“What? Uh…but, Brooke… anywhere that I go is with you.”

“I know but you could still drive one if you needed to,” Brooke answered as she continued to spin in her chair, thankful that she had a long cord on her phone.

“Why would I need to if I have you?”

“Oh, I see. You just want a chauffeur, don’t you?”

“Well, a chauffeur that has other duties, too.”

Brooke stopped spinning when she heard a low growl escape Sam’s throat.

“So when should I be ready, Jeeves?”

“Well, I could be there in an hour. I just need to check in on Pete and make sure he’s got everything under control.” Brooke began to swivel her chair again in the same direction.

“That sounds great. I forgot that he was starting today. How’s he doing anyway?”

“Not bad. He must still be nervous though, he was outside smoking when I got back with the truck.”

“Just give him a few days to adjust. I’m sure it must be pretty hard working for a friend.”

“Yeah. I’m sure he’ll be fine. I have all the faith in the world in him.”

“And what about me? Do you have any faith left for me?

Brooke stopped the motion of her chair with a single foot planted against the leg of her desk. She found herself starting to get dizzy and way too tangled in her phone cord. “You, my dear, have my special faith, my trust and my love. You have my soul and my heart.” The ex-musician listened as the words made Sam gasp.

“Well, good.” The young woman slowly started. “Then come get me so I can die a happy woman.”

“You name it, it’s yours. I’ll see you soon, Darlin’. I love you”

Sam allowed a small sigh to escape as she shivered at hearing those three little words from Brooke’s lips. “I love you too, Brooke, more and more every day. See you soon, Baby.” Sam sent a kiss off into the phone.

Hearing the soft smacking noise, Brooke did the same, then ended the conversation. “Bye, Sweetheart.”

The mesmerized woman hung up her phone, not realizing she was still tangled in the cord until she tried to stand up from her seat. “What the…” she looked down at her legs and chair wrapped in the coiled black cable, then laughed. Well, I’d rather have her wrapped around me than this, she mused as she carefully untangled herself and the chair. Once free, she shut down her computer, then grabbed her jacket, making sure to place her cell phone in the pocket before she headed out to pick up Sam.

“Ida?” Brooke called as she entered the outer corridor from her office.

“Yes, Brooke?” The graying head popped up from behind her computer terminal.

“I’m going to be out of the office for the rest of the afternoon.” Brooke pulled on her jacket and straightened the collar. “If anything major comes up, you can reach me on my cell phone.” She pulled it out of her pocket and showed it to the woman when she saw the doubtful look on Ida’s face. “I have it this time.” She watched the older woman smile as Brooke started down the hall. “Otherwise, please make sure all calls get directed to Peter. I’ll inform them at the switchboard downstairs.”

“Okay, Boss…” Ida paused for a second, then casually asked as she stirred her coffee, “You picking up Sam? Did you get her message?”

Stopping in mid step, Brooke eyed her suspiciously for a moment with an arched eyebrow. Hmm… now how does she know about Sam? She wondered, then decided that it didn’t matter. “Yes,” Brooke nodded. “I received the message, thank you, Ida.” She lingered a moment, watching as a smile graced the woman’s face. “Something wrong, Ida?”

“Of course not, Ma’am. Don’t worry. No calls for you unless they are life threatening.” Ida watched as Brooke made her way reluctantly at first to Peter’s office, then whispered under her breath, “My life that is. God, I’m glad she’s finally found someone that makes her happy.”

Brooke walked up to Peter’s office and knocked on the frame of the partially opened door before stepping inside. “Hey, Buddy. I’m leaving for the rest of the day. If you have any questions, feel free to call the cell, otherwise, Ida can help you out.”

Peter looked up from his paperwork to see Brooke with her keys in hand, ready to leave. “You talked to Sam, eh?” The man asked, glancing back down to the paper in his hand.

Brooke smiled. “Why…yes, I did.” She noticed that Peter seemed a little off, kind of distracted.

“Go on. Get out of here, I’m fine. Ida will keep me in line if I need it. You go, have a good evening with your girl.”

Brooke watched him for few moments as he kept playing with a certain piece of paper. “Okay, thanks pal.” She watched as he nodded his head and turned back to his paperwork. “Peter? You okay?”

Brown eyes looked up into concerned blue. “Don’t worry about my end. You just worry about something coming up on yours,” he added this last bit with a mischievous grin.

“You sure?” Concerned for her friend, she studied him closer, seeing the hints of an internal battle that was taking place within the man.

“Sure. Nothing happening here.” Peter looked back down at the paperwork and sighed. “Actually…Brooke, there is one thing.” He looked at the woman standing in his doorway. “James called here earlier about those master tapes you did for him.”

Brooke rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I went on ahead and sent them out to him. He was really being a shit head.”

“I’m not surprised. What else is new?” Brooke shrugged. “Oh well.” She gave Peter a little wave as she turned to leave. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Pal.” Brooke stopped, turning back into his office. “I’ll be leaving right after I tell Ida to reroute those tapes to Nebraska first,” she added with an evil gleam in her eyes before leaving.

Peter watched as her form disappeared from his view. He then picked up the piece of paper that had been distracting him and smiled. Looking over his copy of the packing slip for James’ master tapes, he chuckled. “Already done, Boss. Already done.”

The young blonde was busy throwing a few things together for her evening with Brooke when she heard the door open and her roommate come in.

“Hey there, Roomie.”

“Hey, C.C. Are you finally done with your classes today?”

“Yeah…finally. What are you doing back so early?” C.C. questioned, as she walked over and set her bag down next to her bed.

“I…ah…I got done early and mentioned it to Brooke. So, she’s on her way over.”

C.C. rolled her eyes in mock irritation. “Damn, again? Is this going to be an every week thing now? Because at this rate, Terri is gonna start charging me rent.” The brunette sat down on her bed. “Then again… I could just make Brooke pay for it.” C.C. grinned at her roommate to let her know she was only teasing her.

Sam folded a sweater, then reached under the bed for her overnight bag. “C.C., does that bother you? If I would have known…” Sam sighed heavily, sitting down on her own bed. “Maybe I should have let Brooke find an apartment close to the campus,” she mumbled. She looked up to see C.C. studying her intently. “It’s okay though, really. We’re not staying here tonight. She’s picking me up and we’ll be spending the night at her place.”

“Sam…I’m kidding. It doesn’t bother me at all. You do know that I’m kidding, right?” C.C. searched her friend’s face for any sign of doubt.

“Look, C.C., I know that you and Brooke are close…and that you’d do anything for her. But I don’t want to take advantage of that… not at all.”

“I don’t think you’re taking advantage of anything, Sam.” C.C. reassured her friend. “You know me and know how big my mouth can be. If it bothered me, I’d just tell you to go somewhere else. Well… I’d at least ask you anyway,” the brunette joked. “Besides… it’s been really nice hanging out with Terri. She told me it helps pass the time when Rick isn’t there. Especially now with the baby on the way. You know…raging hormones and all.”

Sam smirked. “You’re right, C.C. You do have a big mouth… and a big heart. You’d do anything for your sisters, wouldn’t you?”

C.C. didn’t have to think twice when it came to her family. “Yes, I would.” The brunette got off of her bed, crossing over to sit next to Sam. She gently placed a hand upon Sam’s shoulder. “And you… you’re my best friend, you know that.”

The blonde nodded her head and smiled. “Yes, I know. Best friend. Roommate. Hell, maybe one day even sister-in-law, if you don’t watch out.”

“Oh, yeah? You mean you’d actually, uhm… marry Brooke?”

“I’m not sure if ‘marry’ is the correct term for our kind of relationship, but ah…” Sam paused long enough to stare at the floor when she started to blush. “Yes, I’d marry your sister in a heartbeat, to use the conventional terms.”

C.C.’s eyes were ready to pop out of their sockets. “Really?”

Sam looked over at her roommate. “Does that surprise you?” She studied the woman’s face, and then decided. “Hmmph… I guess so. Well, don’t feel too bad, ’cause it sure surprised me when I thought about it the other night.”

“The other night? Why were you thinking about it the other night?” C.C. leaned forward to get the scoop that her ever-inquiring mind wanted to know.

“The last time Brooke slept here, I woke up feeling her touching my fingers. Well, ring finger to be more exact. I kind of got the impression that she was sizing me up in more ways than I could imagine.”

C.C. bit her tongue, not wanting to spoil Brooke’s surprise. “Yeah? And…?”

“And…I guess I just kind of got to thinking about it. You know, wondering myself what my answer would be.”

The brunette wrapped her arms around her roommate in a crushing hug. “Oh… that’s really cool, Sam. I’m really happy for both of you.”