Wakanda - Outside of T'Challa's Villa
"Polly," T'Challa got his and Polly's attention, "Would you like for us to stay outside for our talk? Would you feel more comfortable on the open patio?"
She looked over at the indicated sitting area and Sam saw the first hint of a smile from her as she nodded in acceptance of his offer.
As the others already outside began to move in that direction, he stood and once again found himself offering his hand to Polly to help her up. He noticed that she was a lot less hesitant this time than she had been in the medical room.
The others inside began to file out of the doors, but he lifted a hand to hold them off from choosing their seats.
"Polly, who would you feel the most comfortable sitting near?" he asked her, trying to show that she had the ability to choose and the power to do so.
Looking over the others, she pointed at Wanda and then him. Sam found it funny that she had chosen one of the most powerful of the group but she had no idea of Wanda's gifts. He also noticed that she held her hands a bit strangely, but since they had been in the cuffs for ten days, they were probably sore and weakened from non-use.
So Wanda took up the chair to her left and he sat to her right. The others spread out between the sofas and chairs available.
Out of everyone from the Raft, he noticed that she was the only one still in the prison jumpsuit. All of them had been given a chance to bathe and change while she had been down in medical. He then saw that instead of shoes, she had only been given socks to wear. The guards probably did that to prevent her from injuring them, remembering how she'd drawn her foot up to lash out as they entered her cell.
"I think the best place to start is proper introductions," Natasha started off the conversation.
For the next minute, all of their group stated their name, Avengers code name, and greeted Polly so that she knew who they were dealing with. He noticed that Bucky only told her his name, which Sam could understand. With her time in Hydra, she might jump to the conclusion that Bucky was still under their control and try to run away again.
But when they got to Steve and he explained who he was, Sam saw Polly's brow furrow, as if she didn't like something about what she had heard.
"What is it?" he asked her.
"That's a lie," she turned her head to the side and softly said as if worried about offending Steve. "He died."
Clint then chimed in with a grin, "No, it turns out he was only lost, frozen in the Arctic pretending to be a tub of butter pecan ice cream."
"Not a popsicle?" Nat then asked.
"No, that's Tony shtick. Steve's more old fashioned anyways," Clint responded, earning a moan from half the group at the horrible joke as he looked to think of something. "Polly, you never heard that Shield found Steve in the ice and were able to revive him?"
Polly only shook her head as she looked nervously around the group.
Clint continued, "They found Steve about four years ago. It made world news. You never heard anything about it?"
Polly didn't respond except to shake her head. She looked a bit worried about how they were questioning her, but they needed some answers that only she could give.
"Could you tell us how long you have been held prisoner?" Sam asked.
"A long time," Polly answered simply.
"Knowing the actual time would be helpful?" Scott requested with a grin but still she said nothing more.
"What we do know is that Ross only held you for about two years, since the time of Project Insight. If you never heard about me, we know that Hydra had you for at least two years prior to that. Would you tell us how long they did have you as a prisoner?" Steve then asked, to which Polly seemed she wanted to answer but was still hesitant for some reason.
"Trust us," he simply requested, getting her to turn towards him.
Polly's head dropped then turned towards the waterfalls before she said, "I don't know."
Everyone was looking a bit disappointed in the answer, as if they believed her to be holding back information again.
But Sam didn't. The way she said it made it sound like she didn't actually know the answer.
"Polly, why don't you know how long you were held?" he asked her hoping for clarification.
"I wasn't allowed to know. It was one of the rules."
"Whose rules?" Steve asked.
Again she seemed hesitant.
"I don't want to tell you yet."
Sam wondered if she was hesitant to reveal the name not knowing how much of Hydra had been taken down. Ross didn't seem to have shared information with Polly. Maybe she was worried that they might not believe her if it was someone like Alexander Pierce who, to the outside world, had been so respected publicly.
"How old were you when you were taken?" Natasha then asked, trying to figure out the problem from another angle.
"Eighteen."
Now there was an angry group mumble. They were all a bit shocked to learn that revelation. Seeing how old Polly appeared, Sam knew he might regret asking his next questions, especially since his stomach had just dropped a notch.
"How about when you were taken? Would you remember the date?"
After a silence that was more than a bit unnerving, she responded, "June…2004."
Sam felt the rest of his stomach drop out at hearing that. Steve and Bucky looked over at each other and he could see the matching scowls realizing how long Hydra had kept her prisoner. Wanda looked upset while Clint and Nat managed to hold in their emotions the best of the group. T'Challa was making a tight fist but quietly absorbing the tension from everyone.
Polly was looking around at everyone seeming to try and figure out what was bothering them. Did she not really understand how much time had passed for her? But then he saw her expression beginning to change as if the reason for their discomfort was dawning on her.
"What…what year is it?" she finally managed to ask.
Sam looked over at Steve, dreading to be the one to tell her.
Taking the silent cue, Steve solemnly informed her, "2016."
Polly sat there for a moment without a change in her expression. And then it started.
Her head slowly began to shake in disbelief, while as if recalling every single moment of her captivity. Her nails began to dig into the woven wood of the chair she sat in. Her breathing became labored as her face drew up in agony. She looked to be on the verge of tears but refusing to do so with the audience watching her.
"I didn't think…not for that long…oh, god, that fucking diabhal…"
He could guess that the Irish term meant devil by how it sounded. Sam saw her starting to not only break down but grow extremely angry. Right then he was glad her power was not similar to Wanda's, thinking that she would be leveling the surrounding area. Polly stood up and began to walk away from the group, heading towards where the enclosed garden opened up towards the waterfalls.
"Polly!" Steve called out in a stern voice, trying to get her to come back.
Since she was walking away from where T'Challa was sitting, his guards didn't try to stop her.
"Steve, give me a few minutes with her. Remember, she's not a prisoner so we can't control her like one," he pointed out to him.
"Fine, but she needs to understand that we can't just let her wander off," he told him as Sam rose. "If someone spots her…"
"Steve," T'Challa got his attention. "She is fine. There are safeguards in place so that nobody will find out you all are here. Even the shading on the windows and doors are just a secondary precaution, and really, unnecessary. I am more worried about her own mental well-being."
Nodding his head in agreement, Sam followed after Polly, who was just a few steps down the stone path. He tried to imagine what she must be thinking after hearing that she'd lost thirteen years of her life to Hydra and Ross. So much had happened and she'd missed all of it. Even without understanding the Irish words that she was mumbling, Sam could tell that she was cursing up a storm towards her captors.
"Go away," he heard her wavering voice tell him. She was not crying yet, still in the anger stage.
"I don't think that you should be alone right now," he told her as they approached the open area of the garden closer to the falls. "You've just been told…"
"I know what I was told!" she turned to yell at him. They were still close to the others, who could easily hear her. "That I spent eleven years of my life locked away in a fucking dark, black box thanks to that bastard! All because he wanted to control me!"
"Alexander Pierce was taken down when Hydra fell. You don't have to worry about him…"
Polly glared at him for only a moment before laughing aloud, as if his comment was funny somehow. Her head shook in disappointment at him before saying, "I'm na' fecking talkin' 'bout Pierce, that tainted pussy in a suit!"
Sam was shocked at hearing that, not sure if it was more from the statement or her comical, vulgar words. He had figured that it was Pierce that would have overseen Polly, like he had for Bucky.
"But wasn't Pierce the one in charge of you?" he just bluntly asked.
Polly gave a hard snort of disgust, "Hydra has worse monsters than Pierce working for them," her open hands palm up as she glared hard at them.
Sam knew that his eyes were now wide at hearing that. Since Washington, with Pierce being one of the leaders of Hydra, he'd always considered him the bad guy standard that others tried to match up against. Killing off a few million people in a single day was hard to top in Sam's mind.
But it sure didn't seem that way for Polly.
"Please, come sit back down so we can talk. It's stuff like this that we are interested in," he explained to her. "Only you can tell us your story."
Polly still focused at her hands before her while seeming to consider his request. Even though she still looked to be upset, she started to head back to the group with him following. There were servants putting down glasses of drinks on the table surfaces close to everyone, including next to their vacant chairs. They sat back down as he tried to decide where to take her questioning now.
Bucky then helped by asking, "We could hear what you said from here. When you said black box, did that mean they put you into cryo also?"
She looked a bit lost at the question.
"Cryo?" she answered shaking her head. "What's that?"
"A type of frozen sleep," Bucky answered. "Isn't that what you meant by black box?"
"No," she flatly told them. "I mean a small cell with walls painted black and usually no light."
The members of the group about to take drinks from their glasses paused, absorbing the new information.
"You were kept in a dark cell all alone for that long?" Scott then asked.
He could see the hesitation in her, as if trying to decide whether or not to tell them anything. But then she spoke.
"Only when they weren't moving me around to use," she started. "Hydra would order me to be moved to different bases to question agents. It was always on a secured base, and there were rules as to the type of cells that I could be put into. He wanted to make sure that I couldn't use my powers to escape."
"He? He who?" Clint then asked.
Polly seemed to think it over for a few moments, and he figured she was trying to decide if she could trust them, but then she finally answered, "I wouldn'a tell Ross and I'll not be tellin' you."
There was a mumble throughout the group as they tried to comprehend her comment. Sam noticed that Polly sometimes focused on the movements of the others, watching them drink, before staring at the glass next to her. The thought that she was waiting to see if someone stopped her from taking it came to mind.
"And I thought I had trust issues," Scott then joked of himself trying to lighten the mood. "You can trust us, we're the good guys."
Polly nodded as she gave a slight laugh, "Hydra thought they were the good guys too."
Sam noticed that as everyone considered the comment, that she might be right from her point of view.
Polly finally reached over for the glass next to her on the small side table which was hers. She glanced around a final time, as if expecting someone to say something, which nobody would. But he also noticed that she had a hard time picking it up and holding onto it, having to use both hands wrapped around it. He then remembered how she'd grabbed onto the door's handle, as if it gave her problems too. Sam had only a moment to wonder what was wrong with them. Had they grown weak after being in the cuffs for so long?
They all quietly watched as Polly then downed half of the glass of juice without stopping. Sam hoped that everyone else also understood that her drink was the first real one that she'd had since leaving the Raft. By the way they stopped talking while she drank, it seemed they did.
Once she was finished, Steve asked, "But just so we're clear, Pierce was not the one in charge of you?"
"No, he only had me moved to where he wanted answers," she told them, putting the glass back on the table.
"Polly, would you tell us your real name?" Sam then asked, to which she began shaking her head. "Why not?"
He saw her visibly hunch up on the chair before answering, "I have to keep them safe."
"Who?" Steve asked.
"Me family," she whispered as Sam saw her hands begin to slightly shake.
"You believe if we know your name, then we will hurt your family?" T'Challa asked.
"Ya might try to use them too," she told them sounding very defensive.
Did she really think they would hurt others on purpose?
Steve then asked her, "Why would you believe that?"
"That's what Hydra wanted to do at first, ta keep me in line," she stated as she began to look angry, ready to fight them to protect her family. "Eventually Ross tried to threaten me with 'em, but he couldn't even tell me my name so I knew that he was bréag...lying to me."
It sounded to Sam that they were going to have a tough road ahead when it came to trust for Polly. She'd been lied to by Ross, the one thing that her powers would have confirmed if she'd been able to used them on him again. And her mood swings seemed to be everywhere. But if what she was saying was true, and they had no reason to doubt her, then she'd had no real interaction with people for almost half of her life. She showed anger the most, but Sam could tell that her experiences frightened her all the way through. He hated to think what Hydra might have done to her to instill that fear in her.
"Did they ever hurt your family or just threaten you into believing they would?" Natasha asked bring him back to the conversation.
"Threatened."
That made Sam feel a bit better. At least Polly didn't have to deal with knowing that she'd been responsible for them getting hurt.
"So then Hydra knew your real identity, but Ross didn't for some reason. From what we were able to learn in your file, you refused to tell him and somehow he never figured out who you were," Steve commented.
"Yes. If I told him, then he could not use them against me. By not telling him, I could just refuse 'ta do his stupid tests. Then he could only hurt me."
There was another audible mumble passing over the group again.
"Alright then," Sam then said getting their attention, "So that you feel more comfortable around us, we won't ask your name again. So is Polly fine with you or would you like to change it?"
"Polly."
"Then the next step would be to explain what is going on right now," Steve then sat forward in his chair, elbows on his knees. "We are in the country of Wakanda, in Africa. Have you heard of it?"
Polly shook her head no.
"Because of a couple of incidents, a document called the Sokovia Accords was created. It is a way for the United Nations to control the lives and movements of enhanced individuals. It would also put control of the Avengers into the hands of a U.N. panel," Steve explained.
"Who are the Avengers?" Polly asked.
There was an amused mumble now as everyone realized she'd never heard of any of them but Steve.
"Most of us were," Clint then smiled at her. You could hear how proud he sounded, telling her, "We were the team that fought and defeated the alien invasion of New York."
With an amused snort, "There's no such a thing as aliens. Don't talk such blarney ta me," Polly stated while sounding like she knew Clint was lying to her.
"Yes, it turns out that there are," Steve answered with a smile.
Polly then looked around the group trying to gauge their honesty. Just taking someone's word for the existence of aliens. Dropping her head slightly, she seemed to be weighing some internal debate. Taking her glasses off, she glanced around the group before focusing back on Steve.
Sam could see her eyes clearly now, and he was drawn to them. They were indeed green, which he had believed. But they were such an amazing bright green it almost didn't look natural…unless they were made from fresh, rich clover. He'd only ever seen that color made with contacts. Looking closely, he noticed the detail around her pupil was formed of a slightly darker green, contrasting the overall coloring beautifully. He was surprised to find that her thick eye lashes were the same red as her hair and eyebrows.
Polly then held out her frail hand out in Steve' direction, wanting him to take a hold of it, and Sam knew what that meant.
"I'm hearing a lot of possible fibs right now. Ya want me to trust ya some, then give me a reason to trust ya," she requested as everyone stiffened in their seats.
"You want to use your truth powers on me?" Steve then asked, looking a bit more tentative now.
"If ya are'na lying, ya have nothing 'ta be worried about."
Sam noticed that the Irish accent was back again.
Steve looked around the group for a moments, locking eyes with Bucky. They non-verbally communicated for a bit before Bucky shook his head. He was worried about his friend and what she could do to him. But this would be a big step towards knowing how much their group and Polly could trust each other.
"When have you known me to ever back down from anything?" Steve humorously asked Bucky.
"And look where it's gotten us," he taunted back as Steve moved so he was sitting on the edge of the wooden table before Polly. Bucky then addressed her directly, "If you hurt or injure him in any way, you'll wish you were back with Hydra."
"Don't be so grumpy, even if it is expected at your age," Steve shook his head at him with a smile, and getting a few chuckles from around the group. "At least try to be civil."
But only four of them had seen what had happened with the guard. There was no telling what Polly could make Steve do if she wanted.
"How does it work?" Steve asked looking a bit more confident.
"I'll ask a question, either yes or no. You'll answer but you can offer more of an answer if you want but it will only be the truth as you know it," she explained, making Sam wonder about how she'd worded that. Maybe it was something Hydra had discovered and tested before.
Reaching his hand out, Polly took Steve's into hers as she began to stare at him. He noticed Steve's eyes widen a bit and then he smiled at what he saw. Glancing at her eyes, they were now filled with a sparkling glow, like sunlight through emeralds. It was a tale for when she used her powers.
"Are you really the original Captain America from World War II?" she started off with, her voice calm yet commanding.
"Yes, ma'am, I am," he politely answered making her eyes widen a bit at hearing that. Maybe she had thought him an imposter.
"Are aliens real?" she then simply asked.
"Yes, they are."
Polly sat back a bit as if she had been expecting to find out that Steve was lying, and shocked to now know he had not been.
"Did they really attack New York?" she continued.
"Yes, they came from a portal in the sky."
Polly took a moments to mumble something to herself in Irish before turning her attention back to Steve.
"Were you really there?"
"Yes, so were Nat and Clint."
Polly then looked over at them, and they both nodded their heads. Sam noticed that as she questioned him, her voice did not hint at a trace of accent, back to a very flat plain tone. Why did it keep changing?
"Are you going to lock me in a cell?" she then suddenly asked.
Some of the others mumbled at her suddenly changing the type of questioning, but Steve only held up his free hand to stop them, showing that he was fine with what she was doing.
"No, not as long as you do not become a threat to my friends or try to hurt anyone," he told her.
"Are you planning on forcing me to work for you or anyone else?"
Steve was a bit taken back by the question, but he answered, "Never."
Polly then released his hand and put the glasses back on while sitting back in her chair, thinking about what she had just learned. Hopefully that helped her to see that they could be trusted a bit. It had been a very short, but impressive use of her powers.
"Steve, how do you feel?" Bucky then asked.
"I feel fine," he told them as he moved back to his chair.
"Now, with that out of the way," Steve said taking control of the conversation again, "As I was saying, the Sokovia Accords will regulate enhanced individuals. With your powers, you would now fall under them."
"What does that mean?" she then asked.
"It means that the United Nations may consider you a threat if you do not agree to sign and work within the Accords parameters," Nat bluntly pointed out.
"Work? I don'a want 'ta do anything but leave an' go home," Polly's voice sounded strong but emotional.
"We understand, Polly," T'Challa then spoke up. "But right now, if you went home, then there is a chance that you could be taken again, either by what remains Hydra or Ross. With you being removed from his custody, he will probably resume his search for your identity, guessing that is where you would go. If you used your powers and were discovered, then the U.N. could send in their people to have you arrested and possibly put back into the Raft, if you do not cooperate with them."
Sam watched her body language change, and not for the good.
"There's no bloody way in hell that I'll be going back there," Polly looked a bit on the defensive, as if she almost expected them to argue with her.
She really was prone to mood swings he noted. But it seemed that anything associated with Hydra, Ross, or the Raft brought out her anger the most. Very understandable.
"And we don't want you to get sent back there either," he pointed out getting her attention focused on him.
He reached out to touch her shoulder, paused for only a second, knowing that if she was upset she could turn on him, but then carefully placed his hand on hers. Sam felt her arm muscles tense under his touch for a moment before easing up. He would have to work with her on human contact so that she didn't lash out at anyone in fright from an accidental touch.
"I know it sounds like a lot to understand right now, but we will work with you and see what we can do to find somewhere for you to fit into," T'Challa told her. Sensing she might need a break from the questioning, turning to the rest of the group, T'Challa steered the conversation away from Polly and asked them, "I have a conference call in a little while with Tony about the escape. Is there anything that I should be aware of from inside of the Raft?"
For a few minutes as the rest of the group chatted about the conditions they had observed amongst themselves, Sam saw Polly wasn't really listening to the conversations. When someone mentioned a personal event, she didn't make an expression as if she might have experienced similar and she had not said anything for quite a while. He considered that maybe it was still too fresh for her and later on he would see if she would talk about her time in the Raft. She would be able to give the group a whole new perspective on Ross and his agenda.
But as the discussion continued, Sam watched as Polly slowly began to draw her body in on itself while sitting in the chair. It reminded him of what he had seen on the video, her sitting still for hours without moving. Even through she was looking out towards the waterfalls, he somehow doubted that she was actually seeing anything. It was as if she had withdrawn into her own mind.
Leaning over as the others continued to talk, he whispered to her, "Polly, are you alright?", receiving no reaction from her.
"Polly?" he whispered again.
Still nothing.
Reaching over, Sam gently touched her arm.
Polly gave a startled jump only once he made physical contact with her. Her eyes then began to dart around as if she had forgotten that the group was even there.
"What?" she asked, seeming to come back from wherever her mind had traveled.
"Are you alright?" he asked again. "You seemed to have zoned out there for a bit."
Her shoulders hunched in a bit, making her appear smaller, but she finally answered, "I'm fine. I'm still here."
Looking over, he saw that Steve and Bucky were both focused on them, probably being able to hear their whispers from where they sat.
Sam was not sure what had happened to her, and right now was not the time to try and have any type of psychological discussion about the mental state she was in that made her mind completely withdraw the way it had.
"Polly, is there anything that you would like to ask us?" Steve then asked trying to get her to engage. "Anything you need?"
She looked around the group for a few moments before requesting, "Could I have a shower?"
Sam couldn't help but smile at such a simple request, but then he considered that for Polly, that it may seem like a lot compared to what she was used to. He had seen the small shower area in her cell but with the ball cuffs on her hands, she had not even been able to undress to use it without the guards helping her. Thinking along those lines, Sam began to wonder what other horrible things that she might have been subjected to during her 'punishment weeks'.
"Of course," T'Challa stated, lifting his hand so that a servant that had been standing off to the side of the room approached him. "Ilani, please show our guest, Polly, to her quarters and make sure that she has some clean garments to choose from during her stay with us."
"Yes, Your Highness," she female servant said before moving towards the hallway where their rooms were located.
Sam saw the nervous look that overcame Polly, but he reached out and gently touched the back of her hand.
"It will be fine. All of our rooms are in that hall. Take all the time you need. Once you are ready, if you want some company, I think the team is probably going to just stay out here for a while talking until dinnertime. Just come back out and join us if you feel like it," he told her as she stood up. "We will be here to answer any questions that you do think of."
Polly nodded and then headed off with the servant. Once they were gone and safely out of earshot, the real discussion began.
"Steve, what can you tell us about what she did?" Bucky asked wanting to know more about the truth touch.
"It was strange," he told them. "I actually tried to lie and say that aliens didn't exist, but when I spoke the truth came out. It was like I had no control over what my body said even though my mind wanted to say something else."
Bucky scoffed at the comment, "You? Lie?", earning him a shove in the shoulder from Steve.
"Did it hurt?" Scott then asked.
He and Wanda had been very quiet for most of their talk.
"No, it just felt like a normal touch. But her eyes were amazing. I've never seen anything quite like it. They actually glowed as she questioned me."
"Considering her accent, hair, and eyes, I think we can all agree that she's from Ireland," Sam spoke up, pointing out her background. He then offered up, "And I'm sure the only reason she lashed out at the medical staff and guards was because she was scared. Polly's been a captive and prisoner for a lot of years. The fact that she talked with us the way she did was pretty amazing in fact. Trust issues are just one of her symptoms, but she has already told us more than she did Ross. But keep in mind that she's going to have outburst of emotions for a while, just like you saw when mentioning going back to the Raft. I'm pretty sure that she is going to have some form of PTSD that will start appearing over the next couple of day now that she has some freedom. She's not used to having that."
"With how long she was held by Hydra, do you think we need to worry about Stockholm Syndrome?" Wanda asked looking between him and Nat.
Shaking his head, Sam answered, "I'm afraid I don't think so."
"What do you mean?" Steve didn't sound too happy about his admission. "Wouldn't her not having it be a good thing?"
"You would think so, but then you have to consider why she wouldn't have it. With the few outbursts she's had when mentioning Hydra, if she was sympathetic towards them then I would suspect her to not be so vocal, to try and hide that fact. But her anger seems very genuine. Since she gets so angry when they're mentioned, I suspect that there's a good chance that she was so abused and hurt during her time with them that she was never given the chance to become sympathetic. Consider what she's already told us about her time with them: a dark cell, having a possible 'friend' killed, not even knowing how long she was held...that's not typical treatment for a prisoner you're trying to eventually get to willingly help you."
Sam watched for a few moments as they all considered his words. Bucky was the only one who had long-term exposure to Hydra but his time was significantly different. They'd wiped his memories to insure his loyalty to them. To him, it seemed that Polly was almost treated as an enemy combatant for most of her time with them, receiving harsh or cruel treatment to insure she did as she was instructed.
"T'Challa, is there some way that your people can try to find out who Polly really is?" Steve then requested. "I know Ross didn't have any luck but maybe being able to talk with her family, or at least know that they are safe might help her to trust us a bit more."
Sam felt that was a good idea. If she could see that they were trying to help her, and not control her by just saying she had to be here, then maybe she would feel better about being around them.
"I will see what we can find," he told them.
"I might have an idea as to how to accomplish that," Nat spoke up. "I'll work with your people, if that is all right?"
"Yes, any assistance would be appreciated. Polly has been out of…well, really, she might never have been in a lot of computer systems with how long ago it seems she was taken. I would suspect that Ross might have searched through the Hydra files released online and still have not found information on her. But he might not have known what to look for with so much now being out there. Otherwise I believe it would have been noted in her file."
Sam knew that he was right with that
"So, now that we are here, what does that mean for us?" Scott then asked.
Sam knew that he was probably thinking of his daughter Cassie and when he would get to see her again.
"For right now, we need to lay low. We are going to have to move out from here very soon but we might have useful information soon," Steve told him. "Nat's already keeping track to see what Ross puts into place before any of you who want to try and go home actually does. I'd hate for any of you end up back in the Raft. If you do, you'll probably be there much longer on a much longer vacation."
Author's Note: If everything goes fine with editing, I'll keep trying to post new chapters on Mondays and Fridays. FYI: Since it's never been stated, let's go with Anthony Mackie's age for Falcon, meaning that around this time (MCU movie release dates) that Sam would be about 38 years old. This puts him only a few years older than Polly.
Thanks to everyone for your positive reviews! I hope that you continue to find the story entertaining!