Unbroken

Carrie Ryan & K. Darblyne

ryan_n_darblyne@yahoo.com

"...Yeah, how I love you when you're naked and...Yeah, how I hate you when you call me names... Yeah, how I love you something sacred, even though you piss me off, I'll take you anyway..."

 

Day 1 Tuesday

The buzzing from the alarm clock hardly started before a long arm reached out from under the covers and silenced it.  The dark haired woman lay there for a moment just relishing the feel of the warm bed, and the soft, fleshy body that was snuggled into her.  Soon her mind was replaying their lovemaking into the wee hours of the morning as they celebrated Eddie’s promise of a gift.  Brooke could feel her heart beginning to race with excitement and anticipation of the adventure ahead of them.

It didn’t take much for Sam to stir out of her restful state.  The seed had been planted last night when they had both agreed upon a 6 AM starting time for their journey.  Now, filled with high hopes, Sam blinked her way awake, one eye at a time, until the sound of her lover filled her ears.

“Mmmmm…” Brooke’s deep-throated purr filled the air as Sam’s fluttering eyelashes continued on their simple assault on her nipple, causing it to rise.  “Good morning, Beautiful,” the words came out in a melody all their own as she began to sing, “how was your night?”  Brooke kissed the blonde head on her chest.  “Mine was wonderful with you by my side.”

“Hmm…” Sam nestled into her wife’s shoulder.  “It was great.  Just think, pretty soon you could have two here by your side.”  Sam raised her head up to see the pleased look on Brooke’s face.  “Now that’s something to think about, isn’t it?”  She gently rubbed her hand on Brooke’s chest teasing her as her fingers brushed over an erect nipple.

Long arms wrapped around her lover’s body as Brooke pulled Sam over on top of her.   Taking full advantage of the moment, Brooke placed a delicate but slightly moist kiss on the tip of Sam’s nose. 

“Hey,” Sam wiped the wet spot from her nose as she watched blue eyes twinkling in delight.  “You know I hate that,” she rubbed at her nose again.

Brooke wiggled the tip of her tongue at her wife playfully and laughed.  As her laughter subsided, her mood turned serious and she stared into her lover’s eyes.  “When was the last time I told you ‘I love you’?”

“You tell me that all the time,” Sam pulled back, tilting her head to the side, “but do you mean it?”

“More than anything,” Brooke said in a heartfelt tone. 

“So you really mean it, huh?”  Sam teased with a little wiggle of her nose, “I’m just not another one of your passing fancies?”

Passing fancies?  The shock registered on Brooke’s face. “Hey, what kind of question is that anyway?”  She blinked and then blinked again in utter amazement.  Brooke’s mood lightened seeing the impish smile displayed on Sam’s face, giving new meaning to the question.  “And coming from my own wife,” she said with a tight squeeze and a playful grin of her own.  “Bet you thought you had me fooled there, huh?”

"Just checking,” Sam smiled mischievously.  “Let’s call it a real Brooke test,” she chuckled as she leaned down to kiss two pouting lips.  “I want to be able to know when the real Brooke is here and when the ‘H’ Brooke is visiting.”

With a dark eyebrow raised in challenge Brooke queried, “What the hell is the ‘H’ Brooke?” She softened at the sight of Sam’s coy smile.  “Oh, I get it,” and, with her eyebrows wiggling she continued, “…Hot and Horny Brooke.”

“Ah…nice idea but that’s two H’s and I only said one.”  Sam held up a single finger.  “I was thinking more along the lines of Hormonal Brooke.”  Sam smiled sweetly, “You know we have to start taking those today.”

“WE?” Brooke cleared her throat.  “You mean me.  Okay, I’ll remember that in a few months when you’re grabbing my crotch and yelling at the top of your lungs,” she made quotation marks in the air with her fingers, “This is all YOUR fault,” she said grinning at Sam.

“Moi?” Sam tried to look as innocent as her youthful face would allow.  “I wouldn’t do something like that in public, Hon.” Sam started to rub her wife’s side slowly letting her hand move lower on the woman’s torso with each passing motion.  “Oh no, Brooke,” Sam shook her head as she snaked her hand down over her wife’s hip and into the curled hair marking the apex of her legs, “I’m grabbing your crotch now.”  And then she did with more gusto than anyone would expect possible from the small woman.

The feel of Sam’s fingers on sensitive body parts took Brooke by surprise.  The woman’s words had barely settled on her ears when the stimulation on her body sent any languid thoughts right out of the window.  Her need for more now rose higher than any kite she flew as a child.  Arousal shot through her body and for a few seconds she almost gave into her craving for more.  Intense heat coursed through her body as she quickly staved off the sneak attack.  “Whoa, Darlin’, if your hand remains there for three more seconds I refuse to be responsible for my actions,” she warned Sam with a smile.

In an effective move, Brooke embraced her wife, holding her as close as she could before rolling to the side and reversing their position.  Swift strokes of her long fingers traced over and around mounds of flesh stirring Sam’s body to life as Brooke’s weight rested on her.  The fire within her was taking a new course and Sam was the target.

Within seconds of butterfly kisses being traced down her neck, Sam could feel the tingles of arousal settle into her core and the shifting of hands caused her body to register its awakening feelings below her waist. 

“There, see how you like it,” Brooke whispered into her wife’s ear as she shifted her legs to clear the way for some serious lovemaking.

“Whoa!” Sam’s urgent plea came at the time that Brooke’s fingers slipped through her pubic hair and slid into her folds.  “I can’t give you three seconds,” Sam struggled to get up, her bladder screaming for relief.

“HUH?  Why not?” Brooke shook her dark hair, letting it cascade down over Sam’s silky breasts in a teasing motion.

“Brooke…” Sam squirmed even more.

“Hmm…” Brooke purred as she leaned into Sam face and kissed her ear. 

“Let me up.  I’ve got to go.”

“Go where, Darlin’?”

“Brooke, I’m being serious,” Sam said through clenched teeth.  “If I don’t get to the bathroom now…there will be more wetness in this bed than you’d care to have been responsible for.”

“Oh, sorry.”  The apologetic woman said rolling off to the side.

“Thanks,” Sam slipped out from under the covers and sprinted for the bathroom.  “Me, too.”

Letting go of a long sigh, Brooke started to stretch in anticipation of her lover’s return.

“Hey, Brooke…” Sam called out from the bathroom.  “Why don’t you take your temperature while I’m in here for a few minutes and I can start that graph when I come out.”  Sam paused for a moment before adding, “Then we can play.”

“Okay,” Brooke shrugged indifferently and reached for the thermometer that they’d just purchased the evening before.  Hmmm…doesn’t look any different than the one I’ve got in my medicine cabinet.  She took it from the box and shook it with a sharp snap of her wrist then placed it under her tongue.

“Dwarlin’?”  Brooke pulled the thermometer out of her mouth, “Should I take those pills in the morning too?”  She waited for a second until she heard the flush of the toilet, then slid the thermometer back under her tongue and sat there with her arms folded over her chest.  She let her eyes roam lazily around the room until she caught sight of the blonde standing at the bathroom door with a glass of water in her hand.

“Gwuess wu heard me,” Brooke mumbled out around the thermometer, its end bouncing with every move of her tongue.  She watched the relieved look on her wife’s face turn to one of confusion.  “What?  I’m twaking my tempweture.”

“I can see that,” Sam looked at her kind of funny.  “Brooke, didn’t you read the instructions?  I thought Dr. Dennison told us that she needed your core temperature to be plotted?”

“Huh?” A lone dark eyebrow shot up on Brooke’s forehead.  

“You know…like a real body temperature…” Sam looked at Brooke’s torso, “Core…” she tried not to laugh, “I think that means the other end…you know, where the eggs are.”

It took a few seconds for the thought to register in Brooke’s mind.  Blue eyes grew bigger as she grabbed the instrument of measuring from out of her mouth.  “Oh no!  I’m not an infant and this thing,” she shook it at Sam, “is not going up my ass,” she crossed her arms again over her chest, “…or any other orifice there.”  She nodded her head once, hoping it would stop any further thoughts from entering her mind.

Sam fought to hide her amusement, “I could…call the doctor but I don’t think her office is open at this time in the morning, Hon. Remember, it was you who decided that 6 AM would be a good time every morning.”

The dark haired woman shook her head vigorously. “No way am I sticking this up my ass.  Forget it.” 

Out of the corner of her eye, Brooke watched as Sam slowly started walking over to the bed.  The closer she got, the more thoughtful Sam looked as she started to sip at the water in the glass she was carrying.  “Hey, I thought that water was for me. Dr. Dennison said that I needed to start taking those…” Brooke’s lip twitched a little but she finally got the word out, “pills today.” 

“Doesn’t matter now.  You won’t need them.”  Sam took a bigger mouthful of water from the glass and swallowed it as she walked over to the rays of daylight coming through the balcony doors.  “I mean…if you’re not going to do the temperature thing…then why bother with the pill?”

“But…” blue eyes blinked in surprise as she stared at the back of Sam’s figure while she stood looking out into the early morning sky.  You wanted this chance for a family.  Brooke dropped her chin to her chest in deep thought.  I said anything, didn’t I?  She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.  You did, Brooke and now when the time comes to doing it, you’re balking at nothing compared to what Sam’s going to have to put up with.  She took a moment to compose herself, and then acquiesced glumly.  “Okay, I’ll do it.”

“You know, we could always play doctor, Brooke?”

“Doctor, Sam?”

The blonde turned to face her, “I could take your temperature…several times…” Sam winked at her wife and smiled,  “Care to give it a try?”

“I don’t think I’ll enjoy having my temperature taken but…” Brooke tapped her pursed lips with the thermometer as she thought.  “But I do have a thing for blondes with a craving to study anatomy.  Oh yeah, I could go for playing doctor,” she said seductively, offering the instrument in her hand to her wife.

“Here,” Sam held out the half full glass of water with a beaming smile on her face.  “I’ll trade you.”  She crossed the room until she was standing next to the bed.  “You take the pill, and I’ll take your temperature.”

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Day 9 Wednesday

The din from the alarm clock hardly started before a long arm reached out from under the covers and silenced it.  The sudden movement of Brooke’s shoulder under her head awakened Sam, giving her a jumpstart into her new daily routine.  Still half asleep, she threw the covers off, and muttered out a barely audible greeting to her wife.  “Morn…” Sam’s word was lost into a mumble as she got out of the bed.

“What, no kiss?”  Brooke got up on one arm and grumbled at the bare back of her wife.

“Huh?” Sam turned, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with her hands.  “Oh yeah, sorry,” she yawned hiding it behind a slow moving hand as she leaned back toward the bed.  “Hey, where are you going?” Blonde brows furrowed as she watched Brooke throw off her covers and get out of the bed.  “You’ve got to let me get your temperature before you…” Sam turned to face her wife as Brooke strode brazenly around the bed.  She stood speechless as steely blue eyes glared at her and a dark eyebrow rose high on the woman’s forehead in challenge.

“I’m going to stick my thermometer up my own ass,” Brooke said in a snit as she kept moving toward the bathroom.  “Can’t even get a kiss,” she mumbled loud enough for Sam to hear, “…without asking for it.  No way am I asking you to take my temperature for me.  I can do it myself,” she turned to face Sam and glared at her.  With a brisk turn, Brooke grabbed the doorknob of the bathroom door, pulling it shut behind her.

“Jeez, I’m still trying to wake…” Sam jumped at the loud noise of the slamming door, “up, Brooke.”  Sam wasn’t ready for the sound of the door slamming as it came to rest rather abruptly against its frame.  She heard the sound of the lock clicking in place and cringed as she stood staring at the door in disbelief.  “Now, where in the hell did that come from?” She sighed. 

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Day 11 Friday

Sam studied the artwork on her desk.  Her thoughts were hard pressed to stay on the images and ideas that she was contemplating while choosing the cover for her project’s CD.  The group, Line of Fire, was the last thing that she wanted to be thinking about.  Her tall, dark-haired wife filled her mind, as did the rather sour mood that had taken over her disposition the last few days.  It seemed like nothing and no one could please her and it was beginning to worry Sam. 

It’s a good thing that she had an out-of-office meeting this morning, I don’t think I could have taken another silent drive into work.  Sam thought about Brooke’s emotions the last few days.  I wonder when this mood will… Sam smiled thinking of Dr. Dennison’s suggestion to be patient during this stage of the process.  Patience, great…I guess I’ve had Hormonal Brooke living with me the last few days.  Sam let go of a breath and smiled.  Yeah, that’s it.  It’s not my Brooke at all.  It’s the hormones making her act that way. Relieved by that realization, Sam shrugged it off and looked back to her desktop, eager to get on with her work.

Engrossed in her work, Sam didn’t hear the knock at her door until the second time.  “Come on in,” she called out without taking her eyes from the photographs in front of her, “it’s open.”  After a long moment, she looked up to see Brooke standing in the doorway with a single red rose in her hand.  “Hey, what’s that for?”

“Hi, Darlin’,” Brooke stretched her arm out and offered the rose to Sam.  “I’ve got a peace offering for you.”  She hesitantly moved inside of Sam’s office rolling the rose between her fingers.  “I’m…I’m sorry that I’ve been a bitch lately,” she pushed the door toward its frame with her foot and stepped further into the room.  “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.  I wanted you to know that I still love you.”  She offered the rose to her wife again.  “I’m really sorry, Sam.”

“I thought we agreed upon no PDA’s at the office, Brooke?”

“PDA?”  She gazed down at the rose.  “This isn’t a PDA.”  Brooke looked around the room.  “There’s no one here for it to be a public display of my affection for you.”

“Hmm…” Sam tapped her lips with a single finger in thought, “I guess you’ve got me there…on a technicality.”

The slow swagger of her wife’s hips as she walked across the room caught Sam’s eye and soon she was noticing that Brooke was sporting her favorite pair of black jeans.  Lifting her gaze to the woman’s breasts, Sam felt her heart flutter at the sight of the black silk shirt.  God, how I love the predator look that outfit gives her. A smile came to Sam’s face as she got up from her chair, giving it a gentle push backward with her legs before moving in her wife’s direction.

“Thanks for the rose, Brooke.”  Sam let her eyes roam lecherously over Brooke’s attire.  “Nice outfit, Boss.  Is that part of my perks package, too?” Sam reached for the rose but bypassed it in favor of a handful of silky material.

“Hmm…” Brooke leaned in to Sam’s touch and kissed her wife softly on the lips.  “That depends…” She trailed a rose petal with a feather’s touch along the outline of Sam’s cheek. 

“Depends on what?” Sam giggled as she ran her hand up, brushing over an erect nipple.  Her smile turned coy as she brought her other hand to rest on Brooke’s chest, fingering the small black buttons on the shirt.

“Well,” Brooke leaned in to drop a kiss on Sam’s neck and slowly worked her way up to her favorite place behind her wife’s ear.  Feeling Sam’s shiver run its course, Brooke whispered into her ear.  “That depends on if you plan on opening up said package.”  Drawing her head back, Brooke gave her wife a wink, accompanied by her most seductive smile.

“Oh boy, now that’s music to my ears,” Sam said with a lilt of laughter.  “I hope this isn’t a perk that you give all your employees.”

“Never,” Brooke drew out the word, then snatched the stem of the rose and held it between her gleaming white teeth.  She watched the mirth on Sam’s face grow, as did the woman’s soft laughter.  “Why are you laughing, Sam?”

“Nothing…” Sam’s mouth turned up into a warm smile, “no reason.  I just love this side of you,” she reached up and kissed Brooke’s cheek then kissed the other cheek, “and let’s not forget this side, either.”

“Oh yeah?” Brooke ran her hand down Sam’s side and slid it over her buttocks, “Which side would that be…”

“Hmm…” Sam couldn’t help but say what was on her mind, “Thanks for reminding me that you have a couple more cheeks that I could kiss.”

Blue eyes shimmered as Brooke responded with a deep throated purr as she grabbed a handful of Sam and caressed it, “Now, is it my sweet side that brings you roses…” she looked at the flower.  “Okay, a rose,” Brooke’s gaze now locked onto Sam’s, “…or the insatiable side that’s ready to strip you naked and make love to you right here?” 

“Oh,” Sam said around a sudden intake of air as her wife started playing with the buttons on the front of Sam’s blouse.  “That…” she looked down at the hands that were toying with unbuttoning her clothing, “that would be ah…both sides.”  She looked up into mesmerizing eyes.  “I love all of you, Brooke.”  She barely got the name out before her lips were captured in a gentle kiss.

“All of me loves you too, Sam.”  Brooke took the parting of Sam’s lips as an invitation to further their nonverbal communications.  She kissed her again, letting her tongue begin to explore the now familiar territory.  “So what do you say, Sexy…I can’t wait to get you home for the start of our weekend together.”  Brooke paused for another kiss, “Do you wanna stay in the office for lunch and ah…uhm…” she wiggled her eyebrows seductively, “eat in?”

“Mmmm….” Sam’s eyes glistened.  “When you put it that way, who could refuse?”

 “Oh yeah!”  Brooke’s eyes twinkled with delight.  “Your office or mine?”

“Well, you do have a couch in yours,” Sam smiled coyly, “and I am hungry.”

“And we both have chairs….” Brooke kissed wildly down her wife’s neck, “and a desk.”  Her fingers worked briskly to open the few buttons that were left on Sam’s blouse, as she hurriedly looked around the office.  “We all have walls,” white teeth flashed as an idea formulated in her mind. 

Strong arms lifted Sam up in a bear hug until their lips met and the kiss began to deepen erotically.  Feeling the smaller woman’s legs wrap around her middle, Brooke made her way to the nearest wall until Sam’s back was against in, each one now feeling the sexual energy and heat of the other as though it were their own.

Brooke came up for air first and muttered out her sentiments, “And way too many clothes on for my liking.”

“Oh Baby!”  Sam’s words came out in pants as she labored to regain her breath, “We both do.”  Her small fingers slipped over silky material as she fumbled desperately to rid Brooke of anything that could keep them from melding one skin into the other.  

“Whoa!” Sam slammed on the breaks, her back arching as it drew her away from the woman before her. 

“Whoa, what?”  Brooke struggled to keep the blonde next to her.

“I’ve got a project that I need to get done before the end of the day,” Sam’s eyes grew bigger.  “I’ve got to come up with some ideas…”

“You’re mind will be so full of ideas after we’re done, Darlin’.”  Brooke winked at her never letting Sam move more than an inch or two away from her.  “I guarantee it.”

“Hmm…” Sam’s body was crying out to her head to reconsider.  “I guess you should know…” Sam leaned in, kissing her wife gently on the lips.  “I mean…you are my mentor.” 

The coy smile on Sam’s face sent Brooke’s heart racing.  “That I am.”  Her smile grew in intensity, “Now, let me mentor you in a few other…ways.”  Brooke’s fingers began to slowly resume their task on Sam’s clothing.

“I’m ready to learn,” Sam said in a breathy sounding whisper as she leaned into silky material searching for its fasteners.

Amid nipping kisses and teasing tongues, the pair worked frantically at removing the other’s clothing until Sam reached the ultimate goal.  She could feel the racing heart of her lover as her hands lavished in fleshy mounds and with each grazing touch of an erect nipple sent her own intensifying libido even higher.  Soon the sound of their blood racing through their bodies with anticipation pounded in their ears and the moaning of their lover urged them on.

“I think I’m…” Sam whispered, “Oh god, I can feel that rhythm beating all the way into my mind, Brooke.  Don’t stop.”

“Mmm…” was the only thing Brooke could utter as she rocked her pelvis with the beat she was hearing in her head as well.

“I can’t be…” Sam’s voice grew louder, “coming already.”

Brooke’s focus on Sam’s pleasure intensified as she honed in on Sam’s voice, never dropping the beat for a second.

Absorbed in his thoughts, Peter acted on the sound of Sam’s voice and reached for the doorknob.  Pushing it open with little effort, he ventured inside.  “Hey Sam, Do you think we could…”

“Peter?”

Hearing his name half mumbled out in Brooke’s husky tone caused the man to look up from the paper that he was studying.  “Oops!”  Peter’s eyes grew bigger as he locked onto his friends and co-workers engaged in a rather passionate endeavor and he quickly reversed his steps. “Oh Jesus… he muttered out as his hand trailed the door closed, giving them their privacy back.  “Sorry,” he offered meekly as he stood in front of the door.  Thrown for a loop, the man leaned up against the doorframe and tried to keep from hyperventilating.

“Peter…” Ida called out from down the hall, “Are you alright?”

“Shit,” Peter mumbled out, “girl on girl action and I can’t even enjoy it knowing who it is.”  He looked down the hall to the woman headed his way.  “Great…” he snarled out while trying to regain his composure as he rolled his eyes.

“Peter, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.  You’re all pale and…” Ida eyed the man suspiciously as only a mother could, “Out of breath.  Are you feeling poorly, Dear?”  She reached out and placed her hand against his forehead.  “Well, you don’t have a fever.”

“Me…ah…I’m fine…a little hot,” he sucked in a breath and looked away from Ida’s gaze as he loosened his collar.  “I’m fine.  Nothing to worry about at all.”

“Come on Peter, let me get you a glass of water.  You’re breathing is erratic and I’m getting a little worried about you.”  She took his hand, “Let’s get you a seat.”  Ida guided him down the hall toward her office.  “Sit, Peter,” she directed him with a stern gaze.  Waiting until he complied, she then crossed the room to her credenza and poured a glass of water from the waiting bottle.  She carried it back to him and placed it into his hands wrapping hers around his to make sure that it wouldn’t drop.  “Take a drink and tell me what’s got you so upset.”

The shaken man did as he was told.  “Thanks, Ida.”  He looked to her then quickly shifted his gaze.  “I just saw…” he stopped and shook the image from his head.  “I saw…nothing.”

“Nothing?” Ida leaned closer to him, “What did you see, Dear?”

Slowly Peter leveled his gaze and looked her in the eye.  “Ida…” his words came out cautiously, “you’re a woman, right?”

Her eyes grew big as she leaned back, allowing her matronly figure to be seen.  “The last time I checked,” Ida looked down to her breasts and chuckled at his question.

“Don’t be funny,” Peter quipped back at her with a snarled lip.  He waited a moment then asked what was on his mind.  “Do all women get those…” he paused and redirected his question, “Do women get…” he looked in her direction and made a face, “that way,” he made the same face again, “with hormones?”

“Do you have a twitch going on, Peter?” Ida teased him mercilessly.  “What the hell does that,” she mimicked his action from before, “mean?  What way are you referring to?”  She sighed disgustedly.  “It would help if you told me just who you’re referring to, Peter.  I can’t read your mind.”

“The Boss, Ida.”  Peter looked at her.  “Haven’t you noticed that she’s…” he hedged on what to say, “different lately?”   The man paused for a few seconds, still seeing confusion written all over Ida’s face.  “You know…since they’ve been trying to get…” the words sounded in his ears and he immediately slapped his hand over his mouth to stop any further airing of his thoughts.

“Get what, Peter?”  Ida glared at him knowing full well that something was up by the look on his face.

“Forget it.  You didn’t hear that.”  Peter rose from his seat, “I never said it.”  He let his eyes roam absently around the room, shifting his body with every new thought in his head.  “God, this is going to drive me crazy.”  He shook his head vigorously, “Her hormones and me having to keep a secret…it’s not going to work.”

“Who’s on hormones?” Ida laid out her hand flat on his chest, stopping him from leaving her area. 

“Sam…no Brooke…” he sputtered out as he was pushed back down into his seat.  “Damn it, I’m not sure which one now.  They’re both acting like crazed rabbits if you know what I mean.” 

“Alright, Peter Butler,” Ida’s stern voice now matched her face, “I want to know what you’re babbling about.  Now, back up and start from the beginning.”

His eyes avoided hers like they carried the plague.  “Beginning?”

“Yes, the beginning.”

“Who’s beginning…mine, theirs, or the ba…?”  Brown eyes magnified as the word registered in his head.  “Oh Shit!”  Peter jumped up, “Nothing…nobody’s…it was just all a bad dream that I had.”  He shifted his eyes nervously, “I got to keep from falling asleep at work.”  His eyes met with Ida’s, “Forget I said that…” He tried to take a step around the woman.  “She’ll kill me if I let it out,” he muttered weakly under his breath. 

“Peter,” she caught his arm and swiveled him around to face her again, “either you tell me or I’ll go over there,” she pointed to Sam’s office up the hall from hers, “and ask them for myself.” 

“Oh no you don’t,” Peter continued to shake his head, “you’re not getting it out of me.  I’m not going to be the one to let it slip.

“Have it your way.”  Ida turned and walked briskly into the hall, her steps beating out the rhythm as she marched her way to Sam’s door.

Scurrying out of the office, Peter stopped dead only a few feet from Sam’s door as the muffled utterances from behind the closed door caused a shiver to run down his spine.  He froze as he watched Ida’s hand grip the doorknob.  He wasn’t ready for another replay  of what he had already witnessed or even worse.  Pushing himself harder than he’d ever done before, Peter lunged out and grabbed Ida’s hand before she could release the latch.  “Stop that,” he whispered hurriedly.  “Do you want to get us both killed?”  He locked the woman in his gaze and silently pleaded his case until he wasn’t sure which way she would go.  Then, he did the only thing he could do, he folded.  “Alright, I’ll tell you,” Peter looked quickly up and down the hall to assure that they we alone, “but no one else.”  He studied her for a second then asked, “You can keep a secret, can’t you?”

"Care to ask the Boss?  She seems to think so, otherwise I wouldn’t be the only one beside her with access to the vault, now would I?”

“Really?” Peter blinked in surprise.  “I never knew…” He blew out a sigh of relief.  “Okay, but you promise, right?”

The smile broadened on Ida’s face as she leaned in to hear his secret.  “Promise.”

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Day 16 Wednesday 

“I don’t like it, Sam.”  Brooke jerked open the passenger door of her truck and waited for her wife to climb in.  “She’s always watching me.  She thinks I don’t see it, but I do.”

“Who, Brooke?  Who is watching you?”  Sam turned to face her wife and looked her in the eyes. 

“Ida, who else?”  The woman’s eyes bugged out when Sam broke up in laughter.  “What’s so funny?  I tell you that something is going on and your reply is laughter?” 

“Hun, Ida is your friend.  She’s your oldest…er…longest working employee you have at Brownstone.”  Sam cocked her head to a side, “Come to think of it Brooke, the woman’s almost like a second mother to you.  Why wouldn’t she be watching you?”  Sam smirked as she got into her seat, “Hell, I’m your wife and I love watching you.”

“Yeah, but when you’re checking me out…I like it.”

“Whoa!  Are you telling me that you think Ida is checking you out?” Sam’s face tightened. 

Brooke saw the concern on her wife’s face.  “Well…maybe not checking me out…checking me out,” she offered.  “It’s more like she’s…” Brooke shrugged, “checking me out.  You know?” 

Sam stared back in utter confusion.  “HUH?”

Suddenly Brooke stepped forward and turned to look into the passenger door side mirror.  She leaned back, then forward as she tried to focus.  In a hurried movement she tossed her keys into Sam’s lap, “Turn the car on.  Hurry!”

The desperation in Brooke’s eyes was enough to motivate Sam’s actions.  A few seconds later the engine of the truck could be heard and Brooke was vigorously tapping her finger on the control button for the side window.  Sam watched curiously as Brooke’s face came closer to the mirror.

“No dark circles,” Brooke mumbled out as she looked from one eye to the other.  Her chin suddenly became her focus in the mirror as she turned her head from side to side.  “That’s a relief…” she sighed, “no zits.”  The tall woman stood upright again from the hunched over position, her eyes still glued to the reflective surface as her body image changed in it.  “Sam…”

“What?” The sound of her name being called startled her.

“Am I putting on the pounds?” Brooke ran her hand over her lower jean covered abdomen.  “Could those pills be making me retain water and get that bloated look?”

Sam dropped her gaze to the tight form-fitting jeans and checked out her wife’s concern.  “No…” Sam wet her lips with her tongue, “nothing there but some fine looking…”

“That’s it,” Brooke slammed the door.  “We’re stopping for yogurt and fruit on the way home.”

“Yogurt?” Sam said, puzzled at Brooke’s mood swing.  She absolutely hates yogurt.  Green eyes studied Brooke as she ran around the truck and settled into her driver’s seat before speaking.  “Hon, I don’t think you’re fat.”  Sam helplessly watched as a pair of eyes riveted in her direction.  

“What…so now that I’m married to you, you want me to look f-f-f-fa….” Brooke stuttered with the word.  “Frumpy?”  A dark eyebrow arched high on her brow, cautioning Sam to think twice before answering.

“I didn’t say that…I said…” Sam started to laugh as her own little version of Hormonal Brooke danced across her mind.

“Oh, so it’s funny, is it?”  Brooke turned her attention to the gearshift and slammed it into drive.  “We’ll see how funny it is when you’re sleeping alone tonight.” 

Sam closed her mouth without saying another word, mindful that trying to do anything more would only worsen the situation. 

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Later that night Brooke watched silently as Sam gathered her pillow and nightshirt up in her arm and headed out of their bedroom. 

“Hey, where are you going?” 

"To sleep," Sam calmly threw the gathered items over her shoulder as she neared the door, slowing only slightly as she reached out for the doorknob.

“But I thought this was where you slept now.”  Brooke patted the empty space next to her.

In a side ways glance, Sam noted the extended lower lip of her mate.  Shifting hormones already, eh Lover?  “You told me on our way home that I was sleeping alone tonight.  I’m just carrying out your wishes.  Goodnight, Brooke.”

“But…I…I thought you loved me,” Brooke muttered out in a tiny voice.  “Why don’t you want to sleep with me…” she smoothed out the covers on the king-sized bed, “like we always do?”

Sam turned to see her lover’s pitiful face.  Jeez, I better stop this before her mood swings in another direction altogether.  “So let me get this straight…”

“Oh, no Darlin’, we can never get it straight.”  Brooke’s sheepish grin nearly melted Sam’s heart. 

“Okay, let me rephrase that,” She turned to face her wife, stopping short of running over and jumping into the bed with her.  You knew it would work…calm down and let it play out.

“Yes?”  Brooke looked on eagerly.

“You want me to sleep with you now,” Sam stated as a matter of fact.  “You don’t want me sleeping alone tonight…somewhere else in the house, right?”  Seeing the broad smile and nodding head of her wife, Sam moved back over toward the bed.

“Now get undressed and get into bed so I can have my way with you,” Brooke wiggled her eyebrows playfully as she watched the smile grow bigger on Sam’s face.  “Why are you wasting time with the buttons Sam?  Just pull the shirt over your head and get into bed with me.  Can’t you see I need you now?”

“Well, this is a pleasant change,” Sam chuckled as she tossed her pillow onto the bed.  Without a second thought, she did her wife’s bidding and then threw the blouse over her shoulder to fall haphazardly on the floor.  “I love it when you’re so spontaneous.”  Sam seductively lowered her bra straps from her shoulders and proceeded to undo the clasp behind her back.  “I’m glad that you don’t think you’re fat any more.” 

As her bra floated to the floor, Sam looked up into dumbfounded blue eyes.  “What?”  Sam jiggled her breasts as she slowly started to undo her jeans.

The words had struck her at an odd angle and suddenly any thought of lying next to Sam tonight, let alone sharing intimacies, was forgotten.  “Out!”  Brooke’s face turned red with anger.

“HUH?” Sam felt more confused than ever.  “But I thought we were going to make love.”

“OUT!”  Brooke grabbed the pillow on top of the covers and sent it flying in Sam’s direction.  “You think I’m fat…well, go hug a pillow all night and see how much fun that can be.”

Sam caught the pillow as it landed against her midsection.  In her mind she started reeling as thousands of images of Hormonal Brooke danced around her head. 

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Day 22 Tuesday

“Okay, Mario,” Sam called out to the dog lying by the bedroom door.  “Your mommy’s not home tonight so if you won’t tell, neither will I.”  She patted Brooke’s side of the bed and waited for the dog to respond.  Seeing the hesitancy of the animal, Sam commiserated with the pet, “I miss her too, boy.  You know that she wouldn’t leave us unless it was something that she had to do.”

The dog looked longingly at the big empty side of the bed and whimpered.

“I know…she’s been a bear at times these last few days but it’s not her, it’s the hormones she’s taking.”  Seeing the curious look at the sound of the word, Sam giggled and continued on.  “Honest, she’s only doing it to get us the egg we need to have it grow into a baby.  Hey, that means you get a new playmate to keep you busy.  Wouldn’t you want a new life form running around trying to pull your tail and chew on your ears?”

The dog’s tail suddenly stilled its casual wagging motion.  Mario put his head down on the floor and pawed his ear, eventually rubbing the side of his head into the carpet.

“I guess you still remember Julie,” Sam teased.  “I won’t let that happen again to you, boy.” She watched as the dog got up and trotted over to her side of the bed.  Hope-filled eyes accompanied the single paw placed on the mattress next to her.  “You’ll still be my number one boy around here even when the baby comes,” Sam leaned down and let the dog lick her cheek.  “Yeah, well, I guess that will have to be my goodnight kiss until your mommy gets back.” 

Sam patted Mario’s head and looked over to the clock on the nightstand.  “Hmm…it’s ten and I thought she’d at least give me a call to say good night before this.  Guess she’s just lost in her work as usual.”  She grabbed her book off her lap and scooted over in bed.  “Up, Mario,” Sam patted the place that she’d just vacated, then turned to her side and braced her hand under her head, the book now positioned next to her on the bed as she searched for the place where she had finished reading. 

Stopping once or twice when thoughts of Brooke entered her head, Sam slowly made her way through the words on the stark white pages of her book until the sound of the phone ringing startled her.  Both she and the dog shifted rather quickly as she lunged for the receiver.  “Hello,” came Sam’s anxious greeting.

“Sam…” Brooke’s voice floated across the airwaves.  “Tell me exactly why I came to this podunk of a town again?”

The blonde stared into the phone.  You called all this way just to ask me something that I didn’t know anything about until two days ago?  “Gee, Hon, I thought it was to watch the local talent in that Battle of the Bands Contest.”

“Yeah?”  Sam could hear the smirk on the opposite end of the phone. “You could have fooled me.  They had some of the sorriest groups tonight that I’ve ever heard.”

“That bad, eh?”

“Worse.”

“How’s that?”

“They roll up the damn sidewalks around this town at nine o’clock.  The hotel I’m staying at doesn’t have room service and the only place to deliver food is a local pizza shop.”

“Ouch,” Sam’s face took on a pained expression, “that bites.  That’s not a good food for you right now.”

“You aren’ t kidding.  Just what I need, to be stuck in a one drugstore town and have them be out of Milk of Magnesia.  I can’t even think of getting constipated here.”  Sam winced at the disgusted sigh of her lover.  “And that’s not the half of it.”

“Oh?”

“I found a can of Hershey’s Syrup in my suitcase and I don’t have anyone to use it on.”  Brooke’s mumbling carried across the miles.  “Remind me to start sending Peter out on these talent searches the next time I get the notion to go to one.”

A smile came to Sam’s face when she realized that she was being missed.  “You’ll be home in a couple of days, Brooke.”

“Yeah, and it won’t be soon enough, Darlin’.  I’m missing you more than I care to admit.  I don’t ever want to be away from you for longer than a day for the rest of our lives.”

“Well, think about the bright spot in all of this…” Sam paused at the thought, “we’ll be together and craving the hell out of each other the minute we set our eyes on one another.”  The long span of silence on the other end told her that her lover was contemplating an idea of what it would be like.  The soft sounding purr that she heard didn’t help matters either as her body began to respond to it.

“Sam…” the gulp was obvious on the other end of the phone.  “I love you.”

“I love you, too” Sam took in a breath and stilled her racing heart.  “G’night, Love.”

“G’night, Darlin’.”

A long pause of silence was heard before Sam slowly pulled the receiver away from her ear and touched the button ending their connection.   Along with the phone, she put the book to rest on the nightstand and turned out the light. 

“G’night, Mario,” Sam whispered and snuggled down in the bed with the scent of her lover wafting off the pillow as the tall dark-haired woman’s image danced in her mind.

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Day 25 Friday

“Sam…” Brooke tossed her keys on the decorative table by the door and sat the suitcase down.  “Sam, Darlin’, I’m home,” she sang out as she shrugged out of her jacket and started moving through the house.  “Sam?”  Brooke turned the corner of the hall and peered into the empty living room.  “Hmm…” she turned her attention down the length of the hall and headed toward the kitchen.  “Oh Sam…” Brooke yelled out teasingly, “I’m home.”  She looked into the kitchen and her eyes lit up.  “Hey Baby, your lover’s home.”

“Hey, you’re early.”  Sam turned to greet her wife with a pot lid in one hand and a spoon in the other.  “I was hoping you’d get home before dinner.  How was the trip?”  Sam studied Brooke as she gave a little shrug and crossed the kitchen toward her spouse. 

“All of the groups were a bust, huh?” Sam asked as she repositioned the lid on the pot and put the spoon down on the stovetop.

“Yep.”  Brooke reached out, pulling Sam into her arms and kissed her.  “They were terrible but…”

“Damn, I knew it,” Sam stopped her forward motion, “So, what now?”

Brooke took Sam’s hand, urging the woman to follow her as she turned and started for the hall.  “So now,” she turned to face Sam, “you give your wife another kiss hello and tell her how much you missed her.”

Unable to resist her wife’s request, Sam complied as she wrapped her arms around the tall woman’s neck and melded into her body.  When the kiss was over, Sam could feel herself being swept up into strong arms.  Before she could say a word, she was being cradled very lovingly to the woman’s chest and carried from the room.  “Hmm…I love being swept off my feet by tall, dark and gorgeous women.”

Flashing a radiant smile, Brooke headed for stairs.  “You bet, Darlin’.”  She continued her lip assault by covering Sam’s neck with kisses.  “I have missed you so much…”

“I’m going to have to send you on business trips more often if you always come home like this,” Sam teased. 

“And what way is that, Darlin’?”

“Horny as hell,” she replied shyly.

“Well, I’ve missed you…missed having you near me,” Brooke kissed her wife with each new statement and phrase.  “Next to me… writhing beneath me…” dark eyebrows wiggled eliciting a giggle from the blonde.

“You know something, I think I like having you on these hormones.”  Sam pulled back and looked into blue eyes.  “Do you think we could keep you on them all the time?”

“Hehehe…” Brooke snickered.  “So…” she looked from room to room as they made their way down the hall toward the front of the house.  “Which part of the house haven’t we christened, yet?”  A seductive smile came to the woman’s face.  “Care for a quickie, Darlin’?”

“Sure…” Sam wiggled her eyebrows in response.  “We haven’t tried out the third step on the staircase yet,” she giggled. 

“Or the fourth or fifth steps either,” Brooke chuckled out as she placed her precious cargo on the step.

“Hmm…working our way up to the bedroom, are we?” Sam looked up to the top of the stairs and smiled.  “I like a woman with a plan.”

“So do I,” Brooke met her wife’s lips and kissed them lightly at first then with more gusto as her hands started tugging and pulling at Sam’s clothing.  Fingers in search of flesh stopped at nothing to gain access to Sam’s body, as jeans were undone and soft barriers of silk were being breached.  Both of their breathing sounds becoming ragged with desire when something happened to kill the mood.

“What was that?”  Brooke’s head shot up rather startled by a noise.  She waited a long moment before the sound came again.

“Ding-dong.”

“What the…” blue eyes flashed with alarm.

“They’re here already,” Sam muttered.  “Damn, I should have known that Daddy would make it a point to stop in.”

“What?”

“My parents said that they may be in the area today.”  Sam tugged her clothing back into place as she got out from under her wife and headed for the door. 

“But we…I…you and me…” Brooke stuttered out as she lay draped and disheveled on the stairs.  Pleading eyes watched as Sam moved into the entranceway.  The next thing she heard was Sam opening the door and greeting her parents. 

“Oh look Brooke, my parents are here.”

Brooke gulped, then muttered under her breath, “And just when I was getting to dessert.”  All thoughts of lovemaking now vanished from Brooke’s head and she started to repetitively bang her head on the carpeted step that it was resting on. 

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Day 28 Monday

Sam sat in the passenger seat of Brooke’s truck and surveyed the Gordon’s driveway that they had just pulled into rather abruptly before speaking.  “Why are we stopping here?”  She looked over to Brooke just in time to see the woman shrug her shoulders. 

“I dunno.”

“Are we taking your mom to lunch with us?” 

“I guess if she wants to go,” Brooke turned off the engine and reached for the door handle.  “Right now I need to go so can we just stop with the game of twenty questions?”

Sam winced at the Brooke’s tone.  “Sorry.”

“If you must know,” blue eyes flashed a warning, “I think I just started my fucking period, Sam.” 

“Well, I guess that’s why you were so horny last night.”  Sam shifted in her seat as she looked down at her hands in her lap.  “I read that some women…

“Damn, so now you’re complaining that I want to be with you?”  Brooke slammed her hand against the steering wheel.  “Damn it, I can’t do anything right.”

They sat there for a long moment, one slowly turning to look at the other.

“Sam?”  Brooke met her wife’s gaze.

“Hey, I’m not complaining, I’m just…”

“Just what?” Brooke saw the compassion in her lover’s eyes.

“Well,” Sam reached over to touch her wife’s hand, “You did right by me last night.  I’d never think of complaining.”  She offered Brooke a smile.

“Yeah, well that still doesn’t change anything now.”  Brooke shoved open her door and took off toward the house.

Sam watched the woman storm off as she got out of the truck and made her way across the front yard.  She held her breath when the door opened only seconds before Brooke reached for it.

“Yo, Sis.” C.C. saw the tension on her sister’s face and moved out of the way as six feet of driven Gordon came pushing past her.  “Hey, like don’t say ‘hi’ or anything.”  She took another step back with her retort, “Just run me over why don’t you.”  Staring at Brooke’s back as she moved further down the hall, she glanced out the door to see Sam coming up the steps. 

“What’s the matter with her?”  C.C. threw a glance over her shoulder just as Brooke turned to enter the powder room.  “Did she get some bad food or something?”

“We haven’t eaten yet,” Sam cleared her throat.  “I’d say it’s the ‘or something’.”  She stepped into the doorway and tapped her former roommate on the shoulder, “Don’t pay her no mind, C.C.”

“Mind?  Why would I pay her any mind?  I know better when she’s like that.  Did you two have a fight or something?” C.C. leaned closer to Sam, hazarding a look over her shoulder to see Brooke bolting out of the powder room and running up the stairs to the second floor.

“Damn it,” Brooke muttered as she took the stairs two at a time.  “Nothing is ever where you need it.”

C.C. waited until Brooke was out of range before asking what was on her mind.  “What did you do to piss her off?”  The sound of the bathroom door slamming shut prompted her to cringe.  “Forget I even asked that.  I’m getting out of here before she gets out of there.  Mom…” C.C. yelled over her shoulder as she exited the house, “I’d hide your new coffee table if I were you.”  With that said she quickened her pace as she started running down the driveway to her truck that was parked at the curb and got in it. 

Sam looked out the door as the truck’s engine sprang to life.  A second later, she could make out C.C. lowering her window and sticking her face halfway out of it.

“It was nice knowing you, Sam.”  With that said, C.C. peeled out of the parking spot and immediately floored the gas pedal as she hurried off down the street.

“Kids…” Sam shook her head as she turned to see her mother-in-law heading toward her.  “Hi, Mom,” she waved and acted as nonchalant as she could.

“Hello, Sam.”  Mabel finished wiping her hand on a towel and threw it over her shoulder.  “What was Cjersti shouting about?”

Biting on her lip to muffle the laugh at the sound of C.C.’s real name, Sam closed the Gordon’s front door.  “Nothing really, she was just warning you about…” she paused at the shallow sound of a vanity door slamming.

“Brooke?” Mabel asked looking up the stairway.

“Yeah, that would be what it was about.”

Mabel took off up the stairs.  “Brooke…are you sick?  What’s wrong, sweetie?”

“GO AWAY,” came the shout from behind the closed door that stopped the matriarch in her tracks.

“Damn that daughter of mine is moody.”  She turned and came back down the stairs.  “Sam, what’s going on?  She’s never spoken to me like that in all of her life.”

“I wouldn’t worry, Mom.  It’s just the hormones raging again.”

“Hormones?” Mabel looked puzzled, “She was never that bad even when the cramps got to her and she used to get pretty bad cramps at that.”  She turned to look at Sam and smiled, “You know that’s how she came to learn the drums.  Our family doctor thought that the repetitive motion would help ease the pain.”

“Really?”  Sam thought about it and smiled.  “I would have never guessed.” 

“It’s one of the tidbits that hardly anyone remembers but a mother.”  Mabel looked back up the stairway, “She’s not getting those cramps again…I mean since she is not playing the drums as much, is she?”

“Well, this is a little different.  Dr. Dennison said that they would affect her mood swings and…”

"And what?”  Mabel’s face took on a ghastly appearance as the sound of Brooke’s retching penetrated the door.  “Doctor…?”  Terrified eyes pinned the blonde where she stood.  “Is my baby sick?  Sam, I’m her mother.  I have a right to know.”

“I…we…” the sound of Brooke coughing split the air and Sam looked up to the second floor.

“Sam,” the sternness in the voice conveyed the woman’s concern as tears started to well up in Mabel’s eyes.  “Tell me what is going on?  Brooke is sick, isn’t she?”  

Sam took her mother-in-law’s trembling hands into her own.  “Mom, I’ll tell you, but only if you can keep a secret,” the corners of her mouth hinted in an upward motion.  Seeing the subtle nod of the Gordon matriarch, Sam began to speak, choosing her words carefully before she started.  “Nothing’s wrong with Brooke, Mom.  She’s…” Sam sighed, “I’m…well, actually…I mean…” She looked over to see the anticipation on the woman’s face.  “We’re trying to have a baby, that’s all.”

Startled by the revelation, Mabel couldn’t utter more than a single word.  “What?”  She blinked several times trying to register the words that she’d just heard.  “A…A baby?  But how?”  She turned to look up the stairs as another round of retching started.  “Are you telling me that my Brooke’s pregnant?”

“Not exactly,” Sam started, “but I can assure you that it will be a Gordon baby…I mean, if that’s alright with you?”

“Then how could it be a Gordon baby if…” Mabel’s eyes looked at Sam’s face, then slowly lowered to her torso. 

Sam was amused by the astonished look that was overtaking Mabel’s face, her eyes seemed to open wider with every second that ticked by. 

“OH MY GOD!”  Mabel covered her mouth with her open hand, “Sam…are you?”

The smile on Sam’s face was apologetic but sincere, “Well, not yet but I’ll be the one to carry our child.”  She searched the woman’s face for some sign of her understanding.  “We’re going to do an IVF procedure next month.”

“I-V-F…” Mabel repeated the letters, “What in the name of Sam Hill is that?”

“In Vitro Fertilization, Mom.  That’s how we intend to get pregnant.” 

“And that’s different from normal…how?” The woman’s words were cautious and labored.

“It’s easy.  We use Brooke’s egg, a donor sperm and after we put the two of those together in a Petri dish, I get to act as the incubator for the next nine months or so.”  Sam was relieved to see the tension ease in her mother-in-law’s face.  “With me acting as the surrogate mother and Brooke actually being the biological mother, we figure that we both have a substantial role in the child coming to life.”

“Okay, so if that’s the case then why is Brooke feeling the way she is right now?”

“That’s what the raging hormones are all about.  The doctor has Brooke taking hormones to increase her egg production for harvesting,” Sam smiled remembering the fuss that Brooke put up in the office at the sound of being harvested.

“I never knew that could happen.  I always thought that PMS was just some man’s label to explain away a woman’s edginess with her cycling.”

“Well, let me tell you Mom, those extra hormones have really been affecting her moods here lately.”  Sam nodded her head, “And today…it’s a bad mood kind of day.”

“My poor baby.”

“Oh yeah,” Sam leaned over toward her in-law and whispered, “She’s on her period.”

“Oh,” Mabel whispered back as if it were some state secret.  “That usually does make her a little moody.”

“A little moody?” Sam laughed, “Those extra hormones have made her every mood under the sun and then some this month.  I just hope that we only have one more month of this to go.

Both women parted at the opening of the bathroom door.  They watched as Brooke trudged down the stairs toward them.  She never said a word as she made the corner and continued out to the kitchen, her dark hair acting as a shield to keep her face from their view.  They stood there silently until the sound of the door leading out to the back yard was heard.

With a mother’s wisdom, Mabel looked over to Sam.  “Why don’t you go check on her, Dear?  I’m sure she’d rather see you than me.”

Sam nodded in agreement and followed in her wife’s footsteps.  She stopped at the door to let her eyes roam the back yard in search of Brooke.  There, leaning her body against the porch railing stood the woman with her back to the door.  By the slump of Brooke’s broad shoulders, Sam knew that her wife was crying. 

Preparing herself for a virtual storm of emotions, Sam closed the distance between them until she was standing directly behind the woman.  “I love you,” she said calmly.  She watched as Brooke allowed her chin to almost touch her chest and she tried to turn away from the voice.  Sam repeated her words, “I love you.  I always will, Brooke.”

“I don’t deserve your love…or your understanding,” Brooke sniffed readily with every other word as she tried staving off the tears that threatened to over run her face.  “I know that I’ve been so moody lately.”  She paused for a moment to wipe at her eyes then gave up folding her arms over her chest, letting the tears surface, falling where they may.  “I’m so scared, Sam.  This isn’t me…this isn’t who I am.”

“I know it’s not you, Brooke.”  Sam reached out to her wife and gently rested her hand on the woman’s back, rubbing soothing circles as best she could.  “It’s all the hormones.”  She leaned in closer to the woman and directed her soft whisper into Brooke’s ear, “I love you no matter what, Hon. Just trust me.  We’ll get through this.  And when we do, we’ll have a baby, Brooke.”  Sam kissed her wife’s ear and then rested her head on Brooke’s shoulder.  “Just think of it, our own child.  I think that’s pretty darn amazing, don’t you?” 

“Yeah, but what if you wake up one morning tired of all my mood swings, tired of putting up with my shit,” Brooke closed her eyes in pain.  “What if you realize that you could have done better than to marry me and listen to all my bitching?”

“No way, Lady.”  Sam turned her wife around to gaze into her eyes.  “I’m your wife…in good times and bad.  There’s no way a little bitching is going to scare me away from the love of my life, not after all the shit I’ve taken from my own mother.  God knows she bitches with the best of them and you’re nowhere near that.”

Brooke’s whimper turned into a wail as she spun away from Sam’s view.  “See, I’m not even good at that.”  She tried to catch her breath in between each word then started to cry again.  “I wanted our first Valentine’s Day to be filled with love and romance.  I never planned for my period to be here until after this weekend, not before it.”

“Is that what you’re worried about, Brooke, Valentine’s Day?”  Sam’s face was full of concern for her wife’s well being.  She could barely see the subtle nod of Brooke’s head as the woman turned around to face her.  Sam watched as between sniffs, blue eyes blinked back the tears while trembling hands wiped their predecessors streaks from her cheeks. 

“Yes,” the word rasped out from around a shaky breath.

“Oh Baby,” Sam’s compassion was evident in her gaze.  “We’ll have all of the Valentine Days to come for the rest of our lives.  So what if you have your period.  I think romance is so much more than just being intimate physically, it’s the little things that make it all that more memorable.”  Sam was compelled to qualm her wife’s insecurities and embraced Brooke, pulling her closer until their foreheads touched. 

Suddenly there was nowhere to look but at each other.  Brooke shifted her weight from foot to foot before leaning her head nearly onto her shoulder and turning into a replica of a bashful teen on their first date trying to decide to kiss the person in front of her or not.  She knew in her heart what she wanted to do, but her body was not co-operating.

“Look at me, Brooke.”  Sam watched as her wife buried her chin into her chest, lifting Brooke’s chin so that she could see her eyes.  “I love you, all of you…every mood, every second of the day, every day for the rest of my life.  I know that there will be times that we make love until the sun rises and in the same respect I know that there will be days that cuddling, and kissing each other will be the most that we can do. ”  She paused for a second to see if her words were making any progress, then took in a breath and continued.  “But, you know what, Brooke…either way, I figure that I’m still a winner just having you in my life…having you as my family.”  Sam stared into apprehensive blue eyes, “Face it, Lover, you’re stuck with me…forever.

The words shot straight to Brooke’s heart and slowly her gaze lifted to settle on Sam’s determined face.  “I’m sorry…so sorry, Darlin’.”  The sight of Sam’s up turned mouth bolstered her ego.  “I love you, Sam and I just want you to know that from now on…” Brooke drew her hand up and wiped her eyes, “I’ll try harder not to be so moody.”  Blue eyes stared into green as she pledged with her heart, “I promise.”

Sam could feel the relief rolling over her body as a single tear streaked down her face.  She reached up and placed a kiss on Brooke’s cheek.  “And so will I.  You know, I get a turn at this too.”

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Song Lyrics from this week's installment by Steve Brown.
See You Soon!!!!