It was a beautiful day out on the lake and Sam was in heaven. She was out with her uncle on her sailboat, which he'd given her on her last birthday much to her mother's disapproval. Alexis didn't understand what a twelve year old needed a sailboat for. Sam had tried to explain that every twelve-year-old needed one, but her mother wasn't buying it. In the end it really didn't matter what argument either made, the boat was bought and that was that. It wasn't a huge sailboat and she was only allowed near it with her uncle or dad, but it was all hers and she named it North Star.

"It is nearly noon, Samantha." Stefan said from where he sat watching his niece steer the boat under his instructions. "We should head back. Mrs. Lansbury will have lunch waiting, and you have a riding lesson."

Sam pouted. She didn't mind her riding lessons, she liked the fact that it was something she and Nikolas could do together, but she was much more at home on the water than on horseback. "I'd much rather be out here, Uncle."

"I know." Stefan said with a warm smile. "But you made a promise to Nikolas."

"Ok, ok." The girl relented. The truth of the matter was that she'd do anything for Nikolas and he would do anything for her. This was clearly evident by the fact that once a week she climbed onto a massively huge and massively power animal and rode it around in circles because her beloved cousin asked her too.

After they returned to the island Stefan walked beside his niece as they made their way up to the house. "You are doing well, Samantha. You'll be sailing solo in no time."

Sam chuckled. "Not if my Mom has a say in it."

Stefan smiled. "She will adapt and relax a little in time."

That made Sam laugh. "Are we talking about the same woman?"

Nikolas was waiting for them in the sitting room where lunch had been served. Stefan enjoyed these Saturday afternoons with his nephew and niece. He enjoyed their company, listening to their thoughts on things, schooling them on all kinds of topics. The conversation was mostly in Greek, though for the last six months or so it had been in Russian so that Sam could get use to their truly native language. After lunch was finished Sam called to check in with her mom, which use to be annoying before her mom got pregnant, but now Sam liked checking in to make sure her mom and the baby were ok. Then she changed into her riding clothes and went down to the stables to meet Nikolas.

"I feel silly in these clothes." Sam said as she walked over to where Nikolas and their horses were waiting. "Especially the helmet."

Nikolas gave his cousin a smile. "You look very nice, Sammie."

Sam returned the smile. "Thank you Niky, but I still think I look silly."

The horse that Sam rode was named Raja and was actually Sheba's little brother. He was gentle and funny, and Sam really liked him, but he still scared her a bit. Their instructor was holding the horse's reins near the mounting stairs that Sam had to use to get into the saddle. She climbed up and settled herself in the saddle as Nikolas mounted Sheba. Since Nikolas was so much more advanced he was on his own for most of his lesson while Sam worked with their teacher. After their lessons the children were allowed to walk the horses around the island with one of the grooms following behind them just in case.

"Have you talked to Emily yet?" Sam asked as they rode at a slow pace side by side.

Nikolas shook his head. "No."

Sam rolled her eyes and groaned. "Why not? I thought you wanted to ask her to go to the dance with you?"

The fourteen-year-old boy stiffened a little as he stared straight ahead. He liked Emily, he really liked her, but he wasn't sure how she felt. She was younger than him, Sam's age, and he didn't think she was experiencing the same strange new feelings he was. He wouldn't be very comfortable with Sam liking a boy, so why should he think it would be ok for Emily to like him?

"You have that look." Sam said with a slightly disgusted face.

"What look?" Nikolas asked as he turned his head to look at his cousin.

"That noble, princely, gentlemen look. Knock it off. Your manners are blocking your common sense." Sam replied. "You don't have to like ask her on a date or anything. Just ask if she'd liked to hang out with us. I'm telling you Niky, she likes you too."

Nikolas gave his cousin a look that his aunt would have been proud of.

Sam rolled her eyes again. She was use to those looks and they had far less effect on her these days, well most of them anyway, her mom could still give a few that made the girl want to crawl under her bed and hide. "Come on, it's going to be fun, I can't wait to dress up like a zombie. I know you want to hang out with Em so just ask her."

"Will you be asking Lucky?" Nikolas asked, still giving his cousin a soft glare.

"He'll be there." Sam said with an odd look. "We'll hang out. I'm still not allowed to be around him alone."

Nikolas nodded in understanding. "Yes, I would think Aunt Alexis is being very mindful of your interactions with my thick headed brother."

Sam frowned at Nikolas. "Don't start that again!"

"I still don't understand what he was thinking." Nikolas huffed. "Why he thought two eleven year olds taking off like that would be wise. But then again his father is Luke Spencer and that is just the type of thing he would have been taught by the man."

"Nikolas!" Sam groaned a soft growl. "He was trying to help me out." She huffed. "I was upset about my Mom and Dad and he knew I needed to get away."

"Yes, and apparently the logical way to do so was to steal his father's car." Nikolas said, a bit of his old anger flaring up. "And drive off with you in it."

"We didn't steal it! My Dad said I couldn't hire wire any more cars after I took my Mom's. We had the keys." Sam huffed right back at her overprotective cousin. "Besides, it's not like Beecher's Corner is a million miles away."

"It's far enough that an eleven year old driving a car at all could have caused an accident." Nikolas said. "But an eleven year old driving that huge monster of car was asking for trouble."

"I was driving at eight." Sam stated as she continued to glare. "Cody taught me. Besides, that old man got out of the way in time, so it's not like anyone was hurt."

"The store front you plowed into didn't get out of the way and people could have been hurt." Nikolas pointed out. "You and Lucky could have been hurt. You were fortunate that you walked away with just minor scratches and that the store was closed."

"Luke tried to tell her not to chase us." Sam replied as she urged her horse to walk a little faster so she could get away from Nikolas and this conversation. "He knew we'd come back."

"She was terrified, Samantha!" Nikolas argued as he too quickened his horse's pace. "You ran away, you were reckless and you put yourself and Lucky in danger!"

Sam dropped her head for a moment and then looked up at her cousin and snapped at him, "It was over a year ago Nikolas! Drop it and move on!" She hadn't meant to scare her mother so badly. She'd just wanted some space so she could stop being mad at her for hurting Jax and driving him away. She and Lucky were going to come right back after a day or two, but once they got to Beecher's Corner they found themselves having fun, and for the first time since she'd found out her mom turned Jax down, Sam didn't feel scared or unsure. An over night stay turned into a week, and when her mother and Laura found them Sam got mad all over again and her attempt to get away ended when she accidently put Luke's car into drive rather then reverse and plowed into the front of a hardware store.

When Alexis finally got Sam home Sam's month long silent treatment came to a crashing halt when she and Alexis got into a massive battle of wills. All of Sam's emotions came bubbling to the surface, all her fears and insecurities, all her uncertainties over her ever-changing life, but the fight came to an abrupt end when Sam called her mother a bitch. Sam had not only stunned, and hurt, Alexis but she stunned her self, and was instantly remorseful for everything she'd done.

"Why do you keep bringing it up Nikolas?" Sam demanded when she realized Nikolas was still fuming while she'd been lost in her thoughts. "I got seriously punished for it." Sam nearly shuddered at the memory. Until that little stunt Alexis had never crossed the line into spanking her child, but Sam's behavior had left her little to no choice. She or Lucky, or some stranger on the street, could have been hurt or even killed. Alexis hadn't been able to over look that, or the stolen car, or the thousands of dollars in damage, or the week of hell the girl had put her through. So she'd made sure Sam learned her lesson really well this time. "And it's not like I'll ever do something like that again." Sam continued. "You don't have to keep bringing it up." She looked at her cousin, really looked at him, and suddenly had a thought. "You're upset because I didn't come to you, aren't you?"

"You could have come to me." Nikolas replied after a long moment. "I would have helped you."

Sam sighed. Things were good but still a little shaky between Nikolas and his brother, and one of the things that could tilt the scales either way regarding how they felt about each other was her. She and Lucky had a really great friendship going on, he understood her in ways most of the people in her life couldn't. But Nikolas was family, and Sam coming into his life took away a kind of loneliness he hadn't realized was there until he had her, and the same went for Sam. They adored each other and sometimes that bond brought out Nikolas' jealousy. "I know you would have, but Lucky was pissed at his Dad and we both just wanted a break. He was there and he understood. You would have tried helping but you would have been very logical about it and the last thing I wanted was logic. I wanted to be reckless." She sighed softly. "I'm sorry if I hurt you Niky."

Nikolas shrugged as if it didn't matter but it did. "It's aright. Like you said it was over a year ago."

"But I never told you I was sorry." Sam said. "You must have been worried and scared too."

"I knew Lucky would take care of you." Nikolas admitted. "But yes, I was."

"I'm sorry." Sam said sincerely. The two rode back towards the stables in silence. When Sam was tired of the stillness she looked at Nikolas and smiled as she said, "So, I can tell Emily you have a crush on her right?"

"Sam!" Nikolas barked out.

Sam laughed and then took off towards the stables with her beloved cousin on her tail.

From the trees a man watched as the two cousins rode back towards the house. The boy rode a lot and on occasion alone. The girl was hardly ever alone on the island. He would have to keep watching, though not for to much longer, he was running out of time.