iWant Your Attention

The sunlight entered Carly's bedroom window early that Friday morning, cutting a swath across Sam's face. She loved this. She loved lying here, watching the blonde sleep. Sam had been so good to her since they'd decided to do this, it was amazing to her. Sure, Sam had always been good to her, but all of this went above and beyond the call of duty.

Carly flicked Sam's ear with her finger. Sam stirred, swatting away the imaginary bugs in her dream. Carly flicked Sam again, this time harder. It was more of the same. The third time was the charm. Carly snuggled in close to Sam, kissing her gently, much the same way she did every morning, except that this time, she nibbled Sam's lower lip a touch harder than usual. It did the trick. Sam Puckett awoke with a start, as though she'd been doused with ice water.

Carly smiled at her, stupidly.

"Hi…"

Sam wasn't yet fully awake. Her body told her that she should enjoy what Carly had just done, but she didn't fully understand why she'd done it. She had deliberately behaved herself for the last few weeks, fearful of hurting her Cupcake. Sam Puckett had the tendency to play rough from time to time. She wanted everything to be perfect. Things had to be perfect. These were her Cupcake's Cupcakes that they were talking about, after all. Sam rolled on her hip, her partner now prone beneath her. If Carls wanted to play games with her that was okay – except that the games would be played on Sam's terms.

"Listen up, Sassmaster…" Sam began. She had gone from zero to naughty in no time flat. Carly had seen this before, but not recently. Her eyes widened. Sam didn't know if it was out of excitement or if she'd pushed back just a bit too hard, too fast. She immediately retreated.

"Cupcake, I'm sorry…"

This was clearly not the response that Carly wanted. Even under the combined weight of her babies and their Mama, she wasn't the helpless invalid Sam treated her as. She was upset. She managed to find something of a happy medium between 'tantrum' and 'domestic dispute'.

"Sam, I don't want you to be sorry, I want you to be into me!"

Sam could read the misunderstanding in Carly's eyes. Their ships had passed in the night, flying under different flags. Sam had been right about Carly's intentions the first time. She was Sam's little Sassmaster, and she wanted Sam to treat her like it for the first time in months. Carly looked up into Sam's beautiful blue eyes and immediately got lost. Sam's voice was firm, but nowhere near as harsh as Carly had seen it in the past.

"I am into you, Carls, I am… but if this is what you want, you have to play the game by Mama's rules, understand?"

Carly noticed that familiar sparkle that lived behind Sam's eyes. This was the look she got when no one else existed in the world, save for Carly Shay. Sam Puckett lowered her face to Carly's, their bodies joining at specific points. Her mouth grazed the brunette's neck. Sam heard the familiar sound, as her partner lost temporary control of all her faculties. A proud smile crept across the blonde's face. This was, after all, what her little Sassmaster had asked for.

ACROSS TOWN…

Melanie Benson was downstairs in the kitchen, preparing the mother of all breakfasts for her husband. He deserved it after what he had done for her the previous evening. Until last evening, Mythical Melanie was operating under the assumption that Freddie Benson didn't want her – not in That Way, anyway. This was what her brain told her, as they hadn't shared an intimate moment in quite a while. This was what abuse had taught her. She had seen so many men in her life interested in only the most basic things, that she was afraid that her little tech boy had tired of her.

She stood in the kitchen half dressed, swishing her hips back and forth to the music inside her head. It was a very good morning. She could hear him in the shower now. They had become so used to one another in the past year that Melanie joked that it was aging them prematurely. They were such homebodies, she said, that by the time their second wedding anniversary rolled around, they would be taking dinner together at four in the afternoon and calling it a night by seven-thirty. They both had a good laugh at the thought, but for Melanie, there was a certain appeal to it. She didn't have the need to work traditional hours, so her time was ostensibly her own. She wanted nothing more, ever, than to spend it with those she loved.

The shower cut off and Melanie finished plating up breakfast fit for a king. She sat down at the kitchen table and waited for him, letting her bathrobe fall open ever so slightly. She wanted to see if he'd notice.

MEANWHILE, BACK AT BUSHWELL PLAZA…

Sam had just finished making breakfast for the both of them. She figured that they both needed something after the morning they had had. Sam had dirtied seemingly every pot, pan, and dish in the kitchen, as she had refused to allow Carly fried eggs, sausage, Bolivian bacon, and toast. She argued that it wasn't good for the babies, so the salty badness had been Mama's alone. Carly had gotten pancakes and home fries, so she wasn't complaining, but she felt like a little girl when Sam scolded her about her use of butter and syrup.

"Sammie…." Carly whined. "I'm hungry!"

Sam pointed to the apron she was wearing, covering nothing other than a sports bra and pair of shorts. It read, not surprisingly, 'Kiss The Cook'. Sam smirked at her.

"Mama's kitchen, Mama's rules, Cupcake…"

Carly pouted playfully. This was done solely to make Sam feel bad. She crossed her arms across her chest, sticking out her lower lip.

"Cupcake no like Mama's rules…"

Sam played along. She knew what Carls was trying to do, but she wouldn't budge.

"Just following doctor's orders, Carlotta… If you don't like it, take it up with the Doc this afternoon…"

Carly blew a loud raspberry in the general direction of the kitchen. She fell silent for a long moment, before speaking again.

"Sam…?"

Sam smiled.

"Yes, Cupcake?"

"I love you…"

Sam knew. She had known that for years.

"I know, Carls… Believe me, I know…"

Despite the fact that her hardheaded wife was attempting to starve her, Carly was over-the-moon. She had the best wife in the world and she was due to become a mom. Life was good.