Sam sat on the sofa and watched Brooke play with their baby sister.
The sight was something she'd seen almost every day since Mac had
been born, but it was something she never got tired of watching.
Brooke was the sweetest thing whenever she got near Mac.

"Where's Brookie? Where's Brookie?" Brooke cooed. Little Mac gurgled
and laughed, this was obviously her favorite game. Brooke popped her
head up from behind the towel she'd been holding in front of her
face and beamed. "Here's Brookie!" she exclaimed. Mac cracked up
laughing, the most beautiful sound in the world to Sam, apart from
the sound of Brooke's voice.

"God, I love you," Sam whispered, hoping Brooke wouldn't hear her.

As she watched, Brooke crawled over to her and held the towel in
front of Sam's face. Sam tried to protest.

"It won't work as well with me as it does with you," she tried. "She
likes you better."

"Utter crap," Brooke murmured, before starting in with the "Where's
Sammy?" routine. To Sam's surprise, Mac laughed just as hard, if not
harder. This convinced her to join her sister and Brooke on the
floor and play with them. Sam picked up the baby and whispered in
her ear.

"You know what I think, Mac? I think... Brooke's coming to get us!"
This last part was a quiet squeal, as she began to gently jog away
from Brooke, holding Mac so she was confronted with a view of Brooke
coming after them. The baby was laughing and giggling fit to burst
as they rounded a corner and Brooke tried to charge after them, only
to fall on her ass when her socks slipped on the carpet. Sam stopped
running and started to laugh hysterically, and Brooke joined in.

"You're such a klutz," Sam spluttered. Brooke burst into fresh
giggles at the words, and from the floor reached for Mac. Sam handed
the baby to her, weak from laughing, and sat down beside her.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Sam asked Mac. Brooke smiled.

"She's the most beautiful baby in the world," she agreed. Sam turned
to face the blonde.

"I was talking TO Mac," she admitted. "TO Mac ABOUT you," she
clarified. Then she got up and left the room, her face growing hot.
Brooke tried to put the baby in her playpen so she could follow, but
Mac soon made it clear she wasn't having any of that. As Sam
disappeared, she began to cry, loudly. Brooke was left with no
choice but to follow Sam with the crying baby in her arms.

"Sam?" she tried, knocking on the brunette's bedroom door. "Sam,
come out, Mac's crying because you won't play anymore."

"Low," Sam growled as she popped her head out the door. "Guilt
tripping me with the baby? That's low." But she took Mac from
Brooke's arms anyway, and she had to smile when Mac grabbed a
fistful of her thick brown hair and proceeded to go to sleep on her
shoulder.

"Cute, huh?" she whispered to Brooke.

"She is," Brooke agreed cautiously. The last time she'd agreed with
a comment Sam made, it had backfired.

"She certainly is." Sam finished. Slowly she carried Mac to her crib
and placed her carefully in it, kissing her on the forehead. "Night
baby."

"Sam, we need to talk," Brooke informed her. Sam paled a bit, then
nodded.

"Yes, we do." The pair moved to the living room where they couldn't
wake the baby. Brooke sat on the couch and gestured that Sam should
sit beside her. Sam did so, but twisted so she was facing Brooke.
Brooke followed suit.

"Sam, you can't just say something like that and then just leave."

"Well, I did."

"Do you really think I'm beautiful?" Brooke ventured. "Cos I... I
think... no, I KNOW... you're absolutely stunning, and I'd be lying
if I said I didn't want to kiss you."

Sam's head snapped up. She looked in the blonde's eyes, as if
scanning for sarcasm, and when she didn't find any she took a deep
breath.

"I think a lot of things are beautiful. Watching my baby sister
laugh. A sunrise, a sunset. Scenery, you know? Like really pretty
scenery. My mother when she really gets laughing. I think a lot of
things are beautiful." Sam could see Brooke had no idea where she
was going with this, so she cut to the chase. "You're more beautiful
than any of that."

Brooke drew in a breath and locked eyes with Sam. Sam continued to
speak. "Yes, I've thought about kissing you. Yes, I've thought about
doing more than that, but what's the point? I know you don't feel
that way about me, and I know that's what my fantasies will always
be: fantasies. So yes, I think you're beautiful, incredibly so, but
thinking it isn't going to do me any good. Goodnight, Brooke."

She stood and started to walk away, but Brooke was too fast. The
blonde leapt up from the sofa and grabbed Sam's arm, spinning her
around and pressing her lips against the startled brunettes. She
licked Sam's bottom lip, something she'd seen Sam do herself many a
time. Sam parted her lips and pushed her tongue forward, meeting
with Brooke's halfway. The cheerleader pulled Sam close, very close.
The two were body to body and kissing for all they were worth when
they door opened, and Jane burst in before they could separate. She
dropped her groceries and gaped at her daughters.

"Girls?" she asked, slightly stunned.

"Mom, this isn't what it looks like," Sam stammered.

"So you and Brooke weren't just French kissing in my kitchen." Jane
breathed a sarcastic sigh of relief. Sam and Brooke blushed.

"I guess it is what it looks like then," Brooke admitted.

"How long have you been..." Jane asked, dreading the answer.

"About ten minutes," Sam assured her.

"So it was a one off, right? An experiment?" Jane tried, hoping
against hope...

"No," Brooke cut Sam off before she could reply. "It's not an
experiment. God, I'm in love with her."

Two brunettes gaped at her, before Jane noticed Sam gaping and
deduced Brooke must have not informed Sam of the love factor
yet. "Given time, I'm going to be okay with this," she said, hugging
both of them. "But Brooke? I think you should talk to Sam." She left
the room, holding her head.

"Yeah, Brooke. Talk to me," Sam challenged.

"I love you," Brooke said defiantly. Sam's grin threatened to split
her face.

"I thought you'd never say it," she laughed, grabbing the blonde in
a searing kiss. As they broke apart, Brooke with a dazed look on her
face, Sam laughed. "By the way, if you missed that, it means I love
you too."