TITLE: Every Boys Dream

AUTHOR: Angelina

EMAIL: angelina2006@hotmail.com

Rating: R

Summary: Brooke has a dream that starts off with Josh and ends up with someone else

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Touchstone Television

Part 1

Brooke allowed herself to be lowered onto the bed. She was wearing nothing but her underwear. Josh was in a similar state of undress. And from what Brooke could feel pressing against her thigh, she'd say that his boxers were stretched to capacity. Josh kissed Brooke's neck and shoulders hungrily before moving up and capturing her lips. His hand teased her nipple through the silk barrier of her bra. Brooke placed her palms on Josh's chest and pushed him back slightly.

"Josh wait."

"Wha…? I thought you wanted to?" Josh was confused, but eager to please.

"I do…but I thought that maybe we could try something different."

"Different huh? Like what." A number of scenarios were running through Josh's imagination. Doggy-style? Sixty-nine? Brooke on top? Dressing up like Batman and Robin? This last one probably wouldn't be Brooke's suggestion, he reasoned…but he could hope.

Brooke didn't answer. Instead her lips curled into a sexy smile as she turned her head towards the door. Josh did likewise and was more than a little surprised to see Sam McPherson standing leaning against the doorframe. She was dressed in a midnight-blue silk night-shirt that ended mid-thigh. She had great legs, Josh observed critically.

Brooke reached out an arm and beckoned to Sam with a finger. Sam moved slowly towards the bed, shedding her shirt on the way. She was naked underneath. Josh felt Brooke gasp beneath him and he could understand why. Sam's body was like a work of art. Toned, firm, supple, taught - all of these words and more wouldn't have done justice to the young woman approaching the bed.

When Sam finally reached her destination she took Brooke's outstretched hand in her own and kissed the back of it lightly. Still holding the hand she climbed onto the bed beside the young lovers. Never removing her eyes from Brooke's, Sam pulled Josh to her for a sensuous kiss. When she released him Josh wasn't sure how long he'd be able to control himself. This was every boy's dream, two hot girls all to himself. While he tried to think of politicians and gardening implements to calm his raging libido, Sam and Brooke continued to regard each other. It was as if they were somehow communicating through their eyes. Suddenly the communication became oral when Brooke grabbed the back of Sam's neck, bringing their lips together in a passionate kiss. Sam wasted no time in removing Brooke's bra and busying her hands with the very erect nipples that lay underneath. Brooke's fingers tangled in Sam's hair as the brunette moved downwards, kissing a trail from Brooke's lips to her breasts, feeling Brooke arch into her mouth upon her arrival.

Josh knew he was going to come any second so he moved to enter Brooke. He was unsure of quite how he was going to go about it as Brooke's body was almost completely covered by a whole lotta Sam. He attempted to gently nudge Sam over slightly so that he could gain access to Brooke's nether regions. He was rewarded for his troubles by a not so gentle shove from a disgruntled blonde who was enjoying Sam's ministrations far too much to have her disturbed in any way.

Taken aback, Josh considered his options. Brooke's mouth was free, well, apart from moaning Sam's name every so often. Josh quickly shrugged his boxer shorts off and moved into a kneeling position. Brooke, feeling the movement on the bed turned to look at him. His intentions were as clear as the nose on his face, and a few other apparent appendages. Brooke graced him with a "You've got to be kidding" expression before urging Sam back up her body so she could reclaim her lips. They kissed intensely for a moment. Sam turned to face Josh while Brooke continued to kiss her jaw and neck.

"Are you still here? Haven't you got the message yet?" Sam asked, her voice dripped with scorn. "I can take it from here. Or in fact, maybe you should stick around and watch, you might learn about a little thing called foreplay." Sam turned her attention back to Brooke.

Josh sat for a moment, stunned. His excitement had shrivelled, killed by the vitriol in Sam's voice and the disdain in her eyes. The girls continued to make out. And by the looks of things it wasn't the first time. They seemed to be very familiar with each other's bodies and reactions. When Sam's hand began a journey down Brooke's side, over her stomach and came to rest on her panties Josh decided it was time for him to leave. He gathered up his clothes dejectedly and headed for the door. He turned one last time to see Brooke arch her whole body into Sam, trying to become part of her it seemed. They were locked in each other's gazes again, not blinking. Josh turned and left.

Sam and Brooke moved together like a single entity. Brooke knew she was close but she didn't want the feeling to end. She pulled Sam to her so they were nose to nose, needing to feel the other girl's sweat and hot breath on her skin.

"Brooke." Sam whispered.

"What baby?"

"Brooke." Louder this time, more insistent.

"What is it Sammy?" Brooke was confused.

"Brooke." Sam's voice had changed, it was no longer her own.

"Sam?"

"Brooke, come on, breakfast's nearly ready" Jane shouted, knocking on her bedroom door.

Brooke awoke, breathless and sweaty. She covered her face with her hands, trying to get her breathing back to normal.

"I'm coming!" she called, smiling at the irony of the statement. She thought back to the dream. It was the third time she'd had it since she and Josh had broken up. It was always the same. It started with her and Josh in bed, then Sam would join them and Brooke would lose all interest in Josh. What did it mean?

With a sigh Brooke dragged herself out of bed and to the bathroom. When she entered she was startled to see Sam looking at her, a highly amused expression on her face and a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. Brooke quickly glanced down at herself, hoping that her pyjama buttons were all done up. Satisfied she wasn't flashing anyone, she looked back at Sam who was still smiling mysteriously at her.

"What?" Brooke asked, annoyed both by the unwanted scrutiny first thing in the morning and by the fact that Sam looked so damn cute looking at her that way.

"Good dream this morning?" Sam asked, her grin widening.

Brooke almost swallowed her tongue in shock. How could she know? "Dream? What dream? I wasn't dreaming anything!" Her voice was much squeakier than she had intended, this only added to Sam's enjoyment.

"Hmmm, then all the moaning and panting I heard on the way past your room was just my imagination huh?" Sam was assured that it was most definitely not her imagination by the interesting shade of red that Brooke had become. She decided to let her off lightly, after all everybody has sex dreams right?

"Whatever Brooke, but just between you and me, if Josh is half as good in bed as his dream-counterpart sounds, I'd have kept hold of him."

Sam breezed out of the bathroom leaving Brooke both relieved and confused. Relieved by the fact that she hadn't called out Sam's name in her sleep, thereby dropping herself completely in it. And confused, because Sam's words had had an effect on her. If Sam was half as good as kisser…and other stuff…as she was in Brooke's dreams, then Brooke would happily surrender herself to Sam's lips and hands for the rest of her life. But that wasn't an option. She didn't even want it to be an option. Not Sam. Not her. Anybody but her. But then an image of Sam would creep into her mind and chase away all those negative thoughts. Confusion didn't even begin to cover it. Brooke resolved to subtly enquire at school as to the meaning of sex dreams and the likelihood of them ever becoming reality. Now if she could only figure out a way to tell Nicole about the dream without using the words Sam or Josh she'd be fine.

Part 2

"Mary Cherry, I do believe you're right. This is the exact shade of lip-gloss that Gwyneth wore in Bounce."

Mary Cherry grinned maniacally and clapped her hands together. "Ah knew it! And may ah just say that it looks stunnin' on you, if Ben Aff-leck was to walk in here raht now he'd fall to the floor and kiss your Gucci clad feet!"

"And who could blame him?" Nicole re-capped the lip-gloss, satisfied that she'd achieved perfection. She pouted and smiled and examined her lips from different angles in the mirror. While doing so she was distracted by the sight of Brooke gnawing on a fingernail. "Now, Brookie, honey, stop that. We don't want ragged old housewife hands for the big game next week."

Brooke took her hand away from her mouth and started pacing back and forward. Nicole looked at Mary Cherry and raised an eyebrow, Mary Cherry did the same, even though she hadn't the slightest idea what Nicole was getting at.

"B, is something the matter?" Nicole thought she'd better play the concerned friend role. It wouldn't do for the co-captain to have a nervous breakdown in the middle of her sophomore year. Brooke took a deep breath. Then she let it out again. She slumped down on one of the plush, pink sofas the Novak had to offer. Looking down at her hands she finally spoke.

"Do you guys…ever have…dreams?"

"Dreams as in the Malcolm X kind or the regular, in bed kind?"

"In bed, actually, in bed in bed."

"Huh? You've lost me now hun." Nicole waited for clarification. Something was obviously worrying Brooke, and despite the hard-hearted bitch act, if there was one thing Nicole gave a damn about, it was Brooke. Brooke was now wringing her hands together, still looking down.

"I mean, sex dreams." This was said in barely a whisper but Nicole and Mary Cherry's Scandal Radar picked out the words with no difficulty whatsoever.

"Sex dreams! Why my Lordy! Brookie, have you been dreamin' about some handsome stud thrustin' his throbbin' love stick into your garden of paradise?" Mary Cherry was an avid fan of pulp romance novels and bad soap operas. "Now, if you could just furnish me with the details of these sordid little naght-tahm adventures of yours, ahm sure ah could ask the Lord Jesus to forgive your sins." Mary Cherry had produced a notebook and pen from somewhere and was poised to use them. Nicole and Brooke chose to ignore this.

"Come on Brookie, everybody dreams about sex. It's totally normal. You're not telling me this is the first time you've gotten all hot and sweaty during the night?"

Nicole offered what she thought was a reassuring smile. The effect it had on Brooke was not quite the desired one. She covered her face with her hands and moaned. "Oh God." Over and over. Brooke was remembering exactly how hot and sweaty she had been. And who the cause of it was. Upon seeing this Nicole realised that Brooke's dream must have been more than a run of the mill encounter. Eager to hear more she leaned in close to Brooke, so did Mary Cherry - pen still at the ready.

"You can tell us B, what was it? S&M? Dom/Sub? Role-playing?"

"Usin' strap on appendages to commit unspeakable acts of depravity?" Mary Cherry got a far away look in her eyes when she said this which disturbed Brooke and Nicole profoundly.

"No, no, it wasn't anything like that…it was…kind of a threesome thing." Brooke said, blushing to the roots of her perfectly styled hair.

"Well, that's hardly X-rated is it?" said Nicole, a little disappointed at the revelation. Something occurred to her. "What was the mix? You and two guys? You, a guy and a girl? You and two girls?"

Brooke blushed even deeper. "Well, it was me and a guy…to start with…then a girl joined us…then the guy left…well actually…we sort of made him leave."

Nicole's eyebrows went up. This she hadn't expected. Little Miss Perfect was having erotic lesbian dreams. Had this been anyone else she would have had a field day with the gossip potential, but there were more pressing matters on her mind.

"OK, let's get things clear here. You were with a guy, a girl came in, and you chose her over him?"

Brooke looked up at Nicole through her lashes and nodded.

"And did you like having sex with this girl?"

"Oh yeah!" The practically growled exclamation had escaped before Brooke had a chance to think about her reply. Nicole's eyebrows reached new heights as Brooke slapped a hand over her mouth. Mary Cherry was watching the conversation unfold like a tennis-fan. Head following the action back and forth, eyes lighting up whenever something particularly interesting was said. Nicole processed Brooke's answer for a minute before replying.

"Ummm, Brookie, you know that lesbian chic is so out that even Anne Heche has given up on it right? I mean, not that you'd ever do anything about this dream right? It's not like you want to, right?" Nicole's voice was tending towards the desperate side. Not allowing Brooke to reply to this Nicole continued. "OK, I think we should stop talking about this now, it's not like it's going to be an issue, it's just a one off dream. I knew you shouldn't have watched Cruel Intentions fourteen times." Nicole appeared to be talking to herself as much as Brooke.

"Actually, I've had the dream three times now." Brooke was finding it easier to talk about this stuff as the conversation progressed.

"Three tahms? Mah word Brooke, you're almost eligible for your free KD Lang concert tickets!" Mary Cherry put in gleefully. Nicole did not look gleeful, she looked decidedly ungleeful.

"So now it's a recurring dream? Well this is great, if this gets out we're all finished. Can't you just see the headlines now? 'Lesbian Orgies at Cheerleading Practice' 'Forget the Glamazons, meet the Sapphites!' And those are the nice ones, those would be printed if it wasn't Spam McSmearson writing the article. Can you imagine what would be written if bitchface ever…" Nicole trailed off, noting how Brooke's gaze had dropped the minute Sam's name was mentioned. She slowly approached Brooke and stooped so she was on eye level with her. "Actually B, you never did tell us who the other players in your little performance were. Do we know them? Are they famous? Pray tell."

Mary Cherry watched this interesting turn of events with delight…this was better than Days of Our Lives! Brooke sighed and decided that she may as well go all the way now that she'd started. She looked up and squared off with Nicole.

"The guy was Josh…and the girl…was…Sam." There, she'd said it. And now she waited for the fallout. Nicole appeared to have frozen in place. She hadn't moved so much as an eyelash after Brooke's admission. Mary Cherry, on the other hand, who was totally unprepared for this little revelation had started flapping a hand in front of her face.

"Oh Lord, ah've got the vapours. Brookie and the bitch troll from hell? Why ah just can't…" And with that she promptly fainted. This seemed to kick-start Nicole again. She stood up and walked away from Brooke. Then she spun around to face her once more.

"Spam? You couldn't have picked someone else? Anyone else?"

"I didn't pick her…she just sort of appeared." Brooke explained lamely. "And it's not like I'm dating her, I just had a dream about her."

"Which you enjoyed immensely by the sounds of it. Repeatedly. And it won't be long before the dreams aren't enough, before you have to get a bigger buzz, before you move on to the real thing. And when that happens we're all friggin' ruined." Nicole tried to rationalise the situation. "Is it because of the tongue thing?"

"What tongue thing?" Brooke asked, dreading the answer.

"You know, you must have noticed. Spam is constantly playing around with her tongue. If it's not stuck in her cheek she's licking her teeth or her lips with it. She brandishes that thing around like a deadly weapon. Maybe subconsciously you've thought that she'd be really talented with it and that's triggered these nightmares."

Nicole looked at Brooke expectantly after offering her hypothesis. Brooke was horrified. Not only that Nicole had been thinking about Sam's tongue, in detail it seemed, but that this discussion was bringing back memories of exactly how skilled Sam was with her tongue.

"Nicole! I can't believe you asked me that. I…I'm not even going to reply to that." She looked down at her shoes again. "And they weren't nightmares." She added as an afterthought.

"See, it's saying things like that that's got me worried!" Nicole fumed. "What if you'd…"

The opening of the Novak door shut her up. And lo and behold, who should walk in to the middle of the war-zone but Sam. She was used to the blondes turning silent when she entered a room. She figured it had something to do with the damning editorials she'd written in the past about them. She wasn't quite so used to the smile she was getting from Brooke though. Sure they had been getting along lately, but this was a bit much. It disturbed her even more than the murderous glare Nicole was throwing her way.

"Hey Sam!" Brooke said, a little too brightly.

"Hey," Sam began hesitantly. "I…uh…why is Mary Cherry on the floor?"

Nicole and Brooke both turned to see the southerner spread-eagled on the shag pile carpeting. They had forgotten about her. Brooke turned back to face Sam, the smile still in place.

"Oh, she's fine, she just fainted."

"Right…well, I have to…uh…use the bathroom now, so…"

"That's great Spam, we're thrilled to hear that." Nicole grabbed Brooke and dragged her to her feet. "Come on Brookie, I think we should go somewhere quiet and discuss aversion therapy."

And holding Brooke firmly by the elbow, Nicole marched them both out of the Novak. Sam was confused by this behaviour but didn't give it a great deal of thought as Mary Cherry had come round and was staring at her with something resembling a mixture between hatred and arousal.

"Well thank you Samantha, if you coulda kept your dirty whore hands to yourself , me and mah cheerleadin' compatriots wouldn't have to be shamed in this very degradin' Showgirls manner."

She burst into tears, turning her mascara into a black river delta beneath each eye almost immediately. She then grabbed her bag and ran out of the Novak. Sam stood in wonder. She had no idea what Mary Cherry was referring to, but that coupled with the strange vibes from Brooke and Nicole earlier on had her worried. Maybe she should talk to Principal Hall about random drug testing among the cheerleaders.

Part 3

Lily sat playing with her tofu. Carmen was talking to her but she had tuned out after the word 'cheerleader' was mentioned. Lily liked to think of herself as a compassionate person. She loved all living creatures and would stick up for almost any cause. So she had listened to Carmen's "I want to be a cheerleader" speech with interest and sympathy…the first 5 or so times. After that, when she sensed the rant coming on Lily had started to retreat into her own little world, 'hmmming' and nodding at all the right places but not really listening. After all, it was hard to get worked up about airhead girls in short skirts jumping up and down and spelling things with their arms when people in the world were starving and animals were being mistreated. But because Carmen was her friend she didn't come right out and say this, even when she started the 'Nicole Julian is such a bitch' segment yet again.

Lily's wandering attention was caught when Mary Cherry entered the lunchroom looking like the newest Panda exhibit at the San Diego zoo. Her being seen in public like that either meant that something very interesting had happened or that Gwyneth had decided to give up making movies and become a missionary. Carmen had also noticed the black eyed southerner's entrance and had mercifully shut up in order to eavesdrop more easily on whatever she was going to say. Mary Cherry spotted Josh and Sugar Daddy sitting discussing some sport or other at the table next to Lily and Carmen. She made a beeline for them, sending several geeks sprawling to the floor in her hurry. Upon her arrival Josh and SD took in her tear-stained appearance and braced themselves for whatever fashion disaster had befallen her that morning.

"Josh, I wanted to be the first to condole you on your cruel and humiliatin' rejection." She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and dropped her head to her chest in sympathy.

"Uh, that's really nice Mary Cherry…but Brooke dumped me over a week ago." Josh looked at SD and rolled his eyes. Mary Cherry's head snapped to attention, eyes sparkling with delight as she realised she would be the one to pass on the news of Brooke's adventures in dreamland. She pulled out the seat next to Josh and sat down, reaching out to take his hand in hers.

"Y'all mean you haven't heard? Why ah jus' thought that Brookie maght have had the decency to tell you before she went an' spread it around."

She shook her head in mock disbelief. Josh was feeling slightly uncomfortable and very apprehensive. He didn't want to know what Mary Cherry had to say but he knew that he had to hear it now or the curiosity would eat away at him.

"What did you think Brooke should have told me?" He tried to remain calm.

"Well, it's not really mah place to say…but since you asked so nicely an' all…" Mary Cherry assumed her best serious expression before continuing. "Josh, prepare yourself, this may come as quite a shock to you…ah know ah was shocked and ah've seen Basic Instinct: the uncut version!"

"Just…" Josh began, agitated. He collected himself before going on. "Just tell me what happened."

"Well, it seems that Ms McQueen has been havin' dirty dreams about someone other than your good self…no, that's not true, you were in them too until you were forcibly asked to leave Brooke and her new lover to get on with it!" Mary Cherry shook her head, still trying to comprehend how Brooke could have chosen Sam over Josh. Josh had such a great ass.

Josh was somewhat relieved at the climax of the tale. He had thought that Brooke was seeing someone else. OK, so it hurt that she was dreaming about sleeping with someone else…and it was very painful that he'd been ejected from her dream bed in favour of this new Casanova, but it was only a dream after all. He realised that Mary Cherry was still talking.

"Ah mean, ah jus' do not understand why Brookie would want to lower her standards that far" she said with a pointed look at the 'unpopular' table. Carmen caught the look and its meaning. She tried to convey this to Lily who couldn't quite follow all the widened eyes and head tilts so Carmen was forced to whisper to her.

"Ohmygod! Brooke's been dreaming about Harrison."

Lily mouthed 'Harrison?' Carmen nodded. 'No way!' Carmen nodded again; Lily could be so dense sometimes.

"Wait till we tell Sam that Brooke is crushing on her best friend. That should make for some interesting fireworks." Carmen said, under her breath.

Josh was really trying to avoid asking the next question but it was forcing its way out of his mouth. "So," he tried to be casual. "Who was she dreaming about?"

Mary Cherry grinned, this was her big moment, and she wanted the delivery to be just right. "Ah am truly sorry to be the one to tell you this…but your golden girl girlfriend has joined the ranks of the inhabitants of Lesbania…she wuz dreamin' about…Sam McPherson!"

Josh stared at Mary Cherry like she had horns growing out of her head. She sensed that he was having a little trouble believing her. She nodded vigorously. "It's true Josh, and apparently Ms McPherson is quite a tiger between the sheets." Josh continued to stare blankly.

At the next table Carmen was banging Lily on the back, attempting to dislodge the rather large piece of apple that had stuck in her throat when Mary Cherry had revealed that Sam, not Harrison, had been the star of Brooke's wet dream. Learning that their friend was more than proficient in bed caused the apple to pop back up and Lily managed to inhale some oxygen before her brain completely died. Carmen and Lily stared at each other in disbelief. Brooke was dreaming about having sex with Sam. This was almost too good.

Lily and Carmen made their way to biology class, anxious to speak to Sam. When they arrived they saw her engaged in a heated debate with Harrison over the best kind of lighting to use in a documentary piece they were shooting together. They hurried over to Sam's table, coming to a halt directly in front of her. Sam looked at them, mildly amused by the expressions they wore; the ones that usually meant they had juicy gossip to share.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Sam asked, grinning conspiratorially.

"You will never believe what we just heard in the lunchroom." Carmen began excitedly. She was interrupted by Ms Glass.

"Ms Esposito, I don't believe that you sit next to Ms Ferrera. Or have you heard that there are some woodworm in that particular desk that need saving?"

Lily raised her eyes to the heavens and gave Carmen a look that said 'Don't you dare tell her without me being here.' Carmen nodded, without the slightest intention of waiting so that they could tell her together.

"So…?" Sam prompted.

"Like I said, this is unbelievable, but it's totally true, we got it straight from the horse's mouth…or as near as you can get to the horse's mouth without getting bitten…"

"Carm come on, I'm dying here!"

"Right, right, sorry. OK, we were in the caf…I…uh…I'll tell you later." Carmen turned around so that she was facing the front. Sam turned to the back of the class to see what had caused the sudden change of heart. Brooke had entered with Nicole and was having what looked like a hushed argument.

"Nicole, I really don't think that slapping my face every time I look at her is going to do any good."

"OK…how about I slap her in the face? Or punch her? Would a couple of black eyes turn you off do you think?" Nicole asked hopefully.

"There will be no violence of any sort, OK? Now just drop it." They had reached their seats. Brooke greeted Sam with a smile as she sat down. Sam returned the smile and noticed that Nicole was looking pure ice at her. She couldn't quite figure it out. Obviously something was going on. Mary Cherry's strange outburst earlier in the day was one thing. But now Nicole was being even more outwardly vicious towards her than usual. Brooke seemed to be the odd one out. Sam wondered if Carmen's gossip had anything to do with the whole thing.

Brooke, meanwhile, found herself looking at Sam, appraising her almost. There were no two ways about it; Sam was drop dead gorgeous. But she was much more than that. She exuded a sensuality that didn't come with designer clothes and immaculate make-up. She was just naturally sexy and Brooke wondered why she had never noticed this before. And why she was noticing it now. As she continued to watch Sam scribbling on her notebook Brooke was alarmed to see that her tongue was planted firmly in her cheek. It was even more alarming when she ran that same tongue along her top teeth and then proceeded to lick her lips thoroughly. Brooke found herself imagining what that tongue would feel like running along her own lips. Nicole had been right, Sam did seem to want to show off how flexible her tongue was…and its effect on Brooke was almost palpable. She quickly averted her eyes to avoid complete meltdown.

What Brooke hadn't been aware of was that a number of sets of eyes had been watching her watching Sam. Carmen kept sneaking furtive glances over her shoulder. Mary Cherry and Lily were both fixated on the little Sam-worshipping session that was taking place on the other side of the classroom. Nicole was silently plotting Sam's untimely demise. A phone call with a hot journalism tip off would lead Sam to somewhere deserted for a secret meeting with a contact. However, when she got there she'd find nothing but a ticking bomb. The last thing she'd hear would be the turning of a key in a lock. Nicole smiled at this comforting thought, whispering 'Thank you' to an unseen audience. Harrison heard the quiet expression of gratitude and surmised that Nicole was even more insane than people already thought. He too had noticed Brooke watching Sam. However, he did not deduce anything from it, it merely added to the fantasy collection of visuals he kept in his head. In the past he had wondered how healthy it was for him to be imagining two women touching each other when his mother was indulging in that very act through the wall. But he soon dismissed this thought and continued with his indulgence.

"Ford? Ford? Where is Josh Ford?" Ms Glass was in the middle of roll call. Mary Cherry raised her hand and waved it madly.

"Yes Cherry?"

"Ms Glass, sir, ah don't think that Josh will be makin' it to class this afternoon. Ah had to give him some very distressin' news at lunch and he didn't take it too well." Mary Cherry smiled sweetly. Brooke spun around in her seat to see Nicole sending daggers in the direction of Mary Cherry, who was blissfully ignorant of this fact.

"Whatever." Ms Glass was about to move on with the register when she noticed Mary Cherry's hand shooting up in the air again. Ms Glass sighed.

"Yes Cherry?"

"Ah have a biological question ah'd lahk to ask you Ms Glass, sir, if ah may." Receiving a weary nod from the teacher Mary Cherry continued, still unaware of Brooke's expression of utter panic and Nicole's one which carried the threat of impending bodily violence. "Mah question is of the sexual kind, what does it mean when a normal, healthy, well brought-up young gal starts having dreams about indulgin' in some mattress dancin' with someone of the female type, that is to say, the same gender as herself?"

Ms Glass didn't look fazed in the slightest by the question which was more than could be said for the majority of the class. Sam looked around her at the bizarre reactions the question had prompted in a number of her contemporaries. Brooke looked especially affected. Sam didn't think that anyone could turn that red without some kind of internal bleeding occurring.

"Well Cherry, it's totally normal for teenagers to have dreams of a sexual nature involving a number of different people, sometimes this can involve people of the same sex. It's a natural way to explore sexuality without risk of disease or pregnancy."

Mary Cherry brightened. "So, it doesn't mean that she's a ravin' dyke?"

"No, wish fulfilment isn't always an ingredient in the dream state. Although, if the dream is recurring it can often mean that there is some underlying feeling there." Ms Glass stopped close by Mary Cherry's desk. She continued in a low voice. "If you're concerned about your dreams Cherry you can always come to me after class." And with a wink she turned around and clapped her hands. "OK brats, today we're talking about the nitrogen cycle."

Sam leaned over and tapped Brooke lightly on the arm, causing the other girl to jump violently.

"Sorry, I was just going to ask if you were OK? You don't look very well."

"I…uh…no I'm not feeling all that great." It wasn't a lie, she felt sick to her stomach. "Uh, Sam, do you have your car with you today?" Sam nodded. "Do you think you could give me a lift home after class? I really can't face talking to anybody right now."

"Sure Brooke, no problem." Sam was concerned. It was very unlike Brooke to want to avoid people. And it meant she'd have to wait for a while longer before she heard what Carmen had to say to her. Oh well, she'd hear soon enough if it was a big enough deal. She turned her attention to the nitrogen cycle.

Brooke laid her head down on the desk. What was she going to do now? Josh knew. God only knew who else had found out. Mary Cherry had planted a seed of curiosity in the whole damn class. There was no way she was getting out of this one unscathed. She turned her head to the side to steal a glance at Sam. She looked so cute when she was being attentive. 'Oh God Brooke, get a grip,' she thought to herself. She sighed deeply. If she could just ensure that Sam didn't find out things might still be OK. She hoped.

Part 4

Brooke sat on her bed with her knees pulled up to her chest. She hugged them as she thought about everything that had happened during the day. Just as she was beginning to get really depressed she was distracted by the sight of Sam in a very short, black silk night-dress. It was then Brooke realised she was naked. Sam walked towards her and reached out, taking Brooke's hands into her own and pulling her into a standing position. They stood in silence, mere inches between their bodies, staring deeply into each other's eyes. Brooke broke the intense eye contact to look over Sam's shoulder.

"Isn't Josh here?" she asked. Sam put her hands on Brooke's hips, urging her forward to close the tiny space that had existed between them so that their bodies were touching. Sam's lip curled in a sultry smile.

"Do you still think you want Josh to be here?" She moved so that her lips were within millimetres of Brooke's, when she spoke her warm breath sent shock waves through Brooke's body. "Aren't I enough for you?" Brooke nodded her head but didn't dare speak the words out loud. Sam pulled back slightly to look into Brooke's eyes once more. "Why don't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"How you feel about me."

"I…I couldn't…you don't…you wouldn't want…" Sam cut her off by placing a gentle finger on her lips. She traced Brooke's jawbone with her thumb before speaking.

"Don't ever assume that you know how I feel or how I'll react without giving me a chance." Sam placed a soft kiss on the end of Brooke's nose. "Tell me." She brought her arms up around Brooke's naked torso, pulling her into the warmth of her embrace. Brooke laid her head on Sam's shoulder, feeling safe and secure for the first time since…well, perhaps for the first time ever. She hugged Sam to her, terrified to let her go in case she never got the chance again. "Tell me Brooke."

Brooke took a deep breath and stood up straight. She looked into Sam's eyes and saw nothing but trust and acceptance. Acceptance is what Brooke had striven for her whole life. She had achieved it at school, but somehow that didn't seem to fulfil her. Sam's acceptance, on the other hand, filled her up with contentment until she thought she might explode from the feeling. She started to speak. And after the initial hesitance the words seemed to flow out of her like a river bursting its dam.

"Sam, I don't really know how this started, or when it started, although I have a feeling that it's been there longer than I'd care to admit. I…feel…something for you, something I've never felt before. And it scares me to death. I mean, I never thought I'd fall for a girl…and especially not you, no offence. But I've fallen hard and I don't really want to get up. In fact I think I'd be quite happy if you lay down beside me. I'm really not sure what it is I'm feeling, I know that I'm attracted to you, but I think it's much deeper than that…I think…and I don't want to scare you off or anything…but I think I'm falling in love with you."

Brooke stopped, realising that she needed to take a breath. She looked at Sam for the first time since she'd started her little speech. To her surprise there were tears in Sam's eyes. As the first tear started to make its way down her cheek Brooke reached out and brushed it away.

"Why are you crying?" she whispered.

"Brooke, there is no way that anyone could react badly to what you just told me. It was beautiful and it was from the heart. I think you know me a bit better than you think you do, and you know there's no way that I'd hurt anyone who said those things. Give me a chance Brooke, please."

"But…but I just told you."

"I think you know what I mean." Sam leaned in and kissed Brooke tenderly, savouring the sweetness of her lips. Brooke returned the kiss, trying to show Sam the depths of her feelings that words simply could not convey. Their lips parted but they remained close, holding each other, foreheads touching. Sam was the first to speak.

"Sooooo, now that you have me all to yourself with no Josh to get in the way, what are you going to do with me?" Her lips were upturned in a devilish smile. Brooke didn't reply. Instead she stepped back, out of Sam's arms and looked at her.

"Well, for what I've got in mind, you are way overdressed. How about we do something about that?"

Sam grinned and reached down to pull the night-dress over her head. Once free of her silk confines Sam was happy to let Brooke explore her body with her eyes, followed by her hands, and finally her lips. Brooke marvelled at the smooth skin. So much paler than her own, with a few tiny freckles in some very interesting places. Letting her tongue trail between Sam's breasts she brought her hands up to cup them. Sam's moan thrilled Brooke beyond belief and she was compelled to go back up and kiss the lips it had escaped from. She felt Sam's hands slide up her back, one arms curled around her tightly while the other hand tangled itself in her hair, deepening the contact and the kiss. They broke apart and looked feverishly into each other's eyes, desire and need apparent in both sets.

But for some reason Sam started to move away. Brooke reached out to stop her, to continue what they had started, but Sam managed to evade her grasp. She walked backwards towards the door, never looking anywhere but Brooke's eyes. Brooke was distraught.

"Where are you going? You can't leave me. Please…please come back."

Sam smiled but didn't stop. "Tell me." And then she was gone. Brooke looked around her as her surroundings started to turn white. She was aware of a noise, a knocking sound. It was all around her but she couldn't tell where it was coming from. She covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut.

When her eyes opened again she was lying on her bed where she'd lain after Sam had brought her home. Realising she'd dozed off and had been dreaming Brooke resisted the urge to scream with frustration. Then the knocking sound started again. But this time it was obviously coming from the door.

"Brooke? Are you awake?" Sam's voice drifted in from the hallway.

Brooke bit her lip. Oh God, here was her chance. She could tell Sam about the dreams. Or not. But then she heard Dream-Sam speaking to her 'Tell me'. Inhaling deeply Brooke sat up and adjusted her clothing. OK, it was now or never.

"Yeah Sam, come on in."

The door opened and Sam's head peeked round. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I was just kind of napping, it's fine."

Sam came all the way in and closed the door behind her. Brooke noted that Sam hadn't looked her directly in the face since she came in. She came to the bed and sat down on the very edge of it. She started playing with the duvet cover. She seemed nervous. Compassion bubbled to the surface in Brooke as she was compelled to find out why Sam looked so apprehensive.

"Are…are you OK? I mean, did you want to talk to me about something?" she asked.

Sam finally looked up. Her face was unreadable.

"I…uh…I just got off the phone with Carmen. She…told me something she heard at school today. I think we should talk, don't you?

Part 5

"I can't believe you told her over the phone! I would have loved to have seen her face…so how'd she take it?" Lily asked excitedly, then remembered that this was their friend and not some person on the Jerry Springer Show. She tried to compose herself.

"I'm not sure," Carmen replied, slowly. "She just kind of went 'Oh'. And then she was silent for the longest time. I thought she'd fainted but then she said she had to go and hung up."

"Wow…I thought Sam of all people would have more of a reaction than that. So she wasn't grossed out or anything?"

"Lily, she's not twelve for God's sake. Like I said, she didn't say anything…I don't know how to take that really."

"What if hearing the news has caused a psychotic episode and she's over there murdering Brooke as we speak and afterwards will have no recollection of the terrible events and…"

"Lily! Shut up! She's not murdering Brooke…you don't really think…nah…she wouldn't…"

"Well, I don't know, hearing that your arch nemesis and unwanted housemate has the hots for you might do something to a person's psyche."

"Do…do you think we should go over there? Just to make sure everyone's alive and nobody's had a breakdown or anything?" Carmen looked at Lily and they both nodded. "Let's go."

While Sam's friends were inventing wild fantasy scenarios, two blondes were having a heated discussion via cell-phone.

"You'll just have to wait until Brooke decides your fate, but if I was her I'd have you wear a moo-moo and have your head shaved to show your penance."

"But Nic, ah was jus' tryin' to help poor Brookie in her tahm of need. Mah question proved that she doesn't need to join the Melissa Etheridge fan club just yet…this is probably just a phase…a very strange and disturbin' phase…" she trailed off, hoping this had pacified Nicole somewhat.

"Well…it pains me to agree with you after your outburst in bio, but I do hope Brookie's bizarre infatuation with Miss Journohag is some kind of temporary insanity. I don't think I could handle having to look at her smug little face every day at lunch." Nicole shuddered at the thought.

"Ah totally agree with you, Nic." Mary Cherry sensed that Nicole was close to forgiving her. "But…what if it isn't?"

Nicole sighed. This possibility had also occurred to her. After all, it must have been praying heavily on Brooke's mind for her to bring it up. Nicole was terrified that those underlying feelings Ms Glass had been talking about were present in this case. Something that had been lying dormant at the back of Nicole's mind suddenly awoke.

"Mary Cherry, did you notice that B suddenly became a Buffy fan in the third season?"

"Ah…ummm…well Nic ah don't think ah was around back then." Mary Cherry had no idea what Nicole was getting at.

"Yes, she never started watching it until that slutty other slayer came into it. The slayer with long brown hair, full pouty lips and big brown eyes…" Nicole was panic stricken. "Oh God, this has been going on much longer than we thought…she's obviously got a thing for a certain type of girl and Spam McBitch fits the profile." Nicole felt herself start to hyperventilate and quickly reasserted her unflappable exterior. "OK, we have to get over to Brooke's house right now and work on damage limitation. I'm sure there are plenty of hookers who fit Spam's description who she could visit discretely…this doesn't have to be the end of the world. Right?"

"Raght! But Nic…would it really be so bad if Brookie did get together with Sam? Ah mean, she maght even start wrahtin' nice things about us in the paper?" Mary Cherry decided to look on the bright side. Nicole, however, saw no bright side.

"Yes, it would be so bad. Now get ready, I'll be by to pick you up in 15 minutes."

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…er Palace, Sam and Brooke hadn't spoken since Sam had suggested they talk. Brooke's heart had stopped as soon as the words had left Sam's mouth. Sam, for her part, was seriously wishing she had just pretended that Carmen's phone call had never happened. She could repress memories, it would be worth the therapy bills later in life to avoid the excruciatingly awkward situation she now found herself in. Too late for that now. She decided that she'd better say something quickly, Brooke seemed to have stopped breathing and a slight tinge of blue was apparent on her face.

"So…is it true?"

Brooke thought about stalling for time by saying 'Is what true, Sam?' She quickly decided against this as it would involve hearing Sam detail exactly what she had heard and that would just add to the tension in the room. She bowed her head and fiddled with the corner of a pillow.

"Yes." The word was little more than a whisper.

Sam was now stumped for what to say next. She had thought that Brooke might deny it, thereby prompting an argument about her insinuating that Carmen was a liar. Then they would scream and shout and hurl insults at each other. She was comfortable with that. That would be familiar. But that wasn't going to happen. Sam looked over at Brooke and saw the total misery she was in. It was obvious in her whole body - the slumped shoulders, head down, hugging a pillow for comfort. Suddenly Sam had an overwhelming urge to hug the other girl. She resisted it, that really would only complicate things at this stage.

"So, ummm, is that why Nicole looked like she was about to strangle me earlier…and why Mary Cherry asked that question in bio?"

Brooke could only nod. She didn't trust her voice not to waver when she spoke. Sam's next question was the one she had wanted to ask since she had come in…but at the same time she didn't want to know the answer. She had an idea what it might be though.

"I…uh…when Ms Glass said that …that sometimes there are other…feelings…with these dreams…is that…I mean…do you…with me…I…" Well that was articulate, thought Sam.

She didn't have to rephrase the question because Brooke was nodding her head again.

"Right…right…well maybe you should…kind of…tell me how you feel…and we can go on from there."

Brooke looked up. Sam was asking her to tell her how she felt. Just like Dream-Sam had. She remembered the words clearly. "Tell me how you feel. Give me a chance." A chance. It was the least that Sam deserved. The least that they both deserved. Brooke took a deep breath and stepped into the great unknown.

Part 6

Brooke kept her eyes firmly on the bed as she began to speak.

"I… umm, don't actually know what to say to you. I'm not sure exactly what you've heard but the gist of it is that I've been having dreams…about…you know…with you and they've really been getting to me because since I started having them I keep noticing you and…no, no that's not true…I've been noticing you for a while…and these underlying feelings Ms Glass was talking about…well I've definitely got them…for you…I'm sorry, that probably makes you feel really uncomfortable…and I wasn't going to tell you…I shouldn't have told anyone really…if I hadn't none of this would be happening and I could keep on pretending to hate you...but it is happening and I don't hate you…in fact I'm pretty sure that I…love you…I didn't mean to and I don't want you to hate me…but I had to…"

Brooke looked up at Sam, terrified of what she would see when she did. When their eyes met Brooke was surprised to see that there was no disgust, no hatred. There was only…well she wasn't quite sure what the look in Sam's eyes meant, as she'd never seen it before. Sam cleared her throat and blinked her eyes a few times before replying.

"Don't ever apologise for your feelings Brooke. You should never have to say sorry for the way you feel. And I don't hate you. If I'm totally honest I never have, I…I just…it was easier to hate you than to admit that…God, I'm the journalist, I'm supposed to have a way with words."

Sam laughed and looked at the ceiling. Brooke laughed too, nervously, unsure of exactly what she was laughing at. When Sam looked back at Brooke her eyes were glistening and when she spoke her voice quivered.

"I've imagined this a million times…and I've come up with a million different ways to say what I want to say to you. But none of them really seem appropriate." Sam bit her lip, wishing her throat wasn't so tight. "So, instead of rambling on here and making no sense whatsoever…I think I'll just…"

And without elaborating further, Sam leaned over to Brooke and brought their lips together. The kiss was chaste, almost sisterly, lips pressed gently against each other, neither pushing for more. Sam pulled away, looking to Brooke for a reaction. To say Brooke was shocked was putting it mildly. She sat, a finger tracing her lips, eyes wide and staring at Sam in what Sam hoped was wonder. She started to speak.

"I…of all the things I thought you'd do after I'd said what I just said…that was…actually nowhere on the list."

Brooke laughed, the earlier tension was gone and had been replaced by something entirely new and fresh. Sam joined in the laughter. It felt good that they could laugh together. When the giggling subsided they looked at each other. Brooke reached out tentatively and took Sam's hand. They sat in comfortable silence for a while before either felt the need to speak. It was Brooke who spoke first.

"So…I guess this means…actually I don't know what it means…do you?"

"Nope. And I don't care. Why does it have to mean anything? Why can't it just be what it is? It should be fun finding out what it is, don't you think?" she added, the lop-sided smile that Brooke adored so much adorning her features.

Brooke nodded. Her eyes were drawn to Sam's lips. Their kiss had been short and she had been so stunned by it that she hadn't really been able to take in what was happening. Plus, she hadn't had the chance to find out exactly how talented Sam was with her tongue. She brought up the hand that wasn't in Sam's to touch her cheek softly.

"Can I kiss you?" she whispered, looking deeply into Sam's eyes, willing her to acquiesce.

"You can kiss me any time you want to." Sam replied throatily.

Brooke smiled and brought both hands to cup Sam's face. She kept her eyes locked into Sam's, wanting to remember everything about the first time she kissed her. When their lips touched, Sam's eyes closed. Brooke was riveted by the expression on the other girl's face - complete happiness. And then it happened, Sam's tongue gently traced her lower lip. Despite having dreamed about it, and fantasised about it, on numerous occasions, nothing prepared her for the real feelings associated with kissing Sam. She finally allowed her eyes to close as Sam's tongue entered her mouth, savouring the intimate connection they were sharing. And Sam had every right to be proud of that particular muscle, it was very skilled indeed, sending electric currents through Brooke with every movement. Sam's arms wound themselves around Brooke's body, pulling them closer together as the kiss deepened. Brooke held onto Sam's shoulders, never wanting the sensations to end. They stayed tangled in that embrace until a lack of oxygen forced them reluctantly to part. Brooke buried her face in Sam's shoulder, holding her tightly. Sam tried to get her breathing back to normal as she stroked Brooke's hair. As she did so she realised that Brooke was sobbing.

"Hey…" she said softly. "Hey what's wrong? I'm not that bad a kisser am I?" She pulled away slightly, trying to see Brooke's face. She felt Brooke's sobs mingle with laughter. She sat up and wiped her eyes with her sleeve before kissing Sam's forehead and then her nose, and finally her lips.

"No. Most definitely not. You are a fantastic kisser. It's just…all this…" she gestured to herself and Sam and the room in general. "I can't believe it's happening…I can't believe that I'm here, kissing you…I keep waiting for my alarm to go off, or for your mom to call me down to breakfast…I can't believe that you'd want me."

It was Sam's turn to be surprised. "You're kidding me right? And, by the way, do you think we could not mention my mother again? It feels a bit weird to bring her into this." She paused and shivered. Then she took Brooke's hand and continued, looking earnestly into her eyes. "Brooke, do you even know how wonderful you are? And not just because you're absolutely stunningly gorgeous…if that was the case I wouldn't be here right now…it's because of who you are…you're kind, and sweet, and funny and not how I thought you'd be at all. You're almost the exact opposite of what I thought you'd be."

"Almost the exact opposite?" Brooke asked teasingly.

"Yep, I was right about the vain part."

The words had barely been spoken when Sam's head connected with the pillow Brooke had hurled at her. She retaliated and before long the situation had escalated into a fully-fledged pillow fight. Sam soon realised that she was fighting a losing battle and resorted to sneaky underhand tactics. These consisted of grabbing Brooke and kissing her deeply until she dropped her weapon. Brooke was happy to let herself be conquered by Sam's lips. When they broke apart they remained in each other's arms on Brooke's bed. Brooke's head was on Sam's chest, enjoying the rapid rise and fall of her breathing caused by the exertions of a few minutes previous. Sam stared at the ceiling, running her hand up and down Brooke's arm. A thought occurred to her and she smiled wickedly.

"So…" she began, casually. "I hear that I'm pretty hot in the sack." This comment earned her an elbow to the stomach. "What? I can see that I'm going to have to watch myself around you and your violent tendencies."

Brooke was blushing furiously but valiantly tried to assume a haughty expression as she propped herself up on an elbow to look at Sam.

"If I've got violent tendencies it's only because you bring them out in me." she said. "And I never said you were 'hot in the sack'."

"No? Funny. Mary Cherry said that I was…what was it now? 'A tiger between the sheets'" Sam watched Brooke's colour deepen significantly and laughed.

"Well, whatever…all that means is that you've got a lot to live up to." Brooke said, pleading with her body to remove the blood from her cheeks.

"I'm always up for a challenge." Sam said, she was smiling but her voice carried serious undertones. She was actually worried about the physical side of things. She wasn't the most experienced person in that department. And now Brooke had certain expectations of her. But Brooke was shaking her head.

"I'm kidding. Sam, when we…I mean, if we…"

"I think you were pretty safe with 'when'" Sam put in with a smile.

"OK, when we make love it'll be perfect. You'll be perfect." She leaned down to place a quick kiss on Sam's lips. Sam smiled up at her, toying with a strand of blonde hair. They were in that position when they heard the commotion coming from outside.

"What's that?" Brooke asked in a hushed voice.

"I don't know…but that sounded like Carmen's voice." Sam sat up and strained to hear what was happening.

["Well Lil' Lily, if your shameless hussy of a friend hadn't paraded herself around battin' her big puppy dog eyes in front of poor Brookie we wouldn't be in this mess raght now!"]

"And that was definitely Mary Cherry." Brooke said, trepidation evident in her voice.

["Well it's not Sam that's having lurid fantasies about her step-sister is it?"]

"If only she knew," said Sam. Brooke smiled.

["Listen twinkies, I think you'd better leave this to us now and go home. The neighbours are going to start complaining. They don't like common people around these parts. In fact property prices plummeted as soon as they set eyes on Spam"]

["Why you…!"]

This was followed by a great deal of scuffling and the occasional smack of a blow hitting its intended target. Brooke and Sam looked at each other. Without saying a word they jumped off the bed and ran towards the stairs. They had no idea what they were going to do when they reached the door, but something needed to be done if bloodshed was to be avoided. Of course, when the occupants of the doorstep found out what had just happened between them, bloodshed was still a very real possibility…

Part 7

Brooke and Sam were not quite prepared for the scene that awaited them when they opened the front door. Mary Cherry and Lily were rolling around on the doorstep throttling each other. They had both gone an interesting shade of purple through asphyxiation but neither was willing to submit. Brooke's eyes were drawn away from the wrestling match when a streak flew across the garden. The streak turned out to be Carmen who was being hotly pursued by Nicole. The reason for her haste was the designer stiletto heel Nicole was brandishing menacingly. Brooke shivered at the look on Nicole's face, it reminded her of Hannibal Lecter: very little emotion but you knew something terrifying was lurking behind the stare. Brooke looked at Sam.

"Which one do you want?" she asked, which was a bit like asking her to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea.

"I…uh…well, I think Nicole is more likely to turn on me with that thing than she is you." Sam watched the diminutive blonde's dogged pursuit of Carmen with equal parts fascination and terror.

"Yeah, that's true, now that I got you I don't want someone sticking a Prada heel through your forehead." Brooke said in a low voice, smiling seductively.

"I knew you only liked me for my unblemished looks." Sam joked.

"Well, I was more thinking of the damage one of those things could do to your brain, but if you prefer to think I'm only after your body, feel free."

They smiled warmly at each other and under any other circumstances a kiss would have been inevitable. However, they were very rudely interrupted by the exaggerated choking noises coming from Mary Cherry,

"We'd better…"

"Right…right, we'll continue this later." Sam said.

"You promise?" Brooke asked over her shoulder as she headed out into No-Man's Land, perhaps never to return.

Sam winked in response. She then sighed as she looked down at the struggle taking place at her feet. From the look of it, Lily had the advantage as she was on top. But then, Mary Cherry executed some sort of flip and Lily landed on her back with the Southerner grinning insanely at her from above. Sam took a minute to formulate some sort of strategy and then decided against that, throwing herself on Mary Cherry's back and grabbing her in a head lock.

Meanwhile, Brooke was chasing after Nicole who was still chasing Carmen. It was like something out of one of those old cops and robbers movies where everything happens speeded up. Eventually Brooke gave up the chase, waiting instead for Nicole to pass her and launching herself at her waist, tackling her to the ground. When Carmen realised Nicole had been stopped she wandered cautiously back to where Brooke was sitting on top of her. And for some unknown reason Carmen decided to resort to playground victory tactics.

"Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!"

This was followed by the ritual sticking out of the tongue. It turns out that this was an unwise move as it only succeeded in pouring napalm on the already blazing fire of Nicole's fury. Enraged beyond words, Nicole got her second wind and threw Brooke off. Carmen sensed that perhaps she'd better get off her mark and turned around to run but Nicole was already on her, although thankfully she had lost her expensive weapon in the earlier tackle. Brooke looked up from her vantage point on the ground and sighed as Carmen attempted to run with Nicole hanging from her neck.

Sam was not faring well either. She had managed to get herself in between the warring twosome, however, this had resulted in them throttling her instead of each other. Deciding that self-preservation was called for, Sam wriggled her way free and allowed Mary Cherry and Lily to once again get their hands around each other's throats.

Just when Sam and Brooke were about to give up and start arranging the funerals, a godsend turned up. This came in the unusual form of Josh and Sugar Daddy.

"SD!" Sam shouted. "Over here, quick." She gestured frantically at Mary Cherry and Lily.

"Yo bro, it's a smackdown." Sugar Daddy observed as he hurried towards Sam to lend a hand. Upon his arrival Lily had once again gained the upper hand and was on top. Sugar Daddy merely reached down and grabbed the back of her jacket, lifting her up the way a cat does a kitten. And just like a kitten Lily continued to hiss and scratch all the way up until she was dangling from SD's strong arm. Mary Cherry made a show of hitting and kicking at Lily's body but in reality she was relieved to be away from those ferret teeth. After the initial display of bravado, both girls gave way to the exhaustion caused by getting very little oxygen for a prolonged period of time. SD dropped Lily to the ground. She lay side by side with Mary Cherry, eyes closed, breathing heavily.

Sam clapped SD on the back in thanks. She walked over to where Brooke lay on the lawn and pulled her into a standing position and they both watched Josh get beat up by Nicole. It was entertaining to say the least. Carmen had retreated to a safe distance and was also enjoying the show. Eventually Josh managed to pin Nicole's arms to her sides and lift her up. She continued to kick his shins as he walked towards Brooke and Sam.

"Where do you want her?" he asked, gritting his teeth against the pain in his legs.

"Inside." said Brooke, trying to ignore the look Nicole was giving her. "I think we should all talk."

She looked to Sam for confirmation. Sam nodded in agreement. Josh headed, stiltedly, towards the house. Sugar Daddy picked up Lily and Mary Cherry, throwing them over either shoulder and taking them inside. Carmen cast a knowing look at the way Sam and Brooke were standing just a little too closely together before joining the others in the house.

Sam leaned her forehead against Brooke's cheek and sighed. Brooke wrapped her arms around Sam and pulled her into a comforting embrace.

"Well, I can just tell this is going to be fun." Sam said, sarcasm coating every syllable.

"Yep…but I suppose it's good that we have them all here at once…at least we won't have to go through it again and again."

"I suppose." Sam lifted her head and kissed Brooke softly.

"What was that for?"

"Dutch courage."

"Isn't that alcohol?"

"Well…let's call it 'Brooke Courage' then."

"OK, need any more?"

"Lots, but I don't think we should leave them alone in there for much longer."

"Yeah, you're right…one for the road?"

Sam grinned and complied. They kissed slowly, tenderly, lovingly. When they pulled apart they looked into each other's eyes and resolved silently to be strong for each other during what was bound to be a trial of any relationship, never mind one that was born that very afternoon. Clasping hands they slowly made their way to face their friends.

Part 8

Seating in the living room was something of a problem. Nicole had to be kept as far away from Carmen as possible. She also couldn't be placed anywhere near Sam as was discovered when she tripped Sam up on her way past sending her flying into Sugar who was trying to figure out where to put the two rag dolls over his shoulders. Eventually everybody got settled. Nicole sat in an armchair, arms crossed, lips pursed, eyeing Sam with startling viciousness. Mary Cherry had insisted she needed a whole couch on which to rest her bruised and bitten body. This left the other couch free for SD, Carmen and Josh to sit on with Lily lying along their laps. Only Brooke and Sam remained standing. They felt like they were facing a firing squad. Brooke decided to take charge and get things out in the open before someone, probably Nicole, erupted again.

"OK…I'm pretty sure you're all here for the same reason. You all heard about my…dreams…at school today. Just how everybody found out we won't bother with at the moment" She looked pointedly at Mary Cherry who smiled inanely and continued to examine her (mostly imaginary) battle scars.

"Yeah, because that's way besides the point." Nicole spoke, her voice low with contained anger. "The point is that they were just dreams and they will pass. This really isn't a crisis. Mary Cherry and I came over here as your friends, to help you get through this awful episode and get back to normal. I have no idea why these rejects showed up…probably to help Spam gloat about her part in the downfall of the school's reigning monarch." She shot poisonous looks at Carmen and Lily.

"No, actually Nicole we came to make sure that everybody was alright. After I told Sam we thought that things might get a little…well actually it was mostly Lily who thought it…" Carmen now laughed half-heartedly at the absurdity of it. "…Lily thought that Sam might be murdering Brooke or something."

Sam and Brooke looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Things had indeed turned physical after the little revelation…but it was a different sort of physical. Nicole stood up suddenly and the whole room collectively drew in a breath and held it. She headed for Brooke. Sam moved slightly so that she was standing behind Brooke, shielding herself from the oncoming attack. Brooke put a hand on Sam's thigh surreptitiously to reassure her that she wouldn't let Nicole do anything. Nicole moved in close to Brooke and took hold of her elbow.

"Come on Brookie, let's go somewhere private where we can talk about this. In no time at all you'll be back to yourself, wearing the right shade of nail-polish instead of whatever that hideous stuff is." she added, noticing the deep red colour on Brooke's nails.

"This is Sam's." Brooke stated, she wasn't quite sure why she had to say that, she knew it would only aggravate Nicole further. "And no, we can't go somewhere private. I have someth…no, actually we have something we'd like to say." As she spoke she took Sam's hand into her own and pulled her out from behind her.

Nicole looked aghast. The gesture could only mean one thing. And it spelled the end of her days as the second most popular person at Kennedy High. She backed away from the couple, shaking her head in disbelief. Brooke took a deep breath and continued, forcing herself to go ahead with what she'd planned to say.

"OK you all know that I've been dreaming about Sam. And you all heard Ms Glass talking about dreams sometimes meaning that there are feelings there that haven't been acknowledged. Well, I finally decided to acknowledge the fact that I have feelings, deep feelings for Sam. And, under duress, I told her how I felt. And to my eternal amazement and gratitude…" she now turned to look into Sam's eyes, speaking to her despite the fact that they had an avid audience. "…she feels the same way about me. And we want to try to…I'm not sure what we want to try to do…we only know that we have to give this a chance and see where it takes us." Sam smiled and squeezed Brooke's hand in silent confirmation. Brooke turned back to the assembled crowd, trying not to be put off by the six open-mouthed expressions facing her. "I know this is kind of out of the blue for all of you and we all have to adjust to it, but we thought that it was only fair that we inform you of the situation."

Silence. And not the comfortable silence friends can often find themselves in. This was the kind of silence that everyone was excruciatingly aware of and no-one had the faintest idea how to break. Finally Sam could stand it no longer.

"So…does anybody have any questions or anything?" She cursed herself after asking this. It was the kind of thing teachers asked in class after finishing a lesson. The regret increased when Mary Cherry's hand shot up, negating her weak and feeble act.

"What is it Mary Cherry?" asked Brooke, apprehensively.

"Ah just wanted to say that ah am totally not against relations between people of the same gender…what ah have a problem with is sexual shenanigans between people of completely opposin' social groups…ah mean…does this signal our descent into the proletariat of Kennedy high? Am ah never again to walk down the corridors, faghtin' off admirers and dismissin' freaks with a superior look and a witty put down? Am ah to be reduced to eatin' lunch with lil' Lily, hearin' her squawkin' on about how many cows and other assorted farm animals have died to make the mystery meat in the cafeteria?" Mary Cherry had worked herself up into a frenzy and had to lie back down and fan herself to avoid fainting for the second time that day.

Brooke was about to reply when Nicole broke in.

"She has a point. It's obvious what Spam gets out of this little union. She gets prestige and elevation to somewhere above the gutter where she currently resides. I mean, dating the head cheerleader is always an admirable quality. And by association, her little posse move up a notch." She looked Brooke straight in the eye. "But what I don't get is you. What are you getting out of all this? A little sexual thrill? The excitement of groping while your parents make dinner downstairs? Let me tell you hun, that'll wear off. And when it does where will you be? A social leper. An outcast. Is smooching with Spammy really worth all that?"

"Yes." The word was spoken with absolute certainty. Brooke advanced on Nicole, spurred on by the little speech she'd just been subjected to. "Nicole, if you were any sort of friend you would be there for me. You would be more concerned with my feelings than what my actions meant for your popularity rating. I bet Sam's friends aren't rubbing their hands together right now, thinking how this will improve their social standing. But of course, they're real friends who care about each other. Not like us. We only care about what other people think about us. If people think we're cool and important then everything's OK. If something like this happens, it's the end of the world right? Because people might not approve of my choice. Well let me tell you this Nic, I don't give a damn about what other people think. I'm perfectly happy with what I'm doing and so is Sam and that's what matters. Nothing else. I would like to have the support of my friends in this but from your reaction I can see that I don't have that. Or is it that I don't have friends?" Brooke paused and sighed, emotionally tired. "Nicole, I want us to be friends, I want us to be real friends and I want to give a damn about what you think. But if you truly care more about what this will do to your reputation…then that's it…we're finished."

And with that she turned around and walked back to Sam, throwing an arm around her shoulders in a defiant gesture. The occupants of the room once again found themselves stunned into silence. Nicole looked around her, no-one met her gaze. She felt her throat become tight and her eyes well up. She'd be damned before she'd cry in a room full of people. She cast one last look at Brooke, spun around and marched out of the room. Mary Cherry stood up and started to follow her. At the door she stopped and turned to face the room again.

"Brookie…ah just…what ah mean is…well…ahm glad you're happy is all." And for once the sentiment was genuine. Brooke and Sam smiled at Mary Cherry. She smiled back and then ran after Nicole, who after all, was her ride.

The remaining people in the living room let go of the collective breath they'd been holding since Brooke had launched into her speech. Carmen nudged Lily, telling her to get off their laps so they could stand up. When everyone was upright the six of them exchanged awkward smiles.

"So…uh…I think we should leave you guys alone right now…obviously no-one's killing anyone else and nobody's having a breakdown…except maybe me…and I'm sure you want to do stuff…I mean…talk…not…whatever you thought I meant…" Carmen trailed off before she got herself in even deeper. The other three nodded in agreement. They all needed time to process what they had heard and seen. Discussions could be held at a later date.

"And we think it's…great…that you're…dating or whatever." Lily stumbled over her words, unsure of the correct decorum in such situations. Again the other three nodded in unison. Josh looked a little strange and Brooke resolved to have a private chat with him at some point.

"Thanks you guys," said Sam. "You don't know how much that means to us." She smiled to herself at the automatic use of the word 'us'. This must come naturally when one is part of a couple she thought.

"Totally!" Brooke agreed, joining in with the nodding.

"OK, so, we'll see you later." Josh spoke for the first time.

"Yeah, later."

Lily, Carmen, Sugar Daddy and Josh walked out of the room in single file, leaving Brooke and Sam to stare at each other wordlessly.

"See I told you it'd be fun.," said Sam.

"It was definitely something."

Brooke was a little shocked at the way she had spoken to Nicole, and a little worried about the consequences of her words. Sam sensed that she was troubled and moved to take her into her arms. She held her tightly. Brooke returned the hug almost desperately, needing something to cling to.

"What you said here today…it was…it made me feel so special." Sam whispered into Brooke's ear.

"You are so special, Sam."

Sam gave Brooke a lopsided smile before capturing her lips in a kiss. They allowed themselves to become lost in the wonder of each other. They had a lot to talk about, but it could wait for now. Now was for kissing…lots of kissing.

Part 9

Brooke sighed as she ran her hand through Sam's dark tresses. Sam's head was resting on her lap and they had been staring into each other's eyes for an undetermined amount of time. It was strange, whenever she and Josh had tried these 'romantic' things she had become very bored, very quickly. But she was positive that she would never grow tired of looking at Sam, or kissing Sam, or touching Sam or Sam in general. She smiled at these thoughts and Sam smiled with her though she had not been privy to the origin of the smile.

"What are you thinking about?" Sam asked.

"You." Brooke stated simply.

"Picturing me naked again huh?"

"Busted!" Brooke leaned down and kissed Sam's lips.

When she sat back up they resumed the gazing lovingly at one another.

"Brooke?"

"Hmmm?"

"You know we had that little talk in the Novak…the one when you told me not to rush into my first time?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sticking by that?"

"Why Samantha, are you suggesting that I imparted that advice to you just so you wouldn't sleep with anyone but me?"

"No…is that why you said it?" Sam was curious, but the reason she had asked the question in the first place was because she really, really wanted to rush into her first time…like, right now.

"Sam, I said it because I meant it. I had sex with someone I didn't love and it was…well it wasn't what the magazines tell you it should be like. Like you told me, there has to be a deeper connection there for a relationship to work." She laced her fingers through Sam's. "I already know that what you and I have is on a whole other level to the Josh thing." She paused. "Does it bother you? Me talking like this? I know it's kind of heavy when we've only been going out with each other less than a day but…"

"It doesn't bother me in the slightest. Brooke, I've felt this way about you for a while, and I think you have too…so it's not like neither of us has considered these things." Sam sat up so she was on eye level with Brooke. She dipped her head slightly and looked at Brooke through her dark lashes. "It's not the only thing I've been considering. Brooke, I really want to make love with you…God, I'm so embarrassed saying that…but it's how I feel. I know I'm ready…and it's not just like a 'I want to lose my virginity' thing. It's a 'I really really want to make love with Brooke McQueen' thing."

Brooke brought her hand up to caress Sam's cheek. She moved so that they were as close as possible and rubbed her nose gently against Sam's.

"And I want to make love with you too, believe me. But don't you think we should wait just a little while? I mean, we haven't even been on a date yet…I wouldn't want you getting a reputation for being easy." Brooke felt Sam's lips turn up in a smile against her own.

"No, we couldn't have people thinking you had taken advantage of me." She kissed Brooke lightly on the cheek and sighed. "Of course, it's easier for you…you've had the pleasure of nightly sex sessions in your dreams haven't you?"

"Oh, and you think that's made it easier? Uh uh. It's only added to the frustration babe! I usually get woken up before…" Brooke was unsure of how to finish her sentence.

Sam was grinning. "Oh, so it's like that? Brookie wasn't getting no satisfaction?"

"Exactly." said Brooke, getting a far-away look in her eyes. "Do you know what it was like for me to bump into you in the bathroom or sit across from you at breakfast just after one of those dreams?"

"Oh, I have a fair idea. You think I don't have fantasies?" Sam raised her eyebrows in a challenge. "In fact, I'm thinking you could help me find out if a few of them are workable."

"It will be my pleasure Ms McPherson."

Sam smiled and impulsively pulled Brooke to her for a kiss. The sudden movement caused Brooke to fall on top of Sam. The conversation topic made them both hyper-aware of their position, and yet neither one moved to adjust it. Sam reached up and traced Brooke's lips with her finger, still marvelling at their softness. The need to taste them grew too much and Sam pulled Brooke down to meet her lips in a heated kiss. Brooke felt her earlier resolve slipping as she felt Sam's hand slide up her back, under her shirt. She knew she should stop, slow things down, but she really didn't want to. Brooke's morals and Sam's virginity were saved by the bell. Actually by the phone ringing.

"Ignore it." Sam mumbled against Brooke's mouth.

"No, come on Sam, we said we were going to be sensible and wait. Maybe this is a sign from God." Brooke smirked as she leaned over and picked up the phone, still lying on top of Sam. "Hello?"

["Hey B."]

Brooke was shocked. She hadn't expected to hear that voice on the end of the line for quite some time.

"Nicole, uh, hey." Sam looked at Brooke with raised eyebrows and used gestures to ask if she wanted her to leave. Brooke shook her head. Sam couldn't go anywhere anyway. She was totally pinned under Brooke; not that it was unpleasant in any way.

["So…I wanted to speak to you about earlier…what you said."]

"I meant it Nicole so don't try and change my mind." Brooke was resolute and Sam's heart swelled with pride and love.

["I know you meant it…and it made me think. When you said that we weren't real friends…well that hurt me. I want us to be friends Brookie. I do care about you and I'm willing to show you I do. And if that means accepting Spam as your lesbian life partner or whatever she is then fine."]

Brooke was taken aback and very deeply touched. She knew it had taken a lot for Nicole to say these things.

"Thank you Nic. I mean that. And we are friends, best friends." Her voice was thick with emotion.

["Yeah well, if we have to be unpopular at least we can be unpopular together right?"]

"Right."

["Oh, just one question hun, you don't expect me to be nice to Spam do you? Because I think that'd be a bit much to ask."]

Brooke laughed out loud. "No…no, I can't tell you who to be nice to. Just like I can't tell her not to write condemning editorials about you in the future…" Brooke left this hanging for Nicole to consider. Sam was trying to piece the conversation together from only hearing half of it. From what she could gather Nicole had responded positively and she was glad. For Brooke, not for Nicole.

["Ummm, OK. Well, I'll see you at school."]

"Yeah."

["I should have seen this coming you know. When you chose shop class over home economics, I should have guessed it then."]

"Goodbye Nic." Brooke shook her head.

["Bye Brookie."]

Brooke hung the phone up and looked down at Sam.

"She wants us to try to be 'real' friends."

"Well that's…nice."

"I know you don't like her but…I guess my life wouldn't be the same without her in it."

"None of our lives would be the same if she wasn't in them…and I'm not so sure that would be a bad thing."

"Sam!" Brooke said reproachfully.

"Sorry, kidding."

Just then they heard the sound of the front door closing and a voice floating in from the hallway.

"Sam? Hey are you home? The door was open so I just…" Harrison arrived in the living room and his train of thought jumped the tracks when confronted by the sight of Brooke and Sam lying tangled around each other on the couch. "Hey…guys…"

Sam looked up at Brooke. So much for telling everyone in one fell swoop.

"Hey Harrison."

"I…uh…why are you lying like that?"

"Funny you should ask that Harrison…we actually have something to tell you."

Part 10

Harrison waited patiently while Brooke climbed off Sam and they stood up, straightening out their clothes as they did so. Brooke noticed that Sam was shaking. Naturally she would be concerned about Harrison's reaction to the news - he was her best friend. Brooke wanted to take Sam's hand to offer her support but thought that, under the circumstances it wouldn't be the best idea. Sam cleared her throat, more as a time-waster than out of necessity.

"Uh, Harrison...so how's it going?" Sam smiled and Brooke nudged her. She ignored this.

"Fine, fine. How about you guys?"

"Look, you probably heard some stuff at school today right?"

"No, actually, nothing interesting anyway." Harrison thought back over his day but came up with nothing noteworthy. "Although, I did have the feeling that there was something going on but I figured I would hear about it sooner or later."

"Right, OK, so you have no idea what it was?"

"Nope."

Harrison looked at Sam, confused by her line of questioning. Sam was having palpitations. This made things much more difficult. At least everybody else had an inkling of the subject at hand. How do you turn around and tell your best bud that you are involved with someone he's been in love with his whole life? But she could come up with no answer to this question.

"Uh, look Harrison, there's a big long, convoluted story attached to this thing that we have to tell you but it's sort of irrelevant when you get down to the real point of the story so we should probably just leave out the explanations and just come right out and tell you what it is that people were talking about and the result of those conversations because it's only fair that you know because we just told everybody else and…"

Brooke felt an intervention was required.

"Shut up Sam."

And Sam shut up. Brooke turned to Harrison, knowing from Sam's incoherent babbling that it was up to her to break the news.

"OK Harrison, the thing is that Sam and I are…involved…in a relationship…with each other…in the romantic sense…so what do you think?" She finished nervously, she hadn't planned on being quite so abrupt.

Both Harrison and Sam looked shell-shocked. They stared at each other for a long time. Neither knew quite what to say. Harrison brought a hand up to his head and started smoothing his hair compulsively.

"Harrison…" Sam took a step towards him.

"Wait." Harrison held his hand up and Sam stopped dead. "I...kind of need time to…think about this before I can talk to you." He turned to leave but then paused and turned back. "This isn't me being horrified or anything…it's just…a shock…you know?"

Both girls nodded, oh yeah, they knew all right. He nodded back at them and then walked out of the house. Brooke turned to Sam and smiled encouragingly.

"That went pretty well I think," she said brightly. Sam was still shaking quite visibly so Brooke stepped towards her and put her hands on her shoulders, getting her attention.

"Hey…he said he just needs some time, that's understandable right? Come on, it could have been worse, you could have Nicole as your best friend."

This comment earned a smile. Sam brought an unsteady hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear. Brooke caught the hand and brought it to her lips, kissing it softly before placing it over her heart. Sam watched the actions closely and then looked up into Brooke's eyes.

"Everything will be fine, I promise."

Brooke's words were spoken with such certainty that Sam believed them without question. She moved closer to Brooke and rested her head on her shoulder, feeling a wave of comfort wash over her as Brooke's arms came up to encircle her.

"Yeah, he'll be fine…I mean, I suppose he'll chew me out a bit for stealing the object of his affection, but he's not a bigot or anything, he'll be fine." She spoke to convince herself as much as Brooke.

"Of course he will, how could he risk losing a friend like you?"

Sam lifted her head once more to look Brooke in the face.

"You say the most amazing things…you send shivers right through me when you talk like that."

"Hey, I'm only telling the truth. Harrison's not dumb. He knows that he'll never find anyone else like you. And by the way, as for stealing me away from him…he never stood a chance against you so it's better that he found out now so he can move on."

"There you go again, I'm all tingly," said Sam as she leaned in to place a long, sensuous kiss on Brooke's lips.

"Hmmm, and now I'm all tingly." Brooke laughed and hugged Sam tighter.

"Brooke, how about we go out and get a pizza or something." Sam asked, casually.

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Well, I'm hungry and I thought we deserved a treat after the day we've just been through…" She was suddenly very interested in a strand of Brooke's hair that she had been playing with, "…and, you know…there's always the chance that we might want to come back here and…have dessert."

"Dessert huh?" Brooke pretended to consider the offer. "I guess I could manage a few slices of pizza…not sure I'll have room for dessert though."

Sam looked up quickly and was relieved to see the twinkle in Brooke's eye. She punched her lightly in the shoulder.

"You might change your mind when you see what's on the dessert menu."

"You think there'll be something to tempt me?"

"Oh yeah, something positively mouth-watering."

Brooke grinned. "Someone's got a high opinion of herself." She kissed Sam's nose. "Lucky I've got an even higher one of her." she added in a husky voice. Her face became serious as she continued. "Are you sure you want to do this tonight Sam? Because we have plenty of time, we can wait…"

"I'm sure. I'm very sure. I want to be with you Brooke, and I don't think there's any point in waiting another day or another week…I want to be with you tonight."

The thought of waiting another week filled Brooke with dread. She looked into Sam's eyes, so full of trust and of love, and realised that the amount of time was irrelevant. What mattered was the depth of feeling present. And she knew that she had never had such intense feelings for another person in her life. It was only natural that they should show their feelings in every way possible. And if Sam wanted to do it that night, then that night it would be. Because it was already clear to Brooke that it was going to be very difficult for her ever to refuse Sam anything she wanted. She brought a hand up behind Sam's neck and pulled her in for a kiss. The kiss was her way of telling Sam that they would make love that night. When they parted they shared a look of understanding.

"OK, let's go for pizza." said Sam. "The quicker we go, the quicker we can get back here and…have dessert."

Part 11

"Sooooo, good pizza huh?" Sam asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, yeah…it was great." Brooke replied, smiling nervously at Sam.

They were approaching the house, hand in hand. At dinner they had talked and laughed and played footsie under the table. Everything had been fine and they had lingered longer than they had planned to. As they walked home in the warm evening air they came to the individual realisation that they were nervous about what was to come later…if you'll pardon the expression. Brooke thought back over the various dreams she'd had. It was one thing to be a great dream lover, it was quite another to be one in real life. Sam, meanwhile was trying to remember the movie 'Bound'. Lily had made her watch it one day because she insisted the woman in it was a dead ringer for her. Sam couldn't see it herself. They stopped walking, they had reached the door.

"You wanna come in for a coffee?" Sam asked playfully.

"Coffee? I was promised a mouth-watering dessert," said Brooke, enjoying the flush that came over Sam's face as she heard her brazen words from earlier. "I hope you're not all out of dessert."

Sam put her arms around Brooke's waist and pulled her into a loose embrace.

"Oh no, I saved a special piece, just for you." And she leaned in and kissed her deeply. The nerves seemed to flow out of their bodies as they kissed. It was the reassurance they needed. There really was no need to worry, they knew that they would be safe and loved by the other no matter how inadequate they turned out to be in the bedroom department.

Brooke became aware of a strange noise coming from the door. She realised that it was being opened from the inside. Luckily Sam had noticed this a fraction earlier than Brooke. She abruptly ripped her mouth away from Brooke's and removed her hand from underneath her shirt where it seemed to have gone all on its own. The door opened fully just as Sam was extricating herself from the embrace, smiling warmly at Brooke who stood frozen in place.

"Well, thanks for paying for dinner Brooke, that was really great. Oh hey Mom, I was just thanking Brooke for paying for dinner tonight."

Jane stood in bewilderment. She looked at Brooke who also appeared to be in some kind of daze.

"You were thanking her by hugging her?"

With anyone else this wouldn't be out of the ordinary but when it came to Sam and Brooke, physical contact was more likely to mean a right hook than a hug.

"Yes. Is that wrong? I was showing my gratitude…I'm trying to be a more emotionally accessible person and I thought that hugging might bring me closer to people. So I decided Brooke was to be my test subject."

She looked at Brooke and silently urged her to respond. Although she did look really cute standing there looking all shocked. Brooke eventually snapped out of her stupor and tried to think of something to say.

"I…uh…I don't mind helping Sam to become a better person Jane, God knows she can use all the help she can get." Brooke smiled sweetly at Sam's tight-lipped expression.

"Well, usually I don't like testing things on animals but I figured with the amount of beauty products you use on your body nothing can hurt you."

"Animals?" Brooke inquired through gritted teeth.

"A bitch is an animal right, Mom?"

Sam looked to Jane for confirmation, her expression one of innocent curiosity. Brooke's expression remained neutral but she managed to give Sam's thigh a good pinch. Sam squeaked and bent down to rub her injury. Jane listened to this exchange with a mixture of emotions. She was obviously fed up with the bickering. But she was a little relieved as well, seeing Sam hugging Brooke was…well it was just too strange, this was back to normal and it felt comfortable.

"OK you two, cut it out."

See that was what moms were supposed to say. Jane stepped aside and let the girls enter, giving each other very strange looks. They were heading for the stairs when Jane caught them.

"Uh uh uh! Into the den, you'll never guess what Mike found today when we were clearing out the attic."

But they didn't have to guess as a very naked, nude Brooke loomed into view on the TV screen. OK, so she was three but that didn't make her any less naked. Jane sat on the couch beside Mike while the girls remained standing behind them. Sam guffawed at the sight of Brooke running around the garden with a water gun pretending to be a Charlie's Angel. Brooke was less than amused by the whole thing.

"Daddy! What are you doing? I'm naked!" she whined.

"Oh come on honey, you were just a baby. And anyway, look, you're so cute!" Mike joined in with Sam's laughter as little Brooke fell flat on her face in a sandbox.

"Yeah Brooke," said Sam, wiping away tears of laughter. "You're adorable, no clothes is a good look on you."

Brooke raised her eyebrows and moved in very close to Sam. She spoke in a low voice so only Sam could hear.

"Well you better take a good look because if you don't stop laughing that's the only chance you'll get to see me naked tonight."

Sam was immediately contrite and really, really tried to control her laughter. But when little Brooke, still nude, started barking at the neighbour's dog she couldn't help herself and collapsed, leaning on the back of the sofa for support while her body was racked with laughter. Brooke stood tapping her foot impatiently until the video had finished and the laughing had come to an eventual halt.

"So Jane, do you have any footage of little Sammy? Cuz I believe it's only fair that I see it."

"No, we don't." Sam said, a little too quickly.

"Yes we do Sa…"

"No. We. Don't." Sam said very definitely, giving her mother an unmistakable look that said 'Don't you dare.'

Jane had seen the look before and was impervious to its power. She turned to Brooke with a smile.

"Yes Brooke, we have a couple of tapes of Sam. But my personal favourite is Sam's own special rendition of 'The Sound of Music' in the bathtub when she was five. This would be bad enough but Sam can't hit a note to save her life so it's this squawking, whiny, out of tune…"

"OK OK, we get the picture mom, I can't sing. And we don't have to see it because you described it beautifully there."

"Oh I think I have to see it." said Brooke, gleefully nodding at Jane.

"It's in one of the boxes in the garage. I'll look it out and we can watch it tomorrow."

"Excellent!" said Brooke, looking Sam defiantly in the eye. "I can't wait to see it."

Sam tried to put on a 'whatever' expression, but the colour of her face gave away her embarrassment.

"So what are you girls going to do now? You want to watch the movie we rented with us?" asked Mike.

The girls knew what their answer would be but felt it was only polite to consider the offer.

"What movie is it Dad?"

"Dangerous Liaisons."

"Uh, no thanks, I saw the updated version…a couple of times."

"Yeah, me too, but thanks for asking Mike."

Sam smiled. Mike was a little confused at Sam's warm behaviour towards him but decided just to accept it. Teenage girls were a mystery that was best left alone the majority of the time. Brooke and Sam stood for a minute, neither sure of how to say they were going to go upstairs together.

"So…uh…do you want me to show you that thing?"

"That thing?"

"Yeah, that thing, Lauryn Hill." said Sam, grinning at Brooke's failure to follow her hint.

"Oh, right, sure."

"It's in my room."

Sam's grin had turned sultry and alluring and Brooke was having a hard time trying not to grab her and ravish her right there on the floor.

"OK, let's go then."

Brooke grabbed Sam's hand and pulled her towards the stairs. The parents watched their departure with some confusion. But then they decided to leave well enough alone. They were getting along, best not to ask too many questions. And with that thought they popped in the videocassette and sat back to enjoy big frocks and scary wigs for a couple of hours.

Part 12

Sam leaned against the door to her room after checking that it was securely locked, for the third time. Brooke watched her from her position on the edge of the bed. She held out her hand.

"C'mere. I'm pretty sure it's locked."

Sam walked towards her, taking her hand before sitting on the bed beside her. Brooke wrapped her free arm around Sam's shoulders and drew her into the heat of her body. Sam melted into Brooke, laying her head on her shoulder. They stayed that way for a few minutes, not speaking, just holding each other. Then Sam turned her head slightly and pressed a kiss to the pulse point in Brooke's neck. Sam sat up and took Brooke's face into both of her hands before kissing her fully on the mouth. Brooke looked at Sam's face and knew instinctively that she was ready. Brooke returned the kiss. She turned her body and gently urged Sam backwards onto the bed so that she was lying down with Brooke partially on top of her.

They continued to kiss. Heart rates increased, breathing became quick and erratic. Brooke allowed her hand to gently brush the buttons of Sam's shirt. She looked up to gain Sam's consent. She watched as Sam's eyes darkened until they were almost black with desire. She took this as consent. Slowly and carefully she undid each button before pushing the material back off Sam's shoulders. Sam sat up slightly and shrugged the shirt off. This left only a black silk bra to be dealt with. Brooke leaned down and kissed the swell of Sam's breast. She felt Sam inhale sharply and quickly looked up into her face to make sure she was still OK with everything. The hand that came up behind Brooke's neck, gently pushing her back to her previous position told her all she needed to know. She reached around and unhooked Sam's bra, unveiling her breasts to the cool air. She grazed one of them with her finger and watched in wonder as the nipple contracted under her touch. She leaned in and tasted the nipple.

Sam felt herself slipping, losing control…and for the first time in her life she didn't mind this one little bit. She looked down at Brooke's head working wonders on her body and suddenly felt the need to feel her skin on her. She tugged at the sweater Brooke was wearing. Brooke glanced up and grinned. She moved her arms to allow Sam to slip the sweater off more easily. Sam was thrilled to see that Brooke was not wearing a bra. She pulled Brooke back down on top of her, marvelling at the softness of the skin pressing against her own. She brought up a hand to cup one of Brooke's breasts and watched as the blonde's eyes closed and a moan escaped from her mouth. Sam brought their lips together in a passionate kiss as she continued to knead Brooke's breast.

Brooke's hand travelled down Sam's toned abdomen and came to rest on the waistband of her jeans. She left it there so she could gauge Sam's reaction to this development. The reaction was not quite what she had expected. Sam started to laugh. It began as a giggle but quickly escalated into a full-blown laugh. She buried her face in Brooke's shoulder to muffle the sound but Brooke was hyper aware of the vibrations running through the body beneath her own. She failed to see what was so funny and as Sam continued laughing Brooke became more and more worried. Had she done something wrong? Was Sam laughing at her body? Was she that ugly? She began to sit up, attempting to cover herself with an arm. Sam realised what Brooke was thinking and quickly reached up to stop her retreat.

"What are you laughing at?" Brooke asked, finally.

"It's not you…" Sam really tried to stifle her laughter in order to reassure Brooke that it had nothing to do with her. "God, Brooke, how could you even think I was laughing at your body? You are the single most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life…I mean that most sincerely." She managed to keep her face straight while saying this. To reinforce her sentiment she leaned over and kissed Brooke's nose. Brooke seemed satisfied that her figure had not been the source of Sam's mirth. But she was still curious to find out what it was.

"OK then, what were you laughing at? If you were thinking about me in that stupid video again I'll…" Sam as shaking her head, unable to speak as the laughter once again took over. This time it was infectious and Brooke found herself laughing along. She pulled Sam into a tight hug as they both shook with laughter. Once the hilarity had died down somewhat Brooke found her voice.

"OK, I'm not letting go of you until you tell me why you were laughing." She tightened her arms around Sam.

"Is that supposed to be a bad thing? 'Cause it doesn't really work as a threat…ugh." Sam's breath was taken away as Brooke's deceptively strong arms squeezed her in a bear hug. "OK, OK." she managed to squeak out.

Brooke released her hold on Sam and waited impatiently to hear the response.

"I…well, I was just thinking that if I'd…known this morning that this was gonna happen I'd have…chosen my underwear with more care."

"What? What do you mean? Is it old? Is it all washed out? Oh God, they don't have holes in them do they?"

"No! Ummmm, let's just say…there's a picture on them."

Brooke grinned wickedly and lunged for Sam's crotch. Sam caught her hands and pulled them away shrieking 'No!'. Brooke grappled with her and it soon turned into a game of topless wrestling.

"Come on Sammy, you know I'm gonna see them sooner or later…" Brooke gasped out.

Sam considered this for a minute before deciding that the statement was probably true. She stopped struggling and flopped back on the bed, throwing an arm over her eyes in a dramatic gesture of defeat.

"OK then, but I'm warning you, it's not a pretty sight." she said, still breathless from the wrestling.

Brooke smiled triumphantly and placed a kiss on Sam's forehead before moving down and undoing her button. She had just moved on to the zipper when a sharp knock on the door caused her to spring away from Sam like she'd been scalded. Sam sat bolt upright on the bed, panic-stricken.

"Sam? Honey, Harrison is here to see you, I brought him up."

"Uh, just a second mom!" Sam called, trying desperately not to sound like she'd been involved in a dangerous liaison with her stepsister to be. That same stepsister was slipping her sweater back on. Sam thought she'd better do the same, quickly. She looked around frantically.

"Where is my bra?" she hissed at Brooke.

"How would I know? Look, you're not exactly Dolly Parton, nobody's gonna notice if you don't wear it for one night…just get your shirt back on." Brooke answered in a whisper. "And by the way, don't think this is an opportunity to sneak off to the bathroom and get changed. I'm seeing those panties tonight."

Sam got back into her shirt and took a deep breath before opening the door to find her mother and Harrison staring back at her. Her mother was wearing a curious expression, which was never good.

"Why was the door locked?"

"The door? Locked? I…uh…force of habit I guess. I was just showing something to Brooke and I must have locked it by mistake. Come on in Harrison."

Harrison walked by Sam and took a seat on the bed. Jane just shook her head and went back downstairs to see the rest of the movie. Harrison shifted uncomfortably on the bed. He reached under himself and brought out Sam's elusive bra, the wire had been sticking into him.

"Well, I guess I don't have to ask what it was you were showing Brooke, huh Sammy?"

Both girls looked at the floor, their faces burning.

"Do…uh…should I leave the two of you alone?" Brooke asked, to break the silence more than anything else.

"No." Sam and Harrison both answered at once.

"I wanted to talk to you both."

"Look Harrison, this isn't the best time…" Sam began.

"I realise that now…this'll only take a minute, then I'll leave you to get on with…whatever you were getting on with before I came." Harrison sighed. "Look Sam, I'm not some bigoted idiot. I don't think this is wrong or anything…I'm just a bit PO'd that you let me go on about Brooke for like, my whole life and you never once mentioned that you were interested in her…I thought we were supposed to be friends? Don't friends share stuff like that?"

"Harrison I'm sorry if you think that I've been keeping stuff from you…it took so much for me just to admit to myself that I was interested in Brooke, never mind saying it out loud to other people. Plus I never thought that anything would come of it so I didn't see much point in telling anyone. How was I to know that Brooke was lusting after me this whole time?"

"I'm not mad at you Sam, I just wanted to get that off my chest…who am I going to talk to about Brooke now? I can't exactly talk about her rack to you anymore can I?"

"Not unless you want me to clobber you." Sam said, smiling.

"Uh…hello…Brooke happens to still be in the room here!" Brooke turned to Sam. "You used to discuss my 'rack' with him?"

"It was never a discussion, I just used to listen to him raving about you."

"Anyway, I'm…glad that the two of you got together…I mean…not glad exactly…but what would be the point of three of us being alone and miserable? It's best that it's just me."

He said it jokingly but there was a hint of truth in his statement. Sam approached him and gave him a warm hug. He held her tight to reassure her things between them were OK. When they separated he turned to Brooke with open arms until he was grabbed by the ear and escorted out of the room.

"You think I'm gonna stand and watch while you cop a quick feel?" Sam joked. "I'll see you later Harrison." He nodded. She closed the door.

"Yeah, later." With a heavy heart, Harrison headed down the stairs.

In Sam's bedroom there was an air of relief. Sam went to Brooke and hugged her. Brooke was happy that Sam's friend had accepted her choice…but there were more pressing matters at hand.

"So…about these panties."

Part 13

Sam grinned into Brooke's neck upon hearing the casual enquiry about her underwear. She pulled away from Brooke slightly and looked her in the eye.

"You really wanna see them huh?"

"Well…you've got me intrigued now…I probably wouldn't have even noticed them if you hadn't drawn my attention to them…I'd have been too busy trying to get them off you." Brooke smiled mischievously.

Sam pretended to sigh in resignation. She stepped out of Brooke's arms and gestured towards her pants.

"OK, let's get this over with."

"I hope you're talking about the undressing part and not the whole night." Brooke teased.

"Well, If you're going to be this annoying all night…OK OK, I'm sorry, I'm kidding." Sam said hurriedly as Brooke advanced on her, a very menacing look on her face.

Brooke stopped inches from Sam and kissed her softly before kneeling down in front of her. She slowly undid the top button on Sam's jeans. Then, ever so slowly she pulled down the zipper. Her lack of haste was designed to add to Sam's annoyance. Brooke knew this had succeeded when she received a slap upside her head.

"Hurry up for God's sake, you think I don't want to see your panties tonight too?"

"I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying." said Brooke, looking up at Sam and sticking her tongue out. She kept her eyes locked on Sam's as her hands found the waistband of her jeans. With one smooth tug the jeans were around Sam's ankles. Brooke lowered her eyes to Sam's crotch area. Sam rolled her eyes to the heavens as she watched Brooke cover her mouth with her hand to stifle the giggle.

"Look, my mom bought me these. She said they summed up my personality well, OK? I didn't choose them."

Brooke looked up, highly amused.

"Oscar the Grouch?" she asked, still covering her mouth. "Oscar the Grouch?"

"Yes, OK, are you done?"

"Oh my God!"

Brooke collapsed in a heap on the floor. Sam stood and watched her laugh until she cried, a very unimpressed expression gracing her features. She poked Brooke in the ribs with her toe.

"Uh…are you getting back up any time soon? Cause I can watch ER if there's nothing else to entertain me here."

"I'm up, I'm up." Brooke reached up a hand and was pulled to her feet. She dried her eyes and pulled Sam into a hug.

"They're so cute…I could just stare at you all night in those."

"I plan on doing more than staring."

"Well, so do I…I was just making the point that you are incredibly sexy in your little Sesame Street panties." She was in danger of laughing again but quelled it successfully. "And your mom is right…they do suit your personality."

"And what's that supposed to mean? You think I'm a grouch?"

"Well, let's review, up until very very recently the only time you ever spoke to me was to yell or attack me or insult my friends…I'd say that you're not exactly a little ray of sunshine are you?"

"So I'm what? A rain-cloud?"

"Yeah, but I still love you. You're my little rain-cloud."

Sam had been all ready to get steamed up about this comment but she felt the anger fade away as she looked into Brooke's teasing eyes. She slipped her arms around Brooke's waist.

"OK…but just don't call me that at school, it might harm my rep as a serious journalist."

"You got it."

They kissed. Their smiles faded as the kiss increased in intensity. Simultaneously they reached up to remove the unwelcome outer garments they had put back on when they were so rudely interrupted. Once they were topless they parted in order to look at each other. Sam's eyes drank in the sight of Brooke's pert breasts and the smooth expanse of her stomach. She reached out and gently ran her hands down Brooke's bare sides, eliciting a shiver of excitement from the cheerleader. Her hands stopped at the top of Brooke's pants.

"These have to go." Sam whispered, already unfastening them and sliding them over Brooke's narrow hips.

Brooke was not wearing character panties much to Sam's chagrin. She was wearing deep blue silk panties that were almost as smooth to the touch as Brooke's skin, Sam noted as she ran her hands over Brooke's rear. Sam straightened up but kept her hands on Brooke's buttocks, squeezing the firm cheeks slightly as Brooke started kissing her collar bone. They explored one another's bodies with hands and mouths, thrilling in the reactions that they were causing with their caresses.

Without verbalising it, both realised the need to move to the bed. They did this still tangled in a heated embrace. When the backs of Brooke's legs bumped into the edge of the bed they had no choice but to fall into it. Sam took advantage of her position on top by straddling Brooke's thighs. She pulled at the panties Brooke was still wearing. Brooke lifted her hips slightly and allowed Sam to remove them. Once they were discarded Sam turned her attention back to Brooke. Damn, she had been wrong. Brooke was a natural blonde. She was brought back from this thought by Brooke's teeth lightly nibbling on her finger. Sam adjusted her position so that she was lying down with Brooke. Brooke had finished sucking on her finger. Sam took the moist digit and drew a trail down from Brooke's neck, through the valley of her breasts, over her stomach until she reached her destination.

When Sam entered her Brooke's world became very focussed. There was only one thing in it that made any sense: Sam McPherson. Brooke arched into Sam's hand, trying to deepen the connection that was already overwhelming her senses. Sam watched Brooke's face and saw the myriad of emotions coursing through her own body mirrored on Brooke's fine features. They easily fell into a rhythm and Brooke knew she couldn't hold on for much longer. A warmth emanated from the core of her desire. As it grew hotter she pulled Sam close and held on to her for all she was worth. Then she felt herself falling. An explosion had gone off somewhere that she couldn't quite pinpoint and she was feeling the effects of it all over her body.

Sam watched in awe as Brooke's breath hitched in her throat and her body became rigid for a second before a guttural moan was issued from her mouth. Her body arched into Sam's one last time before she fell back onto the bed, pulling Sam on top of her. Sam could feel Brooke quivering and she gathered her in her arms and held her tight, stroking her back and whispering in her ear.

"Shhhh, I've got you, shhhh."

They remained that way until Brooke regained the ability to speak. She looked into Sam's eyes, still taken aback by the emotions she found there even though she was feeling all of them herself.

"You're amazing." she whispered, reaching out to trace Sam's lips with her finger.

Sam let out a relieved breath when she heard these words. No matter how much it had seemed like Brooke was enjoying herself, Sam couldn't quite shake the feeling that she was blatantly inexperienced in these matters. But Brooke's hushed praise was spoken with such feeling and truth that she relaxed significantly, tension oozing out of her body. She smiled at Brooke.

"I aim to please."

"Mmmm, well you're a damn good aim," said Brooke huskily. She suddenly became sombre. "I'm serious Sam…I have never felt so…so…God I can't even describe it…I don't want to go all Jerry Maguire or anything…but I feel like you make me whole."

Sam's eyes were brimming with tears and her throat was constricted. "I know." She managed to croak out before the tears became too difficult to fight and she gave in to them, sobbing into Brooke's shoulder.

"Hey, that wasn't supposed to make you cry…shhhh." said Brooke, slightly panicked that she'd upset Sam.

Sam brought her head up and Brooke dried her tears and kissed their salty residue from her cheeks. Sam got her sobs under control and rubbed her face before attempting to speak.

"I…it's weird. Nobody's ever said stuff like that to me before…I never thought I'd be the sappy kind who cries at these things. But when you said it…I don't know, it was like you looked right into my heart and read what was written on it…I just wasn't prepared for the way it made me feel." She laid her head on Brooke's chest. "And you're much better looking than Tom Cruise anyway." she added as an afterthought.

Brooke laughed and kissed the top of Sam's head. They lay in a comfortable silence for a while, Brooke running her fingers through Sam's hair while Sam drew circles on Brooke's abs. Brooke finally decided that she needed to return Sam's earlier favour.

"OK McPherson, I've been dying to get you out of those panties all night…I think it's about time you let me."

Sam looked up and grinned.

"Well, how could I refuse such a romantic suggestion."

Brooke rolled over so that she was lying on top of Sam. Sam brought her arms up around Brooke's torso, holding her in place. Brooke leaned down and captured Sam's lips in a slow, tender kiss. She spent time kissing and caressing the whole of Sam's upper body before arriving at the now infamous panties. Looking up she caught Sam's gaze and held it as she took the material into her mouth and removed the panties with her teeth, pulling them all the way down and over Sam's feet which she dropped a quick kiss on before reclaiming her place between Sam's thighs.

Sam's heart was thundering in her chest as she watched Brooke's head disappear between her legs. At the first touch of Brooke's tongue Sam sucked in a shuddering breath. She reached down and gently held the back of Brooke's head. Brooke braced herself by gripping Sam's thighs and continued with her exploration of Sam's most intimate area. Sam's breathing was ragged and her eyes were squeezed tightly shut as she tried desperately to remember every sensation that Brooke was sending through her. She never wanted to forget how it felt the first time. But her brain wasn't exactly functioning properly and she gave herself up to the pleasure. She felt the tension building and building until she was sure she was going to die…surely no one person could feel this good without some kind of punishment. She waited, expecting to greet death any second. The Grim Reaper didn't come…but Sam did, she came hard. Her hips rose up off the bed and she removed her hands from Brooke's head as she grabbed the headboard behind her. She was aware of saying something but she didn't know what it was…the next thing she knew Brooke was up beside her, kissing her deeply. She tasted herself in Brooke's mouth, she tasted sweet. When their lips parted Sam allowed herself to be pulled into Brooke's body where she tried hard to get her heart rate back under control.

When she eventually came down from her euphoric state she looked up to see Brooke staring at her, affection evident on her face. Sam smiled warmly.

"So…I finally see what all the fuss was about."

"Did it live up to the hype?" Brooke asked.

"Oh God, there's no way that any words could possibly do justice to what we just experienced…it surpassed any expectations I might have had."

Brooke's smile told Sam that she too had been nervous about her performance. Sam walked her fingers up Brooke's side playfully.

"You know what I'm thinking?" she asked, conversationally.

"What?"

"That I'm living every boy's dream right here. I'm lying in bed, naked, in post-coital bliss with a gorgeous, blonde-haired, blue-eyed cheerleader."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"You know whose dream I'm living?"

"Whose?"

"Mine." Brooke looked at Sam in all seriousness. "You're my dream Sam."

Sam felt her eyes welling up again. She thought she'd better say something before she started blubbering like an idiot again.

"And you're my dream come true…I love you Brooke."

"I love you Sam."

Their lips met in a sweet kiss. Both girls poured all of their feelings and emotions into that gesture, conveying more than words ever could. They knew that their relationship wasn't the most convenient or straightforward one in the world. They were also aware that there were a couple of major hurdles still left to face - and their names were Mike and Jane. But none of that mattered at that moment. They were together, they were happy, that was enough. The rest of the night was spent in total contentment, living out dreams and fantasies until exhaustion forced the young lovers to drift into dreamland which somehow now seemed to pale in comparison to real life. They slept in each other's arms, smiles on their faces, love in their hearts. And Oscar the Grouch panties dangling from the headboard.

THE END