When Dom was in place, Michael strode forward, grabbed the sword, and pulled it from Sam's chest. Dom, efficient as always, pressed against the wound and then, ever so slowly, turned Sam on his side.
"Can you, uh, step back please?" Dom's voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. He shot Michael the tiniest glance, his attention focused on Sam.
Michael looked down at himself and was surprised to see he was still so close. Usually he pulled back without thought and let his operatives do their thing. But all he wanted to do was move closer. No, that wasn't right. What he really wanted to do was push Dom out of the way and take over.
"He should be breathing by now."
Dom didn't look up, but Michael saw the scowl. "He's fine, King. He'll be breathing in a minute."
"Maybe we should--"
Sam sucked in a huge breath. His eyes snapped open, and blood spattered his lips as he coughed a little. Michael moved without thought, grabbed the cloth from the counter, and then circled the chair so he could clean Sam's face.
"Wha?" Sam tried to speak, but Michael soothed him.
So did Dom.
"Are his wounds--"
"King," Dom snapped, and his face instantly reddened. "I got this."
Michael tried not to scowl, but he wasn't sure he was successful. "I can help."
"I'm his anchor." Dom's voice was quieter, but it had an edge Michael had never heard before. Dom was one of the easiest-going men Michael had ever had the pleasure to meet, but he was definitely worked up.
"I'm his anchor," Dom repeated, as he lifted the pad to peek at the wounds but kept it angled so Michael couldn't see. A growl worked its way up Michael's chest, but he checked it. Dom looked satisfied by what he saw of Sam's condition, and then glanced up at Michael. "In this room, I take care of him."
For just a moment, Michael almost ordered Dom to step back and let him take over. It was his lover who needed care. But then Sam reached out a flailing, uncoordinated hand that connected with Michael's thigh.
"Michael," he whispered, his voice rough.
"What is it?" Michael murmured back.
"You need... to go... please." He sucked in a breath. "Dom's got this."
Jealousy and hurt made Michael swallow hard as he looked down at the pleading in Sam's eyes. Michael blew out a breath. He was being overbearing, ridiculous even. It wasn't his place, and he knew better.
"Take care of him." He directed that at Dom and then moved toward the door.
"I always do." Dom looked up and caught Michael's gaze. "I've never hurt him. I never will."
The jab hit home, just as Dom intended, and Michael was man enough to own it. He deserved that, and he needed to get his emotions in check or it was going to be a disaster. He was the one who'd said they had to keep things separate, and he was already going back on his word.
"Thanks, Dom."
Michael left, dropped the sword in the bag, and then sent it to the autoclave the moment he was in the hall. He'd acted like an ass, and he knew it. He would have to do better.
Chapter Fifteen
HE needed coffee. So much coffee.
Eyes gritty from lack of sleep, Sam stumbled up the last flight of stairs and pushed through the door on the ninth floor. The cafeteria was abuzz with quiet conversation. It was much too early, even for his usually boisterous coworkers, and for once, Sam was glad there weren't too many people around. He couldn't handle it after his restless night.
Sam wanted to talk to Michael about what went on after he pulled him back into the mortal plane. But Michael had blown him off, citing too much paperwork, and had only texted to tell Sam good night. Sam knew they still had to talk, but he hadn't been able to push Michael last night. Maybe after he was sufficiently caffeinated, he'd feel up to it.
"You okay, Samwise?"
Sam found a smile for Shona and stepped aside so she could get to the cream and sugar. He'd been inadvertently blocking the station while he waited for his latte. A moment later LaRue handed his paper cup over the counter, and he smiled again in thanks and turned back to Shona.
"Sure am. Just need the coffee today." He held up his cup, as though that explained everything.
Shona studied him for a moment and then nodded. "Okeydokey. Listen, I sent you a case."
Sam's ears perked up. "Oh, yeah?"
"Yup. It's right up your alley, and this girl is screaming to cross."
Sometimes, if a medium felt they knew which ghostwalker was best suited to a situation, they would send them directly. The ghostwalker still had the option to pass on it, of course, and if they did, it just went into the pool for anyone else to choose.
"Screaming in a bad way?"
Shona shook her head as she lifted her cup. She moaned out a decadent and not entirely appropriate sound when she took a sip. "God, that's good," she whispered to the mug in her hand. She lifted her gaze back to Sam. "But no, not in a bad way. By all accounts she's headstrong and a skeptic, so I think it's going to take your soft touch to convince her. But there's something about her. She wants to believe."
Sam walked with Shona toward the exit. "I'll take a look at it when I get back to my office."
Shona stopped at the elevator. Sam used the stairs, but Shona didn't like to exert herself. She looked back at Sam as he continued toward the stairwell.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Couldn't be better."
Shona laughed. "You're a terrible liar, Sam Jones."
Sam lifted his cup in salute and then headed through the door. As the caffeine started to kick in, Sam felt a little more alert. He knew he still needed to talk to Michael, but that could wait until after he looked over the case file.
Dom was already in the office, sitting at the small table and working on the crossword. He liked to pass the time that way while he waited for Sam to either die or return from the dead. Sam thought it was cute, and he was forever looking for new and interesting puzzle books to leave as surprises for Dom.
"Hey." Dom's smile was bright as he watched Sam walk in. He waited till Sam was seated and flipping open his tablet, and then he gently poked Sam's arm. "Did you talk to King?"
"Not yet," Sam muttered as he logged in. He spared Dom a quick glance. "We didn't get together last night."
Dom's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"
"We aren't together every second of every day, you know."
"No, I know. I just thought you were going to see each other last night is all."
So had Sam. He shrugged. "Michael had a lot of paperwork to catch up on."
For a moment Dom remained quiet. Then he cleared his throat. "But you are going to talk to him, right?"
"Of course." Sam squeezed Dom's arm. "He has to know what happened yesterday wasn't good."
Dom blew out a relieved breath. "Good. I'll talk to him about it if I need to, of course. But I just think it'll be better coming from you, not only because you know your care best, but because.... What's that look for?"
Sam looked up and frowned. "I ran into Shona upstairs, and she said she sent me a case, but it's not here."
Dom leaned forward to study the tablet with him. "Maybe she forgot to actually send it?"
They looked at each other, and then they both shook their heads. Shona didn't forget anything. If she said she sent it, then she did. Sam tapped a few options and opened the database of all the currently active cases and stared, wide-eyed. There were a heck of a lot fewer cases than he expected. As he scrolled through the choices, Sam could only see about twenty.
That was ridiculous because, at any given time, there were thousands of active case files.
"That's weird."
Dom saw what he meant and immediately picked up his own tablet and logged in. Sam got up and peered over his shoulder, but he wasn't surprised when Dom's access matched his own. The exact same twenty cases came up and nothing more.
"He didn't." Sam's voice went low and dark.
Dom looked up at him. "Umm, yes. It appears he did."
"If you'll excuse me, it seems I need to have a conversation with our boss."
Dom's look clearly said "better you than me," and he sat back and picked up his crossword. "Good luck."
"I'm not the one who needs it."
Sam forced himself not to stomp down the long hallway, and by the time he made it to the lobby where Julie's desk sat as a guard to the boss's office, he'd managed to rein in his emotions. He couldn't go in there half-cocked and pissed off. It had to be a calm and rational discussion.
As he approached, Julie looked up from whatever she was typing. He gave her a big grin, and she chuckled. The look in her eye said she knew exactly what was going on.
Sam pointed at the door. "Is he in?"
"Go on in," Julie answered with a nod.
He took a step forward but stopped when Julie went back to typing.
"Uh, don't you need to announce me?"
Her bright chuckle sounded just a little bit evil. "Where's the fun in that? Give him hell, Sam."
Yup. She definitely knew what was going on. He gave her a salute that made her laugh again and then walked straight to the big oak doors. Without bothering to knock, Sam went inside. He secretly loved the way Michael jerked his head up at the intrusion, and he not so secretly loved the way Michael's face melted into a warm smile.
"Hey, there."
Whatever was in his tone made Michael pause. Slowly, he sat back, never taking his eyes off Sam.
"Hello," he said warily.
Good. You should be wary.
Sam sat in the chair across from Michael's desk and made a show of folding his hands and resting them on his lap. Michael's expression went from wary to worried, and Sam saw his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed.
"What's up?"
"Would you care to tell me what's going on?" Sam deliberately used Michael's words from weeks earlier, when he called Sam and Dom into his office to read them the riot act. It had the desired effect, because Michael was completely taken aback.
"What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about." Sam sat forward and leaned his arms on the edge of the desk without breaking eye contact. "What is going on with you? Yesterday, you were completely out of line with Dom."
"I know."
Sam blinked. He hadn't thought Michael would agree. It was a step in the right direction. "It can't happen again. Dom is my anchor. He sees to my care in this office, and you can't intrude on that. It's shitty, for one thing. And for another, it's completely inappropriate."
"You're right." Michael blew out a breath. "And I knew that at the time. I just couldn't seem to stop myself. It won't happen again. From now on I walk out of the room the moment the sword is out of your chest."
"Thank you." Sam smiled. "I appreciate how much you care about me, but this is the way it has to be."
"I agree. I don't like it, but I agree."
Sam released a breath. He trusted Michael when he said he'd back off. But that was only one thing he needed to talk about, and the second was maybe the more delicate thing. So he steeled his resolve, inhaled sharply, and made sure he had Michael's full attention.
"Shona said she sent me a case, but it wasn't there when I went to look."
The color drained from Michael's face. Until that moment Sam had been half hoping it was a weird fluke.
"And then, when I looked at the database, it seems my clearance had been reduced to practically nothing. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
"Shit."
Sam cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't think I'd find out?"
"No, that's not--"
"Because that's the crappiest thing you could do to me, Michael." Sam had to take a moment and just breathe. "You're the one who wanted to keep work and our relationship separate. And then, barely two weeks into it, you're making everything hard."
"Sam."
"You're making choices for me. Worse, you're taking choices from me. This--us--we can't work if you do that."
"Sam, wait, I--"
"You've got some grand explanation to make this better? Because I'd love to hear it. I always thought we could make this work. But you have to do your part. It can't be all me--"
"Sam!"
Sam stuttered to a stop. Getting worked up wasn't going to help. He'd known that when he came into the room. Time to calm himself and listen to what Michael had to say.
"Yes?"
Michael looked uncharacteristically nervous, and then he shook his head. "I forgot."
Sam blinked at him. "You forgot what, exactly?"
"That I'd restricted your access." Michael looked sheepish, and Sam's anger rose. But then Michael held up a hand. "Wait, let me explain."
Sam gestured for him to go on.
"Yesterday, when I was waiting for the call to come pull you back, I got... worked up. I was worried and waiting, and my overbearing side took over. I changed your access so you couldn't do that to me again. Seemed like a good idea at the time."
"What the hell?"
"I know." Michael gave a laugh, but it was humorless. "Look, I'm not making excuses, just trying to explain. I got into my head, which is why I messed with your access and why I treated Dom the way I did. After I pulled you back...." Michael scrubbed a hand over his face and then sat forward, his expression earnest. "After you were back, and I acted the way I did, I knew I had to get hold of myself. I let my feelings for you get in the way after I swore I wouldn't."
Sam squinted. "But my access is still restricted."
Michael grabbed his tablet and tapped at the screen for several silent seconds.
"There. It's back to normal now. As I said, I'd forgotten I'd done that. I was too busy berating myself for my reprehensible behavior to remember. It's fixed. I promise. And I'm sorry."
Sam's heart melted because he knew just how sincere Michael was. Normally Michael wasn't one to apologize, to admit mistakes, to soften. But he was doing all of those things because he knew he'd been wrong.
"Okay." Sam stood up, took a calculated risk, and rounded the desk. He planted his butt on the edge and nudged Michael with his knee. "Hey."
"Hi." Michael smiled and took his hand. Sam loved Michael's hands. They were broad and warm. They felt good in his... and on his body.
Sam stopped that thought right there. It was definitely not appropriate for the office. "So. What are we going to do about this?" he asked softly.
"This is all on me, and I own it." Michael pulled Sam a little bit closer and made him slide over so Michael could fit his knees between Sam's. "I'm having a hard time shifting my thought process, but I'll get it together."
"Will you really?" Sam's heart beat a rapid tattoo against his ribs. He didn't want to say it, but he felt he should. He had to put it out there, so they both remembered what was at stake, even if Sam's heart broke just thinking it. "Because if you can't, then we have to stop seeing each other. And if we do that, then there's only one thing I can do. I don't want to leave, but Michael--"
"No." The word was harsh and low, and Sam startled at the vehemence. Michael gripped his hand tighter and then pushed in further so they were even closer. "I'll get it together. I will. This was a bump on the road, but I swear, I'll behave."
Sam pulled out of his grip and then gently took Michael's face in his hand. "I need you to separate work and relationship. I can be your boyfriend in the office. That's not a problem for me. But for you?" Sam shook his head, but he softened it with a smile. "You aren't made that way."
"Maybe not," Michael allowed. "But I can control myself. Just give me some time. I'm not saying I'll be perfect. You're so important to me. But I can handle it. I just need a little time."
Sam's heart cracked at the pleading in Michael's tone. Seeing him vulnerable, because Michael allowed it, was a gift Sam wouldn't take for granted. He leaned in and kissed Michael quickly--just a peck to seal the deal.
"Okay." Sam extricated himself from Michael's hold and stepped back around the desk. "And thank you for listening."
/>
Michael grinned. "Always."
Sam snorted out a laugh. That hadn't always been true, but maybe it was changing. For Michael's sake, and his own, he hoped so.
"I've got a case to review. We'll call for you soon."
Michael winked, and Sam couldn't stop grinning.
Chapter Sixteen
THREE days later Michael was barely hanging on. He called Sam in first thing, because if he didn't, he was going to break. Michael knew it had to be done, knew it was the best thing for them until he could get himself under control at work. But the look on Sam's face when he suggested it was almost enough to make him go back on his plan.
"Weekends only?"
Michael sighed and pulled Sam into his arms because he didn't want to see the devastation on his face. He kissed the top of Sam's head and breathed in his scent.
"I know it's a lot to ask from you, but I'm doing it anyway." Michael nosed his way down to Sam's temple and let his lips linger on Sam's skin. "Just for a little while."
Sam clutched at him, let out an explosive breath, and then pulled back far enough for them to look at each other.
"You think if you see me on work nights, it's going to be too hard to shift into 'boss' mode at work?"
Michael should have known that Sam would get it. "It already is too hard. I need to do something. I can't lose you, but if I keep on the way I have been, I'm going to. This is what I need for right now."
Sam pushed away, but his smile took the sting out of the action. "Okay. For now. That means you shouldn't be hugging me in your office. Get to work, Mr. King." Sam turned and walked toward the door, but he stopped halfway there and shot over his shoulder, "But that means Saturday, you're all mine. And we're going to Rochester because I have shopping to do. You're carrying the bags."
Michael laughed. "You got it."
As soon as Sam was gone, the smile fell from Michael's face. He sat heavily in his chair and then leaned back because he needed a moment. It had gone better than he expected, but it wasn't exactly a surprise that Sam was understanding. Sam was all for anything that kept them together.
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