Under These Rocks and Stones

Title: Under These Rocks and Stones

Author: Aeryn Sun

Feedback: Yes, please

Archiving: Ask, and ye shall receive. Just ask first.

Rating: R for rough language and a certain expected level of angst.

Couple: Sam/Brooke…Lily/Nicole

Warning: If the idea of two women involved in a romantic relationship together disturbs you, run, run far far away and never look back. If it's illegal where you live, move quickly. If you're under the legal age, age quicker, it's fun here. Other than that, enter at your own risk, and enjoy.

Disclaimer: Not mine, never were. I bow to their creator and offer my humble thanks. I make no profit from this, only harmless (?) fun. My profit comes in the form of feedback.

The Dinner Party Pt.2

Author's Notes: Still no major angst. Just sort of a happy break for our put upon foursome. This is a sequel to The Dinner Party Pt.1. The party continues…and so do the surprises.

~~~~~

After everyone's big announcements, there was a brief but understandable awkward silence at the table. The four girls, and now Sugar Daddy, knew that those new to the information were quietly processing and settling their shock. So far, the night had been pleasantly calm, with only Harrison's small outburst. Even he was quiet now, thinking things over. Nicole, for one, prayed that things stayed calm.

"Yo, I can't stand this quiet guys," Sugar Daddy spoke up grinning slightly. "What is, what is, you know? This is a PARTY! Let's have some fun! I'm here with the people who mean the most to me. You're all like my family. So let's enjoy ourselves." Everyone seemed to relax some with his declaration and Brooke smiled in agreement.

"Sugar Daddy's right," she said firmly. She turned to Nicole. "Nic, dinner was fabulous. You're the party planner so, what else have you got up your incredibly expensive sleeve?" Nicole's face lit up.

"Well, I had thought about getting a band to play but then figured that a DJ would be better. The Ballroom has been turned into a full-blown club for those who might be interested," she said slyly. Mary Cherry hopped up from her seat.

"Let's rave, y'all!" she yelled.

Since the atmosphere was a tad `young' for them, Jane and Terri sat to the side of the ballroom watching as the group of teens mingled and joked around with each other. They were both happy to see the awkwardness and the apprehensive air that temporarily seemed to grip the group fall away, although Harrison was still a bit quiet.

"The way I figure it, if he hasn't run off by now, he's not going to," Terri observed, reading Jane's mind as the concerned mother watched Sam try and strike up small talk with the slightly phobic boy. Harrison smiled a bit at Sam and then wandered over to the snack table. "He'll come around and deal with the whole thing, given time." Jane nodded her head in agreement.

"Brooke and Sam both mean too much to him for him to just turn his back," she said relieved. "I was worried."

"I know you were. So was I. But things have a way of working themselves out, Jane. You'll see," Terri reassured her softly while patting her shoulder. Jane arched an eyebrow at her and smirked.

"Being an optimist must be a blonde trait," she said dryly. Terri laughed.

"Natural blonde, natural optimist," she agreed.

Sam sighed as Harrison retreated. It bothered her that he was so squirrelly around her but she was holding out the hope that he'd find his way through his issues and confusion. And she was heartened by the fact that he was sticking around. She walked around the floor, spotting her mother talking with Terri for a moment before she found Brooke. She walked up close to her blonde love, nuzzled Brooke's cheek with her nose and then put her lips next to Brooke's ear so that she'd be heard over the pulsing beat that had surrounded them.

"Brooke, hon, do you ever think that there's something going on between my mother and your aunt?" she asked in all seriousness. It was something she'd been kind of wondering for a while, having noticed a certain something between the two women. But then again, she figured, maybe she was imagining things.

Brooke pulled away slightly to look at Sam in obvious shock. She then turned to look at Jane and Terri who were huddled close in deep conversation.

"Sam," she started gravely. "There isn't enough money on the planet to buy me a ticket on THAT train of thought!"

They both burst out laughing.

"It would SO be the last nail in the coffin containing Mike's mental health!" Sam snickered.

"Oh God, he'd die!" Brooke roared.

"Hmm, let's see: his daughter, ex-fiancee, near stepdaughter, and former sister-in-law all turning out to be Sapphic? Maybe it IS something about him," Sam joked.

"Oh stop," Brooke giggled. "You are so bad sometimes." Sam smirked devilishly.

"I try," she admitted.

Further across the dance floor, Lily reclined slightly in her lover's arms watching their friends enjoy the party and blissfully happy with the current state of her life.

"It's a wonderful party, Niki. Thank you," she murmured happily. Nicole hugged her a little tighter.

"I'm glad that you like it, baby. And I'm relieved that it's going so well," she observed. Lily nodded.

"It was worth the risk, Niki. I feel so much better now that everyone knows about us. It's like we're finally free to be ourselves, without any acts or secrets. Keeping it a secret was painful. Especially since I'm so proud of you."

"Of me?" Nicole asked surprised. Lily turned around in Nicole's arms so that they were face to face.

"Yes, you," she smiled, kissing Nicole lightly. "You are so different from who you used to be. You've come so far and I'm proud of that, of you. I'm proud to love you."

"Aw, Lil, stop," Nicole admonished, tears welling up in her eyes. "If I cry with this much makeup on I'll end up looking like a raccoon on fright night. We wouldn't want that." Lily laughed.

"No, definitely not," she snickered. "Sorry, didn't mean to go all `Hallmark' on you but I wanted you to know how I felt." Nicole arched an eyebrow.

"It was more `Oprah' than `Hallmark', but I'll forgive you."

As the party progressed, Nicole grew steadily more quiet, which bothered Lily because by all accounts the party was a huge success. Everyone, even Harrison was having a fabulous time. He'd relaxed considerably and was teasing Sam and Brooke about the same old childhood things.

<Guess he'd rather have his friends as they are then end up alone> Lily figured, incredibly relieved. Although she noticed Harrison was still rather skittish around Sugar Daddy. <What is it with that stupid double standard?> she wondered. <Guys don't mind two women together but put a gay man in the room and suddenly they become uber-macho or behave like scared little girls. It's ridiculous>

Across the room, Mary Cherry was dancing (if you could CALL it dancing, Lily wasn't sure) with an incredibly gallant and patient George. He looked incredibly put-upon but was hiding it well. Josh however, was having a good laugh at his buddy as George suffered another stepped on foot by the Texan who was `feeling the music'.

Lily turned to Nicole again. As much fun as Nicole seemed to be having, she still seemed troubled by something. There was something on the petite blonde's mind, nagging at her like a persistent itch. She was quiet but fidgety. She kept wringing her hands and biting her bottom lip absently. Lily might have found the whole display cute if she could understand the cause behind it.

After seeming to fight with herself rather intensely for the better part of an hour, Lily watched as Nicole apparently came to some sort of a decision. She excused herself from the party and disappeared out the ballroom door. Lily sighed. Sometimes she just didn't understand the workings of Nicole Julian's mind, no matter how much she loved her. Smiling to herself, she walked over to Sugar Daddy and started talking to him about his boyfriend Nate.

"He's a really nice guy, Lily. You'd like him," Sugar Daddy beamed with pride. "He's studying to become a special education teacher. God, he is so good with kids, yo. They like, flock around him."

"That's wonderful, Sugar. Why didn't you bring him?" Lily asked. Sugar blushed.

"I wanted to but, I was afraid it might not go over well. And I thought that I should tell you guys before I just `sprang' him on you like that. The whole `respect' angle, you know?" Lily nodded. "Anyway, he couldn't make it this time. He has a little brother, Brian, who's autistic. Nate promised his parents he'd be home because Brian's starting a new school and they wanted him to help get Brian settled."

"He sounds like a very compassionate person," Lily observed. Sugar smiled.

"He is."

Out of the corner of her eye, Lily noticed Nicole reappearing on the makeshift stage at the head of the room. The blonde cleared her throat and smiled nervously as the song playing ended and the entire room's attention was suddenly shifted to her.

"Uhm…hey," she stammered haltingly. Her former `bitch' bravado was long gone and she was feeling oddly vulnerable. "Is everyone having a good time?"

A chorus of cheers and a loud `Hell Yeah' from Sugar Daddy answered her. Her smile widened as she relaxed marginally.

"Good, I'm glad. Honestly, I was a little…no, a LOT nervous as to how tonight was going to play out. It could have gone any number of ways, most of them reminiscent of a Shakespeare tragedy, and that scared me. Especially after all the money I poured into looking this good." She did a 360 twirl on stage to another chorus of whistles.

"Seriously," she laughed. "Look, you all know that I don't come from a nice and warm fuzzy place. My family was cold and harsh so I was raised to be that way too. It turned me cold and into the bitch so fondly referred to by the greater populace as Satan."

"Satan, the Bitch of Kennedy, She-Bitch from Hell, Satan's Hell Spawn…" Sam ticked off nicknames on her fingers until Brooke nudged her to shut up. Nicole snickered.

"Thanks Spam. Anyway, I'm the first to admit I was all of those things. The Julian family, except my Nana, was cruel, cold and mean. And because I was afraid of being vulnerable and getting hurt, I hid behind that. I know I can be a total bitch."

"Here here," Sam cheered making everyone laugh. Nicole glared at the girl but the blonde's blue eyes twinkled with mirth.

"Pipe down, Spam, before I can you," she warned with a grin. "As I was saying, I played the part of the bitch. I was good at it. And I might have gotten stuck that way if it hadn't been for all of you. In your own ways, you've all helped me realize that `the bitch' isn't who I really am. And by accepting me tonight, your warmth and love have given me the strength to be myself. You are my real family. Thank you."

Everyone was quiet for a few moments as Nicole's unexpected but heartfelt words sank in. Then Harrison, of all people, began to applaud her and everyone joined in.

"Yeah Nicole!"

"Whoo Hoo!"

"She's human y'all!" rang out around her. Nicole laughed and waved at them to quiet down.

"Hang on guys, I'm not finished," she explained. Brooke rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Please, Nic, when are you EVER done?" she joked.

"You know me, B, always have to have the last word," Nicole retorted playfully. She then grew serious and turned to Lily. "I love you, Lily Esposito."

"I love you too, Nicole," Lily responded. Nicole shook her head.

"No, I don't think you understand. A few seconds ago, Mary Cherry yelled that I was `human'. I never used to be, Lily. Not until you. You helped me rediscover what that meant. You brought out my human side again. And I can't thank you enough for that."

"Oh, Nic," Lily sighed with tears brimming in her brown eyes.

"Crap, I'm about to go all sentimental on you guys, so bear with me. This isn't my strong suit," Nicole complained. "I'm not good with emotions but there are some things I need to say." She took a deep breath before she continued.

"For so long, Lily, I watched you at school, everyday. I thought about how pretty you were and independent. How you stood up for the things that you believed in, even if it meant carrying around a dead frog in a plastic purse. You didn't care what anyone thought, you were convinced of your convictions. Meanwhile I just followed what I was told to by popular society. You always seemed to have this fire inside you and I envied that. Coveted it," she began to explain. "I was always in awe of your strength, your compassion, and your willingness to fight for the things that you wanted."

"And yet, I ridiculed you for it. Mocked you at every opportunity because the more I got to know you, the more I liked you. And that scared me. I'm not supposed to have emotions, I'm above them. They were bred out of me a long time ago. But with you I found I had no control over what my heart chose to do."

"So, I admired you from afar, fell more and more enraptured with you each day until you filled the empty places in my heart. You made my life brighter by just being in it. But I knew that because of who I was and the things that I had done, that I didn't have a prayer of ever finding a home in your heart."

"But Niki…" Lily sobbed quietly as Sugar Daddy rubbed her shoulders.

"But, you know, that was OK. I knew who I was and what I'd done. It became more important to me that you be happy. I thought maybe, for a while that Sam would be the person to do that for you. I knew how you felt for her. It was plain as day and how someone who claims to be as smart as observant as Spam missed it for so long is beyond me," she joked. "But then I began to see the emotional walls Sam had built began to crack and I knew she was hopelessly head-over-heels in love with Brooke. Imagine my surprise when I saw the same look mirrored on B's face when she looked at Sam."

A trickle of laughter ruffled through the group.

"But still, I daren't hope. I couldn't let myself believe that you'd ever look at me the way you looked at Sam. Such adoration, love, and admiration. When you looked at me, I only saw suspicion, wariness, and the pain I'd caused you. But that night, when I saw you out walking by yourself, I HAD to take the chance. Maybe you'd let me get to know you better, just maybe."

"OK, I'm rambling," she sighed as she stared out into the faces watching her with rapt attention, not a few tearstained.

"Keep going, Nicole, we're listening," George encouraged her. Nicole bit her lip and started again.

"I'd never taken a chance like that before. I couldn't stand it anymore and I had to try, Lil. If I tried and you turned me down, at least then I'd KNOW. For absolute sure. But if I never asked, never took the chance, I'd always wonder `what if?' It would have driven me insane."

"And look where we ended up," she smiled. "It hasn't been a smooth ride, my love, but we're here. And when you look at me, all I see in your beautiful eyes is boundless love, hope, and possibility. I believe in all of it, Lily. Because I have you." Nicole walked off the stage and approached Lily.

"I know my money means nothing to you," she said softly. "But it's yours. So is my heart, my body, and my soul. To keep as long as you want them. I love you, Lily, more than I ever thought possible. Nothing I could say or buy you could ever show you how much. But I hope this shows you, at least a little bit." She took out a red velvet box and opened it, revealing a stunning diamond ring.

Set on a platinum band was an oval shaped diamond solitaire surrounded on both sides by two smaller heart shaped diamonds. Everyone gathered there stared at the ring in shock.

"A promise ring, Lily. I promise myself to you, always," Nicole finished. Lily gasped at the beauty of the ring and shook as Nicole placed it on her finger.

"Is this OK, Lily?" Nicole gently asked. Tears spilled down Lily's face. She threw her arms around Nicole and started to cry.

"Yes, Niki, yes," she sobbed, albeit happily. "Always."

Since the house was so large, everyone simply stayed over, leaving to their assigned rooms when they got tired. Sugar Daddy and Mary Cherry were the last to drop.

"Wow, that ring was…wow," Brooke said in wonder as Sam yawned and settled in the bed.

"Yeah," Sam agreed tiredly.

"And the look on Lily's face. She was stunned."

"Heh, so was I. So was the room for that matter," Sam pointed out. Brooke turned out the light and then moved to spoon behind Sam. She loved the feel of Sam's warm body against her chest or back when they spooned. She felt so safe and happy wrapped up like that.

She put one arm around Sam's waist and intertwined their fingers together. They were quiet for a while listening to each other breathe.

"Would you like a ring someday, Brooke?" Sam asked quietly. Brooke squeezed her hand and nuzzled her nose against Sam's back.

"Sure, I guess maybe," she replied just as soft. "But Sam, it's not about the ring. It's about the expression of love surrounding it." Sam sighed.

"I know," she said. "It's just…I really would like to give you the world, Brooke. But I can't." Brooke leaned up and kissed her ear.

"And I've told you that all I want is you," she reminded her brunette love. Sam was quiet again.

"I could suck on a LifeSaver until it fit you," she suddenly giggled. "Now THAT I could afford. You could even pick the flavor."

"That'd be perfect, Sammy. Can I have a cherry flavored one?" Brooke joked.

"Uhmm hmmm, whatever you want `cept coconut. I hate coconut," Sam's voice started to drift off. Brooke tightened her hold on Sam and smiled.

"Good night, my love. My Sam."

Shadow Boxing

Author’s Notes: OK, if my Spanish is wrong…AGAIN…blame Alta Vista. Sigh I really need to learn Spanish.

~~~~~

‘Coming out’ to their friends at Nicole’s dinner party had had a distant ripple effect at school, (thanks to a certain overexcited Southern belle). Since Sam and Brooke were now back at Kennedy, all four girls plus Sugar Daddy were the subjects of hushed whispers, stares and vague hand gestures. For the most part they ignored the reaction. Sugar Daddy was so well liked anyway that no one really bothered him and Nicole was still somewhat slave to her ‘bitch’ persona within the confines of the building, so she just threatened to eviscerate one or two individuals. But all in all, it was blissfully normal for the time being.

Which was why Sam’s skin was starting to itch. Those telltale crawling sensations across the surface, kind of prickly like when a limb falls asleep or your hair stands on end that usually precludes a major thunderstorm or big news on a personal front. Something big was brewing, somewhere just out of her line of sight and it was making her edgy.

“You’re just being paranoid, Sammy,” Brooke whispered as she lay with her nose buried the crook of Sam’s neck. A fine sheen of sweat coated them as they lay tangled together, spent.

“I’m sorry,” Sam sighed as she stroked Brooke’s slightly damp hair slowly. “I just can’t shake the feeling that he’s up to something.” Brooke giggled slightly.

“You are SO killing my buzz,” she complained lightly. She lifted her head and placed a loving kiss to Sam’s already kiss swollen lips. Despite herself, a part of Brooke couldn’t help but agree with Sam. Mike had been too quiet for too long. She knew that the papers that Kelly and Jane recently filed petitioning for Jane to be named her legal guardian had to have reached him by now and he HAD to be furious. And given all his threats in the past, she too was afraid that he was plotting his next move.

She felt Sam shiver under her and knew it had nothing to do with the fan blowing cool air against them.

“I won’t let him hurt you again, Sam,” Brooke vowed, her voice rock solid. “There will be no more abuse of my Sam.”

“No ‘Samabusage’, eh?” Sam laughed. “Sounds nice.”

“I give you my word,” Brooke told her seriously.

“I’m not worried about me, Brooke. Hell, he can grind me into a fine paste for all I care. I’m worried about you and Mac,” Sam explained.

“Don’t say that, Sammy. _I_ care if something happens to you,” Brooke countered hugging the brunette closer. Sam sighed again.

“I know that, love. I only mean that to me, my safety comes second to you and Mac. I will NOT let anything happen to either of you so long as I’m around. Ever.” Sam’s voice shook with the force with which she spoke and Brooke knew without a doubt that Sam would sacrifice everything for her. It touched her deeply but it also frightened her. She was worried that Sam might take an unnecessary risk to protect her.

Her mind involuntarily floated back to the night Kelly and Sam had ‘rescued’ her from the Palace and her last ‘conversation’ with her father.

<<< He had slammed Brooke's bedroom door behind them, turning to his daughter barely in control of his fear and rage. Brooke eyed him fearfully.

"Let's get a few things straight, young lady," he snarled. "I HAVE to let you go with her, but if you say anything, ANYTHING about what's been going on around here, when I get my hands on you, you will regret the day you EVER took your first breath."

Little did he know that she already did for most of the time she was stuck with him since the mess started.

"Second, you stay the HELL away from Sam McPherson. I don't want to see or hear about you seeing her or talking to her and trust me, I have ways of knowing whether or not you do," he continued to threaten as Brooke packed a few things, shaking as she did so. Mike was so out of control that she was unsure she was going to get out of the house alive at this point. When she was done, she headed to the door. Mike had used his bigger bulk to pin her against it.

"One more thing," he whispered, leaning in dangerously close. "You go to the police, Brooke, and it'll be the LAST thing you EVER do. Do you understand me?" Brooke nodded and refused to meet his eyes.

She just wanted OUT.

"And if YOU happen to forget, maybe I can remind Mac," he threatened. Brooke's stomach churned.

"No…" she croaked. Mike nodded, a cruel smile lighting up his face.

She remembered the smile as inhuman.

"Yes. Remember, Brooke, that I do have another daughter. If you can't obey me for your sake, think about her." Brooke swallowed the bile that rose up at the images of her father hurting a poor innocent and defenseless Mackenzie.

"I understand," she whispered, effectively silenced. She'd never let any harm come to Mac and she knew that Mike was aware of that. She's just been expertly emotionally blackmailed.

"Good. Remember what I told you and maybe this will all work out.">>>

Of course, she had almost immediately gone against his wishes from the moment she’d left the house.

<<<Sam had suddenly appeared in the door and climbed in Kelly’s SUV, wrapping Brooke up in her arms.

"Yes. I told you I was going to get you out of there, didn't I?" She then nuzzled Brooke's hair. "I went to your mom, told her what was going on and asked her for her help. Help that she's willing to give, Brooke."

"I can't take you to San Francisco, with me, Brooke. I'm sorry but I'm still not the mother you need. Jane McPherson is. But I'm willing to do whatever I have to to get you away from your father. Whether you file for emancipation or try to get Jane to take custody of you or however the legal system works, I'll support you," Kelly explained.

"You're free, Brooke," Sam whispered. "You never have to go back." Brooke burst into fresh tears.

"But…" she started and stopped.

She was torn over whether to tell or not. But the truth won out. It was too horrible a secret to keep.

"'But' what, Brooke?" Sam prompted.

"Mac…" she said softly. Sam frowned and leaned down to catch Brooke's eye.

"What about Mac?" Brooke looked into Sam's rich chocolate eyes.

"He threatened her, Sammy. He said if I told anyone, he's take it out on her," she explained quietly. Sam paled.

"Jesus Christ," Kelly breathed. Anger and rage filled every cell of Sam's being.

"I'll kill him. I'll fucking kill him first," she swore.>>>

The look on Sam’s face that night had frightened Brooke. She knew without a doubt that Sam had meant every word she’d said. Somehow, Sam, sweet peaceful Sam would kill Mike before she let him hurt baby Mac. And Brooke found that she couldn’t blame Sam for her rage. She actually agreed with her.

Still, she’d sought reassurance and received it.

<<<"It'll work out, won't it, Sam?" she asked, openly vulnerable and needing to be reassured. Sam kissed her gently and smiled.

"Yes. I promise it will. I'll make sure of it," Sam vowed.>>>

And like always when Sam was near, Brooke felt safe.

“Sammy, promise me if anything should happen, that you won’t do anything…drastic?” Brooke asked quietly. Sam frowned in confusion and then arched an eyebrow.

“What do you mean, hon?” Brooke lifted her head to actually look Sam in the eyes.

“I mean, if my Dad should come around causing trouble, don’t go all ‘medieval’ on his ass. Yes, call the cops and whatnot but, please don’t go chasing him with a baseball bat or something.” Sam giggled.

“I’d use something bigger…and sharper,” she retorted wryly. Brooke huffed.

“Damn it, Sam, that’s what I mean,” she said exasperated. “Let the cops deal with it.”

“Not if he’s hurting you or Mac, or Mom, I won’t,” Sam said simply. “Over my cold, dead body.” Brooke shivered. Now there was exactly the image she was trying desperately to avoid.

“Fine,” Brooke said sharply, pulling away and rolling over so that her back faced Sam. Sam swore to herself and then moved to spoon behind Brooke, throwing an arm over the blonde’s side.

“Brooke, hon,” she whispered. “All I mean is that I can’t sit by and let him hurt the people I love if I can stop him. But no, I won’t take any ‘unnecessary’ risks or anything like that. OK?” She felt Brooke nod.

“Thank you, Sammy,” Brooke whispered. Sam kissed the back of Brooke’s neck.

“Welcome. Night.”

“This is not happening. This is not happening. This is not happening,” Brooke kept repeating her mantra as she rocked a bawling Mac in her arms and watched Sam stand defensively on the front porch a week later. She thought maybe if she said it enough times it would make it true. After all, how ironic was it to be living the conversation she had with Sam less than 6 days ago?

“You’re not getting in here, Mike. Not now, not ever,” she heard Sam growl at Mike who was red faced and screaming from the walkway.

“You CAN’T keep me from my daughters!” Mike bellowed. “I have a parental right to both of them. They’re mine!”

Brooke could see Sam’s hands balled into tight fists by her sides as she squared off against the larger man. To her credit, Sam stayed on the porch, only getting more agitated when Mike approached her. She didn’t try to rush him and wasn’t raising her voice or irritating him any further.

“Just leave Mike,” Brooke heard Sam sigh.

“Come on, where are the fucking cops?” Brooke muttered as she switched the arm Mac was in and the toddler kept crying. Mac was reacting to the emotions around her and it didn’t help that a few tears were streaking down Brooke’s face, although borne of fear for Sam.

Jane was in a meeting with her lawyer and had left Mac in the care of Sam and Brooke figuring it would be a quiet day. Kelly had returned to San Francisco and Terri was out grocery shopping. Now Brooke was wishing one of the adults were home or that the cops would hurry up. She’d called as soon as her father’s all-too-familiar car had pulled into the driveway.

“Mike, you know that the restraining orders say that you can’t come near me or Brooke or this house. And if you want to visit with MacKenzie you have to have a court appointed social worker with you,” Sam said calmly. Mike’s face got even redder, which Brooke wasn’t sure was even humanly possible.

“How can my own daughter have a restraining order against me?” Mike screamed. Both Brooke and Sam flinched at his volume. “You pressured her into getting one,” he accused darkly. He looked past Sam and saw Brooke in the window.

“Brooke! I see you there! Bring Mac out to me!” he called. “I shouldn’t need permission to see my own Goddamn kids!” Brooke retreated from the window. Sam took one step down off the porch.

“The police are on the way, Mike. You should leave,” she said lowly. Mike ignored her.

“What is this petition to have Jane named your legal guardian, Brooke?” Mike growled, stepping towards Sam.

“Sammy, look out…” Brooke hissed quietly.

“I warned you what would happen!” Mike threatened. He got close enough to jostle Sam, hard. She regained her footing and went right back at him.

“Don’t you threaten her,” Sam snapped, shoving him backwards. Mike’s stare left the house and refocused on the small girl in front of him.

“I’m going in that house and getting my daughters and YOU can’t stop me,” he informed her angrily. Sam took up her fighting stance, grit her teeth together for something she really didn’t want to do and prepared herself for what was to follow.

“Wanna bet?” Mike barked a harsh laugh at her.

“Remember what happened last time?” he snarled. Sam flinched slightly in spite of herself at the still vivid memory of the last pounding she took from Mike that broke a bone in her face.

“Yeah, well this time she’s got back up,” growled a voice from behind Sam. Sam grinned as Nicole suddenly appeared beside her. “And I swear, if I break a well-manicured nail kicking your sorry ass, McQueen, I’ll sue.” Mike glowered at her.

“Satan,” Sam said in greeting with a nod as Mike regarded the two of them as if weighing his odds.

“Spam,” Nicole returned the gesture. “B called. Lily and I came in the back way.”

“I may be small but I’m Puerto Rican and not afraid to use it,” grumbled Lily, now appearing on Sam’s other side. She glared hotly at Mike. “Tráigale en usted el cobarde del blando-pene.” Sam snickered, her Spanish rusty but understanding enough.

“They are MY daughters,” Mike hissed.

“That doesn’t automatically give you ownership,” Sam retorted. “You forfeited any rights you MIGHT have had when you hit Brooke and threatened Mac.” Off in the distance, sirens began to grow closer.

“Ooo, I think they’re playing your song, Mike,” Nicole sneered. “You know the one I mean. ‘Violating restraining orders, trespassing, breach of peace, creating a disturbance, threatening, risk of injury to a minor…’ Gee, that’s a few songs.” She chuckled at her own dark humor.

“So, what do you figure? A big old fine? By the time MY well paid army of lawyers are done with you, the Julian ‘dream team’, you’ll be broke, homeless, toothless and…well generally any other –less that you can come up with.”

“You stay out of this, you dyke,” Mike growled. “This is family business.”

“Oooh, add hate crime,” Lily pointed out to no one in particular as the sirens grew closer. She understood that Nicole was just trying to stall Mike from any further rash action until the police arrived. And if Nicole was good at anything, it was running off at the mouth.

“And Sam and Brooke ARE my family,” Nicole hissed back in the same tone Mike used. She was the LAST person he was going to intimidate. “You mess with them or Jane, Mac, and Terri and you mess with me and Lily. And we’ll kick your ass.”

Brooke watched as two large male neighbors approached Mike.

“Hey, man, I think you better leave,” one about the size of a mountain grumbled, his dark hair in his eyes.

“Fuck off,” Mike snapped.

“Now, that’s not very nice,” the other, slightly smaller man said. They exchanged looks.

“These girls have asked you politely to leave. Now we’re telling you. LEAVE,” the first one bellowed. Brooke could have sworn her windows shook. She recognized them as Paul and Jason, brothers that lived next door and hung out once in a while. Mike let out a string of expletives at the two.

“I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this,” Paul, the slightly smaller one sighed dramatically. Jason lifted Mike like a child’s toy and carried him, kicking and screaming, to the sidewalk away from the girls just as the police pulled up.

“Now THAT was funny,” Nicole snickered as the police approached them for a statement and Brooke exited the house.

“True,” Sam mumbled. “God, I don’t need this stress.”

“Thanks guys,” Brooke smiled at Paul and Jason who had left Mike with the cops and walked over to see if everyone was OK.

“No problem, Brooke,” Paul grinned. “Just yell if he ever shows up again.”

“Yeah,” Jason grunted. The brothers walked back to their house although Lily did see Paul sending a few quick glances at Nicole. She smiled to herself.

<Sorry, guy, she’s taken>

Jane was beside herself after she got home and heard everything that had happened. She immediately called the best home security company she knew and made an appointment for installation the next day, hoping at least that much protection would make everyone feel safer. She wanted to do more but Sam reminded her that she didn’t want this new home to become a prison as well.

“Sounds like you handled yourself well, Sam,” Jane said happy that her daughter came out unscathed. “And thanks for being here to help you two,” she said to Nicole and Lily who were helping themselves to Terri’s Texas-style chili.

“Y’r wel’c’m,” Nicole mumbled around a mouthful. Lily laughed and playfully slapped her lover on the arm.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full. Of any of us, I’d think YOU’D know it’s unladylike.” Nicole blushed.

“Sowwee,” she mumbled.

“I’m glad you kept your word to me, Sammy,” Brooke purred as she hugged Sam.

“Yeah?” Sam asked and then yelped as she got a mouthful of hot pepper. Brooke handed her a ready glass of ice-cold milk.

“Yeah. You stayed calm and on the porch for most of it. Even when he pushed you, you kept your cool for the most part. I’m proud of you,” she explained as Sam’s eyes watered but not from her loving words.

“Thanks,” Sam croaked. “Hoooot…” she whined. Terri started laughing.

“Awww, is poor Sammy not used to good ole fashion down home spicy Texas cooking?” she teased as Sam buried her face in Brooke’s neck and whimpered.

“Nooooooo…” Sam moaned pitifully.

“Awww…” Brooke handed her another glass of milk. Sam shot Terri a mock dirty look.

“You no cook dinner no more,” she announced in a pout.

“Next time I’ll make you a mild version, Sammy,” Terri said. She then winked at Nicole and Lily who were having no problems. “Wimp.”

“HEY!” Sam yelled. She glared at the older blonde who put her hands up in defense.

“Just kidding…geesh.”

“They let Mike go,” Jane sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose and bringing the conversation back to the matter at hand. “He had no trouble posting bail on the ‘violation of restraining orders’ charges.”

“Of course not, he’s a McQueen,” Nicole said ruefully. “Hmmm, never thought that’d ever be a BAD thing.”

“Well, now he has MORE charges pending,” Terri said simply. “If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll lay low and out of our hair for a while.” Brooke sighed.

“Yeah, but since when does he ever do the smart thing, lately?”

No one had an answer for her.

Come Away with Me

Author's Notes: Semi-fluff. Still plugging along. The song belongs to Norah Jones. If you're not familiar with her, I suggest you get so soon. So yeah, I claim no ownership.

~~~~~

"Where's the happy couple?" Nicole asked her Latina lover as she entered the kitchen to the smell of Lily's special egg-free omelets. They weren't Nicole's favorite, and knowing this, Lily had a plate of pancakes and bacon nearby. Since they'd gotten together, Lily had started getting Nicole to eat more and healthier. While the blonde wasn't happy at the few pounds that appeared, she agreed with Lily that her health was more important than her image.

Lily smiled.

"Sam and Brooke? Still in their room as far as I know," she answered.

"Pair of rabbits, I tell you," Nicole huffed as she picked up a strip of bacon.

"Yes, and that's why we put their rooms on the other side of the house," Lily laughed. Nicole hugged her around the middle from behind and nuzzled the darker girl's neck.

"Mmmm, B can get a little loud," she purred into Lily's ear.

"No, WE can get a little loud and you didn't want them to hear us, remember?" she leaned back into Nicole's embrace and then turned around to kiss her passionately.

"Good Lord, get a room," Sam scoffed as she entered the room and headed straight for the bacon still steaming on a nearby plate. "You've got like, 35 empty ones to chose from."

"Shut up, Spam," Nicole growled as she held Lily in mock possessiveness. Sam held her arms up in surrender and continued to eat the bacon.

"Where's Brookie? Or did you break her?" Nicole wondered when Brooke didn't appear for a few minutes.

"I'm here," Brooke yawned. She was dressed only in a long shirt, socks and her underwear. Her hair was tousled and her eyes were slightly red and puffy. Nicole frowned and shot a questioning look at Sam who was fighting with the cat, Triscuit, for a strip of bacon.

"Nightmares," Sam mouthed back. Nicole nodded in understanding.

Since the awful confrontation with Mike a week earlier, Jane had gone on `vacation' with Terri to Terri's home in Texas, taking toddler Mac with them while Sam and Brooke opted to stay with Nicole and Lily. Everyone needed a break from the stress and thought that just getting away would be best for Jane and staying under Mike's radar would work for Brooke and Sam.

But it was obvious that Brooke was still bothered by her father's scene at the house.

"I'm not hungry, Sammy," Brooke sighed when Sam offered her the plate. Undeterred, Sam prepared a plate of pancakes the way Brooke liked them, heavy on syrup, and handed the plate to the tall blonde.

"At least half, Brooke," Sam said firmly as she poured two glasses of orange juice and sat down. Pouting, Brooke nodded.

"So, what are you two up to today?" Lily asked, joining the duo and Nicole at the kitchen table. She watched as Brooke dutifully chewed her breakfast under Sam's watchful eye. Lily knew that there was a time when under such stress, Brooke would have collapsed into herself and reverted totally to her self-destructive pattern of eating disorders as a way of finding control in some aspect of her life. And without Sam as her anchor, Brooke would fall so far down that hole that Lily doubted she'd be able to find her way back out again.

<Sam takes such good care of her> Lily smiled to herself. <It's so easy to see the love she has for her in everything she does. And the love Brooke has for Sam is obvious too. I only wonder though…as much as Brooke loves Sam…is she able to see that Sam's bothered by all this too?> She shook her head.

Nicole nudged Lily in the shoulder.

"What's on your mind, hon?" she asked. Lily shook her head.

"Nothing," she whispered back. Nicole gave her her patented `yeah right' look but let it drop.

"I don't think we have any plans, do we, Brooke?" Sam asked in answer to the earlier question. Brooke swirled a mouthful of pancake around in syrup and shook her head.

"Nope, just another lazy Saturday staying in and watching movies," Brooke responded. "You?"

"Actually, we're taking you two out!" Nicole suddenly announced. She was tired of all this moping around the house, hiding. "We're young, we're rich, we're pretty…even Sam…" she added belatedly, earning herself a thump on both arms, one from Lily and the other from Brooke. "So let's DO something."

"Like what?" Sam asked, watching Brooke finish off her entire plate of food.

<I knew if I just got her to start eating that she'd probably finish it on her own> Sam thought. Her own stomach constricted and rebelled against the bacon she'd fed it earlier but she did the best she could to ignore it. She was having trouble keeping food down lately and it was starting to worry her. She didn't want to say anything to Brooke and add more worry to the blonde's already overburdened mind.

"Let's see…there's a Hepburn and Tracy movie marathon at the Cineplex that starts at noon," Lily suggested. "We can catch dinner afterwards."

Sam's stomach did a barrel roll at the mere suggestion of food but she nodded.

"Works for me," she ground out past her nausea. She stood up and put Brooke's plate in the sink. "I'm going to go grab a shower." Three pairs of eyes watched her hasty retreat.

"Is she OK, Brooke?" Nicole asked bluntly, having seen the green tint to Sam's complexion. Brooke shrugged.

"As far as I know, yeah," she responded. "She's Sam…and by nature still doesn't tell me a lot about what's going on in her head."

"Well, keep an eye on her, Brooke. Don't just assume she's doing fine, all right?" Nicole advised while Lily nodded her agreement. Brooke sighed.

"I know."

Sam flushed the toilet, lit her favorite melon-cucumber candles and turned on the shower while trying to get her racing heartbeat to calm down and her shakes to stop.

<Ew, bacon revisited…not pleasant> she sighed. She stripped out of her pj's and climbed into the scalding hot shower. She closed her eyes and just stood under the spray, letting the world fall away for a few minutes and simply breathed.

She was so far into her thoughts that she jumped when the shower door slid open and Brooke stepped inside.

"Mind if I join you?" the blonde asked shyly. Sam smiled.

"Not at all." Brooke closed the door and then wrapped her arms around Sam. The brunette's skin was shower hot but there were tremors running through her body that alarmed Brooke.

"Sammy, you're shaking," she whispered softly. She felt Sam shrug.

"I'm cold. You brought in a draft," Sam bluffed. She hoped Brooke bought it.

"You know I'm here for you, Sammy," Brooke nuzzled Sam's wet hair. "I know things with my Dad are stressful for all of us, not just me. I know it is for you too. Please don't shut me out, hon."

"I'm not," Sam assured her lover. She brushed some of Brooke's wet hair out of her face. "I'm just not feeling 100% but I'm fine. I swear."

Brooke kissed Sam's neck and held her tight as more shudders ran up and down the shorter girl's slight frame.

"Sammy…" Brooke's voice was almost begging. "Please stop shaking." Sam silently pulled away and got out the shampoo, proceeding to soap up Brooke's hair and then her own.

They finished their shower in silence and got out. Sam blew out the candles before following Brooke into their bedroom. She looked forlornly at the bed, feeling tired and wanting a nap but knew that Nicole wouldn't allow it.

"Are you sure you want to go to the movies, Sammy?" Brooke asked softly as she dried and got dressed. She'd seen the tired look on Sam's face as well as the longing look the brunette had shot at the bed. "I can tell Nicole that you don't feel well today and we'll all do something another day." Sam shook her head.

"I'm fine. Besides, you love those old movies and we'll have a good time," Sam shot her a small smile. "Let's just go out and be teenagers for a day."

"Sounds good to me, Sammy."

The four arrived at the Cineplex and while Nicole and Sam got their tickets, Lily and Brooke went to get snacks.

Nicole took a long, hard look at Sam and arched an eyebrow.

"OK, Spam, spill," she demanded, although her tone of voice was concerned and not bitchy. Sam leveled her even gaze on her smaller companion and stared back blankly.

"Spill? I'm sorry, I'm not up to date on my Spam-to-Satan translations lately. Wanna try that again?" Nicole's eyes narrowed.

"What's up with you lately?" Nicole asked outright. "You're like this ghost haunting the house at all hours. You're not sleeping, you hardly eat. Don't look at me like I've suddenly sprouted a Foxxy Cleopatra afro. Lily notices these things and points them out to me. I'm then obligated to smack you back to reality like Russell Crowe in a bar fight."

"I'm fine, Nicole. I'm just worried about Brooke," Sam said tiredly. Although inwardly the visual of Nicole with an afro was rather humorous and made her smile.

"Yeah, right," Nicole sneered somewhat. "And I'm a heterosexual man."

In line at the concessions stand, Lily bounced on the balls of her feet as she eyed Brooke.

"Brooke, you'rekeepinganeyeonSam, right?" she ran all her words together nervously. She was slightly afraid of pissing the tall blonde off. Brooke frowned and reran the Latina's question in her head at half speed until it made sense.

"Actually, I'm keeping both eyes on her," Brooke smiled half-heartedly at Lily. "Yes, Lily, I know that there's something going on inside that beautiful head of hers that she's not letting me in on. Part of being with Sam is dealing with her emotional walls and being patient with her. I'm trying to do that now."

"OK," Lily said meekly. "I'm sorry." Brooke put her hand on Lily's shoulder.

"Don't be. I think it's sweet that you care and it's reassuring to know that there's someone else looking out for the two of us. You and Nicole are great friends, Lily. Don't ever be sorry for being worried about someone."

Lily smiled brightly and stepped up to place their order.

Halfway into the large bag of popcorn, Brooke noticed two things:

1) Sam hadn't touched the popcorn or her soda and;
2) Sam was sound asleep with her head on Brooke's shoulder.

She thought it was so cute the way Sam was completely out and let her stay that way all the way through `Woman of the Year', `Adam's Rib', and halfway though `Desk Set'. Sam sat up and blinked blearily for the ending and all of `Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?'

When it was over, they all stood and stretched. Lily's stomach rumbled and she blushed.

"Anyone for a late dinner?" she wondered. Nicole and Brooke nodded while Sam just shrugged and put her hands in her pockets.

"There's this great little place not far from here," Nicole added. "Quiet, has music and a dance floor. It's not a club, just a romantic off the beaten path place. Wanna try it?"

"Sam?" Brooke asked trying to catch Sam's eye. Sam's stomach was cramping and the last thing she wanted was to eat but she nodded.

"Yeah, sure," she tried to force enthusiasm. She wasn't sure it worked though. Brooke looked at her concerned for a minute and then turned to Nicole.

"Lead the way."

Nicole was right, Alcove was a small, intimate little restaurant with just the right atmosphere for the mood they were all in. They each ordered dinner; Brooke ordered a salad and grilled chicken, Lily a veggie rueben, Nicole a house steak and Sam got a small plate of spaghetti. Conversation was light, consisting of talk about graduation and college, how fast MacKenzie was growing and other nonsense that teenage girls talk about.

But out of the corner of her eye, Brooke watched as Sam merely pushed her food around her plate, managing to swallow only a few mouthfuls before giving up.

"Come on, Sammy, let's go dance," she pulled on a reluctant Sam's arm. Sam got up and followed her girlfriend to the small wooden dance floor where only a handful of other couples were dancing slowly to the piano music filling the room.

"Oh Sammy," Brooke sighed as she laid her head on Sam's shoulder. "You need to eat more. You think I don't see but I do."

"Brooke…" Sam started, a hint of a far off warning in her tone. "I've got a bug of some sort. I'll be fine in a day or so."

"Why are you pushing me away?" Brooke asked obviously wounded. "You're not sick, it's something else. Talk to me, Sam." Sam pulled away roughly.

"Damn it, Brooke, stop pushing!" she growled. "Just leave it alone!" She then stalked away leaving Brooke alone on the dance floor. Brooke watched Sam head for the door with tears in her hazel eyes, wanting nothing more than to reach out to her brunette love and heal whatever was wrong but she knew she needed to give Sam some space. She returned to the table defeated.

"Oh, Brookie…" Nicole sighed. "Let me go kick her ass." Brooke shook her head.

"No, Nic, she's right. I pushed when I shouldn't have." She ran a tired hand through her blonde hair. "It's just…I hate leaving things hanging…knowing that there's something bothering her. Especially when I know that it's my Dad that's bothering her and the whole mess we're in. I want to talk about it, talk it out and figure out what we're going to do but Sam…Sam likes to internalize and think to herself and swallow everything. It makes for hard going."

"Gee, I don't know anyone like that," Lily snorted. Nicole shot her a dirty look but ignored the jab.

They sat quietly thinking about everything that Brooke had said when soft piano music filled the room. Brooke jumped when someone tapped her gently on the shoulder. She looked up at Sam's apologetic face.

"Dance with me?" Sam asked. Brooke nodded and stood up.

"I asked them to play this song for us," Sam whispered. "I'm so sorry I blew up like that, Brooke. I just…I don't feel well lately. It's making me tired."

"It's OK, Sammy. You were right. I shouldn't have pushed like that. But you will talk to me when you're ready, right?" She felt Sam nod against her.

"Of course, love," Sam sighed happily. Content with that response for now, Brooke started to listen to the lyrics of the song and moved with Sam to the slow beat.

`Come away with me in the night
Come away with me
And I will write you a song

Come away with me on a bus
Come away where they can't tempt us
With their lies'

Quietly, just above the music, Brooke could hear Sam singing along in her ear. Sam had such a sweet voice when she sang and Brooke felt that she didn't share it often enough. And she understood that this was Sam's way of apology.

`I want to walk with you
On a cloudy day
In fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high
So won't you try to come

Come away with me and we'll kiss
On a mountaintop
Come away with me
And I'll never stop loving you'

It was a beautiful song, Brooke realized. She hadn't really heard it before.

"Who is this by, Sam?" she whispered softly.

"Norah Jones," Sam supplied. `I have the CD at home if you want to listen to it sometime."

"I'd like that, Sammy."

`And I want to wake up with the rain
Falling on a tin roof
While I'm safe there in your arms
So all I ask is for you
To come away with me in the night
Come away with me'

Nearby at their table, Nicole and Lily sat holding hands and watching the dancing duo.

"Think they're going to be all right?" Lily asked as she leaned back into Nicole's embrace.

"I'd bet my entire inheritance on it, Lil. Those two are lost without each other. Same as I'm lost without you." Lily tilted her head to capture a kiss.

"I want to go home, Nicole," Lily purred. Nicole smiled.

"I'll leave B the keys. Let's go grab a cab, hon." Lily nodded and followed Nicole as the short blonde paid the check and explained that they were leaving to their waiter and left the keys to the car for Brooke who was still wrapped up in Sam on the dance floor.

<Yeah, everyone's going to be just fine> Lily smiled as she watched Brooke wipe away a stray tear from Sam's face.

Consolation Prizes

The air in the atrium was moist and fragrant, filling Lily with a sense a warmth and well-being. She loved just sitting in the plant filled room while she read or did her homework. She truly felt at peace as the sun streaked in and bathed the room in its glow. Triscuit sat nearby purring as she played with a combative fern.

"Triscuit," Lily scolded gently. "Don't you wound that plant." Triscuit took a swing at a green leaf and yowled when it lightly smacked her in the face on return.

"Tsk, such language kitty," Lily laughed, picking the cat up and placing her on top of her English book. She purred loudly and reached up to bump noses with Lily before jumping down to chase patterns on the tile floor. Lily smiled.

She looked back up at the large room surrounding her, and it suddenly hit her. This was HER house. She could do what she wanted, when she wanted and didn't have to answer to anyone. She didn't have a curfew, a bedtime, a phone limit; there were no restrictions on anything. If she wanted to eat breakfast for dinner or vice versa, she could. No one was there to tell her `no'. Even Nicole let her do her own thing. Yes, they were lovers, partners and deeply in love but Nicole made no move to control her.

Lily's smile widened.

"Wow." she breathed as she realized that her life was her own. She'd taken control of it away from her mother and never looked back. She was suddenly filled with a sense of pride and independence.

Of course, if you'd told her a year ago that she'd be where she was at the moment; in a huge mansion that was HERS and not working as a member of the help, in love with and engaged to Nicole Julian of all people, and building a life for herself, she would have laughed, called you crazy and then slapped you silly.

A year ago, she thought she was in love with Sam.

`The line between love and lust is definitely a blurry one,' Lily thought to herself. `I love Nicole but I definitely lusted after Sam to start.'

It was her dreams and fantasies of being with Sam that had catapulted the four of them on the journey that they were now on. But when she'd `lost' to Brooke and after she first kissed Nicole, he lust for Sam had started to fade. That first kiss with the petite blonde lit some sort of low slow fire inside her that continued to grow until it overshadowed everything else. There was no doubt in her mind about how she felt about Nicole. She could see her days and nights, her future each time she looked into Nicole's sky blue eyes.

It had been a much more carnal thing she'd had for Sam. Sure, there was that aspect with Nicole, and they had terrific awesome sex but some nights they just held each other and talked or watched TV. It didn't always have to be about the frantic need to consume each other. And Lily treasured that, the deeper understanding and connection with Nicole. She understood now that it was something she never would have had or shared with Sam.

Her heart fluttered with happiness and contentment when she sensed a familiar presence behind her.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, leaning her head back and throwing Nicole a loving smile. Nicole walked over and wrapped her arms around her lover's shoulders, cuddling her.

"A while. But you seemed to be deep in thought and I didn't want to disturb that," she explained after sharing a thorough kiss. "So, solve all the world's problems yet?"

"No, world hunger is still giving me problems," Lily joked.

"Ah that one is a toughy," Nic chuckled. "Seriously, hon, it looked pretty important. Is there anything on your mind?"

"No, not really. I was just thinking about how things played out," Lily started to explain. "You know, how different my life is now from what I expected it to be and where I expected to be. It just seems so strange sometimes." She felt Nicole pull away slightly and it confused her.

"Do you...do you regret where you are now?" Nicole asked, a tinge of open fear and vulnerability seeping into her normally strong voice. "Because I'd never want you to stay somewhere where you were unhappy or felt unfulfilled. I'm not about that, Lily. I love you but I don't own you. If this isn't where you want to be, isn't what you want, all you have to do is say so." Her voice broke as she finished speaking and the tears she was trying so valiantly to prevent from falling slid down her face.

Lily bolted out of her chair like a shot and engulfed her upset love in a tight embrace.

"Oh no, Niki, that's not what I meant," she soothed calmly. Sometimes the ideas the blonde got, Lily had NO idea where she pulled them out from. "Not at all. Why would you even think that?" she wondered as she wiped away Nicole's hot tears with the pads of her thumbs.

Nicole hiccuped and shook her head, unable to speak.

"What I meant," Lily pressed on. "Was that I never imagined in a million years that my life would ever be this wonderful. Look around you, Nic, this house is more than I could have ever DREAMED of having. I'm free from my mother's influence and oppression. I'm free to be me, just Lily, without having to hide or lie about myself or omit certain facts." She kissed Nicole's lightly, tasting the salt from her lover's fresh tears.

"And then there's you," she whispered. "I have you and I wouldn't give that up for anything, Nicole. You make me so unbelievably happy that I wake up everyday amazed that this is my life. I go to sleep thankful but afraid that it's some sort of dream that I'm going to wake from. Each day with you is a gift that I treasure. I love you, Niki."

"I'm sorry," Nicole sobbed into Lily's arms. Lily `shhed' her. It unnerved her somewhat to see her normally stoic girlfriend reduced so drastically to tears.

"Don't be, they were valid concerns and I appreciate the freedom you give me. But I WANT to be with you," Lily cooed. "Understand?" Nicole nodded against her.

"Ug, sorry to blubber all over your blouse like that," Nicole sniffled as she recovered. "How unrefined of me. Must be that hormonal pre-surge," she explained to try and wave it off. Lily arched an eyebrow in challenge.

"All right, fine," Nicole sighed upon seeing the disbelieving look on her girlfriend's face. "That was shit that's been bothering me for a while now. I never want you to feel trapped and I know that I was only a second, no wait, Hell NINTH choice after you couldn't have Sam."

"Stop." Lily ordered. "Just stop right there."

"Lily, I love you with everything I am but let's not sugar coat shit, OK? I am a consolation prize to the Grand Prize: Sam McPherson. And I'm OK with that because I love you and you chose me and."

Lily silenced Nicole's ranting with a smoldering kiss.

"Let's get something straight, Julian," she said lowly, huskily as she pressed her forehead against Nicole's. "You are NOT a `second choice', a `consolation prize', or anything of the sort. I realize now that what I felt for Sam was lust; pure and simple. I wanted in her pants, yes. But it wasn't love. I love you, Nicole."

"I just never want you to regret." Nicole started.

"I don't," Lily interrupted, stressing the last word as strongly as she could. "So just forget about Sam and how we ended up where we're at. Things worked out the way they were supposed to. You and I were supposed to be, not me and Sam. Brooke and Sam have proved that much if nothing else. Those two are a matched set, same as you and I are."

"Peanut butter and jelly?" Nicole laughed through a watery smile. Lily nodded.

"Salt and pepper, sweety," she agreed.

"Ham and cheese?"

"No meat but, ketchup and mustard, yes," Lily smiled.

"OK, now I'm getting hungry."

Brooke held back Sam's hair as another wave of nausea bent the brunette girl over the toilet gasping. She rubbed Sam's back and talked soothingly to her as the smaller girl's body shook and heaved, tears streaming down both their faces.

"Oh Sammy, what will it take for you to see the Dr?" Brooke asked quietly as Sam collapsed into her arms exhausted. "You can't sleep, you can't hold food down, you're miserable, honey and I'm worried."

"Make the room stop spinning and I'll think about it," Sam groaned weakly. Brooke's eyebrows leapt up in alarm.

"You're dizzy now, too?" she asked, her concern growing. Sam nodded briefly and then groaned at the action as it caused the room to spin faster. Brooke kissed her forehead.

"You're not feverish," she pointed out. "How long have you been having dizzy spells?" Sam shrugged one shoulder as she kept her eyes closed against the spinning.

"Off and on for awhile," she confessed. "I thought maybe it was a sinus thing and it would go away but it's only getting worse." Brooke sighed.

"You must be feeling really bad to admit that much," she realized. Sam was usually obnoxiously tightlipped about how she felt when she was hurt or sick. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up and take you to the Dr."

"Brooke, I doubt I can even stand. Please just put me back to bed and let me try to sleep," Sam whined. Brooke shook her head.

"No, not this time. Sam, something serious could be wrong and I don't want to lose you." Fear and worry had crept into Brooke's voice causing Sam to open her eyes and see the scared look on her lover's face. And she lost any remaining stubbornness right there.

"Fine but, I'm really going to need help. I'm so dizzy, Brooke," she whispered.

"We'll go slow, Sam. Come on," Brooke said lovingly.

Brooke wondered, idly as she sat in the walk-in center's waiting room, if the hospital staff purposely kept the waiting rooms filled with magazine's older than herself just to annoy and bore her.

`Oh look, according to People, Brad Pitt and Gwenyth are planning on getting married. Good God!' She threw the magazine down with a huff and started to sulk at being made to wait while the doctors looked at Sam just as Nicole and Lily walked in.

"Cheer up, B, we bring Krispy Kreme's and espresso," Nic declared setting down the offered items.

"And recent copies of Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Fashion Weekly," Lily piped up handing Brooke the magazines. "She still in there?" Brooke nodded.

"Two hours...what do they need to do that takes TWO FREAKING HOURS?" Brooke ranted.

"B, calm down," Nicole said calmly. "If she was REALLY sick, they would have come and gotten you by now. Have you called Jane?"

"Yeah, she's still in Texas with Aunt Terri. She was going to come back but I told her to hold off and I'd call when we knew what was wrong. She's having such a great time I'd hate to ruin it if it really is just a sinus infection."

"I'm sure Spam's fine. She's just being overly dramatic," Nicole said with a wink to try and lighten Brooke's mood.

"Brooke McQueen?" a nurse stood at the entryway and announced Brooke's name. Brooke stood up and walked over.

"That's me. Is Sam all right?" The nurse nodded.

"She's fine and can go home in a little while. The doctor would like to talk to her parents, however." Brooke bit her lip.

"Her mother is in Texas. I'm kinda all the rest of the family," she explained, suddenly worried that they wouldn't tell her what was wrong with Sam because she wasn't technically family. The nurse looked at her for a moment and then nodded, apparently seeing something in Brooke's expression.

"OK, I'll take you to her room then." She started to lead Brooke away.

"We'll be here when you two come back!" Nicole called after her. Brooke sent her a smile and mouthed `thank you' as the door closed behind her.

"So, Sam's OK, right? She's going to be fine, right?" Brooke babbled to the nurse who nodded.

"As long as she follows the doctor's orders, she should be fine. Ah, here she is, resting comfortably," she ushered Brooke into Sam's room. The first thing that struck Brooke was how small Sam suddenly looked in the large hospital bed. She was pale and had dark circles under her eyes that were highlighted by the unflattering florescent lights of the room.

"The doctor will be in shortly," the nurse said on her way out.

"Thanks," Brooke mumbled as she sat next to an apparently sleeping Sam. "Hey Sammy," she whispered. Sam's eyes fluttered open and she smiled at her blonde.

"Hey," she said drowsily. "Hey, don't look so scared, Brooke. I'm fine," she said quickly upon seeing the worried and frightened look on Brooke's face.

"They've had you in here for over two hours, Sammy. No one would tell me anything and then I was afraid that they wouldn't let me in because I'm not really family and and...I'm scared," Brooke finished in a whisper, tears falling unchecked down her face.

"Hey, they gave me a CAT scan and stuff. Good news, I have a brain," Sam joked getting a weak smile from Brooke.

"And it's functional," the doctor announced as he entered the room. He pulled up a chair and looked at Sam and Brooke.

"Well, I have your test results and it's nothing dire so you can both relax. Sam, I have your medical records from the hospital in Texas and it says you broke your cheekbone?" Sam winced

"Yeah, I uh...got hit," she hedged. The doctor nodded, not noticing the way Brooke paled at the memory of her own father striking Sam hard enough to shatter bone.

"Well, it appears that that fracture caused some damage to your sinuses on that side which in turn created a fluid backup in your inner ear. The reason you can't keep your balance or eat and that falling feeling you get when you lay down to sleep are all caused by the fluid buildup and some minor nerve damage."

"But she's going to be fine, right?" Brooke prompted him. The doctor nodded.

"With rest, medication, and time, yes, she'll be fine. I'm going to write out a few scripts and the nurse will be in to give you your instructions. Beyond that, you are free to go." He stood up to leave but then threw one last look at Sam. "Although next time, you may not be so lucky and there could be something seriously wrong, Sam. Don't wait so long to go to the doctor. We're not ALL quacks and we don't bite...usually."

"Thank you, Doctor," Brooke said. She then turned to Sam. "Told you." Sam stuck her tongue out.

"Know-it-all," she retorted. Brooke reached out and ruffled Sam's hair.

"Seriously, Sammy, why are you so stubborn?" she asked. Sam turned away with a shrug and Brooke saw the emotional walls come crashing down.

"I just am," Sam sighed.

"Sam...I...I don't mean to push I just...I love you and I worry and." Brooke broke off and stared out the window passed Sam. She really didn't know what to say.

"I'm scared...I'm scared that one day it'll be like it was with my Dad and it won't be something simple. That the doctor will come in and tell me that I'm dying and then, that's it, my number's up. And I don't want to know that. I can't handle that," Sam finally said softly a few minutes later.

"How is not knowing any better, honey?" Brooke asked softly.

"Knowing didn't save my Dad now, did it?" Sam asked bitterly. And it suddenly made a sort of sense to Brooke. Sam hated doctors because they'd failed to save one of the two most important people in her young life. It was no wonder she'd want to avoid them as much as humanly possible.

"Sam, I can't pretend to understand how you feel, but letting yourself go on being sick because of what happened to your father isn't a solution either," Brooke said evenly. "How do you think it makes me feel to watch you suffer and have to fight with you to get you to get help?"

Sam shrugged but didn't answer.

"Why does everything have to be a fight with you, Sam? I'm only trying to help," her tone had turned defeated, lonely.

"You DO help. And I don't fight. I don't mean to be difficult, honest. I just....some things are hard for me, Brooke." Brooke picked up Sam's hand and gave it a squeeze as she lightly stroked the back with her thumb.

"I know, and you wouldn't be Sam otherwise. But sometimes I just want to scream you drive me so nuts sometimes," Brooke smiled.

"Yeah well, we wouldn't be `Sam and Brooke' if we didn't drive each other a little batty now and then," Sam smirked.

"Sam...please, just promise me you won't wait so long before you see a doctor next time. I understand what you were saying but, the earlier you know, the better care you can get. And besides, together I think we can get through just about anything." Sam nodded.

"I'll try."

Sam slept on the ride back to Nicole's thanks to the medication the doctor had given her. Brooke had gasped when she'd seen the list of prescriptions; stuff for nausea and vomiting, stuff for the dizziness, drops for her ears, antibiotics for the infection and painkillers to top it all off. Sam had joked about opening her own pharmacy after they'd picked them all up from Mrs. John's store.

She'd gotten Sam back to the Villa and then up to their room where she tucked her in lovingly.

Nicole and Lily stopped on the way home and got the two all sorts of previsions; snacks, movies, magazines, anything they could think of. Lily called Jane and filled her in, taking that added pressure off of Brooke.

The tall lanky blonde slid into the bed behind Sam, spooning against her back and wrapping her arm around Sam's waist as `Blue Crush' played on the DVD player.

"I'll take good care of you, Sammy," she whispered. Sam snuggled into the embrace.

"I know you will," Sam mumbled sleepily.

"I'm sorry that my father seems to keep causing you pain," Brooke sighed.

"Not your fault, Brooke," Sam yawned. "This is just one of those things."

Brooke shook her head silently. Sometimes she couldn't understand how Sam could be so forgiving of a monster like Mike McQueen. Especially given how violent and unstable he'd become recently.

She leaned up and lightly kissed Sam's ear.

"Night Sam, feel better."

"Night Brooke."

Trial by Fire

Author's Notes: I have no knowledge about how court cases go other than what I see on daytime court TV so, any inaccuracies are mine and I deny them. HAHAHA.

"Therefore it is the finding of this court that primary custody of MacKenzie McPherson McQueen is granted to her mother, Jane McPherson," the judge announced. Jane breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her attorney as Mike shot daggers at her from his table. "Visitation for the father, Mike McQueen, is to be supervised and must be arranged to meet with Mrs. McPherson's schedule."

"As for the matter concerning Brooke Elizabeth McQueen," the judge cleared his throat. "I never like to take a child away from their parent. But in some cases, it becomes necessary for the benefit and health of the child. Ms McQueen will be turning 18 in the near future and at that time can decide on her own what is best for her. Until then, this court finds that her home situation is too harmful for her to be placed back into and upon the wishes of her own
mother, Kelly McQueen Foster, temporary custody is granted to Jane McPherson until the child's 18th birthday." The gavel banged loudly and the judge walked out.

Brooke let out a happy `whoop' and hugged Sam tightly, relieved beyond words that she wasn't being returned to her abusive father. She would have run off again, that much she was sure of and had already planned to do as much with Sam beforehand. But thankfully, the court case had gone smoothly with her father's own theatrics doing more harm to him than the girl's testimony. He had ranted and raved on about Sam and her `evil corruption' of Brooke; how she'd kidnapped his daughter and was a bad influence on his infant daughter Mac. He then defended his abusive actions as the right of a parent to protect his children. When he'd said that, the judge had all but sneered and laughed directly at him.

"Oh thank God," Jane breathed. She turned to the four teens sitting behind her. All four faces were lit up in happiness and she smiled in return.

"I told you that it'd work out, Mrs. McPherson," Nicole piped up, confident as always.

"Yes, you did, Nicole. And thank you so much for helping with my legal fees. I don't know how I'm going to pay you back," Jane started only to have Nicole wave her off.

"Don't worry about it. You don't have to. Besides, we knew Mike was going to pay for top-notch representation; it was only far that you be on equal ground. Plus there was no WAY I was letting Brookie go back with him while there was still money in my bank account," Nic said seriously. And secretly, her contingency plan had custody been returned to Mike was to ship Brooke and Sam out of the country until Brooke was 18. She'd go broke before that madman was ever allowed near Brooke alone again. Or Sam for that matter, although she'd deny that part if asked.

"Still, Nicole, thank you. You've changed so much," Jane pointed out. "I guess Lily's good for you." Nicole blushed in spite of herself.

"OK, time for a subject change," she said hastily, feeling uncomfortable with the favorable attention. "Who wants to go out to celebrate? My treat?"

"What's the matter, Satan? Did we get too touchy-feely for you?" Sam teased. Nicole shot her a dirty look and stuck out her tongue.

"Huggies for Nicole!" Sam announced and pounced on a horrified Nicole. Brooke, Lily, Jane, Terri and a drooling Mac, who was in Brooke's arms, joined her.

"Ug stop, stop," Nicole protested weakly. "Ew Spam cooties."

"You think you've won," Mike snarled as he walked out with his attorney.

"Mike," his rather burly attorney, Todd, warned. "Stop, let's just leave. This isn't going to help." Mike's eyes narrowed and he glared hotly at Jane.

"Those are MY daughters. They belong with ME, not you. Especially Brooke, you have NO right to her."

"Mr. McQueen," Jane's attorney, Nancy, started. "You are way out of line." Jane put her hand on woman's arm, pushed her chair back and stood right in Mike's face.

"YOU have no right to either of them," she hissed at Mike. She had something to say and since Mike had given her the opening, she was going to use it. "You proved exactly how unworthy you are of being a parent the first time you ever raised your hand to Brooke and Sam. I will NEVER let you have custody of Mac. As for Brooke, I will fight you for her up until and long after her 18th birthday. She is more a daughter to me than she ever was to you. You see your daughters as property, not individuals that need to be loved and guided. I will NOT let you corrupt or abuse ANY of my children."

Behind her, Brooke felt her heart swell with happiness and a sense of belonging as she heard Jane's words. She knew the woman loved her like she was her own daughter but still, hearing how far Jane was willing to go to protect and keep custody of her made Brooke feel wanted and loved.

`My own mother may have abandoned me, but Jane is a better mother than Kelly could have ever hoped to be,' she thought to herself.

"All this never would have happened if it wasn't for HER!" Mike growled, thrusting an accusing finger at Sam. Sam had to resist the urge to bite the digit clean off. She felt Brooke's free hand come to rest on the small of her back in silent comfort.

"Stop blaming Sam for your shortcomings as an individual!" Jane countered.

"Brooke, hand me Mac and I'll take her to the Ladies Room," Lily whispered. Brooke nodded as Mac started to become distressed at the argument between the loud adults. Nicole followed Lily and Mac out, holding up her cell-phone to Brooke as she reached the door, signifying to call if they need her.

"Look, Mike, this really isn't the place to get into this," Sam tried to calm the situation even as Mike's attorney agreed.

"Mike, she's right. Let's just go plan our appeal…"

"I wish you'd never come into our lives, Samantha," Mike snapped.

"And if it wasn't worth having Brooke and Mac in MY life, I could have done without YOU," Sam snapped back. "You're a self-righteous, abusive, egotistical, narrow-minded bigot."

"You corrupted my daughter," Mike said darkly.

"I AM NOT THE BAD GUY!" Sam screamed, her frustration getting the better of her.

"Sammy, calm down," Brooke said softly. She turned to her father. "I'm not going over this again, Mike. I love Sam. Either deal with it or don't, I don't care. But stop blaming her for something she had no control over. As for the rest, we're leaving. You lost, live with it." She put her arm around Sam's shoulders and they headed out.

Mike reached out to stop her but was held back by Todd.

"Don't make this worse, Mike," Todd advised. "We still have grounds for appeal, don't blow it because you're upset." Mike shrugged off the other man's hold.

"Jane…" Mike started, his tone full of warning if not outright threat. Jane deliberately ignored him and went to catch her daughter's. Terri stopped and looked Mike straight in the eye.

"I never did like you, Michael. Thank you for proving why," she said flatly.

"Fuck off, Terri, this is none of your business," Mike ordered.

"That's where you're wrong, Mike. It is MY business when it concerns my family. And not only Brooke but that entire group is my family now. You mess with them and you mess with me. And if memory serves me right, Mike, you never were much of a match for me, were you?" Terri smirked.

"Go back to Texas where you're wanted," Mike spat. Terri tilted her head slightly.

"I'll say this slowly so that you don't miss any of it, Mike: leave…them…alone," her voice was laced with unspoken menace. Then with a smile, she left. Nancy followed with a tired sigh.

"Mike," Todd started. "You are one hell of a screw up."

"Hold still, Sam, so that the drops get in," Brooke instructed as she tried to put Sam's ear drops in. She swore that sometimes Sam squirmed worse than a cat when it was time for her medicine.

Sam sat as still as she could, fidgeting under Brooke's tender touch. She didn't mean to, it was just that the drops stung and putting water in her ears and tilting her head tended to make her dizzy.

"There, all done," Brooke announced. Sam closed her eyes as the bedroom spun.

"Whoa, trippy," she groaned. Brooke put the medicine away and then sat down on the bed, pulling Sam to her. Sam relaxed into the embrace, resting her head against Brooke's soft cottony shirt.

"Still dizzy, baby?" Brooke soothed while petting Sam's hair lovingly.

"A little, not as bad though," Sam sighed.

"At least you're getting better and can eat now. I was getting so worried," Brooke admitted.

"I know, hon. I'm so sorry I worried you," Sam apologized.

"It's OK, Sammy. I understand. But next time…"

"Next time I'll tell you when I'm sick and maybe even go to the doctor," Sam smirked.

"I'll drag your ass there kicking and screaming," Brooke informed her making them both laugh.

"I know. Trust me, babe, I know." She then giggled as a wayward thought struck her.

"What?" Brooke asked. Sam looked up into Brooke's hazel eyes, a smirk curling the ends of her lush lips upward.

"The judge said that I get to keep you," she said in a conspiring tone. Brooke's eyebrow raised slightly.

"Oh really?" Sam nodded and licked her lips.

"Yeah, you're aaalllllll mine." She captured Brooke's lips in a searing kiss, reveling in their soft feel and in Brooke's ardent response.

"And what do you plan to do with me?" Brooke asked huskily when she managed to disengage her lips from Sam's ever so tempting ones. Sam's eyes went black with desire.

"What do you WANT me to do?" Sam responded as she licked Brooke's neck.

"Oh God, Sammy," Brooke whimpered, her breath hitching and her heart hammering in her chest. Her mind raced with a myriad of images of exactly how she wanted to answer that but the words were suddenly stuck in her throat as Sam nipped at her ear.

"Whatever you want…" came out of her mouth, sounding more like a prayer and she heard Sam chuckle.

"Aw, that takes all the fun out of it," Sam chided. "Well, not really," she added after a beat with a slight leer at the blonde beneath her. "I can think of some things…I just wanted to hear what YOU wanted."

Brooke didn't answer verbally, just lost herself in the feel of Sam. Lost herself in the sensation of lips and hands, teeth and tongue, bare skin on bare skin; the sounds of pleasure both from herself and Sam erupting from their mouths surrounding them. She lost herself in the heat and the sweat, the need and the want, desire and love all combining in the intimate dance the two girls shared until they fell asleep still wrapped around each other and tangled in the sheets.

Jane swirled her spoon around in her coffee, watching the bronze liquid swirl within in the cup aimlessly. She wasn't really watching what she was doing; she was too deep in thought. Despite winning custody of the girl's on paper, she was still uneasy. Mike had proven himself too unstable in the past to think that a simple piece of paper declaring custody was going to slow him down anymore than the restraining orders did.

`He marched right through those. Almost attacked Sam again. God knows what would have happened that day if not for Brooke's quick thinking and the neighbors.' She sighed and set the spoon on the table, moving to rub the tense muscles in her back.

"Here, let me," Terri said as she entered the kitchen. She reached down and gently massaged Jane's shoulders, feeling the coiled and bunched muscles under her hands.

"Thanks," Jane said softly. After a few minutes, Terri sat down across from Jane at the table and watched the other woman compose herself as her thoughts still tried to pull at her.

"Well, at least that's one thing out of the way," she said as Jane took a sip of her cooled coffee and shrugged.

"I guess. But I just can't get it in my head that Mike can be trusted. Do you think I'm being paranoid?" Jane asked. Terri shook her head.

"Not at all," she responded. "Look, I never really got 100% of the story from Kelly about what went on between her and Mike but, Jane, he's not a pillar of stability. That much is obvious. And if you're uneasy about what he might do about Brooke and Mac, then it's only because you're a good parent and worried about your children."

"I'm worried about Sam too. His hatred for her is unbelievable," Jane pointed out. The rage she saw in Mike's eyes whenever he looked at or spoke to Sam scared Jane, making her wonder what he might be capable of.

"He won't go after Sam and risk his appeal for custody," Terri said hoping that she was right.

`Surely Mike isn't THAT stupid?' she wondered.

"That's just it, Ter, we don't know," Jane put her head in her hands and tried not to cry out of frustration with the whole situation. Terri nodded her silent agreement.

"But we're all looking out for him to do something so, he won't catch us unaware, Jane."

"We can hope not. But I'm not going to live my life in fear because of that man," Jane declared.

"I'm not suggesting that you do," Terri countered. "I'm just saying to be alert and take the necessary precautions to keep the kids safe."

"Good idea. So, while we were in Texas you said you were going to head home after the verdict," Jane said, changing subjects. "Is that still your plan?"

The question threw Terri off-balance for a minute. She wasn't expecting Jane to take such a direct route in her questioning. She shrugged.

"Do you want me to go? Because I know I'm kind of a mooch around here," she said with a self-deprecating smile. Jane shook her head.

"Actually, Theresa, I'd like it if you stayed," Jane admitted quietly. "I like having you here."

"Then here I'll stay," Terri declared, immensely pleased that she was welcome. "My Pumpkin-nose means the world to me and I like being here for her. And you and Sam, and little Mac have come to mean a lot to me, too. And if you want me here, then I'll stay. I just don't want to overstay my welcome or crowd you."

"You aren't," Jane assured the tall blonde. "God, Terri, I don't know how I would have gotten this far without your support. You've been so good to the girl's. And it's just nice having another adult around to talk to."

Terri reached out and placed her hand over Jane's.

"Anything you need, just let me know."

"You're tense, Niki," Lily said quietly. "What's wrong?" She watched the tense outline of her lover's jaw line twitch with suppressed tension as they lay together in bed.

"Nothing, Angel, go to sleep," Nic responded with a sigh. Lily moved and put her head on Nicole's shoulder.

"Come on, talk to me," Lily urged.

"It's nothing. It's just…grrr…it's just my Mom. She's poking around in my Trust Fund and it's pissing me off," Nicole explained. Lily's head popped up.

"WHAT? That bitch," she growled making Nicole smile.

"Easy, Lil. She can't touch the money, Nana made damn sure of that. The old bag's hired some attorneys to go through the clauses line by line to see if there are any loopholes so that she can take it from me. But unless Nana included one that says `Nicole must not be gay' there isn't anything she can do. The money is mine, plain and simple."

"Why can't she just leave you be?" Lily asked, a bit angered and hurt that Nicole's mother was still a thorn in their side.

"Because that woman can not stand to lose, at anything. And now that we're out on our own, she can't lie about us and say that we're `just friends', Lil. There's no hiding the fact that we're lovers, in love. She can't hide it from her society friends and she's still worried about her reputation."

"She's a dumbass," Lily joked. Nicole laughed.

"Yup," she agreed.

"So when did you find out she was doing this?" Nicole blew out a blast of air through her teeth.

"A while now. Shortly after we bought the house, my attorney called and said he'd been faxed about some `questions'," she admitted knowing it was going to annoy Lily to have been left out of the loop for so long.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

`Yup, there's that hurt tone of voice that I hate hearing from her, especially when I cause it,' Nicole berated herself.

"I just did," she said cheerfully trying to disarm the argument she was afraid was forming.

"Nicole…" Lily warned. Nicole sighed again.

"I'm sorry, baby. I just…I don't want that woman casting a dark shadow over our happiness and I thought by not telling you, that at least YOU wouldn't have to worry about it."

Lily was touched by the reasoning behind the gesture but it still wasn't the way she wanted their relationship to be.

"Niki, this is a partnership, pretty much a marriage. Your problems are my problems and vice versa. I don't want you to worry about upsetting me with things like this. Things like this you share so that we can figure them out, OK?" she patiently explained.

"So you're not mad?" Nicole asked a little fearfully.

"Not at all, honey. I understand why you didn't tell me. Just, next time, TELL ME," Lily cuddled closer. Nicole wrapped her arms around her.

"Promise."

Spin Out

"Come on, Mac, shake that little booty!" Sam encouraged as her little sister bounced along to the music blaring through the house. Clutching her `Blues Clues' puppy tightly in one hand, Mac giggled as she bobbed up and down with the beat. Well, almost with the beat. Sam laughed and figured that it was better than most of the people she saw her own age out dancing lately.

Brooke walked into the living room to find Sam holding onto Mac's freehand while the still somewhat wobbly toddler swayed with the music. Mac dropped her toy, screeched with laughter and tried even harder to keep up with Sam. It was the funniest, and cutest thing Brooke had ever seen.

She ran to get the camcorder and came back to find Jane and Terri watching them from the doorway, barely suppressing their own merriment. She videotaped Sam and Mac dancing in the living room, complete with Sam swinging a hysterically laughing Mac through the air.

It was rare to see Sam so at ease and unguarded, especially around the baby. She still had the irrational fear of `breaking' the toddler despite reassurances to the contrary. And Mac absolutely adored her brunette older sister.

"Boo! Boo!" Mac exclaimed pointing at the fallen stuffed animal. Sam stopped her dancing and bent down to scoop up the toddler's toy, ignoring the minor surge of still lingering dizziness the movement caused her.

"Here ya go, Mac," she said and then set the child down on the couch. Brooke walked in and wrapped her arms around Sam from behind.

"That was the cutest thing I've seen in ages," she teased, eliciting an embarrassed groan from Sam. "I even got it on video."

"Oh God…" Sam muttered.

"Yes, blackmail material if I ever saw it," Terri added.

"Oh man…witnesses," Sam said mortified. She shot a mock glare at her audience. "You tell anyone and I swear I'll kill you all." Her mother just laughed at her along with everyone else. Sam turned back to Mac and pouted.

"No one takes me seriously anymore, Mac. I've lost my edge," she lamented with a heavy sigh as Brooke hugged her. Mac held her arms out and smiled.

"Fam…" the child requested. Sam picked her up and held her while Brooke in turn held Sam.

"She said my name…well, sorta," Sam said happily as Mac snuggled in her arms. Terri picked up the discarded video camera and filmed the three girls while they stood in the living room, a quiet moment inside a somewhat tempestuous reality.

"Jane," she whispered. "Go join them so I can get all four of you on film." Jane smiled and nodded, walking over to her daughters. Terri filmed the four interacting with each other for several minutes.

`This is my family now,' she decided quietly. `And Heaven help anyone who tries to destroy it.'

"So you're telling me, Herb, that the paperwork is rock solid?" Nicole asked her attorney anxiously. Her mothers recent efforts to get into her substantial trust fund were starting to wear on the young woman's nerves.

"That woman already has more money than God. I don't see why she's so intent on getting what's rightfully yours," Herb grumbled. He really didn't like Gayle Julian. She was a money hungry harpy without a soul in his opinion. He'd thought for a while that Nicole would grow up to be a mirror image of her mother. He glanced at the pretty Latin girl sitting next to Nicole, tightly holding the blonde's hand. Lily Esposito was the best thing Herb had ever seen happen to Nicole.

Herb had personally handled all the paperwork concerning Nicole's trust fund when her Nana (Miranda, a wonderful woman in Herb's opinion) had set it up. He and Miranda had made absolutely sure that Gayle couldn't get anywhere near Nicole's money no matter what. It didn't surprise him that she was trying; the woman always harbored an intense jealousy over the close bond between Miranda and Nicole. It stood to reason that she'd try to horn in anyway that she could.

"Because she's a greedy drunk?" Nicole shot back angrily. She was angry at her mother, not Herb. Lily squeezed her hand in comfort. "Sorry, Herb, didn't mean to snap." Herb waved it off with an understanding smile.

"No offense taken, Nicole. Totally understandable. Look, you honestly have nothing to worry about. Gayle would need a diamond-tipped, jet-fueled drill to even put a dent in the contract." He got up and sat on the edge of the desk, closer to the girls, hoping to ease their fears.

"Look, Nic, she knows that the only thing she can do about it is poke at you and irritate you about the trust fund until you relent and give her some of it…"

"Like Hell!" Nicole blurted out. Herb smiled.

"I know that, Lily knows that. Hell, somewhere in her little pea-brain, Gayle knows that. Miranda left that money for you, to provide for your happiness. She didn't care what you ultimately did with it as long as you found your happiness." He smiled warmly at Lily. "And anyone can see that you have, Nicole."

"And that annoys the ever-living shit out of Gayle. She's a small minded, petty woman who tried more than once to have poor Miranda declared incompetent so that she could get her money. And Miranda had the strongest mind of anyone I'd ever met. But Gayle didn't care; she just wanted the money. Your father wasn't much better."

"Yeah well, we don't talk about him much," Nicole mumbled. "Thank God I'm actually adopted and don't share actual DNA with those people."

"You'd be lucky to `share DNA' with someone as wonderful as your Nana," Herb pointed out fondly. "Then again, I see more of her in you all the time and that's what counts." Nicole blushed.

"So Gayle can't really do anything to hurt us?" Lily asked quietly. She couldn't give one rat's ass about the money. She didn't have much growing up so the prospect of not having much as an adult wasn't all that foreign to her. It didn't worry her either. She knew she and Nicole could work it out, get jobs and be just as happy as a `blue-collar' couple as a `rich' one. She was just concerned that Gayle's constant harassing of Nicole and investigation into her trust fund was wearing Nicole down emotionally. She could see the irritation and the strain weighing on her blonde lover's shoulders and she wanted to make sure that Gayle couldn't hurt Nicole even more.

"Nope, not really. Other than annoy the crap out of you two, she can't touch a dime," Herb smiled. He leaned down and took Nicole's free hand in his own. All that time with Miranda and watching Nicole grow, he felt that the girl was his own granddaughter and wanted nothing more than to soothe her fears.

"Look, the long and short of it is this: she can't get to it. She can try, she can hire any amount of fancy lawyers she wants, hack and slash at the contracts and paperwork until the end of time. And while maybe eventually somewhere down the line some judge might throw her a bone just to shut her the hell up, she can't hurt you two. Not unless you LET her which is ultimately what she wants."

"She wants to get under your skin, annoy you and frustrate you until you turn on each other. Gayle can't stand that you disobeyed her, Nicole. And what's more, that you were successful in turning your back on her, going after what YOU wanted and don't need her. She hates that you're happy, Nicole, and will do whatever she can to make you UNhappy."

"Yeah, it seems that way," Nicole sighed. Herb patted the hand that he still held.

"Nic, she can only make you unhappy if you let her. Remember that."

Mac toddled over to the bed and hauled herself up onto it. Sometimes she wondered why big people made everything else so big too. It seemed unfair. She was little, so everything should be little too. Or so she figured.

She rested for a second, (that bed was higher than she had thought) and then crawled up towards the sleeping people in the bed. Dark hair was mixed with blonde on the pillows at the head of the bed making a pretty design so Mac occupied herself playing with the strands for a little while. She'd gotten bored playing with her `keeper' who'd fallen asleep in the playroom and wandered down the hall. She liked this new `walking' thing, highly useful.

But she was getting bored again. She tugged hard on a handful of blonde hair and sleepy blue eyes opened to look up at her.

"Mac? How did you get in here?" Mac smacked the blonde with her ever present stuffed Blue.

"Play!" she giggled.

"Sleep, Mac. I'm tired," the blonde complained. Mac frowned. Her new playmate didn't want to play. What was THAT about?

"Plaaaaaaay!" she said again, this time smacking the still sleeping brunette.

"Ah, the terrible two's," the brunette sighed. She reached up and pulled Mac down into the bed. "Nap time, Mac." Mac pouted.

"Play?" she asked.

"No, Mac, no play. Nap," she responded. Then another thought hit her. "How did you wander away from…"

"MOM! I can't find Mac!" the door burst open as Sam charged through, frantic that she'd lost the toddler when she had dozed off on the floor of the playroom. Brooke had found her sprawled out, drooling on a giant stuffed Power Puff Girl. She stumbled to a halt in the doorway, Brooke hitting her in the back when she failed to stop her own rush.

"What the Hell, Sam?" Brooke cursed.

"Uh…uh…uh…Mom?" Sam squeaked out upon seeing her mother in bed with Brooke's Aunt Terri. They'd obviously been spooning before the interruptions. Sam felt her brain stop.

"Sam…" Jane started as she watched her daughter pale out to a frighteningly sick looking color.

"Oh my God!" Brooke gasped, one hand covering her mouth in shock.

"Sam, Brooke, we can explain," Jane started again. Sam's head shook from side to side in such a fashion that Jane thought it was going to fall off.

"I…I…and…you…and then…but you…and Mike…and…you totally freaked out…but this…and I…" Sam stuttered making little to no sense. Brooke started to giggle.

"I think you broke her," she said to the shocked adults. "Don't worry, I'll just take her away and when she calms down and returns to sanity, we'll talk," she said, winking at her step-mother and aunt. Really, in some way it seemed to fit.

"I…I…" Sam was still stuttering. Brooke put her hands on her shoulders and turned her away from the room.

"Come on, Sammy, I'll make you some tea or hot chocolate," with one last smile at the adults, Brooke lead Sam from the room. Jane looked at Terri and sighed.

"Oh, this is going to get messy," she complained. Terri nodded.

"Ayup."

"But…that was my…my…MOM…and…and…she was in bed with another WOMAN!" Sam's eyes were saucer plate round and she was shaking as Brooke sat her down at the table. Brooke giggled again.

"Sammy, they were fully clothed," she pointed out. "On top of the covers and there's no evidence that anything happened."

"But…my Mom doesn't DO that!" Sam finally started blinking again as she tried to focus on Brooke.

"They were probably just talking and simply fell asleep," Brooke suggested.

`Riiiiiiiiiiiiight,' she mentally scoffed. `And monkeys may fly out of my low-rise jeans.'

"Brooke, don't patronize me," Sam glared.

"Oh look, full non-stammering sentences," Brooke teased. "Glad to see your brain has begun functioning again."

"Brooke, how can you be so calm?" Sam nearly screeched. "We just saw MY Mom in bed with YOUR aunt and you act like it's nothing." Brooke shrugged.

"Because it IS nothing, honey. So what if they've discovered something deeper between them? Sam, we're the last people on the planet that should judge."

"I'm not judging, Brooke," Sam contested. "But this is the same woman who totally freaked out when we told her about OUR relationship. I mean, total meltdown to the point of disowning me until she woke up to reality. So now she's going to do a 180 and suddenly discovering her `inner butch'? Pardon me for having trouble getting my teeny tiny little brain to grasp the logic here."

"Sam…" Brooke pulled a chair up in front of Sam and sat down, gently caressing the somewhat distraught and confused teen's cheek. "When we came out to Jane, she was shocked. Not only were her daughter and step-daughter gay but they were involved WITH EACH OTHER. That would throw even the most tolerant person for a major loop. And then along with my father and his narrow-mindedness and bigotry, she got carried along on it."

"But she came around and now we have the BEST relationship with her that we could ever hope to have. And now it looks like she's putting the hurt and pain my father put her through behind her and letting herself feel something for someone else. Do you know how frightened Jane must be? If she has feelings for Terri, can you imagine her fear and confusion?"

"Brooke…"

"No, Sam, let me finish," Brooke said firmly. "If she and Terri are pursuing something together, let them. It's time for Jane to move on from the hurt Mike caused her and I KNOW my aunt. She's nothing like my Mom if that's what you're afraid of. She's been alone a long time because she's afraid of letting anyone too close. If she'd letting Jane close…Sam, we can't begrudge them that. It wouldn't be fair, same as anyone trying to keep US apart isn't fair."

Sam sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"It's not…it's not that although I do worry about Terri being like Kelly," she admitted. "It's just, God, Brooke, my Mom involved with a woman? When the hell did THAT happen?"

"Aww, Sammy, we've joked about it before, remember?" Brooke reminded her.

"We were KIDDING!" Sam objected. "Ug, my brain is melting."

"Sam, it's simple really," Brooke said softly. "Do you want your mother to be happy?" Sam nodded. "What if Terri were the person to make her happy? Wouldn't you want that despite the fact that it's totally wigging you out?"

"Yeah," Sam sighed again. "I like Terri. I'm just shocked is all."

"Now you know how I felt when you and Brooke told me," Jane said quietly from the door where she stood with Mac in her arms and Terri beside her. She handed the toddler to Terri and walked over to her daughter.

"Look, Sam, nothing happened between Terri and I. I just…I needed to feel…"

"Mom, you don't have to explain anything to me," Sam said, starting to smile. "I'm OK, really. Shock has worn off and normal brain function has returned."

"Seriously, Sam. I do…" Jane looked at Terri shyly and blushed. "I won't lie. I do feel something for Terri. Something new and scary and absolutely wonderful. But, honey, I don't want to upset you…"

"I'm a big girl, Mom," Sam countered. "And I'm not upset, I swear. It was just…like, whoa, when I opened the door." She glared at Terri. "Yo, lock it next time, missy!" Terri had the good grace to blush deeply.

"Hey, kiddo, I didn't plan for it to happen but I genuinely like your mother," Terri said seriously. "We've decided to take it slow and just see what happens. But you know that you, Brooke, and Mac are the most important things to her, right?" Sam nodded as Brooke stroked her hair.

"OK then. Whatever else happens, we'll deal with it like adults," Terri said. "Open and honest. No hiding anything." The other women in the room nodded in agreement.

"Like a family," Jane added.

"A highly mutated family," Sam snorted. Brooke swatted her on the arm.

"Sam," she scolded. Sam held her arms up in defense.

"What? Oh like no one else sees it," she laughed. "I'm in love with and involved with my former sorta step-sister; my Mom is now involved with her former step-daughter's aunt. God, we're so inbred now we're like the sequel to `Deliverance'."

"Ah, but we have all our teeth," Terri joked.

"Oh stop it you two," Jane laughed. "And girls, it's OK with us if you let Nicole and Lily in on this new development but we have to make sure Mike doesn't get wind of it. He may try to use it as leverage for custody."

"Shit," Sam swore. "We keep coming back to that oversized thorn."

"Well, he is my Dad, Sam. And Mac's. He's going to be an ongoing interruption to our lives," Brooke pointed out.

"Suckage," Sam mumbled.

"Yeah, but for right now, he can't hurt us," Terri added. "And your Mom and I will do everything we can to keep it that way."

Everyone was silent as the new news sunk in and they just enjoyed the newly bonding family atmosphere they all found themselves in. Then, a soft voice singing broke the quiet.

"Mom and Terri up in the tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"

"Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam! Stop that!"

TBC