*Note: It isn't absolutely necessary to have read And Then There Were Two, but just know that these are the same characters, and that that is why the time set is the way it is.
Spoiler! :
1. Beginnings
November 2002
It was only their fourth date, and he was already there in her apartment – without her. What made it even screwier an idea was that she told him to just “feel at home” until she got there.
Sure, he had been in her apartment before, because of the whole blind date fiasco with her sister, but this was different. He was her boyfriend now. She had told him to feel at home in her apartment, when they hadn’t even had a real first date yet. (You know, with the nice dress, the nice suit, the flowers, the guy picking the girl up in a nice car.)
Her irregular job schedule wouldn’t allow it. They had tried a few times, but there were always bodies dropping, murders to be solved. They only ever really spent time together on occasion when he would drop by to have dinner with her at the precinct, or when she wasn’t too tired to stop by his place after a closed case.
So this was absolutely not how she planned for things to go. Perhaps Abigail viewed things through rose-colored glasses, but she imagined letting James into her apartment herself, and they’d unwind on her couch...one way or another. It would have been after a nice enough date where he’d have pretty much swept her off her feet, or he’d at least have made some butterflies start swarming around like angry bees in her tummy.
She really wasn’t the swept-off-her-feet, swarming-butterflies-in-the-stomach kind of girl, but neither was she the kind to go weak at the knees if a boy smiled at her just right, or kissed her senseless or even if he just kissed her gently and chastely. She wasn’t some boy-crazy teenager, and she never had been.
But the guy who was currently in her apartment, doing God knows what, was definitely different. He was special – a fact she herself was still denying. But it was evident.
When he gave her a smile that widened his whole face, when he kissed her cheek, when he did or said something childish just to make her smile and help her forget about her job – even if only for a second – he actually had that knees-becoming-jelly effect on her. And he honestly wasn’t even aware of it. That’s what scared her most.
Well, no. At the moment, what scared her most was how comfortable she was with letting him into her apartment without her supervision. Honestly, she questioned her sanity for allowing herself to feel so comfortable with the idea, but not because she felt weird or awkward with what was happening. It wasn’t because she felt sorry that he’d have been waiting in the hall outside her apartment for at least another hour if she didn’t let him in. It was because… well, she didn’t really know why. Sure, she had a naturally carefree personality; but she wasn’t impulsive. How could he make her so impulsive – well, impulsive by her standards?
Wow, this guy would surely be the end of her someday.
/*/*/*/
“Hey, I’m sorry… I tried to call earlier, but it wasn’t getting through. I got held up at work. Cap’ needs these papers on his desk first thing in the morning. Do you think we can push it back to about 9?”
It was almost 8 o’clock, more than half an hour after the time they had agreed on. Abigail really hated having to postpone her love life; she also hated how much she was hoping he’d let her push their date back again, but her job always came first and he knew that.
“Yeah. Sure, sure. It’s only a picnic anyways.”
Abigail could practically hear his grin over the line – a grin she herself was unconsciously returning, despite her still being in the precinct. Good thing most of everybody had already gone home.
“Wait, did you say a picnic? James, it’s 8 pm,” she replied. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s New York City in November. Where the heck do you plan on having a picnic at night and not nearly freeze to death?”
“Oh come on, it isn’t that cold. And besides, I already have all that covered, Miss Negativity… have a little faith.”
She didn’t know how it was possible, but she could swear he was winking mischievously at her through the phone, daring her to accept his offer (as if she wouldn’t). But just to make him nervous and doubt a little, she stayed quiet a few moments longer than necessary, pretending to chew over a decision she had already come to.
“Okay. Meet you at nine.”
“Great!” James was beaming.
“Are you picking me up?”
“Oh, well, about that...”
“James, what’d you do now?” It’s only been nearly three months and she already knows when he’s done something that would piss her off.
“No, no! Nothing like that. I’m just… already here.”
“Here? As in where?”
“At your apartment.”
“Oh.”
“Oh?”
“Uhmm, would it be alright if you just went ahead inside already? Like I said, I’ll still be a while here, and I don’t want you to have to just sit outside.”
“Aww, does someone care about her boyfriend freezing to death outside her apartment? You must really like me, don’t you?” James teased.
“Stop feeding your ego. If it grows anymore, we wouldn’t be able to fit in the same room, let alone in your car when we leave,” Abigail quipped with a roll of her eyes even though he couldn’t see her. Force of habit. He was unbelievable sometimes. “And for your information, I didn’t ask because I was worried about your health,” she added.
Perhaps that statement came out a little harsher than she had intended, but he played along anyway. She was barely able to contain a laugh when she heard his hyperbolically indignant gasp.
James overreacted to things sometimes because his overreactions were hilarious to her, and he liked to make her laugh. He truly was unbelievable.
Abigail smirked. “I mean…” Okay, time to make up for the jab. “…I just don’t want my neighbors passing by my apartment and seeing some homeless-looking guy sitting on my doorstep. It’s creepy. And Mrs. Heron from down the hall is a nosy woman.”
James chuckled. So it wasn’t the best apology, but he didn’t seem too upset by it.
“Alright, then I guess you should let this homeless-looking guy know where the key is so that he can get inside your apartment and ransack your kitchen. I heard homeless guys can be pretty hungry.”
“Oh, did you really? Well then good thing I was able to go grocery shopping last weekend.” Abigail chuckled lightly before allowing comfortable silence to buzz through the phone. “The key’s under the fire extinguisher. I should be there by around nine-ish, and Sammy doesn’t usually come home until late. So you should be fine. Feel at home, ‘kay? But don’t break anything. I like the stuff in my apartment.”
“Well I can’t exactly promise that. I’ve always been a clumsy kid.”
“Clumsy and kid. Now I know what words to use to describe you to my friends!” Abigail teased.
“Think about what that says about you before following through with that plan.”
“Ahh, touché.”
They laughed for a few beats before silence filled the line again.
“Alright, I’ll see you in an hour,” James finally said.
“Yeah, see ya then.”
/*/*/*/
She had said to just feel at home, hadn’t she? So it must be alright to go rummaging through the kitchen cupboards searching for a teakettle or something to heat water up in. It wasn’t for him though, no. James was more of a coffee guy, but he knew that Abigail was a tea fan. Well, he didn’t exactly know, but he had a hunch. She had told him, once, that she wasn’t a fan of Starbucks. And what really confirmed his theory was that there wasn’t even a coffee maker in her apartment.
So, here he was, about fifteen minutes after Abigail had told him where the spare key was. James was searching for the damned teakettle that was sure to be somewhere around her kitchen. He had just finished checking the cupboards above the stove, and was about to start through the cupboards underneath the counter to the side of the sink, when a woman’s voice snuck up from behind him.
“So I heard you like my sister,” came a woman’s voice.
He thought he was alone in the apartment, but apparently not. Abigail’s sister was leaning against the other end of the counter.
“Oh! Sammy! I uhh, I didn’t think… I didn’t know any…” James’ words crammed together in a rush before he was able to form the sentence his mind intended to speak in the first place. “I mean, I didn’t know you’d be here.”
He was more eloquent a speaker than this, wasn’t he?
Samantha Rowan smirked knowingly and shamelessly at her sister’s new boyfriend, satisfied at the response her appraising gaze and sudden appearance in the kitchen had received from the man.
A beat passed as James began to realize that he was still standing in front of an open cupboard, holding a pot in his hand, and it was only then that he had finally found his voice.
“Oh, sorry. This must look weird,” he said, returning the pot to its rightful place. “I was just looking for a teapot or kettle… or just something to heat water in. I wanted to make some tea for Abigail when she got back.”
Sammy really thought he was sweet, and that gesture for her sister definitely earned him some points in her book. She kept her face straight and assessing, though. She still wasn’t entirely sure about him.
James was given a nod in response, as he closed the cupboard that was still open underneath the counter. When he stood, he stood up straighter and more becoming. This was an evaluation; he could tell, and he wasn’t about to disappoint.
“So?” Sammy queried.
“So… what?” James asked cautiously, the small feeling of nervousness still not completely gone.
“So, where are you taking my sister?” Duh, she wanted to add, but she knew the question would have lost the desired intimidating effect.
James smiled kindly, having regained his composure and concealed his anxieties enough to do so.
“Oh, uhmm… well I was just planning on taking her to the park a few blocks away. There’s this place around there that she said she hadn’t been yet, and I wanted to take her. It’s really nice at night, and I know how much she likes flowers.”
Why the heck had he shared so much? He couldn’t have just stopped at “park” and left it at that? Oh, and apparently, his mouth was still thinking for him. “I know she works a lot, and I don’t want her to have to worry so much about going out with me. We don’t need to do fancy places or anything. Well, I mean, if she’s okay with that, ya know?”
Was that a smile on Sammy’s lips? Does this mean he passed? Or was she just thinking up new ways to unnerve him?
Jeez. She’s only Abby’s sister. Stop freaking out! James argued with himself.
“Oh, that’s cool,” Sammy answered casually.
There was a brief lull in the conversation before she spoke up again, seemingly abandoning the last remnants of her intimidating persona for innocent curiosity.
“Wait, okay. So, you’re here why? How’d you even get in?”
James flashed her the wide, boyish grin that he was told could disarm some women – in a good way, of course.
“She wanted to tell me she was running late, but I was already waiting outside when she called. So, she just told me where the spare key was...” James paused, suddenly feeling uneasy again. Ryan wouldn’t have let up on the taunting if he knew Sammy could almost make his best friend pee in his pants. “…but she didn’t mention that you’d be here.”
Sammy wore her smirk again. It was genuinely amusing to her to see such a tall, lean man suddenly appear so nervous and uneasy that he could’ve practically been sweating bullets. He wasn’t, of course, but she planned on remedying that with a bout of interrogation-esque questioning and commenting.
But before she could even take advantage of the opportunity, the apartment door swung open, revealing a tired, yet eager Abigail Rowan. She was smiling. But when her eyes landed on the two people in the kitchen, that smile fell a few millimeters at the corners of her mouth.
“Sammy.” Abigail stuck an odd connotation to her sister’s name somehow: a combination of worry and joy. Not good. “I didn’t know you’d be home already.”
Sammy was standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and looking too much like a homicide detective in an interrogation room. How did the job roles reverse, here in their apartment of all places?
Abigail’s eyes shot surreptitiously to her boyfriend leaning against the countertop on the side opposite her sister. He didn’t look too distraught. Maybe she had arrived just in time. But then again, maybe not. Sammy looked entirely too nonchalant to have not achieved something.
“I had today off, didn’t I tell you that?”
“Oh.” Damn. She had. “I guess it must have slipped my mind.”
Abigail looked again to James who smiled at her warmly, but his eyes were wide as if asking, “Are you ready to go? Your sister's kinda scary.”
Well, she might have only been projecting that last bit, but it seemed fitting. Abigail smiled in return and looked to Sammy, her eyes hopefully still holding its detective-mode glare. With James around, it was difficult for her to be certain.
“I need to get changed really quick, and then we’ll be leaving. But… uhh, don’t wait up, ‘kay?”
James didn’t catch the steely staring contest that had taken place between the two sisters – something that Abigail was more than grateful for. Having to explain would’ve been exasperating and a little embarrassing. He just being unaware made everything so much easier.
/*/*/*/
“I like him…” Abigail confessed once Sammy had shut the door to her bedroom. They had yet to really discuss her relationship, regardless of the fact that it had already been three months.
“–I know.”
“…and I would really appre–”
Sammy was smiling like a smug bastard. It was the I-told-you-so kind of smile, and oh, how Abigail really wanted to slap it off her sister’s face. It just wasn’t fair that she was always one step ahead of her in her own love life.
“What do you mean ‘you know’?” And what’d you say to him? He better still be out there when I walk out,” Abigail said testily.
Sammy chuckled before responding. She chuckled…that smug bastard.
“Woah, slow down there, Abs. What makes you think I said anything to him?”
Abigail had been shedding her work attire consisting of a white blouse and a pair of black dress pants when the nickname slipped from Sammy’s lips. Abigail narrowed her eyes at her sister both for using the much hated moniker, as well as for so obviously fibbing.
“Okay, so I might’ve said something to him… but okay, I admit; I actually like this guy. And I only wanted to shake him up a bit – but I couldn’t. Because you got here,” Sammy replied, annoyance evident in her voice even as she tossed a pair of dark skinny jeans to Abigail.
“Thanks,” she answered, referring to the jeans that once sat hung over the back of her desk chair. Her clothes were scattered all around the room – some soiled, some clean, but her jeans were most definitely clean. She remembered placing them on the chair after having taken them out of the dryer. It was such a wonder how Abigail ever found anything in the mess of clothing.
Abigail briefly hummed in thought before answering her sister’s comment. “Well Sam, if things go well from here on out… maybe you might get another chance.”
She grinned at her older sister before pulling a dark blue Nets sweatshirt over her shirtless torso and starting toward the door, purse in hand.
“Hey, Abby.” Sammy turned on her heel before the woman could touch the door knob. That nickname passed, so she was safe to look at her sister without dying from a death glare. “Is that seriously all you’re wearing? You didn’t even check your makeup. And… did I miss something, or did you really just pull that horribly date inappropriate hoodie over your bra?
“What?” Abigail replied casually. She could see her sister’s logic, but she wasn’t about to agree with it. “James said it’s only a picnic, and besides… it’s nighttime; it’s cold out. I might not be taking my sweatshirt off anyway.”
“Might not?”
Abigail bit back a grin at noticing Sammy’s widened eyes and selective hearing of sorts. Oh, the naughty things that were probably swimming through her sister’s assuming mind…
“Don’t worry, sis. It’s barely been a few months. Nothing’ll be happening tonight,” Abigail said, smiling slyly. She turned toward the door again, but remembered something as she walked out. “There is nothing wrong with my makeup, by the way!”
Sammy laughed and followed her sister out into the living room. She watched as Abigail sauntered over to her boyfriend who now looked relaxed and actually rather happy – especially when his girlfriend glided freely into his open arms.
He kissed her on the side of the forehead in greeting, sweetly and chastely as always. Abigail couldn’t help but lean further into him. James was tall and strong, and his embrace was enveloping like a blanket of safety and warmth. After the day Abigail had had, it was a comfort that she wanted to relish in for as long as possible.
Soon enough, though, they pulled away – still having not forgotten the third person in the room – but Abigail kept her eyes locked with James’ for an extra half second before completely stepping out of his arms. She turned to Sammy almost shyly, for some reason, as her self-conscious habit of tucking a wave of hair behind an ear made an appearance.
But she was happy. That was also just as apparent, just as irrefutable, as was the timid gesture itself.
“Sammy,” Abigail said, a toothy grin beginning to fix itself onto her expression despite her greatest efforts. She couldn’t even tone it down. Jeez, the extent to which her boyfriend could make her come undone was just ridiculous, and he really didn’t even need to do much. That mere hug and innocent kiss to her temple already unraveled her enough.
Wow. She needed to get a hold of herself. No guy should be able to take all control away from her like this. But first things first…
“Sam, go ahead and change already. I know you’re just dying to go out already. Who’s the new flavor of the month? Do I get to meet him?” Abigail teased, the cheeky grin still sitting on her features.
“Ha ha,” Sammy answered dryly. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do. I’m leaving, I’m leaving. Promise.”
She shook her head in mock disappointment as she started toward her bedroom, resembling their mother so well in that act; it was almost scary. Then, she stopped midstride, halfway to her room, and turned back to her sister. “This month’s flavor is Mexican, by the way.” She beamed. “His name’s Johnny and no, you don’t get to meet him. This whole intimidating-big-sister role was totally cutting into my Friday night! You don’t get anything, Abs.” And she marched off, making sure to have put just enough emphasis on the moniker to annoy her sister.
Abigail shook her head with an amused smile on her lips as Sammy began to slip out of view behind her closing bedroom door. Although before it could shut completely, Abigail shouted out almost as an afterthought.
“Oh you’re so awesome.” Her tone was laced with unrelenting sarcasm. “I’ll be sure to keep ruining your weekends until you cut it with that ‘Abs’ crap!”
She returned her attention to her boyfriend as a chuckle floated to them from behind Sammy’s closing door. Their sisterly jeering was simply their way of “showing love”, and it was amusing to everyone around them, including James.
James pulled Abigail towards him by the waist as smiles spread across their faces, and their arms encompassed one another on their own accord. She caught his gaze as she twirled the hair at the nape of his neck, and his fingers rubbed softly at the base of her back.
By this time, they had been on a few dates already, and they had spent much of three months together. But she still felt reluctant to kiss him – not that she didn’t want to, of course. There just always seemed to be something that was holding her back.
Neither of them could really understand it. They never actually discussed it, but James wasn’t a fool. He could see her hesitance. And for whatever reason, he would wait despite the fact that it made him feel a little more putout every time she averted from his kiss, as if she didn’t like him enough. Which wasn’t true at all, but she was just a complicated person. Even she was frustrated with herself.
“You ready?” James asked kindly, hoping to God that Abigail couldn’t read his mind, or else she’d have known how loaded that statement really was. He saw her momentarily nibble at her lower lip, looking as if she was actually pondering her answer – and boy did that scare the shit out of him…or was that just an unconscious habit of hers?
“Yep, let’s go,” Abigail finally answered on a breathy whisper.
Wow. He could make her breathless. Wait…wasn’t she contemplating something?
She shook away the remnants of what was probably just unimportance in her mind, and stepped out of his arms, tugging him toward the door by the hand she never released. He stumbled forward a little because of the sudden motion, but caught himself just as quickly.
Grabbing the picnic basket atop the counter, James grumbled, “You’re not allowed to make me clumsy. I’m clumsy as it is.” His girlfriend was grinning, happy, and released a raw, throaty laugh.
So maybe she was ready, she thought as they left the apartment. That was what she had been chewing over just moments earlier. Maybe it was time to take down the walls.
She liked him, and if she had to admit it, there was definitely something that did separate him from every other guy that had ever been in her life. Unfortunately, that included her own father.
She couldn’t quite name it; she wasn’t quite sure if it would be enough – but it was enough for now.
After all, their relationship was still young, and he made her happy.
As they waited for the elevator to get to their floor, James whispered to Abigail, “Hope you’re leaving work at work tonight.” He wrapped his arms around her middle and rested his chin on her shoulder. She wasn’t too short for that gesture to be uncomfortable. “But even if you’re not, I think my surprise can take care of that. You…like gardens, right?”
Abigail craned her neck to look at him, their noses touching but their lips still separated by air and other unmentionable inhibitions.
She smiled fervently.
Maybe it was time to take down the walls.
/*/*/*/
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Or else you wouldn't get to read the finale. Haha
Or else you wouldn't get to read the finale. Haha
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