Hi again! So this is the Christmas thing I mentioned in my Moments update.
I decided to post it but it's up to y'all if I continue! Since traffic is still down, the only way I can know if you guys are at all into this concept is with a review, PM, fav or follow so I'd appreciate knowing how y'all feel about it if you have a minute.
Tysm and on to the first bit! ^0^
DISCLAIMER: …No.
"Cheers!"
"To graduation for happening at last!"
"To us making it!"
"To school finally being over forever!"
Sam, Clover, and Alex laughed joyously as they clinked their glasses together completing their toast and sipping away on their champagne as the music went on and on, and the night danced itself away in excitement with them.
They had done it. It had taken blood, sweet, tears, dedication, and extreme hard work to balance their hectic spy lives with equally demanding school lives and stay sane throughout it all, but they'd made it! Tonight they were all graduates from Malibu University!
Posing for the pictures their dates were taking of them, the trio smiled for the cameras. Forming a group hug they all said "cheese" as the flashes went off in unison.
Sam glowed in her floor-length, strapless, sequin, gold and long drop earrings that touched her shoulders. Her long, red hair was held in a side ponytail and the few strands closest to her face were curled and let loose.
Clover radiated in a hot pink, cut-out mini dress with matching stilettos, pink sapphire diamond hoop earrings and with her blonde hair pulled into an elegant bun.
Alex charmed in a retro, navy blue, velvet, maxi dress with stripes of glitter down the fabric, matching strappy silver pumps and sparkling stud earrings. Her raven hair was curled especially for the occasion.
When the photos were taken and their dates went off to refill their drinks for them, they resumed talking among themselves.
"So…" Sam grinned excitedly for the future that was just beginning. Their real lives as adults. "What are the plans now?"
Grinning just as brightly Clover answered her. "I say we all take a year off and just travel! See the world and check out all the hot party destinations!"
"And WOOHP will just magically go away while we do that?" Alex mocked. wiggling the fingers of her left hand as if sarcastically casting a spell for WOOHPUS DISAPPEARUS and bringing Clover back to reality.
The blonde groaned. In all her excitement, for just a second she had forgotten all about WOOHP.
"Well Jerry should give us a grad gift too!" She protested, knowing they had earned at least a little time
off for pulling off such a huge feat. "Maybe if we guilt him hard enough, he'll let us go!"
Silence followed her words as all three girls exchanged a doubtful glance but soon enough found themselves laughing anyway.
"Worth a shot!" They declared because nothing and no one was going to ruin this evening for them, not even their party pooper boss.
"Hey, but what about our grad gifts?" Alex asked when they were done giggling at the thought of Jerry ever giving them any amount of time off ever let alone an entire year to have to themselves without butting in.
"My mom and dad promised me seasonal tickets to any sports team of my choosing anddddd they made an amazing donation to my favourite animal charity!" Alex beamed joyfully at the personal call she'd received from the founder of Pi telling her how much of a difference her donation was going to make for the pandas before turning to Clover. "What about you?"
"Well myyyyyy parents got me a brand new car! A Lamborghini Aventador Roadster," she paused to smirk when her friends gasped in sheer awe. "And Blaine got me my earrings that I'm wearing tonight. They totally match my outfit," she said flicking her fingertip against one of them and showing them off as they twinkled. "Aren't they très fab?"
They all nodded in agreement before the conversation finally made its way over to Sam. "And what about you Sammie? What did you get as your big grad gift?"
And when Sam held up her arms and shrugged revealed that she hadn't gotten anything and hadn't even heard from her parents in months, they both looked at her in total surprise.
"Well that's … weird," Clover finally said for all of them. A massive understatement because Sam had gotten the best grades out of all of them and definitely deserved to be spoiled for her efforts.
Alex bobbed her head in agreement. It was waaaay beyond weird! Plus Sam's parents also always liked to stay in touch, never going longer than a day or two without calling, texting, or Facetiming her, so not communicating for this much time was also totally unlike them.
"Right?" Sam sighed feeling a familiar wave of anxiety consume her at the lost looks on her friends faces at her parents' being so MIA. It was the same nervousness that she'd actually been feeling for a while now.
She hadn't heard from her parents in forever. When the first week had passed without them getting in touch, as odd as it was she'd chalked it up to them just being busy. Her dad's thriving business tended to get heavy loads every now and then solshe'd figured that was what must have happened. But then the week had turned into a month and then another, and then so many that she'd lost count.
And then when she hadn't heard a peep from them all throughout exam time, something highly abnormal for them as they took her academics as seriously as she did, her bout of worry had turned into a full on panic attack.
She had at the very least expected a call from them today when she was reaching this huge landmark of graduation but hadn't received one all day. And now she was seriously beginning to fear that perhaps something was very, very wrong.
Picking up on the look of palpable dread now showing on Sam's pretty face, Clover gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze not wanting her to be sad on their big day. "Aww don't you worry girlfriend! I bet they're just planning something suuuuuper special and it's going to be some huge surprise! That's why they are being all covert like!" She said, trying to explain away their secrecy.
"Ooooh that makes sense!" Alex chimed in chirpily. "I mean your parents dooo always give the best surprises!"
When she said that, Sam couldn't help but smile because it was true. She was spoiled rotten always because she was an only child of exceptionally doting parents. She only had to think back to all the extravagant presents she'd received for all her life milestones thus far to confirm that fact. Heck, not even for any special reason, sometimes they'd just gotten her things just because she'd asked for them too much.
She still remembered the pony she'd been granted on her fifth birthday after she'd nagged them for a few months about how cute she thought they were, and how she absolutely needed one if she was going to the real life princess her parents kept telling her she was.
"I wonder what it'll be!" Alex continued further lifting her mood.
"Let's be honest," Clover stated frankly. "Major congrats are in order. Their daughter made history! The best grades ever recorded in Beverly Hills High and now Malibu University?! That's totally crazy!"
Sam couldn't help but blush as she listened to her friends proudly talk about her academic accomplishments. She could only hope that her parents would be just as proud of her when she heard from them.
Just as she had that thought her cell phone rang telling her she had a phone call. And when she glanced at the caller ID, nothing but relief filled her when she saw who was calling.
"It's my dad!" Sam announced leaving Clover and Alex to smile and also look relieved.
"Aha! See?!" Clover exclaimed clapping her hands together. "You were worried for nothing!"
"I guess we're finally gonna to find out what your big grad gift is Sammie!" Alex grinned and Sam smiled before accepting the phone call.
Bringing the phone up to her ear she spoke to her father. "Hi dad! I'm sooo glad to hear from you! How are you?"
She frowned when she heard nothing from the other end for a long moment.
"Dad?" She said again only to hear nothing much still besides something that sounded like a sigh. A moment after that she thought she picked up on him saying hello back to her but it was so loud in the club that she wasn't sure he'd said anything at all.
Deciding to get to a quieter place where she could hear him better she motioned to her friends that she'd be back before she began walking outside where it would be less noisy.
"Dad, just give me a minute okay?" She said as she walked quickly, worried he'd hang up thinking she didn't have reception or something or was too busy celebrating right now.
When she finally reached the door she stepped outside into the hot June night before putting the phone back on her ear. "Hey dad. You still there?"
Thankfully this time she was able to hear him and she smiled when she heard his voice. "Hey princess. Where are you?"
"Just out with friends. You know, celebrating graduation," She answered while making herself comfortable against the door as she conversed with her father. Her smile grew wider and she beamed like the moon in the sky when she heard him tell her how proud he and her mother were of her, and then apologize for not having said so sooner and for being so absent as of late.
She was about to say that it was okay and all that mattered was that they had called now because her big night would not have been complete without hearing from them, only to pause midway when her father spoke again. And for some reason his voice now sounded strained and stressed out.
"Sweetie we uh … We need to talk. Are Clover and Alex nearby?"
"Yea they're just inside," she said hoping he was only asking because he wanted to congratulate them too on graduating or something along those lines. But what he said next only made that same awful feeling she'd been having in spells for the last while start to creep up inside her again.
"Good. We uh didn't want you to be alone when we had this conversation." He paused, took a deep breath in before letting it out and adding quietly, "… Sammie are you sitting down right now?"
Hearing her father say the typical line someone said when they were about to deliver some shocking news to someone, Sam began to feel seriously afraid. But she calmed herself down by telling herself that maybe this was all about her graduation present and he and her mom just wanted to be all dramatic about it so she wouldn't catch on right away.
Suddenly she paused, her eyes narrowing when she realized that it had just been her dad talking to her. Where was … her mother? He had mentioned that her mom was proud of her but why hadn't she said so herself? Normally her mom would be excitedly grabbing at the phone to gush over her achievement and demanding to talk to her all hyper.
But she couldn't hear her mom in the background no matter how much she strained her hearing. In fact … she couldn't hear her at all.
"…Dad?" Sam started slowly, the tone of her voice conveying that he was starting to freak her out and that if this was just some joke then to please end it now.
But sadly no such thing happened as her father just sighed again and told her that there had been a reason why they'd been so uncharacteristically hush hush for the last while. A reason that they didn't want to reveal until her studies were over because had they told her sooner, it would affect her ability to focus and stay calm.
"We'd actually been hoping for better news but … it didn't happen."
By this point her stomach was literally twisting inside itself with worry. What news? What was he talking about? Was something wrong?!
"Dad … what's going on?" Sam nearly screamed, wanting him to tell her already and if not then to give the phone to someone who would.
"…."
Hearing him fall eerily silent she frowned and opened her mouth to ask for her mom, unable to shake the feeling that this had to do with her as she still had not heard her voice, when he finally spoke once more.
"Sweetheart I need you to stay calm. What I'm about to tell you … it's not going to be easy to hear."
"…" Gripping the phone harder in her hand Sam gave up on saying anything and just listened with her heart beating faster and faster inside her chest with every passing second.
"It's about your mom. She…" he stopped and sighed clearly struggling with getting this out before continuing in a morose tone. "She was having some nagging health issues that weren't going away so we decided she should see a doctor just to make sure everything was okay."
Drawing in a shaky break, Sam said nothing but kept listening intently.
"The initial check-up didn't clear up anything so she went for more in-depth testing to try and get to the root of her problems and … they found something. Something we weren't expecting. Something that … totally blindsided us."
Sam held her breath and waited, feeling her skin become as cold as ice as her heart threatened to burst inside her from what her brain was now quickly processing.
Her mom wasn't well. Something … had happened to her.
Right then she began to pray inside her head just as her mother had always told her to do when she was scared, promising that God would soothe her worries.
"Please no …. God no…"Sam repeated to herself over and over as she waited for her dad to tell her what it was and hoped like crazy that it wasn't something dangerous, even though the way he was telling her made it obvious that whatever it was, it was … bad. All that was left to find out now was how bad it was.
"…Dad?" She said again when he'd said nothing more and it had been a full minute and a half.
Chewing on her lower lip in apprehension she urged him to just do it, tell her what he had to so she could start to try to deal with it. "What's wrong with mom?!"
But when he finally told her what she was begging to know, the remaining color from her skin was drained all at once and a sharp gasp left her as tears rapidly filled up her emerald eyes.
This wasn't real, she told herself in disbelief. It couldn't be happening. It just … it just couldn't be happening! Not to her mom!
"…I'm so sorry sweetie," was the last thing her dad was able to get out before the phone slipped from her pale, shaking hands and clattered onto the pavement.
Sliding down to her knees Sam landed next to it and sat there breathing raggedly as she tried to battle with the shock of what she'd just been told. Covering her face with her hands she soon erupted into a fit of uncontrollable tears as this night that had been a dream come true instantly turned into her worst nightmare.
The sounds of the music and merriment from inside the club were lost behind those of her rampant sobs, and all the lights blurred away with her hot, heartbroken, tears as her mascara messily streaked down her face and her world turned completely black with despair.
Her mom … was dying.
5 and ½ months later
"It's so good to see you guys again!" Britney said as she hugged Clover and Alex. It had been waaaay too long since they had last seen each other.
"Totally!" Clover agreed as she gave her a squeeze and smiled only for it to falter a few seconds later as she remembered the situation that had led up to Jerry summoning Britney to LA this time. "…I just wish we were meeting under happier circumstances."
The moment she said that all three girls pulled back exchanging sad glances. They still couldn't believe that this, any of this was happening. And to their Sammie? The most kind, most sweet girl ever? When Christmas was just around the corner and everyone was supposed to be celebrating with their loved ones? It just wasn't right. She didn't deserve this!
Clover and Alex's minds went back to their graduation night when Sam hadn't come back after talking to her father and worried, they had gone out to look for her. They'd eventually found her a total mess and couldn't get her stop crying. It had taken them more than a half hour to get her stop sobbing but only just long enough for her to stutter out to them what was making her this upset. And once she'd told them what she'd been told by her dad, they had both nearly fallen faint themselves.
After that Sam had booked and taken the first flight to Ireland to be with her mom so that they could discuss as a family what their options were; Jerry having granted her a leave of absence from her spy duties due to this extraordinary turn of events. And once there, she had been told the details of what her mother's ailment was.
At first the doctors had thought that Gabby had developed vestibular neuritis which explained her symptoms: headaches, dizziness, nausea, tinnitus, vision problems, and sudden lack of balance. But an abnormal MRI had led to more testing, and then had come the terrifying realization of what her real sickness appeared to be.
A tumour, and not just any tumour but a tumour of the brain and the most deadly one at that. A Glioblastoma multiform or GBM, a fast-growing tumour that developed from cells that supported the health of the nerve cells within the brain. One that the chances of curing successfully were slim to none and in most cases, the most doctors could do was give the patient as much time as they could to say goodbye to their loved ones by providing them drugs to suppress symptoms, and tips on how to make their last days as comfortable as possible.
At that disheartening information, her mom had made a decision, one that had crushed any hope that Sam had left to prevent herself from losing her mother so early in her life. Gabby had decided that she didn't want to go for surgery.
There was no point to it she'd stated. If this was the way she was meant to go then she didn't want to waste her remaining time fighting against it. She said she'd made peace with it, accepting it as God's will by citing as proof the fact that it had come out of nowhere in her otherwise healthy body.
Both Sam and her father had begged and pleaded with her to reconsider, to give surgery a chance even though the odds were dismal but Gabby had staunchly refused. And slowly her dad had given in which left Sam alone in her desperate fight to get through to her mom, one that she had quickly lost when the rest of her family intervened telling her that she had to respect her mother's wishes.
That was what a good daughter would do; put her mom's needs above her own. And she was just that, a good daughter so she should do the same.
Which had led to the current situation of Sam's mom, dad, and herself heading to California to prepare to spend this last Christmas together in her childhood home; a luxury mountain villa in Big Bear Lake just like they used to back when she was a little kid.
It was her mother's last wish, to have one final, perfect Christmas together in the home they'd started their family in. To make this dream a reality, Sam's whole family would be coming from overseas to stay with them and celebrate in the final weekend leading up to Christmas day.
Then the day after, they would all leave and Gabby and Shawn would go back to Ireland, to their old ancestral home where Sam's mom had chosen to live out the rest of her days till it was her time. Because she'd realized that Sam didn't have the courage to witness her death, still hinting to her here and there that she wanted her to try surgery despite that matter being closed.
So when she had passed on, Sam would receive a phone call letting her know and she'd then be able to go take part in her mother's funeral rites with her family and say her final farewell to her with them.
"Is there nothing that WOOHP can do?" Britney asked looking at Jerry hopefully because he ran an agency with all sorts of topnotch, revolutionary scientists working for it, but Clover and Alex just shook their heads letting her know that they had already asked him that and he'd told them no.
First of all, WOOHP didn't interfere in civilian lives. As much as Sam was one of their own, her mom was a regular citizen and the second and much more bigger issue—
"As advanced as WOOHP is, we don't specialize in the medical field. We deal with developing gadgets which as advanced as it is, is far less complex than dealing with the human body," Jerry reminded them.
Unlike working on a gadget which could be started over from scratch by buying and replacing broken parts if things went really badly, any work done on a person wasn't purchasable or replaceable.
"Gabby's best hope is to try surgery which as we all know, she's already rejected," he frowned grimly.
The only people that could perhaps help her would be the top medical professionals that she had already indicated she didn't want to deal with.
"Her chances for the tumour being successfully removed are dour," he explained further. "They fall within less than 5%. Then there's also the matter that even if removed, it could come back some time later."
Because it was the worst of its kind and that possibility would always be hanging over her head like some ticking time bomb. If only this wasn't such a malignant tumour but sadly, it was.
Watching all three girls faces fall when he told them all of that, Jerry remained deep in thought before saying something more. "It may be strange for me to say this but … I can understand where she's coming from by not wanting to even try surgery."
Noting how Clover, Alex, and Britney looked at him lost, as if just dying to know how anyone would just accept that they were going to die without fighting against it with all their might he continued, giving them a perspective that they couldn't possibly have still being in the dawn of their lives.
But he'd had such thoughts himself, now being in the golden years of his life. And while Gabby was in her early fifties while he was pushing his seventies, she was still old enough to share this point of view with him that the girls simply were not.
"When you get to being a certain age, you start to think about how you want to go. It's just human nature; part of knowing that we are mortals and will one day die."
Seeing understanding starting to show on their features he went on.
"Clearly with her chances of beating this thing being what they are, Gabby has decided that she'd rather go surrounded by friends and family as opposed to on an operating table with the last people she sees being doctors and nurses."
Knowing that Jerry was making sense the trio nodded but couldn't help but feel bummed at just how unfair this was for Sam. She was so young, only 21 and she would lose her mom already? There was so much that she still needed Gabby for. The very thought of losing their own mothers at this point in their lives was absolutely frightening to them and the fact that their Sam was about to actually go through it for real? It was heartbreaking.
"So there really isn't anything WOOHP can do for Sam? Nothing at all?!" Britney pressed, unwilling to give up and still refusing to believe what was already clear as day to the others.
Placing her hands on Britney's shoulders, Alex sadly told her the only thing that she could help Sam with right now.
"Jerry says that all WOOHP can do is keep giving Sammie time off as she goes through this."
"And for us to deal with her spy duties so she at the very least, doesn't have to worry about that," Clover added before sighing, "Well that and keeping her enemies at bay in case any of them decide to be heartless enough to use this tragedy, and come after her while her defences are lowered."
"That's where you come in," Jerry pointed at Britney who had been called from Australia to fill in for Sam as a permanent member of her spy team in her absence. "There is one such enemy on the run right now that desperately needs to be stopped, one that would be only too happy to use this against Sam and if possible all of WOOHP. Clover and Alex need your help to stop him before he gets up to anything."
As Jerry said this he hit a button on his desktop console and an image of a certain chestnut-haired, sea green eyed, arrogantly smirking male flashed onscreen. A formidable felon that Clover and Alex knew all too well but Britney had only encountered just once in her spy career, and not during one of his own dastardly plans.
"Tim Scam," Jerry identified him for Britney while Clover and Alex groaned heavily in the background only having to remember their last encounter with him a few days back and their unsuccessful attempt at capturing him and how badly he had taunted them for it again, to know that they were not looking forward to this in any way. The man was a major pain in the ass and with everything going on right now, he was the last person on this planet that they wanted to deal with.
But then again, it was better they handle him before he went after Sam. The pair exchanged worried glances knowing Scam had noticed that she wasn't coming with them on missions and had started to ask questions.
Being the shark in the water that he was, he'd already smelled blood. It only a matter of time before he followed its trail and they couldn't allow him to do that because if he did, he would definitely try to use Sam's misfortune being the bastard that he was, already having once gone after their mothers in the past for his own nefarious purposes. There was no question he would do it again if given the opportunity.
With that thought in mind they put a brave face on and quickly received their gadgets from G.L.A.D.I.S: Jetpack Backpacks, Heat Sensor 6000 Infrared Motion Detector Sunglasses, Ultra Sensitive Heading Microphone Earrings, Laser Lipsticks, and Mini Smoke Bombs before they went after Scam to the abandoned paper mill he had been spotted at with the hopes of finally being able to arrest him, feeling a little more enthusiastic about getting the job done this time with an added team member.
Then he could be locked in his usual isolation cell where he wouldn't cause any trouble. Well, for as long as WOOHP was able to keep him locked up before he broke out again anyway.
"Best of luck," Jerry wished them before pushing another button and allowing the floor beneath them to open up, taking them to their transportation.
And with that they were off.
Her black eyebrows furrowed in concentration, Britney turned her head left then right before muttering under her breath. "Okay where is he?!" She hissed, staring down hard at her X-powder. "According to my calculations, he should be in this exact spot. Where did he go?!"
Detecting the raw frustration in her voice, Clover and Alex swapped pained looks. Clearly Britney didn't know what she was up against but they already had a sinking feeling that Scam? He wasn't actually here. That he had just set up some kind of decoy to fool them into believing that he was so he could continue making them run around all across LA in a wild goose chase, wasting their time and WOOHP's resources attempting to catch him.
And in doing that alone, just playing this cat and mouse game with them he was causing mass havoc.
With WOOHP's best agents stuck trying to capture him. so many other villains were running free. Even without a plot of his own, he was unleashing crime upon the unsuspecting world just by being himself. And if they were honest, they had to say that part of them just wished that Jerry would just give them a gun so they could shoot him dead and be done with him.
Because unless he died and was raised again as a sensible person, there was no way in hell Tim Scam would ever give up this charade. A miracle like that would never happen and he would always be a persistent thorn in their side unless something extraordinary took place.
Suddenly hearing movement through their Ultra Sensitive Hearing Microphone Earrings, all three girls' heads snapped in the same direction wondering if Scam was finally about to show himself.
They raised their weapons ready to attack only to yelp in surprise seconds later when a black dog dashed out of the shadows and leapt towards them. It pounced on Clover who had fallen back from surprise and then started licking her face.
"Ugh! Get it off of me! Get it off!" The blonde screeched, hands flying up to protect herself and her clothes from the drooling creature.
"Relax Clover, it's just a little dog!" Alex said, plucking the furry pooch off her with ease and moving to pet him only to freeze when she noticed something now that she was holding the dog in her arms.
He was wearing a festive Christmas bow and tied in the very center of it … was a monitor. A monitor that looked a lot like the ones that WOOHP put on its most dangerous offenders in an effort to track them down in case they got loose.
Offenders just like Tim Scam.
When she showed her find to Britney and Clover, both their faces turned purple from fury realizing that the dog had been what had led them to this place and not Scam. He'd never been here and he had successfully duped them yet again.
Irritated beyond words they moved to communicate with Jerry and let him know that WOOHP had been wrong about Scam's location. It was Clover who made the call while swearing at Tim Scam with every bad word she'd ever learned in all her life while she waited for their boss to pick up.
"That asshole, son of a bitch, bastard, piece of sh—"
The sound of a deep and amused masculine chuckle cut her off. One that they recognized and instantly they turned towards its source.
This time from the shadows emerged none other than the man they had been sent to arrest, the infamous Tim Scam with his classic Grinch smirk on his face and hands tucked coolly in the pockets of his woollen, black trench coat as he approached them. His boots clacked on the cement at a leisurely pace before he came to stop just a few feet away from them.
And the smirk set on his lips grew three sizes bigger at their sour faces.
"Aww, come on girls!" He called out sounding annoyingly cheerful before quirking an eyebrow at them teasingly. "Where's your Christmas spirit?"
"Well maybe if you left us alone, we'd have some!" Clover snapped, wiping the dog drool off her face still while Alex and Britney joined her in glaring at their most hated of foes.
But their conjoined glare attack had no effect on him as he just smirked away unbothered and undeterred.
"I'm more than content to you leave you girls alone," he retorted with a shrug of his broad shoulders. "It's you that keeps coming after me."
"Ugh yea!" Clover snorted annoyed as she pointed at him with her red gloved finger. "Because we just LOOOOOVE seeing your face? We're forced to lock you up because you're an animal that can't be trusted to roam free, and you know it! So quit messing around!" She demanded, her icy blue eyes hitting him like laser canons full of hate. "Enough is enough, Scam! You're NOT going to escape this time! We're taking you down!"
Yet despite her bold speech to him, Scam just remained unphased failing to see any of them as any kind of threat to his freedom. Especially without the brains of the group being there. As he had that thought he noticed that this time, he wasn't just taking on the pathetic duo of the clumsy brat and the blond banshee,. There was a third girl.
At that his eyebrows rose in interest, was Samantha back at last? But with one quick glance in the third girl's direction he realized that it wasn't her. Sam was still missing and it had been nearly half a year now. This was highly suspicious.
"I see that your redheaded friend, whatsherface…" Scam paused to mockingly snap his fingers a few times as if trying to recall something that was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Ah Samantha, is still slackin' off. Where is she?"
Hearing him say Sam's name with his dirty mouth, all three girls hissed at him as one. "We are NOT discussing Sam with YOU!"
"So there is something to discuss then?" Scam pressed with a gleam in his eyes, knowing he had hit a nerve. "What's the matter?" He continued prodding, enjoying their displeasure at him bringing up their precious "Sammie" yet again. "Did she miss a half off sale at the mall so she's in mourning?"
Hearing them gasp in outrage he grinned and kept demeaning the girl in question as much as possible just to get more and more of a rise of rise out of them. "Or did her latest boy toy break up with her and she's finding it hard to function until she finds herself a new one?"
Clover glared back at Scam with her features contorted from rage. How dare he mock Sam?! How dare he?! Even if didn't know what was going on with her, even if he hated her guts, how dare he?! The least he could do right now was just shut up. Just shut up and leave Sam out of this!
That thought in mind she started screaming at the top of her lungs at him with her face purple from anger and hate. "Just shut up Scam! Just shut up! Shut the hell up!"
As she yelled she nearly lunged at him with just her bare hands ready to strike like an angry lioness, making such a fuss that she had to be held back from attacking him outright by the other girls.
And as much of a drama queen that he knew Clover was, Scam had never seen her so furious and out of control before. But at the same time, oddly enough he could see tears in her eyes, in their eyes, and their behaviour … it honestly dumbfounded him as he watched the blonde have a mental breakdown right before him and her friends comfort her.
"Clover you HAVE to calm down!" Britney implored her bestie as she squeezed her shoulder soothingly, knowing they couldn't act like this and had to control themselves no matter how difficult it was. "If we want to help Sam, then we have to take care of WOOHP while she—"
Noting Scam standing there listening intently, Britney chose her words carefully to not drop any hints to him about Sam's situation. "…Handles her own end. That's the only way!"
"Solid plan," Scam suddenly interrupted their talk and pulled their attention back to him just in time to see him give them an evil little grin filled with biting malice. "If only it were going to go so smoothly."
They were about to ask him what exactly he meant by that when he lifted his arm and revealed what he was now holding within the palm of his right hand. It was one of their Mini Smoke Bombs that he must have stolen off of them while they had been distracted just now.
Watching their eyes widen as their faces turned pale he almost felt bad for them. This latest round of their "Cops and Robbers" game had been so very boring. But that didn't mean that he wasn't going to take advantage of this (whatever this was that had them acting so scatterbrained and dafter than usual) to escape. Oh no, he definitely was.
"See you around girls," he said with a taunting wink in their direction as the trio belatedly bolted towards him, only to see him toss the bomb on the ground. Heavy clouds of gray and white smoke soon filled the surroundings leaving them coughing violently as their eyes became blurry. And by the time it had cleared and they could see again, Scam was long gone.
They hung their heads in shame as nothing but self-loathing filled them. They had messed up and let him slip away right from under their noses. Again.
Sighing hard, Alex shook her head to herself in a defeated manner and mumbled. "Sometimes, I honestly feel like the only one capable of locking Tim Scam up is Sammie."
Feeling equally incompetent, Clover couldn't help but nod in agreement. Never had they not been able to put Scam away when Sam had been with them, unlike how they were sucking so bad at that exact job now, having to do it without her.
But they couldn't bother her with him now; Scam was their problem, they had to deal with him on their own. And they would. It was just a matter of how many tiresome missions and broken nails it would take in the process.
"Don't worry, we'll get him next time," Britney assured knowing they would.
How long could he run? With all three of them on his tail ,sooner or later he'd be captured regardless of how good he was at hiding. And so the trio made a vow right then and there to not give up.
Whenever Scam popped up again, this time they would be ready for him.
Opening up the windows and pulling the curtains all the way back to let the light in, Sam smiled as she helped her mom settle into the room she would be staying in. It used to be her room back when she was a little girl.
Nostalgia washed over her as she remembered that time, something she'd been doing a lot recently. Being back in her first home and with everything else going on, it was impossible for her to not reflect on those days.
Everything had been so happy back then. So simple. Her childhood couldn't have been more wonderful. Every day that she could remember of her growing up brought her a sense of warmth, love, and pure bliss. Hers had always been such a perfect family. Her dad, the proud and loving father and her mother, the ideal, doting mother. And her being the apple of their eyes from the moment she'd been born to the moment she stood here now.
It had been so perfect in fact that it was hard to imagine it ever coming to an end … like it was about to soon.
The smile on her lips faltered immediately as she tried not to imagine the coming years of life without her mother in them. It absolutely crushed her soul, but that was what was coming wasn't it? The rest of her life, most of her life was going to be without her mom in it. And she couldn't hide from that fact no matter how badly she wanted to.
Sealing her eyes in agony Sam pressed her eyelids together tightly to stop the tears that were threatening to fall and regained her composure, not wanting her mother to see her upset because that would make her upset as well; something she had made a vow with her family to prevent at any cost in what were going to be her mom's final days.
No matter how hard it was going to be, she had to do everything to keep her happy. She was her daughter and this was her duty. This was her last chance to do something for her in this life and she couldn't mess that up by being selfish. It had to be about her mom, all about her mom and nothing else.
Giving herself a determined nod she turned back around to face her mother who was now sitting looking comfortable on the bed tucked under the blankets, and with her back leaned against the pillows and eyes closed in a relaxed way while sunlight poured in from the many bay windows and warmed her face. And seeing that, Sam smiled again happy to see that her suggestion for her parents to take back this room had been a good one after all.
Slowly tiptoeing towards her to not disturb her because she looked so cozy, Sam just silently took in her mother's face. She took her time watching her just breathe in and out and look so at peace, studying every feature of her face. She studied every line, each crease that had come with the years and all the battles and triumphs of all the days within them, and noticed for the millionth time exactly what people would always tell her when they saw them together.
Just how much she looked like her.
But she had always felt that her mother was far prettier than she was and honestly, even now with what she was enduring, she still felt that way. Her mom was more beautiful than she'd ever be. It wasn't just her looks, it was also her aura. It was so calming and soothing. She remembered when she was a kid and she could have had the worst day ever, all she'd need was to be able to see her mother and all her miseries would vanish.
No matter what had made her upset, her mother always had a way of making her believe that things would get better. That the sun would always come out again tomorrow or soon enough.
It could be because of her pep talks, the pearls of wisdom she'd drop here and there, or if not those then one of her hugs. Those never failed. Every time she hugged her it was like the world and its many troubles simply didn't exist and she was completely safe from everything bad that could happen to her in the protective arms of her mother, her guardian angel.
Suddenly Sam found herself hugging her mother tightly knowing it was stupid but hoping in the back of her mind that her mom had some way of making her feel better about this. About the worst thing she'd ever faced, the reality of losing her because God knew she needed help with that more than anything she had ever needed before.
But that was only until her mother opened her eyes and questioned her about the hug that had seemingly come out of no where. Knowing she couldn't tell her because it would break her heart and that this was something that she had to accept on her own, Sam just shrugged and kept holding her tightly as she began to talk about something else to keep herself from once again breaking down in front of her mom.
"Remember when I made you and dad give me this room just because I wanted it?" She said shaking her head at the bossy, little brat that she had been as a kid.
Immediately her mother laughed at the memory of mini Sam marching up and down the house following her and her father around, stomping her small feet while whining out a barrage of endless, "Pwease mommy? Pwease daddy? Can I? Can I pwease? Pwease?," until they finally gave in, and nodded her head.
"Yes I do. You liked it because of all the windows. You loved to read by the sunlight during the day and moonlight at night."
Hearing her mom's reply Sam was touched that all these years later, she still remembered her exact reason for wanting it despite the memory issues she'd developed due to her condition. She really did have the best parents a girl could wish for.
"I can't believe you just let me have it," she whispered in an amazed way. She still couldn't believe that her mother had actually relented to her ridiculous request, and convinced her dad to let her have the master suite all to herself while they moved into another smaller one together.
"Do you know how many times you smiled because of that?" Gabby asked watching Sam with tender, motherly eyes, remembering how often she'd stick her head into her daughter's room just to see how she was only to catch her curled up in a windowsill reading with a giant grin on her childish face.
And every time she saw that grin, she'd grin just as hard which had made the sacrifice of giving up the room more than worth it.
Reaching out and stroking Sam's long hair lovingly as she had a habit doing, Gabby smiled warmly. "A mother would do whatever it took if she knew she could put a smile on her baby's face. And for a daughter like you Sammie? She would do anything."
Gabby's face lit up with pride as she said her next words, thinking about what a wonderful young woman her little girl had grown up to be; so thoughtful, mature, and intelligent. "Any mother would be blessed to have you for a daughter," she whispered softly. "I know I am."
Smiling at her mom's praise which meant more to her than any award she could ever receive, Sam reached out and took her hands in her own holding onto them gently.
"No I'm the one who's blessed to have you as my mother," she admitted as she affectionately massaged her hands which looked a lot frailer than they had just last Christmas. "You're the best mom in the world," Sam said sincerely making the smile on her mom's lips a lot wider.
"I'm glad you feel that way sweetie," Gabby said still smiling. "But I know I'm not the perfect moth¾"
"You are to me," Sam insisted and Gabby responded with a small nod before she looked down in her lap for a moment as if arranging her thoughts before she continued their conversation.
"You're such a good daughter Sammie. You've always made me so proud and I know you're only going to continue to do so for the rest of your life."
Sam had to fight with herself not to frown at the turn this conversation had taken, into another goodbye speech, another futile attempt by her mother to assure her that things would be okay even without her in the picture.
That she'd watch her from above always and be proud of her future accomplishments, of which she was sure there would be plenty because she had that much faith in her, and that faith would stay undying forever even after she died.
That God had a plan for her, that He hadn't abandoned her even if it seemed as such at this moment and that he'd look after her just fine. And that was why she could leave.
"Mom…" Sam started biting her lip sadly. "Please?" She begged subconsciously holding her hands tighter and begging her not to leave her, desperately trying not to have this discussion.
But Gabby went on knowing this had to be said while they had this moment to themselves. Soon enough family would be arriving and in the hustle and bustle of Christmas, she wasn't sure she'd get to sit down and talk to her like this again.
There was a reason she was having this conversation now, there was something she needed to ask Sam desperately. Something she needed to know and wouldn't feel right leaving this earth without at least inquiring.
"I know you'll be looked after dear, I have no doubts about that. You'll have your father, your family and friends and your faith but…" Gaby trailed off looking for the right words before finishing her thought. "I wanted to ask if there was someone else you'd be able to turn to for love and comfort once I'm … gone."
She stopped there, wondering if Sam would catch her drift. But hearing her ask her what she meant by that just seconds later, Gabby realized she should just get to the point. It wasn't like she had all the time in the world to beat around the bush anyway.
Taking in a deep breath she finally confessed the one thing that had been gnawing away at her since she'd learned she was soon to die. Her one deepest regret at having so little time left.
"I wanted to know Sammie if there someone in your life that you loved. A man that you could see yourself … marrying some day."
Dead silence filled the room after mother's question as Sam sat there wide-eyed .
Gabby blushed softly knowing that this was a very private matter to be brought up so out of the blue and decided to explain exactly why she was prying. She admitted that she knew her daughter was still a very young woman so she would totally understand if there wasn't anyone for her yet, and also that she was a modern girl and didn't need a man at all.
But still she couldn't get over her own old-fashioned thoughts that a girl was only completely secure when she had a life partner, and if Sam had by some miracle already found him, then it would make her so very happy to know him. To even just learn his name before she passed, so she could truly go in peace knowing that her Sammie was completely taken care of.
Once she'd said laid all that out for her, Sam understood why her mother was asking. It was only natural for a mom, wasn't it? The desire to meet her son-in-law? To see him just a glance to know whom her child was planning to spend the rest of her life with?
If she ever became a mother, she knew she'd want the same. But she didn't have anything to say to her mom about this man because sadly … he didn't exist.
She'd honestly never even really fallen for a guy. All she'd ever experienced were passing puppy crushes that went away with time or after going on a few dates. She'd never found anyone that she could see herself loving and wanting that deeply to make him her husband, and be that man that she could one day see herself giving her mind, soul, and body to.
And as such she had no idea what to say at all. But as the minutes ticked by she could feel the intensity of her mother's gaze, and when she hesitantly met eyes with her again it killed her to see how hopeful she looked. It was so clear that she was just waiting with baited breath to hear about this boy from her.
And Sam found herself feeling like complete failure for being unable to grant her this, to give her what could very well be the last thing she'd ever be requesting from her. That upsetting feeling only grew and grew when she heard her mother say that it was okay, she didn't have to be shy. She was her mom after all, she could tell her his name.
She sounded so sure, so completely certain that there just had to be someone that Sam didn't have the heart to tell her there wasn't. And then at the same time it hit her that whenever she did find herself that guy, her mother wouldn't even be around to meet him. She'd never get to see him … ever.
Feeling dizzy and overwhelmed with all of this being too much for her to bear, Sam found herself shaking and soon she ran out of the room unable to take anymore with her hands covering her face to conceal her tears from her mother.
Rushing outside she shut the door to the room and just stood there with her back against it sobbing her eyes out as she tried to shed away her sorrow.
This was so wrong! So completely wrong. WHY did it have to be this way? WHY?!
So caught up in her misery and heartbrokenness, Sam never heard the sound of light footsteps lingering nearby that she might have heard had she been paying attention. Footsteps that came from heavy boots and clearly belonged to a man but could not be her father's as he was taking a nap downstairs.
Smirking to himself as he carefully inched closer and closer to his destination, Scam knew he just couldn't wait to get inside. His last encounter with the spies had left him beyond curious to say the least and he was just dying to get some answers.
And because no one else was going to tell him, he'd realized that the only way to do that was to locate the missing redhead and see for himself just what had her so damn occupied.
Having had worked for WOOHP in the past he knew the agency never gave time off to anyone and having already hacked into WOOHP's database, he'd confirmed that Samantha Simpson was still listed as an active, duty spy so she hadn't been fired or simply just quit. No she was on a break and he was itching to know what warranted it from a man as stingy as Jerry Lewis.
Was she on her literal death bed? Sure it sounded dramatic but his gut told him that something big was going down here and more importantly, that it was something that he could exploit. And that made it more than worthy of this inquest.
Smirking harder he looked down at the tracker he held in his hand, a little something something that he'd created one day when he had been bored sitting in his jail cell. The few strands of Sam's hair that he'd snagged some time ago had led him right to this address (he always kept DNA samples of his enemies on hand in case he needed to track them for some reason) in Southern California. His further research had informed him that this was her childhood home and that fact had only propelled his interest further because he just couldn't fathom why she would be here when her friends were still living in their villa in L.A.
Why would she give up the freedom she'd had since high school to move back in with her parents after graduating college? And even more so, why in the home she was born in and had occupied till only about age 5 instead of their other home that she'd been in from age 6 till 17? Another fact that he'd found extremely strange seeing that house was still owned by them also.
Why was she in this particular home? What was she doing here? Was she trying to figure life out? But that wasn't like her, was it? He'd believe it had this been any other of her friends, oh but not Sam. Sam was the smart one, the one who always planned ahead. Heck, he'd wager she'd had a plan in place years prior to even attending college; so why the change now? And so abruptly at that? There had to be a reason and he was going to find out exactly what it was.
His eyes scanned the house left and right and then up and down for a covert way in, hoping to catch her off guard and in the act of whatever had her so engaged to forget all about criminals like him that needed stopping, before zeroing in on the room he was already closest to. All the windows of which had thoughtfully been left open for any visitors like himself and since it was at ground level, it was a direct route inside.
For a moment he paused, wondering if this was some kind of trap because this was just too easy. Samantha Simpson the super spy had to know better than this, but soon enough curiosity got the better of him and he began climbing inside via the window. If this did prove to be a setup, then he'd just find a way out of it later.
A shaggy carpet muffled the sound of his feet when he landed on the wooden floor. Standing to his full height he quickly assessed where he was and it didn't take him long to realize he was in what appeared to be in a large bedroom. And not just any bedroom, but Sam's own bedroom as he could see the long red hair flowing down the back of the female body that cozily tucked away under the covers of the king-sized bed.
"Perfect," he thought grinning evilly and rubbing his hands together as he snuck closer to her. She was there before him so unsuspecting, he could capture her right now and there was nothing she'd be able to do to stop him!
Inching towards her, he shook his head to himself at her being lazy enough to be napping in the middle of the day, needing to recharge her batteries like some little, old lady. But as he closed in on her, he noticed that something … was off.
For one thing the shape of her body looked a lot plumper than he remembered it being. Even if that could be explained away with her not being as active due to her time off, he couldn't think of any reasonable way to account for the numerous and clearly visible streaks of gray hair on her head, nor the lines that were plain to see on that bit of her sunken cheek that he could see from behind.
And he began to wonder if there was actually something wrong with her. Was she sick? Dying? Had something gone terribly wrong with her on a WOOHP mission that had left her in this condition?
But when she suddenly sat up with a startled jolt and turned her head over her shoulder to look his way, his eyes widened and he froze in place recognizing that the woman he was looking at was not Sam but actually … her mother.
He remembered Gabriella Simpson from one of his plots some three years ago where he'd successfully brainwashed her alongside her friends into attacking their own daughters, using her as a pawn to do his dirty work. But somehow she looked very, very different from that time.
She looked pale, frail, and simply exhausted as though she'd somehow aged ten years since then. And when his eyes fell on the bedside table and noticed that the entirety of it was covered in bottles and packets of prescription medication, it suddenly hit him. Sam's mother was seriously ill.
Not having had seen this coming, he almost jumped when she spoke to him.
"You…" She started slowly, her emerald eyes which were an exact copy of Sam's own peeled wide in what oddly looked to be awe as she stared at him unblinkingly while pointing at him with her mouth wide open.
He almost started to wonder if she somehow recognized him too even though he didn't recall her ever seeing him outside of her brainwashed state.
But the words that she said next rendered completely dumbfounded and for the first time in his life, speechless from confusion.
"Are you? You're … him? You're the one?" Gabby whispered quietly as a smile that looked like a grin quickly spread across her face and lit it up like the sun itself.
The way she was looking at him, it honestly made him a little uncomfortable. No one had ever looked at him like that before. She seemed just like a little girl looking at her new favourite toy that she'd unwrapped on Christmas morning, the very same that she'd been begging her parents to get her for months in advance and was overjoyed at finally receiving it.
But why on earth would Sam's mother ever look at him that way? Puzzled ,Scam said nothing and just stood there blinking in silence until she for some reason asked him for his name.
"What's your name, dear?" Gabriella asked sitting up straighter in the bed, her eyes never leaving his face for even one millisecond and creeping him out as she continued smiling at him like he was her favourite person in the whole damn world.
"Dear?!" Scam thought, his eyebrows shooting to the roof at Gabby's completely bizarre behaviour with him.
Her happy mood made it clear she did not remember him at all, but why oh why would any woman be so happy to see a stranger in her home let alone that stranger being man and that too appearing in her own daughter's bedroom?
Not being able to figure out this mystery for himself, Scam just answered her failing to see the harm in giving her just his first name. It was common enough anyway.
"…Tim," he stated curtly, never hearing the sound of sharp silence that was now outside the room's door compared to the muffled sobs that had been there just seconds ago.
"Who… who's she talking to?" Sam asked herself hearing her mother's voice now telling someone that they had a nice name.
Oh no, was she hallucinating? The doctor had mentioned that it was possible she could have moments where she might see things that weren't actually there due to the tumour inside her brain, but she could swear she herself had just heard a guy's voice along with her mom's.
Had her dad somehow snuck past her unnoticed and into the room while she'd been crying? Hearing loud snores still coming from the couch in the living room downstairs, she knew that her dad was still in deep sleep. So then who was this mystery man?
Pressing her ear up against the door Sam listened in intently to see if she could hear him again. And at the quiet and awkward "thanks" that followed in a smooth, baritone voice her eyes widened as she thought she recognized it. Instantly she felt an icy chill settle all over her body from the tips of her fingers all the way down to her toes as her jaw dropped open in utter disbelief.
But it couldn't be. Why would he be here? No. No, no, no; there was no way! No way that he could ever—
Turning the knob Sam burst into the room hoping to find her mother all alone just as she'd left her but nearly screamed the second she saw that she wasn't, saw the man standing at the foot of the bed whose head immediately whipped from her mother to herself as he noticed her entry.
And she almost fainted right then and there are finding none other than her worst nightmare, none other than the man whose voice she'd thought she'd heard, none other than Tim Scam before her very eyes.
Sam just stared at him, her mouth too barricaded from shock to speak meanwhile her eyes did the talking and shot a million questions his way like a gun rapid firing bullets.
What was he doing out of jail?! How had he tracked her down?! And most importantly … why?!
But before she could get any answers out of him or do anything at all, her mother spoke up chirpily not picking up on the heavy tension lingering in the air and inadvertently breaking the absolute silence that had filled every inch of the room as if someone had hit the mute key on a remote control.
"So this is him…" Gabby whispered softly as she for some reason looked at her and then back at Scam every few seconds over and over, nodding to herself in approval while the smile on her lips only grew and grew to the point that it looked like her face would no longer be able to contain it anymore.
Sam was about to say something after several moments passed of her mom doing that, just looking at her then Scam, then Scam and her, when suddenly she spoke again making a very odd request.
"Could you both … stand next to each other for me please?"
Sam's eyes flew to Scam who just stood there glued in place like a mouse stuck in a glue trap, looking just as lost as she felt right now, his posture tense and every portion of his face looking screwed up with disconnect.
But watching her mother nod towards her reminding her that she was waiting, with her brain in knots from this unexpected turn of events, Sam didn't know what else to do but do what she'd said.
Very stiffly and slowly she went over and stood next to Tim Scam and the second she did, her mother's eyes seemed to almost glaze over as a dreamy-sounding "oh" left her mouth.
It almost looked as though she was about to burst into tears, but at the same time she looked happier than she'd ever seen her and Sam could not figure out why.
But that was only until she said her next words…
"…You two make such a beautiful couple."
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