Moving In (Gareth)

Samara stretched as she picked up another box and moved it into the stylish little apartment. She was just so excited to finally be moving into her own place. Of course this came with a price, she was very sad that she was leaving her father for the time being. Setting the heavy box down on the kitchen counter she turned. This place was beautiful! It had the most lovely natural lighting and it was just perfect for Samara and Gareth to start their lives together. They had both co-signed the lease so that meant they would both be paying for it equally. It was also right in the center of London, so they had the city at their complete disposal.

Opening the box she began taking out the china her father had purchased for her. She knew this had to be hard for her daddy, but she had to admit that she was fond of how supportive he was being. Of course it had taken quite a serious nudge to get him to see reason and allow her to move out. However, she still appreciated it regardless. She loved her father more than she could ever love anyone, she just hoped that he remembered that while she was gone.

"Gar?" she called. "You need anymore help baby?"

Her voice echoed through the spacious room and she couldn't help but squeal a bit. The apartment had already been fully furnished, another gift from her father, and all they needed to do was add a few more things to make it truly their home. Placing the last of the dishes on the counter, so she could later wash them and put them away. Samara grinned widely and went to go and see what her fiancé was doing.

Apartment

Sammy

Gareth opened one of the boxes sitting on the floor in his new bedroom. His parents hadn't been happy to learn that he was moving out of his childhood home, and into an apartment with Samara, but it would be even harder for them to learn that he also intended to marry her as soon as they had gotten settled into their careers after graduation. He smiled as he learned that this box was one of his fiancée's. He began removing the items and putting them on the newly assembled bed. It wasn't made yet, but he'd been looking in the boxes for sheets so that they would be able to sleep in a proper bed that evening.

Gareth felt slightly nervous. It would be the first time he'd slept in the same bed with Samara. He didn't know what to expect. He knew that he sometimes kicked, but not what she did in her sleep. Then there was the possiblility of.....

Gareth turned away from the bed and continued his unpacking. He finally found what he'd been looking for when he heard Sam calling for him. He pulled out his wand and hurried to finish what he wanted to be a surprise. He had the bed made and heard her coming to find him. He pushed the boxes out of the main part of the room and sat on the edge of the now-comforter-covered bed, waiting for her to find him in their new room.


Gareth

Samara clapped her hands together, feeling a ray of accomplishment just shine from her body. She was an adult, out on her own, and with the absolute love of her life! Could this get any better? No, of course not! The only way this could get better was if Gareth and her were to get married right then and there. Going into the bedroom she jumped onto the bed next to Gareth and turned to face him. Gently as she could she leaned over and pressed her lips warmly to his own.

"Tonight is the first night," she smiled. "When we will get to sleep in the same bed together."

Samara was excited, she knew that Gareth was nervous...but she just found that to be absolutely adorable. She found him to be the cutest boy in the world, and his innocence turned her on. He was so polite, so gentle, and she just loved every single bit of him. Kissing him once more she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you, baby," she whispered. "This feels so right."

Alex insisted that he was okay with his little girl growing up and leaving him to move in with her boyfriend. He had assured her that he trusted her and supported this decision whole-heartedly. So why was he making a surprise visit to her on the first day she was supposed to be gone? Well, he couldn't necessarily pinpoint it. Suffice it to say, he needed one more round of reassurance that she would be alright.

He had come here earlier today, checking on the furniture and appliances to make sure that everything was in order. And he had double checked that their complete necessities were met. So really, there was no excuse to come, other than to check up on her. She was his baby girl, and always would be. That protective, fatherly instinct would never ever go away. And if she wanted it to, she was out of luck. So he had gathered some extra trinkets she had left, probably on purpose, and he put them in a box to bring to her apartment. And he had let himself in right as he heard her telling her boyfriend that everything just felt right. He could not help but smirk to himself.

"Yes, it does, doesn't it? But you forgot some of your things, my dear. How could you survive without your little...flowers?"

He pulled a set of dried flowers from the box that he had brought, not remembering what they were from or why she had chosen to keep them for a time. And then he set them on the bedroom dresser and moved to his daughter, placing a tender kiss on the top of her head. Then he smiled at Gareth and shook the boy's hand. And yes, to Alex, Gareth was a boy and probably always would seem so. They were both so incredibly young, even though they didn't think so. They had so much yet to learn about life, love and heartache. Hopefully the latter would not come into play very often, but it would come. But all in all, Alex did like Gareth Winter. He just didn't necessarily like that Samara was living with him now. Alex sighed inwardly and nodded at Gareth.

"How are you, young man? Is everything to your liking? I trust that you are still treating my baby the way she deserves to be treated. Like a princess, as it should be," he winked.

Alex

Samara was mortified by her father's sudden entrance! She was just two inches from cuddling with her beloved! And possibly experiencing other things that they had not gotten a chance to enjoy yet. Glare at him she sat up and gently pushed him from her. How could he do this! She knew that he was not okay with her leaving, and she was not going to put Gareth through his protective father routine. Looking at him with her arms crossed she turned back to her love.

"Hey baby," she cooed. "Stay here...dad and I need to talk."

Kissing him once more she got up from the bed, and taking her father by the hand she practically dragged him out into the living room. She was still very gentle with him, seeing as he was still due for that transplant...but it seemed that with Miranda in his life he gained a new strength. She knew that he could survive now, but that did not mean she did not stop worrying or thinking about him.

"What the Hell dad?!" she spat. "That was low!"

Samara knew her father would play the innocence card, it was something he did well. However that meant nothing to her! She was an adult and although it was hard for him to let her go he was going to have to. Her father was going to have to let his little butterfly spread her wings.

"What did you want, daddy?"

Alex smiled as his daughter dragged him from the room and he turned back to Gareth.

"Don't worry, I'll be right back. We'll chat then."

But when his daughter wanted something, there would be no refusing her. So he went with her and listened to her for a bit with his arms crossed. He adopted her glare, though he was smiling behind it. He just couldn't help it. She was so cute when she was angry. It had always been that way, especially when she was little. There was no way to describe how adorable three-year-old Samara had been when she was angry at something.

There was one time when it was very cold outside and she wanted to go play outside in her swimsuit. They had an argument about it for a good fifteen minutes and while she was angry and indignant, he was trying not to laugh. Finally, he had chosen to relent and let her see the natural consequences of her actions. He opened the front door and let her out, with ice frosting the sidewalks, and snow flurries coming down. Samara had held her head up high as she headed out in the cold. But it only took a few seconds before she was shivering and begging to come back in. He had looked at her as sternly as he could muster, while still highly amused. And he explained that maybe she should have listened to her daddy. And today, Alex couldn't help but feel a little bit the same way.

He moved forward and softly stroked her cheek with one hand, then took her hands in his free hand.

"Baby, you know I just want to make sure you're safe and happy. Believe it or not, I'm going to miss you. You've got to give me this today, at least a little bit. Just tell me everything's okay, and let me be your dad for a little while, alright? I just need to know that this is the right decision."

Samara sighed and pulled her cheek away. She knew that her father was going to have trouble with this, she just did not understand why he could not admit it to begin with. However it did not change the fact that she had been getting BUSY with her boyfriend right when he walked in! And she was actually in the mood for sex! However she knew that telling her father something like that would have her in his car and on the very lonely ride home.

"Fine," she sighed. "How long are you staying then? I have to start dinner."

Samara was not shy to cooking, with her father being so indisposed she had often the opportunity to experiment in the kitchen. Granted most of the food had been extremely healthy. Her with her CVS and her father with a weak heart, none of it could be overly greasy.

"Any requests?" she sighed. "I was thinking about making a pasta of some sort."

Well now Alex was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. He could see that she didn't really want him here. He could feel her annoyance almost as much as he could feel the thermostat kicking on in their tiny apartment. But, he also wanted to keep up his smart-ass facade and stick around until she realized what her leaving was doing to him. Ugh, decisions, decisions! Should he stay and piss her off? Should he go and roll up in a little ball, crying himself to sleep? He sighed, knowing what his decision would be. And knowing that his heart was about to burst into a million tiny shards.

He moved over to her and pulled her in his arms once again, forcing her to stop getting any food ready. He took in a deep breath of her and felt tears come to his eyes again. Now he knew that coming here was a mistake. Because being here made it all seem so real that she was going to be gone.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come. You're right, it was all bullshit. I just missed you, butterfly. But I'll go now, it's alright. You don't have to feed me."

He pulled back and kissed her softly on her forehead.

"I'm just glad you're happy. I need to go see Miranda anyway," he sighed. "Promise to call me if you need anything? And I mean absolutely anything. You know I'll be here at the snap of your fingers."

Samara heard his voice crack and when she looked up she saw his tears. She knew that he had come for some closure. And now she felt like scum, she just hated seeing him in tears. Blinking her own tears away she wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her face in his chest. She just loved her father so much, she wanted to keep him around forever...but life was not like that. Samara wanted to keep him with her forever...but she thought it was easier for her to leave then to have him kick her out. Especially since she knew that her father would never have the heart to do such a thing.

"Daddy," she whimpered. "You know I love you...you have to know that this isn't really goodbye."

Looking up at him she gently placed her palm to his cheek.

"I got this apartment in London...because...because I am going to be working at Miranda's publishing company. It was s'posed to be a surprise...I'll be your girlfriends assistant daddy."

Smiling gently she rested her head on his chest and held him close. Samara wanted to remain in his life, but she also knew that she wanted to follow her passion. And writing was her passion...just as it was her daddy's passion.

Alex's mouth widened and he pulled his daughter back to look into her eyes and try to tell if she was telling the truth. He could always tell when his Sammy was lying to him, and right now all he saw was sincerity.

"Are you serious, baby? You really want to work with Miranda? She can be...difficult. I would use the word bitch, but it would get back to her and she'd kck my ass," he smirked.

He knew it was not the same thing, to have Sam living with him as opposed to working with him. But he would take what he could get. And he knew that part of the reason she had gotten the job was to see him more often, or at least he hoped for it. So now he could leave today knowing that she was right. It wasn't goodbye.

"Seriously sweetheart, that is fantastic. You let me know if you ever need any help or advice or anything like that. I think I'm ready to leave you now...except I want to talk to Gareth once more. You mind if I go have a few words with him?"

Gareth lay flat on his back on the bed. He hoped that Sam's father didn't realize what he'd possibly just inturrupted. Gareth didn't want Alex to hate him. Especially since Alex was currently awaiting a transplant that could save his life. The last thing that Gar wanted was to risk Sam's father getting any worse than he already was. Although, the man didn't seem to be doing too badly for someone that was as sick as he was.

Gar decided to get up and continue unpacking. He listened to the bits and pieces of conversation that he could hear from the echos. His stomach started growling when he heard that Sam was going to start dinner soon. Apparently some kind of pasta. That sounded good to him! Of course, as hungry as he was becoming, raw food would sound good in a few minutes.

He unpacked one of his own boxes and tore it down so that it lay flat. He finished putting away the clothing that had been inside the box, mainly his underwear, right as he heard Alex tell Sam that he wanted to talk to him.

Gareth gulped. What was going to happen when Alex came back to talk to him? Was he going to be threatened within an inch of his life if he touched Sam? He returned to the bed and sat down to wait.

Alex kissed his baby girl on the forehead, then went back to the bedroom where her boyfriend sat waiting. Alex would have liked to think of himself as one of those menacing fathers who could scare the living shit out of his daughter's boyfriends. But it was just not true. Alex had always been so laid back, nothing could truly phase him. Unless his baby was hurt, or in danger. Then all peaceful bets were off. Gareth would have nothing to worry about if he never mistreated Samara. And Alex had a feeling he never would.

He knocked softly on the door, then let himself in. He took a seat on the chair near the desk and he tried not to show the exhaustion that his body was feeling. He had gotten quite used to hiding it over the last few years, but that didn't mean that he was feeling up to par. He looked over at the boy and grinned.

"Relax, lad, I'm not going to kill you. I just wanted to talk to you about my little girl in there. Of course, first and foremost, I want her treated right. And my instinct tells me, you will do just that. But she's not...well...let's see, how do I put this in a nice way. Sometimes, my sweet little butterfly can be a bit of a handful. I just want to make sure you are prepared for that."

Gareth sighed with relief. Alex only wanted to tell him about Sam being a bit of a handful? He already knew that much! It was one of the things he loved most about her. And he would never hurt her, he'd rather die first.

He smiled at Alex. This was the best news that he could receive. His fiancée's father knew that they were going to be living together, and accepted it. That was a whole lot better than his own family. His parents had not been happy to learn that their eldest was going to be living away from home. But Gareth had made his decision and they would just have to get over it.

"Alex, I know about her stubborn streak. I love that about her. I am ready to have her living in the same place as me, just the two of us. I wouldn't have asked her if I weren't. But I don't know that I am ready for us to share the same room. It makes me nervous. I know that you probably don't want to hear about your little girl being in bed with a guy, especially since I'm that guy. But I'm not even sure that I'm ready for anything but sleeping. I will just have to find out as we go, won't I?"

Gareth didn't mean to sound so forward with Sam's father, but he felt that if the man trusted him with the light of his life, it was the least he could do to be totally honest with him, and ease his fears, if he had any.

Alex cleared his throat, and it was lucky that he didn't choke on his own tongue. Was Gareth actually talking to him about having sex with his baby girl? Whether the kid was ready for sex or not, Alex didn't need to know. Especially when it had to do with his daughter! He clapped his hand firmly on the boy's shoulder and shook his head.

"No more. Please, for the love of all that is holy, no more sex talk. My heart may just give out right here."

He eyed the boy somewhat sternly, but a smiled played behind his lips.

"However, though I do not want to hear about it, I am grateful you are being conscientious. Thank you for that. Everything else should be up to you and her alone."

He nodded once to show that he was now done with this subject, hopefully forever. Then he shook Gareth's hand again as he stood.

"I have intruded on your moving in day long enough. I am going to go kiss my daughter and go home to my own place."

He smiled again, then went out to the kitchen, immediately gathering his baby girl in his arms without warning.

"I love you so much, my little girl. You've got a good guy in there...my one word of advice is to be kind to one another. I guess that's more than one word, isn't it? But it still rings true."

He set her on her feet again and kissed her forehead. He smiled through his breaking heart and stroked her cheek softly.

"I'm headed home, any last words?"

Samara jumped a bit when her father came out of nowhere but quickly relaxed and hugged him back. She knew that even though he was leaving they would still see one another, and he had to know that she still loved him dearly. This was her daddy, and she held him in her heart more than she could ever hold any other man. Resting her head on his shoulder she looked up at him with a smile and leaned into his lips as they rested on her forehead. And then he said it..."Any last words..." what was he saying?! He was acting like this was the last time they would speak!

"Dad," she said, her voice quivering slightly. "Don't say that to me...ever. Anything I say to you will never be my last words...I don't plan on losing you ever so don't ever speak as though this is the last time I will hear your voice or you will hear mine."

Her father was still sick, and even though he was expecting a heart transplant soon she did not want to feel that she was losing him, permanently. Closing her eyes she felt as tears began to come dangerously close to her eye lids. Biting her quivering lip she sniffled.

"I don't know what you want me to say," she whimpered. "I love you...but I will NOT say those are my last words."

Alex chuckled as he held his little girl and he ruffled her hair and weaved his fingers through her soft locks.

"You know it was just a figure of speech, little one. I know we're not really saying goodbye. You think I'm really leaving you alone here all the time? I'm checking up on you as often as you'll let me," he smiled.

He rubbed her back and kissed her forehead once more, trying to get as many gentle touches of her as he could before leaving for the night. Then he pulled her face back and looked into her eyes.

"And just so we're clear, saying 'I love you' is definitely enough. And I love you too. And before I make an even bigger fool of myself, I am going to go home."

He pecked her lips, then went out the door and closed it behind him. He was careful to apparate cleanly away before breaking down into tears once more.

Samara felt tears fall down her face when she realized that her daddy was gone form her life...at least for right now. She knew that they would see one another later, but it still was the fact that he wasn't right down the hall when she needed him. That still stung...it hurt to know that even though she still needed him he felt that she didn't anymore. And she WAS happy living with Gareth, but it was just hard to let her daddy go...when it had been just the two of them for so long.

Leaving her spot in the kitchen she went to her beloved and crawled onto the bed with him. Sobbing softly she snuggled him and closed her eyes against his side. She just needed to be held right now, she needed someone that would let her cry against them and not question why she was sobbing.

Gareth was rather surprised when Sam came into their bedroom, crying. He guessed that her father had gone home, and this was more than likely confirmed when she climbed onto the bed with him and curled up against his side. He knew that she needed time to grieve over the fact that her father wasn't going to be right in the house with her all the time now. He was having trouble with knowing that he wasn't sharing a room with his brother Evan, even though he had to admit, Sam was a lot better company. She would smile at him once in a while.

He turned to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, kissing her forehead. He didn't know what to say, or if he should even try to say anything at all, so he just held her to him, rocking her gently, and stroking her hair with his other hand.

He had the feeling that this was what she wanted from him at that moment, and he was going to be there to give it to her. He would be there for whatever she needed him there for. If she just wanted to talk, he'd do that. If she wanted to be held like right now, so be it. He just wanted to be there with her, that was all that mattered.

"Sam," he finally whispered. "I know that you miss him now, I miss my family too. But we will see him again. We will see him all the time. I'll make sure of it." He pushed her hair back behind her ear so he could see her beautiful eyes.