Title: Still Here

Fandom: Popular

Pairing: Sam/Brooke

Rating: G

Prompt: 024 Family; written for the fanfic100 challenge

Word count: 400 aka quadruple drabble!

Disclaimer: Alas, I don't own the characters of Popular. They belong to Ryan Murphy, but hopefully he won't mind if I borrow them for a little while.

Summary: Four POVs during dinner. (How quickly can you figure out who's who?)

A/N: It is junior year in high school. Brooke has just decided not to move to San Francisco with her mom. If you're not familiar with canon, this fic might not make much sense.

A/N2: Thanks to theagonyofblank and wolfemeister for the beta reads!

I look across the table, smiling. My family was so close to falling apart, again, but Brooke is here, still here. I don't know what Sam did to convince Brooke to stay, but it doesn't matter. My girl came home, and that's all I care about.

There's still this nagging feeling at the back of my mind, though, that our table is incomplete. After Kelly left the first time, we only kept two chairs out. When Jane and Sam moved in, I got two more.

Those two extra chairs are still here. Empty. I haven't wanted to put them away.

o0o0o

I can't believe I almost left this behind. I came so close to falling into this vicious cycle. My mother left her family, and then I grow up to leave mine.

But Kelly isn't really a part of my family anymore. My family is in Santa Monica. Not just Daddy, but Jane and Sam too.

For once, I'm glad that Sam was so stubborn. I'm still kind of surprised that she worked so hard to make sure I stayed. I know she mostly did it for Jane, but the thought that she must actually care about me makes me smile.

o0o0o

We try a new restaurant tonight, and though the food isn't very good, Sam is happier than I've seen her in a while. When she explains that Brooke has decided to stay, I feel a surge of happiness. Not just for Mike, but for all of us.

I am proud of Sam. Sure, she definitely had quite a hand in this mess, but she's done everything she could to right her wrongs.

Sam deserves a real family, with not just a mother, but also a father and a sister. I miss Mike and Brooke too, but it's never that simple.

o0o0o

It's such a relief that, for once, I managed to not screw everything up. Or at least, not make things worse. With Brooke sticking around, there's still hope that Mom and Mike will get back together. Mom deserves to be happy, and for that matter, so does Mike.

Mike won't ever replace my dad, but I do care about him, and Brooke too. As dysfunctional as we may be, we're all a family now, and Brooke's become a better friend than I ever thought possible.

I'm still kind of shocked to admit it, but I don't want to lose her.