iHave A Night Out

Carly's apartment was a special place that night. It was, in fact, a full-fledged Girls' Night. What had started as simply two very pregnant ladies planning to spend the evening together, going over lists of baby names, choosing toys and strollers, had somehow morphed into a toned-down version of the Crazy Hat Party. All it had taken was one simple phone call to Mythical Melanie.

Sam's sister, who had become Carly's right-hand woman and partner in crime since getting pregnant, showed up, bouncy and full of energy, bearing movies and pizza. She was beyond ecstatic to see her sister-in-law and her new best lady-friend. She stood in the open doorway, weighed down with packages

"Knock, knock, pregnant ladies!"

Carly giggled. She remembered the night of her first official date with Sam.

"Get in here, you diva!"

The girls erupted into laughter. Melanie loved this on so many levels. The last few days had been stressful to say the very least, and Carly was the break that she needed. She'd grown to love Wendy's infectious personality of late, but Melanie truly loved Carly. This pretty brunette was, of course, carrying the next generation of Pucketts about her midsection.

Melanie made her way into the apartment, navigating as best she could. She deposited her purse, loaded down with DVDs, on Carly's coffee table. She juggled a stack of clunky pizza boxes before depositing them on the kitchen island. Feeding a pair of pregnant women plus herself was a difficult proposition, given their various quirks and finicky stomachs. Case in point, Wendy had requested a goat cheese pizza. While this was by no means a stretch, given Uncle Carmine's talents in the kitchen, a lesser person may have wilted under the pressure.

Her hands finally free, the blonde rushed to Carly. She wrapped the brunette into a comfortably firm hug and then dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms loosely around Carly's expanding belly. She cooed into Carly's stomach, beside herself with childlike glee.

"Hello in there, Little People! Auntie Melanie loves you very, very much! Now listen here, you be good, because your mommies are waiting patiently for you…"

The blonde, like her sister, planted a series of soft kisses on Carly's stomach, through her t-shirt. The brunette flushed with embarrassment.

"Mel!"

"Carly!"

"Did you really have to do that?"

Melanie nodded stupidly, looking so very much like Sam when she was being silly.

"Yeah huh!"

Wendy laughed from where she sat on the sofa. It was obvious that Melanie was living vicariously through Carly and Wendy found it absolutely adorable. The blonde had now flounced down next to her on the sofa, careful to give her the appropriate space.

"Hey Wendy!" she said, giving Shelby's partner a gentle hug. "How's it going?"

"I haven't seen my toes in weeks. Does that answer your question?"

The tall brunette shot Melanie a half-serious look. It worked for a second, but she couldn't keep a straight face. Melanie giggled too.

"Uh, hate to break it to you, Sweety, but that kind of goes with the territory. Are you and Shelby excited?"

Wendy answered matter-of-factly.

"I'm on pins and needles, but I think Shelby's scared as Hell…"

Melanie put her hand on Wendy's knee, doing her best to reassure her that all would be well.

LATER THAT EVENING…

The girls were midway through a real tearjerker, The Ties That Bind, which Carly had seen the previous summer with Sam, when Melanie Benson got the shock of her life.

As the sofa was tight quarters to begin with, the blonde felt herself sandwiched between Carly, Wendy, and their precious cargo. She had begun to doze off, her hand gently resting on her sister-in-law's midsection, when she was startled awake.

She had just felt one of Carly's twins kick her. Melanie shrieked out of shock, which caused Carly to do the same. Wendy would have followed suit, but her little girl had done the same. Baby Marx clearly took after Mama Shelby.

Once the initial shock had worn off, Melanie did the only thing that she could think of. She burst into a giggle fit. Carly stared at her.

"And just what is so dang funny?"

Melanie brought herself under control, smiling at Carly, while absentmindedly giving Wendy's stomach a gentle pat.

"Nothing… It's just... if I didn't know better, I'd say your little munchkins just introduced themselves to one another for the first time…"

It sounded ridiculous, but adorable all in the same breath. It was a very Melanie thing to say, and Carly thought that it made sense, although the odds were astronomical at best. The Pucketts and the Marxs were now as close as any friends could be, so there was no doubt in her mind that their kids would grow up the closest of friends. Carly blushed, lost in her daydream. The thought of her twins growing up with Uncle Spencer, Uncle Freddie, Auntie Mel, Auntie Wendy and Auntie Shelby warmed her heart. She and Sam were due to learn the babies' genders next week, but, in her heart of hearts, Carly hoped for girls. It wasn't that she was averse to raising a little boy – far from it – but as a woman, she simply felt more at ease being the mommy of little girls. She just simply thought a little Sam or a little Melanie would be easier to handle that a tiny version of Spencer or Freddie.

Melanie startled Carly out of her daydream and brought her back to the movie. Carly couldn't possibly care less. She'd only seen half the film the first time anyway. Either way, it was more about the company than anything else tonight. It was nice to unwind for a change.

ACROSS TOWN…

Sam had brought Shelby down to the water. They were on the edge of downtown, where Sam's other other half spent nearly every waking moment, being made over into a star. The twins would come here when they were small, when Pam was having one of her 'episodes'. It was something that Sam and Carly had in common from the very earliest, though they never realized it – a love of the water. The two mismatched partners in crime sat on the hood of Shelby's restored Mustang, looking out over the black water.

"Ya know, Puckett, this is kind of nice…"

Sam was lost inside her own head, thinking about becoming a parent.

"Hey, Shel?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think our kids will be cool with each other? You know, and not make our mistakes?"

Shelby Marx chuckled. Leave it to Sam to worry like a mother hen.

"You sound like Wendy…"

"Just sayin'…"

"Sam, kids will be kids. Hopefully, between the four of us, we can instill something in them that helps along the way, but so far as we're concerned, we're all friends, so you'd think that the kids will probably grow up as the best of friends. Stop worrying so much…"

Sam blushed, even in the starlight.

"Yeah, well, you know my story… so it's a little… you know…"

Shelby understood completely. She hadn't become a fighter by choice, either. She looked at Sam and took a deep breath.

"Oh, Puckett?"

"Yo!"

"By the way…"

Shelby Marx momentarily lost focus and was no longer paying attention to their conversation. Sam's hand was in hers. She leaned in and gave Sam a gentle peck on the cheek.

Sam Puckett went rigid.

"Thanks for everything…"

Shelby smiled coyly at the blonde. She hadn't meant it to be anything bordering on the romantic, as they both knew that they had mated for life. It was simply Shelby being the Shelby Marx that no one but Wendy got to see. Beneath the trophies, championship belts, and the robes was Shelby Marx the woman. Shelby Marx the woman had once been Shelby Marx the scared little girl. She had simply let her guard down and was comfortable with the one she least expected.