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"Ain't no sunshine cause she's gone. I'm lonely 'cause she's away."- Bill Withers
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Chapter 24
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"…with an expected accumulation of up to 23 inches of snow by tomorrow morning. City officials have asked that…." The newscaster announced over the radio before Charlie reached over and clicked it off.
He leaned forward, squinted outside the windshield at the falling snow and said, "I wonder if they made it out to New York before the storm worsened."
Martin adjusted his hold on the steering wheel and in the most casual tone he could muster said, "I called the airport earlier and their plane was already on the runway."
Charlie turned and in a bemused tone asked, "You called the airport?"
"Yeah, I mean this weather is pretty miserable and I just wanted to make sure they got out all right." Martin retorted trying to sound non-chalant. "They are our peers and…."
Charlie interrupted his lame explanation with laughter. "Oh yeah, you were worried about our peers! Cut the crap, Marty. I saw that kiss in the hall between you and Spade."
Realizing he was busted he shifted in his seat. "Okay, so maybe it wasn't just a professional courtesy. It doesn't matter anyway, she's on her way back to New York and I am stuck here in during a blizzard in Chicago dropping my SOB partner at his happy home." Martin finished as he pulled to a stop in front of Charlie's house.
Charlie sighed heavily and said, "Man, I love my family, I do, but just knowing that we are all going to be stuck in this house for at least three or four days is already making me crazy."
Martin laughed. "Yeah, well you better get to it, Nadine's been stuck with them all day and I'm sure she could use reinforcements." He pointed to a woman standing at the window holding a small child. She waved at them in the car and Martin waved back.
Charlie unbuckled his belt and muttered, "Alright, later man." He reached for the door handle before pausing and turning to Martin. "You know, New York isn't that far away. You could always…."
Martin shook his head and said, "It's far enough. Thanks though."
Charlie gave him a quick nod before slamming the door shut. Martin waited until his friend was safely inside before pulling back onto the street and heading home. Not wanting to drive in silence he reached over and clicked on the radio for some music. He had to bypass a few news reports before he found one with a DJ announcing that the next song was coming up. He left it there, waiting to find out what song it would be when a now achingly familiar song began to play.
The
heart is a bloom
Shoots up through the stony ground
There's no
room
No space to rent in this town
You're out of luck
And
the reason that you had to care
The traffic is stuck
And you're
not moving anywhere
You thought you'd found a friend
To
take you out of this place
Someone you could lend a hand
In
return for grace
"Oh that figures." Martin scoffed at the irony of this particular song playing at this moment when his cell phone began ringing. He pulled it out of his breast pocket and flipped it open. "Fitzgerald."
"Hi Martin," Sam's voice greeted him over the phone; her voice like a slice of heaven. "I need a favor…."
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Fifteen minutes later Martin excitedly pulled into his garage. He exited his car and entered his house through the connecting door to the kitchen where Milo came rushing to greet him. "Hey, buddy. Guess what? We are going to have a visitor stay with us for a few days." He rubbed the dog's neck affectionately before stopping to check his watch. "And she should be here in about thirty minutes so you gotta go do your business now because there is no way in hell I am going to let you interrupt me later."
Martin grabbed his parka off of the rack, opened the door to the backyard, and motioned for Milo to get outside. Fortunately he had a covered back porch so the snow wasn't too deep in some parts of his backyard. After Milo was done, Martin hurried them both back into the house and bolted up the stairs.
He pulled fresh sheets out of the closet and quickly made up the guest bed. While he hoped that Sam would have no use for this room he also did not want to appear too presumptuous.
Although he didn't waste a minute changing the sheets in his bed either.
Once the bedding situation was all squared away he took a fast shower and changed into jeans, t-shirt and a sweater. He headed back downstairs when his home phone rang. He picked up the cordless from the table in the living room and answered, "Fitzgerald."
"Oh good you're home. I was worried that you were going to be stuck at the office." Kelly greeted him cheerily.
"Hey, Kel. Yes, I'm home." Martin replied, smiling at his sister's motherly concern. "What about you guys, everyone home safe and sound?"
"Yeah, we're all here which is why I'm calling you." Kelly replied. He could hear the sounds of the girls chatting with his brother-in-law, Joe, in the background. "Joe has a friend with a snow plow who is willing to swing by and pick you up."
"Joe has a friend with a snow plow?" Martin replied mockingly. "You do hang in powerful circles don't you?"
"Shut up. Come on, you don't want to be stuck in that house all by yourself for four days do you?" Kelly urged before trying persuasive bribery. "You and Milo can come hang out, I have loads of food, we just got a bunch of DVDs from NetFlix, and you know the girls would love it if you were here."
"Sorry, I'm staying put." Martin replied before adding, "And I'm not going to be by myself."
"I like Milo as much as anyone but he is miserable at carrying on a conversation."
"Ha Ha. I don't mean Milo." He paused a moment wondering how to explain his relationship to Sam. "I have a….friend staying with me."
"A friend?" Kelly questioned at his vague response. "Who? Charlie? James?"
Martin bit his lip before saying, "Her name is Samantha."
"Hold on, flag on the play! Who is Samantha?" Kelly asked; her voice full of curiosity. In the background he could hear Joe mimic her question and she shushed him.
Martin walked to his front window and peeked out to look for any signs of Sam's cab. "She's uh, it's hard to explain."
"Hey, I'm snowed in. I got all the time in the world." Kelly replied before lowering her voice to a whisper and asking, "Oh, wait, is she there now?"
"No, she's on her way back from the airport." He replied, amused that she lowered her voice as if Sam could have heard her question over the phone. "Her flight got grounded and the hotel where she was staying had already given away her room so she's going to stay here with me."
Kelly raised her voice back to a normal level and asked, "So how do you know her?"
Martin was dreading having to tell Kelly about Sam knowing she wouldn't approve. She was the one person in the world who knew too well what had happened to him during his last relationship. "She's a fellow agent from New York. She came in to help us with a case."
"Marty…" Kelly's voice warned.
"I know what you are going to say but I don't care." He knew the risks, he knew them very well; but the pull of Sam was like the ocean tide: strong, powerful and impossible to control.
"I can't believe you would even consider getting involved with someone who doesn't live in the same city as you after what happened with Ashley." Kelly's voice wasn't angry or accusatory but cautious. Then she gently added, "I just don't want you to get hurt again."
Martin exhaled knowing that she was just worried for him. He looked out onto the white snowy streets when he saw a bright yellow cab stop in front of his house. "I know you don't. Listen, I have to go. Her cab just pulled up."
"Okay bye." Kelly replied before quickly adding, "Be careful Marty."
"Thanks." He replied before hanging up the phone. With his eyes on Sam's form as she stepped out of the cab he softly whispered, "But I think I'm already too far gone."
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A/N: Thanks for the reviews. They totally make my day. :) I just want to respond to a few PMs/emails/Reviews/Questions:
In no particular order...
1. Yes, there will be smut but I won't say when. You'll just have to keep reading. ;)
2. Some of you have the right idea plot wise but I won't say who. ;D
3. In my outline I still have about 9 more chapters and then the epilogue so the story is far from over since I tend to go beyond my original plan. I am a horrible editor. When I am finished you'll know it. :)
4. I know I tend to jerk my readers around but for that I make no apologies. I know when I read fics I like it when things aren't always so easy.
5. And as a little warning for what lies ahead: I live in the desert state of New Mexico and while my city does get a little snow I have no idea what one would do in the case of a blizzard. So I am relying on what surprisingly little info is available on the web to help guide me through it.
Finally, as always, thank you so much for reading. :)