It was a pretty bright and early Saturday morning outside when Brooke went into her daughter's room, not surprised at all that all of Sam's blinds were down, making the teenager's room dark.
She shook her head at the sight before her. Sam was still dead asleep to the world. Her whole body was cocooned into her covers and her head barely peeked out. The furry ear of Sam's teddy bear was also peeking through, letting the mother know that her girl had Barry securely fastened in her arms. Some things never change.
Brooke gently shook the sleeping form under the covers as she sat down next to her. A grunt came, and the mother knew she was getting somewhere.
"Sammy, dad and I are heading out." She whispered, knowing that even though her eldest was 16 now, she still didn't let her dad or mom leave the house without a goodbye. "Come on kiddo. Humor me and give me a hug and a kiss."
Samantha gave a heavy sigh and slowly got up, the covers falling off her, revealing her bed hair and the large Southside Autoshop tshirt she wore, which once belonged to Jack. Brooke remembered the times when Sam would only wear her tshirts to bed. Sam outright refused to wear any other sleeping shirt, if it didn't belong to Brooke. Wearing her mother's shirts made the then freshly turned 14 year old feel safe. Brooke felt both sad and overjoyed to realize that Sam had gotten past that. Happy because her daughter had grown emotionally and mentally leagues since then, but sad because that dependency that Sam once clung to was chipping away. Her baby girl was growing up, and she needed to cherish these small moments. Waking her up, tucking her in, cuddling with her. Of course Sam was still just as affectionate, but neither parent could deny that their daughter was more independent. And like any other parent with a child, seeing your son or daughter grow up was a hard thing to do.
The teenager held Barry in one arm, and rubbed her eyes for a few moments with the other, before looking at her mom with droopy eyes, "When are you guys gonna get back?" Her voice still hoarse from sleep.
Brooke smiled at her sleepy child, " We should be back by 10 am tomorrow."
Brooke and Lucas had agreed to have a day for themselves. They loved their children, but intimacy was a hard thing to come by lately, and so they planned to do a bit of a getaway and go to the beach. They rented a hotel room, and would spend some much needed time alone with one another.
Sam nodded through a yawn at her mother's response.
"Peyton's downstairs, so you can keep on sleeping. Dad should be up to say bye."
This made the girl groan, "Why can't I just stay with the twins? I'd be fine with them, you know."
Brooke restrained from rolling her eyes. Sam had been campaigning to stay home alone for the whole week. They had said no the first time, and yet, she still didn't give up.
"I know you can take care of them for a few hours. But this is the whole day."
"So? I can still do it." Came her whine.
"It's two babies, Sam. One of whom is way too rambunctious. I'm making your life easier. And you love hanging out with your aunt Peyton. What's the problem?"
"Okay, well if she's gonna be here then why can't I just go out?" She tried to bargain.
Brooke leveled her daughter with a stern look, "Because you're still grounded. You could've if, you know, you hadn't skipped class and lied to us about it."
Sam frowned and furrowed her eyebrows, "I didn't lie." She weakly tried, "And it's not like I was out doing something bad. We went to go see a glee club performance, mom."
The mother shook her head. Funny, how kids will rationalize their bad decisions and sincerely believe they were not in the wrong. Well, technically Sam knew what she did was wrong, but two weeks for something like this seemed ridiculous.
"Well clearly you haven't learned your lesson, maybe we should try extending your grounding."
Sam's head shot up, "No!" She stopped and took a breath when her mother's eyebrow raised. Dangerous waters.
"I mean, n-no. I get it. I get it. School comes first. And I need to prioritize it especially 'cause it's my junior year."
The mother's eyebrow stay raised, "And?" She prodded.
Sam held in her attitude though she let out a sigh, "And I especially have to prioritize science and not skip the class because I need to get my grade up to at least a B+."
Sam looked at her hands and rolled her eyes. Stupid science. She was a great student usually, but Chemistry was just not her forte, and she hated even the thought of having to focus for an hour and a half on a subject that was all about atoms, chemicals, elements, and junk like that. The girl had thought that her parents didn't really care, but the moment they saw a C on her progress report, they were all over her about it. Sam was not used to them harassing her about her grades. Then again, they never had a reason to be. The teenager was not a fan of it.
Brooke sighed as she looked at Sam's annoyed face, "Peanut?," Her voice soft and kind enough to make Sam crack for a moment.
She looked up at her mom.
"I love you." Brooke told her miffed daughter, "Let's not argue this early? I don't want to leave and be gone knowing that you're upset with me."
Sam blushed and gave her mother a quick nod. She hadn't meant to get so defensive so quickly.
Brooke opened her arms, wanting to cross over to calmer waters, "Alright, well gimme a hug then."
That, Sam could do. She dropped Barry then moved and hugged her mother tightly. Brooke kissed her cheek and patted her back while Sam snuggled into her mom's shoulder. Her safe place.
"I want a goodbye hug too!" Lucas chimed in as he strode through the door. Sam undid her embrace with her mom. She slipped off the bed and outstretched her arms to reach her dad's neck. Lucas easily lifted her up into a hug and squeezed her tight, "Mmmm." He sure did love his kid. "Sammy snuggles. My favorite."
Sam chuckled, "Daaaaad." She groaned.
"Alright. Alright. No mushiness right now. I'll save it for bedtime."
They were pretty lax about when she went to bed usually, but were currently enforcing a 10 pm bedtime during her grounding, to the teenagers never ending chagrin. She wasn't a little kid for God's sake!
"I don't need a bedtime." She groaned.
Lucas chuckled and kissed the side of her head, "Well for now, you have one. So deal with it. Besides you usually conk out ten minutes later. Every time I check up on you you're already asleep."
Sam lifted her head from her dad's chest, "Not true." She pouted.
Lucas bopped her nose, "Very true, champ. Now, stay outta trouble while we're gone. Got it?" He told her in mock sternness.
"I'm always good." Sam grinned with a wink before going back under her covers to sleep a bit more. Brooke laughed at Sam's comment, "Right, and pigs can fly."
"I mean, they must, since I'm telling the truth." Sam sassed back good naturedly. Brooke playfully narrowed her eyes, "Back to sleep, heathen."
Sam eased into her pillows, "Gladly."
Brooke stood up and grabbed onto Lucas's hand. They both looked at her for a bit, stuck in their own thoughts. Luke looking back on all the times he'd put her to bed, wishing he could continue doing so until he was so old he couldn't bend down and kiss her anymore. Brooke thinking about how far Sam had come and how happy she was with where they were now.
"Bye champ. I love you." Lucas told her before they closed her door.
"Love you too." Sam mumbled right as her door closed.
After they'd said goodbye to Sam, Lucas walked downstairs while Brooke fixed up her make up one last time. He found Riley holding herself up by the couch. Peyton changing Carter's diaper on the floor by the little girl.
"Da-da-dada!" Came Riley's squeal when she heard her dad call her name. She leaned in excitedly towards her father.
"Come here Riles." Lucas took her in his arms and she gave her dad a lot of kisses, "Dada, dada, look!" She held out the breakfast cookie that she had been chewing on."
"Oh! Aunt Peyton gave you one of your favorites!"
"Not me. Brooke." Peyton said before blowing a raspberry on Carter's stomach, making the little boy cackle hysterically.
Peyton did it once more, making the boy laugh even harder.
Lucas opened his mouth at Riley, "Can I have some of your cookie, lovey?"
"Mine!" Riley said moving her cookie away. Lucas fake pouted and when the little girl noticed she looked at her dad concerned. "Dada sad?" She certainly didn't like it when her mama and dada weren't happy.
Lucas nodded miserably, "Dada wants some." He opened his mouth again.
Riley looked at him as if in deep thought. She really liked her cookies. They were treats. Her and Carter only got them on occasion. They would normally get mushy food for breakfast with her mommy's milk. But she also loved her dada. He was the greatest, certainly greater than a cookie, right?
Man, this was a hard decision for the baby.
But in the end, the man holding her securely won out over her precious treat. She lifted her cookie up to Luke's lips. "You dada. You."
The father beamed. His child was the sweetest. He took a small bite. "MMMM!"
The baby girl giggled. Her dada was the funniest.
Brooke walked down, "Alright, we gotta go. Where are my babies?" She saw Riley in Luke's arms, "I see one of them!" She said happily and glided towards her. Riley looked at her mom, and grinned as she was handed over. "Bye lovey. GImme a big hug." Lucas squeezed her softly, "I love you Riles."
Brooke then took the young child in her arms, "Hi princess Riley! Hi baby girl."
"Mama, cookie!"
Brooke smiled enthusiastically, "Mmmhhhmmm. That looks like a good cookie."
Lucas made his way over to the boy in Peyton's arms while Brooke said goodbye to Riley, "Go with daddy Carter." Peyton told the boy who happily jumped from Peyton to Lucas.
"Daddy! Daddy!"
The boy had already devoured his cookie, all that was left was the slobbery crumbs around his mouth. Lucas sat down on the couch and grabbed one of the baby towels on the arm rest, wiping the boys face. Carter did his best to squirm away from the annoying towel, but Lucas managed to get all of it off.
"There, nice and clean little man." Lucas frowned as his child smiled happily at him. The father wasn't excited at the prospect of leaving them for the whole day. Not excited to leave his little ones, and not his big girl upstairs.
"I have to go little man, but you take care of your sisters okay?"
Carter didn't understand much of the babble that his dad was saying, but he did understand the word "go." And he did not like it.
He cocked his head and pointed to Lucas's cheek, "Daddy go?"
Carter hugged his father's neck tightly, "Daddy no. No go."
Out of both of the twins he was the one to suffer the most from separation anxiety.
"I know buddy. I know. Daddy and mommy will be back soon. I promise."
The baby was working himself up and began to wail. Riley instantly looked over at his brother from Brooke's arms. She hated when he cried, "Cawt. Cawt." She whimpered her version of her brother's name.
Brooke rubbed her back and walked over, ready to comfort her son. Leaving her children was always the hardest part of getting out of the home.
…. …. ….
It was noon when Sam came down the stairs, her phone in hand of course. She had heard the loud silliness of baby tv from her room, along with her siblings' laughter and babble. They were too cute to ignore, so she decided to go spend time with them.
"Well look who decided to join us little ones." Peyton spoke to Riley and Carter, though she looked at Sam, "Big sister."
Sam smirked at her aunt Peyton, "I decided to join the land of the infants." The girl playfully added.
"Well, we're graced by your presence Ms. Davis-Scott, coming all the way from land of the grumpy teenagers." Her aunt said bouncing Riley in her lap who was waving happily at her sister and babbling.
Sam ignored the jab and sat down on the floor next to Carter. She dropped a kiss on Riley who was trying to get to her, "Stay with aunt Peyton, Riles." Peyton was trying to get some pants on the one and a half year old. She was going to take them to the park which was the twins absolute favorite places.
"You!" The little girl pleaded at her big sister. Her brown hair was adorably placed into pigtails, but her hair wasn't quite long enough yet so they stuck out like palm trees.
"Auntie P. has to change you thing 1." Sam pouted, despite the fact that Riley probably had no idea what she was saying.
Riley started to whimper and squirm some more when her big sister didn't pick her up, but Peyton diverted the girl's attention by handing her, the beloved hippo that Riley loved so much.
"Hippo, riles?"
The baby seemed to be consoled by that as well as the pacifier that Peyton gave her, and finally allowed herself to be changed.
"Thing 2!" Sam yelled playfully at Carter. He crawled on top of her, "Sam! Am!"
"Sam, I am!" The girl responded, chuckling at her brother. He kiss-attacked the squealing boy.
"Can you help me change him Sam?" Peyton asked, "I'm taking them to the park. Would you like to come?"
Sam grabbed onto the pair of pants next to her brother and started to maneuver them onto the squirmy boy, "Well I have no where else to go." She mumbled, "I guess the park with the munchkins will have to do."
The woman chuckled at Sam's dramatics, "I have no sympathy, little miss ditcher."
Sam snapped the button at the top of Carter's pants and picked him up in her arms, "Come on Aunt Peyton, two weeks for that, though? It's ridiculous! Mom was just still mad that I had given her attitude in the morning and decided to punish me for an unfair amount of time."
Peyton rose an eyebrow and stood up with Riley in her arms. Sam followed her with Carter. "So what you're saying is you were already on thin ice?"
Sam could only scoff, realizing she was not going to get any sympathy from her Aunt this time around.
"Your mom told me you were giving them attitude for a while not just that morning."
"Geez. Do you guys talk about everything?" Sam grumbled adjusting Carter on his hip. The little boy was finding her face fun and kept patting it with his hand while Sam tried to move away.
"Grab their bottles and put it in their bag. I'll get the stroller." Peyton directed Sam, not bothering to answer her question. Riley's head laid comfortably on the woman's shoulder. Her pacifier had soothed her, and she was enjoying the view from up top her aunt.
Sam trudged to the fridge, then grabbed the bag. She waited for Peyton by the door. It was a cool day, so the teen was wearing her tattered converse that Brooke never managed to get rid of, skinny jeans, and a loose navy blue sweater.
Peyton came out with the folded stroller, "We can put the twins in the stroller once we're outside."
" 'Kay." Sam answered, "Ready for the park Carter?" She asked him animatedly, tickling his belly. The little boy's eyes lit up. He knew the word park. It meant fun.
His eyes gleamed and he kicked his legs in excitement. "You're an excited little monkey!" Sam blew a rasberry onto the chubby baby's neck, making the boy burst out in laughter. Riley watched her brother from her Aunt's shoulder and smiled. The pacifier fell out of her mouth, but stayed near her shirt because of the pacifier clip.
As they walked down the street towards the park. Both twins in the double stroller Peyton looked to Sam who was continuously texting on her phone. "And yes, we do talk about everything." The aunt said.
Sam looked up from texting Jack, confused by what she had said "Huh?"
Peyton chuckled, "Your question about whether we talk about everything."
"Oh...well, great. Remind me not to tell my parents any of my deepest darkest secrets."
Peyton jabbed her lightly on her side, "I'm pretty sure they know most of them already."
Sam rolled her eyes and stashed her phone in her pocket, "Whatever aunt Peyton."
"But if it's any consolation, they respect your privacy. If there are things that are particularly private they'd never tell me."
"Yeah, I know." Sam said with a shrug, "I trust mom and dad."
"So what was with the attitude you were giving them two weeks ago then?"
The girl groaned and dragged her feet. Why couldn't her aunt just drop it?
"That was so long ago! Why does it matter?"
Peyton eyed the girl. Sam bit her lip and played with the bracelet on her left wrist, "It's old news now anyway."
The woman didn't move her eyes off her until Sam spoke again. "Just a lot going on at school. They're killing us with all that SAT prep stuff on top of our school work. Then when I get home the twins are loud as hell sometimes, relationship stuff, friends." She shrugged, "It just felt like a lot that week."
Peyton slung an arm around Sam, "Growing up is hard, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Peyton wanted to get mushy and tell Sam how absolutely proud she was of her. The girl was thriving and excelling. It pained the aunt to know that in two years time Sam would be off in college. She couldn't imagine how Brooke and Luke felt about it.
"Well then let's just enjoy this time now, where there's no friends, boyfriends, or school work to deal with. You, me, and your thing 1 and thing 2."
Sam shot Peyton a smile, "I mean, when you put it like that."
Her aunt did have a point, and besides there was no use in moping when she had two of the cutest kids in a stroller right by her.
… …. ...
When 10 pm rolled around Sam had said goodnight to her Aunt Peyton and gave her brother and sister multiple kisses. She was going to sleep in her room, but decided that her parent's bed was better. She loved her mom and dad's bed. She always slept better in there. And honestly, she missed her parents. It was just a day, but still. When Peyton went to check on her she momentarily felt her heart leap into her chest when Sam's room was empty, but remembered Lucas mentioning that the girl liked to sleep in their room sometimes. The woman headed down the hall and sure enough Sam was snuggled comfortably into the middle of the bed. The lights were still on. She couldn't understand how the girl could sleep with light, but it did help for snapping a picture and sending it off to Brooke and Lucas. She had already sent them a picture of Riley and Carter all bundled up in their onesies, suckling on their bottles.
The very next day Brooke and Lucas got home and Peyton was already in the kitchen with the two kiddos.
"Look babies, mommy and daddy are here!" Peyton told them. Riley was in Peyton's arms, and Carter was standing and holding onto a chair, playing with toy racecars and his Spiderman atop the seat. The boy propelled himself from the chair on wobbly feet towards his parents.
"MMMAAAMMMAA!" He screamed.
Brooke caught him before he fell and sweeped him up into her arms. Her little risk taker. "Ooooh, my big boy! I missed you so much!" She covered him in kisses all over.
Riley squirmed to get down from her aunt and held onto Peyton's pant leg as she watched her dad make his way towards her, "Dada, dada. Hi dada!" She waved at him. Lucas kneeled down and picked her up. "Hi my precious girl."
He took in the baby powder scent and exhaled happily. "How are you today?"
Riley babbled at him and he smiled placing her head back onto his shoulder, "I missed them so much." He told Peyton who was watching the scene happily.
"Well they missed you too. How was the trip?"
"Well needed." Brooke broke in.
"Trade?" She asked Lucas, wanting to hold her baby girl.
They exchanged holding their children, and Carter was just as excited to be in his father's arms, making Lucas laugh at how different he and Riley could be.
Riley smiled widely at her mother, "Ama, mama." She waved at her just like she had done to her father.
"Hi princess. Mommy missed you baby girl." Brooke whispered into her head.
Riley kissed her mother's cheek and Brooke melted, "Don't ever stop being this sweet." She whispered.
The girl laid on her mother's chest and whimpered, making a suckling motion. Brooke put the pacifier in her mouth. She would breastfeed them in a bit. She wanted to feel that closeness with them, and knew both were eager to do so as well.
"Did they give you trouble?" Brooke asked.
"Not at all. Carter only threw a tantrum when he didn't want to leave the park, but Sam and I got it under control."
Lucas swayed with Carter in his arms, "No up. Dada. No up."
The father complied and set him on the floor, where Carter crawled back to the chair he was playing on and stood himself up to play with his racecars and Spiderman.
"And how was our other baby?" Lucas asked, thinking of Sam, wondering if she was still asleep.
"No tantrums, I hope?" Brooke teased.
"She only moped a little bit about being grounded soooooo unfairly."
Brooke scoffed and Lucas just shook his head, "Well that's not new at all."
"Where is she? Still sleeping?" Brooke asked.
"I heard her get in the shower a few minutes ago. So I'm assuming she'll be down in a bit. I just finished feeding these little devils, and was going to put them down for a nap."
Brooke could see that Riley was already half asleep in her arms. "I'll take Riley up. And come down for Carter."
"Come on princess. It's nap time." She cooed at Riley. Lucas and Peyton caught up a bit while she did so. They determined that the whole gang needed to get together soon. They would enlist Sam and Liz to babysit for Riley and Carter.
Brooke passed by Sam's bedroom and could hear Tamara's voice, presumably through Skype.
Sam's door was cracked and Brooke could see that Sam was standing in front of her full length mirror checking to see what jacket she would wear today while talking with her best friend.
"Sam, you missed out yesterday, Jack legit wiped out on his board on the way to Rachel's birthday party and I died laughing!"
Brooke couldn't help but stand there for a second. She felt a little twinge of guilt for having made Sam miss out on one of her friend's party. But, she didn't feel bad about grounding her. She had ditched three periods for two days straight, after having just gotten into trouble for slacking off in her Chemistry class, and promising her parents that she'd try harder. Chemistry conveniently being one of the classes she missed those days as well. And on top of that she had been in one hec of a mood. The parents knew she was stressed, but her attitude was just not giving. They decided that some time to herself and at home rather than out and about would do her some good. And it had. So, no regrets for the two parents. Deep down, Sam knew this too. She knew that her parents had essentially given her a long time out that, although she'd outright deny, did mellow out her attitude. And time away from the pressures of friends, and extracurriculars, meant more time to relax at home, sleep, and be with family.
Brooke heard Sam sigh, "Damn, that sounds hilarious. How was the party though?"
"It was fun. All the girls were there from Clydesville. Thrice showed up in the beginning. She asked for you."
"Aww, really? I haven't seen her in a while. We should go visit her."
"She made me promise to drag you into her office, if you didn't offer actually."
Sam laughed and Brooke could see her daughter smile as she sat on her desk chair in front of her webcam.
"Rachel drank so much Vodka she threw up."
Brooke felt her heart tighten. 'You're not supposed to be hearing this. You don't know this.' Yet, the mother couldn't help but stay.
'You trust your daughter. She wouldn't do that, Brooke.'
"Whoah, are you serious?" Sam shook her head, "She has alcoholism running in her family. She should be careful."
Brooke smiled. That was her baby girl.
"Yeah, I totally yelled at her after holding her hair. But you know she's 17 now and she'll be out the system in a year. It's scary. And it was just her coping I guess."
Brooke felt Riley whimper in her arms. Her cue to leave. She adjusted the baby in her arms and walked away.
Her daughter was a good kid. But nowadays it was so easy to forget Sam's past, and every time Brooke was reminded of it, whether it be through Tamara, a comment Sam made, a lingering nightmare the girl had, it made the protective mother's stomach coil with guilt and her heart drop with heaviness. Sam was 16, had they never found her what would've been of her sweet and sensitive child?
'Don't think about it.' Her mind scolded her.
The mother patted Riley's diaper and peeked through the back to see if she needed a change, but the baby was clean.
"Mmmmaa-mmmamaaa-mmma" Riley began to cry.
"Shhhh." Brooke rocked her, "I know lovey. You want some milk and a nap." She sat on the rocking chair, lifted her shirt and pulled down her bra. The small child immediately curled in and latched onto her mother's nipple. Brooke exhaled a relaxing breath as she began to rock them both, the sound of her daughter's intermittent breaths and suckling soothed the ever stressed mother.
"My little princess." Brooke whispered as she patted her diaper rhythmically.
Riley's eyes shined a bright green at her mother and Brooke smiled softly back, "I love you."
By 4pm the twins were taking their afternoon nap, and Sam was downstairs playing the piano.
"Knock. Knock." Lucas said, effectively interrupting the girl's playing.
Sam looked over and gave her mom and dad a smile.
"Hey." She said before turning back and writing on the music sheet in front of her. Both parents sat down by her, and this made Sam look up because it meant they wanted to talk.
Sam quirked her brow, "Am I in trouble?"
Lucas looked amused, "Why do you think you're in trouble? Did you do something to deserve to be in trouble?"
Sam looked at them, "Well, it depends on what you know."
Brooke shook her head at their daughter with a smile, "No, you're not, little troublemaker. We just wanted to tell you something."
Sam visibly relaxed and shrugged, "Oh, well what's up?"
Brooke looked to Lucas who gave her an approving nod, "So, I have some pretty exciting news. TIME wants to do a spread on me as being one of their top 30 women under 40. I just got the call a few hours ago from Chelsea, their editor."
Sam's eyes bulged, "Mom that's, that's so awesome!" She jumped from the bench and gave her mom a bear hug, "Congratulations! What do you get? Like money, or something?"
Brooke kissed Sam's cheek as the girl pulled away and sat back down.
"They're gonna want your mom to do an interview Sammy...and they said that Good Morning America wants to do a spot with her, and, all of us."
That caught Sam off guard, "Like, on TV?"
Brooke nodded carefully as she gauged her daughter's apprehension, "I didn't say yes, yet. I wanted to see what you thought. We'd have to go to New York next weekend. All of us, with the twins. But I can easily say no."
Sam looked at her mom and bit her lip, "If, umm, if you don't do the tv thing, will they take the TIME spot away from you?"
"No, no honey. Not at all. Don't think about what'll happen to me. I want you to be comfortable with it, and that's all that matters."
Sam gave a weak smile and looked down to play with her hands. A nervous tick that both parents were keen to.
She wanted her mom to shine. But TV just sounded so nerve wracking. And what kind of question would they ask her? Would they want to ask about her time in foster care? She hated those questions.
"Will they ask me questions about, umm, like stuff I've been through?"
Lucas shook his head, "We get to approve questions. If there's anything you're not comfortable with we can say no."
That eased Sam a bit. She shrugged, "Yeah, well, I'm cool with that. It sounds a little scary, but that's fine."
Brooke leaned in and put a hand on her daughter's knee, "You're sure, peanut? I can say no, and it won't bother me at all."
Sam shook her head, "No mom, don't say no. I promise, I'm sure."
The mother smiled and engulfed her in a hug, giving her a kiss on the forehead, "Okay, well I told them I'd get back to them on Monday, so if you change your mind, tell me. Okay baby?"
Sam nodded, "Okay. Will we get to have time to go to Central Park and do touristy stuff?"
Brooke laughed, "Yeah, kiddo. We'll do that afterwards."
Their daughter's eyes lit up, "Cool!"
The parents sat downstairs for a bit, watching their daughter practice the piano. Brooke was excited at the prospect of having all her family in New York. Their last New York trip was a bit of a debacle, but she hoped that this one would be much calmer. Although, two 1.5 year old twins were not necessarily the ingredients that would make any trip easy.
…. …. ….
The week had gone by and before the family knew it, it was already Wednesday. They'd be leaving for New York after Sam got out of school on Thursday. She was finally off of her grounding and was beyond the moon excited that she was finally able to go see Jack. Their relationship had gradually become more passionate, and both were crazy about one another.
Sam had gotten the text that Jack was outside waiting for her. He had gotten his license recently and both took advantage of the freedom. Although it was freedom on a leash because Brooke and Lucas were still protective as ever.
"Back early, Sam. You still have school tomorrow." Lucas warned, popping out of the kitchen with Carter in his arms. The boy had his spider-man figure hugged tightly to him.
"Bye bye!" He told his sister.
"I know dad. Don't worry. When's mom getting back from work?"
"I always worry." He reminded her. Sam knew this and so didn't try and sass something back or even roll her eyes.
"And mom comes back at 6 today."
"BYE BYE!" Carter said louder after having been ignored the first time. So loud in fact that it made Lucas cringe.
Sam gave her brother a sweet smile, "Bye bye, big boy. I love you!" She looked to her father, "Love you too dad. I'll be back by 8pm, promise!"
He stared at the closed door for a second, imagining Sam jumping into Jack's car and him speeding off as Sam gave him a kiss on the cheek.
The father shook his head to get out of his thoughts, and stared at the little boy in his arms who was biting down on Spiderman's arm. He gently lowered the toy's arm and playfully pointed at Carter, "You and your sister, big boy, are not allowed to have a boyfriend or a girlfriend when you're Sammy's age." He kissed the little boy's furry head and walked back into the kitchen, where his youngest daughter was entranced watching Dora the Explorer in the small kitchen TV.
"I'm so bummed that we can't hang out this weekend." Sam commiserated with Jack. They were in his room, laying in bed. Jack's music was playing on low in the background. Sam was shirtless and Jack was only in boxers. Jeans were not comfortable when he was painfully turned on, so during their makeout sessions he would remove his shorts, and the bulge that poked at Sam as they kissed made her throb in ways she would never have dreamed of a year ago.
They had the house to themselves as Jack's foster mom was at work, and Adelyn was over at a friend's house. Although Jack was going to pick her up before he dropped Sam off at her home.
Jack was holding her tight in his arms, "It's okay. We can hang out next weekend." He kissed her neck lightly and it made Sam tingle all over. She turned to look at him, "I love you." She whispered.
He smiled softly, "I love you too Sam." He looked her up and down and felt so lucky to have such a beautiful girl in his arms. She was small and he loved that he could wrap her up completely. He placed a hand on her stomach and let his fingers graze up to her breasts, which were still covered by her bra. Sam watched him a few times before slowly turning towards him and kissing him.
Jack eventually ended up on top of her as they kissed more and more passionately.
"Mmmm." Sam breathed through their kisses, "God, you're amazing."
Jack chuckled, "Well you're sexy as hell."
Both wanted each other so badly. As they continued to kiss, Sam felt Jack undo the snap of her bra. She felt her mind freeze for a second.
"Is this okay?" He stopped and looked at her. "I can stop, if you don't want me too. We can stick to kissing babe."
Sam shook her head. No, she wanted this just as much. She shook her head, "It's okay. You can take it off."
Even though they'd done this before, Jack just wanted to be sure. He didn't know that the reason Sam hesitated wasn't out of fear, but out of surprise. Surprise that the first thing her mind went to was having sex. Desiring the feel of Jack inside of her. But they couldn't do that. Right?
He was gentle and slid the straps off Sam's shoulders. Sam was by no means blessed when it came to her breasts. She was small chested and hardly had an ass, but the girl was happy that Jack could look at her like she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
Jack watched as Sam's hands went to the button on her jeans.
She slid them off and was momentarily grateful that the panties she was wearing weren't her more childish ones.
Eventually they found themselves with Jack on top of her once more, kissing her neck and her breasts. She pulled him back up in a moment of passion and crashed her lips onto his. She started rubbing herself up against his leg and he moaned as the movement turned him on.
She felt his hand trail its way down her stomach and inside her underwear. Sam did not flinch. She didn't hesitate, or freak out. They had done this before. The girl felt excited. His fingers on her swollen sex were the most wonderful feeling.
"Yes." She breathed out, "Yes."
…. …. ….
Sam opened the door to her house at around 8:30. She had let her parents know that she was going to be a bit late. She was surprised that the house sounded quiet.
'Thing 1 and Thing 2 are probably asleep.' She thought.
But where were her parents? She walked towards outside and saw that both her parents were laying on the hammock that her dad had just put in a few weeks ago. The baby monitor on the table to their side. An increasingly rare moment of alone time together. Luke's arm was around Brooke's and they were mindlessly talking looking up at the darkened sky.
"Hey guys. Sorry I'm late." She announced herself.
Luke looked over and smiled, "It's alright. You let us know."
Brooke sat up a bit on the hammock, "Did you have fun with Jack today?"
'Act normal. Act normal.' Rang Sam's thoughts.
"Yeah, we took Addie to the movies, then we dropped her off at her friends, and went to dinner."
Not totally a lie. Instead of dinner, they did other things.
"Do you still have homework to do?"
Relief. No more questions about her time with Jack. "Just some reading."
"Alright." Luke responded, "Well we won't pester you with more questions then."
Sam bit her lip and looked down at her TOMS, feeling really out of sorts. Luckily, Brooke caught the apprehension, "Is something wrong honey?"
The girl quickly looked up and shook her head. "Umm, no. I was just wondering,if uhh, we could...watch a movie or just tv together before we go to bed?...Please?"
Both parents gave her a welcoming and loving look, "Of course kiddo." Lucas spoke, "Finish up your homework and then we can watch something."
"Did you catch that? Something's wrong." He told Brooke once Sam gave them a thank you and went back inside.
Brooke sighed, "Maybe she's just nervous about the whole New York thing?"
Lucas's face darkened, "Or maybe Jack did something that made her upset."
"You think they fought?"
He scoffed, "Well if they did. It's his fault automatically."
Brooke laughed and gave him a kiss on his lips that made Lucas almost purr, "Mmm. Are you trying to calm me?"
"You're such a dad." She gave him one more kiss, "You know, our little girl can do wrong too."
He shook his head adamantly, "Not when it comes to guys. Sammy is perfect in every way, and no man, or rather little boy deserves her."
Brooke thought aloud, "We'll see if she wants to talk. We should give her some space."
"I hate giving her space when we can just fix things for her." He pouted adorably. Of course he was exaggerating...sort of.
"Okay papa bear. Put down the claws." Brooke said through a small laugh, "We have to let her grow up and explore herself outside of us. Let her set the pace unless we really need to intervene."
"You sound like her therapist."
"Because I actually listen when she talks to us." Brooke teased.
"I listen!" He argued, "It's just sometimes I don't like what she says."
"But has she been wrong?"
Lucas sighed and rolled his eyes, "Not yet."
That made Brooke laugh. Lucas was a tough cookie when it came to Sam. But honestly, they were both having a hard time.
"Fiiinnneee." He groaned, "I'll leave it alone."
Brooke hummed and relaxed against him once more. A few moments later she bent in and nibbled at his ear, "Do I deserve you?"
Lucas grabbed her sides and kissed her chin, "1000 percent, yes. I'm the lucky one in this situation Mrs. Davis-Scott."
"Then prove to me that you deserve me." She purred at him sultrily.
His eyes widened. He giggled and picked her up easily from the hammock, "Off to the bedroom with you Mrs. Davis-Scott!" He said in a knightly voice that cracked Brooke up.
…. …. ….
Sam sat on her bed trying to focus on her reading. Eventually she gave up and pushed the book aside. She had royally fucked up with Jack, and now there was so many emotions running through her.
What her parents didn't know was that she had gotten home late because she took the bus instead of letting Jack drive her. They didn't know that they were both laying naked. Jack had put a condom on and had slowly inserted himself into her. They didn't know that it was in that moment that she freaked out. She pushed him off and told him she was sorry before scrambling to put her clothes on and leaving. Her parents didn't know any of this.
Sam flopped down on her bed angrily. She was embarrassed of her stupid reaction. Why did she have to freeze at exactly that point?! Why did she even freak out in the first place? Was it because of what happened in her past? Was it just because they weren't ready? But it was Jack! Why couldn't she be okay with it, even with him? They loved each other. What the fuck was wrong with her?
Jack kept calling and texting her, but she was avoiding his advances of getting a hold of her. Sam just wanted to feel better. It was a mistake. They should've waited. God, why did they have to get so horny?
All she wanted was for the confusion to go away. She felt unsure, which is why she'd ask to spend time with her parent's before she went to bed. At least in her parent's arms she'd feel safe and secure. Their arms were her stability, and that's what she needed right now.
An hour later she was changed into a wide, comfortable shirt and purple cotton sleeping shorts. Her parents were already downstairs. She fumbled with the "Fairly Odd Parents" DVD in her hands as she walked down. Sam knew it was childish of her, but the girl wanted to stop thinking about everything and, well, feel small for a moment.
"Just one episode." She flashed Brooke and Lucas a smile, holding up the case once she was in the living room.
Brooke hid the motherly sympathy that was pouring through her. They were now sure something was bothering her. She only really watched that nowadays when she was upset.
"We haven't seen Cosmo and Wanda in a while." Lucas replied, "I'm excited."
"We got the remote over here, champ." He added, then got up to grab a drink of water.
Sam headed towards the couch once the DVD was in and immediately molded herself into her mother. Brooke put an arm around her daughter and looked at her with concern. "Are you okay, honey?"
Sam just shrugged before hiding herself in her mom's chest.
"Just a lot on my mind." Her words muffled by her mother's shirt. It was then that the mother saw Sam's phone light up. It was Jack calling. Sam immediately pressed ignore and locked her screen again.
"Sam-"
"It's late. I'll call him tomorrow." She answered too defensively for the mother to just let it go.
Brooke felt her chest tighten. She was right. Her daughter was upset about Jack. What had happened?
'Leave it alone Brooke.' She had to remind herself.
"Well we're here if you want to talk Sammy." She told her daughter before Lucas sat down and kissed their daughter before pressing play on the DVD.
This is where Sam needed to be. Near her parents. Being held and comforted by them. This wasn't confusing. Being their daughter was simple. She was loved unconditionally. There were never any questions or lingering fears and apprehensions when it came to them.
Sam ended up asleep a half hour later. It was hard to stay awake when you were soothed and lulled by the sensation of your mom gently playing with your hair. Her head ended up on her mother's lap and her lower half on her father.
When they were sure she had fallen asleep completely, Lucas decided to take her to bed.
"Maybe we should try and see if she wants to talk to us." Brooke frowned smoothing out Sam's hair and looking down at their sleeping child.
Lucas looked at her and smirked, "What happened to leaving it alone?"
"Yeah, but then she came down and wanted to watch her favorite cartoon. And she was looking so adorable in her pajamas. And she was so cuddly tonight. I just want to make her feel better." Brooke pouted so similarly to the way Lucas had done earlier.
"I know, but she'll come to us if she needs to babe." He slid from under Sam and picked her up in his arms.
Brooke laid her head on the couch in frustration, "You're right. You're right." She wouldn't tell Lucas about Sam avoiding Jack's phone call. At least not until tomorrow. It was too late for Lucas to go into papa bear mode again.
The movement of her dad lifting her up shook Sam from her deep sleep, although she was still more asleep than awake.
"I know I'm right because you're the one that told me that." Lucas said with an amused look on his face, "I'm gonna take her to bed."
Brooke stood up and kissed their daughter's cheek, "Goodnight baby. I love you."
"Night mom." Sam mumbled curling into her dad, making Lucas instinctively tighten her hold on his small daughter.
Lucas walked up the stairs and set Sam softly on her already unmade bed. "Night champ." He brought up the covers and gave her Barry and her blanket.
"Thanks daddy." She told him before allowing herself fall completely back to sleep.
"You're welcome champ."
… … ...
The flight to New York had been relatively calm….for the first half hour, up until the point that Carter got restless. He wanted to climb over the seats and get to his sister who sat behind them. But Sam was fast asleep and both Brooke and Lucas wanted to let her continue sleeping. When his father sternly told him 'no.' the little boy threw an outright tantrum. Sam woke up and took the child, who once held in Sam's arms, instantly ceased crying.
"We're going to spoil him if we give into his tantrums." Lucas told Brooke.
"Well let's focus on that when we're not on an airplane, thousands of feet in the air." Brooke replied, adjusting Riley on her lap. The little girl was entertained as she watched Frozen on Brooke's Ipad.
The family now stood near the New York City airport doors getting ready to go into the car that was waiting for them. Lucas was holding Carter, and Brooke was holding Riley. They had one of Brooke's trusted bodyguards with them as well.
"Alright Mrs. Davis, I mean Davis-Scott now." He smiled at Lucas. "Are ya ready?"
Brooke looked at Sam, "Ready kid?"
Sam gave a nod, and off they went. They managed to get inside of the car just fine, but it was entering into Brooke's old apartment that proved more difficult. It was there that there were paparazzi. They all walked forward as Joe the bodygaurd kept them away. One of them got in between the gate and Lucas, who was now holding Riley. The close up flash startled the little girl and she started to cry. This drove Sam crazy.
"Back off asshole!" She yelled. Lucas turned towards her while trying to console Riley.
"Samantha!" He admonished.
"Hey, I'm just doing my job, Sam." The pap said.
Sam's eyes flashed anger, "Go fuck yourself!"
"Young lady" Lucas growled. Brooke was already up ahead and couldn't hear it. Lucas made a move to grab his angry daughter, but Joe grabbed Sam first, "It's alright. It's alright." He said in a rather commanding way, "Let's talk about it inside." He gently guided them both in, but not before shoving that same man with the camera enough to make him trip and fall onto the floor.
Once in the apartment the parents had to deal with two startled babies. Sam heeded their instructions and helped the doorman bring their stuff in. Lucas had instructed her rather tersely. She knew she'd blown up at the dude, but she had no regrets. He was a jerk.
Of course, she waited until the suitcases got inside so she wouldn't have to deal with all the cameras.
By the last trip she took downstairs for the final suitcase, the crying had died down. Carter was being breastfed and Riley was sucking on her pacifier and hugging her hippo tightly as she was getting her diaper changed on the couch. Both babies had been stripped down to their diapers and socks.
"I got all the suitcases in." She said sitting near Riley and her father, "Hi Thing 1. Did they scare you big girl?"
Riley reached out to her and Sam let the little girl hold onto two of her fingers. Lucas powdered Riley's bottom, laid her chubby legs back down, then pulled up the diaper. He gave the top of Riley's diaper a gentle pat. He then looked up at Sam, and caught as her eyes darted back towards Riley. The father cleared his throat and Sam finally looked up at him with a heavy sigh,
"What?" She quirked her eyebrow.
"You know what." He said too stern for Sam's taste.
"Dad, that jerk scared Riley! Come on!"
"Don't 'come on' me Sam."
San clenched her fists in frustration, "Well he was being an asshole like I said! I'm surprised you didn't freak out."
"You don't think I wanted to bash his head in? Of course I did! But we have to keep our cool."
Brooke looked up from feeding Carter, "Dad's right Sammy. I know you got mad, but it's better to not try and bait them like that. You know this already."
Sam huffed and groaned in frustration, "Why? So your image of the perfect family won't be ruined?"
"Hey!" Lucas immediately chastised, picking Riley up into his arms in the process. His eyes narrowed dangerously, "Watch it Samantha."
But Sam, having been dealing with the aftermath of the drama with Jack, was already a little wound up. She wanted to take it out on someone, and her parent's seemed like the right target.
"I just don't get why I'm the one getting in trouble!" She continued.
Brooke, on the other hand, was determined to keep a level head, "You aren't in trouble Sam. We're just letting you know honey. And yes, it is better to shy from the media but not because I want the image of a perfect family. It's more because I don't want hurtful lies spreading about any of my kids. Got it?"
The girl crossed her arms across her chest, "Crystal."
"Samantha." Brooke said much more sternly now, from her seat on the recliner, "Where's the attitude coming from?"
Sam could see her dad glaring at her from the corner of her eye and the frustration in her mother's voice rising.
'Chill, you idiot.'
"It's nothing. Sorry. I just, it's Riley, you know? She's so little. I get protective."
She also hated to admit it, but the paparazzi still skeeved her out.
Lucas moved closer to Sam and put his arm around her, Riley in the other arm, "Imagine how I feel dealing with three babies."
"Dad, I'm not a baby." Sam whined with an eyeroll.
He kissed the top of her head, "Well not physically, but you're still our baby. You always will be. But ease up on the attitude, 'kay? We just started the trip."
Sam blushed a bit and leaned onto his shoulder with a small nod.
"Why don't you go take a nap Sammy?" Brooke asked noticing Sam's tiredness. Maybe her crankiness was in part due to her being tired as well. "I know Carter didn't let you sleep much on the plane."
"Yeah, I guess." Sam yawned a bit. Okay, so her mom was right. She was a bit tired.
Sam lifted her head from her dad's shoulder, "Can I sleep in your room?" She asked rather coyly.
Brooke nodded, "Of course. You know you always can."
Her mother didn't catch her subtlety. She wanted to take a nap with either one or both of them, and hoped they would've caught on.
"Oh. Umm." She shifted, "Are you guys gonna go upstairs too?"
Lucas hid a smile, knowing now exactly what she wanted, and looked at her daughter softly, "We'll be there in a bit to rest with you kiddo."
A soft blush rose on Sam's face, but she nodded and slowly trailed her way up the stairs of her mom's fancy new york apartment.
They both weren't fools. They knew their daughter hated bright, flashing camera lights, which they were all just hounded by. They knew she was sleepy. And they knew something was bothering her. Comfort is what she was looking for. Of course they would provide it.
It was about thirty minutes later, after Brooke fed Riley that they decided to go upstairs.
"I'm just gonna grab a drink of water first." Brooke told Lucas.
"We'll be waiting anxiously for you." He said with a playful wink.
And after coming back into the living room from the kitchen, Brooke went to pick up her phone on the table where Sam had also left hers. Unfortunately, it was in that moment that Brooke saw Sam's phone light up. Another text from Jack.
"Pick up the damn phone. We need to talk about it!" The text read.
Brooke swallowed hard. Sam was yet to bring anything up since she had come back from Jack's yesterday. She hated to think that her daughter was going through this alone.
'She's not alone. She has friends. Her world does not revolve around you.'
Brooke fought the urge to ask Sam to tell her what's going on. But she would definitely keep a close eye and if Sam started acting out, she'd have to intervene.
Once upstairs her heart both sagged and warmed when she saw Sam on the bed, with Barry close to her chest. But her mind then immediately went to the text message. She had already mentioned the past ignored call to Lucas. She knew the missed text would only make him worry more, but she needed to talk to him. They were partners in this after all.
Lucas looked up, still having not fallen asleep, "There was a little teenager in our bed, and I decided to let her stay. Hope that's okay. " He whispered jokingly.
"She's cute. I'll allow it." Brooke joked back, then set the sleeping Riley down on the other end of the crib from Carter. She bent in and gave them both kisses before pulling the side of the crib up.
She then laid down on the other side of Sam and smiled sadly at her daughter's peaceful face.
"What's wrong?" Lucas asked sleepily.
Brooke didn't want to say it in front of Sam just in case she was awake. "Nothing major. I'll tell you later."
He seemed to understand and snuggled in closer to their daughter, letting his eyes finally close.
The mother couldn't help but stay awake and watch them both. Her daughter curled into a little ball, covered by a throw blanket that Brooke had on the bed.
Lucas had a protective hand on Sam's side, his wide chest breathing in and out. In and out. Brooke was forever grateful for her husband. The man she had the pleasure of raising her three beautiful children with.
It was around ten minutes later that Sam stirred a bit and fluttered her eyes open. She smiled when she saw her mom next to her napping as well. The girl wiggled from her dad and got closer to Brooke. She laid her head near her mom's chest, and closed her eyes again.
The teenager smiled contently when moments later she felt a comforting arm wrapping around her waist. Her mama.
… …. ….
Sam was holding onto Carter and bobbing her knee up and down, making him bounce happily as they were all being prepped for their Good Morning America interview. It was ungodly early, but for some reason Carter was wide awake, meanwhile his counterpart was comfortably asleep in Luke's arms.
Sam was spacing out for the most part, occupying herself with Carter and her phone. She had finally texted Jack back, only to say that she wanted some time to think, and that she loved him. Jack had honored her wishes and refrained from trying to get a hold of her. Now, though, she was looking through the various SnapChat stories of her friends. She decided that now would be a good time to send a Snap of her own. She opened the camera and did a silly face with Carter smiling right next to her.
"Sam!" Brooke hissed making Carter for some unknown reason crack up laughing.
Sam looked up and saw that everyone was staring at her. She put her phone down, "Oh. Oh my bad. What's going on?"
The set assistant smiled politely, "I asked you if you were okay with the questions that you all looked over yesterday."
"Oh yeah. Yeah I'm fine with them." Her mom was still eyeing her dangerously. She swallowed and mouthed a 'sorry' to her mother. Damn SnapChat.
Her dad looked more understanding at least.
"Okay, well, I'll turn it over to the wardrobe and make-up crew." The set assistant responded.
The family was ushered about until finally Sam and Brooke found themselves in a room with Carter, and Lucas was taken to another room with Riley.
Brooke eyed her daughter as her makeup was getting done. Sam looked uncomfortable with all the hands on her. The little boy in Sam's arm was getting fussy. "I think he's hungry mom." She told her.
"Okay. Hand him over, once Stacy finishes up with your face."
It was a few minutes later when Sam could finally move from the chair. The moment Carter saw his mother his eyes teared up, "Mmmaaama, maama!"
Brooke pouted along with him, "I got you big boy. You're hungry, I know."
Sam sat by her mom now and closed her eyes a little while Brooke fed Carter. She was nodding off and Brooke was amused watching her daughter's head bob up and down as she attempted to stay awake.
The girl smiled contentedly, "Why are you giving me that look?" Her eyes closed as she asked.
"You look beautiful peanut." Brooke responded, maternal love exuding in her words.
"I look tired."
Brooke chuckled, "The makeup covered it up, don't you worry."
Sam only hummed and closed her eyes, "You look great too, mom. 50 looks good on you."
"I'm not 50!" Brooke shrieked dramatically. The makeup artist chuckled at the outburst, and Sam laughed loudly. "Oh right. What is it again? 40?" Sam teased.
"You little jerk." Brooke said with an eye roll at the victorious smirk Sam was giving her.
But she also couldn't help but give Sam one last look. Her daughter was a tiny thing, but she was beautiful. 16 years old looked good on her daughter. It was moments like these that made Brooke want to hold onto her daughter tighter, but she knew that she had to let go.
… …. ….
The interview with Good Morning America had gone well. And both Brooke and Lucas were relieved to finally be done with it. Sam was feeling tired, but still wanted to take a walk in Central Park with her family. So that's where the family decided to go.
"Dada tree! Tree!" Yelled Carter, who was on top of Lucas's shoulders, "Tree!"
"Yeah buddy, it is!"
Sam looked up at Carter excitedly jumping up on their dad, then smiled down as she helped Riley walk up the trail. The little girl quietly looking at the world around her, giggling at the leaves that passed by her feet.
A few moments later Sam felt her phone vibrate She picked it up and immediately frowned and stopped walking.
"Go! Go!" Riley urged her wanting to walk some more, but Sam kept looking and scrolling through her phone. She finally pocketed the phone and picked the little girl up, "Baby girl, wanna go with mama?" Sam asked.
"You -Ami! You." Riley wanted to stay with her Sammy. She loved playing with her big sister.
"Go with mommy Riles." Sam handed her over to Brooke without another word. The mother looked at Sam quizzically at the change of her daughter's demeanor. Sam seemed a little bit more serious from her carefree state just moments before. She turned to see if Lucas caught that but the father was busy putting a reluctant Carter into the stroller he had been pushing.
Brooke held Riley and watched Sam closely, "Down, down." The little girl asked her mother, "Bwother."
"You wanna go with Carter baby?" Brooke asked, a bit preoccupied as she eyed her eldest.
"Bwother." Riley repeated. Why wasn't her mommy listening?!
After much squirming from Riley's part, Brooke finally put the little girl in the stroller with Carter and put her hand on the handle, "Lucas?"
"Hmm." He turned to his wife.
She stared at Sam who was a few steps ahead, about to speak up.
"I'm gonna walk a bit ahead. Is it okay if we catch up at the end of the trail?" Sam asked.
Lucas frowned and was going to say that he wanted her to stay but Brooke answered before he could.
"Sure peanut."
The teenager smiled and gave them a nod.
"Brooke." Lucas groaned, "This was supposed to be a quiet time with the whole family. Why'd you let her go?"
"Lucas, did you not see what happened?" She asked exasperated, catching him by surprise.
He could see that Brooke was upset but had no idea why. "No, what happened?"
Brooke scoffed.
"Brooke, what? I'm sorry. I missed it!"
"You didn't see when she checked her phone?" The mother pointed up ahead to where Sam was, "Her entire demeanor just changed from happy to sad! And I'm just trying to make it easier on her, okay? So yes, I let her walk ahead. She's not talking to us, and I don't know what's going on!"
"Whoa, babe. Babe." Lucas stopped and put a hand on her forearm, "Brooke, it'll be okay."
The mother hadn't realized how upset she was about it until then. She wiped her eyes quickly, "She needs to talk for fuck's sake. We can help! But I know that we have to let her breathe and give her that space, but at the same time-" Brooke shook her head in frustration, "UGH!"
Lucas gently walked them both and the stroller to a bench, "Babe, babe tell me what's really bothering you?"
"I want her to talk to us Lucas. I see her all dressed up sometimes now, and she was so poised today and, and beautiful. She's talking about SATs and college, and friends. And now she's not talking to us. She's going through this all by herself, and-"
Lucas put a hand atop hers and looked at her meaningfully, "Are you upset that she's growing up?"
Brooke's eyes met his and she gave him a deep sigh. Lucas had read through her once again. She gave a small nod and collapsed onto the back of the bench. "It's stupid, right?"
Lucas chuckled a bit and fell back next to her, "Babe, I feel that way every day. I cried about it two nights ago."
"I'm just worried about her." Brooke started, "She's been more reserved about her emotions around us, you know? She's been hanging with her friends more, and I know that moving away from us is normal for her age. Hell, it should've been normal when we first got her. I should be happy that she's doing this, but, but I'm not used to it. I don't want to be used to it. And I know that's so selfish of me, so I'm constantly fighting against it."
Lucas nodded and brought her in for a tight hug, "I completely feel the same way Brooke. The exact. Same. way."
Brooke basked in Lucas's comfort. They stayed like that and talked a bit more, deciding to stay on the bench for a while longer.
It was around 45 minutes later that Sam met back up with them. She looked a little downtrodden, but did her best to hide it.
"Everything okay champ?" Lucas asked as they walked back to the car that was waiting for them.
The girl shrugged, "Umm...I'm just tired I guess."
She had received a text from Liz that told her to check Jack's Facebook and when she did she saw tagged pictures of him at a Southside party hanging out with one of the girls that had liked him for a while now, but who he never paid attention to. She had needed to take the walk. Had she messed up that bad?
And, how was she supposed to talk about this to her parents? Her mom, maybe. But she needed to get the courage to actually say it. It was hard to approach this, even with Brooke. She had almost had sex for pete's sake! And now her boyfriend was doing who knows what? They'd go ballistic if they found out, right? The teenager hoped talking to Tamara or Liz would help her, so she resolved to do so that night.
Both parents looked at each other knowingly. Lucas put an arm around her and kissed her forehead, "Something's bothering you and you don't want to tell us." He said.
She looked up, a look of shock and embarrassment crossed her face. Shit, were they going to force her to talk?
"We're here for you, and we just want to help you. You know that, right?"
Sam gave her father a shy smile. He brought her in for a long hug and she gladly accepted it.
Once they broke the hug, Brooke was looking at Sam with concern, but she schooled her features and gave her a wink as she outstretched her arm towards her, "Too old to hold mom's hand?"
Sam shook her head, "Never."
And so they walked. Lucas pushing the stroller with the twins, and Brooke and Sam in a tight hold with one another.
…. … ….
The weekend had come and gone, and both parents were glad that this trip to New York had been much less dramatic than their last one. Thank God. It was now a rare, quiet Monday evening. Carter and Riley weren't in the living room crying, laughing, or babbling. They were upstairs asleep. Sam was also home and currently leaning on her father, watching tv with him. She had gotten home 30 minutes ago and took advantage of the alone time with Lucas.
"Where's mom?" Sam asked her father.
"In her office. She came home early but still had to finish up some work."
She played with her dad's hand quietly. Lucas would squeeze gently and she'd squeeze back. It was something they always did together as they watched tv.
"How was school?" He looked down at her, noticing she wasn't even watching the screen.
She sighed, "Long and boring."
"So descriptive." He gave her a little wink.
"I'm just tired."
"You're always tired nowadays." He spoke teasingly, although still truthfully.
Sam managed a small chuckle, "Yeah, I guess so. I'm alright though. Just friend drama and stuff."
Lucas squeezed her tight, "Anything I can help with?"
"Not really."
"Well if you need me to beat anyone up-"
"Dad!"
"What? I'm just offering my services!"
She rolled her eyes and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before getting off the couch, "Where are you going? The episode's not over yet."
"I wanna go see mom." She gave him the smile that always made him melt before knocking on her mom's door.
The teenager had been going back and forth in her head whether to talk to her mom, but nothing and no one had been able to put her at ease. She knew that the only person that could in this situation was Brooke.
Sam took a deep breath as she stared at her mother's closed door in front of her.
'She's busy. The door is closed.' One part of her told her.
'Do it now! You finally got the courage.'
She listened to the latter and let her fist rap the door twice.
"It's open" She heard Brooke say.
Sam peeked her head through first, "Hi mom." Then stepped in a bit.
Brooke's intense focus broke as she heard her daughter, "Hi peanut. You need something?" She took her daughter in for a moment. Sam's jean jacket framing her lightly. Her favorite black tank top with the faded smiley face in the middle underneath.
"Umm," Sam looked down at her bare toes, then back up, "Are you really busy? I just wanted to talk to you."
Those words were like music to Brooke's ears. Truth is, she was busy. But it didn't matter. Her daughter came first. "Come in Sammy. Of course we can talk."
Sam came in and closed the door. She sat on the couch and Brooke headed over and sat next to her, "What's up kiddo?"
The girl played with her hands a bit, trying to find the words she wanted to say, "I, umm, I think, I think that I messed up."
Brooke could already feel her heart speeding up. "With what?"
Oh damn it. Thought Sam. Here came the tears. Her face felt hot and her vision began to get blurred by the tears. She hadn't cried about any of it yet, but with her mom she really couldn't hold it.
She sniffled and wiped her eyes before turning into her mom's chest and flat out crying.
Brooke was taken aback but she wrapped one arm around her daughter and rubbed her back with the other, "Okay baby, let it out. I'm here." She cooed at Sam softly.
Meanwhile Brooke's mind was on overdrive. She'd let the girl cry, but inside she hoped that Sam would talk soon. Being left with an "I messed up" only conjured up worrisome scenarios for the mother.
After a few minutes Sam looked up and was met with her mother's soft look. The mother grabbed tissues that were near the couch in her office on a table and cleaned Sam's face up. The girl let her. This part always soothed the 16 year old. "Ready to talk about it?" The mother asked softly.
Sam nodded slowly, "I'm scared of your reaction if I tell you."
"Sweetheart, I care about you above all. I'll probably be relieved that you told me more than anything else." She pushed some of Sam's hair back, "Don't be scared Sammy. Please talk to me."
Sam thought she heard a sort of sadness in her mom's voice. She ignored it though and focused on Brooke's words. "Mom, I, um, Jack and I, we-we had s-sex. Almost. I think. I don't know!"
She quickly looked away and wrung her hands together, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry! It was stupid, I know!" She felt her eyes tear up and she wiped at them not daring look at her mom. And Brooke was glad Sam didn't look at her because she was stunned. She wanted to do many things, but only did one. She lifted Sam's chin and forced Sam to look at her. Brooke was surprised by the level of calmness that came through her words regardless of the fact that she was freaking out inside, "Were you two safe?"
"Y-yeah. He wore a condom."
Relief. Well, somewhat. Brooke still wanted to shake her daughter and ask if she was insane. If she realized that she wasn't allowed to have sex until marriage. Scratch that last one. It was the Lucas in her coming out. But she was still upset. Imagining her daughter in such a vulnerable position. Imagining her naked with anyone except with her, being her mother and all, made Brooke's skin crawl.
Don't kill her. Don't kill her. She needs you right now. Be open-minded. Be understanding...Plus, you can kill Jack later. Her internal monologue was all over the place.
"Samantha, I love you, and while I think we have a lot to talk about, I don't want you to apologize to me right now. We will deal with that later. You, however, will finish talking to me about what has you so upset."
Sam thought her mother sounded no nonsense and it unnerved her. The teenager sniffled through her tears and nodded. Brooke brought the tissue up once more and wiped her daughter's nose before handing Sam a new tissue, which the girl proceeded to ball up into her fist.
She hated having to look at her mom as she talked about this so she preferred to stare at the tissue in her hands, "I freaked out mom. He was, umm, he went you know in, inside me." A hot blush rose to her cheeks. This was so embarrassing.
Brooke took a deep breath. Here Sam was barely able to describe the experience. Why the hell did she even think she could actually experience sex?!
"And the moment that he you know did that, I, I pushed him off me and just ran out. Mom I freaked out. I panicked and didn't want him to do it so I just ran out."
She finally looked up and her mother who had an almost blank expression on her face.
"M-mom?" Oh no…
Brooke blinked a bit, "You weren't ready."
Sam nodded sadly and was about to fall into her mom but Brooke held her back. Sam gave her a soft pout and her wide eyes.
"We have to finish talking about this sweetheart." She explained.
"I know." Sam responded sadly. She had to remind herself that she wanted this. She wanted to talk to her mom.
"Have you thought about what made you panic?"
The mother wondered if what had happened to her with Mike was affecting her now.
"I don't know! I love Jack and I wanted to be able to have that with him but I freaked out. And I've been avoiding him because I don't know how I feel!"
"Sam, look at me, please."
The girl wiped her nose with the tissue and looked up at her mom sadly, "You have to talk to him Samantha and work this out. That's how relationships work, honey."
"I did try!" She exclaimed, "I told him that I needed space first, but then I called him on Saturday and he didn't pick up."
"Have you tried since then?"
Sam shook her head, "That day at the park, that's when I tried calling him. I saw pictures of him on facebook with some other girl. The girl that's liked him for like ever, but he's ignored 'cause of me. What if, what if he doesn't like me anymore because I couldn't do it? Mama, I love him.I don't want us to break up."
Sam's tears started to fall again and in that moment Brooke saw a teenager filled with the normal problems of her age. It was a bit exaggerated and dramatic, and even a little angsty.
She finally pulled Sam in for the embrace that her daughter had been wanting.
"Sammy, Jack absolutely adores you. I'm almost positive he did nothing with that girl. You need to try and get a hold of him again. Send him a text, or leave him a voicemail if he doesn't pick up. But you both need to talk. You are worrying yourself sick over here."
Sam curled into her mother and took shuddering breaths only whimpering out an 'okay.'
"M-mommy, I, I got scared. I panicked. When am I supposed to know?" She asked after a few moments, "Do you think it's because of what happened to me?"
Brooke felt her own eyes water and she squeezed Sam tight, "I don't know if it's because of that Sammy. I wish I could give you an answer. I do know that 16 is young, and not being ready could scare anyone off. And there's no sign telling you you're ready. It just feels right. Other times you think about it for a while and talk about it. There's not a black and white answer. If there were, I'd give it you in a heartbeat."
"I don't want to do it any time soon. We just got lost in the moment."
Brooke lifted Sam's head and held her cheeks in her hands, "I know that you and Jack love each other, but please slow down Samantha. Do you see what that caused? You're crying in my arms here!"
"Are you mad at me? I don't know why we decided to do that. I-we usually, umm, stop. You know, before it gets like that."
Brooke really didn't want to hear any more. So much could happen before that and it made her shudder to think that Sam was even doing those things.
"I'm upset that you're upset, and that you rushed into something simply because you got lost in the moment. That's dangerous, and I really don't want to leave you two alone knowing that it can happen again."
"It won't!" Sam urged her, "I don't, I don't wanna do that for a long time. I promise you."
Brooke knew that she needed to think about it all a little bit more to see how she'd go about dealing with this new information, but for now she would comfort her daughter.
"Come here." And hugged her daughter, "Sex is a beautiful thing. But it's okay and sometimes even better to wait. I want you to wait Sam. You're only 16. Take me seriously when I say this. I want you to wait. BUT, when you do decide to, you need to talk to me."
"Yes ma'am."
Brooke gave her two firm pats on her bottom, "Good girl." A little harder than the usual love pats.
Sam squirmed her bum, trying to get away from her mom's hand, "Mama!" She whined, "Not so hard."
"Sorry." Brooke smirked, "Like I said, I'm a little upset." She winked and started rubbing Sam's back soothingly
Sam giggled, but stayed quiet for a moment before speaking up again, "Mom?"
"Hmm?"
"What if, what if I can't?"
"What do you mean? Can't what?"
Sam took a deep breath, "What if it was Mike and what he did that made me freak. What if I can't because of him?"
Brooke felt her daughter's tears and she couldn't help but tear up too, "Then we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Lopez will help you and you have me too."
"If it was because of him, then he's ruined everything!"
The mother felt Sam's breath hitch and her body tense "Shhh." Brooke cooed, rocking her, "No, no, baby, don't do that. I need you to breathe and relax. Follow my breaths."
Sam did so, allowing her to calm down. "That man did not ruin you. The wonderful thing about us as people, is that we can fix ourselves. We can be damaged, but through our own determination and the people that love us, we can fix ourselves."
Sam sniffled and played with her mama's necklace, as she spoke. "And you have your dad, me, friends, and Jack. We're here to help you work through any lingering fears that you may have."
"I guess so." Sam whimpered.
Brooke kissed her daughter's head, "Well, I know so peanut."
Sam hugged her mother tight, wanting to stay in her arms forever. "I love you mom."
"I love you too Samantha."
The mother was grateful that Sam had spoken to her. She was worried as hell now, and she wanted to strangle Jack, and now she had to figure out how to approach this with Lucas, but Brooke was still forever grateful that her daughter trusted her enough to come to her.
"I think I'm gonna try and call Jack now. And I'll leave a voicemail like you said if he doesn't pick up."
"That's a good idea." Brooke smiled softly.
The teenager untangled herself from her mom and took her phone out of her pocket before leaving her mother's office. Sam accidentally left the door open and when Brooke went to close it she heard a, "Hey Jack."
And relief flooded the mother knowing that the stupid boy (because they would all be stupid boys) in her daughter's life picked up the phone.
That night when Brooke came into her daughter's room, her favorite time of day because all her children looked more innocent at night, and her eldest looked years younger snuggled in her bed with her teddy bear, Sam had an exhausted smile on her face.
"Did everything work out, honey?" Brooke whispered bringing the covers up over Sam.
"Yeah, we talked, and I explained everything to him, and him everything to me. Thanks mom."
Brooke gave her a sweet kiss on her forehead, "I'm glad." Brooke told her. Although in the back of her head she wanted to roll her eyes so hard at the quick and fleeting tornado of emotions that was teenagehood.
She was happy to know that Sam had resolved the issue, although now Brooke would forever have this gnawing worry about her daughter. They had already given her "the talk" which Sam was sufficiently grossed out by, but now Brooke really wanted to have another conversation.
"Goodnight princess."
"Goodnight mama."
... ... ...
Hope you liked it! Sorry for the rather long wait. I've been extremely busy. Let me know what you think!
ALSO, I added an extra scene where Brooke, Lucas, and Sam have an "aftermath" talk for last chapter. It's in my tumblr, or can send the link via PM if somone is interested in reading it. My tumblr name is "writingsteph"