Without a price?
Chapter 3
Sam did not count on running into Jason when she took Eleanor for a walk in her stroller. She had never seen Jason look so worse for wear, which made her wonder what he did this weekend. Jason was not one to drink alcohol overly much, so it was probably something else than the usual long weekend of drinking.
"Jason, you look, um…" Sam debated telling him the truth or going with a lie. Luckily, Jason interrupted her decision and made it for her. She was really stuck between being a good Christian and being one of those people who were too blunt for their own good.
"Pretty bad," Jason filled in the rest of her sentence, apparently aware of what he looked like. He had some facial hair showing which meant he had not shaved in a couple days and he had some almost indistinct bags under his eyes. He also looked kind of pale, but probably just needed some rest most of all.
"I take it was a busy weekend for you?" Sam supposed, almost tempted to laugh at Jason's expense but didn't in the end. She wondered if it had anything to do with Emily, not that she knew what was happening with her anymore than Emily's own mother.
"Yeah, it was actually." Jason responded, continuing "People have been forcing a lot of work on Emily, so I thought I would try and help her out over the weekend."
Sam smiled, noting mentally how nice that was of Jason. Jason had a soft spot for Emily though and you could see that no matter how hard Jason hid it. "That was awfully nice of you. Did you help her any?" Sam replied, being well able to predict the second sentence's answer though.
"Well, I hope I did. Emily had the workload of five or six people combined." Jason told her, rubbing his eyes from lack of sleep. Sam was astonished at Jason's estimate.
"Emily thought she could do that much alone?" Sam asked, amazed at that confidence, which was probably a little too strong with that amount of work.
"Yeah, she did. Throughout her whole life people have had this unfortunate tendency to let her down so she often ends up doing it herself, be it a school project or work assignment. She finds it very difficult to ask and accept help because of it." Jason explained.
"Well, it's good you are not one of those people," Sam said optimistically. "I ran into Monica at the hospital on Friday. Apparently Emily is not talking to her." Sam commented, curiosity overwhelming her common sense. Normally that would be none of her business, and she would not usually ask for such information, but it just came out this time. It must be lack of sleep.
"She's not talking to many of the Quartermaines, except maybe Ned, Lila, or Justus." Jason, still to this day, did not count himself as a Quartermaine. "One would think they would learn, but nothing Emily ever does satisfy Edward, Monica, and Alan." Jason mentioned, though Monica usually was the easier one to deal with, at least in Sam's experience.
"Did they not get the memo that says to respect your children's decisions?" Sam suggested, glancing at Eleanor in the stroller. That was one thing she would be sure to do, most of the time anyway. She was sure there was going to be instances. Thankfully that was not in the near future.
"They got it but they never read it," Jason murmured.
"Right, that second part is the most important one." Sam duly noted, nodding her head in understanding. "But, here I am, leaving you into a conversation when you really need to get some sleep."
"Its fine Sam, I like talking to you." Sam's jaw almost dropped. Was that a compliment? From Jason and spoken in public areas? Jason went on though, as if he never said such things. "Besides, you are probably facing the same circumstances as me with Eleanor."
"She's a good girl so it's not that bad, but I will probably never like 2 AM feedings." Sam said, tucking the blanket around Eleanor. It had fallen lower when Eleanor shifted positions in the stroller as she fell asleep probably. She was one wiggly child when she slept.
"You wouldn't be a sane person if you did Sam." Jason noted, looking into the stroller. "Maybe that is what I should be doing."
Sam did not know what he meant at first, but then after looking at Eleanor, realized what he meant. She laughed, again adjusting the blanket, feeling kind of nervous with that comment and being careful to not wake the sleeping baby. "We have to get going anyway. I have to be at the court house in a couple of hours so that Eleanor's adoption can be finalized."
"So soon," Jason asked, surprised at the quickness of this adoption and perhaps a bit suspicious.
"Yeah, it couldn't have been too soon for me though." Sam related to his surprise but couldn't be happier. Eleanor was going to be hers, she would finally get her own little girl, if not by blood, legally.
"That's great Sam but," Jason paused, unable to keep from yawning. "I really need some sleep." He finished.
Sam laughed again. She had never seen Jason so tired; he really was quite amusing when he was sleepy. She saw him off and then started back to her apartment….well, their apartment. It was their home, where a small family consisting of mother and infant daughter, was just starting out.
When she arrived at the court house a few hours later, dressed in her a blouse and slacks, she was immediately called in. It was a short meeting, one that was quick to the point. She gave the judge all the proof that she had to show him that she had the resources, ability, and opportunity to be a good parent to Eleanor. That was what they were looking for.
The judge approved what she had given him after searching it for flaws and worries. There was luckily just one. "Your savings account won't last forever, Ms. McCall. Do you plan to get a job soon?" He quizzed her, again searching for any faults and any wrong reactions to his question. The behavior was kind of unnerving but Sam took a breath and answered his inquisition.
"I do, I just feel right now that I have to learn how to be a good mother before trying to be a working mother." Sam replied, somehow seeing that coming and sincerely hoping that he would see that reason enough for her to keep Eleanor in the long haul. She still needed to prove herself; she knew that and was ready for the challenge. Eleanor just had to be her motivation and courage, which went without asking.
The judge nodded, seemingly accepting her plan. He took out a piece of paper and signed it. He handed it to her. It was a certificate of authorization that she was the legal guardian of Eleanor. "A social worker will stop in to see how you are holding up in another month." He informed her, and she again suspected this. "If they do not agree that you are fit to raise Eleanor, she will be taken away from you. So I suggest you put all your attention on the care of this child." The judge warned her gravely. Sam knew he was only trying to help though and did not take it personally, as many females would have done so.
"Absolutely," Sam agreed, some fear striking her with the grave warning. She did not know if she could survive losing another child. To say goodbye again…she did not even want to imagine the possibility!
She thanked the judge, and left the room and entered into the wide hallway of the court house. She smiled pleasantly and found the subject of many recent questions sitting on a bench. She approached the granite bench.
"Emily, you're in Port Charles." Sam remarked, noticing it was not for personal reasons. She had her uniform on, which consisted of wrinkleless pants, freshly shined combat boots, and medaled coat. Her hat was by her side. That was all you usually found Emily in.When you were in the New York National Guard it nearly took over your entire life, it seemed.
"Sam," Emily noted, seeing the baby carrier but not suggesting that she did to Sam.
"I heard Jason was with you this weekend." Sam said, striking up a conversation. She sat next to Emily on the bench and placed Eleanor and the carrier on the floor next to her feet so she could easily be observed.
"He was," Emily confirmed and continued, "It was almost like he lived there." Emily explained, coming off slightly ungrateful. Sam knew that she was just stressed though, and she herself hated when her privacy was upset like that. She really did not mean that that way, Sam was sure of that. Emily would be grateful in another time and day, and in certainly another mood.
Nonetheless, Sam did not know how to respond to that. Eleanor did though, as she started to let out a small scream that Sam interpreted as her attention cry. Saved by Eleanor once again, she scooped up her daughter in her arms. "This is Eleanor," She mentioned, changing the subject. It seemed like the best idea as Eleanor stopped screaming and took a wide look at the stranger that was sitting next to Sam.
Emily's brows slightly rose, but other than that Emily had a blank look on her face. Then again, she was working and in her job caring and hesitating may just get you killed. She did not dare ask why Emily was here either. Emily couldn't tell her, it was confidential. The kind of stuff that could get you killed for knowing the wrong thing and being at the wrong place.
"You adopted." Emily commented, finally officially noticing the baby but said nothing more.
"I did, isn't she precious?" Sam asked, feeling the pride of motherhood and loving such feelings again. Eleanor responded to this question by sticking her hands in the air, almost as if reaching to be near Emily.
She must be curious about this stranger, but she did not do that to Jason. Maybe it was a female thing; she had been asleep when Monica and Alexis were around. Then again, she did hear that Emily had a certain motherly sense when it came to children. Eleanor must be sensing that, being such a smart girl.
"She is," Emily agreed, well aware of Eleanor's response to her presence and did not like the behavior one bit. It wasn't good for infants to reach out to strangers like that, especially the ones that can be potentially dangerous. That kind of naivety could lead to death with those people.
"Would you like to hold her?" Sam asked, well assuming the answer would be yes though she asked it as a question.
"I am on the clock, it may not be the best idea to-" Emily started declining but somehow ended up with Eleanor in her arms before she could complete her sentence. "Do it now," Emily finished dryly with some annoyance present. Eleanor took kindly to Emily though, getting rather comfy in Emily's arms much to Emily's somewhat apparent dismay.
"See? She likes you." Sam observed, happy to see that she took to Emily at least. She was worried no one would like her newly adopted daughter and that she would be a loner as a result. Such fears were probably completely unnatural and showed that she overreacted.
"Yeah, imagine that." Emily said, with some wonder. Sam thought it was wonder at least. She heard from others that when working Emily was not one to normally show or express emotion. Such positions needed full awareness and certainly no blocking of the mind, emotions did tend to do that to a person. She certainly needed a clear mind as a sergeant, a recent promotion given to her for her dedication to her work and strong commanding ability and discipline.
Eleanor fell asleep promptly so Emily gave Sam back Eleanor, to place in the carrier again. Then the two parted as the court doors open and Emily was back to work. Obviously she was escorting a prisoner who was previously in court, one that did not go well from the look of the man-in-question's face.
Sam smiled at her daughter and watched as Emily left the court house with the man, noticing the man was pretty young. He was probably in his early-twenties, her best estimate. Still young though.
With a shake of her head, shaming today's youth, she picked up the bag and carrier and proceeded to head home. She had a lot to prove to the officials in the adoption department and she was going to start doing so now. First she would start with learning more on how to be a good parent and then she would start looking for a full-time long term clerical position that paid well. That was tomorrow though and what a beautiful day it was too, knowing she would be greeted with Eleanor's face in the morning. Probably the very early hours of the morning but Sam would just have to learn to accept that.
Author's note: I am so glad that so many people like this story! That's so nice to know. Good news is that I'm done with summer school! No more English classes for me ever again! Guaranteed, I am heading back to college again in two weeks but still! Vacation time! I'm hoping I can post one or two more chapters before that, we'll see though. Thanks so much for your patience and reviews.