Takes place after 6x16 before 6x17. Thanks for reading!
"Great session today, Sam. I'm glad that you allowed Brooke to read your essay. It's a wonderful thing to be able to fully trust someone and let them in."
"It is, thank you," Sam smiled and rose from the green couch in Jackie Delgado's office. Sam liked Jackie; She was a kind, middle aged woman with curly brown hair and purple glasses, and her office felt homey and relaxing to be in. During their therapy sessions, she always had lavender scented candles burning, and the room was lit with soft fairy lights. She specialized in child psychology and mental health counseling, and although Sam had only been seeing her for about a month, she felt comfortable opening up to her.
"I'll see you next week," Jackie smiled and led the young girl to the door.
"See you then, bye Jackie," Sam said, and she turned to walk down the long corridor and outside to where Brooke was waiting to pick her up.
"Hey! How was it?" Brooke asked cheerfully when Sam opened the car door and slid inside.
"It was good," the younger brunette replied. "We just talked more about my past and a little about my essay and stuff."
"Good, I'm glad it went well." Brooke wished so badly that she could be a fly on the wall during Sam's sessions with Jackie, but she never pushed the girl to tell her what they talked about. She was grateful for the small tidbits of information that her foster daughter did choose to share with her.
"You're babysitting Jamie tonight, right?" The mother asked once they were on the road.
"Mmhm. Thinking about taking him clubbing this time," Sam deadpanned.
Without stopping driving, Brooke took her right hand off the wheel and playfully smacked Sam on the arm.
"Ow!"
"You're not funny!" Brooke exclaimed. "Don't even think about taking him on anymore 'adventures' missy."
Sam giggled. "Kidding! I was kidding, relax, I learned my lesson last time."
"Uh huh…" Brooke said with fake skepticism, but she couldn't help but crack a smile over the giggling teenager beside her. Seeing Sam happy brought her joy like nothing else could. After all she'd been through, it was nice to see the girl let loose and joke around with her.
"Can we stop for ice cream?" The young girl asked eagerly after a pause.
Brooke laughed. "Why not. There's a Baskin Robbins on the way home."
The mother-daughter pair happily got their ice cream and ate it on a picnic bench while Sam gave Brooke a more thorough debrief on her therapy session. Brooke was greatly appreciative that Sam was opening up, though she felt as though a hot knife was stabbing at her heart after every horrible detail Sam revealed about her past…
The afternoon continued to go smoothly after that. The two went back to Clothes Over Bros where Brooke got some work done and Sam lay sprawled out on the couch in the backroom watching Criminal Minds on her laptop. When she was done with work for the day, Brooke had taken Sam home and they'd hung out there for a few hours before it was time for Sam to babysit.
"Brooke! Are you ready to go? I need to be there in 10 minutes!" Sam called from the kitchen.
"One moment!" Brooke yelled back from behind her closed door. A minute later, the designer made her way into the kitchen and grabbed her keys off the counter. "Let's go."
Sam rolled her eyes. "I've gotta start learning how to drive so that I don't have to keep relying on you to get me places on time," she mumbled as she followed her foster mom to the car.
"Well clear your schedule this weekend and I'll start teaching you," Brooke grinned. She had missed out on every other milestone in the girl's life, so she was thrilled to show her the ropes of driving.
"Really? That'd be awesome," Sam smiled as the car pulled out of the driveway.
"Of course," Brooke glanced at her quickly before turning back to the road. "I'll show you the basics and soon you'll be ready to get your permit."
Sam leaned her head against the window and stared up at the sky, a warm and fuzzy feeling washing over her. Never in a million years would she have guessed she'd have a foster parent willing enough to teach her how to drive and treat her like a normal teenager. "Thanks," she said sincerely.
"That way I can make you run all my errands for me," Brooke joked.
Sam scoffed. "Not a chance."
They pulled up to the Scott residence 5 minutes later at exactly 5pm.
"They're coming back at midnight so could you pick me up then?"
"Yes ma'am, I'll be here at 12am sharp," Brooke said, watching Sam unbuckle her seatbelt and open the door.
"K thanks, bye Brooke!" The teen said, already halfway out the door. She bounded up the walkway and gave the door a solid three knocks.
It was Nathan who opened the door, "Hi Sam," he gave her a closed mouth smile and led her into the house. "How are you?"
"Hi, I'm good, how are you?" Sam responded politely. She had never really interacted with Nathan a ton before. They exchanged a little small talk whenever she came over, but it was nothing like the relationship she had with Haley. Conversations with him were always brief and surface level, though she still liked him.
"Doing alright." The two made their way to the kitchen where they stood around the island. Sam turned her head to look when she heard the distinct sound of heels clicking on the hardwood floor.
"Hi Sam!" Haley grinned, waking into the scene. She was wearing a navy blue dress with flawless makeup and her hair curled to perfection. Sam could smell her sweet, floral perfume when the teacher enveloped her in a hug. It was comforting. "Thanks so much for coming over tonight," she said, releasing the girl.
"Yeah of course, it's no problem at all."
"Nathan and I haven't had a night out together in so long. Between basketball and our crazy kid there just hasn't been much time," she laughed and reached to retrieve a piece of paper from the counter. "So here's some loose instructions I wrote down for you. If you could pop a frozen pizza in the oven around 5:30-6 for dinner, and then bedtime is at 8:00. Sometimes there's a little pushback there," she sighed.
"I don't think he'll fight you on it though," Nathan chimed in. "He's always a perfect angel for the babysitters. Don't let it fool you though, kid's a menace." Sam laughed.
"That's true," Haley smirked. "He'll be good for you. If you have any questions don't hesitate to call me or Nathan. You have our numbers. Help yourself to any food, watch TV, make yourself at home."
"Okay, sounds good. Thank you."
"Jamie!" Nathan called up the stairs. "Sam's here, come on down!"
A moment later, the small five year old came running down the stairs. "Sam!" He exclaimed.
"Hey buddy," Sam smiled. "What's up?"
"We're gonna have so much fun together," Jamie bounced up and down.
Haley laughed. "Alright, you two have fun, we'll be back around midnight," she said as she and Nathan made their way to the door. "No crazy keggers please!"
Sam rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Yeah, yeah. Bye guys."
"Come on!" Jamie squealed, grabbing the teen's wrist and pulling her towards the staircase once the front door shut. "Daddy got me a basketball coloring book. Come color with me."
"Oooh a coloring book? Sounds like fun," Sam told the boy, letting him drag her up the stairs and into his room. Jamie's room was the epitome of a little kid's bedroom; There were shelves of books and a plethora of toys scattered all around. Childish paintings and decor hung on the walls, and a small arts and craft table resided in the corner with colored pencils, crayons, and markers spilling out of the drawers. It was exactly the type of bedroom Sam had dreamed about having when she was his age while she spent her childhood in empty rooms with minimal toys and no personalization. Sam couldn't help but feel jealous when she thought about how Jamie was raised with wonderful parents and a comforting, private space of his own. She hoped that when he got older, the boy would understand how truly lucky he was.
"Wow Jamie, this is a pretty cool coloring book," she said, forcing herself into one of the child-sized chairs at the craft table next to him. "What page are we gonna do?"
Jamie flipped through the book for a couple of seconds before arriving on the perfect page. "This one! It has a big basketball hoop." He pulled out a light blue crayon and handed it to Sam. "You can color the sky. I'll do the ball going through the hoop," he declared.
"Okay. I can do that," The older girl accepted the crayon.
The two peacefully colored together for 30 minutes before Sam, per Haley's instructions, got dinner started. After dinner, they played Guitar Hero, Jamie's favorite game, before getting ready for bed. Luckily, Nathan had been right; Jamie didn't dare disobey his favorite sitter when it was time for lights out. He loved Sam and held onto every word she said, even if it meant going to bed at an unfair hour in his mind.
Once Jamie was securely tucked in bed, Sam made her way down to the kitchen and got herself a big bowl of ice cream with hot fudge. Sure, her and Brooke had already gotten ice cream earlier that day, but there was no such thing as too much ice cream. Besides, Haley and Nathan had given her permission to eat whatever she wanted. She pulled out her phone and dialed Jack's number, hoping desperately that he'd finally pick up. No such luck. The girl sighed and slipped her phone back into her pocket. She picked up her ice cream and sat on the couch, ready to wait out the rest of the time by watching TV.
Sam being out of the house for the night was the perfect opportunity for Brooke to invite Julian over so the two could spend some quality time together. He arrived around 9:30, and after watching the lighthearted movie, Ferris Bueller's Day off, it didn't take long before the two made it to Brooke's room and took it a step further.
Brooke and Julian lay on their backs on Brooke's bed after they'd finished sex. Things had been fine afterwards until a few minutes later when Brooke had started worrying about Sam and ranting about her to Julian.
"I don't know Julian," Brooke sighed. "She's a really tough kid and it seems like she's doing well, but I know that she's suffered through so much abuse in her life, and I just hope that she's as okay as she's leading me to believe."
Julian turned onto his side to face his girlfriend. He didn't mind that the romance had died down for the night; he was happy just to talk with Brooke about Sam and help her work through her feelings.
"You're right, she is a tough kid," he said softly. "She might still get upset or scared sometimes because of her past, but you're helping her heal. She's gonna be just fine, Brooke," he spoke slowly, letting his words resonate.
Brooke huffed and turned onto her side as well, now face to face with Julian. "They would hit her, you know. She said so in her essay, and she mentioned it to me when she was telling me about her therapy session today," Brooke said sadly, her voice cracking with emotion. "I guess… I'm not really surprised," she continued. "It's just a hard thing to hear her admit."
Julian reached for Brooke's hand under the covers and rubbed it softly. "I know. It's heartbreaking," he empathized. "But she's safe with you now. She knows you wouldn't hurt her."
"I just can't imagine doing that to a child," Brooke blinked back tears. "I mean, I don't even agree with corporal punishment in its mildest form. Literally Beating a kid for accidentally breaking a vase is despicable and makes me want to throw up and then beat the woman who did that to her."
Julian sighed, feeling tears well up in his own eyes. "Brooke, I know. Anyone who's ever laid a finger on her deserves to rot in prison for the rest of their lives," He swallowed. "But there's nothing you can do to change her past. I know it's important to address and understand, but you can only focus on giving her the best possible present and future."
"Yeah," Brooke whispered, closing her eyes. "I know, but it's hard to ignore sometimes."
"Sam's trauma doesn't define her," Julian said gently. "She's already doing so much better under your care. Like I said, she's going to be okay. I promise."
Brooke nodded, her eyes were now dripping tears, soaking her pillow beneath her. "God, I'm sorry," she let out a short laugh and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I shouldn't be putting all of this on you."
"Hey, don't be sorry. I'm always here for you and for Sam. You don't need to feel guilty for letting me in."
Brooke took a shuddery breath. "Thanks, Julian," she said, barely above a whisper. She sat up and looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand. "You should probably go now though, I need to leave to pick her up from babysitting in like 5 minutes."
"All right," Julian said, getting out of bed and picking his shirt up from off the ground to put back on.
Brooke walked him to the front door and planted a kiss on his lips. "I'll see you later."
"See you," Julian smiled. "Give that girl a hug and a kiss for me," he said before turning to leave.
Brooke nodded meekly and gently shut the door behind him. She took a deep breath and went to retrieve her keys from their spot in the kitchen.
"Hey, how's the kid?" Brooke grinned when Sam entered the car.
"Good. It was pretty chill," Sam replied.
"No problems?" The mother asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No Brooke," Sam rolled her eyes. "Everything went smoothly."
"I'm just teasing," Brooke chuckled and started driving home.
"Alright, I'm gonna get ready for bed and pass out," Sam exaggerated once they walked in the door. "I'm exhausted."
"Wait, come here for a sec," Brooke stopped her before she made it to her room. Sam turned around and walked back over to stand in front of her foster mom. Brooke reached out and held the girl closely in a gentle hug and kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight," She said softly.
"Night," Sam smiled. She turned to head for her room once more once Brooke released her. She didn't always understand the random bursts of affection Brooke bestowed upon her, but she would never complain.