First Impressions

DISCLAIMER: THIS STORY WAS WRITTEN BY MYSELF AND VALKRYE AND IS AN ORIGINAL. PLEASE DO NOT REPOST, COPY OR REPRODUCE WITHOUT EITHER ONE OF OUR PERMISSIONS. I MADE A BOOBOO IN THE SYNOPSIS ON THE MAIN PAGE WITH THE WORD ALONG..SORRY..

\"No you cant do that!\" Natasha Friedmont yelled into the cell, \"That is my client so am sorry if you can\'t find your own.\" She rushed down the hall to the elevator and horridly pressed the buttons. She was late again, \"Listen, I\'ve worked hard, so designing that mall is the least of my problems. I have bigger things to think about.\"

Samuel drove his pickup through the streets, careful not to jostle the load in the back. He had just gotten assigned from the H&S Construction Service to work on a new building over in Brooklyn. As an electrical engineer, he spent most of his time working out the details of how the wiring was laid out in a building. The Davenport Financials building was a big project and as lead Engineer he could just see the money pouring in. He drove carefully into the site, looking up at the framed and windowed ten-story building. He parked with the tradesmen and headed inside.

\"Hello?\" Natasha called into the phone as she stepped into the elevator. The phone died. She swore and hung it up. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the elevator to hit parking. She rushed out before everyone and headed for her car. She started the engines and sped off down the road into the traffic. She had to see how her baby was doing. The Davenport was her baby.

\"Fifth floor Mac,\" Samuel said to the construction lift operator. He rode in silence as the temporary elevator rose up. It cost a thousand dollars a day for these elevators to run, getting the interior elevators running was one of his first priorities. The lift thumped as it came to a stop and he opened the gate to step inside. Most of the support walls were up and enclosed, but some of the smaller rooms were not framed in yet. It was time for the electricians to get to work. Sam entered the planning room which they used to go over plans and prints for the building. It would become a conference room when the building was done which meant there was little work to go on it in now. He sat his coffee down on the table and sat back in a chair waiting for the architect to show up for their meeting. He or she was already late by five minutes.
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Natasha stopped her car and hopped out, \"Morning Natasha!\" she heard. She looked up to see Mac. She waved. He was the only one she got along with. He was competent. She smiled and stepped into the lift. \"Good morning,\" she called to the man that was hunched over her blueprints.

Sam was staring at a blueprint of the third floor and a main junction block. He waved a hand at her absentmindedly. \"Yeah. You do these plans yourself?\"

\"Yes,\" she said as she sat down on a stool and crossed her legs. She placed her coffee down on a ledge behind her then turned to him, \"Natasha Friedmont,\" she said, \"You are?\"

Samuel rubbed the stubble on his chin but didn\'t look up from the prints. \"The guy who is here to keep you honest. You know it is against code to bring a water line within six feet of this junction box? It is going to have to be re-planned and moved.\" With that he pushed himself up from the table and looked at the woman standing in front of him. \"Where\'s your hard hat?\"

Natasha took a deep breath to reel in her anger but ignored his question, \"We are paying you to do work not to question everything. And before you started getting all high and mighty around here, know this. You can be replaced,\" she spun the blue prints over and pointed to the large, red TRIAL PRINTS on it, \"Do you know what that means?\"

Sam tried not to smile. \"We\'re standing in the building half done and you put _trial_ plans out for the electrical engineer to look at? What, you want we should have to pull it apart and start over because you made the wrong plans available?\" Honestly he hadn\'t notice that they were trial, but then they shouldn\'t even be here. \"And you didn\'t answer my question about your hard hat. You wouldn\'t want OSHA shutting you down, would you?\"

\"I don\'t make these calls my boss does,\" Natasha said taking a sip from her coffee, \"I don\'t have to justify anything to you anyways. This meeting is to see what\'s what and what could be done.. I don\'t know your machismo here, I have more important things to do today.\"

\"I\'m about safety, not about trying to out thump my chest.\" He saw a hard hat that was in the corner and tossed it to her. \"Put it on, or I\'ll write you up myself.\" Samuel pulled off his weathered tan Carhart coat and set it in a chair, then took one next to it. \"I\'m Samuel, your senior electrical engineer. I assume from your maternal show for these plans that you are the architect?\"


\"Yes,\" she said as she reluctantly placed the hat over her hair. She unzipped the large art bag she was carrying and pulled the real prints out. She slammed them on the table when her cell rang. \"Hello,\" she answered, \"Hey boss. Just as you said.\" she listened then hung up, \"These are the real prints.\"

\"Oh, joy.\" He flipped them open to the floor he had been looking at. The water pipe had been moved six feet away... just. \"Alright. Glad to see you got that taken care of.\"

Natasha made a tsk sound and drank some more coffee, \"Yah well not all of us are as stupid as you take us for.\"

\"Buildings made by committee tend to have a lot of problems in their design, but they are too big to be designed alone anymore. It\'s a fact of life. If high voltage bites someone or if the building catches on fire due to electricity, it is my ass. Just keeping an eye on it.\" He took a second to take in Natasha, she was pretty good looking, but her face looked like it could be hard as nails or as smooth as silk. It always amazed him how women could make their faces do that. Samuel kicked his boots up onto the folding chair next to him and rubbed his hands on his blue jeans. \"Ok. Where do you want to start?\"


\"First, can you do what is in front of you,\" Natasha asked without a hint of emotion on her face, \"I meant is there something you want to go over. You know, telling me what isn\'t on the plans, where the bottle necks are, or are you just going to let us figure it out on our own?\"

\"That\'s why we pay you the big bucks,\" she said, \"Just don\'t screw up my baby. She eyed him then picked up her stuff, \"I did my part now it\'s your turn. Any questions?\"

\"Yeah, you always this good natured, or are you just being nice to me?\" Samuel figured if she was going to be the bitch, he\'d call her on it. Plus he enjoyed looking at her and it would be a shame if she left now and he\'d actually have to go over the plans on his own.

\"I am being professional mister Samuel,\" she said, \"Is that all?\"

Turning towards the plans, he made a shooing motion with his arm. If she had other places to go, at least it would give him some time to go over the plans. \"See you at 4pm then,\" he said to her.

\"What are you talking about?\" she asked him getting visibly frustrated, \"What is at 4pm?\"
He himself hunched over the plans, \"By then I will have time to go over these.\" He stood up and walked over to the woman. He was a good six inches taller than she was so she was forced to look up at him. \"Unless I sign off on these plans, work here will stop within a week, and your pretty little building won\'t get done. And don\'t think you can intimidate me by saying you will get another
Engineer. They will have to have you sign off on them too.\"

Natasha hated games. That\'s what she was divorce, \"Look I don\'t have time for this,\" she said turning away and headed back towards the lift, \"I\'ll talk to my boss and find out what I need to know from him. It wasn\'t nice meeting you mister Samuel.\" She walked away with a little more swing to her hips than normal.

Sam watched her walk out. She\'d be back at four pm, she didn\'t have a choice in the matter. One call to the firm with a complaint and they\'d make sure of it. He let out a sigh. Architects always made him do that. They designed to make it look pretty, but never so you could actually build it to specs. He sat back down before the plans and started taking notes.

Natasha stopped at her car swore as many curse words as she could remember plus some new ones she made up to fit the occasion. She was mad as a shark. How could Carl place her with such a jerk? She got into her car and her cell rang, \"What!\" she blurted into the phone, \"Hey sweetie, mommy is a little stressed right now. What\'s up?\" she listened then smiled, \"I\'ll remember hon I\'ll see you later.\" After hanging up she decided to head back to the office before she had to meet the loser again. She now remembered the meeting and she felt like a dork but she wont tell him that. The jerk.
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The day passed quickly for Sam, after going over the plans, which seemed in order, he started going over the order plans in one of the small trailers next to the building. It was scheduled to open in 8 months and they would have to beat ass to get it done. Shouldn\'t be a problem though as long as that long legged Architect cut them some slack and allowed them to change her precious plans as needed.

It was nearing four when he walked out of the trailer and headed back up to the building, oddly looking forward to the meeting with the Architect, he needed good battle of the wits every once in a while.

It was nearing four when he walked out of the trailer and headed back up to the building, oddly looking forward to the meeting with the Architect, he needed good battle of the wits every once in a while.

Natasha swallowed the last of her ham sandwich and stepped out of her car. She reached the designated room with a minute to spare. She walked in and immediately her mood changed to one of anger. She wanted to just kill him for breathing. She walked over and sat across from him. \"Ok lets get this over with.\"

\"Well, hello to you too.\" He noticed at least this time she had a hard hat on, though the knee length dress and low heels really didn\'t work well in a construction site, He tossed his notebook with his initial plan changes over to her. \"This is what I need to have changed before I can sign off on the plans. A verbal ok is fine with me.\"

Without looking at them she frowned, \"Fine,\" she said. He was way to close and she was beginning to feel a little strange. She didn\'t want to spend time arguing with him. All she wanted was to get out of the room, and fast.

He was surprised. For someone as possessive as she seemed to be about them, that was way too easy. He walked over to where she was sitting and leaned on the table next to her. \"Not even going to look at them? Your more trusting than I gave you credit for.\"

He was surprised. For someone as possessive as she seemed to be about them, that was way too easy. He walked over to where she was sitting and leaned on the table next to her. \"Not even going to look at them? Your more trusting than I gave you credit for.\"

Natasha only frowned and began twiddling with her thumbs under the small table, \"Look, you want to use your machoism and I want my building built and to tell you the truth I am not in the mood to argue with you today.\"


\"Well, that\'s fine with me. I could use the break from this morning.\" He was annoyed with her fixation on \'machismo\'. he like to think of himself as a bit of a step up from that. \"I won\'t keep you if you want to leave.\" He reached back and with a pen put his name on the signatory line of the plans. \"There you are all set,\" he said, but didn\'t move form his position between her and the door.

\"Well, that\'s fine with me. I could use the break from this morning.\" He was annoyed with her fixation on \'machoism\'. he like to think of himself as a bit of a step up from that. \"I won\'t keep you if you want to leave.\" He reached back and with a pen put his name on the signatory line of the plans. \"There you are all set,\" he said, but didn\'t move form his position between her and the door.


Natasha only frowned and began twiddling with her thumbs under the small table, \"Look, you want to use your machoism and I want my building built and to tell you the truth I am not in the mood to argue with you today.\"


\"Well, that\'s fine with me. I could use the break from this morning.\" He was annoyed with her fixation on \'machoism\'. he like to think of himself as a bit of a step up from that. \"I won\'t keep you if you want to leave.\" He reached back and with a pen put his name on the signatory line of the plans. \"There you are all set,\" he said, but didn\'t move form his position between her and the door.

\"Thank you,\" she said putting her papers in her briefcase. She stood up to leave but he was in the way, \"You are blocking the exit, move.\"


He stood a little straighter so she could get out, but she would have to squeeze by him; or she could just walk around the table and to out the other way. It was just his way to make up for her acting like she did this morning.

Natasha brushed passed him, \"Prick,\" she muttered as she went by.

\"Only when I have a reason, and you are as good as any,\" he said back to her and watched her go. He would enjoy working with her for the next few months. She needed to come down a peg or two, and he was just the person to do it.

Natasha sat in the bar with her friend Riza and took a large swig from her beer, \"So you say he\'s a cutie?\" Riza asked. Natasha frowned, \"I said no such thing,\" she said, \"I said he was a ginormous ass.\" She stared down at her beer, \"Is he sexy?\" Riza pushed. Natasha eyed Riza, \"Aren\'t you married?\" she asked. Riza wiggled her wedding ring at Natasha, \"and happy too.\" Nat groaned

Samuel walked into his apartment, greeted by his dog. Dropping his hard hat and his lunchbox on the table, he turned on the television to CNN and watched a few minutes of news before going out to grab a beer. Engineer salary paid pretty well, but he didn\'t have a lot to spend his money on, so he just kept it in the bank. After about an hour he grabbed his keys off the table and headed out.

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\"Ah come on,\" Riza pushed, \"He couldn\'t be that bad.\" Natasha only took a large swallow emptying her beer and ordering another, \"You haven\'t met this guy,\" she told her friend, \"He is the biggest ass you will ever meet.\" Riza grinned, \"So I get to meet him?\" she asked. Natasha shook her head, \"Think again.\"

The bar was dark, but not too crowed. Sam sat down next to Sheryl and her husband Marcus. \"Hey guys.\"

Sheryl was Sam\'s younger sister, separated by four years. \"How was work today?\"

\"I\'ve got a new architect on that new Davenport building. She\'s a real priss.\"

Sheryl smiled. \"Sounds like fun.\"

\"Loads,\" Sam said, thinking about her hips as she walked away after their meeting.
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\"Why not?\" Riza moaned. \"Because,\" Natasha said but couldn\'t find a reason, \"Because I ..I said so alright.\" Riza only made a tsk tsk sound, \"Oh please that\'s what my mother would say and you\'re way too sexy to be my mother.\" Natasha laughed.

\"So, how long is the project? Is she going to be a problem for you?\"

Sam looked over at his sister. \"Problem? No. I don\'t see any problem, though she could use an attitude adjustment; on the top of her head.\"

\"you\'re a pain,\" Natasha said to Riza as she turned to look around and almost choked, \"What the hell is he doing here?\" Riza followed her friend\'s eyes, \"Ohm he\'s hot!\" Natasha spun to face Riza, \"Who\'s side are you on?\"

Marcus laughed at his brother-in-law\'s joke. \"If you need help. I\'m good at it, I straightened your sister out didn\'t I?\" They all laughed at the remark.

\"Ah, she wasn\'t so bad. Well, ok. I say that now, back then she was a little hellion.\"

Riza giggled, \"What? he is.\" Natasha shook her head and looked away. When she looked back Riza wasn\'t there. She looked up to see Riza walking over to Samuel\'s table. \"oh no,\" Natasha moaned and turned her back to them.

Sam and his party were still giggling when Marcus turned to look at the woman who walked up. Sam followed his eyes and saw a woman walking over.

Sheryl looked past her brother and saw the woman walking over. \"Past fling?\"

\"Not that I remember, though there have been so many,\" he said sarcastically.


\"Hi,\" Riza said, \"I\'m Riza Montgomery. That woman sitting over there with the pout is my friend Natasha, and you must be her engineer.\"

Samuel looked past the Riza and across the bar. He could see Natasha\'s back to him, her face turned away. Grinning he looked up at Riza. \"I\'m not _her_ engineer, but I work with her. Did she ask you to come over here to smack me or something?\" He smiled at her to let her know he was only joking.... at least he hoped he was joking.

\"No,\" Riza said, \"But if it was up to her, she would have me do that. Just wanted to see the man who can make her mad enough to kill.\" Riza eyed him. He was pretty hot. But knowing Natasha she would never admit it. She would rather light her panties on fire. Riza smiled, \"What have you gotten yourself into?\" she asked with a grin.

\"Me? I just showed up for work at a new job. Your friend decided to play hardass, not paying attention to safety rules. Probably afraid a hard-hat would mess up her hair.\" He chuckled at his joke and so did his dinner mates. \"Think she took it personally?\"

\"Nat?\" Riza said, \"Please.\" Riza batted a wrist at him showing off her manicure, \"Nat takes nothing personally. As for her hair, I had to threaten her to keep it nice looking. She\'s the biggest tomboy I\'ve ever met. She just wear the stupid suit because it\'s professional.\"

\"Well, she looks good in it. I wouldn\'t have taken her for a tomboy, just a...\" he caught himself before he went too far. He did like her after all, at least as a sparring partner. \"...professional.

\"Ah,\" Riza said, \"Well I\'d better get back before she outs out a dead or alive warrant on me.\" Riza looked at Natasha then back at Samuel, \"Sorry for bothering you all. Have a lovely evening.\"

He had to smile at Riza. \"Not a problem at all. Tell Natasha that I look forward to seeing her in a couple days. We have another meeting on Wednesday.\"

\"Hey I like my head thank you,\" Riza grinned, \"Why don\'t you tell her?\"

\"Because I like my... head.. as well.\" He resisted the urge to flinch at the thought of her ripping off parts of his anatomy.

Riza laughed, \"I\'ll tell her,\" she said as she turned to walk away.

Samuel watched her walk back to the table. What was the chance of them both being at the same bar at the same time? Was God trying to tell him something, or just punish him? He returned to his sister and her husband to see them staring at him. \"What?\"

\"You\'re just going to let her go? You could have gone over there and given her a piece of your mind,\" Sheryl said.

\"I\'m good thanks.\" Samuel took another glance over at Natasha\'s table.

Natasha looked up as Riza came back, \"Traitor,\" she said taking a swig from the beer she clasped between her fingers. \"You wanna let go of that bottle? Hold it any tighter and it is liable to break,\" Riza said sitting beside her, \"He\'s not that bad.\" Natasha growled into her throat, \"And oh, he wanted me to remind you of your meeting on Wednesday.\" Natasha took a long drink for the beer emptying the bottle, \"Hey bartender, one shot tequila!\"

Sheryl laughed as she heard Natasha\'s voice calling for alcohol. \"There is only one man I can think of who can make a woman that mad,\" she said to Marcus.

\"Yeah, our dashing Engineer over here.\" Marcus pointed at Sam as he jumped up from the table and headed over to the bar. He came back a few seconds later, chuckling to himself.

\"What\'s up?\" Sheryl asked.

Marcus broke out laughing. \"I told the bartender to tell her that Sam here bought her the shot and then I paid for it.\" Both he and Sheryl started laughing, even Sam found the humor in it.

Natasha pulled out money for her drink but the bartender told her it was already paid for, \"By whom?\" she asked. The bartender pointed to Samuel. Natasha placed the drink back down on the table, \"You can keep it,\" she said and got up. \"Where are you going?\" Riza asked. \"Home,\" Natasha said walking for the door.

Sam and the group were able to keep their laugher tucked down until after Natasha left, then they lost it. After a few minutes, their laughter died down and Samuel got up to go talk to Riza.

\"What do you want?\" Riza asked, \"You men just don\'t know when to quit do you?\"

\"Ouch... Actually it was my brother-in-law\'s idea. I don\'t think he meant it to piss her off, but it was humorous. Listen, if she doesn\'t like me, I can deal with that. What I don\'t like is this passive-aggressive thing she has for me, or is she like that with everyone?\"

Riza only groaned, \"If she doesn\'t like you its her right,\" she said wondering where the hell Natasha had gone to. She knew she wasn\'t going home. Not in that mood to her daughter. She pulled out her cell and dialed, \"Hey Sam did Natasha come home?\" she listened then moaned, \"Did she call you?\" She nodded, \"Alright.\"

Sam had an unexpected feeling of concern for Natasha, and he took the liberty of sitting down where Natasha had been. \"Is she ok?\" He was afraid that he had gone much too far with the drink and she had gone and done something wreckless.

\"What do you care?\" Riza snapped then closed her eyes, \"Look I\'m sorry ok. Its just that when she is in a bad mood she doesn\'t go home.\"

He couldn\'t stop his mouth in time. \"Where does she go?\"

\"I don\'t know,\" Riza said, \"She doesn\'t go home because of her daughter. She stays out until she feels better.\"

He didn\'t want to overstep his boundaries, but since he was the one who started this. \"Do you need any help finding her?\" He of course wouldn\'t be much help, but he thought it was the gentlemanly thing to do.

Riza wanted to smack him now. she knew how Natasha could want to. But she nodded, \"I guess the more the merrier.\"

Natasha sat on the steps of 42 street and looked up at the large building. She loved the theater and had been going regularly for years. The place helped her to think.

He was beginning to have second thoughts. \"On the other hand, it might just make her angrier. Maybe I should sit this one out.\"

\"Yah whatever,\" Riza said paying her tab and picking up her purse. She then headed for her jeep to try and find Natasha.

Sam got up as she walked out and headed back over to the table. \"Those two should get married. They have the same personality,\" he said to Sheryl. Sam sat down and tried to get back into the dinner, but his mind was on other things, a woman who would rather see him dead.

Natasha sat there with her coat drawn to her. She hated him. She wanted him dead but still she felt drawn to him. He cause her body to burn and she hated herself for that. She buried her face into her hands then looked up again at the stars. She was hoping they would calm her. She needed a vacation.

Natasha got up and began walking. She didn\'t know where she was going but she needed the air. She stopped at a small cafe and ordered a ham sandwich and a root beer then waited for it.


Wednesday couldn\'t come fast enough for Sam. He suffered through Tuesday working on getting more stuff ordered and making things ready for the contractors to show up to start the electrical work. He kept thinking of Natasha though, his mind not going too far from her.

Finally Wednesday came and when it was time for the meeting, he found himself there fifteen minutes early.

Natasha sat in her car until fifteen minutes after she was supposed to be in the meeting. She was building up the nerve to in there and not rip his head off. She took long deep breaths then came to the conclusion that she was a professional. She finally made her way in.


Sam waited for Natasha, until it looked like she wasn\'t coming. Maybe he did really piss her off. He was just about to leave when she came into the room. Sam made sure he was at the back of the room so she could make an escape if she needed to. \"Good morning.\"

\"Morning,\" she said sitting down at the table, \"Ok what do you have for me?\"

\"I wanted to go over the substation specs in the basement. Your specs say we need 10,000 volts, but I don\'t\' think we took into account..\" He stopped as he noticed that her hand was shaking a little. \"Are you ok?\"

\"I\'m fine,\" she said not looking at him, \"Go on.\"

\"Ok. Anyway, like I said, the 10,000 volts should be increased to 20,000 for the new air handling units on the roof. Don\'t you think?\"

\"yah sure,\" Natasha said, \"Remember all I want is my building up, and safe.\"

\"This is supposed to the part where the architect starts yelling at the Engineer for asking for more than the specs say; an the Engineer starts complaining that the Architect lies in a dream world. Or weren\'t you around for that part of the class?\" Something was wrong, this wasn\'t the woman he met on Monday. She was almost dismissive of him, which is definitely not what he had come to expect.

Natasha looked up at him then, \"Look a safe building is much more profitable than an unsafe one,\" she said even though that\'s not what she was feeling, \"Just make it happen.\"

Sam shook his head, \"alright.\" Looking over the plans, he tried to find something to raise her ire, something to let him know she wasn\'t just throwing it out becuase she was upset with him. \"There is a problem with one of the trunk cables here. \"This wall,\" he walked around the table next to her so he could show it to her. \" Has some trunk cable through it, but there is no conduit listed.\"

Natasha\'s body jerked as he came close. She took a deep breath to steady herself then looked where he was pointing, \"I\'\'l have that looked at.\"

\"Ok. That\'s all I\'ve found so far.\" He walked back over to his seat and sat down, his hands on the table in front of him. \"If you see anything, please let me know. I know how the tenants like to change things at the last possible moment.\"

\"I will do that,\" Natasha said getting up and walking to a window. She looked out to see her car and people walking by. She took a deep breath.

Sam watched her get up and go to the window, figuring that something was wrong. \"About the other night. It wasn\'t my intention to upset you.\"

She held up her hand, \"Forget about it,\" she said not wanting to talk about it, \"Just drop it.\"

Sam shook his head. She tried to make everything sound fine, but something was definitely wrong, he could tell. He stood up and walked to the window, It was shaded to keep out the midday sun and make sure no one could see inside, but it was still pretty bright. He took off his hardhat and rested his forehead against the window, looking down.

Natasha backed away and sat down again. She picked up her bag and fished a pack of excel out. she popped a piece into her mouth and then stood up, \"I have to go.\"

He turned around, \"Ok. if you have to. Next week, same time?\"

\"Yah whatever,\" she said as she almost rushed out the door to get to her car. She sat in the car and took deep breaths. She was almost to the point of hyperventilating. She started her car engine but it wouldn\'t start. \"Oh damn it,\" she said as she began searching for the tow truck number.

He watched her leave the building and sit in her car for a few minutes. When it was obvious that the car wasn\'t moving he grabbed his hat and headed down to the parking lot. The trip took a few minutes and when she was still there, he assumed that something was wrong. Walking up to the car, he knocked on the window.

Natasha jumped as the knock came at the window, \"Damnit what are you trying to do give me a heart attach!?\" she yelled. She opened the window, \"what?\"

~That\'s more like it,~ he thought smiling. \"I saw you still here when I came down and thought you might need a hand. But whatever, if you don\'t want any, I won\'t offer.\"

\"Look my car wont start,\" she admitted, \"Its no big deal. I can call the tow truck and get a cab home.\"

\"Yeah, but why pay for it. I can take a look. I\'m pretty good with my hands.\" He walked around to the front of the car and motioned for her to open the hood.

Natasha popped the hood and slumped back in her seat. this was starting to get bad. She rolled her eyes to sky, \"Thanks alot,\" she said sarcastically at some higher being.

Sam looked over the car. It wasn\'t the battery, a burnt spot on his finger verified that. It looked like the starter was bad. Not an expensive replacement, but not one you could do in the field. He wiped his hands on his pants and walked around to the open window. Leaning down, he surreptitiously took in the view, \"Appears the starter is bad. Gonna have to call a truck.\"

\"Way ahead of you,\" she said, \"I\'ll grab a cab.\" She hopped out of the car and opened the back door. She grabbed her camera off the seat and her art back. She then closed the door, \"I\'ll call a cab. Thanks.\"

\"That could be expensive. I\'m headed out anyway, why don\'t I just give you a ride?\"

\"I don\'t...\" She stopped and took a deep breath, \"I\'m going home not to the office you know.\"

\"As far as I know, that\'s closer. Don\'t worry about it. That is why I\'m salaried. I get paid whether I\'m here or not. Come on.\" He started walking over to his truck.

Natasha could not believe she was going to actually go with him. She cursed herself then walked after him.

Terry got into his pickup truck, and waited for her to climb in after him. When she did, he started it up and headed out of the still dirt parking lot. \"So, where are we headed?\"

\"twenty four marshall street,\" she said as she placed the expensive camera gently in her lap.

He did some quick math. \"About a fifteen minute drive, \" he said unnecessarily. He kept quiet as they took off, not wanting to encore any wrath unless he needed it.

Natasha kept her eyes glued to the outside of the truck. She wondered if Samantha was home yet. She had to make a snack for her daughter then supper.

The ride went on in silence. Finally they were pulling up in front of a large house on a nice street. His truck stuck out pretty bad in this place. Not because it was old, but because it had a work box and some junk in the back. \"Well, here we are.\"

\"Thanks,\" Natasha said hopping out. She closed the door then stopped and face him, \"Want to come in for a bit?\" she asked

Sam had the sneaking suspicion that she was playing with him, but figured \'what the hell\'. \"Um... Sure.\" He unhooked his seat belt, hopped out, and followed her to the door.

Natasha opened the door and immediately a small dog appeared and began barking, \"Oh Samson stop that,\" she said to the dog. She dropped her keys on the nearby table and looked up a winding staircase, \"Sam!\" she called, \"You home?\"

~Coincidence? Husband? Boyfriend?~ He walked behind her and stood in the middle of the room, not sure if he should sit, stand, or do something else.

\"Have a seat will you,\" Natasha said as she headed for the kitchen. She opened the fridge and heard someone running down the stairs. She looked up to see her seven year old daughter running down the stairs, \"Mom there\'s strange man sitting on our sofa,\" she said. Natasha smiled, \"Hey Sam,\"

Sam looked embarrassingly at himself. He had dirty pants a work coat and work boots. He certainly looked the part of \'odd.\'

\"that\'s not a strange man sweetie,\" She walked Samantha over to Samuel, \"This is Samuel. I work with him. Samuel meet my daughter Samantha.\" Samantha grinned; \"Hey mister,\" she said, \"My name is Samantha Jessica Clayton.\" she beamed proudly. Natasha smiled.

\"Hello Miss Samantha Jessica Clayton. It is good to meet you, your mother talks about you all the time; all the good things you do.\" He was lying, but it would make the girl feel good.

Samantha giggled and grabbed Natasha\'s leg, \"Would you two like a snack?\" she asked,

A half smile came to his face as he looked at Natasha. His mind immediately went to the wrong connotation. \"Sure, that\'d be fine.\"

\"Follow me,\" she said and turned for the kitchen. \"Sit both of you,\" she said pointing to the glass table that was already set. She pulled out a package of cookies from the cupboard and dumped some in a bowl. She poured three glasses of milk. She then picked up a bowl of grapes and brought it to the table. She then went back for the cookies then the milk.

Sam went over to the table and took off his work coat, placing it over a chair. His slightly paint stained shirt didn\'t look too good, but he didn\'t figure he would be invited to someone\'s place for entertaining when he left his apartment this morning. \"Thank you,\" he said to Natasha.

\"You\'re welcome,\" she said not looking at Samuel but watching her daughter. Samantha took a cookie and broke it in half. She dunked one half of the cookie into her glass of milk then bit it. She chewed and looked at Natasha and seeing her mom looking at her she smiled. Natasha smiled back as she chewed.

Sam sat back in the chair, slightly confused on what was going on, but guessing he would find out soon enough.

After their snacks, Natasha cleared the table and Samantha asked if she could go use the computer, \"Sure love,\" Natasha said, \"But remember what we talked about.\" Samantha nodded then bolted up the stairs. Natasha turned to Samuel, \"Thanks for the ride home,\" she said, \"But if you\'ll excuse me I have to take a shower and get some work done.\"

Sam pushed himself up from the table and grabbed his coat. \"Thank you for the cookies, as for the car; I\'ll make sure no one messes with it until a tow truck arrives for it.\"

\"Thank you,\" she said, \"I\'ll show you out.\"

Sam followed her to the door, and turned around. \"Thank you Mrs....\" he couldn\'t remember her name from the prints, it escaped him for some reason.

\"You\'re welcome,\" Natasha said not bothering to correct him. She was so tired and confused as to why she was being so nice to him, \"Thanks for the ride again. I\'ll see you.\"

Samuel nodded and walked off the porch and towards his truck. It was an odd turn of events, but he decided he didn\'t want to dwell on it, just get back to the building. He would see Natasha again in the next few days. Maybe by then he would figure out what was bothering him.

Natasha pressed her back against the closed door and buried her face in her hands. What had gotten over her? She hated the man. She lowered her hands and stepped away from the door and walked into the kitchen. She poured herself some wine and looked at the clock. It was time to start making supper for her and Sam. She pulled out a pot and began making stirred fried rice, with shake and bake .She made some grape juice for Samantha. She then looked to see what was for desert. She found a large piece of chocolate cake from the night before. She looked for ice-cream and found a whole un-opened container. She grinned. ~Sam must not know this is here~ she thought fondly. She then remembered the night she had told her ex that she was pregnant. It was a year into their marriage but the only answer Craig could have given her was, \"Its not mine,\" he had said then, \"I am not ready.\" She felt sick. She pushed the memory away and called her baby for dinner.

Sam drove back to the building with the radio on loud. It helped to drown out his own thoughts as he cruised. ~Women,~ he thought to himself and immediately regretted it. He loved his sister and he still loved his ex, even though he hadn\'t seen her in two years. Soon he was back at the building answering questions and managing people. Work washed Natasha from his mind for the time being.

\"So where did you go?\" Riza asked Natasha as the two women jogged a week later. \"What do you mean where did I go?\" Natasha asked. Riza made a hissing sound, \"The night at the club.\" Natasha took a deep breath. \"Can I tell you something?\" she asked Riza, \"I mean really talk to you?\" Riza looked offended but nodded, \"Sure you know you can.\" Natasha stopped running at their mark and placing her hands on her hips she walked alongside Riza, \"I am feeling something for him,\" she admitted. Riza grinned, \"Aha!\" she exclaimed, \"That\'s good.\" Natasha swung to face her friend, \"Not good, Bad!\"

\"How is that bad?\" Riza asked, \"I mean Craig was an asshole but not everyone is like that you know.\" Natasha wiped her hand across her forehead and looked down as sweat dripped off it, \"I can\'t take that chance. I have a little girl now.\"


\"So, where is your architect \'friend\'?\" Sheryl asked while they stood in line at the coffee house. \"Last I knew you said you took her home because her car was \'broken\'.\"

Sam ignored the obvious implication. \"It was a simple drop her off. No big deal.\" When he came to the front of the line he ordered a regular black coffee and was annoyed with paying almost three dollars for it.

\"That\'s why you get something fancy; you won\'t feel so bad about ordering it.\" Sheryl joked. \"Anyway, I\'m off. Talk to you later.\" She left him standing on the sidewalk while she walked down the sidewalk. He always met her here for their ten minute talk in the morning before they both went to work. His sister worked just down the block and it was on his way to work.

As Sam got to his office in the small trailer on the site, he ran into one of the other Engineers on the project and they got to talking. Seems he had a meeting with Natasha the day before and he was fuming over it. For once Sam found himself defending her problems with one of the changes that Mike wanted to make to the plans. \"Honestly, she\'s right. It will cost more, but it\'ll be worth it.\"

Mike Kilson was not impressed, \"Yeah, it will be worth it, but she could have found a better way to say so.\"

\"It\'s just her way of talking to you. You\'ll get used to it.\" Mike left and Sam sat down, noticing on his plans that Natasha was supposed to be by for the weekly meeting. He had forgotten all about it.

\"Don\'t worry about it,\" Riza said as they two women turned and began jogging back the other way, \"It\'ll all work out the way it should.\" Natasha laughed, \"You really think so?\" she asked. \"No,\" Riza said, \"But I was supposed to say that.\" Natasha frowned and started running faster.

The morning wore on, work was work and Sam pretty much turned off his brain to most of the paperwork in front of him. Finally not able to sit in his office any longer, he donned his work belt and hardhat and headed up to see if he could help anyone until his meeting with the architect.

Natasha took a shower. It was short. She had wanted to take a longer one but she found herself thinking of Samuel. She didn\'t even know is last name but there was fantasizing about him. The water was beginning to turn into his hands and his lips...going over her body slowly. She finally gave up on trying to enjoy the shower without Samuel being in it with her. She wrapped a large towel around her body and headed to her bedroom to get dressed.

Samuel was up on the sixth floor helping to install some lighting. He found himself distracted though; he could look out onto the parking lot from his vantage point and kept checking the lot out to see if Natasha\'s car had arrived yet. He knew it was still a few hours from the meeting but he looked anyway. One of the guys on the crew watched him looking out the window. \"Expecting someone Sam?\"

He felt his face blush a little, but it was easily covered by the permanent five o\'clock shadow, \"Um.. no. Just dreading a meeting with the esteemed architect today.\"

Natasha took extra care on her hair today. She then looked at herself and wondered what the hell she was thinking. She pulled her hair back up into a pony tail. \"There,\" she said. She then slipped into one of her normal wears and grabbed her brief case. She headed out to her car. Thankfully it was fixed. She hopped in and dumped her things on the passenger seat. She decided to go to the dreaded meeting then take some pictures for her collection.,

The room that they had their meeting in had finally had a door installed at Sam\'s request. He told himself it was so their voices wouldn\'t carry when he was yelling at her, but in fact he didn\'t know why he had it done. He arrived in the conference room ten minutes early and had to consciously force himself not to stare out the window to see when, or if, she showed up.

Natasha stopped the car and got out. She picked up her briefcase and slammed the door shut. she walked across the lot and moved towards the office. She stopped as she saw that a door was now on it. She felt threatened. She didn\'t want to go in but she knew she had to. She pushed open the door and walked in, \"Evening,\" she said.

Sam was standing at the back of the room, huddled over blueprints like normal. \"Hello,\" he said, glancing up at Natasha. She at least had a hard hat on again. \"Sorry we couldn\'t have scheduled this earlier in the day.\"

\"That\'s not a problem,\" she said then mentally cursed herself for saying that, \"What have you got for me?\"

Sam passed a set of prints over to her. \"Not much this week, things are actually going pretty well. One thing I noticed though has nothing to do with electricity. The north end bathrooms on the seventh floor.\" One set of bathrooms on the seventh room had shower stalls installed. The client must have wanted them, so they were put in. \"The stalls are so small, you couldn\'t even have two people stand in one.\"

\"We don\'t need two people in each of them,\" she said looking down at the stalls, \"All we need is one person per stall.\"

Sam walked around the table until he was next to her, using the handle of his hammer from his belt to point out the stalls. \"That may be true, but you need some room to move around in a stall, to shave your legs, or to wash your... well to wash thoroughly.\"

\"Well you know what,\" Natasha said getting irritated, \"If you have to come here to shave your legs it means you are homeless.\"

\"Who\'s the client for the suite? Maybe they have some interest in it? Wait, never mind. If you don\'t think it\'s needed, then it isn\'t? Right? I mean, you are the architect... I\'ve just been building these things,\" He pointed to the roof with the handle of his hammer, \"for fifteen years.\" He pulled the plans from under her fingers and flipped through a few pages looking for something.

Natasha wanted to smack him then but something about him caught her eyes. She found herself staring at him as he leafed through her blueprints. She watched his fingers, his lips. She shook her head and blushed as she looked away.

\"Here it is.\" Sam was fuming. He just found this woman impossible half the time, the other half he didn\'t know what to think. She was pretty, articulate, and an attitude that just was begging for a good banging. He pushed that odd thought out of his head as he turned to face her. \"Anyway, back to something I _do_ know something about, One of your offices must be spaced wrong, and It calls for over 300 Amps of power in it. I assume you mean 30 Amps?\" It was an obvious mistake, something that he would have just penciled in and let her look over at her leisure since it was going to be month before they got to this section, but for some reason he wanted to find something, anything, to talk to her about.

\"You know what,\" Natasha said getting up, \"I am sick of this.\" She turned and headed right out the door. She was sick and tired of this man finding faults with everything she did. She had been doing her job for years and never had a problem before. Others had pointed out her mistake but she never took it so personally. Why now? She didn\'t stop until she reached her car. She got in and closed the door after her and held the wheel as she stared straight ahead.

Sam watched her stamp out of the door in a fit. He felt sad that she left, but he also felt a bit of triumph for some reason. He had such odd feelings for this woman, and for no good reason. Looking out the window he saw her get into her car, but it didn\'t move. He discovered his body making its way quickly down the stairway before his mind really figured out what was going on. He almost ran across the parking lot to get to her car before she started it up. When he finally got there he paused for a second, amazed that he wasn\'t even a little winded. Taking stock, he calmly knocked on the driver\'s side window.

\"What do you want?\" Natasha said without moving.

\"Figured since you hadn\'t moved, that your car was broken down again. Thought I\'d come down and check it out for you.\"

\"My car\'s fine,\" she said still not moving.

He leaned against the door and leaned over to look into the car. \"Well, if your car is ok, how about you? You seem a little.... flustered.\"

\"I\'m fine,\" she said while she thought of ways to kill him. Maybe running him over with her car, she thought. No too messy.

He shrugged. \"Alright. Then if there\'s nothing else. I\'ll see you next week.\" He hoped secretly that there was something, anything that would keep her here for a little while longer, but he knew that at this point he was just twisting the knife. Haggling over the little details had pushed her away for good. A small sigh escaped his smile, even though he didn\'t know why.

Natasha started then engine to her car and turned out of the parking lot. She wasn\'t sure why she had decided to drive in her condition. Everything was hazy to her because her mind was elsewhere. She didn\'t know where that pole came from all she knew was she crashed head on into it. Her head snapped forward and everything went black.

\"Oh shit.\" Sam had been watching her leave and was just about to head back in when he saw her try to make the turn onto the road. She missed it badly and jumped the curve. She didn\'t even hit the brake as she smashed into a light pole.

Within a few moments he was halfway into the car. Broken glass lay in her lap as her head rolled to the side. Sam had been certified in first aid and could tell from the bump on her forehead from the steering wheel and the blood trickling from the corner of her lip that she had taken it pretty bad.

The ambulance showed up within a few minutes and Sam soon found himself in the back, on his way to the hospital. He lied and said he was married to her, that she was dropping him off at work.

He hated hospitals, cold uncaring, and unnerving. This one was worse than most, light green everywhere, people offering false platitudes, and that smell, a smell of death and disinfectant permeataed everything. The last place a person wanted to be if something went wrong, but the first they always chose.

He was sitting on a stool next to a bed. The occupant had a bandage around her head and numerous bandages on her hands and arms. Everyone was thankful she wore a seatbelt, but glass was still glass, and a concussion still hurt even though she wouldn\'t be here more than a day or so. Sam had been sitting here for a few hours. The doctors said she should wake up soon, they had medicated her because she when she came in she was a little hysterical. Wisely, Sam had stayed out of sight until she was under.

Now he just wanted her to wake up and start yelling at him. It would at least tell him that she was alright.

A face moved out of the darkness to hover above Natasha. She closed her eyes at first. it was Craig. He kept yelling at her telling her Samantha wasn\'t his. It shouldn\'t hurt but it was hurting. From the tip of every strand of her hair to her toes. She moaned. Craig\'s face was replaced by Samuels. She smiled. Her eyes began to close. She felt herself panicking. Trying to see Samuel\'s face. She opened her eyes and tried to sit up. Pain stabbed at her head and arms, \"Where am I? What happened?\" she asked the person sitting beside her bed.

\"You drove yourself into a light pole a few hours ago. Pretty exciting actually. You bounced your head off the steering wheel and your arms got cut up pretty bad, probably put your hands up to stop yourself. Are you ok?\"

\"Do I look ok?\" she muttered angrily, \"Has anyone called my daughter?\"

\"Um... No, I gave the doctors your purse and told them about Sam, but I didn\'t think it was my place to call her.\"

Natasha sat up and pushed her feet off the bed, \"I\'m going home,\" she muttered miserably.

\"No you\'re not. Doc says you get a night on your insurance company\'s tab.\"

\"Look,\" Natasha said running her finger through her hair, \"My daughter is alone at home wondering where her mother is. I am not going to let her stay home alone. You got that.\" She yanked the needle from her arm and winced.

Sam had seen her act definant once to often and reached out and put his hand on her chest and the other behind her head. Pushing gently but insistantly he pushed her back on the bed. \"Lie down, Damnit! I\'ll make sure Samantha is ok. You can call her from this little phone right here and tell her you are ok. I\'ll go pick her up, bring her here then drop her off tonight, that is if she doesn\'t want to spend the night. Either way, you are not getting up from this bed. Got it?\"

\"You cant boss me around!\" Natasha shot back as she got up again. She was going to get home to her daughter, \"And there is no way in hell I am letting her drive anywhere with you.\"

Once again he pushed her onto her back again, bringing his face close to hers he whispered. \"What do you think, you\'re going to just drive home? That the doctors are just going to let you walk out of here? Hey, if you don\'t trust me, that\'s fine. Call someone else, Riza or someone. But I\'ll be damned if I\'m going to let you just shake this off like nothing happened.\"

He realized how close he was to her and leaned back, taking his hand from her chest. \"He pulled out her cell phone from his pocket and looked up Riza\'s number, happy she included her first name. He picked up the phone on the table and dialed the number, handing the phone to Natasha. \"It\'s Riza. Have her go get your daughter and bring her here.\"

Natasha tossed the phone from her and got up again.

\"You defiant little priss.\" Grabbing her wrists he once again pushed her onto the bed. \"Don\'t make me have you tied down .\"

\"I just want to see you try,\" Natasha spat as she moved her foot up and kicked him the ribs, \"Let me go!\"

He smiled grimly as she kicked him. The concussion had taken most of her strength out and it didn\'t hurt. In response, he reached over and hit the nurse call button. \"Don\'t make me do this.\"

Natasha reached beside her and pressed the emergency button. When the nurse appeared she put on her cute face, \"Could you please escort this man out of my room. He is aggravating me.\" The nurse looked at Samuel, \"Follow me please,\" she said.

He looked at the nurse as she walked him out of the room. \"Ma\'am. My wife is a little belligerent. I think it is the concussion. Can you please call the doctor?\" He had come in as her husband and used her purse to fill out her paperwork, so pretending to be her husband at this point was getting pretty easy. The nurse looked at him confusedly and nodded uneasily. She walked off to find a doctor. He grinned and walked back into the room, his hands up and at shoulder level, like he was surrendering.

\"What are you still doing here?\" She asked. This was starting to piss her off. She picked up the phone next to her and dialed. \"Hello Jackson?\" she said into the phone, \"I am in the hospital can you please come and get me?\" She listened then hung up, \"Thanks sweeite.\"

\"Alright. I\'ll leave, I guess I can\'t save you from your own stubbornness. The doctor will be here in a little while, you will have to explain why you have pulled out your IV and messed up your bandages. Good luck to you. He set her cell phone on the counter by a sink next to her purse. Have a good life Natasha. I will be transferring from the project as soon as I can. There are plenty of other buildings going up in this town. I don\'t need them... or you.\"

Natasha closed her eyes as she felt him leave. She laid back as the doctor came in. Lecturing her about how he put the IV in for her own good. She tolerated it until Riza\'s husband, Jackson walked in. \"You ok?\" he asked worriedly, \"I took care of Samantha for you. Riza is with her. I noticed your Engineer walking past me when i was coming in.\"

Samuel walked out of the hospital and caught a cab back to the site. It was late evening now and a cool breeze was blowing. Natasha was infuriating him. He just tried to help, but she tossed it back in his face. She was difficult, bitchy, awnry, prissy, and beautiful. But he couldn\'t deal with it anymore. He would get off her project within a week, he knew that there was a four story real estate office going up across town. He figured he could get on the project if he tried. It would just take a few days for the transfer to go through. He both hoped he would and wouldn\'t see Natasha before then.

Natasha closed her eyes, \"The doctor said I couldn\'t leave until a few days,\" she said. \"Then why did you ask me to come get you?\" Jackson asked. \"Don\'t you start!\" Natasha snapped, \"I don\'t need this.. All I wanted was for him to let up.\" Jackson sat down in the chair that was previously occupied by Samuel, \"Who?\" he asked. \"Samuel,\" Natasha said feeling crummy, \"All I wanted was him to let up.\"

A few days later Natasha laid in bed with Samantha reading her Cinderella at Riza\'s home. Riza had insisted that until she was well, both her and Samantha would stay at the manor. Nat knew it was no used arguing with Riza so she stayed.

Sam had made two calls to the architectural firm to see if Natasha had started back yet. Both times they said she was still out for \'personal\' reasons. A couple calls to the hospital also told him that she wasn\'t there. He continued on with work normally, but each day worried him more, thinking that maybe the injuries were worse than he thought. Late at night he would sit in his apartment and remember her sitting in the car, blood coming from her lip and head and feel terrible for what he did in the hospital. Even though he was trying to help, he didn\'t make it any easier for her.


\"So mom,\" Samantha called, \"Want me to read you Cinderella again,\" Natasha smiled, \"No baby,\" she said, \"Mom needs to get some sleep. Her head feels like she was hit with a bat.\" Samantha pulled Natasha\'s blankets to her neck and Nat closed her eyes. She was awaken by the phone by her head. She picked it up, \"Hello?\"


Finally after a few days, Sam couldn\'t stand it and remembered the number he entered into her phone. It was Riza\'s number, but hopefully he would be able to at least find out how Natasha was doing. \"Hi, Riza?\"

\"It\'s Natasha hold on I\'ll get Riza for you,\" she said not recognizing the voice.

\"Natasha?\" He hadn\'t expected her to be there. \"It\'s... it\'s Samuel.\"

\"Oh,\" she said, \"What can I do for you?\"

\"I was just calling to see how you were doing. This was the only number I had. Are you feeling better?\" He felt very odd, he didn\'t know what to say, but her voice made him feel better. It was sort of his fault after all that she even got into the accident.

Natasha went silent. It was good to hear his voice but she didn\'t want to admit it. She would never admit it. \"Mom are you ok?\" Samantha asked. Natasha looked over at her daughter and smiled, \"Yah well If you are worried about me dying before I do your transfer papers and pay you, rest assured that wont happen.\"

He felt bad, obviously he when he had said that she had taken it as a slap. \"You\'ll have the papers in the morning. I\'m sorry to have bothered you. Have a good evening.\" As he finished his sentence, his heartache turned to a fiery coal. \"Good night,\" he said, but held the phone to his head, knowing she wouldn\'t let that go without saying something.

\"Look,\" she sighed, \"I didn\'t mean it like that...\" She bit down on her lower lip. She felt horrible being so awful to him. \"I\'ll speed up your papers so you won\'t have to see me again.\" She hung up before he could say anything else.

He put the phone in its cradle and rested his head on the back of the armchair. ~Well, at least she is ok,~ he thought. It was a hollow solace, but it was the only one he had. Shaking off the feeling, he headed upstairs and stripped down to take a shower.

Natasha felt like an idiot. She kept thinking of Craig. She looked over at Samantha. \"You know he sounded really worried about you,\" Came Riza\'s voice. \"You eaves dropping on me now?\" Natasha asked. \"I\'m not going to argue with you Nat,\" she said and walked away. She got down stairs and called the last number to call her phone.

Sam was just stepping into the shower when the phone rang. He cursed the god of time and walked into the room, buck naked and picked up the line. \"Yes?\"

\"Samuel its Riza Montgomery,\" She said into the phone, \"Natasha\'s friend?\"

He figured that Natasha had made Riza call to berate since Natasha was probably tired. \"Yeah. I remember. What can I do for you?\"

\"Nat can be a pain in the ass,\" Riza said, \"But you can\'t give up on her. She has feelings for you and it scares her.\"

Samuel wasn\'t in the mood to be jerked around tonight. \"Yeah? She has a hell of way of showing it. I don\'t know where you get your information, but she appears to pretty much hate me. Hell, you are nicer to me than she is.\"

\"She was burnt once,\" Riza said, \"You can\'t tell her I told you this. She was married once. And he turned out to be a total ass. I guess she doesn\'t want to go through anything like that again.\"

Of course Riza couldn\'t see him shrug in the phone, but he did it anyway. \"We\'ve all been burned, myself included. Turning into the Ice Queen doesn\'t make it easier.\" He paused thinking for a moment, \"I like her too, but I\'m not going to put that much effort into someone who gets upset every time someone gets close. I just can\'t, not again.\"

Riza sighed. \"You can do something about it,\" she pushed, \"I can give you my address and you can come see her. I\'m sure she would be a lot more willing to talk to you.\"

\"I tried that at the hospital, didn\'t seem to help then. Didn\'t even get a thanks for pulling her out of that car.\" ~Is that what I\'m upset about? That she wouldn\'t even say thank you?~ \"Give me your address, I might stop by.\"

\"That\'s all I can ask,\" Riza said. She gave him her address, \"If you stop by bring a blue rose. she loves that.\"

~Great, now I\'m Santa.~ He jotted down the address on a piece of paper next to his bed. \"Ok. No guarantees.\"

\"Alright,\" Riza said then hanging up the phone. She took a deep breath, \"This is for your own good Nat,\" she said. Jackson walked into the room, \"Don\'t tell me you did what I think you did.\"

\"What did you think I did?\" She asked teasingly as she walked over to Jackson. \"You did,\" he said, \"Nat is going to kill you.\" Riza frowned, \"Not if her stubbornness doesn\'t kill her first.\"

The shower felt good, but he didn\'t pay too much attention to it, he spent the time thinking about Natasha there in the hospital bed, then her in the meeting room with him. He had plenty of times to make it right , tell her what he thought and what he thought he was feeling, but he never did. Now he had a written invitation to try again, but Natasha might not be welcome to his visit. ~Was it worth it?~ he asked himself over and over again while he showered.


The next morning came way too early. Sam had spent it tossing and turning. Finally around seven he got up and got his ass in gear. He dressed in a nide shirt and slacks for once. By nine he was standing outside a flourist looking for something he had never heard of, a blue rose. They happened to have one and he purchased three of them. Then he headed to the address he was given by Riza.

Natasha woke up early and went riding with Samantha. Soon she was back to have breakfast with Jackson and Riza when the doorbell rang. Samantha leapt out of her chair, \"I\'ll get it mom!\"

Sam stood at the door not quite knowing what he was doing when the door opened and Samantha answered. \"Hello, is your mother here?\"

\"Yah,\" Samantha said, \"Come in.\" Riza knew who it was, \"Jackson sweetie help me clear the table.\" Natasha looked up to see Samantha leading Samuel into the kitchen.

Sam felt like he was being ambushed, and he didn\'t like it. Here he was, hat in hand, when he really just wanted to smack the hell out of the woman, the long thin box under his arm didn\'t help either. \"Good morning all.\"

\"morning,\" Riza and Jackson said as the left the room and took Sam with them. \"Hi,\" Natasha said simply, \"What are you doing here?\"

\"I\'m not entirely sure,\" he said truthfully. He was at a loss for words. He dragged himself here, his mind kicking and screaming for him not to. Now that he was here, he didn\'t know what to do or say.

\"Ah,\" Natasha said not sure what to say, \"I haven\'t had time to go into the office as yet.\" she said. She wasn\'t sure why he was there and she didn\'t know any other reason why he would be there.

\"Yeah, I can see. I wanted to apologize. I shouldn\'t have set you off and caused you to get upset with me. You wouldn\'t have tried to drive off.. and you wouldn\'t have run into that pole.\"

\"Is that why you are here?\" she asked, \"You feel guilty? This isn\'t your fault alright? so you can stop feeling sorry for me. I don\'t need pity right now.\"

~Screw this,~ he thought to himself and pulled the box from under his arm and set it down in front of her. \"I wasn\'t here to pity you.\" Turning he headed for the door.

She looked down at the blue roses. Her favorite, \"Samuel!\" she called after him, \"Wait. I didn\'t know why you came here. You didn\'t exactly say why you came.\"

He grabbed a hold of the doorknob and turned around. \"I came here because I wanted to, Isn\'t that enough? If I hadn\'t wanted to see you, I would have just gone to work, submitted my paperwork and been out of your life.\"

She stood up and walked over to him, \"Don\'t leave please,\" she said, \"Lets go for a walk?\"

He hung his head for a moment, then opened the door. \"After you.\"

Natasha picked up one of the roses before she walked out the door in front of him. She stopped and waited for him to close the door. She turned and took the flowery path that went behind Riza\'s place, \"How did you find me?\" she asked out of curiosity.

He figured he\'s save Riza\'s cute butt on this one. \"You weren\'t that difficult to find. A phone call here and there and I found you. I can be pretty persuasive.\"

\"I bet,\" she said while smelling the rose, \"So, why did you come all the way out here? I mean I know you said you wanted to.\" She stopped under a clump of trees where park benches were and sat down, \"You didn\'t have to.\"

He sat down next to her. \"I know. I just had to see you, I don\'t know why really. Through our fights and stuff, I guess.. I guess I have grown fond of you.\"

\"Fond,\" she said a little disappointed, \"Ok, I guess that\'s as much as one can ask with the way I\'ve been treating you.\" Pictures of him kissing her skin flashed into her mind and she prayed that he never mention showers around her.

Sam looked at her seeing the change of her mood. He felt his hand reach out and touched hers; taking it into his. \"More than \'fond\' actually.\"

Natasha looked down to where his hand met hers. She felt the warmness of his hand on hers and she felt happy. She didn\'t meet his eyes. She could feel him watching her. She looked up then.

Sam looked over at her, wondering what she was thinking. He knew what was going through his mind and it bothered him a little. He didn\'t know if it was love, lust, or pity, or something in between. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

Natasha nodded then looked away. She pulled her hand from his. She didn\'t know want to know what was going through his mind but she could see it in his eyes. She broke the long part of the stem off and stuck the rose part behind her ear.

\"That looks good on you, you know.\" Sam still felt the impression of her hand in his, even though the hand itself was gone.

She smiled then looked away from the flowers she was looking at then back at him, \"Thank you,\" she said. It was hard to be nice to him because of how scared she was. she closed her eyes. Took a deep breath then gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She pulled away and stood up.

Sam was startled, but not too startled not to return the kiss, as quick as it was. Was it just a thank you peck, or something more? As she stood up, he followed. \"Now its my turn to say thank you.\" He put his hands on each side of her stomach and drew himself in, giving her a kiss of his own, slightly longer and deeper than the one she gave him.

After the kiss ended Natasha kept her eyes closed and her face lifted to his. She could still feel his lips on hers and a gentle heat rose through her body, \"What just happened?\"

\"I believe that you kissed me, and I kissed you back.\" He found himself still holding her by her sides. \"It could happen again...\" his voice trailed off and he waited to see her reaction.

\"Could it?\" she asked quietly with her eyes closed. She nodded, \"Could it.\"

Leaning close to her he whispered, \"It could,\" as he gave her another kiss, this time lingering on her lips for a few moments. Long enough to inhale her scent before he broke it.

Natasha smiled. It felt right. But why was there a nagging feeling in the back of her head. \"That nagging voice,\" she whispered, \"I can\'t get rid of it.\"

\"Which nagging voice would that be?\"

\"The one telling me this is all a big mistake,\" She admitted opening her eyes and looking up at him

He looked into her eyes. \"It may be; why don\'t we find out?\" With that he pressed his lips to hers again, this time parting his lips a little and touching his tongue to her lips.

Natasha moaned a little then opened her lips slightly to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled in a little closer to him.

Sam delved into the kiss with all he had, feeling her tongue run over his teeth. Holding her close he slid his arms around her.

Natasha pulled even closer to him. Her hands went up his back to his hair. She dug her fingers into his hair pressing his head down. For some reason she felt as though she was starving and he was the much needed food that she was to have.

Surprised by voraciousness, he let her run over his body, feeding from what he had to offer. Finally sated, they broke the kiss together, but still holding each other. \"It happened again,\" he whispered with a little smile on his lips.

Natasha was trying to catch her breath. It was a good thing he was still holding her. She moved in and rested her head against his chest as she closed her eyes to steady herself.

\"You ok?\" he said softly.

\"I think so,\" she said, \"I don\'t want to do this again but I can\'t help myself.\"

\"Do what? Kiss me, or get involved with a man again?\"

\"Get involved with a...\" she stopped, \"How did you know?\" she asked looking up at him.

He didn\'t want to get Riza into trouble so he thought quickly. \"I can see it in your eyes. You have a daughter, you\'re not wearing a wedding ring, and there were no pictures of any man other than one that might be your father in your house.\"

Natasha looked down at the front of his shirt, \"That didn\'t end well.\"

\"I see. We\'ve both been through the ugly side of relationships then.\" Pulling an arm up from their embrace, he lifted her chin so she would look at him again. \"It\'s ok to try again.\"

\"I don\'t know,\" she said sadly, \"That little girl in there doesn\'t have a father because he wanted nothing to do with her. I have to put her first.\"

\"Of course you do. I wouldn\'t expect anything less from you.\" He broke their embrace carefully, not wanting her to get the wrong idea, but continued to hold her hands.

\"When I told him,\" Natasha found herself telling him things she hadn\'t even told Riza, \"He told me it wasn\'t his. And he was my...\"

\"Only?\" he said gently. \"Some men can be pigs, but we aren\'t all that way.\"

She looked up at him then smiled, \"ok,\" she said as she began to walk.

He walked next to silently for a few moments. \"I don\'t want you to do anything you,\" or I, he thought to himself, \"aren\'t ready for.\"

\"thank you,\" she said. \"You know,\" she started after a bit, \"I thought you were the biggest jerk and mind you its just lowered just a tiny bit.\" she hid a smile.

\"Oh, I don\'t know about that. I am a jerk, but not all the time.\" He paused thinking. \"And I thought you were a... priss. Maybe we both were a little wrong.\"

\"Maybe,\" she said, \"Do you ride Mister Samuel?\"

\"Ride? Motorcycles?\"

\"No,\" she said with a smile. A real smile this time. She pointed to his left, \"Horses.\"

\"Um.. no. I never ride anything bigger than I am, or at least I haven\'t yet.\" He laughed at his joke

Natasha smacked him in the arm, \"Come on,\" she said, \"I can teach you. Maybe I\'ll let you ride Blue lightning over there!\" she said pointing to the Montgomery\'s race horse, \"But that would be nothing but evil on my part.\"

He shrugged. \"Um... ok.\" Looking around he felt really out of his element. \"Can\'t we just go back to the kissing part?\"

\"Well,\" Natasha said with a sly smile, \"We could. You don\'t feel comfortable with horses do you?\"

\"Not really. Never been around large animals before, just large machines.\" As they approached one of the horses whinnied and Sam jumped a little.

\"He\'s not going to hurt you,\" she said patting the animal\'s neck, \"That\'s Brutus, ain\'t he cute.\"

\"Why do people name things \'Brutus\' and then think they are cute?\" It was a rhetorical question, but he still wondered. Putting his hand out tentatively, he touched the horse\'s neck.

\"see?\" she said stroking the horse, \"He\'s quite harmless.\" she climbed over the small fence and hopped onto the horses back, \"wanna ride with me?\"

\"Will he be able to carry both of us?\" He climbed over the fence and put his hand on Natasha\'s thigh.

\"Yes,\" she said holding the reigns on the horse, \"Now, Place your foot over mine, grab my hand and push off with your other foot.\"

He did as he was told. Getting onto the horse wasn\'t much different than getting onto a really big motorcycle. Finally he got himself settled and looked around at Natasha. \"Ok, now what do I hold onto?\" He figured he\'d just wrap his arms around her, but it was better to make sure.

She smiled and shook her head. \"You hold me around the waist,\" she said, \"Unless you think I have the cooties.\"

\"Good,\" Natasha said leaning back against his chest as she kicked Brutus gently in the sides and the horse began to move.

Sam found himself holding on tighter than he probably had to, but he was enjoying the ride, more for the company though.

Natasha led the horse down the long path that went towards a small swimming hole. It was actually a pool that Jackson had put in a few years prior that served as a hot tub in the winter and a nice cool place to swim in the summer.

Sam leaned his head against the back of Natasha\'s as the ride wore on. Finally he had a thought that worked to get out, \"So, is it true what they say about girls riding horses?\"

\"That pantyhose helps keep the stubble from rubbing on your jeans? My legs are killing me.\" He smiled, figuring that she was expecting another explanation.

\"Ah,\" Natasha said simply. She stopped the horse and hopped off. She held up her hand to him, \"Come on, I have something that will help you.\"

Sam slid down the side of the horse and followed Natasha. \"What do you have to show me?\"

\"Come on will you,\" she said as she led him toward the pool. She grinned as she saw the heat rising from it, \"want a dunk?\"

Sam looked at the pool, it was warm and inviting, not as much, say a sauna in the middle of winter, but nice nonetheless. \"I didn\'t exactly bring my bathing suit.\"

Natasha blushed at that and walked closer to the pool. She pulled her sweater over her head, \"That\'s why women has tank tops,\" she grinned. She then pulled her pants down revealing blue underwear before stepping into the water.

Sam half smiled and held up a finger. \"For someone who wanted me dead yesterday and who didn\'t want anything to do with men; you\'re taking this awfully well.\" His eyes were locked on her as she got into the pool. Natasha had a beautiful body and with the few undergarments left just the right amount to the imagination.

\"Its not like I am asking you to jump my bones you know,\" she said as she sank her body into the soothing water, \"You said your leg was irritated.\"

Sam shrugged. \"That I did.\" He pulled off his shirt and slid out of his pants leaving only a pair of dark read cotton boxers on. He walked over to the pool and stepped in. The water was as inviting as he expected it to be.

\"That wasn\'t so bad now was it,\" she said smiling as she reached up to pull her hair out of her face.

He settled down next to Natasha, \"Nope, not bad at all.\"

She smiled, \"Remember when we were talking about me, liking men again?\"

\"I seem to remember the conversation, yes.\" Sam leaned back on the edge of the pool and put his arms out on the ledge, one arm behind Natasha.

\"Well,\" she said taking a deep breath, \"That it is time.\"

He blew out a breath he didn\'t realize he was holding. \"That\'s good. Anyone one I know you want to start with?\"

\"I don\'t know,\" she smiled, \"I was thinking a certain man that used to work with me. But he wants out.\"

A knowing smile came to his mouth. \"Well, at this point, his mind can still be changed. If he had a reason to that is.\"

\"I have plenty of reasons,\" Natasha said, \"But I think I have one complication.\"

\"What would the complication be? The fact that they work together?\"

\"Actually two complications,\" she said, \"That is one and the fact that she has a little angel with her.\"

\"Well, for the first, it isn\'t like you are in the same cubicle with him, you will only see him once a week or so. As for the other, \"I like angels.\"

\"Do you really think this will work?\" she asked turning now to face him.

Sam reached his arm around her and pulled her close to him. \"I don\'t know, but we will never know unless we try.\"

\"That was the answer I was afraid of,\" she muttered, \"What happened to the sure things in life?\"

\"There aren\'t any sure things in life, not after you are about twelve and you find out that there is no Santa or no Easter bunny. Nothing is sure, there is risk in everything.\"

\"Aww,\" she said pretending to by hurt, \"Santa isn\'t real?\" she grinned at him, \"But seriously, this bites.\"

He smiled at her innocent act. \"What bites? The fact that you have to take another chance on something which isn\'t a sure thing?\"

\"I don\'t know,\" she said pulling away from him, \"I am scared to do this again. I have to be certain I have to be..\"

He leaned over to her, bringing his face close to hers. \"I know you are scared, I\'m a little scared too, but its ok to be scared.\"

She looked into his eyes and kissed him on his nose, \"Alright,\" she said, \"But you haven\'t even ask me out on a date yet.\"

\"I will when I\'m ready.\" He looked around and then at his watch. Smiling he looked back at her. \"I\'m ready. Want to go on a date with me?\"

Natasha whacked him in the arm, \"Thanks for the scare you jerk!\" she said then kissed him, \"Yes.\"

\"Told you I could be a jerk. How about tomorrow night?\"

\"Alright,\" she said, \"What do I wear? or are you gonna call to let me know?\"

He thought for a moment, it had been a long time since he dated and he had never dated someone of her... status. His idea of a date was a steak and a beer at the bar. There was one place that he knew of though, a nice restaurant on the outskirts of town. \"Hm... wear a nice dress, nothing formal, but nice.\" He wanted to tell her exactly what to wear from the top down, but figured it would be taking it a bit far.

\"Ok,\" she said as she turned her back to him and pressed her back against his chest, \"I guess it\'s a date.\"

Sam smiled as he wrapped his arm around her. \"Yeah, I guess it is.\"

That night Natasha finally could sleep in her own bed. She was back in the city. She kissed Samantha\'s forehead and tucked her into bed, \"Mom can you read me a story?\" she asked. Natasha picked up Cinderella began to read to Sam.

Sam had to call Sheryl. She was happy to see that he was actually going on a date, and pleasantly surprised that it was the architect that he was going out with. \"You like her, or is this just your way to get her more riled up?\"

\"I like her, a lot. I guess the animosity was hiding some desire, on both our sides.\"

Natasha wasn\'t even on the third page when she looked to see Samantha fast asleep. She smiled and flipped the light off before she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her silently. She walked to her bedroom and flipped the television on

Sam went to bed that night feeling pretty good, but also nervous. He hadn\'t dated in so long.

After watching some late night television, Natasha finally found the ability to sleep.

The day next at work went real slow, he spent the whole thing thinking of Natasha, wondering what to do, what to say, on their date. When work finally got out, he headed to a flouriest to buy a rose for her hair that night, a dark blue one. Then he called the restaurant to make reservations.

Natasha walked into her office to see a whole stock of papers on her desk, \"You have to sign those Nat,\" her secretary told her. Natasha moaned, \"Thanks Kim.\"

Sam went home and dressed in a grey suit that clung to his biceps and gave a slimming look to his waist. After he was dressed he made a call to Sheryl to ask what she thought she should do or say during their date.

Natasha had Riza over to babysit Samantha. It was a bad idea because Riza kept giving Nat advice which made her even more nervous, \"Ok,\" Nat said taking a deep breath as Riza curled her hair, \"Do I smell ok? Not too much scents?\" Riza laughed, \"You smell fine.\"

Done with talking with Sheryl, he got into his truck and drove over to Natasha\'s. He hated taking the truck. It wasn\'t dirty or anything thanks to a wash that afternoon, but it was still a truck, the only vehicle he had.

Natasha held her breath as the door bell rang. \"I look ok?\" she asked Riza who only rolled her eyes and opened the door.

He was just pressing the doorbell again when the front door opened. \"Good evening.\"

\"Hey,\" Riza said happily, \"Come on in.\" She stepped aside to let him in. Meanwhile Natasha was busy telling Samantha where everything was.

\"Thank you,\" he said as he walked into the room. \"I hope I\'m not too early.\"

\"No you\'re right on time,\" Riza said with a knowing smile, \"She is just in there fussing over Samantha. Nat Samuel\'s here!\" Natasha kissed Samantha, \"I\'m coming,\" she said walking out.

\"You look marvelous,\" he said as he looked at her. His throat and something else jumped as she walked over and picked up a small purse.

\"We shall.\" He walked behind her out to the house and towards the truck. \"My apologies for the accommodations, it\'s all I have.\"

She smiled as she got in and put her belt on. when he got in she looked over at him, \"This is like saying sorry I\'m Samuel...what is your last name?\"

\"Um.. Clements. And I know what you are going to say.\"

\"Oh..\" He felt kinda foolish, he figured she would have known. \"Samuel Clements was the real name of Mark Twain.\"

\"well not everyone thinks the same you know,\" she said looking proud.

He chuckled. \"No, I guess not. Its just that I\'m always hearing people saying, \'hey isn\'t that..\' It gets old quick.\"

\"I know what you mean,\" she said looking ahead, \"So where are you taking me? Or is it a surprise?\"

\"Surprise of course,\" he shifted the truck into gear and headed towards the restaurant. \"So, tell me about you, like your last name.\"

\"Oh, yeah. Have to say I wasn\'t paying attention really the first time.\" He drove slowly to the place, not wanting to hurry, at least not at this point.

\"Thanks,\" she grinned, \"Good to hear.\"

Soon they pulled up to the restaurant. A nice dining place, called T.J.\'s. He drove up and let the valet take the truck while he walked around to help his date out of the vehicle.

Nat took his hand and climbed down from the truck. She held onto his hand even as they entered the restaurant, \"Wow,\" she said looking around.

Sam led her over to the host who took them to a candle lit seat in the back. He helped her into the seat and slid her up to the table and then set himself.

\"This is really nice,\" she said looking around. She then looked back at him, \"I haven\'t been on a date since I got pregnant with Sam.\"

\"I haven\'t been on one either, in about ten years. Never really went on one when I was married.\"

Natasha gasped, \"You were married?\" she asked, \"How did that go?\"

\"Pretty much the same as yours; we were together about three years.\" He shook his head. \"But lets look at the present rather than dwelling on the past, shall we?\"

Natasha nodded, \"Very well,\" she said, \"If that\'s what you want.\"

\"Well, I\'d much rather talk about you then my ex wife.\"

She smiled, \"Good cover,\" she told him as she fiddled with her purse under the table, \"I\'m nothing special.\"

He leaned forward in his seat a little. \"I\'m beginning to think you are special. If you weren\'t, I wouldn\'t have gone out with you.\"

\"I will take that as a compliment,\" she said. She was about to say something else when the a waiter came to them with a wine menu, \"Would you like something to drink before your order?\" he asked.

He glanced at Natasha. \"What would you like? This is your date after all.\"

She smiled then looked at the waiter, \"May I have a Corona please?\"

\"I\'ll just have a Black and tan please.\" The waiter smiled and walked off.

\"Never better. Just looking at you, wondering what you would want to do after dinner.\"

She blushed and looked down at her fingers, \"Now why are you putting the buggy before the horse?\"

\"You mean that it is possible I\'m going to mess up the dinner, you will want me to take you home and we won\'t speak to each other again? I suppose that\'s possible.\" He smiled at Natasha.

She shook her head, \"That\'s not what I mean,\" she said, \"I just want to take this slow, is all.\"

Sam nodded. \"I know, I meant whether you would want to go see a movie or go shopping, or something. What were you thinking of?\"

\"A movie?\" she asked, \"Oh wow I haven\'t been out to see one of those since Aladdin.\"

\"Well, there are a couple good ones out. Is that a yes?\"

She laughed as the waiter came back with the food menu and their drinks, \"Definitely.\"

He took the menu from the waiter. \"Wonderful.\" He looked over the menu and picked out a chicken Alfredo. \"What would you like to eat today?\"

She looked at the menu and wondered what to have. \"I\'ll have your chicken Fajitas please,\" she said.

The waiter nodded and walked off to put the order in. \"So, I\'m not really that good at the small talk part of the dates. You have any other buildings you are working on?\"

\"Yah,\" she said taking a sip from her drink, \"I am working on the new Trump building. He\'s a hard boss. Can never please him. Sorta like someone else I know.\"

\"You mean someone else I know,\" he said though a smile. \"I\'ve been nothing but amiable.\"

Natasha only smiled and took another sip from her drink, \"I am so not calling any names.\"

\"Un huh.\" Sam couldn\'t help but smile at her. The candle light washed gently over her face, causing it to have an almost inner glow. They sat in silence for a few minutes until finally their food showed up.

Natasha gently placed the napkin in her lap then placed the knife in one hand then the fork, she looked up at Sam, smiled then began eating.

Not wanting to interrupt a superb meal, Sam ate in silence as well. As with all dates, the uncomfortable middle part washed over them as they ate. The part where they had run out of things to talk about but neither wanted to say something and start down a topic of conversation that one of them might find offensive. Sensing it, Sam wisely kept to himself until their dinner was done and he pushed his plate back.

\"Are you ok?\" Natasha asked as she sensed his unease, \"I mean you haven\'t said a word for a while now.\"

Wiping is mouth on his napkin he looked up at her. \"Yeah, I just couldn\'t think of anything to say.\"

She smiled, \"That\'s a first,\" she joked. She watched his eyes then looked back down at her plate, \"Want to go for a walk before our movie?\"

\"Sure,\" he motioned to the waiter and paid for their meals, within a short time the waiter returned and Sam filled out the receipt, leaving a generous tip. Standing slowly, he walked around the table and held his hand out. \"Shall we Miss Friedmont?\"

Natasha giggled. She could not believe it. Giggle? She took his hand and picked up her purse. She walked beside him out the door.

Looking around, he only saw a small park, otherwise there were sidewalks all around. \"Where would you like to walk to?\"

\"I don\'t know,\" she said, \"Somewhere to walk all that food off.\" She snuggled closer to him and turned toward the park, \"We could sit on a bench over there.\"

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. It was cool tonight and a bench would be pretty cold. \"Sure, first lets go back to the truck for a moment.\" He found it and pulled a blanket in a plastic bag out of the toolbox on the back of his truck. \"Don\'t worry, its clean.\" Holding it in his open hand, they walked towards the park.

\"Wow,\" she grinned, \"You are prepared.\" She looped her arm back into his as they walked, \"This is all pretty new to me. I was asking Riza what people do on dates nowadays and she laughed so hard I thought she would pop a lung.\"

\"My sister did the same thing. I guess we are out of practice.\" Sam spread the large blanket over the bench, then after he sat down, held open the blanket so Natasha could get into it.

Natasha got in and willingly pulled in close to him so he would wrap his arm around her. Her cheek pressed against his chest, \"Are we so outdated?\"

Wrapping the blanket around them, he obliged her and wrapped her up with both arms, like they were in the hot tub. \"I wouldn\'t say we are outdated, but I don\'t \'mosh\' and I doubt you have a piercing in your belly button.\"

Natasha shivered at that, \"No,\" she said, \"That would hurt!\"

Laughing he put his chin down on the top of her head. \"Exactly my point.\"

She sighed, \"This is nice,\" she said, \"really nice.\"

\"Yeah, it is. Better than I\'ve felt in a long time,\" he said honestly. He squeezed her in his arms just because he could. \"So, have you talked to Sam about having a guy around?\"

\"No,\" she said, \"But I can do that soon. She had gotten used to just us two but I think she will welcome a guy hanging around. She can have a baseball partner. Do you swim Samuel?\"

\"Not competitively, but I can tread water, why?\"

\"Then you and Sam will get on famously,\" she grinned.

\"I\'ll do my best. She seems like a good sport. How old is she again?\"

\"She\'s seven,\" Natasha said proudly

Sam hugged her again and grew quiet for a time. As they sat together, the cold began to creep into the blanket and he could feel it on his back and legs. \"Unless we get a lot closer together, things are going to start getting cold soon.\"

Natasha grinned, \"Does this mean we have to get up?\"

\"I\'m ok for now, but you have to be getting cold in that dress aren\'t you?\" He reached down and put his hand on her thigh where the slit of her dress came up to.\"

\"You\'re right,\" she said looking down at his hand against her skin, \"Then again,\" she looked up at him and smiled.

He also looked under the blanket at his hand on her thigh. Slowly he removed it and chuckled nervously. \"Um.. sorry about that. I guess I just wasn\'t thinking.\"

\"Why are you sorry?\" she asked seriously looking him in the eyes.

His smile faded. \"Because that was un-gentlemanly of me. I shouldn\'t have touched you, not without permission of course.\" Sam was a lot of things, but he also tried to be conscious of other people\'s feelings, when he wasn\'t trying to piss them off that is.

Natasha pulled a hand from the warmth of the blanket and touched his cheek lightly. She then lowered it to his neck and slowly pulled his neck down so that his lips came closer to hers.

Sam allowed himself to be led to her lips. Soon they touched and a shock worked its way through his body. The kiss was so gentle, he could almost taste the love in it.

She pulled her head back and looked up at him, \"Do I feel as though I minded?\" she asked looking into his eyes.

Opening his eyes, he saw Natasha looking into them. \"No, I guess not.\" He fought the urge to just hold onto her for the rest of his life, right here on the park bench. Instead he gave her a kiss of his own on her lips.

She smiled and patted his shoulder, \"Lets go before we miss the movie and freeze to death out here.\"

\"I wouldn\'t let you freeze to death. It would be too hard to scrape you off the bench.\" Smiling he let her up and put the blanket back into the bag.

She laughed and took his hand, \"You think so huh,\" she said as she walked. It was a good thing she didn\'t wear the open toes that Riza suggested.

He got his vehicle from the valet and while he got in, another valet helped Natasha into the vehicle. Sam drove off towards the movie theater. \"You didn\'t tell me what you wanted to see.\"

\"Something funny?\" she asked, \"Maybe a chick flick?\" she asked hiding a smile

\"Its entirely up to you tonight.\" Sam realized that the statement was pretty open ended, but he refrained from modifying it.

She smiled, \"Really?\" she said, \"I want to see Busted Force. Think you can handle a Bruce Willis action flick tonight?\"

\"Sure, that sounds good.\" He drove to the Cineplex and parked the vehicle. Unfortunately they had to park towards the back of the parking lot. There were a lot of cars here tonight.

\"wow,\" Natasha said, \"I think everyone is on a date tonight.\"

He turned off the engine and looked over at Natasha. \"Either that, or everyone loves Bruce Willis.\"

she giggled, \"Well he is kinda hot.\"

\"He was a lot better looking before he started to go bald and shaved his head. I liked him in Moonlighting.\"

She laughed. She couldn\'t believe he was discussing hot actors wit her. She got out of the car before he could come around and met him at his door, \"This should be fun.\"

Climbing out of the truck, he locked it and walked with Natasha towards the theater. \"Hope there are seats left.\"

\"Don\'t worry,\" she said, \"I know a few people here..Well Jackson does so they take care of me when I come here.\"

\"Well, its good to have connections.\" They walked in and Sam purchased tickets for two. \"Would you like some refreshments for the movie?\"

\"Just a drink,\" she said looking around, \"I don\'t think I could eat anything else tonight.\"

\"Well, they appear to have cocktails over there. Would you care for a real drink?\"

She arched a brow at him but smiled, \"The date cannot be going that bad.\"

\"It isn\'t.\" He got her a lemonade and they went into the theater. It was one of those new types where the seats were much higher than those in front of you. \"Where would you like to sit?\"

Natasha looked around. She climbed up a few stairs then walked to the centre of the seats, \"Here would do nicely. What do you think?\"

\"Sounds good.\" He let her sit down and then rested himself into the seat next to her. While setting his drink down, he realized that the arm rest swung up out of the way so the seats could be turned into a makeshift couch. \"Very interesting,\" he said as he raised the arm up a little. \"Up or down?\"

\"You decide,\" she grinned sheepishly before taking a drink.

He pushed it up and back out of the way. \"That\'s better.\" The movie started and they got settled.

Natasha watched Samuel for a while missing the first few minutes of the movie. He was really cute. She thought remembering what Riza had said. She kissed him on the cheek and turned to watch the movie.

He settled in next to her for the movie. It was an ok flick, but his attention kept being pulled by the woman sitting next to him. Sometime during the movie, he discovered that his hand had mad it onto her thigh again and his fingers were making little circles on her nylons.

Natasha was too scared to even notice what was going on until a slight shiver ran down her spine. She looked down at his hand and covered it with one of her colder ones.

As the movie ended Sam\'s hand was still on her thigh, though somehow it had moved itself up to the top of the split in her dress. As the lights came up, he smiled sheepishly and pulled his hand back.

Natasha blushed and looked back at the screen, \"Liked it?\"

\"The movie or your thigh?\"

She only laughed, \"Come on,\" she said, \"Lets go.\"

They walked together back to the truck. It had turned even colder and he hurried to get the heater on so she wouldn\'t have to sit there in a cold vehicle in her dress.

\"I had a wonderful night,\" Natasha said as she got into the truck and put her belt on, \"Thank you.\"

\"You\'re very welcome.\" He put the vehicle in gear and headed back towards her place. \"We going to your place or to Riza\'s?\"

\"My place,\" she said, \"Riza is going to take Samantha home tomorrow for me.\"

\"Hope you got the heat on tonight. It\'s liable to get cold inside tonight. Better take a heater to bed with you.\"

Natasha laughed at that then looked out the window. She swallowed nervously, \"I plan to,\" she muttered more to herself than to him.

Missing the inflection, Sam drove to her place. The lights were out since no-one was home so he shut down the truck and went around to help Natasha out.

She took his hand and dug into her purse. She lifted a small remote device and the outside lights to the house came on. She walked up to the door and opened it. Flipping a near by switch she go the lights on, \"come in or do you have to go?\"

\"Only thing waiting for me at my apartment is a cockatiel and I already fed her for the night.\" He stepped into the house behind her.

Natasha dumped her shoes at the door and walked into the living room. She then dropped her purse on the counter and turned to the kitchen, \"Would you like anything?\"

\"No thanks. I\'m good.\" he said as he leaned on the wall of the archway leading into the kitchen.

Natasha turned to look at him, \"What now?\"

\"What do you mean what?\"

\"I don\'t know what comes next,\" she admitted.

\"Oh,\" Sam had thought she was upset because he didn\'t want a drink or something to eat. \"Well, its your place, your rules.\"

\"My rules huh,\" she said as she walked back towards him. She stopped on the other side of the wall and lifted her face close to his, \"And what if I want to be kissed?\"

He gave her a sly grin. \"Your rules. I guess you get what you want. You just have to come get it.\"

She lifted a brow at him, \"Do you intend to play hard to get?\"

\"No, I just want to make sure that you get what you want, not what I want. I\'m old fashioned that way.\"

She smiled, \"I see,\" she said before brushing her lips against his.

As her lips touched his and then stopped he frowned a little, \"you teasing me?\"

She chuckled, \"Maybe,\" she said and brushed her lips against his again, \"What do you think?\"

He felt some of the tension that they had earlier, only now realizing it was a sexual tension. In a husky voice with just a little bit of humor he responded, \"I hated it, you should stop teasing me.\"

\"Make me,\" Natasha dared him as she brushed her lips against this but this time she allowed her tongue to snake out and taste him.

He felt a burning low in his chest. He stood there for a moment. \"You wouldn\'t like me to make you stop I bet.\"

Natasha stepped back, \"alright then I\'m going to bed,\" she turned away and smiled as she walked towards the stairs leading up to her bedroom.

\"Now who\'s playing hard to get?\" he said to himself as he caught up to her at the bottom of the stairs. Spinning her around by one arm, he pulled her close to him, feeling her struggle back a little in what he hoped was mock defiance. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. It was a firm kiss, one that said more than just \'hi\'.

Natasha moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck, \"Now that\'s better,\" she said in a husky voice.

Sam reached down and picked her up and felt as she wrapped her legs around his waist. With little effort, he climbed the steps while still kissing her, their tongues exploring each other while her hands ran though his hair. When they got to the top, Sam pressed her back against the wall, grinding her against it.

\"mmm,\" she moaned, \"Never done this before.\" She laughed and kissed him before he could answer. She knew she will have a bruise in the morning but right now she didn\'t care.

Sam pulled her from the wall and continued to kiss her as he got to the first door in the hallway. Turning the knob he almost fell over when his foot hit a teddy bear. \"Obviously not the room we want to do this in.\"

\"Ah no,\" she said, \"The door behind you. Wouldn\'t this go better if I was walking?\"

\"Nah, I just have to watch where I am going.\" He opened the door to her room and walked in, still carrying Natasha

Natasha smiled as her back landed against the bed softly. She scooted up towards the pillows and waited for him to come down with her.

He kicked off his shoes and crawled on all fours from the foot of the bed up to Natasha slowly, more of a prowl, if his body were really leant to that type of motion that is.

Natasha smiled and slid down underneath his body. She felt a pang of nervousness and a little bit of \'what ifs\' she swallowed hard, closed her eyes then looked up at him.

Natasha opened her eyes to bare chest. Her head was resting on someone\'s chest. She smiled and looked up at Sam. She had done it but for some reason she didn\'t feel guilty at all. She turned her head and kissed his chest.


A warm sensation brought Sam out of his slumber. The heaviness on his chest told him that his memories of the night before hadn\'t been a dream. Sliding a hand over skin that wasn\'t his, he felt the smoothness of a delicate woman under his touch. A smile broke on his face as he parted his eyes slowly to look down his chest.

She smiled up at him, \"Morning,\" she said as she raised herself until she was holding herself up on her elbow, \"You ok?\"

She smiled and kissed his chest again, \"Want some breakfast?\"

\"I usually don\'t eat breakfast, but it sounds good today. Though, that would mean moving, and right now, that is the last thing I want to do.\" Moving meant getting out of bed, and returning to real life, not something he really felt like doing, not when one is in bed with a beautiful woman.

Natasha tilted her head to one side then smiled at him. She moved up his body so that she was looking down into his face, \"Alright,\" she said as she lowered her head to kiss him.

He returned the kiss while rubbing her bum with one hand as most of her body was next to him on the bed. When she raised her head, he had to smile at her. \"You are very pretty, you know that?\"

She looked down away from him, \"Thank you,\" she said as her stomach growled, \"Fell like rethinking that decision about no breakfast just yet?\"

\"Yeah, I gotta use the facilities anyway,\" he said as he smiled at her. Only then did he realize that he wasn\'t in his apartment either. \"As soon as I can find them that is.\"

She laughed and pointed to the other side of the bed, \"That door over there is my private bathroom,\" she told him, \"There are towels to your right if you want to take a shower.\"

\"Yeah, that sound like a good idea. Not that I minded getting all sweaty with you, but I\'ll have to face the day at some point.\"

She smiled and kissed him again before rolling away from him so he could get up, \"Alright you\'re free!\" she giggled.

He gave a fake frown. \"Aww.. I liked being pinned down by a pretty prison guard.\" He rolled out of bed and stood up. Feeling self conscious about his figure, he quickly stepped into the bathroom and pulled the door half closed.

Natasha smiled as she watched him hurry away. She lay back down and was about to close her eyes when the doorbell rang. She moaned and reached for her white robe. She pulled it on and hurried down the stairs as the bell rang again, \"Coming!\" she called as she ran.

She pulled the door open to see Riza and Samantha there. \"Come in,\" she said. Riza giggled, \"Do you know what time it is?\" Riza asked. \"No what time?\" Natasha asked

Sam turned on the shower and took his time cleaning himself. When he finished he walked out in a towel to an empty room. As he was putting on his shirt, he heard Riza\'s voice. ~Damn... this can\'t be good, he thought to himself.~

Natasha took Samantha in her arms and kissed her daughter, \"He\'s still here isn\'t he?\" Riza whispered to Natasha. Natasha smiled a little, \"Yah he\'s taking a shower.\" Riza smiled with satisfaction, \"Want me to take Samantha out for a bit?\" Natasha thought about it but shook her head, \"Nah,\" she said, \"Keep her here and let me go clean up.\"

Sam quickly dressed and was standing next to the bed when Natasha came back up the stairs. \"We\'ve been caught red handed I take it?\"

She laughed and kissed him, \"Well if I didn\'t know better I would say Riza wanted this to happen,\" she walked into the bathroom and stepped into the shower.

Sam walked over to the door to the bathroom. \"So I take it breakfast is off?\" He felt a little silly, Ten years ago, this wouldn\'t have been a problem, he would just walk downstairs, say hi, and make himself some toast; never think twice about it. But now he felt embarrassed.

\"Not by a long shot,\" Nat called over the shower, \"we are having breakfast and its going to be good.\"

\"Good,\" he said with more bravado than he felt. \"Should I go down and get started on something or wait for you?\"

Natasha turned her back to the water to wash the suds off, \"What would you like to do?\" she called, \"I know this might be a little awkward for you.\"

\"I\'m ok with it, as long as I know it is ok for you. Its not like your daughter is waiting downstairs and you would have to explain what I\'m doing here to her.\"

Natasha panicked and turned off the water. She stepped out and wrapped a giant towel around her body, \"Actually Sam is downstairs,\" she said, \"But I don\'t mind.\"

The door to the bathroom opened as Sam pushed it slowly. \"She\'s downstairs? Now it is getting awkward.\"

She walked over to him and kissed him, \"ok then we will go down together? Or you can go if you want. I will totally understand.\"

\"I want to stay, but I\'ll let you do the talking, ok?\"

She smiled as she walked over to her dresser. She sat down and rubbed the towel over her skin. She placed it down and squirted some perfume on her skin before she got dressed in a jeans pants with a white tank. she brushed her hair back then smiled, \"ready?\"

He watched her get dressed. It was both calming and stimulating at the same time. He thought about giving them a reason to each take another shower, but pushed the thought off as she walked over to him. \"Yeah, I\'m as ready as I\'m going to get.\"

She walked out the door and turned to make sure he was following her. She smiled as she walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to see Riza pouring some cereal for Samantha. The little girl smiled, \"Good morning,\" she called to Sam.

Sam walked down the stairs, trying to make himself at least look unconcerned. As he walked into the kitchen, he saw Riza and she gave him one of those I-know-what-you\'ve-been-doing looks. He just grinned at her.

Riza gave Samantha her cereal as Natasha moved to the stove and began preparing some eggs and bacon. She turned to Riza to see her grinning like a prized idiot. \"What?\" Nat asked her. She only giggled, \"Listen girl I have to go take that husband of mine out, I\'ll call later.\" She looked at Sam, \"Sam,\" she said it in a -I-know-what-you-did-last-night voices.

Sam nodded at Riza and tipped his non-existent hat. \"Riza,\" he said in a you-don\'t-know-what-you-missed voice.

Natasha only turned back to her work. She set places for both her and Sam then added and extra plate for her daughter. She started the coffee maker then turned to Sam, \"Coffee or tea?\"

~Well, I already had the \'me\',~ he thought to himself. \"Coffee please,\" he said out loud and sat down at the table.

She placed two mugs down on the table then brought out milk and sugar. She then placed the her cooking on the table with toasted and un-toasted bread. She then opened the fridge and pulled out a large glass container of orange juice and placed that on the table.

\"Thanks,\" he intoned and picked up the coffee black and took a sip.

She smiled, \"Samantha how was your night?\" she asked. Samantha began to ramble all the things Riza made her do.

He listened intently, surprised that Sam didn\'t say anything about him being here, and coming down from upstairs.

Natasha smiled, \"I told her not to give you sweets before bed,\" she said then turned and sat down with the butter for the toast. \"So,\" Samantha turned to Sam, \"Do you like my mommy?\"

Sam paused, taking another swig of coffee to gather his thoughts. \"Your mommy is a very nice person yes.\" He looked over at Natasha and then back to Sam. Leaning forward, he smiled at her. \"Well, most of the time she is.\"

Natasha faked a gasp then crunch on a piece of bacon, \"That\'s nice to know,\" she said still a little surprised that Samantha had asked something like that.

\"Well, you were a lot of help,\" he said as he smiled at Natasha.

\"You\'re welcome,\" she smiled, \"Anytime.\" Samantha giggled as she watched her mom stare at the man, \"Well its ok,\" Samantha said happily, \"I think she likes you too.\"

He couldn\'t help but smile. \"Don\'t be too sure. I\'m sure she is just being nice to me because you are here.\" He gave a smile to Natasha to let her know that he was only kidding.

Natasha poked her tongue out at him after she swallowed some coffee, \"Well we shall see,\" she said looking at her clock, \"Mantha what do you say about a picnic today? inside?\" Samantha clapped her hands, \"Can he come?\"


\"Um... I guess I can.. If your mommy wants me to that is.\" Sam wasn\'t the picnic type, but he couldn\'t say no to the girl

Natasha smiled as she chewed, \"You are welcome to come along,\" she smiled. Samantha grinned, \"She said yes so now will you come?\"

\"Sure, I\'ll come along.\"

Natasha grinned, \"Good,\" she said, \"You two go watch television or something while I get some stuff together. or do you have to be somewhere first?\" she turned to Sam.

\"I don\'t have anything that I know of.\" Sam stood and waited for the girl to walk into the living room. He followed and sat down on the couch to wait. An awkward feeling came over him; he wasn\'t quite sure what to do now. Things between Natasha and he had changed a lot in the last twenty-four hours.

Samantha picked up a remote and pressed a button. The television began rising out of the wall in front of the sofa. She turned to Sam, \"What do you want to watch?\"

\"Whatever you normally watch is fine I guess.\" The moving TV was a nice touch and Sam found himself wondering how it was wired up; must be the engineer in him.

Samantha flipped stations until she got to blues clues. She sat cross legged on the ground and watched. Natasha made sandwiches. She pulled some freezer pops from the fridge and placed them in a cooler. Along with a bottle of wine, some soda some grapes. She packed some apples and other fruits and vegetables.

Sam let his mind wander as the animated blue dog ran across the screen, giving her little sounds in agreement to the real man in the green striped shirt. It seemed a little early for a picnic lunch, or was the feeling just because he had gotten up late this morning?

Natasha looked at the clock. It was almost one pm. She called into the office and sat at her desk to see how her building was getting along.

Sam put his head back and after a while felt comfortable enough to doze off.

Natasha finished her calls and walked into the living room to see Sam napping and her daughter was sitting beside him on the couch staring at him. Natasha picked Samantha up, \"I like him mom,\" Samantha whispered to her mom. Nat smiled, \"Yah me too.\"

With a start Sam woke up, surprised to see Natasha standing nearby. \"Sorry, I guess I must have zonked for a little while. Did I miss anything?\"

\"Nothing,\" she lied, \"I have the basket all read. We can go as soon as Samantha\'s show is over.\"

He stood up and walked over to her. \"Sounds good. Can I get a glass of water?\"

\"Sure,\" Natasha said as she stepped out of the way to sit down with Samantha, \"You know where the kitchen is.\"

\"So much for the hospitality,\" he said with a smile as he walked over and drew a glass.

Natasha sat down with her daughter just as blues clues were ending and Dora was slated to be up next. Samantha rested against Natasha as they watched.

Sam sat back down on the couch and waited until they were ready to go. He really didn\'t have anything to do today, so killing time here was as productive as killing time at home. The view, however, was better here.

When the show was over Natasha stood up with Samantha, \"Ready?\" she asked Sam who seemed to be in another world all to himself, \"Sam?\"

He cursed himself for zoning on her again. \"Right here. Sorry, those show\'s cause my brain to shut down for a while. I\'m ready when you are.\"

Natasha smiled. placing Samantha down she held her hands as they walked into the kitchen. She picked up the basket and set off down a corridor. They walked through a long glass corridor then down some stairs then into an indoor garden, \"Riza built this for me a few years ago as a birthday present,\" she explained as Samantha spread the blanket.

\"Heck of a present. She either must really like you, or she was paying you back for something.\" The place was impressive, from the lighting to the selection of flowers.

Natasha laughed and sat down next to Samantha, \"Well I did help her with her wedding and she is after all my bestfriend,\" she said, \"It is peaceful here.\"

\"That it is.\" He took one last look around and lowered himself onto the ground. \"You do the picnic thing often?\"

\"Sam here loves to,\" she said handing her daughter a freezer pop, \"I try to make it a frequent thing with her.\" She opened pulled out some plates and began setting up.

The food looked good and Sam\'s stomach growled with anticipation. \"It looks good.\" It sounded lame and Sam knew it, but he was running out of small talk. Now that the sex was over, hopefully for just the time being, he was starting to feel awkward.

Samantha bit into a sandwich then went into kneeling position, \"Mom can I go see Ducky?\" she asked. Natasha looked behind her then nodded, \"Sure sweetheart, but be careful.\" Samantha nodded, \"Aww mom, I can swim.\" she complained. \"I mean it Samantha.\" Samantha pouted, \"Alright.\" she ran off behind same flowers.

\"Ducky?\" Sam asked confusedly as he watched the young girl walk away.

\"Yah,\" Natasha said swallowing, \"Its a fish.\"

\"Wouldn\'t it be \'fishy\' then?\" he said as he smiled and picked up a sandwich. It promised to be an interesting picnic.


\"well Samantha has a habit of naming things differently than we do,\" Natasha said as we watched him, \"This has become awkward hasn\'t it?\"

He nodded slightly. \"Yeah, a little. I guess I wasn\'t expecting this,\" he looked around at the garden, \"when I woke up this morning. To be honest I don\'t know what I expected. We have had a rather... turbulent... past. Not that I don\'t enjoy this, I really do.\"

\"But you don\'t want to do this,\" Natasha said with a sigh. She placed her half eaten sandwich down and dropped her plate back into the basket, \"You can leave now,\" she stood up and turned to find Samantha, \"Samantha? Honey...lets go!\" she said walking to find her daughter.

Sam stood up. \"Don\'t be that way. I said I was enjoying being with you and Sam. It\'s just not what I am used to.\"

\"Samantha?\" Natasha called. Samantha looked up to see her mom coming towards her, \"Yes mom,\" she answered. \"Lets go baby.\" She scooped Samantha up and made a mental note to stop doing that then turned to walk back.

Samuel watched as Natasha walked back towards him with her daughter in her arms. He didn\'t know what to say though, not sure what Natasha was thinking.

Natasha knew it. Most men didn\'t want anything to do with her because of Samantha. She placed Samantha down as she began to pack up the basket.

Stooping to help her with the stuff he leaned over to Natasha. \"I didn\'t mean to upset you. I\'d like to see you again, if that is ok with you and Sam.\"

\"Fine with me,\" Samantha blurted out. Natasha stopped in the middle of grabbing things and looked at her daughter. Samantha didn\'t like Steve or Henry why did she like Sam so much? She tried to read her daughter but knew better, \"Alright,\" she said silently.

Smiling Samuel stood up. \"Great. It\'s a date, for the three of us.\" It wasn\'t that Sam didn\'t like kids, but he had very little experience with them.

Natasha smiled. Samantha only giggled and took off again. Shaking her head she sat down. \"You won\'t have a problem with where I live?\"

\"What do you mean?\" he asked with a confused look on his face.

\"I mean one of my other dates dumped me because I made more money than he did,\" Natasha said, \"He didn\'t like that and wanted me to quit my job.\"

He fought the urge frown. \"No, I don\'t care that you make more than I do. Don\'t get me wrong. I make good money, but probably not as much as you do. I don\'t care really, as long as you are happy.\"

She looked at him and at that point she had to kiss. She did then smiled shyly.

\"Thanks.\" was all he could think to say after he returned the kiss. \"I should go get some clean clothes on. See you later?\"

\"Dinner...wanna cook with me?\" she asked knowing that was huge step.

\"Um... I\'d be happy to. You mean like real food, not TV dinners? I just have a tendency to eat like a college student. But I can give it a try.\"

Natasha laughed, \"Real food,\" she said walking up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist and pulled in close, \"Don\'t worry I\'ll make it worthwhile.\"

He put his hands on her shoulders, feeling a little silly and nervous at the same time. \"I look forward to it,\" he said as he gave her a kiss on the forehead; figuring it was bad form to stick his tongue down her throat with her daughter watching.

She smiled and closed her eyes as his lips toughed her forehead, \"I\'ll see you later,\" she said, \"Sam and I are going out shopping for groceries so I\'ll see you then.\"

\"Alright,\" he said as he let her go, letting the tips of his fingers trail down her arms. Turning to Sam, he smiled. \"See you later sport.\"

\"Bye bye!\" Samantha called waving at him. Natasha blew him a kiss then turned to walk back to her daughter.

Waving he left the garden and worked his way back to the truck, feeling all the world like he had found something; something he had been lacking for a long time. Starting the truck, his mind wandered to the night they had, the morning they shared, and the future which hopefully they would be able to spend together.

\"Sweetie how about we go do some grocery shopping for later?\" she asked as her daughter bit into a sandwich. Samantha nodded as she chewed, \"Ok,\" she said, \"Can I put the quarter to get the shopping cart?\" Natasha kissed her head, \"Sure thing babe.\"


Sam spent the day at his apartment trying to figure out what to do or say when he saw Natasha again. Things were so odd and wonderful at the same time. Finally as the hour approached, he gathered his things and climbed into his truck for the drive to Natasha\'s.

Natasha had spent the day shopping with Samantha. She had even gone as far as to buy candles and some sexy outfits for the night. She grinned and blushed as Samantha had accidentally gotten a hold of the bag and asked what they were. She took the bag from Samantha and sent her to take a bath.

He pulled up outside, but sat in the vehicle for a while, just working up the nerve to go inside. Sure he had slept with her, and had gone to breakfast in the garden, but here he had left and was going back. Should he play it easy going, or cool, or maybe a little shy? ~Oh, who am I kidding, I\'m nervous as hell.~ Summoning up the nerve, he got out of the truck and walked up to the door.

Natasha had taken a shower and put on a nice blue pair of jeans and a white tank top. She had taken the time to pull her hair back. She looked up as the door bell rang then went and opened the door, \"Heya,\" she greeted him then kissed him on the nose, \"Come on in.\"

\"You look marvelous, Natasha.\" Sam returned her kiss with one of his own lightly on her cheek. \"So, what are we making this evening?\"

She blushed at how quickly he changed the subject from how marvelous she looked, \"We are making Spaghetti and meatballs,\" she said as she walked into the kitchen. Samantha saw Sam and darted towards him, \"You\'re back!\"

Sam knelt down and held his arms out. \"Hey champ. How are you tonight?\"

\"Good!\" Samantha said running into his arms without hesitation, \"Mama bought something special for supper and she said she bought you something special too!\" Samantha began to babbled. Natasha blushed heavily then.

Sam looked at Natasha slyly, as he talked to Samantha. \"Oh? Well, lets home she has good taste, in both regards.\" He let her go and just sort of stood in the middle of the room, not knowing whether to go into the kitchen to help make dinner, or to sit down if they weren\'t starting right away.

Natasha brought back a two glasses of wine and a glass of sprite for Samantha. She handed Samantha her \'wine\' Then handed Sam his, \"Mommy I\'m gonna play games,\" she said, \"can I?\" Natasha grinned, \"Yah,\" she said, \"Just do not get drinks on the computer.\"

Sam watched the girl walked off excitedly to the computer room. He in turn sat down on the couch and settled into the back of it. With a quick smell, he took a sip of the wine. \"Very nice, both the wine and the company.\"

Natasha grinned as she sat down to snuggle up against him, \"You\'re nervous aren\'t you?\" she asked, \"I can tell because you get this look in your eyes when you\'re nervous.\"

He put his arm around her. \"Yeah, a little I guess. I\'m not sure why, really.\"

She snuggled into his warmth, \"I know,\" she said, \"This are moving a little fast. If you want to back off I can understand. Its...Samantha likes you for some reason...and I do too.\"

He was surprised that the words hurt him a little. \"No, no. I\'m fine. Just haven\'t been this close to a woman in a while.\"

She placed her drink down and uncurled herself to look into his eyes, \"I am scared to tell you how I really feel Sam,\" she said, \"I have done this before and it ended badly..really bad.\"

Sam simply nodded. \"Yeah, I haven\'t had that much luck either. But I\'m happy being here with you.\"

Natasha closed her eyes. She felt as though she would explode if she didn\'t say it, \"I love you Sam,\" she said, then climbed off him and walked into the kitchen. She began preparing supper. when she was nervous she had to keep her hands busy.

Sam sat there dumbfounded for a moment as she walked into the kitchen. Almost in a trance, he got up and walked to the doorway to the kitchen. He stood there for a few moments admiring her, before walking up to her. As he stood behind, her he inhaled her scent for a moment. Finally, he put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around. \"I love you too.\"

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, \"I\'m sorry I don\'t mean to cry,\" she said wiping the tears away angrily, \"I love you,\" she said pressing into him.

Sam wrapped his arms around her and pulled into him. He fought back his own tears as he put his cheek on the top of her head. \"You ok?\"

\"I-I,\" she started but tears got in the way, \"I\'m ok,\" she tried again, \"I am good. you ok?\"

He noticed that he didn\'t feel nervous anymore, or at least not nearly as bad as he felt a little while ago. \"Never better. Honestly.\"

She looked up at him, \"want to cook now?\" she asked, \"I think Samantha probably thinks we are going to starve her to death,\" she said smiling up at Sam. She hoped he would get the hint and kiss her already.

He looked around and didn\'t see Samantha around, so he reached down and lifted Natasha up onto the counter. \"In a minute. There is something I need to do first.\"

Natasha giggled as he lifted her, \"Really now?\"

He didn\'t answer her, he just slid his arms up her legs and leaned forward, kissing her softly on the lips, slowing letting the kiss build into a long deep, loving kiss and embrace.

Natasha moaned and allowed herself to melt against him. She felt alive when he kissed her. Her hands moved from being buried in his hair to rubbing his back, \"Wow,\" she said trying to catch her breath.

\"You\'re a hell of a kisser Miss Friedmont.\" He took a breath, relishing the taste of her mouth on his. \"So, what is it we were supposed to cook?\"

Natasha laid against him still trying to breath normal, \"Spaghetti,\" she let out slowly, \"And thank you,\"

He looked down at the top of her head. \"Thank you for what?\"

She blushed, \"I\' m not going to repeat it.\"

\"Why not? It was fun the first time.\"

She laughed, \"Put me down will you,\" she said smiling, \"We have to make supper before Samantha\'s bed time.\"

He picked Natasha up off the counter and let her slide down the front of him as he lowered her to the floor. \"Ok, so where do we start?\"

\"you get the spaghetti from that cupboard over there,\" she pointed to the cupboard as she grabbed a stainless steel pot and began filling it with water.

Sam went and got the spaghetti from the cupboard and handed it out to Natasha. As she reached for it, though, he pulled it away with a smile. \"So, what did you buy for me? Samantha said something about a \'special\' present.\"

\"I\'m not telling,\" she said blushing, \"Its a surprise.

\"Very interesting. I can\'t wait to see it. Whatever it is,\" he said as he handed over the noodles.

She took then and stuck her tongue out at him. She placed the pot on the stove and turned it on, \"Riza made our spaghetti sauce, wanna taste?\"

\"Sure, I\'m always good for a taste of something.\" He walked up behind Natasha and wrapped his arms around her.

She giggled, \"Not that,\" she said turning her head so she could kiss his cheek. She stirred the put then lifted the spoon to Sam, \"here taste.\"

Sam took a taste. \"Needs a little spice, but not bad at all.\"

\"Picky picky,\" she said turning into his arms. She kissed him then turned back. She began putting spices into it and stirring again, \"Now taste.\"

\"Mmm.. Much better,\" he said and then lowered his voice. \"Spreadable substances.\"

She blushed and jabbed him playfully in the ribs. \"I have something to ask you,\" she said turning into his arms.\"

He raised an eyebrow. \"What is it my dear?\"

\"Well,\" she said not sure how she should out it, \"I own a cabin up north, and was thinking, can you get away for a weekend?\"

He rocked back on his heels for a moment. \"Yeah, I think I can get away from my busy home life for a weekend. When do you want to go?\"

\"Next weekend,\" she said, \"Just you and me. Alone, in the woods,\" she said winking at him and moving in closer.

\"Mmm... That sounds good. You, me, a warm blanket, and a bottle of wine in the cold north? Sounds heavenly.\"

She laughed, \"good,\" she said, \"Riza has agreed to watch Samantha for me. So we can go? Truly?\"

\"Of course we can. How can I say no to an angel like you?\"

She giggled and kissed him then hugged him, \"Thank you thank you!\"

\"No, thank you. I\'m happy that you invited me.\" Sam grabbed a spoon and stirred the noodles. \"Can I ask you a question?\"

She looked at him as she bit down on her lower lip, \"Sure,\" she said, \"what\'s on your mind?\"

\"When did you change your mind? From me being a pain in the ass to someone you wanted to be... with?\"

She looked at the stove then back at him, \"When I was in the hospital after the accident,\" she told him truthfully.

Sam nodded. \"I think that I always liked you, since I first met you. I think I just played it off since you, well, played the ice queen so well.\"

\"Ice queen?\" Natasha asked as she leant in. She was about to kiss him when Samantha called out to her. She turned around, \"yes honey,\" she said. Samantha walked over to her, \"When\'s dinner?\" she asked. Natasha grinned, \"Ask slowpoke here.\" Samantha looked at Sam, \"So slowpoke when\'s dinner?\" Natasha burst out laughing.

\"Me? Your mother has been dragging her feet. The noodles are almost done, but she\'s sitting here trying to make the sauce taste good.\" Sam smiled as he leaned back against a cupboard.

Natasha stuck her tongue out at Sam and Samantha giggled. \"Here you go sweetie,\" Natasha said handing Samantha two wine glasses, \"Put this on the table for mommy.\"

He smiled at Sam\'s mother. \"Promises, promises.\" Sam pulled the noodles off the stove and drained them. \"Well, my part is done. Hurry up slowpoke.\"

Natasha walked up behind him and poked him in the sides. She shared some sauce out and handed Samantha some plates to put on the table. She then carried the sauce to the table and went back for garlic bread.

Sam went in and sat down at the table with Samantha. \"So, how did the game go, did you win?\"

\"No,\" Samantha pouted, \"I got eaten by a sea thingy.\"

\"That\'s too bad. But at least you get another chance tomorrow. Not like if you were really the one who got eaten.\"

Samantha giggled and looked up as her mom came back. Natasha placed a bottle of wine down, a bowl of garlic bread and bottle of sparkling wine for Samantha, \"Ok honey do you want to say grace?\" Samantha nodded as Nat sat down and closed her eyes, \"Dear lord bless this food and my family. Amen.\"

Sam felt a little awkward. He couldn\'t remember the last time he said grace, well about anything. Looking around, he thought to himself that he might have a word to two of thanks for Jesus, one word for a young girl, and one for a beautiful woman.

Nat rubbed her hands together, \"Alright,\" she grinned, \"Dig in!\" she began sharing some supper out for her daughter. She poured some sparkling wine for Samantha then shared for herself.

Sam took a helping of spaghetti and some garlic bread. The meal tasted wonderful, but he wasn\'t sure if it was the food or the company that made it taste so good.

Natasha laughed as Samantha had sauce all over her face. She leant in and kissed Samantha on the cheek, \"Mmm sauce,\" she said as Samantha laughed.

\"You two are something else, you know that?\" Sam got up and walked around the table to Samantha. Taking a piece of garlic bread, he wiped some of the sauce off her face with it and took a bite. \"You make some good sauce young lady.\"

Samantha giggled as she took a drink from her glass. Natasha watched the two of them and smiled as she chewed.

\"The question is, does your mother make good sauce?\" He looked at Natasha and saw a little spot of sauce on the corner of her mouth. Slowly he crept up to her and with a quick dart of his tongue, took the sauce off her corner of her mouth. Samantha, who couldn\'t see what exactly he did, laughed out loud at her mother\'s reaction.

Natasha gave Samuel a \'I\'m-gonna-get-you-back\' look then smiled at Samantha. \"You two are evil,\" she said, \"And you\'re supposed to be on my side,\" she said smiling at her daughter.

\"You kidding? She\'s on the winning side. And I\'m winning.\" Sam gave her a little peck on the cheek and sat back down. \"So, what does tomrrow hold in store?\"

\"I have my riding lessons,\" Samantha smiled proudly at Sam. Natasha grinned, \"I get to sleep in.\"

\"Who takes you to your riding lessons then Sam?\"

\"Aunty Riza,\" Samantha giggled

\"Well, that\'s nice. Who gets you ready if your mother sleeps in?\"

\"I get her ready,\" Natasha said chewing, \"It takes one hour then I dive back into bed.\"

\"I see,\" he said between bites. \"You two have this all worked out.\"

Natasha smiled at Samantha, \"Yes,\" she said, \"Yes we do.\" Samantha eyed Sam then grinned, \"are you staying with us?\"

Sam looked at Natasha and then back at Samantha. He didn\'t quite know how to answer her, without putting the wrong mental image in her head. \"That would be up to your mother.\"

Natasha chewed then placed her fork down. She was surprised Samantha asked that and was not prepared for it, \"Well that\'s fine with me,\" she said as she dabbed her mouth with her napkin, \"If you want.\"

Clearing his throat, he looked at Natasha. \"I\'d be happy to, if you\'ve got a spare bed.\"

Natasha giggled at that and sipped from her glass. She was about to tell him that she got a few but then she remembered Samantha, \"Sure do,\" she said instead.

\"Its settled then.\" Sam finished the food on his plate and pushed it away. \"You make a wonderful sauce Natasha.\"

She smiled proudly and looked over at Samantha, \"Would you like some cake sweetie?\" Samantha looked at her mom and nodded happily, \"Thanks mom,\" she said waving her desert fork in the air.

Sam just shook his head no. maybe he would get some dessert later, since he had been invited over and everything. \"I\'m full. Thanks.\"

Natasha smiled and got up to cut cake for both herself and her daughter. After dinner Natasha moved all the plates to the sink then went back to Samantha. She excused herself and got her little girl in a bath.

Sam got up from the table and walked into the living area. It was not huge but it was nice. Sitting down on the couch, he turned on the news and waited, not knowing how long it would take Natasha to return. As he sat there, his cell phone rang. It was he night foreman telling him about a problem with the building. It would wait until tomorrow Sam told him and hung up the phone.

Natasha was heading to tuck Samantha in but the little girl insisted on giving Sam a hug. Nat put the girl\'s PJs on then allowed her to run down the stairs to see Sam.

\"Well, look where I rate, a hug and everything,\" he said as the girl nearly lept onto his lap. \"Have a good night now and go to sleep right now. Don\'t want to miss out on your beauty sleep.\" Sam had never had any children but was told he was good with them. He figured it was much easier to be \'good\' with the ones you didn\'t own, than with the ones you did.

Samantha nodded and kissed him on the cheek before running back up the stairs. Nat read her a story then kissed her goodnight. She turned out the lights then went down the stairs. She flopped down beside Sam on the sofa.

\"Just got a call from the site. I shouldn\'t trouble you with it, but if I don\'t mention it I\'ll be thinking about it all night. There was a problem with the installation of an air exchanger this afternoon. No one was hurt, but they called me a few minutes ago.\"

Natasha let out a long breath. \"About time something went wrong,\" she said sitting up, \"Everything had been running way to smoothly.\"

\"Thanks. I think. Listen, I didn\'t\' mean to kill the mood.\" He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, but she seemed distant.

\"Its fine,\" she said with a smile at him. She moved closer and sat down with her head against his chest, \"I hope you don\'t think I am rushing things..Its just that Samantha likes you and having you around makes her happy...and me.\"

He smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. \"It\'s fine, at least its nicer than we started. Though the verbal sparring was sort of fun.\" The humor went out of his voice then, realizing that she was being serious. \"I\'m happy being here, right now.\"

Natasha looked up into his face and leant to kiss his chin, \"I\'m sorry about all that,\" she said, \"I dont know..I was starting to like you and it felt strange and I was angry at myself for liking you...its all complicated like that.\"

\"Yeah.\" he said simply. \"I liked you from the first moment you walked in, but it was odd, the more you pushed and acted like you didn\'t like me, the more enjoyable it was to push your buttons.\"

she poked him in the chest, \"All that time I thought you were a giant prick.\"

\"I was a giant prick. I just thought you were an ice queen who needed a good.... talking to.\" His face grew a lopsided grin at the last two words of his sentence.

She looked at him then. She pushed up so that her face was mere inches from his, \"Talking to?\" she asked smiling as watching his lips, \"Was that what you thought I needed?\"

\"Yeah, you needed a good talking to, to put you back in line as it were.\" He met her gaze and licked his lips slightly. She must have put on a dab of perfume when she was upstairs because he could smell the faint hint of lavender on her skin.

\"And you sure that was all you thought I needed?\" she pushed as she lowered her lips to his, \"A talking to...\" she trailed off as she kissed him.

He returned her kiss for a moment, then pulled back. \"Well, a talking to and perhaps a warmed bottom.\"

She grinned, \"Ah,\" she said as she placed a kiss on his nose, \"I love a warm bottom,\" she teased as she moved lower.

\"Somehow I don\'t doubt it,\" he said as he leaned his neck back, letting her have her way with it. \"Though, I don\'t think you\'d stand for it.\"

\"Smart man,\" she said nipping at his chin then moving to his neck. She kissed and nipped and bit her way down to the opening in his shirt, \"You thought right.\"

\"Maybe I should put it to the test,\" he whispered as he reached down and squeezed a handful of her bum while he let her kiss his chest.

Natasha giggled then moaned and moved back up his body. She kissed him right before pulling away, \"You wanna go upstairs?\"

\"Actually,\" he said as he drew one finger up across the nipple that was making itself very visible through her shirt. \"I like it here.\"

She whimpered a bit and closed her eyes, \"We cant stay here,\" she said when she could trust her voice to speak, \"Samantha might wake up.\"

Sam ran his finger in small circles around the protruding nipple. \"Isn\'t that half the excitement?\" Sam wasn\'t used to having kids in the house, so making love on the couch was a perfectly logical matter. After all, kids didn\'t just get up in the middle of the night, did they?

\"Right,\" Natasha said pulling away from him reluctantly and walking towards the stairs, \"You\'re welcomed to follow me.\" she walked up the stairs and picked up something from her cupboard. She then walked into her bathroom and freshened up then changed into it and pulled her robe around her. She waited by sitting on the covered toilet, to see what he would do.

He watched her walk away and got up, hoping he hadn\'t killed the mood. He walked up the stairs and into the bedroom where he started a couple mornings ago. Sam didn\'t see her in the room so he started looking for her. Walking into the bathroom, he saw her sitting on the toilet in a robe. He leaned against the door frame of the washroom. \"Sorry about that, back there.\"

\"Apology accepted,\" she smiled, \"I have a surprise for you.\"

\"Oh? he said as he came away from the door and stood in front of her. \"What is it?\"

She stood up and walked the couple of steps it took to reach him. \"Take off my robe.\"

\"How can I refuse an offer like that?\" he asked as he untied the sash of the robe and let it fall open. Sliding his hands up he slid the robe off her shoulders and let it fall to the ground.

Nat hoped the outfit was right. The sales clerk had told her that it would make any man\'s mouth hang open. She had jokingly asked if it would work if the man was gay and the sales clerk had only blushed and repeated heavy. Nat waited.

Sam ran the tips of his fingers along the lace white, translucent corset. Natasha looked beautiful in it. She wore a pair of white panties that ran high on her hips. \"You look wonderful.\"

\"Then the sales clerk was right,\" she grinned mischievously, \"I think I\'ll go to bed now.\" She hid a smile as she tried to walk pass him.

\"She was right,\" he said. As he watched her walk into the other room he noticed that the teddy was a thong than ran up her bum, reveling a very shapely side of her. As he tried to follow her, Sam noticed it was getting hard to walk. By the time he went into the room, she was curled up under the covers. Quietly, he unbuttoned his shirt as he watched her looking at him.

Natasha watched him with heated eyes. She smiled and moved over so that he could climb in with her. \"Come on Sam, I don\'t bite you know..Unless you want me to.\"

Sam stripped off his shirt and slid out of his pants, revealing that he had his own surprise, a pair of blue underwear that was a far cry from \'tighty-whities\'. He didn\'t wait for another invitation as he slid into bed with her. \"So, you still going to go to bed on me?\"

She only smiled and rolled her body until she was sitting astride him, \"Only if you want me to,\" she teased as she moved her bum down to sit on his arousal.

\"Not a chance,\" he whispered as he pulled her down into a deep kiss.


Natasha laughed at that and leant down to move her mouth over his nose, across his face to his cheek then down to his chin, \"Hrm,\" she said as she used her teeth to gently grazed his chin.

\"That\'s nice,\" Sam said as he leaned his head back to expose his neck to her. His thoughts passed back to their last encounter and the anticipation of how she\'d make this time better causing him to smile.

Natasha moved down his neck. Letting her tongue snake out to taste him. She ran her warm tongue over his skin and moved down to his chest. Across his nipples. She stop to bite down on each gently.

Sam flinched as she dragged her teeth against his sensitive skin. He ran his hands up her smooth thighs and he slid his fingers under her thong.

Natasha moaned and moved back up his body, \"That\'s not fair,\" she moaned as she kissed him.

\"What\'s not fair about it... you are on top.\" He accented his remark with a slight tug on the front of her underwear.

she laughed throatily, \"That can be fixed in a jiffy,\" she smiled as she moved against him. She pushed her bum back so that he was entering her. She moaned as she lowered her body over him, impaling herself to him. \"Now that\'s better!\"

Sam made a satisfied groan as he felt himself slide deep into Natasha. \"It certainly is,\" he said as he tightened his ass, driving himself deeper. No longer able to control his hands, they slid up her side until Sam had taken both of her full breasts into his hands.

Nat braced herself against his chest with both her hands and began moving on him. Each time she lowered her body she could feel him deep inside her. She wanted to scream but she remembered her daughter in the other room. She shuddered as a whimper left her lips.

He kneaded Natasha\'s breasts in his hands while rubbing her hard nubs between his fingers. His mouth watered like one of Pavlov\'s dogs as he stared at her breasts. The desire to have them in his mouth was almost overwhelming as he closed his eyes to focus on the sensations between his legs and fingers

Natasha felt her whole body tightening and a scream started building from deep within her. She lowered her body so that she was now pressing against Sam\'s chest. She buried her mouth against his neck and screamed against his skin as her whole body shook with her climax.

Pain shot through his neck as Natasha bit down into his neck, but it was mixed with pleasure as her walls tightened against him. The effect caused him to wrap his arms around her and pull Natasha against him as he felt himself achieve his own orgasm.

Nat slumped against Sam\'s neck and tried to catch her breath. \"Sorry about that,\" she said between breaths

\"mmm-huh,\" he muttered while running his hands through her hair. He lay there for a few moments until feeling returned to anything north of his navel. \"Sorry myself, I sorta forgot to... withdraw.\"

Natasha panicked for a second but turned her face away from his, \"I know,\" she said silently.

Sam pulled himself out and rolled her over to lie next to him. \"I\'m sorry,\" he whispered as he kissed her on the forehead.

\"Its fine Sam,\" she said moving her head. She sat up and moved closer to him then rested her head against him.

\"Ok.\" Sam hadn\'t had any kids of his own, and having one with her didn\'t really seem like a bad idea.

Natasha wrapped her arms over his chest and kissed his damp skin before closing her eyes. Before she drifted off to sleep, \"I love you Sam,\" she muttered then fell into a deep sleep.

Sam sat there for a moment, running the words through his head. Then, what to him seemed like an eternity, he finally turned and kissed head of the sleeping woman on his chest. \"I love you too,\" he whispered softly before joining her in the land of dreams.