"Brooke."

A groan came from the still form. Brooke was having a dream, one she
didn’t want to wake up from. There was a beach and bright sun with
all her worries far away in the distant land known as reality.
Something was invading her peaceful dream existence. She heard Sam’s
voice calling her away from her bliss. She tried to hang on with all
of her mental power, but there was someone else there now. She
opened her eyes to the bright sun and saw Sam standing in front of
her decked out in a bikini quietly saying her name.

Then she was awake. The sun and her peace disappeared. The only
light in the room was the slight gleam that came through the blinds.
She rolled over to find an impatient and more than slightly curious
Sam looking down on her. She gasped and rolled back over
successfully flying right off the bed and into the floor. She
quickly stood up, not noticing the hoodie that clung to her shirt
and then fell to the floor. Sam, however, was keenly aware of the
event. Brooke instinctively covered herself even though she was
wearing a tank top and pajama pants. The way Sam was looking at her
made her feel naked. The dream and the brunette’s last minute
appearance in it unsettled her.

Sam didn’t know what to think about the fact that Brooke had been
sleeping with her hoodie. She had actually been wondering where it
had disappeared to. For expediency sake she let it pass and go
straight to her immediate reason for interrupting Brooke’s sleep.
She licked her dry lips and looked down at her clothes. She noted
the fact that Brooke followed her every move carefully, as if she
were keeping a mental tab.

"Umm," Sam started, "Are you okay to give me a ride?"

"To where?" Brooke was thoroughly confused.

"Work," Sam said and gestured at her shirt.

"Right," Brooke paused as if waiting for something more, "Yeah,
just.. Uh… give me a minute." When Sam didn’t leave the room, she
cleared her throat.

"Oh!"

Sam turned to go but stopped at the door.

"I’ll meet you in the living room," she said before she rushed the
rest of the way out and down the stairs.

Brooke watched her leave. Now she knew she was crazy. It seemed no
matter which way she went Sam was there. She was going out of her
mind. She hurried to find some clothes to wear. Her hair was a mess
but it would have to do. There was no time to fix it or put anything
but the very basic of make up on. She sailed down the stairs and
looked around the living room but coming up empty. She found Sam in
the kitchen trying to decide between a banana and a bagel.

"Thought you said to meet in the living room," Brooke teased.

"Ah, yes but I was banking on you taking at least an hour to get
ready," Sam sarcastically replied.

"Hey!," Brooke protested, "It does not take me an hour to get ready."

"Sure," Sam said still distracted by her breakfast choices.

"Sam!"

This brought Sam’s attention fully on Brooke. She hadn’t actually
looked at her yet. She could see that something was a bit off. The
playful banter wouldn’t have usually brought out such a strong
reaction, at least these days it wouldn’t. She softened her features
unconsciously in reassurance, which made Brooke relax. Sam knew she
could sometimes come off as unfeeling and cold but she really didn’t
mean to. She picked up both the bagel and the banana and proceeded
toward the kitchen door, then turned and offered Brooke a soft smile.

"Ready?"

TBC