We Are The Tide

A knock at the door startled Mel, waking her from sleeping on the couch. The TV was still on, and she hadn’t noticed she had fallen asleep while watching a movie. She stood from the couch, stopping herself from answering the door after she noticed the clock on the wall read past one am. She peeked through the peephole on the door and recognized the boy on the other side. She watched for a moment as he stood anxiously, running his hand through his hair and shifting back and forth. She waited and watched as he reached forward to knock again, pulling his hand away just an inch or two before his knuckles hit the wood and turned on his heel to walk back toward his car. She slowly unlocked the door, opening it a few inches and poking her head out.

“Gary? What are you doing here?” Garrett stopped mid-step, turning slowly around toward her.

“Uh, I wanted to come by and just apologize again.” He said, avoiding Mel’s stare. She crossed her arms over her chest, a scoff leaving her lips.

"You think a simple apology is all it's going to take for me to let you back in my bed?"

He stumbled over his words, a proper response nowhere in sight.

"I, uhh, well-"

"You what, Gar? If you even dream of coming inside, you've got to do better than that." A blush spread across his cheeks as he stood there on her porch, half-defeated.

"I brought some whiskey, a-and a couple Bacon Maple Bars? I know Jack's your favorite, a-and you said yourself that one could never go wrong with bacon, and I knew I couldn't show my face again empty handed, so I brought you one for now and one for later..." He reached inside his jacket to reveal a rather large bottle of Jack Daniel's Whiskey along with a small white paper bag.

"It's a start. What else you got?" Mel's tone was serious, but playful and Garrett knew he was softening her up.

"My phone died at the airport and I have my charger, but I was thinking of leaving it in the car..."

"Okay, and what else?" Mel leaned against the door frame, her eyes on him as he slumped his shoulders, feeling rejected and frustrated as she continued to interrogate him. He bit his lip and shrugged, unsure of what else to say.

"Uhm, well, fuck I dunno, Mel. Tell me what else I need to do in order to make it up to you?"

“You have to promise me something.”

“Anything. Whatever it is, the answer is yes and it’s yours.” His response garnered a scoff from her lips as she took a step toward him, grabbing the items from his hands.

“You don’t even know what you’re promising. That’s real comforting, Gar.” She rolled her eyes and turned toward the house, whiskey and doughnuts in hand and Garrett knew he was losing her.

“Wait, Mel, please. I-I don’t know how else to make it up to you, but I’ll find a way, i-if you just give me a chance. Please. You won’t regret it.”

“I won’t regret it, eh?” She set the items down on the side table by the front door before turning back to face him. His hand was on the door knob with one foot in the house, having tried to follow her in. She gave him a questioning look and he removed his foot from the house, taking a step back onto the porch.

“Promise me this is worth my time. Whatever this is, you and I. Prove to me that you’re worth it.” Garrett nodded silently, his face serious now as he focused on her words. After a moment or two of silence, a small laugh left Mel’s lips as she stared at him.

“Well? Do you want to come in? No one’ll be home until late tomorrow...” She drifted off. He looked up to find she had a suggestive smirk plastered across her face, a stark contrast to the conversation they just had.

He nodded and silently stepped into the house. Instantly, she was pushed against the door, his lips attached to hers before she could react.

“Oh, I’ll prove it to you, right here, right now.” She wrapped her limbs around him as he picked her up off the floor and carried her to her bedroom with nothing and no one to interrupt them.

His lips were against her skin, touching every inch of her as they collectively pulled the fabric from their bodies. The urgency in their actions fueled their energy, both thankful they were home alone from the noise level they generated. They moved in sync together in a way neither had come across in any of their former relationships, Garrett proving to her over and over and over again that this was indeed worth it.

Mel pulled the sheet around her as she curled up against his chest, exhaustion slowing their pace as the early morning sunlight shone through the curtains. Garrett drew shapes down her arm as he held her in his arms, a smile playing on his lips and his eyes closed as they laid quietly together.

"Gar?" Mel's voice a soft whisper as she kept her eyes closed. He hummed a reply before she moved to look up at him, placing a kiss under his chin. He leaned down, pulling her into a kiss and moving on top of her.

"Let's stay in bed all day today, or at least until my mother returns from her conference tonight. I have the day off and I want to spend it with you, here in my bed."

"Mmmm, I like the sound of that." His lips met hers again, their actions slow and soft this time but mirroring earlier intentions. They stayed in bed together, enjoying each others company to varying degrees until both complained of hunger, forcing them to leave each other's arms in search of food. They both voted on ordering take-out from a restaurant around the corner, opting to have it delivered so they wouldn't have to leave the house. Mel mentioned needing a shower before her mother would come home, and Garrett's sarcastic suggestion of sharing one was taken seriously, neither complaining as they enjoyed their shower. The doorbell rang and Mel shamelessly answered the door with a towel hastily wrapped around her, her hair dripping wet from running straight from the bathroom. She handed the delivery boy a twenty, telling him to keep the change as the look of embarrassment across his face was enough to earn the extra couple dollars left over. She carried the bags straight to her room, stopping only for something to drink from the fridge before joining Garrett on the bed. Neither bothered to change into real clothes, still wrapped in their towels as they enjoyed their noodles, rice, and other various menu items they had deemed delicious sounding enough from the take out menu Mel kept in the kitchen.


"Wake up, Darling." Lucy was being lightly shaken by John, pulling her from sleep. Lucy shook her head, curling into the pillow and pulling the blanket over her face in protest. "Wake up, I have a surprise for you." He shook her gently a few more times before pulling the sheet from her face. She poked one eye open, forming a glare.

"Don't you wanna know what it is?" A light smile graced his face as she shrugged, closing her eye again. Lucy felt the weight of the bed shift as he stood, and quickly rolled over to face the opposite wall when she heard the door open and his footsteps down the hallway. A few moments later, she felt the weight of her husband fall on top of her. She attempted to roll over, stuck between the wad of blankets and John, and with a frustrated sigh opened her eyes to see two black eyes staring back at her.

"Surprise baby!" John held a little white puppy in his hands, excitedly wagging its tail as John scratched behind its ears. "His name is Casper, and he's all ours!"

John let go and the puppy jumped forward to lick Lucy's face as she struggled to sit up, untangling herself from the blankets. She scratched his ears, giving him a kiss on the head before giving John a smile.

"You got us a puppy? You planning on staying home and taking care of it while I'm at work? 'cause puppies are like babies, they need lots of love and attention and I have to go back to work in a couple of days."

"Uhh, well, y-yes?" His smile faltered as the puppy hopped to the edge of the bed and curled under the wad of blankets. "I'll train him or something. It'll be great, babe, you’ll love him!" He leaned forward, pecking a kiss on her lips before he stood to follow after Casper as the dog hopped off the bed and scampered off barking down the hallway.

"Oh goodness. What did he get us into?" Lucy laughed to herself as she got up, adorning John's shirt from yesterday she found on the floor and headed to the kitchen in search of food.

The three of them enjoyed a lazy Sunday morning, opting to take a walk around town together and enjoy the sunshine. Lucy's sister Karen met up with them for coffee during their walk and invited them over for a family dinner with her husband and their parents at her house that evening. Casper was invited along to play with her dog, and Lucy agreed on the one condition that John was in charge of whatever happened to Casper, freeing herself of puppy duty to have a good time with her family. John happily agreed, wanting Lucy to love Casper as much as he did and seemed more than willing to keep track of him.

John and Lucy ended up at her and Sam’s apartment in Chinatown, stopping by to pack a box or two of Lucy’s things.

“YOU GOT A PUPPY? You’ve been married for like what, two weeks now and you already have a puppy? When did this happen?” Sam scooped up Casper into her arms, giving him a kiss on the head as she ushered them inside.

“This morning. John woke me up with him, his name’s Casper.” Lucy scratched his ears as they talked, John already making himself comfortable on the couch and finding the remote.

“He’s so cute. Now I want a puppy. Stupid apartment.” Sam said under her breath.

“Karen’s having us over for dinner tonight with the fam and asked if you wanted to come too?” Lucy asked as she gathered items together in her room to be packed.

“Uh, I don’t feel too great. I was going to help you pack a bit and then just have a nice couch day.” Sam said, eyes still attached to the puppy in her lap.


They arrived as dinner was still cooking, Casper squirming in John’s arms as they walked through the door and were greeted by Lucy’s sister, Karen. She gave them both a hug and mentioned their mother was in the kitchen while the men were outside with the barbecue as they stepped through the doorway into the house. John set Casper down and he scampered straight into the kitchen, earning a laugh and a “well hello there, where did you come from?” from Lucy’s mother as he got underfoot.

“John surprised me with him this morning. His name’s Casper, isn’t he cute?” Lucy pulled her mother into a hug hello.

“Oh he did, did he? Well, he’s adorable, hon. Now, where is that new husband of yours?”

“I’m right here Brenda, and yes I did. I want a big family, but why not start with a dog and work our way up, right?” He pulled her into a warm hug hello as well before reaching into the fridge for a drink.

“Now John honey, I’m hoping that by buying my daughter a puppy, this means you’re not planning on springing news of a honeymoon baby on us, right?” She eyed him suspiciously, garnering a nervous laugh from both him and Lucy as he shook his head.

“Oh god, I would hope not. Trust me Ma, that won’t be happening for quite a while.” Lucy joined the conversation, saving John from stumbling over his words. He excused himself from the kitchen after that, escaping to the backyard to join Lucy’s father and Karen’s husband. The ladies worked on dinner, chatting and catching up on things, Lucy retelling highlights from their honeymoon.

"Boys, kids, time to wash up for dinner!" Lucy's mother yelled out the kitchen window a bit later, the food finished cooking and ready to eat. The dogs barked as John came jogging in the side door, with his new niece, Celia, high on his shoulders.

"Kare, we lost Celia. Papa and I looked for her everywhere but we couldn't find her." Celia giggled from his shoulders, her hands over her mouth to keep quiet.

“You lost my baby? Well that’s a shame, ‘cause we have her favorite ice cream for dessert. Guess she misses out then.” Karen hid her smile well, shrugging as she handed John a plate.

“More for us then.” John laughed, turning toward the food. Celia squirmed, giggling and wanting down at the mention of ice cream. John pulled her from his shoulders, giving her a kiss on the cheek before setting her down on the floor. “Alright munchkin, go find us a seat together at the table, okay?”

Lucy smiled from across the table as she watched her husband interact with his new niece. At four years old, Celia had John wrapped around her finger before they even sat down to dinner, and it didn’t let up for the rest of the night. They moved out to the backyard after cleaning up from dinner, John playing with Celia and her little brother, running around the yard together with the dogs as the others sat around in lawn chairs.

“Hey Babe, John here’s making you look bad.” Karen hit her husband on the leg, nodding toward her kids across the yard with a smirk.

“Ehh, he’s still fresh meat. They’ll wear him out before he wears them out.” Her husband took another sip of his drink with a laugh, continuing his conversation with Lucy’s dad.

“Babe, we need one of these!” John yelled as he jogged around the yard with the boy on his shoulders now, Celia and the dogs chasing him around the yard.

“Sorry darling, not ‘till you get a real job.” Lucy shouted back, shaking her head as she sat back in her chair but smiling at the thought of it.

“He’ll be a good dad. I can tell.” Karen pointed out as they played together, John dropping to his knees and letting the two tackle him.

“Yeah, I know he will be,” Lucy smiled and nodded. “And once things are settled, maybe we’ll talk about it. I know he wants them, and his mom isn’t helping. She wants grand kids, and John’ll do anything to make her happy. But like I said, not ‘til he has a real job. I dunno, we’ll see what happens.”


There was a fumbling at the door, catching Sam’s attention. She heard a few choice words from the other side of the door as the handle shook, unable to open the door because it was locked. She opened the door, thinking it was Lucy with her key, but was pleasantly surprised to see Garrett on the other side.

“Uh, I thought it would be open and I forgot Lucy hadn’t given me her key yet. Now that the happy couple’s back, I can’t really stay there, so...” Sam had spent the afternoon helping Lucy pack some boxes in her old room, John pretending to help by entertaining the puppy and taping a few boxes shut when asked. John had gone home after an hour, returning with the truck and the three loaded up her bed frame and a few boxes to bring to the new house. As she hadn’t been feeling well, once Lucy and John had left, Sam had spent the past few hours lounging around at the apartment on the couch watching TV.

“So where have you been all day?” Sam asked. Garrett blushed under her gaze, thinking about his actions with Mel previously in the day.

“Uh, well, Mel and I -” But Sam cut him off.

“WAIT, did the two of you finally have sex?” She said bravely with a smirk. He knotted his fingers together nervously, unsure how to respond to her question.

He fought the small smile forming on his lips, staying silent as she stared at him.

“I’ll assume your silence is a yes.”

He scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest and averting her stare, the blush across his cheeks giving him away.

“You so did. Look at you.” Sam’s jaw dropped slightly at his blush, her hands on her hips as the smirk slowly won over across his face.

“Mmm, hell yeah we did. Probably like five times, not gonna lie. That was pretty much my entire day today. Jealous much?” He teased as he stepped around her into the apartment, earning a slap across the shoulder as he walked by.

The two settled down on the couch, Garrett joining her in watching whatever was on the screen. Garrett paid little attention to the show, the suggestive texts being sent to his phone from Mel distracting him from any comment Sam made about a commercial or a character on the tv.

“Are you hungry?” Sam asked. Garrett smiled, thinking about take out with Mel a couple hours ago, but he was always up for food.

“Urm, yeah. Pizza?” He suggested. She agreed, mentioning she knew the best pizza place, and calling up Old Town a few blocks away.

“Okay, now that we have food on the way, want to help me pack some more of Lucy’s shit? I swear I just keep finding her stuff everywhere.” Garrett only nodded. Sam moved to turn off the tv, opening her record player and selecting a vinyl off the shelf. She gathered things into a pile for him to wrap in newspaper and they worked quietly with Blind Pilot in the background until there was a knock on the door. Sam answered the door and paid the pizza guy, opening the box to admire the pie before setting it on the kitchen counter.

“Wanna watch something on Netflix?” Sam asked. Garrett had followed her into the kitchen, eying the pizza as she spoke.

“Sure, as long as I get to pick.” He replied, nodding with a grin. Sam scrunched her nose, bracing herself for something horrific or educational.

Garrett grabbed some plates from the cabinet, dishing up a few slices for both him and Sam as she grabbed the drinks and the two settled back into the couch. Garrett grabbed the remote, scrolling through the list and surprising Sam at his choice. They got sucked into Sons of Anarchy and they were immediately enthralled in what was happening in front of them. They were on the episode where Half Sack died and they couldn’t stop themselves from watching another.

“Those fucking ATF agents.” Garrett scoffed, jumping up from the couch to get another drink.

“Aw, but Half Sack was my favorite!” Sam bellowed.

“Are you serious? His entire character was built on the fact that he only had one ball.” Garrett argued from the kitchen. He brought them each back another slice of pizza as well, settling back into his side of the couch.

It soon turned into a SOA marathon. They were well into the third season and it was getting late. Sam yawned and curled into the couch further.

Two hours later, Garrett was startled awake by something outside and he found Sam cuddled into his side. He carefully got off the couch, trying to not disturb her. He turned off the tv, and went and turned off lights around the apartment. He tried to wake her up from her dreams, but was unsuccessful. Garrett put his arms under her legs and supported her neck and gently lifted her from the couch, making his way toward Sam's room. He delicately put her in bed and pulled the blankets over her. He was half way out of the room when he heard Sam mumble his name.

"Where are you going? You have no bed." She said, half asleep.

"I was just gonna sleep on the couch."

"No, come on." She lightly waved him over, pulling back the blankets and scooting to one side of the bed. He stepped out of his jeans and crawled into bed with her. She cuddled back into his side and she quickly fell asleep. Her breath curled around him and lulled him into unconsciousness.