iThink We've Met Before

Sam Puckett knew fully well why her precious little Cupcake had fallen to pieces on Melanie this afternoon. Carly was, of course, prone to panic attacks, so this much was understandable. Given the fact that her doctor operated out of the Seattle University Medical Center, Sam knew that a panic attack was a foregone conclusion – hence her need to be with Carls today, of all days.

The plain truth of the matter was that, although she, Carly, and Melanie shared the Seattle U. campus, Sam knew that her Cupcake would always associate this building with the loss of her mother.

The loss of Maureen Shay was a trauma that Sam knew her lover had never recovered from. Her mother's passing had left a gaping wound in Carly's chest that only love could fill. Sam had first learned this as a small child – as Carly's very best friend in the world – as she attempted to ease her loss with failed relationship after failed relationship, trying to fit the square pegs of the male population into the round hole in her heart.

Sam gently stroked Carly's palm with her thumb, her own hands rough and slightly weathered. To Carly Shay, however, this was the most comfortable feeling in the world, like a warm bath. Her knees felt weak and Sam could see a gentle quiver in her lower lip.

"Shhh… It's okay, Cupcake. I'm right here…"

Melanie looked on silently, not wanting to interrupt a shared moment, nor wanting to leave the room. She wanted to cry. Her sister was finally in a position where she could feel comfortable letting down her defenses long enough to show that the years of abuse hadn't hardened her to the core.

The gentle intimacy of the moment was shattered by the exam room door swinging open once again. A tall woman, perhaps somewhere between Carly and Spencer in age, walked in, reading what could only be Carly's medical chart. She looked to Carly to be a slightly shorter, thicker version of her friend Shelby Marx. The thought of Shelby wasn't entirely accurate, but it was the first image that popped into Carly's head. She still couldn't speak. Looking up from Carly's chart, pale green eyes met Sam Puckett's blue ones. Sam could only swallow hard, recognition dawning on her. She had seen this woman before – socially – and now was perhaps the worst possible time to awkwardly explain herself. Thankfully, the tall doctor simply turned to Carly, speaking softly, but with an authority that told the slight brunette that she knew what she was talking about, but would also treat her with the utmost care and compassion.

"So…" she began, casually and compulsively clicking her pen, "What can I do for you today?" She smiled, placing her hand gently on Carly's shoulder. Sam's stomach knotted up. Melanie grabbed her sister at the wrist, insisting that now was neither the time nor the place.

Carly spoke, barely above a whisper. Her doctor found it quite adorable, smiling back at her.

"Well, that's understandable... Oh mercy, where are my manners?"

Realizing she had forgotten to properly introduce herself, she turned casually to the Puckett Twins, extending her hand in that soft, yet authoritative handshake women reserved solely for other women.

Sam Puckett spoke first.

"Doctor…"

"Sharkey," she offered, locking eyes with the blonde, a confused realization settling in behind her eyes. Melanie Benson sensed things weren't quite right. She threw herself into the fray, preventing Sam from causing some sort of scene.

"Melanie Benson…"

It was quite obvious to everyone else in the room that Melanie was quite proud of her new surname.

Sam studied the Cupcake's doctor with steely blue ninja eyes. She took her in, from head to toe, analyzing this woman. She knew what she would say. She simply needed the appropriate opening.

Carly fidgeted on the exam table, waiting for what she knew had to be coming. The fact that her lady-doctor was, in fact, a lady doctor made things abundantly easier. She looked past her to Sam as her doctor spoke, those beautiful chocolate eyes her partner loved bloodshot from tears.

"Well, it's abundantly clear why you're here… but in the interest of full disclosure, you're looking to start a family, is that right?"

Carly nodded, looking scared.

"Relax… it's not so taboo anymore…"

Carly looked terrified. She looked to Melanie, who had been so good to her already today. The beautiful blonde little pixie completely misunderstood what Carly wanted of her.

"If you'll excuse me, I don't believe I need to be here…"

Melanie Benson carefully and politely excused herself.

Carly Shay, minus her new sister, broke into a case of the sniffles as she spoke to her doctor. The truth was that this woman made her feel comfortable and she was comfortable discussing the matters at hand in frank detail because she was, in fact, another woman. This wouldn't be easy, but she'd do the best that she could.

"You're sure that this won't be… because…"

Sam knew that despite her best intentions, Carly was so uncomfortable in this place that it would be up to her to do the talking. Despite her own efforts to be delicate, Sam still sounded somewhat mad at the world.

"What Carls is trying to say is that we're a couple…"

Carly turned bright red. The tall dirty blonde in the lab coat shot Sam a quizzical look, as though this were the most obvious statement in the world.

"Well, I was operating under that assumption initially, yes… and no, it won't be an issue in the slightest…"

Carly looked to her doctor with questioning, tear-filled eyes. There were a million things that she needed to know.

TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER…

As the initial consultation had gone on, Carly had begun to notice little things about Dr. Sharkey that had gotten her thinking. She was much warmer than other doctors she remembered, particularly when her relationship with Sam had become public knowledge. It was the Twenty-First Century, but she knew that people like her, Sam, Shelby, and Wendy were still behind the proverbial eight ball in a lot of respects.

They had just scheduled a follow-up appointment for the following Friday. Carly was ecstatic. Sam did her best to be the rock that her Cupcake needed. She knew just how much this meant to Carly – on so many levels. She gently rubbed her fingers over the soft flesh of Carly's palm. Helping Carly to her feet, Dr. Sharkey again extended her hand to Sam Puckett.

"It was so nice to meet you, Sam… Carly is quite lucky to have you…"

Sam took the doctor's hand and shook it, a knowing smile crossing her face.

"Actually, Doctor… I believe we've met before…"

Sam's eyes darted to the doctor's slender wrist, not so dissimilar from her sister's. There, she noticed a bright blue bracelet, complete with a yellow equals sign – the logo for the Human Rights Campaign.

The doctor thought that the blonde – and consequently her twin – looked quite familiar, though she couldn't place exactly from where.

"Oh, have we? Where?"

Sam smirked.

"Somewhere…. Over the Rainbow?"