Hope you guys enjoyed my little cliffhanger in the last chapter! ;-) I must say I enjoyed making y'all suffer for a couple days, but I do have a heart so I won't make you wait any longer...
Thanks (again) to all who reviewed the last chapter!
Sam choked on the drink he'd just taken after hearing Mikaela's answer. He loved her and had thought about marrying her many times, but they'd never talked about it. Hearing it now, in front of his mom and grandmother, completely blew his mind away and left him speechless. He saw the look in his girlfriend's eyes change from dead serious to uncertainty with a little embarrassment because she'd just professed how deep her love for him was and all he could do was sit there in shock. Slowly he let a smile light up his face and reached for the hand she'd laid on his arm.
"Baby, I'd marry you right now if I could but my Nana would have my hide if I didn't give you a proper wedding," Sam leaned over and gently kissed her, enough for her to feel his love but not too intense that his mom and grandma blushed.
They moved into the living room with the rest of the family to watch the football game. Sam and Mikaela leaned against the wall at the back of the room because there was nowhere to sit and Sam knew if he did sit that he would just end up falling asleep. She wound her arms around his waist and had her head on his shoulder and he rubbed her back. There were the angry yells from the men when their team had flags thrown against them or when the momentum shifted to the team they were rooting against, but other than that it was pretty quiet. It was a time to enjoy being with family and there wasn't really a need for talking. They had all done plenty of that before they ate.
The scene was interrupted by a knock at the door, and Judy quickly moved to answer. Everybody that was supposed to be there was there, and she didn't know who it could be. Sam watched curiously as his mom sought out Mikaela a few moments later and heard her say that her dad was at the door. He didn't miss the concerned look on her face, but stayed where he was as she went to talk to him. It was odd that her dad had showed up since he'd refused to join them when Mikaela had invited him the day before. After she'd been gone a while, he decided to go outside and check on them. He opened the front door and saw her dad's hand strike her cheek.
"No wonder your mom bailed as soon as she could," He spat and walked off.
Sam was out the door and had Mikaela in his arms before the man had taken two steps off the porch. His heart broke at the way her shoulders shook as she cried into his chest. He couldn't help the tears that welled up in his eyes for what she'd just endured. It felt like a lifetime before her crying slowed down. At that moment, Sam wanted nothing more than to tear apart the man who had the audacity to call himself her father.
"What is wrong with me? Why can't they love me?" Her words were muffled against his chest, but he understood every painful word.
Sam stepped back so she could see him. "Listen to me. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. If they can't see how amazing you are, then that's their problem. It's nothing you've done. I don't know what he said to you, but it was completely untrue. Everybody in that house knows that you are something special and they've only known you for a couple hours. Baby, you are absolutely perfect."
"You're the amazing one, Sam," Mikaela smiled through the few tears that were still falling.
"If I'm amazing, it's only because of you," He wiped away her tears. "Let's get out of here for a little bit."
"But your family--" Sam cut her off.
"Will get over it. All that matters is you," His lips met hers in a tender kiss. "Stay here. I'll be right back."
Sam ran inside the house to let his mom know they were leaving for a little while. Once back outside, he led her by the hand to the garage. They got in the car and he drove them out to the old dirt road where they'd shared their first kiss. The dirt road had become a special place for them and he knew it would make her happy. Sam sat on the hood of the car with his back against the windshield and Mikaela lay on top of him in between his legs. Bee could tell that both of his charges were upset so he took it upon himself to try to cheer them both up. Random snippets from comedy shows kept playing and a particularly funny clip from 'I Love Lucy' got Mikaela to giggle.
"So, you wanna marry me, do you?" Sam teased.
"Well, you are kinda cute. Sometimes you're funny, too. Marrying you wouldn't be so bad. At least I wouldn't be bored all the time and I wouldn't have to wake up next to some ugly guy," Mikaela grinned playfully.
"I know what you mean. No guy would complain about having to wake up next to a gorgeous woman for the rest of their life."
"No man would complain about sleeping next to a half naked woman," She retorted sarcastically.
"As long as that woman is you, there won't be any complaint from me," Sam gave her a lopsided smile.
"Do you have any idea how irresistible that smile makes you?" Mikaela said softly.
"I happen to think anything you do is irresistible," He replied smoothly.
"Suck up," She rolled her eyes and laughed.
"God, 'Kaela, you are completely breathtaking when you smile like that," Sam whispered, all pretense of joking aside.
"How do you always know exactly what to say?"
"I love you," He said simply.
Bee started playing "Lately" by Tyrese through the radio. Sam let his fingers run up and down her back. Her forehead rested against his cheek as she tucked her head into the crook of his neck. They lay there listening to the music Bee kept streaming through the speakers. The bot always seemed to know exactly what to play although it wasn't surprising considering he could scan them and know how they were feeling. It was almost like Bee could create a soundtrack to their life. Mikaela loved music, and loved that the bot picked songs that fit their moods and situation perfectly.
She was still upset over the things her dad had said to her. They had never been very close, but she had never expected him to be so cruel and heartless. It was obvious he was drunk, but that couldn't take back what he had said. The intent to hurt behind the words was still there, and likely would be for a long time. Tired of thinking about it anymore, Mikaela lifted her head to look at Sam and saw that his eyes were closed. He was so cute just laying there that she couldn't restrain herself from kissing him on the nose. Sam opened his eyes at the contact and chuckled at the innocent look on her face. Now that his eyes were on her, she slowly moved her head until her lips met his in a tender kiss. Sam smiled against her mouth when her fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck. Her other hand was on his face. Mikaela pulled away when his hands moved to the top of her rib cage and tightly gripped her side, knowing they couldn't take it too far because they were out in the open.
"Are you okay?" Sam asked concerned.
"I will be," She admitted.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Yeah, but later. Right now, let's go back to your house so you can spend time with your family."
"Baby, if you don't want to be around anyone we can stay here. I saw them all earlier. I'll see most of them at Christmas. It's okay," He said.
"Sam, it's fine. I know you don't get to see your family that much, so I want you to be with them as much as you can when you get the chance," Mikaela told him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Besides, I'm with you. I don't care if we're here or in your house with everyone else because I know you'll still be there."
Sam was glad his girlfriend wanted him to spend time with his family because he did miss them but he wouldn't have thought twice about staying with her had she not wanted to go back. The Macarena pounded through the speakers on the maximum volume during the ride back, compliments of their favorite Autobot. They were still laughing when they walked in the front door and Mikaela saw the sly looks some of his cousins gave them. She realized with a start what they must have thought she and Sam had left to go do and ducked her head to keep from blushing. He looked at her curiously and she quietly told him about the looks she'd seen. The thought of them skipping out on the family to go have sex amused him, but he found his mom and let her know that Mikaela and her dad had gotten in an argument and they had left until she had calmed down.
One of the kitchen chairs was empty so he sat in it and pulled his girlfriend down onto his lap. Knowing it was pointless to argue with him, she intertwined her fingers with his when he slid his arms around her waist. The football game was almost over and Sam got just as engrossed in it as his uncles and dad were. Every time he got mad and yelled at the TV, it would startle her and then he would apologize just to forget the next time and do it again. Mikaela lost interest in the game so she turned her head and closed her eyes.
Sam felt her breathing slow and glanced down at her to see she'd fallen asleep. He made sure not to lash out after that. The rest was good for her after the emotional day she had had. Mikaela snuggled closer to his chest and he tightened his arms around her stomach. It still blew his mind that the woman in his arms actually wanted to marry him. Not that he doubted her feelings or their relationship, but he didn't feel like he deserved Mikaela. She was amazing and for some reason she'd decided he was worth falling in love with. How he got so lucky, he couldn't figure out but he wouldn't screw it up. Somehow, some way, he would show her how much he loved her regardless of how long it took.
When the game was over, Sam carefully picked Mikaela up in his arms and carried her upstairs to his bedroom where he laid her on the bed. She didn't even stir when he pulled the blanket over her or kissed her temple before going back downstairs to hang out with his family. He and three of his cousins, Jacob, Kyler, and Drew, went out into the backyard to toss around a football. Out of the three of them, Sam was closest to Jacob because they were only a few months apart in age. Kyler was a year older than them and Drew was Kyler's brother and a year and a half younger. They were pretty cool guys even though Sam was so different from them. Kyler and Drew were both athletic and played football and baseball. Kyler played baseball at a junior college upstate and Drew was hoping to play either sport in college when he graduated. Jacob was the musical one in the family and was an extremely talented singer and guitarist. Sam had always been the geeky one, but it had never bothered the others. All four constantly teased each other for the stereotype they had fallen under in high school.
It didn't take them long to fall into the traditional game of two on two they played every Thanksgiving. The teams had been the same for as long as they could remember. Drew and Sam were always a team. Kyler and Drew wouldn't play on the same team because it gave them an advantage since they both played football in school. Nobody ever remembered who won; the games were just for fun. Being boys, it was always physical. Jacob had separated his shoulder a few years before after a particularly brutal tackle by Drew. He'd played through the pain, and none of the others were even aware he'd been hurt until after the game.
Sam and Drew were down by a touchdown and close to scoring when Jacob speared Sam as he caught the ball. Unfortunately, neither man realized where they were in the yard and when Sam fell back, his head slammed against the sidewalk. The force of the tackle and hitting his head on concrete knocked him out. When he came to, his first thought was that the crazy hysterical lady really needed to be quiet. Then he realized that lady was actually his mom and she had just seen him sprawled out in the backyard not moving. Sam gingerly sat up and saw the guilty look on Jacob's face and the concerned looks on his Uncle Danny and his mom's faces. His uncle checked him for a concussion before anyone would let him get up. Kyler and Drew were his sons so he'd had plenty of experience with hits to the head in the past. Drew and Jacob slowly helped him to his feet.
"Jake, that was a hell of a hit," Sam tried to laugh it off but saw that his cousin was still upset. "Don't worry about it man. Nothing serious, I'm just going to be sore."
"I don't know why you boys feel the need to beat the crap out of each other," His mom threw up her hands in frustration.
"Mom, I'm okay. Uncle Danny says I don't have a concussion," He looked around for a minute. "Mikaela didn't see that, right?"
"No, she's still upstairs asleep," Judy answered.
Kyler and Drew helped Sam back into the house. His mom forced him to lie on the couch and brought him an ice pack for the back of his head. He didn't understand why she was ordering him around like he was five when he was a legal adult. Arguing over it wouldn't do him any good though because Judy was so overprotective of her only child so he closed his eyes to block out the pain. The tackle from Jacob was so hard Sam felt like he had been broken in half. The pounding in his head paled in comparison to the shooting pain in his side. Jacob's shoulder had collided with his hip bone and he knew there was going to be a gnarly bruise.
Their football game was soon forgotten and the other guys joined him in the living room. Drew immediately went for the Xbox and started playing a racing game. Sam was glad he thought to bring it with him when he and Mikaela came back. It wasn't long before people started filtering in to take a turn at the video game and they soon had a tournament of sorts going. Sam would have loved to join in but thought better of it and stayed on the couch. Even his grandpa got in on the fun. It was always amusing to watch him try to get the hang of electronics, but he was smart in his old age so it didn't take long before he was beating the younger boys.
Drew and Curtis were the last two to remain unbeaten. All of the others watched anxiously to see who would come out the champion of their impromptu tournament. Surprisingly, it was Curtis who won and Sam couldn't believe his grandpa had managed to get the best of all the younger boys who lived and breathed video games like the one they had been playing. At the end of the game, the wives all started rounding up their husbands and children to leave. Sam's family all lived at least an hour and a half away and it had started getting late. He stood up and gave each person a hug and a kiss on the cheek for his aunts and grandma, making sure not to hurt himself any worse. His grandparents were the last ones left when Mikaela came down the stairs. The confused look on her face when she saw the loose hugs he gave his grandma and grandpa didn't miss him. She came over and said goodbye to his grandparents too, and laughed when Curtis flirted with her some more. Once the door shut and everyone was gone, Sam grimaced and collapsed into the nearest chair.
"What happened?" Mikaela asked concernedly.
"Jake tackled the hell out of me when we were playing football and I slammed the back of my head on the sidewalk."
"Are you okay? When did it happen?"
"It was an hour or so ago. My head is pounding and my hip hurts, but nothing bad."
"Come here baby, let's go in the living room so you can lie down," Mikaela helped him up and wrapped her arm high around his stomach to help him walk to the couch. She sat down on the end and grabbed the ice pack that he'd set down when he got up earlier. Sam laid down and put his head in her lap. He felt Mikaela softly place the ice against his head and her other hand was splayed in his hair. She was looking down at him when he glanced up and Sam smiled his gratitude. Mikaela couldn't help but feel bad for her boyfriend. It was obvious he was in a lot more pain than he was letting on, and she hated that there was nothing she could really do to make it better for him.