Sam & Penny Short-Stories *English*

CALL OF THE WILD - All's well that ends well

Sam woke up with difficulty. He had slept better than ever, even better than the previous night. He turned to Penny, but she was no longer there. The place in bed next to him was empty and cold. Could it be?

"It was all just a dream?" Sam mumbled disappointedly and put his arm over his eyes. He just wanted to lie there for a moment to collect himself. It didn't surprise him. Too often he had these dreams that he found difficult to distinguish from reality the next morning and yet they remained nothing but what they were - dreams, wishes, hopes that had once again been disappointed.

He didn't notice someone sneaking back into the room. Only when soft lips touched his did he let his arm fall back and open his eyes.

"Good morning," Penny greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning."

"Why are you looking at me like I'm a ghost?" she asked him with a grin as she tried to sit up, but he put his arms around her and pulled her close. He couldn't let her go, not when he thought he had just dreamed it all. Or was he even dreaming again? Still?

"I thought I had just dreamed it and that you were just as unreachable to me as you were yesterday." He noted disgruntledly that she was dressed. Even if it had been him under the covers, he would still have wondered whether it had all been a dream.

"I was never unreachable to you."

"But I wasn't allowed to do this," he replied with a grin and kissed her gently.

"You were allowed to. You just never tried."

"And I will regret that for the rest of my life."

"I hope so." She grinned widely as she kissed him again. "But you're right. It's a dream."

"No, please. Then please just let me enjoy it a little longer. I don't want to wake up and find myself in the same rut I've been in for the last few years without being allowed to be this close to you."

"Neither will you. Because we are living a dream. One that has come true." He smiled blissfully, her words warmed his heart so much.

"I agree with you and under the circumstances, I'm more than happy to be awake." He kissed her again briefly. "I love you."

"I love you too, and as much as I hate to get up now, it's already past ten and if you hurry up, you could still find something to eat. The others have pretty much raided my kitchen, but not everyone is awake yet and I defrosted some bread for you in the microwave. I just hope no one looks in it."

"I can live quite well on air and love. The others all wanted to sleep in, so we should do that too," he replied with a grin as he turned around with her in his arms and placed her with his body on the mattress. He kissed her tenderly before his lips began to trail down her neck.

"I don't get the feeling that you're very tired," Penny replied teasingly as she squirmed a little beneath him, but her voice made it clear that she wasn't either.

"And I don't have a feeling you're going to complain," he whispered in her ear as his hand found its way under her shirt, making her sigh contentedly before he captured her lips with his again.

"Penny, where did you...Woah! Can't you lock the door?!" a familiar voice startled them apart and Sam immediately jumped up, rolled off Penny and tried to wrap the blanket around himself, which until now had not covered much more than the lower part of his body.

"Dammit, Phillips! Can't you knock?!" Penny replied in frustration, blushing just as much as Sam.

"Oh my God, I think I'm going blind. Now I'll have to imagine Sam naked under his uniform all the time," Ellie whined as she retreated.