Author's Note: I admit, I've been sitting on this story but I'm finally on the ball. I've played with the timing of things a bit but this takes place around the summer of 2003 after Sami's accident. So Lucas is still working for Tony (who was recently stabbed), Sami's working at Basic Black and Will's off at camp. But don't worry, Tony won't be making many appearances in this story. Thanks for reading! -Yvonne-

HOTLINE: CHAPTER 1

Lucas leaned back in his chair and tiredly rubbed his eyes for what seemed like the millionth time. He was still at the Dimera mansion working on some last minute business deals for Tony. He had been running errands off and on all dayfirst to see Tony's attorney about some overseas mergers and then to the bank to check on Tony's accounts and make a few deposits. Ever since arriving back at the mansion an hour or so after grabbing a quick dinner, he had been putting the finishing touches on the contracts Tony had faxed over a few hours before.

His job was challenging but he felt very satisfied about how this situation with Tony was working out. He knew that he could be an asset to Tony's organization but he was a little nervous at first about making a good impression and proving to Tony that he was a real player. Tony had been giving him more responsibilities as proof that Lucas was exceeding his expectations for the job.

That was why Lucas was working late at this very moment. Tony had gone out of town to scout out some future acquisitions in Europe and had left Lucas in charge of things until he came back. He called to check in on his progress, but for the most part, Lucas was calling the shots. Tony was supposed to be taking it easy after his stabbing but naturally, he couldn't sit still for long. So this trip was really just a vacation under the guise of being productivethere would me a lot more resting and recuperating rather than negotiating and dealing.

It had been unusually quiet in the mansion this evening much to Lucas' surprise. Thankfully, Tony's ever-brooding son Rex was out for the evening with his girlfriend Mimi and Cassie had decided to join her father in Europe for a few weeks. She had been on him like a leech lately and it was becoming too much to handle. He didn't really mind the attention since he thought she was extremely hot but he knew he had to behave if he wanted to stay on Tony's good side. He hadn't checked the employee manual but he was pretty sure that hittin' the boss' daughter was a no-no. He had told her as much so they tried to keep the fooling around to a minimum. It's not like he wanted a relationship with her or anythingshe was way too young for him. But they could have a little fun while they were both single and stimulated.

He looked over at the clock on the desk which read 11:47 and mentally calculated how much longer he needed to stay before heading home and getting some well-deserved rest. Unfortunately, he still had quite a bit of work to do. Sometimes, he thought he should have his own bedroom in the mansion as much time as he spent here. He sighed and returned to the documents he had been reviewing moments before.

He was startled from his work by the sound of his personal cell phone ringing. He wondered who could possibly be calling this late. His mother was in Chicago on business and Will was away at camp. He was getting to be that age where late calls tended to make him nervous and he hoped that there wasn't anything wrong with Will.

Without checking the Caller ID, he flipped his phone open. "Hello," Lucas answered in a worried tone. It seemed like a hundred different disaster scenarios ran through his mind at the same time.

"Lucas," Sami answered, "It took you long enough to answer the phone. It's about Will." On the one hand, Lucas was irritated to hear his son's mother on the other end of his phone. He was tired and busy and didn't feel like dealing with any of her crap at the moment. On the other hand, she wasn't in the habit of just calling him up to chat and her mention of Will only confirmed his sense of impending dread about his well-being.

"What's wrong? What happened to Will? Do I need to drive down to his camp?" Lucas couldn't help but imagine what accident had befallen his son. Had he broken a limb, or maybe he had a concussion. Lucas couldn't imagine that Will had hurt someone else. "Come on Sami, tell me what's going on!"

It usually didn't take much so Sami was instantly irritated with Lucas. Her instinct was always to handle these kinds of things herself instead of bickering with him about it. But they were trying to turn over a new leaf in the midst of her "accident" at the Dimera mansion which was why she had decided to call him. She was now beginning to think that her decision was a mistake.

"Calm down, Lucas and let me get a word in. Geez, you're such a spaz!"

Only Sami could tick Lucas off in the space of 3 seconds. "Gee, Sami, I'm really sorry but when you call me in the middle of the night telling me that something's going on with my son, I tend to get a bit testy."

"I don't need any of your attitude you know. I can just handle this myself and let you"

Lucas cut her off with an exasperated sigh. "I'm sure if the situation was reversed, you'd freak out too." He was doing his best to keep his voice and his temperament steady and calm. "Sami, what does Will need? Feel free to take this personally but could you just tell me so we can part ways as quickly as possible?"

"Fine! I just called to tell you that I got a message from Will's camp that the kids are coming back 3 days ahead of schedule. They think the rainy season is coming early up there and they don't want the kids to be in any danger. So Will is going to be home on the 21st instead of the 24th. Don't say I never told you anything. Goodbye."

"Wait a minute, Sami," Lucas yelled into the phone before she had the chance to hang up. "Who told you this? How do you know and I don't know?" He knew it was petty but Lucas was irritated that she knew something about their son that he didn't. He honestly didn't feel good about being so suspicious of her. However, he supposed he would always be a little paranoid about her excluding him from Will's life.

For a moment, Lucas thought that Sami had already hung up on him but when he heard her over-dramatic sigh, he knew she was still on the line. "I know because Will's camp called me. That guy, Fred Woodburn or Woodstockwhatever his name iscalled and told me. He said the bus is still going to meet us at the school, just 3 days earlier."

"That's Fred Woodbridge and why didn't anyone tell me? Did you tell him not to call me so you could keep this gem of a secret all to yourself?" Lucas could practically feel Sami's irritation seeping through the phone and mingling with his own annoyance.

"Don't be ridiculous Lucas," Sami replied impatiently. "As much fun as it is torturing you with mundane scheduling changes, I've got better things to do with my time. He tried calling you at home but you're obviously not there. Have you tried checking your messages genius?" Not that Lucas wanted to concede the point to her but he indeed hadn't checked his home messages today. "I know you're not at home because I knocked on your door a little while ago."

"Fine, but why are you just telling me now? I'm sure he didn't call you at 11:45 at night." Sometimes getting a story out of Sami was like pulling teeth.

"Of course he didn't just call me. I talked to him a few hours ago." She paused as if she didn't want to disclose the confession she was about to make. "I was waiting for you to come home and I was going to tell you then." She said the last part so quietly that he almost didn't hear her on the other end of the phone.

"What was that Sami?" Lucas asked unclear whether he had heard her correctly.

She kicked herself for actually telling him the real reason. He would probably use this as another opportunity to make fun of her. "Just forget about it, Lucas. Now you know." She quickly regained her composure again, embarrassed at having admitted that she had waited for him. "I guess you're working late then...again," she added a little less bitterly.

"I didn't know you cared, Sami." That actually came out harsher than he had intended. He was just shocked that Sami has expressed something so akin to concernand it was directed at him. He knew they had been getting along better lately but it still took some getting used to. "Look, I don't want to fight about this." When his statement was met with silence, he decided to continue. "Sorry, I jumped down your throat. It's just that I've had a long day and I'm on a very short fuse right now." He smiled thinking about her last comment. "And yes mommy, I am working late again tonight." He laughed lightly to let her know that he was joking with her. He had no desire to make the situation worse and he really was amused by her interest.

Sami tried not to appreciate his stupid joking but she grinned all the same. She shrugged at his explanation as if unconsciously trying to communicate that she didn't care what he did. Although she hated to admit it, her interest was anything but casual, however, this wasn't confession time for her or for Lucas. The fantasies that she'd been having about him were utterly disturbing so she had to rationalize that her interest was simply because he had been so nice to her since her accident.

"So, what are you working on?" she asked trying to feign as little interest as possible but genuinely curious about what he was doing. She wasn't thrilled about him working for Tony and thought it might make her feel better to know what he was working on and that his work wouldn't put him in harms way. Of course, she was only concerned about how Will would react if something happened to his father. Or at least that's what she told herself for the time being.

Lucas leaned back in his chair and tapped his pen on the table. He supposed this was his chance to show Sami just how important a guy he was. "Well," he drawled feigning nonchalance. "I'm just doing the usual for Tonymaking decisions, closing deals, signing contracts. He really needs me to run things while he's recuperating in Europe." He quickly got up from the chair he had been occupying for the last few hours and headed towards the kitchen. If he was going to chat with Sami, it seemed to be the right time to take a break and grab a snack.

Likewise, Sami walked to her kitchen preparing to make herself a midnight snack too. "Is that right, Lucas? You expect me to believe that Tony left you in charge of the entire Dimera organization?" she asked playfully. "Little old Lucas Roberts?" She rifled through the fridge looking for something snacky and not too filling to munch on. She found some pita bread in the back and pulled out the leftover hummus she had picked up for lunch.

"Yes, 'little old Lucas Roberts,'" replied a wounded Lucas. "Tony is depending on me to take care of his business and I'm going to make sure that I do right by him. He's given me a great opportunity and I'm going to make the most of it." He took out some items to make a good-sized sandwich. "What, Sami? Are you concerned about me compromising your boyfriend's lucrative business dealings leaving you without a sugar daddy?"

Sami picked up her plate and took it over to her couch plopping down with a hard thud. "Tony is NOT my boyfriend. And that wasn't a very nice thing to say." Even three weeks ago, Sami would have screamed at him and hung up in his face. But her reaction was simply to take another big bite of hummus and pita. "Tony's just feeling guilty about my accident and who am I to turn down his generosity? It's not like anyone has ever showered me with gifts before and it took me getting pushed through some glass doors and almost dying to get it."

Lucas stopped his sandwich making when she mentioned her horrible accident from a few months before. He still hated to be reminded of how close they came to losing herand his role in the whole thing happening in the first place. "Sami, you know that was an accident and neither I nor Tony meant for that to happen." He could have chalked his guilt up to his concern about Will but he was starting to realize that it was more than that. Unfortunately, it didn't stop him from getting annoyed by her words. "So it looks like you ARE using Tony."

"Look who's talking? You're the one going on and on about how Tony's going to take you places and that working for him will get you all the power you've ever wanted in life. So don't you sit there and lecture me."

Lucas stabbed his knife into the mustard viciously, clearly frustrated. "Sami, that's completely different. I just want to position myself to be able to provide a good life for our son. Right now, Tony can help me do that. What can you possible find wrong with that?" He topped his sandwich with the mustard slathered bread slice and sat at the kitchen table slowly munching on his snack.

Sami thought about what he had said and debated whether she should reveal what she actually thought about it. Even though they were making an effort to get along better, she still didn't find it easy to confide her true feelings to him. Instead, she found herself remembering those days when they had been good friends. It seemed so long ago and try as she might, she couldn't see them ever getting back to that point.

But she wanted to stop trying to intentionally hurt him too. Her accident had put a lot of things in perspective for her. She was tired of living her life in the shadow of other people's doubts of her. She knew she hadn't always made the best choices in life but who could fault her for wanting to be loved and happy? Lucas' kind treatment of her the past couple of months showed that maybe he was ready to move forward too and that meant giving each other the benefit of the doubt sometimes. Maybe being honest with Lucas again was finally worth the risk.

It was time for Sami to take the plunge. "Lucas, what Will needs is to know that his father is safe and always there for him. He needs you in his life not riches and power. Socializing with Tony is one thing but working for him can be dangerous. All the power and money in the world isn't going to do Will any good if for some reason, he loses having his father in his life." It felt strange saying these words to her old enemy but it felt good too somehow.

Lucas was in mid-bite when Sami confessed her feelings on the subject and he was in complete shock at her words. He placed his sandwich back on the plate and stared blankly in front of him. Never in a million years did he expect those words to come out of Sami's mouth. It almost sounded like the old days when they had been the only one the other could rely on. He didn't know what say to her but he couldn't stop the flow of hopeful emotions that had flooded his mind. It scared and excited him all at the same time.

Sami, uncomfortable with the silence on the other end, couldn't stand to have the moment extend without a snappy comment. "God Lucas, if you wanted to finish smacking and slobbering over your sandwich instead of talking to me then you should have just said so. I'll leave you to your wheeling and dealing or whatever the hell it is that you're doing so late over there." After revealing something so intimate to him, she was feeling vulnerable and completely embarrassed. She was starting to regret telling Lucas what was on her mind. They simply weren't ready for this kind of disclosure.

Unidentified panic filled Lucas as he grasped his phone tightly. "No, no, Sami, don't go!" Lucas yelled into the phone for the second time that night. "I'm sorry, I was just surprised by what you said...and really flattered. It means a lot that you really understand that Will needs me in his life. And I need him in my life tooso much." He smiled to himself thinking about the indignant pout that must be on her face right now. "You have to admit that it's a little shocking to hear you compliment me on my parenting skills and express concern over my well-being. You telling me that you hate my guts is normal, but the alternative, well, it's going to take some getting used to."

"Well," Sami said cautiously, "don't let it go to that already big head of yours. Even that huge mansion is getting too small to house that ego." The truth was that she was shocked herself over her confession. It seemed easier to tell him those things over the phone rather than in person.

"That's certainly true," Lucas joked to lighten the mood. "But it was nice to hear all the same. Thanks Sami."

"You're welcome," she responded. There was a long pause as they both pondered their own thoughts about this relationship that was changing right in front of their eyes. She could hear him slowly chewing his sandwich on the other end of the line but she had put her snack down on the table and was twirling her hair nervously. "I guess, I should let you get back to work now. I didn't mean to keep you so long." If she was being completely honest with herself, she would admit that she didn't want to let him goin more ways than one. But now wasn't the right time for this kind of thinking. "I just wanted to tell you about Will."

Lucas couldn't help his flutter of delight upon hearing that she sounded just as nervous as he. There was also a level of comfort and hopefulness in their connection that he prayed he wasn't imagining. "Thanks for letting me know. I guess, we'll make plans about Will when the date gets closer. That's still 3 weeks away so we've got plenty of time." He fingered the plate nervously as the silence continued. He thought since they were on a roll, he might as well go for it. "Uh, by the way Sami. You weren't any kind of bother. I needed the break anyway. You can call me whenever you like." He hoped that didn't sound too pathetic and needy but it was heartfelt all the same. "It wasn't THAT bad talking to you. I could be convinced to do it again."

"Sure Lucas," Sami said quickly trying to quash the smile that had erupted across her face. "Anytime." Again, the silence stretched between them. But unlike before, these moments hung comfortably in the air casting a spell over them. "Umm, so I guess I'll talk to you later?" She hadn't meant for it to come out as a question but this conversation had taken a lot of turns that she couldn't have predicted or controlled.

Lucas smiled softly at the pleasant thought of talking with her on a regular basis. "Yeah, of course...I mean, I'll see you soon." Lucas cringed at what a dork he was coming across as. He knew he had to cut this conversation off quick before he made an even bigger idiot of himself.

"Back to work for you," Sami joked lamely. She paused before wishing him goodnight. "Don't work to hard, General."

"I won't," Lucas chuckled at the mention of his old nickname. They both knew they needed to get off of the phone but neither wanted to end their conversation. They were both experiencing an overwhelming urge to savor the delicate connection they had created in the last 20 minutes.

"Bye Lucas," Sami finally said in a voice far sexier than she had intended.

"Bye Sami," he drawled in return in a voice that was far sappier than he had intended.

They both hung up the phone and were consumed with questions about what exactly had just happened between them.