(Lucy's POV)

Sam: Awesome. It's a date.

4 words and I was over the moon.

After my session with Serena, I had felt a whole heck of a lot lighter. Then hearing from Sam, having him arrange a dinner for everyone... calling it a date. I couldn't seem to curb the excitement bubbling around in my chest.

I wasn't sure if it was a result of Serena's comment about me not allowing myself to catch feelings. Or, that I was emotionally wrecked right now. Most likely, it was a combination of both.

Whatever it was, I was very aware that feelings had indeed been caught and I was trying to reign myself in... with very little success.

Not a date... more like a group hang.

I knew he hadn't meant anything by it but upon arriving tonight, Lee had poured me a glass of wine... and then another.

He waited until my cheeks had a perma-flush and my smile was stuck and then fired out his questions. "So, what's going on with you and Sam?"

No matter what my head was saying, my heart was dancing to a rhythm that I hadn't felt in a long, long time, not since Trigg. Maybe not ever. "After Trigg... I learned my lesson. I don't want to date anyone that I have to spend copious amounts of time with after we break up."

Shit. I should have known. Lee was a brilliant, cheeky Fucker.

The wine, along with my current emotional imbalance apparently were working together to loosen my lips, as well as my walls.

My wide eyes met Lee's, who looked positively gleeful at this turn of events.

He ran a hand through his sun kissed mane and shot me a maniacal grin, cupping a hand to his ear. "Sorry did you just say Trigg?"

"Mmmmmmhmmmm..." I took a Goliath sip of my wine. I was well aware that conversations like this one called for fortitude of the boozy variety.

His mouth opened and closed a few times, as he obviously considered what to say. "Wait a second. Does Josie know? She does, doesn't she? That dick."

His outrage made me snort into my glass. "So, let me get this straight, you aren't upset that I didn't tell you but you would be upset if I did tell Josie?"

He stared at me for a moment and then shrugged. "When you put it like that, it sounds a little crazy."

"For the record I think you are aware that you might be a tad crazy."

I let that percolate, enjoying his sputtering. "Josie doesn't know either. Trigg and I didn't want to make things weird at work. Then we broke up and I didn't want to make it worse, by having you guys in the know."

"What happened?" All hints of teasing gone, he now looked concerned. "Do I need to throw some punches?"

"Remember when that reporter started sniffing around, wanting to do an exclusive on my dad?"

Lee's chiselled jaw, clenched. "I do."

Trigg didn't want to be tied down with a murderer or his offspring.

"I hadn't gotten around to telling Trigg yet. It didn't go over well."

Lee looked lost. "What? Why? What the fuck, Luce? What do your dad's crimes have to do with you?"

I poured us both some more wine and confessed. "I don't know but I do know that he did me a favour. It wasn't going to last. He regretted his reaction after and tried to get back together but it was too late, I didn't want to go back."

Lee's blue eyes took on a laser quality as he took me in. "Look, that's absolutely his loss but I don't think you should hesitate with Sam because of what happened with Trigg. You can't live your life in fear and it's obvious that there could be something there."

It was easy for him to say. His happiness with Declan was such, that he was living in a romantic haze. That's not how things tended to work out for me and I didn't want to lose the friendship that I had with Sam.

Not wanting to bring him down with my lack of romantic success, I simply said, "I'm really happy things worked out for you guys."

When Declan and Lee had met, it hadn't taken long for both of them to realise that they had found a forever kind of love. Lee had taken a step back from the task force, accepted a part time role teaching with Josie. He now only came out with our team, when needed.

I missed them both more and more with each mission but couldn't be anything but happy for them and what they had found here in Fenelon

I stared at the drops left in my wine glass. "I'm sorry, I'm exhausted. Are you okay if I head to bed? What time will Declan be home?"

Declan was a doctor at the Lindsay hospital. He was also the brother of Josie's husband, Lincoln. "Hard to know, it might be tomorrow morning. It depends how busy they are tonight. Definitely go to bed, you'll see him in the morning."

He paused and then got up and came over, wrapping me up in his big arms.  "Luce, I'm sorry. I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I won't mention anything with Sam again. I just want you to have as much love as possible in your life because I love you."

I sniffled into his t-shirt and he stepped back alarmed. "Are you crying?"

I waved him off, embarrassed. "I'm okay, it's just been a long couple of weeks and some extra large glasses of wine."

I could feel his eyes on me as I made my way to the guest room. I ignored his concern, too focused on Serena's and now Lee's words rolling around in my head.

I wasn't living my life in fear, was I?

I flung myself onto the mattress, letting the generous cushion of their guest bed ease my mind.

Jesus.

Lee had always been passionate about not scrimping on mattresses. He figured it was an investment in your future because sleep was vital for your survival. I had heard him get pretty fired up about the topic and even poked the bear on occasion, mostly because I thought it was a ridiculous thing to feel so strongly about.

Not so ridiculous now, is it?

I fell asleep, thankful for his quirks and woke up feeling a whole heck of a lot better. A smile tugged at my lips as I thought about seeing Sam.

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I threw the covers back. I could hear Lee puttering around in the kitchen and got up to join him.

As I strolled into the kitchen, Declan and Lee pulled apart from an embrace and Lee cleared his throat, "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty."

Declan walked over and pulled me into a tight hug, "Lee told me some of what went down last week. I'm sorry you guys went through it but I'm so proud of you for continuing to make the world a safer place."

Lee handed me a coffee and I took a sweet, creamy sip around the lump in my throat. "Thank you and thanks for letting me crash here, with you guys for a bit."

His smile was bright as he squeezed my hand and responded. "We're so glad you're here. I'm sorry I couldn't be here for your first night and even sorrier that we're going to miss tonight."

News to me.

Lee couldn't meet my eyes as he explained, "I didn't know that Declan had made plans with one of the other doctors at work. We've already cancelled on them once and we don't want to be the dick heads that cancel a second time."

Lee obviously already felt bad enough so I didn't want to make it worse. "No problem. I'm here for a bit so we can do it again another time."

He cleared his throat and shared a look with Declan who spoke up. "Thanks for understanding and of course we can. But, you guys shouldn't cancel, you all should still go."

Perfect. I didn't want to miss an opportunity to spend time with Sam anyway. I caught another glance between the two of them and decided to make myself scarce for a bit. Declan had worked all night, they probably wanted to catch up, just the two of them.

"I'm going to go for a hike before grabbing a shower and heading to the brewery. I'll be out for a couple hours, so if I don't see you guys before your dinner tonight, have fun."

Their excitement was palpable and I knew I had made the right call as I laced up my shoes and headed out to check out what the Fenelon trails looked like in the Fall.

By the time I got back to the guy's place, Lee's jeep was gone and I walked into beautiful silence. The day was exactly what I needed. It wasn't until I checked my phone that it fell apart.

Josie: Hey Luce! I'm having some pretty intense pre-labour pains and think we should stay home tonight. Sorry to bail.

Holy shit. I wasn't going to lie, I had been hoping that Sam and I could connect, just the two of us. But, I didn't really want him to be forced into it.

I clicked on his name, only to have my breath catch as I came face to face with those 3 dots.

Was he going to cancel?

Sam: Looks like it's just us tonight. I'm really excited to see you, would you still want to get together?

YES.

I considered what Serena and Lee had been saying. What Josie and Lee had both found by taking that leap of faith and took a deep breath, knowing what I had to do.

Me: It's a date.