Participants:
| Scene Title | A New Dawn |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | There's a moment to breathe among the terrorists, and share some information and figure some things out |
| Date | January 31, 2011 |
Washington, D.C., Super 8 Motel, Brian and Sam's Room
It's a new dawn, it's a new day…
And there might be a new life. Grocery bags sit on the table, and under the table are the discarded Chinese food cartons. The hotel room would have been cleaned. But for some reason Samara and Brian have had the DO NOT DISTURB tag hanging on the door all morning. On the table a few cartons of juice and a wide variety of pregnancy tests sit next to the sub sandwiches Brian got for them. But they are all but forgotten as Samara and Brian… Well they had a morning.
Letting out a content sigh, Winters brings up one hand to scrub at the sweat formed on his brow. Looking over to Sam then back up to the ceiling, a light dumb smile hanging on his lips. "Okay. Now you can tell me what you found or what you wanted to tell me. Whatever." Sitting up, he's glancing over to the bathroom. Standing off the bed, the young man stands up off the bed. Stretching out he lets out a light yawn. Oh yeah, he's naked.
"Shower time~ There's roast beef and a veggie sub. I'll take whatever you don't, babe." And with that he's stalking towards the bathroom.
There's a distinct smile playing on Sam's lips as she releases an overly contented sigh. "Mmmmmm," she murmurs as she sits up in the bed, combing her overly-tousseled auburn hair into a loose ponytail. Yeah, it's been a morning. Her lips press together playful as she watches him tread away. "I'll tell you after you shower~" she virtually sings with a triumphant smile. Evidently it's been a very circular conversation about what may or may not have been found within Noah's room.
As the bathroom door closes, she rolls out of bed and tugs on the shirt Brian had been wearing the day before. She doesn't feel like fishing for clean clothing at this moment.
Her cheeks tinge a pale pink at all of the pregnancy tests resting on the table. That's a lot of tests. She sighs quietly. Her lips purse as she rifles through the rest of the items, finding the aforementioned subs. She chooses the veggie this time, and unwraps it slowly. She picks at the crust silently before plucking one of the pregnancy tests from the table, giving her nearly instant anxiety.
The door closes, and the water turns on. Pressing his back against the wall, he looks at the door. Then reaches out to open it. But with the sound of running water, he has to speak loudly to overcome the noise. "Thank you baby. For listening to me yesterday." He had already thanked her several times this morning, but this way includes a lot more words and a lot less.. gyration. "Even if I was wrong.. Thank you." He lets out, one hand going out to test the water. Warm.
Pulling the curtain back, Brian steps in and lets the water ffall over his head. For a moment just standing there. Letting the water fall over him.
Sam drops the test as the door opens, almost like she's been caught red-handed. She smirks slightly as she pushes the sub an inch away from her and slides off the chair. Quiet barefooted steps take her to the bathroom where she opens the door and tugs the shirt over her head.
She tugs the ponytail holder out of her hair before pulling back the curtain and stepping inside if he'll let her. She reaches out a hand to slide over his back, issuing him a flicker of a smile followed by a tight shake of her head. "You weren't wrong— " she tries to talk over the water.
The curtain is pulled back, water dripping from his head and soap now covering his chest. He tilts his head at her. "What do you mean?" Water is wiped out of his face before a scowl is let out. The curtain is immediately dropped as Brian reels back in the shower some. "Soap in my eyes!" Tip toeing forward Brian tries the put your face in the water jet without blinking trick.
If it works, brian doesn't let on for a long moment. His hands being pushed in front of the water. "Ggghhh"
"He called someone, or, I guess someone called him— when I went downstairs. The times match— I mean… when you called me and when he got the call— the times, they— " And then Brian is regarded with concern, Sam's own eyes widening only to clamp shut, that burning feeling of soap easily remembered. Her empathy, however, remains strong. "Aww hun!" Sami cringes as Brian rinses the soap from his eyes. She frowns, "Any better?"
Eyes reddened and tearing, "Wait, what? What were you saying? They match?" His reddened, watering eyes pop out of the shower to peer at Samara. "Like when.." His mouth clamps shut. One hand leaps out of the shower to grab Samara by the shirt. His shirt and pull her forward. "Shh." He instantly hushes into her ear. "The water should be loud enough. Noah may have bugged us.. He had a call while you left? Have you tried calling it yet?"
Head tilting with empathy and lips still frowning slightly at the reddened eyes, Sam nods slightly. She's tugged easily by the shirt, and she holds up a single finger before tugging it over her head and stepping into the shower for easier chatting. "When I was catching a cab. Right around the time you texted me— the first text— he had a call." Her lips press together. She's not so central in the shower, just standing there, staring up at him. "I called it. It's disconnected. Doesn't exist… but it wasn't a two second call either— "
"So Noah's in some shit." Brian murmurs under the fall off the water. "Someone used a burn phone. For one call?" Brian's arms instinctively find their way around Samara, pulling her into him. Setting his chin down on the top of her head. "So he sent you down. And received a call right then? Are you sure he got called and didn't do the calling? By the time you were back up there.. Nothin'." He furrows his brow. "No use confronting him. He's a pro. All we have right now is that we know he's up to something that he doesn't want us to know about. I still don't like how he just showed up at my apartment. No one knows that place. We need to be careful around him. Don't trust anything he does."
As she's pulled close, Sam's arms close around Brian, closing her eyes in the process. The warmth of the embrace gives her reassurance. "No, he got a call. He definitely got a call. And yeah, it was after he sent me downstairs. Like he was expecting it or something." She sighs quietly, resting her head against his chest. "And after? He scolded me. So many times over for coming up. He was putting that thingy on the gun— " the thingy. The silencer to most people with technical expertise. "And I surprised him— the door was locked so I walked through it. And when I asked about it he said there could be an precog or something. Or an invisible person…" She settles a little more against him as her eyes squeeze shut tighter. "He told me you couldn't depend on me…" she leans away. "…that really stung…"
One hand climbs up and drops back down her bare back, rubbing softly. "Of course he did." Brian murmurs. "And you need to act like you fucked up. Like all the nerves got to you." His head dips, a kiss planting against the top of her head. "Self defense doesn't necessarily need a silencer." Winters murmurs, tilting his head some. "Though.. I don't know. Maybe.. In a Noah brain. Well whatever he's doing. We can't trust him. He has an ulterior motive. So when we get Amid back, we never let Noah alone with him. Okay?" He smiles softly. "I apologized for you.. And he seemed alright. He told me I shouldn't drag you into this stuff.. Because I might lose you."
"I hurled," Sam admits quietly with an apologetic tilt of her head. "I was nervous," the admission is quiet. "And stressed. And worried…" she cranes her neck to peek up at him. "It's not really a stretch that the nerves would have— " her cheeks tinge pale pink as her chin drops again, letting her rest her head against his chest once more. "I feel bad for him," the heaviness of her words have her clinging tighter to him. "It must be hard watching Amid having to deal with his daughter as a bargaining chip. It makes me sick and I'm not a parent— " she frowns a little only to crane her neck upwards, going so far as to stand on her tip toes to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. She leans towards his ear and whispers, "I'm not going anywhere. You're not going to lose me." She drops to her heels, "Kind of a… foreboding thing to say…"
"I think he lost his wife. Not like she's dead. They just.. She left I think." He gives a shrug. Letting the water fall down on them, Brian peers down at her. "Yet." He adds in to the statement that she's not a parent. "Maybe you should go drink some of that juice. So you can pee." He arches a brow at her. Winters motions with his chin towards the rest of the hotel room. "I'll finish up in here."
Brian can feel her tense at his addition of the word. Anxiety is so much easier to come by than calm. Sam takes a slow breath released as a sigh. "I.. I'm scared." Silently her hands drop from around him as she forces a weak smile. "I shouldn't have told you like that. The other day. On the bed. Sorry." She cringes a little at the memory, it wasn't fair. She'd had an entire car trip to think about it. Or half a car trip as the case may be. Carefully she pulls back the curtain and steps out of the shower. A towel is pulled from the rack and she dries herself off before drawing his shirt over her head.
Those same even paced steps bring her back to the table to where all of the juice is sitting. With yet another sigh, she reaches for the juice and pours herself a glass in one of those hotel cups that are always some measure of questionably clean. A glance is cast to the pregnancy tests again before she holds the glass of orange-coloured juice is raised in the air. Bottom's up!
When she pulls away from him, and puts his shirt back on. Which is probably making it wet because she's betting she didn't dry off all the way, Brian continues to shower. And he takes a ridiculous amount of time. Like enough time to go get lunch and go superbowl grocery shopping and back. Just a real long shower.
Finally the water shuts off. And a few moments later, a towel clad Winters is emerging from the steam filled bathroom. "Hi~"
The bottle of juice is nearly gone by the time he leaves the shower. Because Sam has been drinking a lot. Copious amounts. Her head turns to the door when he emerges from the bathroom. The shirt (which is, sure enough, a little damp from her skin) swims on her where she sits. "Hi— " her greeting in return is tentative. Her fingers are already grasped around one of the boxes, tightening around. Her eyes turn back to the box, reading the instructions in small font upon it.
Her nose wrinkles a little as she plucks a different box from the table, "Do you think it matters which one? Like I mean the difference between M&Ms and Smarties? You'd think they're the same, but they're not… one tastes like candy, the other like chocolate so it totally depends on what you actually— you actually— " her eyebrows knit together as she shoots him a weak smile. "Sorry— I've just— " she shrugs.
"Just piss on all of em." Brian helpfully suggests. "Not at the same time, I mean. Like.. I don' tknow. I just figured some might not be as good as the others. And some might be liars. I don't know. I just wanted us to be sure. Until we can find a doctor who's sympathetic to people like us.." That's something he hadn't thought about. They would need to find a baby doctor that wouldn't try to call the cops on them. And then what happens when she's actually in labor. They'll have to be practically living with a doctor towards the end.
His smile betrays his thoughts as he nears her. Going to his knees, in front of her his hands lay down on her lap, his eyes going up to match her gaze. "So.. How do you feel. About all this?" Baby business.
Each of the boxes is regarded as Brian makes the suggestion. It seems like a lot. But it's a point. They can't all be wrong, right? She manages a lopsided smile, but's it's all nerves, not joy. "I.. concerned, I guess? Worried? Everything is so uncertain in our world. I'm not even legally alive. And I don't know how— I don't know anything about parenting. I haven't held a baby in a very long time… " Her lips press together somewhat expectantly while her thoughts are left to hang in the air. But then the smile loses some of it's edge. "Maybe a little excited? If that's allowed.. I mean.. I love you. I really do.." She squeezes the hands on her lap while the smile fades.
"And you? I.. it wasn't fair. I shouldn't have said what I did when I did."
"Baby…" Brian starts sounding a little sad. "I don't want you to ever think you can't be excited. I mean.. There might be a little meyou inside of you right now. We should be happy about the concept at least! Even if it might be complicated with how we live… We should be excited that.. We could be having a child together, right? We should be happy about that. Even if…" He presses himself up to kiss her lips lightly.
"I really do you too. Love you." He gives a little grin, squeezing her hands back. "No, it's okay. You can't bottle this kind of thing up by yourself. We're together. We have to share things together."
The kiss is returned lightly while Sam's eyes gently close. She releases one of her hands to brush her fingertips along his cheek. "You're too good to me," she soothes, her tone finding confidence as she does so. "You're my favourite," she says quietly before dropping her hand with a twitch of a smile.
"If I am— what's next? I guess that's the other thing. The not-knowing. I keep rethinking what would have to happen. How the next nine months will go… it's silly when it's all… hearsay, anyways."
Her free hand reaches for two boxes, stacking them one on the other. "It's going to be okay, right? No matter what things will be fine, right? Like… it'll work out?"
Smiling and leaning his head into the touch, he looks up at her. "There's doctors with the Ferrymen. People who are sympathetic to us." Brian gives an encouraging smile. "It.." His brows furrow. "Our baby would have to be a Lighthouse kid. Couldn't go to regular schools. Couldn't do anything really 'normal'." He lays out, looking up at her somewhat sadly. "No highschool dances. No bouncehouse birthdays…" Well. Maybe bouncehouse birthdays. "Okay.. If i can get my child a bouncehouse I will but. It would just be harder."
"I.. Whatever happens, Sameye. I love you, and I will protect you. And our maybe-baby. Everything will be okay." Leaning forward, he goes to kiss her stomach, before laying his head in her lap.
"I don't think I had a bouncehouse birthday, I turned out alright," she assures with a small grin. The kiss on her stomach is met with a brighter smile and reddened cheeks. Even if she's nervous, even there's cause to be nervous, she takes a deep breath. Everything will be okay somehow. Sami bends forward to plant a kiss atop Brian's head. "I love you," she whispers again while sliding off the chair slowly.
"I guess that's my cue," her smile becomes lopsided, hinged with those nerves she's already expressed. Present, but not completely winning anymore. She slides the boxes she'd stacked. Two. It's a start. If they're the same then… it's probably safe. Not that she won't try the others.
Her feet shuffle carefully to the bathroom before the closing the door behind her.
Brian takes his place in her chair. Nervousness now setting in. He put up a brave front. He's raising a lot of kids now as it is. But one that came from his own weiner? For some reason that adds a lot of pressure. It's unnerving. Leaning forward in the chair, his elbows are placed on his knees. Placing his chin in his hands.
Nothing to do but wait…
It's not long when the door reopens, Sam had left the tests on the counter, washed her hands, and peeked her head out. Her head tilts at him as she leans against the frame of the door before looking over her shoulder, "It needs like a couple minutes according to the directions." She can follow directions. The confidence has drained some from her tone, but she manages a tight lipped smile as she leans.
Looking up he offers a strained smile. He had just managed to get a pair of jeans on. Going to take a seat at the foot of the bed, he pats one leg and looks up to her. Waiting for her to come sit on him, his smile wavers a little bit. Brian lets out a quiet breath, looking to the window.
Her hand pushes against the frame as Sam leaves her lean-spot. Slow steps bring her to his leg where she settles against him, closing her eyes in the process. There's no words yet, just that little edge of worry whether or not it's warranted. Her hands wrap around his neck, and her forehead touches his cheek— her hair slightly damp from the shower. Her eyes close gently.
Settling his arms around her, he lowers his head into her shoulder. All there is to do is wait. So Brian waits with his head on her shoulder, eyes closed. Whatever it will be, it will be.
A couple minutes pass, but Sam lingers longer than she needs to, clinging to the pipe dream. In another lifetime the wait would have just been excitement. Maybe. Or not. Finally she slides off his lap, brushing another kiss along his temple before dropping to her feet. Her hands drop from his neck, one sliding along his shoulder until he's out of reach.
She turns back to the bathroom and leaves the door an inch ajar behind her. She's tucked away in the bathroom longer than necessary. Longer than expected.
After what probably feels like a lifetime to Brian, the door creaks open and Sami peeks out. She leans against the door frame as she lingers in the doorway again. Her lips part to speak only to close again. She pushes on the frame of the door, moving her away from the bathroom to shuffle back to where Brian is sitting. It's Sam's turn to kneel on the floor, her doe-eyes seeking Brian's. Her lips flicker upwards and then down, "It.. it looks like you're.. you're gonna be a Daddy."