Sameen slowed to a stop in front of her house, throwing the car into park behind Joss' fancy Range Rover. They'd driven from New York, taking a week to make the two day drive. The Reese-Carter-Morgans and Lionel had arrived together the day before, their drive from Dallas much shorter.

Turning the car off, Sameen groaned as the warm November air filled the car. "It's so hot," she complained. "I hate Texas."

Root laughed, rolling her eyes as she unbuckled her seat belt. "You're such a baby. It gets just as hot in New York in the summer."

"Yeah, but it's November now," Sameen continued whining. She unbuckled her own seatbelt and reached into the back seat to grab her duffel bag. "Remember the snow we left behind? Oh man, remember when I went to med school at Stanford and it never got above 80? Those were the days."

"Get over it, babe," Root said, opening her door and stepping out into the bright sunlight. She ducked down to stick her head back in the car. "You married a Texan."

"Gross," Sameen mumbled, climbing out of the car. "The marriage part, not the Texas part."

They'd been married for nine years now, since the Christmas between their 30th birthdays, and it was still weird sometimes, to think about them being wives. Sameen never thought she'd get married, but Root had gotten really sick one year and the only reason Sameen had been allowed to stay with her was because she worked in the hospital. After that, Sameen had proposed and they'd gone back to Bishop to get married. Now, it felt normal to call Root her wife.

She squinted through her aviators to Harold's house. It didn't look like anything had changed since last year, but Sameen always check to see if they'd painted their house something besides that awful light blue. Shutting her door, she walked around the front of her car to stand beside Root and looked up at the house.

"Are the shutters different?" Root asked, sticking her hands into the pockets of her overalls. "Weren't they blue?"

"Huh," Sameen said, shrugging. "Were they? I like the white."

The front door opened and Lionel stuck his head out. He disappeared back into the house for a second before opening the door fully and starting towards them. Sameen smiled, adjusting her grip on the bag, and followed Root up the walkway.

"Lionel!" Root greeted him, holding her arms out. "You look great! Can't even tell you were shot!"

"That was three years ago, Root," Lionel responded gruffly, giving her a quick hug. "If you could still tell, then I'd be worried. You're as tall as ever."

"Taller," Sameen said, leaning around Root to scowl at Lionel. "She's taller."

Lionel just snorted and released Root to hug Shaw. She patted his back with her free hand and pulled away. Lionel did look good. His job as a detective in Dallas was keeping him fit and Sameen knew from John that he was keeping up his workout regimen.

"Hello!" Mrs. Reese welcomed them from the doorway. "Are you going to come in or are we eating Thanksgiving on the lawn?"

Root opened her mouth, but Mrs. Reese cut her off with a finger and a pointed look.

"Don't," she ordered, her grey hair adding authority to her already intimidating presence. "Taylor already tried it."

Root just huffed and continued up the walkway. Chuckling, Sameen picked up her step to catch up.

"Congrats," Sameen said, smirking. "Your jokes are on par with a sixteen year old's."

"The people at work like my jokes," Root pouted. She started climbing the porch steps. "They think I'm hilarious."

Sameen smiled at her mother as she passed her and walked into the house. "That's because you work at NASA and everyone who works at NASA is a huge nerd."

"Did I hear 'nerds'?" Zoe's voice asked a second before she walked out of the kitchen. "Oh, the Shaws are here."

Root hugged her as Sameen moved to the stairs, dropping her bag on a low step. Zoe looked great, her lawyer life suiting her. She and Joss had graduated from Harvard Law together while John worked as a police officer. They'd moved back to Dallas when they graduated. Sameen couldn't figure out why, but she liked that her whole family was within a day's drive.

Taylor jogged out of the kitchen and came over to Sameen. She let him hug her for a second before pushing him away.

"When did you get so tall?"

"Last summer," Joss answered for him, leaning against the kitchen doorway. "He went through five pairs of sneakers this year. I think he might end up taller than you, Root."

"Sorry, Auntie," Taylor apologized to Sameen. "The tall gene must have skipped you and Uncle Lionel."

"Don't get cute," Lionel grunted. "I'll arrest you for sass."

"Careful, Lionel," John warned, appearing behind Shaw as he walked out of the living room. "You'll talk him out of being a cop."

Mrs. Reese hummed happily. "Taylor has options. He can be a lawyer like his mothers, a detective like his father and uncle, a surgeon and professor like Sameen, or an astronomical engineer like Root."

"Or I could study something else?" Taylor asked. "What if I want to be a real estate mogul?"

"Well," Root assured him, "we'll love you no matter what. I did bring some good books, though. Have you watched those X-Files DVDs I sent you?"

A few hours later, they made their way to their old clubhouse, still there years later. Root had stepped into the kitchen and something had caught on fire and so they had been banned from the house until dinner time. Sameen wasn't sure how Root was still so disastrous in the kitchen, but she couldn't really complain. Sameen hadn't done dishes in years.

They got to the train as the sun was beginning to set. When they climbed inside, none of the lights came on and Root crossed the train to look at Scully. Sameen spotted something shiny under the bed and dropped onto her stomach, reaching underneath to grab an empty beer bottle.

"If those kids are going to use our train, they should learn to be respectful." She spotted another bottle and pulled it out, lifting it into the air. "Ooh, whiskey. Nice to know Elias still has a thriving business."

"Probably his sons," Root muttered, distracted. "If those kids fucked up Scully, I'm going to kill them."

"Can't kill children," Sameen sighed. She stood up, groaning as her knees popped. "God, I'm getting old."

Root looked over her shoulder, dragging her eyes over Sameen's body. Her eyes lingered on bare legs before jumping up to Sameen's bare midriff. "Hot, though. A hot, crop top wearing grandmother."

"You're turning forty first," Sameen shot back. She opened the whiskey bottle. "You're so old you can't fix your childhood AI."

"I'm going onto the roof," Root announced, ignoring Sameen's remarks. "Maybe it's the solar panel."

Sameen watched her cross to the open train car door and slip out of her shoes. Root's shorts made her legs look miles long, lean and muscular. Root had odd hours at work and, sometimes, she'd join Sameen at the NYU gym, their employee passes giving them access 24/7. Sameen didn't always enjoy teaching med students, but she did enjoy the perks.

Root stretched a leg out of the car, finding the built-in ladder with her foot and swinging herself out. She climbed up and a moment later there was a loud clatter on the roof. Sameen took a drink and turned to look over the room.

A lot had changed since they'd shut the door after prom. The kids that came out here had put up posters of their own, new alien movies and really old ones that even Sameen hadn't heard of. Someone had graffitied "I WANT TO BELIEVE" on the outside of the car.

Sameen had a sneaking suspicion Gen had done it the year she'd come back to care for her father, but Sameen wasn't going to ask. It added to the general ambience and, years later, it had faded enough to almost seem part of the original train. Sameen took another drink and looked up at the Edison bulbs that hug from the ceiling.

They were still the original bulbs and they still worked. Well, they usually worked. Sameen hoped Root could fix the power before the sunset. She remembered how pitch black it got out here at night.

As if her thoughts had fixed them, the lights flicked for a moment before coming on. She took another drink and moved to the stacks of books lining the walls. Running her free hand over the stacks of well-read lesbian novels, she noticed something crammed behind the old boom box. Looking closer, she realized it was a photo album.

A thump behind her made Sameen look over her shoulder. A warped cardboard box was on the floor. She watched Root climb back into the car, closing the bottle in her hands. Root started tying her hair up into a ponytail, slightly out of breath.

"They covered the panel," she snorted. "I should leave a note saying it's waterproof."

"Let them figure it out," Sameen replied, setting the bottle on the boombox. "I found a photo album."

"Oh, yeah?" Root crossed the room, her bare feet silent on the shag carpet. "What's in it?"

Sameen pulled the photo album out and flipped it open. Over her shoulder, Root gasped. The album was full of polaroids, the small cards yellowing around the edges. Root's arms wrapped around Sameen's shoulders and she leaned her head down as they looked through it.

"It's our first roadtrip," Root breathed. She pointed a finger at one photo. "That's the motel where we lost our virginity."

"You remember that?" Sameen asked, skeptical. "I bet you just liked the neon sign."

"Of course I remember our first time, Sameen." Root pressed a kiss to Sameen's temple. "I also remember our first kiss and the first time you said 'I love you.'"

Sameen turned another page. "I don't."

Root squeezed Sameen, lightly nipping at her ear. "It was right after you caught Hanna kissing me."

"Ugh."

"Exactly," Root laughed. "You ran off, to this train actually, and I followed and you were crying and I was crying and-"

"I remember," Sameen relented. She shut the photo album and turned in Root's arms. "I remember being young and stupid."

"We were so stupid," Root laughed. "Straight As and still dumb as a box of rocks."

Sameen kissed Root, their lips sliding against each other like they had a thousand times before. Kissing Root was always exciting, even after all this time. An electric thrill ran down Sameen's back and she dropped the album, wrapping her arms around Root and pulling her close. Root's hands tangled in her hair, tugging sharply.

"We don't have a lot of time," Sameen gasped into Root's mouth. "It's almost dinner."

Root grinned, mouth trailing across Sameen's cheek to her throat. "Then we'd better get started."

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'Baleen whales migrate incredibly long distances each year,' the tv said, 'from their cold-water feeding grounds to their warm-water breeding grounds.'

"Do we have to watch this?" Sameen sighed, pulling her blanket over her. "A documentary about whales, Root? Really?"

Root pulled her spoon out of her mouth. "It's my birthday, Sameen," she mumbled around a mouthful of ice cream. "I decide what we do."

Sameen rolled her eyes, but she looked back at the tv. Root took another spoonful of ice cream and settled further into the sofa. They were at hanging out at Harold's house. Root didn't want a big birthday celebration, so they were all gathered in the living room watching tv. Beside her, Joss was eating crackers.

"You know, Root," Joss started, "you aren't going to eat like that forever. Eventually, all that ice cream will catch up with you."

"You say that, but I turned 40 today and I'm the same size as I was at 17." She shrugged. "I'm going to be fine."

Zoe sighed from the loveseat. "I wish I could eat like that. I look at a cake and lose muscle definition."

"You look fine," John said, throwing his arm over her shoulder. "Good, even."

"My husband the flatterer," Zoe laughed.

Root ate her last bite of ice cream and leaned forward to put her bowl on the coffee table. She stood up, stretching with a groan. Despite the fact that eating ice cream didn't make her gain weight, Root knew that her body had changed. It wasn't as easy to run around the city as it was ten years ago, but she was still doing ok. Sameen kept her in shape.

"I'm going up to my room," Root announced, glancing at the clock on the wall. "It's getting late. Thank you all for a wonderful fortieth. See you tomorrow."

A chorus of 'good night' followed her out of the living room and she started for the staircase, knowing that Sameen was behind her. Harold's house had never really come to feel like home, but Root was comfortable there. She only spent three weeks a year there and her bedroom hadn't changed since she'd gone off to college. It was a nice snapshot of the tail end of her childhood.

She was halfway up the stairs when Sameen caught up with her, taking her hand and threading their fingers together. The upstairs hallway was dark, Harold and Grace already in bed. Root lead them to her room, pushing open the door and stepping into the pink glow of her string lights.

"I should take those down," Root said thoughtfully. "Although, they have grown on me."

Sameen released her hand and crossed the room, dropping onto the bed. "Just leave them."

"Ok." Root adjusted the waistband of her pajama pants. "Outside?"

"Yeah," Sameen responded, turning to sit on her knees. She started crawling for the window. "We have to be quiet, though. Don't want mom and dad to catch us."

Root laughed, walking to the bed and kneeling onto it. "Don't want to be grounded for Christmas."

"Heaven forbid," Sameen snorted.

She slid the window open, a warm breeze blowing through her tanktop. Root watched her stick her head out and look around, trying to gain her bearings. Their apartment in New York had a fire escape that was easy to climb. They knew the stars above their city home by heart. Root could draw them from memory at any time of the year.

Sameen finally decided she was ready and stuck a leg through the window, groaning as she ducked underneath it and out into the warm December air. Root scooted across the bed, climbing out head first and pulling her longs legs out after her. She took Sameen's offered hands and stood up.

"That used to be easier," Root commented, brushing her hands on her shirt. "Maybe we should work out more."

"We work out enough," Sameen answered, turning to climb the short distance to the top of the house. "You need to stop eating like a child."

Root pouted, following Sameen up. "I like my diet. Besides, it's not like we do this all the time."

Sameen rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips turned up and she smiled at Root before sitting down. Root sat carefully, the shingles cold through her thin, cotton pants. She sighed, wrapping her arms around her knees and looking down at the street. Below them, the front door opened, the sound stretching into the street. A moment later, their family walked out, heading for Sameen's house.

"I'm forty," Root said quietly. "It's kind of amazing."

Sameen looked at her, head tilting. "To be so old?"

"Yeah. I think I expected to be dead by now." Root scratched her nose. "I know that's morbid, but being back here always reminds me of my mom, you know? I don't think I expected to still exist. When I was younger, I couldn't imagine a future like this."

"Like what?"

Root took a deep breath and rested her head on her knees, looking at Sameen. "We live in a great apartment in New York City and I work for NASA studying astrobiology and I'm married to the most wonderful, weird woman on the planet."

"Hey!" Sameen laughed, jokingly insulted. She lightly punched Root's shoulder. "Don't forget who drove us here."

"I'm rich enough to fly anywhere in the world," Root continued, grinning. "It's a good life, Sameen. That's what I'm saying. I didn't expect to be so happy. Did you?"

Sameen shook her head, leaning back on her hands. She dropped her head back, ponytail brushing the shingles. "I don't think so. I thought we'd fall out of love or something eventually."

"We did have that rough patch while I was getting my PhD," Root pointed out.

Sameen bared her teeth. "If I see that bitch again, I will actually kill her. I could do it. I could find a gun."

"Calm down, Rambo," Root laughed, reaching out to pat Sameen's knee. "We're not exactly criminal masterminds."

Sameen took a deep breath and Root could tell she was silently counting to ten. They didn't talk about their rough times too often, but it didn't really matter. They always came back strong, maybe even stronger. Root looked up at the sky, eyes searching for their constellation. She pointed to the right.

"Orion," she said softly. "Remember the first time we stargazed together? God, it was what? Twenty five years ago?"

"Amazing," Sameen murmured. "We are so old."

Root laughed loudly, the sound carrying over the empty street. She saw John turn to look at them, the last one to walk into the house. He waved and Sameen and Root waved back. They watched him disappear into the house and felt the silent night settle over them. Root ran her fingers over the inside of her wrist, where her tattoo of Orion's constellation was.

"Are we ever going to have children?" Root asked. "I don't know if I want to."

Sameen shrugged, stretching a hand between them to brush Root's hair behind her ear. "We don't have to. I like our life. You and Me. Maybe we can get another dog. It's been a while since Bear passed away."

"Yeah," Root breathed, leaning into Sameen's hand. "A big dog. One you can race and I can nap with."

"Speaking of naps," Sameen grumbled, slapping her knees, "I think it's bed time."

Root pushed herself onto her feet, glancing down at Sameen. "Do you want to-"

"No." Sameen glared at her as she stood up. "We are not having sex in Harold's house. I hate it so much. You try this every year, but it's never going to happen."

"What about-"

"Root," Sameen huffed, "we are too old to be having sex in cars. We'll survive the night."

"Fine," Root sighed. "But you're the big spoon tonight."

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"No, Cole," Sameen stuttered. "Oh my god, stop talking. Are you listening? Ok, go to the file cabinet in the back corner…No, the other corner. It's- oh my god."

Root smiled, spinning slowly in her rolling chair. Sameen was sitting on her bed, talking to her assistant back at NYU. He some new guy who was too in love with her to learn anything. Once, he'd literally stabbed himself while sharpening pencils because Sameen had ridden her bike to work ad walked into the office sweaty and half-naked. Root couldn't really blame him; she'd dropped a number of things over the years.

Today was the ten year anniversary of their marriage, but they'd decided to ignore it. Spending Christmas with their family was more important and they'd been together so long that celebrating this seemed silly. Maybe they'd celebrate fifty years together when they were in their sixties. That would be a milestone to commemorate.

"No, Cole, I swear to God- Not that!" Sameen glared at Root, her knuckles white around her phone case. "Back right corner. Top drawer. Labeled 'Masters'."

Root chuckled, putting a hand on the desk to stop her spinning. They were waiting to hear from Martine. After opening their Christmas presents at 8am, the family had split hip. John and his girls had taken their parents and Taylor to Corpus Christi to see a movie ad Lionel had gone to meet up with old friends of his own.

Her phone buzzed on the desk and she picked it up, glancing over at Sameen as she started yelling again. The message was from Martine; she'd just arrived at their house. Root stood up, sliding her phone into her pocket and crossing the room to stand in front of Sameen.

'Martine is here,' she signed. 'Meet us downstairs when you're done.'

Sameen rolled her eyes, signing back with one hand. 'If this idiot ever gets his shit together.'

Root laughed, walking out of the room. The house was quiet with everyone gone and her footsteps were loud on the staircase. It was always disorienting to be in this house. The rooms were filled with memories and, as she crossed the entryway to the door, Root thought she could hear the click of Bear's nails on hard wood.

She unlocked the door, pulling it open with a smile. Martine stood in the doorway, looking sharp in her suit. None of them had been surprised when Martine went into business, her temperament perfect for ordering underlings around. Martine smiled tightly.

"Hello," she greeted Root. "May I come in?"

Root rolled her eyes and stepped aside. "What would you do if I said no to that? Stand outside?"

"I'd push past you," Martine said, walking in. "The greeting is reflexive, but I know you too well to care about the answer."

"Gee, thanks," Root snorted. She shut the door, not bothering to lock it again. "How's your husband?"

Martine looked at Root, her face unreadable. "I killed him."

"Finally!" Sameen called from the top of the stairs. "He deserved it."

"He did."

Root glanced between them, not sure if they were joking. Martine was always impossible to read and Sameen was grinning as she came down the stairs. Their friendship was so weird to Root. Martine was rude and Sameen cracked jokes and Root just pretended like it was normal.

"What's the plan?" Martine asked them. "Ice cream? The arcade? Some other attempt to recapture our childhood?"

Root rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "We were going to drop by the high school, but if you're going to be like that we can do something else."

"No," Martine sighed, "let's go to the school. I wonder if your pictures are still in the awards cabinet."

"The mayor wants to give me a key to the city," Sameen boasted, moving to the door. "For my continued dedication and patronage."

She pulled open the door and stepped out into the warm, late December air. Root followed outside, squinting into the sun. Root knew that back in NYC, it was a chilly -23 and she was glad for the heat. It was nice to have seasons, but Root was a Texas girl. She preferred the heat. Sameen's words finally registered with her and she turned to scowl at her.

"Hey! The money comes from our joint bank account!" Root stomped down the sidewalk to the car. "She could honor both of us."

"Sure," Sameen shrugged, "but she knows that I'm a neurosurgeon and you listen for aliens all day."

"That's a bit simplistic."

Martine chuckled. "Is it though?"

"Look," Sameen said, pulling her keys out, "when your Christmas bonus buys them a new gymnasium, I'll let you have the key."

"Whatever," Root muttered, not really upset.

"I can't believe you still drive this hunk of junk," Martine said, derisively. "It was old when you got it."

Sameen ran a reverent hand over RBG. "This baby is 45 years old and still in peak condition. I don't get to get my hands dirty too often anymore, but I love this working on this car. Root helped me upgrade her. She has Bluetooth capabilities, surround sound, anything you could want."

She slid her key into the door and Root laughed.

"Everything, but automatic locks. She won't let me touch them."

"It's for the aesthetic," Martine said, waiting for Sameen to open the door and unlock the backseat. "There's something satisfying about sliding your key into a lock and opening it manually."

"Yes!" Sameen agreed before dropping into the car. "Thank you."

Martine rolled her eyes. "I was making fun of you, idiot. Get a new car."

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Sameen stared up at the dim New Year's ball, hands buried in the pockets of her NYU jacket. It was ten minutes to midnight and Sameen was starting to worry that the ball wasn't going to drop. The town had been using the same mechanism since they first started the tradition her senior year. Harold had come to get Root a few minutes ago to see if she could fix the crane.

Looking around, Sameen spotted Gen talking to Lionel and wandered over, enjoying the cooler night. Gen's wild hair was pulled back in a braid, the long blonde rope hanging down her back. She was taller than Sameen now, though not by much. Root loved to bring it up, though.

"Hey," Sameen said, stopping next to them. "I didn't know you'd be here. You could have roadtripped with us."

Gen put her hands on her hips. "And listened to the two of you bicker over Gerard Way? No thanks."

"You listen to that all the time, anyway."

"Not stuck in a car with you two lunatics," Gen snorted. "No, listening to you two at dinner is enough."

Lionel laughed, looking between them. "You guys get dinner a lot?"

Sameen rolled her eyes. "We have a standing weekly dinner, but she always shows up whenever she wants."

"Only because I know you'll be up!" Gen defended. "Root's always up late doing weird, alien stuff. I would never have caught that stalker if she hadn't helped me."

Sameen sniffed disdainfully, but she was just being contrary. She liked spending time with Gen in the city and she was glad to have a friend so close. Root and Gen still had a tumultuous relationship, sometimes glued together and sometimes enemies. Sameen couldn't keep up, so she had declared herself Switzerland and was allowed to stay out of it. Besides, Gen's private investigator work was interesting and she'd even let Sameen come out on stakeouts a few times.

Root cheered from across the park and Sameen turned to look. The ball was glowing now, brighter than the full moon. Sameen sighed.

"Great, now she's going to be obnoxious all night."

"Oh my god," Gen gasped, staring in the opposite direction. "Is that Control's daughter?"

Sameen followed her gaze, eyes landing on a beautiful brunette standing beside Principal McCarthy. She didn't know the Principal's daughter very well, she'd still been in middle school when Sameen graduated. She was hot, though, and for a brief moment, Sameen considered talking to her, but she shot the thought down as soon as it came.

She and Root had tried to have an open relationship for a while and it had worked…for a while. It got to be too much, one overzealous partner and Sameen had almost lost everything. So, they'd closed their relationship again and Sameen was fine with that.

Over the years, she kept expecting them to fall apart. Would it happen when they spent time outside of Bishop? No. Would it happen under the stress of graduate school and residency? No. Would it happen when one of them got wrapped up in someone else? No.

It never happened. Sameen never fell out of love and Root never wanted to leave for long. They were together forever and Sameen was thankful. Every morning she woke up next to Root was a blessing and it still felt so dumb and so cheesy, but it was real. Even through the fog of half-formed emotions, Sameen knew it was true.

"Babe!" Root called, pulling Sameen back into the present. "I fixed it!"

Sameen looked up, spotting Root running towards her. She took a few large steps forward, catching Root in her arms and crashing their mouths together. Root's surprised gasp was muffled by Sameen's eager lips and her hands flew up to grab Sameen's lapels.

Her tongue slipping out to brush Root's lip, Sameen held her tighter, getting lost in the feel of Root, firm under her hands. She had every inch of Root's body memorized from years of study, but as her hand came up to tangle in Root's curls, Sameen still felt like everything was new. Root's mouth under her own was soft and perfect and she swallowed Root's quiet moan.

Around them, Sameen heard the countdown start and she tried to pull away, knowing Root loved a celebration, but Root held her close, not letting her get away. One of Root's hands found it's way under Sameen's jacket, then under her shirt. Root's long, cool fingers pressed into Sameen's back, making her feel stable on the eve of a new year.

Root's nails dug into Sameen's lower back, making her arch and gasp and want so much more. Suddenly, Root's lips disappeared and Sameen's eyes blinked open as she tried to reorient herself. The sound of cheering filled her ears and she realized that midnight had passed while they were kissing.

She stared up at Root's eyes, mouth throbbing, and watched as Root's lips tilted up into a smile.

"I'd suggest getting out of here, but someone is very particular about where we have sex in this town."

"I love you," Sameen said, trying to sound as sincere as possible. "So much. Forever. I mean it."

Root pressed a quick kiss to Sameen's lips. "I love you, too. For as long as I can." Her head tilted to the side. "Which is starting to look like forever."

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Sameen climbed out of the pool, laughing. "It's not your fault I'm still faster than you at forty. I guess I just carried it with more dignity."

"Shut up," Root laughed, climbing up steps. "You're not even a month younger than me. I carry forty just fine."

Sameen turned around to look at Root, eyes lingering on her body as she emerged from the water. "I think you carry it more than fine."

Root rolled her eyes, crossing the tiled floor to where their towels sat on a table. Their family was inside cooking dinner, getting ready to celebrate Sameen's fortieth birthday and, like on Thanksgiving, they'd been banned from the kitchen. Root still held out hope that she'd learn to cook one day, but it didn't seem like it was going to happen.

She picked her towel up, leaning forward to dry off her hair. It had been a nice trip this year, no major fighting, no one was in a rough relationship spot. Before Taylor was born, when the Reese-Carter-Morgans were still trying to figure their future out, Root and Sameen had left before New Year's. Listening to the three of them argue over who was going to legally marry who and who was going to get pregnant was too much.

They had ended up flying to Dallas the next spring to watch Zoe and John get legally married at city hall. Nine months later, Taylor had been born and Zoe had adopted him as a step-parent. Root made a mental note to help Lionel find a girlfriend.

"Ready to go back inside?" Sameen asked. "If you're scared of the kitchen, you can stand out in the hallway."

Root straightened up, wrapping her towel around her body. "Very funny, but yes, I'm ready."

Sameen winked at her, twisting her hair into her towel. She led the way into the house, opening the door for Root and shutting it behind them. "I'm not opposed to the idea of automatic locks on Ruth. I just like the key part."

"You can still manually unlock cars with automatic locks," Root pointed out, following the sound of conversation down the hall. "But once you were inside, you could unlock all the doors instead of having to stretch."

"I guess," Sameen whined, wrinkling her nose. "I'll think about it."

"You've been thinking about it for years."

Root turned to the right, walking into the kitchen and sniffing dramatically. "Wow! It smells amazing in here."

"Root, I swear to god," Joss started, pointing a large knife at her, "if this food catches on fire, I will kill you in front of my child. I don't even care."

"She means it," Taylor said from his spot at the table. "She's in a mood."

John snorted. "Only because a certain young boy won't stop pestering her."

"Ooh," Sameen cooed, leaning on the island. "Pestering her about what?"

She reached for a dinner roll and Zoe slapped her hand away.

"He keeps asking questions about our childhood," Zoe told her, "like he always does when we're home."

Root hopped up onto the counter, her heels banging against the cabinet doors. She grinned at Taylor. "What's your question this year?"

"How did you and Auntie get together?" he asked. "Was it like right after you met? Or did it take a while?"

"Well, I would say-"

"No," Sameen cut her off, turning to glare at Root. "I'm going to tell this story. Whenever someone asks, you launch into some super cheesy monologue. No thank you."

Root rolled her eyes. "Oh please, your version is so cut and dry! Boring!"

"Root," Sameen said, scoffing, "I just tell the truth. Plan and simple."

"There is no plan and simple, Sameen." Root leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees. She looked around the room, taking in her family and the love of her life. "It's all very complicated. After all, the truth is a vast thing."