Takes place in 6x14! Once again, actual scenes from the episode are included to help with the timeline.

"Can you unground me a day early?" Sam whined as she padded into the kitchen.

Brooke gave her a pointed look. "No ma'am."

"Worth a shot," the young girl sighed and joined her foster mother at the kitchen island.

Brooke couldn't help but curl her lips into a small smile at Sam's displeasure over being grounded. She was getting good at this whole mom thing.

"So you've got your first therapy session tomorrow," Brooke said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "How are you feeling?"

"Good. I'm actually kind of looking forward to it," Sam admitted. She was grateful that Brooke had set her up an appointment so quickly after the idea was brought up.

Brooke smiled, about to respond, but her phone rang before she got the chance to.

"Hey Julian, what's up?"

"Hey, I was wondering if you'd be up to look at costumes for the movie tomorrow. I would love a successful, star designer's input," the producer grinned over the phone.

"Oh would you now?" Brooke teased. Sam raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the interaction she was witnessing.

"Yes," Julian chuckled. "So what do you say about tomorrow morning? Is 9 too early for you?"

"9 is perfect."

"Alright, I'll see you then, Brooke Davis."

"Bye Julian."

Brooke set her phone down and tried to contain the smile that was forming on her lips. She casually sipped at her coffee, trying to ignore the raised eyebrow and smirk coming from the teenage girl across from her.

"What?" Brooke questioned after a second.

"You like him," Sam taunted.

"I do not!" Brooke exclaimed defensively, her face turning a vibrant shade of red. "He's coming over tomorrow to look at costumes, it's just for work," she explained.

"Yeah, sure," Sam snorted. "I saw that dopey smile on your face while you were talking to him, you looked like a complete idiot," she laughed.

"Oh shut up, do you want to be grounded for longer?" Brooke asked playfully.

Sam shrugged. "Whatever. You're deflecting," she continued to smirk at Brooke's flustered state. "I'm right, and deep down you know it." She got up from her stool and made her way back to her bedroom, satisfied that Brooke seemed to be at a loss for words. She had won this round.

"Hey Sammy. Love the whole bed head thing you're rocking there," Julian chuckled and gestured at the girl's wild hair when Sam opened the door for him at 9am sharp the next morning.

"Brooke, Julian's here!" Sam called, still half asleep.

"Coffee. Black. Tons of sugar," Julian handed Sam the drink as he entered the house. "How's Jack doing?"

"Well his brother's a murderer so probably like crap," she sighed. "I haven't talked to him much lately." Ever since what had happened, Jack had been distant. Sam had called him several times with no success in contacting him, so she decided to stop calling and give him space for a while. She had to admit that it did hurt her a little that Jack had been so unresponsive, but she also knew not to take it personally.

"Well he probably really needs you right now, you could make a big difference for him," Julian said.

Before Sam could respond, Brooke entered the kitchen looking frazzled and stressed out. "Hi, I'm sorry, I know that we were supposed to look at costumes today, I've just been totally turned around dealing with…"

Brooke trailed off when Julian held up a magazine: Fashion Femme Fatale Thwarts Killer!

"The press," she sighed heavily, eyeing the photo of herself plastered across the cover. Right after the attack, the press had been all up in her business hounding her for interviews. Things had died down after a couple of days, but for some reason, Brooke had received three different pestering phone calls last night in one last desperate attempt for more media coverage. The designer refused to share intimate, traumatic details of her life with the public, and she was also determined to protect Sam and keep her out of the limelight.

"Can't they just go back to stalking Britney or something," Brooke complained, snatching the magazine from Julian.

"Oh come on, 'hot clothing designer tracks down attacker and exacts revenge,' if you're not gonna sell me the movie rights you should at least frame the tabloid," the producer teased.

"So that every time I look at it I can be reminded of the fact that my attacker was also Quinten's killer and that maybe if I had reported it…" She said sadly, not in the mood for Julian's smart remarks. Most of Brooke's energy since the attack had been spent ensuring that her foster daughter was okay and cared for, but she had her own set of issues bottled up inside as well. The designer felt an immense amount of guilt and regret for not saying something when she had the chance.

"Brooke, you were attacked by a guy in a mask," Julian said softly. "Even if you had reported it, the chances of the police finding him were slim to none. It's not your fault."

"I know. It's just sad," Brooke said woefully.

Julian nodded slightly, his expression full of sympathy. "Listen, take the day, focus on your work, I'll come back tonight and see where you're at, okay?" He knew that Brooke was not prepared to discuss something as trivial as costumes for the movie at the moment, so he was willing to give her as much time as she needed to reset and pull herself together.

"I got you a latte, extra foam," he continued, handing a surprised, yet flattered looking Brooke her drink. "See you. Bye Samson," he ruffled the younger girl's hair before heading for the door.

"Bye Julian," Sam called after him, brushing her messed up hair out of her face.

Once the door had shut, Sam turned to Brooke. "You've got a date," she sang, completely deadpanned.

"I have a business meeting," Brooke retorted. Apparently Sam had not given up on her idea from yesterday that Brooke was into Julian. This kid was killing her.

"Yeah, like his junk's got a meeting with your lady business," Sam scoffed.

"Samantha!" Brooke cried, giving her an admonishing look.

"What?" The teen tried to contain her smile, but she couldn't help herself. Poking fun at Brooke had become one of her favorite hobbies.

Brooke shook her head in utter disbelief. "I can't with you. Go get ready for therapy."

"Brooke, it's 9. My appointment's not till 12:30," she snickered.

"Well… Go find something to do until then that doesn't involve tormenting your foster mother," Brooke said in exasperation.

"If you insist," the teenager threw her hands up in surrender and continued giggling as she made her way to her room.

"What am I gonna do with her," Brooke muttered to herself. But she couldn't help but wonder in the back of her mind: was Sam right? Was it a date?

A date it was indeed. Between the romantic, ambient lighting, the fireplace burning, and the bottle of wine Julian had provided, the pair's "business meeting" inevitably took a turn.

"So, can I get you anything else? Another drink or…" Brooke had asked awkwardly when her and Julian were finished discussing business and were sitting next to each other on the couch.

"Uhhh, I'd love to, but I should probably get going," Julian set his wine down on the coffee table. "Umm, this was nice, Brooke."

"Yes, it was," Brooke nodded, and set her glass next to his. She let out a sigh and smiled uncomfortably. "Julian what was this?" she asked hesitantly, looking into his eyes.

"Umm," Julian looked back at her. " We should probably just say this was… what it was. 'Cause anything else gets complicated," he said, though he didn't agree with the words coming out of his mouth.

"Perfect," Brooke smiled, but deep down, she was disappointed with his answer.

"I'll see myself out," Julian said softly, and he rose to his feet.

The designer blew out the candles that were lit on the table then stood up to face her business partner.

"This has to be business, right? I mean with Peyton and-" he said, almost sounding like he was trying to convince himself more than Brooke.

"This should be business."

"We can't just- I mean I kiss you and then it gets…"

"Definitely, it would be…" Brooke agreed, but the two continued inching closer together.

"It would be." At this point, they were making direct eye contact, their bodies practically touching.

"Yes," Brooke whispered.

After a brief pause, neither one could resist. Julian leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. They made out, slowly and passionately for a solid twenty seconds before pulling away.

Brooke was overjoyed. Julian had left twenty minutes ago, and she still felt giddy over their kiss. She was so excited and wrapped up in her thoughts over Julian that she hardly noticed Sam enter the house.

"Hey."

"Hi," Brooke smiled. "How's Jack?"

After her therapy session, Sam had hung out at the diner for a bit before heading over to see Jack. It was the first time the two had spoken since that night. "I don't know," she sighed. "I think he'll be alright, he's just… having a hard time right now, you know?"

Brooke nodded. "He's lucky to have you as a friend. I'm sure he really appreciates you being there for him."

Sam smiled sadly and joined Brooke on the couch. "Yeah, well, enough about me. How was your night?" She raised an eyebrow, giving Brooke a knowing look.

Brooke bit her lip and tried to suppress a smile. "It was fine."

Sam let out a short laugh. "Fine? Dude, you look like you're on a high right now, something must have happened, come on spill," She moved to sit criss-cross and leaned in closer to Brooke to hear the deets.

Brooke bent her head and chuckled awkwardly, a slight color rising to her cheeks. "Okay," she relented. "It was good, you were right," she admitted, embarrassed. "We kissed."

"NO WAY," Sam grinned and grabbed onto Brooke's arm. "I knew it!"

Brooke laughed at Sam's excitement. Both girls had to admit that being only seven years apart was pretty awesome; yes, there was a clear power dynamic between them, but they were close enough in age where they could gossip and be sisterly together as well. Brooke loved moments like these with Sam where they could just be friends.

"What kind of kiss? Like a peck, or like a full on makeup sesh?"

"I mean, I don't know… it wasn't anything crazy, but it was more than just a peck," Brooke offered. As much as she loved Sam's enthusiasm, she didn't want to go into too much detail with her 15 year old.

"You're sooo into him."

"Hey, don't get too excited," she smirked. "It might be nothing, okay? I'm not saying I like him. It was only one night, we'll see where things go."

"Yeah, sure," Sam said sarcastically. "You like him. Trust me, it'll go somewhere. Can I be a bridesmaid at your wedding?"

Brooke reached behind her and grabbed a pillow, playfully smacking Sam over the head.

"Hey!" Sam laughed.

"Slow down, we've kissed one time!"

"For now," Sam smiled slyly.

"Oh my God," Brooke groaned and threw her head back. "I'm done talking to you about this. Go get ready for bed, it's late," she chuckled when Sam grabbed the same pillow Brooke had hit her with and swung it back at her.

"Fine," Sam said, standing up from the couch. "But I'm not done grilling you over this," she smiled wryly and turned to get ready for bed.

Brooke grinned. Things were starting to look up in the Davis household.