A/N: Sorry that it's taken this long for the chapter to get out. Finals are approaching and therefore it means I have papers to write and tests to study for. Also my best friend and I had the honor to ride to Washington to participate in the March for Women's Lives. No words can explain how awesome that was for us.

On that note…I thank Holly once again. Not only for her pushing me into writing this and her kind editing, but also for the Q-Tip suggestion and for allowing me to use her statement 'dance to the tune of the funky monkey'. She says to be warned because she's out to copyright it.

Lastly, thank you to all who reviewed. I was afraid that you all would not care much for the Dawn/Sam line, but apparently I was wrong. Which is good 'cause they play a part throughout the rest of the fic.

On that note…I hope you like it.

Chapter Ten

Dawn felt unbelievably nervous as she adjusted the knee-length dress once more. Ever since that night with Sam Seaborn two weeks ago to the day, she couldn't concentrate on anything else. Yup. She had decided a week and six days ago that she was a smitten kitten.

And he was smitten too. Sam had called her nearly every day just to remind her that he was simply out of town and not trying to avoid her in any way, shape, or form. When he got back in town three days ago, he insisted that she skip one class in order to have a quick lunch with him. That was when he asked her out for their 'kinda sorta two week anniversary.'

And tonight was the night.

"How much longer are you going to be, Donna? He said that he'll be here in about twenty minutes."

"Sorry." Donna was overjoyed to see how the two had taken to each other. Dawn would talk of no one else and Donna could do nothing but smile when Sam called her at the office to chat about what he should know to impress Dawn the most.

"I figure that she told you what happened," Sam sounded like a little boy as they spoke the first time and Donna had no doubt that he was looking to the ground.

"Yes." Her tone did not sound friendly. "I am shocked in you, Sam. I took you for a better man than that. She's young and vulnerable and she hasn't had that many real relationships."

"I know, I know. Believe me, Donna, when I say that I don't intend on hurting her." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It sounds so…crazy, but I barely know her and I feel like I've known her forever. Or at least I want to."

Donna grinned. That was exactly what Dawn had said;  that she felt a connection that she had never felt with another man and she really wanted to give it a try. "Well, what are you going to do? She's younger than you and has some questionable family history."

"Deal with it." The defiant way he stated it with any hesitation was proof enough. Sam was in the game.  

"You two will be great for one another." She paused. "One thing though."

"Yeah."

"I promised to tell Charlie." She then began to giggle.

"Is he going to mock me?" Giggling was her only response. "What do you know?"

She began laughing in earnest. Dawn and Charlie had decided that a call girl should be sent to his office if ever he broke up with her. Best yet was during a tight vote. She was just imagining Sam's future face though she knew that in reality she would never get to witness the event.

"Donna?"

She kept laughing. Sadly, she knew that it wasn't  that funny.

"Donna?" This was another voice. One right behind her.

She turned her head to see Josh staring down upon her with an amused expression. "Who is that?"

"Sam." She was trying her best to muffle her cackles. She turned her attentions back to the phone. "I'll call you back." She hung up without waiting for a response and then tried her best to cover up the snort she just released.

Josh was snickering now. "Did you just snort?"

"No." She did again.

"Donna?" Through his chuckles he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Probably not."

"Donna!"

"Sorry," She reiterated. Donna was standing there while she peered down at the toilet, wondering what she wanted to do—leave the room or throw up. Both sounded appealing.  She opted for the former.

"Thank you." Dawn's tone was snippy but she quickly saw the paleness on Donna's face. "W-Wait. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said as she narrowed her gaze and headed toward the sofa. "Hurry up. You have a date in fifteen minutes."

Dawn didn't move. "Are you sure? I've let it go, but you have been acting a little iffy the past couple weeks."

"Blind jealousy. I'm actually in love with Sam and it hurts me that you two are so close. In fact, I call him during the day and try to persuade him to run away with me and buy me a place in Hawaii."  

"Ha." Dawn rolled her eyes. "Seriously…and I know it's not that. Besides Sam telling me about calling you at work to gossip about me, you are like the president of the 'I Love Josh Network'."

Donna's face darkened at the statement, and Dawn wisely chose to let it go. "We're just going out to dinner. Maybe a movie." She made her way to the bathroom to finish applying her make-up. "You want me to pick you up anything on the way home?"

"Naw," the blonde woman teased as she made her way to the sofa. "That way if you want to keep my secret lover into the long hours of the night, you don't feel any reservations."

Dawn stuck her face out the door briefly. "We have no plans for hanky panky. Just dinner, maybe a movie and a little bit of hanky in the car when he says goodnight."

"Okay." Donna expected she would be sleeping alone again.

*~*~*

"Did you enjoy the movie?" Sam escorted Dawn toward the car by the small of her back.

"Well, it would have been nice to know that we were watching an Olsen twins movie before we paid." She wrinkled her nose. "I might be young, Sam, but not that young." –  

He rolled his eyes. "Okay…you pick the next one." He then got a mischievous smirk. "Though I have to say that they are growing up rather nicely from their Full House days."

She was shocked, but not too much to turn and slap his shoulder. "You like Full House? Well with statements like that the television show is the closest you're going to get."

"Sorry." He looked half sincere, but it was good enough. He opened the car door for her before getting in the other side.

Then several minutes passed.

"C-Can I tell you something?" Dawn asked in the midst of a pointless conversation of the entertainment of folk music.

"Yeah." He cast her a weary glance as he drove toward her apartment.

"I'm worried about Donna."

"She does seem to be a little strange. She broke out into hysterical laughter when I asked if Charlie was going to mock—" He looked at her wide eyed. "Yeah."

Dawn snickered. "We're sending a call girl to the Hill for you if you break up with me." She grew wide eyed like her date. "That's if we…ever…start dating."

He smiled softly. "I consider that we are, too."

"Good," she said with a bounce. Her countenance, though, immediately changed as she thought back to the topic. "Donna has been…moody, to say the least. And she's always feeling bad and she's always running to the bathroom."

"Dawn."

"TMI, I know, but back to what I'm getting at." She sighed. "Pull over."

He gave her a look, but fulfilled her request all the same.

"Donna, a few weeks back…well she and a guy got a little tipsy. And in the course of the tipsyness, they got…they did the dance to the tune of the funky monkey." She looked at him. "Do you follow?"

"Dance to the tune of the—"

"Sam!"

"Yes!" He sighed. "So you think Donna is pregnant, right?"

She nodded her head. "That or she's really really sick."

"Who's the guy? Do you know?"

"It happened the night before I moved in."

Sam tried to figure how long ago that had to be. At least a month. Then it hit him. Hard.

"Yeah."

"No," he looked at her. "No no no no no."

She swallowed hard.

"H-He didn't say anything about this!"

"Because he doesn't remember anything about this."

"Why? Why would she not tell him?"

"It's embarrassing, Sam. Think about the awkwardness that took place when we both remembered our indiscretion.  Imagine saying 'Last night was great for me, let me tell you what we did so you can look at me in horror because I obviously was less intoxicated than you because I remember it and it will ruin your life and my career and end our friendship because you're my best friend'."

"Wow…you two have talked a lot."

She muttered. "After getting wind of this conversation we probably won't anymore."

"So…Josh and Donna…did the dance to the tune of the funky monkey. And now she might be…oh God!"

"Yeah."

"Holy fuck!"

All Dawn could do was sigh and lay her head upon his shoulder.

"This is like a really bad soap opera plot. Guy and girl in love for years but torn by their dedication to a higher cause. Then one fateful night their defenses break. Then he doesn't remember and she doesn't have the heart to tell him until… a baby."

"It's one of those cheesy romance books you set back on the shelf after reading the cover."

"I know this will sound bad, but what if she has an illness?"

Dawn didn't know if he was trying to be funny or not.

"Okay." He sighed. "Not funny…but entirely possible."

"We are just going to have to find out."

Sam looked at her. "When you say we, you really mean—"

"You and I."

*~*~*

"Are you sure that I should be here?" Sam whispered as they walked through Dawn's front door. "I mean…I'm not even supposed to know there's a possibility of her being pregnant and certainly not with…" He trailed off shaking his head. In some ways this was too good to be true and others it was a nightmare.

Sam knew that Josh and Donna loved each other. Hell, everybody knew that. He also understood that they played that if they ignored it, everything would go away.

That and they were scared. Their's wasn't a love that stemmed out of lust. It was a love that stemmed out of friendship, devotion and a deep loyalty to one another. That was the most powerful in Sam's mind and from what he'd seen, it seemed a bit scary.

"I think she's in the bathroom," Dawn said taking his hand and leading him further into the front.

Sam went along until they entered the hallway, then he stopped. "What are we doing?" He asked once more using a normal decibel. "I mean, do we think that if we just sneak up on her that we can scare her into a test?"

Dawn pursed her lips. "Ya know…I think you might be on to something." She heard Donna on the other side of the bathroom door and knocked.

"It sounds horrible, but what if she's really ill?"

Dawn's eyes darkened. "If you want to leave, you can just say so."

"I'm here," he replied gently. "Knock again. I don't think she heard you."

This time when she knocked, both heard the sob from inside. "Donna?" Thanks to Sam, Dawn's imagination was in overdrive.

The door flew open and there was no doubt that Donna was in hysterics. She clutched something tightly in her palm while she fought to dry her tears and calm down.

As another strangled cry hit the air all could see she was unsuccessful.

"Donna?" Sam softly made his presence known.

"I-I can't do this anymore. Why? Why me?!"

The couple looked at one another and then saw the thinnest white stick poking out from her grasp. "It's okay Donna." Dawn took a step inside and placed her arms around the woman. "We're here for you."

Donna tossed the item on the bathroom floor as she hugged Dawn and then followed her into the front room. Sam trailed behind and yearned to see confirmation of her despair. He felt that as their best friend, he had a right to see it with his own eyes. So he looked down at the floor.

And blinked.

Twice. Then it hit him.

It was a cotton swab. A bent, but apparently unused cotton swab. In confusion, he reached down and picked it up. Upon close examination he saw that it was nothing more than broken. It was still intact, but flimsy in the middle.

Sam stared at it for several moments before he banged his head against the door frame three times. Something had to be done.

He walked out to hear Dawn trying her best to sooth the blonde woman with promises that her and Sam will take care of her and they can get a bigger apartment and everything.

"Are you and Sam moving in together?" Donna sniffled in confusion.

Sam walked over to Dawn and placed the cotton swab on the table. "This is what she was crying about."

Dawn looked at it for a moment. Then paused. "A Q-Tip was what caused you to cry?"

The sobs came forth once more. "It-It's the last one in the house. I went to go clean my ears and…it was broken!"

The couple stared at one another unable to form an adequate response.

"And then…" She dramatically sighed. "Then I realized I had to go to the store to get another box." Sniffle. "But…I didn't want to go out until I cleaned my ears."

"If she's ill then she's mental," Sam muttered. Dawn gave him an unadulterated whack on the shoulder.

"Donna." Dawn was trying her best to sound sweet but not condescending. She didn't want to talk down to her.

Dawn and Sam then spent the next half an hour explaining what they believed to be the case for her recent instability in mood and health.

"You think that I might be pregnant." There were neither tears nor anger behind the statement. Simply shock.

"Well, you did dance to the tune of the funky monkey." Sam just loved the way that one sounded. He wasn't about to let her live that one down.

"Sam." Her tone was low, but there was amusement behind Dawn's eyes.

"That or you're terminally ill."

"Goodnight, Sam." There was no amusement on her face that time.

As Sam left, the girls decided on a time for Donna to schedule an appointment.

Donna knew that her mind wouldn't be at ease until she knew the answer.

Am I really pregnant?