make sure that this isn't just because …………."
"Just because what?" Samantha asked, looking at him searchingly although she was pretty sure it was going to be followed by 'just because of the alcohol', 'just because of what happened today' or ….
"Just because Jack's leaving and-"
"It's not." Samantha said seriously. "That was over a long, long time ago and hearing that he was leaving was just like …" She trailed off, trying to think of the word she was looking for. "It was just a release. You know, I'd just got so used to going into the office, acting like nothing had ever happened and then all of a sudden I don't have to do it anymore …"
Martin nodded. "I believe you. I just had to check." He said. "I'm sorry." He added.
"You've got nothing to be sorry for." Samantha said, leaning up and kissing him, glad that they had dealt with that early on and put it behind them.
After they ordered their food, she rested her head on his shoulder and she felt him kiss her head softly. Then she was certain they had made the right decision for once in her life.
They ate their dinners quickly and after Martin had paid, they headed back out, strolling down the street, hand in hand. Hunger satisfied, there was only one thing on Samantha's mind and she wished that they could fly back to her apartment rather than having to walk through the streets where there were people who might frown upon her pinning Martin to the ground there and then.
"I'm going to arrest you for thinking naughty thoughts." Martin said, tugging on her hand playfully.
"How do you know what I'm thinking?" She said, shooting him a look.
Martin pulled her close. "Because I'm thinking them too." He whispered in her ear.
She felt shivers run down her spine. "Okay, we're here." She said leading him up some steps and pulling out her keys.
He didn't even wait until they had got to the elevator before he started kissing her.
……………………………………………………
The next morning Samantha didn't think she would have gotten up even if there had been a major natural disaster happening right outside her window but at the ringing of a cell phone she felt Martin move and she reluctantly opened her eyes sleepily.
"It's mine." Martin whispered, kissing her softly on the head before swinging his legs out of bed and crawling around on the floor to pull his phone out from under the bed.
"Fitzgerald." He said, climbing back into bed.
Samantha smiled sleepily. She loved how he said his name. It was strong and decisive, like a man in control. She scrunched her face up in disgust with herself and buried her head under her pillow. She should not be allowed to think on barely four hours of sleep.
"Are you sure you're alright?" She heard Martin say and she came out from under the covers and gave him a worried look. Who was it? What had happened? Martin glanced at her and held up a finger telling her to wait a moment.
He looked really really sexy with his hair all ruffled and his face unshaven. If she hadn't been so sure it was an important call, she would probably have climbed on top of him and been an unbearable tease.
"Okay, I hope things work out." Martin said finishing up the call and flipping off his cell phone. Then he turned to Samantha and he looked kind of worried. "That was Vivian saying we have the day off. Apparently Jack's not moving to Chicago after all because Maria wants a divorce so the leadership of team is all up in the air because no doubt Jack will be wanting his job back."
"Oh God poor Viv." Samantha said, concerned.
"Poor Viv? Is that all you've got to say?" Martin said surprised, trying to read her face.
Samantha looked at him confused before realising what he was insinuating and she actually felt really hurt. "What do you expect me to say Martin! 'Oh no Jack's back and getting a divorce so you can go to hell because I'm going to go running back to him and finish screwing up the rest of my life'!" Samantha hissed, irritated. "Because if you really honestly think that then last night was just one huge mistake and -"
Suddenly her cell phone started ringing and she flipped it open giving Martin an annoyed look.
Martin rung his hands together, angry at himself for the way he had handled that and the fact that he was still jealous of his boss. He should have believed Samantha last night and not brought up his doubts again. God he hated how always walking in his father's shadow had made him so insecure in other parts of life too. He listened as Samantha whispered some encouraging words to Vivian and the minute she put the phone down he spoke.
"I don't think that." Martin said, reaching out and cupping her face in his hands, stroking it softly. "I don't know why I said it. It's just I've liked you for so long, it's taking a little while to get used to the fact that you like me back and we're actually here doing this."
Samantha looked back at him and softened. Hearing him bring up Jack's name again had infuriated her but she hadn't been looking at it from his perspective. Taking a moment to think it through, she could see why having seen her crying over Jack's departure, he might automatically worry that he was just a temporary replacement and that with Jack staying in town she might want to go back to him. "It's kind of cute how you feel threatened." She said with a hint of a smile. "But trust me now when I say that Jack staying in New York has got nothing to do with what we have and what we're doing and what we're going to do."
Martin nodded. "I'm sorry." He said apologetically.
Samantha smiled at him seductively before sitting up and pushing him down, rolling on top of him. "Last night was just the beginning for us." She said softly.
He believed her fully then and looked into her eyes deeply as he gave her that smile.
A/N:- Wow, I just completely shocked myself by writing this in practically one sitting. Five hours later and I'm happy with it! Oh and I want it stated for the record that (in my dreams) I OWN Martin/Eric Close in his pink shirt and sunglasses in this episode. sigh .