A/N: I am so sorry it took as long as it did to get this chapter out- I'm in the process of getting a new job on top of getting a second one, along with returning to school next semester, so my life has been busier than anticipated these last few weeks. Hopefully this is worth the wait!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs and the plot!
The world seems to move in slow motion as Sam stares at her, expression dark as his eyes scan her face. There's a long, painful pause, and finally he speaks.
"Might?" he asks quietly, and all she can do is nod. "I might have had a daughter for the last seven years? Were you ever going to tell me?"
"I don't have the answer to that," she tells him honestly, rubbing at her face. "You left me, Sam, to go home and marry someone else. The other two were just- just friends. Flings, because I was heartbroken and miserable because I loved you and you lied to me and then left me. They were gone before I even knew I was pregnant. I've done this on my own from the moment I found out."
"I left to tell Lorraine I couldn't marry her!" Sam's voice rises in pitch and Donna lifts her head sharply, shock filtering through her features at the impossibility. "I broke off our engagement and flew right back here to find you and explain everything, but- when I came back, the woman at the bar told me you were with someone else."
"You- you came back?" is all she manages, unable to comprehend it, and Sam takes a step closer to her, swallowing before he speaks quietly.
"I never- the life in New York was never what I really wanted. It was me putting one foot in front of the other. But here- with you? I felt like I could finally build a life I really wanted- a life that had love in it," his voice softens, and Donna feels her heart beating in her throat, choking her with the thrum of it. "I only went back to the States because I thought you meant it when you said you never wanted to see me again. I was…I've been heartbroken from the moment I left you, Donna."
They're both quiet, and Donna watches the movement of Sam's throat as he swallows again before he speaks once more.
"I married Lorraine because it was what her family expected, and I didn't have it in me to fight anymore. I didn't know what else to do with my life, and I did care for her- we've been friends since we were small. It's affection on some level, but…not love. The only good things to come from it are the boys, and now she won't…even speak to them. Wants nothing to do with them- said she wants her own life, and she can't do that as a mother. When we divorced, she signed away her rights," Sam explains, and Donna feels her heart break at the heaviness in his voice. So many things made sense- why he'd been in Greece in the first place all those years ago, the things he'd tried to explain to her when he'd told her about Lorraine initially. "She walked away from them without a second glance and I can't- wrap my head around it. Max is still too young to even understand it, but Adam…Adam keeps asking questions I don't know how to answer. Regardless of what our marriage was, we signed up for parenthood together for the long haul. And now the boys…the boys will grow up thinking their mother never wanted them in the first place."
Donna barely even realizes what she's doing until her palm is resting over Sam's heart; her pulse rushes in her ears as she touches him, but she doesn't move her hand. The feel of his heartbeat under her fingertips is a familiar, comforting thump, and she swallows, thumb swiping against the fabric of his shirt.
"I'm so sorry, Sam," she whispers, finally understanding the lost expression she'd seen on his face over the last few days, staring out at the ocean with vacant eyes. "But why did you come here?"
"I thought I could…think," he huffs out a gruff laugh, the sound vibrating against her hand. "This place always felt like home when I was here with you. I needed to get away from New York- I never wanted to raise my sons there."
He looks down at the ground for a moment before looking back up at her.
"Leaving didn't make me stop loving you, Donna," he tells her, and she stops breathing. His eyes study her face, the touch of his gaze scorching on her skin, and everything is suddenly hot and pressing. "I've loved you every day for the last seven years. And if those seven years have shown me anything, it's that I'm tired of wasting time."
"What are you saying, Sam?" she asks, voice barely above a whisper. Sam's hand slowly lifts, giving her time to stop him- she doesn't, and his fingertips brush her cheek gently before tucking her hair behind her ear, his palm shifting to cup her jaw.
She only remembers their location at the sound of footsteps, and they spring apart instantly, cheeks pink and eyes avoiding each other.
"Mommy, there you are!" Sophie runs directly into Donna's knees, and she lets out a little 'oof' at the collision, hand coming up to cup her daughter's head. "Hi Sam!"
"Hi, Sophie," Sam says, looking at her with a new softness in his gaze, and Donna feels her heart stutter a little in her chest.
"I think Max is waking up," Sophie informs them, fiddling with the hem of Donna's shirt. "And Adam and I are hungry."
Donna chuckles, running a hand over her daughter's hair as she shook her head affectionately. She lifted her gaze to meet Sam's, finding him watching her and Sophie with a softness that hits Donna like a bunch in a gut; like something she's always wanted is just out of reach, brushing against her fingertips.
"Let's see what we can put together for dinner, how does that sound?" she says, causing Sophie to nod her head vigorously and tug on her hand, leading her towards the kitchen. Donna casts one last glance at Sam, unable to quench the hunger rising in her that she knew couldn't be satisfied by anything her kitchen contained.
Dinner ends up being pasta with chicken and a fruit salad Donna throws together with what she has, but Sophie and Adam eat it enthusiastically, and Max happily munches on the strawberry Donna gives him. Unable to help herself, she spends most of the meal watching Sam out of the corner of her eye; in return, she can feel his own gaze on her when she looks away, heavy and warm on her skin like honey.
Max giggles happily from Sam's arms while Donna does the dishes, Sophie and Adam having been allowed to go play out in the courtyard; she can hear their laughter through the open window, and her lips curl gently into a smile. Allowing herself the daydream, just for a moment, she thinks about having this every day for the rest of her life; dinner with the five of them and Sophie having something to play with- a brother, her mind whispers before she can help herself.
It's a decadent daydream, something she's never felt she was allowed, and she clears her throat, dislodging the image from her mind's eye.
Max makes a humming noise, reaching for her as soon as she's finished drying her hands, and she's weak enough to admit something eases inside her as he settles against her side, small and warm and happy as he talks nonsense in her ear. Sam follows behind them as they move outside to where Sophie and Adam are playing tag.
"Daddy, come play with us!" Adam calls, waving with his hands, and it takes no more persuasion than that for Sam to join their game, chasing them around the square and allowing them to chase him in return. Donna settles in a chair off to the side, the hotel's ledger off to her side that she half-glances at, while Max settles contentedly in her lap, playing with her hair and continuing to babble.
Within an hour Max is fast asleep and the other three have tired themselves out considerably; Sophie comes and settles at Donna's feet, head in the free space of her lap, while Sam and Adam were in the other chair.
"I think we've all had a pretty big couple of days- how about bed?" Donna suggests gently- Sophie gives almost no fight, belaying her exhaustion, and Sam scoops Adam up easily, the little boy wrapping his arms around his father's neck. "Soph, go brush your teeth please. I'll be there after I help Sam put Max down, okay?"
Her daughter nods and walks slowly towards their room, letting out a long, loud yawn and rubbing at her eyes; Donna watches for a moment before turning and heading after Sam.
In a way that shouldn't feel as easy and natural and domestic as it does, Donna gets Max ready for bed while Sam helps Adam. Together they tuck the two boys into bed, Adam curling around Max instinctively in his sleepy state, and Sam is warm beside her as she steps back after pulling the covers up over them.
Sam's hand is guiding but gentle on her hip as he pushes her lightly towards the door; heat flutters over her body, and she swallows against the sudden dryness in her throat. Once the door is shut behind them, Sam turns them so Donna's back is against the wall, their faces mere inches apart.
"I believe we had started a conversation before we were interrupted," he murmurs, and her breath catches in her throat.
"You were saying something, as I remember it," she replies, pressing her palms against the wall, the cool cement helping to ground her. Sam's eyes study her, their blue dark and clear and warm as they move over her face, one of his hands coming up to brush hair from her face, leaving a trial of heat where he touched.
"I was saying that I want to come home, Donna," he whispers, and the words make her stomach swoop to her knees, like she's hanging over the edge of a cliff, about to freefall. "If there's even a chance Sophie's mine, I don't want to lose any more time with her- I don't want to lose any more time with either of you. This place was our dream- the two of us, together. Let me help you make it a reality."
"We can't just…pick up where we left off, Sam," Donna says, shaking her head, though her traitorous heart is rebelling against her words in her chest at the picture he was laying at her feet, exactly like she'd dreamed of earlier.
"Then we don't pick up. We start new. Together," he tells her, and the thought of sharing all this- the thought of being on equal footing with a partner in this venture, makes Donna weak in the knees. And with Sam- the man she'd thought about constantly since the day he'd left her; the man she knew she hadn't stopped loving, not for a moment. "I come with two sons now. We may have a daughter. It's not just us anymore."
"And you want that? To make your sons' lives here?" she asks softly, leaning into his hand. Sam leans forward, touching his forehead to hers.
"My life has always been here, Donna," he murmurs and she closes her eyes, pressing both palms to his chest as his mouth covers hers.
Sam kisses like she remembers; soft and warm and all-encompassing, like summer rain. One hand twines in her hair as the other falls to her hip, tugging her against him; she slides her hands up until her arms can loop around his neck, pressing their torsos together. Sam groans, his grip on her tightening, and Donna feels a moan build in her throat, heat spilling down her spine.
I can have this every day is all she thinks about when they pull apart, panting, Sam's hands still pulling her close. She reaches up, kissing him again- softer this time, warm and sweet and gentle before she pulls away once more.
"I have to go put Soph to bed," she whispers, fingertips skimming his cheeks. "And we both need to get some sleep."
Sam nods, squeezing her hips gently before he lets her go.
"Sleep well, Sheridan," he replies, voice low and rough like she remembers, and Donna swallows. "See you in the morning."
She nods, unable to speak, and watches him slip back into his room, leaving only the tingling on her lips and the warmth in her chest. It takes another moment for her to move down the stairs, fingers pressed to her mouth, trying to stifle the grin her lips want to spread into- to spotlight her joy, show the world.
Donna allows herself a small, quick smile, brimming with happiness, as she makes her way back to Sophie.