Chapter 9
The Fish
"Daddy? Did you get anything?"
Sam looks at Sapp with an old Fishing rod in his hands, dragging the bait through the water
"Not yet sweetheart, the fish are being stubborn"
She pouts and crawls into his lap, the sun shining in a cloudless sky, the water rippling from the gentle breeze in the air. Sam kisses Sapp's head as he casts out his line again
"Daddy? I have to tell you something" she said while hugging Barky, a gray and white stuffed wolf with a small red bandana around its neck
"Yes princess?" He said slightly concerned
"I love you!" She giggles and leans into him, letting Sam pet Barky
"I love you too" he said while stroking his head. The pole began to bend as a tug was felt throughout the rod. Sam started reeling in as Sapp was giggling and cheering Sam on.
"Here, Start reeling babygirl" he puts Sapp's hand on the reel as she began to bring the fish in. Sam has his hand gently over hers as the fish was brought up into land, flopping around in the tall pond side grass. Sapp runs up to see her catch while Sam follows
"Daddy! It's a Bass right?"
He nods while picking it up by the mouth "Do you know what type?"
She giggles in excitement as Sam hands her the fish "Its a largemouth Daddy, they like shade and hiding spots!"
Sam smiles brightly while taking out his knife "you're becoming quite the Angler aren't cha?"
"Mhm!-" Sapp face instantly went from extremely happy to scared in in shock, a loud thundering sound rolls across the fields as she flops down into the grass, her shirt increasingly getting stained with crimson red. Sam looks at her in horror as he grabs her in his arms. Her face and chest covered in blood as he heard Amanda's voice in the background yelling at him. Her yells getting louder and louder.
"Sam! Sam! Get up!" Night Rider shakes Sam's shaking body as he bolts up from his sleep, body violently shaking with sweat and tears rolling down his face
"Sam are you okay?!" She said hugging him tightly
"Sapp...Sapp!" He said bolting out of bed and towards where she slept, seeing her peacefully rest with soft shallow breaths, somehow holding a Grey and white wolf in her arms with a red bandana
"Sam what happened?" She said grabbing his hand
"I'm going outside." He said while grabbing his rifle that was laying next to the door
She nods and follows him, grabbing a revolver off the table and closes the door behind her. Both her and Sam jump down to the truck as he lights up a cigarette, handing one to her
"It was Sapp. We were fishing and she caught her first fish...she was so happy and excited and...she got shot. Dead in my arms. She called me daddy and it felt completely normal. It felt almost right you know? She was just lifeless, killed over a fucking fish" he said while finishing an entire cig at once
Night Rider leans into him and hugs his arm, lights her cig up while feeling the warmth of his body
"But she's safe, asleep in her bed protected by two increasingly strong people"
"Mmmmhm. Then how could I take you down so easily at the gas station?" He said jokingly
"Because I wasn't expecting you to be a fucking Ex-Marine" she laughs in a smartass tone, taking a puff
He lifts up his shirt to show her the tattoo on his chest of his squad logo, also showing off his abs and scars "This is proof enough" he said while laughing
She started blushing while rolling her eyes "If I didn't know better, I would of thought you were showing off your abs"
"I mean. I worked hard for them so why not show them off"
She hugs his arm tighter while sighing deeply "you've really grown attached to Sapp haven't you?"
He nods and looks away "I've always wanted a Daughter, ironically named Sapphire. So when I meet her I felt almost entitled to assume the role as her father. I'm sorry if that makes you feel awkward but-"
"Don't worry, it's cute" she smiles softly and flicks the butt of the cig in the grass "she needs a fatherly figure in her life"
Sam looks at her and smiles, shrugs and looks off into the distance "Yea. I guess"
She looks at him and grabs Sam's snaking hand, still hugging his arm and interlocks their fingers
"What are you doing?" He said looking down at her
"Calming your anxiety attack" she presses her body into him and smiles
"How did you-"
"Don't worry about it. Just a gut feeling"
"But how did you know that that hel-"
"I said shh." She says giggling and plays with his hair. He relaxes, leans against the truck and looks at her
"Shh" She smiles and continues playing with his hair
"I wasn't going to say anything" Sam said in defense
"You were thinking about it" she pokes his cheek "let's sit in the truck"
He nods and opens the door for Night Rider, She drags him in as he closes the door.
"Thanks?"
She forces him to lay down with his head on her lap as she continues to play with his hair "Just rest Sam, you didn't get a good sleep last night"
"How do you know?" Sam looked at her
She blushes and looks away "I kinda crawled into bed with you because you looked comfy and Sapp kept kicking me in her sleep"
Sam raises an eyebrow "she kicks during nightmares too?"
"Yea..how'd you know?" She looks back at him
"Because I do that, I probably kicked you out and woke you up"
"That explains why I woke up on the floor"
Sam chuckles and rolls on his side, laying the back of his head on her stomach "what's your real name anyways?"
She looks away while laying her hand on his chest "Amanda."
