A/N: Wow, thank you so much for all the excitement and love you gave the first chapter! I honestly didn't expect so many people to read it, so I'm really glad to hear you're all enjoying it so far. I hope you love this chapter just as much!
Disclaimer: Once more I only own the names of the boys and the idea!
By the time Sam, Sophie, and Adam are finishing up with the dishes, Donna knows Max is sound asleep; his fist is curled into the neckline of her dress, his breath slow and deep against her skin. Something in her chest starts to melt; the wall she's spent so long building starts to crumble, just a fraction.
His hair is blonde- in a way that Donna suspects Sam's must have been when he was young. It's just long enough to start to curl; it curls over his ears that stick out just a little bit, and Donna lifts a hand to stroke over the hull of one gently, the skin soft and smooth under her fingertips. Max shifts closer, his nose nuzzling into her dress as he lets out a soft, sleepy sigh.
She's weak against the wave of affection that crashes over her, and when Sam comes over, drying his hands, she swallows before she speaks.
"He's pretty out, but I know from experience the second he moves too much he'll be awake- why don't I follow you to your room to put him down?" she suggests softly, and Sam strokes a hand over his son's head before nodding, lips curved up in a half-smile, eyes full of an emotion Donna can't quite name.
"Come along, Adam," he says, holding his hand out until his older son took it, and Donna stood carefully, waiting a moment and adjusting Max as he shifted sleepily in his arms. Sophie trailed behind Sam, hair catching in the dying light of the setting sun.
Halfway up the stairs Max starts to stir, letting out a whine; she pauses, rocking him gently. His face scrunches up, the whine in his throat building, and Donna hushes him softly; when even that doesn't quiet him, she picks a lullaby Sophie had loved, and starts to hum it softly.
Max settles almost instantly, whines melting into whimpers as he presses his face against her shoulder. She waits another moment, still humming, before she continues to climb the stairs- when she stops humming, Max whines, so she continues with the song until she reaches Sam's room. He's watching Adam and Sophie on the balcony, leaning against the doorway; he pushes himself off and helps her lay Max down on the far bed.
Donna settles on the side of the bed, stroking Max's hair back as Sam rifles through a suitcase and pulls out a pair of pajamas for his son. She slips away so he can change him, going over to the balcony; Sophie and Adam are coloring together at the table, but her eyes catch on a few sheets of loose paper on the edge of the table.
Sophie's likeness stares up at her, a charcoal grin curling her lips and hair falling into her eyes. It's Sam's work- Donna remembers the way he used to sketch her, though she forces herself to shove the memories back down- and it's absolutely stunning; there are three of Sophie and a half-started one that may have been Sophie, though the jaw is too sharp and the cheekbones too defined for a seven year old, and she can't allowed herself to think about who he'd been sketching when she hears footsteps behind her.
"He's sound asleep," Sam murmurs, relief in his voice, and she can't help the half-smile that quirks her mouth. "I don't know how you did it, he's usually a terror when it comes to bedtime."
"I have practice," Donna answers, nodding her head towards Sophie. Hesitantly, she lifts the sketches upwards, swallowing. "These are really good, Sam."
"Just a few warm ups- I haven't sketched in years," he brushes off the compliment, eyes on Adam as he watches his son intently coloring in the tail of a mermaid on the page. Donna's eyes trace his face in a moment of weakness, her fingers aching to touch the familiar lines of his jaw. "You can keep them, if you'd like."
"Thank you," she says, tone genuine, and holds the sketch paper to her chest, treasuring the gift. She watches as Sophie rubs at her eyes, a telltale sign she was starting to get tired, and allowed a small smile to touch her lips. "Alright Soph, I think it's time to say goodbye."
Sophie frowns, but sighs and nods, starting to help Adam put the crayons back in the box.
"Are the ferry times the same? I figured I'd take the boys over to the mainland for part of the festivities tomorrow," Sam asks, and before Donna can answer, her daughter pipes up from where she had come to stand at Donna's hip.
"Mommy, they should come with us!" Sophie exclaims, and Sam lifts an eyebrow in Donna's direction.
"We were planning on going to the festival tomorrow as well," she explains, glancing down at her daughter- who seemed quite intent on keeping Sam and his boys around as much as possible. At least with Sophie and his boys there would be buffers, so she takes a breath and continues. "You're more than welcome to join us."
"Please come with us, it'll be so much fun!" Sophie chimes in, beaming up at Sam and pressing her interlocked fingers underneath her chin- it's a hard image to say no to, Donna knows from experience, so it doesn't surprise her when Sam caves after only a moment.
"As long as we aren't imposing, we'd love to," he tells her, and Sophie nods vigorously, blonde curls swimming around her shoulders. Donna swallows a small chuckle.
"We'll take the three o'clock ferry over," Donna informs him as Sophie and Adam say goodbye to each other, starting the process of making their own personal handshake. "They should have a late shuttle back around nine to bring us home."
"Sounds good," Sam replies, voice soft, and she can feel his gaze on her, warm and gentle and everything she can't accept from him- not now; not yet. She'd thought not ever again, but something inside her felt like it was softening; like some sharp edge was being worn away. She couldn't explain it- didn't have the words or the energy or the understanding yet. But something was starting to shift between them, though how long that would last once he knew the truth about Sophie, she couldn't even begin to guess. "Come on Adam- it's time for Sophie and Donna to go, son."
"Bye Sophie. Bye Miss Donna," Adam says, his voice going shy at the end as he looks at his shoes, cheeks turning pink before he turns his face into his father's leg. Sam's head cups the back of Adam's head, looking down at him affectionately before he follows them to the door.
"We'll see you tomorrow," he says, and Sophie waves before he closes the door behind them.
Donna hides her amusement as her daughter practically skips ahead of her down the stairs, heading back towards their rooms- she can't even find it in herself to be frustrated that the seven year old seemed perfectly content to continue to bring her and Sam back into each other's orbit continually. She couldn't fault Sophie for wanting to be around Adam- there weren't many other children on the island, and school didn't start for another few weeks. It had been a long summer of being lonely for Sophie, Donna knew.
"Mommy, will you read to me?" Sophie asked, tiredness creeping into her voice, and Donna strokes a hand over her daughter's hair as she nods.
"Of course, honey. Go pick out a book and get into your pjs, I'll be right there."
Sophie nodded and skipped the last few steps into the hall towards her room, but Donna hesitated before she headed towards hers; turning, her eyes moved to the balcony of Sam's room without thought. His figure was shadowed by the setting sun, gazing out at the ocean, and something in her stomach warmed.
Donna shook herself, walking down the hall and scolding herself for the moment of weakness.
Sam spends most of the most on the beach with the boys; neither of them want to go in the water, but they build an elaborate sandcastle and walk along the water's edge. The phantom blonde trails ahead of them everywhere he looks no matter what he does, and he can't help but wonder if everywhere he went on this island would be haunted by her ghost.
He takes the boys up to wash before they have to meet Donna and Sophie, and he tries not to focus on why he changes into a nicer pair of slacks and a clean shirt, rolling the sleeves up over his forearms. He makes sure the boys' bag is packed before he picks Max up, then gestures towards the door.
"I'm sure the girls are waiting, let's go," he says, checking his watch- they were doing well on time, but he didn't want any reason to annoy Donna. He wanted a fun afternoon- and part of him wanted to keep spending time with her and Sophie. He couldn't explain it, but he felt drawn to them- even more than he had been to Donna eight years ago. He didn't want to let that feeling go.
"Adam!" Sophie's voice coming from behind them catches their attention just as they reach the dock, and Adam turns, waving vigorously once he saw her.
"Hi Sophie!" his voice pitches with excitement, and Sam watches in amusement as they immediately dive into working on their handshake once more.
"Did you have a good morning?" Sam turns at Donna's question, hiding his surprise with a small smile.
"We did, I took the boys down to the beach. Built a rather impressive sandcastle, if I do say so myself," he answers, feeling pride well up at the soft laugh he pulls from her. "And you?"
"I attempted to get some work done, but that one only wanted to talk about everything she was going to eat at the festival today," Donna shakes her head in amusement, looking at her daughter. "Her appetite rivals the way yours used to be."
Something crosses her face after her words that Sam can't quite pinpoint, and he tries to lighten things.
"There's no 'used to be' when it comes to my appetite, Sheridan," he replies, and there's a few tense moments before she allows herself to snort, shaking her head with something Sam doesn't allow himself to believe is fondness. Before he can say anything else, Max reaches his arms out for Donna without a word, and she lifts an eyebrow before she effortlessly begins to take him, even as Sam protests.
"Oh, it's fine. He just likes my hair," Donna waves off Sam's words just as Max's fingers wind their way into the blonde hair she'd left loose around her shoulders. She looks at him, a triumphant look in her eyes and lips curled in amusement. "See?"
Sam lifts his hands in defeat, his own lips tugging upwards.
"Sam! Mommy showed me the pictures you drew- can you teach me how to do that?" Sophie asks once they're settled on the ferry, and Sam looks at the young girl in interest.
"Do you like to draw, Sophie?"
She nods, blonde hair spilling around her face that she shoved out of her eyes in annoyance.
"She's really good, Sam," Donna adds, Max settled comfortably in her lap and setting off something deep in Sam's chest, awakening feelings he'd spent nearly a decade burying.
"I can give you some tips then, of course," Sam tells Sophie, who grins at him. He can see so much of Donna in her smile that it makes his chest ache with memory, and selfishly, he wishes he could make Donna smile in the same carefree way he once had. He looks at her out of the corner of his eye, watching the horizon, and makes a promise that he would try to do just that in his time back in Kalokairi.
The mainland is bustling with activity when they dock, and the first few hours they're moving constantly between vendors and street performers and food stalls. Adam has an appetite to rival Sophie's, much to Donna's amusement, and they stop quite frequently to sample different foods.
"You remember my favorites," Sam comments innocently as she sets baklava down on the table, Sophie and Adam digging in instantly. Donna lifts an eyebrow but doesn't reply, pulling off a piece for herself and popping it into her mouth.
"Mama, can we go see if the flower lady is open now?" Sophie asks, and Donna checks her watch before nodding. "Yay! Let's go."
Donna rolls her eyes, cleaning up after her messy daughter before taking her hand and guiding the group through the streets back towards the flower stall that had been closed when they'd passed it earlier. It was now surrounded by customers, but Donna allowed Sophie to sniff a few of the flowers from one of the buckets.
She pulled a few notes from her pocket, and once Sophie had picked the flower she liked, she handed them to the woman in charge of the stall, who tried to refuse to take them, until Donna insisted. The older woman eventually took them, putting them into her pocket, and smiled at the group of them, taking a smaller flower from a higher up bucket and shortening the stem on it before leaning towards Sophie.
"A beautiful family," the woman says, tucking a flower into Sophie's hair and smiling at the five of them once more. Donna goes to protest, but she goes to help another customer, and the words die in her throat. She turns at the tug on her skirt, and finds Adam holding a flower up, a shy smile on his face.
"So you and Sophie match," he tells her, ducking his head, and Donna smiles softly, kneeling down and taking the daisy from him.
"Thank you, sweetheart," she replies, touching his cheek with two fingers behind she straightens up. Sam steps forward, lifting a hand.
"May I?" he asks, and after a moment she nods, placing the flower in his outstretched palm. Carefully, he tucks the bloom behind her ear, mirroring what the woman had done with Sophie, and heat blossoms down her spine at the brush of his fingers against her skin as he secures it. "There."
He steps back, checking his work, and the look in his eyes is enough to send another rush of heat over her skin.
"Beautiful," he murmurs, voice so low she almost misses it, but the single word makes her swallow, warring emotions flooding her.
"We match, Mama!" Sophie says, smiling up at her, and Donna nods, softening at her daughter's joy. "Sam, can you take a picture please? It's for my memory box."
Sam chuckles and nods, pulling out his camera and motioning the two of them together. Donna knelt down, wrapping an arm around her daughter and pressing their cheek together, grinning at the camera. Sam snapped a picture before recapping the Nikon, and Adam pointed to the next shop.
"Can we look there, Daddy?" he asked, and Sam smiled, ruffling his son's hair.
"Sure, son. Then we have to get going, we have a dinner reservation, remember?" Adam nods at his father's words before scampering off, Sophie following close behind. Sam and Donna walk slowly, naturally finding a matching pattern together as Max toddled between them. Donna barely registers when tiny fingers reach for hers, instinctively holding them, and it isn't until she realizes Max is holding both her and Sam's hands that the woman's words come back to her. A family.
Donna shakes the words away, trying not to let them cling to her, and allows Sophie to pull her towards one of the stalls, trying to convince her she needed yet another blue dress. This was her family. Sophie. That was all she needed- all she had needed for the last eight years.
Sam laughed a few feet away, pulling her attention towards him, and a tiny part of her wavered for just a moment before she could quash it. He looked up, as though sensing her look, and caught her eye before she could look away- tension settled between them, thick enough to cut with a knife, and Donna broke the gaze after a few moments.
"We should head for the restaurant," she looks up at Sam's words, watching him scoop Max up, and she nods, relieved for something else to focus on.
"Come on, Sophie," she reels her daughter in from where she'd skipped ahead one too many stalls, the blonde head ducking in and around people in the crowd before nearly bowling into Donna's knees. "Alright, slow down, speed racer. Let's go eat."
Sophie tugged on her hand, already rattling off everything she was hungry for, and Donna tried to focus all her attention on her daughter, and not on the lingering look she could feel Sam giving her out of the corner of his eye.
It's nearly nine by the time they leave the restaurant, and it's still a twenty minute walk to the dock- and almost forty minutes until the next ferry. Max is nearly asleep in his father's arms, Adam walking between the adults as Sophie walked on Donna's far side, her head resting against her mother's side as she yawned loudly.
"Daddy, I don't want to walk anymore, I'm tired," Adam whines, tugging on his father's hand as he starts to lag between Sam and Donna- they can both hear the overtiredness, and Sam lets out a sigh.
"You'll have to keep walking, son- your brother's nearly asleep, and I can't carry you both," Sam tells his eldest, and Adam's eyes start to glimmer with the beginnings of tears. Donna stroked a hand over Sophie's hair, then cleared her throat.
"I'll take Max," Donna tells him, and when Sam turns to look at her, she can see how tired he truly is. It takes her only a few moments to make a decision, shoving down the protests that her mind conjured up. "You carry Adam. There's an inn about a block away that nearly always has empty rooms specifically for families with children during the festival- we'll just stay overnight, rather than try to make it back for the late ferry. We'll just head back to the island in the morning."
"Are you sure? You don't need to be back tonight?" he asks, and she shakes her head, unable to help the way her heart softens just a touch at the look on his face.
"You're my only guest, you know," there's a note of teasing in her voice, and Sam's face splits into the smallest grin. "Come on, give me Max. It's only a few minutes away if we walk fast."
Sam stoops, carefully depositing Max into her arms; the little boy shifts sleepily before he buries his face in Donna's neck and huffs out a breath, eyes sleeping shut once more. Donna hums softly, rubbing his back as she sways gently from side to side, watching as Sam scooped Adam up, kissing the side of his son's head and soothing his exhausted whines.
"C'mon Soph," Donna beckoned her daughter forward, and Sophie wrapped a hand in her shirt as they walked through the darkened streets. The inn appears around the corner, and relief blooms in Donna's chest when the girl at the front desk produces a room key for them in a moment once she explains why they need a room.
When Sophie sways tiredly, Sam doesn't hesitate before shifting Adam slightly and scooping her up, nestling the two of them in his arms to carry upstairs. Donna follows, unable to help the way her heart skips a beat at the way Sophie looks in Sam's embrace, and unlocks the door to their room before pushing it open so Sam can carefully place Adam and Sophie on the far bed.
She follows, waiting until he'd tugged the shoes off the two of them and readjusted them on the bed before setting Max down on Sophie's other side, gently pulling off his sandals and brushing back his messy blonde hair. He shifted, eyes opening briefly as he mumbled something sleepily that sounded dangerously close to Mama before he settled back down.
Donna bends and presses her lips to Sophie's temple, squeezing her shoulder before she moves towards the bathroom. Splashing water onto her face, she looks at herself in the mirror, studying the familiar cheekbones and messy blonde hair just as she did every day. Sighing, she returned to the bedroom and settled on the second bed as Sam disappeared into the bathroom.
When he returned, she lifted an eyebrow at his hesitation.
"I won't bite, you know," she says, working hard to keep the amusement out of her voice. Sam snorted, shaking his head. "I think we're capable of sharing this bed like adults."
"I'll make do on the floor, Donna- it'll be fine," Sam says, taking the second pillow from the bed and looking at the space between the two beds, lips curling into a small grimace at the thought of a night on the unforgiving wooden floor. Donna felt her resolve waver, and eventually patted the bed.
"It's not like we've never shared a bed before. Just get over here, Sam," Donna says, nudging the covers back and turning onto her side, swallowing as she focused on keeping her breathing under control. It took a moment, but finally the bed dipped as she felt his warmth slip beneath the sheets. She closed her eyes, fending off the memory of eight years prior and the last time she and Sam had indeed shared at bed.
It was just one night. What harm could it do?