Out of all of the Cafe's in LA... [Closed to Ani]

"Yeah, she's definitely... something" he said, that could have meant an all manner of different things, but he was mainly edging towards the fact that he could have tried to date any girl he wanted, and he ended up with a woman from the underworld who was a hunter of demons, she's not exactly the easiest person to deal with, she has a tendency to worry.

"Well I don't quite know who you have had to deal with, but I've met some interesting people, not very interesting to talk to them though, I must say I have missed out shenanigans" he said as he leaned back on his chair, but was still grasped onto the front with his hands. Sam noticed Salone was quite quiet when he showed off his tattoo's, there was a possibility that she had already seen this type of tattoo before on Sean and Salone was probably smart enough to put it all together and figure out what Sam was now, he gulped slightly before trying to play it cool and not blurt it out loud to her in the small chance that she hadn't quite figured it out yet. "Well a lot has changed over the past year Salone, I'm a new man!" he said as he raised his arms out by his side, causing a small piece of his shoulder tattoo to peak through the sleeve of his shirt. "Getting over you was the first step, from there it was it all looking up, I met a girl, got some new friends, got a hobby, my life can't really get much better for me... hell these tattoo's have been a big help too, really made me feel more independent you know? I'm one guy in this world and I can do whatever I want with no limitations" Sam stopped as he realized he was getting off topic, he had not seen this woman in over a year and he was going into a monologue about his life, he did not want to bore her with that.

Sam excused himself for just a moment as he brought over his food and drink from the other table, he also picked up his gym bag and set it down just beside the table the two were sitting at.

Salone made another small laugh like noise at shenanigans. But on the inside her heart grew colder, Sam had come into contact with a titan… she was pretty sure with that bit of information. But Salone was generally hiding how she felt and she had become very good at it.

“Good for you,” She offered another small smile. Then Sam went to get his stuff and left Salone to her thoughts for a few minutes. Quietly she sipped her drink. Something had changed in Sam and she wasn’t sure if she liked it or not. It was going to take some adjusting. Salone’s brain flicked back to when she had first met Sam. The silliness of the entire situation, for a moment Salone wished she could go back to that point when life didn’t weigh so heavily on her mind. Sure Salone had been dying of her illness then but- oh no. What if the baby had the illness… Salone suppressed a shudder silently hoping in her mind that it was not the case.
The woman massaged at her head and her face had paled when that thought hit her mind.

Sam turned the chair to its regular position before sitting down upon it, he took several sips of his coffee as he hoped to drink the most that he could before it became cold, he also took several bites out of the delicious cheese and ham sandwich that was made for him. He wiped off several crumbs from his lips as he looked back up to Salone who seemed to be acting slightly different, there was less colour in her face and as much as she was trying to disguise it, she was massaging her head in a hope to make herself feel better. "Are you ok Salone? Do you want me to get you something? Like some water?" he asked, it seemed to be just a regular headache, but it all came around in a few seconds while he was grabbing his things from the other table, there was definitely something else causing this.

Salone looked up as Sam brought her back to reality.
“Huh? Oh I’m good I just had a really scary thought that I really hope won’t happen.”

Salone lowered her hand and tried to cover up her mild panic attack but the damage had been done. Now Sam was concerned might as well tell him. Salone couldn’t exactly run to Jake and talk to him about her worries.

“Do you remember when we first met how my hands shook?” Salone began hesitantly. “That’s because I was terminally ill and I was dying. It was caused by my ability to shape shift. But we were able to find a cure. But now I’m worried that she’ll have it. The cure I found was drastic and shouldn’t have even happened. I wouldn’t wish it upon anybody or anyone.”

Salone could remember the pain vividly and her scars on her back burned. She closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again, her hand resting on her stomach.

Sam was happy to that Salone was feeling ok, but the way she confirmed her well being raised even more questions. Sam's mind was brought back to the first time these two had met, it was back in London, England, Sam had gone to his local cafe to relax in when the woman seated in front of him entered and then left soon after, Sam was annoyed with himself that he did not say anything to her so he followed her out, that was when he saw that Salone was more powerful than he thought, he was forced to follow Salone over rooftops to investigate further and then they met face to face, from then on they got along well with Sam mostly showing Salone around the city he lived in.

Now that he had to think about it, he did remember seeing Salone's hand shake from time to time, but he just blamed a low temperature or small illness. When he heard it was in fact a large illness, a terminal illness, his heart sank, sure it had been cured now, but he wished that he would have known about this sooner so he could have been there for Salone whenever she needed someone. "You can't think like that Salone, that kid is going to be the greatest thing that ever happened to you, whether she has the illness or not, you will love that child either way and she will love you too, if there is nothing you can do about it, make the kids life as amazing and as comfortable as you can... if you ever need my help on anything, you have my number so don't me afraid to ask" he said, Sam was not experienced when it came to kids, but he was willing to spend more time around them in case he ever had any of his own.

Salone shook her head violently, “I don’t want her to go through the pain I did Sam. I was in the hospital for most of my time ever since I was eighteen. I don’t want her to go through that.”
True, she would do everything he had just said. Love her, care, play, and just be a good mom. Unlike hers had been. Salone was scared of this situation, feeling helpless wasn’t necessarily her forte. It was like watching Jake and Sean fight all over again… “To be honest I’m scared of what’s going to happen next. It could all come out fine and dandy or it will nose dive to the bottom of the pit. Two completely different and opposite endings, one of them I would rather avoid.”
Salone’s fingers rubbed the dragon medallion again as she picked up her drink and took a small mouthful the hot chocolate. The child inside her shifted around again, causing Salone to look down. “Quite moving you Or I might spill.”

Having something inside a person was quite distracting, especially if it threw Salone’s balance off kilter. She was a natural klutz as is and she didn’t need any help in that department.
“To change the topic off of depressing things, when do I get to meet said girlfriend named Zoe?” Salone arched an eyebrow.

"Well if there's nothing else that you can do, the only thing you can do is hope and pray" Sam said bluntly, he was never one to pin all of his hopes on faith, but in times where things are out of your hands, that is the only thing that can be done. "Or you can look at it the karmic way, good things happen to good people, and you are one of the nicest people I know, so hopefully you will get rewarded for that."

Sam chuckled slightly at Salone's slight misfortune, the little bundle of joy that Salone was carrying was causing her some discomfort, as the liquid swirled around in her mug, Sam caught a whiff of what was inside of it, hot chocolate, Salone hadn't changed where it counted over the past year.

It appeared that Salone's curiosity was getting the better of her, or perhaps she was just trying to be polite, either way if she was to meet Zoe it would be extremely awkward for Sam. "Well she's been at home lately with an injury to her wrist so it's not like she is going anywhere, I say you get to meet where whenever you want to come around."

Salone sighed, unlike the rest of her family. She didn’t believe in god so praying wasn’t going to do her much good and she had the worst luck on the face of the planet. So karma wasn’t really her best options. At Sam’s laughing at her situation, Salone scowled at him.

“Just you wait Mr. Karma for when you get to live with a pregnant woman and then see how you feel. She’ll have hot and cold flashed, her feet will hurt, and then she’ll talk to herself and become considerably shorter tempered. Never mind the fact that you will be the one getting up in the middle of the night.” Salone stated, looking faintly amused at that fact as she finished her drink and set it on the table. She waited for this information to hit Sam and she let him mull it over and digest it for a few seconds before saying, “As for meeting Zoe, I don’t have to unless you want me to.”

She could recognize the panic that crossed his face at her idea. Salone and Zoe meeting was an explosion waiting to happen, considering the two were polar opposites. Not to mention one of them was more edge on the other due to recent developments.

"I feel like the fact I am actually having a kid will drown out anything that Zoe throws at me, I would do anything and everything for that kid, she will be the one carrying the kid so the most I could do is everything else, it would cause havoc for my night shift, but I would be more than happy to do it" Sam put a strange emphasis on the "night shift" part, he obviously wasn't going to blurt out that he stopped criminals during the night, but he also wanted Salone to fully understand what he was talking about. "It's funny that I say all of this to you, we haven't even talked about any of this, for all I know she could be very against having children." Zoe had a history of having children, but Sam was not willing to share this information with Salone just yet, it was quite personal to Zoe and he just didn't feel right about sharing it with friends.

"As for meeting Zoe, it would be err... interesting?" Sam noticed that Salone had just finished her drink so she would possibly be ready to leave now. "You can meet her now if you really want."

Salone smiled softly at the conviction Sam felt towards the woman she had yet to meet. He was obviously crazy about her and that made Salone happy. “Luckily she has a good man to help her then. Kids or no kids. I actually came here to get another book as I’m too fat to do any proper cleaning any more. Books are one of my few comforts left… that and puppy hunting. My old dog died and Penny wants to get a new one.”

Salone personally felt it was too soon but with Artemis hanging about she needed a new playmate since the only other person in the house was tired all the time. She rubbed her belly absentmindedly before her friend came over, carrying a stack of books. Salone chose one, stood, and bought it.
“I will meet her if you want me to, it could be… ehhh slightly hectic..”

Sam blushed slightly as Salone commented on what a good man she thought she was, he may be the same great man on the outside, but there was some kind of tug of war going on in his head with his Titan form constantly banging on the inside of his head, eager to burst out and do some damage. "Aww that's a shame about your dog, I've always wanted to get a puppy myself, but I'm not quite sure how Amber would react to it." He said as he finished off his cheese and ham sandwich, which was quite delicious. Their conversation was interrupted by someone else, Sam did not know who this woman was, but Salone clearly did as she slipped a book out of the pile she was carrying, Sam smiled politely to her as he rose from his seat with Salone, he tossed his hoodie over his shoulder and picked up his gym bag as he waited for Salone to purchase the book she had chosen.

"It will only be hectic if you make it hectic, I personally can't wait for this little experiment" he said smiling as he opened the door for Salone and let her exit first. Sam was usually a fast walker, but he slowed down to stay with Salone who was carrying some extra weight. They chatted some more as the reached Sam's apartment, again he held the door open for Salone and let her through as he trailed behind slowly whilst climbing the stairs, he wished that the elevator would work for this reason alone, but no one seemed to be willing to do anything about it, Salone seemed tired as she reached the door of the apartment, Sam apologized profusely for having to make her climb it as he slipped his key into the door. The door opened and Sam tossed his keys into a bowl off by the side before turning back to Salone and saying "Welcome back".

"Experiment?" Salone asked before responding in sarcasm, "Oh goody."
**
Zoe was talking in rapid Spanish when Sam opened the door to their apartment, she flashed him a breif smile before turning her back on him and finishing her conversation. Not noticing Salon until she stepped over the threshold. Zoë’s nose twitched, testing the woman’s scent. It was weird like she was here but at the same time wasn’t. Her blue eyes narrowed and she looked intently at Sam before finishing her conversation. Hanging up she turned back to the two.
“Hey?” Zoe asked, wondering who this person was.
Salone introduced herself and telling Zoe that she was a friend of Sam’s, Zoe introduced herself still eyeing Salone as if she was an oddity.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Zoe began. “What are you? I have never come across anything that smelled like you before.”
Salone wasn’t sure if she should feel flattered or amused. If she remembered correctly Time Collectors haven’t been around for several thousand years… “only if you tell me what you are.”
Salone stated, plopping herself down in a chair and fixing Zoe with her amber brown eyes. Zoe couldn’t help but squirm at the look those eyes gave her. They were unnatural and it seemed that it there were several different beings looking out from them.
“Touché,” Zoe muttered. “Fine then, I won’t find out today it seems like.”

Sam smiled to Zoe as she noticed him enter, she seemed to be speaking Spanish over the phone to someone, a talent that Sam did not know she had, although when Salone entered the household, her attitude seemed to change. She seemed to be upset with Sam for bringing this woman into their apartment, although he was only basing that off of a look and Zoe has so many looks that Sam is unable to keep up with them all. Sam simply took a step back and watched as the two introduced themselves, he started to feel slightly warm inside as it looked like the two were getting along ok, until Zoe asked a question that you do not usually ask someone when you meet them for the first time. He shot Zoe a look of disapproval as he took his gym bag into his bedroom and stuffed it into the wardrobe.

Sam returned as Zoe entered the kitchen, he looked over to Salone before entering the kitchen after her. "Zoe, this is... 'the girl' ok? The one I liked before you, we met randomly in a coffee shop just down the street and we haven't seen each other in a year and I wanted you to meet her, so if you could just be a little bit nicer towards her, it would be greatly appreciated." Before Zoe could make any kind of retort, Sam exited the kitchen to see Amber all over Salone, he wasn't surprised that she remembered her. "Salone, do you want anything to eat or drink?" he asked politely after watching the two together for a few seconds, it was like an old school reunion.

Zoe’s eyebrows shot clean up her forehead, “Oh-OH!” Zoe said comprehension hitting her in the brain. “Got it… I will be, hospitable.”
Salone snorted, covering her mouth at Zoe’s behavior with Sam. It was downright funny as well as adorable. “No I’m good Sam, thanks for the offer.”
Zoe then sat down on the chair across from Salone. She didn’t seem much like a threat, especially since she was expecting offspring so Zoe decided to relax in the chair. During the next few minutes the two discussed basic things such as shoes and favorite forms of food. Soon Salone was laughing in her chair about a story about Sam. It felt good to laugh… she hadn’t laughed in so long.

After Salone had declined anything to eat or drink, Sam approached her and sat cross legged on the couch, he didn't want to admit it, but he was quite excited to see what would happen when Salone and Zoe met, if they would get along, it would make life a lot easier for Sam, and it looked like his wish was coming true. Zoe had sat down with them and discussed a variety of different things with Salone, including a story involving Sam that Zoe promised she wouldn't tell anyone......

Amber had leaped up onto Sam's lap, she laid in a comfortable position as Sam slowly stroked her up and down, causing her to purr quietly. Sam kissed her on the top of the head before asking her quietly "You want some food?", Amber immediately looked directly up into Sam's eyes and he took that as a yes. While the two ladies where conversing, Sam excused himself and entered the kitchen and opened up the cabinet usually filled with Amber's food, however there was nothing to be seen. Sam began to think back to the last time he fed Amber and could not remember using the last of it, which meant Zoe probably did and didn't notify Sam of it. He shut the cabinet and scratched Amber's ear, "I'll be right back" he told her as he exited the kitchen and picked his keys up from the bowl on the table, he turned to the two women seated in the living area, "Amber doesn't have any food, so I'm going to run to the store for some, I'll be about five minutes, don't have too much fun without me" he said as he swung the front door open and began his trek to the nearest store.

Zoe watched Sam leave before turning back to Salone.

“What happened to him?” The pregnant woman asked quietly. “He seems off…”

Zoe sighed, looking at Salone. “A lot of things happened and I’m not supposed to tell you unless he wants me to.”

Salone nodded, her jaw tightened and she looked at the grains of the table. “How did you two meet?”

“Well,” Zoe shifted, crinkling her brow. “I kind of growled at him. One who has been clawed by a demon doesn’t like to be touched.”

Salone made another noise of amusement, “Sounds like a better adventure than mine, a café in England while my best friend was at a meeting.”

Zoe smiled slightly, the bridge of her freckled nose crinkling. Then the serious questions started, mainly what had happened between her and Sam.

“Sam,” Salone sighed. “He was sweet and nice… like that guy who goes out of his way to do the right thing, but-“

“Your heart had already been stolen by someone different?”

“Exactly. I felt bad about it afterwards and I never would have dreamed of finding him here in California. He had no idea how much I had changed.”

Zoe smiled faintly, “I understand completely.”

With that the conversation trailed off into an unimportant area of conversation, mainly horror stories of misadventures. One involved Salone running into a wall while playing volleyball in gym class. Zoe shared a few, none to the same embarrassing extent as Salone’s but it was funny.