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“Sammy, you bought me my first camera. You took me with you on all your assignments and helped me think about so much more than I ever had. The way you spoke about the future, the way you worked your ass off and threw yourself passionately in everything that mattered to you, even our friendship, made me realize I wanted to be just like you. I wanted to be this person for someone else one day.
We were far from New York, David and Blake were doing their best as they always have, but I could never get out of my own head and try and help myself, until I met you. You fucking saved my life. I feel like a piece of shit for saying it, but when all the crap with your parents went down, I was morbidly relieved I would get a chance to do something for you. I’m sorry I should have told you all of this ages ago, but you were so determined to do things on your own, I never wanted you to think the money was coming from some place of pity or misplaced sense that I owed you. It was out of love. I love you, man. I just wanted you to be happy.”
This last revelation was finally too much for Sammy to handle. The past few days had been overwhelming to say the least and he found himself wondering if he had it in him to handle anything else. He loved James dearly. His only regret after hearing the reasons behind his move to Mystic, was that he hadn’t asked him more.
As soon as they had met, he had sensed James had been in a weird place – always moody and standoffish, keeping to himself, scoffing at everything. Sammy had seen something of himself in James, and despite his prickly attitude had reached for him, choosing to be his friend, without debating it too much. He had no regrets.
Sammy pulled James in for another hug. “You should’ve told me.” He pulled away just enough to look James in the eyes and spoke. “I feel like perhaps we were always destined to be friends. To be a family. I love you. We saved each other.” He turned to David and Blake. “You guys will always be my family, just as James will always be my brother.”
* * *
Sammy had spentanother good hour talking to James, David, and Blake and none of them got out of that conversation dry eyed. That gave Danika and Logan way too much alone time. She’d asked him for a tour of the house and that made him chuckle because it wasn’t really all that big, but she smiled and nodded with interest as politely as possible at everything he pointed out to her. Logan asked Danika if she wanted to join him outside for some fresh air and they took Morpheus for a walk, letting him run in the back of the property where the meadow was.
Danika mused, “Great light.”
“What?” Logan cocked an eyebrow, giving her a curious look.
She grinned but went on, clearly determined on pushing her agenda. “The light is perfect. This spot here,” and she gestured to the middle of the meadow, “this would be the perfect place for a studio for Sammy.”
Logan chuckled. “So I take it you don’t approve of his current office?”
She laughed. “Let’s just say, that while it certainly is…efficient, I honestly believe you can do better.” Then she narrowed her eyes at him and added, “I believe you already know Samuel deserves better.”
Logan grinned. “Would you like to see the plans for the studio I’m going to build for Sammy in the summer?”
She laughed and smacked his arm “I walked right into that one, didn’t I? Are you excited about surprising him?”
“Fuck yes! All I’m waiting for is the fucking snow to fully melt. My brother is coming to help me. First, I need the snow to melt, then…” he gave Danika a conspiratorial look, “Then I’ll need him to be out of town working for at least three weeks so I can have it all finished and painted by the time he gets home.”
Danika grinned, nodding enthusiastically in approval. “I got you, Logan. Just hit me up when you’re ready, and I’ll make sure Sammy is swimming in bookings for as long as you need him to be away!”
He beamed back at her and when she took his hand in hers and gave it a quick squeeze it dawned on him, that she truly loved Sammy. He had been thinking about the enigma Danika had been this whole time and he couldn’t help but try and squelch his curiosity.
“Did you start your charity because of Sammy?”
She didn’t even flinch, just nodded and he could see pride in her eyes but there was no missing the flash of pain that ran briefly through her face.
“James is someone very important to me. I’ve known him my entire life, and when his family moved to Mystic…Let’s say I thought I had lost him before they ever vacated their apartment in New York. Sammy was there for him, at a time I was too young and immature to understand he needed help and was struggling with a serious addiction. They saved each other and for that, Sammy deserves the world, as he brought James back to me. Alive. He was again that life-loving boy I had fallen in love with since the moment I could even imagine what love was.”
“Alright…this…wow.” He was shaking his head, biting back a million other questions. He finally settled on one. “Why are you guys locked in this constant show-down?”
Danika chuckled, “Believe it or not, the way we are, this bickering, this push and pull – I love it. I’ve long considered him a friend and don’t tell him that, but I love him.”
“Are we going to be friends?”
“I sure hope so Logan.”
Logan swallowed hard, then threw an arm over her shoulder and tugged Danika close. “Me too Danika. Me too.”
* * *
The Wilder-Hermosa bunchtook Michael with them, and once again Logan and Sammy were alone in the quiet of their home. Sammy had unearthed a box with photo albums, and they were going through them – there were so many memories of Lucas, Dave, Stef, Logan and Sophy as kids, then as a couple, and finally as parents of their sweet little girl Jordan.
Logan was never tired of talking about them, and the fact that Sammy never pulled away or made him feel uncomfortable for wanting to talk about them, made him love the other man even more. Morpheus was feeling significantly better, and he had climbed between them, looking at the photo albums with sleepy eyes and yawning.
The meeting with his sister had highlighted just how much trauma Sammy had experienced in the past. It was only natural he had been feeling a bit deflated in the following days.
“Your turn to lose your shit, babe! I got you! Anything you need. Infinite blow jobs and all that.” Logan had joked with Sammy, and it was a relief he had cracked up laughing.
