Been floating this story idea around. Thought I would publish the first chapter to see if I should keep writing. Full disclosure: I know I usually don't like to say who Naomi ends up with, but I can guarantee it won't be Sam in this fic...just in case you're wondering. :) Please let me know if I should keep writing this one. Thank you to all those who read it! MUAH! XOXO

Chapter One

Dressed in a silk robe, Naomi stood in the center of her walk-in closet, glanced at her massive collection of clothes, and tried to decide what to wear. She needed an outfit that was versatile and comfortable enough to get her through a very long day.

"Naomi, where are you"?

"I'm in here" Naomi yelled back.

Still damp from his recent shower, Jake appeared in the doorway with a towel wrapped about his waist. "So, today is the day, huh" Jake asked.

"Today is the day" Naomi repeated, taking a deep breath.

"Are you going to be okay? Do you need me to come with you"?

Naomi smiled, feeling grateful for how concerned Jake was; but she shook her head. "For the last time, I'll be fine. Please don't worry about me".

Jake walked into the closet and grabbed Naomi by the waist, pulling her up against his chest. "I can't help it. I care about you too much" he whispered, kissing her softly on the lips.

Closing her eyes, Naomi savored the kiss. "Thank you Jake. I care about you too. But I'm fine. I promise".

Jake kissed her cheek. "If you say so"; He kissed the base of her neck. "But regardless of how you feel, I bet I can make you feel better" he boasted. Slowly, Jake untied the sash of Naomi's robe. Underneath the sheath, she was wearing a see-through lacy black bra with the matching thong. He groaned in anticipation.

"Oh no" Naomi said, backing up quickly. "You know I have somewhere to be in less than an hour".

Swiftly closing the space between them, Jake pulled the robe away from Naomi's shoulders until it completely fell away from her body and dropped to the floor. "You know you don't want to go" he said, kissing her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her waist again.

Naomi's body betrayed her by becoming aroused. She could feel her nipples tightening and growing against Jake's taut chest. She could feel herself giving in but comforted herself with the fact that it was impossible to win against Jake. He never fought fair. Still, as he lowered his clever lips to covers hers, Naomi put up some token resistance. "Jake" she moaned, as she met and answered his repeated soft kisses; "You know I can't miss breakfast".

"There will be other breakfasts" Jake countered, grabbing her ass and pressing their lower bodies closer to each other.

Naomi felt Jake's manhood growing harder and stiffer, nesting against her inner thigh. The only two things that kept Jake from penetrating her were his towel and her thong. Naomi gasped as she tightly clutched his strong shoulders. "That's not the point" she said, between kisses. "I'm supposed to be at this breakfast".

"No" Jake commanded as he ripped Naomi's thong away. Kissing Naomi's neck, he reached down and unknotted the towel hanging around his waist. When the rectangle of cloth fell to the ground, he looked deeply into her eyes. "You're supposed to be here with me" he whispered, capturing her lips and kissing her deeply as he slowly entered her.

...

Naomi pulled up to the cemetery with five minutes to spare. Jake had been so successful in distracting her, she'd been late leaving the house. She'd driven like a bat out hell through the streets of Los Angeles to make it on time. However somber it might be, Naomi would have never let herself miss this occasion. Skipping breakfast was one thing, but not being there to say goodbye to Dell would be unacceptable. As Naomi put her car in park and got out, she noticed Sam pulling up right behind her. Naomi slowed her stroll and allowed him to catch up with her. "Wow, I just knew I would be the last one here. And of all people, I can't believe I beat Mr. Punctuality himself" Naomi teased.

Sam blew out a deep breath. "I'm lucky I made it at all. There was a last minute emergency at the hospital this morning".

"Is everything alright"?

"More or less" Sam sighed. "A patient came into the E.R. with an aortic dissection. The on-call doctor was already in surgery so I had to step in until another doctor could relieve me. When I left the O.R., the patient was still alive but it was touch and go".

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that" Naomi sympathized. "I hope the patient pulls through. Regardless, I'm sure you and the other doctor have and are doing everything possible to save their life".

"Thanks Nae" Sam said. He didn't know what it was about his ex-wife, but her words were always so comforting. It was also nice to know that after everything they'd been through, they were still friends; maybe they weren't as close as they used to be – there was a clear and distinct wall that separated them – but Sam still felt like if he truly needed her, he could still lean on Naomi's shoulder. Because of that, he almost hated to ruin the moment. But if he ever wanted a decent night's sleep ever again, he had to. "So..." Sam hedged. "Where were you this morning"?

Naomi immediately rolled her eyes. "She called you, didn't she"?

"Of course she did. So..."

"So, what" Naomi responded coyly. "She's a grown woman Sam. She can ask herself and I'm sure she will. She doesn't need you to fight her battles, especially when one doesn't exist".

"I wasn't trying to imply there was a battle. I guess I'm just checking to make sure everything is okay. The way everything went down this past summer..."

"Is in the past" Naomi answered swiftly, cutting Sam off. She briefly touched him on the shoulder as they neared the crowd gathered by the newly placed headstone. "I've moved on Sam. It's time you two do the same".

"That would be much easier to believe if we could just discuss it. No matter how much you pretend like everything is okay between us, I know you have some hard feelings about the whole situation. The way you reacted at just the thought..."

"Hey guys" Naomi waved to everyone as they approached, effectively ending the conversation. As everyone returned her greeting, Naomi looked down at the headstone that had Dell Parker's name on it. Dell's death was something Naomi still hadn't come to terms with. Lingering pangs of guilt still weighed heavy on her heart. During a point in her life where she had emotionally checked out of her daughter's life, Dell had been there for her. And while everyone was making sure Maya and Olivia would survive the car accident, no one had thought to check on Dell until it was too late. That unintentional neglect of one of her closest friends would always haunt Naomi. But anytime she thought of Dell, she would always remember how much she loved him and how grateful she was that he took care of Maya and her, in many ways, when they needed him.

"Is the gray headstone alright" Pete asked after a moment of silence around the grave. "Maybe the color is too boring but I was going for understated and elegant. I can always order another one, change the color" he suggested.

"No" Naomi whispered, holding back tears. "It's perfect. Dell would have liked it; and he would have loved that we were all here together for the unveiling".

"I can't believe we're here" Charlotte said.

"I know" Violet agreed. "I can't believe Dell is dead. Dell is dead" she repeated.

"How is this possible" Addison wondered aloud. "How can Dell be dead? He had so much to live for".

"How could it be that Maya and Olivia were almost killed by the same drunk driver" Sam asked.

"My brother was shot by a crazy gunman. The world is a crappy place" Amelia said.

"That may be true, but today we should focus on the good. Let's be thankful for the time Dell was in our lives, however short of a time it may have been" Sheldon said

Everyone nodded in agreement as silence fell over them again. "Pete and I are getting married" Violet shouted out of nowhere.

"What" Cooper shouted, completely thrown off guard.

"Yeah" Violet said. "We just decided this morning. "Pete and I were going to wait to make the announcement but I thought at this moment, we all could use a little good news".

"You guys" Naomi exclaimed, walking up to them and hugging them. "Congratulations"! As soon as she squeezed both of them as tight as she could, Naomi got out the way to let the others do the same. Standing off to the side, she couldn't help but smile at them. She was so happy for them. After everything Pete and especially Violet had been through, they deserved their happily ever after.

"Hello Naomi" Addison said nervously, walking up to her friend hesitantly.

Naomi shifted her glance. "Hello Addison. How's it going"?

"I'm fine. How are you? I thought we were supposed to meet for breakfast this morning". Addison held her hands by her side to keep from trembling. She couldn't explain why she felt so intimidated around Naomi these days. Maybe it was because at any second, Addison expected to be slapped across the face. Dating your best friend's ex-husband was no small matter. Addison wasn't sure she would have handled it well had the tables been turned.

"I know. I'm sorry. I had every intention of being there, but something came up at the very last minute". Naomi tucked her tongue in her cheek, trying not to smile at the dirty hidden meaning behind her words.

"Oh, okay" Addison stuttered. "Is everything alright? It's just that you didn't call"...

"Yeah, like I said, it was last minute" Naomi answered. "We'll just reschedule for another day".

"Sure" Addison said. Feeling like Naomi had abruptly ended their conversation, she turned around and began to walk away. But a compulsion deep within made her turn around at the last second. "Naomi, are we okay? Is our friendship going to survive this"?

For the first time in weeks, Naomi felt a deep stabbing in her heart. Remembering to breathe, she forced the pain down and silently reminded herself that being hurt and angry was a waste of time. Stretching her face into an unnatural smile that didn't sit right on her face, she replied "The past is in the past. We're okay ".