44 Blueberry Hill, Tuesday All Day

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You'd think an active guy like Sam would get restless staying at home for days on end, but taking care of two newborn babies -- even if it was a job split between three people -- was hard work. No, really, lying on the couch while one of the twins slept on him? Look, it had been hard work convincing her that it was naptime, and before that had

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[bet_on_red]

Mary had heard about the twin girls born to her new neighbors. She figured they might be just a little too busy to cook at the moment, so she brought a casserole and plenty of her famous chocolate chip cookies.

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And she got Sam, Persephone (he was fairly sure, anyway) in his arms and a grin splitting his face from ear to ear, opening the door to greet her.

"Hey th -- oooh, food?"

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"Yes, I've got a mushroom casserole and chocolate chip cookies. I figured it was bad form to come around empty-handed," she said, grinning in return. "I"m Mary, by the way. I moved in down the street a little while ago."

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Sam turned slightly red as his stomach growled. "You are officially now the best neighbor ever," he declared. The wards on the house didn't seem to have a problem with her, so he stepped back to let her in. "I'm Sam, and this gorgeous little girl here is Persephone," he said, and hoped if it was actually Panthea she wasn't going to hold it against him later.

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"Oh, she is adorable! What a big name for such a little girl," said Mary as she entered the house. "Just point me towards the kitchen and I'll put these away, unless you'd rather dig in now."

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"Probably the kitchen," Sam said, and nudged the door shut with his foot before showing her the way. "Otherwise I might eat it all myself."

He bounced the baby lightly in his arms and added, "She'll grow into her name --" unless this was Panthea -- "but she's Peri for short."

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"Well, it's a good, strong name. Plus, I'm sure there won't be too many other girls on the playground with the same name," said Mary, finding the kitchen and setting the food down. "What's her sister's name?"

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"Panthea," Sam answered, leaning against the counter. "I'm sure you notice a theme here."

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"You mean they gave her mother the good drugs at the hospital?" asked Mary with a smirk.

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Actually, Sam kind of wondered if that was how the whole thing had started, but he didn't say so. "Halliwell family tradition, more like."

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"Oh, that's nice," said Mary. "There's no such traditions in the Connell family, but then again, I'm an only child."

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It was right about then, when he was about to reply, that it hit Sam all over again that he actually had no idea about his real family, or if he technically had one.

"No traditions like that for me either," he managed, and kissed the top of Persephone (okay, he was pretty sure now, really)'s head to hide any discomfort on his face.

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Mary hadn't missed the look of discomfort on Sam's face. It was very familiar.

"I don't know a whole lot about my own family, actually. Mom took off when I was little and Dad ended up in jail. Luckily for me, I had the best foster family in the world," she continued.

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Sam hadn't been expecting that, somehow, and he blinked at her in surprise with relief mingled in. "These guys here -- my friends, here and all over the place -- are pretty much my family, so yeah, I kinda know what you mean."

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"And now you have those two little girls as part of your family," Mary added with a smile.

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"Wouldn't have it any other way," Sam said, his voice softening as he looked down at Persephone. (No, really.) "Haven't slept a full night since they arrived, but it's been worth it."