Song is "I've Got Trouble" by Christina Aguilera.

It seemed like the whole town of Salem was packed into Chez Rouge for Shawn and Belle's engagement party. Everyone was there for this special event. It was rare that all the Brady's and Horton's were in one room, along with the Johnson's, Black's, Carver's, Roberts', and – weirdly enough – DiMera's. Maggie had put on Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics CD. It was the perfect mix of modern and old-school music. All in all, it was a (rare) happy scene:

It happened to be that time of the night, as at every party, when the guests split into various groups to discuss whatever they pleased. John, Roman, Bo, and Abe were enjoying a much anticipated night off-duty with Steve.

At a nearby table Shawn Sr., Caroline, Doug, Julie, Alice, and Maggie were reminiscing and catching each other up with their lives.

At one end of the bar Max, Nick, Chelsea, Stephanie, and Phillip were toasting Shawn and Belle – again. After so many drinks, it seemed as if they'd forgotten how many times a toast was made. Will was hovering at the edge of the group, hoping to sneak someone's champagne.

Another cluster of tables sat Celeste, Lexie, Kayla, Adrienne, Billie, Marlena, Hope, and Sami. The twins and Tyler were getting full attention from Lexie and Kayla. They had pretty much volunteered to give Sami and Phillip the night off.

Kate and Lucas were standing in a corner, deep in discussion over some matter or other.

And at the other end of the bar stood EJ, whom Tony and Anna were making their way over to. EJ, however, didn't even notice them approaching. He was too busy keeping one eye on Samantha, the other on Lucas. Throughout the night, he kept trying to decide on the perfect moment to approach to her.

"To my garage buddy…Shawn!" Max yelled out, holding his glass up in the air. "And to his future wife…Belle! May all your ups and downs occur beneath the sheets!" They all whooped and cheered for the…eh, they'd lost count how many times. Chelsea and Stephanie were swaying back and forth, mouthing along to the next song that came on.

I've got trouble, trouble, trouble
Always knocking at my door.
Yes, I'm a whole lot of trouble, baby,
Just like a kid in a candy store.
Well, I'm nothing but trouble, babe,
Now since the day that I was born.
Well, I'm as good as it ever gets.
Give you something you won't forget.
If you wanna spell trouble, babe,
Well, send out an S.O.S.

"…and then she spit up all over me!" Lucas was whining to his mother.

Kate rolled her eyes. "God, Lucas…I honestly don't know what else to tell you! What do you want from me?"

"Well, I mean…there's gotta be some reason behind this! It's been six months and nothing's changed!"

"Lucas…" Kate's patience was rapidly thinning out. "I have told you what I think you should do. That is the only way – that I can see, anyway – to end this thing."

'Cause baby's got something,
Something you just can't ignore.
And yeah, it sure is likely, baby,
You'll keep coming back for more.

"You know, Sami," Hope yelled over the music. "This song kind of reminds me of you!"

They were about to walk outside and get some air when Sami stopped and burst out laughing. "Aunt Hope! I am so not like that!" she defended herself. "…Anymore." They both giggled like giddy schoolgirls.

Suddenly, Sami's smile faded slightly. She glanced over at her aunt. "You know, EJ once told me he loved trouble. He said it was one of the reasons he liked me so much."

Hope reached over and put her hand on Sami's arm. "You two have been in the same room together for the past three hours and you've barely looked at each other. Maybe you should make the first move."

Sami gave an exasperated sigh. "But I already made the first move! I wrote him the letter!"

Hope was the only one Sami had confided in. She was too afraid of what her mother might think and didn't feel as close to her aunt Kayla or the other women. Her aunt, however, always seemed to have a sixth sense about these things. She was the one who questioned Sami's feelings about EJ last summer. So that's why Sami had confessed to her.

"Well, then," Hope replied matter-of-factly. "Make the second move!"

I've got a wicked taste for trouble
And I'm never, never satisfied.
Yeah, I'm a whole lot of trouble, baby,
And my evil ways can't hide.

Oh, my, my.

As EJ was watching them, the song suddenly made it's way into his head. The words were practically speaking his thoughts.

'Ah, yes,' he thought to himself. 'Definitely Samantha's song.'

He then remembered something he'd said to Samantha the year before. He hated to remember the place they had been in in each other's lives at that time…in fact, he hated to remember anything about that time. However, no matter where their relationship stood he had always let her know how he truly felt.

He was remembering the time he'd told Samantha, "I love trouble. It's one of the reasons I like you so much."

EJ almost laughed out loud. Could the night be any more ironic?

Well, I've been itching for some trouble, baby,
Every single day that I'm alive.

Tony leaned away from Anna, who was ordering herself a Jack and Coke, to whisper to EJ, "Now, what's with that look on your face? Drink too much champagne already?"

EJ whipped his head around to his older brother, unaware that Tony had come up next to him. He was also unaware that he'd had any "look" on his face. But, Tony had already seen where EJ was looking.

Tony gave a knowing smile. He gave a mischievous look towards his love-sick brother. Like Sami, EJ had confessed to the only person he could trust. He had told Tony all about the letter he'd received from Samantha.

"What are you waiting for?" Tony asked.

To that, EJ had no answer.

Come on, baby. Come on, darling.
Come on, sugar.

Now listen:

As Sami was contemplating between continuing outside with her aunt or, indeed, doing what Hope had said, she felt a pair of big, strong – yet gentle – hands on her waist. Before Sami could react she caught Hope's little smirk. Then, she recognized just who it was that was behind her.


Can't you see the way I move?
Can't you read it in my hips?
There's a lot that's going on
In my pocket full of tricks.
Got some secrets up my sleeve
If you know just what I mean.
Got places you've never been.
Take you out of your skin.

Hope backed away back towards their table. EJ backed out through the door, still holding onto Sami's waist.

"Now, did you really mean all that?" he whispered in her ear once they were outside with the door shut behind them.

Sami turned around in his arms. She stared deep into his perfect brown eyes. It felt like her heart was about to jump right out of her body. This was it. This was the moment she had been waiting for. It was now or never. She'd already screwed up their first chance almost two years ago. She couldn't let this one pass her by, too.

"Yes," she breathed. "Of course, I did."

EJ gave her that little half-smile that always secretly made her melt. "Good," he stated.

They stared at each other for what felt like a lifetime. Then, they found themselves drawing closer…closer…

Well, I'm trouble, trouble, trouble, baby,
Always knocking at my door.
Yes, I'm a whole lot of lot of trouble, baby.
Ooh, since the day that I…was born

…until contact was made at last. And everything felt right in the world.