Sam & Morgan | Backdated to Saturday

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As promised, though a day later, Morgan stops by to keep Sam company. And to make sure he eats.

She wasn't really in the sort of shape you wanted the person comforting you to be in, honestly. Actually, she was pretty much in a rather crap state of mind but she had offered and he wanted company so she was going to slip behind the mask and be the strong, calm woman she was supposed to be. That was her job and she'd always been good at finishing jobs once she took them on.

Morgan knocked on Sam's door lightly, carefully juggling two plates of food. Hey, if he wasn't going to come out she was going to make sure he was fed. She was already making meal deliveries for Laurie, it wasn't like adding Sam into the rotation would be too hard.

"Come in." Sam was, very literally, in bed. The TV was on the History Channel but he was barely watching it. It was the weekend and he was finally taking an opportunity to just do nothing. After seeing how affected Jay was by everything and having to carry him down to the medical bay, the eldest Guthrie was feeling quite defeated. He didn't have the best relationship with his siblings recently but this was far beyond that.

Morgan pushed the door to the suite open, but finding no one in the common areas she headed in the direction of the noise. Nudging the door to his bedroom open, Morgan found Sam under covers with the television on. "Have you actually left your bed since your brother was brought back?" Her voice was gentle, but there was obvious concern laced through it. She set both plates of food down on the bedside table, then pulled a fork out from her back pocket where she'd kept it in the name of keeping from dropping it on the floor and held it out to him. "You need to eat."

"I was there when he was moved back to medical." Sam waved a hand in response to the food. He appreciated it but he still wasn't quite hungry. "I've been in bed since. He wasn't doing well at all." While Jay was missing the man had been very upbeat about him returning. Now that he was back it wasn't so easy. He could see that his brother wasn't doing well.

She frowned and set the fork down but resolved to see him eat something before she'd leave him. "Yeah, he woke us up with the...screeching." Morgan sat down next to Sam on his bed without invitation and gave him worried eyes. "It's not a surprise he's not doing well. You never could have been so blind as to think he would have been. But you can't go wither because your brother's having a rough time of it."

"I didn't know he'd be this bad." Sam sighed a bit. "I'm not going to just lay here forever but I don't think a single day in bed will be that horrible." He gave Morgan a weak little smile. He didn't really know what else to say about recent events. He'd been trying to avoid thinking about them all day.

"So then if I come by here tomorrow and find you still flirting with the tv I have the right to drag you out and force you into some sunshine? Even if it's still bloody fucking cold out?" She really needed to get away from all this cold. It couldn't possibly be healthy for her. It couldn't be healthy for anyone.

Sam nodded a little in response. "Thanks for watching out for me." He didn't say it dismissively. He also didn't mention that he wanted her to stay. He didn't figure that she felt any more affection for him than anyone else she spent a lot of time with and the last thing he needed was to be accidentally clingy or to make himself look silly.

"Someone's gotta," she told him in a very matter-of fact tone. "Everyone's busy watching after the four who just came back, but they aren't the only ones who need watching." Her voice had taken a softer, quieter turn as she spoke. It bespoke her very real worry about Sam as well as the fact that she knew she needed watching after as well. She had Jean-Paul to curl up with when she needed to break down. The problem was she didn't think Sam had anyone to watch out for him, so here she was.

"Well, I appreciate it." And he did, very sincerely. He looked up at Morgan for a long moment before glancing back to the TV. The seven deadly sin shows had interested him when they came out last week and he was glad they were still on; a marathon of them, even.

"So what are we watching?" She showed no signs of leaving. He'd asked for company, after all, and that constituted more than five minutes. Plus, she really wasn't going to leave until the guy had eaten something. Morgan even shifted, laying down next to him with her arms folded across his chest and her head atop them.

Sam scooted a bit on the bed to give her room, looking at her lying across him and the blankets. "It's a repeat of the Seven Deadly Sins Week." He thought he was the only person that watched shows like this. "They talk about the sins in a classic sense, then current scientific theory about the neurological causes of the behavior."

"Oooh," her eyes lit up and even though Sam had moved to make room for her Morgan stuck close to his side. She had very visibly perked up. "The History Channel and I, we're going to have babies one day, have I told you? Little mini-channels running about going on about old, fascinating dead people and the like." She grinned. Morgan fell asleep watching movies, something Sam had first-hand experience with but she could watch the History Channel for hours. Bonus points for anything relating to the study of behavior.

"Maybe that's why you like me so much, because I'm like the History Channel... but a person... teacher. A history one." He sighed. It was either her lying across his chest or the fact that she mentioned having babies with it. He didn't want to insinuate anything inappropriate. Mostly because Morgan would tease him about it without mercy.

Her head shifted so she could look over at Sam as she grinned at him. "Hmmm, personified History Channel. That could explain the attraction." While her words were teasing her tone was not. In fact, Morgan sounded a bit thoughtful, as if she'd been trying to figure out that very same thing she'd just discovered.

"Attraction?" He was a bit surprised by that choice of wording. Sam told himself he was over analyzing in just moments but his heart had already bounced around for a few beats. "I mean..." He thought for a moment but he didn't have anything to respond with and that just made him blush. At least Morgan was good for distracting him from anything else.

"Mmhmm. What, you didn't know?" She said it so innocently, as if there was a memo that had come out stating exactly what he looked so shocked about. Though, of course, the minute he started to blush she started to grin. Morgan inched her way up higher until she could kiss his cheek. "You're hopelessly adorable when you do that, you know." Unfortunately, Morgan had skipped high school and the girlie crushing on everyone phase of life most women had for reference so she was a little unsure what to do with her interest in Sam in the face of her interest in Garrison. She did, however, know it was definitely there. That was confusing enough for her.

"I didn't know it was anything special..." Sam scrunched up a bit at the kiss and blushed more, resisting the urge to say 'aww, shucks.' "Thank you." It was all he could do in response to the attention as he lost track of his other thought. Instead his attention just focused on her, he looked in her eyes; at a loss for any other action.

"Qualify 'special,'" she said with as business-like a voice as she could muster. Of course, when you were half laying atop someone any real attempt at professionalism was thwarted before it could start. She kissed his cheek again when the blush intensified. Morgan was well aware this was going to be a losing battle for him, but it really was so damn cute that she couldn't resist.

"You know what I mean." He looked away a bit, his face nuzzling into the blankets and her neck as much as he could to escape her looks and hide his reddened appearance. The kisses just made things worse and he wasn't ready to try his own just yet.

It was probably a good thing Sam was hiding his face because Morgan could not stop the amused grin from spreading across her lips. "You're awfully inarticulate for a schoolteacher," she whispered into his ear with a teasing, playful tone. Morgan knew she shouldn't push this too far, push him too far because her intent was still to leave and that made it all horribly unfair to him. And even to her. But she couldn't quite manage to convince herself not to push a little anyway.

"I can manage to do better around everyone else. It's just you." His voice was muffled as he spoke and he kept his face buried. Sam sighed deeply into the blanket and against Morgan's neck. He was nervous with the idea of trying to kiss back; or even when he thought of the fact she was lying across him on his own bed.

She had to strain a little to make out his words but the proximity helped with that. Idly, her fingers went trailing down his arm as she adjusted her head so he could burrow and hide more effectively. "Just me, huh? Why just me?" She strongly suspected the answer, but Morgan was enjoying trying to prod him away from all his avoidance.

With a deep breath Sam looked up and gave Morgan's lips a soft, sweet kiss. It wasn't just friendly but very affectionate. His face was buried again in seconds and he let out his held breath. He felt like he was acting silly but he hadn't dated in quite a while and he never considered himself good at it. She was more than a little intimidating to him, too.

The kiss made her blush, her cheeks flushing a faint purple, and she was glad he'd hidden himself away so he didn't witness it. There was something so very innocent about that kiss that made it an entirely new experience to her. Suddenly her body relaxed and she just let go of the million and one things she'd been clinging to for dear life, including Morgan.

Vanessa hooked an leg around his waist, pulled herself just that much more closer to him and settled. She was quite wrapped around him, actually, but Vanessa felt at ease there with him. Comfortable. Perhaps even safe in a way that she wouldn't normally use the word. Her cheek laid against his head and when she spoke her voice was both softer and quieter than usual. "The television's telling us all about lust," the playful note in her tone was unmistakable. "You're missing it." Vanessa laughed, a quiet, happy sound very unlike Morgan's usual laugh. There was something much more girlish about it.

Sam groaned softly as she hooked around him and pulled him in, a surrendering noise. He could tell she wasn't going to run away because of the kiss and now she was just going to make him blush more and more. "I've seen it before." He said muffled a bit by the sheets. "I'll come out when I'm not as nervous." His hand lightly rested on the small of her back when she wrapped him up, however. He wanted her to stay.

"Shouldn't be nervous. I won't bite." The usual Irish undertones of her accent had fallen away to be hidden far enough in her voice as to barely be heard. "Waiting for gluttony? Maybe greed? Oh, I know, pride." She was teasing him, but it was light and harmless even in her voice. She poked at his hip lightly, her leg having to slide down just so she could and then slide back up afterward. Vanessa was rather glad she didn't ever wear skirts if she didn't have to suddenly. Sam got a dramatic sigh and she seemed to go limp all of a sudden. "Alright, you can hide. I'll watch lust. All by my self. Alone. While the cute guy pretends to not be here."

With the teasing, Sam finally looked up and into her eyes. He was clearly at a loss for words and so he just watched for a long moment. "Do you really think I'm cute... not just cute but... like... me. I like you." He finally blurted out. He resisted the temptation to bury his face back down in the blankets, instead he continued to look into her eyes, his hand squeezing on her lower back a bit nervously.

Her playfulness fell away with his question and the confession that quickly followed. Vanessa blinked and even behind the glowing red her eyes betrayed all her conflicting emotions. "Aye," she told him quietly, biting her lip. Chewing on her lip wouldn't help her answer him, but it helped distract her from some of the thoughts that stopped her from being able to answer him. "It's sort of...complicated." Her words formed slowly, carefully. She didn't want to misstep but she wanted to be honest as well. "But, yeah. I like you." Kind of a lot. She didn't let those words make it out of her mouth, though, because she didn't think it would help if she left and he knew that. She also didn't know why she liked him as much as she did and part of her felt like she should understand that before going and telling anyone else. Even him.

Sam's emotions soared and then plummeted as she said she did, then mentioned it was complicated. He tilted his head, a huge smile replaced by a little frown and a curious face. He didn't want things to be complicated. He wanted everything to be sweet and simple. He wasn't a very complex guy and sometimes he didn't feel he could handle things that were. "Too complicated... to date... or kiss... I mean?" He would have blushed but his mind was racing too quickly to yield any solid reactions.

Vanessa watched the emotions chase their way across his face. She felt bad that she'd induced the frown, especially so soon after he'd smiled just like he'd won something impressive and invaluable. She couldn't explain things with Garrison to him without hurting him, no doubt, and she didn't want to hurt him. Besides, things with Garrison wouldn't ever turn into anything. She knew that from the start. She was already floundering on her decision to leave even though it was her plan and had been for months. No, she wasn't going to explain any of it to him until she had more of it figured out.

Her first response, as it turned out, was to kiss him. It was a soft, lingering kiss and it wasn't shy about it. "Too complicated to date seriously," she finally said quietly. "Not too complicated to date casually." She only added the last bit so he didn't entirely misinterpret her first words. Though once she'd said anything Vanessa couldn't help but worry she'd fall for him more just by hanging out with him more.

"What's the difference?" He was far too confused for a real expression now. It was clear by his tone he honestly didn't know. Did it mean she wanted to date other people or sleep with them? Did it just mean she didn't want to go that far? He'd be fine with that, he was still nervous about the idea himself. Either way he took any offer of a kiss as a reprieve from his racing mind.

Now it was her turn to hide and Vanessa nuzzled into his neck. She didn't say anything for a bit, just took a deep breath and sighed. "Commitment level, potential monogamy versus definite monogamy, official boyfriend status," she listed off quietly once she'd spoken. Vanessa was frowning to herself. "I'm not going to promise something I'm not sure I can give because I'd rather not go there than have to take it away. There's a bunch of stuff I need to think through and none of it has to do with you, but it all impacts things with you." God, this conversation was getting a lot more serious than she'd intended for it to be. She unburrowed herself enough to look up at him with big eyes. "I really like you, Sam. And I don't want to hurt you. So I don't want to get too attached to you until I know I won't."

"I appreciate you thinking about me." He really did and he had a very sincere smile. "You just tell me what casual dating is and we'll do that." It was his turn to be reassuring and his fingers stroked over the small of her back lightly as he tried to comfort her. He even kissed her forehead, which might not have been the best choice but it was very sweet and tender.

She rather visibly relaxed when his reaction was stupidly sweet instead of hurt like she was worried it might be. "How about we skip most of the defining and leave it at 'not a relationship,' yeah?" She nuzzled back into his neck, but this time it was less hiding and more affection. A tiny kiss was even pressed into the skin she found next to her lips. She didn't really have a good definition beyond what she'd given him, honestly. At least not one that didn't seem to define the situation to death and take any potential enjoyment out of the whole thing just on the basis of all the rules.

"I hope it can be more than that sometime soon." Sam didn't sound like he was pressuring her, or he didn't want to. He wanted her to know how he felt. When she kissed his face he kissed her lips again gently, a bit longer this time than before. His other arm slipped around her waist and he finally felt comfortable enough to cuddle her in earnest.

it was very possibly an impossible feat to not smile in response to him. The expression even lingered as she returned his kiss. "Aye, well I guess we'll see." She was still smiling, though. It was funny to think she'd come to keep him company but he'd managed to do quite a job of distracting her from all the various thoughts weighing her down as well. Vanessa wiggled and shifted a bit now that she found herself completely encircled in Sam's arms. Once she settled, though, she was utterly content to lay there with him, nuzzled in against his neck with only one eye able to peer over at the television. Casually she noted, "Gluttony's on."

"That's much less awkward than lust, at least." He noted with a soft laugh. Sam half buried his face into her white hair, enjoying her presence and her smell. His hands were very tame, staying well above her waist line and resting pretty still. He was far too nervous to try and make any moves beyond cuddling the woman.

Her laugh was muffled and she poked his side lightly. "It's not lust's fault you blush so easily. Are there any other awkward sins or is it just lust that makes you squirm?" She unburied her face long enough to grin up at Sam before reclaiming her comfy spot she'd found in his neck and shoulder.

"You make me squirm... sometimes. It's just lust that you can use to tease me." Sam managed to laugh a bit with her, relaxing more than he had before. "And I do not blush easily! You just manage to make me nervous." He grinned to her as she looked at him and thought about stealing a kiss but instead he lightly nuzzled his nose to hers before her face disappeared again.

"You're cute when you squirm." She said it in a manner that sounded like complete justification for any and all squirming she caused. "Aye, and adorable when you blush. It's going to make me a bit sad when you stop having reasons to get nervous around me." A mischievous little smirk crossed onto her lips suddenly even though he couldn't see it. "Maybe I'll just have to find new and interesting ways to make you nervous. How do you feel about streaking?"

Sam blushed at the mention. "You streaking or me streaking?" He said it in his best playful voice and laughed at the failure. He couldn't manage to sound anywhere near how she did when she teased him.

She bit her lip and Vanessa pretended to consider it. "Me? Both? Somewhere very populated?" Her head suddenly popped up so she could see him, a grin on her face. "'Cause if you're anti-streaking I'm just going to have to find someone else to be my outlet for all those other public, naked things I want to do."

"I'm not sure I could do streaking. But I'm curious what other things you want to do... naked... in public." He very predictably blushed. Morgan was a very wild choice for him. Of course, with his siblings he couldn't exactly be criticized too harshly; not that he'd ever bring that up. He shot her a little smile, more curious than anything and it showed.

Obviously her grin was just not going to be going anywhere for some time. "What, you mean I don't have 'serious exhibitionist streak' stamped across my forehead? Damn, must have washed it off by accident again." She was definitely teasing him. It was hard not to. Sex was just very easy to tease about.

Sex was also very easily used to make Sam blush. "Well... now I know... that you are." He laughed a bit and kept looking into her eyes. "I've never thought about that... at all." He didn't really follow what exactly she meant she would like, or if she was serious, but he wanted to know everything he could about her.

Vanessa laughed and kissed the tip of his nose. "I'm not really an exhibitionist and I don't have any dastardly plans to go down on you on a subway train," she told him with only a hint of playfulness in her voice because it would not fade. "As PDA friendly as I might be, I do actually reserve some things for my eyes only."

Sam blushed more brightly than ever at the brazen sex talk and the implication that she did want to do sexual things with him. "Now I know." He said with a sweet little smile. It was clear he wasn't very experienced and also that he was very curious about her and what she enjoyed in all contexts.

All his blushing made her giggle lightly. "Oi, you really are so easy, you know that? A former life of whoring ought to give me enough things to bring up to keep you blushing for years." She was so casual and nonchalant about it that there was no indication that her life as a prostitute or the experiences from it gave her pause any longer.

Her past also wasn't something Sam would judge; It wasn't his place. "Then I guess I'll stay cute... by blushing... which you like." He sighed and finally buried his face back against her neck and into the blanket. "I don't think it's fair you can do this to me and I don't have anything to do to you."

"Life's not fair, waffles." Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and Vanessa gnawed on his shoulder lightly so he'd barely be able to feel it. "Also, entirely untrue. You're just easier than I am, that's all. You'll figure something out eventually, I'm sure." And when that time came she'd likely go running out the room because the easiest revenge was, of course, to tickle her.

Sam laughed a bit more as she gnawed his shoulder, finding the feel somewhere between tickling and massaging. "I hope I figure it out soon so you'll blush and be nervous sometimes too." He gave her a little squeeze about the waist, tentative and testing, seeing how it felt to be a bit more affectionate like she was.

She gave out a little "eep" when she was squeezed. Vanessa shifted so she was laying on top of him completely so as to have a better angle when she started to gnaw on him some more in retaliation. "Mmm, but you've already gotten me to blush," she told him quite honestly. "Even induced nervousness. Not my fault I'm not as demonstrative as you."

"I suppose not." Her noise made Sam smirk and he shifted under her to help, a bit more nervous as she laid over him completely but he tried not to squirm. After a moment he couldn't help himself and had to softly kiss her lips at least one more time. The position demanded it, he felt.

A happy, almost squeaky, noise came from her when she was kissed again. The smile slid onto her lips the moment Sam's had parted from them. "Mmm, or you could just me so much that I don't have time to make you blush and nervous and then you wouldn't have to worry about it."

A happy, almost squeaky, noise came from her when she was kissed again. The smile slid onto her lips the moment Sam's had parted from them. "Mmm, or you could kiss me so much that I don't have time to make you blush and nervous and then you wouldn't have to worry about it."

"That would be a lot of kissing." Sam said it with a smile. He liked the idea and that she wanted to be kissed that much. He stayed closer now, his nose touching hers lightly, squeezing around her waist a bit more. "It would give me time to decide on a nickname for you and to think up ideas to make you blush." He nodded and kissed her again softly but quickly.

"Not," she interrupted herself by kissing him very slowly, making up for the quick kiss he'd just given her, "if I have anything to do with it." She very playfully nipped at his lower lip, her teeth only just barely grazing it for a moment. "If I have my way you won't be able to think clearly enough to start plotting all that out against me." She never stopped watching people and Vanessa saw the progression he was going through. Little by little he was relaxing, letting go of whatever tension being nervous around her caused. He was becoming more comfortable with her, which was good. It was also necessary or he'd find himself putting holes in the ceilings whenever she managed to sneak up on him in the halls.

Sam was all laughs now for her, the nibbling of his lower lip getting an exceptionally loud, near giggle from him. "I wouldn't call it plotting." He replied with a grin. He nuzzled against her softly as he thought. "Just returning the favor?" He smirked and kissed her again sweetly, looking into her eyes any time he wasn't kissing her, nearly ignoring the TV.

She wrinkled her nose at him. "Your blushing gets you kisses, though. What will my blushing get me? Hmm?" Vanessa gave him her best impatient face but it was hard to reign in her smile. "Besides, 'waffles' is a huge improvement over 'mudflap.' Which I still reserve for instances when it may be necessary." She did not show any signs of explaining what such instances may include.

"Kisses too?" Sam wasn't exactly sure what else she would want from him. "And neither of those are really good." He gave a playful, fake pout but could only hold it for just a moment before he was grinning again. "I'll think up a good one for you some day."

Now she was pouting. "What's wrong with waffles?" Vanessa even sat up, leaving her straddling Sam's lap as she ticked off points on her fingers. "Wholesome. Golden. Sweet associations. Total comfort food. Makes you happy even when you're all grumpy in the morning. Has depth. Where is the bad with waffles?"

Sam laughed, though he squirmed down into the bed a bit as she sat up on his lap, shifting to get comfortable and be proper. "Well, when you put it like that. It just sounded like a puppy's name at first." He said with a smile. His hands slipped down more onto her hips because of her new position.

"If you greet me by licking my face or stake your claim by peeing on me this is totally off," she told him with utter seriousness.

"I'm not sure I could promise not to occasionally lick your face but I don't think that should be too bad. I wouldn't do anything else." He wasn't quite as open with that kind of talk but he didn't seem to mind it. He enjoyed that Morgan said what she thought.

The woman appeared to consider this quite closely. She had the air of someone in the middle of negotiations. "Alright, I can settle for occasional licking. But absolutely no peeing on me. I don't do watersports. It's a rule." She gave him a firm nod and only the twitching of one corner of her mouth gave away the smile she was fighting.

"I wouldn't dare." He held up a hand in the 'scouts honor' salute. "I think that's a good rule to have, too." Sam said with a laugh before sitting up quickly, licking Morgan's face, and flopping back down onto the bed. He held her hips so she couldn't run off; though he wasn't sure it was better to keep her close.

A high-pitched, girlie squeal came out and Vanessa was swatting at him while attempting to simultaneously wipe her face off on her sleeve. "Bad, waffles!" She purposely used the sort of voice people tended to use when puppies were misbehaving. She even leaned over and hit him on the nose with one finger. Vanessa should have fallen over from leaning so far but his hands on her hips were helping to keep her upright for now. She bit his nose lightly and sat back up, still rubbing her licked cheek with her arm.

Sam laughed happily as she swatted, turning his head and giving his best dog whimper. "If I'm Waffles and you're all over me, that makes you Syrup?" He said playfully, looking up at her and helping to keep her stay on the bed as she thrashed. He even playfully bit at her finger when she hit his nose and then caught a kiss as she bit his nose.

She stopped all movement and thought just for a moment. A look of mischief was on her face a moment later. As she leaned down again her hands came to rest on his waist, fingers wiggling their way just below Sam's shirt until she found skin. "I think if I'm to be syrup I need to do a much better job of being all over you." Her voice had dropped half an octave when she spoke and her words were nearly purred into his ear. "Though, if I do my job too well," Vanessa paused, biting her lip, "well I wouldn't want to introduce competition between the sticky, viscous things clinging to you, would I?" She winked at him and added, "Besides, the white totally encroaches on my territory."