,, to fall down at your door, hawkins. 500 miles = <3 :3

[Alex Hawkins]

<sub>There were often times when Hawkins had to be obnoxiously gentle. What normal people would consider a firm grasp would be bone crushing when coming from him. A simple pat on the back could be painful. He became very very cautious... but right after the full moon he was still very volatile and he still remembered snapping at Moody over something stupid. The two weren't talking for a day or two because what Hawkins said hurt.

But Moody was being Moody, and Hawkins was exhausted, hurting, and didn't have the patience to deal with his crap. Of course he apologized later, but he hated the fact that he could be such a vile person after the full moon, and sometimes he couldn't control it. Other times he just used it as an excuse. But really, that was about the extent of it.

"Of course Sammi, totally separated at birth," he laughed as he pulled her into another hug. It took a lot of to not hug her like he wanted to. But if he did, he'd probably squash her like a little bug.

"And don't smother her too much... she's not big on the smothering..." In a lot of ways she was still at that sort of distant phase. It was a hard thing to get past, being different, and knowing people were scared of you or didn't like you because you were different. It took Hawkins leaving home to get over that, and he's hoping that he can get her past this phase in a better way than he got through his own distant phase.

"That sounds absolutely heavenly," he smiled as he let her out of the hug and took another drink of the butterbeer. "I told you I toured the Hershey plant in Pennsylvania? The one where I then bought them out of chocolate..." Kiddingly of course.</sub>

[Samantha Ward]

sammi ward.
the smile on your face
lets me know that you need me
there's a truth in your eyes
saying you'll never leave me
-----------------------------------------

Sighing, Samantha lifted her glass again and looked at what was left of her drink. She wanted to order some more but she had to go and prepare beds and stuff and if she was high on butterbeer there was no way she was doing that. As long as she kept her mind on the task she would be fine. Kept her heart from being on her mind... Shaking her head she looked up at Hawkins again, letting a great smile cross her face. She wouldn't let him see how much it really hurt. She had to be brave like he was.

She was certain that she was going to fawn over Hawkins' little girl endlessly. She had always loved children and the thought of having a little girl living with her again totally made her squee inside. Samantha was pretty sure that Hawkins already knew that she was squeeing, but that didn't matter. Making sure the little girl was completely happy was what mattered.

"You know we were, Alex! It's... Like, so obvious." Nodding her head with a wicked smile, Samantha returned his hug energetically, wrapping her arms around him before kissing his cheek. She knew what it took for him to just hug her like that and she really was grateful for all the times he cared.

"I'll try to be calm about it. I know what you mean." Samantha remembered when Hawkins himself went through that kind of stage. It had taken forever for Samantha to make him realise that she wasn't going to leave him or abandon him for what he was - that she loved him, werewolf or not. It didn't matter to her that he had been bitten. He was still Alex to her, he always would be. It just meant that he needed a little extra help now and then. That's all. She would try and help the girl see the same thing.

"I thought it might. You always did have a sweet tooth," Grinning, Sammi began to think of all the wonderful things she would be able to bake. When Hawkins spoke again she turned to him with wide eyes. "You went to the Hershey plant? Was it good? I doubt you bought them out, but still..."

[Alex Hawkins]

<sub>Hawkins chuckled. He really couldn't understand how or why he was so close to Samantha Ward, but it was something that probably didn't need any sort of explanation, it just was. It was one of those things that was just meant to be. He was meant to be friends with her. It got more obvious with the more time he spent with her. They were so close, and she helped him through so much that he probably wouldn't have made it through without having Sammi there.

It was sad, but true. "Of course, of course."

"Thank you..." he said softly. He didn't want Isabella to get the wrong impression of dearest Samantha Ward. Alex appreciated everything that Samantha ever did for him. He would be so lost without her and he didn't want to lose her. And he was afraid that that Izzy wasn't going to like her and that would cause a rift in their friendship.

The Hershey Plant was amazing, there was chocolate. Everywhere. I mean... all Izzy wanted to do was go into the park, but I was perfectly fine just spending all the time in Chocolate World. Merlin Sammi, I swear the walls were made out of chocolate. It was... heaven on earth."

Okay, so maybe he was exaggerating ever so slightly, but there was chocolate everywhere. He loved chocolate, and he did get quite a bit. He had a good salary from that hospital he worked at. He could basically do whatever he wanted (of course, he used most of it to spoil Isabella).

"So..."

Wow, he didn't really know what to say.</sub>

[Samantha Ward]

sammi ward.
the smile on your face
lets me know that you need me
there's a truth in your eyes
saying you'll never leave me
-----------------------------------------

Samantha beamed at his chuckle and she let her smile take over her face. She loved it when Alex laughed or chuckled because it just showed how far he'd come. He was better, happier and... It was wonderful. She had helped him and in return now he was helping her. He didn't realise it but just sitting beside him was making her feel better about everything. As though the world was a nicer place because he was just... There. Because Hawkins made things perfect. He was so amazing at just... Healing people.

"What's Izzy's favourite colour? Samantha asked. "I'll make the bedding like that. And... Hm. I'll just try to be 'normal', though you know that'll be hella' hard, Alex!" Samantha was going to try supper hard to make sure that Isabella was okay around her. She was going to try and make the little girl friendly with her - try as hard as she could. Biting her lip she pondered a moment. What if the girl didn't like her? That didn't matter. She would carry on regardless.

"Woah, Alex! I wish I could have come! Chocolate Land! I wanna go!" The obvious excitement in Samantha's eyes was overwhelming. "One day I am going to take Ashlyn there and we are going to have some serious fun. Like a lot of fun, okay?" Grinning, Samantha looked at Alex from the corner of her eye. "You can go to the park, kay? I'm sure it'll be tons of fun for you, Alex dear."

Sammi could tell he was going a little over the top but that didn't matter. From what he had said the place sounded wonderful and one day she was gonna take Ash. Maybe Antonin too. Looking up at Hawkins, Samantha bit her lip. Oh, right. She hadn't told Alex about him yet. Well, that could wait. She had more important things to think about.

"How is life across the sea, 'Lex?" Samantha asked, trying to push thoughts of Antonin out of her mind.

[Alex Hawkins]

<sub>Hawkins didn't even realize this odd power that he had at people. His new co-workers simply described it as him having this strange "healing power" over people around him. Just the fact that he was so positive and upbeat about everything even when there didn't seem to be everything going right. He was also a very comforting presence. He said they were full of it, but he just had this ability to make people feel better without making much of an effort.

It was a great talent to have, but Hawkins didn't know that he was doing it. He was just being himself.

"Erm... I want to say purple, but I'm not sure," he admitted. Izzy was at that phase where her favorite color changed constantly. It could go from purple, to green, to blue, to orange, all in the span of a day. He just stopped trying to coordinate things to her favorite color. "But if you ask her she might say otherwise," he chuckled as he took another drink of his butterbeer.

"The park wasn't that bad," he admitted. "I basically let Izzy go on the rides that she wanted to go on, and that was it, I did get her to go on a roller coaster though. She wouldn't talk to me until we got home." Hawkins had liked the roller coaster, but his little Izzy obviously didn't. Maybe it was too big of a step, but eventually they made up. "But I secretly think that she really enjoyed it," he laughed.


He fell silent for a few moments before shrugging. "It's,.,.. perfect... except for the odd lack of Samantha Ward," he admitted. He never let on exactly how much he liked it there. He didn't have to worry about much. He had a job, he had a family. He had friends. He had everything he ever wanted there except for Sammi and Alastor. There were no suitable replacements for his two best friends, but other than that, life was so fantastic. He couldn't ask for anything more.

"How about here?"</sub>