March 30th, 2004

Everything they owned was gone and Sam hated shopping for new things. She hated shopping period. Luka was kind enough to let her and Alex move in with him, but even that was too small for them.

"I can't afford a new place." Sam said as she pushed the cart down the aisle.

"You and Alex can stay with me as long as you want." Luka said picking a skirt off of the rack. Sam made a face and he put it back down.

"You live in a one bedroom. Alex needs his own place and so do I." She said looking for some jeans that would fit her. "But I can't afford anything so I guess that idea is out of question."

"We could find a place together." Luka suggested. Sam laughed.

"I don't think so." She threw some jeans into the cart. Luka frowned softly as Alex Came up to the cart with a lot of clothes in his hands.

"I got some jeans and four shirts. Oh and one sweater." Alex said, "And yes I tried them all on."

"Great. Let's go look a shoes." Sam said. Luka followed them.

"Sam I think it'd be perfect if we lived together." Luka said. Sam gave him a look, "We'd save money and we spend ninety percent of the time with each other anyway." Alex's face brightened up.

"Are we going to live with Luka permently?" Alex asked. Sam was trying to ignore them.

"Sam, we can buy a house. A real house with a back yard." Luka said. Sam sighed. A house. She had always wanted a house.

"Luka, I don't know." Sam said.

"Mom, a backyard." Alex said.

"Maybe we can just look." Sam said.

"Nothing says we have to buy. We'll just look." Luka said. Sam sighed slightly.

"All right. We can look around." Sam said, "But let's look at these stupid shoes first." Luka smirked at Alex.

* * *

Sam put her four bags down. She was so tired of shopping. Her feet were killing her. She sat on the bed with a groan.

"Let me give you a massage, Sam." Luka sat behind her. She smirked.

"Get all my knots out." She said. Luka put his hands on her back. Sam shivered. "If we look for a house, that must mean we're pretty serious, huh?"

"I would hope so." Luka said, kissing the back of her neck, "My feelings for you are very serious." Sam turned around and looked at him.

"What...what are your feelings for me?" She asked. Luka smiled tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Well, I never thought I'd feel like this again." Luka said, "My head is spinning and my heart is singing out how much I love you."

"You love me?" Sam asked. Her throat was dry. He nodded.

"I love you very much." Luka's thumb caressed her cheek.

"It scares the shit out of me, but I love you too." Sam smiled. It felt so strange to say that. Luka pulled her into a kiss. See? The two of them could be happy with each other.

April 14th, 2004

Things did change once you said I love you. Touching each other, kissing each other, making love to each other, everything felt different. Even Alex could feel a difference.

Today they were looking at houses. it was so strange, but it was a dream both of them had always had.

The first house Candy, the realtor, showed them was a dump. The shuttered needed work, the bathroom needed replacing, and so much more. Repairs would have cost over ten thousand dollars. It just was not worth it.

The second house however was completely different. It was out of their league even though Alex would have loved it. It was a three story brick home. There were three gardens that would need a lot of professional help. There was no way they could have afforded this one.

"I'm so tired of all of this." Sam whispered as Candy drove to the third house.

"We'll find a house." Luka said. Sam sighed softly. Sure this was fun, but it was also nerve wrecking. it reminded her what she had been missing for all these years.

"Here we are." Candy pulled into a driveway. Sam looked out the window. The house was beautiful. Four bushes were in front of the windows.

"Are those rose bushes?" Sama sked. Candy nodded as they got out of the car.

"They should start blooming in a month. There are daffodils out back." She said.

"Do you know what colour they are?" Sam asked.

"I believe the roses are yellow." Candy guided them in. Sam sighed. Those were her favourite kind, "Well right over here is the kitchen."

"It looks new." Luka said looking at the silver appliances. Candy nodded.

"Everything was replaced last summer." Candy said, "Dishwasher and garbage disposal."

"Great." Sam said. Candy next showed them the laundry room and bathroom. As Candy put it, it was beautiful. Next she showed them the living room.

"Wow..." Luka said staring at the large room.

"Big isn't it?" Candy smiled, "There used to be another room over there, but the previous owners took the wall out."

"I like it like this." Sams miled, "Is that a fireplace?"

"Yes it is. It's a working one at that." Candy said.

"You say there are three bedrooms?" Luka asked.

"Yes there is." Candy showed them upstairs. The rooms were large and beautiful. "If you look out that window you can see the back yard." Sam walked over to the window and peered out. Her breath caught in her throat. She has never seen so much sprawling green in her life. She looked at Luka.

"Luka..." She whispered. He smiled. He could see need and want flashing in her eyes. He looked at Candy.

"The price of this house is never the numbers we gave you?" Luka asked. Candy smiled.

"It's exact. Would you like me to give you a few minutes?" She asked.

"Yes thank you." Luka looked at Sam, "Do you like this house." Sam nodded.

"This house is everything I've ever dreamt of." She said. "But...We're just looking."

"I want your dream to come true." Luka said touching her cheek, "We don't have to just look." Sam bit her lip. She looked out the window. A house. A real house with a large backyard for her son. Sam's dream was coming true and Luka was helping it happen.

***

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