Enjoy!
It was six thirty in the morning and Lucas was going to pick up Brooke from the hospital. Brooke had called him and asked if he could come and pick her up then because she couldn't sleep in the hospital any longer and she really just wanted to lay in her bed and get some semblance of good rest. A groggy and tired Lucas agreed as he stared at the clock that read six am. Once he hung up the phone he let out a deep groan before getting up.
Once dressed and ready to go he went into his daughter's room and gently nudged the sleeping girl's shoulder, "Sammy, sweetie."
"Mmm. Too early." Came her groan.
The father let out a small laugh. He agreed completely.
"I'm gonna go pick up mama now, okay? She's tired of the hospital and wants to sleep in our bed."
Sam turned to face her father, though she was still lying down. All of yesterday's emotions came swimming back to her and Sam felt angry with her father all over again. Here he was, just pretending that nothing had happened yesterday.
"Okay." She muttered turning back to face the wall and not her father.
Lucas sighed. He was still in the doghouse with his daughter.
"You and I need to talk later on today too okay?"
Sam yawned out a "sure" and closed her eyes, hoping that her dad got the message. He did. The man frowned but kissed the back of his daughter's head anyways, "I'll be back with mama. Pick up your phone if one of us calls."
He got up and gently closed the door to Sam's room. He rubbed his face, partially from sleepiness, and partially out of frustration with the cold shoulder his daughter was giving him.
"Luke, I promise you I'm fine." Brooke assured him after he continuously fussed over her from the moment they got out of the hospital. Luke gave her a deep kiss and wrapped his arms around her, "I just care too much."
She leaned into his hug, "Are you coming back to bed?" It came out through a yawn.
"I'm not tired anymore, so I think I'm gonna go shoot some hoops and then pick up breakfast for us."
She smiled and let him go slowly, "Okay."
"You just relax and sleep. Sam's still dead asleep I'm sure."
She chuckled and watched him go before climbing up the stairs excited to close her eyes. The hospital was draining. When Brooke opened the door to their room she found Sam in the middle of their bed. Barry and her blanket, of course, right along with her. Brooke shook her head and smiled at the sight. It seems Sam had moved rooms while Lucas was picking her up.
The mother walked over and changed into her pajamas before pulling open her covers and crawling in next to her daughter.
She dropped a kiss on her daughter's head. But all the movement woke Sam up.
She opened her eyes as her mother pulled away from the kiss, "Do you feel better now mom?" Came her groggy voice.
Brooke nodded, "All better. I just want to sleep some."
Sam closed her eyes and snuggled down into the covers again, "Me too. Let's go to sleep mama."
The mother chuckled softly. "Alright baby. Let's sleep."
"I'm happy you're home. It was only a night, but it wasn't the same without you." Sam whispered through her grogginess.
Brooke, even in her tired state, felt her eyes water a bit. Her daughter's sweet words touching her heart. Brooke moved closer and wrapped an arm around her daughter, pulling her close, "I'm happy I'm home too."
… … …
Sam finally woke up at around 11 in the morning. She slipped out of her parent's bed and walked over to her bathroom. The girl could could hear that her mother was downstairs in her office, probably talking to Millie because she had her business voice on. The television was on and some sports babble was being spouted off so she was sure that her dad was in the living room. Sam left the bathroom to change and then sent off a group text to Jack, Liz, Manny, and Tamara to see if they could plan to hang out together.
The girl descended down the stairs and was relieved when her dad wasn't in the living room, though the television was still on so he had probably just stepped out. Still, she wasn't really up for talking to him.
Her mother's office door was slightly ajar and so she opened it further without bothering to knock.
"I need those designs to be sent to me by Monday morning. I also need to see if New York has-" Brooke heard the door and looked up. Her face formed a smile and her eyes softened, "Hey peanut, you're awake."
"MORNING SAMMY!" Came the chorus of voices from Brooke's computer. It was Millie, Rebecca, and Michael.
Sam blushed and Brooke waved for her to come further in and Sam gladly did so. She went over to where her mom was, then gave her a long hug and kissed her on the cheek. The others smiled at the cute sight. Sam leaned into her mom and greeted the others.
"Hey guys." She said with a small wave.
"Hey kiddo!" "Hi Sam." "Hey you!"
Came the chorus of voices. Brooke shook her head playfully at their excitement then looked to her kid,
"Sammy, I need to finish this skype call okay?"
The teen nodded, said her goodbyes to those on the call, then went to lay on the sofa and let her mother's calm business voice soothe her as she absentmindedly looked through her phone.
The sofa was a new addition because Brooke didn't want Sam to keep sitting on the floor every time she came into her office, which was a lot of times.
When Brooke's call ended, the mother looked over towards her daughter.
"Mom, how are you already working when you just left the hospital like a couple hours ago?" Sam asked, locking her phone then sitting up to talk to Brooke.
Brooke sighed, "I know. I know. I was supposed to have this call after your showcase but then you know your baby sibling had other plans."
Sam chuckled, "Troublemaker in the process."
"Must've learned it from you." Brooke joked. She got out of her chair and sat next to Sam who immediately curled into her. Brooke rubbed her daughter's back soothingly.
"You scared me yesterday." Sam admitted quietly. "When Aunt Peyton told me you were in the hospital, I swore my heart stopped."
Brooke placed her chin atop Sam's head, "I was scared too. So was dad, but it's all okay. I may just have to take it a bit easy. Not stress myself out at work so much."
Sam chuckled, "Stress, work, and you go hand in hand."
"I can do it!" Brooke argued, "I'm just going to need to reorganize responsibility and such. It'll be fine."
Sam just sighed content to have her mom back home. She started to text her friends back while still curled into her mom. Brooke watched her daughter lovingly.
Sam may think that work stressed her out the most, but it's being a mother that was the hardest job for her. Not in a bad way. In the way that there's a constant pit in your stomach and pulling of heart strings when you watch or think of your kid. In the way that when you watch them cry, it hurts. When you watch them take a risk, you're terrified for them. When they're snuggled in your embrace your heart melts and you never want them to detach from you. Your emotions are always so magnified when it comes to your children. Being 'mom,' 'mama,' and 'mommy' was Brooke Davis's hardest and most rewarding job.
"I'm gonna hang out at the movies with Liz, Manny, T, and Jack then probably go out to dinner with them. Is that cool?" Sam asked bringing Brooke back from her thoughts.
"Mhm." Brooke responded softly brushing a soothing hand through Sam's hair.
Another ping came from the teenager's phone.
"Liz wants me to stay over at her house for the night. Can I?" She asked, pulling away from her mom.
"Have you talked to your father already?" Brooke asked raising an eyebrow.
"About what?" Sam was playing dumb. Of course she knew about what.
"About yesterday. You both need to work it out."
"But he was the one that was acting crazy!" Sam argued.
Brooke shook her head, "You were both in the wrong somehow. I might've been doped up with pain medicine, but I saw the way you were ignoring him, and yes, he was acting pretty snappy as well."
Sam pouted at her mother's words and crossed her arms across her chest as she stared at the wall in front of her. Brooke stroked her daughter's cheek, "You're not going to stay over at Liz's until you can work this out with your dad, honey."
Sam leaned back on the sofa and gave a dramatic huff, "I don't want to talk to him though. He's just gonna be all serious and tell me what I did wrong."
Brooke frowned, "Do you really think he's going to get on to you? I think he wants to apologize."
The girl knew her mother was right, but she just shrugged it off.
Her daughter was just being stubborn, so she went with a bit of a firmer approach, "Sammy sometimes we have to do things we don't like. And you might not want to talk to him, but it's the right thing to do. Okay?"
"Yeah." Sam cast her eyes down, biting back her attitude.
"You should probably go talk to him now. He was waiting for you to wake up. He even brought you your favorite breakfast. Does that sound like a dad that wants to scold you?"
Sam shook her head, "No." She squeaked out.
Brooke nodded, "Right." She patted her daughter's arm, "So go then."
Sam knew her mother's "suggestion" to talk to him was really a demand hidden under nice words. So she begrudgingly got up and shot her mom a glare but Brooke only pointed to the door, "Go Sam. I'm gonna finish some things up in here, but I expect you to have talked to your dad before you leave this house."
Sam forewent talking to her father for a bit and sat atop the counter as she ate the breakfast that Lucas brought. A few minutes had passed when she heard her dad call her from upstairs,
"Sammy? Sam, where are you?"
The girl rolled her eyes but kept eating. He would find her in the kitchen eventually. She was taking a swig of her orange juice when Lucas came in, "Oh, there you are." He stepped in, "Bud, you wanna talk soon?"
Oh, so now he was acting nice all of a sudden? Sam scoffed internally. Whatever.
"I'm eating."
Lucas watched Sam avoid his stare. He hated that Sam was mad at him. He took his hand out of his pocket, then walked over to where Sam was sitting on the counter and pressed a kiss on her forehead, "Alright. Don't take too long champ."
She wanted to retort something back, but didn't feel like getting snapped at yet again. She shrugged out a "Fine."
She opened the door to her room around fifteen minutes later and sure enough her dad was sitting on her bed watching some random television show. He saw her come in and he turned off the TV. Sam took a deep breath and sat down where her father had patted the bed. She let her legs dangle on the floor.
Luke watched her fumbling with her hands. One of her nervous ticks. He wished that Sam would look at him, but he wouldn't push her to do that just yet.
"Okay Sam, you and I have to work out what happened yesterday." He started. His voice was soft and did not come across as harsh at all. "I snapped at you way too much. I know that. And I'm sorry. I was a mess of nerves."
"Yeah." Sam muttered. What was she supposed to say to that? Luke looked at her blankly. All he got was a 'yeah'? He took a moment, "Samantha, please tell me why you're so upset with me. I know you wanted to stay with mom, but do you at least understand why I wanted you to come home last night?"
"I get it." She said after a sigh. She looked to her dad. His face looked concerned, and maybe a little frustrated, "I do get it. It was easier for me to be at home so you could deal with mom."
The father nodded, "Baby...you also called yourself a burden." He spoke softly, slowly lifting her chin to look back up at him again, "I didn't mean to make you feel like that. You're never a burden champ. Never."
Sam bit her lip. She wanted to look away but her dad held her chin gently, and he shook his head when Sam tried to move away. She stopped and dropped her shoulders, and Luke let go. "Was it because I was so adamant about you going home that made you feel that way?" He asked.
Sam shrugged her shoulders.
"I hate that you're so upset. I didn't even get a 'morning daddy' like I usually do when I wake you up." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly, "You know I live for those morning daddy's." He joked lightly.
This caused her to smile just a little bit.
"Talk to me Sam. You can tell me what's on your mind."
"You'll just get mad."
"I won't. I promise."
She crossed and uncrossed her legs, pausing before speaking again.
"I heard you. I was coming back from the vending machine and I heard you tell mama that you didn't care about 'some high school performance.' You didn't ask me about it or say congratulations or anything. Everyone else did. Even mama and she was the one that was sick. I know what you meant though. I know that mama's health is more important, but the showcase, it meant a lot to me. I worked hard. And it's like you didn't care. Then you didn't want me there and it just, it just felt like I didn't matter."
Lucas felt his heart fall. Of course. How could he be so stupid? He hadn't realized that Sam had heard him say that, but of course he cared! Brooke and him had spent the whole time before Sam got there gushing about how wonderful she was!
"Oh sweetheart." Lucas frowned and moved closer, "I'm so sorry Sammy. I, I'm actually really proud of your performance. Mama and I spent the whole time talking about how amazing you were while you were still at school and we were waiting for the pain medicine to kick in." He shook his head in disappointment at himself, "I know that what I said sounded horrible, and I regret the way I phrased it. You're right, I was so overwhelmed that I completely forgot to wrap you up and kiss you until you got annoyed enough to push me away. Because, you know, that's what I wanted to do when you finished performing that first song!"
Sam smirked shyly at her dad's words.
"Sweetie, you will always matter to me. I'm gonna try and not be so crazy when something bad happens. I'll try my hardest. I messed up. I was an ass. You didn't deserve it."
Sam took a moment to scoot closer and then tentatively leaned into her dad's shoulder. Luke smiled at the gesture. She hadn't known that her parents had spent the whole time before talking about her club's performance. She wanted to stay mad but her dad was being so sincere, and he even called himself an ass. I mean, who does that unless they actually mean it?
He kissed her head, "I'm sorry times infinity baby girl. "
"It umm...It just scared me. Like when the baby comes, it's gonna be that way all the time" She conceded. "...Like I don't matter." Came a small and defeated whisper.
Luke choked up at his kid's vulnerability "Come here sweetheart." He cooed, wrapping both arms around her.
And even if Sam was angry with him she couldn't reject the embrace. His arms wrapped around her and he kissed the top of her head. "It's going to be hard at first with the baby. He or she will take up a lot of our attention and time. But you need to know that mom and I will always love you just as much and just as hard as we do now. You will ALWAYS, ALWAYS, always matter to me."
"I know." Sam responded softly.
"And If I start making you feel that way again, just let me know. Don't let it get this far. Stop me and tell me I'm acting crazy. I don't want to be given the cold shoulder and be fighting with you all the time. That would kill me. I would miss your snuggles and your kisses and your smile and everything!" He squeezed her tight and tickled her side a little. Sam giggled making Luke's heart melt for a moment. She sounded so young whenever she giggled.
"Okay, champ? I want you to believe the words that I just said."
And honestly, she did. It was just a matter of reassurance. "I believe you." Came her timid voice.
Lucas knew that when the baby came their might be bouts of jealousy. It was a matter of transition. But he didn't want Sam going into it believing that their dynamic of love would end because of their new child.
Sam took a deep breath. "Dad?"
"Hmm?"
" I, umm, I know I was giving you a hard time. I was just upset about you ignoring me, and I just well, acted out I guess. But honestly you weren't even listening so it's not like I could really tell you why I was upset."
"You're right about that. You had every right to be upset. But we could've talked at home. And you could've reigned in the attitude at least a little bit. Don't you think? Remember that's not the way to solve things. We've talked a lot about that, haven't we?"
Sam bit her lip and nodded, "Yeah, I guess so."
The father smiled, "You guess so, or you know so?" He asked as he looked at her.
Sam wanted to roll her eyes, "I know so." She muttered.
"Waiting to talk things out always works out better, right? Yelling at me or your mother only causes grief. I mean, you would've avoided me giving you those couple swats to your bottom."
"Daaaadd." She moaned, a blush rising to her cheeks. She tried pulling away but he held her close, "Alright, alright. I won't mention that again...But champ, I get it too. I understand that you were frustrated. You and I get upset so easily. We're sensitive souls." He smiled, "But it's okay. We'll work on it. And I promise I'll reign in on the snappiness."
Sam finally gave her dad a full out smile and he reciprocated it. It had only been like half a day and he had felt so empty without his daughter's smile. Definitely wrapped around her little finger. Not that Luke minded it any.
When Brooke came out of her office she found Sam sitting atop Lucas's lap on the sofa. Sam's back was leaned into his chest and he had an arm wrapped around her middle. She heard the sounds of a piano on the tv and realized it was the dvd of Sam's performance,
"Hey I thought we were all going to watch it together?" She asked taking a step forward. She was glad to see her two loves cuddled up and no longer fighting. Sam could never stay mad at her father for too long. Both parents were grateful for Sam's forgiving nature.
Sam's eyes looked to her mom, "We just started, don't worry. Come watch it with us!"
Brooke sat down pushed up to Lucas's side, holding on to his free arm. Lucas gave her a wink as he patted Sam's belly, "Were you nervous champ? " He asked her.
She nodded, "A bit. But we had practiced so freaking much. It was impossible for any of us to forget anything."
"Sam you are such a natural." Brooke told her after some time.
The girl smiled, "Thanks mama."
"My little pianist." Lucas cooed and squeezed her tight.
"Dad, stop!" Came Sam's embarrassed voice.
He just held her close, "I'm so proud of you." He whispered.
She turned into him and nodded against his chest. He looked down and breathed out a sigh of relief. Sam had forgiven him and he would make damn sure not to be such an idiot next time.
Brooke watched the two. He saw how Sam subconsciously grabbed onto her dad's shirt and fiddled with it in her hands, meanwhile Lucas patted Sam's tummy every so often. The mother loved how physically close Sam was with them. She knew that for most 14 year olds it wasn't necessarily the norm. But Sam wasn't really a "normal" 14 year old. On the outside and day to day you could never tell she was any different, but her past had still left vestiges on the girl. The need for physical affection was one of those tells. But neither parent minded. They loved it.
Her past wasn't actually that far anyway. It had been ten months since Sam came into their life. Her freshman year was coming to an end and her 15th birthday would be in a few months as well. Brooke choked up at the thought of her daughter turning 15. She still looked small and to some extent underdeveloped for her age. At Sam's last checkup the doctor told Brooke that it was a result of the lifestyle that she had lived prior. A lack of the proper nutrients and such, mixed in with the fact that the girl's natural stature was small. The mother felt a stray tear fall down her cheek and she quickly wiped it.
Lucas looked over and furrowed his eyebrows at Brooke, "What's wrong?"
Sam sat up a bit and looked at her mom as well, "Are you okay mom?"
Brooke shook her head, "It's nothing. I just love you both."
Lucas could see that Brooke had been in deep thought. He gently leaned over and kissed Brooke's lips, "We love you too babe."
Sam grimaced, "Eww, don't kiss over me."
Brooke raised her eyebrows and kissed Lucas again through a smile, just to mess with Sam.
"Mom. Dad." The girl groaned, "Gross."
They both laughed and let go, "Happy?" Brooke said tickling Sam's side, eliciting another giggle from the girl. "Yes!" Sam shot back, "Very happy."
Brooke pressed a kiss onto Sam's temple, "I love you peanut."
"I love you too mom." Sam said, laying her head back onto her dad's chest, "You too dad."
The little family sat and watched the rest of the performance before Sam headed out with her friends that afternoon.
…. …. …
The day had come and gone and Sam was now in Liz's bedroom. They were both absentmindedly looking through magazines and Liz was talking to Sam about her most recent crush. Sam always made fun of Liz because she always seemed to move from one crush to the next in a matter of weeks. Though, honestly, the girl could have whoever she wanted.
"Have you done your worksheet for math?" Liz asked.
Sam nodded, "Mhm. Finished it last night when I came home from the hospital."
Liz fell dramatically on the bed, "Why are you such a perfect student?"
Sam laughed, "I'm not! You know I occasionally skip history 'cause Mr. Sorenno couldn't give less of a shit."
Liz laughed, "Yeah, but like you're smart."
The smaller teen shrugged, "I'm not that smart. I'm alright at math. I'm just good at literature and stuff. Besides I'm pretty sure you have a higher GPA than I do, dork."
"Well whatever. You're just naturally good at school stuff, is what I'm trying to say. Do you think you can help me with the math sheet? I have an A- in the class, but I don't get some of this inequality graphing stuff." Liz asked moving towards her backpack.
Sam shrugged and sat up more, "Sure. What part do you need help with?"
Liz sat next to Sam and showed her the sheet, "The ones that ask to solve the quadratic inequality by graphing."
Sam nodded as she took the paper and looked it over, "So just the last three problems?"
"Yeah the ones that count for the most points." Liz groaned.
"Well you have to graph the parabola first."
"Using the quadratic formula? Or...what?" Liz asked looking at the rather long equations and dreading actually having to work it all out.
Sam looked at each equation, "You could factor number 13 and 14 to make it easier, but you have to use the straight formula on number 15."
Their spontaneous tutoring session was cut short when Rebecca came in, knocking first.
"Come in!" Liz called.
"Hey bug," Rebecca had the phone in hand and she looked a little upset, "Dad's on the phone. He wants to talk to you."
Liz looked to Sam and then to her mom. Her dad hadn't called her in three weeks.
"Oh." Was all she could get out.
"You don't need to talk to him honey if you don't want to."
"NO, I want to!" The teen said quickly, then got off the bed slowly, "I'll, uh, be back Sam."
Sam nodded and gave her an encouraging smile that melted into frown once Liz wasn't looking. Like Rebecca, Sam was not a fan of Liz's father.
Rebecca gave her the phone and kissed her head, giving her a soft pat to her bottom in the process, "Go ahead and talk to him in my room if you want." She told her knowing Liz might want privacy.
Liz nodded and both Sam and Rebecca heard a nervous, "Hi daddy." before the door to the mother's room closed.
Sam looked at Rebecca who moved to sit next to her, "That guy's an ass." The teenager told her, "Liz has talked to me about him before."
Rebecca was surprised by how forward Sam had just been. She blinked twice and composed her words, "Well, yes. I agree. But Liz really loves him."
Sam looked at Rebecca, "Does that bother you? That Liz doesn't care that he just falls off the face of the earth sometimes."
Rebecca let out a deep, sad breath. "Every day of my life it bothers me. But I won't stop Liz's decision to try and have a relationship with Timothy. He is still her father and I just have to be there for her."
Sam frowned and tucked her legs onto the bed, "Yeah, I just..."
Sam debated whether or not it was wise to tell Rebecca what she actually thought. But one look at the woman and she could tell that she despised the guy in the same way that Sam did, "You know I had a lot of deadbeat foster dads, and so I know what rejection from parents feel like it. Except you know, I never really loved any of them. I just hate to think that Liz is gonna feel rejected by this guy that she actually loves."
The woman put a hand on Sam's thigh, "Liz will be okay. She has a lot of love from me, your mother, my grandmother, her aunts and uncles. Love from everywhere. I know that she'll always have that piece missing and it hurts me to know it too. But she's a strong girl, just like you." She nudged Sam's shoulder, "Don't worry so much, okay?"
Sam wasn't too convinced but the woman had a point, "I worry a lot sometimes. Just a habit."
"Just like your mother. You know she texted me and asked if you were okay, and to make sure you didn't want to come home."
Sam blushed, "Oh geez...Sorry."
They both knew why Brooke asked though. It used to be that Sam couldn't last a night without her parents, and the unease was sometimes still there, so Brooke couldn't help but check in.
Rebecca chuckled, "It's alright. She's just being a mama bear."
"So I guess you want to ask me if I wanna go home or not?"
"Quite the observer." Rebecca joked.
"I'm good." Sam answered, "Thanks for asking though."
"You sure?"
Sam gave her a nod, "Mhm. Besides your house is easier to sneak out from." She added with a smirk that the woman reciprocated with a raised eyebrow, "Haha very funny, short stuff."
"Just joking. Liz and I need to work on our group project for English together. We're not sneaking out tonight."
"Little hellions." Rebecca said through a laugh.
"Aww, come on. We're doing homework for English class tonight. How is that even close to being a hellion?"
"Mhm. Sure." Rebecca joked. She watched Sam for a moment, "You know Sam I always wanted Liz to love reading, but she hates it. What got you so into it?"
Sam frowned a bit and tensed. She looked down shyly and fiddled with the bottom of her shirt, "I, uhm, used to read a lot and I don't know, I guess, fall into another reality. Made my life seem not so bad when I was in some crappy foster home or something. Which was most of the time. It's super cheesy now that I think about it." She shrugged, "But it's the truth."
Rebecca was always in awe of Sam. The little girl had so much strength and you wouldn't know it by looking at her tiny frame. The woman stood up, "You're an amazing girl Sam. Don't forget that."
Sam blushed. "Thanks. You're a great mom. Don't forget that."
"Thank you Sammy. It means a lot...I'm gonna go check on Liz, okay?"
"Alright."
She patted the girl's thigh twice and got off the bed.
Rebecca stood outside the door of her room for a moment and could hear that her daughter was still talking on the phone. She went downstairs to grab the laundry and by the time she was back up, her daughter's murmurs were gone. She was surprised that the phone call had ended so quickly. Usually it lasted at least thirty minutes. She pushed the mostly closed door open with the laundry basket.
Her daughter was still sitting on the bed with her hands and phone in her lap. She didn't even look up when Rebecca had come in.
The mother put the basket down, "Lizzie?" She moved towards the bed and sat next to her. Liz sniffled.
"Buggy boo. What happened with dad?" Her voice was cautious as she put an arm around her and felt Liz lean into her chest. She began to rub her daughter's back in an effort to soothe her.
"He's mad at me."
Rebecca's face tightened. That jerk. She wanted to strangle him. Here she was, now having to pick up the pieces.
"Why, bug?" She spoke maternally despite the anger burning in her chest.
"Because I quit cheer. I knew it was a dumb idea to tell him. I've kept it a secret from him until now."
Rebecca pulled Liz from the embrace, "No. No. It was not a dumb idea. Your father is...very materialistic and into appearances. He will calm down, I promise you."
What she really meant was that she was going to call him and give him a piece of her mind, demanding that he apologize.
"Do you think he's gonna wait a long time to call me again? Now that he's mad it might be even longer."
Rebecca rocked her daughter back and forth, "I'm not sure sweetheart. I wish I knew."
"I wish he called me more." Liz squeaked out squeezing her mother tighter. Rebecca patted her daughter's bottom rhythmically, "I wish he did too baby. Me too."
Liz squeezed her mother tight. She loved her dad, but she loved her mother more. "I'm glad I have you mommy." She whispered earning a sweet kiss atop her head. Her mother would always be enough.
…. …. ….
"I've missed this. I've missed you." Lucas whispered as Brooke caressed his toned stomach.
"It's been a while since we've had a night to ourselves." She breathed in his scent and looked into his adoring, blue eyes. Eyes that Sam shared with him.
"I know. Having a kid kinda ruins that and now we're gonna have two."
Brooke chuckled and moved to kiss his neck,
"You know you love being a dad way too much."
Luca groaned from the sensation of Brooke's lips caressing his neck.
"Yeah, I do love being a dad." He muttered, "You know I also love it when your lips are on my neck." He hummed in anticipation as Brooke continued with soft kisses. She moved to his lips and gave him a deep, loving kiss that still gave Lucas butterflies. He glided his tongue into her mouth and Brooke did the same. Lucas traced Brooke's curves with his hands until they reached the hem of her shirt. The only thing that was standing between him and a naked Brooke. He pulled it off and the pulled down his own boxers.
Brooke pushed Lucas back down onto the bed and got on top of him.
"You look so beautiful pregnant and naked Brooke." He said in awe. He sat up slowly, Brooke sitting on top of his legs, and laid his head on her stomach, "You're perfect babe."
She blushed at the compliment. Grateful that when she felt less than beautiful, the love of her life thought otherwise.
She ran her hands through his hair as he breathed in slowly with his head still laid on her stomach. In and out. In and out.
"You really think I look beautiful right now?" She spoke softly. Her voice hoarse.
Lucas nodded and relished the soft and soothing hands that went through his hair. He never moved his head off her.
"I always think you're beautiful." He whispered, "The fact that you're carrying my child just makes you look infinitely more gorgeous to me. And I didn't even think that was possible. You wear pregnancy well Brooke Davis."
Brooke felt a tear roll down her cheek. Lucas heard her sniffle and he looked up. He knew why she was crying. He gave her a soft and loving smile and cupped her cheeks, wiping the few stray tears with his thumbs, "You are gorgeous inside and out, love. Never doubt it. I can stare at you all day if I could."
Brooke leaned into the hands cupping her face, "I knew I chose you for a reason." She joked lightly.
Lucas let his hands fall and laid his head back on her stomach, placing his arms around her waist and softly rubbing her back while Brooke ran her hands through his hair once more.
"I get why Sam likes to lay her head on your lap so much."
"Why?" Brooke asked.
"Your hands are like magic."
Brooke laughed, "If you say so." After a few moments he laid back down on the bed, "You know what else?"
"What?"
"Looking at you naked makes me wild."
"I can do other things to make you wild." She said with raised eyebrows. He grabbed her sides and made her fall onto the bed, causing her to yelp. "Come here." He said playfully.
"Oh my God." Brooke groaned as Lucas straddled her and pushed into her. He gave her a devilish grin.
Brooke's hands grasped at the sheets. "Keep going." She groaned, "Keep going."
He did so and bent down lower so he could bite her ear, something he knew Brooke loved. It drove Brooke over the edge and she felt her whole body tingling with anticipation as the orgasm crescendoed through. "Oh God." She moaned once more right before she climaxed. Lucas felt her body tense for a moment then relax as a smile formed on her face. He kissed her lips and felt her crash into the kiss, "I'm so in love with you Lucas. So in love."
…. …. ….
"Sam I wanna go out." Liz told her point blank a few minutes after they started their English homework. Sam looked at her quizzically, "You're the one that wanted to do work today. I told my parents we were staying in, and it's already nine pm."
Liz sighed, "There's a party that starts at nine thirty at Angie's house. One of the girl's on the soccer team. We should go. Manny can come too."
Sam bit her lip, "I have to ask my parents. Did you mom say you could go?"
Liz nodded, "I had asked her before and she said yeah as long as she could pick me up at like at 12:30, but then I changed my mind and decided to stay in 'cause of this project, but now I wanna go again."
"Why'd you change your mind?"
Liz shrugged and looked away, "I dunno. I just did."
"I won't call and ask if you don't tell my why." Sam countered, she could tell her friend was hiding something.
Liz threw her head back, "Sam come on!"
"Tell me."
Liz gave in, "Fine. I told my dad that I quit cheer and he got really upset and told me that it was a really dumb move. I'm just upset about it and I wanna have some fun and clear my head, okay?"
Sam frowned and moved towards her friend, but Liz rolled her eyes, "I don't want you to get all sappy on me Sam, I just wanna have fun tonight. So can we go?"
The smaller girl was surprised at the defensiveness. She raised her arms in surrender, "Alright, geez. I was just gonna say that you're dad's an ass and it wasn't a dumb move. It was a smart one. You're good at a lot of things and being a cheerleader shouldn't define you."
Liz snapped her head towards Sam, "My dad's not an ass."
Sam contained her attitude and tried to be understanding towards her friend's defensiveness. She understood how complicated parental relationships could be. Her voice became softer, "Sorry Liz. I didn't mean it like that. I just don't agree with what he said."
Liz sighed and nodded, "No, I didn't mean to snap at you. it's just-"
"Hey." Sam said firmly, "I get it. Parents are confusing sometimes. No worries. I'll call my parents and ask okay?"
Liz nodded and watched Sam leave the room to talk to her parents.
Brooke heard her phone ringing and groaned. They were both still naked and Lucas was kissing her breasts softly and the ring was a total mood killer.
.
"Don't get that." He muttered between a kiss.
"It might be Sam."
Lucas stopped and rolled off Brooke with a sigh. She grabbed the phone and sure enough it was their daughter. Brooke showed him the caller id, "Told you."
"Hi baby." Brooke answered.
"Hey mom."
"Is something wrong?" Brooke asked feeling a twinge of worry at the hesitation in Sam's voice.
"No nothing's wrong. I just, um, Liz and I wanna go to this party that one of her teammates is having tonight. I know it's super last minute but Rebecca is letting Liz go and she'll pick us up at like 12:30 or 1. Can I go?"
Brooke stayed quiet. Sam had yet to ask them to go to a party. And she remembered telling her that she wouldn't be able to for a while after the incident in New York, but that was a good time ago by now. A while had definitely passed.
"Mama, can I go?" Sam asked again.
"Let me talk to your father, okay?"
The mother heard a long sigh, "Yeah, okay." Sam muttered.
Her father would be harder to convince which is why she called her mother in the first place! There was no way she was going now. Sam's shoulders slumped down as she waited for their response.
Brooke put the phone down and muted it.
"What is it?" Lucas asked sitting up, "Is Sammy okay?"
"She wants to go to a party with Liz. Rebecca is letting Liz go and they'd be back by midnight or so."
Lucas resisted from immediately saying no, "...She hasn't been to a party before and didn't we tell her no parties after New York?"
"We told her no parties for a good while. I think it's been a good while Luke. She's been behaving pretty well lately, don't you think?"
Lucas didn't like the idea of her daughter out that late at a party where there was probably alcohol and boys.
"I don't want her drinking. Do you think they'll be alcohol."
Brooke shrugged, "Most likely, but I trust her. She won't do that." Brooke countered, "Luke, let's let her go. Give her a chance to spread her wings."
Lucas frowned but finally nodded, "Alright. Fine."
Brooke unmuted the phone, "Sammy?"
"Dad said no didn't he?" She immediately answered.
Brooke chuckled, "We're letting you go, but you are not allowed to drink any alcohol, understood? If we find out you did, you're in trouble."
"Okay!" Sam said enthusiastically, "I won't drink, promise."
"Sammy we're trusting you alright? This is your first party and we don't want a repeat of New York."
Sam's enthusiasm waned and she nodded somberly, though Brooke couldn't see it, "Yes ma'am. I promise."
Brooke felt herself tense with worry as she bid her daughter goodnight. She handed the phone to Lucas and he did the same.
"It's her first party Lucas."
He nodded, "I know."
"She'll be with Liz and Manny, so it'll be fine, right? And we trust her, right? We're supposed to trust her. She's a teenager. It's normal for them to go to parties."
Lucas watched as Brooke went on her small rant, "Hey." He stopped her, "She's not us. We were pretty wild teenagers, but she's not us. She'll be good."
Lucas was surprised at the words that came out of his own mouth because he was just as nervous as Brooke was. Hopefully he was right. She was not them. She was their little Sammy.
… …. …
After having woken up very early the next morning with a delicious ache in her body from a night of much needed romance with her handsome man, Brooke decided to go downstairs, turn on some senseless reality tv and look over some sketches that her New York office had finally sent her over for approval. Lucas was still sound asleep and Brooke kissed his cheek before getting off the bed.
But while on the couch the fashion designer kept looking at the time hoping that the universe would speed up so her daughter could come back home. She was anxious to hear about the party. She knew it all went well because Rebecca had texted her letting them know she was safe, sound, and perfectly fine at around 1 am. But still she wanted to see her daughter and hear it from her.
Nonetheless, Brooke was surprised to hear keys turn the doorknob at 8 am. Sam walked in and jumped a little when she saw her mom sitting on the couch staring her way.
"Oh Shit." Sam put a hand to her heart, "Mom, you scared me. I thought you'd still be asleep." She closed the door and dropped her keys onto the keyhook.
Brooke narrowed her eyes and watched her daughter carefully, "Language Sam." She corrected her sternly, "And you're here early. I thought you'd come later."
Sam yawned, "I woke up and couldn't get back to bed so I woke Liz and told her I was gonna walk home."
Brooke waved her over with her hand and Sam went and kissed her mom on the cheek from behind the couch. Brooke noticed Sam's eyes were sagging with tiredness, "Sweetheart you look exhausted. How could you not go back to sleep?"
Sam looked down and shrugged, "I dunno. I'm gonna go try and sleep in my bed right now."
Brooke nodded, "Are you sure everything's okay peanut?" The mother couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't alright with her daughter.
Sam bit her lip, "I'm fine mom. Can we talk later? I think the walk tired me out and I'm ready to crash again."
"The party was that killer, huh?" Brooke asked with a smile.
Sam laughed a bit, though Brooke noticed a nervousness in her daughter's voice.
"It was a lot of fun. Told ya you could trust me."
"I never doubted for a second."
Sam rolled her eyes, "Yeah right. You were probably worried sick."
Brooke held in a giggle, "Alright...maybe. Anything good, bad, funny, sad that you wanna report?" Her tone was lighthearted.
Sam gave her mother a small smile before looking down at her shoes and shaking her head. Brooke could see so clearly that something had happened. Her heart constricted and she wanted to interrogate her daughter but the mother knew that Sam needed her sleep first.
"Alright go sleep a little more baby." Brooke willed herself to say.
Sam didn't need to be told twice she went up the stairs without giving her mother a second glance.
The teenager closed her door carefully, then instantly dropped her bag on the floor and pulled off her clothes. She threw on a large shirt and coiled into herself on her bed. The party had gone fine until something triggered a bad memory for Sam and now she couldn't shake it off. The truth was, she hadn't slept at all. She couldn't. Her mind had been reeling and each time she closed her eyes the memory would pop up. She finally gave up and decided to walk around the park at around 6 am until she walked home. She had left Liz a text message letting her know where she had went as well as a note on her desk. She hoped that it was enough.
Nobody knew that something had triggered a flashback. Sam was grateful that it had happened towards the tail end of the night as well. She had stayed calm after the party using techniques that Lopez had drilled into her. The girl was also angry at herself. It had been ten months already, why was she still going through this? The thought drove her crazy and she wanted to pull out her hair in frustration.
At the party Sam had been downstairs with Manny and a group of others from their glee club while Liz was talking with one of her other friends. Manny had accidentally crashed into another person and dropped his coke on Sam's pants.
"Aw shit, Manny!" Sam looked down and tried wiping off the soda. Manny quickly grabbed some napkins and walked back, "Sammy I'm so sorry!" He talked over the music. She grabbed the napkins and shook her head kindly, "Don't worry about it. I'll go upstairs to wash it off."
Manny nodded, "I'll wait for you for forever!"
Sam rolled her eyes, "Okay heartbreaker, calm down."
The others laughed and one of the other guys gave Manny a playful push, "Such a clutz Manny."
Sam pushed through some of the people that littered the stairs before she reached the top. She walked into the bathroom and was wiping at her pants with a damp towel when she heard a loud thud on the wall of the bathroom. Sam dropped the towel from fright. She went to pick it up and heard muffled voices.
"You little bitch!" Came a rather deep booming voice.
Someone had slammed another person into the wall.
"I'm gonna fuck you up." Came the same voice, "Don't you ever do that again!" Another thud and another thud.
"STOP JOSH!" Came a yell from a bystander, "Leave Rick alone man. He didn't do anything to your girl!"
But before Sam had heard the bystander she had already frozen and her mind had gone to another time. She had heard all of those words before. That exact same order.
Her mind was back in Mike's home. She had tried resisting him one time and it had failed miserably.
His eyes blazed with anger when Sam pushed his hands off her breast and her underwear.
"You little bitch!" Mike yelled before he pushed her, "I'm gonna fuck you up! Don't you ever do that again!"
"You think you can tell me what to do? Huh? You think you're a big girl?"
Sam shook her head furiously, "No Mike no. I promise."
Sam's lips quivered. She could smell his breath on her neck. A mix of cigarettes and something else that was foul. She felt the saltiness of her tears hitting her lips.
Mike laughed and looked her up and down. She still looked like such a little girl which is what drove his perverse mind wild.
"You ain't no big girl Sammy. Look at you standing here crying. Joan told me you wet your bed last night so I guess you looking like such a pitiful three year old makes sense. You know I could punish you every time you do that too. But I don't."
"I-I'm s-sorry Mike. I d-didn't mean it!" Sam sobbed.
He ignored her, "Yet here you are telling me what to do! I am in charge of you! I DOMINATE YOU!"
Sam began to sob uncontrollably. A mixture of fear, embarrassment, and anger all rolling through her at once.
He slapped her once. Hard. And Sam yelped in pain.
"Stop crying!"
He didn't let her recover before he slapped her again.
"I said shut up!"
He grabbed her arm and pulled her from the wall before bringing the belt down on her back, her bottom, and her legs multiple times. Sam cried and screamed. It seemed never ending for the 12 year old. She screamed so hard her voice was sore afterwards. The belt sliced into her mercilessly. And she wanted to rip her skin off just to get rid of the aching burn.
When he was satisfied he threw her onto the bed and finally had his way with her, fondling her breasts and kissing her from top to bottom. He got off on it and then finally slapped her once more and left the room with a loud door slam.
Sam hadn't known how long she was in the bathroom for, but the sound of someone screaming ridiculously loudly for a girl named Roxie brought Sam back from her flashback.
Sam's breathing was ragged and she felt like the walls were closing in. She remembered Lopez's words of thinking of her one go to happy memory and taking in deep breaths. She willed herself to think of the time she had jumped into her parent's arms after her showcase at Clydesville. The time she had called them mom and dad. She conjured up how she felt in that moment and was able to calm herself down a few minutes later. She plastered a smile on her face and went back down towards her friends.
Twenty minutes later Rebecca picked her and Liz up and Sam couldn't have been happier. She didn't think she could last any longer.
Now at her house Sam was still coiled into a ball on her bed, clutching tightly onto Barry. Her blanket covered her and tears streamed down her cheeks. She knew that she was supposed to tell her parents, but at the same time she didn't want them to freak out and not let her go to any more parties. And she was also embarrassed and emotionally drained because of the flashback. All of it was just so dumb!
Brooke walked up the stairs at around 8:30 to check on Sam and found her in the same state.
"Honey." Brooke's worry intensified with one look at the girl. Sam looked positively defeated as she looked up and sobbed. "Princess what's wrong?" Brooke felt her heart beat faster as she walked forward. She hadn't seen her so broken in months.
The mother sat on the other side of the bed and pulled Sam into her. The girl crashed into Brooke's chest and clung to her mother's shirt just as tightly as she had been holding onto Barry.
Brooke racked her mind with the endless possibilities of why Sam could be so upset. It was a bad idea because the thoughts terrified her.
"Baby please tell me what's wrong." She begged after kissing the top of her daughter's head, "Did someone hurt you?"
Sam shook her head in her mother's chest, "No."
Brooke felt immense felt relief. She kept soothing her daughter and waited for her to speak on her own terms. As long as she wasn't hurt, she could wait.
"Shhh sweetheart. Shhh." Brooke cooed as she rocked them back and forth once she felt tears wet her shirt and Sam's arms tighten around her, "I'm right here Sammy. Right here for you."
Sam felt a burning desire to be as close to her mom as possible. She was so so grateful for the soft murmurs and loving a few minutes of her mother's reassurance Sam was finally managed to tell Brooke enough of what happened.
"M-mom?"
Brooke squeezed her tight, "What is it honey?"
"I-I h-had a bad memory at the party. A flashback." She eeked out before a sob caught in her throat.
The mother's heart fell. She knew exactly what that meant. The past had come back to haunt her baby girl.
"Oh princess." She pushed some of Sam's hair back as the girl looked up at her with bright, shimmering eyes.
"It won't leave mama!" Sam cried a heartbreaking sob that broke the fashion designer's heart. " Brooke pulled her back into her chest. She wanted nothing more than to take all the bad memories away. Her mind worked on overdrive trying to remember what Lopez had told them to do when this happened. And really all she had said was to comfort her and assure her she was safe and sound now. The woman felt helpless as her daughter lay in her arms completely frightened.
"I just want it to leave!" Sam cried again.
Brooke held in her own sob as she was reminded of the Sam of months ago.
"He kept hitting me! I didn't want him to do it and so I stopped him I should've let him. It hurt so much that time mama. It hurt so much!"
Brooke kissed the top of her daughter's head over and over. She felt her own tears fall like streams at what she heard.
She was scared to ask, but Brooke did so anyway, "Who baby?" Her own voice laced with emotion.
"Mike." Sam cried.
The mother watched as her daughter hid her face in her chest.
A breakdown like this hadn't happened since Sam's nightmare when she had wet the bed.
Brooke cried silently along with her daughter. She felt an anger pulsate her veins at the mention of that man's name. She wished with all her heart that Sam would allow them to pursue him in the courts, but she flat out refused. She wanted to bring it up again. That man deserved prison.
Although at the moment all Brooke could do was hold Sam. She could rock her and kiss her. She was more than willing to coddle her child until she calmed down.
"Mom." Sam cried nuzzling her head, "I hated it so much."
"Shhh. I know sweetheart. That sounded so scary honey. But it's okay now. You're okay...Do you want to talk more about it?"
Sam refused and shook her head, "C-can you just hold me?" Sam asked through her tears.
Brooke nodded, suddenly missing the little moody teenager of yesterday. It broke the mother to pieces to see Sam so shooken up and vulnerable "I can always hold you peanut."
She maneuvered them so her head was resting on a mountain of pillows and Sam could lay her head on Brooke's chest while wrapping her arms around her mother's waist. It was proving a bit harder because of her mother's growing womb, but nonetheless she managed to completely mold into Brooke.
Brooke began to rub her daughter's back, "Listen to my heartbeat, baby. Shh. Listen. It's in the past sweetheart. No one can hurt you anymore." Brooke sniffled and quickly wiped the tears falling from her own face, "But you're here now, and you're safe."
The word 'safe' reverberated in Sam's ear. Safe. She was safe.
The girl evened her breaths slowly as she calmed her cries and listened to her mother's rhythmic and thumping beat. Soon her cries turned to sniffles. The steadiness of her mother's heartbeat soothed her like nothing else could.
Brooke looked at her girl. She could see that Sam was falling asleep. Her daughter was practically on top of her now and at some point had stuck her thumb in her mouth.
Once again, Brooke thanked the heavens for her daughter's tiny frame. Thankful that she could hold her like this when needed. Minutes later exhaustion gave way and the hold that Sam had on Brooke loosened and the mother realized that her daughter had finally fallen asleep. She hoped with all her heart that Sam didn't have a nightmare.
"Babe?" Lucas walked into Sam's room five minutes later, having just woken up. He saw a sleeping Sam completely cuddled into Brooke. Her thumb still in her mouth.
"What happened? I thought she was at Liz's. Is something wrong?" Lucas saw the dried tears on Sam's cheeks and her puffy eyes. He quickly walked over, "She's been crying?" He realized Brooke had been crying too, "Brooke what happened? What's wrong?"
Brooke took a steadying breath, "Something at the party triggered a flashback. She came in at around 8 am and said she was going to try and sleep some. I don't think she slept at all and just decided to come home. I came in and she was crying all alone up here."
Lucas felt something catch in his throat and he brushed some of Sam's hair back, "She broke down, didn't she?"
Brooke nodded sadly, "She said something about Mike who kept hitting her and how much it hurt. How she didn't want to do it." Tears fell from Brooke's cheeks and Lucas felt his fists clench at the mention of that cruel man's name.
"I don't know what she didn't want to do but she was so scared Luke. She was shaking in my arms. "
Luke wiped Brooke's tears, "But you were there with her. You helped her."
"But it's still hard Lucas!" Brooke felt all the emotions that she tried to keep at bay as she was consoling Sam begin to come out, "It's hard to see her break like that all of a sudden. It was horrible!"
Lucas was surprised at the twinge of anger in her voice. He watched Sam shift and he nodded towards Brooke. She had been the one that witnessed Sam's breakdown and so he knew all her emotions were valid.
"You're right babe. I'm sorry. I know. Let me take Sam and put her in our room. She always sleeps better in our bed. Then you and me can talk some."
Brooke shook her head, "I want to stay with her. She might have a nightmare."
Lucas sat on the edge of the bed and carefully picked Sam up onto his lap then stood up with her in his arms, "Okay, well we all fit better on our bed anyway."
Sam groaned slightly from the shift and Luke just patted her back and he gently laid her head on his shoulder, "It's just me Sammy. I'm taking you to our bed, okay?"
"I wanna stay with mom and you." Came her small, exhausted voice.
Lucas walked with her in his arms. One arm under her bottom and the other on her back "We'll stay with you champ. Don't worry."
Brooke stayed in Sam's room for a minute wiping her tears and trying to get it together. She finally took a deep breath then picked up her daughter's stuffed bear and blanket.
Sam was already laying in her father's arms back asleep when Brooke got there.
The woman sat down by her two loves.
"Lucas I hate this." Brooke said looking sadly at their daughter. She placed the bear between Lucas and Sam then covered Sam with the blanket.
Lucas watched her fiancee's loving movements. "She'll get through it Brooke. She's strong. We'll talk to her when she wakes up."
Brooke looked at him, "I want to put that bastard in prison Lucas."
He snapped his head towards her, "B-brooke, you know that Sam doesn't want that."
Her voice was watery and desperate "Lucas we have to at least try and talk to her again. I can't, I can't-" Brooke's voice broke and she choked back a sob. Lucas untangled one arm from his embrace with Sam and held Brooke's hand, "What is it babe?"
"I can't go through life knowing that he's out there, meanwhile our daughter has to suffer painful memories because of him!" She breathed a bit and lowered her voice, "I know, I know that she doesn't want to. And if we bring it up again and she says no, then fine. I'll drop it. And yes, I know that she's been doing well and has been able to handle her memories and the trauma. We just haven't had one of these really bad moments in a while and it scares me every time. If we feel this bad I can't imagine how she feels. We can't protect her from her mind Lucas, and that kills me. And I just feel like the least-"
"Like the least we could do is get some form of justice because that's something that we can do."
Brooke nodded and laid next to Sam. Kissing the back of her head, "We're rich. We can afford the best lawyers and assure that he never sees the light of day until he's old and dying anyway. That's the most that I can do. That we can do."
Lucas gave Brooke a sad smile, "Babe, I'm right there with you. But it's what Sam wants. She's the one that went through it. She's the survivor and at the end of the day, her decision is the right decision."
Brooke could only sigh. Lucas was right. She hated that he was right about this. She said nothing else. She didn't want to talk. Brooke Davis, at least in that very moment, just wanted to watch over her daughter and be there for her should the teenager need her.
Please review and let me know what you think! You all are great and make me so happy :D