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"Let us follow our destiny, ebb and flow. Whatever may happen, we master fortune by accepting it."- Virgil

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Chapter 43

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Martin trudged up the stairs on the front stoop and unlocked his front door. He was bone weary after a very long day. After the shooting he escorted a very grumpy Charlie to the hospital, gave his interview to Louisa, then Internal Affairs got involved because of the "suspicious nature of Carl's release" as the peon who interviewed him said, and then more interviews, and waiting. He wished he could have called Sam in the midst of it all but every time he reached for the phone someone came along to check or re-check his statement. By the time he was able to call her it was close to one in the morning and he didn't want to wake her up. At least he knew that Anna had been able to reach her and let her know what had happened.

As soon as he entered Milo rushed him eager to greet him. He was thankful that Anna was also able to reach his dog walker to take Milo out for his evening walk because he knew there was no way he would have the energy to do it when he got home. He patted the dog on his head and said, "Hey, buddy."

He was rewarded with a rapidly wagging tail and a bark.

As he started up the stairs his phone rang so he stopped and walked into the living room to pick up his cordless. "Fitzgerald."

"Hi," Sam's voice greeted him. Her voice was like a soothing balm after such a miserable day. "I've been trying to reach you on your cell phone."

"Really?" He reached into her breast pocket and pulled out his cell to seen the screen had gone dark. "Sorry, I had to turn it off and I guess I forgot to turn it back on."

"That's okay," She replied gently. "I was just worried because you still hadn't called…."

"Sorry, it got so late and since I knew Anna called you I thought I'd wait until morning to phone you." Martin smiled and loosened his tie and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt. "I didn't want to wake you up."

"Yeah, well I appreciate your thoughtfulness but I couldn't get to sleep until I knew for sure you were okay."

"Ah, that's so sweet…." Martin teased.

"Yeah, yeah." Sam replied.

"How's your visit going?" He smiled into the receiver as he moved to the sofa to lie down.

As he rested his head on the sofa pillow he could hear Sam sigh, "It's going good but that's not why I called, I want to know how you are doing."

"I'm fine. Or at least as well as can be expected after knowing you killed someone – whether they deserved it or not." He replied softly as an image of Carl's face when he shot him entered his mind before quickly vanishing. "It's just been a really long day."

"How's Charlie?" She asked softly and he mentally pictured her lying in her childhood bed at her mother's house.

"He has to stay overnight in the hospital so he is being ornery and a general pain in the ass. Both are obvious signs that he is going to be fine." Martin replied as he toed off his shoes and let them fall to the floor. "So is Dominic by the way. I got a chance to see him while he was in recovery."

"That's great. How's Erica?"

"She's feeling guilty but I think she's going to be fine." Martin paused to yawn before he finished, "Actually, she told me she feels guilty that she is relieved that Carl is officially out of her life."

"I honestly can't say I wouldn't feel the same way." Sam whispered. "I should let you go. You have to be well rested for our date."

Martin sighed, savoring the feeling of sinking into his sofa cushions. "Yeah, you're right, especially because I have big plans."

"Really? Maybe I should ask you what I should wear."

Martin yawned again before replying, "You know I hate encouraging you to wear clothes."

Sam laughed lightly and said, "You should go to sleep. You sound tired."

"I am," Martin confessed and then added, "But I don't want to hang up either."

"I know what you mean," Sam replied. They were both quiet for a moment when she said, "Is it weird for me to say that I miss you?"

"Not any weirder than for me to say I miss you too."

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The next morning Martin rolled over on the sofa and snuggled further into the sofa. In his sleepy state he could have sworn he smelled coffee so he opened his eyes only to find a pair of warm brown eyes watching him. Except this time they didn't belong to Milo.

"Good morning," Sam whispered. She was sitting on the coffee table near his head.

"Morning," Martin rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't still asleep and said, "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming back until this afternoon."

"My mom had to work the breakfast shift again so I decided to just come back early. And don't worry; your Jeep is safely parked in the garage." She held a cup of Starbucks coffee in her hand. She must have noticed him eyeing her coffee because she smiled and held up another cup for him. She winked and said, "I come bearing a gift."

"Thanks," He grinned and quickly sat up to happily accept the coffee. He took a long drink and said, "And thanks for returning my car safe and sound."

"You really were tired last night weren't you?" Sam commented, her eyes scanning over his now wrinkled suit that he had fallen asleep in. She reached over and tugged on his tie. "You couldn't even manage to change your clothes."

"Yeah, I guess I was." Martin had completely conked out on the sofa after he hung up with Sam. "I'm glad you're back. How was the drive?"

Sam moved off of the table to sit down next to him. She slouched against the sofa and said, "Not too bad. Most of the busier streets are cleared." Martin took another drink before leaning back as well; his shoulder touching Sam's. They sat in silence for a little bit when Sam said, "When I heard about the shooting and you didn't answer your phone I got really worried."

"I'm sorry, I wanted to call you right away but I had to make sure Charlie was alright and then Internal Affairs got involved…." Martin explained.

"No, it's not that…." He watched as Sam started fiddling with the plastic lid on her coffee cup. "It's just, I was scared that if something had happened to you that we still would not have settled everything…..everything that was said in the heat of the moment."

Martin shook his head and sighed. "Sam, I said I was sorry."

"You don't have to keep apologizing, I should be apologizing too. I overreacted and got really defensive. It's just that I know what happened was wrong and I don't like being reminded of it." Sam tilted her head to look at him. "But that's my issue not yours."

"We both have issues," Martin nodded his head and said, "That's the thing with relationships, there is always going to be baggage."

"Yeah, but you have to be careful when you unpack it. People can get hurt by the contents."

Martin swallowed and murmured, "Yeah."

She looked back at the cup in her hands and said, "I spent a lot of time last night thinking about what you said before…..about not knowing if you could let go." Martin went still, waiting with bated breath. "And while I still don't have an answer I want you to know that I'm thinking about it. I just need a little time and a lot of patience." She looked back up at him and added, "Because when I thought that maybe it was you who had been shot I realized that I'm not ready to let go either."

Martin smiled and said, "Okay, how much time do you need? A few hours, a day, a week?"

"How about we focus on our date tonight and go from there?" Sam replied with a coy smile. She reached up and kissed him. "You still haven't told me what I should wear? Are we going someplace formal, casual, semi-casual, fancy, what?"

"Um, I guess semi-fancy would be good." Martin replied, before reaching to kiss her again. "But how about instead of talking about what you should wear tonight we focus on getting you out of wearing what you have on right now? Because you leave tomorrow and I still haven't seen that pink bra…."

Sam smiled against and said, "Well, you're out of luck because…I'm not wearing a bra."

Martin leaned back and with feigned disappointment said, "Oh-kay……"

"Thanks for understanding." She laughed and said, "Now shut up and kiss me."