Pinch-Sitter

Sam sat at her desk staring at her telephone. She knew she had to call him and was dreading it.

"Hello? Earth to Sam."

Startled, she looked up to see John leaning on her doorframe, mug of hot tea in his hand.

"Everything okay?" he asked. "You look a little wigged."

"Wigged?" she repeated.

"Okay, not wigged. Just frazzled."

"Frazzled?"

"Fine." He dropped onto her sofa. "Stop me when I get to an adjective you like." He grinned charmingly at her and despite her dilemma she had to smile back. "So? What gives?"

Her smile faded and she waved vaguely in the air. "It’s nothing. Nothing important."

John waited patiently, eyebrows raised to prompt her. Sam sighed.

"Okay. It’s just… Angel got a call to go show some pieces to a potential buyer in Chattanooga today and she won’t be back until tomorrow morning. I was going to do something tonight, but since Angel won’t be back to look after Chloe…"

"You need a babysitter so you can go out with Coop tonight," he interrupted.

"No."

He raised his eyebrows again.

"I was going to cancel." She began untangling her phone cord.

"I’ll do it."

"Cancel?" She looked at him blankly.

"No." He swirled the contents of his mug before glancing up at her. "I’ll look after Chloe. It’ll be fun," he added at her bemused expression.

"Are you sure? I mean, I can’t ask you. Are you serious?" It occurred to Sam that she was more surprised that John was willing to help make her date with Coop possible than that he was willing to keep Chloe. For someone who had never spent much time around children, he seemed to instinctively understand them.

Probably because he’s just a big kid himself, she thought. But despite his rapport with Chloe, Sam knew that he really didn’t like Coop. She wasn’t as oblivious to John’s attraction as she tried to appear and knew that she was the main reason the two men didn’t get along. John’s sudden cooperation was puzzling.

"You’re suspicious." John all but laughed at her expression. "I’ll admit, I’m not a big Nick Cooper fan, but I guess you already knew that." He looked down at his mug again and turned serious. "It’s… Chloe needs somebody besides just you and Angel. All I had growing up was my mom. No close family. No close friends. It would have been nice to think I was important enough that somebody besides my mom would want to spend time with me. Let me do this for Chloe."

He looked up at her finally and she was surprised by the unexpected emotion in his explanation. She blinked quickly and nodded.

"I think she’d like that."

***

Sam stood nervously in front of the mirror fidgeting with her earrings.

"You look really pretty, Mom." Chloe sat at the end of Sam’s bed swinging her feet against the footboard. "Where are you going tonight?"

Sam turned to smile at her daughter. "I think we’re going to ‘Dante’s’."

"‘Down the Hatch’?" Chloe asked. "Don’t they have alligators there?"

"Alligators?" Sam looked at her daughter curiously. She was delighted by Chloe’s vivid imagination, but sometimes she wondered where the child got her ideas.

"Morgan, this girl in my class, says they have alligators. Real ones right in the restaurant."

"I’m not too sure about that, Chloe. There’s kind of a rule about having animals inside restaurants." At Chloe’s stubborn frown she added, "I’ll have to let you know when we get back."

"Okay." The girl brightened. "Can John and I have pizza tonight?"

That sounds about his speed, Sam thought. "I don’t see why not," she answered aloud. The elevator buzzed and Chloe jumped off the bed.

"I’ll get it!" she cried as she ran out of the room.

Sam cringed inwardly. It had finally occurred to her on the drive home that having John baby-sit meant that for at least a few minutes both he and Coop would have to be in her house at the same time. They were bad enough at work; she dreaded to see how they would behave in a less constraining environment. Maybe having Chloe present would keep them civil.

She glanced at the clock. Whoever it was, he was early. As she checked her reflection one last time the low sound of thunder rumbled ominously. Great, she thought. And Chloe hates thunderstorms.

***

Chloe sat worriedly on the edge of the sofa, her eyes flickering between Coop and the rain-splattered window.

"Thunder is nothing to worry about," he told her cheerfully. "Didn’t anybody ever tell you that it’s just the angels bowling?"

She smiled at him weakly and flinched at the next clap of thunder.

"Bet that was a strike," he grinned. At her blank look he laughed and ruffled her hair. "Tell you what. Next weekend we’ll go out and I’ll teach you how to bowl."

"Okay," she agreed, her smile growing a little stronger. She jumped up as the elevator buzzed again and laughed as John stepped into the apartment. "You’re all wet!" she exclaimed.

He looked at her with wide-eyed mock surprise and showered her with water as he shivered out of his soaked jacket. "I think it might be raining," he said. "But I’m not sure."

"I think it must be." She laughed again and led him into the living room.

"So, Grant, what’s the going hourly rate on babysitters these days?" Coop asked from his seat on the sofa.

"Better than you’d think," John replied as Sam entered. She could see by his clenched jaw and fixed smile that he was determined not to let Coop’s ribbing get to him tonight.

"You look great," Coop said when he noticed her. "Ready to hit the road?"

"Thanks. Yes. Just a couple of things, John." She tried to ignore Coop’s smirk as she gave John a few instructions. "Chloe hasn’t eaten yet. I think there’s a pizza in the freezer. Her bedtime is eight-thirty. I don’t want her watching a lot of television. You can page me if anything…"

"Sam," he interrupted, "I’m a Federal agent. If anything comes up I’m pretty sure I can handle it. We’ll be fine."

She nodded quickly. "Of course. I’m sorry. Well, I guess that’s it then. We’ll be back…"

"Sometime. You kids have fun," Coop said as he ushered Sam toward the door. Sam stooped to give Chloe a hug.

"Be good, okay, sweetheart? Do everything John tells you and try not to be too rough on him."

"Yes, ma’am."

***

Chloe turned to face John as the elevator doors closed.

"I’m hungry."

"I think I can do something about that." A flash of lightning filled the room as a clap of thunder roared. With a startled yelp, Chloe grabbed his arm. "Hey, it’s okay," he said gently. He looked down into her terrified face and instinctively scooped her into his arms. "It’s nothing to be afraid of."

"I know," she said as her arms tightened around his neck. "Coop says it’s just angels bowling… But that’s just a story, isn’t it?"

John hesitated. Should he confirm the reassuring lie, or did she want a real explanation? "Yeah," he said finally. "But it’s a pretty good story, don’t you think?" Still holding her he walked over to the window and looked out. "Have you ever run around in your socks for a while and then tried to pet Denzel?" he asked. "You know how sometimes there’s a little spark and a pop?"

"Yeah," she giggled a little. "He hates that."

"Well, thunder and lightning are kind of like that. Only clouds are a lot bigger than you and Denzel, so when clouds bump into each other the spark and pop are a lot bigger, too. That’s all." Please let her think I know what I’m talking about, he prayed silently.

Chloe raised her head from his shoulder to look at him thoughtfully for a moment. Then she looked out the window at the storm. "That makes sense, I guess," she said finally. She turned back to smile at him. "I’m still hungry. Can you fix pizza?"

John laughed in relief. "It’s my specialty."

***

Sam tried not to look at her watch for an entire five minutes. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust John. It wasn’t that she wasn’t enjoying her date. It was… She didn’t know what it was. She smiled absently at Coop as he picked the beets out of his salad.

"Can’t stand ‘em," he said. "Rabbit food."

***

Chloe frowned as John’s piece moved ahead of hers on the board. "Coop always lets me win."

"Then he’s probably cheating. Nobody loses all the time." He regretted it as soon as he said it. He mentally kicked himself then tried to explain. "I’m not going to let you win just because you’re younger than me. If you beat me you’ll know it’s because you played better."

She continued to scowl at him. He sighed. "Look, Chloe, I’m sorry. I’m not used to being around kids, so maybe I’m not doing this right. I keep forgetting that you’re not a grown-up."

Surprisingly, she brightened at his words. "You’re treating me like a grown-up?"

"Yeah, I guess I am." He shrugged apologetically.

"Can we play again? You don’t have to let me win."

***

"Sam, why don’t you just call them?"

"I can’t do that. John will think I’m checking up on him."

"So?" Coop sighed in exasperation. "It’s what you want to do. Go ahead and call."

Sam looked indecisively at her purse, which held her cell phone. "No," she said suddenly. "I trust him. They’re fine. And we’re going to have a good time. How’s your meal?"

***

"So, you want a nightlight or anything?" John asked from the doorway. He could barely see Chloe shake her head in the darkness. "Well, goodnight, then. If you need me, just yell. I’ll be in the living room."

"John?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you… just stay with me for a little while?"

"Sure, Chlo." He sat carefully on the edge of her bed. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," she answered hesitantly. "I miss my daddy," she whispered.

His heart ached for her. I bet you do, kid, he thought. I bet you do.

"When I was little," she said, "and I couldn’t sleep… he would sing to me." She looked up at John with a hopeful expression. He looked back blankly.

"You want me to sing?" he asked at last.

"Please?"

"I don’t know, Chloe. I really don’t know any lullabies."

"That’s okay," she assured him quickly. "Daddy used to sing Christmas carols."

"All year?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "All year."

***

Sam and Coop entered the apartment quietly. Sam didn’t see John right away, but SportsCenter was on the television and his shoes were beside one of the chairs. Walking into the living room she realized that he was asleep on the sofa. She turned and pushed Coop back into the entrance hall. She put a finger to his lips, warning him to be quiet. He grinned and pulled her hand away.

"You want me to wake Sleeping Beauty and send him on his way?" he whispered.

Sam shook her head. "No, that’s okay. I’ll wake him up and throw him out in a minute." She broke away from the kiss after a moment. "You go ahead. We both have an early morning."

Coop didn’t look happy about leaving but nodded. He kissed her again and backed into the elevator.

"I really enjoyed tonight," she called after him softly. He smiled and saluted her.

"Till tomorrow."

Sam walked back into the living room and looked down at John’s sleeping form. He lay on his side, one hand tucked under his head. Sam suddenly remembered something that Angel had said when they were dating. That he looked like he was twelve years old when he slept. She shook her head and tried not to think of what else Angel might know about him.

"Some guard dog you’d make," she muttered.

John smiled in his sleep. Shifting slightly he rolled onto his back and pulled a handgun from under the cushion. Resting the gun on his chest, his smile broadened. "Damn," he said, eyes still closed. "And here I thought you’d be annoyed if I shot Coop."

Sam sighed in resignation. She doubted that complaining about his manners now would do any good. She sat down and watched him pull on his shoes. "Did everything go alright? I spent all evening wondering what you two were doing."

"That’s funny. I spent all evening trying not to wonder what you and Coop were doing." His grin was playful, but she could almost see something else in his eyes. The rest of his face sobered as she watched. "Chloe’s a great kid," he said seriously. "I don’t know much about raising kids, but I think you’re doing a terrific job with her."

She blinked at him in surprise. "Thank you."

"Well, ‘night, Sam." He picked up his jacket. "If you ever need me to look after her again… We had fun."

"You are one complicated man, John Grant." She shook her head slowly.

"Keeps you guessing," he grinned. "See you tomorrow."

***

Sam stood in the doorway and watched her daughter sleep. She was beautiful. So fragile and precious.

"Mom?"

"Hi, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to wake you." She sat on the bed and smoothed Chloe’s covers.

"It’s okay. Did you and Coop have fun? Did they have alligators?"

"Yes, we had fun. But they didn’t have any alligators."

"Oh."

"So," Sam hastily tried to distract the disappointed girl, "how about you and John? Did you have a good time?" Even in the dim light Sam could see Chloe’s face brighten.

"I like John. Can he come back again sometime?"

"I think he probably will. I think he likes you, too."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." She brushed a strand of wild hair from the little girl’s face. "Goodnight, sweetheart. Sweet dreams."

"‘Night, Mom. You, too."