I tried for this to be the year before Sarah's attacked (so she's 12), Sam is 8, and Andy is about 5 or 6. I know there's a bigger age difference in the show, but if it was any more than that, it would have seemed kinda creepy.

Enjoy!

Squeals of happiness woke up the little girl, blinking against the harsh light of the room. Her dark hair was splayed out on the squishy surface of the nap mat. She sat up and watched the twin boy and girl run to their mother. Hazel and John, she remembered, were their names. They were always the first to be dropped off in the morning and the first to be picked up in the afternoon. This girl, however, was always the first there and the last to be picked up.

Today was no different.

She watched as each of them left with the sparkle of joy in their eyes as they joined their parents. It wasn't long until it was just her, another boy, and the daycare's workers. She had never met the boy before, so today must be his first day. Occasionally, he glanced over at her shyly over his juice box, his long brown hair falling into his eyes. She smiled.

Most of the children didn't pay her much attention, besides her best friend Maybelle. But Maybelle always left a little after Hazel and John, leaving the girl alone for however long it took for her daddy to show up. It was usually a few hours.

"I'm going home now, Denny!" Miss Angela called to the back where Mister Den was cleaning up some toys. "See you tomorrow Andy," she said with a smile, leaned down to give the four year old a hug. Andy hugged her back and watched the nice lady leave. Then she got up and went to say hello to the boy.

She stood next to the table opposite him and smiled very shyly. "My name's Andy, what's yours?" she asked. Her voice was pretty and high-pitched, marred only by a slight lisp.

The boy looked up at her and blinked. She was the first person to want to know his name or to show any attention to him at all. "S-Sam," he stuttered self-consciously to his juice box. She grinned and sat down in the chair across from him. Her feet dangled about five inches off the ground while his just barely touched the floor. He was maybe two, three years older than her?

She watched as he glanced over at a girl who looked to be around twelve, talking with Mister Denny. Then he pulled the nearby Candyland game board in between him and Andy. "I bet I can beat you!" He grinned, shyness wearing off at the thought of having a new friend.

The next day, Andy sat down with Maybelle at their usual table to play. They talked about the new stuffed kitten that Maybelle had brought to the daycare that day.

"I think you should call him Louie," Andy said in admiration, touching the blue silk ribbon around its neck.

Maybelle gave her a skeptical look. "Andy," she whined. "Her name is Olivia Isabelle Elizabeth Meowzersmith, princess of Kittytopia!" The two girls giggled and Andy made her own stuffed cat bow to the princess.

"Princess Olivia Isabelle Elizabeth Meowzersmith of Kittytopia, will you go to the Kitty Ball with me?" Andy's cat asked Maybelle's, complete with exaggerated motions of the stuffed animal and Andy deepening her voice.

Maybelle took on a more elegant tone as she pretended to be Princess Olivia. "Of course I will, Mister Scruffypaws!"

The friends made the cats start dancing to song from the ballroom scene of Beauty and the Beast. Just when they were about to end the song, a plastic alligator broke up the dance and started "biting" at the kittens' heads. Andy and Maybelle looked up in annoyance.

"Sam! Mister Scruffypaws and Princess Olivia Isabelle Elizabeth Meowzersmith didn't get to finish their dance!" Andy scolded, glaring at the boy from yesterday with her hands balled up into tiny fists. He sat down next to her.

His alligator's riot continued. "But Rex felt left out," he said simply, as if it made all the sense in the world.

The day before, Sam and Andy had spent a couple hours playing Candyland and at one point his older sister and Mister Denny had joined them. Either Sam or Andy won each time and they were soon arguing over who had won more times. By the time that Andy's dad had come to pick her up, the two were pretty good friends. She hadn't wanted to leave him by himself though when she did have to go.

Maybelle wrapped her arms around Princess Olivia protectively. "Go play with the others boys." She pointed over in the corner where John and his cronies were rough-housing and getting yelled at by Miss Angela. Sam looked away from them and turned back to Andy. His dark brown eyes pleaded for her to let him stay.

She sighed and glanced at Maybelle. "Come on, May. Mister Scruffypaws and Princess Olivia Isabelle Elizabeth Meowzersmith do need a bodyguard to keep away the evil witch!"

Maybelle giggled and agreed. The three misfits returned to their pretending.

"Hey, Andy! I bet you I can climb all the way across these monkey bars!"

It was recess time and everyone was enjoying the summer warmth. Andy sat in a swing next to Maybelle, their cats taking a nap in the sun on Andy's jacket. They looked up from their conversation to see Sam watching them from his post at the start of the monkey bars. When he was sure he had Andy's attention, he wriggled as if daring her to challenge him.

"I'm sure you can!" she shouted back and shook her head. Since meeting him a few days ago, he wouldn't let her have a single moment to talk or play with Maybelle alone. She knew he was lonely too but it got annoying sometimes.

Maybelle started laughing darkly. "I think someone likes you," she teased in a singsong voice, twisting the chains together and letting them spin her back out.

"Of course he likes me. We're friends. He likes you too," Andy replied as if really that clueless.

Maybelle shook her head and her curly hair bounced around her face furiously. "No, I mean he likes you." Andy rolled her eyes but didn't reply. She watched Sam swing between each bar with a monkey-like ease. He made it to the other side, jumped down, and raced over to the girls.

"Told you I could do it." He grinned, showing off his adorable dimples.

"Told you I knew you could," she retorted in the same tone.

"I bet you couldn't."

"You're right. I couldn't."

"Come on. Live a little!"

"Can I just sit here on my swing?"

He grabbed her arm and dragged her across the playground. She sighed, giving up, climbed up the little ladder, and reached out for the first bar. However, before she could get it in her small hand, her sneaker slipped against the rail she was standing on and suddenly the mulch-laden ground was rushing towards her.

All she could think of was how much it was going to hurt when her nose made impact. She knew she was supposed to put her hands out but was too scared to move. It's like everything was happening in slow motion.

Halfway through her fall, she felt someone grab her out of midair. Her feet touched back down on the ground and she glanced up at her savior.

It was Sam.

He smiled a little bit, fear still evident in his eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Fine. Thanks." He nodded. She looked around, thankful that no one had witnessed what had just happened.

Except Maybelle of course. She just looked relieved and gave the two of them a thumbs-up.

Andy looked back to Sam and grinned. "Last one to the swings is a rotten egg!" she squealed and they took off.