Finger’s moved up and down along Sam’s sides as she tickled him, and Alexandra soon started to join Sam’s laughter. It was by far better seeing him like this rather than the depressed and sad self and it didn’t matter if it lasted only minutes, the important thing was to get off his mind whatever it bothered him so much.

Disturbed by the sudden movements and sounds, Bruno lifted his head slightly before jumping on the floor, Alexandra’s eyes catching the dog’s movements. A sudden attempt to escape her tickling had taken place, but unsuccessful as Sam fell back on the bed. Unfortunately, the few moments of not paying attention to her primary task was all it took for Sam to get a hold of her tickling hand.

Her eyes widened as well, as she was soon being pulled into him, body hurrying to register the contact between them, but before she could even think of anything else, wiggling fingers were moving along her sides.

A bad idea it seemed starting this tickle war as she was far more sensitive to tickling than any other person she had ever met. Laughter escaped her lips. The tickling intensified as Sam covered his fingers in a thin layer of ice and so did her laughter. Her eyes closed tightly, unable to even talk properly. “Sam… not… fair. I’m the… evil… tickle… master.” she barely managed to say all of her worlds interrupted by laughter or giggling.

Her body was late in registering the ‘get away’ command; most of the times being interrupted by a new wave of tickling which practically canceled any other commands than the ‘laugh to the death’ her brain was transmitting. When it was finally registered, her body attempted to pull away as she tried to roll over and escape the tickling assault.

The pressure of the Evil tickle master was fading quickly as he continued his own counter attack with his iced over finger tips which guaranteed she would not only be laughing but would have goose bumps in the process. The goose bumps were far more evil than anything she could muster! “You might be the master but I am the tickle king!” said Sam as his hands ran up and down Alex’s sides aimed at the nerves along the sides of her bodies. There was no way he was going to lose the tickling war that she started to get him to forget about his previous mood and his current situation.

As Alex’s attempt to roll away was initiated Sam’s chase mode was activated as she rolled he followed causing both of them to roll off the bottom of his bed and onto the floor Sam landing on top of Alex in a somewhat awkward position as his body fell on top of her his cheek brushing up against her cheek for a brief moment till Sam’s face filled with blood again as he wished his mutation didn’t make him immune to cold showers. As he pulled his head up he lifted his arms so his face was inches away from hers for a few brief moments, “Seems like that escalated a bit…” Sam said with an embarrassed grin on his face his eyes meeting hers.

Quickly his mind raced as he could clearly identify the position they were yet as much as he wanted it two his body didn’t respond other than a few short breathes that caused his stomach and chest to quickly expand and contract. ”Move you dummy” Sam’s mind called out to his body knowing that this was not in a good position to be in, ”But look at her eyes!” another part of his mind called out, “They are amazing… Fine stay still till she freaks out and slaps you, you’ll start listening to me then!” said the voice in his head, as it seemed almost as egger to see what happened between them next.

Despite the voices in his mind telling him two different things he knew that he was in a dangerous position not only physically but emotionally as well what if something did happen between them, Alex would then get the title as the one day rebound girl, granted for most guys it would be something to brag about but not only was Sam not like that but he felt a connection with Alex one that he didn't feel with most girls Leila being one of the few exceptions. But considering how quickly he developed these kinds of feelings for Alex something was defiantly more entrancing about her than any other girl out there.

It was such a surprise for her to realize that she was actually pulling away from him. In the exuberance of being able to escape the tickle king as Sam had titled himself, Alexandra rolled out of bed a little bit too much, unaware that Sam could easily follow her motion. Okay, scratch that. She rolled way too much. “Sam, no-” she shouted in between laughter, maybe too loud than she should have. But there was no time to think at that as suddenly her body wasn’t feeling any kind off support.

Thud.

There was the support she needed. A nice floor. Her body registered the fall, and out of instinct her head raised up to be protected. Before she could feel any pain, if there was to be one, a quick touch over her cheek and mind was set on fire.

The giggling, the laughing, it stopped, as Sam was quick to move and support himself into his hands, his face only mere inches away from her. Her breathing quickened as she registered his body on top of hers. She wasn’t sure how exactly she managed to get into this position but one of her hands was gripping his t-shirt, somewhere on the middle area of his back. The other went under his hand and dug into his shoulder, as if she was holding in to him for dear life. Her legs, well, her legs were maybe in a much more awkward position, one wrapped around his own, the other resting between his, slightly bended at the knee. The room was getting hot again as he starred at her. “Errr…” were the only sounds she managed to get out, her attention way too focused on those beautiful icy blue eyes.

His breath felt warm against her skin. No, correction, it felt damn hot against her skin. Full lips parted slightly. This was too close, too intimate for their sanity. At least for her own, but by seeing that Sam was still on top of her with no apparent intention to move, she’s say he was affected too.

Get up.

That was what her brain was screaming at her but whether commands were canceled or simply ignored by every possible muscle on her body. She needed to get away from this or… her mind completely blackened out, body now following its own selfish needs. Her head moved closer and –

THUD!

That was a quick way for her brain to activate. Eyes shot straight behind Sam where now an wide opened door greeted them. Her mouth opened to form a small ‘o’ as a mansion resident was starring at the two of them in awe. At a second look she recognized the man, and it was no other than Bruiser, the guy she had taught a lesson for starring at her in the gym. Bruiser’s face quickly changed from a surprised one to a mocking grin.

“My, my. Look who I find here. And I thought mister mansion greeter was raping someone.” he spoke, his arms folding. Alexandra, on the other side, was unable to speak, move or do anything else than stare. Yes, she suspected that she might have shouted that ‘Sam, no!’ a bit too loud.

Bruiser leaned against the door, his massive body no longer blocking the view of other mansion residents. Alexandra managed to register Sid and a three other girls, the last starring open mouthed at the show Bruiser was so kindly providing. “You sure you can handle her?” Bruiser asked Sam, his eyes scanning their position. One which, she remembered now, certainly didn’t look like they were tickling each other only seconds ago. “She seems a little bit too much for you, you know.” Why that slimy son of a bitch.

Alexandra wished she would have just killed him back then, he was wasting too much oxygen anyway. Her eyes shifted over to the open door where more people started to gather like this was some show or something. She couldn’t move, nor speak.

Can this get any worse? And moments later, she wished she wouldn’t have asked.

Luke jogged from the living room up the stairs, his senses on high alert just in case something was wrong. He doubt that anything could be happening that Sam and Alexandra couldn't handle but since he had heard that shout he had to investigate. A crowd seemed to have gathered at Sam's door and Luke skidded to a stop just behind them. With one quick sweep of his sonar Luke had a pretty good idea what was going on and he couldn't help but smile ever so slightly. But... something had to be done about this crowd.

"Alright people! Clear out!" Luke yelled as he pushed his way through the group, slipping past Bruiser and then spinning back around to face the slightly larger man. Crossing his arms over his chest, Luke raises an eyebrow as his sightless eyes stared at the other man. "You need something?"

"You would think she could have picked better men if she wanted a threesome." Bruiser sneered, though his eyes picked up just a hint of concern that he was now outnumbered 3 to 1, "Although I wonder what the music teacher would think if she knew her boyfriend was up here joining in something like this!"

The comment about Raina's thoughts really didn't phase Luke at all. He and his girlfriend were secure enough in their relationship to not being worried about stupid rumors but he was annoyed about the comments that were being directed toward Alexandra. From what he had seen Alexandra was a nice girl that would be almost perfect for a nice guy like Sam.

"And you need to learn some manners." Luke replied bluntly. Not bothering to glance back, Luke simply swept his sonar back over the others as he paused for just a moment. "You two OK?"

She defiantly yelled to loud but in the heat of the moment Sam barley even noticed it other than a whisper as the adrenaline dulled his sense of hearing. Her body intertwined and holding on to his even if his body could respond to the situation he had a feeling he would have been moving her body along with his. Her had moved closer to his as his head did the same his lips going in for a kiss, ”This is actually happening, you’re actually going to do this?” thought Sam as right before they were about to kiss in the position they were in the door busted open.

“My, my. Look who I find here. And I thought mister mansion greeter was raping someone.”

He didn’t need to see who’s face it was because well he knew the tone full of disgust all to well, it was Bruiser and sure enough as he turned his gaze slightly to the door there were a group of ore people behind him Sid and some girls, he didn’t mind that Sid and bruiser were the ones to discover them seeing as Bruiser’s ego would have prevented him from saying anything seeing as he was the one who was about to kiss Alex and not him. The girls however had no ties that would prevent them from talking and gossiping, ”So much for keeping things quite till I was ready to make a move…” thought Sam as his eyebrows frowned slightly.

“You sure you can handle her?” “She seems a little bit too much for you, you know.”

His dislike of bruiser growing as he continued to talk from the hole that was too big on his face to begin with. Debating if he should be baited by the insults Sam calmly let out a small whistle and said, “Bruno!” the large Saint Bernard poked his head up from the other side of the bed and jumped onto the bed then to the door bearing his large teeth and growling ready to bite if Sam should order. Glad that he trained the gentle giant so well Sam looked back down to Alex and gave an apologetic look as their almost perfect moment on an otherwise imperfect day was ruined.

Pulling himself up from Alex reluctantly he spotted Luke by the door, “Heel!” commanded Sam as Bruno went from attack mode to relaxed as he calmly went to greet Luke only to give Bruiser a small growl on the way. “If I recall Bruiser didn’t she beat you up?” spotting the ego bashed look on Bruisers face as the girls giggled a little as they continued to walk with Sid back down the hall. He kept gaze with Bruiser for a second as his attention turned back to Luke.

"You two OK?"

Sam nodding his head didn’t need to say anything as he tried to avoid eye contact with Alex, “I think so…” he paused only to give a quick glance to Alex his face turning slightly red as his heart beat quickened knowing full well that Luke was going to piece what was going on between them without a problem. Jumping to his feet as fast as he could Sam reached down a hand to help Alex up off the floor where moments ago they could have had their first kiss.

Quick review of the situation: Minutes ago Alexandra Kettler, Kabal spy under cover and Sam Johnson, X-Men were just about to kiss. Now, people were starring at them laying on the floor as if it was some kind of free show. Unbelievable. Seconds ago, Alexandra wondered if things could go worse than that. It was a surprise when she actually found out that they could as her blind sensei just walked trough the door.

And they didn’t stop there as Bruiser insinuated that they were about to have a threesome with Luke. If she could have moved her muscles she would have probably gasped at this. This was too much.

Sam on the other hand, called Bruno to his help, the dog quickly complying as he moved to the door, teeth barred as he growled at the intruders. As Sam pulled himself up to reply to Bruiser’s stupid comments and then command Bruno to relax, she let her head drop on the floor, her eyes closing slightly.

This is…

She couldn’t find a word good enough to describe the situation. So much for no more rumors. And so much for not being seen with him, too, she thought as she glanced back at Sam just in time to meet his eyes. More blood rushed to her face as Sam jumped to his feet. Accepting his hand, she got up but hurried in letting go.

Brushing her clothes in lack of anything else to do, Alexandra looked up with dignity at her sensei and the morons starring from behind him. It’s not like they were doing something, anyway. Scratch that 'about to kiss' part. “We’re fine Luke. We were just tickling. she replied, emphasizing the ‘just’.

Bruiser snorted as he leaned on the doorframe into a more comfortable position and folded his arms. “Tickling. Right.” Alexandra shot him a look, her own arms folding. She wanted to hit him. Badly. “Tickling, yes. And if we were to do something else…” Her eyebrow rose slightly, quickly followed by a corner of her mouth. “That wouldn’t be your business, anyway.” She looked past Bruiser to where Sid and the girls were standing.

Her eyebrow rose even more as they seemed to have multiplied. There weren’t only three girls anymore and she had the impression that in less than a minute either all the mansion will be standing next to that door. Or at least hear what happened. She could almost imagine the ‘Oh.my.god. You won’t believe what just happened!’ & Co. being spreaded around. “Or yours.” she spoke as they responded with a giggle.

“Oh well, if you need a real man, just let me know.” said Bruiser with a mocking grin. Alexandra half smiled. “I certainly don’t see one when I look at you.” she replied, putting on an innocent smile. Bruiser’s figure suddenly changed as his body flinched as if he was about to attack her but stopped.

“Now beat it. I don’t think there’s any show going on in this room.” she said, moving toward the man, smile fading, her eyes giving him a warning that she could always shut off his oxygen if needed. Bruiser gave a slight shrug as he unfolded his arms and turned around, leaving the room and joining his friends.

Alexandra shut the door and turned around to face the two remaining men in Sam’s room, her back leaning on the door. “One’s not enough, right?” she heard Bruiser shout trough the door followed by laughter and giggles. Her head half turned back to the door, tempted to get out and actually kill the man but quickly changed her mind.

“I guess the no more rumors just went out the window.” she added with a sigh as she looked at Sam and Luke. More likely at Luke because it was kind of strange to look at Sam after everything that just happened. Oh yes, that was just enough to keep the mansion entertained for… months?

Luke had been tempted to shove Bruiser out the door and then slam it shut himself but since it wasn't his room and technically he was just as much of an intruder as anyone he had refrained from doing anything physical. As it was, things had still turned out so that he was now standing in the room along with the slight embarrassed figured of Sam and Alexandra. Turned his head to face the man beside him, Luke allowed a slightly amused smile to touch his features as he slowly shook his head before turning back so that his "gaze" was now focused on Alexandra.

"Alright you two. Take a seat." Luke said with a slight chuckle in his voice as he stepped back and waved a hand toward the bed the two of them had just vacated. "No arguments. Just sit down and listen for a minute."

Crossing his arms over his chest Luke waited his smile broadening ever so slightly as he continued to see the embarrassment that was plastered on both of their faces. The big question of course was exactly why were they embarrassed? Were they ashamed that they had been about to give in to at least some of their carnal desire or were they just embarrassed that someone had caught them?

"Alright, let's keep this simple." Luke said once the two of them had finally taken a seat, "I'm not either of your fathers and I don't want to pretend to be. I'm not going to give you any silly talks about whatever it was you might have been doing. But I do think that as a friend to both of you there is something I need to say."

Turning his head, Luke focused on Sam as he continued speaking. "Sam... I assume you just broke up with Leila. Good. You and I have known that needed to come for probably a couple of weeks now. You like Alexandra. Good again. Date her. Romance her. Show her that she's more than just a rebound girl and let her see your feelings."

Turning his head toward Alexandra, Luke continued without pause. "Alexandra, as much as you tried to tell me during our training sessions that you only see Sam as a friend, we both know that's not true. You like him. So act on those feelings. Date him. Confide in him. Quit trying to hold yourself back and be in control all the time. Live a little."

And now it was on to the piece de resistance of his speech. The part that bridges the gap and applied to each of them. "And both of you, quite acting embarrassed or ashamed that you feel this way. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy. Try it out! I'm not saying you have to tumble into bed the first time but don't be afraid of your feelings and for once try to not give a damn about what anyone else thinks."

For Luke to us any sort of expletive showed that he was either angry or extremely serious about the subject he was talking about. Quirking an eyebrow at the two of them, Luke was silent for a moment as he looked at the two of them. "You two clear on that or do you want to kick me out of the room and ignore everything I just said?"

Letting out a loud sigh as Sam waved Bruno back over to him the dog complied as he nodded to Alex and said, “All it takes is one person, there were at least five people there… can’t even imagine the different variations of the rumors…” as Bruno approached him Sam gave Bruiser one last look and smiled, “Tell your mother I said hello!” there he added to the embarrassment that Alex had dished out a few seconds earlier. He was defiantly going to get a thicker door or one that is at least sound proof if so many people could hear what he thought was a whisper of the word ‘No’.

The next few moments were awkward beyond belief. Now Sam never remembered much of his dad’s actions but the way Luke told them to sit down something came over Sam and he sat obediently along with a Bruno who hopped up on the bed and sat on the other side of Sam leaving room for Alex near the end of the bed. Raising his hand and placing it on the large dogs head Sam scratched and listened to what Luke had to say because it defiantly seemed important.

"Sam... I assume you just broke up with Leila. Good. You and I have known that needed to come for probably a couple of weeks now. You like Alexandra. Good again. Date her. Romance her. Show her that she's more than just a rebound girl and let her see your feelings."

Nodding to Luke not even slightly surprised that Luke knew about the phone call after all they did touch on the subject on several occasions maybe not how to break up but talk about girl troubles defiantly was a topic for discussion between them. Although he had been feeling that a change between them was needed he didn’t think that he would have broken up with her quite yet if she did in fact answer him and catch up on everything that they have been missing together.

Luke continued Sam’s face turned slightly red when Luke pointed out that Sam liked Alex to her face. The radar that Luke had been blessed with must have tipped him off at some point seeing as Sam was sure he had done his best to keep the feelings hidden, other than some mindless flirting which wasn’t uncommon now a days. His gaze turned to Alex and he shrugged slightly and nodded in conformation at Luke’s words feeling no need to deny the feeling he had for her now.

Sam continued to pet Bruno he felt the shift of the dog’s ears as Luke continued to talk, the ears went from relaxed to more of an aware positioning. He didn’t know what it was but Luke being in the room lecturing not only himself but Alex as well it seemed to upset Bruno a bit.

As Luke turned his attention to Alex and spoke he was slightly surprised that Alex was feeling the same way about him or so said Luke, he could have been wrong he could have been right but Sam defiantly needed to ask Alex himself to try and figure out what they should do, act on those feelings or just pretend that they don’t exist.

Finishing up with his speech now directing his attention to both Alex and himself Sam nodded to Luke. Luke defiantly had some points but the way he was delivering it made Sam feel like a child. The hand on Bruno’s head lowered with the dog’s head as he could feel a deep rumbling in the dog’s throat. Bruno was defiantly protective of Sam but he was also a baby and was more of a bark than a bite kind of dog so he didn’t pay much mind to the suttle growl.

"You two clear on that or do you want to kick me out of the room and ignore everything I just said?"

Shrugging his shoulder and nodding Sam said, “Guess it can’t be hidden to well if the blind man can see it…” he gave Luke a joking smile and laughed slightly so Luke could tell he was only playing with Luke. “Alex he is right… I didn’t want to try anything because not only was I dating Leila, but know I don’t want you to be the rebound girl…” he smiled and looked at Alex and then put both his hands on his lap which seemed to set Bruno off like Sam’s hand was the only thing holding him down.

Bruno jumped from the bed and lunged at Luke his paws outstretched it wasn’t a attack more of a tackle to the ground to display who was in charge. As the giant pooch pinned Luke to the ground and growled slightly his paw laced on his chest Sam called out, “BRUNO! NO!”

Alexandra gave a slight nod as Sam confirmed his thoughts about the rumors, mind already working on the self restraint she needed to show from now on around the mansion. The pool incident, although it had caused rumors about her and Sam, mostly because of Dominic, was clearly just an accident and other mansion residents knew it although they were making fun of it. But in this particular situation, only Sam and she were aware of what happened before falling on the floor. To anyone else, it just seemed like they were about to have some serious snoo-snoo action.

”Alright you two. Take a seat. No arguments. Just listen for a minute.”

Confusion appeared on her face as Luke began to speak. Alexandra had some troubles with authority, no matter where that came from, but considering the current situation and the fact that during training sessions she actually had to listen to Luke in order to learn something, she found herself obeying this order and taking a seat somewhere near the end of the bed. Placing her hands on her lap, her eyes focused on Luke, waiting to see what her sensei had to say.

Sure, as soon as Luke started to speak, this time with Sam, she needed every bit of control to hold her mouth closed instead of letting it drop to the floor. Sure, she was suspecting that something was happening between her and Sam but she was always under the impression that both were just flirting. Instinctually her head turned to Sam only to meet his gaze and his nod. He is actually admitting this? This certainly was the super awkward things happening day.

As her name was now being called, Alexandra welcomed this distraction, not being sure how exactly she should react to both Luke’s words and Sam’s confirmation. The feeling or relief didn’t last long as Luke started to talk about her own feelings. More blood rushed to her face. Now was a good time to stare mouth opened. Her head turned around again slightly to face Sam. She didn’t speak, she didn’t nod. Probably the look on her face was speaking for herself in a much better way than she could ever verbalize it.

As Luke was wrapping up his speech, she turned back to her blind sensei, again, welcoming the distraction provided by his voice. Mentally shaking her head, she continued to repeat to herself that this wasn’t actually happening. It couldn’t happen.

With Luke finished talking Alexandra opened her mouth to say something, however no words were coming out of her mouth, her brain not being able to think of the right words. Or any other words as a matter of fact. Sky blue eyes shifted back to Sam, once again meeting his gaze. After he spoke out loud the things that he had just confirmed earlier with a nod, Alexandra barely managed to get out an “I…”

Alexandra Kettler never had the need to express her feelings, never in her 19 years, even when she knew what they were. Now when she was so confused and was fighting with what ever she was feeling, she was experiencing a mental block.

The next few moments were played in fast forward in her mind. Sam’s smile, followed by the movement of his arm as he placed his hand in his lap. As if Sam’s hand on his head was the only restraint keeping him down, Bruno jumped off the bed and launched himself on Luke, paws outstretched and growling. “LUKE!” Her body acted on instinct, as she stood up and straightened herself, eyes widened in shock.

If Luke has spent as much time and attention watching the dog that was stretched out by Sam as he had watching and figuring out that both Sam and Alexandra liked each other he might have been prepared for an attack. He might have been able to dodge or side step the attack giving Sam a chance to stop the dog before it could actually do anything. Yep, if Luke had just been ready things could have been a lot different but unfortunately he wasn't.

It seemed to happen without any warning as the large dog suddenly rose to its feet and lunged at Luke with the sort of power and ferocity that only a large dog could show. Caught flat footed all Luke could do was uncross his arms and grab either side of Bruno's head as he fell to the ground.

"Gaah!" He yelled/yelped unintentionally as he slammed down to the bedroom with the massive animal sitting on his chest, "What did I DO?!"

If it was possible for a blind man to be slightly wide eyed with nervousness then Luke definitely fit in that category. All he had wanted was to help his two friends get over whatever was holding them back from enjoying something special. How in the world had that led to his present predicament?

"Sam! Get your DOG off of me!" Luke said slightly louder than normal, though not really in a full fledged yell. He was nervous... heck, anyone would have been nervous with a growling angry dog perched on their chest though from Luke's vantage point, even a smiling dog would have looked angry. "I offered to leave! You didn't have to sic the dog on me!"

Frowning at his large dog now staring down at Luke growling Sam walked over to Bruno and said, “Bad Bruno! NO!” his eyes stayed fixed on Bruno till the large dog stopped growling and lifted his head in Sam’s direction. Matching the dog’s gaze Sam continued to give a stern look and then he commanded, “Come!” with his tail between his legs Bruno gave one last look at Luke and then reluctantly got off of him and walked over to where Sam’s finger was pointed. Arriving at the master’s feet Bruno sat and lowered his head knowing that he did something wrong given the tone Sam was issuing.

“I think he thought you were yelling at me…” said Sam as he put his hand on the dogs large head, “I didn’t sick him in you, Bruno went all on his own…” looking down to Bruno and saying the words that all dogs hated to hear, “Bad Boy…” letting out a whine and then laying down Bruno buried his eyes in his paws and continued to lay there till Sam called his name.

Walking over to Luke and offering a hand Sam said apologetically, “Sorry Luke, Bruno never showed that much aggression before… you’re not hurt are you?” despite how upset he was with Bruno he was slightly glad that Bruno acted as a distraction for everyone. Alex was from what he could tell no longer thinking about a relationship or something along those lines seeing as her face wasn’t as red as it once was, and with Luke sounding nervous and was previously pinned by his overprotective dog, Sam had a feeling that this was exactly what every one needed…. Well maybe not Luke but the distraction was defiantly needed.

Her facial traits returned to normal as Alexandra watched Luke trying to get the dog off him and Sam moving to do the same. Luke’s last comment would have been funny if it wasn’t for the large dog standing on him. As Sam managed to make Bruno listen and move away, Alexandra’s own body moved on Luke’s other side, eyes watching the dog.

Crouching down, she gave an apologetic smile. “You ok?” she asked, eyes scanning for any visible injury, mostly focused on the head. “If you hit your head I suggest a trip to the doc prof.” she added.

Waiting for Luke to answer and get up, eyes drifted for a second to Sam but quickly moved back to Luke. She cleared her throat, remembering that she actually had to say something about the previous confessions. But this wasn’t the right moment and probably Bruno’s attack served as a break to both her and Sam to put their thoughts in order.

Unknowingly, Luke helped them once again. Eyes focused back on Sam but she starred at his neck rather than his eyes. “I think we need to talk.” she spoke softly, eyes finally looking at his to see what Sam was thinking about it.

Without embarrassment or lust practically nullifying everything else around her Alexandra’s mind finally took in her surroundings. The sound of drops of water hitting the window was the first thing that got her attention. Turning her head slightly to confirm that visually, she wondered if Sam would mind a walk in the rain.

Grabbing Sam's hand, Luke climbed back up to his feet with an obviously wary expression on his face. No longer was the dog an unnoticed resident in the room but instead he found himself paying close attention to his sonar and every quiver of muscle that could indicate that Bruno was readying for another attack.

"I'm fine." Luke responded, answering the cocern from both Sam and Alexandra, "But I think I've probably worn out my welcome."

“I think we need to talk.” Alexandra finally spoke, his attention turning back to Sam. That was Luke's cue to leave and he was deffinately going to take it.

"I'll leave you two alone." He said with a slight smile, momentarily overcoming his nervousness now that he was moving away from the dog. Steping over to the door he twisted the handle and stepped out into the now vacant hallway. "Just quite being scare you two. You've got a chance at something special."

Closing the door behind him Luke headed down the hallway and back down the stairs to his planning session in the living room.

Both appalled and rather impressed with his dog’s commitment to Sam, he was going to have to give a stern talking to, regardless if the dog could understand him or not, Luke was a friend and not some one that should be attacked or growled at, until that time however Sam walked over to his bed and sat down keeping one hand on Bruno’s head till Luke left making sure that the dog didn’t need to feel threatened by the master’s sight impaired friend. In fact Bruno shouldn’t feel threatened by any of the manor residents if any were to threaten his dog Sam was confident he would step in before Bruno was or attacked someone.

His attention turned to Alex as she looked at him and spoke, her eyes trailed form his chest up to his eyes. Nodding slightly as he continued to look into Alex’s eyes he simply stated, “We do…” that was all he felt needed to be said for the time being, more words would soon come to pass when they were alone and when they had time to talk, watching her eyes he noticed they trailed outside and hit the windows as Sam questioned, “Care for a walk?” he knew it was raining but it didn’t really matter, water never bothered him, and Bruno did need to go outside not to mention that Water on Alex rarely remained on her body or clothes for long if at all.

As Luke announced his leave Sam nodded is thanks and added a small wave and then said, “I’ll talk to you later,” then in a silent whisper almost muted, “to let you know how things went…” Luke in Sam’s opinion had every right to know if things were going to work between them, after all without Luke’s little outburst they would have been dancing the same dance for weeks before one of them gained enough courage to actually say what Luke revealed.

As the door shut Bruno got up and looked to the door with a small bark, grabbing his leash and strapping around the dogs collar he opened the door and looked to Alex, almost begging her to follow, what better way to talk than involve a nice refreshing walk one that might help Sam concentrate more on the current topic of discussion.

As they left the mansion for the grounds the water started to fall upon Sam and Bruno, nether neither Sam nor Bruno seemed to mind in fact both of them had a sudden peaceful feeling wash over them. With the grounds being empty due to the rain Sam let go of the leash that held onto Bruno, Bruno sensing the opportunity decided to gun it to his favorite tree and left Alex and Sam to themselves.

As he and Alex started the walk the first thing that came to words was, “So… How about Luke? Outing my feelings like that…crazy huh?” he said his voice slightly nervous he didn’t look at Alex as he said this but rather looked up to the sky his eyes wincing as a rain drop hit his face. Alex never openly admitted to her feelings so he wasn’t exactly sure if Luke was right when he mentioned how Alex felt.

A small smile appeared on her face as she turned her head from the window to Sam. “Funny, I was thinking the same.” she answered. After tucking her hair behind her ear again, Alexandra folded her arms and turned back to Luke who was announcing that he was leaving. “See you later, Luke.” she said after letting Sam speak first. Random thoughts were crossing her mind from what exactly she would tell Sam in this needed talk to ideas on how to keep him busy until someone will tell her to bring Sam to his birthday party.

As Sam was preparing Bruno for the walk, she uncrossed her arms and moved across the room with small steps. She didn’t miss the look on Sam’s face as he opened the door. But she was already moving to follow him, this talk, although she didn’t have the slightest idea on how it would turn out, was now needed after everything that she and probably Sam as well had considered hidden was out.

What Luke had done was certainly bringing several different thoughts in her mind. One side told her it was the better, who knew when the one of them would have finally said something. The other was in doubt and it kept telling her that maybe they weren’t ready to face this yet. And maybe in her case, ever, given the situation.

The rain gave her a strange, comforting feeling as drops of water kept hitting her body and face or clung to her hair, turning it curly. She could have probably kept all that water away but why when it brought peace back into her mind. Distractions were washed away as water poured down and her mind was clearer than before.

”So, how about Luke? Outing my feelings like that… Crazy, huh?

Her eyes who were focused on Bruno were kept there for a few more seconds. A smile appeared on her face and Alexandra turned her face to Sam. The slight hint of nervousness, the fact that he wasn’t looking at her but up and that ’my’ gave her the impression that she was reminded that she had yet to tell if Luke was speaking the truth about her.

Funny, she could have ended everything right now, no more endangering the mission, and if she told Sam that Luke was wrong… she guessed that nothing would be possible between them from now on. Yes, all threats wiped out with a few words and yet she couldn’t find the strength nor the wish to speak.

“I was under the impression that it were our feelings.” she said, still keeping her smile on. Her own head turned back and her gaze followed Sam’s up in the sky. With half closed eyes, she gave a shrug. “Dunno. I guess he was tired of seeing us hiding behind a finger.” Her eyes shifted back to Sam. “It doesn’t matter now. The dice has been thrown so we need to make a decision.” Whatever that might be.