Fallout

Chapter 2

Written by: cheergirlejami

Sami was immediately engulfed in Stefano's embrace, the only man besides her father Roman she had ever been convinced was larger than life. Of course now Stefano was the only one left of the duo. As many times as she tried to tell herself the past few days were just some ghastly hallucination, the stark realization her father was dead was clearly evident as she heard the heartfelt condolences resounding all around her.

Suddenly it was too much to handle, to have all of Stefano's children migrating over to try and comfort her as well. She didn't know how to accept the kindness that was so freely being extolled to her. In fact the feeling of claustrophobia she sometimes experienced was threatening to emerge if she didn't push back away from them.

Automatically her hands went up to create some distance between her and Stefano even as the action made her instantly wince with pain. The burns on her hands were still evident even if the fire had been a few days ago.

The fire that had killed her father, the one she had managed to escape relatively unscathed physically beyond some minor burns on her hands and arms even if the emotional scars would most likely stay with her until her dying day. The guilt she felt in surviving, while her father had not, was exceedingly acute.

"Children, let Samantha have some space," Stefano ordered his brood all of whom seemed more inquisitive now than they had been before Sami had entered the room. "Please return to your seats at the dining room table."

Knowing their father meant business; they reluctantly stepped back away from the girl who had piqued their curiosity in the extreme, especially EJ. It was difficult for him to associate the tomboyish looking child he had seen years before to the young woman she was now. One thing that was the same though was her shyness, beyond her addressing his father, she hadn't spoken another word.

When they had all returned to their seats, Stefano gestured for Sami to take her place at the table with them. She hesitated, but Stefano's patience with her finally won her over enough to sit down in the space between Kristen and Lexie which had her directly across the table from EJ.

Mary promptly brought out another place setting for Sami and then waited by the doorway for Stefano to let her know when to serve their meal. Stefano signaled with his hand for her to begin and with the help of Harold within minutes the table was ladened with food.

Before they began to eat Stefano raised his glass to toast, "To the newest member of our family. Welcome to our home Samantha."

All the siblings brought their glasses to their lips, ready to drink whenever Sami picked up her glass. It took her a few seconds to realize they were waiting upon her to lift her glass in response to Stefano. She picked up her glass to bring it to her lips, only taking a small sip of the sparkling water she had been given to drink with the evening meal.

She heard various voices saying their welcomes to her after she drank the water, some calling her Sami, others calling her by her full name of Samantha. It was difficult to decipher their distinct voices when they all spoke together at once.

The conversation died down a little while they began to eat, but Sami wasn't hungry. She hadn't been hungry for days and it took a great effort on her part to pick up a fork and bring it to her mouth to take a bite of food. She didn't want to seem impolite, but she wasn't used to eating with this many people around. It had just been her and her dad sharing meals with one another over the years and now he was gone.

She felt alone even though in reality she knew she wasn't all by herself. Stefano's family had welcomed her with open arms and it would be the height of rudeness to reject their advanced to bring her into their fold. She just hoped the meal would end soon so that she could escape away from their inquiring glances in her direction.

"Samantha, did Harold take your bags up to your bedroom?"

Sami shook her head no, which caused Stefano to frown slightly. "I will have him take them up there immediately so that you may get settled into your new accommodations. Harold!"

Sami knew she had to speak up before the DiMera servant got into trouble for something he didn't do. She quietly spoke, "I didn't have any bags with me."

"Why not my child? Did your luggage get lost at the airport?"

Sami shook her head again, "Umm, I didn't have anything left to bring beyond the clothes I'm wearing. Everything I owned burned up in the fire."

All eyes turned to her, but she didn't want to be the center of attention within this group. She wished someone would say something, anything to divert the pitying looks she was sure she was getting.

Lexie put out a hand to her being careful not to touch her burns, her voice kind, "We will go shopping tomorrow after school."

"But we have cheer practice tomorrow," Kristen stated before she realized she was being inconsiderate. Stefano cast a disapproving look in her direction and she quickly added, "We can skip it though. Lexie is captain of the squad anyway. Daddy, can we take your American Express black card?"

"I don't need anything," Sami raised her head and stated proudly even if she was embarrassed. She had never taken charity from anyone in her life and she wasn't going to start now. If it hadn't been her father's wishes she would have never come to Salem in the first place. Already she missed California; the weather here was so cold in comparison.

"You will need clothes to wear to school. The cold weather here will require you to have sweaters and coats."

"We can get anything we want," Kristen announced which only warranted another warning look from her father.

"May I be excused?" Sami asked quietly.

"Yes, you've had a long flight and you will need some rest before you start school tomorrow."

"I have some sweats you can wear to school that would look good with your Chuck Taylors," Lexie offered up. "You look more along my size than Kristen's."

Chad spoke his voice still in the stage between breaking in a higher tone while he proudly boasted, "Yeah Kristen, EJ and I are the tall ones in the family."

Sami looked over to the youngest member of the family, he seemed sweet and then her eyes lighted upon EJ. He looked older, way more mature than her even if she knew he was only a mere year ahead of her in age. His eyes locked with hers until Chad tried to divert her attention back to him.

Chad said "If you want you can borrow one of my..." He never finished his sentence though since EJ elbowed him in the ribs which caused his younger brother to stop talking.

"If you need it, you can have one of my t-shirts to sleep in tonight," EJ suggested after he had effectively stopped Chad from offering one of his for Sami to wear. "It would be roomy so you would be more comfortable while you sleep. I'll bring it by your room later."

"Sure, thanks," Sami stood up from the table accepting EJ's offer of providing something for her to wear to sleep in tonight.

EJ smiled at her, but she wasn't much up for smiling. Lexie stood up with Sami and told her she would show her to her bedroom. Before they left the room Sami turned to Stefano. "Thank you for your kindness. I don't know how I will ever repay you."

"There is nothing to repay. You are famiglia, a DiMera by rights since your father was closer than a brother to me. We stand by each other in good times and bad."

"Yes sir," Sami nodded her head once more and then left the room with Lexie by her side.

"Why'd you have to hit me?" Chad asked EJ after the girls had gone.

EJ rolled his eyes, "She couldn't wear any of your clothes. You are way too scrawny."

"I am not," Chad argued, not noticing the look Tony was giving them both. While he wasn't completely sure he sensed EJ wanted an opportunity to speak with Samantha without any of the rest of them around. He hoped he was wrong because if their father had decreed Samantha was now family EJ would have to treat her like a sister because to think of her in any other capacity would be disastrous to their entire family.