A Fresh Start
Chapter Forty Eight
When they get home, Sam goes to the bathroom for a shower, while Jeffrey watches the scores on ESPN. When she comes out, she's wearing one of his t-shirts. Sitting down beside him, he immediately lifts his arm and puts it across her shoulder drawing her to him. "Did you have fun tonight?" Sam asks, putting her arm across his waist as he turns the TV off.
"Yes. I liked meeting some of your family."
"You mean my only family."
"Maybe eventually your brother…."
"I don't want to think about him, not now. What did you think of Megan?"
"She's sweet, and she reminds me of you." Jeffrey replies.
"And Patrick?"
"He's okay. I don't really know him."
"You didn't like him." Sam says, sitting up and looking at him.
"It's not that I didn't like him, we just didn't click." Jeffrey says. "He doesn't seem to fit with…."
"Yes, I know. But Megan loves him like I love you. And those boys, they are my babies." Sam says, lying against him again.
"You'll miss them."
"Of course, I'll miss everyone here." Sam says quietly.
For a few moments they sit there in silence, before he asks. "Are you scared?"
For a couple of moments she doesn't reply. "No, I'm not scared. I'm excited to be with you and to see where we are going together. I'm anxious about moving to Springfield, getting settled, becoming a Mom."
"And getting married?"
"No, I'm not anxious about that. I will never feel anxious about that." Sam says, leaning up to look at him.
"I know me either." Jeffrey says, reaching up and pulling her to him, kissing her softly. When he sits back he asks. "Are you worried about Olivia, about being in the same town as her?"
"Actually I haven't thought about her. I realize we'll be living in the same town, and we're bound to run into each other, but I hadn't actually thought about it."
"She really won't be apart of our lives."
"Jeffrey." Sam says, looking up at him.
"Okay, so she will as it pertains to Ava, but Ava's grown. It's not like we'll have to discuss parenting stuff or…."
"Grown or not, you'll still need to talk to her."
"Yes, but not about visitation and discipline issues."
"I don't have a problem with you talking to Olivia, as long as she realizes that you're mine and you're not going to go back to her. We have our family now and I want you there every step of the way."
"And I'm not going to go anywhere, but right here with you and him." Jeffrey says, laying his hand on her stomach.
"Is that what you want, a little boy?"
"I'll be happy with…."
"The truth." Sam says, looking up at him.
"Okay, I want a boy." Jeffrey says, leaning over and kissing her. "But I'll be happy with a little girl." He finishes, leaning back as Sam begins to yawn. "Okay, we need to go to bed, you're tired."
"Okay." Sam says softly.
"For sleep Sam, sleep." Jeffrey says, releasing her and getting up.
"Are you sure that's all you want to do?" She asks, getting up and wrapping her arms around his waist as she looks up, a slow flame beginning to burn in her gaze. He can't resist, taking her hand he leads her to the bedroom.
Over the next couple of days, Sam, Jeffrey, Megan, Noah, and the agents spend the days at Sam's apartment, packing and loading it up. On Saturday night, Sam and Jeffrey take them all out to dinner before Jeffrey and Sam go to the hotel. They were all walking out of the restaurant when Megan turns and says to Sam. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yes." Sam replies, as they hug.
A few minutes later everyone leaves. Putting his arm across her shoulders, Jeffrey walks her out to the Mustang. Opening the door for her, he helps her in and then walks around to the other side of the car. Getting in, he starts the car and they leave. A few minutes later, they park outside the Best Western. After quick showers, they both fall into bed.
Through out the last couple days, Jeffrey kept a close watch on her and when he felt like she was tired or getting tired he made her sit down and rest, but they both were exhausted by the time the last box was loaded onto the truck. Jeffrey prearranged with Ava to be at the loft, in case the truck arrived before they did, because they planned on taking their time driving back.
Somewhere around three am, Jeffrey rolls over and reaches for Sam, but finds the bed empty. Sitting up, he looks around the room, until he spots her sitting in one of the chairs by the window. "Sam." He asks softly, but she still jumps. "I'm sorry." He says, getting up and walking over to her. "Are you okay?" He asks, kneeling in front of her.
"I'm fine." She replies, laying her hand on his.
"Come on back to bed." He says, taking her hand and helping her up. When they are both back in the bed, he rolls to his side and asks. "What were you doing?"
"I was thinking about the last twelve years. How I've lived here, the agency, living without you, I've learned this place, how to do things and now I'm moving to Springfield. I'll miss being here, but I won't miss being here without you."
"Are you worried about going?"
"No, I was also thinking about the baby and how quickly things have changed and the fact that I'm not freaking out about it, and wondering what that means."
"I think that means that this is where you belong."
"I think that too. I think that's why I spent all of these years alone. You weren't here and I knew that a part of me was missing. So I didn't let anyone else take your place."
"I'm glad you didn't."
"I'm glad I didn't too."
"We're going to have a good life. You know that, I'm going to take care of you and our baby. I'm going to love you every minute of every day." Jeffrey says, leaning over and kissing her.
"I will too." She says when he leans up.
He watches her for a few minutes before he leans down again. Slowly he kisses her, his tongue slipping inside to play with hers. Reaching up, she wraps her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss as she pulls him down to her. Lying down beside her, she sighs softly when she feels some of his weight lying against her.
Breaking the kiss, he moves to her neck. Nibbling softly, he smiles when he feels her shiver. Leaning up, he slips his hand under her t-shirt, letting it rest against her stomach as her breathing deepens.
Moving away from him, she reaches for the hem of her t-shirt, crossing her arms, she pulls it up and tosses it to the floor. Pushing him to his back, she leans over him. Close enough for him to feel her warm breath against his skin. He tries to kiss her, but she moves away. Nibbling on his jaw and neck, until he reaches up and holds her in place, after a few seconds he releases her and slowly he runs his hand down her back and around her hips.
Looking up, he watches as his fingers slip between her thighs. Slipping into the warmth and slowly beginning to caress her. Sitting back, she closes her eyes. "J." she sighs
"You like that." He whispers, and slowly she begins to nod, focused totally on what he is doing. "I didn't hear you." He says, but she's too caught up in what he is making her feel. When he begins to slow down, she opens her eyes, looking down at him. "Do you want some more?"
"Yes, please!" She begs.
"Tell me you like it."
"I don't like it, I love it!" She says, leaning over and kissing him as he begins to caress her again. She feels the moment she begins to loose control and she tries to pull away but he reaches for her as he shakes his head no.
"Go on." He whispers.
"J." She cries, as she feels her stomach clinch and she feels waves of heat rush through her. When the last wave rolls though her, she lays across him after he pulls his hand away. Wrapping his arms around her, he holds her until he feels the last shiver roll through her.
"Was that good?" He asks, lightly kissing the side of her head
Slowly she nods, leaning back she says while she feels his erection pressing against her stomach. "Only you can make me feel that, but we're not finished."
Sitting up, she moves back till she's straddling his legs. Slowly running her eyes down him, he watches the desire building inside her again and he feels it rush through him, filling him with heat. Letting her hands rest on the bed at his waist, she leans over him. Lightly kissing his stomach, her tongue dipping inside his navel, she begins to nibble. She's so in tuned to him, that she quickly realizes that he's about to loose control.
When she sits back, he starts to protest until he realizes what she wants. Lifting his hips, he reaches down to help her as she begins to tug on his boxers. Pulling them down, he kicks them off. Tossing them to the floor, she moves back up, laying little kisses on his legs, behind his knees until she reaches his hips. She watches him for a few seconds, while he watches her.
"Beca." He groans when she slowly licks her lips.
Leaning over him, she lightly kisses the tip of him, slowly running her tongue around him until he arches his hips, pressing against her mouth. Taking him inside, she takes as much as she can.
"Oh, Beca." He groans, his eyes falling closed as he begins to gently thrust. It isn't long before he's reaching for her. "Sam, I can't hold on." He gasps. "And…." He pauses for a couple seconds, fighting the need to loose control. "I want to be close to you." He finishes, as she moves to straddle him. Taking him, she guides him inside her. Not stopping until they are totally connected. "Sam." He groans.
Leaning over him, she kisses him as she begins to slide back and forth. Reaching for her hips, he holds onto her tightly. "J." She cries when he brushes against her. "Baby, I feel you."
"How do I feel?"
"Good, so good Darlin." She groans, increasing her speed.
"Go for it baby!" Jeffrey whispers, thrusting against her sliding hips.
Their release comes on them fast. Waves of heat and satisfaction wash over them. "J." Sam screams, as he holds her still. Her body holds tightly to his until the last wave washes over her. Thrusting one more time, he feels the heat rush through him, bringing his release, wrapping his arms around her as she collapses in his arms.
After a few moments, she starts to pull away. "No, wait." Jeffrey sighs, tightening his embrace.
"I'm not going anywhere, just let me lay down." Sam says, softly kissing his chest.
Releasing her, she lays down beside him. Putting her arms across his stomach and her leg across his thigh, she lays her head on his chest. Sighing softly, she closes her eyes. Within a matter of seconds, he feels her breathing deepen and looking down realizes that she's fallen asleep. Lightly kissing her forehead, he closes his eyes and goes back to sleep.
Olivia is sitting at her desk at the Beacon when her cell phone rings. Pulling it from her purse, she recognizes the number and answers the call. "Hello."
"We need to meet."
"Okay."
"The usual place."
"Okay."
"In a half hour."
Simmons hangs up as Olivia stands up. As she's leaving her office she puts her phone in her purse, pulling out her keys. "Marcy, I'll be back later."
"Yes ma'am." Marcy replies, nodding as Olivia walks out of the outer office and into the lobby of the Beacon.
About ten minutes later, she pulls up to the docks on 5th street. Parking, she gets out and walks down to the water front. Sitting down on one of the benches, she watches the river barges and small boats run up and down the river. About twenty minutes later, Simmons walks up behind her. "Hey." He says, leaning over to whisper in her ear as she jumps. "Guilty conscious."
"In your line of work you know better than to sneak up on someone." Olivia says, as he sits down beside her. After a few moments, she says. "You wanted to see me."
"We've worked the rest of the plan out."
"Alright."
"I've got connections working on getting us some chloroform."
"You're not drugging him."
"It's either that or hit him over the head and knock him out."
"Alright, when?"
"That's the tricky part?"
"Why?"
"We have to wait till we can catch him alone when he goes on a run."
"Run, Jeffrey doesn't run."
"He does when he's upset."
"That's what his music is for."
"I guess sometime's his music doesn't work."
"So how are you going to get him alone on a run?"
"Ralph is watching him, well not right now, because he's out of town."
"He's out of town!"
"Yes, he flew to DC on Wednesday. I figured your daughter would have told you."
"I haven't spoken with her."
"Oh, well he's in DC right now."
"So, he's gone to visit her." Olivia says, her voice getting hard.
"I assume so." Simmons says, as Ava walks up to them.
"Mom." She says, questioningly
"Ava, what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing. I'm down here for Spaulding and the new redevelopment project."
"Well, so am I. I was thinking about buying up some of the property down here before Alan gets it all."
"And who is this." Ava asks, pointing to and looking at Simmons
"Ah!"
"I own the building behind us and your mother is looking into buying it from me." Simmons says, getting Olivia off the hook.
"Is Alan's redevelopment the only you are you looking to buy the building?" Ava asks, looking at her mom.
"I'm thinking about making some changes at the Beacon, maybe bringing Olivia's here and opening up a different type of establishment at the Beacon."
"Why? You love Olivia's."
"Yes, but it's outgrown the Beacon and it's time for a change." Olivia replies, turning to Simmons. "So, if you'll have the papers sent over to my lawyer, we'll be in touch."
"Yes, of course." Simmons replies, standing up as Olivia turns to leave.
Standing beside Ava, they watch as she walks away. When she's around the corner, he turns to Ava. "It was a pleasure to meet you."
"Huh!" Ava replies still focused on her mother.
"I said it was a pleasure to meet you."
"Yes, you too." Ava replies, as Simmons walks away.
After a few moments Ava continues over to the Spaulding construction site, pushing Olivia and the man she was with to the back of her mind. When Simmons walks around the corner from the dock, Olivia steps out from behind on of the dumpsters. "That was really good?" She says, falling into step beside him.
"Which part, you looking to move your club down here or me owning the building behind us."
"Well, both. Do you actually own that building?"
"Actually, yes. So it looks like you're moving your club down here."
"This neighborhood could use a little class, but I'm not moving Olivia's down here. Go ahead and get the chloroform, but I'm not sure I want this to go down this way. How are we going to plan for this if we're waiting on him to take a run?"
"It doesn't necessarily have to be when he takes a run, but it has to be when he's alone."
"Alright, when he gets back, I want him followed twenty four- seven."
"We're already doing that."
"Good, is it ready?"
"Everything is in place."
"I'll be in touch." Olivia says, as they reach her car.
"Yes ma'am."
Getting in, Olivia starts the car. Pulling out of the parking place, she makes a u-turn and heads back towards the Beacon. Followed a few seconds later by Simmons.
Around eight am, Sam's cell phone starts to ring. Blindly reaching for it, she picks it up off the nightstand, answering on the second ring. "Hello."
"Sam, its Megan."
"Hi." She replies rolling to her back as Jeffrey wakes up.
"Who is it?" He asks, rubbing his eyes.
"It's Megan." Sam replies, before returning to the conversation.
"You guys aren't up yet?" Megan asks.
"No, we had a bit of a late night." Sam says, pushing herself up.
"Well, enjoy it. Those late mornings will be gone when the baby gets here."
"I know." Sam replies, as Jeffrey pushes the covers back and gets up. She watches him walk into the bathroom, halfway listening to Megan.
"Sam, are you listening to me?"
"I'm sorry, what did you…?"
"I asked if you and Jeffrey wanted to come to the house for breakfast before you left."
"Umm, actually it'll be better if we met somewhere, that way we can leave right from the restaurant."
"Alright. Where?"
"Ah, how about that café out by highway 267. We can leave from there."
"We'll meet you there, say within an hour." Megan replies, as Jeffrey walks back into the room.
"We'll see you there." Sam says, hanging up a few seconds later.
Putting the phone down, as Jeffrey crawls back in bed. "What did she want?" He asks, as he lies down beside her.
"To see if we wanted to come to breakfast at the house. I suggested that we meet at the café out by the highway that way we can leave from there."
"Alright, did she say when?"
"In about an hour." Sam says, moving closer to him.
About ten minutes later, Jeffrey says. "I guess we need to get up and get ready."
"Okay." Sam replies, not moving away from or releasing him.
"Are you okay… about leaving?"
"I'm fine, I'm just enjoying being with you." Sam says, leaning up to look at him.
"Okay." He says, reaching up to brush a strand of hair off her cheek before she lies back down.
They lay there for a few more moments before Sam releases him and sits up. "I get the shower first." She says, crawling out of the bed.
Reva and Josh are waiting at the private terminal when the royal jet lands. Rolling to a stop, the ground crew walk out as they turn to watch the cabin door open. Richard is the first to walk out as Josh gasps slightly. "He really is alive! I didn't…."
"It's okay." Reva says, as he walks down the steps to the tarmac followed by Cassie and the boys.
Walking out of the terminal, Reva stands outside the door and waits for them to walk over to her. When they reach them, she hugs Richard and then Cassie, along with RJ.
"Hi, Aunt Reva." Will says, walking up to his Aunt.
"Will." She says, looking at Cassie.
"We'll explain everything." Cassie says, as they walk into the terminal.
About twenty minutes later, they have their luggage loaded up in Reva's SUV and are headed into Springfield. "So are we going to Cross Creek?"
"Cross Creek, I thought that was in…."
"I had it moved here." Josh says.
"Oh." Richard replies, looking over at Cassie.
"I think we'll go on to the farmhouse. We need to get settled and Will needs to rest."
"Okay." Reva replies, heading towards Cassie's farmhouse.
Thirty minutes later, they pull up in front of the farmhouse. For several minutes, Richard stares at the house. With everything that has happened, he hadn't thought about the farmhouse or even about what exactly would happen after they got back to Springfield.
"Are you okay?" Cassie asks, reaching over to touch his hand.
"Yeah, it's just… so different." He says, looking at the house.
"We finished the plans we drew up with Josh."
"We?" Richard asks, looking at her.
"Ed…."
"Go on." He says, taking her hand.
"Edmund and I finished it." She says softly as Reva and Josh get out of the car. "Actually, Edmund had it finished for me." Cassie says, as Richard looks at her. "I'm sorry, I know this…."
"No don't apologize, Cassie. You thought I was dead." Richard says, looking back at the house.
"Do you want to go inside?"
"Okay." Richard says, as she opens the door.
She gets out and holds the seat up to let the boys out from the back as Richard walks around the car. Josh and Reva are standing by the walk way up to the house. Putting his arm around Cassie, they follow them into the house.
Holding the door open, Josh lets them walk in together. Nobody says anything as Richard looks around the house. Most of the house is exactly like he remembers it being, except for a few minor changes. RJ and Will go upstairs as Cassie follows Richard and Reva and Josh follow her.
"Are you…?"
"I'm fine, I like it." Richard says, looking at the mantel where Tammy's picture sits.
Walking over to it, he picks it up. Slowly running his fingers over the picture of the young woman, he only remembers as a young girl. Walking up to him, Cassie puts her arm around him.
"It doesn't feel the same… without her here." Richard says, looking at the picture.
"I know." Cassie says, as he puts his arm across her shoulder.
They stand there for several minutes, until Reva says. "We'll go, and you can tell us about Will tomorrow."
"No, I'm sorry." Richard says, reaching up to wipe the tears from his eyes.
"It's okay, you guys need time alone." Josh says, as Reva turns towards the door.
"Thank you." Cassie says, walking over to Reva and hugging her.
Josh opens the door a few minutes later when Reva steps back. "I'll call you tomorrow." Reva says, squeezing Cassie's hand.
"Okay."
When Cassie walks back into the living room, she finds Richard sitting on the couch, holding Tammy's picture. Sitting down beside him, she doesn't say anything and for several moments they sit there together mourning their daughter.
Looking up, Richard looks over at her as he says. "It didn't seem real to me."
"What?" Cassie asks, taking his hand.
"That she was gone. I know you told me about it in DC, but after Reva told me that Jon was alive, I guess I wanted to believe that somehow she was too." Richard says, as RJ and Will come downstairs.
"Mom." RJ says, walking into the living room as Richard quickly reaches up and wipes the tears away.
"What is it RJ?" Cassie says, turning to him.
"We're hungry." He says, looking at Richard with a questioning look on his face.
"Go on back upstairs and I'll fix you both something to eat."
"Okay." He replies, looking at Richard one more time before he and Will walk upstairs.
"Why is Dad crying?" Will whispers as they walk upstairs.
RJ doesn't answer. When they reach the top of the stairs, he walks into his room after he turns to Will and says "I don't want to play right now."
Closing the door before Will can answer he walks over to his bed and sits down. Opening the drawer beside his bed, he pulls out a picture of him, Tammy and Richard, playing in the water below the palace. He found the picture right after Tammy had died and had taken it out of his mom's photo album one night when she was out with Josh. Many nights, he laid in his room, staring at the picture and wishing that they could come back to him.
48.10