Set during season six right after Julian leaves to go back to LA. Julian/Brooke/Sam
"Sam…what are you doing here?" Julian looked shocked to find Sam on his doorstep.
"You invited me, remember?" Sam replied.
Julian had invited her and Brooke to come to LA with him, but Brooke had declined. He'd left alone and heartbroken. For just a second Julian got his hopes up that Brooke had changed her mind, but a survey of his front yard told him that Sam was alone.
"Where's Brooke?" Julian asked.
Sam shrugged. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" She slipped past Julian without waiting for a response.
"Sam, does Brooke know you're here?" Julian asked. He had a strong feeling that Brooke had no idea where her daughter was right now. This was bad. He'd witnessed firsthand how upset Brooke had been last time Sam ran away.
"No," Sam admitted quietly.
Julian reached for his cell phone to call Brooke. He knew she had to be worried sick. Sam grabbed his hand to stop him. "Wait. Just hear me out," she pleaded.
"Sam, I've seen Brooke when she's worried about you and it's not pretty," Julian said.
"Just give me five minutes. Five minutes won't make a difference," Sam said.
Julian sighed. "OK. I'm timing you. Go."
"She's too scared to admit she loves you! She's been so sad since you left. It's so obvious that she wants to be with you. Every time I try to talk to her about it, she uses me as a lame excuse. She says she can't move to LA because of me. It's bullshit! I don't want her to use me as an excuse! I don't want to be the reason she won't let herself be happy. I know she should follow her heart, but she's too stubborn, so I took matters into my own hands. I'm sorry I ran, but don't you see? Now she has to come get me! She has to see you again and face her fears!" Sam explained.
Julian nodded. He couldn't condone what Sam had done because he knew what it would do to Brooke, but he had to admit he was looking forward to a second chance with Brooke. He refused to believe their love story was over. Brooke Davis was it for him. "I don't know whether I should yell at you or thank you."
Sam smirked. "None of the above. I think you should call Brooke. She probably won't answer because she's Brooke and she's too chicken to talk to you. Leave a message and tell her that I'm here and she needs to come get me. Then give her a taste of her own medicine and don't answer when she calls back. That way she can't tell you to send me back. She has to come."
"OK, Cupid," Julian replied. "You might want to wipe that smirk off your face, though. You do know she's going to kill you when she gets here?"
"At least then she can't use me as an excuse not to be with you," Sam said. She wasn't scared of Brooke. She did feel bad for making Brooke worry, but if that was what it took for Brooke to be happy, then it was worth it.
Julian called Brooke, and, just as Sam had predicted, Brooke didn't answer. He left a voicemail assuring her that Sam was OK. Brooke called back within sixty seconds. Julian hesitated.
Sam noticed his hesitation and hit the end call button before he could answer it. "Don't answer! If she tells you to send me back, this will all have been for nothing."
Julian sighed. "She's going to be really pissed off."
"At me. Not you," Sam pointed out.
"I think she's going to be really pissed off at both of us," Julian replied.
"She doesn't have a reason to be mad at you! So what if you didn't answer? She didn't answer when you called," Sam said.
"Since when has Brooke Davis needed a reason to be mad at me?" Julian said sarcastically.
Sam smirked. "I'll protect you."
Julian smiled. "How did you get here?"
"I exchanged the ticket you bought," Sam replied.
"And the airline just sold you a plane ticket even though you're an unaccompanied minor?" Julian asked skeptically.
"I'm fifteen, not five!" Sam cried out.
"OK. OK." Julian held up his hands in defeat. "So you flew to LA. How did you get here?"
"I hitchhiked," Sam said.
"Sam!" Julian scolded.
"Just kidding," Sam said quickly. "I took a cab."
"Did you pay for the cab?" Julian asked.
"Julian, do you really think the cab driver would have left if I didn't pay him? I may not be a rich movie producer, but I'm not broke." Sam smirked.
Julian grinned. "OK, Brooke would kill me if I didn't take care of you, so I guess I need to feed you."
Sam raised her eyebrows. "Feed me? I'm not a dog."
"That's too bad because I think Brooke might be considering investing in a leash for you after this one," Julian shot back. "Come on. What do you want?" He led the way to his car.
"Pizza?" Sam suggested.
Julian laughed. "You're in LA and you want pizza? Have you ever tried sushi?"
Sam made a face. "Uncooked fish?"
"Have you ever tried it?" Julian asked again. Sam shook her head. "Then how do you know you won't like it?"
Sam shrugged.
"We're going to go to this great sushi place and if you don't like it, we can pick up a pizza on the way home," Julian said. Sam's face lit up. "What are you so happy about?"
"Nothing." Sam looked down. "I just liked hearing you call your house home."
"Sam, I meant it when I said I wanted you to come, too. I want to be a family with you and Brooke. I want my house to be our home," Julian said.
Sam looked up and nodded. "I want that, too." She wanted it more than he could imagine. She'd always longed for a family. Brooke had been the first person in Sam's life to feel like family and Julian was the second. Sam didn't want to live on the other side of the country from the guy she'd come to love as a father figure.
Both of their cell phones rang non-stop through dinner. They didn't have to look at their phones to know it was Brooke. They still managed to have a nice dinner. Sam actually liked sushi even though the idea of eating raw fish had always been a turn off.
"Now you're officially a California girl," Julian teased as they got back in the car.
"I don't think so. California girls are blonde and tan," Sam replied. "And I've never even been to the beach."
Julian was trying to decide how to respond to Sam's first comment. He knew she was kidding, but part of him wondered if she would be happy in California or if she'd feel insecure. He didn't really know what to say, so he moved on to her second comment. He actually knew how to fix it. "You've never been to the beach? I'll take you tomorrow."
"Don't you have to work? I don't want to like be in the way," Sam said quickly.
"You're not in the way. I wanted you to come here, remember? Anyway, I'm not letting you out of my sight. If I lose you, Brooke will never forgive me," Julian said.
"How mad do you think she is?" Sam wondered.
"How many missed calls do you have?" Julian said in reply.
Sam smiled and glanced down at her cell phone. "Twenty-six. That's a record."
Julian looked at his phone. "I only have nine missed calls. You win."
"More isn't actually better in this case," Sam said.
Julian and Sam exchanged a glance. They knew they would have to face the wrath of Brooke the next day.
Julian showed Sam around his house. He had a small kitchen with a breakfast bar, a living room with a brown couch and a brown and blue rug, his bedroom, which was sparse and modern, and a guest room.
"This is your room," Julian said as he led the way into the guest room. Sam beamed.
They sat down in the living room. Julian had a huge DVD collection, and he let Sam choose a movie to watch. She spent a good fifteen minutes poring over the selection before she put Breakfast at Tiffany's in and joined Julian on the couch.
"And I thought you would choose a horror movie," Julian commented.
"When you've lived through your own horror story, scary movies aren't that scary," Sam said.
"Your story has a happy ending," Julian said softly.
"My story is still being written," Sam corrected.
"You're only fifteen. You have your whole life ahead of you," Julian said.
Sam made eye contact with Julian. "That's not what I meant and you know it. Tomorrow Brooke decides how our story ends."
Julian nodded. "And it will either be a great love story or a great tragedy for me, but you can have a happy ending either way."
Sam shook her head. "No, I can't. Brooke isn't happy without you and I'm not happy that she's not happy. It's a vicious cycle."
Julian didn't know what to say. He knew Sam was right. Brooke was the only person who could make them all happy. Unfortunately, he knew Brooke needed time to deal with her issues. Sam had forced her hand by running off.
Sam fell asleep halfway through the movie. Julian was struck by her innocence and vulnerability while she slept peacefully. Sam was rarely peaceful when she was awake. He knew her well enough to know she was vulnerable, but she rarely showed that side of herself to anyone. Her innocence had been shattered a long time ago.
Julian covered Sam with a brown throw blanket and went to his bedroom. He called the one person who knew Brooke better than anyone to get some advice.
"So your phone is working?"
"I take it you've heard I'm not answering Brooke's calls?" Julian replied.
"Oh yeah. Do you have a death wish?" Peyton asked.
Julian groaned. "How bad is it?"
"I wouldn't want to be you. Let's recap. Her daughter ran off. She was worried sick. You called and left a message that Sam was with you. She's called a dozen times to check on Sam and you've ignored her calls," Peyton said.
"I didn't know Sam was coming. She just showed up on my doorstep. Before I did anything else, I called Brooke. And she didn't answer when I called either," Julian said defensively.
"I'm not the one you need to explain yourself to," Peyton said.
"I love Brooke. I know she's scared, but from what Sam says, she loves me, too. She's using Sam as an excuse not to be with me. Sam wants all of us to be a family," Julian blurted out.
Peyton sighed. "I know Brooke better than anyone. Bitchtoria majorly screwed that girl up. She doesn't think she's good enough. You can make her happy. I hope she lets you. She booked the first flight out in the morning. She gets in at twelve thirty-five."
