iChange My Name

"Honey, I'm home…"

Sam Puckett was nauseated by how stupid, cliché, and hetero it all sounded coming out of her mouth. She tossed her jacket effortlessly onto the hook beside the door as she walked into Carly's – now their – apartment.

"How's Mama's little Cupcake?"

Carly was in lounge mode, sprawled out on the sofa in sweats and a t-shirt, Girly Cow on TV. It was obvious, even early on, that motherhood would take its toll on her. Six weeks into her pregnancy, it was clear that Carly'd put some weight onto her typically rail thin frame and was beginning to expand around the middle.

The brunette lolled her head backwards, gazing upside-down at the object of her affection.

"Hey…"

Sam smiled softly as Carly continued talking.

"How was your day? Mine was okay. Except for spending about an hour at the DMV and running a few other errands, it was pretty quiet…"

Sam was manic, immediately covering the distance between the front door and Carly's side.

"WHAT? Who said you could leave the house unassisted?"

Her partner's concern for her and their unborn child was touching, but Carly was somewhat hurt.

"Sam! I'm barely a month pregnant… It's not like I need to be escorted around the city…"

"You do when you're my Cupcake, Cupcake…"

Carly felt put-upon, but knew that Sam only had her wellbeing in mind.

"Sam…" she whined.

Sam settled in next to the brunette on the sofa, gently patting her stomach. She spoke in a sweet, gentle voice – the voice she only used with Carly and her sister.

"So what was so important that you ran all over the city? And your birthday isn't for months, so I know your license is still good…"

Rolling on to her hip, Carly snatched her purse from the coffee table. Sam felt her heart jump into her throat with overprotective worry.

"Here…" Carly said smiling.

Carly passed Sam a small card from her wallet. Sam recognized it instantly.

"Your driver's license… Big whup…"

Carly shook her head.

"Look closer, you ham hock…"

Sam took a second glance at Carly's license. It took a second, but she finally saw what Carly had meant for her to see.

CARLOTTA T. SHAY-PUCKETT

Sam was beside herself. She fought back tears.

"Cupcake…"

Carly put her hand on her partner's knee.

"Sam, we're a family now… I promised to be yours and yours completely. We share everything. The least I could do was share your name…"

While they weren't legally married, so far as the State of Washington was concerned, Carly had made sure that they took advantage of life in one of the country's most gay-friendly cities and had put Sam and herself on the state's domestic partner registry. It was this type of self-identification that she and Sam both hated, in that it was so unnecessary and unfair. In her eyes and the eyes of anyone who mattered worth a damn, she and Sam were as much a married couple as Freddie and Melanie Benson – with one minor variation on that theme.

Sam Puckett was touched by Carly's commitment.

"Sweetheart, this was totally unnecessary… at least until after the baby's born…"

"Sam…"

Carly took her blonde by the hand.

"We're in this together… Training wheels, scraped knees, bullies, high school… whatever…"

Sam smirked.

"Hey! We Pucketts don't get bullied… and… Oh God, Carls… I don't even want to think…"

Carly knew where Sam's mind was going.

"Sam, our kid will be fine…"

Sam continued ranting, for whatever it was worth. Carly knew her lady-love was being irrational, but she'd known Sam Puckett long enough to know that it was better to simple ride out the wave of irrational thought than to challenge the blonde's skewed belief system. This way, nobody got hurt and nothing got broken.

"I don't know how to do this, Carls!"

There were fat tears rolling from Sam Puckett's eyes.

"Like I do, Sam? We'll figure it out together… You jump, I jump."

The blonde knew she needed to be strong. She knew she wasn't the one in a vulnerable condition. She set her jaw and tried to behave better.

"My kid isn't going to be some loser juvenile delinquent like I was… I just…"

Carly loved her with all that she had, but Sam Puckett was beginning to try her patience.

"Don't you dare talk that way about yourself ever again, Samantha Puckett! You're you and I love you just as you are! Our child will be our child – the best and worst of both of us – but we'll know how to handle it, because that's what we do… We work together…"

Sam knew that the Cupcake was right. She held her close, resting her wet face deep against Carly's chest. She was instantly soft and caring.

"I'm not hurting you, am I? Not too heavy?"

Carly chuckled, sounding a bit more like the Idiot Farmgirl than intended.

"You're stupid…"

Sam poked her gently in the ribs.

"Watch it, Shay!"

Carly giggled.

"That's Missus Puckett to you, you big, dumb meat stick!"

This was the only time that Sam could be insulted and have it not cut deep. Insults from Carly Shay were a bit like a pillow fight. The words were there, but they didn't have teeth. There was no hatred, drunkenness, or vitriol behind them. Carly could fuss and curse at Sam – call her every name in the book – and she would still be her precious, sweet little Cupcake. After a long moment, Sam raised her head, kissing Carly flush on the chin with pink, plump boo-boo lips.

"Carls?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you... I don't want you to ever forget that."

Carly Shay took a deep breath. She was contented.

"Samantha?"

The blonde knew she was in trouble. Only her sister had the stones to call her by her full name. She let the Cupcake keep talking.

"You're the best. I could never have had the courage to do everything I've done in my life without having you in it. You've always been my crazy blonde meat-loving best friend. You always have been and you will always be. That much won't ever change. Thank you for helping me see who I was meant to be, what love really meant, and for being just crazy enough to jump into the deep end of the pool with both feet and help me through all of this…"

For a split second, Sam wondered if Carls had taken a hit or two of that Wacky Gas. She was talking complete foolishness. She no longer cared. She took the brunette into her arms and held her tight.

"Cupcake, I'd have it no other way."

Resting her head gently into the soft part of Carly's chest, Sam Puckett let her eyes fall shut. It had been a long day and she was right where she needed to be.