Archive of Our Own ^beta

Eric Jacobson hadn't really minded when he and his partner pulled up to the barricades at the scene and the officer in charge of that line, Ray Nguyen, asked him to go back up the recruit watching the other line. As assignments went, it was a lot better than taking statements, which was the job he usually got when he was sent to back up Five-0. He hated trying to get witnesses to make sense on paper almost as much as he hated having the Five-0 team grill him later if they needed more detail about anyone he had questioned, so standing around shooting the breeze with a recruit sounded great to him.

Or at least, it did until Eric walked around McGarrett's truck and saw the recruit standing near the other barricade. Puck Hummel's stocky form was pretty distinctive, even from behind, and Eric couldn't stand him. There wasn't another recruit on the force with Hummel's wide shoulders, muscles, and the high and tight haircut that made him look like he was straight out of boot camp. If that wasn't enough of a tip-off, the kid's confident, cocky swagger when he walked was instantly recognizable and made it very plain there wasn't much that scared him.

Hummel was technically an HPD recruit, but everyone knew he was really being readied for a spot in Five-0. McGarrett had made it known that the kid would join his team after he finished his Field Training Evaluation and obtained his badge, which had pissed Eric off and made him instantly dislike the kid even before he met Hummel and found out how irritatingly cheerful the kid was. Eric had applied for consideration to Five-0 nine times since Kalakaua got in and he had been refused every time, but Hummel was on the fast track because he was married to the boss' favorite nephew.

Hummel's police school instructors had passed the kid with flying colors, though Eric was sure that was due to the unfair advantage the Five-0 team had given him before he ever applied to become a cop. Hummel had started his HPD training already familiar with all weapons and vehicles he might need to handle as an officer, trained in diving and water rescue by a SEAL, and more knowledgeable about police regulations than McGarrett had ever bothered to be. So far the kid had breezed through everything that was thrown at him during his FTE course, and his supervising officer had nothing but good things to say about him, so no matter what Eric thought there was no doubt he'd pass his FTE final evaluation in three weeks, two days before Christmas. Normal recruits would get their badge and go on foot patrol after that, spending several months as a flatfoot, but Hummel was going straight to Five-0, just like Kalakaua had done several years ago when she and Eric finished FTE together.

Eric had made no secret of the fact he thought that Hummel's training officer, Sergeant Gabriel Kamaka, went way too easy on the kid because McGarrett was watching over his training like a hawk. Hummel was treated like an equal by most of the officers who worked with him, not a recruit, and often given easier assignments than his fellow recruits. That day Hummel was supposed to be keeping a dozen or so spectators away from the cleanup crew who was processing a nearby vehicle for transport after Five-0's latest takedown, but instead he was completely ignoring the crowd while he talked to a tall tech in a Five-0 vest.

Eric suddenly realized that a woman was actually sitting on top of the barricade not far from Hummel, using a zoom lens to take a photo of the crime scene. He followed her line of sight and saw she was taking pictures of the Five-0 team escorting two perps out of the travel agency where the takedown had occurred, and he scowled as he bellowed angrily, "Hummel!"

Hummel and the tech both turned around to look at Eric in surprise. "Yes sir?" they said in unison, then glanced at each other with matching grins.

Eric rolled his eyes as soon as he saw the tech's face, his scowl turning sour. Puck Hummel's husband, Kurt, was tall and lean with wavy hair down to his shoulders that was held back with a pair of sunglasses, blue eyes that could go cold and hard as ice when he was angry, and a history of turning up armed at Five-0 crime scenes despite the fact he wasn't an officer. Kurt was wearing his usual 'uniform' that day: black cargo pants, tac boots, and a black Five-0 bullet-proof vest over a navy blue polo, his Five-0 ID hanging on a lanyard around his neck. Kurt's clothes hid the lines of his body pretty well, making him look like a lightweight, but Eric had seen him working out in the HPD basement gym a few times and knew that Kurt was more muscular than was readily apparent, though nothing close to Puck's beefy build.

"You're supposed to be doing crowd control, Hummel, not gossiping with your wife!" Eric pointed at the woman with the camera, who was ignoring him to snap photos of Kalakaua and Kelly putting the two men they had arrested into the back of Kalakaua's SUV while McGarrett and Williams watched. "If that photographer hasn't got a press pass, confiscate that film!"

"I'm the wife, sir," Puck called out cheerfully, "and I'm sure Lez has her pass with her, but I'll double-check just for you." He turned back to the barrier and walked over to the woman, giving her an ingratiating grin as he murmured, "Would you please dig out your pass for that peckerwood, Lezzy girl?"

Leslie laughed and lowered her camera. "Sure thing, Puck honey."

"Thanks," Puck said quietly, amused and tolerant. "That guy's a pain in the ass, I swear."

Eric glanced over the crowd and then watched with a scowl while Puck talked to the woman, who was digging into her shoulder bag. He couldn't hear them, but the way the woman kept glancing at him while she talked to Puck made him sure they were talking trash about him.

Leslie came up with a pass a few moments later and made a big show of hanging the pass around her neck, smirking at Jacobson while she murmured, "That oughta make the little shit shut up, honey."

Puck and Kurt both laughed and then Kurt murmured, "Thanks sweetie."

"Anytime, honey," Leslie replied, still smirking as she lifted her camera again.

"There you go, sir," Puck called as he looked towards Jacobson, amused. "Anything else I can do for you, sir?"

"Just watch the barrier, recruit!" Eric replied, scowling still and wishing he could knock that look off of Puck's face. It just wasn't natural for anyone to be so cheerfully amused with life all the time.

"I'll be back, darling," Kurt murmured, briefly running his hand down Puck's back.

"Have fun, baby," Puck replied quietly, smirking.

Kurt let out a little huff of a laugh and turned away from the barrier to walk over to Detective Jacobson, giving Jacobson his best imitation of Steve's blandest smile. He walked over to stand close enough that Jacobson had to look up at him, fighting to keep his bland smile instead of laughing at the way Jacobson tried to stand a little taller. He kind of enjoyed being six foot two and made use of it every chance he got, especially when dealing with Jacobson, who claimed five foot nine but was closer to five foot five.

Kurt was nearly twenty-three but he still looked about sixteen, which made getting some of the more hostile HPD officers to respect him challenging to say the least. Even after several years of proving himself as a very competent member of Five-0, there were still those at HPD who made no secret of the fact they didn't like being forced to work with the youngest member of the team. Jacobson was one of the worst and had made trouble for Kurt during an investigation several times, so there was definitely no love lost between them even before Jacobson decided to hate Puck. Kurt had little patience for anyone who spread lies as gossip, but even less for someone who gossiped about his husband. He had been tweaking Jacobson's tail for months, hoping the guy would jump him, but so far Jacobson hadn't gathered up the courage to try it.

"Noah said that Sergeant Kamaka's out today?" Kurt half-asked, wondering how Jacobson had gotten out of taking statements. It was all he was really good for from what Kurt had seen of him, and he knew that Steve and Danny both agreed. Steve thought Jacobson was an idiot, and Danny had said once that whoever promoted Jacobson to detective should be fired and then arrested for trying to sabotage the HPD. "What's the story?"

"He called in sick, that's all I know," Eric said, scowling up at Kurt and thinking that it must be nice, being the nephew of the guy who ran Five-0. Kurt had gotten a job with Five-0 before he was even out of high school, skirting the rules by supposedly being the office help until he earned the computer science and criminal justice degrees he needed to qualify for a tech job, but nobody who had to deal with Five-0 ever made the mistake of thinking he was just a secretary. McGarrett had gotten a detective busted back to patrol a few years ago for 'interfering' with Kurt during a bust, and he had made it known then that he'd have the head of anyone else who forgot the kid was part of his team, despite his lack of a badge. Kurt turned up at Five-0 operations armed and wearing a vest these days, usually running surveillance but always prepared to jump into the fray to back up the Five-0 officers if they needed him. "Why don't you go do your job and stop distracting my recruit?"

Kurt snorted. "I've done my job. I'm not forensics, I'm tech and surveillance." He jerked his chin towards the black minivan parked just inside the barrier on the far side of the scene, beyond where Steve and Danny were talking to Jacobson's partner, Detective Kevin Nakamura, near the door of the travel agency where Five-0 had cornered their quarry. "My truck's over there, and Kono and Chin just hauled both suspects off to HPD for processing, so it's safe to say I got the team here before the bad guys got away."

"You're still distracting my recruit," Eric repeated, annoyed that he either had to step back or keep looking up at Kurt and feeling like he was about five feet tall. "Go away."

"Noah is Gabby's recruit, not yours," Kurt pointed out, amused by how pissed off Jacobson was. "Why don't you go do your job, Detective? We both know Puck doesn't need a babysitter to stand the line, and there are witnesses left to process." He glanced towards the barrier, where Puck was talking cheerfully to Leslie while she snapped photos of Steve and Danny for the local papers. Puck was glancing occasionally at the dozen or so other people along the barrier even as he spoke to Leslie, who turned up at most Five-0 scenes because she knew the team would give her permission for a few pictures. Kurt looked back at Jacobson with one eyebrow raised, smirking slightly as he added, "He's quite capable of controlling that crowd on his own, even without the barricade. Having a detective as backup is ridiculous."

Eric scowled. "Maybe if you weren't here, but with you lurking around he'll be next to useless."

Kurt snorted softly and murmured, "Jealousy doesn't become you, Detective."

"I'm not jealous of you, Hummel," Eric said angrily, clenching his fists. "I wouldn't want you if we were the last two people on the planet."

"Wow." Kurt laughed, eyebrows going up. "I never said you wanted me, Jacobson." He smirked. "I said you're jealous of my husband, which we both know is true. He's going to be part of Five-0 by Christmas, while you will still be just another HPD detective, submitting applications every few months hoping that I'll pass you up the line the next time the boss has me evaluate you."

Eric stared, shocked. "You do the evaluations?!" If it was true, it explained why his applications were always rejected. Kurt hated him, and the feeling was definitely mutual.

"Of course," Kurt said, still smirking. "Steve and Danny are entirely too busy to be bothered with them." He turned away, walking back towards Puck as he added, "Your arrest record is decent, but your co-workers all agree you're a pain in the ass to work with."

Eric let out an angry noise and started after Kurt, but he hadn't made more than two steps before Steve McGarrett's voice called sharply, "Jacobson!"

Eric stopped and looked at McGarrett, glaring. "What?!"

Steve gave him an infuriatingly bland smile. "There are witnesses in the travel agency waiting for you to take their statements, Detective. You should go take care of that. Now."

"Yes, do," Kevin said quellingly. Eric's partner was obviously annoyed, his eyes narrowed as he frowned at Eric and added, "I'll keep an eye on Puck, not that he needs it."

Eric had been working with Kevin Nakamura ever since Eric's last partner refused to work with him anymore a little over three months earlier, citing incompatible personalities. He and Kevin should have been equals, but instead the guy ordered Eric around like he was a recruit, and Eric had no choice but to shut up and take it if he wanted to remain a detective. Kevin was Eric's fourth partner in less than two years, and the chief had already warned Eric that there would be no fifth chance. The chief hadn't yet decided if he was going to bust Eric back to patrol on a bike in Waikiki or just plant him on a desk, but either way Eric would be screwed.

Eric turned away to stalk towards the travel agency without another word. One of these days he'd run into Kurt alone and then he'd teach the kid a lesson about how to show his betters a little respect, but until then he'd have to bite the bullet and do as he was told. He didn't have to like it, though.

"I thought he was gonna jump the kid for a second there," Kevin murmured, looking at Steve.

"He was," Steve agreed, watching Jacobson disappear into the travel agency before he looked at Kevin, still with that bland smile he had perfected for when he had to hide the urge to throttle someone. If he gave Jacobson the beat down he so desperately needed, Danny would give him hell and might even send Steve to the couch for the night, which couldn't possibly be worth it. Danny had already told Steve that he would make sure Steve regretted it the next time he punched a cop instead of writing them up, and Steve knew better than to push Danny on it. No matter how many times Steve might try to publicly deny Danny was the boss of him, he and Danny both knew it was simple fact.

"I should have let him go after Kurt," Steve added. "It might do him some good to get his head bounced off the street a few times."

Kevin snickered. "You still teaching the kids all your SEAL tricks?"

"These days I don't have much left I can teach them," Steve said, his smile shifting into something more genuine. "Puck's a little slower than Kurt on foot and not quite as good in the water, but he's strong as an ox and hell on wheels in a fight." He smirked. "And they both took to weapons training like dolphins take to the sea. I'm going to start them on demo work once Puck has his badge, we need someone besides me who can deal with that kind of thing if the bomb squad is out of reach. They're both going to work with Chin some more, too. He's been taking Capoeira classes and passing what he learns along to Kurt and Kono, and Kurt's been teaching Puck."

Kevin grinned. "I bet Danny just loves that plan."

"Yes, Danny does," Danny said as he walked over to them, smirking at Kevin. "Steve doesn't know Capoeira, and it's fun to watch the kids knock the untouchable Super SEAL on his ass once in a while." He looked at Steve, adding, "We're done here, if we don't have to ride herd on Jacobson."

"That's Kevin's job," Steve said cheerfully, smirking as he looked at Kevin. "Lucky you."

Kevin made a face and lifted one hand, pointing up and twirling his finger around as he said dryly, "Yippee!"

Danny and Steve both laughed, and Danny patted Kevin's shoulder, grinning. "Better you than me. I'd shoot him."

"The thought has occurred to me," Kevin admitted, looking amused. "He's a real pain in the ass. I keep hoping you guys will take one of those apps he sends you so we'll be rid of him."

Danny snickered. "Not as long as Kurt's screening them for us."

Kevin laughed, surprised, and Steve asked, "Are you sending Puck back to HQ once he packs up the barricades?"

"Planned to," Kevin replied, glancing towards the barricades.

The crowd had mostly cleared now that the fun was over, even the lady photographer, leaving only a few people loitering beyond the barrier. Puck and Kurt were talking with a tattooed, muscular young kama'aina man who wore only a low-slung pair of black board shorts, one of the distinctive black and gold uniform shirts from a nearby hotel hanging from his pocket. Kevin hadn't noticed the guy standing there the last time he looked, but the Hummels obviously knew him and were glad to see him, especially Kurt, who was beaming at the guy.

Kevin looked back at Danny. "Why? Did you want him for something?"

"Yeah, it's his night to cook," Danny said, smirking.

Kevin grinned. "They still live with you two?"

"Sure, might as well," Steve said, smiling. "They're better cooks than either of us, and they pitch in around the house. I haven't had to take out the trash in years, and the yard takes care of itself while I'm at work, it's great."

Kevin laughed, just shaking his head as Danny gave Steve a shove. "Do not even try to pretend that's the only reason we want them around, Steven!"

Steve grinned at Danny. "I didn't say that, ipo, but it is kinda nice. I miss watching you do the yard in your cutoff jeans, but when it was just you and me I hardly ever had time to watch anyway. I was doing most of the cooking and the cleaning."

"That is because you are the wife," Danny countered, smirking while Steve laughed. He looked at Kevin, adding, "See you around, Kev." He started towards the truck, raising his voice as he called, "Puck, you're picking up Gracie!"

"You got it, bossman," Puck called back, grinning as he looked over his shoulder at Danny. If he was picking up Grace, then he'd be off work for the day before Danny was. "At her mom's?"

"Yep!" Danny replied. "Talk to Akela later, Kurt! It's paperwork time!"

Kurt groaned and then called, "On my way." He looked at Akela, smiling as he moved close to the barricade to give him a hug. "Do try to make it this Sunday, 'Kela. We're going to barbecue."

"Yeah," Puck agreed, "and we all know you love Dad's ribs."

"I do," Akela admitted, hugging Kurt and lightly kissing his cheek. "I'll try to be there, hoapili. Stay safe."

Kurt smiled a little wider at Akela, stepping away. "I promise." He turned and moved over to kiss Puck quickly but thoroughly and then smirked at him. "Stay out of trouble, darling."

Puck grinned. "You say that like you don't trust me, baby."

"I say that like I know you," Kurt corrected, smirking. "Just three weeks to go and you know Jacobson will write you up if he gets half a chance, especially after I pissed him off again."

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you," Puck agreed, amused. "Unlike you, I'll keep my head down."

"I'll make it worth your while later," Kurt murmured with a wicked little smile, then he headed for his van. "What's for dinner?"

"Your favorite," Puck said, grinning as he watched Kurt go.

Kurt turned to walk backwards, beaming. "You're making Chinese?"

"Yep!" Puck agreed. "Orange chicken and broccoli beef, and plenty of rice. I'll get Gracie to do the wontons."

Kurt beamed and turned away again as he kept moving towards his van and crowed, "Oh yeah, my hubby loooves me!"

Puck laughed, looking back towards Akela only to find he was already walking away. It wasn't really a surprise. Akela had been due to go on break when Leslie texted to let him know Kurt was a couple streets away from the beachfront hotel where he worked, so he had jogged over to say hi, but it was no surprise he didn't linger. Puck had suspected for three years that Akela was selling more than surfing lessons to the hotel's guests, and got paid well for it too going by the three vehicles Akela drove and his two houses, but Akela was also working long hours at the hotel teaching kids to swim and giving surfing lessons to tourists. He seldom took any time off other than Sundays, which he usually spent with the 'ohana.

The last few people who had been loitering along the barricade were walking away too, so Puck looked back towards where Steve and Kevin had been talking. Steve's truck was already moving, backing up to turn towards a gap in the barriers on the other side of the scene to head towards Five-0 HQ, and Kurt had just reached his van. A glance at the other barricade showed him it was already coming down with the officer who had been in charge over there, a fairly decent guy named Ray, carrying one of the barriers to a pickup parked nearby.

Kevin was walking towards Puck, smiling, and Puck asked hopefully, "We done here, sir?"

"I'm not, but you are," Kevin replied. "I'll help you load the barriers in the truck and then you can head back to HQ to park it and head out for the day." He grinned. "Steve asked me to let you go."

Puck laughed. "Thank you, sir." He moved to the end of the barricade against the front wall of the building across the street from the travel agency, starting to pull the pins that held the barricade panels together as he said cheerfully, "After I get Gracie I gotta get home to start dinner."

"So I heard," Kevin agreed, smiling. It said a lot about the kid that Danny trusted him with his daughter. Every cop on the force knew that Danny was hell on wheels when he was protecting his baby girl, and that he trusted very few people to watch over her for him. That Puck had made it onto that very short list told Kevin pretty much all he needed to know about him. "I'll get the pins, you pull the truck over here so we can load up the barriers and you can get going."

"Yes sir." Puck passed over the pins he had already pulled and then lightly vaulted the barrier before he trotted off to where he had parked the truck. He had stopped right in the road to unload the panels and set them up, but he had moved the truck out of the way afterwards just in case he needed to open the barrier for an ambulance to get through.

Loading the barrier wouldn't take long, then he could go back to HQ and switch out the truck for the Mustang so he could get Gracie and head towards Kailua. It would take the team an hour or so to get the paperwork for the afternoon's arrests done, and then they would be heading home hungry.

Puck and Grace had a little shopping and then some slicing and dicing to do before they started actually cooking dinner, so he didn't have any time to waste.

Chin and Kono were still at HPD processing their prisoners before they returned to do their paperwork for the day, so it was just Kurt, Danny, and Steve in the main office. The forensic team was still in the garage processing the car that they had impounded that day, and would likely be another hour or two before they finally returned to their offices on the floor above the Five-0 HQ to submit their reports.

Steve would have preferred to have their techs closer, but the main HQ didn't have enough offices for the additional personnel Steve was recently put in charge of, so he had compromised by putting the tech squad on the next floor up. There were only two offices left empty in the HQ, and one of those would be Puck's before too much longer, so there was really no room for the techies. Kurt had kept his own office in the main HQ even though he was technically a tech, not an officer, for the simple reason he'd had his own office there for several years and the team counted on having him close when they needed him. Steve planned for the last office to be in use too very soon, but he hadn't yet discussed the details with anyone other than Danny, who was all for it. Filling the last spot on the team to would depend a lot on the person he had in mind, so Steve was biding his time to offer the job at just the right moment.

Kurt had taken over Chin's job as the central member of the team, coordinating Steve and Danny with Chin and Kono, the tech team, Max, and the occasional HPD officer or outside consultant that helped run down a lead on case, so it only made sense for him to handle the reports as well. Gathering everyone's reports together to do the final summary that would close a case used to be a time-consuming job that kept Danny perpetually behind, too busy doing his job to track down everyone else's paperwork every day, but that had changed soon after Danny passed the job over to Kurt. Both daily reports and end-of-case summary reports were now computerized and submitted straight to Kurt's inbox, making it much easier for him to keep track of everything than it was when Danny was tracking people down to ask for their reports once or twice a week when he had time to go over them.

Kurt finished up the last of his paperwork for the week fairly quickly after he got back to the office, and then he spent a little while on Steve's report, lips twitching with amusement much of the time. Aunt Pat always got a kick out of Steve's unedited reports so Kurt sent the original to her, as usual, but the 'official' version was much more tame by the time Kurt was finished editing out Steve's suggestions for punishments that he thought were appropriate for the child pornography ring that Five-0 had taken down that week. The bean pushers would just panic if they saw Steve's real reports, so part of Kurt's job was to make sure they never did.

Kurt quickly checked Danny's report against Steve's as soon as it hit his inbox, saving both in the pending reports folder on the secure Five-0 server with his own report before he shut down his computer. He stood to go then, pocketing his phone off of the wireless charger on the corner of his desk as he walked by it and then closing up his office for the weekend. He would sign in from home later after everyone else involved had posted their reports to make sure everything matched up where it should, and then he would write the final overall report and send it to Danny to read and sign off on when he checked his email, closing the case up neat and tidy. It saved Danny a lot of work, and made the bean pushers happy so that they didn't stick their noses in to make any unreasonable demands that might cramp Five-0's style.

Steve was sitting at the big computer table when Kurt walked out into the main HQ, his booted feet propped up on one corner and one arm stretched over the table to idly flip through windows on the screen. He was checking out the news aggregates that Chin had programmed in to keep them up to speed, but so far he had found absolutely nothing worth even reading the reports on, much less taking over the case. It was good that there was nothing for them to do, but Steve still found it a bit annoying. He loved spending time with the 'ohana, of course, but he was in the mood for some action and was already bored and trying to think of something to do the next day.

Kurt's lips twitched as he tried not to laugh at how bored Steve looked. "You're not going to find anything," he said quietly, stopping by the table. "All the bad guys are off for the weekend already."

Steve made a face. "So I see." He leaned over the table to reach for the far side, tapping an icon there, and then the screen changed to the HPD dispatch log.

Kurt had checked the feeds on his own computer before he did his paperwork and knew there was nothing going on more interesting than a car chase up the Farrington Highway, which had been reported as a couple of joyriding rich kids in a Porsche heading towards a road block just north of Kea'au Beach. The road was narrow there and there was little chance the kids could avoid or get by the officers waiting for them, so Kurt considered it handled.

Kurt glanced at the most recent entries in the log and then watched Steve idly, amused by how hopeful Steve looked until he read through reports of a domestic incident and several barking dogs. "Face it, Superman. We might actually have the weekend off for a change."

Steve laughed. "Oh well." He shut the screen down and then looked at Kurt, smirking. "We'll just have to find a way to pass the time tomorrow. We haven't been hiking in a while."

"Oh hell no," Danny said quickly, laughing as he walked out of his office. "I am not spending my first day off in weeks running up and down a mountain, babe." He swatted Steve's boot lightly, adding, "Get your feet off the computer and get a move on. Puck and Gracie will be making dinner by now."

Steve dropped his booted feet to the floor and sat up, but he made no move to stand as he smirked at Danny. "Grace would love to go hiking."

"Grace will love to do anything that keeps her away from Rachel's so she won't be stuck with her little brother again all day tomorrow," Danny pointed out, smirking. "Including sprawling on our couch to watch TV with her old man."

Steve made a face. "We're not spending the day on the couch! It's gonna be beautiful out."

"It's always beautiful out," Danny pointed out, amused. "We live in Hawai'i, for Pete's sake. We'll be having eighty degree weather for Christmas, and we spent Thanksgiving having a luau. Every day is summer here."

Kurt grinned. The luau had been fun, especially with Nana there to visit for a few days. Mom and Dad still weren't used to Hawai'ian versions of holidays, which usually included a whole kalua pig cooked in an imu pit in the ground, and Nana was kosher so they had wound up doing a mix of Hawai'ian, American, and Jewish traditional dishes. Everything was kosher in deference to Nana, but no one had really seemed to notice the complete lack of dairy or pork. There had been two turkeys, a huge beef roast, and a brisket, all kosher and roasted for hours in the imu pit along with stuffed sweet potatoes and poi and several kinds of fish, as well as many of the traditional Thanksgiving dishes like stuffing and kugel and roasted vegetables, and a smoked turkey and some beef ribs that Burt had done in the big new smoker he was still fine-tuning.

Steve brightened, standing up. "We could hop over to Mauna Kea if you're craving some winter. There's likely still some snow up there from the last storm, and Kamekona owes me a little airtime."

"No, if we're not walking up a mountain here, we will most certainly not go island hopping to trek up a different mountain, Steven," Danny said firmly, trying not to laugh.

Kurt snickered. "Let's go, you two. You can argue over what we're not doing tomorrow on the way home. I skipped lunch and I'm starving."

"Steve's got the keys," Danny pointed out reasonably. "We're just waiting on him."

Steve started towards the door, grinning. "Don't have to tell me twice."

Danny just snorted and followed Steve.

Kurt moved after them as he pointed out dryly, "Actually, we did."

Danny snickered. "At least it was only twice this time."

"I heard the first time," Steve pointed out, "I just didn't go."

"Which is why we always have to tell you it's time to go at least twice," Danny agreed.

"Only when I'm busy talking to you," Steve countered as they left the Five-0 offices and headed down the main corridor towards the parking lot.

"You're always busy talking to me," Danny said, rolling his eyes. "And people say I'm the noisy one!"

"You totally are, pilikua," Steve said, smirking at Danny. "I'm the tall silent type, remember?"

"Don't I wish," Danny said quickly, laughing. "You talk all the time, unless of course I want you to talk, then you're all smirky and silent just to fuck with me."

"That is always fun," Steve agreed, smirking. "You like to top, and you know just how I like it."

"How did you get from you being the tall silent type to me being on top?!" Danny exclaimed, obviously trying not to laugh.

"You were the one who brought it up," Steve said reasonably.

"I did not!" Danny protested, wide-eyed. "I said you talk all the time, Steven! That has nothing to do with sex!"

"Except when we're having sex, ku'u ipo ahi," Steve pointed out. "You like it when I talk dirty, too."

Kurt just smirked and followed them, sure the drive home today would be amusing. Steve was going to have Danny yelling at him before they were even in the truck, and he'd egg Danny on once he pushed the right buttons to get a rant started. Steve loved to watch Danny yell, and Danny often needed the release of ranting and raving after a long day at work, so the ride home was almost always noisy with them in a car together. If they were alone it usually ended up with them on a little dirt road to nowhere just outside Kailua, proving yet again that they weren't too old for a quickie in the truck like a couple of teenagers.

With Kurt along, Steve and Danny would restrain themselves a bit, but the ranting would still happen. They felt free to relax and enjoy their verbal sparring matches in front of him even if the conversation got a little personal. It wasn't like they could shock Kurt, or Puck either for that matter, and they knew Kurt found most of their 'discussions' hilarious.

Puck flopped sideways into the hammock like it was a chair, letting it sway as he sipped at a glass of hibiscus tea and looked out towards where Grace was surfing in the twilight while the moon rose slowly out over the ocean. She loved it, and Kono insisted she was good enough to compete and do well, but Gracie wasn't interested in competition at all. She just loved to be out on her board flying along the crest of a wave and making it look much easier than it really was, and could often be found out there as long as someone in the family was able to keep an eye on her. Anyone could wipe out and hit their head on their board or on one of the many rocks out in the water, so Gracie had known since she began surfing that she'd never see the light of day again if she snuck out on her board alone.

Grace was far from alone out on the water that night, as usual. Puck couldn't see them from where he was, but Kurt and Steve were swimming towards the distant rock that was their usual goal for their daily swim. He could just barely see Danny, who was perched on a smaller rock closer to shore and watching Grace in between long glances out towards Steve and Kurt, though most of his attention stayed on Grace. Danny loved to watch her surf and was always full of praise for her best rides, but he was also still the over-protective dad he had always been and could seldom take his eyes off of his baby girl for long if she was on a board where she might possibly wipe out and hurt herself.

Steve and Kurt were out in the water too. They had decided to swim after dinner to see which one of them could make the three-mile swim the fastest that night because they had missed their morning swim the last few days. Puck's last glimpse of them, Steve and Kurt had been swimming strongly side-by-side, but Puck knew that would change on the way back as they really put some effort into it. It was even money who would win these days. Kurt was younger and definitely faster over short distances, but both men were in peak condition and speed wasn't always enough to beat Steve. Steve's age had slowed him a bit, sure, but he made up for it with scary levels of endurance and the ability to hold his breath for over a minute longer than Kurt could.

Danny joked sometimes that Kurt could qualify as a SEAL if he tried, but Puck knew that Steve had made sure that he really could, and that Puck could as well even though he wasn't quite the swimmer Kurt was. Steve had enjoyed training his 'nephews' in everything he thought they might need to know as Five-0 officers, including drown-proofing them both the same way Steve had been trained in the SEALS, and Puck loved knowing how proud Steve was of them. After Steve declared him ready, Puck had breezed through HPD's physical training courses in police school like it was child's play, which had made Puck feel like a million bucks and never failed to make Steve smug when anyone mentioned it.

An errant breeze brought Puck a whiff of the brownies he had recently taken out of the oven then and he smiled, thinking they were going to be worth missing an evening swim. He would have been out there with Kurt and Steve if not for the brownies, which he had put in the oven before they decided to go for a long swim to make up for the morning swims they had missed out on because of the case they had been obsessing over for the last three days. Puck didn't want the brownies to burn, and he knew he couldn't swim out to the second big rock and back before they were done, so he had stayed behind. He would have finished last anyway. He could easily swim farther than Kurt, farther than even Steve sometimes, but he was slower and the three mile swim out to the big rock and back wasn't far enough for his endurance to help him overtake their speed. He would easily come in first on a swim over five miles, but less than that there was no chance he'd catch them, especially when they were racing.

Puck suddenly noticed he could barely hear 'Hava Nagila' playing, and he frowned as he quickly levered himself up out of the hammock to run into the house. He had set that ringtone for his Nana, but she had never called him so late at night in his life. It was after six in Hawai'i, which was after midnight in Ohio. Nana was usually asleep by nine every night, so for her to call three hours later could only mean something bad had happened.

Puck answered his cell as soon as he got to where he had left it on the kitchen counter, and barely got his phone to his ear before Nana said, "Noah?"

"Yeah, Nana, it's me," Puck answered, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Baruch hashem," Nana said quietly, sounding sad and tired. "I'm sorry to have to call so late, boychick, but I've got some bad news."

Puck closed his eyes and moved to sit in one of the chairs at the table. "Mom?"

"I'm sorry, Noah," Nana said quietly. "She was in an accident earlier tonight. Pulled right out in front of a semi. She's gone."

Puck rubbed at his stinging eyes, trying to convince himself he didn't feel like crying for a woman who had never done anything but make him miserable. He had expected this call for months after he left Ohio, but when it didn't come he had started to think maybe Nancy would be okay even though she was still drinking most of her paychecks. After a few years, he had stopped worrying so much about Nancy and started to pray that his baby sister could just hold on for a few more years. He knew she was alive and reasonably safe, but he couldn't see that for himself until she was eighteen. Sara refused to even speak with him until then, most likely because of Nancy's threats to get Puck arrested if he contacted either of them.

"How's Sara taking it?" Puck asked quietly after a few moments.

"She's fine, boychick," Nana replied quickly. "She was in the car, but she's just shook up a bit." She paused and then added, "She's very lucky that she decided to ride in the back tonight. The doctor said it saved her life."

"Is she with you?" Puck asked softly. There was really nowhere else for Sara to be, not since Grandma Edith died, but she was fifteen and had been in trouble a lot recently, so what she should do and what she did do weren't necessarily going to be the same.

"Yes, we're at your mother's," Nana replied.

"How did you get there?" Puck asked, surprised.

"Sara called Sam as soon as they would let her use a phone at the ER," Nana said quietly. "He's such a sweet boy, he dropped everything to help her, just like he always does. He called me, and then he borrowed his mother's car to drive me to the hospital. Sara was released right after we got there, so he brought us here to get her things. He's helping her pack now."

Puck closed his eyes, relieved and saying a silent little prayer of thanks for Sam, glad that Sara had the presence of mind to call him. The first time Sara had called Sam to ask him to talk to Puck for her had been just a few months after Puck left, and Puck had sent Sam a credit card on a bank account he set up just for her. Sam had been helping him take care of his little sister ever since, though he had to do it very carefully because Nancy didn't want Sara to contact Puck at all, even by way of someone else. Sam used the card whenever Sara called him for help, buying groceries about twice a month that Sara told Nancy came from Nana, and Sam had even paid the rent with it once after Sara found an eviction notice on the front door and panicked.

"I love your baby sister, Noah, but you know she can't stay with me long," Nana said suddenly, making Puck realize he hadn't said anything for a minute or two. Puck was about to speak when she added softly, "And we can't stay here, either. There's an eviction notice on the front door for tomorrow."

Puck sighed and murmured, "Of course there is."

Staying with Nana wasn't an option, Puck knew that even before she said it. She lived in a glorified nursing home that called itself an 'assisted living retirement community' to make her feel better. They had very strict rules about family staying with her and wouldn't allow even a child to visit for more than a night or two, and even then only on weekends, but there was a very competent doctor on the staff who supervised all of her medical care. There was a maid who kept her condo spotless and an aide on call all the time to do her cooking and run errands for her anytime she wanted something, and a community van that would take her places and pick her up afterwards. Knowing she was so well taken care of was very important to Puck, who had been the one to talk her into moving in there after he left Ohio. He had tried to get her to move to Hawai'i so he could keep taking care of her himself, but Nana wouldn't hear of leaving Lima so he had been forced to compromise.

Puck heard his sister's voice suddenly in the background. "There's no water either and the power will be cut off any time." She sounded like she had been crying but Puck could easily tell she was more angry than sad. "Mom said she didn't pay anything because we were moving to the motel up by the truck stop, but she didn't pack." She paused and then added, "I already packed most of my stuff even though I wasn't sure where I'd end up. I'm ready to get out of this hellhole."

Puck shuddered at the thought of his baby sister, who Sam said was growing up to be a very pretty girl, living in that cheap motel. The police were called out there so often that they knew most of the residents by name, and everyone knew a pretty girl wasn't safe going there alone. Most of the long-term residents were drug addicts or 'lot lizards', the hookers who walked the truck stop lot turning tricks in truck cabs. The motel was a popular spot to buy a room by the hour, but few people stayed there overnight if they had a choice.

"Don't worry, Sara, you can stay with me until you figure out what you want to do," Sam's familiar voice said then, calm and steady. "My place isn't very big, but you can have the bedroom. I'll take the couch, I sleep there half the time anyway."

"I already know what I want to do," Sara said firmly, sounding closer to Nana's phone. She raised her voice as if she wanted to be sure Puck heard her as she asked, "Noah, can I come live with you?"

"Sweetie, I know your brother would love to have you but their house is very full," Nana said gently. "He and his ish live with Kurt's uncles and their daughter."

Puck didn't even need to think about it. "No, Nana, she can come here, we'll figure something out. I can't come get her right now, though. I'm almost done with my training and I'd have to start over if I miss a few days."

"Where would she stay, boychick?" Nana asked, surprised. "You don't have any room!"

"I'll sleep in the floor, I don't care," Sara said quickly. "Mom made me lose my big brother, but she's gone now and I want him back!"

"We have a couch until we can fix up the attic for her," Puck said quietly, rubbing his face again. "It's nothing fancy, but she'd have her own room at least. It's either that or Kurt and I will have to get a place of our own. We've saved enough to do it, we've just been waiting for something close to home to go on the market." He paused and then added more softly, "We'll figure out something, Nana. You can't keep her, and Sam's landlord barely lets him have someone over for dinner without showing up to make a scene. Even if he lies and says she's his cousin, the woman will want her out pretty fast."

"Nana, let me talk to him," Sara said suddenly, sounding more upset.

"Alright, Noah. I'm sure you know best. Here's your sister," Nana murmured, and then Puck heard her passing over the phone.

"Noah, please," Sara began, and then Puck cut her off.

"Stop, bittygirl. I already told Nana we'll make it work here somehow," Puck said quickly. "Just go home with Sam tonight and let him take care of you, okay? Give us a couple days to figure out a few things and then we'll get you on a plane."

Sara was definitely crying but sounded very relieved as she said quickly, "I'll be good, Noah, I promise. I won't get into trouble ever again."

"Good girl," Puck murmured, even though he knew that his sister would totally be getting into trouble again. Nana didn't get to see her very often, but Sam saw Sara a few times a month and Sam's little sister was in most of Sara's classes at school, so Puck knew Sara was getting pretty wild. Stacy said she was in trouble all the time and her grades were terrible, which was nothing like the sweet, quiet little nerd she used to be when he was there to take care of her. "How are you really doing? Nana said you're fine, but I know you, bittygirl. You'd tell her that if you were half dead and walking on a broken leg."

Sara let out a strangled little laugh that made Puck smile. "I'm really okay. Just some cuts and bruises, and I hit my head."

"Do you think you can tell me what happened?" Puck asked softly.

"I-- Yeah." Sara sniffled. "Momma had been drinking, like always, and she had a couple bottles in the seat by her when she picked me up from the movie, so I got in the back. She-- She pulled out in front of the truck when we were leaving the parking lot, and then I woke up in the ambulance." She sniffled again. "I heard the EMT tell a nurse that I'd be dead if I wasn't in back. The semi went up over the car and smashed the whole front end. He said it'd be hours getting her out."

Puck shuddered, closing his eyes as he swallowed hard and heard Nana say firmly, "God has plans for you yet, Sara. There's a reason you're still with us."

"I'm glad you're okay, bittygirl," Puck said, his voice a little rough even though he did his best to sound normal. "I'm sorry it happened like this, but it's so good to hear your voice again. I've missed you."

"I missed you too, so much," Sara said quickly. "I hated Momma for making you leave! I wanted to call, but she-- she said if I talked to you she'd get you locked up again. I couldn't chance it."

"I figured it was something like that," Puck said quietly, wiping his eyes. "Sam told me you were afraid to call him a lot of the time, too."

"I had to borrow a phone if I needed him," Sara admitted quietly. "Momma didn't like me talking to an older boy so she blocked his number on my phone and made a bunch of threats." She paused to sniffle. "I had to lie about you helping me, especially about the rent that one time. I told her I sold some gold necklaces Grandma gave me before she died, but she still got real mad 'cause I didn't give the money to her." She let out a soft sob, then added, "She took all my jewelry while I was at school the next day, even those pretty amethyst earrings you sent for Nana to give to me for my bat mitzvah."

"I'm so sorry," Puck murmured, trying hard not to let his tears show in his voice. "I would have taken you with me if I could."

"At least I can go now," Sara said quietly, sniffling. "I never want to see this awful place again."

"I know exactly how you feel," Puck agreed. "Make sure you take everything you want tonight, okay? Once they evict you, it'll all belong to the landlord."

"Mom sold everything she could already," Sara said bitterly, "even all the cookware you bought for us, and most of the dishes. There's nothing left but clothes, the beds and the old couch, a few packs of ramen noodles, and three cans of nasty oily tuna I got on clearance."

Puck sighed and put his elbow on the table, laying his face in his hand. "I'm sorry, bittygirl."

"You didn't do it," Sara murmured, sounding sad and tired. "You always protected me until she made you leave. I just didn't realize how much until you were gone and there was no one left for her to hate but me."

"I tried," Puck said, pained. "I should have done more for you when I left."

"You couldn't," Sara pointed out. "She was our mom, even if she did like to hurt us when she was drunk. I was stuck with her until she committed truck-assisted suicide."

Puck went very still as he heard Nana exclaim, "Sara! Are you saying you think she did it on purpose?!"

"I know she did," Sara said quietly. "Momma was looking right at the semi and I told her not to go, but she just closed her eyes and hit the gas instead."

"Oh God," Puck murmured brokenly, trying to keep back a sob.

That Nancy wanted to die was no real surprise, she had been suicidal off and on all his life, but the fact she tried to kill Sara made Puck feel like he'd been stabbed right in the heart. He had never even suspected she might try to kill or even hurt Sara, who had always been their mother's favorite, the perfect little baby girl Nancy doted on even though she hated Puck. Puck had learned why when Sara was a baby, right after he had turned seven. Sara's last name was Puckerman, but she was the result of an affair his mom had with one of his father's old high-school rivals to get back at him for cheating on her with some waitress. She had been very proud of herself when she told Puck's father, and hadn't even cared that Puck was right there in the room listening.

"What's wrong?!" Kurt asked suddenly, and Puck lifted his head to see him hurrying into the kitchen, still wet from his swim. Steve was right behind him, surprised and concerned.

Puck moved his phone away from his mouth a bit, keeping it to his ear so he'd hear if Sara said anything more. "Mom... She pulled out in front of a semi on purpose, even though Sara was in the car with her." He swallowed hard. "Sara's okay, but Mom's dead."

"Oh my God," Kurt murmured, his blue eyes suddenly shining with tears as he moved to wrap his arms around Puck. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

Feeling Kurt's arms around him shattered Puck's tenuous control and he wrapped his arms around Kurt as he started to cry harder than he had in years. He didn't even notice when someone took his phone out of his hand.

Steve moved to put one hand on Puck's back, rubbing gently as he held the phone to his ear.

"Don't cry, Noah," a girl's voice was saying as she cried. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have told you."

"He'll be okay, sweetie," Steve said. "Kurt's taking care of him."

"O-- Okay," the girl said, shocked.

Steve watched Puck crying as he said gently, "My name is Steve, I'm Kurt's uncle. You must be Sara."

"Oh! Yeah, I am," Sara said quietly, still sounding like she was crying, but not as much as she was when Steve took the phone.

"Who are you with, Sara? Your Nana?" Steve asked, and he tried to give Kurt a reassuring smile when Kurt glanced up at him, despite how worried he was.

"Yeah, Nana's here, and Sam," Sara replied. "We're getting my things from the house."

"Are you going to stay with your Nana, or with Sam?" Steve moved away from Puck, leaving him to Kurt, who was whispering into Puck's ear so quietly Steve couldn't quite hear him. He didn't want them to feel like he was intruding, so he walked to the sink to look out the window towards where Danny and Grace were picking fruit along the fence on one side of the property. There were a few kinds of citrus in season, and most of the berries had at least a few ripe ones on each plant, so there was plenty for the fruit salad Grace wanted to make to go with the brownies Puck had made for dessert.

"I'll stay with Sam," Sara murmured after a few moments, sounding a little calmer. "That's what Noah said to do, and Nana's not really supposed to have anyone stay over with her anyway. I don't want to get her into trouble."

"You can stay the weekend with me if you want to, bubbeleh," Nana said quickly then.

Steve was glad to hear Nana sounded so good. He knew that likely wouldn't have been the case if something happened to Puck or Sara, but Nana had never really cared for Nancy. Relations had been barely civil between them even before Nana found out that Nancy was a drunk, and it had gone quickly downhill from there. Nana had told him privately during her last visit that Nancy had only let her stay a part of Sara's life after Puck left because she thought Nana bought them groceries about twice a month. Nancy didn't know that it had been Sam buying groceries for Sara for the last several years with Puck's credit card. Sara had been lying about it and Nana had covered for her.

"Gertie next door had her great-grandbaby stay overnight with her a few weeks ago," Nana went on, "so no one will say anything. They only allow it on weekends, but this is Friday." She paused, and when she went on she sounded more tired suddenly. " Well, it was. We have Temple in a few hours."

"I'm not going to Temple, Nana," Sara said quietly. "I haven't been since Noah left."

"I know, Sara, but your mother just passed," Nana said gently. "You should go to Temple today."

"Nana, I can't," Sara murmured, sounding like she was crying again. "She pulled out in front of that semi on purpose."

"We can't know her pain that drove her to hate life so, bubbeleh," Nana said quietly enough Steve could barely hear her. "Her mind has been broken for a long time. We can't hold her mistakes against her now."

"Maybe you can't, Nana, but I can," Sara said more firmly, sounding a little angry. "I know my pain, and I know Noah's pain, and it was all because of her. I can't go pretend to be the good little daughter for all those people I don't even know. I'm sorry. I just...I can't."

There was silence for several moments before Nana said softly, "Alright, Sara. I won't make you go. I'm sorry I didn't protect you children better."

"You don't even know most of it," Sara pointed out, still upset and angry. "We didn't tell anyone." She sniffled. "I was the only one who had to watch her hurt Noah when I was little, screaming hateful things at him and then making over me just to hurt him more, and it only got worse when he got too big to hit. We're the ones who had to live on scraps and bones when she decided her wine was more important than feeding us, and we cleaned up her puke and carried her to bed, and got hit when she wanted to be sure we knew how much she hated us or just thought we might take her precious bottle away. That's why I was in the back tonight! I was afraid to move her stupid wine!"

"I'm so sorry it was like that for you, sweetie," Steve murmured, pained and sad. Puck had told them some of how it used to be for him, living with Nancy, but Steve had always been sure he'd left out more than he said. He had known a lot of Puck's skill with making a meal out of very little could be laid squarely at Nancy's feet, but it still made him sad to hear it confirmed. Learning to make the delicious soups and broths Puck was so skillful at throwing together out of almost nothing because you liked them was one thing, but doing it because you had nothing but a few scraps to make into a meal was very different.

"It was so much worse for Noah," Sara replied, the anger fading from her voice as she started crying again. "It was never bad for me when he was here, except watching her hurt him. He never let her touch me until he was gone." She let out a soft sob and then added in little more than a whisper, "And then she had nobody to hurt but me."

Sara started really sobbing then, and a moment later Steve heard the phone passed to someone else as Nana said, "Come here, bubbeleh." Nana sounded like she was crying too as she added, "I'm so sorry."

"Hey Steve," Sam said quietly. "Let Puck know I'll take care of them, okay? Anything they need. My boss is a good guy and when I tell him what happened, he'll let me off an extra week. I was going to visit for Christmas anyway, so I'll just fly out with Sara when she goes. I don't need to worry about classes again until January."

"Thanks, Sam, that will be a big help," Steve agreed, his mind going into overdrive.

Sam would likely sleep out on the hammock like he had done the last time he visited, he loved their beach, but they would need to make room for Sara to stay permanently. Sara would have to come live with them, Steve didn't question that for a moment once he really considered it. She couldn't stay with her Nana in that retirement condo, and there wasn't anyone else except for Sam. Puck and Sara didn't really know many of their relatives well except for Nana and a father who Puck had once said he'd beat to death if he ever saw him again. Nana had a brother who was a rabbi, but he had never had a family of his own and was in a nursing home in Dayton with advanced Alzheimer's, so he obviously couldn't help. They had an uncle and some cousins on Nancy's side of the family, but Puck and Sara had never been close to them and didn't talk to them at all anymore since the oldest cousin took Puck out drinking and they ended up in juvie.

A few years ago Steve would have sent Sara straight to Burt and Carole, but after Finn died they had sold the house in Lima and moved to Oahu to start over fresh. Burt was still half-owner of his old garage, which was being run by one of his nieces and her husband now, but with the money from the house he had bought a much smaller garage in Kailua. He enjoyed his work much more now, no longer spending hours every day on boring oil changes and tires, and had made a name for himself restoring the classic cars he loved. Carole was working as a neonatal nurse at the same hospital where Malia worked, and she loved being around so many babies again after several years as a stay at home mom. Carole and Burt were both very happy in Hawai'i, but their house just outside Kaneohe was much too small for Sara to live there too, assuming she even wanted to stay with them. No, it would be best all around for her to be with Puck, who had raised her and always loved her without reservation.

"I don't mind," Sam said quietly. "He'd do it for me."

"He would," Steve agreed, turning to look towards Puck and Kurt. Puck's crying had quieted again but not yet stopped and he was still clinging to Kurt, who was kneeling by Puck's chair and holding him with a pained expression, his own face wet with tears. Steve hated seeing them both in pain, but he knew that it was something that had been coming for a long time. The biggest surprise was that it had taken so long, he was sure. "How late is it there?"

"After one," Sam replied after a moment. "I should get Nana home, she has to be up soon for Temple. Sara will be fine with me until Puck figures everything out. Tell him not to worry, okay?"

Steve nodded even though Sam couldn't see him. "I will, Sam. Use the card Puck gave you for anything she needs, okay? We'll make sure there's plenty in her account. I'm sure Nancy didn't leave much money behind."

"None that Sara knows of." Sam was quiet a moment and Steve could hear him moving a bit further from where Sara was sobbing in Nana's arms, then Sam said more softly, "I'm sure Sara will want to talk to Puck tomorrow sometime, but I think she's done for tonight. Once we get Nana home, I need to try to get Sara some dinner before she falls asleep. I doubt she ate much today."

"I'm sure she's exhausted," Steve agreed, trying not to think about Sam being so sure Sara was hungry. "Heading out is a good plan, we can all talk more tomorrow."

Puck looked up at Steve, fighting hard to control himself. "I need to talk to Sam a minute before he goes, Steve."

"Puck needs to talk to you," Steve repeated, giving Puck a reassuring smile. "I'll see you soon, Sam."

"Yeah, sure," Sam agreed. "Take care, Superman."

"You too," Steve replied with a hint of a smile because of the nickname. "Here's Puck." He moved over to Puck to offer him the phone as he heard Danny and Grace coming in the doors from the lanai. They were talking softly about the fruit they were going to have with dessert when they walked into the house, but they stopped when they reached the kitchen, both surprised and then upset as they realized Puck and Kurt had both been crying.

Puck accepted the phone, giving Steve a sad ghost of a smile, then looked down as he put the phone to his ear. "Thank you, Sam," he said quietly. "You have no idea how much it helps, knowing you're there taking care of them. I owe you big."

"Not even," Sam scoffed. "You'd do it for my sister, and it's not like I'm gonna get fired if I take some time off. I was coming out soon for Christmas and New Year's anyway, I'll just come a week or so early."

Puck relaxed a bit, relieved and grateful as he wiped his eyes again and repeated, "Thank you." He swallowed hard to clear his throat and then added, "There's a couple thousand on the card, so go ahead and get anything Sara needs. I'm sure there's a lot she's been living without. I'll move more onto it tomorrow, we've got plenty to cover whatever funeral Nana wants." His voice hardened a bit as he added, "She'll never go for cremation and dumping Mom's ashes down the nearest toilet like I'd do."

Steve winced, glad Puck hadn't voiced that idea to Nana, who was a fairly traditional Jewish lady and the whole concept would horrify her, but he kind of wished Grace hadn't heard it, either. Danny was fond of telling people she was fourteen going on forty, but she was still a sweet girl with a soft heart, and Puck was one of her favorite people. She would hear the soul-deep pain Puck was trying so hard to bury behind anger just as easily as Steve did. Grace had claimed Puck as her big brother almost as soon as she met him, idolizing him completely for how gentle and honest he was and how deeply he loved their family, and she hated seeing him upset.

"Do you care about the arrangements, bro?" Sam asked.

"Not even a little, Sam," Puck replied quietly. "She got drunk and pulled out in front of a semi on purpose with my baby sister in the car."

"Damn," Danny murmured, pained and sad.

Grace moved to the table to put down her basket of fruit and then went to Puck to hug him, already crying as she whispered, "I'm so sorry, Noah."

Puck's face crumpled a bit as he hugged her with his free arm, murmuring, "Don't cry, sweetie. It'll be okay."

Grace just shook her head, still crying as she moved to sit in Puck's lap, and Puck held her close with his free arm, wishing he knew what to say.

"I'll take care of it all, Puck," Sam said firmly, distracting Puck. "If I need more money for whatever Nana wants done, I'll call. Otherwise don't worry about it, okay?"

Puck swallowed hard. "Thanks, Sam."

"Glad to, bro," Sam replied gently. "Take care of yourself, and figure out where Sara's gonna sleep when I get her there, okay? It shouldn't take us long to wrap everything up here, and then I'll bring her home."

"Okay," Puck agreed, and then someone was pulling his phone away and he looked up in surprise to see it was Kurt.

Puck let go of the phone and Kurt lifted it to his ear, his free hand stroking over Puck's buzzed hair gently as Puck wrapped both arms around Grace and just held her close, hiding his face against her hair. Grace reminded Puck a lot of his little sister, and holding her was almost like holding Sara, which he needed badly at the moment.

"Thank you, Sam," Kurt said. "Tell Sara to call us anytime, okay? It doesn't matter what time it is here or there, we'll keep our phones close."

"I will, Kurt," Sam agreed, then paused before he added more quietly, "I wish I could help him more."

"I know you do, sweetheart," Kurt replied softly, letting his hand go still on Puck's hair. "He'll be okay. They both will." He left it unsaid that they would be better off without Nancy, but he knew Sam agreed with him.

"Yeah, I know," Sam murmured. "I'll be there in a few days with Sara. I already warned Ma I would be there for Christmas this year, so I don't really have to be back until next semester starts. My boss won't fire me, he'd like me to take my sick days before he's gotta pay me for them, so I'm gonna just sack out on the hammock and hang around until New Year's, okay?"

"Of course!" Kurt said immediately. "I still say you should just transfer here to finish college, though. 'Kela can hook you up with a roomie without even trying hard, he knows everyone, and with your degrees it'll be easy to find you a job here."

"I've been thinking about it a lot," Sam admitted. "Mom's been trying to get me to go, too. She thinks it would be good for me to try somewhere new." He didn't have to go into why. His last visit to Hawai'i had been right after Blaine gave him the 'we're better as friends' speech and dumped him, and Kurt and Puck had been the ones to help him get over losing his boyfriend of over three years so abruptly. They knew he had been alone pretty much all the time since he went home, avoiding his friends in Lima because Blaine was invariably hanging around them, often with his new boyfriend in tow. Sam could still barely wrap his mind around the concept of Blaine dating Karofsky, much less moving in with the guy and talking about marrying him, but it had happened anyway. Seeing them together made Sam feel sick or so angry he could barely see straight, depending on the day, so he avoided anywhere they might possibly turn up.

"I think it would be good for you, sweetheart," Kurt said gently. "Call us if you need anything, okay?"

"I will," Sam promised. "And we can talk about the rest while I'm there."

"Yes, we most definitely will," Kurt agreed. "Take care of you for us. We love you."

"I promise," Sam replied. "Love you too. G'night Kurt."

"Night, Sam," Kurt murmured, and then there was a soft beep as Sam ended the call. Kurt put Puck's phone on the table and then knelt next to Puck again, looking up at him and Grace as he asked gently, "You okay, sweetheart?"

Grace was still sniffling a little, but Puck managed to give Kurt a sad smile. "I'm alright, baby. I expected it sooner or later."

"I know, but not like this," Kurt said quietly, rubbing Puck's back as he looked at Grace. "How about you, Gracie? Are you okay?"

"How could she do it?" Grace asked softly, lifting her head to look at Kurt. Her dark eyes were sad and shining still, but she had stopped crying, just sniffling occasionally.

"I don't know, sweetie," Kurt replied softly, moving his free hand to Grace's hair to brush it back from her face. "There isn't much Puck's mom has ever done that makes sense to me."

"She was very unhappy, Monkey," Danny said, walking over to sit down in his usual seat at the table, his blue eyes sad. "Some people, they have this ... thing, in their heads, that gets broken and makes them so sad they just don't want to live anymore."

"I know what depression is, Danno," Grace said patiently, looking at Danny. She was very sure that her daddy was never going to stop thinking she was seven years old, but it worked in her favor sometimes so she had learned to work with it. "But being sad doesn't mean you want your family dead, too."

"Sometimes it does, Gracie," Steve said with a sigh, walking over to sit down next to Danny. Danny reached for his hand and Steve took it, giving Danny's hand a squeeze and smiling sadly at him before he looked back at Grace. "It's just a different kind of broken."

"Mom never wanted kids," Puck said quietly, making everyone look at him. He was looking at Grace, meeting her gaze and telling her the simple truth like he always did. He knew she could take it. "When she got pregnant with me, she felt like she had to give up on college and marry my dad, who was a real loser that liked to beat people up when he was drinking." He paused and then admitted, "And he drank a lot. She hated me before I was even born because of what he put her through, and nothing I did could fix her life back like it was before, so I could never make up for it."

"But why would she try to hurt Sara?" Grace asked softly. "You said Sara was her favorite."

"She was," Puck agreed, "but I think Mom got kind of used to having someone to hurt when she was sad. When I wasn't there anymore, she turned on Sara instead."

"She's been mean to Sara all this time?" Grace asked, her eyes widening.

Puck nodded, pained and feeling guilty. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure she has been. I didn't know until tonight."

"That's got to be even worse," Grace said sadly. "She was the favorite, and then all of a sudden she was the one getting beat up. It's no wonder she's been in so much trouble. I bet she's been flying apart at the seams just like you would if we started to hurt you, Noah."

"Yeah," Puck murmured, "I'm sure that's most of it. Sara has always been the good one, smart and sweet like you are. She never got into trouble, and she never made bad grades. I should have known what was going on when Sam told me she was in trouble all the time and failed a couple classes last year, but I thought she was just acting out because she was missing me."

"She missed you too, on top of your mom hurting her," Grace said firmly, very sure of it. She looked up at Danny suddenly. "Danno, we've got to make room for her. She should have my room so she can be close to Noah. I can sleep up in the attic. Aunt Mary's old bed is up there still, remember?"

"I remember," Danny said quietly, so proud of his baby girl that he couldn't help but smile at her. "You don't have to do that though, Monkey. We'll make a room just for Sara like we did for you when you moved in with us, and like we did for Kurt. We'll make a room that's hers up in the attic."

"Yeah," Steve agreed, "We can move the boxes down to the basement tomorrow, and then we'll go get everything we need to sand and seal that old wood floor up there. We can get it done this weekend easy if we all help move stuff. Then when Sara comes we'll just need to paint it like she wants and get her some furniture."

"Thank you," Puck said, feeling better than he had since he heard 'Hava Nagila' playing, what seemed like hours ago. "All of you."

"You don't have to thank us," Grace said firmly. "Sara is 'ohana too, Noah. You know what that means."

Puck smiled. "Nobody gets left behind..."

"Or forgotten," Grace finished with him, smiling back at him for a moment before she hugged him tightly around the neck.

Puck hugged back, thanking whatever God might be listening to a lapsed Jew for the 'ohana Burt had found for Kurt, and for him. He couldn't imagine a life without them.

Sam closed Nana's phone and looked back at Sara and Nana as he ran his free hand through his long shaggy hair, pushing it back from his face and wishing he had tied it back that day.

Sara had gotten control of herself again and was sitting silently next to her Nana, looking tired and somehow older than she had when he saw her just a few days earlier. She had been blossoming into a very pretty girl for the last several years, much prettier than her mother, and she was so pale that night that it made her seem even more delicate than usual. She didn't really look much like Puck at the moment except for her eyes, which were just the same changeable hazel, dark and still with sadness even though Sam didn't think Sara's pain was grief for her mother. Sara was usually much better than Puck had ever been at hiding how she felt, but the stress of the long night had shattered her usual masks that hid how unhappy she was.

The doctor had told them when they reached the ER that Sara had been very lucky. The injuries on the right side of her head where she hit the window in the accident were darkening into what had to be painful bruises covering from just behind her eye all the way back to behind her ear. She had a fairly minor concussion despite the bruises though, and the only cut that had needed stitches was on the side of her head. The ER nurses had to shave the hair over her ear to clean and stitch up the cut that ran back from above the upper curve of her ear toward the top of her head, and her bruised scalp stood out sharply against the long bushy brown hair that had been pulled back into a messy ponytail.

The doctor had also pointed out to them that Sara was underweight and suffering from malnutrition. Her blood work had shown she was deficient in almost everything and the doctor wanted them to get her vitamins, protein shakes, and some counseling because he thought there might be an eating disorder involved, but Sam was sure three meals a day of real food for a change was all Sara really needed. He had tried to help when he got groceries for her, but Sara was afraid to let him get her much and her old fridge didn't keep food fresh like it should, except in the tiny freezer. He had suggested replacing the fridge a few times, but Sara was afraid to let him get something so big, even if he found her a used one. She was sure her mom would have had a fit that Sara had spent the money on something for her instead of giving it to Nancy for more wine.

Kosher food that would keep well in the pantry didn't really leave a lot of options, so Sam had been buying Sara mostly canned and jarred food along with ramen noodles by the case. Normally he wouldn't have considered ramen as food at all, but in between his shopping trips with her Sara had been living off of school lunches and whatever was in the clearance bin of the little grocery store down the street, and having the ramen on hand had let her turn almost anything into a filling meal. She likely wouldn't know a balanced diet anymore if it bit her on the nose, but now that she was free of her mother Sam knew that would change. Puck was an awesome cook, as were Kurt and Steve, and they were all very serious about making sure the family had regular meals of fresh, delicious food and easy access to healthy snacks.

Sam turned his attention to Nana after a moment and was glad to see she was calm again, but she looked sad and so exhausted that he instantly made a decision. Nana wanted Sara with her so she could make Sara go to Temple, he knew, but he didn't think that was the best plan, and Sara and Puck had both agreed with him. He was pretty sure Nana wouldn't argue if he didn't give her a choice about it, at least for now. She wouldn't like it, and he was sure she would fight him if he tried to tell her what to do very often -- Puck had a lot of stories about Nana being stubborn -- but tonight he figured he had a good chance of getting away with it.

"I'm going to carry out your bags, Sara," Sam said calmly as he offered Nana her phone, "and then we're going to go. Could you help your Nana to the car? We'll take her home, and then you're going to do like Puck said and stay with me for a few days until we fly to Kailua."

Sara pulled away from Nana, nodding as she quickly wiped at her face. "Okay, Sam."

Nana smiled wryly at Sam, tucking her phone into her pocket. "We'll do it your way, bubbeleh."

"Thank you," Sam said quietly, smiling at her before he turned to go pick up the two trash bags Sara had packed her things in.

Sara moved quickly to the front door to open it without a word, and then she walked back over to Nana while Sam started towards the car. Nana was always a bit shaky on her feet, and she didn't like to rely on a cane because her balance wasn't very good. She used a walker at home, but she was stubborn and proud and she always made excuses for why it just wouldn't work for her in public, so she couldn't walk far without someone to help her.

Sam carried the two trash bags outside and down the walkway towards his mom's Corolla, thinking it was probably a good thing that Sara didn't have a whole lot to take with her to Hawai'i. He was planning to start the day tomorrow by taking her to get some luggage, and then he was going to take her shopping for clothes and shoes and all the other things she needed. She hadn't asked for anything, and likely wouldn't knowing her, but while he was helping her pack he had noticed she left behind a lot of clothes that she said she couldn't wear anymore, which had made him finally realize she probably didn't wear tight clothes because she wanted them that way. He was pretty sure that if he got her some clothes that fit, most of the clothes she had now would end up in a dumpster where they belonged.

Sam knew Puck and Kurt would buy her anything she needed after she got to Kailua, but he was still going to get her some things to wear until Puck and Kurt could take her shopping. He had been a little nosy while he helped her tuck her few keepsakes into the clothes she had, and what he had seen had made him feel like he had dropped the ball as far as taking care of her for Puck went. He had already known that the clothes he saw her in most often were too tight or too short or both, but he hadn't realized that the few outfits he'd seen her in were all she had. She had almost no underthings, three tops, and only one pair of jeans besides the bloodstained ones she was wearing that were actually girls' clothing, along with two pairs of cargo shorts, a set of McKinley High sweats, and a few old t-shirts Puck had left behind. She had told Sam that she wore Puck's old clothes at home to save her few 'good' clothes for school, but he kind of thought she wore them because they were more comfortable, too.

Sam carefully put the bags into the car in the back seat on the driver's side, wanting to be sure he didn't accidentally break anything that was packed in with the clothes, and then he walked around to get the passenger door for Nana, who was approaching slowly with Sara.

A few minutes later they were all in the car, driving through the quiet streets towards the other side of town. Nana was up front by Sam with Sara in the back with her bags, and Sam wasn't surprised when Sara quickly fell asleep on the way to Nana's condo. It wasn't a long drive, only ten minutes or so, but Nana was starting to nod off by the time they got there, and even Sam was starting to feel the late hour. He had been up before daylight to go for a long run before work, and it was hours past his usual bedtime, even for a Friday.

Sam parked the car and shut it off, then got out and hurried around the car to help Nana get out, waiting until he had closed the car door before he asked softly, "Do you need me to come in with you, ma'am? I don't mind, and Sara will be okay in the car."

"No, I'll be fine once I get to the door," Nana replied quietly, holding on to Sam's arm as they walked slowly towards her condo. "I left my walker just inside. I don't like taking it anywhere because it's such a hassle to get it in and out of the car, but it works fine at home."

"I understand," Sam murmured, and they walked the rest of the way up her front walk in companionable silence.

"I don't know how to thank you for everything you've done for us, Sam," Nana said suddenly when they reached the wide brick stairs up to her tiny front porch. "Words just don't seem like enough."

"Thanks is plenty," Sam said quietly. "Puck would do the same for my family."

"He's always been such a good boy." Nana released his arm and looked down to open her purse, digging for her keys. "And I know you're his best friend besides his Kurt." She found the keys and looked at Sam again, smiling sadly. "I'm sure he feels better knowing that you're here."

"I hope so," Sam agreed, smiling. "I'll be glad to do anything I can to make this easier on you and Sara, and on him."

Nana reached out to pat his arm and then moved to unlock her door. "I'm fine. You just worry about Sara, bubbeleh. She needs you."

Sam nodded. "Call when you're ready to make the funeral arrangements, okay? Puck said he can pay for it all, I just need to let him know what it'll be so he can make sure there's enough on Sara's card for it and the plane ticket and the other things she needs."

"I'll be sure to let you know," Nana agreed, though she looked a little surprised. "Nancy's brother Rod is supposed to call me back tomorrow to let me know if we need to help with anything. He mentioned they have a family plot in Chicago, so that is paid at least, and said something about burial insurance, too. Rod was going to talk to a rabbi in the morning who is supposed to have the information, and said the funeral would probably be Monday in Chicago. He wanted it on Sunday, but he wasn't sure they could get everything arranged that quickly."

"Okay," Sam said. "You have my number, right?"

"I do," Nana replied, nodding with a soft smile. "I saved it when you called earlier."

Sam smiled. "Good. Let me know what you find out so I know when to borrow Mom's car again."

"I will," Nana agreed. "It's a long drive, but I feel like Sara should be there."

Sam nodded. "If she wants to."

Nana sighed. "If she doesn't, then we'll handle that when the time comes."

"Alright, ma'am," Sam agreed. He wasn't sure 'handling' Sara would be easy at all because she could be a very opinionated girl, but she loved Nana dearly and might be willing to go just to please her.

"I'm not 'ma'am' to you, boychick," Nana corrected. "Call me Nana." She reached for Sam's neck, pulling his head down to kiss his cheek. "Good night, Sam."

Sam smiled and kissed Nana's cheek. "Good night, Nana."

Nana smiled and then turned away and went into her condo, closing the door quietly behind her.

Sam turned and trotted back to the car, getting in and closing his door before he looked into the back seat at Sara. She was awake again, looking tired and a little sad, and he asked quietly, "Did you eat today, bittygirl?"

Sara smiled slightly at the nickname. Noah had introduced her to Sam as 'my bittygirl' when they met, years ago, and hearing Sam call her that always reminded her of better days. "Some. I had a piece of nasty cheese pizza and an apple today at school."

"I skipped dinner myself, and I'm hungry," Sam said, smiling gently at her even though he hated how little she ate most days. He had wished often that she would let him help her more, but she had always refused to let him buy much, worried that Nancy would notice it was more than Nana could afford. "Our choices this late are Denny's, the truck stop, or going by Wal-Mart for food to cook at my place."

"The truck stop?" Sara asked hopefully. "I've heard they have awesome burgers, but I never got to try one."

"They're the best in town," Sam said quickly, smiling. "Especially at night, that's when the best chef around here is on the grill. You wanna stay in the back, or move up here?"

"I can get in front after we eat," Sara said quietly. "I'm starving."

"Sounds like a plan," Sam agreed, turning back around to start the car again. "We'll have to go in at the truck stop to order, or I will at least, but we don't have to eat there if you don't want to."

"We can go in to eat," Sara murmured, "I don't mind."

"Works for me," Sam agreed easily, pulling away from the curb and starting towards the main highway leading out of town. He hadn't been sure she would want to go in public with the bruises and the stains where blood had dripped on her jeans, but it finally dawned on him she might not realize they were there. The doctor had mentioned using an extended release local anesthetic that would last three days when he told them how to care for the stitches, so Sam wasn't sure she could even feel the injuries at all. "How's your head feeling?" he asked gently.

Sara lifted her right hand to feel gingerly of the side of her head, careful of the stitches as she felt of her buzzed hair and the swelling behind her temple where her head hit the window. "It's not too bad. Probably looks worse than it feels."

Sam snorted, glancing at her in the rear view mirror. "Alright, Kurt."

Sara blinked, confused. "Do what now?"

"I've heard that one before," Sam explained, looking at her again in the mirror for a moment before he put his eyes on the road to pull out onto the highway, since that was the shortest route to the truck stop. "Kurt used to say the same thing all the time after he got hurt. The meatheads on the hockey team were always throwing him into walls and knocking him around, and he'd be all bruised up and tell us it looked more painful than it was."

"Oh," Sara said. "Noah used to say it all the time, too." She was quiet for a minute or two before she murmured, "I guess being hit a lot is something they have in common. I... don't really know Kurt. I met him a few times, and I saw him perform once, but that's about it."

"You'll like him," Sam said confidently, glancing over his shoulder to smile at Sara before he looked ahead again to watch the road. "He's smart and fun and he loves Puck like he loves breathing. Kurt would do anything for his family, and that includes you."

"I remember Noah coming home every night to talk to him on his laptop, even though Mom made his life miserable," Sara said quietly. "I never could figure out why he didn't just take the laptop to Finn's." She paused and then added, "Noah does love him, though. I heard Lauren yelling at him one morning, trying to make Noah tell him, and I could hear it in his voice when I listened in to him talking to Kurt that night."

"He really does," Sam agreed with a smile, turning off the highway towards the truck stop. "I've never seen two people as in love as they are except for maybe Kurt's uncle and his husband." He paused and then added, "And I think your brother never talked to Kurt at Finn's because he was afraid it would upset Finn and his parents if they knew about his feelings for Kurt. He had a pretty low opinion of himself back then, and I remember him saying something about not thinking they would like the idea of Kurt dating someone like him."

"That sounds like him," Sara agreed with a sigh, looking out the window as Sam turned into the truck stop parking lot.

The lot was mostly empty, at least in the part up close where cars could park, so Sam had no trouble pulling into a good spot near the diner windows. He had heard enough rumors about the truck stop that he always parked whatever he was driving where he could watch it, even though nothing had ever happened. He turned the car off and then looked over his shoulder at Sara again, and he was a little surprised to see she looked worried. "You okay?"

"I just... It's been years since I saw him," Sara said quietly. "I can hardly imagine Noah as a cop. I hope he hasn't changed too much."

"Of course he hasn't," Sam said confidently. "Don't worry, bittygirl. I see him on Skype all the time, and except for the new haircut, he's still the same old Puck he's always been. He's just a lot happier now."

"Happy sounds good," Sara murmured, smiling slightly. "So does a burger. I'm starving and it smells really good here."

Sam smiled. "Let's go eat then." He pulled the keys out of the ignition and got out, waiting for Sara to join him on the sidewalk before they headed inside. He was starving too, and it did smell really good that night, the scent of the smoker behind the truck stop drifting in the air pretty heavily because it had already been filled for the next day. The guy who worked the night shift in the kitchen was an awesome short-order cook, but his true talent was with the smoker, loading it and then babysitting it all night to ensure that the delicious meats that would be on the menu the next day were perfect.

There wasn't really anyone around as they walked through the convenience store part of the truck stop to get to the diner area, where the tables were deserted except for a trucker near the back door poking at a laptop. The waitress on duty and the cook were both at the counter along the side of the diner, drinking coffee and looking bored as the cook flipped through channels on the muted television. The waitress' name was Laura and Sam knew her pretty well, but he barely knew the cook. Charlie was a quiet guy who loved his job and was very good at it, but he never really spoke to anyone but Laura unless someone asked him a question about barbecuing.

Sam used to work nights all the time when he was delivering pizzas, and even though he had a day job now running the computer surveillance system for a security firm, he was still at the truck stop at night often enough that Laura and the cook were used to seeing him wander in. They hardly reacted when they glanced over and saw him, but when Sara moved out from behind him, they both went a bit wide-eyed.

Laura was about the same age as Sam's mom and worked hard to help her daughter Shannon support her three kids, so she was there in the diner almost every night, always in her uniform of an old-fashioned poodle skirt with a pale pink blouse and white apron. When she saw Sara's face, she jumped off of her stool and started towards Sam and Sara as she blurted, "Good lord, child. What happened to you?"

"Car accident," Sara replied, standing close to Sam's side but not quite touching him. "You probably heard about it already. Outside the movie theater a few hours ago, with the semi."

"Oh sweetie," Laura said, suddenly looking sad and sympathetic. "You must be the Puckerman girl."

Sam put his hand on Sara's back in silent support as he said, "Yeah, Laura, this is Puck's baby sister, Sara. She's staying with me until I can take her out to Hawai'i to live with him."

Sara lifted one hand in a half-hearted wave, but she didn't say anything. She really didn't know what to say that wouldn't shock Laura but wouldn't be a lie either. She was supposed to be devastated, mourning her dead mother, but she just felt tired, and the smell of good food was making her so hungry that food was all she could really think of.

"I'm so sorry about your momma, Sara," Laura said gently. "Nancy had her demons, I know, but I never would have thought she'd endanger you like that, driving drunk with you in the car. I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks," Sara murmured, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"It's been a really long night," Sam said, hoping Laura wouldn't be offended by Sara's lack of interest in discussing Nancy's death. He was sure Sara wasn't saying anything mostly because she was trying not to point out she was better off without her mother. Sara had kept a lot of pain and anger bottled up for a long time and her mother's death seemed to have broken it all loose, at least for a while, but Sam was pretty sure her tears hadn't been caused by grief for her mother.

"Oh honey, I bet," Laura agreed quietly. "Did you two eat at all today?"

"Not much," Sam admitted, giving her a crooked smile. "We're both starving, so I headed straight here when we got a chance. I want a burger the size of my head about now, and Sara's had even less to eat today than I did."

Charlie got off of his stool without a word, walking around the counter and into the kitchen to turn up the griddle and the fryers before he moved towards the fridge to start getting out food.

Laura smiled, pulling her order pad out of her pocket. "What would you like on it, Sam? Same as usual?"

"Yeah, that'll work," Sam agreed, smiling at Laura. "Mountain Dew to drink, though. I need the caffeine, I have to drop off Mom's car and drive home still."

"Gotcha," Laura said, jotting down a few quick notes before she looked at Sara, smiling gently. "How about you, sweetie?" She tilted her head. "Your big brother never wanted us to bother with it, but Charlie can do a kosher burger for you if you want. Puck was always telling me not to tell his Nana about his cheeseburgers when I saw her at Temple."

"I don't keep kosher either," Sara answered quietly, managing to smile at Laura. "What's Sam's usual burger like?"

"Bacon cheeseburger topped with onions, sautéed mushrooms, and our extra spicy barbecue sauce," Laura replied, amused.

Sara stared at Sam. "That's just weird, Sam."

Sam laughed. "It's good!"

Sara looked skeptical. "Bacon and cheese, okay, maybe even the onions and mushrooms, but all that with spicy barbecue sauce?"

"He is kind of crazy," Laura agreed, "but he's such a sweetheart that we humor him."

"I like it," Sam said, smiling. "It's like a sandwich Sonic had for a while, only better."

"You enjoy that," Sara said with a dubious look at Sam, then she looked back at Laura. "Just a normal bacon cheeseburger for me, please. Onion rings on the side. Lots of them, I'm starving."

"Okay, honey," Laura said, writing quickly. "What would you like on the burger? Lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle is our usual, with mustard."

"No mustard or pickles, please," Sara said. "And can you do cooked onions?"

"Of course!" Laura smiled at her. "We can do it any way you want. Would you like mayo or ketchup, since you don't like mustard?"

"Yes, please," Sara said with a little smile.

"Both it is," Laura said, making a note on the order. "Your big brother likes both, too."

"We hardly ever had burgers when he was here," Sara said, her smile fading. "He kept strict kosher for us, but I never paid attention to him trying to teach me the rules and after he left I screwed it up so much I decided not to worry about it." She didn't mention that after Noah was gone she had usually been too worried about eating at all to care if some rabbi would approve of what she was eating. That was more than any random stranger needed to know about her.

"I don't blame you, honey," Laura said with a sympathetic smile. "My first hubby was strict kosher and it nearly drove me to drink, cooking for him and trying to keep all the rules straight." Sara nodded but didn't comment, and after a moment Laura asked, "What would you like to drink? We've got sodas, O.J., lemonade, fruit punch, tea, coffee, or shakes."

"Strawberry shake?" Sara asked hopefully.

"You got it," Laura replied, smiling. "You two go have a seat, and I'll get your drinks."

"Thanks, Laura," Sam said, smiling at Laura before he pushed gently on Sara's back to get her moving towards the booth closest to where he parked his mom's car.

Sara walked to the booth and sat down, watching Sam sit down across from her before she asked quietly, "Noah knew pretty much everyone, didn't he?"

Sam smiled, hearing the blender start up to make her shake. "Everyone who sold an awesome burger, for sure. He's the one who told me about the food here. This was his favorite place to eat when he was out at night, and Laura's worked the seven to three shift here for years. They were good friends."

"He used to be out late a lot," Sara said. "I never knew where he was most of the time after he started high school, not until he started dating Lauren. Then he was always with her or over at Finn's house playing video games."

"That was after he started liking Kurt," Sam agreed, nodding. "He spent a lot of time at their house after that, hoping Kurt might be around. Mostly he ended up hanging out with Kurt's dad and Finn's mom."

"Aunt Carole," Sara agreed, nodding. "We aren't really related, but she told me I could call her that anyway. She used to let me come over with Noah sometimes when I was little, and always sent us home with leftovers." She smiled. "She even made kosher food for us."

"She's in Hawai'i now," Sam said, making Sara look at him quickly in surprise. "She and Burt moved there after Finn died."

"I knew they moved away," Sara said, still looking surprised. "I... went to their house once." She looked down. "I was hoping I could stay with her a while."

"You could have called me," Sam pointed out gently.

Sara shook her head. "If Mom found me with Aunt Carole I would have gotten knocked around, but she'd have gotten over it quick. If she found me with you, then you would have been in deep shit."

Sam stared at Sara for a moment before he asked softly, "Did she threaten me? Is that why you didn't ever want me coming to the house?" Sara had been afraid to even let him bring her home with her groceries, always careful not to get more than she could carry because she would make him drop her off several blocks away to walk home.

Sara nodded, not looking up. "She didn't remember that you were Noah's best friend when she saw your name in my phone, but I had a picture of you in your letterman jacket with your contact thingy. She kind of freaked." She blushed suddenly and muttered, "I got so many lectures about older boys. She even made me go on the pill."

Sam laughed, making Sara look at him in surprise as he grinned at her. "You should have just told her I'm gay, bittygirl."

Sara's eyes went very wide. "Whoa."

Laura was walking towards them with their drinks, and she laughed. "Honey, Sam's dated guys as long as I've known him. He's got great taste, too. The last one he brought here for a late night snack was almost as hot as your big brother."

Sam grinned at Laura. "Almost. He turned out to have the I.Q. of a turnip, though. I felt like I was trying to talk to a wall. One date was plenty."

"That's usually the case with the really beefy ones, honey. Puck was special." Laura put their drinks down and then patted Sam's shoulder before she started back towards the kitchen. "I'll be back with your food soon."

"Okay," Sam agreed, and then he looked back at Sara, amused by how surprised she still looked. "I haven't dated girls since high school, Sara, and even then I did it mostly to fit in. I thought you knew that."

Sara shook her head, starting to look a little sheepish. "Stacy never said anything about you not dating girls anymore to me."

"You might be the only one I know who hasn't noticed," Sam said with a grin. "Your virtue is perfectly safe with me."

Sara rolled her eyes. "I knew that. I just didn't know you only did guys, there's a difference."

Sam laughed. "Well, now you know."

"Yeah," Sara agreed, "and now I know you have the hots for my big brother, too."

Sam blushed slightly, laughing again as he looked outside, brushing back his shaggy hair. "Not exactly. I'm just not blind or dead."

Sara blinked and then giggled. "That's so adorable."

Sam blushed even redder, looking back at Sara. "Gee, thanks."

"No, really," Sara said as she grinned, her hazel eyes suddenly sparkling and bright for the first time in a long time. "You blushed! Totally adorable." Her grin shifted into a smirk that reminded Sam of Puck as she added, "But you really need to stop listening to him. Just because he says no one can resist the Puckasaurus doesn't make it true."

Sam couldn't keep from grinning, glad to see her happy if only for a moment. "I could resist him just fine, not that I'd ever have to. He hasn't looked at anyone but Kurt in years."

"He's very loyal like that," Sara agreed, her smirk fading a bit. "When he really loves someone, it takes a lot to make him stop."

"Don't worry," Sam said reassuringly. "Kurt would never hurt him. Puck is his world."

"Good," Sara said firmly, smiling. She tilted her head slightly, curious. "What about you? Is there a guy?"

Sara had met Blaine once and knew he was Sam's boyfriend for a while, but Stacy had said they had broken up on Valentine's day, most of a year ago. Stacy had been really angry about how Blaine did it, letting Sam make him a nice dinner and eating it like there was nothing wrong, then leaving him right after. Sam had gotten on a plane to Hawai'i the next day and was gone for nearly a month, and had to repeat a semester of college because of it. It had made Sara realize how much she relied on him, having to live without him there to help when she called. She had survived on whatever she could get at school most of the time he was gone, and was so relieved to see him drop Stacy off at school the morning after he got back that she had cried.

Sam shook his head. "Nah, not for a while now. You don't have to worry about some stranger showing up at my place."

"Okay," Sara agreed, reaching for her shake. She had learned the hard way that what was inside a guy mattered a lot more than the package, but Sam was the best of both and it made her sad for him to be lonely. He was such a sweet guy and so good that she would have thought he was a real catch even if he didn't have the muscles or the sexy long hair and those unique eyes that could be hazel or dark green or anything in between, depending on what Sam wore and his mood.

"I wouldn't care if there was a guy, though," Sara added. "You wouldn't like anyone I had to worry about." She tried to take a sip of her shake, and was surprised to realize the straw was blocked. She pulled it up out of the shake and then stared, a bit wide-eyed at the large fresh strawberry that the straw was stuck in.

Sam grinned. "What, you never had a real strawberry shake before?"

"Not with strawberries like that!" Sara said quickly, then grinned and put the berry into her mouth, humming happily as she munched on it. She loved strawberries, and it was the first fresh one she'd had since the strawberries Noah had planted in the back yard stopped blooming for the year.

"Good, aren't they?" Laura asked suddenly, making them look up. She was walking towards them with two trays piled high with food, smiling and looking pleased with herself. "Strawberry shakes have to have real fruit in them or it's just a pink shake."

"Delicious!" Sara said as soon as she swallowed, smiling at Laura. "The food looks wonderful, too."

"Charlie's an excellent cook," Laura said cheerfully, putting Sara's tray with her burger and a basket of onion rings on it down in front of her, then putting Sam's tray with a burger and a basket of fries in front of him. "Enjoy your meal, kids." She smiled warmly at them and then headed back to the counter, where the cook was already sitting down with a basket of onion rings and a drink.

"Thanks, Laura," Sam said, then looked at Sara and smiled. "Dig in."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Sara replied, reaching for her burger with a quick grin.

Sam chuckled and picked up his own burger to start eating, smirking a bit at the happy noises Sara made as she took a bite of her burger.

It was a few minutes after noon the next day when Sam was awakened by his phone buzzing quietly as it rattled on the coffee table by the couch. He answered it without even looking to see who it was, still sprawled on his back on the couch as he said a bit blearily, "Hello?"

"Good morning, boychick," Nana said, cheerful but sounding a little tired. "I'm sorry to wake you, but I wanted to let you know what Rod said before I lie down so you can tell Noah when you talk to him today."

"Oh! Hey, don't worry about it," Sam said quickly, suddenly much more awake as he rolled to sit up. "What did you find out?"

"Rod says he's going to take care of everything," Nana replied. "All we have to worry about is making it to the funeral, which will be Monday morning at nine. He wanted it to be tomorrow morning, but he couldn't find anyone willing to do the transfer until tomorrow evening."

"Monday works," Sam said, pleased that Puck wouldn't have to pay for any of it. "It's about a four hour drive, so we'll have to leave pretty early unless you want to go up tomorrow and stay at a hotel overnight."

"Will a hotel be very expensive?" Nana asked, sounding curious. "I haven't stayed in one in years except for that lovely bed and breakfast that Noah always gets me a room at in Kailua, and I have no idea what it costs him."

"You don't need to worry about that," Sam said firmly. He was sure Puck didn't want Nana to have any idea how much he spent on her every time she wanted to visit. Plane tickets and a room at a beach-front home in Kailua probably ran Puck a few thousand every time, not counting meals or anything. "Puck expected to pay for the whole funeral, and getting a hotel won't cost hardly anything compared to that."

"I'd like to go tomorrow then," Nana said, sounding pleased. "And maybe go out for a nice dinner with you and Sara? I haven't been out anywhere fancy in years."

"Sounds like a plan," Sam agreed, grinning because he thought Sara would love that. It would give him a good excuse to get her a few nice things to wear, too. She certainly didn't have any clothes fit to go out for a fancy dinner. "After the service we'll drive you home, and then probably on Tuesday Sara and I will fly out to Hawai'i, if that sounds okay."

"That's good, yes," Nana replied, still sounding pleased. "She should be with Noah as soon as we can arrange it."

"I'll get the tickets today, then," Sam promised. "It won't take me long. We'll probably fly out of Chicago. It was cheaper that way last time I went, I guess because it's such a big airport."

"What about your mother's car?" Nana asked, concerned. "Won't she need it to get to work?"

"I'll rent a car when Sara and I go," Sam said reassuringly. "Enterprise does delivery and will let me drop the car off at the airport when we get there, then rent another one when I come back. That's what I did last time."

"That's good," Nana said, sounding relieved. "We'll drive up tomorrow morning, then?"

"That'll work," Sam agreed. "I need to take Sara shopping today, get her some luggage and a few other things."

Nana was quiet for a moment and then said hesitantly, "I ... saw that she didn't take much last night."

"She didn't have much to take," Sam admitted quietly. "And half of what she kept is old clothes of Puck's she's been wearing around the house. She's outgrown most of her own clothes, and the things she still wears are getting pretty small for her."

Nana sighed. "Girls her age wear their clothes so tight these days, it never dawned on me that she might not want them like that."

"I'll fix it today, or start to anyway," Sam promised. "There's plenty on her card to get her some clothes and still cover hotel rooms and her ticket and have as much again left over."

"Thank you, Sam," Nana said quietly. "I don't know what we'd do without you."

"I'm not the one paying for any of it, but I'm glad to help," Sam replied, smiling. "You're both family as far as I'm concerned."

"You're family to us, too," Nana said firmly, sounding like she was smiling. "I'm not used to so little sleep and you have a busy afternoon ahead of you, so I'll let you go, bubbeleh. You and Sara may just be getting started for the day, but your Nana already needs a nap."

Sam grinned. "Sleep well, Nana, and don't worry. I got this."

"I'm sure you do, bubbeleh," Nana agreed, sounding amused. "When should I be ready tomorrow?"

"That's up to you, ma'am," Sam said quickly. "Whenever you'd like to leave is fine."

"Early, then," Nana said. "Nine? That way we can get lunch along the way and still get to Chicago early enough to relax a bit before dinner."

"Works for me," Sam agreed, grinning. "I'll call before we come over, okay?"

"That would be perfect," Nana said, pleased. "I'll talk to you then."

"Talk to you then," Sam echoed, and then a moment later she hung up. He looked at his phone, checking to see if he had any messages, and then put it back on the coffee table by the wireless charger and stood, stretching with a low groan before he started towards the bedroom.

Sara had left the door open the night before so Sam didn't bother to knock before he stuck his head into his room, smiling when he saw she was so buried under his blankets that all he could see of her was a poof of frizzy hair and part of her forehead. He walked to his dresser to get clothes for the day and then went into the bathroom to shower and shave and get dressed. Sara still hadn't budged by the time he left the bathroom half an hour later, but Sam wasn't surprised. She had been completely exhausted by the time she finally went to bed, and had a full belly for the first time in weeks.

Sam tossed the sweats and t-shirt he'd slept in into the hamper and went to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of blue raspberry vitamin water out of the fridge before he went to sprawl on the couch with his mini keyboard remote. His apartment was small and there wasn't much of a living room, but there was room enough for his very comfortable couch, a coffee table that doubled as his desk, two shelving units, and an entertainment center.

The focus of the room was undoubtedly the entertainment center, which held his big flat screen television along with the computer tower, game machines, Blu-Ray player, and Roku box that were his primary forms of entertainment these days. A tall tower bookcase in the corner on one side of the entertainment center held his collection of games and movies, every shelf packed full, and a glass-fronted cabinet on the other side held the various remotes and peripherals, along with his printer and the router for his internet. It gave the room a crowded feel, having everything in there together like it was, but Sam didn't mind because he liked having his toys where he could get to everything easily.

It only took Sam a few moments to fire up the TV and the computer, and soon he was surfing the net for the best price on airfares to Hawai'i. Sam was very methodical in his search for the best price on tickets, first doing a Google search and then checking the major travel search engines Google turned up to compare results. He made good use of the fact the television was big enough for him to tile several windows and still read everything easily, letting him run four searches at once. Ticket prices would be higher on such short notice, but Sam had planned for that when he was saving up for his own trip to spend Christmas in Kailua with Puck and Kurt and the rest of the 'ohana.

Sam felt right at home with the 'ohana that had accepted him so freely in Kailua, more so than he did with his family in Lima, honestly, and probably would have stayed there the last time he visited if not for his mom and sister. They had both been trying to convince him he should go since his last trip, though, so Sam was seriously considering it. That was part of why he was staying so long over Christmas. He figured if he could stand Christmas away from his mom and sister then he could take anything, and it wasn't like his dad or his brother wanted him there anyway. He would be spending a few weeks in Kailua, helping Sara get settled in and just enjoying a nice long visit with the 'ohana and having a private beach all to himself while everyone was at work.

Sam finally settled on an Alaskan Airlines flight leaving Chicago Tuesday afternoon that would get them to Honolulu with only one layover in Seattle. The price of the seats was a couple hundred bucks less than the larger airlines that mostly flew through Dallas or L.A., two airports he had been through before and hated, so he went ahead and reserved two one-way tickets in the economy section. A round-trip ticket might have saved him a little if he knew exactly when he wanted to go back to Ohio, but changing the date he wanted to go home had been a pain in the ass when he decided to extend his last trip and ended up costing him more to get back to Ohio than just buying a one-way ticket would have. He was sure he'd probably go home in the first week in January, but the exact date would depend on how his visit went and whether he was just going to Lima to pack and ship his things to Hawai'i, or if he was going back to stay.

Sam paid for Sara's ticket on the card Puck had given him for her, and was paying for his own with his card when the computer beeped as a popup message told him Puck had just signed in to instant messenger. He grinned and finished the transaction, then printed the pages he'd need to show when he went to pick up the tickets at the airport on Tuesday and minimized the window.

Sam opened up an IM to quickly type a message to Puck. 'What're you doing up so early on a Saturday?'

'Checking on you and Sara,' Puck replied immediately. 'How is she?'

'Sleeping still, but she was okay when she went to bed this morning early.' Sam hit send, then added, 'It's nearly one here, though. I should wake her soon or she'll never sleep tonight.'

'Kick up Skype first, bro,' Puck sent back.

'OK.' Sam moved the chat window out of the way to open up Skype, smiling when he saw Puck was already on and waiting. He clicked the video chat button and then turned the volume down a little, and a few moments later a video window opened to fill most of his screen. Puck was sprawled in the computer chair in his bedroom with a mug in one hand, and Sam could tell at a glance that he had been up a while.

"Mornin' Sam," Puck said immediately, smiling.

"Morning," Sam replied, holding his mini keyboard up a little so he wouldn't have to speak loudly for it to carry to Puck.

"I finally found your message on my phone about an hour ago," Puck admitted. "Sorry I missed it, I was outside last night and left my phone in the kitchen. I don't know how I managed to hear it when Nana called."

"I figured you were outside," Sam said. "I called you right after I spoke to Sara, then I called Nana and went to get her."

"You did good," Puck said quickly, smiling at Sam. "I owe you."

"Nah, we're good," Sam said easily. "After the way you guys took me in back in February and dragged my head out of my ass, I owe you." He laughed softly. "Still."

"You don't owe us for that, Sam," Puck said quickly, surprised. "We loved having you here, we always do. You're 'ohana. There's always going to be room for you in our home."

Sam smiled softly, feeling warm and loved as he murmured, "Thanks. I love you guys too."

Puck grinned. "Ha! I knew it. You looove me."

Sam laughed again, trying to stay quiet so he wouldn't wake Sara. "Only if your hubby is part of the deal," he said quickly, smirking. "Both of you or no go."

"Aww," Puck said, pretending to pout even though his hazel eyes were sparkling. "You know he doesn't share. He's picky like that."

"Then we'll both just have to admire from afar," Sam said quietly, still smirking. "I am so not pissing off your hubby. Besides the fact I love him too, there's the whole armed and dangerous thing. He'd break me in half and shoot whatever was left."

"And be sexy as hell doing it, too," Puck agreed with a wicked grin, then suddenly changed the subject, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Turn up the volume on your end for me."

Sam thumbed the button to control the volume, turning it up loud with a smile, sure he knew why Puck wanted him to. "Done."

Puck grinned and called loudly, "Sara!" Sam heard a low surprised noise in his bedroom and he grinned, nodding to let Puck know she could hear him, and then Puck smirked as he called, "Up and at 'em, brat!"

Sara squealed and then ran out of Sam's bedroom a moment later, jumping over the back of the couch to land next to Sam. She was dressed in a slightly ragged old McKinley High Athletics sweatshirt and the matching sweatpants that Puck had left behind when he moved out, and the sweats swallowed her whole and made her look younger and smaller than she really was. She was beaming even though she was still rubbing sleep out of her eyes, her hair a tangled mess that was flat on one side of her head and poofed out on the other, not quite hiding the shaved part of her hair and the bruises near her right eye.

Sam chuckled and thumbed the volume control again, turning it back down to a more normal level, but he was sure neither Sara or Puck noticed. They were too busy staring at each other.

Sara was gazing avidly at the TV screen and the more than life-sized image of Noah, taking in how little he had changed. Noah was wearing a weightlifter-style tank top that reminded her of one of his favorite old sleep shirts, and other than the high and tight buzzed haircut and a tattoo she could see the edge of on his upper left arm, he looked almost exactly like she remembered right down to the nipple piercings. "I'm so glad to see you, Noah," she blurted after a few moments. "I've missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, every day," Puck said, his smirk fading away. Sara had grown up a lot since he left, turning from a slightly chubby little girl into a young woman, but Puck thought her delicately beautiful face looked too thin even allowing for the normal loss of baby fat. Looking more closely made him realize the shapeless sweatshirt didn't quite hide that her shoulders were pretty bony, too, and he was sure she hadn't grown much more than a few inches since the pictures he had of her at her bat mitzvah almost three years ago, though her hair was long enough now that he suspected it hadn't been cut since he left Ohio. "It won't be much longer before you're home with us. Sam got your ticket a little while ago."

Sam smiled, amused that Puck had already seen the charge go through but not at all surprised. Puck always called him soon after Sam used the card to help Sara, asking how she was and making sure there was enough in the account for anything else Sara might need. Puck had given Sam access to the bank account online so Sam could check the balance himself to know if he needed to call Puck for him to add to it, but it had never happened yet, not even when Sam had to pay the rent for Sara. Puck had been very devoted about maintaining her account, making sure there was always a couple thousand there so that there would always be enough for emergencies.

Sara looked at Sam, surprised and smiling. "You did?"

Sam nodded, smiling at Sara. "We fly out Tuesday afternoon. Chicago to Seattle, then we get on the flight to Honolulu. We'll get there around eleven P.M. Hawai'i time if the plane's not late."

"Thank you!" Sara squealed, beaming as she hugged Sam.

"My pleasure, bittygirl." Sam hugged her back, not at all surprised when she only held on for a few moments before she pulled away.

"I even dreamed about seeing you on the beach last night, I want to be there so bad," Sara said quickly, still beaming as she looked at Puck again. "I can't wait!"

"Me either," Puck agreed, smiling and thanking the man upstairs for Sam's loving heart. He had a strong suspicion that if not for Sam, his baby sister wouldn't have survived five years of living alone with their mother. "How's your head?"

"It's not bad at all," Sara replied, reaching up to brush her hair back so she could feel of the side of her head. There were several lumps that were different from the night before where bruises had swollen, but they didn't hurt very bad as long as she didn't touch them too hard. "The bruises are a little bit sore and I've got a headache, but it doesn't hurt as bad as when Mom knocked me down in the bathroom a while back. I hit my head on the sink then and had a knot on my head and an awful headache for days, even though it didn't bleed much." She made a face. "It hurt so much I was nauseated for a while after, and I couldn't sleep at all for like two days."

Puck's smile disappeared. "Did you go to the doctor?"

"I went to school the next day and saw the nurse," Sara said quietly. "She said it wasn't really bad, but wanted me to go to the doctor anyway. I told Mom what the nurse said, and she said I looked fine to her and to shut up about it, so I did. You know how she was when she hurt us."

"I do," Puck agreed, pained. "I wish you would have told Sam instead of the school nurse, they're always useless. If Sam had taken you to Nana, she might have been able to get you out of there. Everyone knew Mom was a drunk, and her giving you a concussion that bad should have been enough to help me or Nana get custody."

"You never told anyone when she hit you," Sara pointed out. "She yelled a lot but she didn't hurt me all the time, not bad anyway. That time she chased me into the bathroom was while we were fighting because of my jewelry. I was really upset when I found it all gone, especially the amethyst earrings you got me, and I said a lot of stuff I knew better than to say to her." She paused and then admitted, "And when she slapped me, I kind of punched her and knocked her down. That's why she got so mad that I tried to get to the bathroom to lock her out. She was talking about killing me, and she looked so crazy that I was afraid she might try if she got her hands on me. She knocked me down just as I got to the bathroom door, and after I hit my head and she saw the blood, she said I deserved it and stormed off."

Puck sighed and was quiet for a few moments before he admitted slowly, "It probably makes me a bad person, but now that the shock has worn off I'm glad she's gone."

"We can be bad people together then," Sara said quietly. "I won't miss her at all, especially not when her being gone means I can go live with you."

"Just a few more days and then you'll be home," Puck agreed. "Everyone's out for a swim right now, but after breakfast we're going to clear out the attic. There's a bed and a dresser up there now, but there's hardly room to get to them because of the boxes and crap, and the floor is just raw boards. We're going to have to seal it good, then maybe put carpet down, I dunno."

"I don't need any carpet," Sara said, shaking her head. "I like wood floors. Remember Grandpa's old horse barn, with the tack room?"

Puck laughed, surprised. "You remember that? You were only five the last time we were there."

"Of course I remember! I loved it," Sara said quickly, smiling. "The wood was so beautiful in the sun from the windows, all golden with that woodgrain pattern almost like waves or something. I spent hours just staring at it and soaking up the sunshine. It was so much better than carpet or tile."

Puck smiled, pleased. "Then we'll just rent a sander to smooth the wood out up there, and then I'll seal it so you don't have to worry about splinters." Sara beamed and he added, "You'll need to be thinking about what color you want to paint the walls, and what you want your room to be like. We'll have to get bedding and furniture and all kinds of stuff once you're here."

Sara's eyes went wide. "Noah, no, you don't need to spend so much, really!"

Puck snorted. "Of course I do! We've been saving up half our paychecks for years, bittygirl, waiting for when we need it. I make good money, better than Mom ever did, and I'll be making nearly twice as much as I do now once I get my badge in a couple weeks and transfer to Five-0 to work with Kurt. We can afford to spoil you a bit." He laughed suddenly, adding, "You might even get a car for your sixteenth birthday, if you play your cards right. I know a mechanic who would make us a good deal on a little Jeep he just started restoring."

Sam grinned, sure that Burt must have a new project car. Burt had been buying old wrecks out of back yards and fields to 'play with' on slow days at work ever since he arrived in Hawai'i, and he was making good money selling them when he got done restoring them. His nephew-in-law, Lloyd, still ran Hummel Tire & Lube there in Lima, and he picked up parts for Burt from Burt's old buddies in the area that had junkyards, and then Lloyd sent Burt the parts. The price of the parts and shipping was still far less than what most parts would cost Burt if he bought them in Hawai'i, so it was working out well for him.

Sara just stared for a few moments, still wide-eyed, then asked slowly, "Can I get a little tablet so I can talk to my friends here?"

"We can swing that, easy," Puck agreed, not even bothering to think about it. "You'll need a new cell phone too, I'm sure."

"I have Nana's old one," Sara admitted, looking a little awed. "She keeps minutes on it for me, but I only use it to talk to her and for emergencies. It doesn't even have a camera in it, it's just a plain flip phone."

"She won't have to do that anymore," Puck said firmly. "I'll add you to our plan. Kurt and I have unlimited minutes and text, so you'll be able to talk to Nana and to your friends back there anytime you want. You'll need to get the cell and the tablet here, though."

"Thank you," Sara said quietly, looking very happy even though her eyes were sparkling with tears.

"It's the least I can do, bittygirl," Puck said quietly. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more before now."

"No more saying sorry," Sara said firmly, blinking back the tears before any could fall. "We're starting over. Okay?"

"Sounds good to me," Puck agreed, and then he tried to change the subject a bit. "You'll love it here, there's a reason that everyone calls Hawai'i paradise."

"I know it's beautiful there," Sara said, smiling back. "I've seen pictures and stuff, but I can't wait to finally be on a real beach."

"We live on the beach," Puck said, smirking. "The Pacific ocean is in our back yard and we have our own private strip of it to enjoy, anytime we want."

"That's going to be so awesome," Sara said, wide-eyed.

"You'll love it," Puck said again, grinning, and then he looked at Sam. "What's the plan for you two today?"

"Shopping," Sam replied. Sara looked at him quickly, surprised, and Sam added, "You need some luggage, and some clothes and stuff, too. You haven't got much left that actually fits you and that's just not gonna cut it, bittygirl."

Sara's eyes filled with tears again as she launched herself at Sam, hugging him tightly around the neck as she mumbled, "Thank you."

Sam hugged her, rubbing her back as he murmured, "You don't have to thank me. I would have done it a long time ago if I could."

"Get her whatever she wants today, bro," Puck said firmly.

Sam looked back up at the television as Sara pulled away to sit back down next to him, staring at Puck and wiping her tears away as she repeated, "Anything?"

Puck was smiling and looking pleased. "Anything. I did a little checking around and already moved some more money into the account while I was waiting for Sam to get on. There oughta be plenty there now for the funeral and anything you need, too."

"You don't have to worry about the funeral," Sam said quickly, smiling. "Your uncle Rod called Nana this morning to tell her that it's all taken care of. They had burial insurance or something, I don't think he told her the specifics. We're just supposed to show up Monday morning in Chicago to pay our respects, then it's done."

"That's nice of them," Puck said, looking surprised. "Even though it's a hell of a drive."

"It is," Sam agreed. "We'd have to leave a couple hours before daylight to make it, so I thought we could go up tomorrow and get a hotel room for the night. Nana liked the idea and wants to go out somewhere nice for dinner while we're there."

Puck grinned, wide and happy. "Awesome! Use the card for it all, the fancy dinner, a nice hotel, and whatever else. Have a blast."

"You got it," Sam agreed, pleased.

A door opened off-screen and then a moment later Kurt walked into range of the camera, and Sara's eyes widened as she tried not to be obvious about staring. Kurt's dark hair was still wet from his swim, slicked back and hanging limply against his shoulders, and he was wearing only a very short pair of cutoff jeans riding low on his hips and a fluffy towel draped around his neck that did nothing to hide his body or the piercings in both of his nipples. Kurt had a perfect build from what Sara could see, all smooth tanned and toned muscle, but she reminded herself firmly that he belonged to Noah and was gay, so she wasn't allowed to think he was sexy. Even though he totally was.

Kurt smiled at Sam and Sara as he said quickly, "Good morning!" He moved to kiss Puck lightly and then turned and walked off to one side out of camera range again, giving Sara a glimpse of the edge of a tattoo peeking over the top of his shorts on one hip. "Don't mind me, I just need some clothes for the day. I'm not making breakfast in my cutoffs."

Puck snickered, looking away from the camera in the direction Kurt had gone. "I'd like to see that."

"Of course you would enjoy it," Kurt agreed with a soft laugh. "I would freeze, though."

Puck was smirking, obviously enjoying the view as he watched Kurt. "I still don't know how you can get cold in Hawai'i, baby."

"It's not difficult, I promise," Kurt said dryly, sounding muffled. "Especially when I'm all wet."

"Mostly naked and wet is always a good look for you, though," Puck pointed out with a wicked little grin, and then he was hit in the face by Kurt's towel.

Sara started giggling, making Puck remember that Sam and Sara were watching, and he gave them a sheepish look as Kurt said firmly, "I'm going to go finish changing in the bathroom so you'll behave yourself." He moved into the range of the camera again, already wearing a t-shirt with his towel-dried hair an unruly mess dripping against it. He was smiling warmly at Sam and Sara as he said, "Don't forget to call if you need anything, okay? Even just to talk."

"We won't forget, Kurt," Sam agreed, amused. "And we'll be there Tuesday night."

Kurt beamed, blue eyes bright and sparkling. "Wonderful! I'll dig out the hammock tent for you, it's supposed to rain a bit next week."

Sam grinned, pleased. "Awesome. I love watching the rain come in over the water."

"I remember," Kurt said quickly, smiling. "I should go get breakfast started. I'll see you both soon."

"It was nice to see you again, Kurt," Sara said suddenly, making Kurt look at her in surprise. She smiled even though she was feeling a little shy as she added, "I know you don't really know me, but I want to fix that."

"We will, I promise." Kurt was smiling and looked grateful. "I feel like I do know you though, Sara. Noah talks about you all the time. He's missed you dreadfully."

"More than I ever thought I could," Puck admitted, giving Sara a sheepish little smile. "You were a brat sometimes, but you're still my bittygirl."

"I've missed you, too," Sara agreed, smiling at Noah. "Sometimes it was a pain to have to help you cook and clean, but I understand why you made me learn now."

"I knew Mom wouldn't let me stay until you were eighteen," Puck said quietly, his smile fading. "That last year, she reminded me almost every day that she was going to kick me out the moment she thought she could. I had to make sure you could take care of yourself."

"You did," Sara said, smiling. "I'm still standing, Noah, and I didn't starve to death. That's not because of anything she ever did."

Puck smiled. "I'm proud as hell of you, kiddo. I know how hard it was."

Sara beamed at Noah. "Thank you." She looked at Kurt again, not wanting him to feel left out. "I hope we'll be good friends, Kurt."

"We're not just going to be friends, Sara," Kurt said quickly, giving her a sweet smile. "We're family. You're my baby sister, you have been since the night Noah asked me to marry him, you just didn't know it. We'll have to have a spa day soon, just you and I and maybe Grace if you want her there so you can get to know her too. She's my Uncle's daughter, but she's more like a little sister to us both. Noah's told her so much about you that she can't wait to meet you. She feels like you're the big sister she just hasn't met yet."

"I'd like that," Sara agreed, smiling shyly.

"Then that's what we'll do," Kurt said firmly, smiling. "We'll make a weekend of it, do our spa day and then do something fun the next day."

Sara smiled a little wider, looking hopeful. "With Noah and Sam, maybe?"

"I'm sure we can convince them to hang out with us if that's what you want," Kurt agreed, grinning at Sara. "They'll do almost anything for us if we ask."

"Awesome!" Sara said quickly, beaming. "I want to learn to dance."

Kurt laughed. "Then we'll dance! I happen to know they're both very good at it." He grinned impishly at Sara, pretending to whisper, "Almost as good as me."

Sam laughed at that while Puck smirked up at Kurt, his eyes sparkling with amusement. Neither of them argued, though. They knew it was the simple truth. Kurt had always moved like he was born to dance, and all the physical training over the last few years had done nothing to slow him down.

Sara beamed at Kurt, her hazel eyes sparkling happily and looking almost identical to her brother's eyes. "I know, I remember seeing you dance with them, but I've never gotten to dance at all, not really."

"Then it's about time you did," Kurt said firmly. He looked at Puck, asking, "Right?"

Puck was staring up at Kurt with a sweet, happy smile as he said feelingly, "I love you."

Kurt smiled fondly at Puck, his blue eyes bright and happy as he moved over to Puck and said softly, "I love you too, Noah." He leaned down to kiss Puck, humming at the way Puck lifted one hand to Kurt's neck to keep him there and prolong the kiss.

Sara looked at Sam, grinning at how amused Sam looked as she said, "I've wanted to learn to dance for such a long time."

Sam grinned at her. "Good thing your big brothers are the best dancers around, then. Noah and Kurt could teach a cow on crutches to dance, I'm walking proof."

Sara just giggled and beamed happily, leaning against Sam's side as she looked back at Noah and Kurt, who were still kissing like they had all the time in the world. Kurt had moved closer to Noah and had his hands lightly cupped along Noah's jaw, holding him still while Kurt kissed him slow and gentle, obviously savoring every moment of it while Noah just relaxed and enjoyed it, his hands resting on Kurt's forearms.

Watching Noah with Kurt made Sara suddenly remember the day a few weeks before Noah left Lima when he told her about the birds and the bees and what it was like to be in love, what seemed like a lifetime ago. She hadn't understood why Noah brought it up at the time, but looking back later she had realized Noah had known he might have to leave her soon. He had explained the facts of life to her and what to expect as she grew up, and then asked her to wait until she found real love before she had sex because he didn't want her to repeat his mistakes, or the mistakes his friends had made. She had asked how to tell when she was really in love, since her friends were always thinking that they were in love with someone, and Noah had tried to explain, fumbling for words. He had told her she might fall for someone as soon as their eyes met, or she might know a boy for years before she understood what he really meant to her, but Noah had promised she would know when it was really love. She would look at somebody one day and realize that just seeing him smile was enough to brighten her day, and being with him would make her heart soar. Noah had gotten quiet then before he added that the touch of someone she was truly in love with would feel like it went right to her heart, stripping away her defenses so that she couldn't hide how she felt, and that when she kissed him she would feel it right to her soul.

Sara had never forgotten the look in Noah's eyes that day when he talked about what it was like to be in love, and she had kept her promise to wait. Most of her friends had claimed to be in love a dozen times over the years since then, but it never lasted very long for them and it was seldom returned by the person they thought they were in love with, even if they had sex with them. Sara had dated a few boys but she had never felt anything like the kind of love Noah told her about, never really got anywhere close to it, and she had eventually started to doubt that the kind of love Noah had told her about was even real. It started to seem like a fairy-tale, something like her books about heroes who gave over their whole lives to a quest, or wizards who saved the world with the strength of their love for their friends.

Seeing Noah and Kurt together made Sara realize they were walking, talking proof that the soul-deep love that Noah had tried to describe to Sara that day so long ago really did exist, and that Noah had been right. The way Noah and Kurt looked at each other and the love she could see in every kiss and touch they shared was something Sara wanted for herself someday, even if she had to wait twenty years before she found it.

The wait would be worth it.

They had been shopping for hours and Sara was getting pretty tired as she climbed in on the driver's side of Sam's big green Dodge pickup, but she was also feeling so grateful she couldn't even start to put it into words. They had started the day with breakfast at Denny's even though it was after one in the afternoon by then, and then they began their shopping at Target because she didn't want to go to the mall. She had still seen a few people she knew, but nothing like it would have been in the mall on a Saturday. Everyone she knew hung out at the mall on Saturdays. There wasn't much else to do in Lima, not in the winter time, so the food court of the mall was where everyone hung out together.

By the time it started getting dark they had been in four different stores and Sara was wearing new clothes from the skin out, feeling like she looked nice for the first time in a long time. Her new clothes weren't just pretty though, they were also a thousand times more comfortable than the too-tight clothes she had been wearing that morning, and she had a new sweater that was soft as a kitten that she loved. She hadn't intended to get any winter clothes at all because she thought it would be a waste with her leaving Ohio in a few days, hopefully for good, but Sam hadn't liked the way she was shivering in Target. He had added a sweater to the buggy despite her protests, and after everything had been paid for she had gone into the bathroom at the front of the store and changed into some of her new clothes before they even left the store. She had decided on the black jeans and a matching tank top and underthings, with the dark purple sweater Sam picked out for her over the tank top. She hadn't noticed that the sweater was cashmere until she took the tags off to put it on, but hours later she still kept catching herself petting her arm to enjoy how soft and furry it was. It had cost entirely too much as far as she was concerned, but she loved it dearly already.

Sara had thought they were on the way home when they got in the truck after they left TJ Maxx, but Sam surprised her by turning into the Wal-Mart parking lot a few minutes later. "Did you need something, Sam?" she asked, looking at him in surprise.

"You forgot a few things," Sam said, giving her a quick smile before he went back to watching the other cars around them. "We got most of the clothes you needed, but there's still things like shampoo and toothpaste, and you mentioned earlier you're out of hair bands."

"I've mostly been living without that stuff," Sara admitted sheepishly, surprised. "I hadn't even thought about it today."

"I know," Sam said, turning the truck to park it across two empty spaces more than halfway down the lot away from the store. He smiled at her as he turned off the truck and removed the keys from the ignition, adding, "I've thought about it though, and not just today. Now that I can finally do something about it, you're going to get what you want."

"Thank you," Sara murmured, smiling. She had been saying that all day, but she could say it a hundred more times and still not feel like she had said it enough. Sam had been amazing, sweet and funny and quick to help her find anything she mentioned she wanted, often finding things for her like the sweater that she wouldn't have gotten otherwise. "I'm sure there are other things you'd rather do with your day off."

"Pfft," Sam said, grinning at her. "I like shopping, it's fun helping you pick things out." He opened his door to get out, holding it for her as he added, "Besides, it's not like I had big plans. I was just going to goof off at home. I'd probably be playing Warcraft or watching some movie I've seen a million times before."

Sara slid over to get out, moving out of the way for Sam to close the truck door and then walking towards the store with him while the alarm beeped behind them, locking the truck. "I'd be hiding in my room right now," she admitted, "hoping Mom passed out soon so I could go try to put some kind of meal together. Last Saturday I had leftover chicken soup with ramen." She paused and then added, "Tonight I would have been eating just the ramen unless she got hungry and decided to buy some food. That's all I had left in the kitchen besides some nasty oil-packed tuna."

Sam reached over to put an arm around Sara's shoulders, giving her a squeeze as he said firmly, "No more ramen, bittygirl. We'll have some real food when we get done here."

"Sounds good," Sara agreed, putting her arm around him and leaning against his side while they walked. It had been a long time since she had the comfort of being held and she wanted to enjoy it while she could, even if only for a few minutes. Walking with Sam felt like walking with her brother, not like it had the few times she let a boy she dated put an arm around her, and she was glad Sam didn't seem to mind her clinging a bit. It reminded her a lot of the way it used to be with Noah when he took her somewhere, always so protective and wanting her to stay close.

Sam finally let go of Sara to get a buggy when they got into the store, and then he surprised her by heading for the aisle up at the front where the books and magazines were. He stopped by the magazines, scanning covers without saying anything, and after a few moments Sara's curiosity got the better of her.

"What are you looking for?" Sara asked.

Sam glanced at her and then looked back at the magazines to grab a copy of 'Wired'. "Something for me to read." He dropped the magazine in the child seat part of the buggy, then looked at her again, smiling. "I think you'd rather I don't help with some of what you need to get here."

"Okay," Sara agreed, a little confused as she wondered what that might be.

Sam started the buggy moving again and she walked along with him, still a little confused until she realized he was heading towards the lingerie department. She was blushing by the time Sam stopped near the changing room, suddenly glad he had the magazine and wouldn't be helping her find things. She had bought a bra and underwear set at Target when Sam said that she needed a whole new outfit to wear for the day, but she hadn't gotten extras even though she definitely needed them. The set she picked out was a pretty lacy black bra and matching panties, but it had embarrassed her so much to have Sam see them that she didn't even consider finding more.

"I'll be right here," Sam said quietly, smiling at Sara as he shifted to lean comfortably on the cart and opened his magazine. "Go get whatever you need, I'll be fine."

Sara felt like her face was on fire as she mumbled, "Thanks, Sam." She stepped closer to Sam and stretched up to kiss his cheek quickly, then hurried away into the aisle where bras were. She had been wearing her mother's old bra until Sam made her get a new one that morning, and after a day of wearing one that actually fit she wanted at least two more. She had gotten used to a bra being uncomfortable and pinching in some places even though it was too loose others even after she tried to take it up, and having one that fit her properly was so much better. She hardly noticed her new one was there, it fit so well, and it made her look so much better than her mother's ugly, scratchy old bra with the weird pointy cups.

There was an older lady sitting behind a desk next to the doors to the changing room, and she waited until Sara was out of sight before she said quietly, "You're a good big brother."

Sam looked at the woman, surprised. She was wearing a name tag that said Julie, and looked to be in her fifties. "I try. She's had a rough time and needs a little pampering right now."

"I noticed her face," Julie murmured. "What happened?"

"A car accident," Sam said, his smile fading. "Drunk driver."

"Poor child," Julie said, looking sad.

Sam nodded. "She's had it rough for a long time now, though. Her mom was a real piece of work."

"Not your mom?" Julie half-asked, surprised.

Sam shook his head. "No ma'am, we had different moms. I haven't gotten to see her much until her mom lost custody. Sara had to leave most of her clothes behind when she left, so we have to replace almost everything."

It was only a small lie since a corpse couldn't have custody, and it was the same story he and Sara had used all day when sales ladies got curious about them. Sam wasn't stupid enough to tell random strangers that he was taking a friend's pretty fifteen year old baby sister around town buying her clothes, and Sara had quickly agreed with him when he had brought it up on their way to Denny's that morning. It was easier on them both to say he was her big brother and that they had been kept apart by her mom instead of admitting her mother had died. Sara wasn't really mourning her mom like most would expect, and with good reason, but it would still be upsetting for Sara to have to explain why.

"Divorce is always hardest on the kids," Julie said quietly, looking sympathetic.

Sam nodded. "Always."

"Why don't I go see if I can help her?" Julie asked, smiling as she stood up. "Maybe then you won't have to wait too long."

"I don't mind waiting, but helping her would be good," Sam agreed, pleased. "She hasn't really had to buy this kind of thing alone before and she needs everything."

"I'll make sure she gets what she needs, hon," Julie said, patting Sam's shoulder on her way by him to go find Sara. "You enjoy your magazine."

"Thank you, ma'am," Sam said, smiling as he watched her go, then he went back to reading his magazine.

Twenty minutes later Sara had her new underthings in the buggy and she was blushing as she followed Sam into the women's clothing department. Sam hadn't looked at her choices, made a point of looking away in fact, but she was still embarrassed to have her underwear and bras right out in the open. She had tried on the first bra she found so Julie could help her make sure it fit properly. It had been embarrassing to let a stranger see her in her bra, but she had wanted to be sure she had the right size because the bra she bought that morning was so comfortable she wondered if it was too loose. Julie hadn't commented on how thin Sara was, she just explained how the bra should fit and then helped Sara find a few more she liked. She had found two more cute sets she liked in the right sizes, including one in dark purple that she loved, and then picked out a few separates she liked. She thought she had gotten too many, but they were so pretty that she had let Julie talk her into making sure she had seven sets so it would be a week before she would have to do laundry.

Sam seemed to know what he was looking for, and after a moment Sara asked quietly, "What's next, Sam?"

"You need some loose long-sleeved shirts you can wear over your suit on the beach," Sam replied, smiling at her. "We'll be in Hawai'i in a couple days, and you forgot to get a cover-up when you got a suit. You're pale as a ghost and you'll need to be careful or you'll get burnt to a crisp, even with sunscreen. They say they last eight hours, but if you get in the water it's really more like one hour or two."

"Good idea," Sara agreed, smiling as she started to look around more. "Maybe a hat and some sunglasses too."

Sam grinned, nodding. "Both. The sun is pretty bright in Kailua, even in December."

They wandered through the clothing department for a little while and Sara picked out a few tank tops, some cute shorts to sleep in, and two long-sleeved blouses that she thought would be good to keep the sun off until she got used to it. They went to look at accessories next to find her a hat and sunglasses, and when Sam noticed her looking at the purses he had her pick out one she liked. Getting a purse led to getting a wallet and a cosmetics bag to go into the purse, and then Sam found a nice leather backpack that matched the purse and would be perfect for her to carry on the plane.

Sam was leading her towards the pharmacy area afterwards when Sara asked suddenly, "Could I get some makeup, and maybe a bottle of perfume?"

"Of course," Sam agreed, pleased she was actually asking for something she wanted. Most of what she had gotten so far that day he'd had to suggest to her, and even then he had to remind her several times that she didn't have to just get whatever was cheapest, regardless of whether she liked it or not. "Anything you want, bittygirl, remember?"

Sara beamed. "You're so awesome."

Sam laughed. "Noah's paying for it, not me. I'm just playing shopping assistant and chauffeur."

"I know, but still! You're the one helping me today," Sara pointed out. She turned away to walk quickly to the cosmetics aisle. "I know you've got to be pretty bored by now."

Sam followed her, smiling. "Nah. I meant it when I told you I like helping you shop."

Sara looked skeptical but didn't argue with him. She scanned the makeup quickly to find what she needed to cover up the bruises on her face, picking out a small compact with several shades of pale cream and brown eyeshadows before she moved to get two different brands of liquid foundation and the little sponges to apply it with. She moved to the nail polish then, quickly picking out four different shades of purple fast-drying nail polish, and then she got a three-pack of beeswax lip balm before she walked around to the next aisle and went straight to a distinctive purple and silver box of perfume.

Sam was still trailing along behind her, and he smiled wryly when he saw her reaching for the smallest box of perfume labeled Vintage Soul. "Get the big one if that's one you like, Sara. There's no telling how hard it will be to get more in Hawai'i. Kurt complained at first about having to order some of the things he liked because he can't get them in Kailua."

"Okay," Sara agreed quietly, putting back the small box of Vintage Soul to get the largest one. "I love this perfume. Grandma Edith got me a little bottle for my birthday two years ago." It had been the smallest bottle, but Sara had been so careful with it that it lasted her a long time. She had saved the last of it for months, not sure why she was until Grandma Edith had died suddenly, and she had suddenly understood why she had felt the need to keep it. She wore the last of it to Grandma Edith's funeral and had wished for another bottle ever since, both because she loved the scent and because she knew it would always remind her of Grandma.

"What about the other stuff in the same brand?" Sam asked, pointing towards a few similar purple and silver boxes down below the perfume.

"I never tried any of them," Sara admitted as she looked at the lotion, body spray, and shower gel. "It would be a waste to get something and find out I didn't like it."

"Try small ones for now then," Sam suggested, smiling. "The little ones aren't much more than a latte at Starbucks, and if you like them we can get you bigger ones before we leave on Tuesday."

"Sounds good," Sara agreed as she reached for the small shower gel and a small lotion. "Hopefully it won't be a waste."

"I bet you'll like it," Sam said, following her when she started to move on again.

Sara went to the shampoo aisle Sam had been heading for before they got side-tracked, picking out a purple bottle of Aussie Moist shampoo because it was what Noah used to get for her. She was about to move on when Sam spoke up.

"Wait, you'll need conditioner too," Sam said quietly. "The cheap shampoo you've been using has done a number on your hair, but a good conditioner should help." He had seen her get shampoo just once in the last six months, and she had gotten the cheapest crap on the shelf despite his protests of how bad it was for her hair.

Sara blushed a bit and admitted, "I've been washing it with dish soap half the time. Mom kept using all the shampoo." She moved to look at the shelf again, and after a few moments she grabbed a bottle of Aussie 3 Minute Miracle conditioner. It said it was a deep conditioner for damaged hair, so she figured would help with how dry and frizzy her hair was if anything could. She offered the bottle to Sam as she said, "This one looks okay, I think. Noah always got Aussie for me."

Sam looked at the bottle when she passed it to him and then he nodded, smiling as he put it in the buggy. "Yeah, that ought to help a lot. Aussie's always a safe bet." He reached up to an upper shelf for a small jar she hadn't even realized was for hair, offering it to her as he said, "This one should help too. It's not shampoo, but it worked wonders on Stacy's hair after it got fried by that perm. It's not something you do all the time, so you won't need a big bottle or anything. She treated her hair twice with it and was almost back to normal."

"I'll try it too then," Sara agreed immediately, smiling sheepishly at Sam. "I don't know much about hair products."

"Neither do I," Sam said with a smile, starting to walk towards the end of the aisle with her. "Mom talked to a hairstylist she knows, and she told her what we needed to get."

Sara giggled and followed Sam. "That's cheating."

Sam just snickered and led the way to the next aisle, where all the hair accessories were. Sara didn't say anything as she grabbed some hair barrettes and ponytail bands, a brush, and a bag of hair scrunchies. When she was done Sam started them moving again, heading to the next aisle where all the shaving supplies were. Sara showed no inclination to get anything, so he tossed a pink battery-powered shaver and a bottle of Nair into the buggy while she blushed and pretended not to notice. He was sure she needed one or the other since all girls did, but he wasn't going to embarrass her by asking what she liked to use.

Sara had thought they would leave after that, but instead Sam turned towards the back corner of the store as he said, "Alright, now you need to get the girl things and then we're done, I think."

Sara felt like her face was bursting into flames as she realized Sam was walking towards the feminine hygiene aisle. "Oh my God, Sam!" she blurted. The whole concept of having a guy watch her buy that kind of thing was mortifying to her, especially a guy she knew. "I'll get those! You just... go away."

Sam tried very hard not to laugh, but he was sure Sara could tell he wanted to anyway. "Stacy has sent me after hers more than once when Mom was working because she's too embarrassed to get them herself. I don't mind."

"I do!" Sara said quickly, still beet red. "Just, no. Go... get me some toothpaste or something."

"Okay," Sam agreed, amused. "I'll wait for you there."

"Thanks," Sara said quickly, watching to make sure he went before she started down the aisle to get what she needed. She was out of everything, but she had been planning to ask Sam for the card so she could to walk to the convenience store near his apartment building to get what she needed. She hadn't ever had to buy her own before, it was one of the few things Mom had always been good about getting for her besides the birth control pills she didn't need, but she'd rather have to get them herself from a stranger than let Sam do it. At least she'd never have to see the stranger again.

Sam was waiting patiently for her on the toothpaste aisle when she went looking for him, and she was grateful for how he pretended to be very interested in toothpaste while she buried the two packages she was carrying under the clothes in the buggy. She was still blushing very red when he asked, "What kind of toothpaste do you like? I didn't see any in your stuff."

"I'm out," Sara said, moving over to the smallest boxes of toothpaste to start looking at prices and get the cheapest, which was what she always did.

"Stop that," Sam said suddenly, making her look at him in surprise. "I didn't ask what was cheapest, I asked what you like."

"Right," Sara said sheepishly and then she looked at the toothpaste again, reaching for the Crest Pro Health toothpaste she hadn't been able to get since Noah left.

Sam smiled, watching her toss it in the buggy as he said, "And a toothbrush."

Sara nodded and went to the toothbrushes, getting a two-pack of the ones Noah always bought, since she didn't know how else to choose them. She dropped it in the buggy and then looked at Sam, asking, "All done?"

"Almost," Sam said as he started the buggy moving. "Except for finding some books to read. Chicago is a long drive tomorrow, then we have to come back Monday and go again early Tuesday before our flight." He paused and then added, "It's a little over four hours each way, and then we'll be on the plane for twelve hours or so, plus a couple hours layover in Seattle."

"Hopefully I'll sleep at least some of that, but something new to read would be nice," Sara said quietly, walking with Sam back towards the magazine and book aisle they started on. "I've read the few books I kept at least a dozen times."

"Past time for new ones, then," Sam said cheerfully.

Sam started looking at the books when they got there too, so Sara didn't feel bad about taking time to really look through the different titles. They ended up spending a good ten minutes browsing through the books, and by the time they left Sam had a book to read on the plane Tuesday, and Sara ended up with four books that she thought would last her a while. She had wanted to read the Hunger Games books ever since she saw the first movie, and the book she had found about a lady bounty hunter from New Jersey, 'One For The Money', looked like it would be fun, too. It was the first in a long series, so if it was as good as it sounded she'd have something to read for a long time before she finished them all.

They finally headed up front to check out, and they both were glad to see they wouldn't have to wait in line before it was their turn. Sara began to unload the buggy onto the conveyor belt of the first empty register they got to, but she had only put a few things out when cashier suddenly said, "Wow. Someone's either been very good or very bad."

Sara looked at her, surprised. "What do you mean?"

The cashier smirked. "The lacy bras and the leather bags and all the rest. Did you earn it, or is he apologizing?"

Sara blushed very red, straightening up indignantly. "Sam's got nothing to apologize for!"

"Earned them, then," the cashier said, still smirking as she started to check them out. "On your back or your knees? Looks like you made him buy everything but the condoms."

Sarah just stared at the cashier for a moment as she finally realized what the cashier had been hinting at, beet red and so embarrassed and angry she couldn't even begin to find words to say anything.

Sam offered Sara the keys as he said firmly, "Go wait in the truck, bittygirl."

Sara took the keys and started towards the door without a word, but she was still close enough to hear when Sam started talking to the cashier a moment later.

"You might sell your ass that cheap, lady," Sam said pointedly, "but my baby sister never would." Sara stopped and looked back, surprised, and saw the cashier staring at Sam as he went on. "Just shut up and do your job, or I'll have to talk to the manager about you sexually harassing an underage girl."

"Geez, I was just teasing her," the cashier said, sullen and obviously angry as she started scanning things again. "It was a joke."

Sam snorted, starting to empty the buggy onto the conveyor. "Yeah, well, your idea of a joke isn't funny. Start scanning."

Sara watched Sam take her shampoo out of the buggy as she realized suddenly that he was going to see everything she had bought. She turned away to walk quickly outside and then broke into a run as soon as she hit the sidewalk, heading straight for the truck and hoping she wouldn't see anyone she knew. She was glad to reach it without incident, beeping the alarm off and the doors unlocked so she could climb into the truck and then hiding her face in her hands, so mortified it felt like her face and neck were on fire.

Sara's face was still red when Sam reached the truck about five minutes later, but he didn't say anything about it. "Scoot over and I'll hand you stuff." Sara obediently slid over next to the pile of luggage and shopping bags in the passenger seat and then looked back at Sam. He started to pass the bags to her then, waiting until he had the last two out of the buggy before he said, "I dunno about you, but I think we're done for the day."

Sara took the last bags quickly, adding them to the pile between her and the passenger door and wishing she could stop blushing as she made sure the bag with the girl things was buried. "I agree, you already did way too much for me today."

Sam climbed into the truck, closing the door before he looked at her again while he reached to turn the truck on. "That's not what I meant. I don't mind shopping, and you needed all of it." He smiled at her, adding, "I was glad to help."

"Thank you," Sara said quietly, and then she impulsively threw her arms around his neck to hug him.

Sam wrapped one arm around her to hold her as he murmured, "You don't have to thank me, bittygirl, but you're welcome." He didn't bother to point out that he would have done it all a long time ago if he could have. Sara had always been afraid to let him buy anything she didn't absolutely have to have, and her idea of what were necessities and what could be lived without had often made him very sad.

Nancy had believed that it was Nana was the one buying Sara's food, and Nana didn't have a lot of extra money so Sara had always been careful not to let Sam spend much on her. She always went straight to the cases of ramen and then added a few of the cheap 'just add water' pasta mixes, some canned meats and soups, a jar of bouillon, and then maybe a few things from the clearance bin, but she usually always refused to get fresh meat or veggies unless they were marked down and never wanted sweets or cereal or chips or any of the other things most teenagers lived on. The one thing Sam had always insisted on was hitting a drive-thru so he could make sure she ate at least one meal that week, even though he knew that it wasn't enough to really help her overall. It made him feel better to see her eat and she seemed to look forward to it, always sure of where she wanted to go and what her order would be before they even got to the menu.

Sara pulled away after a few moments to give Sam a slightly shaky smile, her hazel eyes a little too bright. "Nobody but Noah has ever cared so much about me, Sam."

"You're forgetting your Nana," Sam pointed out gently, smiling.

"Still," Sara said quietly. "It means a lot to me."

"You're my little sister as far as I'm concerned, Sara," Sam said quietly, still smiling. "It's my job to take care of you when you'll let me."

Sara just looked at him a moment longer and then started to put her seatbelt on, her gaze on her knees as she said, "It's going to take me a while to get used to having three big brothers."

"And a couple of uncles, two aunts, and a cousin," Sam pointed out, looking around them to check for any cars passing nearby.

Sam had parked far enough from the door that there weren't any cars parked near them, something he had made a habit of because of the long wheelbase on his truck. Burt had sold him the Ram when he left Ohio because Burt wouldn't need it anymore, letting Sam pay the blue book value on it only because Sam insisted after Burt tried to just give him the truck. Kurt had always said the truck drove like a tank and Sam really couldn't disagree, but unlike Kurt the tank-like durability of the truck was his favorite thing about it. Sam loved how big and solid the truck was and never really worried much about other drivers doing stupid things anymore, not like he did when he drove the little Geo he used to have, which would have crumpled like a tin can if he got in an accident.

"Aunts?" Sara asked as Sam started to pull out of their parking place to head for the exit.

"Kono and Mary, Steve and Danny's sisters," Sam explained, smiling at Sara before he looked back at the road. "Well, sort of. Kono is part of the Five-0 team, she's Chin's cousin but Steve and Danny already considered her as their honorary little sister before she ever met Steve's actual little sister Mary. Kono and Mary started dating just before Kurt moved to Hawai'i and have been together ever since, so yeah." He chuckled. "It's kind of funny to watch them all, really. Mary and Danny are enough alike to pass as siblings, both noisy, funny blonds with big personalities, and Kono's so much like Steve it's kind of scary, even though they aren't related at all."

Sara smiled. "And the cousin?"

"Grace," Sam said, glancing at Sara as he stopped at a light. "Kurt mentioned her earlier. She's Danny's daughter from his first marriage. She's a few months younger than you are and has wanted to meet you for a long time now. She used to live with her mother most of the time, but Danny sued for custody a few years ago because Grace was being left home with the maid all the time and she hated it. She spends most of her time with the 'ohana now and she's a lot happier than she used to be, even though her mom complains all the time about Danny turning her prim and proper little rich girl into a beach bunny." The light changed and Sam started the truck moving again. "Danny likes to tell people she's fifteen going on forty, and that she takes after Steve just like Kurt does, even though Kurt and Gracie aren't actually related to Steve at all. Steve, Kurt, and Gracie spend half their time in the water when they're home, swimming or surfing or even out diving with a spear to catch dinner."

"Sounds like fun," Sara murmured, smiling as Sam turned onto the side street that went to his apartment building. She was quiet a moment and then asked, "What's an 'ohana?"

Sam looked at Sara in surprise for a moment, then back at the street. "Have you ever seen 'Lilo & Stitch'?"

"Not that I know of," Sara said, confused.

"We can watch it tonight then," Sam said, giving her a quick grin. "It explains 'ohana perfectly, and you'll like Stitch. He reminds me a lot of Puck back in high school." He paused and then added, "'Ohana is a Hawai'ian word that means family, but it's about the feeling, not just blood relatives. It's the people you love and will never forget or exclude from your life, and who feel the same way about you."

"I like that," Sara murmured with a smile. "Watching the movie would be great, but I need to pack, too."

"You can get the things you won't need tomorrow packed and then we'll watch it while we eat dinner," Sam said, nodding. "I thought we'd get delivery tonight."

"Who delivers here?" Sara asked as Sam turned the truck into the parking lot by his building.

"Pizza, Italian, Chinese, or Mexican, pretty much," Sam replied, smiling as he drove slowly around to the back of the building. "Or I can order from somewhere else and go pick it up."

"Chinese?" Sara asked, looking hopeful.

"Chinese it is," Sam agreed as he pulled into his parking spot by the stairs. "I even have a current menu by the TV."

Sara beamed. "Thank you! I love it and haven't had any in forever."

Sam grinned as he turned off the truck and removed his keys from the ignition. "I like it too, bittygirl, that's why I have the current menu." He winked and then got out of the truck, adding, "Pass me some bags to carry on the way up, and you get a couple too. I'll bring the rest up while you start sorting things."

"Okay," Sara agreed quickly, starting to grab bags and hand them to Sam, keeping the bag of girl things to carry herself even though just seeing them had her blushing again. It was useless to try to hide them after Sam had already seen everything when he checked out, but she still did it anyway.

Sam noticed Sara was blushing and trying to keep one bag out of sight but he pretended not to. Stacy was the same way if anyone caught a glimpse of her girl stuff, and she still couldn't ask Sam for what she needed when she sent him into the store for her. She'd always write it down and fold the paper, and then pass it over to him like it was some big secret that girls needed that kind of thing, but Sam never teased Stacy about it and he wasn't going to tease Sara, either. It had been awkward enough for Sara to have to buy underwear with a guy, much less the more intimate girl things, without having him tease her about it.

Sam moved away from the truck's door when he had several bags, smiling at Sara. "Grab a few and come on, bittygirl."

Sara did as she was told, grabbing four bags and then sliding over to the door and jumping down out of the truck. Sam closed the door as soon as she was out of the way, and then he locked the truck and they started up the stairs together towards Sam's apartment, which was the one to the right of the stairs there at the back of the building, right above his parking spot.

Forty-five minutes later, Sara was sitting in the middle of Sam's bed, almost done with putting her new things away in her suitcases. Sam had encouraged her all day to get any clothes she found that she liked, making sure she tried things on until they both were sure of her sizes, but she hadn't really noticed how much they got until she saw it all together. She had thought she wouldn't need all three pieces of the luggage set Sam picked out for her, but she definitely would, and the backpack he had gotten for her, too. She suddenly had more nice clothes than she had owned in years, and everything was actually new and fit perfectly except for Noah's old clothes she was going to keep.

She was so happy that she was feeling kind of overwhelmed as she removed the last of the tags, which was on the skirt she couldn't wait to wear to the fancy dinner Nana wanted to go out for in Chicago. The sales lady had said it was a broomstick skirt, and it was one of the prettiest things Sara had ever owned. It was gathered into ruffles at the waist and then flared out to a full skirt with a million little pleats in it that the sales lady said would completely hide any wrinkles so she could wear it right out of a suitcase or a drawer and it would still look beautiful as long as she followed the care labels and then stored it rolled up. The best part though, at least as far as Sara was concerned, was the color. At the waist it was black, but just below her hips the color slowly changed to a very dark purple that gradually began to get lighter until it reached a deep royal purple at the lower hem, which fell just above her ankles.

Sara had picked out a pretty black peasant blouse to go with it, and when she had tried them on at the store she had loved how it looked on her, making her look grown-up and pretty even with her hair all bushy and no makeup. She was sure that if she put a little effort into her hair and face it would be even better, especially with the silver and amethyst necklace and matching dangly earrings Sam had snuck into the things they bought when they were at Kohl's, where she found her new shoes. She was sure Nana wouldn't like them since they were black boots, but Sam had insisted she try them on after he saw how much she liked them. Once Sara had realized they fit her perfectly, it had been easy for Sam to convince her to get them instead of a pair of heels Nana would like even though Sara would never want to wear them again.

"Sara?" Sam asked softly, making Sara look up in surprise. He was standing at the door to his bedroom, surprised and concerned to find her crying while holding the skirt he had thought she loved. "Why are you crying?"

Sara reached up to touch her face and realized her cheeks were wet like she had been crying for a while. "I hadn't noticed that I was. I guess because I feel so..." She trailed off, looking for the right word, and then let out a little laugh, shaking her head as she wiped her face. "I don't know. Loved, I guess. Happy."

"You are loved," Sam pointed out, feeling relieved as he smiled. "And happy is a good thing."

"I know," Sara agreed, "but after the last few years it's a little overwhelming to be this happy." She laid the skirt on her open suitcase and then climbed off the bed to go hug Sam tightly. "Thank you for today, Sam."

Sam returned the hug as he murmured, "Noah and I would have made sure you had everything you need a long time ago if we could."

"I didn't mean just the things, Sam," Sara said softly against his shoulder, still holding on tight. "I meant treating me like I matter today, and being so sweet and patient with me."

"You do matter to me, bittygirl, very much," Sam replied gently, rubbing her back slowly. "And I was glad to spend the day with you. I enjoyed it."

Sara didn't say anything else, just holding on, so Sam held her until she finally started to pull away a few minutes later.

Sam smiled at her as he let go and said, "I was coming in here to ask if you wanted some help."

"I'm nearly done," Sara said quickly, smiling up at Sam even though she was embarrassed she had held on so long. Sara had missed Noah's hugs for so long that she felt like hugging Sam and holding on all the time since she had discovered that Sam's hugs made her feel all safe and warm just like her brother's hugs did, but she was trying hard not to do it too often. He had earned a spot in her heart long before he declared himself her older brother, but she still felt like it wasn't right for her to be as clingy with Sam as she would have been with Noah.

"I've just got my skirt left to pack, besides what I'm wearing and the stuff I left out for tomorrow," Sara added as she turned back to the bed to go put the skirt away in the smallest of the three suitcases with the clothes she would need for the next few days, her underthings, and Noah's old things that she had kept.

Sara had already carefully wrapped the jewelry Sam bought for her in tissues and then put it in her cosmetics bag in her new purse where she couldn't possibly misplace it, along with the first Hunger Games book. Her other three new books would go in the backpack, along with an afghan her grandmother Edith crocheted for her, the comfortably worn Keds Quinn left behind when she moved out, and the purple GameBoy Advance SP and games that Noah had given her when she turned six, still neatly stored in the worn denim drawstring bag he had made for it before he gave it to her. She had been keeping the GameBoy hidden in a muddy old pair of rubber boots in her closet for over two years, afraid that if her mother saw it she would sell it like the Game Cube, but now Sara could finally play it again.

Sam was quiet until Sara finished closing the suitcase, and then he finally said, "I kind of thought you might want to wear that skirt tomorrow to go out to dinner."

"I do," Sara agreed quickly, looking over at Sam, who was leaning against the doorjamb and watching her. "I was going to change into it before dinner though, when we get to the hotel. You said we'd go there first to let Nana relax a while before dinner, and I didn't want to wear it all day in the car. I might spill a drink on it or something."

"Good idea," Sam said. "So you're taking that bag tomorrow?"

Sara nodded. "I won't need so much just for tomorrow and the next day, but it will be easier not to pack things twice."

"True," Sam agreed, then he changed the subject. "Are you hungry yet?"

"Starving," Sara answered, smiling at the thought of the Chinese food they were going to order.

"Me too. Time to order dinner," Sam said as he turned away to walk into the living room. Sara followed him quickly and watched while he pulled several menus out of the shelf next to the TV. He shuffled through them and then held out the Chinese one to her, smiling. "There you go. Decide what you want, and then I'll call."

Sara smiled a little wider and sat down on the couch with the menu, tucking her bare feet up under her. "I already know what I want, I just have to find it on here."

Sam laughed and pulled his phone out of his pocket, then sat down on the couch too, smiling at Sara. "I always get some of the beef with mushrooms and a Bo-Bo platter. If I'm really starving, I add an order of beef skewers or spare ribs with fried wontons."

"That all sounds delicious," Sara said, looking up from the menu a moment to grin at Sam, then going back to reading it. "My favorite is pineapple chicken, but I like broccoli beef and beef with mushrooms, too."

"If you mean the fried popcorn chicken with pineapple and bell peppers in sweet and sour sauce, they call it sweet and sour chicken," Sam pointed out, leaning to point at it on the menu.

Sara beamed, offering him the menu. "That's the one. If I get the Bo-Bo, would you want the shrimp and crab things? I haven't been keeping kosher, but I don't really want them."

"I don't mind," Sam agreed, smiling as he took the menu. "I like both."

"Then I'd like the sweet and sour chicken and a Bo-Bo platter," Sara said quickly, looking happy.

"Got it," Sam said, looking down at his phone to unlock the screen so he could dial.

Sara looked critically at her hair and face in the mirror, turning her head to make sure that her hair stayed in place even when she moved, and then she smiled. She had already done her makeup, covering up the bruises nearest to her eye with a combination of two different foundations and pale eyeshadow like a friend at school had shown her once, and then she styled her hair to partially cover that side of her face. There were a few places the bruises were too dark to cover completely, but with her hair on that side it hid the shaved area and the bruises blended in to the shadows.

"That'll work," she murmured to herself, pleased.

She looked down and reached into her cosmetics bag for the necklace and dangly earrings Sam had gotten for her. It only took her a few moments to put them on, and then she stepped back to look at herself in the mirror. The earrings caught the light, somehow making her neck look longer, and the silver necklace fit so that the pendant was a sparkle of purple just below the hollow where her collarbones met. The peasant blouse's neckline fell a few inches below her collarbones, revealing her shoulders without dipping too low on her chest, and she loved the way it looked tucked into the ruffled waist of her skirt.

Sara smiled at herself in the mirror, very happy with how she looked, and then she looked down to zip up her cosmetics case and walked out of the bathroom, her new boots loud on the tile until she stepped onto the carpet of the hotel room.

Nana looked up when Sara walked out of the bathroom, her eyes widening as she murmured, "Oh child, you look lovely."

Sara beamed, looking down at her blouse and skirt and then twirling around, loving the way the skirt swished and flared out around her legs. "You really think so?"

"Definitely," Nana said firmly, smiling. She spent a few moments admiring Sara's understated, almost invisible makeup and then the earrings that looked almost like silver wind chimes and the simple silver necklace against her throat with a small purple gemstone pendant. The jewelry looked just right with the tucked-in black cotton peasant blouse and long dark cotton broomstick skirt that shaded from black down to rich deep purple at the lower hem, though when her gaze finally fell on the boots, Nana let out a soft laugh. "Except possibly those boots." She met Sara's gaze again, her eyes twinkling as she teased, "Your brother wears a pair very like them to work."

Sara giggled, looking down and tugging her skirt back against her legs to see her new black combat boots better. "I love them, though." She grinned impishly at Nana. "Very sturdy and comfortable, and I like how they look."

Nana laughed. "As long as they make you happy, bubbeleh."

Sara beamed. "They do."

"Then they're perfect," Nana said, amused. She stood up, swaying a bit as she wished for her walker, and she was grateful when Sara moved quickly to grab her elbow. "Thank you." She smiled at Sara, then her gaze was caught by one of Sara's earrings and she reached out to hold it steady, surprised to see tiny purple stones at the end of each one of the dangling silver bars. "Are those amethysts?"

"Yes, they are," Sara said, smiling softly as she remembered finding them. Sam had acted like it was perfectly normal to buy her something so pretty, but the only one who had ever gotten her anything similar before was Noah. "Sam tucked them into the things I got yesterday while I wasn't looking. I didn't see them until I was putting everything away last night. I don't know how he knew I love amethyst and silver jewelry, but he said he thought they'd look good on me."

"Such a sweet boy," Nana murmured, smiling. "It's a shame he doesn't like girls, he'd be perfect for you."

Sara's eyes went comically wide. "Nana! Sam's like seven years older than me!"

Nana laughed and couldn't resist teasing, "I know, child, but that's really not so much a difference as you might think. He would be a wonderful husband, and it's easy to see he loves you."

Sara made a face. "Not for me! It would be like marrying Noah. "

Nana smiled, her hazel eyes twinkling. "I'll just have to keep looking for a proper young man for you, then."

"No you don't," Sara said quickly, wide-eyed again. "I don't want one! Boys are nothing but trouble, except for my brothers." She thought of something and added, "And they're gay, so it won't exactly work for me to find a nice boy like them, Nana."

"There has to be at least one straight boy left in this world who's good enough for my maideleh," Nana said firmly, amused. She had never really approved of homosexuality as a concept, but she didn't exactly approve of Noah's fondness for cheeseburgers, either, and she had accepted that years before he told her he had fallen in love with Kurt. She had learned as a girl to pick her battles in this world, and telling someone else who to love wasn't one she was going to get involved in, especially after she saw Noah and his Kurt together. She had seldom seen another couple that was so deeply devoted to each other, and the changes she had seen in Noah since he fell in love with Kurt had all been for the better. Noah was happier than he had ever been before, at ease with himself and his place in the world, and he and Kurt had such a loving relationship that it brightened not only their lives, but the lives of everyone around them. She was sure that they were bashert, true soulmates, and she just couldn't find it in herself to see that kind of love as a bad thing.

Nana patted Sara's arm. "Grab my bag, Sam will be waiting for us. We were supposed to meet him in the hall a little while ago."

Sara nodded, checking to make sure Nana was steady on her feet and then moving away to quickly grab Nana's big ugly beige purse, her own much smaller black one, and the key card for the room. She tucked her cosmetics bag and the key card into her purse as she moved back to where Nana was, then offered Nana the big beige purse. "I can't imagine ever needing such a big bag, Nana. Why do you carry so much all the time?"

Nana took the purse, amused as she lifted the long strap over her head to settle it across her body. "You never know what you might need, bubbeleh."

"I just need my makeup bag, a book, my phone, and the key to the room," Sara said with a giggle, offering Nana her free arm again. "Even the wallet's empty."

"It won't stay that way though, child," Nana pointed out as they started towards the door, smiling even though she had to fight the urge to offer Sara some pocket money. She knew her granddaughter wouldn't accept it, not with Sam carrying Noah's credit card and willing to pay for anything Sara might want. She approved whole-heartedly of the way Sam was doing his best to spoil Sara, buying anything she even hinted she wanted or needed. She knew Noah had insisted on it, but she was sure Sam would have been doing it anyway, even if he had to spend his own money on her. He obviously adored Sara, and he was enjoying making her happy.

They walked out of the room into the hall, where Sam was lounging against the wall across from their door with his phone in hand, tapping away at the keys with his thumbs. He was wearing black slacks with a pale blue dress shirt, a black vest, a dark purple tie that went well with Sara's dress, and well-worn black cowboy boots. Nana thought he looked very nice, though his long blonde-streaked brown hair definitely needed cut instead of just being tied back. He looked up when they walked out, and his eyebrows went up as he saw Sara, looking pleased. "I knew you'd look great in that, but wow."

Sara beamed. "Thank you. I love it!" She looked down, lifting one foot to see her boot better as she added, "Nana doesn't like my boots, though."

Sam laughed. "I'm not surprised." Sara put her foot back down as she looked at Sam again, and he grinned impishly at her. "I like the look, bittygirl. Pretty as a picture, but still able to kick some butt. It works for you."

Sara giggled, feeling her face heat up a bit even though she was still beaming. "I can, if I have to."

"I don't doubt it," Sam agreed, grinning. His phone beeped and he looked back down at it to accept the message as he said, "Just a second, let me tell Puck we're heading out."

"We're in no hurry," Nana said, smiling. She looked down at her own black pants and the dark green silk blouse she had bought with a gift card Noah had given her for her birthday, and then she looked at Sam again. "I feel a bit underdressed tonight, though. You both look very nice."

Sam blushed slightly, glancing up as he gave Nana a surprised little smile. "I think you look great, Nana. That blouse really brings out your eyes."

Nana smiled. "Thank you, boychick."

Sam smiled back and then looked back down, tapping out a reply to Puck, then the phone immediately beeped again. He laughed slightly and looked up. "Puck wants to see, bittygirl. Hold still a sec."

Sara nodded, holding still as she beamed at Sam. "Tell him I said thank you. I love it."

Sam took a picture of Sara and Nana, sending it to Puck and then starting to type out the message as he grinned and said, "He's going to be amazed. You look eighteen in that, Sara, at least."

Sara giggled and was about to reply when Sam's phone suddenly started to play music, making Sam laugh. "Open up your eyes... Life is poetry in motion. Ride the open sky..."

Sam hit send on the text and then answered the phone, grinning. "Hey bro." He listened for a moment and then moved to offer Sara the phone, smirking. "It's for you."

Sara accepted the phone, surprised. "Hello?"

"You better stay with Sam tonight, you hear me?" Noah said firmly, sounding almost annoyed.

Sara blinked. "Uhm... I plan to. Why?"

"Because you're not going to run around without a chaperone, that's why!" Noah said quickly. "You'll have every guy you meet panting after you tonight!"

Sara started giggling as she heard Kurt exclaim near Noah's phone, "Noah! She's fifteen!"

"I know!" Noah replied. "That's why she has to stay with Sam, duh! She's way too beautiful to run around loose!"

Sara was still giggling as Kurt said firmly, "Give me the phone."

"Remember what I said!" Noah said quickly. "Stay with Sam."

"I will, Noah," Sara agreed, giggling a bit still.

"Good girl," Noah said, and then Sara heard the phone being passed over.

"Don't mind Noah, sweetie. He's been sealing the floor and inhaled entirely too many fumes because he keeps taking off his mask," Kurt said quickly, sounding amused and a little exasperated. "You look absolutely lovely tonight. You should be very proud."

"I'm proud!" Noah said loudly near the phone. "My baby sister grew up hot!"

Sara giggled, beaming. "Thank you. Both of you."

"It's just the truth, sweetie," Kurt said cheerfully. "You did a wonderful job with your hair and makeup, and the jewelry you chose is perfect."

"Sam picked them out," Sara said, looking over at Sam with a smile. "The jewelry, I mean." Sam grinned at her, looking pleased with himself as she added, "He snuck them into the buggy while I was looking at shoes, but they're just what I would have picked. I love them."

"Sam has a very good eye for that sort of thing," Kurt agreed, amused and pleased. "Did he choose the dress, too?"

"No, I picked out the skirt and the blouse," Sara said, smiling happily. "And my boots."

"The boots are awesome," Kurt said with a soft laugh. "I used to have a pair that were similar."

"Those boots were dangerous," Noah said then, sounding like he was very close to the phone. "Sara, if your boots start giving you blisters, you take them off right then!"

"They fit me just fine," Sara said quickly, amused. "What's with you two and boots? Sam already asked three times today."

"Kurt wore his boots like that even though they didn't fit," Noah replied, making her realize he was close enough to Kurt and the phone to still hear her talking. "He's still got the scars on his ankle."

"I'm not that stupid," Sara said with a laugh. "No offense, Kurt."

Sam snickered, and Sara grinned at him.

"None taken," Kurt said, amused. "It was rather stupid."

"They were hot, but yeah," Noah said, sounding like he wanted to laugh. "You're sexy in anything, baby." He paused, then added, "But especially in nothing at all."

Sara giggled. "That sounds like my cue to go."

"Behave yourself, Noah," Kurt said, laughing. "Go put another coat on the floor, it should be dry by now. And wear the mask!"

"Sure, baby," Noah agreed easily. "Enjoy your dinner, bittygirl! Stay with Sam!"

"I will," Sara agreed, smiling. "Thank you."

"What for?" Noah asked, sounding surprised.

"Everything," Sara replied, still smiling.

"All part of a normal day's work as the best big brothers ever," Noah said, sounding pleased with himself. "Sam did most of it."

"You both deserve a raise then," Sara said with a grin.

Kurt laughed. "Don't feed his ego, sweetie, he's insufferable enough as it is." Sara giggled. "Go enjoy your dinner. We'll be around if you want to talk later."

"Okay," Sara agreed, smiling. "Talk to you soon."

"Bye sweetie," Kurt said, and then he hung up.

Sara thumbed the button to end the call and then offered Sam's phone back to him, smiling happily. "I'm to stay with you tonight. Noah's worried I'll pick up a guy twice my age, I think."

Sam laughed. "You could, dressed like that." He grinned at her, teasing, "You're looking very good, bittygirl."

"Thanks," Sara replied, beaming.

"We'll be late for our reservations," Nana said then, amused.

Sara blushed, giving Nana a sheepish smile. "You're right, we should go."

Sam moved to offer Nana his arm, smiling as he said, "Shall we, then?"

Nana laughed softly and accepted his arm, holding on to his elbow. "Yes, lets."

Sam offered the other arm to Sara, who beamed and wrapped her arm around his elbow, and then they started towards the elevator as Sam said cheerfully, "Lucky for us, I allowed plenty of time to get there when I told you lovely ladies what time we should go. We've still got forty-five minutes to find the place, which is only supposed to be a few blocks from here."

Sara giggled as Nana smiled at Sam and said, "You did good, boychick."

Sam grinned. "I try."

Within ten minutes of getting to the chapel the next morning, Sara was ready to kill someone.

It had started with her Uncle Rod, who she had met maybe five times in her life, pulling her away from Sam and Nana at the back of the crowd. Sara hadn't wanted to be the center of attention at the funeral but Rod insisted, ushering her past the forty or so people there to stand up front by a pine casket with Rod's wife, Gina, their oldest son Elijah, and twin eight year old daughters, Miriam and Mariah. One glimpse of how Elijah was looking at her made Sara want to boot him right in the family jewels, which she knew would make Nana very upset so she tried hard to ignore him like she was ignoring the twins. She couldn't tell Miri and Mari apart and they had never spoken to her that she could remember, both painfully shy and prone to hiding behind their mother in silence.

The moment Sara joined the family at the front of the chapel, Gina started to complain in snippy whispers about Sara's 'ugly' dress, a simple black cotton dress that fell about six inches below her knees, followed by a comment on her boots and their sparkly purple laces, and then Rod had insisted that Sara tear her dress on the left side. Sara refused, wanting to wear one of the torn black ribbons that she had worn for Grandma Edith instead, but Rod and Gina wouldn't hear of it because it was her mother who died. They lectured her until Sara finally used the small pen knife Rod offered her and put a hole in the dress, then ripped it like she was told, sure that she wouldn't want to wear the dress again anyway. That seemed to satisfy them, even though it was still plain that they didn't approve of her.

The rabbi officiating the funeral service began right after that, mostly in Hebrew with prayers Sara vaguely recognized but didn't understand, which was tedious but tolerable, at least until Rod went up to give the eulogy for her mother. Rod began telling his friends how wonderful Nancy was then, going on and on about how much she loved her children and how she sacrificed everything for them. He made a big deal of her working her way through night school to get a better job to support them and living far from her family so they could stay near their friends, but when he started in on how Nancy was such a good mother that she gave up the food from her own mouth to feed her children, Sara saw red.

The Nancy that Rod described so lovingly was nothing like the mother Sara had known, and she was so angry she was shaking, her hands curled into tight fists with her fingernails digging into her palms. She was taking a step forward to go tell everyone what her mother was really like when she felt hands settle on her shoulders, stopping her as Sam whispered in her ear, "Think about Hawai'i, bittygirl. One more day and you're free."

Sara turned to Sam and grabbed his shirt to hold on, hiding her face against his black dress shirt as she murmured angrily, "Don't let me kill that stupid asshat in front of Nana."

Sam hid his smile against Sara's hair, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a squeeze as he whispered into her ear, "Promise."

Gina was giving him a look that would have murdered him on the spot if looks could kill but Sam just ignored her, holding Sara and rubbing her back. He was sure Sara would be making a very large scene if he hadn't stopped her, which would upset Nana and wouldn't really do Sara any good either, so he wasn't about to go back to the corner where Rod had left them. It was important to Nana for Sara to follow through the ceremony, so Sam was going to help her do it.

Rod finished his speech and walked back to join his family, trying to look concerned as he stopped very close to Sam and Sara and murmured angrily, "This is a funeral. Show some respect and get your hands off my niece."

Sam's eyes narrowed and he said very quietly, "You don't want me to turn her loose right now, Rod."

Rod looked slightly surprised until Sara pulled away from Sam just enough to glare at her uncle as she whispered furiously, "Back off or I'll tell them all the truth, that she was an abusive drunk who killed herself and tried to kill me."

Rod stared at Sara for a moment, his eyes wide and shocked, and then he just silently turned away to look back up that the podium, where the rabbi officiating was reciting prayers as if nothing had happened even though the rabbi was watching Sara closely.

Sam reached for Sara's chin, making her look at him as he whispered, "Easy, bittygirl. It'll be over soon."

Sara shuddered and then nodded, moving to stand next to Sam and hold on to his arm, leaning against his side. "I can do this if you help."

Sam covered her hand on his arm and gave it a squeeze. "I've got your back."

Sara didn't reply, but she held on to Sam's arm like a lifeline as they silently watched the last of the prayers end.

The pallbearers, including Rod and Elijah, moved to the casket then, and Gina stepped close as they started to carry out the casket. "You should be right behind them."

Sam nodded and started Sara moving, glad she didn't argue about it.

They followed the pallbearers and the casket in silence for a hundred yards, pausing with them for the recitation of a short prayer, and then when they began moving again Sara suddenly murmured, "When this is over, I never want to see this place again."

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Sam said quietly, patting her hand.

"Good," Sara replied firmly.

They walked in silence a few moments, pausing with the pallbearers for another prayer and then walking on again. At the third pause for prayers Sam noticed the way Elijah was looking at Sara, and his expression made Sam want to punch him. The guy was practically leering at her at her mother's funeral, despite the fact he was much older and closely related.

"Noah never would have gotten arrested without Elijah there pushing him," Sara whispered when they started forward again.

"I recognized the name," Sam admitted quietly. "Don't let me hurt him."

"Fuck that," Sara muttered, making Sam look at her in surprise. "If he looks at me like that again, I'll help."

Sam made a strangled noise, fighting not to laugh. "We need a keeper."

Sara smiled suddenly. "I don't hold to that. I aim to misbehave."

Sam tried not to grin as he muttered, "Can't stop the signal, Mal."

Sara giggled and gave his arm a squeeze, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I do love you."

"Stop it, both of you," Gina murmured right behind them, sounding angry and upset. "You shouldn't have come if you're just here to make a scene."

Sara didn't look at her aunt as she said quietly but firmly, "We're trying very hard not to make a scene, Aunt Gina."

"You are supposed to be here to mourn your mother," Gina said pointedly, moving up to walk next to Sam's other side and give Sara a dirty look past him. "Not cuddle with some boy!"

"The mother who was a drunk that spent eighteen years abusing my brother, and then threw him out and spent the last five years hurting me, Aunt Gina?" Sara said sharply, keeping her voice very quiet as she glared at Gina. "That mother?"

Gina stared at Sara for a moment and then looked at Sam. "Is that true?"

Sam snorted, giving Gina a dirty look. "She left out the part about Nancy not buying food for Sara so she'd have more money for her wine." Gina looked a little sick at that, and Sam added, "The woman shouldn't have been allowed to raise a cat, much less two kids. I'm not sure what would have happened to Sara if not for her brother."

"Brothers," Sara corrected. "And I know. I'd be dead." She paused and then added softly, "I would have starved without you, Sam."

Sam patted Sara's hand where she still held onto his arm. "Nana wouldn't have let that happen, and neither would Noah."

"Noah couldn't come back, Mom was going to get him locked up," Sara pointed out, "and Nana can't do much." She looked at Sam. "Did she wait for us at the chapel?"

"She said she would, yes," Sam agreed, nodding. "You looked like you needed me."

"Thanks, Sam," Sara murmured, leaning her head against his shoulder again.

"Anytime, bittygirl," Sam replied.

"Just how old are you, Sam?" Gina asked suddenly, frowning.

Sam looked at her, amused. "I'll be twenty-four in a few months. Noah and I were in school together." He was most of a year older than Puck because he had failed in a major way his first time through first grade. Luckily he got a new teacher the next year who noticed that he was dyslexic and started teaching him how to compensate for it instead of just expecting him to be normal.

"Sam's his best friend," Sara added.

Gina looked disgusted. "And you're dating his fifteen year old baby sister?"

Sara rolled her eyes, muttering, "Geez, Aunt Gina, get your mind out of the gutter. Sam's my big brother, not my boyfriend."

"Nana kind of wishes I was dating Sara, I think, but it's not happening," Sam said dryly, still amused.

"She totally does," Sara agreed, looking up at Sam. "She said last night that you'd make an awesome husband for me."

Sam grinned at Sara. "I must be doing something right then."

"Everything is all," Sara pointed out, smiling. "You're the best big brother ever besides Noah."

"I can handle second place to him," Sam said, pleased.

The pallbearers reached the graveside then and Sam, Sara, and Gina stopped nearby while the casket was carefully put down on the machine that would lower it into the grave. "Please tell me we're nearly done," Sara murmured.

"Almost bittygirl," Sam agreed. "At least, the stuff I read online said so. More prayers, then you'll have to throw some dirt into the grave, then we're done."

"You should spend the next three days sitting shiva with the family," Gina pointed out quietly as Rod and Elijah rejoined them.

"I'm going back to Lima after we're done here, and then I'm flying to Hawai'i with Sam tomorrow," Sara said firmly. "You can mourn her. I'm just glad she can't hurt me anymore."

Sam patted Sara's hand, looking at Gina as he murmured, "I'm taking her to Noah tomorrow. She'll be fine."

"He should have come after her himself," Rod said, frowning. "She shouldn't be unchaperoned."

"Sara's virtue is completely safe," Sam said patiently, fighting not to roll his eyes. "I wouldn't let anyone touch her."

"What about you?" Elijah said pointedly, giving Sam a dirty look. "You're all over her, shkutz."

"I'm gay," Sam said a bit pointedly, ignoring the insult. Elijah, Rod, and Gina all looked surprised and then disgusted as Elijah actually stepped back, which made Sam add dryly, "Don't worry, Elijah. I don't want to even get near you."

Sara snorted softly. "He better not get near me, either." She glared at Elijah. "I've dreamed about booting you in the ... brains for years for what you did to Noah, giving him that tequila and then getting him put in jail."

Elijah glared at Sara and was about to say something when Rod gave him a quelling look and said, "Don't."

Elijah scowled at his father for only a moment before he looked down, keeping his mouth shut.

Rod looked back at Sara, looking a little upset as he murmured, "What happened to you, Sara? You weren't like this at Mother's funeral."

"I loved Grandma," Sara said quietly. "And Mom was right there waiting for me to screw up so she'd have a good excuse to beat me."

Rod sighed. "I'm sorry if she hurt you."

"If?!" Sara repeated, giving him an incredulous look. "If she hurt me?"

Sam gave Rod a dirty look and moved to turn Sara away from Rod as he said firmly, "Let it go, bittygirl. He just doesn't know. None of them do."

"They don't want to know," Sara muttered, frowning, but she let it drop.

There was a quiet thud nearby then and they all looked that way to see that the machine had lowered the casket into the grave.

The rabbi stepped up to say another prayer in Hebrew, and then Sara was being motioned forward to take up the shovel that was stuck in the dirt by the grave. "Three shovels of dirt is traditional, child," the rabbi said quietly.

Sara picked up the shovel and threw dirt onto the casket, then looked down at it a moment before she said calmly but quietly, "You got what you wanted, Mom. You never have to see me or Noah again. Killing yourself is the best thing you ever did for me."

The rabbi stared at her as she stabbed the shovel back into the dirt, watching silently as she threw dirt on the casket twice more in quick succession before she stuck the shovel in the ground and left it there. "Hamakom y'nachem etchem b'toch sh'ar availai Tziyon ee Yerushalayim," the rabbi said quietly.

Sara looked at the rabbi, surprised. "I'm sorry, Rabbi. I don't speak Hebrew."

"May God comfort you among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem," the rabbi repeated, then added softly, "Shalom aleikhem, child."

"I know that one," Sara murmured. "Aleikhem shalom." She turned away and walked back to Sam, reaching for his hand when she got close. "I'd like to go now, Sam. Please?"

"Of course, bittygirl," Sam agreed. He glanced at Rod and Gina. "Bye."

Sam didn't wait for an answer before he turned away to head back towards the chapel with Sara, who walked quickly along next to him, not looking at any of the people they passed. They were moving much faster on the way back and soon arrived back at the chapel, where they found Nana on a bench outside.

Nana looked up in surprise when they got close, asking quietly, "Is everything okay?"

"Wonderful," Sara replied, smiling at Nana. "We can leave now."

Nana smiled back, tucking the small prayer book she had been reading back into her purse. "That was fast."

"I wasn't interested in hanging around," Sara said, letting go of Sam to move closer to the bench and offer Nana her arm. "I did my part for the whole funeral thing and now I just want to get out of here, please."

"Of course, bubbeleh," Nana agreed, taking Sara's arm and getting up. "We have a long drive ahead of us."

"And then another long drive tomorrow," Sara agreed.

The three of them started towards where Sam had parked his mother's car, and a few minutes later they were on the road, heading out of Chicago.

Sara was in the back digging in her suitcase while Nana kept glancing over her shoulder at her, curious. Sara finally pulled out a pair of jeans and then set them next to her as she started to take off her boot, and Nana's eyes widened a bit. "Sara, you can't mean to change here."

"Why not?" Sara asked, looking up at Nana in surprise as she dropped the boot in the floor and reached for the other foot. "Nobody can see me."

"Sam can see you!" Nana said quickly, still surprised.

Sara rolled her eyes and dropped the other boot, reaching for her jeans. "He's driving, Nana, he's not going to look." She put her feet into her jeans and then began to shimmy into them, pulling them up under her skirt. "Besides, Sam wouldn't care if I got naked and danced around. He doesn't look at me like that."

Sam snickered, keeping his eyes on the road as he said, "I don't know. If you were dancing naked, that might be fun to watch. I bet it'd be good for a laugh."

Sara giggled. "Totally would." She buttoned her jeans by feel, the skirt of her dress all bunched up around her waist. "I have no clue how to dance. I could make a cow on crutches look graceful."

"We'll work on it soon," Sam promised, trying not to laugh.

Nana looked at Sam, still a little surprised but starting to look amused. "And you don't have a problem with her changing clothes in the car with you while we're on a busy highway?"

Sam smiled at Nana. "She's not going to distract me, Nana, and she's right. No one outside the car is likely to see her. It's not like she's going to moon them all."

Sara giggled again, pulling a pastel t-shirt out of her bag. "Not hardly." Nana turned to look at her again, and Sara grinned impishly at her. "I can change without giving anyone an eyeful, Nana. Don't worry." She put the shirt in her lap, then pulled her arms into her dress, reaching out from under it to grab the shirt and pull it under her dress, then putting her arms into the shirt's sleeves. She lifted the dress up over her head and then put the t-shirt over her head underneath it, tugging the shirt into place before she pulled the dress off and threw it in the floor. "Ta-da!"

Nana let out a soft little laugh. "I'd ask where you learned that, bubbeleh, but I'm not sure I want to know." She noticed what Sara's t-shirt said then and her eyes widened a bit. "Sara, is that really necessary?"

"What?" Sara asked, then saw Nana was looking at her shirt and looked down, grinning suddenly. Her t-shirt was pink and said 'This PRINCESS can KICK YOUR ASS' next to a picture of a pair of black combat boots. The word princess was in sparkly purple script with a tiara on the P, and 'kick your ass' was in black text that looked kind of like it was painted on by hand. "But I love it!"

"Sam, did you see that when she picked it out?" Nana asked, looking at Sam.

Sam glanced at the rear view mirror and then grinned at Nana. "I thought it was cute."

"Sam found it for me," Sara pointed out, grinning as she picked up her foot to pull her right sock up snug and then tug the leg of her jeans down over it before repeating the procedure with the other foot.

Nana let out a little strangled laugh, settling back into her seat to face forward again. "Of course he did."

Sam glanced at Nana again, grinning. "At least I talked her out of the one that said 'That's Princess Bitch to you'."

Sara giggled as she leaned down and grabbed her boot out of the floor, pulling it on and then making sure her jeans laid flat in the boot before she quickly tightened the dark purple glittery laces she had put into the boots earlier that morning.

"Thank you, boychick," Nana said dryly. "This one is so much better."

"You're welcome," Sam said, grinning.

Sara picked up the other boot to do the same with it as she said, "Sorry, Nana."

Nana snorted, amused. "Don't lie to your Nana, bubbeleh."

Sara dropped her foot back into the floor and settled back in her seat, unbuttoning her jeans to tuck in her t-shirt as she said, "I didn't lie! I am sorry you don't like it." Nana looked at her skeptically and Sara grinned. "I'm not sorry we bought it though, 'cause I love it."

Nana just laughed.

Sara was curled up against Sam's side asleep when a stewardess stopped next to him, smiling as she murmured, "You'll need to wake your sister. We'll be landing in a few minutes."

Sam smiled at her. "Thanks."

The stewardess smiled back and then continued down the aisle.

Sam looked at Sara, moving the arm he had around her to brush back her hair with that hand, glad that just a few days of Sara having decent shampoo to use was already making a big difference in her hair. He had worried that she might end up having to cut her hair because of how bushy and dry it had been, but her hair wasn't so frizzy anymore and it was already starting to shine again instead of looking so dull and dark.

Sam was about to say something when Sara mumbled, "I heard her."

Sam smiled, amused. "Then you know it's time to put your seatbelt on, bittygirl."

Sara made a face, still not opening her eyes. "But I'm all comfy."

Sam chuckled and patted her arm. "C'mon. You can sleep on me some more on the way to Kailua if you want. It's a long drive."

Sara pretended to think about it and then finally pulled away to sit up. "I won't be sleepy anymore once there's something to see besides black windows."

"What, I don't count?" Sam asked, pretending to be surprised.

Sara grinned. "Something different to see. I've seen you all day."

"Ladies and gentlemen, as we start our descent, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed in the overhead bins. Thank you."

Sam laughed and looked down, reaching for his seatbelt. "Put your seatbelt on, brat."

"I heard," Sara agreed, flipping the seat arm back down between her and Sam and then putting on her seatbelt. She had put her backpack in the overhead bin with Sam's duffle bag when she decided to take a nap, so she didn't have to worry about it.

Sam was grinning at how bright-eyed and happy Sara looked as she walked down the tunnel to the terminal and tried to crane her neck to see over the people in front of them. She was barely as tall as Sam's shoulder, which made it even more adorable than it otherwise might have been. Sam couldn't see past the people in front of them so there was no way Sara was going to, but she kept trying anyway.

Kurt was trying hard not to laugh as he watched Puck craning his neck to look at the crowd coming out of the tunnel. There weren't many on the late flight on a Tuesday, but evidently Sam and Sara had been seated at the very back of the plane because they were the last two people to appear in the tunnel. Puck couldn't see them, but Kurt could see glimpses of Sam and he knew Sara would be with him, so he waited until he saw Sam looking their way and raised his hand.

Sam lifted a hand in reply, and then a moment later people were shifting out of the way as Sara started to push through the crowd. Puck saw Sara and moved towards her, and then Sara started running as she called, "Noah!"

Sara tackled Puck when she reached him and Puck picked her up, hugging her tight and hiding his face against her hair as Sara wrapped her arms around his neck and held on. Kurt could see the tell-tale shake of Puck's shoulders and he moved over to them and put his hand on Puck's back, not at all surprised that finally having Sara in his arms again had made Puck cry.

Sam joined them a few moments later, carrying his own duffle and a backpack that was probably Sara's. He smiled at Kurt, looking pleased as he said, "Sorry we're late. Plane got hung up in Seattle." He put his suitcase down when he reached them, sure of what would happen next, and then a moment later Kurt was hugging him tightly.

Kurt kissed Sam's cheek after a minute or so and then pulled away, smiling happily at Sam. "It's so good to see you, sweetheart. We've missed you."

"You saw me last night," Sam said with a grin, his eyes sparkling.

Kurt laughed. "You know what I mean." He looked at Puck and Sara, his smile softening with love as he realized Sara was smiling and just holding on. He put his hand on Puck's shoulder as he said gently, "Darling, you should let go soon. She needs to breathe."

Sara giggled softly and murmured, "It's okay."

Puck let out a strangled little laugh and loosened his grip, letting Sara slide down until her feet finally touched the floor again. "Sorry, bittygirl." He stepped back to look at her, keeping one hand on her shoulder as he ran the other hand over her hair and looked at her, not even trying to wipe away the tears on his face. He was quiet a few moments before he said simply, "I'm so glad you're finally here."

"Me too," Sara agreed, beaming at Noah.

It was all going to be okay.