Two days had passed and everyone was walking around on eggshells. Julian and Sam always got along, but right now, they are at odds. Rick knows it's because of him and Brooke just wants to keep the peace…but doesn't know how. And Leighann, she just wants to tear open presents.

Sam went into the kitchen to see Julian fixing a snack, she was going to go back to her room.

"You know you we can talk, and it might ease things up around here."

"No, thanks, I think we've talked enough."

"Sam, that wasn't a question." He pointed to a barstool. "Sit, stay, enjoy."

She quietly walked over and sat on the stool. "So…what's up Julian."

"So you're still mad at me."

"You don't miss a beat." She started to get up, but saw Julian's face and sat back down. "What is there to say, you don't want to me to marry Rick under my terms and we'll never see eye to eye on this, what is there to talk about."

"I never really knew how you felt about the reasons for me coming to Tree Hill."

Sam tucked her hair behind her ears. "I was mad and I'm sorry."

"You still said it."

"Yeah, I did."

"So is that what you really think."

"I don't know. I mean you did come to Tree Hill with every intention of getting with Peyton or getting her back, who knows. But your ideas changed. Why can't mine not be like yours."

"I know that me saying this seems out of left field, but it hasn't been a year."

"And when did you meet Brooke?"

"Okay bad point."

"I know you love me, and I love you too, so…where does trust fall into that category. I'm not the same sixteen year old girl living with Brooke, causing trouble and sneaking out of a bedroom window. I love Rick, I'm in love with him…and I thought this time at home would help you see that."

"It might if you give a chance. He asked me on Day one Sam. Before dinner, before I got to know what his favorite movie is he wants to marry my daughter. Rushing things a bit."

"So he likes to plan ahead."

"Plan ahead is booking Tric a month early, there is no planning ahead when asking permission to marry someone's daughter."

"So you make a point, or six. But why are you doing this, you liked Jack, you knew what was going on."

"Yeah and to this day, makes my skin crawl. But you weren't getting married to Jack…Jack wasn't taking you away and then you only come back on holidays and maybe not at all." Julian grew quiet…putting away his sandwich material.

"So it's not about Rick."

"Maybe it's not."

"So what if I did get married, but like ten years from now. Would I still be running off and never coming back in your opinion."

"You could be eighty, me in a home with Brooke and you'd still be running away and never coming back for holidays."

"So there's no chance of me getting out of this one."

"Just give it time."

"Yeah we have a lot of that going on these days."

"That means…if you're up to one of those chats that last all night, which ours usually do."

"This might be awkward for most people, but we're…us…so, when you first…had sex…how old were you?"

"Thirty."

"You're twenty-nine Julian."

"Damn, you had to catch that one." Same gave him a look. "Miranda Miller…I was…younger."

"You were in high school, weren't you?"

"No, I meant I was younger than I am now. I wasn't as popular as Brooke in high school."

"Who was." Sam laughed. "So…"

Julian took a seat beside Sam on the bar stool. "I was nineteen, like the first week of college. There was this one girl, Miranda who I liked and we had sex."

"Then she forgot about you and you were crushed."

"No, the opposite. I didn't know how to deal with it, the whole sex thing, so I tried to be the guy, play it cool. And she thought I just wanted her for the sex and we lost a really good friendship. And because of that, I'm really, really wanting you to not rush this thing with Rick and end up losing a best friend."

"Thanks, now it all makes sense."

"And don't ever tell Brooke."

"About Miranda?"

"Anything that has gone on this evening."

"Why?"

"Brooke likes to think that she's your mom that she gets to have these really important, grown up chats with you. It'll be a really long time before she gets to have these talks with Leighann and second baby to be named later."

"So you're really not gonna find out if it's a boy or girl until the delivery? What color is the room gonna be? Yellow?"

"That's still waiting to be named as well."

"What about…purple. Brooke had a purple monkey when she was little."

"Yeah, I know, she found it in a box and started to cry. I don't know if it's hormones kicking in or her nostalgia on high."

"Who knows." Sam did a light yawn. "I'm gonna go back to bed."

"Yeah, me too."

"With that sandwich?"

"Good point, wanna watch some tv?"

"Sure, what's on at this time of night."

"Probably some rerun or something."

"I was watching this one show where they had this never ending triangle and eventually, someone died."

"That's depressing."

"So is a never ending love triangle, can you imagine…I can't."

Rick stepped into Sam's room, Brooke was putting laundry away.

"Sorry, I'll come back later."

"No, you're a guest, you can go around as you want."

"The last time I was in here with one of Sam's parents, it got pretty awkward."

"Anything with Julian regarding Sam can get awkward. I'm her first foster mom. And I've done things that Sam will never think of."

"Yeah I sort of read the bio on the internet."

"And sadly, most of it's true."

"So you dated Nick Lachey?"

"Guilty."

"And you married some guy from a television show?"

"So not true and if I had, I would have to plead insanity. I met him, not all that."

"I guess you can't believe everything you read."

"Or hear second hand."

"Yeah, I guess."

"I've been hearing bits and pieces of what you asked Julian and what Julian and Sam talk about."

"I'm a little embarrassed, now. It was too soon, and…"

"To be honest, why did you ask…I mean if you think it's too soon, then…"

"Sam went to see Jack today."

"And I guess that bothers you."

"I know it shouldn't, if I'm so confident about our relationship to ask Julian if I can marry Sam."

"Why does it bother you so much."

"I don't know. It just doesn't feel right, like she shouldn't go see him or something and it's not right for me to tell her she can't do something."

"We learned a long time ago, that doesn't work."

"I mean what if your ex boyfriend came back and you went out to dinner with him, now would Julian feel."

Lucas knocked on the door.

"Brooke, lunch, you ready?"

"Well, he just did and you can ask Julian." She walked to Lucas. "I'm gonna go put a better looking shirt on, and be right out."

Rick looked at Lucas, slightly waved. "Hey."

"Sam's new boyfriend I guess."

"Sounds like I'm a number on an assembly line."

"No, definitely not. So, you like it here…Tree Hill I mean?"

"The small town is nice, just awkward being in someone else's house."

"Yeah, but in this house, everyone is family."

"And everyone has the same dad which I have yet to figure out."

Lucas laughed out loud. "Yeah, Dan Scott, the over acheiver."

"I heard about what happened, I'm sorry."

"He got what was coming to him. I'm just sad that my son can't get to see the man that helped me become a man…my uncle Keith."

"I have no relationship with my father, so I envy anyone who can have that relationship, even if it's not their father."

"You're always welcome to come over, the house seems pretty quiet today."

"Sam should be back soon. She went out…with Jack."

"Ah, yeah, Jack?"

"How come everyone does that? The pause and then say his name like there's this huge past with him."

"That's up to Sam to tell you, but yeah, there is a past."

Brooke came back in. "You two are rather chatty."

"Girlfriend goes to meet ex boyfriend."

"Story of my life…never ending chapters."

Brooke waved by and they left.

The sky was turning dark when Sam finally came home, Brooke and Julian were over at Lucas and Peyton's for dinner. She walked into her room.

"So you're not on the ceiling so you didn't have a fit that I saw Jack today."

"I hold my emotions in well."

"Well nothing happening."

"I never thought it would."

"But you weren't exactly okay with me seeing him."

"Sam, you had the text even before we came back here."

"Okay…I'm a bad girlfriend."

"No you're not. You're an amazing girlfriend." He pulled her into a hug. "Who should see whoever she wants and her ex is different terms than mine."

"Oh you mean Jack walking in on us about to have sex."

"Yeah."

"Well, that won't ever happen."

"That's good, I mean the chances of the exes dropping by twice would be like…the twilight zone."

"I told Jack that there was nothing left between us to say. We never had a real relationship that went passed the sex, so I lost a really good friend today." Sam starred at the floor, trying to compose herself.

Rick pulled her chin up. "You still have me."

"Yeah, I do." She reached up to kiss him and didn't want to stop. "Do you have…protection?"

He kissed her. "You don't have to worry about a thing." Rick kicked the door shut behind him.

Later that night, passed midnight, Brooke and Julian carrying Leighann walked into the house. They were quiet, not seeing the bedroom light on through Sam's window.

"I'm gonna go put Leighann down." Julian softly stepped towards Leighann's nursery.

"I'll go check on Sam." Brooke took her heels off and walked softly towards her room, she opened up the door…saw the two cuddled up together and quickly shut the door, putting her thoughts together.

Julian came out of the room, stood at the door, in front of Brooke. "I wanted to say goodnight to her."

"No need, she's sleeping, sound asleep, wouldn't hear a dump truck through the window."

"Brooke, I just wanted to say goodnight…"

"But she's already sleeping and you know Sam, light sleeper."

Julian folded his arms. "Yet a second ago you said she could sleep through a dump truck."

"Tricky little thing, you never know what to expect."

"There's something behind that door you don't want me to see."

"Sam, sleeping, you've seen that a hundred times, what's new about that."

"Because she's never home and…what…why are you being so weird."

"Sam, sleeping, come on Julian, I'm tired and I want to go to bed and you know I can't really sleep without you beside me."

Julian started to think. "I bet the guest room is empty."

"I haven't checked, I'm Rick is sleeping just fine, snug as a bug."

"Yeah, okay, I'm not in the mood to deal with this anymore, so, I'm going to bed."

"Great idea."

Once Julian noticed Brooke was sound asleep, he walked over to Sam's room, slightly opened up the door…saw Sam sleeping softly. He walked in, noticed she wasn't sleeping.

"I just wanted to say goodnight, I didn't have a chance to when I got home. Did you have a goodnight."

She nodded with a yawn. "yeah, I did. Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, we all did. I'm gonna let you sleep and I'll see you in the morning."

She closed her eyes. "Night dad."

Rick's eyes adjusted to the lights when Julian turned them on the kitchen.

"Do you always fix a snack in the dark?"

"Yeah, I learned that way so my dad wouldn't find an opportunity to talk to me about whatever."

"And the next time you and my daughter do whatever you did tonight which I can have a pretty good guess at, don't have a stupid grin on your face…it gives it away. And if you weren't protected, I'll kill ya." Julian turned out the light. "Goodnight Rick."

He let out the air he was holding in. "Whew, that wasn't so bad…"