Sammie Fisher (samanthafisher) wrote in btvsal, @ 2009-12-16 13:12:00 |
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Entry tags: | place: la, sebastian knox, ~samantha fisher |
What Makes Us Smile
Who: Knox & Sammy Fisher
Where: Joe's Diner
When: Monday evening (Dec. 14th, backdated)
While Chloe was a generous employer, working as a barista for The Sugar Shack only covered so many expenses. About a month ago, Sammy picked up another job at Joe's Diner, working the after lunch and evening shift as a waitress and the evenings, with the exception of the weekends from the local neighborhoods, were pretty slow. Which gave Sammy ample time to entertain one of her co-worker's young children who was dropped off at the diner after school. The two were having a blast coloring on the disposable placemats at one end of the counter, where they were out of the way.
While the sun had already set, it wasn't so late yet that Knox needed to meet up with the crew. There'd been some new recruits lately and Knox had little patience for the newbs. The problem wasn't that they were untrained, but that they were often over-eager. That kind of blind motivation was the kind of thing that led to people getting hurt - or worse. It wasn't his kind of scene. Once they were more seasoned, had their heads on straight, then Knox was willing to fight alongside them. That's why he'd taken the opportunity to grab a decent - or at least hot - meal for once, instead of his usual beer and leftover pizza or Chinese, devoured straight from his refrigerator. Joe's Diner wasn't far from his apartment and he'd been there often, though usually only after hunting, when only the graveyard shift was around. He took a seat in an empty booth, already knowing what he'd order, and looked down briefly to make sure the gun holstered to his left side remained concealed beneath his dark brown leather jacket and that it wasn't causing any conspicuous bulges.
As the bell over the door dinged, signaling to Sammy that someone had entered the diner. She laughed as the little boy she'd been doodling with protested her leaving and she tickled him before making sure he went back to coloring. However, when she noticed who it was that came into the diner, Sammy paused in her step and her heart skipped a noticable beat. She chewed her lower lip briefly before moving again and a small smile curved her lips when she reached his table, "Hey, stranger."
It was arguable that Knox saw Sammy before she spotted him, but he still arched his brows in surprise when she stepped up to his table. "You're everywhere, aren't you? If I were the paranoid type, I might think you were stalking me." It was his attempt at a joke, no matter how it went over. "Have you been working here long?" Whether she had or not, if this was her usual shift, there wasn't any question why he'd never seen her there before.
Sammy laughed at Knox's humor, pulling out her ordering pad and a pen. She started filling a few boxes while answering his question, "Just a month now. I work the morning shift at The Sugar Shack and late afternoon and eveing shift here." A sweet smile on her lips, Sammy looked at Knox, poking the end of her pen at the menu, "What can I get you?"
When she laughed, Knox flashed her an apologetic half-grin, the kind that said, We both know it wasn't that funny, but thanks for laughing anyway. "Yeah, I'll have the meatloaf plate." Handing over the unopened menu, he looked at the woman again. There was something different about her and it wouldn't have taken a rocket scientist to figure it out. Wasn't the type of thing people commented on in polite society, unless it was obvious. He'd feel like a real fucking asshole if she'd just had a large lunch...or ten. "And water," he added as he glanced away, his expression going blank. "Thanks."
She took the menu wordlessly, wondering how he'd gone from making slightly bad jokes to...nothing. Sammy smiled anyway because this was a guy who was not Daniel Caulfield, abusive bastard extroidinaire, and besides...the woman was always polite no matter what. Daniel had pounded that into her, quiet literally, because apparently she wasn't "polite enough."
"One meatloaf plate and water comin' up!" As she turned away and moved behind the counter, Sammy had to wonder if she'd said or done something wrong to turn him off. Since coming to L.A. she'd met some pretty nice people who seemed to like her as much in return. Yet...this guy...she totally didn't get him!
As she walked off, Knox pulled out his phone, checking his messages, anything to keep his thoughts at bay. Funny how after all this time, some things still got to him. Small, insignificant things. Things that were a part of normal life. As natural as breathing. Maybe he'd gotten so used to the unnatural that he couldn't handle the whole interpersonal skills required to function on a day to day basis. Max - arguably his best friend these days - was always the first to point out how clueless he could be.
She chatted with Maggie, the other waitress that worked the same shift as her, just before she left with her grandson. Sammy waved enthusiastically to the little boy before picking up Knox's order and telling Joe she was going on her break.
Setting the plate of meatloaf, and all that went with it, in front of the man, Sammy took a seat across from Knox in the booth, sliding the glass of water he'd asked for near his plate. She stared at him for a full minute, eyes slightly narrowed, her finger tapping at her forearm that she'd slightly crossed over the other one. Finally, she spoke up to say, "Did I do or say something to offend you? 'Cause, while it was kind of a stupid thing to ask for in hindsight, the whole Lassie thing couldn't have been that offensive."
The idea that he might have offended her was the farthest thing from Knox's mind, but it became all too apparent when she set his food down and...sat down across from him. Tapping her finger. He didn't look up at first, just busied himself with unrolling his napkin and setting out his silverwear, but when he picked up his fork to take a bite, her voice stopped him. Setting it down on his plate, he leaned back against the booth and finally glanced across the table at her. She really did look...peeved. "The lecture come with the meal? 'Cause it's just like being back home." Resting his arm along the back of the bench, he took a deep breath. "Maybe I'm against animal exploitation. Into that hardcore PETA and ASPCA stuff." He said this as he sat up straight again and lifted his fork to cut a corner off the slab of meatloaf resting on his plate. Oh yeah. He was obviously serious.
Now he had to be joking again. Sammy snorted, "Oh, please." She started to say, a small crooked grin starting to form on her lips. If Daniel could hear her now, he'd literally tear her a new one, "If that was really the case, you would've refused to take my picture." The waitress slash barista sat back, folding her arms across her chest and stared back at him wondering what his deal was. "Seriously, what is your deal? You're all smiles and jokes one minute and then the next you're suddenly giving me the cold shoulder." Sammy repeated her initial question, "Did I say something? Do something that was offensive?"
"You're really not going to let me eat in peace, are you?" Oddly enough, he didn't seem angry about it. Setting his fork down again, he eyed her critically. "What does it matter?" he asked, honestly curious why some random customer's attitude should bother her. "Why do you care?" That half-grin tugged at the corner of his mouth again and he shook his head slightly. "If it makes you feel better, you didn't do anything wrong. Aside from accosting a stranger on the streets of downtown LA." His grin grew a little wider at that.
Why did she care? Sammy cared because after years of being in a relationship where she felt worthless, she had developed this need to be liked, to be...worthy. A smile curved her lips despite her thoughts and in response to Knox's inquiry that she wasn't going to let him eat in peace, Sammy shook her head. At this point, was her repeated encounters with the man REALLY random? When Knox mentioned the whole picture taking incident again, Sammy covered her face in embarassment, "I am not going to live that down, am I."
"You're the one who brought it up this time. Don't blame me." He was past the point of caring whether or not it was rude to eat in front of her while she just sat there, and dug into his food. At least he knew better than to talk with his mouth full and swallowed, following with a sip of water, before he spoke again. "So how far along are you? Sorry if that's rude. Or none of my business. The whole designated driver bit makes a lot more sense now."
At his questions, a soft, happy little smile curved Sammy's lips. A hand pressed to her growing tummy and a tiny giggle spilled from the waitress' lips, "Um...roughly three months now." The woman was both excited and terrified about the whole thing, but she imagined that's what a lot of expectant mothers felt like. Sammy was excited as the baby was a chance for her to start over and get away and terrified because...what if she screwed up? What if she totally messed this kids life up? Again, stuff she probably thought all mothers went through.
At her smile and the tone in her voice, Knox froze again but his recovery time was better. Nodding, he reached for his water again. "I'm guessing it's your first?"
Sammy nodded, folding her hands on the table, looking at them a moment before lifting her gaze to Knox's. He'd...shut down again and the brunette was beginning to wonder, again, if she'd said something wrong. Was he acting weird because...she was pregnant? She wanted, desperatly to ask this, but somehow she got the impression that she wouldn't get an answer. "...Yes. I'm...really excited but, kind of scared, you know?"
"Yeah." He did know. Still remembered how that went. It was wondrous and terrifying at the same time. There were good memories...and bad memories. If he could only hold on to the good ones, maybe things would be easier, but that wasn't possible. "I'm sure you'll do great. You've already got that we're-going-to-talk-and-I'm-not-taking-n
"Oh, shut up!" She laughingly said, grabbing a napkin from the dispencer, wadding it up and throwing it at him, "I do not!"
Ducking her rather lame toss, he chuckled and shook his head. "You sure about that? You're sitting there, aren't you? Or did I just happen to pick the table where you usually take your break?"
"No," She simply said, dropping her chin into her palm, her gaze studying him. Sammy liked Knox. There were those times where they seemed to connect and then she either said or did something that caused a disconnect. Had someone hurt him? Did she remind him of them? She wanted to know, but...that was personal stuff that he had every right to keep to himself and Sammy didn't want to intrude on that. Plus, it'd be kind of rude of her to ask him when they hardly knew each other.
Knox waited for her to say more, but she didn't. His brows rose, but he shrugged and went back to his dinner. "Do you plan to keep working two jobs all the way through this thing?" This thing being her pregnancy, of course. The fact that she was working two jobs even now told him she either wasn't with the father or that he was probably some kind of freeloader.
"Well, unless some nice and kind Sugar Daddy falls out of the sky...yep!"
"Oh, is that what you're looking for?" His grin turned wry. He didn't peg her for that type. She didn't have the look - or the attitude. But his smile dimmed as he looked at her again. "The father's not in the picture?" It didn't occur to him until after the fact that it might sound like he was...fishing. Trying to find out if there was a guy around or not. Wasn't his intention, but he was still curious.
"No!" Sammy laughed, "I'm not looking for a Sugar Daddy!" She grabbed the napkin and threw it at him again, "That was like...a joke!" The waitress laughed again and eventually sobered at his question about Daniel. No one had actually asked her about the father, yet, and now that she was confronted by it she didn't hesitate in her answer, "No. He's, um...dead." Technically not true, but to Sammy he might as well be.
Maybe his instincts were off, but Knox didn't question her on her answer. Or maybe it struck too close to home. "Sorry to hear that. Can't make things easy and I guess it sort of feels like a mixed blessing? The pregnancy, I mean. But you'll do fine. Do you have any family around to help you out?"
"No." She sounded sad at that, which she was. Sammy missed her parents and her family a lot. But she was terrified that if she kept in contact with them that Daniel would find her and she could not, would not go back with him. Not when she was carrying around a brand new life within her. Whether the little person inside her was going to be a girl or a boy, she would not subject them to Daniel's "tender loving mercy."
"No one?" He couldn't say why it surprised him, but it did. "Really doing this thing on your own." He shook his head slowly, but kept his thoughts - whatever they were - to himself. "I'm not sure whether that makes you incredibly brave or really unfortunate. But if you can get through this part, the rest'll be a breeze. Right? Is that the way it works?" He grinned again, knowing maybe that wasn't entirely true, but in the end, it was all worth it. For as long as it lasted.
"Honestly?" Sammy fiddled with the collar of her uniform, "I'm wondering if I'm just insane!" She smiled at him, dropping her chin back into the palm of her hand and thinking that Knox needed to smile more often. His smiles seemed to light up his whole face and made him seem more...care free. After a moment, Sammy finally voiced this, "You should smile more often. It suits you."
His gaze settled on her face again, slightly taken aback by how candid she could be. And yet, it wasn't altogether surprising. After a moment, he laughed slightly and shrugged her words off casually. "Sometimes there's not a lot to smile about. But I guess people don't have that problem around you."
Candid. That was exactly how Sammy was before Daniel Caulfield got his hooks into her and now that she'd gotten away from him? It was like breathing fresh air again. She didn't have to walk on eggshells all the time anymore, wondering if she said or did anything that would trigger his ire, his hand, or a sharp word or three. Of course, none of that was actually done out in public. Daniel was smart after all, which was why she had cut her ties. She didn't want him using her family to find her if he had such a notion to do so. A smile curved Sammy's lips, "There has to be something that makes you smile."
She was cute when she started insisting that there had to be something that made him happy. She wasn't an unattractive woman, that much was obvious. If she had been, he couldn't have said he'd have been so willing to humor her. Probably said a lot about him, but he was a sucker for a pretty face. To an extent. She was the type of girl his mother probably would have called charming. "There used to be," he said simply.
There used to be. Sammy detected a hint of baggage behind those words, something that haunted him. She figured...an ex-girlfriend? Maybe even...an ex-wife? The waitress wisely kept her thoughts to herself, but her voice quieted as she asked, "...And now?" Her gaze dropped to the table, hands fiddling with a new napkin she'd grabbed from the dispenser.
He laughed shortly and shook his head. Like a dog with a bone, that's what she was. Quiet again as he considered his words. Knox watched her. Her gaze was no longer on his face, but had dropped to the table as she fidgeted with another paper napkin. "And now I deal with darkness on a daily basis and there's not much time for smiles."
Sammy's gaze flicked to his, setting aside the napkin to drop her chin in her hand again. "That seems so...sad." She paused, thinking for a bit, and then asked, "Are you a police officer or something?" Because to Sammy, that seemed like the only plausible explanation, that or a private investigator.
"Used to be," he said, knowing he'd said too much. "Mostly do freelance consulting these days, security, that kind of thing." It wasn't a complete lie. He was on the payroll with the security consulting firm of an old friend he's made in the Academy. It kept him busy when he wanted to be busy.
That only answered part of her question. Well, the spoken part. Consulting...couldn't make him that unhappy, had that much darkness in it...could it? Knox was a curiosity, a mystery and Sammy did like a good mystery. Reading had been her escape during the really bad times with Daniel. A smile curved her lips in response, although there was a hint of confusion around the edges because his answer was confusing. It didn't track, "Oh, okay. Makes sense...I guess."
Another grin pulled at his mouth and he leaned back against the booth again. Her confusion was apparent and while he didn't owe her any further explanation, he couldn't help himself. "Do you know what I do when I consult? I go into people's homes or their places of business and I put myself in the shoes of people who could or would wish to do them harm. I point out all of their weaknesses, I show them where they're vulnerable and, sometimes, I explain to them in vivid detail how I could penetrate what defenses they do have in place. I exploit the fear of people who are already fearful, all in the name of making a buck. But fear is a powerful motivator. People will go to extraordinary lengths to make themselves feel safe...but they never really are. Safety is just an illusion."
The confused little smile she wore faded and she took up the paper napkin again. Sammy's voice was quiet, "That's...awful." She couldn't help but feel awful at his words and...it was sickening to think it, but he was right. Since her time away from Daniel, she had developed this false sense of security and Knox had just torn it away. Gulping, Sammy looked up once at him before dropping her gaze, "I should, um...get back to work."
Now which one of them was giving off the mixed signals. He didn't think his words alone were enough to make the smile fade from her face - not when her expression was replaced by a guarded one he knew all too well. "Hey." He wasn't sure why, but he reached across the table and rested his hand atop one of hers, stilling the nervous way she seemed to twist at the paper napkin. "What are you afraid of?"
Her hands stilled under his and Sammy couldn't look him in the eye when she lifted her gaze. Her eyes focused on his bearded chin, "...Someone who hurt me." Sammy pulled her hands out from under his and then got up from the booth, forcing herself to smile, "Um...You want anything else? We've get some great apple pie today for a buck."
Knox wanted to ask more, had to repress that part of him that wanted to solve whatever problem she might be having, and let her pull away. Her smile wasn't as bright as before and he felt like an ass for bringing her down - even momentarily - to his level, but he'd at least do her the favor of dropping the subject. "Sure," he said when she offered the pie, "and a coffee, if you don't mind. Black."
"Sure thing." Her smile brightened a little as she walked off, slowing a bit to look over her shoulder at him. Pausing in front of the plastic little cabinets on the counter where desserts were displayed, Sammy pulled out her ordering pad, adding the pie and coffee to his bill and...a note. Cutting a slice for Knox, grabbing a mug and the coffeepot, she returned to his table. Setting the pie next to his plate and filled the mug with coffee, Sammy tore off his bill and set it face down on the table for him to look at when he was ready. Her note read at the bottom next to his total: If you want a friend...call me. Sammy's phone number was scrawled underneath.