It Takes A Village

Sorry for taking ages to update this. I kind of hated the chapter when I'd written it, so I had to make some changes and I think I'm finally happy with it. This chapter is pretty angsty again, but I like to think there's some hope in there, too?

Thank you as always for your reviews/comments/faves/alerts etc. I honestly wouldn't have got back into writing for Good Witch if it wasn't for you guys and your amazing support.

Chapter 15: Love is a Losing Game

By Wednesday, Sam knew that he couldn't put off talking to either Cassie or Linda any longer. His ex-wife was still sensibly staying out of his way, but this just made Sam more annoyed. He still couldn't believe she hadn't had the decency to talk to him before telling Nick, and then the whole town, her plans. There was no apology from her when he finally confronted her about it either.

"Oh please Sam, you would have hated hearing it however I had told you. And, for your information, I had intended on telling you and Nick when we had dinner together on Monday. But as always you were putting Cassie Nightingale before your family."

"That's not fair, Linda," He sighed. Fighting with her would just take more energy than he had to spare.

Linda just shrugged in the way that Sam found maddeningly frustrating. He wanted to tell her that he wasn't even sure that he and Cassie were even a couple anymore, but he couldn't stand to see the satisfaction on her face. He still remembered exactly how she had looked when he had told her that Courtney had broken up with Nick.

"I'll be out of your hair soon anyway," She said. "I'm going to look at all of the suitable properties in Middleton so I can put down an offer as soon as my lease in New York ends."

For Sam, it couldn't come a moment too soon. He suddenly thought of something.

"Of course Nick will be able to visit you whenever he likes, but his home is still here." He jabbed his finger at the kitchen table as if to reinforce his point.

"That's fine," Linda smirked, and Sam changed his mind; that satisfied smirk was far more irritating than her dismissive shrug. Oh, he couldn't wait to have his house back to the way it was again. He just wished things with Cassie could go back to the way they were so easily.

Trying to talk to Cassie hadn't been as easy as having his conversation with Linda. He had been trying to avoid his ex-wife, but when he stopped it had been relatively simple for them to be in the same place at the same time given that they currently lived in the same house. Every time he tried to catch Cassie, something seemed to prevent him.

Since he had seen Cassie and Nathan sharing a table at the Bistro at lunchtime on Tuesday, he hadn't seemed to be able to get a moment alone with her. When he had tried to catch her at the shop on Tuesday afternoon, Tara had informed him that she had gone to an auction in Blairsville. On Wednesday, when he walked past the Bell, Book after closing up the clinic for the day, he had seen her deep in conversation with Nathan who had stood in the shop doorway with what looked like an antique typewriter in his arms. Sam had paused for a while, wondering if Cassie's unexplained powers of observation would register his presence but she hadn't seemed to notice him at all.

Sighing, he crossed the road and went into Abigail's flower shop despite the "closed" sign showing in the glass panel of the door. Abigail raised her eyebrows when he entered.

"Hello Sam, the optometrist is two doors down."

Sam frowned, confused.

Abigail gestured toward the door. "Pretty sure that sign says closed."

"Oh, sorry, Abigail." He took out his credit card. "Would this change your mind?"

Abigail laughed. "What are you after?" She paused, narrowed her eyes. "Let me guess, you want something that's going to knock my cousin's socks off and make her forget that your ex-witch, sorry I mean wife, has decided to move here permanently."

Sam winced. "Yeah, something like that."

"Have you talked to her?" She asked, more gently. She loved both Cassie and Sam, and she hated to see them suffering.

"Not since she left the Bistro on Monday night."

"Sam, that was two days ago."

"I know." He sighed. "I can't seem to get her alone."

"Hence the flowers?"

"Hence the flowers."

Abigail decided to take pity on him. She put together all of her cousin's favourite's, wrapped them in pretty purple cellophane and tied them up with a matching ribbon. Even Sam, who knew very little about anything that grew in the ground, was impressed.

"How much is that going to set me back?"

Abigail smiled. "They're on the house. Go and get your girl back."

"Thank you, Abigail." Although Abigail was not one for displays of physical affection, she let Sam hug her and press a kiss to her cheek.

He left the flower shop with the bouquet in his arms, hoping that he might finally catch Cassie alone.

But when he headed back towards the Bell, Book and Candle he saw that the shop was in darkness. He had only been with Abigail for little more than fifteen minutes, but he guessed that must have been enough for Cassie to finish closing up for the day. Disappointed, Sam headed home hoping that he would find her at Grey House instead.

Rather than slipping in through the kitchen door like he had always used to, Sam went to the front door of Grey House. He stood awkwardly, transferring the large bouquet of blooms from one hand to the other as he waited.

"Hello Sam," A voice broke through his reverie.

"Hi George," Sam smiled. "Is Cassie home?"

"She's in the kitchen," George held the door open for the younger man, taking an appreciative sniff of the flowers he held. "I'm assuming those aren't for me, then?"

It brought one of the few genuine smiles of the week to Sam's face as he walked the familiar path of the Grey House kitchen. As usual a wonderful smell was emanating from the room and Sam couldn't help but wish he was returning home after a long day with flowers for his wife, who was cooking him dinner. Wife, he thought, now where had that come from?

Cassie sometimes wished she wasn't in possession of the gifts she had, because she already knew Sam was at the house before he poked his head around the kitchen door. The large bouquet of flowers, which looked to contain most of her favourites, was a surprise though.

"Sam,"

"Cassie," Sam smiled a little sheepishly as he held the bouquet towards her. "Abigail helped me pick these out for you, I, uh, hope you like them?"

It wasn't supposed to have been a question, but it had come out sounding like one.

"They're beautiful," She replied, the corners of her mouth trying to quirk up into a smile even though she didn't want them to. He was so charming without even being aware of it, and that had always attracted her.

"I just…" He stopped. "Cassie, please can we just talk?"

The smile had faded from his face, and Cassie could see how tired he looked. Unlike her, he didn't have make-up and special homemade lotions to hide the fatigue of sleepless nights.

"I don't really have anything else to say to you," She said, turning back to the pots bubbling on the stovetop so he wouldn't see that for once she had chosen to hide the truth from him.

"Cassie," He didn't want to have to beg, but if that was what he had to do to get her back then he would.

She spun back around to face him. "It's just too hard Sam, okay?"

"I know, I'm sorry."

She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache start to throb behind her eyes.

"It's not your fault, Sam. It's no one's fault; it just is."

He wasn't prepared to give him that easily. "It doesn't have to be. We can start again."

"And doom us to fail all over again?"

"I don't believe that would happen." He meant every word.

Cassie shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sam."

Sam realised he was fighting a losing battle, like Cassie was miles away from him and he couldn't reach her. They had always been so close; so in sync but now he really did feel like he was losing her.

"Please, just think about."

He left the kitchen, hoping he didn't run into anyone on his way out. Cassie watched him leave, thinking that all she ever did was think about them.

Grace paced the length of her bedroom carpet, tapping her phone against her chin. She desperately needed a plan of action, and the person she would normally go to for advice was the one person she couldn't talk about this with. She had come to love Nick like a brother, as much as she vowed never to tell him that. They had bonded these last few months, even though their parents had stopped dating. She really didn't want him to leave town. She could see how good Middleton had been for him, and for his relationship with his Dad. It just wouldn't be Middleton without him. He seemed determined to make things right between Cassie and Sam, although Grace knew that it wasn't his fault that their relationship had broken down. Even more than him leaving town, Grace hated the idea of him being stuck with Linda full time. It was a terrible thing to think about someone else's mother, but Grace could see the tension Nick experienced whenever his Mom was around. Even though she missed her father all the time, Grace was glad that her relationship with Cassie was not like that at all.

She finally called Nick.

"Have you done it yet?" She asked, as soon as he had picked up and said hello.

"Hello to you too, Grace," The usual teasing humour was missing from his tone though. "Yeah, she's kind of freaking out about it. Not sure if it's in a good way or a bad way right now."

"What about Sam?"

"I don't know if she's mentioned it to him yet. I'm going to talk to him about it once Mom's gone to bed."

"Okay, let me know how it goes."

"I will Grace, don't worry."

"I don't want you to go,"

Nick sighed. "Me either. But hey, I won't be long before we're off to college."

"College? You're really thinking about college? That's great Nick!"

"Let's just say I've had plenty of time on my hands and I've found schools with some great courses."

"Awesome," Grace grinned. "Good luck."

Nick said goodbye and hung up, thinking he'd need more than good luck to survive living with Linda again.

Sam's evening run didn't clear his mood. Neither did a cold beer from the fridge. He felt miserable, like a sulky heartbroken teenager. Except Nick hadn't been like this when Courtney had dumped him. At that moment, his son walked into the living room. He wasn't using crutches now and his gait seemed almost back to normal. He took a seat opposite Sam, arranging his legs in a way that made him more comfortable.

"You okay?" Sam asked, frowning at him. He might not have Cassie's sixth sense, but he thought he knew his own son well enough to know when something was up.

Nick put a hand on each of his knees and looked at the carpet.

"I guess so. I've been thinking about how Mom's been here for a while now, and how she's planning on staying here. For me." He looked up now. "Doesn't seem fair that she's giving up her fancy lifestyle for me. I know must hate it here. The nearest designer boutique is fifty miles away."

Sam chuckled lightly at that, but he wasn't sure he liked where this conversation was heading.

"You can't just tell her to rethink her decision to move here because the shopping isn't as good."

"I know," Nick replied. "That's why I was going to suggest that I move back to New York with her."

He hadn't seen that one coming. It blindsided him.

"But Nick, I thought you liked it here?" He couldn't help but think that Linda had put him up to this, especially as Sam had been so emphatic about Nick's home being in Middleton now.

"I do, Middleton's actually not as bad as I thought it would be. People are okay too. And I'd definitely miss Stephanie's pies."

"Have you talked to your Mom about this?" He hoped to God he hadn't. Linda would assume that he had put their son up to this.

"Yeah. She seemed a bit like, flustered. She didn't really say much though."

Sam rubbed his face with his hands.

"Look Nick, I know I dragged you here to Middleton against your will because I thought it was the best thing for both of us. And, at the time, it definitely was. But you're not the same boy you were then, you've grown up so much since and I'm really proud of the man you're becoming."

"Dad," Shit, Nick thought. He had expected his Dad to be angry, like all the times before when he had tried to escape Middleton. Funny now that when he didn't really want to leave, his Dad wasn't trying to stand in his way.

"Let me finish, please. If you want to move back to New York with your mother, and she says that it's okay, then you have my blessing. But you've got to know that you always have a home here with me, okay?"

Nick nodded, not trusting himself to speak right now.

Sam looked up, staring directly into his son's eyes.

"If you make this decision, which I will support even though I'd rather you stayed here with me, promise me you're making it for the right reasons."

Nick flinched. It was almost like his Dad could see right through him. He was reading him the way Cassie did.

"I guess it depends on Mom."

"Yeah," Sam let out a long breath. "Maybe she really has become a small town girl after all."

They both laughed and the tension between them evaporated.

Linda had decided on an early night, but she wasn't tired at all. She had needed time alone to process what Nick had asked of her. A year ago, she would have been delighted and triumphant to know that her son wanted to leave this dull, backwater of a town to move back to the city lights with her. But now, something didn't feel right about it. Having lived here for a while now, she could see how much Nick loved it and how he had become a part of the community. He'd made friends, found a girlfriend and was doing well at school before his skiing accident. It seemed strange to her that he'd want to give all that up now to come home with her.

Linda wasn't even sure that New York really was her home anymore. She was feeling increasingly nomadic and unsure whether she belonged anywhere at all. Sam and Nick had been embraced by Middleton and were now important members of the community. She wasn't sure she could ever see that happening for her, and even she had the humility to accept that part of that may be her own fault.

She wondered how Sam would feel this time. He had been firmly against her taking Nick to New York; to China; to London with her before. But Nick was older now. If he chose to go to college, he would probably be moving away in not much more than a year's time. Surely Sam would want that precious time with his son. Linda wasn't sure she had the energy to fight him over it this time.

Of course, if both Linda and Nick left town, Sam would be free to spend all of his time with Cassie. Linda's lips twisted in a humourless smile as she made that connection. This time, leaving with Nick would just be too easy. No, Linda thought, she had already made and announced her decision to stay in Middleton and she was going to stick to it.

Cassie managed to hold it together during dinner with her family, but she was relieved as soon as she could be alone. She ran a deep bath of hot soapy lavender scented water and eased herself in. Only then did she let the tears come.

Had she made a mistake in sending Sam away like that? She was afraid she had. She was listening to her intuition less and less these days, afraid of what it was telling her. There was guilt mixed in with her fear, too. She couldn't feel like she was betraying Jake's memory when her feelings for Sam were so strong. She had tried to push them away and deny them, convinced that every obstacle that they encountered was a sign that whatever existed between them was wrong. She had taken an oath to love Jake Russell until the day she died, and she knew she always would. But whenever she closed her eyes; let her mind wander or lost herself in a daydream, they always only featured Doctor Sam Radford.