"Well, hello to you too." Those were the first words out of Sam's mouth as she greeted Claudia on the other side of the door. She took in the woman's appearance and saw the disheveled hair, messy clothing, and half opened eyes. Either Claudia had just woken up or, the sex had been off the hook last night.

"Hey I haven't seen you since Saturday. Where've you been for the past 5 days?" She said casually as she leaned against the door. It was true, after Sam had briefed Johnny and Claudia on her current deals, she had 'mysteriously' disappeared for a couple of days. If 'mysteriously' meant taking care of the rest of her hangover, babysitting for her mother and starting her new job at the Haunted Star, then yes, mysterious was the word.

"Yeah I had to take care of a couple of things at home. Oh wait." She said as she opened her purse. Digging around the loose gum sticks, lip gloss, and wallet, she took out two envelopes.

"What's that?" Claudia asked. "A check for our good work?"

"Great idea but, no. It's an invitation for you and Johnny by Luke. For couple's night at the Haunted Star." Claudia raised her eyebrow in confusion. "Oh no, not you and Johnny as couple. You have to find a date for this night. Luke's philosophy is if you're in love with someone, you tend to neglect everything around you, including money."

"Yep, that sounds like Luke." They both cracked a smile before Sam handed the invitations over to Claudia. She tapped the envelopes against her arm before she handed one of the envelopes back to Sam.

"Sam, I think you should give this one to Johnny. I'm sure he'd appreciate it." She winked at Sam before letting her into the house.

"Um, where is he?" She asked unsurely.

"Down in the basement, take a left at that door in the hallway." Sam quickly said thank you before running down the hallway. Claudia knew Johnny was going to kill her for doing this but, after last week's conversation with him, she was sure he would change his mind.

"Isn't it great having someone like Sam on our side for once?" Claudia said she leaned on the front door. It had only been minutes since Sam left the house.

"Yeah, it's great." Her brother said as he sat down at his desk again. She walked silently around him until she sat on the edge of his desk. He didn't bother to acknowledge her presence.

"You know, I think you have something for Ms.McCall."

His head shot up from the papers "What?"

"I think you have a little crush on Sam."



"What would make you think that Claudia?"he asked as his attention was drawn to the papers again.

"Sam told me how you kissed her twice when I wasn't around."

"She told you that?"He asked in mild shock.

"Yep, and if that's not your attempt at telling her you like her, I wanna hear your explanation."

"Look. The first time, she started rambling in the closet when we were hiding from Jason. The second time I needed it to seal that business deal with Dr.Dessan. It's strictly business."

"Well, it looks like your using business to get to pleasure."

"Whatever Claudia."He turned back to his papers once more.

"Well Johnny, someone like her doesn't come along for a while. Unlike that blonde…thing you were dating, Sam can handle your lifestyle. She has been with Sonny and Jason."

"What are you getting at Claudia?"He said a little annoyed.

"I'm just saying let me know when you're ready. I'll hook you up with her like that."

Ok, so she hadn't been completely honest with her brother but, they were in the mafia so honesty was never one of their strong suits. Neither was happiness. Somewhere in Claudia's mind, she thought that she could make up for her years abandoning her brother by making him happy. And Sam could very well be that happiness they were looking for.

--

"Hello, Johnny?" She called as she entered the basement. It was too dark so it forced her to press up against the wall. Too bad she wasn't that coordinated because she made it down the remaining steps by somersaulting. Getting up from the floor, she felt a door right in front of her.

"Johnny?" she spoke through the door.

"In here." He called out. She groped around for the doorknob and found it. When she opened the door, she was invited into the sounds of him grunting. It almost freaked her out until she noticed the surrounding workout equipment. Focusing her attention on the treadmill, she saw Johnny running a mile a minute, sweat running down his body. He turned off the treadmill and took a sip of water before speaking to Sam.

"You wanted to talk to me?"



She shook her head and got out of her thoughts before responding. "Yeah…um….Luke said to give you this." She handed the envelope to him. "It's an invitation to couple's night at the Haunted Star."

"He didn't run this by his co-owner I guess…" he said quietly.

"Well, it looks like a perfect opportunity to make a lot of money for you two. Luke's already got the numbers figured out in his head."

"He has a lot of things figured out in his head, Sam." She couldn't help but laugh at his statement. "So, who are you taking along?"

She shifted her feet uncomfortably on the ground. "I don't have anyone to take. They kind of…you know…hate me. But that's ok, I don't need them. I'll be too busy shuffling cards at my new job." She tried to be cheerful but, it came out sorrowful to Johnny. "What about you? Who are you taking?"

"Well, I'm kinda in the same situation as you. You know, all the available ones hate me."

"So…"

"So, that leaves the bird that flies in the same flock as I do."

"What?" She asked.

"Sam, will you be my date at the Haunted Star?"