She begins -for Grace...

[MaFerLooCa]

Okay, she celebrated her birthday on Monday, but she was away and now she is back home so this piece is my late birthday present for Grace.

Honey, I'm glad you had a good time at the spa and I hope you like this piece since it was written for you!

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Title: She begins.
Author: Mafer Loo.
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Some of 3.04 ‘Upstairs Downstairs’.
Disclaimer: Well, I don’t own the characters… can you imagine what could happen if I did? Maybe the show wouldn’t be aired for all kind of public!


SHE BEGINS

Well, it’s definitely not necessary to go consult a genius to realize she wasn’t thinking straight the night she invited him to share a cab with her. She had wanted him for quite some time –what straight woman wouldn’t want him? The guy is gorgeous and he has the most hypnotizing smile in the entire FBI building, the dimples give him an irresistible extra… something she cannot explain.

But, inviting him home? Seriously, what was she thinking? It has been stated she wasn’t thinking or, at the very least, not straight. She had promised herself she wouldn’t even consider any kind of extra curricular activity with a man she worked with and it had worked when it was just Danny, it had worked perfectly fine until HE came along and she found herself thinking ‘for one time only make an exception’. Look where that brought her.

Not that she is in a bad place. The man is extremely good-looking and wonderful not just on the outside, he has an amazing personality and he is absolutely breathtaking in bed. She knew he had a well-built body –she had seen him shirtless once in the lockers- and she couldn’t imagine a man with such a body and without knowing how to use it. However, he exceeded her expectations in just one night.

She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she became addicted to him since the very first night he was inside of her; that’s why she didn’t freak out when she woke up and he was on the other side of her bed –not that he could have gone anywhere when they had fallen asleep just a few hours ago- and why they were doing it again when Vivian called her for work and why she accepted things to change between them that night after they found Kelly and Louisa and he almost got his head handed to him and why she keeps going back for more.

She didn’t understand how sex could be addictive. Yeah, sometimes she needed a sexual relief from time to time and she didn’t really have any trouble finding it. Now, however, she understands how sex can be addictive, the real question would be how can a sane woman not get addicted to sex with him?

For some reason Samantha had always imagined Martin as a gentle and sweet guy in bed, but she had been fooled by the shy smile because the man is an animal in bed and he still manages to be gentle and she receives so much pleasure she just can’t stop wanting him.

She wasn’t planning any of this; she wasn’t planning on being unable to stop shaking every time he makes her come and she was definitely not planning on him being unable to stop touching her building her to orgasm after orgasm, over and over and over again. It seems that as much as she is addicted to orgasm with him is as much as he is addicted to make her come. So, even when she wasn’t planning on any of this, she is enjoying everything she can have and she was not overly concerned about the status of her emotions… that was until today…

Today she’s felt sparkles running through her body by one of his gazes! He manages to hold her captive with his eyes, but she had managed to keep the looks between them furtive and mostly hidden, but today she couldn’t pull her eyes away from him and his lips were begging to be kissed; she really had a hard time remembering why she couldn’t kiss him breathless right then and there.

Thank God the voice of the voicemail on the other end of the phone got to take her attention back to reality! However, the damage is now done and the fire in her has been ignited and she wants him SO badly, she is not sure she can wait until the end of the day.

For a solid two months now she has been having troubles concentrating at work after they have sex in the mornings; she’s found herself trembling even hours after he’s touched her just by remembering his touches. But now things are getting worse, she feels herself shuddering and weak at the knees with just one look and apparently the fact they are at the office and working is not having the same restraining effect it was having on her three months ago when they started sleeping together.

She leaves the ladies room after splashing cold water over her face in an attempt to cool herself off when she sees him exiting the bullpen –he is probably on his way to the break room to look for some junk food to munch on while he waits for the results of the search he asked for- and there is one interesting little place between the places they are in right now. She makes sure no one is around and enters the little room.

When he is in front of the door behind which she is hiding, she quickly opens the door and pulls him into the little room with her, she closes the door and pushes him against it kissing him immediately. He responds in kind and she hears her own moan when he runs his tongue over her lips.

She pulls apart and looks into his eyes. A wide grin spreads across his lips and he says “Someone’s horny, really horny.” There’s a singing tone in his voice and, even though she didn’t think it was possible, his grins goes wider. “And I’m not talking about myself! Not to say that I’m not horny right now, that was some kiss! I thought we were to act professional at work?” He half states, half asks raising an eyebrow.

“We are! This…” She takes one of his hands and puts it between her thighs so he can feel through her work pants how wet she is and the heat radiating from her. “…it’s all your doing.” She finishes.

“Really?” He asks skeptical. “Because if I remember correctly, you were the one who dragged me into this supply room.”

“Yeah, but it’s all your doing because you are not supposed to be looking at me like you did minutes ago when I was on the phone.” She accuses.

“I didn’t see you looking away.” He points out.

She doesn’t have anything to retort with –he is right, she wasn’t looking away- so she pushes herself into him kissing him urgently and pushing her tongue into his mouth. When she hears him moaning, she pulls apart. “As I was saying… I’m horny. Do you think you can help me get rid of the problem?”

“I can most definitely do that.” He assures her and then he rolls her around so now she is the one against the door. He makes sure the door is locked ands reaches for the button and zipper of her pants undoing them and pushing them past her hips intending to take her panties the same way.

She takes hold of his hands and stops him. “What are you doing?” She asks a little breathless –even the thought of him touching her makes her breathless.

“Helping you get rid of the problem?” He is confused, wasn’t this what she said she wanted? “I need you at least half naked in order to do that. Or what did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking more about the lines of dry sex.” She explains. “Like we’ve done before in this same room? You know how loud I can get when it’s actually you…” She runs her hand along his member, which is straining through his pants. “…inside of me.” She grins at him and bites her bottom lip to show him the anticipation she is feeling.

He shakes his head and tells her “Sorry, today is all or nothing.” She frowns and looks into his eyes trying to read him and check if he is being serious. He is pretty sure she’ll get mad because she doesn’t like to be put into the position of ‘all or nothing’, but he is not backing down today; he wants her and he doesn’t want to just touch her, he wants to fill her.

To his surprise, she reaches for his buckle belt and undoes it. “Well, in that case…” She takes his erection and frees it “…I’ll take all.”

He grins at her and leans in to whisper in her ear “That’s a really wise decision.” He takes her earlobe between his lips and pulls it. He goes to finally lower her panties when the ring of her cell phone stops him. He leans back to give her time and space to move and answer the call –they both know it can be work.

She groans in frustration and extracts her phone from the pocket of her pants; she takes a large breath and answers “Spade… yes, I’ll look into it. Yes, immediately… I’ll call you if I have anything.”

While he listens to her conversation and looks her expression, he knows there is no way they are going any further in the exploration of the other’s body so he helps her put her panties and pants on again and when he is done with her clothes he takes deep breaths to try and will his erection away so he can re-dress himself.

Samantha hangs up in time to see him fastening his belt and he sends her an apologetic smile. “I’m guessing we have no time.” He explains her of the reason he is arranging their clothes.

“No, no time.” She says shortly and the frustration is evident in her voice as she throws her head against the door.

“The Bureau is so inconsiderate! They can’t even spare their agents some time to have sexual intercourse during working hours!” He jokes while she checks if her blouse and hair are in order. She sends him a look saying ‘joking is not the best idea right now’. He smiles knowingly at her. “Hey, there is no case in getting frustrated, being horny is enough. Let’s laugh about it.” He tries to reason with her.

She looks at him for a moment and finally smiles. “I guess that’s true.” She pauses for a moment. “They found the baby buried in the woods.” She informs him and reaches for the handle on the door, but turns to look at him again. “So, can I come over tonight?” She asks and she doesn’t know if she likes or hates the hopeful tone in her voice.

“I was kind of counting with that.” He says simple and honestly.

Her smile goes bigger. “No matter how much time it takes us to find June and wrap this up?” She wants to be sure she’ll be seeing him tonight –although seeing him is not the only thing she wants to do to him…

“I don’t have a problem with any of those, but if you want to take care of the situation alone at home, I guess I can do the same…”

“I think I’ll pass that offer.” She makes sure there is nobody passing by before opening the door so they can both exit the supply room. “Well, you go get your coffee because you have to interview Anthony Debellis again and I’ll go check on that call with the St. Louis code.” With that she heads to the bullpen.

She doesn’t bother wondering if this is love because if you don’t want to talk abut it then it is not love and they are definitely not talking about it; she is just comfortable because it is so easy to be around him and it’s been established that sex with him is incredible.

She was willing to have the whole intercourse with him in the Federal Building minutes ago –not that they haven’t touched each other in that same supply room before, but she was willing to go all the way with him; he wasn’t exactly giving her much choice, but still she found herself eager to do it. Damn him for being such a great lover! She has work to do though and this is not the time to dwell into this any more.

God, she can’t believe how things ended! She can’t believe Terri killed her own daughter without realizing it because she was so drugged and what infuriates her most is what Lawrence –the husband- did. She kind of understands his reasons, but it was still wrong and completely stupid.

However, as impressive as it might sound, the front thought on her mind right now is not the outcome of their case –she can’t believe it herself; she can just think about Martin and having him alone –and well, naked as well- and having him finishing what they barely started on the supply room. She knows they didn’t get too far, but it was enough! How in hell can he manage to do that to her?

She smiles when she spots him already waiting for her in the corner where they usually meet every time one of them leaves the building first. She reaches him and without wasting time she throws herself at him catching his lips in a demanding kiss.

Once the need for oxygen is too much, they break apart. “So… I was thinking we could order in Thai food or maybe pizza?” He offers while still nibbling softly on her bottom lip.

She leans back to look into his eyes. “I’ve been thinking in getting you alone and naked the rest of the afternoon and you’ve been thinking about food? Clearly our priorities are not the same!”

“A man needs to eat, Sam! More so if you are planning to ride him till exhaustion. I’m thinking about you here too.” She raises an eyebrow at him and he explains “The more energy I have, the more things I can do. As you can see, we’ve been thinking about the same thing in our own way…”

She shakes her head smiling. “Nice save! If we are eating first, why don’t we go to that Italian place near your apartment? We can still have pizza, but maybe we can share some pasta as well.”

“Someone wants me well fed tonight, uh?” He kisses her quickly before pulling her toward the curb so they can hail a cab.

“You have no idea.” She assures him at the same time she slides into the back seat of the cab they managed to hail.

They have dinner while they discuss their case and what they think of Terri and Lawrence and how Lawrence managed things and what he could have done different; they talk about how things seem to be going back to normal with Viv –they can understand why she was acting a little off lately and they both knew she wasn’t angry with any of them, she was or maybe still is a little pissed off at Jack. Sam likes that they can mention and talk about Jack and that the mood between them doesn’t turn awkward.


Uuuppss... it got a little too long so it continues in the next post...

[MaFerLooCa]

“How did you know I was going for coffee before you dragged me into the supply room?” Martin asks her out of the blue while they are waiting for their waiter to bring the bill.

“I first thought you were going for junk food, but then I realized you had had a really good and healthy lunch so you couldn’t be going for junk food after that tasty salad you had. Plus, you were waiting for the results of the search and you fill your system with coffee when you are bored AND you don’t mix coffee and junk food so…” She explains with so much easy as if this was something they talk about every day.

Martin smiles. “Wow, you have my coffee and eating habits down to a T, don’t you?” The waiter brings their bill and Martin reaches for it. “I’ll take care of this tonight.”

She wants to argue they can pay half and half like they normally do, but her brain is busy with something else. She hadn’t thought about it, but he is right, she does know his coffee and eating habits and some other habits he has while getting ready for work and even for bed. She had never had that with anyone and she has no idea what it means. Can it be because she had never allowed herself to spend with anyone as much time as she spends with him?

Why does she like to spend time with him so much? Maybe because they can always talk about any sort of things and she even finds herself enjoying his rambling and explanations about sci-fi? Who would have thought she would find herself enjoying a marathon of Star Trek? This can’t be love, can it? She is not ready for that kind of thing; she is not ready for such a thing like love. But what if this is love? Then, they are going to have to think about the consequences.

They are now walking toward his apartment and she doesn’t want to think about her real feelings because she can freak out and then she’ll start thinking about HIS real feelings and what if they are not feeling the same and finally she’ll manage to ruin their night and that’s the last thing she wants to do. “You didn’t have to pay for dinner; it’s not like you invited me to have dinner, people have to eat as you said.” She tells him.

“No, actually you invited me to dine, I just paid the bill.” He states. “And I don’t think it’ll take me to bankruptcy if I pay for dinner once in a while.”

“Well, I’ll have that in mind next time I want to go for dinner at Le Bernardin.” She warns him. “Do you think you can say that again, but this time to my phone?” She puts her cell phone next to his lips.

He chuckles and wraps his arm around her waist bringing her closer to him. “I’ll take you to dinner everywhere you want. You don’t need to record me in order to attain that, you just have to tell me when and where.” He assures her and the best thing is she knows he is not just saying it, she knows he means it.

They get to his apartment and once inside they go straight to Martin’s bedroom; they just had dinner and they have no interest to do any other thing aside from going to bed, even when sleep is the last thing in both their minds, they have more ‘interesting’ things to do. They did get interrupted this afternoon when they were about to satisfy some needs, but here in this apartment there is nothing that’s going to distract them from their task –at least he hopes so and he is pretty sure she is hoping for the same.

Once in the bedroom when he is about to turn on the light, she prevents him from doing it and slides his suit jacket off his shoulders and takes hold of his buckle belt trying to get rid of it and his pants as quickly as possible.

Martin stops her and looks into her eyes. “I’m in no hurry tonight.” He states and when she is about to protest, he explains “Earlier today we needed to be quick because we were at work and horny so there were little options. Now, however, we have all the time we want to take to do this.”

“Can we do a quickie so I’m relaxed and then I’ll be able to enjoy whatever foreplay you want to have tonight?” She suggests giving him a mischievous smile.

“Why don’t you let me try and relax you in a different way and if it doesn’t work, I’ll finish you off the moment you say the foreplay it’s too much. The moment you ask me to stop, I’ll stop.” He promises her.

“Martin…” It sounds tempting and she knows that he is not going to let her hanging, but she doesn’t know if she can take too much teasing because she’s been horny and needy all day. He and his gazes… he is the only one to blame in all of this.

“Come on… I promise you the moment you say ‘it’s enough’, I’ll finish both of us off.” He wants to tease her tonight, just as much as she can take and then he’ll make them both happy.

She looks into his eyes and she doesn’t know why she decides to go along with his game, why she is putting his wishes before her needs. Maybe it is the fact that she knows he enjoys teasing her and –who is she kidding- she enjoys it as well and she is certain he is going to please her at the end and… what the hell, she is going to enjoy the middle as well!

She loosens her grip on his buckle belt and wraps her arms around his neck kissing him softly, just brushing her lips against his in a way to let him know that she is going to go along with him tonight.

He smiles into the kiss and walks her backwards and when they are by the bed, he starts unbuttoning her white shirt, which has been too unbuttoned already all day driving him crazy, he’s wanted to just take it off and kiss her breasts till her nipples are harden bunds since he saw her wearing it that same morning.

“This is just because you let me finish that blowjob the other night even when you wanted to finish off inside of me…” She tells him because she doesn’t want him believing that he has other kind of effect or power over her.

“Well, at the end of that night I did finish off inside of you and I had two powerful orgasms so… I think it’s only fair I repay the favor.” He states while making her sit on the edge of the bed and he helps her take her pants off. “Would you take your bra off for me, please?”

She takes the item off and lets it fall to the floor; he takes that time to turn on the lamp in his bedside table and when she frowns he explains “I want to see you tonight.” She can’t help but smile at what she would have consider corniness a few months ago, but not any more, no when it comes from him.

He looks at her and has trouble deciding if he wants the panties off now or if that can wait. Today she decided to wear that purple set of panties and bra she knows he likes so much. He has no idea why he likes purple on her so much, but he does so he decides to let the panties on for a little while.

He strips off and lets on just his boxers. He climbs on the bed and makes her lay on her back, he on top of her. “You are planning on torturing me tonight, aren’t you?” She asks him.

“Why would you say something like that?” He feigns innocence.

“You know how frustrated I get when the only thing preventing us to become one is just our underwear and you are leaving those on on purpose.”

“Do you trust me?” Martin waits for her answer, but when she looks at him with a look of ‘that’s a stupid question’, he tells her “I promise you this night will be enjoyable so since you trust me, you have to stop questioning all my decisions… and the thing with the underwear tonight it’s your fault, you know how much I love purple on you.” He leans in and kisses her lips softly.

Without taking much time with her lips, he starts a trail of kisses along her body, taking special time when he reaches her nipples and working them into hard peaks like he wanted to do all day; another spot that entertains him is her navel, he takes his time dipping his tongue into it and enjoying her moans.

She is so aroused she thinks she cannot take much more of this, but at the same time she wants him to keep teasing her. The man is really good at what he is doing, he knows how to tease her, arousing her like no one has taken the time to do before and still he doesn’t get her to an edge that it’s uncomfortable for her. She’s been horny all day and here she is lying on his bed and feeling like she could endure his teasing all night, wanting to come but content with his touches and kisses all the same.

Martin thinks he’s teased her enough and it’s time for a more serious approach. He kneels between her thighs and takes hold of the waistband of her panties and takes them off slowly taking his time to inhale the scent of her arousal and grinning at the knowledge that he is the responsible for all of that.

He throws the panties to the floor and takes hold of her ankles making her bend her knees and placing her feet on the bed, he spreads her thighs as apart as they would go so he can have room to move. He leans in to kiss her while taking the opportunity to run on finger between her folds and he can’t help but groan at the amount of wetness he finds there –she is SO ready for him.

With a swift movement he takes his boxers off and then his head disappear between her thighs and the moment she feels his tongue running between her folds she releases a loud cry not caring that his neighbors are surely aware of what they are doing.

He inserts two fingers inside of her stretching her while his tongue and teeth work on her enlarge clitoris. When her moans get louder and more insistent, he thrusts his tongue into her and her hips buckle off the mattress. “Martin, I want you to…” But the next movement of his tongue stops her from finishing her request.

He explores her insides with his tongue and fingers and when he feels her walls starting to clench around his fingers, he takes his tongue out and tells her “I know what you want and I’m gonna give it to you without more delay.”

His fingers keep working inside while he makes his way to settle himself on top of her and kisses her; his fingers just leave her the moment he is already place at her entrance and she has no time to feel empty because he is inside of her with all his size and strength within one or two seconds.

Her arms fly up and she rests her hands on his ass not willing to let him move out. She feels her walls stretching to adjust to his size –he is so hard it’s not funny, but he feels so fucking good.

“You know I need to move so I can take you there, right?” He jokes.

“Just a moment, I want to stay like this for just a moment.” She tells him seeking his lips and forcing her tongue into his mouth.

When Martin feels her grip loosing, he doesn’t wait any second and starts moving fast into her, he can feel her walls clenching around himself and he doesn’t want her to wait any longer, he wants to bring her over the edge and soon, he can wait a little longer…

Within a minute she is already there screaming his name and digging her nails into his back; he feels the little pain on his back, but that is nothing compare with the feeling of her walls clenching madly around his member.

Samantha can feel her orgasm fading away and catches Martin’s gaze –it seems he’s been watching her all through her climax. “I’m ready for more.” She says simple.

He smiles and resumes his movements in and out of her, but this time he goes slowly taking his time to build both their orgasms. After three good minutes of a slow pace he feels her rolling them over so she is on top, he supposes slow it’s just not good enough for her tonight and he’s fully ready to take the pace she’ll set.

To his surprise she keeps the slow dance between them and he looks at her trying to get an explanation out of her. “You can get in deeper this way.” She says and then leans her head to kiss his torso, taking her time to tease his nipples.

The moment Martin hears her breathing getting shallower, he takes hold of her hips to help her move faster on top of him and he meets her hips with upward thrusts –each harder than the one before.

She reaches behind her and squeezes his testicles and he is gone right then, intriguing enough that’s all it takes for her to climax and she throws her head back while clutching his calves to support her weight. He tightens his hold around her waist at the same time that he empties himself deep inside of her.

Her walls keep clenching around him, but her body is completely spent so she leans into him and rests her body on top of him even when the last of her orgasm is still running through her body.

She has no idea what the hell this is, she has no idea why sex with him is so fucking enjoyable and how he gets to take her to climax twice in such a short amount of time.

She has no idea if this is love and she has no idea if he feels the same way she feels with him –in every aspect. She is pretty sure she is not ready for such a thing like love, but she does know she’ll have to think about the consequences of loving him pretty soon because this is happening; no matter if she is ready or not, this is happening and it’s pulling her closer and closer to him and she won’t be able to avoid it for much longer.

She begins to doze off, but before she succumbs to sleep she realizes she is beginning to be more open to ideas she wasn’t a mere three months ago. Is this another one of the side effects that come with sleeping with Martin Fitzgerald? If she had just known all of that before asking him to share that cab…

The truth is she would have asked him to share that cab anyway because he is this BIG temptation and she discovered you just can be strong enough for too long before breaking and giving in…

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Note for Grace... But I suppose all of you can read if you want...

So Grace, how did my reasoning bring me to this fic?

1. You know I was looking for songs you like and you thought had lyrics relating M/S... however, I didn't want to write a songfic because I suppose you are not really into them.

2. I was between four songs, but I decided on Ana Begins for inspiration since it is by Counting Crows and you told me you love that band.

3. When you posted the song, you said you missed the banter and the moments that seemed to radiate chemistry and so I remembered I had wanted to write about that 'look' between them in Upstairs Downstairs and I thought I could use that...

4. By the way, you used lyrics of Ana Begins in the last chapter of Undertow I read before starting writing your fic! And this was just information to fill this because you like even numbers...

I know I'm crazy, but that's me!

[Greer]

I love a good smut-fic, I really do!! (*smiles happily*)
That was HOT!!
And I don't think there's many of us who would be able to resist temptation like Martin!

[Broni]

Wow, that is probably one of the best one-off smut fics I have read in such a long time! I loved it! They were so open and honest about what they wanted and what they wanted to do. It's just the way I picture it being in season 3 (so I guess in a way I can understand why now they're a bit awkward around each other in the show Or maybe that's just poor writing, it's hard to say!).

Awesome fic honi and Happy Birthday again Grace, bet you like this present huh??

[CharmedWorld]

*sings* Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Graaaaaace, Happy birthday to you!
I swear this birthday present pffft! Gosh I loved it! But Mafer - you know I love all of your fics and this one wooho! Just what I needed! It was hot, it was sweet - it was raaaaauw! Everything I need! Seriously that guy is a dream just look at this: "you just have to tell me when and where" - I mean seriously?! WHERE IS MINE? *is drooling*
Fantastic Mafer - I really think Grace is gonna love it! And it was REALLY hot in the end *licks lips* Raaaaaauw! - okay I'm crazy I know! You don't have to tell me lol
Please write more like this? *looks really really innocent*

[spyglass]

There is NEVER such thing as too much smut.

Anyway, I adored it! This was a great present, and (like I told you), I will be back with more constuctive comments later.

[Lu]

Mafer, it's amazing. Loved it.

[ginal]

Wow, it's so hot ! We should have had a scene like that on TV !
Ah it was when Sam and Martin started their relationship and things were new. I missed that time.

Mafer, you forgot to change the title because it's 'No ,you don't" and not "She begins".

maferloo said:

Title: No, you don’t.

[carol38]

Mafer that was awesome, you are the Queen of smut, just awesome

[cludwig]

Happy Birthday, Grace ! Quite a great present you got there. I really enjoyed this little smiutfest in honor of Grace's birthday. - So we all got a wonderful gift.

[nayara]

Mafer....
You should warm me about this. I'm a kid yet. I can't read this stuff you know.
If my mother find out what I'm reading here I would be in trouble.
Thank god she dosn't read in inglesh. ahahahahaha

Well... you know how good I think you're writting. To me this is one of your talents. No matter what is it you wrote. I always think it's great and this one is another fic that I think that.
And you're the queen of smut. But it's good you see. You know how to express yourself very well about those things. ahahahah Just kidding!

Love this one too. I do needed to put my hands in my eyes in some parts but it's ok.

Oh yeah. I was almost forgeting.
---> What about Not strings attached?!
I miss that fic you know?!

Anyway amazing work here.
Bye Mafer!

[jordan_outlaws]

A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

I can't see how Sam couldn't resist ! Hahaha I know I wouldn't! (with all the respect, mister you know who).

Seriously Mafer, you are like the smut queen! It sucks they got interrupted in the office but I suppose it came for the best... Now my favorite part was Martin teasing Sam with "Sorry, today it's all or nothing" hahaha, really great line.

I was stupid enough to miss Grace's birthday, and I know it's kind of late for that, but I still want to send her my best wishes, anyway. What a great birthday gift