Both of You [Sam/Havoc]

The last...well...close to a decade now had seen a lot of changes in their lives. Sam had resigned himself to this was what his life with her would look like...and then their son had happened. He supposed it shouldn't have been an as unexpected event as it was, what should have surprised him was it had managed to take this long, if he was being bluntly honest with himself...but that was neither here nor there. He had felt a great many things, he'd been happy about it, worried how it would work, ashamed of himself for putting her into that position, he'd again asked her to marry him, but it still brought up the issue of they both lived such vastly different lives that just didn't mesh as well as they could have. So they had pieced it together and made it work, it wasn't ideal, it wasn't a fairy tale...but they made it work.

And how he was old enough to come stay here for an extended visit, and Sam tried not to let it show how excited he was for this. The cloud of dust announced their arrival, wiping his hands off on a rag he went into the main yard to greet them, walking up to the car as Harriett parked and got out.

"Make sure you get all your things, if you forget anything you'll be hard-pressed to get it replaced before you get back home." She was telling Grayson, before turning with a smile to him. "Hello Sam."

"Hey." he greeted, warm smile before pulling her forward for a kiss, then wrapped into his arms, she let herself be pulled into the embrace and rested her head against his shoulder, content to stay in his arms for the moment. "Are you sure about this?" She laughed quietly. "he's a little handful."

"You're saying this to me?" he looked down at her, amused. "I don't think he'll try to burn the place down or stab me...so we're probably good." A pause. "I wish you could stay." He said quietly. "I miss you. I miss you both."

He was quick to almost immediately hop out of the car when it stopped, going around to grab his bags from the back seat before setting them down to give Sam an eager wave, "Hey dad!" He always liked seeing his parents like this, seeing them kiss and hug and do things that normal parents tended to do. It reminded him that for all the times they fought and argued, they still cared about each other, and it was a comfort to his thoughts just a few minutes ago.

He nudged Harriet with a pout up at her, "Am not!" He crossed his arms, looking between them with a sort of impatient sort of expression. Sure he didn't mind them hugging and kissing and stuff, but he also wanted attention too, "geeze I'm right here!" He chuckled and lifted his hands with an look of exaggerated exasperation, "gosh I'm not that badly behaved, Ma!" He chuckled and lifted his bags again, starting for the house so he could put them up.

Harriett pulled back from Sam enough to look down at Grayson. "You are so." She countered, reaching down to ruffle up his hair. "You're not just a little handful. You're a giant handful!" She frequently teased him about such things, but at the same time she didn't seem to mind, always following up such statements with affection or gifts or some other indication that even on the difficult days, she wouldn't have it otherwise.

"Well...she's the one who lives with you the most. Guess I'll just have to agree until I see otherwise." Sam grinned.

As Grayson turned towards the house Sam quickly stepped up behind him and grabbed him up in a hug from behind. In another year or so he'd be too big to do that any longer, but he tried not to think about that. "What, I don't get a hug?" He asked, before hefting the boy up over his shoulder in a fireman carry as he started towards the house. "Guess you're probably gettin' too big for that now. Guess we should just go up to the house and get you all settled in like the adult you are now, huh?"

Harriett followed behind, catching one of the bags as it started to slip from Grayson's grip, shaking her head with a smile as she watched the two. The care that Sam took with the kids that were his charges carried over, and then some, to his son.

Grayson returned her quip with a cheeky grin, puffing up, "I'm not! I'm a perfect little angel!" He snickered at this as he continued to walk away, only stopping to let out a startled yelp when Sam suddenly lifted him up, letting out a loud string of giggles and wiggling in his grip, "Hey! WELL!" He managed between his laughter, "you were busy kissin' and huggin' on Ma!" He mocked a pout going limp when the man slung him over his shoulder, "I didn't think you wanted to hug me." His eyes widened at those words though and he wiggled, "I'm not! I'm not to big for hugs!"

He sounded alarmed as he wiggled to where he could wrap a hug around Sam's neck, tight like he never wanted to let go, "I missed you too, dad." He had to bite back silly emotional tears as he clung to the man and allowed him to carry him inside, "yer sweatin'...What ya been workin' on?" He smiled and looked intrigued, he always liked learning all the things his dad had to teach, and all the things he worked on. He loved it even more when the man let him help.

Sam smiled, tightening the arm that held Grayson slightly as he hugged around Sam's neck. He loved these moments, he missed these moments. "Hey, I can hug on your mom and still have one for you too." He generally tried not to be too emotional of a man, but sometimes, especially around him, it was hard.

"I'm sweatin' cause it's hot!" he answered, it wasn't ridiculously hot yet, but would become increasingly so as the summer moved along. By this point he was on the porch and swung Grayson down to sit on the porch swing before sitting down next to him. "And I was fixin' fence posts. Jack took half of 'em by the barn out with the tractor earlier this week." He said, with a glance up at Harriett who'd followed them to the porch and was leaning against one of the railings.

"Why do you still let him do things?" She asked, she was at least somewhat versed on the comings and goings at the ranch, Sam filled her in whenever they talked. "I mean, he sounds like a smart guy, but someone with zero depth perception...you need to stop letting him drive heavy equipment..."

Sam grimaced a little. "Yeah, after this one I think you're right...should'a stopped after he punched a hole in the barn...but he tries hard...and the work still needs to get done." A pause. "Though he's just making more work at this point."

HE glanced down at his son. "Maybe I'll let you drive the tractor instead...can't be as bad as Jack's been doing!"

Harriett was quick to frown. "No! You're not letting him drive a tractor!"

He grinned, refusing to let go until he was set down on the porch swing, and even then he was quick to press close to his side again and take his arm in a tight hug, "I gueeeess." He stuck his tongue out, "no kisses though!" He chuckled and closed his eyes with a content sort of expression, taking in his dad's voice as he spoke, he lived for these kinds of moments where he could just enjoy his dad's company, "Jack sounds blind as a bat...Does he wear glasses? If not maybe get his eyes checked?" He looked up at him, of course he didn't know everyone here by heart, but it was the best he could offer.

His eyes grew wide however and he immediately sat up when Sam mentioned letting him drive the tractor, "YES!" He grinned, "I would be such a good tractor driver!" He cringed a little when his mom was quick to shoot that down, grinning at her, "Why not? I'd be good at it!" He nudged Sam, "Dad wouldn't let anything happen to meee!" He knew Sam was mostly joking around, but the thought was exciting to the 8 year old.

"I don't think it's so much he can't see. He just...don't pay attention." Sam explained. "His head is off in the clouds somewhere thinking about...whatever it is he thinks about...and next think you know he's listed the damn thing into a wall." He shook his head. "So yeah. Fenceposts. Exciting work!"

He grinned at Grayson's immediately excited response, Harriett's immediate denial only made him grin harder. "Aww c'mon. I was working things like that when I was his age!"

"That was different! That was a hundred years ago, things weren't as fast or dangerous!" She continued to protest.

"Hey." Sam countered. "Fifty years...not a hundred...I'm not *that* old. Besides, the kid's right, I won't let anything happen to him!" He pulled him closer, reaching down to further ruffle up his hair.

"No!" She continued to insist, although she knew she was losing this battle.

Sam leaned down, eyeing Harriett even as he spoke to Grayson in a stage whisper. "We'll just have to wait until she leaves. Then we'll go do it anyway. But that's just our secret!"

Harriett let out a long-suffering sigh, her way of admitting defeat to the pair and their plan.

Grayson gave an understanding nod, even though he really didn't get it in the way Sam was talking about it, he could understand getting distracted in the basic, childish form of the concept, "s'okay, I can help you fix it!" He grinned wide, clearly eager to do even the most basic thing like fixing a fence post as long as he could do it alongside his dad.

He watched the back and fourth between them with an amused sort of grin, this was the sort of bickering he didn't mind, it was light hearted and playful, the same way he sometimes bickered with Harriett or Sam over silly things. It didn't leave him with that looming fear that the more serious moments did, and he laughed when Sam pulled him closer and ruffled his hair, beaming wide at both of his parents.

He slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle his awful giggle fits as Sam leaned down to whisper at him, nodding through barely contained mirth as he eyes his mom in a conspiring way before whispering back to Sam, "okay, it'll be our little secret." He giggled, looking cheeky at the exasperated look on his mother's face.

She shook her head. "Well. I can tell when I'm not wanted...I'll leave you to your Boy's Time."

She produced a manila envelope that she handed to Sam. "This has...all my phone numbers, in case you need them, some of the places I know i'll be in the next few weeks, information on the schedule he normally keeps to...just...I know. I'm being fussy. But I wanted to cover everything."

Sam took the envelope, nodding seriously. This would be the first time she would be away from her son for an extended period of time since he was born, he could understand her worries. "Don't worry. We'll be fine." He assured her.

She smiled back, but still looked a little concerned. "Alright Grayson...come give me a hug. I need to go anyway, I have a flight to New York tonight I have to make..."

She'd finally managed to let go of no longer being the starlet she'd once been and had instead moved onto working behind the scenes, representing talent and had become a force to be reckoned with, getting jobs and contracts for her clients that made even established stars sit up and taken notice.

Grayson had hopped up from the swing when Harriet handed Sam the envelope, feeling his eyes sting just a little bit when he realized she was leaving. He was excited to spend time with just him and his dad, but he was used to being attached to her hip, and it was hitting him now that he wouldn't see her for a few weeks. He managed to take a deep breath and his cheer returned, he would be fine, he wasn't a big baby.

But he still couldn't help the sentimental wetness when he went and threw his arms around her waist, hugging her as tightly as he could, just to make up for all the hugs they'd miss while she was gone, "you'll call me too right?" He looked up at her with a teary smile, "so I know you're okay and stuff?" It was hard to say whether he was more a mama's boy or a daddy's boy, the thought of being separated from either killed him, though he was used to it by now.

He held onto her tightly for a few minutes longer before pulling back and wiping at his eyes, "you be good too, okay?" He gave her a cheeky grin.

Sam let them hug for a moment, then stepped forward and pulled them both into his arms, hugging them tightly before leaning over to give Harriett a kiss on the forehead.

She meanwhile didn't have to pretend as much to hide her feelings, wiping her eyes on the edge of her sleeve. "Of course! I'll call you both! I'll call you when I land in New York...and every day that I can." She promised, hugging him back tightly.

"I'm always good." She teased. "You behave for your father, and I'll see you in a few weeks!"

She gave him another kiss and then her and Sam walked back to her car, the two conversing quietly for a few more minutes, before embracing again. Finally they pulled apart, she got in the car and he leaned over, talking to her for just another moment, one more kiss, before pulling away.

He took a deep breath, pushing down all of the suddenly teary feelings before smiling again and heading back to the porch with Grayson as Harriett pulled out of the yard.

"Alright kid. Whatcha wanna do first?" He asked.

Grayson couldn't help the content, warm smile when Sam came over to hug them, these were the things he lived for, for being between both of his parents like this, feeling like a regular family even if only for just a moment. He looked up at Harriet and nodded when she told him to behave, pulling away to let them have their moment as he watched Sam walk her to her car.

He waved to his mom as she pulled out, grinning up at Sam and wrapped his arm around the man's leg, "food?" He laughed and looked a little sheepish as he shuffled his feet, "I haven't eaten since breakfast...I'm kind of hungry!" He looked thoughtful as he tapped his chin, "maybe after that we can...Uh...Hmmm...Well I can help you around the ranch?" He smiled up at him with bright eyes, he always loved helping his father work.

"Guess it is about lunchtime." He agreed with a glance up towards where the sun was in the sky.

"Go ahead and put your stuff upstairs...the room you usually stay in is all made up for you. I'll start on some lunch." He promised as they headed inside the house.

He headed into the kitchen, washing his hands and face off in the sink before moving to pull things out of the fridge and setting them on the counter, slicing off thick slices of bread and left over roast beef and cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions and starting to assemble enormous sandwiches for the two of them.

"I need to finish up the fence, if you want to help with that?" he offered when Sol came back downstairs. "It's almost done, but could use the extra set of hands. But doing a bunch of work can't be the only thing you want to do while you're here."