Hearing the loud rumble of the engine as it started up, Sam tried to see what all of the commotion was about. She tried to get up but Brooke held her tightly against her body, rocking the young woman gently and whispered, “No, Sam, stay right where you are, Baby. I’m going to get someone to check you out.” Brooke reached for the phone and hit her sister’s designated number on the phone book. “Come on, Terri. I need you.”

“Man, does my head hurt.” Sam complained as she raised her hand feebly toward her head.

“Just hang tight, Baby.” Brooke stressed as she waited for her younger sister to answer her cell phone.

“Maybe, I should’ve hung tighter,” Sam joked, then winced at the throbbing in her head.

“Hey, what’s up sis? Don’t you just love caller ID?”

Hearing her sister answer the phone, Brooke sighed in relief. “Terri, are you still at Mom’s? I need you to get over here to the house like five minutes ago.”

“No, I’m not there. Why? Did Mario eat the garbage again? I’m a pediatrician, Brooke… not a vet.”

“No, it’s Sam. James was here and threw a punch at me but ended up hitting her instead.”

“WHAT?” Terri’s voice turned into a shrill screech. “No, don’t answer that. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” The pediatrician abruptly disconnected.

Casting the phone aside, Brooke pulled Sam up into her lap and held her tight. “Sam, talk to me, Baby.”

“Yeah, babe? I’m here… at least I think I am.”

Brooke looked at the woman in her arms and wanted to cry. “Terri’s on her way over. I want her to take a look at you.”

“Why… do I look different? I just feel tired. Honest, Brooke.” Sam tried to get up but thought better of it, as she was feeling dizzy.

“No. Come on, Sweetheart. Stay awake, Sam. Keep talking to me. God, Baby…I’m so sorry, but you should’ve stayed behind me, Sam. I never meant for you to get in the line of fire between James and me.” Brooke tenderly placed her lips against the top of Sam’s head and kissed her.

The young blonde disagreed, shaking her head. “I’m beside you, all the time, remember that. There are no leaders and no followers in this relationship, Brooke. We’re partners all the way, side by side.” Sam brought her hand to her head and winced at the pain her headache was giving her. “Right, hubby?”

“Hubby?” Brooke’s eyebrow arched at Sam’s statement.

“You know what I mean.” Sam sounded annoyed as she closed her eyes, trying to keep the headache at bay.

“Open your eyes, Sam. I know what you mean but I wanna hear it from you.”

“Brooke, baby… I’ll feel better when I wake up and I’ll tell you whatever you wanna know. I just wanna sleep right now.” Sam began to protest against Brooke’s attempts to keep her conscious and at least semi-coherent.

“Sam… do not go to sleep. I want to hear more about this hubby business. Come on, keep talking to me, Sam.”

A smile found its way onto Sam’s face. “Hubby… nice ring to it, huh? All the girls want one… all the girls get one. Now, I’ve got mine. I knew you were, from the first time I laid eyes on you at that dinner. You can’t deny it now, can you?”

“Oh yeah? I ‘m your hubby, huh? I don’t have the requisite equipment to fulfill that role, Sam, but…you know what?”

Sam continued to ramble before she realized that Brooke was speaking to her. “You’re my strength… you’re my… what? Someone say something?”

“Hmmm…I think we might have to discuss this hubby business in further detail when you’re fully alert.” Brooke looked at the out of sort blonde and smiled. “I love you, Sam.”

Dull, green eyes took on a slight twinkle. “Then, do I get to sleep now?”

“No…not until Terri gets here and says that it’s all right.” Brooke shook her head from side to side while she heard the sirens get louder as they approached the house.

“Terri?” Sam asked in surprise, then furrowed her brows. “Why is she coming? I thought it was going to just be me and you tonight.” Sam’s eyes shifted to see the woman in question opening the front door. “Look, she’s here.”

Brooke turned to see her sister coming through the door followed by two uniformed police. “Thank God you’re here, Terri.” Blue eyes sent a message of concern to her sister. “She’s still a little confused about what’s happening.”

Assuming her role as a professional, Terri placed a comforting hand on Brooke’s shoulder and nodded. “I’ll take over from here. Was she out for long, Sis?”

The dark-haired woman had to stop and think about that for a moment. “I…I guess maybe a minute…no…make that at least two, before I got James out of here and the door locked.”

The pediatrician knelt down beside Sam, holding a single finger up in the air for her to focus on. “Sam,” Terri smiled slightly seeing the concentrated effort of the young woman as the blonde turned her attention to the woman before her. “Hi, can you do something for me? Can you follow my finger?” Terri watched as green eyes took a moment but eventually did zero in on the finger she held in front of Sam. Carefully, Terri watched as Sam’s slightly dulled response adjusted to her moving digit. “Brooke, why don’t you go over and give the police the information that they need while I stay here with Sam?” Terri stole a glance away from her patient, directing it to her sister.

“Yeah, I guess I can do that.” Brooke kissed Sam’s forehead softly, then looked her in the eye. “I’m going to be right over there if you need me. How about if Terri stays here with you until I get back?”

Sam gave a little smile. “Love you, Brooke. Hurry back, I need my pillow.”

Brooke smiled as she kissed the knuckles on Sam’s hand, then she left her lover in the trusted care of her sister.

“Okay, Sam,” Terri smiled at the young woman, “what do you say I have a look at you and make sure you’re not hurt anywhere?”

The dazed woman started to nod, then stopped as she watched Brooke go over to the two people in uniform and began talking in hushed tones. Sam strained to hear what was being said, but she couldn’t quite grasp more than a word or two. Even then, nothing seemed to make much sense, not with the constant gibberish that seemed to be coming from the radios that the police carried with them.

Terri painstakingly covered every inch of Sam’s visible body, with her soft, sensitive hands, stopping here or there and asking if it hurt when she touched it. Even though she was examining the blonde, the physician didn’t hesitate to keep a watchful eye on her older sister. Nearing the end of her initial survey for injuries, Terri heard the excited speech of her sister Brooke, and turned to see what was happening.

“That’s him. That’s his car, Officer.” Brooke’s face turned deadly serious as her finger pointed to the radio on the officer’s hip. Suddenly, the anger came bubbling to the surface. “Don’t let him get away. God damn it, he didn’t even get more than a couple blocks from here.”

The officer picked up his lapel mic and keyed it. “Detain that driver on a reported breaking and entering.” He looked over to the blonde on the floor. “And some more possible charges to follow. I’m taking the complaint now.”

“That’s James.” Brooke leveled a stare at the cop. “I know it is. That description fits the car he was driving perfectly.” She looked back over to Sam as the officer talked on the radio with the other patrol car officers on the traffic stop and their dispatcher. When she sensed that he was done, her gaze came back to the man. “Well?”

“You can rest assured that he won’t be back tonight, ma’am.” The officer said softly as he jotted down a few more details on his report.

“I don’t want him back any night. I don’t want him anywhere near us.”

“Well, you could always file for a PFA if you’d like to. That’s protection from abuse. It’s a domestic violence protection act. That should keep your…ah…” the male officer stumbled, not wanting to use the wrong word, “him away.”

The female officer finally spoke up, offering, “You’ll need to come downtown to have one sworn out from a judge.”

A raised eyebrow and a hurried glance toward her sister and Sam caused Brooke to state her hesitancy toward leaving. “Does it have to be done tonight or can I do it in the morning?”

“The morning will be good enough. He’s not going anywhere tonight,” The man in blue stated.

“You could even have a lawyer file it for you. Do you have a lawyer, Ma’am?” His partner chimed, in trying to help.

“Why yes, I do.” Brooke thought of her older sister, Randi, immediately.

“Well then, let them do it and you can stay to take care of your friend. Now, if you could just sign right here to press charges, the court will do the rest.” He held out the form to Brooke and waited.

With a quick glance to Sam, the tall woman reached for the form and signed her name. Handing it back, she walked the two officers to the door and thanked them for their help. As soon as the door was shut, she hastened back into the living room to check on Sam.

Kneeling down on the floor by Terri, she reached out and held Sam’s hand in her own. “How is she?” she asked her sister, trying not to startle her lover.

Terri took a deep breath, then turned to look into Brooke’s worried, blue eyes. “Well…it’s hard to say without a CT san. I think that she’s probably got a concussion. Nothing seems to be broken, but she damn sure got her bell rung.”

After placing a kiss on the back of Sam’s knuckles, Brooke looked up to her sister, and asked, “Should I take her to the ER?”

“You want this all over the papers?” Terri asked, reminding Brooke that no matter how bad she wanted to be, she wasn’t the normal, everyday, girl-next-door. And the same went for the people who were associated with her.

Brooke hung her head at the predicament they found themselves in. “No, but I’d rather know that she’s safe. Terri, I don’t care what happens to me. I just want to make sure Sam’s alright.”

“Then let me do my best to keep it down to just a low roar.” Terri patted her sister’s hand. “Excuse me while I make a couple of phone calls and set up a private ER visit.”

The older woman nodded her consent, feeling the love in her sister’s gentle touch as she laid a hand on her shoulder. Pausing for a moment to regain her composure, Brooke turned her attention toward Sam. “You still with me, Baby?”

“Yeah…” Sam answered, groggily. “Tired though. What happened? Why do I feel like I have one hell of a headache?”

The questions put a smile on Brooke’s face, knowing that her lover was regaining her senses. “Probably because you do, Sweetheart. James tried to punch me and hit you instead. You lost your balance, fell and hit your head on the wall.”

“Ouch…” Sam made a face as she rubbed the bump on her head. “I guess that’ll teach me to start wearing a helmet indoors. Do you think Terri could give me some aspirin or something?”

“We can ask her,” Brooke placed a kiss on Sam’s cheek and each woman drank in the closeness of the other in silence until Terri returned.

“Okay, here’s the deal. I’ve got it all set,” she started out as she crossed the room toward them. “Sam’s going to be seen as a private patient in my hospital’s ER. I’ve already arranged for a CT scan and she wont’ be registered under her name.” Terri smiled at her achievement of keeping the news out of the magazines. “Ah… Brooke, you’re going to have to pay cash… just to keep any record free of her name.”

Brooke’s eyes never left Sam as she answered, “That’s not a problem, Ter.”

“I figured you would say that. Come on…let’s get her in the car and go for a ride.” Terri offered her sister her hand and smiled when it was accepted.

Once standing, Brooke nodded her head, then helped Sam to her feet. “Baby, we’re gonna take a little trip and get you checked out with some special pictures. Do you think you could stay awake just a little longer?”

Sam couldn’t help but sigh at the thought of having to do anything involving movement and rolled her eyes. “Okay, Hon…” she slowly got up, pausing once to rub her furrowed brow, “but I think dessert is going to be called off tonight. I’ve got one terrific headache here.”

Brooke smiled at Sam’s sense of humor. “That’s okay, Darlin…I’ll just pamper you for a change.”

Sam’s eyes grew round at her misunderstanding of the words that Brooke had spoken. “Why would you want to pamper me? Brooke, I may be small but are you really sure that they come in my size?”

“Oh boy,” Brooke rolled her eyes. “I can see now that it’s going to be a long night.”

Chapter 21 Christmas Presents, Pasts & Future