Chapter Text
Sammy's last memory of the arched gateway leading up the Gutierrez Cattle Ranch was in her rearview mirror, getting further and further away as she drove off in a fit of anger after her most recent argument with her father. She remembered feeling betrayed and hopeless after nearly two months of desperately trying to fix a rift she hadn't caused blew up in her face. She remembered the empty porch as she left; no one watching or wishing she would stay. Everyone believing that it was her fault.
Seeing it again felt like something out of a fever dream. Her big sister waiting for her on the porch, doubly so.
As Sammy parked her old pickup next to her father's, Sierra stood on the steps, watching almost nervously. Honestly, Sammy didn't know what to make of it. Sierra had always been sweet on her, as she was with all of the younger sisters, but it wasn't like she'd really been on Sammy's side at any point during the trouble. She'd made it a point to avoid involving herself; same as the other two.
Looking at her now, Sammy dared to let herself hope that maybe her sisters regretted that.
She cut the engine and climbed out of the truck, making her way up to the porch to hear her sister's voice for the first time in years.
Sierra didn't say anything. Apparently unable to contain herself a moment longer, she lunged forward and enveloped Sammy in a big, tight bear hug only a Gutierrez could give. Sammy hugged her back reflexively, relaxing into the warm, strong presence that had always made her feel safe and loved.
Only then did Sierra finally speak.
"God, Sammy," she murmured. "I missed you so much. I thought about reaching out so many times, but I wasn't sure you wanted to hear from any of us."
"Of course I did," Sammy said before she could stop herself. All she'd wanted for a long, long time was to hear from somebody. Anybody. An apology. A "how are you?". Any show of effort that she didn't have to beg for.
"I'm sorry." Sierra pulled back to look Sammy in the eyes, her own glistening with unshed tears. "I should've said something. I should've said something to Pa."
Sammy was inclined to agree, but she didn't say it out loud for fear of shaming her sister further. The fact that she was getting an apology at all was more than she'd once hoped for.
"Think the others are gonna be this happy to see me?" she asked instead.
"It's all they've been talking about," Sierra said softly.
As if to emphasize her point, the front door slowly creaked open, Bianca's head popping out to check what was going on. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of Sammy, shoulders hunching sheepishly.
"Best get in there, then," Sammy decided, releasing Sierra to head up the porch steps and greet her other sister.
Bianca stepped aside to clear the way for her, looking meek and guilty in a way that made her look younger. Not like she had been years ago when everything had happened, but maybe a little closer to the young teenager she'd been the last time Sammy had seen her.
"Hey," she squeaked out.
"Hey yourself," Sammy replied, managing a smile. "Where's Carmen?"
"In the kitchen," Bianca said, a bit louder now. "With Ma and Pa."
Sammy looked through the front room to the open doorway leading to the kitchen. She could smell coffee brewing. Hear faint voices whispering within. After several seconds of internal debate, she opened her mouth to call out.
"I'm here!"
The reaction was immediate. All conversation stopped. Something clattered against the countertop. Three sets of footsteps all raced out at the same time.
Sammy's father was the first one out, his hair grayer and face more heavily lined than Sammy remembered. He looked tired. Unsure of himself in a way that didn't look quite right on him after all those years of being the most stubborn and confident man Sammy knew, for better for worse.
Her mother came next, looking similarly aged but also somewhat hopeful. Then Carmen, the middle child who had made it abundantly clear that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with either side of any arguments over the years. She seemed to regret that now, with the same mousey demeanor and guilty eyes as Bianca.
Briefly, they all just stood there and took each other in while Sierra came inside and closed the door. Then, while historically the most difficult to start a conversation with out of the lot, Sammy's father spoke first.
"I'm glad you came," he said, apprehensive but warm. "Thank you. For reaching out, I mean. I was surprised to hear from you."
"Yeah, well..." Sammy shrugged a bit awkwardly. It hurt, the way they didn't know how to talk to each other anymore. "It's my wedding. Didn't want you to miss it if we could help it."
"Congratulations," her father said, almost too quickly, as if he'd forgotten the reason she'd reached out at all. "Yaz is a good one. I'm glad it's her. She's always stuck by you, hasn't she?"
Sammy resisted the urge to wince at how little he knew of her life since they'd parted ways. Just like him, Yaz had not always been there for her. Even when she'd tried reconnecting in the past, she'd never felt okay coming to him with that fact. Too busy trying to pretend everything was alright to be able to confide in her own father.
But there was no use in bringing it up now.
"Yeah." She plastered on a grin that, to her credit, was only partially forced. It was at least easier to smile when thinking of Yaz these days. "I'm real glad it's her too. Wouldn't want anyone else."
"She could've come today," her mother chimed in. "We'd love to see her too."
Sammy nodded, sobering. "I figured today should just be us, seeing as it been so long, and... y'know."
"Listen," her father said, "I'd really like to put all that unpleasantness behind us. I know we've had our differences, but it's a foolish reason to have missed out on so much of your life. I don't want to miss anymore. Think we could let bygones be bygones?"
Sammy hated that the first thing she registered was that it wasn't an apology. Hardly even a vague approximation of accountability. Still, at least he didn't seem to expect an apology from her anymore, and as sad it was, that was a genuine improvement. All it in all, it was probably the best she was going to get.
"That's why I'm here." Though she didn't really know why, she stuck out her hand like she was making a business deal or greeting a stranger. "Bygones."
She forced her face to be still as her father shook her hand, though she didn't miss the looks on her mother's and sisters' faces. They knew this was weird. They had been expecting at least some type of argument.
Sammy just didn't have the will for it anymore. Not with her wedding coming up. Not when the idea of walking down the aisle without her father made her skin crawl more than the idea of letting going of everything he'd said to her over the years.
No one said anything of it, anyway. Instead, her mother plastered on a bright smile and approached the two with open arms.
"I have lunch warm on the stove," she said. "Why don't we all sit down, and we can talk about the wedding?"
"Sure, Ma," Sammy agreed.
"Stay for dinner, too," her father offered. "In fact, how about you call Yaz and invite her? I ought to congratulate her too."
"Yaz is busy today," Sammy replied in spite of Yaz's offer to come over here at a moment's notice if Sammy called. In all honesty, she wasn't sure she wanted her family seeing Yaz until she felt more confident about this whole thing. "She's still in school, so she's got class. Going for a master's degree now."
"Oh, yeah?" Sammy's father smiled. "Good, good. What's she wanna be?"
"Art therapist," Sammy said. "She loves helping people."
She followed her family into the kitchen, where a big pot of soup was sitting on the stove. She noticed quickly that it seemed to be a vegetable-based soup. Another improvement.
"So, Sammy," her mother began as everyone began to take their places around the table, "what are you and Yaz thinking for the wedding? Any venues picked out yet?"
"Not yet," Sammy replied. "We haven't been engaged very long, so we're still just talking about things."
"We'll make sure you don't have to settle," her father said. Sammy glanced at him, confused. "Have as nice a wedding as you want. Your mother and I will pay."
Sammy bit down on the inside of her cheek for a moment. She hated that idea immediately. She didn't want to owe him anything, and unless something had changed considerably since her last visit, she didn't think he could even afford it.
"Oh... y'all don't have to do that."
"What kind of a father doesn't pay for his daughter's wedding?" He sounded mildly offended, and everyone else looked away with a sort of tension in their faces. Lovely. "What, does Yaz's father want to pay?"
Sammy just stared at him, because she knew he knew Yaz had never met her father.
"We can afford it, Pa," she said calmly. "Save that money for the others' weddings."
"You think I can't take care of all my daughters?"
"Pa." Sierra leaned over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "They're good. They've got all that money from the Jurassic World lawsuit. Just let 'em do it their way."
Sammy gave her sister a grateful look as their father sighed and backed down.
"Alright," he conceded.
A bit to quickly to be entirely natural, Sammy's mother began setting down bowls of soup, saying, "I modified that recipe I made all the time when you were kids. No meat, just like you like, Sammy."
Sammy braced herself for her father to say something about it, but he didn't. Probably afraid of scaring her off.
Still, it was nice to be able to share a meal without loaded comments or sideways stares. It was nowhere close to what had once been normal, but it was something. They were all at the table, trying to make it work. Being civil and showing small improvements.
Maybe this would work out after all.
------
All in all, Sammy got home around 9pm after two meals and several hours of conversations that gradually became more comfortable as the day went on. By the end of it, she'd even managed to share a few laughs on the porch with her sisters.
Still, she was glad to be home, where she could let herself fully relax and be around someone she still completely trusted.
"Yaz, I'm home!" She called through the front hallway. No immediate response, but the kitchen light was on, so she went over to poke her head in.
Yaz was right there at the kitchen island, head resting on her arms beside her laptop. Fallen asleep doing homework, it seemed.
"Hey, sleepyhead," Sammy said gently as she approached. She gave Yaz's shoulder a few little nudges until she began to stir. "Have a good nap?"
Yaz stifled a yawn and slowly began to shift and lift her head.
"Hey," she murmured thickly. "How was dinner?"
"Good, I think," Sammy replied. "No one screamed or asked me to apologize for things that weren't my fault."
Yaz sat up and stretched. "Thank God for that."
"Yeah," Sammy agreed, planting a small kiss on her head. "Did you eat?"
"Mhm," Yaz hummed sleepily. "All the animals, too. Everyone's fed and where they should be."
"Thank you," Sammy said fondly. "How about we get you to bed, then? We can talk more when you're not falling asleep on your keyboard."
Yaz rubbed at one eye as she shut her laptop, leaving whatever she'd been working on for the morning.
"You sure there's nothing you really want to talk about?" she asked, sounding a bit more awake. "That had to be a lot for you."
"It can wait," Sammy promised. "I'd rather just relax for now."
"Alright." Yaz stood up, hand falling naturally into Sammy's. They left the kitchen together and headed upstairs, Sammy gently pulling Yaz's sluggish legs along.
She had a lot to say about her day, but none of it needed to be said now. Not when she could enjoy a moment like this instead. When she had the perfect opportunity to put aside her attempt at unraveling the twisted, knotted ball of emotions in her chest and just watch her incredibly sleepy fiancée stumble up the stairs like a baby deer.
The rest could wait. Tonight, she was happy and engaged, and no one else mattered.