A/n: hey guys, I'm back. Sorry about the kind of long wait. I hope you all enjoy this one. This may come off as a filler chapter initially, but I promise you it's vital to the plot. I know some of you may be upset that this is yet another chapter that doesn't focus on Danny and Sam, and the will they won't they plot. You must trust the process. I have this story planned out to a tee, and I'm going somewhere with it. Just wait and see. Danny and Sam will be back in action soon enough. Let me know what you think in a review.

Chapter 9: Paulina

"Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love."

Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Overlooker's POV

Paulina Sanchez was not the same girl she was in high school. She was a different person through and through. Some people say that people don't change or perhaps that they can't change, but she did.

She matured. In high school, she was a self-absorbed mean girl who cheated on Joe a lot (not that he didn't return the favor). Still through and through, she wasn't a good person back then.

Hell maybe she wasn't the best person now, but she had matured. Anyone who knew her back then and knew her now could see it, especially Joe. One could say they both had grown since their disastrous dysfunctional love affair back then.

For one, they were both faithful to each other, which was a vast difference from the past. They weren't explosive and dysfunctional; they were loving and caring.

When they had reconnected in college, things had changed. But that was a story for another time. Paulina was currently one of the top writers for the cosmopolitan magazine.

Even more recently, in the last month or so, Joe had been drinking more and more. He had been distant with Paulina, and this made the gears in her head begin to turn. So currently she found herself parking at the last place she thought she'd end up, in the parking structure at Sam Manson's apartment complex.

As much as it pained her and as big of a blow to her pride as it was, she knew that if something was going on with Joe Sam knew what it was and even if she didn't, she was the best person to find out.

The two women had known each other all their lives and never really cared for each other. Ironically they ended up dating the same guy in high school, which was quite a feat in itself but also a story for another time.

Within a matter of minutes, Paulina found herself exiting the elevator and getting off on Sam's floor. Sam was floor 5, apartment number 6. Paulina just stood in front of the other woman's door, finally feeling silly.

I mean here she was showing up at Sam's apartment not only unannounced and unwelcome but to ask for information on her own boyfriend. The last thing she wanted to do was give Sam the satisfaction that there was trouble in paradise.

But what choice did she have? Joe was tight-lipped, and she deserved to know what was going on with him. Though this probably was one of the most irrational methods the woman could try. She felt at a loss.

So she knocked.

Paulina's heart began to race. Scary thoughts filled her mind. What if Sam wasn't home? What if she didn't want to help her? What if she slammed the door in her face? Suddenly she was pulled out of her musings by the sound of the door opening.

There stood Sam right in front of her; the expression on her face a mix of shock and mild annoyance. Neither woman said anything right away, but it ended up being Sam who broke the silence.

"Paulina, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Sam stated her voice dripping with sarcasm. Paulina tried to give off a smile. She wanted to lighten the mood. She came here to ask for this woman's help, after all.

"I need your help," Paulina said cautiously. She knew it was a lot to ask, but her options were spread thin, to say the least. Sam quirked an eyebrow in amusement, still not budging to let Paulina in her house.

Sam was intrigued, to say the least, but she was going to make Paulina work a little harder before she let her in. "Why would I help you?" Said Sam dryly. "Look, Sam, I know how horrible I was in high school, to you, especially, and honestly, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I know I don't deserve your help, and maybe I deserve what's going on with Joe and I, but I just need to know Sam, please. I literally have no one else to turn to with this." Paulina finished it was a sincere apology, and Sam knew it.

At this moment, she actually felt bad for her high school tormentor. For the first time, she actually saw how much she'd changed. She wasn't the person she knew back then. Sam sighed and knew whoever she was now deserved to know what was going on in her own relationship.

"Come in," Sam said, trying to smile. She didn't hate the woman before her. But she really didn't know her well either. Sam didn't get many visitors in general, but of course, Paulina was probably the absolute last person she thought she'd be ushering into her home.

Once inside, she thought she'd offer Paulina something to eat or drink. "Thirsty?" Sam asked as she rummaged through her nearly empty fridge. Paulina nodded and simply said, "do you have any alcohol?" Sam got a smirk on her face and went to her special cabinet and said "whiskey or rum" as she held up a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand and a bottle of pineapple Bacardi in the other.

Paulina mulled it over though she was generally used to fruity drinks she figured the occasion called for something a little harder. "Rum." She said firmly after making her decision. Sam grabbed two glasses and put cubes of ice, then poured the rum. She gave one of the drinks to Paulina as she took a sip of her own.

The two ladies moved from the kitchen to the couch as they both began to drink their drinks. Sam made sure to bring the bottle with her, knowing that this would probably end up being a drunken heart to heart.

"So, tell me what's going on?" Said Sam calmly. At the question, Paulina downed her drink. Sam thought 'fuck it' and followed suit then grabbed the bottle from the coffee table Sam refilled both their glasses. After taking a couple of sips of her second drink, Paulina answered.

"Well, Joe, he's been distant. He's been drinking more and more, and every time I confront him about it, he says it's just stress from work, but I'm betting you know something more?" Now it was Sam's turn to down her second drink.

Could she really tell Paulina all she knew? She didn't want to be the reason for the end of their relationship. Still, Paulina had a right to know. "Well, a woman came by the times. She said that her husband used to work for Vlad. She claimed that Vlad was getting kids out of juvie and employing them to do his dirty work. He expects them to kidnap other kids and bring them to an experimentation lab. I don't have any proof to corroborate what she's saying, but I believe her." Sam said as she let out a breath, she didn't even realize she was holding.

There was no easy way to say it, and honestly, Sam was not one to mince words.

The room was silent for a second as Paulina pulled herself together. She stood up, shaking, and poured herself another glass. She pressed it to her lips and downed it. She was sweaty and shaking trying to wrap her brain around the idea that Joe was hurting kids. That was the last thing she wanted to believe, but Sam had no reason to lie. And why would whatever woman come to the times with lies? It was either true or that woman thought it was.

Involuntary tears slipped from Paulina's eyes. She was shaking so much that she fell to the floor in a fit of uncontrollable sobs. Sam didn't know what to do. So she did the only thing she could. She grabbed Paulina and pulled her into a hug. Paulina cried in Sam's arms as Sam rubbed circles in her back.

She felt Paulina's pain. She could feel it radiating off of her. Sam wished she had something to say to make her feel better. To console her. But alas, she didn't. There was nothing she could say to make this right.

After Paulina got it all out, she sobered herself and sat back on the couch. Paulina's eyes darkened, and she looked at Sam. She had an idea. "I wanna see it for myself," Said Paulina, a bestial look in her eyes. Sam looked at Paulina as if she'd gone mad.

Paulina was strong. She was a fighter, in fact, she and Sam had more in common than either of them realized. After she willed her sobs away, she found her fight. She wasn't going to take this lying down. The only way she'd allow herself to believe the truth is if she saw it herself.

"What do you mean?" Sam said a bit wary. Paulina took a sip of her drink. "I mean, I live with Joe. I can get his pass key for Vlad Co, and we can go see this 'lab' for ourselves. If it's there, you'll get your story, and I'll get my answers. You in?" Said Paulina, a devious look in her eyes.

Sam mulled it over. She knew Danny was her partner, but she also knew he'd think what Paulina was proposing was way too dangerous. Once she had the evidence, she could still bring Danny in. Though it didn't sit right with her and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew there were so many ways this could go awry she still found herself telling Paulina, "yes, are you kidding I've been trying to nail Vlad to the wall for years." Paulina smiled.

"Who would have ever thought we'd be anything more than sausage sisters?" Said Paulina with a laugh in her voice as Sam looked mortified. "Say that again, and the deal's off", Sam quipped light-hearted though the woman was still slightly grossed out.

"Anyone ever tell you, you suck the fun out of everything, Manson?" Paulina joked back. Despite everything, Sam was actually enjoying her time with Paulina now that she had stopped crying and started making power moves. If she kept this up. Sam might actually have to like her.

"Watch it, Paulina, you came to me for help remember." The girl said in retaliation. It was crazy what a day this had been. One minute they were drinking the next, she told Paulina the truth about the Master's, and now they were having girl time.

Through all the ups and downs, one thing was for sure. Paulina was definitely not the same girl she was in high school.

Surprisingly the girls found themselves continuing to drink and talk well into the night. Sam even let Paulina crash on her couch when they both got tired. All in all, they had fun. Come the next morning, Paulina was already gone by the time Sam got up for work.

She had left her a text that said, "I'll give you a ring when I get the passkey.p.s. I had fun last night" Sam smiled at her phone as she continued to get ready for work.

In the dead hours of the night, Paulina snuck into her condo that she shared with Joe. She hoped she wasn't caught because she didn't know how to explain where she was. She couldn't exactly tell him about her and Sam's plan. Perhaps she could tell some half-truth?

She tiptoed into her and Joe's bedroom, and he was sound asleep. It wasn't a peaceful one, though. He was drenched in sweat as he tossed and turned. His face was contorted in pain.

She pitied him. She knew he loved her in his own way, but briefly, she wondered if the allegations against him and his father were indeed true, was he even capable of love. I mean, after all, didn't love and trust go hand in hand.

He obviously didn't trust her, with whatever was going on with him. Whatever it was, was eating him alive that much was evident. If he didn't trust her, then he couldn't love her. Not fully anyway. She deserved the truth.

He was fooling himself. The pain he carried was his burden; he had to tell so many lies that he began to confuse the truth. He began to believe his own lies.

His conversation with Sam had delved him deeper into the turmoil inside his own mind. He didn't want to lose Paulina, but surely she wouldn't stand with him if he told her the truth.

No one could see the man behind the monster he had become. Hell, he couldn't even see it. When he looked in the mirror, he saw the truth. He saw the same depravity in his father.

He couldn't lose Paulina; she was the only thing he had left that made him feel human still. He was willing to do anything to keep his skeletons in his closet.

They had to stay there, his humanity be damned.

A/n: Okay, so that was a short chapter, but I think it helped move the plot along. We got a lot of character development with Paulina, and we'll see more Joe pretty soon. Let me know what you guys thought.