“What are you looking for C.C.?” Brooke asked as she removed Sam’s coat and hung it behind the door.

“Oh I don’t know… maybe an armed guard or something,” C.C. replied as she looked intently at Sam’s hands, craning for a better view.

Puzzled by her sister’s strange behavior, Brooke questioned her. “What are you looking at her hands for?”

“I was just wondering where her gloves were.” C.C. made a childish face at her musician sister as she rolled her eyes, then smiled sweetly when she looked over at her ex-roommate. “Hi, Sam… I see you’re still in one piece after living with the wild rocker here.”

Sam smiled as she nuzzled into Brooke’s shoulder. “Hey, C.C. It’s good to see you, too.” The blonde raised her head and spoke softly into Brooke’s ear. “Wild rocker, huh? When are you going to show me that side of you?”

It was Brooke’s turn to roll her eyes at her youngest sibling before she felt Sam wrap both arms around her waist. “Where’s Mom and Dad?” Brooke looked into the living room, then down the hallway.

“In the kitchen, where else?” C.C. said with a smirk.

Brooke grinned as she removed her jacket, then proceeded to drape it over C.C.’s head. The older sibling grabbed Sam’s hand and began to pull her in the direction of the kitchen. “Shall we?”

Sam’s soft laughter could be heard as C.C. hung up the leather jacket. “You know, Baby… that wasn’t a very nice thing to do to C.C.,” Sam commented as she pulled back on Brooke’s hand. “What’s the hurry, Hon?”

“Ehh… don’t worry about it. She’s used to it.” Brooke waved her hand in her sister’s direction as she stopped short and turned toward the blonde. “And… Sam,” Brooke began to nuzzle behind the young woman’s ear before kissing Sam on her cheek. “I’m in no hurry. You wanna go upstairs and act like juvenile delinquents?” Brooke asked with a mischievous glint in her blue eyes.

“You mean, you want to go jump on the beds?” Sam eyed Brooke suspiciously before she busted out in soft laughter. “Really, Brooke… I thought you were more mature than that.”

The tall woman smiled before replying. “Who said anything about jumping on the beds?” Brooke wiggled her eyebrows. “But hey… I’ll try almost anything once.” She watched as Sam began to giggle before she kissed her, then whispered, “Think again, Darlin.”

Sam’s small hands tugged at her lover as the blonde pulled the dark-haired woman into the shadows of the hallway. There, what first began as a playful kiss, deepened until both parties involved lost all touch with the surrounding world.

“You know…” C.C. walked past them towards the living room, only pausing long enough to comment. “They do make rooms for what you guys are doing. How about going and finding one?”

The brunette watched as her sister’s hand moved slowly off of Sam’s shoulder. It reached out in her direction; only to be turned in such a way that the drummer’s middle finger flipped upward making her real thoughts on the matter known. “Yeah, right… you’ve got the idea.” C.C. laughed and continued on towards the living room where the rest of her siblings and in-laws had gathered.

Breathless, Brooke pulled out of their kiss after C.C. walked away. Looking intently into the shadowed features of her young lover, she caught her breath and whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Sam smiled coyly as she stole a glance toward the kitchen and gave her lover a tug. “Come on… I want to check out your mother’s refrigerator. Maybe she has some chocolate syrup she can lend us.” Sam looked over her shoulder to see that the tall woman had liked that idea and was following her eagerly.

“Hi, Mom,” Brooke took the lead once inside the kitchen as she walked over to her mother, snatching up a small piece of ham from the platter and popping it into her mouth. The tall woman leaned in to drop a tender kiss on her mother’s cheek.

The matriarch of the family smacked the hand of her daughter as it hovered above the platter for another offering. She then scolded the musician. “Now, Brooke, stop that. You’ll spoil your dinner.” Mable turned towards the blonde at Brooke’s side and gave her a smile. “Hello, Sam. I’m so glad you could come.” She turned to her husband, who was sitting at the small table drinking a cup of coffee as he looked over the newspaper. “Henry, look who’s here.”

The crisp sound of newspaper being shaken then folded could be heard as Henry put his paper on the table and walked over to the two younger women. “Hey, it’s my favorite daughter…” the man placed an arm around Sam’s shoulder and winked at her, then added, “…and Brooke.”

Muttering under her breath, Brooke hopped up to sit on the counter near her mother. “Favorite daughter, huh?” Brooke adjusted her hands under her legs to keep from getting in her mother’s way. “Well, she wouldn’t be your favorite daughter if I told you what she wanted to do with me right now.” Brooke teased her parents. “Mom, do you have any chocolate syrup?” The drummer looked over to see Sam’s eyes grow to the size of snare drums as Brooke wiggled her eyebrows in the blonde’s direction.

Choosing to ignore the teasing, Sam stood on her tiptoes and placed a small kiss on Henry’s cheek then came out with a cheery greeting. “Hi, Dad.”

Henry squeezed his arm around Sam’s shoulder and looked down at the young woman who had captured his daughter’s heart. “You doing okay, Sweetheart? You keeping this one in line for me?” Henry motioned with his head in Brooke’s direction.

“I don’t think I have any,” Mable put her knife down and started opening up a cupboard or two to look. “Is chocolate syrup some kind of dietary requirement that the two of you have now?”

“Yes…er, no… I mean…” Sam became flustered as she turned to Brooke’s father. “Yes, I am, Dad and no to the dietary requirement. I can always have my dessert without.” Sam winked over at Brooke in the hopes that her mother didn’t see it.

There was a fraction of a moment of silence before Brooke eagerly piped in, “Yeah, but it’s so much more interesting with it.” Seeing the quick exchange of glances on her parent’s part, Brooke waited for their knowing smile before turning her lecherous grin toward her lover.

Trying to regain her composure, Mable tried her hand at small talk. “So, Sam… your aunt and cousin won’t be joining us today?”

“No, Ma’am. They both had to work at the hospital today. I think that Peter has something planned for Crystal when she’s through with work.” Sam shrugged, “So, it’s just me and the six feet of trouble sitting on your counter.” Sam saw the raised eyebrow coming to Mable’s face as she looked over at her daughter. “Is there anything that we can do to help, Mom?”

Mable looked first at her daughter and then at her husband, a pleasant smile on her face. “No… not at the moment. Why don’t you young ones go socialize with the rest of the family in the living room?”

“That sounds good,” Brooke hopped off the counter, “to me.” She closed in fast on Sam, picking her up in a bear hug that caused the younger woman to wrap her legs around Brooke’s waist. “Trouble, huh?” The dark-haired woman nuzzled into her lover’s neck playfully. “I’ll show you trouble. Come on, Cupcake… let’s go pretend to be sociable.”

Sam began to laugh as the warm breath tickled her neck. “Brooke, I can walk. Honest, I…” The young woman’s attempt at protest was cut off when Brooke’s lips claimed hers. With her ankles now locked behind the taller woman’s waist, Sam leaned back slightly, gazing into crystal blue eyes. “Well, when you put it that way…”

Amazed at the playfulness and lighthearted antics of his second oldest daughter, Henry watched as Brooke carefully walked out of the kitchen with Sam. Letting the smile come to his face as he walked over to Mable, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and placed a kiss on her cheek. “You know… I have never seen our daughter this happy. Sam is a wonderful girl.”

Mable smiled as she leaned into his kiss then gave him one of her own. “That is your daughter, Henry. I’m laying claim to Sam. She sure has done a wonder of good for Brooke. Don’t you think?”

The man nodded his head in agreement. “Yes she has. Brooke’s been like a completely different person over the last week since Sam moved in with her.”

Mable placed the knife she had been using in the sink before turning around in her husband’s embrace. “I remember when we first moved in together after the wedding.” She smiled up at Henry and winked.

“So do I. Nine months and three days later, Randi was born.” His smile grew bigger as he looked down at his wife with pride. “It does feel good to know that Brooke has found someone… especially someone like Sam. That girl is definitely a treasure.”

“You’re right,” Mable sighed. “But, Henry…” she grabbed his arm and pointed a cautionary finger in his direction, “I wouldn’t be marking off those days on the calendar just yet. I think they’ll need a little bit more than beginner’s luck to start a family of their own.” The matriarch patted his stomach and winked.

LINE BREAK

Dinnertime found the entire Gordon family seated around the dining room table. During the course of the meal, Brooke was more than eager to lose herself in happy thoughts as she watched the love of her life become so animated in the discussion with her father. Henry seemed to take special interest in the young blonde, as he and Mother both tried to make her feel more welcomed than ever at the gathering.

By the time the dinner was drawing near an end, all eyes seemed to travel to Brooke as the woman became oblivious to the people around her. Trying to break the spell that Sam held on her sister, Randi called out her name in conversation. “Brooke, did you…” Randi watched as Brooke’s gaze never wavered from the young blonde. Leaning toward her husband, Randi whispered, and then motioned to pass it down the line and around the table, giving a quick glance and point at her mesmerized sibling. “Brian, go on,” she urged him as she tapped at his shoulder.