5 Hours Later

5.30 p.m.
Sam's house

By the time he gets home, there's no one there. That's no unusual. It's Friday and the kids usually go to a friend's house to play on Friday afternoons. That's okay because he wants to talk to his wife and it's probably better if the kids aren't around to hear this specific conversation.

A few minutes later, Amber walks in and finds him sitting on the living room couch. She can't keep the surprise off her voice. "Sam…you're home early."

He nods but doesn't return her smile. "We need to talk."

Amber puts the bags down and sits on the couch across from him. "The girls went to some friend's house. They'll be home by dinner."

He offers her a small smile. "That's good. How was her spelling competition?"

Amber smiles proudly because of their daughter. "She did very good and finished in second place. Is that what you want to talk about?"

Sam turns serious once again and shakes his head. "No, that's not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about what you said this morning."

Amber immediately shakes her head. "I wasn't thinking clearly, Sam…"

But he cuts her off. She needs to listen to what he has to say. He's not interested in an apology when he knows, better than anyone, that he doesn't deserve one. "No, I think you were. That's why I want to talk. I can't promise you I'm going to start working less and I can't promise you that I'm going to be present in every single thing from now on. But, if you really think the girls will be better off without me, I'm willing to give you that."

Amber seems confused now and frowns. "What do you mean?"

He sighs and looks his wife in the eye while he answers her question. "I had some time to think about this today and, if you agree, I'll move out. We can tell them that I'm going to work out of town and I'll come spend the weekends here with you guys."

Amber shakes her head and gets up, sitting next to him right after. "I don't want that, Sam. You're a great father and a great husband. I don't want you to leave."

There are tears running down her cheeks and he wipes them away, not wanting to see the woman he loves hurt. "This is not about what we want. If you think this will be what's best for our daughters, I'll do it without thinking twice. We need to do what's best for them. I don't want them to suffer because of me and because of what I do."

They don't know what he does. To his family, he's and FBI agent because that's the closest thing he can come to the truth. At least they know he's a federal agent.

Amber grabs his hand and holds it tight. "No, that's not going to happen. Sam, I was nervous this morning and ended up saying things I didn't mean to. Listen, we love you. Sometimes, you come home tired and worn out and you still manage to play with them for two hours or three before bed. That's being a good father. We want you here, honey!"

This time, he allows a single tear to run down his cheek too. "I love you three so much, Amber. I would do anything to make you happy."

She nods and sits on his lap, her arms wrapped tightly around him as if afraid to let him go. He wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her as close as possible. "I know, Sam. But that's the thing. You don't need to do anything else to makes up happy. We're already happy. And when they get home, I bet she's going to give you a big smile, sit one your lap and tell you all about the competition. Lisa will tell you all about her day and everything will be okay. Please, never suggest that again."

Sam kisses her and sighs when they pull back. "I had a very bad day."

There's not much he can tell her about it and Amber learned that a while ago. Still, she looks at him with a small comforting smile. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He pulls her even closer, trying to gain some much-needed comfort. "One of my co-workers was shot…it was scary."

She pulls his head to her chest and comforts him in the way only a mother can, making him feel like the luckiest man alive. "Well, everything's okay now. You're home and everything's okay. I'm here, honey."

In the end, she's his wife and there's nothing he wouldn't do for her. Just like he knows there's nothing she wouldn't do for him.

He's happy to have her to come home to. And he can't wait for dinner so he can spend some time with his two daughters.

AN: I'm cleared to surf! I'm just warning you because that means I'm going to start surfing to make up for the lost time. That means I'm not sure of when I'll be able to update. Between college, friends, parties, boyfriend, family and surf, I don't have much free time on my hands. However, I will do my best to make sure you continue to receive your weekly updates.
Love,
Sarah