hugged Riley to her chest and stuck her tongue out at her sister.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Riley never realized a botanical garden could be so much fun. Sam and Jess
had kept her in stitches with their antics. It'd been a long time since she'd just
gone out and had fun, not worrying about what other people might think. Though
at one point she and Kim had denied knowing the other two women when Sam
and Jess had skipped down one of the narrow brick paths singing 'We're off to
see the Wizard'. She chuckled remembering.
"What's so funny?" Sam asked. They were in the back seat of Jess's Durango
heading back to Sam's apartment.
"I was just remembering your and Jess's little impromptu song this afternoon. I
can't remember the last time I laughed so much in one day." Riley told Sam her
eyes sparkling.
Knowing Riley's history Sam vowed to herself right then to make sure Riley had
lots more days filled with laughter. She leaned down and gently kissed Riley's
lips. The passion flared between them and the kiss deepened. Both women
quickly forgot where they were. Sam pressed Riley back into the seat kissing her
passionately. Her hands came up to caress Riley's breasts. Jess glanced into
the rear view mirror and saw the two women.
"Alright none of that you two. I'm shocked." She teased.
Kim looked back as Sam pulled away from Riley. Riley caught Kim's eyes and
blushed.
She couldn't help chuckling. "Leave them alone Jess. Do I need to remind you
about the incident in the ER lounge?"
Sam was surprised to see her sister blush. "Oh... this is gonna be good." She
said rubbing her hands together in anticipation.
Jess looked pleadingly over at Kim. She just laughed. "Some other time." She
told a disappointed Sam.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They'd stopped on the way home and picked up Chinese food. They sat on the
floor in Sam's living room with the food spread across the coffee table. Riley had
finally relaxed around Kim and Jess; as the day had worn on the easy
camaraderie she'd felt with them in the hospital returned. Unbeknownst to her,
Jess had still had her reservations about Riley but her coming out to her uncle
and outing herself at work had allayed quite a few of Jess's fears. She watched
with a smile as Riley fed Sam a piece of shrimp. Sam was grinning like an idiot.
Jess had never seen her sister so smitten with anyone. It looked good on her.
"So Sam, what happened with the doctor? Did you get cleared?" Jess inquired.
Jess knew immediately she'd said something wrong as a look of total panic
crossed Sam's face. Riley had seen the look as well.
"What doctor? Did you get cleared for what?" she asked in concern.
This was it. The moment Sam had been dreading. She really had planned on
telling Riley she'd been cleared to return to work but had pushed it to the back of
her mind and conveniently forgotten.
"To go back to work." Sam said softly.
Riley had a flashback of that horrible moment in the ER when Sam's body
slammed into hers and she realized Keith had shot her. Then she saw Sam lying
in her arms as her blood seeped out between her fingers. Her face went ashen
and her stomach lurched. She jumped up from the floor mumbling excuse me,
before running from the room. All three women jumped when the bathroom door
slammed shut.
"You didn't tell her!" Kim exclaimed in an accusing tone.
"I meant to, really I did. I just forgot."
Kim glared at Sam unbelievingly. Sam slowly got to her feet to follow Riley. Kim
got up and placed a restraining hand on her arm.
"Let me go talk to her."
"No, I need to explain. I just... I knew she wouldn't take it well. But I never meant
to keep it from her."
Kim was incredulous. "You knew she wouldn't take it well! Jess and I both know
how dangerous your job is, we've both see officers come into the ER, but Riley
has seen first hand just how dangerous it is. My God, Sam... she saw you shot!
How did you think she'd react? I'm petrified for you to go back to work, think how
Riley must feel. This isn't something you can just explain away."
Sam's shoulders slumped and she sank back down to the floor. Jess put her arm
around her sister consoling her.
Kim headed for the bathroom and Riley.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kim knocked on the bathroom door. "Riley, its Kim, please let me in."
"I'll be out in a minute," came Riley's muffled reply.
Kim could tell she was crying. She tried the door handle; it was locked.
Riley stood gripping the counter trying to control her roiling stomach as the tears
poured down her face.
"Riley please open the door, I really need to talk to you."
Riley unlocked the door and walked away turning her back. Kim heard the lock
click and quietly opened the door. Riley stood next to the counter gripping it
tightly, her back to the door. Kim walked up behind her and put her hands on her
shoulders. Riley flinched then relaxed making no attempt to shrug off Kim's
touch. Kim could feel the tension in the muscles under her hands.
"She should've told you."
Riley didn't respond.
"She had every intention of telling you. She just kept putting it off...'cause she's
scared."
"She's scared!" Riley spun around to face Kim. "She's scared!" she repeated incredulously. "I saw her shot Kim; I felt her body slam into mine and held her in
my arms as her blood ran onto the floor."
Riley couldn't hold back any longer she began to sob. Kim wrapped her arms
around Riley pulling her into her arms. Riley buried her head in Kim's neck as
her whole body shuddered with the force of her tears. Kim stroked Riley's back
trying to calm her. It took quite a while but Riley's tears finally trailed off. She
pulled back from Kim embarrassed. Kim offered her some Kleenex and then
ignoring her protests pulled her back into her arms. Riley relaxed gratefully
accepting the comfort Kim offered.
"I know this is going to be hard to hear but I'm going to tell you anyway. I'll admit
I'm petrified that Sam is going back to work but Riley it's who she is. She loves
being a cop and she's a damn good one. She was scared to tell you because
she feared your reaction. Right now you're wondering if you made a big mistake
getting involved with Sam and are considering breaking it off." Riley flushed
guiltily. "That's what she feared Riley; that you would decide you didn't want to
be involved with a cop." Kim hoped she wasn't making a mistake in what she
was about to tell Riley but she needed her to understand. "Sam cares deeply for
you; if you walk away now Riley it'll kill her."
Riley looked up into Kim's eyes sympathetic blue eyes. "I know. She told me she
loves me and that she'd never been in love before." It was Kim's turn to be
shocked. If Sam had admitted her love to Riley, it was a much more serious
situation than she'd thought.
"I love her too Kim, but I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can watch
her walk out the door every morning and not know if she's coming back."
Kim hugged Riley tight. It was a truth that'd been driven home to everyone when
Sam was shot. On any given day, they could get a phone call like the one they
had when Keith shot her. Only this time she might not be so lucky. Kim knew you
couldn't let the 'what ifs' run your life or you'd be paralyzed. You had to live each