Chapter 4

James sat in his office thinking about the last couple of weeks. Sandie had returned and given him an ultimatum, to break up with Sam so they could be together or never see her again. He really wanted to be with Sandie but he was having a hard time breaking up with Sam, and he didn't want to wait too much longer for fear of losing Sandie for good this time.

James stood and paced the floor in his office. He knew what he had to do, so why was it so damn hard to do it? Just break up with her, he thought to himself. How hard can it be? I'll do it tonight.

His thoughts were interrupted by his door opening and Greg walking in. James stopped his pacing and looked over at him.

"What do you want?" He asked him, "I'm busy."

Greg looked at him blankly. "Busy doing what?"

"Thinking," James told him.

"If you're still thinking about breaking it off with Sam to be with Sandie, and it's taken you this long, then it's never going to happen," Greg told him. "It's been a couple weeks now and you still haven't done it. Sandie's probably back with that cop."

"I'm going to do it, tonight," James reassured him.

"No you won't," Greg scoffed, "You'll keep putting it off and putting it off until you never hear from her again."

"No!" James exclaimed, "I love her and we will be together!"

James grabbed his jacket and walked out of the office.

"Where are you going?" Greg called after him.

"To break it off with Sam," James replied over his shoulder.

"Zack, you know I can't do this, not now," Sandie said.

Zack stood in Sandie's living room begging her for a second chance, despite the fact that she lied to him about being pregnant and cheating on him, he still loved her.

"Baby, please, I love you," Zack whined. "Those doctors don't care about you. If they did they wouldn't have let you go. You came here, came back to me, for a brand new start, don't go back to your old ways."

Sandie knew he was right. She left New Jersey to get away from Greg and James but both men had begged her to come back and she was in love with James, but he still hadn't yet broken up with Sam, so she was beginning to wonder if he even wanted her back. If not, she had a choice, stay with Zack or break it off with him for good and start fresh. She cared about Zack but there was no spark in their relationship, sure the sex was good but that's it. He loved her but she didn't love him back.

"I'm sorry, Zack," Sandie told him. "I'm just not in love with you."

Sandie could see the hurt on his face and she had to fight the tears in her eyes. She didn't have a choice, they were not right for each other. Even if James didn't break up with Sam, she really didn't want to stay with Zack, he deserved better. She wanted him to be happy but she didn't want to be the reason for it.

Again, Zack begged her not to go through with the breakup but Sandie wouldn't back down. She kissed his cheek, apologized and for the last time, said, "Goodbye." Zack walked out the door and from the other side, he could hear her break down and cry.

Another week had gone by and Sandie still had not heard from James. She was beginning to think he didn't want to be with her, that was until her cell phone rang and she saw his name on the caller ID.

"Hello?" She answered curiously.

"Sandie? It's James. How are you?" He asked.

"Oh James!" Sandie exclaimed, "I didn't think I was ever going to hear from you!"

"I'm sorry it took so long for me to reach out to you. Things have been crazy here but I have been thinking about you and I wanted to let you know that I broke it off with Sam."

Sandie's heart did a little flip flop. She never thought this day would come, and for the first time, she was speechless. Perhaps there was a future for her after all.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Sandie asked James.

"Is this what you want?" James retorted.

"More than anything," Sandie told him.

"Then let's do this," James told her. "We've let this relationship go on long enough, it's time we made it official…. Again."

Sandie agreed, they chatted a bit longer then hung up. Squealing, she did a happy dance. Despite breaking up with Zack, and after everything she's been through, she knew deep down that this is what she really wanted. James was always there for her no matter what and it was time she showed him how much she appreciated and loved him.

James hung up his phone and sat back in his chair, running his hand through his hair. After all this time and after everything the two of them have been through, he's finally going to have her back in his life and just thinking about it made him giddy. He was just about to get up when the door to his office flew open and Greg walked in.

"What do you want?" James asked, annoyed.

"Did you break up with Sam?" Greg asked.

"Why is it any of your business?"

"Because she called me upset."

"Why would she call you?" James asked, curiously. "I never really wanted to be back with her anyway. I just didn't want to be alone."

"You broke it off with her to be with Sandie, didn't you?"

"Yes, I told you I would."

"And you think Sandie is going to leave New York and her cop boyfriend to be with you?" Greg asked sarcastically.

"She already broke it off with him, you knew that when she came back. I love her and I'm going to marry her."

James stood, grabbed his jacket and walked past Greg out of his office. He shouldn't have to explain himself or his life to anyone, especially Greg.

Greg paced the floor in his office, he was angry. Sandie was his woman not James's. He gave her everything and she was ungrateful. He hated that. The only thing he ever wanted was to be with her, they were going to be married at one point but then they got in that fight and all hell broke loose, that's when he lost her and no matter what he tried, he couldn't win her back. So why was she going back to James? They've gotten into fights before and she still went back to him.

"Ahhh!" Greg screamed in frustration, he grabbed the stapler off his desk and flung it across the room almost hitting Lisa Cuddy who walked into the office.

"Problems?" She asked.

"Your sister!" Greg exclaimed.

"What did she do this time?" Lisa sighed.

"Did you know that she broke up with her cop boyfriend so she could get back together with James?"

"I thought he was with Sam?"

"Not anymore, he broke it off with her so he could be with your sister."

"So what is the big deal?" Lisa asked, "As long as they are both happy, what does it matter?"

She paused, then added, "You're jealous aren't you? You want to be with her, don't you?"

"Does it matter? She doesn't want to be with me."

"Greg, she's better off with him."

"She's better off with me!" Greg yelled. He then pushed past her and walked out of his office.

"Where are you going?" Lisa called after him, but he kept on walking.

Sandie stood on her condo balcony, breathing in the fresh air, or what she could get out here in the city. She stood there listening to the hustle and bustle of the traffic down below, wondering if she was making the right decision. Going back to James meant seeing more of Greg and there was still a small piece of her that had a thing for him, but she couldn't let that deter her from getting what she wanted and that was to marry James.

As she stood there on the balcony, she heard a knock on her door. Now who could that be? She thought. She went inside and walked towards the door, peering through the peephole, she thought she saw Greg. Nah, can't be. Sure enough, when she opened that door, Gregory House stood on the other side.

"Greg! What are you doing here?" Sandie exclaimed.

"I needed to see you," he told her as he walked into her condo. "You're making a mistake going back to James."

"Why would you think that?" Sandie asked him.

"Because you know damn well that I love you and we belong together."

"Greg," Sandie started, "I care about you but I can't go through this again, there's nothing but drama when we're together."

"How can you say that?" He asked her. "Our relationship was great."

"No it wasn't," Sandie said, turning away from him. "It was nothing but sex and drugs."

Greg grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. He held her in his arms, she tried to push away but he held her tight.

"I'm not letting you go," he told her. Then without hesitation, he kissed her.

She kissed him back but then just as quickly, she pushed him away.

"Greg, I can't," she told him.

"Why the hell not?" He asked, angrily.

"Because I don't love you," Sandie lied. Deep down, perhaps really deep down, she did love him, but she didn't want to be with him. She wanted James and she couldn't let Greg distract her from that.

Greg turned away from her, he rubbed his eyes with his hand, then turned and said,

"I don't believe you."

"I'm sorry, Greg, you need to leave now."

Greg was frustrated but he wasn't going to give up.

"Fine," he said, "I'll give you your space. I'll be waiting the next time the two of you get in a fight and I'll have just what you'll need."

With that, he left her place. Sandie leaned up against the door, fighting the tears swelling up in her eyes. She refused to let him get to her, wiping her eyes, she went to the fridge and poured herself a drink. She headed back out to the balcony and looked out over the city. Taking a drink, she picked up her cell and dialed James's number.

James stood in his kitchen looking at the small, velvet box in his hand. Opening it, he looked at the diamond ring nestled snugly in the box. He wasn't going to wait any longer, he was going to propose to Sandie the minute she got back in town.

He closed the box and stuck it in his pocket. He wasn't sure when she was coming back but he hoped it would be soon, he didn't want to wait any longer. He was ready to start a family with her and with her being clean, or so he hoped, perhaps this time they could have children.

James's thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. He smiled when he saw it was Sandie's number. He smiled even more when he heard her voice on the other end.

"Sandie, it's good to hear from you," he told her.

"James," Sandie started, "Greg was just here."

His smile faded and he frowned.

"Why was he there? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Sandie lied. She really wasn't. Greg was messing with her head, no doubt to get her to go back to her old life. She couldn't let him do that to her, not right now.

"Sandie?" James asked.

"Yea, I'm here," Sandie responded.

"Do you need me to come up?" James asked her.

"No, it's fine. I'll be with you soon, I just need to take care of some things here first."

"Okay, darling. I'll see you soon."

They hung up and James's first thought was to confront Greg. Why was he at her place and what did he do to her? She was upset, he could tell and even though she said she didn't need him to come up, he decided to do it anyway. The sooner they could get married, the better. He didn't want Greg to be able to snatch her up before he could, not this time. He went to the closet and threw some clothes into his overnight bag. He then grabbed his keys and headed out the door.

Sandie sat on the couch flipping through a catalog, she knew she should start getting things together to move in with James but after her run in with Greg, she just wasn't in the mood. She tossed the catalog aside and stood up, she needed a way to take her mind off things. She walked into the bedroom and opened the nightstand drawer, reaching into the back, she pulled out a little baggie of white powder. I really shouldn't, she thought to herself, considering she's been clean for quite sometime now. Screw it! She thought and sat down at her vanity table. She dumped the powder out, grabbed a rolled up dollar bill and took a whiff of one line of coke, then another. Immediately she could feel that high that she remembered and she wanted more. She wanted to go out and party and say the hell with everything. She grabbed her purse and was about to head out when there was a knock on the door. Who the hell could that be? She thought.

She walked to the door and opened it. To her surprise, James Wilson stood on the other side.

"What are you doing here?" Sandie asked.

"Well that was not the kind of greeting I was expecting," James replied as he walked in the door.

"I told you, you didn't need to come here," Sandie said, somewhat annoyed.

"Baby, what's wrong?" James asked.

Sandie forgot that being high made her a bitch. She closed the door and pushed him up against it. Being high also made her horny, she kissed him and he kissed her back. Immediately she removed his shirt and tie and he helped her out of her shirt as they made their way to the bedroom.

James wasn't sure what was going on but he wasn't about to question it. He pushed Sandie onto the bed and kissed her neck, working his way down her breasts and her stomach. He stopped just above her navel and removed her skirt and panties and continued trailing his tongue down her belly and inside her thighs. Sandie shivered, it's been a while since she's been with anyone. She sat up and it was her turn to push James down onto the bed. She climbed on top of him, straddling him. She kissed him, then continued kissing his neck, then his chest and down to where his pants were. She removed them and placed his hardening member inside her mouth, James moaned. My god! He thought. He had forgotten how good that felt, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of her mouth on him. He wasn't sure how long he was going to last so he opened his eyes, grabbed his soon to be wife and rolled her onto her back and entered her. Sandie moaned, he felt so good inside her. The two of them made love, gentle at first, then harder until the two of them came together. James collapsed in Sandie's arms, he rolled onto his back and she laid her head on his chest.

"I love you," James said, propping himself up onto his elbow.

"James," Sandie replied, sitting up. "Why are you here?"

"I'm confused," James said, as he sat up. "Why are you being like this? What happened? Did Greg hurt you?"

"What? No!" Sandie told him. She stood, grabbed her clothes and proceeded to get dressed.

James stood, pulled on his pants and walked over to her. He grabbed her by the arms and looked her in the eyes. It's when he noticed her pupils were wide and she looked high. Why didn't I notice this before? He thought.

"Are you using drugs again?" He confronted her.

"No!" Sandie said, perhaps a bit too fast.

James looked around and spotted what was left of the white powder on her vanity.

"Then what the hell is this?" He asked her, pointing at the table.

"It's nothing," Sandie told him. "After Greg was here, I needed something to take the edge off."

"Why would you lie to me?" James asked her, upset.

"I'm not lying. It's the first time I've done anything in a long time," she tried to reassure him.

James didn't want to fight with her, he wanted to know what happened between her and Greg to make her want to go back to using again, but he knew that she wasn't going to tell him. The only thing he could do was be there for her and make her his.

"Sandie," he started, "I know you told me not to come up here but I couldn't wait to be with you. Let's get married right away."

Sandie stared at him, she was a bit shocked. James walked past her and into the living room where his overnight bag laid on the floor. He reached into the pocket and pulled out the small, velvet box. Sandie followed behind him, curious as to what he had planned. He turned towards her and opened the little box revealing the sparkling, diamond ring.

"Marry me," James told her, "I don't want to wait anymore and I know you don't either."

Sandie was taken aback, she didn't know what to say. She wanted to be with him more than anything and she knew that he had asked her to marry him once before, but was she really ready for this? She had to be, she broke it off with Zack and refused to answer any calls from Elliot all because she wanted to be with no one else but James.

"Yes," she finally said.

James was excited, he finally won. Take that, Greg! He said to himself. She's mine for the rest of our lives. But little did he know, that wouldn't be very long.