Well, Betty (for those who don't know, that's the muse for this story) got back on the pole (Annie, the UMR muse, locked her in a trunk and shipped her out of the country)! After three long weeks, here is your update… and exceptionally long one (Oooh yea).

Review and Betty'll keep spinning and working that pole! She doesn't work for free! LOL!

This is PART ONE.

UNEDITED

Chapter Twenty-Six

Two Men and The Stuffing

The next morning, Sam awoke in her mother's bed to find Kristina fast asleep beside her. She muffled her laughter as she reached for her telephone so that she could take a picture of her teenaged sister whose mouth hung open as drool poured from her mouth onto their mother's pillow. She tried to mute the image capture and turn off the flash, but her sister woke up as both attempts proved unsuccessful.

--- "What the hell, Sam?!"

Sam laughed as she showed the picture to her sister.

--- "You look great when you sleep, sweetie! I figured I'd capture your beauty."

Kristina turned red at the sight of the unflattering picture.

--- "DELETE THAT!"

She nearly tackled her sister for the phone, but Sam quickly jumped over a sleeping Molly to get off of the bed.

--- "Oh, I DON'T think so!"

--- "SAM! Come on! Why are you doing this?"

Molly woke up from her sleep.

--- "What's going on?"

Kristina angrily pointed to their older sister.

--- "Sam is being a total tool by taking a really horrible picture of me. Now she won't delete it!"

Sam smirked.

--- "It's blackmail!"

Kristina tried to jump over Molly as Sam previously did, but the littlest Davis pushed her back.

--- "I'm not a hurdle and this isn't the track, stop jumping over me!"

Sam laughed.

--- "Seriously, Krissy, Molly is small enough; she doesn't need you falling over her, but then again you falling could add to this lovely album of mine."

Kristina scoffed at her sister and jumped over the front of her mother's sleigh-bed instead.

--- "I want that PHONE!"

Molly was getting highly annoyed that her sister's had awoken her from her highly suspenseful dream concerning the story of Macbeth.

--- "Will you two morons get out?! You're acting stupid!"

--- "Sorry Mol!"

Sam laughed as she ran out of the bedroom and into the hallway waving her phone in the air taunting her sister.

--- "I'm holding onto this lovely picture of you—"

Kristina was becoming increasingly angry.

--- "What are you blackmailing me for? I didn't do anything to you, Sam!"

Sam put her hands on her hips as she continued to keep a tight grip onto her phone. She wondered whether Kristina had completely blocked out the events of the previous evening.

--- "Are you kidding me? Have you forgotten the way you totally made fun of me and not to mention embarrassed me after that total bullcrap spanking and time-out I got from Mom?"

The teen rolled her eyes at her sister; she had remembered the spanking (really, how could she have forgotten?), but she would not have told anyone… really.

--- "I didn't do anything to you!"

Sam scoffed.

--- "Your sideways comments, the way you ensured to listen at the door, you being you, shall I continue? This is insurance that something like that will never happen again."

Kristina knew that Sam was always one to protect her whenever something happened to her; but she was not sure if, in this situation, her sister would actually be the one from whom she needed protection.

--- "Come on, Sam! Give me a little more credit! I wouldn't embarrass you like that—"

She rolled her eyes at her younger sister.

--- "Did some of your brain fluid ooze out of your mouth while you were drooling all over Mom's pillow? You ALREADY embarrassed me, Krissy—"

--- "You're being childish—"

--- "And you know what? With being a PI and all, I'm pretty savvy with computers, so sending this pic to everyone in your school would be a piece of cake!"

Sam smiled as she quickly emailed the picture to herself, while allowing her sister's imagination to run wild.

--- "You didn't?"

Sam shrugged and began walking away from her sister. Kristina, being only a junior at the high school was terrified that her sister actually sent out the picture to the entire student body; she could not spend the next school year attempting to live the image down.

--- "SAM! GIVE ME THE PHONE!"

She tackled her sister to the floor. Sam held a firm grip to her cell phone as her sister attempted to wrestle it from her hands.

--- "NO!"

Hearing the commotion, Molly, who had tried to fall back asleep seeing as it was only seven in the morning, leapt from the bed annoyed that she was once again being awoken by her fighting sisters.

--- "Why don't you two SHUT UP?"

The girls both looked up at their little sister as they fought for the phone.

--- "Mind your business, MOLLY!"

--- "Yeah, go read a book or something!"

Molly hated when her sisters disregarded her as they just had; she watched as they continued to fight each other for the phone.

--- "You guys are being dumb! Kristina, no one cares about you, and Sam, you're too old to be acting like this. I'm telling Mommy!"

--- "Yea yea, tattle to Mommy."

Molly scowled at Kristina who had a tendency to make fun of her whenever she wanted to involve their mother into a situation.

--- "I will! MOOOOOM!!!"

Sam and Kristina stopped fighting at the sound of their sister calling for their mother.

--- "Molly, why did you do that?! You don't have to call Mom; this is just a sisterly disagreement."

Molly stuck her tongue out and called for their mother again.

--- "MOMMY! Sam and Kristina are fighting like two idiots!"

Sam pushed Kristina off of her as the teen attempted to once again reach for the cell phone.

--- "Get off of me! I don't even know why I'm still here in the first place; I'm going home. I can't handle you two monsters. I'm too old to be tattled on to Mommy—"

---"Tattle to Mommy about what?"

Alexis emerged from the other side of the house a bit disheveled in appearance; Sam eyed her suspiciously.

--- "Hmmf, looks like someone has been wrestling—"

Her mouth fell open as she realized what she had just insinuated of her mother; she remembered how she and her sisters left her.

--- "Oh God, MOM! Where were you?!"

Kristina and Molly looked back and forth from Sam to their mother. When Alexis noticed the looks she was receiving from her girls, she pulled Sam into her bedroom.

--- "Girls, stop fighting and get ready for breakfast."

--- "MOM!"

Kristina stopped her.

--- "Will you get her to delete the picture she took of me from her phone—"

Sam feigned shock as she looked at her sister.

--- "I have NO idea what you're talking about Krissy! I don't have a picture of you on my phone!"

Alexis was not buying her daughter's innocent act.

--- "And you and your sister were fighting for what reason?"

Sam rolled her eyes.

--- "Well, we weren't doing what YOU clearly were doing, Mom—"

Alexis sighed and stuck her hand out to her daughter.

--- "Give me your phone, Samantha."

Kristina smirked as she raised a single brow at her sister, but Sam smiled at her as she handed the phone to their mother.

--- "Here you go Mommy."

Alexis took the phone and looked through the images ; there were several of the family as a whole, but there were none that were embarrassing of her middle daughter.

--- "Sweetheart, there's nothing in her phone."

The teen was beyond shocked and quite suspicious of her sister.

--- "Mom, she said that would email it to everyone at school!"

Alexis knew her eldest daughter would never do such a thing to her sister, but would in fact attempt to scare the teen into believing that she would actually do so. She shook her head at her daughter.

--- "You know what, I don't care about what's going on with you two right now. This is childish and you both need to grow up!"

Sam grimaced at her mother.

--- "I'm sure that by the looks of you, I know of something else that was growing last night."

Kristina scrunched her face in disgust.

--- "Seriously Sam? Not something I need to hear first thing in the morning. Mom, you were with—"

Alexis glared at both of her girls and opened her door.

--- "Kristina, out. Sam, we need to talk."

--- "Mom, I love you, I really do, and I love that we're close, but I seriously don't want to hear about your pipes getting unclogged—"

After such a comment from her sister to their mother, Kristina did not need to be told twice to leave; she wanted out of the room before any more inappropriate information was shared. Alexis quickly closed the door behind her and shook her head at her eldest daughter.

--- "Did you really have to say all of those things in front of her, Samantha?"

Sam shrugged and walked into her mother's bathroom; her toothbrush was still in there from the previous morning, so she decided that since she was clearly not going back to bed, she would brush her teeth.

--- "Mom, please! She's a teen, if you think that she's not talking about these things, then you're nuts. Plus, have you spoken to her about Kiefer?"

Alexis leaned against the doorframe trying to not think about her teenage daughter contemplating such a big step.

--- "Um, I doubt that they're having sex—"

--- "I didn't say they were—"

She spit.

--- "I said you should talk to her. Now that we're on the topic of sex, please tell me that you weren't… [ahem]… on my bed."

Alexis squeezed the bridge of her nose.

--- "No, first I want to discuss what you did to your sister—"

--- "Actually, I think its more important for us to discuss the fact that you were CLEARLY having something done to you, in MY room, no less!"

She rolled her eyes at her daughter.

--- "Pure speculation."

Sam pointed her toothbrush at her mother.

--- "Don't get all lawyerly on me! You were clearly having either a taste of some hmm hmm good Maclovin, or getting flambéed by my father! And AGAIN, might I add that you were doing all of this in MY room!"

Alexis covered her face and stared at her daughter between her fingers.

--- "Will you keep your voice down?"

--- "MY BED!"

She attempted to contain her laughter, but enjoyed her daughter's look of disgust. She nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders.

--- "It's not like you're ever here!"

Sam was mortified.

--- "MOM!"

Alexis laughed at the look of disgust on her daughter's face as she rinsed her mouth.

--- "Relax. We didn't… on your bed… just on the floor… of your bathroom—"

Sam spit out the water into the sink and stared at her mother.

--- "GOD, Mom!"

She walked up to her with her arms crossed; while she wanted to strangle her mother for being so calm about the situation, she stood several inches shorter than the woman, and quite frankly, her mother scared her. So, Sam squinted at the woman as she looked up at her.

--- "Mom, which one were you with last night?"

The Night Prior

Molly climbed on the counter in the kitchen and opened the cabinets.

--- "There's nothing in here but boxes of tea!"

The group stood watching as the girl searched the cabinets. It was well into the evening, and after occupying and distracting themselves with naps, card games and scrabble, their stomachs decided that replenishment was essential. While Jason had said he would return with lunch, it was dinnertime and they had not heard from him; therefore, the group, stuck in Alexis' home, was suffering from pangs of hunger.

--- "Check the top shelf, Mol!"

Molly got onto her tiptoes and checked. The only thing she saw was a bag of marshmallows, although she was unsure of how long they had been in their cupboard. She grabbed them and handed them to her mother.

--- "This is all that's up here, Mommy."

The group stared at Alexis. Maxie, who had herself, spend a good portion of the day in time-out for the many comments and revelations she had made about everyone else's personal lives, was dumbfounded at the lack of food in the woman's house.

--- "Isn't this like child abuse or something? Aren't you supposed to have something to eat! I mean, you have two daughters—"

Sam leaned against the island and cleared her throat.

--- "Um, I'm pretty sure that she's got three daughters, although I'm treated like the stepchild."

Alexis rolled her eyes and gave her daughter a kiss on the side of the head as she wrapped her arms around her.

--- "You're not my stepchild! If you were, you'd have a fairy godmother turning those stale marshmallows into a yummy sweet potato casserole or something!"

Sam pulled away from her mother and moved next to her father who was standing aside from the group watching the situation; he immediately wrapped his arm around her and lead her out of the kitchen.

While Alexis was hurt by the rejection, she had a feeling her daughter was upset with her, but decided to not push the subject until she could get her alone. For the time being, she needed to figure out a way to feed her houseful of people.

--- "Okay, so it seems we've got stale marshmallows, Halloween candy, and—"

She opened her refrigerator.

--- "Er, milk—"

She handed the carton to Kristina, who opened it, but quickly handed it back to her mother.

--- "Mom, that's rotten."

Alexis put it back into the fridge. Mac reached into the refrigerator and took the milk.

--- "Why in the world would you put this back in there if its expired?"

Molly jumped down from the counter and grabbed the milk from Mac.

--- "Because I can use it for a science experiment on the benefits of spoiled milk—"

Diane scoffed.

--- "Molly, let me explain something to you—"

Alexis shook her head; she knew her friend well enough to know that whatever she was going to say would not be appropriate for her ten year old daughter.

--- "You know what, Di, maybe you should sit in the living room—"

--- "Oh you're not going to put me into time-out, again!"

The people in the kitchen attempted to muffle their laughs, but most were unsuccessful. Alexis smiled widely so that her dimples were most present; she typically did that when she masked her desire to fall into a fit of hysterics.

--- "No, of course not, Di! I just think you've had quite a bit to drink, and perhaps you might want to, you know, lie down or something."

Diane had been drinking quite a bit, but being a self-titled championed drinker, she did not feel the effects of it, although everyone with eyes could see that the woman had had too much to drink.

--- "No, I'm fine. Now, Molly, this is a lesson in life you should ALWAYS keep in mind—"

Kristina shook her head.

--- "Here we go—"

Diane continued.

--- "There is NOTHING beneficial from anything that's curdled. Whenever you see something creamy and lumpy, run to the high hills! I mean—"

--- "Okay! Molly, ignore Auntie Di. Diane, let's go."

Alexis grabbed her friend's hand and pulled her into the living room, and pushed her down onto the couch.

--- "Just sit—"

The woman began to protest.

--- "Lex—"

--- "Nope, just sit."

Diane crossed her arms and pouted.

--- "First, I get put into time-out; then, as though that weren't bad enough, I get put into it for SIXTY minutes, as though I were some decrepit old woman! I swear, that house elf, little Dobby from Harry Potter, is going to get a good smack for doing such a thing."

--- "You can't keep telling my 10 year old any old thing that comes to mind; you need to think about what you've said. Now sit."

Just as Alexis was about to leave the room, her doorbell rang; it was Jason. While she was none to pleased to have him back in her home, he was carrying two bags of food.

--- "I never thought I'd ever say this, but you're our Savior right now!"

He nodded and placed the bag on the dining table.

--- "I was supposed to bring lunch, but the streets were blocked—"

Alexis smiled in an attempt to remain civil with the man, while still keeping up her firm and cold guard; she wanted him to remember that she was serious about hurting him if he ever once again hurt her daughter.

--- "That was very nice of you. Thank you."

Seeing as there was nothing left to find to eat in the kitchen, the group came into the living room. Maxie smiled widely at the sight of the food on the table.

--- "Look at you being quite chivalrous Jason; feeding your girlfriend's family to gain points—"

He stared at her.

--- "That's not what's going on, Maxie. I told Sam I would be back—"

--- "No, no! You don't have to tell me anything. I just think its super sweet. Kudos to you!"

Alexis rolled her eyes and looked to her two daughters.

--- "Will you two go get the plates for us all—"

Jason interrupted her.

--- "Actually, the roads are pretty clear now, so I'm going to get going—"

Maxie quickly moved to grab her coat from the coat rack.

--- "Great, I think I've spent more time that I needed with these people… no offense! You can take me back to my non-husband—"

Mac grabbed his daughter by the arm.

--- "Oh, I don't think so—"

--- "What now, Mac?!"

He shook his head.

--- "There is no way you're going with Jason."

She clicked her tongue as she pursed her lips.

--- "You are aware that I came with him this morning?"

--- "But you're not leaving with him—"

Alexis, who was looking at the amount of food that had been purchased, intervened.

--- "Excuse me, but we've more than enough food here for everyone to enjoy. I would love it if you would all just stay."

Diane walked over to have a look at what was purchased. Because of the weather and the increased amount of take-out, all that Jason had been able to find was Kentucky Fried Chicken.

--- "Geez, Jason, in the mood I'm in, I'm not sure I should be eating these parts; I think I'd feel slightly awkward. I think I'm going to pass. Sorry Lex, but unless there's a nice big coc-ROOSTER in that bucket, I think I'll take a ride from Jason to Max's; it's been a cold night and I'm going to fire up some wood."

Alexis rolled her eyes hoping that her impressionable youngest daughter was not paying any mind to the inebriated woman.

--- "Fine and good luck with that."

Maxie had managed to pull her arm from her father's grasp and to put on her coat.

--- "Yea, I'm going to do the same. I mean, Spinelli likes his sausage in my oven and all—"

Mac glared at his daughter. He knew that she was purposely making such comments to get under his skin. He also knew that he was not going to stop Maxie from leaving with Jason, and had he offered to drop her off, his daughter would have found a way to be with her thug boyfriend. He groaned in agitation before threateningly pointing his finger at Jason.

--- "You had better get her home safely. Don't stop to shoot up any of your fellow gangsters while she's in the car."

Jason ignored the commissioner's statement and turned to Alexis.

--- "Where is Sam?"

Alexis was not sure where her daughter had disappeared to with her father, but she assumed that they must have gone to her room to talk.

--- "She's probably in her bedroom with her father. Let me—"

Before she finished her statement, Jason walked out of the living room in the direction of Sam's room. Alexis did not care for the man roaming the halls of her home, but she also knew that he was not a thief or anything… just a hitman… her property was safe.

Mathieu noticed that Sam was rather quiet and perhaps a bit upset with her mother. Honestly speaking, he could not blame her as Alexis had all but embarrassed her. Seeing as Sam had made the first move of moving to stand by him after somewhat shunning her mother, he decided to take the opportunity to offer a father's ear to her troubles.

--- "Is something bothering you, ma belle?"

Sam smiled at the pet name from her father; she loved that he was so attentive to her despite having only met her. She felt an immediate connection to him.

--- "I don't know if I should be talking to you about this."

--- "You can talk to me about anything. I know that we've just met, but I want to know everything about you. You're my daughter; the only way that can happen is if we talk."

She nodded her head and moved to sit on her bed.

--- "Okay. But, you have to promise not to say anything—"

He sat beside her and took her hand into his.

--- "I can't promise you that—"

--- "Mathieu—"

His face fell at hearing her refer to him by his first name when she had begun to call him Dad, and even more special, Daddy. He had hoped that it would continue. Sam noticed his hurt and immediately felt bad; it was never her intention to hurt his feelings.

--- "I'm really sorry; Dad—"

He smiled.

--- "It took me a year and a half before I started calling Mom, Mom. And even when I started, I kind of jumped back and forth with it. It's just weird—"

He kissed her hand.

--- "I know. Now, what is bothering you? I can't promise I won't say anything because if need be, I will protect and defend you the way I should have done before you were born."

She bit her lip as she thought of how she would begin.

--- "I don't know, I just feel humiliated right now—"

--- "Because of the time-out?"

She rolled her eyes.

--- "If only it were just that! My goodness, I'm twenty-nine, and my mother put me over her knee and spanked me like a child! My sisters keep snickering in my direction, and Maxie, you already know she had the biggest mouth in town, and you've only just met her! I mean, don't get me wrong, my mom and are really close, but I think she crossed the line tonight, and I'm pissed about it."

He could not say he disagreed with her, but then again, he did not know the entire story as to what it was that Sam had done in the first place.

--- "Well, you seem to be very respectful—"

--- "You want to say frightened—"

That was true, he did.

--- "I didn't want to exactly say that, but I guess, yes, that would be the best word. Are you afraid of your mother?"

She thought about it for a second. It was not that she was afraid of her mother, she simply respected her… well…

--- "I wouldn't exactly say all of that, but she's my mom; if I don't do what she asks, then she'll just nag me until I do… or kidnap me… or take my car keys… or take my house keys… or come by the apartment—"

She noticed the look on his face and stopped speaking.

--- "Um, Mom isn't crazy, you know. She's just controlling, in her own way, I guess. I'm sure she wasn't anything like that when you knew her."

He smiled, as he thought about his Alexandra and their time together. She was always a shy girl, but quite opinionated when given an opportunity to speak. He always gave her such opportunities; he was always interested in what she had to say.

--- "She wasn't controlling, but… persuasive. She could make anyone agree with whatever it was that she had to say—"

Sam laughed as she imagined her younger mother talking someone into compliance.

--- "You mean nag."

He nudged his daughter playfully.

--- "No! I don't mean nag. She seriously had this gift to make anyone see reason—"

--- "Her reason."

--- "Bien sur! Is there any other? But Samantha, it was only after you got to know her that she let you see that side of her. Otherwise she was very calm and quiet. When I first bumped into her at the school dance, she was painfully shy—"

--- "And yet you were still interested?"

He nodded.

--- "Your mother is a beautiful woman; she has always been beautiful. I could not resist her. And look, we created something even more beautiful in you."

She blushed at his compliment. It was strange hearing about her mother's younger years; it had never been something that she and Alexis had ever discussed together in the years that they had begun to grow close.

--- "Thank you."

He passed his hand along her cheek.

--- "You look a bit like her, but I still see a lot of me in you. I think you're a perfect combination."

--- "Really?"

--- "Yes. And I know that I don't know you very well, but I see your mother's temperament—"

Sam nearly laughed aloud at his statement.

--- "Okay, Dad, now you're pushing it. My mother is the most neurotic person I know. She is a straight by the book person who stays on the right side of the law. She's… predictable."

He seemed amused; his Alexandra, while she stayed on the right side of the law, was a risk taker.

--- "Wow. Well, considering all that you told me tonight, I certainly can see that you're nothing like that. I suppose most of your personality comes close to mine. But, Samantha, I will tell you this, your mother was not always as predictable as you might think. She was smart; she knew how to do what she wanted, and not get caught. I think that's what I loved the most about her; she liked taking chances."

She was becoming more and more amazed by her conversation with her father about her mother; she felt as though for the first time she was actually finding out who Alexis Davis really was. In the same respect, Mathieu felt the same; there was so much he simply did not know about the love of his life.

--- "I don't think your mother's intention was to embarrass you."

Her ears turned red at the memory.

--- "Well, I can't say that I exactly blame her. I mean, I played a really mean joke on her, and knowing her as well as I do, she definitely humiliated herself because of it. I guess I got what was coming to me."

--- "I think you should still speak with her and let her know that it is bothering you."

She bit her lip as she nodded in agreement.

--- "I will. Thank you, Daddy."

Suddenly, someone knocked on her door.

--- "Yea?"

Jason opened the door.

--- "I'm sorry to interrupt—"

Mathieu stood up and gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek.

--- "No, you're not interrupting at all. Cherie, I'm going to leave you here with your coffee importer."

Sam rolled her eyes knowing that her father and she would soon be having a conversation about Jason's actual profession.

--- "Okay, Dad. Thanks for listening."

--- "Anytime, ma belle."

He walked up to Jason and extended his hand to him.

--- "It's nice to see you again."

Jason took his hand and simply nodded.

When her father left, Sam walked up to Jason and gave him a hug, leaning her head against his chest.

--- "You promised you would be back for lunch. We came very close to turning into cannibals… well, at least Mac and my Dad. They were certainly competing on which would eat my mom—"

Jason's stomach turned at the image.

--- "Thanks for that, Sam."

She smiled and looked up at him; he leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips.

--- "You're welcome. Now, where have you been?"

He sighed as he looked around her room; he had not been in there for years. He typically made it his business to stay close to the door whenever visiting Alexis' home; he never wanted to stay longer than necessary. Luckily for him, Sam typically did not spend too much time at the lake house.

--- "I tried to get here earlier with lunch, but unfortunately, the roads were completely blocked. I guess they were trying to clean up because now it's clear now. I'm actually just here dropping off food for you all; I know you said your mom's fridge is not stocked—"

She shook her head.

--- "It really isn't; we do take-out here."

--- "Well, take out is what you all have for dinner. It's not what you're used to, but it's food."

She hugged him once more.

--- "My hero! You're wonderful for that."

--- "You can always come home with me."

She thought about it for a moment, but figured she would stay one more night with her family; now that everyone was leaving, she could actually have time to bond with her sisters and mother... assuming she wasn't preoccupied bonding with one of her two suitors.

--- "Normally, I would definitely say yes, but you know what? I'm actually going to stay here with my family."

He gave her his subtle smiles and another kiss on the lips.

--- "I figured you would. I brought you a change of clothes; I didn't think you wanted to borrow another one of your sister's outfits tomorrow."

--- "Aren't you always the thinker! I appreciate that; thank you!"

He took her by the hand and led her back into the living room where Maxie and Diane were waiting with their coats on; he went out to the car to grab the bag he had packed for her. Sam's sisters were seated at the dining table looking annoyed.

--- "It's about time! We're hungry!"

Sam rolled her eyes at Molly.

--- "I didn't tell you to wait for me!"

--- "Well, Mommy wouldn't let us start until we were all seated."

Sam looked at her mother.

--- "How'd you know that I wouldn't have left?"

Alexis smiled and shrugged.

--- "Sam, honey, I already told you that you wouldn't be going out in this snow."

--- "It's upstate New York, Mom; it always snows!"

Seeing that her daughter seemed to no longer be upset with her, Alexis walked up to her and gave her a hug; she whispered in her ear.

--- "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

Sam returned her mother's hug.

--- "Thanks Mom."

Alexis released her daughter and looked her in the eyes.

--- "So you're staying?"

Sam rolled her eyes at her mother.

--- "Did I really have any other choice?"

Alexis kissed her daughter on the cheek.

--- "You know your Mommy so well; of course you didn't."

--- "That's what I thought."

Kristina hit the side of her glass with her fork.

--- "Um, I'm sorry to interrupt this pow-wow, but we're pretty hungry here! Would you two mind?"

Diane nodded in agreement, and poked her client in the arm as he walked back into the house with Sam's bag.

--- "Yes, and Jason, can we please leave. I need get Max's engine restarted; it has been cold for far too long!"

He groaned in disgust.

--- "Okay, Sam, here's your stuff; I'll see you tomorrow?"

She went to close and lock the door behind Maxie, Diane and Jason.

--- "Yea, you will."

--- "Good."

Once they had all departed, she turned to the remaining party: her sisters, mother, father, and Mac. She smiled menacingly at her mother.

--- "Krissy, Mol, why don't we go watch a movie in Mom's room?"

Kristina gave her sister a questioning look.

--- "Sam, we're hungry—"

--- "So, we'll take the food in there with us; it's not like Mom doesn't make a habit of eating in there."

Alexis knew her daughter was purposely leaving her in an uncomfortable position with Mac and Mathieu.

--- "Sam, we're going to sit down as a family for dinner—"

Sam raised an eyebrow.

--- "And for dessert? Creamcicles?"

Molly clapped in excitement.

--- "Oh, I LOVE Creamcicles!"

--- "And so does Mom, Mol! Don't you, Mom? The nice and thick ones right?"

Alexis knew what her daughter was doing, but refused to give in; she refused to be placed in the awkward situation of dinner with both men all alone.

--- "Samantha, we've saved you a seat right here, right next to Mommy."

Sam smiled politely and took her seat next to her mother.

--- 'Thanks Mom."

Alexis gave her a threatening glare before turning her attention to the hungry group.

--- "Okay, I know that Kristina and Sam want a wing each, and Molly wants the leg, but what piece do you guys eat?"

Sam jumped in before either man could answer.

--- "Well clearly the breasts—"

Kristina, who had begun to sip some of her soda, nearly choked.

--- "Geez Sam!"

Molly was so famished she took a bite of her chicken.

--- "What's the big deal?"

Alexis, who had once again given Sam a death glare, pointed to her youngest daughter.

--- "No talking with your mouth full."

--- "Sorry!"

Mac and Mathieu were quickly growing uncomfortable in an amused sort of way; knowing how Alexis had treated Sam earlier, they knew that this was a bout of revenge on the younger woman's part.

Mac cleared his throat.

--- "Um, I'll take the thigh actually."

Sam sighed in her seat.

--- "Shame we don't have a whole chicken here, Mac! I'm sure you would've enjoyed the stuffing between the thighs."

--- "SAM!"

The young woman leaned back in her chair.

--- "What, Mom? You like stuffing your turkey."

Molly nodded in agreement.

--- "It's true. Remember when we made the Thanksgiving turkey?"

Kristina looked at her older sister who was smiling from ear to ear; she figured she'd join in on the fun.

--- "Yea, and we massaged oil all over its body."

Mathieu smiled as he noticed Alexis turning all shades of red; he knew his daughter would soon be in trouble, but he figured it would not be a repeat of the morning's actions. He looked at his daughter who seemed to enjoy making her mother squirm.

--- "You know, I've always been a breast man."

Molly laughed.

--- "So is Mom!"

Sam laughed aloud at her mother's expense; she looked at the two men.

--- "You see, Mom isn't very picky at all; she'll ravage anything if she's in the mood."

--- "SAM!"

Mac smirked; while he could have done with dinner without Mathieu at the table, it was, to say the very least, quite an entertaining meal… that had not yet even begun.

--- "Okay, so who would like some coleslaw?"

Sam looked at her mother who seemed to have been anticipating a comment on her part.

--- "My mom likes it creamy, so if it's thick and creamy, she'll have some."

Alexis put her silverware done and scowled at her daughter before sighing. Sam knew, at that moment, that she would later hear from her for her antics.

--- "Well, I think you girls should actually watch that movie in my room with your dinner. When was the last time you actually had a chance to bond?"

Sam smiled as she stood up in her seat and grabbed her plate, along with a couple of sides she and her sisters enjoyed. She leaned down and gave Alexis a kiss on the top of the head.

--- "Thanks Mommy. Enjoy your meal!"

Alexis gave her daughter a death glare as she walked out of the room. Mathieu looked toward the older woman and laughed.

--- "Cheri, you can't say you didn't deserve that."

She turned to look at her daughter's father.

--- "Shut up."

Present Day

Molly walked into their mother's bedroom in the middle of the two women's conversation.

--- "Mommy, can you tell Kristina to hurry up in the bathroom! She's taking forever!"

Sam threw her hands up in the air.

--- "Mol, just relax; Mom and I are in the middle of something!"

Alexis smiled at her youngest daughter's timing; she actually enjoyed keeping her Sam in suspense.

--- "No worries, baby; let's get Krissy out of there!"

Sam wanted to scream.

--- "MOM! Come on! That can wait—"

She gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek and pushed her back into the bathroom.

--- "You definitely don't want to go into your bathroom right now, so take a shower in here, but not too long; Mommy's dirty."

This is the end of Part I… Stay tuned for Part II.