Sam pressed the length of her body against Brooke's back, hips swaying rhythmically to the steady pulse of the music. Brooke drew Sam's arms around her waist and leaned back into the embrace, enjoying the proximity of their bodies. She brought her hand up to cup Sam's cheek while Sam dictated her movements from behind. Brooke turned her head to capture Sam's lips in a searing kiss, never losing the beat of the music. Once her lips had been released, Sam put them to good use immediately as she lightly nipped and sucked at Brooke's neck, revelling in the tang of sweat she found there.
Brooke slowly turned in Sam's arms so they were dancing face to face. Brooke wrapped her arms around Sam's neck, never losing eye- contact. Their lips hovered, a fraction apart but never touching. Sam could feel Brooke's hot breath on her lips. They danced, watching, touching, needing each other until the song ended and the haze was lifted. As the music faded they finally allowed their lips to meet once again in a hungry kiss. Brooke took Sam's hand and pulled her through the vast crowds of people on the dancefloor to a somewhat quieter spot.
"So," said Brooke, breathlessly. "You like?"
"Oh I like, I definitely like."
Sam replied as her eyes roamed over the dark room full of gyrating bodies. Men, women, people of uncertain gender, no-one seemed to care whom was dancing with whom. The atmosphere was intoxicating, the heat almost oppressive. And Sam was loving every minute of it.
"Where'd you hear about this place anyway?"
"Uh...from Mary Cherry actually."
Sam looked at Brooke with eyebrows raised. Brooke shrugged.
"What? I happened to mention that we wanted to try someplace in LA and she suggested here. I don't know what makes her an authority on gay hotspots in the city but you can't fault her choice, right?"
"I suppose not, although my mind is boggling with the possibilities already." Sam turned to face Brooke. "You thirsty? I'm dying for a drink."
"Totally! But I have to use the bathroom first so why don't you go for the drinks and I'll meet you by the bar?"
"You sure you don't want me to come with you?" Sam asked, not too keen on Brooke wandering around by herself in a strange place.
"It's just over there Sammy, I'm sure I won't get lost." Brooke dropped a quick kiss on Sam's lips. "I won't be long, promise."
And with that Brooke disappeared into the sea of undulating flesh that was the dancefloor. Sam sighed and headed toward the bar. After waiting an inordinate amount of time to get served, Sam finally stood to the side of the bar holding two bottles of ice-cold water. She opened one and took a long, cool drink. She held the other against her forehead, attempting to bring down her body temperature which she was sure was above normal. She looked at her watch. Brooke had been gone an awfully long time. Sam tried to reassure herself with the thought that the line for the bathroom was probably at least a mile long. But as the minutes ticked by that thought wasn't comforting her as much as it should. She chewed on her lip and tried to decide what the best course of action was. If she left this appointed meeting place there was a distinct possibility that she'd never see hide nor hair of Brooke again. However, if she stood there much longer doing nothing she might just have an aneurysm brought on by worry.
"Hey."
Sam spun around at the sound of the voice, ready to give Brooke a piece of her mind for taking so long and stressing her out almost to the point of a nervous breakdown. However, she found herself looking into concerned hazel eyes. They belonged to a girl who was probably a little older than Sam herself. She was tall, short dark hair with blonde highlights shot through. And she was dressed in the kind of clothes that Nicole had been known to commit crimes to obtain. She spoke again.
"Are you OK? I mean, you were looking awfully worried there...is there something I can help you with?"
Sam stared at the girl in confusion. This wasn't the norm for LA. People don't just go around offering help to complete strangers. Sam thought she'd better reply as the girl was starting to look annoyed by her lack of response.
"I...uh...no, it's nothing...it's just my girlfriend's been away for a really long time at the bathroom and I'm kinda worried...that's all."
"Oh, OK. The lines here can get really bad, she'll probably be back soon."
The girl nodded at Sam and sipped her drink, turning to watch the people dancing. Sam thought for a moment before tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention back.
"Hey, I just wanted to say thanks...you know, for offering to help me...there aren't many people who take an interest in other people's problems in this city...or anywhere actually...so thanks."
The girl smiled.
"No problem, bit of an occupational hazard. I help people in my job so now whenever I see someone looking all lost and lonely like you were I feel compelled to go and ask what's wrong...it's gonna get me into trouble one of these days."
Sam held out her hand.
"I'm Sam."
The hand was taken and shaken firmly.
"Cordelia"
"So, what kind of work are you in? It sounds really rewarding, ya know, getting to help peop..."
"Sam!"
Sam was cut off by the exclamation of her name coming from behind her. She turned, relief flooding her body at the sound of Brooke's voice. The relief was somewhat premature, however, as Sam found out when she caught sight of her. She was desperately pushing her way through the crowds, trying to get to Sam. Sam abruptly left her conversation with Cordelia and hurried over as Brooke finally broke through the melee. Brooke fell into Sam's waiting arms and held onto her as if she feared for her very life. Sam could feel the girl shaking in her embrace and she tried to calm her down.
"Hey, what's wrong? What happened? Are you OK? Did someone hurt you? Shhhh, come on, I'm here, shhhh."
Sam held Brooke tightly, letting her feel safe again before expecting answers to the questions she'd fired at her. After some moments, Brooke was shaking less violently and felt strong enough to lift her head out of Sam's shoulder where she'd buried it. When she did Sam gasped in horror. Blood was coursing down the side of Brooke's neck.
"Oh my God! What the hell happened?" Sam shouted, reaching out to cover the wound with her hand in an attempt to stem the flow of blood.
Brooke was shaking her head.
"I...I'm not sure. I was in the line for the bathroom and I saw this girl checking me out, I didn't think anything of it. So I go to the bathroom. And when I get out she's waiting for me outside the door...she grabbed me and pulled me into the corner over there...I tried to scream but she had her hand over my mouth...and then, and I swear this happened Sammy, then her face did something weird...it was like...like her forehead got bigger or something...and her teeth...changed, got all pointy...and then she bit my neck!"
"Uh...Brooke, did you leave your drink lying around anyplace earlier? I told you not to do that...someone's obviously spiked it with some pretty heavy duty drugs."
Sam stroked some of Brooke's hair off her brow as she spoke.
"Damn it, Sam! I'm telling you what happened!"
Brooke stared at Sam, indignant and hurt that her story was being doubted. OK, so it sounded like something out of a hokey sci-fi TV show. But it was the truth. She decided that she better tell Sam the whole story before trying to convince her of its accuracy.
"Yeah, so, anyway...this girl gets me flat on my back and latches onto my neck. Then the next thing I know she disappears and there's some psycho-nutjob-bitch aiming a sharp stick at my chest! No wonder Mary Cherry likes this place so much...it's full of absolute wackos! Come on, we're leaving."
"Ahem."
Both girls turned to the source of the cough.
"Sorry, couldn't help overhearing. This 'psycho-nutjob-bitch', she wouldn't happen to be a brunette, bit shorter than me, wearing leather, absolutely gorgeous...ringing any bells?"
Brooke was nodding vigorously.
"That's exactly her! How'd you know that?"
"Oh, well, that'd be MY psycho-nutjob-bitch." Cordelia looked Brooke up and down. "She always did have a thing for skinny blondes."
Cordelia reached into her bag and pulled out some gauze and a bottle of antiseptic lotion.
"May I?"
Cordelia gestured towards Brooke's neck. Sam stood back and allowed her to clean the wound and use the gauze to stop the bleeding. She then applied a dressing and stepped back, waiting for the inevitable questions.
"Wh...why do you have all that stuff in your bag?" Sam asked.
It wasn't the first question Cordelia had expected but she supposed she'd better answer it anyway.
"My...uh...my friends hurt themselves. A lot."
"Oh."
Sam nodded, not quite sure how to respond to that. Then something occurred to her and she turned to look at Brooke.
"What?" Brooke asked, puzzled by Sam's expression.
"So, you thought this nutcase was 'gorgeous' huh?" She raised her eyebrows questioningly.
"I...uh...no...I mean...sorta...you know, if you like that kind of thing...the brown-eyed, pouty-lipped, toned body...which I obviously do like as that sounds like you...but...uh..."
Brooke faltered as Sam continued to regard her, obviously not happy with this description of Brooke's assailant. Cordelia seemed to be enjoying Brooke's discomfort immensely.
"She was OK, nothing compared to you, but not ugly or anything...satisfied? Now can we get back to the matter in hand here? Gaping neck wound and attacked by psycho-case who this person happens to know."
Brooke indicated Cordelia as she spoke.
"Look, do you think we could stop with the word 'psycho'? She's not a psycho...now."
"What did you mean when you said she was 'your psycho-nutjob-bitch'?" Sam asked, finally remembering the comment that had thrown her.
"She's my girlfriend." Cordelia stated simply, trying not to laugh at the goggle-eyed expressions she was faced with.
"She's your girlfriend?" Brooke exclaimed. "Well you might wanna keep her on a leash...going around poking sticks into people..."
Brooke was cut off by a loud exclamation.
"Hey C! You'll never guess what just happened to me. Some bleached- blonde-bimbo just about broke my fuckin' nose with her handbag...an' after me savin' her bony ass from a vamp..."
Faith stopped in her tracks as she realised Cordelia was not alone. Cordelia looked gleefully from Brooke to Faith.
"Bleached-Blonde-Bimbo, meet Psycho-Nutjob-Bitch!"
Faith raised an eyebrow and continued to walk slowly towards Brooke and Sam. Brooke manoeuvred herself so that she was standing behind Sam. Sam tried not to look intimidated as Faith approached her. But the predatory look in Faith's eye was making it somewhat difficult. Faith stopped just short of Sam and engaged in a staring contest for a number of minutes before Cordelia slapped her shoulder. Faith scowled at her then turned to regard Brooke. She touched the end of her nose gingerly.
"That's some arm you got there blondie, shit, I think I saw stars."
Brooke smiled nervously at the semi-compliment.
"Thanks, I'm a cheerleader." she said by way of explanation, regretting it instantly.
"Ooooooooh, a cheerleader. That explains it then." Faith said, nodding. She pointed over her shoulder at Cordelia. "That one's got thighs that could crack walnuts. Who knew jumpin' up anddown screamin' 'Go team go' could make you so fit?"
"Faith, I really don't think they need to hear about my thighs." Cordelia said, making plans to put those thighs to good use later on.
"Uh, hello? Are we forgetting what just happened here?" Sam asked, bewildered by the exchange going on around her. "You..." She jabbed Faith's chest with her index finger as she spoke. "...just tried to stab her with a piece of wood."
Faith looked down at the finger embedded in her chest and then back up at Sam. Sam suddenly became very nervous. Just as she was about to remove the finger Faith grabbed it and bent it backwards, forcing Sam slowly to her knees.
"Owwowwowwwowwowwww!"
"Wait...what are you...stop that!" Brooke said, attempting to pry Faith's hand away from Sam's.
"You might wanna check your story before you go around accusin' people, sweetcheeks. I happened to be savin' your little girl's butt from a va..."
"Mugger!" Cordelia shouted, while dragging Faith backwards, making her release Sam's finger.
Sam examined her finger and allowed Brooke to fawn over her for a minute or two before turning back to Cordelia and Faith. She cradled her hand and wore a wounded puppy expression as she spoke.
"OK, that's twice now you've started to say something and then stopped. I think you should tell us exactly what's going on here."
"Oh, and by the way, I'd say the jury's still out on the 'psycho' thing." Brooke added, warily glancing at Faith before taking Sam's injured hand and kissing her fingers lightly.
"OK C, tell 'em what happened, we gotta get outta here quick before I turn diabetic. Shit, they're worse than B and Angel."
"Right, well...um, there's a gang of muggers working this area who like to incapacitate their victims by sucking their blood, making them woozy and disoriented. I'd say that's what happened." Cordelia said, nodding,
Neither Brooke nor Sam seemed terribly convinced by this explanation. Cordelia looked back and forth between the sceptical expressions.
"What? You asked what happened, I'm giving you a rational explanation, isn't that what you wanted." she asked, exasperated.
"But that doesn't explain why her face changed and her teeth got really sharp and if you don't stop looking at me like that Samantha McPherson I'll break that damn finger right off."
"I'm sorry Brooke, but you have to admit it sounds kind of, well...impossible. I mean, it sounds like something out of a Dracula movie of something."
Sam smiled. Brooke tried to remain indignant but couldn't keep it up for long and started giggling.
"Yeah, a bad vampire flick!" she agreed.
They both laughed. The turned to see that Faith and Cordelia were not laughing. In fact they looked deadly serious. Then Cordelia nudged Faith in the ribs and started a fake laugh, badly. Faith smiled half-heartedly. She didn't see what the problem with telling them was. It'd make them a bit more careful in future. But Cordelia had some obsession with not freaking out the populace. Then Brooke seemed to remember something.
"What was really strange though, is that she seemed to disappear completely, like 'poof' she's gone. And then you were there with your bit of pointy wood...which, now that I think about it, looked like a stake..."
Brooke and Sam looked at Faith, suddenly their joke of earlier didn't seem quite so funny. Sam shook her head in frustration.
"I think the two of you know more about this than you're letting on...and I don't like it. Brooke could've been really badly hurt and you know why...so I think you should tell us."
She regarded the older couple with a challenge in her eye. The journalist in her just wouldn't let this go. Even though a part of her wanted to get the hell out of the place, she couldn't leave this hanging without finding out what was going on.
"Listen, how old are you?" Cordelia asked.
"Seventeen." Sam replied, quietly, aware that she was not old enough to be in an establishment such as the one she was in.
"Then you know all you need to know for now...just...just...oh...oh no...Faith...aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhh!"
Cordelia collapsed backwards, holding onto her head with both hands. Faith was there to catch her before she fell, cradling her until the pain subsided. She held Cordelia, gently stroking her hair away from her face and talking to her in soothing tones. Brooke and Sam looked on in astonishment, with no idea what was going on. Eventually Cordelia turned her head out of Faith's shoulder, still rubbing her temple. She looked at Sam and Brooke wearily.
"I think you'd better come with us."
Faith looked into Cordelia's eyes.
"It was somethin' to do with these two?"
Cordelia nodded.
"Yep, and they're in a whole heap of trouble. Seems like that vamp that attacked you wasn't an opportunist, she's part of a group, or cult, or something."
Sam and Brooke wore stupefied expressions.
"So..." Sam began.
"Vamp? Did you say vamp? So it was a vampire?" Brooke cut in.
"Got it in one, blondie. Now come on, we better get you outta here." Faith said, slipping her arm around Cordelia's waist offering support to the still weakened seer.
"Wait!" Sam used her most commanding tone, surprising everyone present, including herself. "I am not leaving this club with you if you don't start telling us what the hell is going on. You go around 'rescuing' people, you have some sort of convulsions and now all of a sudden we're talking about vampires...well, I'm sorry, but this doesn't convince me that we should be accompanying the two of you anywhere!"
"Hey sweetcheeks, you got two choices, either come with us or stay here and find out for yourself if vampires really exist. Or there's the third option where I drag you bodily out of here myself...that's my favourite."
Faith looked to Cordelia for permission. Cordelia just shrugged, she wanted out of the club and if more bloodshed was to be avoided, Brooke and Sam had to be removed as well. Faith took a step towards Sam and found her way was blocked by Brooke who had quickly inserted herself in front of Sam. She held her hands up in a sign of peace.
"There's no need for anyone to be dragging anyone anywhere...just give me a second."
Brooke spun around and spoke to Sam under her breath for a moment.
"Look, if it wasn't for Faith I'd probably be dead...they seem to know what they're talking about and I'm not too keen on the idea of meeting more people...or whatever that girl was...if we get out of here with them we can make our way home from there."
Sam was about to protest but the pleading look in Brooke's eyes and a quick glance at the bloodstained dressing on her neck made up her mind for her. She nodded. She linked her fingers through Brooke's and they turned back to face Faith and Cordelia.
"OK then, let's go." Sam said.
On the way to the door, Faith turned to look over her shoulder at Sam.
"Whipped much, sweetcheeks?" she asked, mischievously.
Sam huffed and rolled her eyes, trying to appear above this childish banter. Faith laughed.
"An' don't think that expression's gonna affect me. I have the Queen of Superiority to deal with on a daily basis. She could teach you a thing or two I'm guessin'."
They had reached the door so Sam had no opportunity to reply. The cool evening air was welcome on their skin after the sweaty heat of the club. Sam closed her eyes and let the gentle breeze blow across her face, then she walked directly into Faith's back. Startled, Sam opened her eyes to see that Faith, Brooke and Cordelia had all stopped and were staring straight ahead. Sam turned to see what they were looking at.
Around twenty people were hanging around the club's exit. Upon seeing the foursome the group started to move towards them. As they drew closer, Sam cursed herself for doubting Brooke's story. For all of these people had bumpy foreheads and long, pointy teeth. Sam squeezed Brooke's hand tighter and felt pressure in return.
"What do we do?" Sam hissed, to anyone who was listening.
"You stay out of my way." Faith said before dropping a quick kiss on Cordelia's lips. She then stepped forward and held out her arms.
"So, this a private ambush or can anyone join in?"
Sam gradually became aware of soft fingertips stroking her cheek. Occasionally they would trail down the bridge of her nose and end up on her lips, tracing their outline. Slowly the strange sounds surrounding her cleared up enough for Sam to recognise them as voices. Someone was talking in the distance, someone was singing and someone was murmuring softly just above her. That was her favourite voice.
"C'mon Sammy, wake up now, you're starting to scare me. Come on baby."
Sam was just about to open her eyes and reward Brooke with a dazzling smile when an icy cold liquid was unceremoniously dumped onto her face. She sat bolt upright, narrowly avoiding a collision with Brooke's face. Sam took several deep breaths, attempting to pull her freezing cold garments away from her body.
"Faith!" Cordelia yelled, partially deafening whoever was on the other end of the phone she was still holding to her mouth. "Don't get the furniture all wet! Oh, sorry Wes."
Faith shrugged her shoulders at the incredulous look Brooke was sending her.
"Look, it worked, she's up ain't she?" she smiled innocently at Sam who was still breathing heavily. "Hey sweetcheeks, enjoy your nap?"
Sam ignored Faith and turned to Brooke.
"What the fuck?" she asked, hoping that Brooke would take that as a signal to explain absolutely everything to her as she hadn't a clue where she was, how she'd got there or what was happening.
"Are you OK? You took a pretty bad blow to the head." Brooke asked, concerned, as she searched through Sam's thick hair for lumps and bumps.
"I...uh...I have a killer headache...but I'm fine...how did I get hit in the head."
"Cuz it seems like you can't understand simple instructions like 'duck'." Faith put in helpfully, perching on the arm of the sofa where Sam and Brooke were sitting.
"You got hit by a piece of wood...Faith was aiming for one of the...er, vampires...and missed."
"I didn't miss, the vamp deflected it...I tried to warn ya!" Faith said in her defence.
"Vamps, hmmm, I was kinda hoping that was a dream...or a result of the head trauma."
Sam rubbed the back of her neck, feeling stress creeping along her shoulders at the mention of this illogical phenomenon. Brooke saw the action and immediately took over, gently massaging the top of Sam's shoulders. Sam leaned forward, giving her better access and groaned in pleasure.
"That feels good. So, where are we now? And I'm taking it we got away...did anyone else get hurt? Are you OK?" Sam asked Brooke, suddenly anxious.
"Oh yeah, your girl here did great...even dusted herself a bloodsucker, didn't ya blondie?" Faith said.
Sam was shocked. Brooke shook her head modestly.
"It was kind of a fluke really, I was sort of crouched over you screaming for you to wake up when I noticed one of those...things...coming towards us, I didn't know what else to do, so I took my shoe off and hurled it...just so happens the soles were made of wood and the heel went right into his heart."
Brooke shrugged. Faith was nodding approvingly.
"Like I said earlier, hell of an arm." Faith slid down the arm of the sofa so she was now seated next to Brooke. "You sure you've never slayed before? Cuz you didn't look like a first-timer to me. For real, you were a Slay-virgin?"
"I...uh..." Brooke stammered, uneasy when exposed to Faith's blatant innuendo.
"I can assure you, she's never done anything like that before." Sam answered, not liking Faith's tone in the slightest.
"OK, whatever...she did better than you anyway, she managed to last the whole time without losing consciousness." Faith smirked.
"Just so long as everyone's OK." said Sam, taking Brooke's hand into her own as the blonde finished her massage.
"Well, I dunno, I might have back problems in later life from lugging your ass all the way back here." Faith said, rubbing her lower back for effect.
"She carried me? All the way here? And again, where the hell is here?" Sam asked Brooke, mortified that Faith had carried her in public...and impressed that the slight girl could achieve this feat without requiring an oxygen tank afterwards.
"We're in Cordelia and Faith's apartment. And don't worry, after Faith sorted out the...thingies...they told me all about everything on the way over here. Faith is a vampire slayer. Cordelia is a seer, that's what that fit was in the club, she was having a vision. They work for a vampire who is a good guy and they help people." Brooke finished with a smile.
Sam looked at her like she'd sprouted horns.
"Were you just listening to yourself?" she asked, afraid that her brain had sustained some injury, because what Brooke had said sure didn't sound normal to her.
"I said they told me stuff, I didn't say it made sense." Brooke argued.
"OK people, I just got off the phone with Wesley, I described the vamps to him and he thinks the insignia thingie sounds familiar. So he's gonna hit the books and get back to us in the morning." Cordelia announced, throwing herself onto Faith's lap and kicking off her shoes. She looked at Sam. "I see coma girl's back in the land of the conscious?"
The mocking tone in Cordelia's voice really bugged Sam. Like she didn't already feel useless enough. Brooke had slain a vampire to defend her and Faith had carried her through the streets. Now Cordelia was making fun of her. Brooke saw the defences come up in Sam's eyes as her pride suffered another blow. She slipped an arm around Sam's waist and squeezed reassuringly. A small smile was her payment. A terrifying thought suddenly occurred to Sam. She felt a cold sweat break out down her spine.
"Uh...what time is it?" she ventured, nervously.
"Just gone 2am." Cordelia answered, glancing at the clock.
"Shit!" Brooke exclaimed, cottoning on to Sam's meaning. She turned to Sam with fear in her eyes. "We are so dead."
"What's up?" Faith asked.
"We're supposed to be in by 12.30." Sam explained, cringing at how juvenile that sounded.
Faith and Cordelia looked at each other, they had forgotten that Sam and Brooke were high school students.
"Well, um, you should probably call your parents and make up some story, tell them you're staying with friends or something...because I don't think you should go anywhere until we find out from Wesley what those vamps were after." Cordelia warned.
"Oh great, what do you suggest we say? 'Hey Mom! Sorry I'm late but it's OK, we were just attacked by some vampires but don't worry we're at the apartment of the Vampire Killer and her girlfriend so they'll protect us'." Sam really hoped that someone had a better suggestion than that.
"I'm the Vampire Slayer, not Killer, OK?"
"Well honey, technically you're not THE Vampire Slayer are you? You're A Vampire Slayer." Cordelia reminded her.
"Like I could forget that in a hurry." Faith growled.
"What? There are more of you?" Brooke asked.
"Just the one. The one and only Buffy, Her Royal Slayerness." Faith replied.
"Thank God, the world couldn't handle another whiny blonde like that...well I couldn't anyway." Cordelia said, with a pointed glance over her shoulder at Faith.
"OK, I'd better call home before it gets any later." Brooke said with a sigh, not at all thrilled by this prospect.
"Good luck." Sam whispered, kissing the end of Brooke's nose lightly as she picked up the receiver.
"God, you two are just so fuckin'...what's the word." Faith scrunched up her brow in concentration.
"The word is 'sweet' Faith, they're in the 'sweet' phase, you wouldn't recognise it because we skipped that phase and went straight to the ripping each other's clothes off at every opportunity phase." Cordelia said, checking her nails.
"Oh yeah, that phase...we're still in that phase though right?" Faith asked.
"Totally." Cordelia confirmed and then went quiet as Brooke started speaking into the telephone.
"Hey Daddy! No we're fine...no, totally fine...yeah I know we're two hours late...I'm sorry I know we should have called earlier...the car wouldn't start when we came out of the theatre so we..."
Sam was shaking her head, knowing that excuse wasn't gonna cut it, but it was too late now.
"...I didn't have the number for triple A...no you don't have to come get us...no really Dad, it's late...we're staying with friends...no don't come get us...no, honestly...I'll get the car in the morning and we'll be home as early as possible...no really don't come get us, go to bed, it's late...I'm not telling you what to do Daddy...yeah...uh huh...uh huh...I understand...night Daddy."
She hung up the phone and looked at Sam.
"We're grounded for the next five years."
"It was to be expected." Sam said, nodding. She hugged Brooke to her, silently thanking her for making the call. After a moment or so she realised they were being stared at. Sam released the hold she had on Brooke and stared back at Faith and Cordelia.
"Is there a reason you're looking at me?" she asked.
"Aren't you gonna phone your parents now?" Cordelia asked, gesturing at the phone.
"She just called our parents." Sam stated, thinking nothing of it.
The shock on the faces of both Cordelia and Faith was considerable. Faith's shock quickly turned to something else.
"You have the same parents? Fuck me, that's like, sick!" she exclaimed.
"Words I never thought I'd hear coming from your mouth." Cordelia said, already having realised what the situation was. "You're step- sisters I take it."
"Yeah," Brooke said, smiling at the misunderstanding.
"Do your parents know that you're...that you're..." Cordelia faltered, spending too much time with Faith had expanded her crude vocabulary exponentially but left her floundering for euphemisms.
"Yeah they know." Sam saved her the trouble of finding a tasteful way to put it.
"And they're Ok with it?" Cordelia loved scandal and this had masses of potential for juicy stuff.
"Ummm...yeah, they're OK with it...now." Brooke said, diplomatically.
"I'm betting they just loved hearing that their little girls were doing each other." Faith, inevitably, lowered the tone.
"They weren't exactly pleased...my mom cooked, a lot...and her dad took up golf...I avoided him whenever his clubs were in the vicinity. They were much cooler about it than we'd expected though...they only mildly freaked out and it was only awkward for a couple of months...but now they're absolutely fine with it." Sam said, quite proud of her 'right-on' parents.
"Really?" Cordelia said, she had leaned progressively forward during the conversation and was now in danger of falling off Faith's lap.
"The reason that Cor here is so interested is that she has still to tell her own Mommy about her deep, dark secret." Faith explained.
"What would be the point? She'd just go straight into Denialville anyway. And I see her like, once a year, it's not like she's a huge part of my life...not like you." Cordelia said, leaning back into Faith's arms.
"Hmph, and you said we couldn't do 'sweet'." Faith murmured before capturing Cordelia's lips in a heated kiss.
The kiss lasted a considerable amount of time, Brooke and Sam were unsure where to look. When the embrace eventually ended both Faith and Cordelia were flushed and breathing heavily.
"OK, so ummm, will you guys be OK on the couch? Great, there are blankets in that closet there and help yourself to anything you want in the kitchen and we'll see you in the morning...'kay G'night." Cordelia finished hurriedly as Faith dragged her in the direction of the bedroom. Once they were in and the door was closed Brooke looked at Sam with raised eyebrows.
"Well, that was...abrupt." she said.
"Uh huh." Sam agreed. "We should probably try and get some sleep now."
Brooke nodded and they spent a few minutes fixing up the couch with blankets and cushions. Cordelia had thoughtfully laid out some oversized T-shirts for them to wear to sleep in so they got changed into those and climbed under the blankets. They lay on the narrow surface, Brooke spooned against Sam's back. Sam relaxed into the warmth of Brooke's body. Then something happened.
"Uh, Brooke, what are you doing?"
"I'm gliding my hand up your toned stomach, hardly touching you, loving the texture of your smooth skin on my finger tips. Now I'm cupping your firm, young bre..."
"OK, OK, ask a silly question." Sam interrupted Brooke's husky whisper. "Maybe I should have asked why you're doing it."
"Coz I want to make love to you." Brooke said, dipping her head down to kiss the nape of Sam's neck.
"Here? Now?" Sam squeaked.
"Yes. Why...don't you want me to?" Brooke asked, running her tongue along Sam's shoulder.
"I...uh...of course I want you to...I always want you to...but we can't do it now...not here!"
Sam replied, trying to ignore the shivers running through her with each of Brooke's touches.
"Why not? They're doing it." Brooke reasoned.
"Yeah but...but it's their house, they're not lying on someone else's couch. We absolutely, positively cannot do it." Sam was resolute.
Brooke abruptly removed her hands from Sam's body and her lips from her neck.
"Fine." She huffed. "Forgive me for wanting to be close to the person I love most in the world after almost being killed by an otherworldly being. I mean I could be dead right now and I just wanted to be with you tonight because I still can be."
"Ooooooooooh, that was below the belt McQueen!" Sam whispered, knowing fine well that Brooke was toying with her, but also knowing that Brooke was going to win.
"Nope, this is below the belt." Brooke said, replacing her hand on Sam, but in an altogether different place.
"Oh God...OK, but we have to be quiet."
"As little mice," Brooke promised as she adjusted their positions so that she was lying on top of Sam. She leaned down and kissed Sam's lips slowly and thoroughly. Then she drew back so she could watch Sam's face in the dim light as she continued to explore below Sam's belt.
Suddenly the room wasn't so dim as the light was switched on and Faith strode across the room, completely naked. Brooke and Sam froze in position, quite an interesting position as it happened. Faith glanced across at them as she opened the freezer.
"Oh hey! Don't mind me, I'm just gettin' some ice-cream. If you wanna boink feel free, just remember, don't get the furniture all wet!"
She located what she was looking for and closed the freezer door. Sam noticed that she didn't pick up any spoons, which left little to the imagination about how the ice-cream was to be consumed. Faith strutted back to the bedroom mumbling something like 'I'll show her 'sweet'.
The door slammed shut and Brooke looked down at Sam, it was still light, Faith had forgotten to switch it off. Then it went off all by itself.
"Thanks Dennis!" Cordelia's voice carried through from the next room.
"Dennis?" Sam mouthed to Brooke who shrugged.
"Uh...maybe we could just snuggle or something tonight." Brooke suggested.
Sam nodded.
"Snuggling sounds good to me."
Brooke wriggled around a bit until she was lying with her head cradled on Sam's shoulder. Sam wrapped an arm around her and sighed. She was positive she wouldn't sleep a wink what with all the new information she had flying around in her head. After a short while she heard Brooke's breathing change. Soft snoring drifted from the blonde in her arms. It was a comforting sound and Sam soon found herself drifting off too, to surprisingly pleasant dreams.
Invisible hands tucked the slumbering duo in more snugly. Invisible eyebrows went up as a cry of ecstasy from the bedroom pierced through the silence of the night. Invisible lips quirked into a smile and an invisible head shook as the cries became louder. Business as usual in the Chase household.
To Be Continued...