Pins and Needles (Chapter 6)
Pins and Needles Chapter 6
(Read Chapter One, Two, Three, Four and Five here!)
Pairing: Sam Carter x Janet Fraiser
Summary: Janet is a single mother and owner of a tattoo studio. Sam is a florist who has just moved into town. Janet's infatuated. Sam's a disaster gay. Flower shop/Tattoo parlour AU.
Notes: Hi y'all, I know it's been 2 years since I updated this and all I can say is I'm so sorry >.< Not long after I posted the last chapter, my mum got diagnosed with cancer, so life got thrown upside down for a while. She passed away at the end of last year and I just didn't have the brain capacity to update. Thanks for sticking with me and still giving this fic so much love.
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The day in the life of Janet Fraiser wasn’t usually very exciting. On weekdays, she’d open the store, sometimes with Vala, other times alone. She’d sweep, sterilize, set up and then respond to emails and do paperwork until the shop opened. With only two artists, their client base consisted of mostly regulars on the weekend but they’d get the odd walk-in as well. They made enough money to get by and while the shop wasn’t making them millionaires by any means, it wasn’t breaking the bank either.
That being said, with a break in meaning that they'd need to close for the rest of the weekend, clients would have to be rescheduled and what little money they would have made that day was out the door now.
Janet leaned back in her chair with a sigh, running a hand through her hair as she hung up with her last booking. The client had been understanding and had rescheduled for another day but Janet wished more than anything that she had something tactile to be doing rather than calling insurance and rifling through the paperwork.
Around 10, the bell above the door tinkled and Janet looked up to see her daughter waving goodbye to her friend Aly. The young girl dumped her overnight bag by the door and let out a whistle as she looked over the now patched up window.
“Dang mom, I didn't know you were doing renovations,” the teen mused. Janet didn’t hide the roll of her eyes as she climbed to her feet and pulled her daughter in for a tight hug.
“Yeah, well, it’s not something I’d’ve chosen, personally.”
The pair parted and Cassie pulled a chair over to the desk, dropping into it unceremoniously.
“Did they take anything?”
“No, the sheriff thinks they got spooked and ran off.”
She hummed, picking at her nails.
“How was your night darling?”
The teen was telling her mother about the weekend she’d had and Janet relaxed a little, listening intently to her daughter relaying the school gossip to her. It was a pleasant distraction to the morning of admin. It felt like days ago that Sam had visited and asked her on a date. Oh god.
She was supposed to take Sam out to dinner tomorrow night. On a date. She hadn’t been on a date in longer than she cared to remember and Sam was an incredibly smart, extremely gorgeous and charming woman and Janet was old and oh god, what if she scared her off?
Cassie seemed to notice her mother’s shift in attention. With a gentle prod, Janet snapped out of her thoughts.
“Yo mom, you okay? Where’d you go?”
“Sorry sweetie, I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now.”
The bell rang again, this time signalling Vala’s arrival. She looked overdressed, as she usually did, in her leather trousers and a loose-fitting men's shirt, her breasts spilling out of her push-up bra beneath the open buttons.
“I don’t understand men,” she exclaimed, dumping her purse beside Cassie’s bag. Janet laughed gently, watching her friend plop herself in front of the desk. “Look at me, Janet. Would you not want a piece of this?” The woman grabbed her breasts, pushing them together with a frown. Janet laughed again as Cassie’s face reddened and she hid behind her hands.
“Absolutely,” the tattoo artist smirked, reaching for the latte Vala had brought her. “But I may be biased because I love boobs.”
“Precisely! So why is Daniel Jackson so bloody blind to my advances? Every morning I go in there, tits out, legs practically akimbo and nothing, not even a glance. What's wrong with me?”
“Maybe you’re not his type?” Cassie squeaked, giggling.
The silence from Vala was palpable. “No, impossible.” She huffed. “Anyway, at least the other handsome man at the cafe can appreciate a work of art. Practically tripped over himself to pay for our drinks.” She looked pretty proud of herself and Janet snickered, taking a long sip of her drink. The caffeine was a welcome buzz and she relaxed a little more, watching her daughter and friend talk together.
Janet was reminded at times like this how lucky they were to have such great friends around them. Even though Vala could be loud and immature and frustrating at times, she was a loyal and caring friend and had always been there for Janet when she needed a drinking buddy or a shoulder to cry on. Even more than that, she was great with Cassie. Being a single parent was hard and Janet always feared that she was too strict on her daughter. Jack and Vala were always there to parent her when it got too much.
It really did take a village to raise a child.
“Have you decided what you want for your birthday?” The woman was asking. The pair stood in front of the full-length mirror, Vala braiding the younger girl’s blonde curls. “What about a tattoo!”
Cassie was giggling. “Think mum would let me get a tramp stamp?”
“Absolutely not,” Janet called but they seemed to ignore her.
“Ooh or maybe a few face tattoos!”
“Oh, or I could get my nose pierced!”
“She’s 15, not 25, Vala!”
The dark-haired woman shot her a grin in the mirror.
“Lighten up, Jan! I had mine done at 15!”
“Of course you did,” she muttered, unable to help the smirk that found her lips. “Besides, she has a ‘not-date’ with Damien that day.”
“Ooooh, Damien!” Vala teased and the teen blushed again, pushing the woman playfully.
“It’s not like that! We’re going bowling with our friends!”
“Mmmhm, I've heard that one before.” She tied the braids off with a grin that both Fraisers knew to mean that Vala had a wicked idea. “Does that mean we need to go shopping for a cute, definitely not flirty, not-date outfit?”
Cassie's eyes widened and the pair turned to Janet, both grinning madly.
“Can we mom? Please?”
“Come on, Jan, how can you say no to us! Your daughter has a not-date and I’m… well, I’m going through a hard time with my love life! It’s called retail therapy!”
It would be nice to get out of the studio, Janet concluded. There wasn’t much they could do until the security company sent the footage to the police and that wouldn't happen until Monday morning. She was also painfully aware that she didn’t have anything nice to wear on her date with Sam so maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
“Fine.” The pair’s excited squeals drowned her out but she grinned nonetheless and got up to grab her coat.
The mall was fairly busy. Christmas was still a few months away but already people seemed to be out trying to beat the holiday rush.
The pair dragged Janet from store to store, taking their time rifling through every shelf and aisle. Vala couldn’t resist a quick trip into Victoria’s Secret where she got herself several new sets of lingerie; it wasn’t news to anyone that she had an Only Fans and that's how she could afford these luxuries. Tattooing didn’t pay incredibly well and a woman like Vala needed extra income to support her lavish tastes.
While she waited for her friend to finish her haul, a dark green set caught Janet’s eye. It was made of satin but black lace lined the cups and the waist of the panties; the fabric was soft under her touch and there were only two sets left. One just happened to be in her size. Chewing her fingernail, she stared at the lingerie, feeling a little ridiculous. She was a woman fast approaching her forties, looking at sexy lingerie from Victoria’s secret. If it were anyone else, she’d be right there, urging them to ‘treat themselves’ and ‘fuck the patriarchy’, but she was her own worst hypocrite.
She heard a gasp from behind her. Vala rushed forward, grabbing the set and holding it up to Janet’s torso.
“Oh you have to!” The woman purred, admiring the colour against Janet’s tan, inked skin. “It’s so sexy! You have to.”
“Don't be daft! It’s perfect for you!” With that, Vala was marching back to the counter and Janet had no choice but to follow her. “Now you have something spicy to wear if you ever get the guts to ask Sam out.”
The woman paid for it and handed the bag to Janet with a grin.
“Thank you,” she conceded, cheeks burning with excitement.
The trio left the mall, wallets lighter but bags full of goodies. While Vala and Cassie had been in the change rooms, Janet had found herself the perfect top to go with her lingerie; not that she thought they’d have sex on the first date but it made her feel sexy and desirable nonetheless.
Janet would never admit it but Vala was right. This had been exactly what the three of them had needed. She was feeling calm and relaxed in a way that she hadn’t for a few days and she couldn’t wait to get home and spend the night watching movies with her daughter. Every year seemed to be flying by faster than the last and before she knew it, Cassie would be moving out and going to college. Janet was fully determined to take advantage of these moments with her daughter while they lasted.
She stepped off the travelator first, stepping out of the automatic doors into the parking lot, Vala and Cassie behind her. They’d gotten a spot only two rows from the doors and as she maneuvered past a blue VW, her truck came into view.
The passenger's side window had been smashed in and the contents of her glove compartment and centre console were spilling onto the bitumen. A few people were standing around the vehicle, gossiping. A sheriff’s cruiser pulled up alongside the crowd and Sheriff Hammond and his deputy, Walter, jumped out.
Janet felt Cassie grip her hand as she stopped before the mess.
“This your truck Janet?” The deputy was clearing some onlookers away from the scene as Hammond approached. She nodded, trying to process the scene in front of her. Could this week get any worse?
“We’ve been inside for an hour at most,” Vala told the man, taking up guard by Janet’s side.
“There’ve been a lot of break-ins lately,” Walter told them, stopping beside Hammond.
“Did they take anything?”
“I don’t know, I didn't get a look…” She couldnt tear her eyes away from her registration papers that lay on the concrete, the ink slowly blurring into a black blobl as water from the puddle soaked into the paper.
“Right well, we’ll have to get her back to the impound and see if we can’t find any prints.”
“How long will that take?” This was Vala who stood close to Janet, her presence firm and comforting.
“Could be a day or so. We have to call in the folks from the next county over.” So much for her date with Sam tomorrow.
The process took almost an hour. Though it appeared that the car, besides the broken window, was fine, a tow truck was called to transport it back to the impound. Vala had taken cassie home while Janet sorted it, not without complaints from the young girl.
“First your shop, now your truck. One hell of a coincidence, don't you think? Can you think of anyone that’d want to get back at you? Disgruntled family, unhappy client?”
“No. I don’t know why anyone would want to make my life miserable.” For a moment, the image of her ex-husband flitted across her mind but she shook the thought away. They had a restraining order and he didn’t even know where they lived. Still, she told the sheriff as much; she wasn’t taking any chances.
“Alright, we’ll look into it.” The man’s gaze softened and he touched her arm gently. “You need anything, you let me know, alright?”
Janet returned the man’s smile, nodding gratefully. She watched them go, her car in tow. She stayed where she was for a long moment, letting the stress and the thoughts storm around her head, stinging her eyes. Pulling her coat tighter around her, she headed back inside to call a cab.
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