Altered Reality
Chapter Four
The elevator chimed, slowing to a halt as it reached the designated floor, and the heavy doors slid back to reveal the dimly lit hallway.
Shifting the strap of her newsboy style briefcase over her shoulder, Sami Roberts made her way down the hall to the door marked by the elegant silver number engraved into the dark wood. She pulled her keys out of her purse and was about to unlock the door when she heard laughing from inside.
Frowning, she glanced down at her watch and noted that it was almost eleven o'clock on a school night, well past Will's bedtime.
And he has a spelling test tomorrow, she thought with a groan.
As if her day hadn't been long enough already.
Shoving the key into the keyhole, she turned the lock, not oblivious to the sudden scrambling taking place on the other side of the door. By the time she twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open, she wasn't surprised to find her husband reading to her son, who was lying on the couch in his blue X-men pajamas.
"Hi," she called, closing the door to the penthouse behind her.
"Sami, baby," Lucas said with a warm, innocent smile. "I didn't hear you come in. We were just reading a bedtime story, right, buddy?"
Will nodded empathetically, forcing a yawn that Sami saw right through.
"Shouldn't you be doing that in his bedroom?" she asked skeptically.
"Normally, yes," Lucas agreed. "But I thought it would be okay to do it out here just this once."
"Mmm," Sami murmured, drawing her lips together in a thin line. Without another word, she walked across the room and picked up the remote from the coffee table in front of them. Turning towards the big-screen television, she pushed the power button, and the logo for the new racing video game that Stefano had sent last week flickered onto the screen.
"Busted," Will muttered under his breath, folding his little arms over his chest.
"Well, we are now, buddy," Lucas sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Baby, I can explain..."
"Don't bother," Sami told him, rolling her eyes. "Will, sweetie, run on upstairs to bed, okay? We'll be up to tuck you in after I talk to Daddy for a little bit."
"Okay," Will agreed, swinging his legs over the edge of the couch and sliding to the ground. "Can I get a bedtime story for real?"
"Sure thing, buddy," Lucas promised, ruffling his brown hair affectionately. "Mommy and I will be right up, so you go ahead and choose a book, alright?"
Will nodded eagerly, racing across the living room and up the carpeted staircase leading to the second floor. Sami watched him until he disappeared from sight, a tired smile touching her lips. Sometimes it was hard to believe her baby was already eight years old, it seemed like just yesterday that her father-in-law Bill Horton had placed him in her arms in the delivery room.
Where does the time go? she wondered with a sigh.
"Sami?" Lucas asked, his brow furrowing in concern as he looked at her. "You liked tired, baby. Are you okay?"
"It's been a long day," Sami answered, rubbing her temples. "We had a mix-up at work, so now we're behind schedule on the fittings for the spring show and we've had to reschedule for tomorrow morning, bright and early."
"Yeah, Mom told me," Lucas replied with a nod. "She called earlier while you were at your Dad's to tell you that she's going to spring for a catered breakfast at the office in the morning for the models, and she's ordering you some of those pastries you love so much from that French cafe you two eat at all the time."
Sami groaned, dropping down onto the couch beside him. "Your mother is trying to make me fat," she accused. "She knows I can't resist those."
"It's all part of her evil plan to take over the world," Lucas informed her with a smirk. "Today, she makes her business partner fatter than Anna Nicole Smith. Tomorrow, she takes on the White House."
Despite herself, Sami chuckled, imagining her mother-in-law going head-to-head with the President. It would certainly be an interesting sight to see, because Kate Kiriakis was a determined and stubborn business woman who very rarely lost an argument. That was part of the reason that Basic Black had done so well in the three years since they started the company, thanks to financial backing from Kate's husband Victor.
Back when she'd gotten pregnant with Will, Sami had still been an intern at Titan Publishing, where Lucas was a junior executive, and she knew that she owed a good deal of what she'd been able to achieve in life since then to Lucas' stepfather. Not only had he opened his home to her, inviting her to live in the mansion once she and Lucas decided to keep the baby and get married, but he had used his connections to allow her to finish her senior year early and then take college courses online from the mansion so she could take care of Will and still further her education.
While she wasn't the genius that her half-brother Rex was, she was still pretty smart, and with Henderson around during the day to help out and her young brother-in-law Philip more than happy to play with his nephew after school and on the weekends, Sami had been able to get her business degree fairly quickly.
After that, she had gone back to work at Titan for a while, as the Director of Imaging, but she'd still hungered for something more. So when Kate approached her about the idea of starting up their own design company, she had been eager to do it, and Victor had believed in them enough to hand over the nest egg they needed to get things started.
Of course, Sami always wondered if he hadn't just wanted some peace and quiet at work, and giving his wife a project of her own was certainly one way of getting it.
"So what did your Dad want?" Lucas inquired curiously, lifting a hand to absently finger the ends of her long, golden hair.
"To talk about Mom," Sam replied, her tumble of emotions on that subject resurfacing. "There's been a new development."
"Oh?" Lucas raised an eyebrow. "What kind of development?"
"Lucas..." Sami began softly, swallowing past the lump in her throat. "She's coming home."
"What?" Lucas cried in surprise, straightening immediately. "Are you serious? They're releasing her?"
Sami nodded, not sure how that news made her feel. "The experimental drugs they've been giving her have worked, she's lucid and stable," she announced quietly. "Daddy was with her all afternoon, he says she's almost her old self again. Lexie says she'll be able to come home next week."
"Wow," Lucas muttered, running a hand through his hair. "That's big news."
"Yeah," Sami agreed, troubled as she bit her lip absently. It wasn't that she didn't want her mother to come home, that was all any of them wanted, but she didn't know what to expect. She knew what her mother thought of her, knew the whole twisted history that Marlena had created for her in her delusionary world, and she didn't like it one bit. The lies and manipulation she could handle, but the idea that she would have ever kept Lucas from their son, that the two of them would have let their friendship get so twisted and full of bitterness, was terrifying.
Not to mention that the very thought of lusting after Austin made her sick.
"How are you holding up?" Lucas asked, staring at her appraisingly. "I know this can't be easy for you or your family."
"I don't know how I feel about it," Sami sighed. "I really don't. Part of me is so relieved that she's better, that she's not going to be stuck in that place any longer, but the rest of me is just so..."
"Scared?" Lucas finished knowingly, rubbing her back soothingly. "Yeah, I know. I would be, too, if I were in your shoes."
"Yeah."
"I don't blame you for being apprehensive about her being released," Lucas told her, his expression gentle and sympathetic. "I know how much it upset you to hear the things she's said about you while she's been sick."
"You mean about me being a scheming, cruel, manipulative bitch?" Sami replied sullenly.
"Well, you certainly aren't cruel and manipulative," Lucas defended her. "I don't know if I'd call you a 'bitch'. Temperamentally challenged, yes, but a bitch? Not my Goldilocks."
His old nickname for her, which he'd first started calling her when they were kids as a form of teasing and later had come to be a term of endearment between friends and then lovers, made her smile a little bit.
"And as for the scheming part, well, your scheming has always been for a good cause," Lucas said in amusement. "Remember when Vivian Alamain decided she wanted to seduce Victor, and you plowed her over in order to protect Mom? I don't think anyone had the guts to cross you after that."
"That woman deserved everything she got and then some," Sami muttered with a scowl. "And I did her husband a favor by videotaping her trying to blackmail Victor into sleeping with her. The man finally got a clue and dropped her like a bad habit."
"And Mom fawned all over you for a month," Lucas responded with a snort, shaking his head. "I swear if we hadn't been married, she would have wanted to adopt you after that."
"Can I help it if your mother has good taste?" Sami retorted, smirking faintly. She sighed heavily, leaning her head back against the couch. "Her delusions are just so unsettling, Lucas. I get upset just thinking about it sometimes, you know that. I can't even go see her without coming home a mess. How am I supposed to deal with having her home again?"
"I think you just have to take it one day at a time, baby," Lucas answered gently, lifting a hand to touch her hair reverently. "At least you have a week to prepare yourself before you see her, right?"
Sami cringed. "Actually," she groaned. "I told Daddy I'd go visit her tomorrow afternoon."
"Really?" Lucas said, giving her a concerned look. "Are you sure you want to do that?"
"No," Sami admitted with a sigh. "But Lexie says it will help her adjust faster, if we visit her before she comes home, and Daddy was practically pleading for someone to volunteer, so..."
"So you volunteered."
"It means a lot to Daddy," Sami explained, shrugging. "And I didn't want Brady, Rex or Belle to feel like they had to go if they weren't ready."
"You're a really good big sister, you know that?" Lucas said seriously, his hand moving from her hair to cup her cheek. "I mean that, you've taken really good care of them since your Mom got sick, and you put them before yourself sometimes, making sure they're doing okay even if you aren't. I really admire you for that."
"I just don't like to see them hurting," Sami murmured. "I'm supposed to protect them, that's my job."
"And it's my job to protect you and Will," Lucas reminded her, sliding his arms around her waist and drawing her closer. "So if you want me to come with you tomorrow, I will."
"Would you, really?" Sami asked. "What about work?"
"I think I can afford a day off," Lucas assured her with a smirk. "Victor will understand. If you want me there, I'll be there.
"
"Thank you," Sami said with a sigh.
"I'm always here for you, baby," Lucas reminded her. "Whatever you need, all you have to do is ask, you know that."
Sami did know it, he'd even put a similar sentiment into his wedding vows eight years earlier. He had been her rock, her strength, for as long as she could remember. They'd known each other their whole lives, just about, and he had always been a permanent fixture in her life, but if someone had told her when she was a kid that one day Lucas Roberts would be her husband, she would have laughed.
That is, she would have laughed right after she stepped on their toes.
Even when they'd become best friends, she hadn't really ever considered him in that light. At twelve, she'd thought his older half-brother Austin Reed was perfect, but by the time she was thirteen, she was rather disillusioned with her sister's boyfriend. He wasn't good enough for Carrie, that much she realized soon enough, so she had been thrilled when they broke up over Austin's decision to pursue a boxing career instead of going to college.
Austin left town for New York City, and Carrie enrolled in the medical school at Salem University, doing her internship at the hospital, which was how she came to fall in love with Mike Horton, Lucas' other older half-brother.
They were a much better match in her opinion, and when the two had finally gotten married, Carrie had asked her to be the maid-of-honor. Lucas had been the best man, of course, and his sister Jennifer Deveraux had been a bridesmaid along with Cassie and Belle, with Brady and Rex both acting as groomsmen, but the most precious sight of all had been little Will and Abby playing the part of ringbearer and flower girl.
They've both grown so much, she thought with a wistful smile. It seemed like every month they had gotten another inch taller, and part of her didn't want her baby to grow up so fast. She knew that her sister-in-law Jenn felt the same way about nine year old Abby, so even if Lucas and Jack didn't understand why they got so emotional with each little milestone the kids took, it was nice to know that she could be 'crazy' as Jack called it with Jenn.
"Whatever you need," Lucas repeated, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
"I need you to come with me tomorrow," Sami whispered.
"Then I'll meet you at Basic Black," Lucas promised. "Just name the time, and we'll drive over together."
"I don't know how I would have gotten through this mess without you," she murmured into the crook of his neck, breathing in the familiar scent of his cologne.
"I don't know how I would have gotten through this life without you," Lucas retorted softly, his warm breath spilling across the back of her neck as he brushed her hair aside. "I can't imagine life without you in it, Sami. Never could. You and Will are the most important things in the whole world to me, and you always will be."
"I know," Sami sighed contentedly, just savoring the moment of peaceful tranquility, something she could only ever find in his arms.
No matter how hectic their lives got, with her constantly busy at Basic Black and him practically running Titan for Victor now that his stepfather wanted more time away from the office to spend with his wife and to enjoy life, they always managed to find time for each other, and for their son. Much like Friday dinners were set aside for her family, Saturdays were reserved entirely for Will.
Just last weekend, they had taken the Titan jet to San Diego, so that he could tour the San Diego zoo now that he was on an animal craze. Will had practically skipped the whole way, his eyes wide as he took in all the different animals, and despite the fact that they'd both had longs day at work the day before, both Sami and Lucas had grinned like kids themselves at his exuberance.
To think that nine years ago, they had been just friends, until one night changed everything.
"Do you remember the night we conceived Will?" she asked.
Lucas smirked, resting his chin on her shoulder. "How could I forget?" he leered playfully. "It was the first time I got you into bed."
"Technically there was no bed involved," Sami pointed out dryly.
"It was also the night that changed our lives," Lucas added softly, nuzzling her neck. "The night that you became mine."
"Mmm," Sami murmured, letting her eyes fall closed as she leaned back against his strong chest. That night had been the beginning of something special between them, something unexpected that she supposed, in hindsight, wasn't as unexpected as it may have seemed.
It had been the night of her junior prom, and she'd been asked by Franco Kelly, a senior in her Calculus class who all her friends thought was dreamy. Carrie had gone prom dress shopping with her and they'd managed to find a spaghetti-strapped dress the exact shade of blue as her eyes and the perfect shoes to go along with it. Her mother had even paid for her and her gal-pal Jamie Caldwell to get their hair and makeup done at the spa over on 4th Street.
The night had started out wonderfully, despite how many pictures her mother had taken at the house when Franco came to pick her up and the overprotective act her father and little brothers had put on. Eric had already left to go pick up his date, but he'd promised John ahead of time that he'd keep an eye on Franco at the prom, just in case.
They'd driven to the Continental Hotel downtown, where the prom was being held, and met up with their classmates inside the spacious ballroom, which had been decorated with a vibrant and breathtaking silver and black theme.
About halfway through the night, Eric had stolen her away for a dance and by the time he headed back to his date, she had lost track of Franco, so she'd gone over to sit with Jamie and her date Greg for a while, the three of them discussing their after-prom plans. When twenty minutes had gone by without any sign of her date, Sami had excused herself and gone looking for him.
She'd found Franco in the place she'd least expected to find him, in the girl's bathroom making out with the head cheerleader Kelly Bates.
Angry and embarrassed, Sami had fled the prom, rushing out into the rain without even pausing to go back to Jamie's table for her purse or shawl. She hadn't really been thinking, she'd just known that she couldn't stay there any longer, and so she'd ended up walking in the pouring rain, in a prom gown and high heels, eventually ending up outside of the Titan Publishing Complex.
To this day, she didn't know what had led her there, maybe she'd just headed in that direction without realizing it, or maybe she'd been subconsciously hoping that Lucas would still be there since he'd been working late all week due to the big presentation he was in charge of.
Either way, she'd gotten lucky, no pun intended, because she'd spotted the light on in his office, so she'd gotten the night-guard to let her into the lobby and buzz his office. He'd clearly been surprised when the guard told him she was there, but he'd said to send her on up, and it hadn't been until she was in the elevator that Sami finally took note of her disheveled appearance by looking at the mirrored ceiling.
Her hair was still up in its elegant twist, thanks to the sturdy clip holding it in place, but it was soaking wet, and the ringlets that had framed her face earlier were now plastered to her cheeks. Her lips were starting to turn blue and her makeup had run a bit. No wonder the guard had looked at her so strangely when she first approached him.
Lucas' reaction had been much more vocal, though, when she walked into his office a dripping mess. He'd immediately forgotten his work and stepped out from behind his desk, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up and his blazer jacket hanging over the back of his leather chair, and demanded to know what had happened.
She'd told him everything, from finding Franco with Kelly to walking the twelve blocks in the rain from the Continental Hotel. He'd called Franco an asshole and offered to get Austin to beat the guy up, after all what good was having a boxer brother if you never put him to use, and then he'd called her an idiot for walking all that way in the rain without a coat when she could have just used a pay phone at the hotel to call him and he would have come to pick her up.
Luckily, she still had a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt stowed away in his office for the days when they headed down to Salem Lake straight from work to take out Victor's yacht, so Lucas had ushered her into the Photo Lab to change into the dry clothes. When she opened the door again, she found Lucas standing on the other side with a handful of tiny liquor bottles from Victor's mini-bar and a hanger for her dress.
He always did think of everything, Sami thought with a small smile.
A few little bottles of vodka later, she was spilling her sob story, wanting to know what was wrong with her that her prom date would ditch her for another girl. Lucas had, in typical Lucas fashion, insisted that there was nothing wrong with her, that she was beautiful. She had rolled her eyes skeptically, which irritated him, and he demanded to know why she never believed him when he told her that. Her answer had been that she knew he was just trying to make her feel better because she was worthless, so Lucas had gotten angry, snapping that she wasn't worthless and he wasn't feeling sorry for her, right before grabbing her by the chin and kissing her senseless.
"Don't you know how much I care about you?" Lucas asked softly once he'd pulled back, his dark eyes searching hers.
"You kissed me..." Sami breathed, a tumbling mess of emotions washing over her.
"Yes, I did," Lucas agreed evenly, his thumb stroking her cheek tenderly. "And I'm going to kiss you again as soon as I finish this sentence."
"Why?" was all that Sami could manage to ask.
"Because I care about you," Lucas informed her with a gentle smile. "Because I like you. Because I..." he trailed off, struck by a sudden moment of clarity despite the alcohol they had consumed, and the realization that swept over him was mind-blowing.
"Because you what?" Sami asked breathlessly.
"I love you..." Lucas concluded, a stunned look on his face, talking more to himself than to her. "I love you... how did I not know that?"
Not knowing what to say to that, and touched by the vulnerability she was witnessing in him, Sami leaned forward and captured his lips with hers, and lost herself in his kisses.
Needless to say, the next morning the hangover had been a bit rough, worse for her than for Lucas since she wasn't such an experienced drinker, but both of them were able to remember everything that had transpired the night before.
Instead of feeling self-conscious waking up naked with her best friend under the white sheets of the Photo Lab, Sami had felt strangely at peace. There was only one thing she needed to know, and so she had asked him if he meant what he said last night, that he loved her, and Lucas assured her that he had.
She'd kissed him again after that, and whispered that she loved him, too, she always had, she just didn't realize it until that night.
Somehow, they had been lucky enough to wake up before anyone arrived at Titan for the day, so they had gotten dressed and made themselves look presentable before sneaking back over to Lucas' office. Inside, Lucas had told her that they needed to figure out what to do now, and confessed that he wanted to be with her. Sami had agreed, saying that was what she wanted to, and from that moment on they had been a couple, although they decided to wait a while before sleeping together again, until they were ready.
Of course, that really hadn't mattered much a month later when she found out she was pregnant.
"We're really luck, you know that?" Sami said quietly.
"I've always known that," Lucas retorted lightly, kissing the side of her neck. "Great kid, great families, great jobs, great penthouse, great cars... not to mention a great sex life."
Snorting, Sami rolled her eyes. "Is that all you ever think about?" she asked dryly.
"No," Lucas replied, his lips moving to her ear. "I think about lots of things."
"Like what?" she asked, breathless as his teeth grazed her earlobe.
"Ask me again later," Lucas murmured. "After we tuck in our son."
"You planning on giving me an extensive, hands-on answer?" Sami inquired with a smirk, rising to her feet so that he could get up off of the couch.
"Oh, Sami, baby, you better believe it."