Last Minute Substitute

part two

*********

John slouched on the sofa, sharing a bowl of popcorn with Sam. This was even better than taking them out to a movie, he thought cheerfully. It was turning into the evening he had been hoping for to begin with. Chloe was sprawled in the middle of the floor with Denzel. He wasn’t sure which of them had eaten more of Chloe’s popcorn. The Muppet movie had ended an hour ago and now they were more than halfway through "Sleeping Beauty". He couldn’t care less what they were watching. To spend an evening with his two favorite people he’d sit through anything.

As this thought crossed his mind he realized that Sam and Chloe really were the most important people in his life. He couldn’t think of anyone who mattered more to him. In fact, he couldn’t think of anyone who had ever mattered this much to him except his mother. Sam and Chloe felt like family. With a jolt he reminded himself that they might be family, but they weren’t his. He was only with them tonight by a lucky accident. But if he was ever given a choice… if anyone would ever bother to ask him what he wanted… he knew with certainty that this was it.

He looked at the woman on the sofa beside him and couldn’t help smiling. The last time they had been this close was New Year’s Eve. She had done a credible impression of Sleeping Beauty at thirty thousand feet.

The VCTF had been booked on the red-eye flight out of Salt Lake City on New Year’s Eve. By a lucky draw he had ended up in the seat next to Sam. She had been sympathetic about his lack of legroom, but he knew she didn’t really understand. She had thought he would be grateful to have an aisle seat. It wasn’t as helpful as she apparently believed. The stewardesses never let him stretch his legs in the aisle and they had never failed to hit him at least once with something as they walked past. As if to justify his thoughts a stewardess had promptly thumped him with a stack of pillows.

Sam had kindly tried not to laugh, but he had seen her smile. Strangely her smile had washed away most of his irritation with the whole flight. She didn’t smile often enough and when she did he was always in awe of how beautiful it was. Causing such a rare event had somehow become important to him. If he could coax one out of her once a day he considered it a major accomplishment. It might just be his imagination, but it seemed to be getting easier.

He wouldn’t have minded spending the five-hour flight talking to Sam, but the truth was he was exhausted. Fortunately he had developed the ability to sleep anywhere, through anything as a child. Within twenty minutes, he figured, he had been asleep. He woke up an hour or so later with Sam leaning on his shoulder. As he looked down at the blonde hair falling across his dark jacket the intercom crackled to life.

"Just wanted to let you folks know that they just dropped the Apple in New York. It’s now midnight on the East Coast. Happy New Year."

John glanced quickly at Sam but the announcement hadn’t penetrated her sleep. It had been a week ago that a Christmas tradition had allowed him to kiss her in the firehouse. Surely, he couldn’t be blamed for taking advantage of this tradition, too. He shifted in his seat as much as he thought he could without waking her and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"Happy New Year, Sam," he whispered. "Eastern Standard Time." He didn’t have a clue as to where they actually were, but midnight somewhere was good enough for him.

Her eyes hadn’t immediately fluttered open in delight so his analogy had a minor flaw, but to him she was certainly beautiful, asleep or awake. And maybe it was a good thing she hadn’t woken up. He wasn’t exactly Prince Charming.

Or was Prince Charming from "Cinderella", he wondered? He’d seen way too many Disney movies over the past few months. Before he started looking after Chloe he had never realized how many of them there were. And he definitely hadn’t expected to enjoy any of them. Still…

"The fight with the dragon should be longer," he muttered to himself. The movie was winding down and it drew him out of his reminiscing. He didn’t really care what they were watching, but he wouldn’t protest a little more action.

"It’s a kids’ movie," Sam whispered, startling him. "It’s fine the way it is."

"Did you notice that this princess was only sixteen, too? How’s that for a kids’ movie?"

Sam’s expression was one of long-suffering patience. They’d had this argument many times before.

"If Chloe runs off in another nine years and marries a prince," he persisted with a grin, "don’t blame me. You’re the one who’s letting her watch these movies."

"John Philip Grant," she with quiet amusement, "if watching you play hockey doesn’t turn her into a violent child, watching Disney movies isn’t going to turn her into a teenage bride."

He laughed softly and glanced down at Chloe. She was out cold. He knew that if Sam sent her to bed, it would be time for him to leave. To his surprise and relief, however, Sam pulled her feet up onto the sofa and settled herself more comfortably. It looked like she wasn’t planning on going anywhere for a while. He allowed himself to relax again as an old Mickey Mouse cartoon came on the television.

"Don’t say I didn’t warn you."

"John…"

*********

The closing credits for the old Mickey Mouse cartoon scrolled across the screen. Sam knew it was time to send Chloe to bed. Well past time. "Sleeping Beauty" had been over at ten. Sam was fairly sure Chloe had been asleep by then, but didn’t have the heart to wake her just to go to bed. And she had to admit that she was reluctant to rouse herself either. After the second movie had ended she and John sat through several Disney studio cartoons from the forties and fifties. There was something comforting about the old, familiar characters and lines.

There was also something comforting about John. She glanced at him and had to smile. It seemed so familiar to have him here on the sofa with his long legs stretched across the coffee table. As his dark head leaned against her shoulder she realized that he was almost asleep, too. Yet another short, holiday-themed cartoon began. Sam rested her cheek lightly against the top of his head and wondered briefly if she dared to change the channel. As she heard John’s soft, contented sigh she decided that it didn’t matter what was on.

Several more cartoons played quietly, unnoticed. Sam sat silently, watching her daughter sleep and listening to John breathe. She was startled when John suddenly sat up. He blinked rapidly and looked around quickly as if unsure of his surroundings. As abruptly as he had straightened he relaxed again, falling back against her shoulder.

"Bet you never thought I’d ask," he said, "but can we watch something else? I can only take so many singing ducks."

She obligingly scanned through the channels. He remained comfortably close. When the Tonight Show came on Sam found herself still curled up on the sofa beside John. They laughed quietly at Jay’s monologue, but Sam had to admit that her companion’s wisecracks were as funny as the professional’s. They spoke in whispers to avoid waking Chloe but finally she knew they couldn’t drag the night out any longer.

Chloe didn’t do more than sigh sleepily when John scooped her off the floor. The child was already in her pajamas so they merely turned down her bed and folded the blankets over her. She never even opened her eyes.

"Guess I should be going," John said when they were back in the living room. He gave her an oddly rueful look that she couldn’t quite understand until he spoke again. "Sorry about your date."

Her date? Oh, right. Her date. "It’s alright," she said and wasn’t really surprised to realize that it was the truth. "I’d almost forgotten," she admitted in embarrassment. She supposed she could hardly be blamed for not missing Coop. After spending the entire evening with John there had scarcely been time to notice that Coop wasn’t there. "You’re pretty good company."

"Anytime."

She smiled. It was a reflexive answer, but she knew that he meant it. There was a spark of something between them. Apprehension? Or anticipation? She wasn’t sure yet, but as she felt his arms close around her she was reminded of how often she had come to depend on him to be there, ready to catch her before she fell, both physically and emotionally.

"Shhh!" he said suddenly. "Hear that?"

"No. I don’t hear anything." She looked up and realized he was grinning.

"Exactly."

She rolled her eyes as he laughed quietly. As always, she was at a loss to explain how even his simplest, stupidest jokes could make her feel better, but they did. She was surprised by her own disappointment when his kiss landed on her cheek. She studied his face when he moved away. His expression was hopeful but cautious. Silently he seemed to be telling her that he wasn’t going to move too quickly. Part of her was impatient with his hesitation. But he’s right, she thought. Taking things slowly would be safer. He was too good a friend to lose and things could get very complicated very quickly.

"Happy Valentine’s Day, Sam," he said softly as he left.

Maybe that’s the secret, she thought as the elevator door closed. For a holiday with John to end well, it has to begin badly. She smiled at the idea as she went to check on Chloe. The girl was still sleeping soundly, so Sam decided to head for bed herself. She shook her head as she turned on the radio in her room.

It was tuned to a station she never listened to. She wasn’t sure what the motivation was, but for some reason Chloe had been changing all the radios in the apartment to country stations. She was doing the same thing in the car. It was as bad as riding with John. She was fairly certain John only did it to annoy his passengers, but she couldn’t figure out what Chloe was trying to do. Guess that’s what I get for trying to raise her in Georgia, she thought with a sigh.

Despite her half-hearted disdain for the music she found herself laughing softly at the lyrics to the song currently playing. It occurred to her that the quirky tone of some of these songs might actually appeal to John’s peculiar sense of humor. As she opened her dresser to pull out a nightshirt her gaze settled on the music box he had given her for Christmas. To her exasperation she still didn’t know what tune it played. As a slightly more serious song came on the radio Sam had a revelation. The song on the music box was a country song.

Transposing it to play on a music box had made it sound like a more classical piece but now she could almost recognize it. She wasn’t familiar enough with the genre to identify the song with any certainty, but she knew that she had heard it before. Suddenly Chloe’s actions became clear. Her daughter knew what the song was. She was subtly trying to help her mother figure it out. Sam realized by the delicate approach that Chloe wouldn’t… or couldn’t tell her outright what the song was. John had probably asked her not to.

His caution was frustrating. She knew he had been trying to say something with the music box and now she was more certain than ever that it was something important. It was with a mildly sinking feeling that she realized that she was going to have to start listening to country music.

*********

Lost Scene

 

"George, what are you doing?"

He looked up at Grace guiltily. "Nothing. Not a thing."

"George..." She drew his name out in a mildly threatening tone as she leaned over his computer screen. "You’re monitoring ATF channels? Why?"

"Oh, look," he said brightly, turning quickly back to the display. "A bomb threat in Florida. Not too close. Not too far. Don’t you think the people of Jacksonville deserve the best?"

"George Fraley!" She stared as his fingers flew across the keyboard. "You know he has a date with Sam tonight."

"Yep." He continued to type. "Damned inconvenient, being called away at the last minute." He glanced at his watch. "That date was for seven-thirty, wasn’t it?"

Grace watched as a situation update flashed across the screen. "John volunteered to look after Chloe tonight," she said thoughtfully.

"Did he? I don’t think they’ll really be needing a baby-sitter tonight."

"If any of them ever find out..."

"I know. I know," he grinned. "My head in a box. My body never found. Such are the hazards of life on the edge." He looked up at her, serious for a moment. "He’s my friend, Grace. He deserves a chance… And he is never going to get around to asking her out on his own."

"Well, I hope he has enough sense to take advantage of this chance," she shook her head slowly, "because it’s going to be pretty difficult for you to set up something like this again from prison. If he’s a really good friend he might even come visit you." She gave him a sudden, suspicious look. "Were you playing with the front entrance security system this morning?"

"Playing?" he protested. "I was testing. You know, I’d heard that with the right codes you can lock a key card completely out of the system."

"Is that so?"

"It’s true. I tested a random card this morning and it worked."

"A random card?"

"Completely random," he innocently agreed. "I guess I really ought to tell Bailey..."

"Tell Bailey what?" a gravelly voice asked. George and Grace turned to see the head of the VCTF walking in.

"Bailey… Hi," George said. "There you are." He looked wide-eyed at his boss and went blank.

"What did you need to tell me?" Bailey asked again.

"The glitch," Grace supplied. "In the program."

"Right, a glitch," George recovered abruptly. "There’s a loophole in the back-up security system that covers the main entrance checkpoint. It will totally lock out a pass card. I can show you the program lines…"

Bailey waved it off. "Show it to the tech guys. If you say it, I believe it. Just get it fixed."

"Right." George nodded once. He exchanged a quick, worried glance with Grace as Bailey began rifling through the filing cabinet in the corner of the room. She gave a minute shrug and picked up the nearest printout. George began to type industriously, as Grace became engrossed in the report.

At last, Bailey located the folder he was searching for and closed the drawer. The conspirators watched him head for the door. Their collective sigh of relief was arrested, however, when he stopped in the doorway and looked back.

"Oh, and George," he said as he walked out, "we can run a chopper to Jacksonville in less than an hour. It’s an hour and a half one-way to Little Rock, not counting the time it would take get clearance… They’d probably appreciate the help, too."

The two agents stared at their superior’s retreating back before turning to stare at each other.

"You heard the man," Grace said finally. She shook her head as another update flared on the monitor. "But if anybody asks..."

"I know. You never saw a thing."

"I was never even here."

* * * * *

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