"You sure I can't change your mind?" Jess raised a brow at Don who was in the kitchen, flipping through thin brown files, writing in the necessary places as Jess messed with her hair, checking her complexion in the glass of the microwave.
"I'm sure" Don said "I have a stack of paperwork to do and it isn't exactly my scene" Don drained his beer that evening and Jess nodded, turning around as Hannah walked into the kitchen, hastily buttoning up her cardigan before moving over to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water and then searching the contents of the cupboards for a snack.
"There's going to be snacks there Hannah" Jess assured the teen who nodded, chucking a crisp into her mouth
"I know…but I haven't eaten since dinner…and I had dinner early, like eleven a.m. and now I am starving" she complained, eating quickly as Jess picked up her car keys
"Eleven a.m.?" Don asked her and she nodded "I think I'd have died a little"
"That's because you have a high metabolism" Jess stated
"True" Don nodded "and haven't you something to tell me?" Don looked at Hannah who just looked to the floor instead.
"Maybe" Hannah said "I…I just bumped into her last night…me and Mark were on the way home and she was drinking…falling out of a bar or something so we took her back to her apartment…made sure she was okay and left"
"And why didn't you tell me? I had to find out from Murphy who was on patrol last night…he recognised you from when you was dragged into the precinct last year" Don replied to Hannah and she shrugged lightly
"I didn't want you to go off on one" Hannah said "I didn't know how you'd have reacted"
"You still should have told me Hannah" Don said more sternly, looking back at his paperwork "but what you and Mark did was the right thing…"
"I know" Hannah agreed "Auntie Sam…she's worse this time dad…her apartment…me and Mark cleared it before we left"
"I'm going to go and see her tomorrow" Don said as Hannah nodded "but don't hide anything from me again Hannah, got it?"
"Got it" Hannah agreed hastily and hugged her dad for a moment before he sighed and then smiled at the two of them.
"Shouldn't you two be off to talk about babies?" he asked them with a slightly sly smile as Jess handed Hannah her coat and shrugged into her own.
"I suppose we should" Jess said "right, we'll be back at around ten to half past…don't miss me too much" Jess said and kissed him quickly as Hannah waved a little and then led Jess to the car.
…..
Don stood outside a block of apartments in the night air, his smart winter coat hugged around him as he looked up to the brick building and rang for a certain apartment.
"Sam…it's me" Don stated "I need to talk to you"
He waited for a few seconds before he heard her voice come out from the box;
"And say what Donnie? I don't have your money yet" she said, managing to put down the vodka bottle which was in her hands as she listened to her brother.
"It's not about the money Sam" he replied "I just need to talk…I know Hannah brought you home last night"
"I know" Sam whispered "I remember that…she's…a kind kid Don…and her boy…"
"You remember the first time you brought a boyfriend home Sam?" he asked his kid sister and she laughed lightly at the memory
"I thought dad was going to shoot him…and then you gave him the speech…"
"Hurt my little sister and I'll break every bone in your body" Don re-enacted it and Sam simply smiled sadly and went quiet "let me up Sam…please"
For a moment he didn't hear anything and then he heard the buzzer sound and he wasted no time in moving up for her apartment as quickly as he could.
"So come on Donnie" she stood at her door "why are you here?"
"I had to make sure you was okay" Don said, as she let him in and he shook his head at the alcohol "I'm still your big brother"
"I'm fine" Sam shrugged "I…I've started going to the support group again Don"
"That's good" he nodded "when?"
"This afternoon, after realising that my little niece had to be the one to drag me home and I thought what type of aunt am I?" Sam said "you want a drink?"
"A coffee would be nice" he said "so when was your last drop of alcohol?" he looked at the vodka as Sam flicked the switch on the kettle and she chuckled, running a hand through her hair and noticing her brother looking at the bottle.
"I've been sat staring at it for two hours straight" she admitted "it is still half full…but I haven't had anything since last night"
"Right" Don stood up, grabbing the vodka bottle and pouring the contents down the sink "that's to avoid temptation" he told her and she paled a little but nodded
"It's so hard" she complained "all I really want is a drink"
"It's not the answer Sam. Do you still have a job?" he checked and she nodded
"I'm not lying this time" she promised "I work down at a bar in the evenings…manage to hide the fact I drink"
"You'll manage to stop" Don said "Hannah was worried about you the other night"
"Me?" Jess asked "I'm…a tough cookie…she doesn't need to worry"
"But she does" Don shrugged, taking the cup Sam handed him "she's a worrier that girl…hasn't had it easy the last few months but yet she manages to worry about anyone apart from herself"
"Why?" Sam asked, sitting down "What happened?"
"Where do you want me to start?" Don chuckled slightly "she…she managed to get pregnant…her and Mark"
"What?" Sam asked "little Hannah?"
"She isn't that little anymore Sam" Don chuckled "anyway, Mark's father was a complete psycho…he told her she had to get rid of it and she refused, saying she'd choose adoption…but he managed to track her down one night…said she was running his son's life by having his child…he kind of pushed her and she fell…lost the baby"
"Poor girl" Sam whispered "she seems to be coping well"
"She wasn't. Her and Mark broke up for a while…she managed to meet this creep called Daniel and he turned out to be interested in her for nothing other than sex…we managed to get him expelled from college but he turned up and tried to rape her…he's on trial soon"
"Donnie" Sam gasped, resting a hand onto his arm "what can I say?"
"Nothing" Don said "Hannah doesn't mention it to anyone anymore"
"She has the stubborn Flack streak then?" Sam managed to smirk and Don nodded in agreement
"She does" he admitted "the caring part must mainly come from her mother's side"
"No" Sam shook her head "I remember your wedding…her mother was a complete cow"
"Ha" Don exclaimed "you have no idea" he wondered how his first mother in law was. He hadn't heard anything of her for months on end.
"I…" Sam began "I'm serious this time Donnie…about giving it up"
"You were serious the last few times Sam" he reminded her
"I know" she said "but this time I'm going to do it…because…well…I don't want us to drift Don…not anymore…and I want to get to know your wife too"
"Oh she remembers you" Don nudged her and Sam groaned
"Not how I want her to" she blandly "and I want to spend more time with Hannah"
"If you're serious Sam then I will try and help" Don said "but if anything goes wrong then I'm out, okay?"
"Okay" Sam agreed, starting to think about how to clean up the mess that was her life.
…
Here it is. Chapter 100! Oh my days I actually can't believe it at all! Never did I think I'd manage to get enough ideas together to make it to Chapter 100 but here it is and I am still going! And I tend to feel sorry for Sam, kind of want her to come into the story a little more and all that. Thank you so very much to Runner043 who has been with this since the start and then to my now constant reviewer SM-FA-RaiNtrain! Please review and tell me what you think!