Sleepily, Lucas attempted to stretch as he became conscious of the world, but the familiar weight on his arm stopped his progress before it started. Sami, his smile grew as he caught sight of what little of her he could see. Her head was tucked neatly into the crook of his neck and her hand rested gently on his chest.

It was almost exactly the same position they had been in the last time he had spent the night in her bed, but with more clothes. Hopefully, the ending would be better this time. A little part of him was nervous, Lucas wasn't sure he could take much more rejection.

He felt his heart stop for a second as a bleary blue revealed itself from behind her lashes. He could see the confusion show for a split second before it was replaced with guilt. That was strange, not anger or fear, just guilt. What could that possibly mean?

Oh, this was not good. Once again she had let her feelings overcome logic. Just for once Sami needed to have her head outrank her heart, but it never seemed to work out that way. Slowly-slowly, she sat up and looked at him for the first time. God, he was adorable and he looked so concerned.

"Oh, shit," it came out as a whisper.

She could see him fighting off a laugh at this unexpected outburst, "What's wrong?"

Instead of answering, Sami sighed and got out of bed. Without waiting for him she went to get her coffee, she couldn't think without her coffee. She knew he had followed without looking. Wordlessly, she fixed his cup, too.

They sat together at the table, right across from each other. It would have been a sweet, domestic scene, except for the weird tension Lucas was trying desperately to find a way out of. No matter how many times he peaked at her over his coffee cup, she never met his eyes.

With his empty cup on the table, he openly watched her. She had finished only seconds before him and was now spinning her cup by the handle. The small clinking of ceramic on the table surface was the only noise. She was cute when she was nervous.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He reached across the table to still Sami's hands with his own, "Do you want to tell me what's wrong? I'll help any way I can."

"What am I doing, Lucas?"

He smirked, reluctant to go deeper into this just yet, "Well, you were just tempting gravity to shatter your favorite cup into a million little bits."

For once, she was the one trying to keep to reality while he was fighting to avoid the issues, "I had a plan. I wasn't going to tempt fate. I was going to make sure that none of us were hurt again."

"Did you ever think that maybe your plan would hurt us all more in the long run?"

Sami shook her head, unwilling to go there, and slowly got up to rinse out her cup in the sink. He followed yet again, wondering slightly why this always seemed to be the case.

"The only things that are going to hurt you, Lucas, are the things I keep doing that give you false hope. Asking you to stay last night was wrong and selfish. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I want to have hope. I still do, that hasn't changed."

"False hope. Nothing is going to change."

"I don't believe that. See, the very fact that you can't stop yourself from doing things that would give me false hope, in fact give me very real and very justified hope. You see, you have no control when it comes to us, so sooner or later you're going to have to admit that you want us together as much as I do."

Oh, right now she so wanted to hate him. The very fact that he could spit out a sentence like that and she could follow every word as if it had been her own thought was down right infuriating. It was scary how well they understood each other because a part of her knew he was right.

Slowly, Sami blew out her breath in a huff, "Sometimes I…urgh… I just, just want to hit you."

Lucas half-laughed as she let go of most of her tension. He stepped back and spread his arms to open himself to attack, "If it'll make you feel better, go right ahead."

An open invitation to beat up Lucas was more than even she could pass up, not that she wanted to hurt him "Are you serious?"

"Sure. Let me have it, baby."

His smile was playful and teasing, so much so that she knew she couldn't actually hurt him. She stepped forward, but instead letting him get off easy she balled a fist to pretend that she really meant business. Lightly she threw the punch, barely even grazing his stomach.

He let out a full-fledged laugh this time at this strange display of affection, "Is that all you've got? Please, you hit like a girl."

"I am a girl," the vindictive side of her took over then as he laughed. Sami pulled back to punch him for real this time.

Her fist was almost in contact with his stomach, when Lucas moved to block her progress by grabbing both wrists and pulling her body flush against his.

Sami struggled to escape his grasp. They both kept up the fight, though somehow knowing this was really a battle of the wills and right now his outweighed hers by a ton. Really, it was all a game anyhow.

"Let me go you big bully!"

"Are you going to hit me again?"

She pouted sulkily, "Maybe."

"Then I'm not letting go."

"Please."

That cute little pout was getting to him and she knew it. But Lucas could play games of his own.

"On one condition," seeing that she wasn't going to argue, he continued, "Have dinner with me, tonight. We'll get this settled once and for all. I promise if you still want me to, I'll stop pressuring you."

Nope, I'll just let you come to me on your own. He added to himself. He didn't really doubt that after tonight Sami'd be back in his arms forever, but it was better to have all his bases covered.

She considered this for a minute. A night alone with Lucas might help clear her confusion. After all, what could it hurt? "You've got yourself a deal."

"Great. Now you can get dressed and get out of this building. I've got to prepare and this going to be a surprise. Do anything you want, I'll call you when I think you should head back."

………………………………...

Sami sat, hopefully inconspicuous, in a back booth at the pub. With her grandfather's chowder and a good book she was perfectly content. Well, almost.

Even the romantic trials and tribulations of Jane and Mr. Rochester couldn't keep her mind from wandering. Her stomach was doing flip-flops. It had been so long since she had felt the tingly, nervous excitement in the bottom of her stomach.

Her conviction to resist Lucas's many charms was falling fast, but right now she really didn't care.

………………………………...

Lucas was in over his head. He had absolutely no idea what to do. He could go casual. A homemade meal and good company. That would show her how compatible and comfortable they were together. Wouldn't it?

Maybe he should do it up right. Get all dressed up and then take her someplace fancy. Preferably someplace no one in Salem knew. It would show her how well he could treat her. Right?

Then again going out might take away the opportunity for some private fun. Not that he had expectations, just hope.

There were so many ways to go and he only had a couple of hours left. What would fit them best? That was really the question. The problem was he wasn't sure he knew how to answer it.

Sami was such a complex person. He needed something spectacular. But not too spectacular, she might think he was trying to dazzle her, maybe even buy her. Lucas had to find the perfect balance, and he knew just who to ask for help. With renewed zeal for his project, he dialed the phone to the people he knew he could count on.