A/N- Just something I felt like writing. Takes place before Chaotic Light and after Fred and Fina got married.

San-Li sunk into the warm, soapy water with a sigh of contentment. The jasmine scented bubble bath was soothing and relaxed her completely. Since she finished all her articles and CSS updates for Manic Media and didn't have any meetings, she had the whole day to herself.

"Mama!" Sammy called on the other side of the bathroom door. "Mama! Mama!"

Well, almost to herself.

"Moooomeeeeeee!"

Sammy began to wail, but San-Li only sank deeper into the water. Thankfully either Alex or Keiko must have come by because the wailing stopped. San-Li did feel a little guilty though. She was supposed to being spending her day off with her kids, but then again didn't she always spend every day with them? Except of course when her ex watched them.

Ugh, it still felt wrong to refer to Sam as her ex, but what else could she call him? They had been broken up for months and it was too awkward to call what they had friendship. It was confusing really. She wanted to take a break so she could sort out her feelings for him, but things were just as confusing as when they were together. There were days she missed him, but there were also days where she was glad she was single.

There was a barrage of knocking at the bathroom door. Alex. It had to be Alex. Glancing at the clock though, San-Li saw that it was almost but not quite lunch time. Which meant that he probably saw some restaurant on t.v and was begging to go there. More knocks joined his and San-Li's relaxing bath was officially over.

"Alright, alright! I'm coming!"

She stood up, quickly dried off, and put on some clothes. As soon as she opened the door the twins latched on to her legs and Alex started tugging on her arm. San-Li couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, quit it or you'll make me fall." She laughed.

"No!" Keiko yelled with a huge smile on her face. "No! No! No!"

Alex also pulled on her insistently and gestured to the living room.

San-Li playfully ruffled his hair. "Chill little bro, I'll feed you. Don't I always?"

The doorbell rang and Keiko let go of her legs to run into the living room with Alex chasing after her. Sammy though, looked up at her imploringly and raised his arms.

"Up?" He said sweetly.

"Aw, how can I say no to you sweetie?" San-Li crooned and picked him up.

He babbled something incoherent and wrapped his little arms around her neck, hugging her tightly. San-Li hugged him back just as tightly and they headed into the living room. Keiko was by the door trying to reach the doorknob while Alex was rifling through the fridge for a snack.

"Kay-kay get away from the door. Alex get out of the fridge, I'll fix you lunch in a minute!"

She tried putting Sammy down on the couch so she could answer the door but he screamed and clung onto her hair. The door bell rung again and Keiko mimicked the sound loudly.

San-Li gave up trying to put Sammy down and yelled, "Door, unlock!"

There was a beeping sound and the door unlocked itself. The doorknob turned and Sam swung open the door carrying luggage and his laptop bag.

"DADDY!" Keiko shrieked and ran into this arms.

Sam immediately dropped his things and scooped her up. "Hey sweetheart! I missed my little girl."

He peppered her face with kisses and Keiko giggled then returned his kisses with some of her own. San-Li smiled watching them, but when Sam turned to her with a warm smile she had to remind herself that she wasn't supposed to be in love with him anymore.

"What are you doing here?' She asked, trying not to smile at him. "Did you need something?"

Sam frowned in confusion. "What do you mean? It's my weekend with the kids remember?"

"No it isn't. Next weekend is your weekend."

"It was but something came up and I can't make it next weekend so I rescheduled for this weekend. I sent you an email remember?"

"When? This morning?"

Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Sorry. I didn't mean to inconvenience you. I just wanted to spend time with my kids, alright?"

"No, I'm sorry." San-Li took a breath and looked away. "I probably did get your email, but I get so many I probably over looked it."

Sam gave her a small smile. "So is it cool if I hang out here for the weekend."

San-Li shrugged and felt her cheeks warm. "Sure. Whatever."

Alex cleared his throat loudly and gestured to the clock. San-Li glanced at it and saw that it was almost two o'clock. Well past feeding time.

"Hey you wanna go with us to get lunch?" San-Li smiled gently. "If I wait longer then Alex starts eating the furniture."

Alex made an indignant noise and Sam chuckled. "Sure. Why not?"

"Cool, let me get some real clothes on." She tried putting Sammy down again but he fussed and clung on to her.

"Here, let me try." Sam shifted Keiko onto one hip and reached out towards Sammy.

"No!" Sammy yelled. "No no no no!"

Sam's smile fell a little but he persisted to gently take Sammy out of San-Li's arms and settled him onto his other hip. Sammy sniffled and put his thumb in his mouth, but allowed himself to be held by his father.

"See? I got you." Sam said softly. "Daddy's not going to hurt you."

Once San-Li was sure Sam had the twins, she went off to her room to get changed. She closed the door and sagged against the frame. How had she missed that email and why did it feel like such a big deal that Sam was here for the weekend?

"Oh don't be such a baby." San-Li chided herself. "Sam's here for the kids, not you and besides, he knows it's over between us."

Even though, for some reason she found herself rifling through her dress for a pair of hip hugging jeans. Usually she would wear track pants or sweat pants, and if she was going to a business meeting she would wear her dress pants. But it had been a while since she had worn anything sexy...

It always broke Sam's heart a little when Sammy wouldn't come to him, but thankfully his shyness never lasted long. Sam sat on the couch with his children and laughed as they both chatted happily to him and tried getting his attention.

"My daddy! Mine!" Keiko yelled happily, bouncing on his lap.

"Dada! Dadada!" Sammy babbled, reaching for his glasses.

He grabbed them off Sam's head and put them on. They were five time too big for him off course, but he looked almost exactly like a miniature version of himself when he was younger. Sammy looked at him and gave a wide, drooly grin.

"I love you little, guy." Sam laughed, hugging him close. "You're gonna be a genius just like your daddy aren't you?"

Sammy blew a raspberry which Sam hoped was a yes. Alex snuck up behind the couch and growled close to his ear making him jump.

"Down Alex." San-Li said coming back into the room. "We're leaving now."

Sam gently took his glasses off Sammy and put them on to see San-Li walk into the living room wearing tight fitting jeans and a v neck t shirt. Her hair was also pulled back in a messy pony tail.

"H-hey." Sam's voice cracked like when he was a kid and he licked his dry lips. "Y-you look great San-Li."

She gave him a half smile and his heart pounded in his chest. Friends. They were just friends. Well, they were parents first, but they were friends second. Alex let loose another irritable growl.

"Okay, okay we're going." San-Li grabbed her bag and turned to Sam. "Mind if we take my car? I already have the car seat in them."

Sam nodded and stood, carrying both twins in his arms. "Oh! I've been meaning to tell you that you need to upgrade the car seats. Their shape and harnesses are out of date."

San-Li frowned and didn't answer him, grabbing a diaper bag and heading out the door with Alex instead. Sam inwardly groaned and followed after them.

"You don't always have to get mad when I make a suggestion, you know." He said as they piled into the car. "I was just trying to help."

San-Li pursed her lips and helped buckle the kids in their seats. "Sam, I've been a mom for a while now. My car seats are fine. I just got them last year."

"Yeah but at this point the twins are going through an exponential growth period. Not to mention that the child safety regulations are undergoing some updates."

He looked up and saw that San-Li was sliding into the front seat. "Oh no. Nope. You're not driving angry. I'm driving."

"Ugh! Sam I swear you make me want to hurt you!" San-Li yelled irritably, but she obediently got out of the car and tossed the keys to Sam.

"I rather you hurt me than you hurt yourself." He mumbled.

"Play musical chairs later! I'm starving!" Alex yelled angrily.

Once he made sure everyone was safely buckled in, Sam started the engine and started to drive.

"So where do you guys want to go?" Sam asked. "And please don't say Ray's. I'm so sick of pizza."

"Wherever you want to go." San-Li shrugged. "Mexican?"

"Cool. I know a great place. Joe, Fred, and I used to go there a lot when we were kids."

Cocina de Grasa was a small, family style Mexican restaurant that served some of the best chimichangas in Brooklyn. At least, the best you could get on a fifth grader's allowance. Honestly Sam liked the place more than Ray's but his delicate constitution wouldn't let him eat it too often.

"Funny, I don't remember this place being so greasy." Sam frowned as they sat down in a booth.

San-Li laughed. "Sam it's called Cocina de Grasa. That literally translates to kitchen of grease."

"Huh, I wonder why I never put that together." Sam smiled at San-Li. "So you're not mad at me anymore?"

San-Li gave him a small smile but before she could answer their waiter came to take their order. Sam ordered the chimichangas with no sour cream, San-Li ordered the carne asada tacos for herself, the grand Mexican platter for Alex, and two small plates of refried rice and beans for the twins.

"Are you sure that it's okay for them to eat that?" Sam asked helping Keiko color her kid's menu. "I mean, I know it's okay to feed them rice but the beans might not be soft enough."

"Sam," San-Li gave him a warning look. "I'm trying to be civil but you know how much it pisses me off when people try to tell me how to raise my kids."

"Our kids, San-Li. Our kids." Sam said through clenched teeth. "And you don't think I care about them too? I have the right to be concerned about what our kids are eating."

"Bird!" Sammy cried, pointing to a dog outside of the restaurant.

The tension was broken by the sound of his eager happy voice.

"No little guy, that's a dog." Sam said gently. "Can you say dog?"

"Woofie!" Keiko clapped her hands.

"Bird!" Sammy yelled again.

"He calls every animal a bird." San-Li explained with a small laugh. "It's too cute to correct him."

"My mom says I used to call everything a cat." Sam smiled. "She said I kept doing it until she bought me The Big Book of Animals when I was three."

"Woofie." Keiko held out her menu to Sam and he could see that she drew a large squiggle which he assumed was supposed to be a dog.

"Good job sweetie." Sam kissed her forehead. "You're talented just like your mommy."

He hoped the compliment would thaw the frost between them and when he glanced at her he was relieved to see that she had a small blush on her face. After a few minutes the waiter came with their food. Sam noticed that San-Li picked up one of the beans and squeezed with between her thumb and forefinger to test its softness before letting the twins eat it. Sammy refused to eat until San-Li handed him a toddler spoon, but Keiko immediately dug in with her hands. Alex was also digging into his food with his bare hands.

"I see where Keiko got her eating habits from." Sam chuckled. "We should have brought them bibs."

"Ugh, I gave up on giving Keiko a bib weeks ago." San-Li groaned. "Bibs are immaterial to her. I swear she takes it like a challenge."

"Sounds like someone else I know."

"Oh shut up! Sammy is a hypochondriac like you."

They laughed together and it almost felt like old times between them. But when he reached out to touch her hand, she pulled back with a small frown.

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "Sam I-"

"You had a fly on your hand." Sam said quickly. "I was just trying to brush it away."

"Uh-huh, sure." She mumbled.

Sam sighed in defeat. "I was planning on taking the kids to the zoo today. What time do you want me to bring them back?"

"Actually, I was planning on doing the same thing." San-Li shrugged. "Let's just take them together."

"Really?" Sam tried not to sound too eager. "Um… yeah sure, that'd be alright."

Alright, it'd more than alright. For at least one day they could pretend to be a family again.

San-Li had been meaning to take the kids to the zoo for a while now, but she was actually glad she waited until Sam was with her to take them. Sure they fought every twenty minutes like clockwork, but he was patient in explaining everything to the kids in a way that they could understand and he didn't mind lingering at the monkey cages. After the zoo the kids were still loaded with energy so they took them to the park and then Sam treated them to dinner at the diner where they had their first date.

They got back home close to midnight with the twins passed out on their shoulders and Alex practically sleep walking. San-Li shifted Sammy in her arms and took her key out so she could unlock the door.

"Why don't you install the key pad I made for you?" Sam whispered. "I built it for a reason you know."

"Yeah, so you can annoy me every other day about install updates." San-Li mumbled. "Bedtime Alex. And I mean now, not in an hour."

Alex muttered something under his breath but obediently went into his room. San-Li and Sam carried the twins into their room and laid them on their respective beds. She gently undressed Sammy and held him upright while Sam pulled on his pajamas. The position caused them to be close together and San-Li was actually pretty grateful for Sam's help. But when they moved on to Keiko she stirred and opened her eyes.

"No go daddy." She whimpered, clinging to his arm.

"Keiko, daddy will be here in the morning." San-Li whispered. "Go to sleep sweetheart."

Keiko shook her head stubbornly and sniffled. "No! I want daddy."

"It's okay San-Li, I'll stay with her 'til she falls asleep." Sam whispered.

"You sure? She tries to stay up like this all time."

"I don't mind." Sam smiled. "She can't stay up forever."

San-Li nodded and gave Sammy and Keiko a kiss good night. As she got up to leave she saw Sam curl up on the small child's best next to his daughter. And she could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes as gently kissed her nose and she settled down with her thumb in her mouth.

San-Li had just finished changing into her night clothes and was in the kitchen getting a snack when Sam finally came out of the twins' rooms.

"Told you it wouldn't take long for her to fall asleep." He chuckled softly. "We've had such a full day today, she'll probably sleep through the night."

"Well you are always right." San-Li mumbled under her breath.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Sam sighed. "Every time I say something you try to make it into a fight."

"I don't know." She mumbled. "I can't help it I guess. Are you going to spend the night here or at a hotel?"

Sam shrugged with a small blush. "W-well um… I was kind of hoping that I could spend night here. On the couch of course."

"Sure." San-Li smiled. "But only if you promise to make breakfast."

"Deal." Sam nodded eagerly. "I'll even make your favorite."

"Cool. Um… good night."

"Night."

By sheer habit they moved towards each other for a kiss, but froze with their lips a mere inch apart. San-Li cheeks flamed and she hastily turned away.

"S-sorry." Sam said quickly. "I-I'll just get to bed then."

"Y-yeah me too. See you in the morning."

"Yeah, morning."

They gave each other another awkward smile and went their separate ways. Yep, not awkward at all.