A/N: Reason why I didn't update this story yesterday was because it was my birthday and I didn't want to have to write anything. I had a huge jumpstart because most of this chapter was written last week so that was a plus for me…but now the newly twenty year old has sleep because she has school tomorrow so I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Just one more to go and then we have the "Epilogue" or really the chapter that starts out part two since most of you had voted on that. (But with that means a slight break from the story. I'm not sure how long, but I will let you know in the author's note on the "Epilogue". Hopefully the break won't be long, but with me you never know. One thing I do know is that while this story is on hiatus, I will be planning part two so don't worry about that.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Acceptance

It's been a few weeks since the storm that rolled through Tree Hill and with it, the end of the school year. Brooke and Peyton were happy that Sam was out of school for the next three months, but Sam wasn't so thrilled. Aria had informed her that because school was out she needed to find a job so she can continues to pay for her apartment. Sam was unhappy because that meant she had less time for her girlfriend.

It was around eight o'clock in the morning when Sam felt her bed dip slightly downward. She had only gotten a few hours of sleep because she had been up all night talking on the phone.

"Sammy, wake up," Sawyer whispered to Sam as she climbed on top of her.

"Go away," Sam whines pathetically.

"No, you got to wake up."

Sam groaned and pulled a pillow over her head to try and drown out Sawyer's voice.

"Sammy, momma and mommy say you have to get up."

"No."

Sawyer frowns and hits her tiny fist into Sam's stomach. Sam sits up in a rush and holds her stomach. Sawyer had landed on her back. For a little girl, Sawyer had hit hard.

"God damn it, Sawyer that hurt. Leave me alone."

Sawyer gets her bearings straight and sits up in bed.

"You said a bad word," Sawyer gasps.

Sam looks at Sawyer annoyed.

"So what?"

"I believe that Sawyer was trying to tell you that we don't use language like that in this house, Samantha," Peyton scolds from the doorway. "And you miss Sawyer; I think you need to talk to mommy about what you did to Sam."

Sawyer looks at her momma with not so innocent eyes.

"I didn't do anything momma."

"Sawyer, are you lying to me?"

Sam lies back down on her bed and places the pillow over her head while Peyton continues to scold Sawyer. Sawyer lowers her head in shame. She didn't like being in trouble.

"I' m sorry momma."

Peyton walks further into the room and sits down on Sam's bed. She hugs her daughter tightly and kisses her on top of the head.

"I know baby, but you still need to go talk to mommy. I need to talk to your sister."

Sawyer hops off of the bed and runs out of the room.

"Mommy!"

Peyton turns to look at Sam and sighs.

"Samantha Davis, get up and get dressed."

Peyton waits for Sam to acknowledge what she said, but all Sam does is groan and tighten her hold on her pillow.

"Don't wanna," Sam whines loudly.

Peyton lets out a huge sigh as she gets up from the bed. She takes a hold of Sam's pillow and tugs, hard. Sam has to let go of the pillow or she was going to fall off the bed. Sam sits up and glares at Peyton.

"Alright, you got me up. Now what do you want?" Sam states in an angry tone.

Peyton raises her eyebrow.

"Don't use that tone with me."

Over the last few weeks, Peyton and Sam's relationship had started changing dramatically. With Sam letting Peyton in more, Peyton started feeling more comfortable about disciplining Sam. Now Sawyer and Sam had the tag team discipline. When one parent disciplined, the child had to go to the other parent to talk about what happened. Afterward both parents and child sat down to talk about punishment. Neither child was keen on that part, but it made them all feel like a family.

"I'm sure whatever you and mom have to talk to me about can wait for a few hours, so I am just going to go back to sleep and we can talk about it at noon."

"If you close your eyes, I will make your summer a living hell," Peyton states in a serious tone.

Sam looks at Peyton with a serious expression.

"What do you mean by that?" Sam asks scared to find out. Parental Peyton was not someone you wanted to mess with and Sam was still learning that.

"Sleep and find out."

Sam quickly gets up from her bed and heads to the bathroom leaving Peyton smiling in her place.

-Complications of the Heart-

"Mommy!"

"Sawyer!" Brooke yells with a smile as she sees her daughter running towards her. Brooke had been in the kitchen looking over the recent mail and was delighted by the distraction.

Sawyer stops in front of Brooke and looks up at her with sad eyes.

"What is it sweet pea?"

"I'm in trouble."

Brooke lifts her daughter up and sets her on the kitchen counter.

"Can you tell mommy what you did?"

"I was trying to wake Sammy up, but she wouldn't get up and she made me mad so I punched her in the tummy."

"Sawyer, you know we don't hit in this house."

Sawyer nods her head.

"I know, but she wouldn't get up."

"Sam is stubborn, but it's okay because I know you can be too. I will talk to momma about what should happen, but I do know you need to apologize for hitting Sam, okay?"

Sawyer nods her head and Brooke smiles. Brooke places a kiss on her daughter's forehead and places her back on the floor.

"Why don't you go watch some TV," Brooke suggest to Sawyer as she sees Sam and Peyton enter the kitchen. Sawyer runs off to the living room and Brooke hands the paper she had been looking at earlier, over to Sam. "Do you care to explain that?"

-Complications of the Heart-

Aria circles another ad in the paper and takes a sip of her coffee. She had been looking through the classifieds all morning while Anna sat and talked to her knowing she didn't have the other girl's full attention.

"Aria, take a break and talk to me," Anna pouts. "You spend so much time with Sam lately that we haven't talked in awhile and I'm your best friend."

"I'm sorry. I just really need a job if I want to keep my apartment this summer."

"I thought you didn't really have to worry about that anymore."

"I didn't," Aria says with a sigh. "But my uncle got transferred so he and his family are moving out of state so I really have no family left in this town."

"Aria, I'm sorry about your uncle, but it doesn't mean you have to be sad. You still have your friends and then there is Sam's family which is kick ass by the way. I totally love them."

Aria smiles brightly.

"So do I."

Anna grabs Aria's paper and sighs.

"Okay, let's see if we can find you a job and then maybe I'll get one myself."

-Complications of the Heart-

Sam looked at the paper and sighed.

"No, not really."

"But honey, this is amazing," Brooke gushes excitedly. "How come you didn't tell us about this?"

Sam looks at the grins on Peyton and Brooke's faces.

"I did it for a joke. I didn't think they would actually accept me."

"Samantha, they did. You're not going to turn them down are you?" Peyton asks with a frown.

"I didn't think I would get in," Sam mumbles as she looks away.

"Honey, your entrance essay says differently. This acceptance letter to you is amazing actually," Brooke mentions.

Right before the end of the school year, Sam had decided to apply for a summer writing class at the local college. The class itself was pretty popular and was usually only granted to the seniors that would be in high school that upcoming fall. Sometimes they would let younger students in, but more often than not they didn't. With Sam, it was different and it was all because of her entrance essay.

"Can we not talk about the essay? It was really hard for me to write that."

"We know. You've been through a lot, but Peyton and I know that you have come really far."

"How do you know that?"

Brooke looks at Peyton and then hands Sam back her acceptance letter and the entrance essay.

"Because you were able to write about it."

Sam looks down at her essay and reads her title.

My Own Personal Hell by Samantha Davis

"I think we should go out to dinner to celebrate for tonight," Peyton asks with a smile. "What do you say Sam? Do you want to go celebrate it?"

Sam looked at Peyton and raised her eyebrow. She knew that Peyton knew she didn't like to celebrate things like that, but she agreed anyway.

"That's great," Brooke says happily. "I have to go to the store for a few hours today so I should be home in plenty of time for dinner." Brooke looks at the clock and sighs. "It's early, but there is so much I have to do."

"Then go to the store Brooke. I can handle the fort," Peyton says as she walks over to her girlfriend and kisses her softly. "I've got this. You go."

"Okay," Brooke relents. "But I won't miss dinner, I promise."

-Complications of the Heart-

After Brooke left for work Peyton shoved Sam into her bedroom and went to her dresser drawer.

"What was so important that you had to shove me into your room?"

Peyton turns around and holds something out in front of Sam.

"Oh my god," Sam utters. "Are you seriously going to do that?" Sam asks with a slight smile.

"I was hoping too tonight, but I had no reason to just spring dinner on Brooke until your acceptance letter came. I'm proud of you for that by the way. So, what do you think?"

"I just hope she says yes."