Telling Series

Title: Telling Series

Author: Aeryn Sun

Section 4 Carmen

Author's: Notes: OK, we've told Mom, Lily and Josh, Harrison, who do we tell next? How about sweet, calm old Carmen? She'll take it well right?

~~~~~

WELL, THAT WAS UNEXPECTED

"Well, that was unexpected."

"Yeah, I didn't see that one coming. You think she's OK?" Sam shrugged.

"I dunno, maybe we should check," Brooke bent over the prone form of Carmen Ferrera and felt for a pulse. She looked back up at her girlfriend and nodded.

"Yup, still got a pulse. It's going like a freight train, but it's beating," she said as she stood back up. They were in the Novac after school had ended and had run into Carmen. Figuring it was now or never, they had sprung the news of their relationship on the girl who was wondering about Harrison's strange behavior lately. Of course, neither girl had expected it to result in Carmen ending up flat on her back, unconscious on the floor of the Novac. Well, life was full of funny little surprises.

>>>>>> oh...a flashback

"Either of you know why Harrison would rather sit with April Tuna and Freddy Gong than the rest of us? I mean, I know our social skills may be somewhat lacking, except maybe for you Brooke, but really, I mean, April Tuna?" Carmen asked. Brooke looked at Sam in the mirror as she fixed her eyeliner. Sam looked around the Novak and saw that it was just the three of them and nodded.

"We might, Carmen. Have you heard anything strange lately? About us, I mean?" Sam asked nonchalantly. (Well, she hoped she sounded that way at least) Carmen thought a minute and shook her head.

"Not really. Just that you two are close. Although Emory was saying in Bio class yesterday that you were a little more than close lately but Lily smacked him with a petrie dish and he shut up real quick, why?" Brooke winced. She knew that she and Sam were getting a little noticable with their `friendly' touchy-feely lately and someone was bound to notice. (But Emory Dick? ARGH)

"Well, we've been meaning to talk to you about that," Brooke started as she watched Sam pick at her nails and blow a bubble with her gum. (Oh, gee thanks, Sam) she thought sarcastically, shooting Sam a glare in the mirror. Sam caught it and immediately joined the conversation.

"Uh, yeah, we uhm, we had Harrison over for dinner the other night while you were away and told him something that upset him. I mean, MAJORLY upset him. We thought he was going to have a stroke right there in the kitchen," Sam offered as an explaination. Carmen smiled at her friends.

"Gee, Sam, did you cook?" Carmen teased.

"No, Brooke did. I like Harrison and would not inflict my cooking on him. But that's not why he freaked. I'm telling you, Carm, this was bad. Worse than I've seen before."

"Come on, it can't be that bad. I'm sure whatever it was, he'll get over it. He always does. He's Harrison. It's not like you told him you two were gay and seeing each other," Carmen laughed. Brooke snapped the eyeliner in her hand in two by accident and Sam choked on her gum. Brooke walked over and pounded on her back. Sam wondered if one of these days she was going to choke to death when someone sprung that on her while she was eating.

(First Mom, now Carmen. Between them and Nicole using me for roadkill, I'd be down to like six lives if I were a cat) the morbid part of her counted down.

"You OK, Sam?" Carmen asked alarmed. Sam nodded.

"Fine," she said although her voice was nothing more than a froggy rasp. (Good thing I don't take choir) Brooke tossed the offending piece of gum in the trash.

"Wow, Sam, talk about a violent reaction. I thought you and Brooke were getting along now," Carmen continued. Sam looked at Brooke, her eyes desperately begging her to handle this one. (I told Harrison, it's your turn) Brooke sighed.

"We are getting along, Carmen. That's just it. We told Harrison exactly what you just said." Carmen tilted her head to the side as she tried to follow the conversation.

"Sam's allergic to Double Bubble?" Sam rammed her head into the wall several times.

"I really wish you wouldn't resort to banging your head into solid objects like that, Sam. I spent way too long begging you to wake up from your coma to watch you put yourself into a new one," Brooke sighed at her girlfriend who gave her a sheepish smile. She pointed to Carmen with an exasperated look on her face.

"Can you blame me?" Brooke shook her head.

"Not really," she turned back to Carmen. "No, Carm, the other part. About Sam and I being gay and seeing each other. Only we aren't just seeing each other, we are deeply in love with each other. Do you follow?"

Carmen never actually heard the entire question that Brooke had asked her, she was all ready passed out on the plush carpeting.

Which ends our little flashback>>>>>>

"Do you think we should get someone?" Brooke asked nervously as she watched Carmen twitch slightly on the floor. Sam looked down from where she calmly sat on the couch and shook her head.

"Nah, she'll come around in a few minutes. It's kinda funny though," she laughed. Brooke shot her a dirty look.

"It is not, Sam. She could have hurt herself," Brooke admonished. Sam looked away, giving the impression she was ashamed, which she really wasn't.

"Sorry, I just didn't expect her to faint dead away like that. I mean, come on, Brooke. She was out before she hit the ground. Her eyes rolled up in her head, down she went and BOOM, right onto the floor. Last time I saw someone turn that green was when we delivered Mac and I thought you were going to pass out on me." Brooke stuck out her tongue but could help joining Sam for the laugh.

"If I recall correctly, you were a little freaked yourself, Sammy," another thought occurred to her. "If this is any indication, Carm's not going to take this well," she said sadly. Sam sat up a little further on the couch and shook her head.

"Apparently not. But look at it this way, at least Harrison won't have to sit all alone. Or with April Tuna and Freddy Gong. Which is worse do you suppose? Solitary or eating with those two? If you can eat, that is," she asked. Brooke gave her another dirty look.

"We're tearing everything, everyone apart," Brooke complained. Sam got up off the couch and gave Brooke a fierce hug.

"Would you have rather stayed quiet? Or better yet, never started this relationship at all?" Sam asked in all seriousness. (Please don't answer that the wrong way. Please don't think we're a mistake!) Sam begged quietly. Brooke turned around in Sam's arms so that they were nose to nose. She frowned as she stared into Sam's rich brown eyes, which were clouded with worry and fear.

"Neither. You?" She watched the worry and fear leave Sam's eyes to be replaced with joy and relief. Sam shook her head.

"Me either. I finally feel complete when you're in my arms, Brooke. I wouldn't trade that for anything. And if my friends, our friends can't accept that or us, then they weren't very good friends to begin with, were they?" Sam asked as she nuzzled Brooke's cheek. Brooke let out a happy and contented sigh just as a groan of regaining consciousness came from Carmen.

"Another country heard from," Sam added wryly as Brooke disconnected from her arms and bent down to the reawakening girl. Carmen opened her eyes and looked up into Brooke's concerned hazel ones.

"Feeling better, Carm?" Brooke asked gently. Looking from Brooke to Sam standing a few feet behind her, Carmen promptly fainted again.

IT WAS A DREAM AND YOU WERE THERE, AND YOU WERE AND...

"I'm just saying, it was getting redundant, Carm. Three times was more than enough. Try and stay conscious long enough to have the conversation, please," Sam said annoyed. Brooke swatted her on the shoulder as she handed a cup of water to Carmen who was seated on the couch. She kept looking from Brooke to Sam and back like they were little grey space aliens come to take her away for experimentation and it was beginning to bug the Hell out of Sam.

"S...sorry," Carmen stuttered, still in a state of shock. She sipped at the water and continued to stare at Sam and Brooke who were leaned up against the sink. Sam rolled her eyes.

"Oh, for Christ's sake, Carm! Hello, still Sam McPherson and Brooke McQueen over here! Same two people you've known your entire life. That hasn't changed. Nothing actually has. We just faced the fact that our sexual preference is for women and oh, gee, look, each other. How convienent for us, living in the same house and all," Sam huffed.

"Knock it off, Sam," Brooke snapped, fed up with Sam's temper. Sam glared at her.

"Well, she can at least say SOMETHING," Sam shot back. "At least Harrison ranted and raved like the little homophobe he is. Lily and Josh let us know how they felt but she's sitting there like she's afraid she's on the menu or something." Sam turned her gaze to Carmen. "If you HAVE been talking to Harrison, the little prick, there's nothing in the drinking water and we're not going to convert you." She pushed away from the sink and paced around the Novac like a caged animal while Brooke just rubbed her eyes and sighed.

"I'm sorry," Carmen spoke up suddenly, making both Sam and Brooke jump. "You shocked me is all. What do you want me to say, huh? How would you like it if I dropped a bomb like that on you? You would be at a loss for words too, you know," she snapped, her voice taking on the same angry tone Sam's had.

"You know what I'd say? I'd say `are you happy?' Cuz that's all that matters in the long run," Sam answered curtly. Carmen stood up.

"That's not all that matters. You're only thinking about yourselves. Do you even know what you're doing? Do you have any idea what this is going to do to everybody else?"

"'Everybody else'? What the Hell does it matter what it does to everybody else? Sam and I are the only ones it should matter to," Brooke spoke up, surprising Carmen and Sam with the contempt in her voice.

"I am so sick and tired of living with what everyone else thinks of me and having it hanging over my head, Carmen. Fitting the mold to make someone else happy. Sam makes me happy. For the first time in my life I found something that makes me absolutely happy that I don't have to kill myself or change myself for. She loves me for me and I don't give a flying good God Damn what that does to everyone else. You got that?" Brooke advanced on Carmen with a dangerous glint in her eyes making Carmen back away. Sam watched the show wishing for a bag of popcorn. Or a camcorder.

"If you're going to pull a `Harrison', go right ahead. We went through that once, it sucked but we can go through it again. I always liked you, Carmen, you wanna know why? It's because you never judged people. You never cared what anyone looked like or what they acted like. You like people because of who they are inside and the Hell with everything else. Well, guess what? I'm gay! Sam's gay! And we're gay together! And if you can't accept that, well, there's the door, don't let it hit you in the ass on the way out!"

Carmen stared back at her for a few minutes in stunned silence at the tirade from the normally serene and sociable cheerleader and then looked over at Sam, her former best friend, who shrugged back at her.

"But.but it's wrong," Carmen whispered. Sam sighed in defeat.

"You didn't say that when it was Harrison's mom," she said patiently as she walked over to Brooke and rubbed the still upset girl's back soothingly. "And I've got to wonder, how can any love like this be wrong? You don't know how we feel about each other, Carm, you couldn't possibly understand. My Mom has given us her blessing and for now, that's enough. Lily and Josh are OK with us and showed us what true friends really are. Can you say the same?" Carmen shook her head.

"I don't.I don't know," she said softly. And she really didn't. This was a lot to take in all at once. (These two used to hate each other and now they love each other?) She was baffled. (The sky is still blue right? What goes up must come down and Sam and Brooke love each other.one of these things doesn't go with the natural order of the universe)

"Honesty is a good place to start," Brooke said having regained control of her normal voice. "Take the time you need Carmen, we want you as a friend but if that isn't possible, we understand. But please, keep this between us, OK? Until we tell everyone ourselves?" Carmen nodded.

"I can give you that much," Carmen admitted. "I have to go," she said as she left the Novac. Brooke sighed.

"I'm really starting to dread these little heart to hearts with our friends," she complained. Sam kissed her and held her close.

"Just think, we have Nicole and Mary Cherry, Sugar and then, and we saved the best for last, Mike left."

"That's not helpful," Brooke warned.

"I know. I'm not sure I'm built for all this emotional trauma. On the bright side, at least when we tell Nicole, she can't try to run us over again," Sam chirped. Brooke groaned.

"Do me a favor, Sam? When you become a writer, don't go into comedy."

OOPS YOU DID IT AGAIN

"Josh, man, can I talk to you?" Sugar Daddy asked Josh as he passed him in the hall. Josh looked at his friend who was an alarming shade of pale.

"Sure, man, what's up?" Sugar looked up and down the hall and once he was sure they were alone, leaned in closer to Josh.

"I was walking down the hall and I passed the girls bathroom, yo, and I heard some yelling. It sounded like Sam and Brooke so I stopped to listen, just ta make sure they weren't killing each other, you know?" Sugar went on.

(Uh-oh) Josh moaned to himself. He didn't like where this was going.

"Anyway," Sugar continued, getting a little more agitated. "Then I heard Carmen's voice and yo, they were really all going at it and I heard some stuff that can't possibly be true." Josh rolled his eyes.

(Why me?)

"What did you hear, Shug?" Josh asked patiently.

"Yo, I don't know how you're going to take this seeing as how Brooke's you're ex and all but Brooke and Sam are like illicit lovers, yo. As in secret paramours." Josh sighed.

"I thought we agreed that you'd stop reading those romance novels, Shug," Sugar blushed.

"I only read them for the pick up lines, man. You're missing the point here, Josh. Brooke and Sam are together! As in to-get-her." Josh sighed again.

"Are they still in the Novac?" Sugar shrugged.

"Sam and Brooke are, I think. Carmen just left. Why?"

"Wait here," Josh went to the Novac, knocked and went in. He emerged a few minutes later with Sam and Brooke. Sugar's male teenage mind noted how their hair was mussed and they didn't seem at all happy to see him.

"Sam, Brooke, do you have something to tell Sugar?" Both girls rolled their eyes and sighed.

"We're involved with each other," they said in unison. They watched as Sugar's eyes got impossibly wide.

"It's true, yo?" They nodded. "And you knew, Josh?"

"They told Lily and me a few nights ago," Josh explained.

"And you're OK with that?" Sugar asked, still looking at the two girls in wonder. Josh nodded.

"As long as they're happy, what business is it of mine?" Sugar considered this seriously.

"Are you two happy?" Both girls smiled widely.

"Very," Sam answered as she put her arm around Brooke.

"Absolutely," Brooke responded, wrapping her arm around Sam. Sugar smiled at them.

"Cool with me then. Who wants to go get a pizza?"

::::come on, it's Sugar, he 'dated' Mary Cherry. After that, what the heck would bother him?:::::Aeryn:::::

Section 5: Nicole (Edited)

Author's Notes: OK, we've told Mom, Lily and Josh, Harrison, Carmen and Sugar accidently found out, how about the she bitch? How will she take it? Especially since she hasn't got a luxury vehicle to aim at anyone this time. This one ended up longer because I felt that there were unresolved issues floating around, so I caught them and flushed. Ew, nice imagery. And there's a Canadian Public Service Announcement commercial joke hidden in here, can you find it? Bet Carly Pope could. Free cookies to those who do. Yum, chocolate.

NOTE: Somehow, my mind invaded the gutter as I wrote the first chapter and circled the drain for a while. Swish swish. If an NC-17 rating for Sexual Content bothers you, (why are you on this mailing list?) uhm, sorry, as I was saying if it bothers you, this is the edited version, don't worry, you won't miss TOO much.

Or you can click here for the unedited version

~~~~~

CATHARSIS

"I'm not gonna tell her, you tell her."

"Me? She's your friend, not mine."

"Oh, no, that's the coward's way out, Sam. No fair using that," Brooke informed her squirming girlfriend. "Hold still will you, I'm almost done."

"You said that ten minutes ago, Brooke. Besides, she IS your friend, or at least was until that whole `I'm going to run you down with my car' thing," Sam shifted slightly, making the bathwater splash. "Oops, sorry. Anyway, now you barely tolerate her. But that's no reason to send me into the lion's den. I AM the one she ran down after all." Sam didn't miss the flash of regret and pain that flew across Brooke's hazel eyes before she could mask it. And had she not been in a slippery tub with her girlfriend, she would have kicked herself for the comment.

"Brooke," Sam said softly from across the tub, "You're either going to have to deal with it, or let it go. Soon. It happened. Nothing you or I can do is going to change it." Brooke dropped her gaze from Sam's and looked into bubbles surrounding them.

"Sam, please," she begged quietly. Sam wagged her toes in Brooke's face.

"Hey, leg needs finishing shaving here," she said indicating the calf Brooke currently was holding. "Or are you going to slit my ankle with that Lady Bic?" Brooke glared at her and Sam went back to the subject at hand.

"Look, love," she started patiently as Brooke took another light swipe at the back of her calf. It tickled and she had to surpress a small giggle. She was, after all, trying to be serious for a change. "It's been months and aside from a barely noticable limp and some faded scars, it's over and done with. Why can't you let it go?" Brooke shrugged while she concentrated on one of those scars Sam was talking about on Sam's right ankle. She knew every inch of Sam's body intimately now and while she tried not to think about it often, the scars were a roadmap of memories chronicling every moment of that awful night and how far Sam had come as well as how much pain Sam had been through.

"I try to, Sammy," she answered finally. "But every now and then, when I look at or think about Nicole, I see you in that hospital bed, hooked up to those machines and the feelings come rushing back." Tears splashed down from Brooke's face into the bathwater. Sam pulled her leg away and leaned across the tub to hold the crying girl.

"Survivor's guilt's a bitch, I know," Sam said soothingly as she stroked Brooke's damp hair out of her face. Brooke looked at her confused. "I felt it for a long time after my Dad died. I was afraid to be happy because he wasn't here. How could I be happy when he was dead? It didn't seem right, or fair," Brooke listened intently to the important words Sam was telling her.

"And you feel it partially because you feel that that whole night was your fault. I got hit by that car by pushing you out of the way. Some silly part of your brain keeps telling you that it should have been you who suffered. But it wasn't Brooke, it was me. And I have told you a hundred, a million times that it wasn't your fault and I don't blame you. And I will tell you a milion more if that's what it takes but please, please love, stop blaming yourself or at least go easy. It's been eating you up inside off and on all this time and I hate to watch you do this," Sam was crying now too. Brooke reached up with sudsy hands and brushed the tears away.

"We're a pair aren't we?" Brooke asked though her tears as Sam settled against her. Sam nodded. "OK, we'll both tell her, but no jokes about running anyone over. Everytime you say it, I relive it." Sam swallowed the sob of guilt that rushed up at the statement.

"OK," she managed to choke out past her guilt. If she were to tell the truth, she couldn't close her eyes without seeing the damned thing herself still. She still woke in a cold sweat sometimes although she was getting better about not waking Brooke if she was there with her.

"You OK, Sam?" Brooke asked, worried at the sudden silence of her tubmate. Sam nodded.

"Fine," Sam lied. Brooke gave her a dubious look. "We'd better get out before we prune," she said to deflect the attention from herself. She stood up and stepped out of the tub, holding out another towel for Brooke once she was ready. She wrapped the towel around the taller frame and then proceeded to dry the blonde's hair with another. Brooke purred at the attention.

"So, your room or mine?"

"Brooke, `rentals," Sam reminded her. Brooke huffed at her.

"Are at the a reunion in Fresno all weekend. Mac is at a babysitter's. You have a memory like a cheese grate, full of holes," Brooke teased. Sam frowned.

"Keep that up and you'll be sleeping alone, Princess," she threatened. Brooke pretended to look horrified.

"Eeeek, the horror!" she squealed, making Sam burst out laughing. Sam finished drying Brooke's hair and pulled her into a burning kiss. Brooke let go of the towel covering her body and let it fall to the floor. Sam pulled out of the kiss and arched an eyebrow.

"Is that an invitation?" Sam asked huskily as she drank in the sight of Brooke. Brooke just nodded and reached out to pull at Sam's towel. Sam stepped just out of reach and shook her head. "Ah, ah, ah…no naughty touchy for Brookie just yet," she chided. Brooke stuck her bottom lip out in a pout.

"Oh no you don't. Even the sexy pout isn't going to work this time," Sam wagged her finger at Brooke.

"Why not?" Brooke almost whined. A wicked smile that made Brooke's blood boil spread across Sam's face.

"My turn first," Sam said with a glint of teeth. Brooke smiled back and happily followed Sam into her room.

EDITED FOR CONTENT (I wrote a sex scene and hated it, sue me)

"I love you, you know," Brooke said after Sam opened her eyes and focused them on her. Sam smiled at her lopsidedly.

"I love you too," she whispered, closing her eyes and leaning in for a kiss. "I hope you understand how much," she continued as she brushed some stray strands of blonde hair way from Brooke's eyes.

"I do," Brooke reassured her confidently. Sam grinned at her widely.

"Just to be sure, let me show you."

Sam looked down at the blonde head resting on her bare chest hours later and watched the hand that traced the light scars on her ribcage. She sometimes wondered what Brooke thought about while she did that. (Do the scars bother her? Is she thinking about the accident again?)

"Penny for `em, Princess," Sam whispered. Brooke shifted slightly so that she could look in Sam's eyes but not have to lift her head.

"Just listening to your heartbeat," Brooke answered simply, a hint of sadness and longing in her voice. Sam's eyes smiled although she frowned slightly.

"Still there I trust?" Brooke sighed.

"It's a very beautiful sound, Sammy. I was once so afraid that it would stop," she trailed off, tears choking off her voice. Sam stroked Brooke's hair with one hand and ran her other one down Brooke's back.

"Takes a licking and keeps on ticking," Sam joked, needing to lighten the mood before she lost control of her own emotions. Brooke shook her head without lifting it, making her hair brush against Sam's chest and making her shiver.

"You don't understand," Brooke looked away. "The thought of telling Nic about us has made me rethink the whole accident thing. There were nights in the hospital when the only sound I had for company was the beeping of your heart monitor. And it scared me that you were reduced to a series of bleeps and whistles. Did anyone tell you that that sound stopped? Twice?" Sam felt hot tears burn the skin between her breasts as Brooke cried.

"No," she replied honestly, scared at the thought. That was news to her. Brooke snuggled closer to her, if that was possible, still keeping her ear pressed to Sam's heart.

"Your heart stopped twice, Sammy, and I thought I had lost you forever without ever telling you how I really felt," Brooke continued, her voice now nothing more than a raspy whisper.

"But it started again," Sam reminded her calmly. Brooke could hear the way Sam's heart had sped up at hearing the news though and knew Sam wasn't half as calm as she acted.

"Only after the doctors and nurses poked you with needles and drugs and used those paddles on you. God, Sam, it was scary and nothing like you see on TV. I thought you were dead," Brooke was sobbing now and Sam could do nothing but hold on to her.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Sam asked after Brooke calmed down some. Brooke shrugged, still not moving from her vigil over Sam's heart.

"It doesn't really fit into many conversations. `Welcome back from your coma, Sam. You're paralyzed from the waist down, but it might be temporary, you can't speak, also temporary, and oh yeah, you died twice. Nice recovery'. You see how it lends itself to awkwardness? Besides, you did recover and we figured the less you knew the better. But sometimes, when no one was around, I'd crawl into your hospital bed and put my head on your chest just to make sure."

"Like this?" Sam asked with a smile. Brooke nodded.

"Like this," Brooke answered. "And then I could sleep again knowing you were all right." Sam brushed away her own tears that had fallen.

"That's very sweet, Brooke. You took very good care of me. Still do, actually." Brooke smiled at her, her eyes lighting up like blue sapphires in the pale moonlight.

"Thank you, Sammy. That means a lot. I tried so hard to take good care of you," she yawned. "And I still want to keep you safe. That's why I'm afraid to tell Nicole."

"Afraid she'll pull another jealous drunken bender number?" Sam asked, not a hint of humor in her voice, only genuine concern. She was worried Nicole might go ballistic on them too. Having Nic flip and target one of them was not something she wanted to live through again. If she was lucky enough to live through it again, that is. Besides, watching Harrison and Carmen freak and shun them was enough. And there was still Mike to consider. Telling him was no doubt going to be anything but fun. Brooke nodded and yawned again.

"Yup," Brooke said quietly and Sam could tell she was drifting off. Sam placed a small kiss on the top of Brooke's head and listened as her breathing became deep and even.

"Sleep, Princess," Sam whispered to the sleeping form who was still situated over her heart. "I'll keep you safe tonight."

TIME FLYS, WHY DON'T YOU GO FIND IT?

"What's up, B?" Nicole asked at school the next day and watched as Brooke jumped about three feet straight up in the air without bending at the knees first. (Pretty impressive feat, reminds me of a cat) Nicole thought dryly, while Brooke waited for her heart to restart itself.

"Jesus, Nic, do I need to put a bell around your neck or what?" Brooke asked as her heart finally slowed its frantic pace. Nic arched an eyebrow.

"As long as it's a Prada or Gucci bell and not a cowbell, I'll think about it," Nic responded. "Too much caffine in your cappachino this morning or what, B?" Brooke shook her head.

"No, just a little jumpy, that's all," Brooke shot back.

"Brooke, I've seen people with Post-Tramatic Stress Disorder in a warzone less jumpy than you are right now. I know we aren't as close as we once were, if we actually ever were close. And I know that trying to kill a person tends to put a strain on your relationship but, you can talk to me, you know?" Nic offered sincerely. And she was sincere. Of all the backs she would still willingly and gladly stab to get ahead, Brooke and Sam's weren't anywhere in her Mike Myers (think Halloween, not Austin Powers) stabbing range. (Enough damage was done there, thank you. Now, if Mary Cherry doesn't learn to keep B. Ho the Hell away from me) Brooke nodded.

"Thanks, I may need to take you up on that," Nicole's eyes lit up at this. Not in the formally evil, oh-I'm-gonna-sink-you-with-this-information way that they used to but with a you're-going-to-trust-me? sort of happy way.

"Sam and I want to talk to you, actually," Brooke continued. Now, the formally evil side of Nicole would have cringed at this and then had a bitchy comment at spending time with Spam McPherson. But now she was just happy that they were both still willing to speak to her. (And not chase me around with garden tools to carve out my insides)

"Well, I'm free after school today, if that's OK with you two," Nicole offered. Brooke nodded absently.

"Yeah, come by the Palace. Mom and Dad are away so we can talk without interruption. Around four?" Nicole nodded and smiled.

"Wouldn't miss it."

"Stop pacing, you're making me nervous," Sam asked her frantic girlfriend who was currently wearing an interesting pattern in the carpeting. It was quarter to four and as it got closer to the agreed on time, Brooke was getting more and more worked up. Sam was starting to worry that the poor girl was going to give herself a stroke.

"How can you not be nervous? This is Nicole Julian. Miss `I'm pissed off, let's get drunk and run down my best friend' herself. And that time she was upset over what I told George about her. Now I'm about to tell her that I'm gay and I'm in love with you! You know she's not your biggest fan," Brooke warned. Sam shrugged.

"I think I figured that out somewhere between freshman year and the sound of tires screeching," Sam answered absently without thinking. Brooke stopped her pacing.

"Saaaamm," she wailed, half-angry, half in pain. Sam shot up out of the armchair and enveloped her in a strong hug.

"Sorry," she whispered in Brooke's ear. "Open mouth, disengage brain. Typical Sam. I'm sorry." Brooke relaxed in her arms.

"S'OK," Brooke told her. She rested her head on Sam's shoulder and thanked God for what felt like the millionth time that she still had Sam in her life. She stayed like that, wrapped in Sam's warm, strong arms until the doorbell rang and she reluctantly untangled herself from the only place she truly felt safe anymore. She stared into Sam's mahogany brown eyes.

"Ready?" Sam nodded.

"When you are, love," Sam answered with a half smile. After giving her a quick kiss, Brooke answered the door. Nicole walked in and spared Sam a small smile, which Sam returned. It struck Sam odd that Nicole seemed nervous.

"What's up, twinkies? Need fashion advice, Spam? Because I've told you that that shirt and pants don't go," Sam looked at her outfit and frowned. As she was about to get annoyed, she heard the small giggle bubble forth from Nicole.

"I swear, Sam, you are such an easy mark," Nicole laughed. Most of the tension eased in the room at the joke although Brooke still felt a bit anxious.

"Ha ha, very funny, Nicole," Sam snickered sarcastically. "Did you come all this way to poke fun at the fashionally challenged or are you here for a reason?"

"Brooke invited me, sort of. Didn't you know?" Nicole asked nervously, looking from Brooke to Sam like she'd been set up for something. Sam smiled evilly.

"Now who's the easy mark, Nic? Relax," Sam continued when she saw the hint of fear creep up into Nic's eyes and realized she'd inadvertantly scared the shorter blonde. "We just wanted to talk."

"Oh, OK. Thought for a second there you were going to go all `Bully' on me," Nic confessed as she plopped down on the couch. "Whatcha wanna talk about?"

"Nicole, this is kind of hard for us, and we want you to hear us out," Sam started when Brooke could only manage to open and close her mouth like a guppy stranded on land. If it weren't such a serious conversation, Sam would have laughed at the sight.

"Sam, I think after the Hell I put the two of you and your family through, and the fact that of all people you extended an olive branch to me, which you didn't turn around and try to stake me through the heart with, the least I can do for you is listen to you. Whatever you two have to say I'll listen. I'm no where near redemption yet, so, lay it on me," Nic said, meaning every word. Brooke sat down on the couch and Sam sat on the arm of it beside her with her hand on Brooke's shoulder. The little gesture didn't go unnoticed by Nicole. She arched her eyebrow again but said nothing.

"Nic, things have changed around here. I mean really changed," Brooke started, hating herself for her vagueness. Nicole nodded.

"Yeah, so? Plaid is out, mini's are back, so what else?"

"I don't think you're following me. I mean with me and Sam. Things have changed with me and Sam. Between us," Brooke continued before she faltered and looked up at her girlfriend.

"Did you take a `vague pill' before she came over?" Sam asked her. Brooke sighed and put her head in her hands and sighed again. Sam looked at Nicole with a sad look on her face.

"What Miss Articulation 2001 is trying, and failing miserably I might add, to say is since my recovery our relationship has changed. It's deepened. We discovered that we had unrequited feelings for each other that were, well, requited." Nicole looked at her blankly. Now Sam sighed. (Gee, that helped)

"OK, maybe I'm overarticulating. Nic, Brooke and I are in love with one another and are involved in a loving, romantic and fulfilling relationship. There, I said it." Sam slid off the arm of the couch onto the couch itself next to Brooke and the two of them watched for a reaction from the short blonde known for her explosive outbursts. Nicole blinked a few times before speaking.

"You're gay?" Nicole asked with a confused frown. Both girls nodded. "As in a Melissa Etheridge/Tammy Lynn Michaels sort of gay?"
{A/N:sorry, couldn't resist =)}

"Yes," Sam responded firmly. Nicole nodded slowly, frown still in place and still looking confused.

"Oh."

AND BEHIND DOOR NUMBER 3…

It had been ten minutes since Nicole had uttered her one sound and no one had moved. Brooke wasn't sure anyone besides herself was still breathing. If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of Sam's chest, she would have been worried about her. As it was, she was worried about the shock still form of her former best friend sitting across from her. Nicole hadn't moved an inch. Brooke wasn't sure the girl had blinked in the space of time since Sam had finished speaking. She was still staring straight ahead, apparently unseeing. Brooke was waiting for her to shoot across the space between them and wrap her arms around Sam's neck to try and finish the job she started with her car or something equally horrible.

"Uhm, Nic?" Brooke finally spoke, unable to take the harsh silence anymore. "Are you OK?" Nicole tore her eyes from whatever faraway point they'd been at and focused them at the couple in front of her. She blinked at them for a few more minutes, still not speaking. Brooke shifted in Sam's arms, nervous.

"Earth to Nicole," Sam spoke up, sensing and agreeing with Brooke's nervousness. Nicole was getting spooky. And that was a very scary thing. "Can you speak or have you had a stroke? Do you smell burning toast?" Brooke elbowed her in the ribs.

"Knock off the jokes, Sam, she's really freaked," Brooke hissed.

"At least she didn't faint three times like Carmen," Sam pointed out calmly. "No need to get all worked up yet Brooke, she hasn't reacted yet."

"Carmen fainted three times?" Nicole asked quietly, startling both the girls by finally speaking. She wasn't looking at either of them anymore but instead seemed more interested in studying the condition of her Prada heels. (Hmm…toe's scuffed, can't have that. Need a new pair)

"Out cold on the floor of the Novac," Sam piped up, glad that the girl had remembered how to speak at last. Nicole looked up at them again and they were surprised to see the fear on Nicole's face. Disgust, outrage or repulsion they were prepared for but fear? (What the heck is she afraid of?) Brooke wondered.

"That's surprising. I would have thought she would have supported you," Nicole said, her voice still soft.

"She and Harrison have some issues to work out about it," Brooke confessed sadly. She missed Carmen and Harrison's company and knew Sam did as well. And now she was worried about what Nicole was going to do.

"Who else knows?" Nicole asked, again looking away, studying the room instead. Sam and Brooke exchanged wary glances. This was way too calm to be the real Nicole Julian. (Would the real Nicole Julian please stand up?) Sam laughed to herself hearing the notes from the Eminem song.

"Mom, and Lily and Josh. Sugar found out by accident. They all took it really well, Sugar even took us out to dinner," Brooke told her. Nicole nodded.

"That's good," she said absently.

"What about you, Nic?" Sam asked, getting right to the point. Nicole focused her blue eyes on her. "What are you going to do about this now? Are you going to try and use this against us, try and hurt Brooke and her popularity with it? I can't possibly get anymore unpopular aside from sitting with April Tuna and Freddy Gong and Harrison and Carmen have beaten me to that. You know there's nothing you can do to hurt me with it," She watched the flash of hurt that went across Nicole's eyes and it surprised her.

"I wondered why they were lowering themselves further on the food chain lately. Anyway, I deserved that, Sam, and yes, at one time, I probably would have jumped at this little tidbit of info to use it was a way of leapfrogging my way to the top of the social ladder and to Hell with anyone's feelings."

"But now?" Brooke asked. Nicole shrugged.

"Now? Now who you chose to love is no one's business but your own. What goes on behind closed doors is your business, not the general populace of Kennedy High School." She looked at the two shocked faces before her and laughed. "So no, I'm not going to go parading around the halls tomorrow singing `Brooke and Sammy sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g' at the top of my lungs. It'd be rude and tasteless, not to mention I have the worst singing voice," she continued with a small smile. Brooke let out a sigh of utter relief that was echoed by Sam.

"But how do you feel about it, Nic?" Brooke asked. "We know how everyone else, except Mary Cherry, feels, good and bad. Now we want your opinion."

"Not your blessing," Sam clarified. Nicole nodded.

"I'm not going to go screaming from the room like you suddenly ordered me to wear last years Jacklyn Smith fashions, hon, if that's what you mean. So your sexual preference doesn't qualify as `norm'. Big deal. Neither does my hair color." Everyone laughed at this.

"So you're not freaked?" Brooke asked.

"I didn't say that. The thought that my best friend and the biggest pain in my ass play tonsil hockey and probably get horizontal on a regular basis," she paused and looked at the two blushing girls, "and those blushes tell me way more than I need to know. But as I was saying, the thought alone is enough to disturb me and make me wonder about the natural order of the universe but, a lot of shit makes me do that lately. No big." She looked at the two smiles that looked back at her.

"I take it you're happy with my answer?"

"Given that we've already lost two good friends and expected to have you flip out on us, we're pleasantly surprised, Nic," Brooke said, still grinning. Sam nodded her agreement.

"Yeah, well, I'm working on the whole freaking out and running around and trying to kill people problem I used to have" Nicole said wryly. Sam looked at Brooke with a (See? I'm not the only one who makes bad jokes about it) look on her face that won her a smack on the arm.

"Wow, this really is a whole new you, Nicole," Brooke pointed out amazed. Nicole shrugged.

"That is so mature," Sam said in disbelief, she just couldn't believe these words were coming from the same Nicole Julian who had made her life such a living Hell for so long. And she wasn't even thinking about the whole accident thing.

"Yeah, a real kick in the ass, ain't it? It's amazing what therapy can do for a person. Anyway, I just hope you feel the same way. Because, if you're going to be so honest with me, I have to be honest with you," Nic said seriously. Sam looked at Brooke and shrugged.

"OK, Nic, what's up?" Brooke asked. Nicole leaned forward and rested her hands on her knees as she stared intently at the two girls in front of her. The spark of unfamiliar fear was back in her eyes.

"I don't know how to tell you this, Brooke, Sam, but I'm going to be honest and just say it. I've come to terms with the fact that I'm bisexual," Nicole confessed in a rush, just to get the words out of her mouth before she chickened out completely. She looked at Sam who was still staring at her, one eyebrow trying to climb up off her forehead. Sam turned away a few seconds later to check on the prone form of Brooke who had fainted dead away on the couch beside her right after Nicole had finished speaking. After making sure Brooke was OK, Sam turned back to Nicole with a smirk on her face. Nicole looked even more slightly panicked.

"I think you broke her." (Maybe there is something in the drinking water because this is going to kill Harrison)

::::::::::bet you saw THAT one coming…hee hee hee::::::::Aeryn

Section 5: Nicole (Un-edited)

CATHARSIS

"I'm not gonna tell her, you tell her."

"Me? She's your friend, not mine."

"Oh, no, that's the coward's way out, Sam. No fair using that," Brooke informed her squirming girlfriend. "Hold still will you, I'm almost done."

"Sam, please," she begged quietly. Sam wagged her toes in Brooke's face.

"You OK, Sam?" Brooke asked, worried at the sudden silence of her tubmate. Sam nodded.

"So, your room or mine?"

"Brooke, `rentals," Sam reminded her. Brooke huffed at her.

"Are at the a reunion in Fresno all weekend. Mac is at a babysitter's. You have a memory like a cheese grate, full of holes," Brooke teased. Sam frowned.

"Keep that up and you'll be sleeping alone, Princess," she threatened. Brooke pretended to look horrified.

"Oh no you don't. Even the sexy pout isn't going to work this time," Sam wagged her finger at Brooke.

"Why not?" Brooke almost whined. A wicked smile that made Brooke's blood boil spread across Sam's face.

"My turn first," Sam said with a glint of teeth. Brooke smiled back and happily followed Sam into her room.

Sam layed Brooke down on the bed and then removed her towel, fully aware of the attentive audience she had. Brooke was laying on her back, propped up on her elbows watching with a lazy smile on her face. Sam turned around in a full circle giving Brooke a complete 360 view. Brooke whistled and then reached out for her. Sam met her hands halfway and then lay down on the bed with her, draping her body half over Brooke's, kissing her passionately and reveling in the feel of her bare skin on Brooke's.

Brooke's hands were suddenly everywhere, lighting fires wherever they touched, igniting nerve endings, and making Sam want more contact between them, which she wasn't sure was even possible. She kissed Brooke fervently, passionately and repeatedly unable to get enough and Brooke returned the kisses with just as much fire. Sam buried her hands in Brooke's blonde hair, holding the girl's face close as their tongues dueled and Brooke's hands wandered down to Sam's ass to cup it firmly.

"Brooke," Sam rasped as Brooke's hands came up her sides and settled on her breasts, kneading them. Brooke gave her a devilish grin before flipping Sam onto her back and straddling her waist with her thighs.

"Gotcha," Brooke growled as she kissed Sam and than moved to suckle Sam's left breast. The sudden intake of air from Sam told Brooke that Sam didn't mind being caught. Sam ran her hands over Brooke's thighs, loving the feel of the strong muscles underneath the silky skin. (All those years of doing splits and cheerleading, I guess) Sam thought absently. She moaned as Brooke grazed her nipple with her teeth. She felt the inner fire building as Brooke continued her ministrations. God, how Sam loved her. Inside and out, Sam loved Brooke with everything she had.

Brooke kissed a path across Sam's chest and abdomen while Sam ran her hands through the blonde's hair, keeping her close and just loving the fact that this breathtaking and radiant beauty loved and cared for her. Her breath hitched again as Brooke's tongue darted into her bellybutton and swirled around, teasing her. Brooke's hands were massaging Sam's thighs, encouraging them a little further apart.

"Brooke," Sam moaned lowly as Brooke reached down and slid two fingers into her slick channel, beginning to pump them in and out slowly. Sam's body moved instinctively to meet Brooke's hand. Brooke mimicked the action of her fingers with her tongue and Sam's bellybutton making Sam squirm and keen with pleasure.

"Yes, Sam?" Brooke purred, watching the myriad of emotions play across the face of her lover; want, need, love, desire, passion all flashed across Sam's face like still frames from a movie. And all aimed at Brooke.

"Pl…please," Sam panted wantingly as Brooke picked up the pace and Sam's body arched to meet her. Brooke smiled and lowered her head to where her hand was, letting her tongue join her fingers in their exploration. She felt Sam's body buck as if stuck by lightening as her tongue flicked across Sam's clit and a whimper escaped Sam's throat.

"God…Brooke," Sam gasped as Brooke continued to nip and lick at her while moving her fingers energetically. Knowing Sam was close by the way her body was moving and the sounds the girl was making, Brooke sped up again and added another finger while sucking harder on Sam's clit. A few minutes later she felt the walls around her fingers start to contract and her own name was ripped from Sam's lips as the other girl came in a powerful orgasm. She waited for most of it to pass before she moved up to hold Sam as the rest of the tremors slowly passed and Sam eventually returned to herself. Brooke kissed the trembling girl repeatedly and talked softly to her.

"I love you, you know," Brooke said after Sam opened her eyes and focused them on her. Sam smiled at her lopsidedly.

"I love you too," she whispered, closing her eyes and leaning in for a kiss. "I hope you understand how much," she continued as she brushed some stray strands of blonde hair way from Brooke's eyes.

"I do," Brooke reassured her confidently. Sam grinned at her widely.

"Just to be sure, let me show you."

"Penny for `em, Princess," Sam whispered. Brooke shifted slightly so that she could look in Sam's eyes but not have to lift her head.

"Just listening to your heartbeat," Brooke answered simply, a hint of sadness and longing in her voice. Sam's eyes smiled although she frowned slightly.

"Still there I trust?" Brooke sighed.

"No," she replied honestly, scared at the thought. That was news to her. Brooke snuggled closer to her, if that was possible, still keeping her ear pressed to Sam's heart.

"Your heart stopped twice, Sammy, and I thought I had lost you forever without ever telling you how I really felt," Brooke continued, her voice now nothing more than a raspy whisper.

"But it started again," Sam reminded her calmly. Brooke could hear the way Sam's heart had sped up at hearing the news though and knew Sam wasn't half as calm as she acted.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Sam asked after Brooke calmed down some. Brooke shrugged, still not moving from her vigil over Sam's heart.

"Like this?" Sam asked with a smile. Brooke nodded.

"Like this," Brooke answered. "And then I could sleep again knowing you were all right." Sam brushed away her own tears that had fallen.

"That's very sweet, Brooke. You took very good care of me. Still do, actually." Brooke smiled at her, her eyes lighting up like blue sapphires in the pale moonlight.

"Thank you, Sammy. That means a lot. I tried so hard to take good care of you," she yawned. "And I still want to keep you safe. That's why I'm afraid to tell Nicole."

"Yup," Brooke said quietly and Sam could tell she was drifting off. Sam placed a small kiss on the top of Brooke's head and listened as her breathing became deep and even."Sleep, Princess," Sam whispered to the sleeping form who was still situated over her heart. "I'll keep you safe tonight."

TIME FLYS, WHY DON'T YOU GO FIND IT?

"Jesus, Nic, do I need to put a bell around your neck or what?" Brooke asked as her heart finally slowed its frantic pace. Nic arched an eyebrow.

"As long as it's a Prada or Gucci bell and not a cowbell, I'll think about it," Nic responded. "Too much caffine in your cappachino this morning or what, B?" Brooke shook her head.

"No, just a little jumpy, that's all," Brooke shot back.

"OK, I'm free after school today, if that's OK with you two," Nicole offered. Brooke nodded absently.

"Yeah, come by the Palace. Mom and Dad are away so we can talk without interruption. Around four?" Nicole nodded and smiled.

"Wouldn't miss it."

"I think I figured that out somewhere between freshman year and the sound of tires screeching," Sam answered without thinking. Brooke stopped her pacing.

"Saaaamm," she wailed, half-angry, half in pain. Sam shot up out of the armchair and enveloped her in a strong hug.

"Sorry," she whispered in Brooke's ear. "Open mouth, disengage brain. Typical Sam. I'm sorry." Brooke relaxed in her arms.

"Ready?" Sam nodded.

"I swear, Sam, you are such an easy mark," Nicole laughed. Most of the tension eased in the room at the joke although Brooke still felt a bit anxious.

"Ha ha, very funny, Nicole," Sam snickered sarcastically. "Did you come all this way to poke fun at the fashionally challenged or are you here for a reason?"

"Brooke invited me, sort of. Didn't you know?" Nicole asked nervously, looking from Brooke to Sam like she'd been set up for something. Sam smiled evilly.

"Now who's the easy mark, Nic? Relax," Sam continued when she saw the hint of fear creep up into Nic's eyes and realized she'd inadvertantly scared the shorter blonde. "We just wanted to talk."

"Oh, OK. Thought for a second there you were going to go all `Bully' on me," Nic confessed as she plopped down on the couch. "Whatcha wanna talk about?"

"Nic, things have changed around here. I mean really changed," Brooke started, hating herself for her vagueness. Nicole nodded.

"Yeah, so? Plaid is out, mini's are back, so what else?"

"I don't think you're following me. I mean with me and Sam. Things have changed with me and Sam. Between us," Brooke continued before she faltered and looked up at her girlfriend.

"Did you take a `vague pill' before she came over?" Sam asked her. Brooke sighed and put her head in her hands and sighed again. Sam looked at Nicole with a sad look on her face.

"You're gay?" Nicole asked with a confused frown. Both girls nodded. "As in a Melissa Etheridge/Tammy Lynn Michaels sort of gay?"
{A/N:sorry, couldn't resist =)}

"Yes," Sam responded firmly. Nicole nodded slowly, frown still in place and still looking confused.

"Oh."

AND BEHIND DOOR NUMBER 3…

It had been ten minutes since Nicole had uttered her one sound and no one had moved. Brooke wasn't sure anyone besides herself was still breathing. If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of Sam's chest, she would have been worried. As it was, she was worried about the shock still form of her former best friend sitting across from her. Nicole hadn't moved an inch. Brooke wasn't sure the girl had blinked in the space of time since Sam had finished speaking. She was still staring straight ahead, apparently unseeing. Brooke was waiting for her to shoot across the space between them and wrap her arms around Sam's neck to try and finish the job she started with her car or something equally horrible.

"Earth to Nicole," Sam spoke up, sensing and agreeing with Brooke's nervousness. Nicole was getting spooky. And that was a scary thing. "Can you speak or have you had a stroke? Do you smell burning toast?" Brooke elbowed her in the ribs.

"Knock off the jokes, Sam, she's really freaked," Brooke hissed.

"At least she didn't faint three times like Carmen," Sam pointed out calmly.

"That's surprising. I would have thought she would have supported you," Nicole said, her voice still soft.

"Mom, and Lily and Josh. Sugar found out by accident. They all took it really well, Sugar even took us out to dinner," Brooke told her. Nicole nodded.

"That's good," she said absently.

"But now?" Brooke asked. Nicole shrugged.

"But how do you feel about it, Nic?" Brooke asked. "We know how everyone else, except Mary Cherry, feels, good and bad. Now we want your opinion."

"Not your blessing," Sam clarified. Nicole nodded.

"So you're not freaked?" Brooke asked.

"I didn't say that. The thought that my best friend and the biggest pain in my ass play tonsil hockey and probably get horizontal on a regular basis," she paused and looked at the two blushing girls, "and those blushes tell me way more than I need to know. But as I was saying, The thought alone is enough to disturb me and make me wonder about the natural order of the universe but, a lot of shit makes me do that lately. No big." She looked at the two smiles that looked back at her.

"I take it you're happy with my answer?"

"Given that we've already lost two good friends and expected to have you flip out on us, we're pleasantly surprised, Nic," Brooke said, still grinning. Sam nodded her agreement.

"Wow, this really is a whole new you, Nicole," Brooke pointed out amazed. Nicole shrugged.

"Well, if I've learned anything, it's that you have to take love and acceptance where you can find it. One of the reasons I acted the way I did for so long is because I didn't get any love at home and mistook fear and worship for it. But if you two found it with each other, good for you. And I want you as friends and this is part of the package, OK, I can deal. I hope you feel the same. Because, if you're going to be so honest with me, I have to be honest with you," Nic said seriously. Sam looked at Brooke and shrugged.

"OK, Nic, what's up?" Brooke asked. Nicole leaned forward and rested her hands on her knees as she stared intently at the two girls in front of her. The spark of unfamiliar fear was back in her eyes.

"I don't know how to tell you this, Brooke, Sam, but I've come to terms with the fact that I'm bisexual," Nicole confessed in a rush, just to get the words out of her mouth before she chickened out completely. She looked at Sam who was still staring at her. Sam turned away a few seconds later to check on the prone form of Brooke who had fainted dead away on the couch beside her right after Nicole had finished speaking. After making sure Brooke was OK, Sam turned back to Nicole with a smirk on her face.

"I think you broke her." (Maybe there is something in the drinking water because this is going to kill Harrison)

Section 6: Mary Cherry

Author's Notes: OK, we've told everyone except Dad and Mary Cherry. Let's see how the Southern Christian takes the news, shall we? And my Bible is really rusty so if the quote is off, chalk it up to unique Mary Cherry interpretation. And I can't do Mary Cherry's accent to save my life so, please bare with me.

~~~~~

TWO TICKETS FOR THE EXPRESS TRAIN TO HELL, PLEASE

"Oh mah Gawd! Oh mah Gawd! Oh mah Gawd! Oh mah Gawd! Oh mah Gawd!" Mary Cherry exclaimed. Sam leaned over to whisper into Brooke's ear as they once again found themselves playing out the great drama of their lives in the Novak.

"Is she praying for us, blessing us or damning us?" she asked dumbfounded. Brooke shook her head slowly never removing her eyes from the kneeling form of Mary Cherry who was still repeating those three words like a mantra.

"Oh mah Gawd! Oh mah Gawd! Oh mah Gawd! Oh mah Gawd! Oh mah Gawd!"

"I have no idea," Brooke whispered back with a frown. They both continued to stare at the girl on the floor in front of them. Sam turned to Brooke to face her.

"I've lost count, how many 'Oh my God's' is that?" Brooke shrugged.

"Three, four hundred?" Brooke answered looking back at Sam. Sam seemed to consider this for a minute and then turned to Mary Cherry.

"If she hasn't answered you by now, Mary Cherry, she must be busy doing something else. Now stand up and talk to us like a normal human being," she stopped to ponder her words. She looked at Brooke. "Or whatever passes for 'normal' for Mary Cherry."

Mary Cherry suddenly stopped her chanting and sprang to her feet in one bound reminding both Sam and Brooke of a Jack-in-the-Box. Sam could actually hear the strains of 'Pop goes the weasel' in her head. Mary Cherry's eyes narrowed and she pointed an accusing finger at them both.

"Y'all know what ya are? Y'all are evil. EEE-VEEELLLL!!!" Mary Cherry shrieked.

"It speaks," Sam said dryly as Brooke shot her a dirty look and approached Mary Cherry, palms out in the universal sign of peace. Mary Cherry backed away and raised her purse as if to strike her. Brooke stopped and backtracked until she was hidden slightly behind Sam who looked between the two of them in confusion. Brooke pointed to the purse and Sam's eyes got wide. She knew what Mary Cherry carried in that bag. Or was rumored to at least. She took a step back as well, Brooke still behind her.

"Now, Mary Cherry, just calm down. There's no need for violence," Sam said calmly, hoping to avoid bloodshed, most notably hers and Brooke's. Mary Cherry waved the purse at them threateningly.

"Evil," she repeated. "There's a word fer it, y'all. It's in-cese." Sam burst out laughing making Mary Cherry and Brooke jump. Sam looked at Brooke who was now crouched behind her.

"Incense, get it? Incense?" Brooke tried to hide the smile to no effect. Mary Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Ah know it's INCEST," she pronounced the word slowly and perfectly in generic middle American english. "Don't be mockin' mah accent Sam-in-a-Can." Her eyes narrowed further. "An' it's wrong, y'all. Just wrong. Y'all're goin' ta Hell. It's against the Bible. It says a man shall not lie down wit' another man."

"Then we're fine, neither of us is a man," Sam pointed out flatly. Mary Cherry started to turn an alarming shade of red. Brooke hit Sam on the back.

"You're not helping," she hissed. Sam craned her neck to look at Brooke.

"Neither are you," Sam hissed back. "I know you like my ass but stop using it as your personal shield and get out here, she's your friend, not mine." Brooke sighed and stepped out from the safety of Sam's back to face Mary Cherry.

"Technically, Mary Cherry, it's not incest since we're not actually sisters. There's no blood relation between us," Brooke explained simply. Mary Cherry shook her head.

"Ah saw this ehgzact thing on Jerry just a few months ago," she started.

"Rikki," Sam broke in. Mary Cherry tilted her head confused. Sam thought she resembled a constipated poodle.

"Huh?"

"Rikki Lake, you saw it on Rikki Lake," Sam clarified. Mary Cherry nodded.

"Whatever, y'all. As Ah wuz sayin', she did this whole show on stepsisters who were illicit lovers an' how it tore the fam'lies apart," Mary Cherry droned on. Sam and Brooke exchanged tired looks.

"Mary Cherry, your point?" Brooke asked curtly. Mary Cherry glared.

"Y'all have earned yerselves one way tickets on the express train ta Hell, that's mah point, Brookie. First class tickets, too."

"Christ, whatever," Sam mumbled, so not impressed by Mary Cherry's rantings. Mary Cherry turned her attentions on Sam.

"What did y'all do to her? What lil' ol' spell did you put on poor ol' Brookie ta turn her all gay, Spammie?" Sam looked at Mary Cherry like her head had fallen off.

"What? How? What?" Sam sputtered. She put her hands on her cheeks and stared flabbergasted through her fingers at Mary Cherry.

"You heard me, Sammie McQueerson, whaud ya do ta her ta make her become a lez-be-ee-in-in-trainin'?" What started as a giggle grew into hysterical laughter for Sam as she looked at Brooke for help. Brooke just shrugged. She had NO idea what to say to that. She also had no idea what Sam found so damn funny.

"Did ya slip a mickey in her protein drink?" Mary Cherry continued as Sam slid to the floor, the hysterical laughter overwhelming her and making tears slide down her face. Mary Cherry advanced on her until Brooke stood in her way.

"Outta mah way, Brookie, this is between me an' Sammy McRainbow over there. Think this is funny,huh? Well, Ah don't. Up until recently, Brookie wuz straight as an arrow an' then you come along battin' yer big Bambi brown eyez at 'er an' the next thing Ah know she's playin' fer the other team. Ya musta dun sumthin' to her," Mary Cherry explained. Brooke sighed as Sam kept laughing, holding her sides. Brooke didn't know what was worse, Mary Cherry's ranting or Sam's laughing.

"Sam didn't do anything to me, Mary Cherry. No spells, no drugs, nothing. I'm gay, not straight and I love her. Please stop laughing Sam, you're not helping." Sam snorted at her and Brooke rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever. Mary Cherry, we're not evil, we're not committing incest and we're not going to Hell. OK?" Sam hiccuped signifing the end of her laughing fit and stood back up. Brooke shot her a dirty look.

"You done?" Sam smiled sheepishly as she wiped away the last of the laughter induced tears.

"Yeah," hiccup, "sorry."

PEOPLE IN GLASS HOUSES...BREAK A LOT OF WINDOWS

"It's wrong and amoral and depraved and morally wrong and reprehensible..." Mary Cherry continued fifteen minutes later as she paced and Brooke and Sam sat on the couch in the Novak watching.

"I think she just used her allowance of big words for the year," Sam yawned. Brooke leaned her head on Sam's shoulder and sighed. (If she's reacting this badly to us, her head'll explode if she ever found out about Nic)

"Let her get it out of her system now and maybe she won't do something outrageous with it later," she suggested. Sam nodded.

"Let's hope so," Sam agreed.

You know, I think we would have been better off gathering everyone into a room and telling them all at once rather than one at a time," Brooke said in hindsight. "At least we'd be done by now." Sam smirked.

"True. We could have dropped the bomb and ran and let them all fight it out amongst themselves. Can you see it? Carmen, Mary Cherry and Harrison vs. Lily, Josh, Nicole, and Sugar? Man, I'd pay to see that Royal Rumble," Sam laughed. Brooke giggled at the imagery.

"We could charge on Pay-per-View," Brooke joked. Sam looked down at Brooke with a shocked look on her face.

"Careful, I think my sense of humor is wearing off on you," she warned. Brooke looked suitably frightened.

"We're in trouble if that ever happens," she agreed. Mary Cherry suddenly turned and approached Brooke with an angry (angrier?) look on her face.

"Do y'all have any idear what this is gonna do ta all the lil' Brookie worshippies out thar? They'll all either convert ta gayism er decide that y'all ain't cool no more an' then we'll all be unpopular like Spammie McPride over thar," she declared. Sam swallowed the anger that was starting to bubble from the stupid names Mary Cherry was calling her. (I will not stoop to her level, I won't) Brooke sighed.

"Her name is Sam McPherson, Mary Cherry. Either call her Sam or don't say her name at all," obviously Brooke was bothered by it too. Mary Cherry glared at her.

"Whatever. Are ya listening ta me at all, Brookie? Y'all are gonna destroy us all," Mary Cherry pointed out. It was like a distorted echo of Carmen's sentiments a few days earlier. (Very distorted, Funhouse distorted, echo) Brooke put her face in her hands and softly started to cry, more out of frustration than anything else. Sam rubbed her back for a minute and then let her anger get the better of her and stood up to face the still irate Texan.

"All right, my turn you ignorant, Bible-thumping, axe-murdering, anal retentive little twit!" she exploded, surprising even herself with the force behind her voice. Brooke looked up to watch, not about to miss this show.

"First off, what Brooke and I have is no one's business but our own. It's pure and good and real and not in anyway, shape or form evil. It is love, pure and simple and God would not create a love that is wrong. Got that? Good, because I'm not repeating it. Let me know if I'm going too fast for you at anytime Mary Cherry and I'll slow down or draw pictures for you." Mary Cherry nodded mutely, suddenly very very afraid. Sam took a few more steps towards her until she had Mary Cherry backed up against the sink. Brooke watched with a half smirk on her face. She loved it when Sam got wound up like this. For a couple of reasons. First off, winding down was...fun.

"Second, we're only telling you and everyone else because you're our friends although with you I use that term very loosely. Thirdly, neither of us gives a shit what anyone thinks anymore, least of all a narrowminded little idiot like you. If you have a problem with this, look away or go join Harrison and Carmen at the reject homophobic table they currently reside at because we won't miss your 'sparkling' company."

"Finally, and this is my favorite, who the Hell are you to accuse us of being evil or wrong? Jesus, Mary Cherry, you're so inbred you were born with webbed toes and feet for God's sake. Now if any love was wrong or evil, that was. Now that, that is incest. And as far as us being gay and that being wrong, have you talked to your father lately? If not I think you might want to have a LONG talk with him cuz there's a little tidbit of info I think you might have overlooked concerning him." Mary Cherry was blinking at her in shock and Brooke was trying, rather unsuccessfully, to smother a giggle with the back of her hand. Sam put her hands on her hips.

"Now," she started in a much calmer voice, "did you get all that?" Mary Cherry nodded. "Good, now, either get your head out of your ass and congratulate us on being happy or shut your oversized fly trap and get out of our sight."

It took Mary Cherry a few minutes to formulate an answer, she was staring at Sam with her mouth wide open, speechless. While she waited, Sam went and sat back down next to Brooke. Brooke wrapped her arms around Sam and hugged her tightly.

"That was very sexy," Brooke purred into her ear, not caring that Mary Cherry was still standing at the sink letting Sam's words sink in. Sam gave her a sexy smile.

"Liked my little rant, did ya?" Sam asked as she kissed Brooke's forehead, also ignoring Mary Cherry's existence. Brooke nodded.

"It was very...impassioned," Brooke whispered, leaning closer to Sam's face and staring at Sam's lips. She watched the corners of Sam's mouth quirk up.

"I do impassioned very well, don't you think?" Sam teased while running her tongue over her bottom lip. Brooke nodded, unable to think or form a response for the blood roaring in her ears. She closed the gap between them and kissed Sam for all she was worth and only broke apart when Mary Cherry decided to make her presence known again.

"Geez, y'all get a room. Don't make me hose ya down."

SHORT STRAW

"Just do me a favor and never join the debate team, Sam, that's all I'm asking," Brooke said as she rested her head on Sam's abdomen and they both lay sprawled on her bed later that night. She felt a rumble of laughter ripple though Sam.

"Why's that, Princess?" Sam asked as she ran her hands through Brooke's hair absently, reveling in the silky feel.

"I love to watch you argue. I think that's why I used to fight with you so much. I love the way you light up when you get your groove on. It's such a turn on," Brooke admitted with a smile. Another rumble of laughter went through Sam.

"I get it. If I joined the Debate Team you'd want to jump my bones everytime I got on stage and tried to argue a point. And while that wouldn't be a bad thing for me, it might make scoring difficult for the judges to decide. So noted." Brooke shifted slightly so that she could look into Sam's half lidded eyes which stared back at her full of mirth and love.

"Yeah, well, Mary Cherry's lucky she interrupted when she did or she REALLY would have gotten more than she bargined for." Sam scrunched up her nose.

"Ew, not into audiences, Princess," she stuck out her tongue at the thought. Brooke moved up to capture the errant tongue and give it something better to do.

"Am I really your Princess?" Brooke asked after she broke away minutes later and stared intently into Sam's warm brown eyes. Sam cocked her head to the side and smiled.

"Have you always had a knack for changing horses midstream or is it an acquired talent?" Brooke swatted her on the arm and leaned into her embrace to snuggle.

"Answer me, please. I need to know. You call me that all the time. Am I really your Princess?" Sam frowned.

"Of course you are. Why would you think that you weren't, Brooke? To say that I worship you, aside from sounding incredibly cheesy, would be too bland, it wouldn't be enough to express how much you mean to me. Even saying 'I love you' doesn't seem enough to make you understand the depth of what I feel for you."

"Sammy," Brooke broke in, starting to cry. Sam wiped away her tears while shaking her head.

"Let me finish, you asked. You are my Princess. You are my everything. Even if I lost everything, everyone, if I still had you, I could survive it because you'd be there. Even if I hadn't regained my voice or the use of my legs after the accident, I think that if I had you by my side I would have been all right, Brooke. You once called me your saviour, your hero. Well, you're mine, Brooke. And I love you, with more words than even me, the writer, can say." Brooke was crying openly now and Sam sighed.

"I hate it when you cry. I hate making you cry," Sam said sadly. Brooke shook her head.

"Happy tears," she explained. "You say the most beautiful things, Sammy. I love you and I love being your Princess." She reached over and kissed Sam again, showing her exactly how much. Sam broke away a few minutes later, much to Brooke's disappointment.

"Mom and Mike are home. We can't," Sam lamented. "We're a little TOO vocal," she blushed, which Brooke found endearing. She reached up and brushed some of Sam's brown hair out of her face.

"I know," Brooke said, longing and desire evident in her voice. "So, we've told everyone else, now all we have to do is tell Dad." Sam cringed.

"Ick. Not a happy thought, Brooke. So, who should do it?" Brooke shrugged.

"Flip you for it," she suggested hopefully. Sam glared at her slightly.

"Oh, that's fair, he's your dad," Sam pointed out. Brooke sighed.

"Fine, I'll tell him. Soon, I promise. Just make sure you and Mom are there." Sam leaned her forehead against Brooke's.

"Of course, I would never abandon you," Sam said softly. A wicked smile suddenly crossed Sam's face and she got up and walked over to Brooke's CD player. Without saying a word, she went through the cds stacked there until she found what she wanted and put it into the stereo. Turning the volume up and pressing play, she sauntered over to the bed, a sexy and mischievous smile on her face.

"That should do it," she said over the music as she reached for Brooke's shirt. Brooke smiled back, understanding, and reached for Sam.

Downstairs, Mike wondered why he could hear Shaggy's Hotshot playing so loudly since Brooke never listened to her stereo so loud but figured she must be studying with Sam. Meanwhile Jane just shook her head and sighed.