A Fresh Start
Chapter Twenty
Richard is awake when Cassie walks back into his room about an hour later. Turning his head, he watches as she walks towards him. Sitting down on the bed, she takes his hand. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Richard replies. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize. I understand how you feel but nothing is going on between Jeffrey and me. I love you. I have always loved you, even when I thought you were gone. Jeffrey is a friend. That is all."
"I know you love me. But the idea of you and him together, in San Cristobel." Richard shakes his head. "I trusted him." He says, looking at her. "But you're right, I should have told you about him and the threats and if I had, I know it wouldn't've happened. I'm sorry if I made you feel like I was blaming you for what happened. I didn't mean to." Richard says, reaching for her.
"You're forgiven." Cassie says, lying down beside him.
They lie there for a few minutes before he turns his head, kissing her forehead as she moves closer to him. Wrapping his arms around her, he moves to his side, looking down he leans towards her, gently kissing her. After a couple minutes he leans back and asks. "Did you lock the door?"
"No."
"Go lock it."
"Richard, we can't lock the door. The nurses will…."
"They've already been in for the night, unless I call them." He says, kissing her again, tempting her.
Moving closer to him, Cassie looses herself in the kiss. After a few moments she pulls away, leaning her forehead against his she says. "You're not making this easy."
"I know." He replies, kissing her again as he pulls her against him. She can feel his desire pressing against her and she feels a wave of desire wash over her, kissing him as she closes her eyes and he whispers. "You want to Cassie, I can feel it." He moves on to her neck, kissing her as she sighs softly.
Opening her eyes, the reality of where they are and what has happened over the last five years breaks the desire building inside her. "Richard, we can't." She says, pulling away and sitting up.
"I'm fine, and I need you." He says, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I want to be with you so much. I miss you, but not here and not like this. When we're together I don't want to be reminded of all this and that I lost you for a while." Cassie says, looking up at him, silently pleading with him to understand.
"I understand. But this is going to be bloody hard, you realize that."
"As hard as waiting till our wedding night?"
"Harder, because I know what I'm missing. I've tasted you and I know what it feels like to be connected…. We have to change the subject."
"I'm sorry." Cassie says, reaching up to run a finger across his chin.
"You'll make it up to me."
"I promise I will." She says, before he wraps his arm around her, pulling her to him before he releases her and starts to get up.
"Where are you going?"
"I've got to go to the bathroom." Richard says, getting out of bed as Cassie watches him walks across the room.
Like a clock programmed inside her Sam wakes up around six am. Rolling to her side, she watches Jeffrey as he sleeps. She's tempted to call in and tell them she wouldn't be in today but then she remembers that they are moving Richard from ICU today and that she wants to be there to make sure he is settled.
Leaning over, she kisses him softly, before she slips from the bed, walking into the bathroom, she turns the water on and then steps into the shower. Fifteen minutes later she wraps a towel around her before she opens the bathroom door.
Listening to see if he's awake, she pulls her suitcase into the hallway and opens it, dressing quickly, she takes her hair down and then looks in the mirror, trying to imagine his reaction later that evening. Reaching for the brush she brushes her hair out and then pulls it back into a ponytail before she brushes her teeth and puts on a little make-up before she walks into the bedroom again.
Sitting down on the bed, she watches him sleep, wondering at the smile playing at his lips. Reaching over, she brushes back a few strands of hair that has fallen across his forehead, after a few seconds they fall back and she smiles. Leaning over, she kisses him before she reaches for a piece of paper and a pen, walking into the hallway, she scribbles him a note before she grabs her purse, car and room key. Leaving the note on the nightstand where he can find it when he wakes up. Leaning over she kisses him again and whispers. "I love you." Before she leaves the room.
A couple hours later he rolls to his side as he reaches for Sam and finds the bed empty. Slowly he opens his eyes calling her name as he looks around the room. Sitting up and pushing the sheet back he walks around the corner to see if she's in the bathroom, but she's not there. Walking back to the bed, he looks around the room again until he sees the piece of paper laying on the nightstand. Reaching for it, he picks up Sam's note.
J
"I've gone to the hospital. I'll see you tonight. I'll have a surprise for you. I might be a little late but I should be home by six. Last night was wonderful. I love you.
Love you Always
Sam
Jeffrey puts the note down and then goes to start a pot of coffee before he gets his cell phone out of the pocket of his jeans. He dials the number to Lt. Jamison, after a couple rings he picks up.
"Hello."
"Steve, its Jeffrey O'Neill."
"I was just about to call you. We just received word that the Australian government has tracked down that Gillespie fellow. He was out in the bush, so it's taken them longer. They'll have him in custody by tonight and he'll be in Sydney by tomorrow morning. A couple of our agents will be there to debrief him."
"We need to talk to him quickly. He's a key witness in this case."
"We should have his statement by tomorrow morning. I'll call you when we receive it."
"Okay, I'm in Washington so call me when you get it and I'll come down and pick it up."
"Okay."
"Thanks, Steve."
"I'll be in touch."
"Okay."
They hang up and Jeffrey goes to the bathroom, turning the water on he steps into the shower. Ten minutes later, wrapping a towel around him, he pours a cup of coffee and taking a sip before he shaves. Wiping his face off, he brushes his hair and teeth before he pulls out a pair of jeans and boxers. Pulling them on, he sits down on the bed, reaching for his cell phone again he dials the number to his office. After a couple rings, Stacey answers the phone.
"Springfield City Hall, Mayor's office."
"Stacey, its Jeffrey."
"Yes, Mr. Mayor."
"I'm not going to be in the office this week. I had to make and emergency trip to DC. Are there any pressing meetings for today?"
"You have the meeting with Mr. Spaulding about the redevelopment of 5th and Main streets, as well as the Spaulding benefit. And then you have meeting with Reverend Rutledge and Josh Lewis about their project. And Ms. Spencer has called five times this morning wanting to speak to you about the Beacon hotel and rezoning the land around it, personally I think it should stay the way it is."
"Stacey, stick to the calendar."
"Yes sir. That's all that we have right now Sir."
"Give the Spaulding meeting to Barry. Call Reverend Rutledge and reschedule with my apologies. Forwards all of Ms. Spencer's calls to the zoning commission and remind her that if she insists on harassing me I'll speak with Frank about it. Have the new budget numbers arrived?"
"No, Accounting says it'll be tomorrow before they have them all together.
"Alright, I should be back in town in time for the 4th of July parade and the Bauer BBQ."
"I'll inform the marshals. Is there anything else you need?"
"No, after you've finished with that, take the day off."
"Yes sir, thank you Sir."
"I'll see you this weekend."
"Yes sir." Stacey replies, hanging up a few minutes later and calling Ava to see about lunch and a girl's day out.
After hanging up with Stacy, Jeffrey dials the number for his travel agent, booking two tickets for Springfield for Friday night. After he hangs up from that call he grabs a shirt, socks and his boots. When he finishes dressing he grabs his phone, room and car keys and leaves for the hospital.
Pulling into the parking lot he parks next to Sam's car. Walking across the parking lot he notices a man in a dark sedan, but he keeps walking. When Jeffrey walks through the door to the ward, Sam is leaving a patients room. Stopping at the nurse's station, she is writing in a chart when Jeffrey puts his arms around her, kissing the side of her neck as she jumps. "Jeffrey." She says, closing her eyes for a second.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
"I wasn't expecting you to come in. I thought you would be busy with the apartment and Noah."
"Well, I am. I came to see Noah about Camille. I sort of blew him and William off when they wanted to talk to me about it and I haven't had a chance to talk to either of them. I'll check on the apartment and see if he knows anything. How long are you going to be here?"
"Another few hours, I've got a couple of patients I have to look in on And then I've got some paperwork to do and we're moving Richard upstairs and I want to make sure he's settled before I leave."
"When are you moving him?"
"As soon as a bed becomes available, probably in a couple hours."
"I'm going to go and see Noah."
"Okay." Jeffrey gives her a quick kiss before he leaves.
"I'll see you before you leave."
"Yes."
"Okay. Tell Noah hi."
"I will." Jeffrey leaves and Sam goes back to writing in the chart. She's completely ignoring one of the nurses and one of her good friends, who is watching her. After a while she gives up. "What?" Sam asks, looking up
"He's been around here a lot."
"He's friends with Richard and Cassie."
"Umm, and he seems pretty friendly with you as well."
Sam shrugs her shoulders, going back to the chart she is writing in.
"Oh no." LaKeisha says, taking the pen from her
"What?"
"I haven't seen you with a man in twelve years, and he's been here every week for the last two weeks. What's up?"
"We used to be partners." Sam says, shrugging her shoulders.
"And now?"
"And now, we're friends." Sam says, looking over at her.
"I think you're more than friends, a lot more."
"Maybe." Sam says, blushing slightly.
"When, where and how?"
"When, where and how what?" Sam asks, trying but failing to look innocent.
"As I said, I've known you for twelve years and I've never seen you with a man, and you've definitely haven't had one come by work."
"That doesn't mean I haven't had one. He couldn't get in here if he tried, and you have patients to take care of." Sam says, taking her pen back.
"Alright fine, but I think it's nice." LaKeisha says, walking past her
After leaving the ICU, Jeffrey walks across the courtyard to the office building beside the hospital. "Thanks." Jeffrey says to another agent holding the door open for him as he walks into the lobby.
Pushing the button for the elevator, he waits. After a few seconds the doors open and he lets the other agents leave before he steps on. Pushing the button for the third floor he waits for the doors to close. A few minutes later, they open and he walks onto the third floor, flashing his badge as he walks past security he heads towards Noah's office. Knocking once, he opens the door when Noah calls "Come in."
"Noah." Jeffrey says, walking into the office.
"Hey Jeffrey, have a seat." He says, nodding towards the chair as he returns to the conversation he was having on the phone. "That's all there was." Okay, I'll be in touch." Noah says, hanging up
"I'm sorry to interrupt."
"No, it's okay. That was the detective handling Sam's case."
"Did they find anything?"
"No, all the prints came back to Sam."
"So they used gloves. Did they find any other physical evidence?"
"We might get lucky. They found a piece of glass with a drop of blood on it as well as a smear of blood on a piece of glass from the china cabinet. They're running it for DNA."
"Good. I came to ask you about Camille."
"She's in San Cristobel, charged with treason. She's trying to get William to see her, but he of course is refusing and we've informed the US Consulate about the situation and he's refusing to help."
"When does she go on trial?"
"Later this week, I believe."
Nodding, Jeffrey asks. "Has anyone told Cassie or Richard?"
"No, I don't think so."
"I'll tell them." Jeffrey says, as someone knocks on Noah's door.
"Come in." Noah calls
Sam opens the door, walking in as Jeffrey turns towards the door. "Hi." She says, "I'm sorry to interrupt but I need Jeffrey for a bit."
"Okay, we're through." Noah asks, glancing over at Jeffrey.
"Yes, call me if you find anything else out."
"I will." Noah says, as Jeffrey and Sam leave the office, closing the door behind them they walk towards the elevators.
"Are you okay?" Jeffrey asks.
"I'm fine."
"You looked so serious when you came in."
"We just moved Richard."
"Okay."
"He asked me about you, asked if you were here. I told him you were and he wants to talk to you." Sam says, pushing the button for the elevator.
"Was he upset?"
"No, he seems fine, but I did get the feeling that it was important when he asked." She says, pushing the button for the first floor.
"Okay." Jeffrey says, as the door closes and Sam moves to the back corner of the elevator. "You still don't like these things." He says, standing beside her.
"No, but these aren't so bad." Sam says, looking over at him. She can tell he's worried. "It'll be okay." She says, putting and arm around him
"Thank you." Jeffrey says, hugging her to him.
The door opens and they leave the building, through the courtyard and into the hospital. When they reach the lobby, Sam pushes the button for the elevator again and then she asks "What did Noah say about Camille and my apartment?"
"Camille is in San Cristobel scheduled to stand trial for treason. Of course she's trying to talk her way out of it. As to the apartment, all the prints came back to you, which means they used gloves, but they still have the piece of glass with the drop of blood and another with the smear of blood. They're running it for DNA."
"When does the trial start?"
"Sometime this week."
"Did he say anything about Reva?"
"No. I didn't get a chance to tell him what she told us, but I will before I leave."
"Do you still think that Olivia's involved?"
"You heard what Reva says. There's a woman connected to this and she's tied to me. Olivia is the only woman I know that would want to hurt you."
"If she is involved what are you going to do? You have to think about Ava."
"I will, but I will protect you first." Jeffrey says as they step off the elevator.
"He's right down here." Sam says, leading Jeffrey down the hallway, a couple of doors past the nurse's station.
When they stop, he stands there for a few seconds. "Do you want me to go in with you?"
"No, he wants to see me alone."
"I'll be down in my office when you get through."
"Okay." He says, hugging her.
"It'll be fine." She whispers before she releases him.
"Thanks." Jeffrey says pushing the door open as Sam releases him. Cassie is sitting on the bed when Jeffrey walks in.
"Hi." He says, walking into the room.
"Hi." Richard says before he turns to Cassie. "Can you let us talk?"
"Sure." Cassie says. "Is Sam out there?" She asks, getting up from the bed.
"She might be. She said she was going back to her office."
"Okay, I'll go down to the waiting room. Behave yourself." She says, leaning over for a quick kiss.
"I will." Richard says, smiling at her.
Cassie leaves as Jeffrey walks over to one of the chairs, sitting down he says. "Sam said you wanted to talk to me."
"Yes, I wanted to apologize."
"Apologize! For what?"
"I was a bit of an ass to you yesterday and I wanted to apologize. I'm sorry."
Jeffrey nods as he says. "I don't really think you owe me and apology. If anyone should apologize it's me. And I am sorry. I know I took advantage of the situation."
"What happened in San Cristobel wasn't totally your fault. Don't misunderstand, I don't like the idea of you and Cassie being together, but as Cassie pointed out to me yesterday, if I had told her what was going on and about you, then what happened, probably wouldn't've happened. So it's as much my fault as yours."
"I should have come up with and excuse."
"Could you have really done that?"
"No, probably not." Jeffrey replies honestly. "But she was your wife and I should've respected that, above what I wanted."
"I know Cassie and when she's determined to do something you can't say no to her. And as Cassie said, it doesn't matter. I know that it will never happen again. And now that I have her back, I don't want to loose her because I'm jealous of something happened that I'm partly to blame for."
"So, it's alright."
"We're fine."
"Good." Jeffrey says. "I should tell you that I just talked to Noah and Camille is scheduled to go on trial for treason some time this week."
"Really, William was serious."
"Yes."
"I'll tell Cassie."
"I figured that would be best, that's why I told you instead of telling her myself.
"Thank you." Richard says. After a few minutes of silence, Richard says. "You know we used to be able to talk. Where did you meet Sam?"
"She was my partner before I came to San Cristobel. She was the reason I was taking so many chances back then."
"I remember you saying that something bad had happened before you came to San Cristobel, but you never went into detail. What happen?"
"I thought she was killed in a car accident in Russia."
"You didn't know she was alive until the other day."
"Yes, when she joined again she made the director promise not to tell me that she was alive."
"Why?"
"She was protecting me."
"That must have been a bloody shock."
"It was."
"It's all okay, with both you?"
"Everything is fine."
"She's a beautiful lady."
"I know." Jeffrey says, as Richard's therapist walks into his room.
"Mr. Winslow, are you ready?"
"Yes." Richard says, moving to get out of bed.
"I'll go get Cassie." Jeffrey says
"Thank you. When are you going back to Springfield?" Richard asks, following Jeffrey and his therapist out of the room.
"Probably Friday night, I have to be back by the 4th of July for the parade."
"We'll see you before you leave."
"Yes."
"Good." Richard says, as Cassie walks up to them. She saw the therapist come through.
"Is everything okay?" She asks, looking between Richard and Jeffrey.
"It's fine." Richard says.
"I'm going to go find Sam." Jeffrey says, as they walk towards the elevator.
"We'll see you later." Cassie asks, as he stops besides the elevators.
"Yes." He says, pushing the button for the elevator.
"Good." Cassie says, before they continue on to the therapy room.
Sam is sitting at her desk when Jeffrey walks into her office. "Hi." She says, getting up and walking around the desk, hugging him before she leans back against the desk. "How did it go?"
"Fine, he wanted to talk about yesterday and apologize. We talked about San Cristobel and what happened with Cassie."
"Is everything cleared up?"
"Yes."
"Good."
"Are you about finished?"
"Almost, I have a couple more things to do."
"Do you want me to wait for you?"
"No, if you're ready to go, go on and I'll meet you back at the room."
"When will I see you?"
"I have to finish up here and then I have one stop to make and then I'll be home."
"I'll see you then. Does this stop have to do with my surprise?" He asks, standing up.
"Maybe." Sam says, with a smile.
"What is it?" Jeffrey asks, wrapping his arms around her.
"You'll have to wait."
"You know I don't like to wait."
"I know." She says, with a smile.
"Sam."
"You'll like it, I promise."
"If you're not going to tell me. Can I have one thing?"
"What?"
"A kiss."
"Just one."
"Well, I'll take more but for right now I'll settle for one." He says, leaning closer to her.
"Who says you have to settle for only one." Sam asks, kissing him softly.
"Umm, you taste like chocolate." Jeffrey says, leaning back.
"I just ate some of the brownies that LaKeisha left."
"Are there anymore?"
"No, sorry. I got the last two."
"Umm, well then…." Jeffrey leans over and kisses her again. Holding her tightly, she sighs, moving closer to him. "I can't get enough of you." He says, breaking the kiss.
"Is it me or the chocolate?"
"It's both." He says, leaning in to kiss her again.
When he releases her, she says. "I don't want you to get enough of me, with or without the chocolate."
"I can't possible get you to leave with me, can I?"
"I can't, I've got to finish this and then I have an appointment I have to keep. I promise I'll be home by six."
"I'll see you then. Be careful."
"I will, I promise." She says, kissing him quickly before she releases him. Jeffrey leaves and Sam goes back to her paperwork.
As he is walking across the parking lot, he glances to see if the sedan that had been parked outside the parking lot was still there. It was and he stops for a couple seconds, trying to see who is driving. He knew better than to say something to the security guard, the car was parked on a public street. There was nothing they could do about him being there. Walking over to the rental, he unlocks it and gets in. Starting the car he leaves a few minutes later.
A few hours after Jeffrey left, Sam switches off her computer, grabs her purse as she leaves her office. Stopping by the nurse's station for a few seconds. "LaKeisha, I'm headed home for the night. If you need me, page me. Otherwise I'll be in tomorrow morning."
"Okay, have fun." She says, smiling at her.
"I will." Sam replies turning and leaving the ward.
Sam leaves as Jeffrey is walking into their hotel room. On the way to the hotel, he stops at Sam's apartment to see if the police has released it. Picking up some more clothes for her, he leaves. When he walk into the hotel room, he pulls out his cell phone and calls Noah. "Noah, its Jeffrey. I just dropped by Sam's apartment and I think the police have released it. I want to get it cleaned up before the weekend is over."
"I'll see what I can do?"
"Thank you. I also wanted to talk to you about Reva."
"What about her?"
"She told us some things that I don't think you heard yesterday."
"Okay."
"She said that the guy that broke in to Sam's apartment was a short blonde man, with a scar on his right cheek. And he is working for a man that has an S in his name. She isn't sure if it is the first or the last name. And you heard about the woman thing."
"Yes, do you have any idea who that is?"
"Yes, my ex. Her name is Olivia Spencer."
"Olivia Spencer as the Olivia Spencer that was engaged to Richard for a while."
"Yes, it's a long and complicated story, but she's the only one that I can think of that would want to hurt Sam or want information on her, that's connected to me."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Run a check on her, I want to know all her associates, personal and business. If she's coming after Sam I'm going to be prepared."
"Why don't you just ask her yourself?"
"Because if she's guilty I don't want to tip her off and I'm not sure if I did ask her that she would tell me the truth."
"I'll look into it."
"Thank you." Jeffrey says, walking over to the window.
"I'll be in touch."
"Okay."
Jeffrey hangs up, and then putting the phone on the table, he reaches for the remote. Turning the television on, he flips through the channels until he reaches CNN. When they start to rerun the headlines, he changes the channel catching a baseball game in the second inning.
About twenty minutes after leaves the agency, she walks into a salon. It's a small place, not far from her apartment. Walking in, she calls. "Megan."
"Hey Sam, have a seat and I'll be with you as soon as I'm finished with this." She says, turning around from the sink.
"Okay." Sam says, sitting down in one of the chairs at the front of the salon. A few minutes later, Megan comes up to the front counter. After taking care of the other customer she turns to Sam
"Okay, come on back." She says, walking back to her station. "I must say I was surprised to hear from you, since you were just in here."
"I know but I want a change."
"A change, why now?"
"It's time." Sam says
"How big of a change are we talking about?"
"You're not cutting it. We're going back to my natural color or as close as you can to my natural color."
"Let me get my stuff." Megan says, walking to the back of the shop. "Why are you changing it now?" She calls from the back.
"Because its time." Sam says as she walks in with the color and a bowl to mix it in.
"It's time. You said you would never go back to the brown."
"Yes, well things change."
Something in Sam's voice catches Megan's attention and she looks up. Catching the expression on her cousin's face, she puts the bowl down and she turns Sam around and then she pulls over a stool and says. "What gives?" Sam looks away. "You might as well tell me."
"He's back."
"He's back, whose back?"
"J"
"J, the J. The one that you lost in Russia."
"Yes." Sam says, with a smile.
"How? I thought you said you could never be together again."
"He showed up at the hospital about a week ago."
"At the hospital, was he hurt?"
"No, he was there to see Richard."
"You mean the prince you've been taking care of."
"Yes, he woke up and a few days after he woke up, Jeffrey shows up with Richard's wife and his brother. I wasn't sure at first."
"Did he know?"
"No, not at first. Although he knew we knew each other, he told me that when he came by my office that day."
"So, how did you get together?"
"He came to my apartment."
"Your apartment, how did you find your apartment?"
"I don't know, I never asked him. But he knocked on my door and I was distracted when I answered so I didn't look to see who it was. When I opened the door he pulled me to him and kissed me, and when he stepped back he said, "I knew it was you." I was so shocked."
"So, what happened?"
"I tried to tell him we couldn't be together."
"Sam…."
"But he wouldn't listen, and we talked. He told me that everything in Russia was a set up, to get me out of the way. Too make a long story short, I spent last weekend in Springfield with him."
While Sam had been talking, Megan had started on her hair. "You spent last weekend in Springfield."
"Yes."
"No wonder you wouldn't answer the door when I came over."
"I'm sorry I should've called and told you. What did you want?"
"I thought we could go see a movie or something. Patrick was out of town last weekend and the kids were at his mom's."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I got done some stuff I need to get done. So, how was the weekend?"
"Wonderful, it's like we've never been apart. He's so tender. He had this gig last Saturday night and he sang a song that he wrote when I left. It broke my heart."
"What about the Russian stuff?"
"Its over, Sasha is locked up and Pertrinkov died in prison."
"He wasn't the least upset that you left."
"No."
"Patrick would be furious if I left him, even if I was trying to protect him."
"It was the nature of our jobs at the time. If we got into trouble we promised to sacrifice ourselves for the other one. But I know it hurt him."
"It hurt you too."
"Yes, but I have him back and I'm not letting him go again, not even for crazy ex-girlfriends."
"Ex-girlfriends?"
"Yes, we had a bit of a run in with his ex-girlfriend Olivia. She can't get over it and accept that he's moved on."
"What happened?" Megan asks, sitting the timer for her hair.
"It was weird, Friday night, well early Saturday morning Jeffrey woke up and she was standing in his door way, just standing there and when he said something she just turns and leaves. And then the next morning, she serves him with an eviction notice."
"Eviction notice?"
"Yes, he was staying in her hotel. But he's not anymore."
"Well, no he wouldn't be if she evicted him.
"No, he talked to her about that. He has a loft that he uses to rehearse in and I convinced him to move in there."
"You convinced him."
"Yes, there's one other thing. He has a daughter, a grown daughter."
"A daughter, how?"
"Apparently from a one night stand he had in San Cristobel with Olivia when he was younger, it's a long story. But he has a daughter and Olivia's her mother."
"Olivia's her mother!"
"Yes."
"And you're okay with all this?" Megan asks, as they walk back to the sink.
"I was surprised, but it doesn't bother me."
"And what about Olivia?"
"Jeffrey will handle her."
"Have you met his daughter?"
"Yes, she a beautiful girl. She has her daddy eyes."
"How did she react to you?"
"She seems fine with me. We didn't really get to know each other. We talked a little bit at the gig but it was about Olivia."
"You amaze me." Megan says, rinsing out the bowl and brush.
"Why?" Sam asks, watching her
"Because I don't know that I would be so open if Patrick showed up with a grown daughter. I think I would be just slightly jealous."
"Why should I be jealous? I know about some of the stuff with Olivia. Ava was a surprise, but she's still a piece of Jeffrey and I love him, so…."
"So you love his daughter."
"Yes." Sam says, as the timer goes off and Megan begins to rinse and wash her hair. Wrapping it in a towel, they go back to the station where Megan, straightens and fixes it before she turns Sam around.
"Wow." Sam gasps, turning her head.
"Yeah, you look completely different."
"It's been so long since I've seen my natural color."
"Do you like it?"
Sam takes a few moments to answer that question. "Yeah, I do." She says, sitting forward and really looking at her reflection. "Let's hope he does." She says, turning to Megan.
"I'm sure he will."
"How much?"
"You don't owe me anything?"
"Megan."
"No, it's a gift for Jeffrey." Megan says, as Sam gets up.
"Thank you." Sam says.
"You're welcome, but hang on to him."
"Oh, I plan to." Sam says, picking up her purse and walking towards the front of the shop.
"What are you doing for the 4th?"
"We're going back to Springfield."
"Oh, you mean he's here."
"Yeah, he flew in a couple days ago. Before I forget, I'm not staying at my apartment. I'm at the Best Western downtown."
"Why?"
"It's a long story, but someone broke into my apartment the other day. So I've been staying there, and Jeffrey flew in to be with me."
"You're okay?"
"I'm fine, I was shaken up when it first happened, but when he showed up I settled down."
"You really got it bad."
"And you don't. I can imagine what you would be like if something happened and Patrick wasn't there."
"Okay, so you're right." Megan says, hugging her.
"I've got to go. I told him I would be back by six."
"I'll talk you after you get back from Springfield."
"Okay." Sam says, hugging her quickly before she leaves the shop and Megan locks up."
20.15