Penny and Regan worked for the rest of the morning, getting the dust cleaned up and the furniture moved. They were serving the food on the porches and the dining table was disassembled so that there would be space for dancing. It was a lot of hard work and, not surprisingly, there was no sign of Celeste. Sam had had an emergency at the hospital so he was absent from the preparations as well.

Regan disappeared after lunch to take a nap and prepare for the party but Penny was not going to get a break. She was thankful for Regan's help though, it had helped her make up time. They hadn't discussed anything from the night before and whatever Regan's thoughts on the matter were she was keeping them to herself, but to her credit she treated Penny with the same friendliness that she always had.

Penny was in the kitchen reviewing everything with the caterers when Celeste walked into the room looking like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. She waited patiently while Penny finished her conversation with the caterer before she pulled her away.

"It'll take only a minute Penny, it was such a surprise and, after hearing the story, I really had to take the time to reunite the two of you."

Penny froze in the hallway that Celeste was pulling her down. What did she mean reunite, it wasn't Jason was it? It couldn't be, she wasn't that stupid, was she?

"Come on silly," Celeste said sweetly, and in that moment Penny got how charming the woman really could be when she had a mind to. Celeste had never wanted to, nor seen the need to be charming to the hired help, so she had never tried, but now she directed it at Penny and it was perfect.

Her smile looked sincere and her, 'come on silly' had the exact touch of playfulness and sincerity in it that could make Penny believe that she had only the best intentions.

Fortunately, Penny knew the woman already so she wasn't going to fall for it, but it did give her pause. Celeste sensed her hesitancy and moved in for the kill.

"It's a good thing, I promise," she said, linking her arm through Penny's and pulling her the rest of the way down the hall and towards the living room.

When Penny was pushed into the room she saw her father looking at the photos on the mantle and she froze in her tracks, her heart falling to her feet. This was something that she had hoped to never see, her father in this house, her safe place.

"I have no wish to see this man." She turned to leave but Celeste blocked her way.

"Nonsense, your father was telling me that he needs you to come home and take care of him since his heart attack but that you refuse. I told him that after tomorrow you will no longer have a job here so it will be the perfect time for you to return home."

"No," Penny said turning to leave, she would knock Celeste down if she had to, but she hadn't taken two steps towards the door leading into the dining room before her father reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Yes Penny, you will come home now." He started to physically drag her towards the door.

Penny noted that Celeste frowned. "That wasn't the agreement!" she hissed at her father.

"I don't care about the agreement! She's coming home now." He turned to Penny with a grin because he thought he was winning. "You couldn't even do this job right could you? She's already told me that she won't give you a reference, so finding another job might be difficult at your age."

"She stays until tomorrow." Celeste reached out for her arm and started pulling her away from her father.

If Penny hadn't of been so scared she would have laughed at what must look like a very funny scene. Her fear was very real though, if her father got his away then who knew what he would do to keep her. She shuddered at the thought.

"I'm not going anywhere!" she cried, trying to break free from their tug-of-war.

"No, she's not." Celeste and her father froze at the sound of Sam's voice.

Celeste immediately dropped her arm but her father wasn't so eager to relinquish his hold on her. "Please let Penny go," Sam said calmly, his hard stare dropping from her father's face to his hand on his arm.

"I know you, you're that Doc that operated on me. What are you doing here?"

Penny tried to free herself but he still held firm.

"This is my house and you'll let Penny go now." He insisted once more.

"Huh..." her father looked him up and down. "She works for you does she? She lives in this house with you, the little slut. I have no doubt what the two of you have been getting up to together." He moved to pull Penny towards the door again. "I'll sue you for an ethics violation, surely you shouldn't have operated on me, knowing who I was."

"Go ahead sue, but I'm telling you for the last time to let Penny go." When he still refused to release her Sam took one step towards him, and he looked so menacing, so harsh, that Penny didn't recognize him. "NOW!"

Everyone jumped causing her father to release her arm, which allowed her to run to Sam, and he tucked her behind him. "Now leave my house before I call the police about your attempting to kidnap Penny."

"Kidnap!"

"Yes."

"I always knew you were a little-,"

"That's enough Mr. Campbell. You will leave my house and not return. This is Penny's home now and she will remain here with me."

Celeste had remained silent watching the entire drama unfold before her and a sudden evil smile lit her face with pure evil.

"You forget Sam half of this house is mine, and I have just as much right to say in who lives here as your do."

"Not if Penny is my wife, which she has agreed to be."

The room grew deathly still at his announcement.

"I'll not ask you again, leave," he said to her father, who realizing he had lost, turned and left with a banging of the door.

"You can't marry her, she doesn't fit in Sam, and she won't be accepted by our friends," Celeste insisted, looking between the two of them, trying to figure out where she had gone wrong.

"She may not be accepted by your friends but she will be by mine."

Celeste knew that she had to back off and rethink her plan so she tried to do it as gracefully as she could. She shrugged and smiled. "We'll talk about it later, Sam. I have to go get ready for the party right now."

When she had left the room Penny turned and fell into Sam's arms doing her best to hold back her tears. "I was so sure he was going to take me, and I don't know what I would have done."

"I would have found you Penny, don't worry about that." He put his arm around her and tilted her face up to his. "You belong here and I would have found you and brought you home."

Penny nodded sniffing, "Can he really sue you?" she asked, frightened that he might try.

"He can try but it won't hold up, as soon as I knew he that was connected with you I brought in another Doctor, so I'm safe." He kissed the top of her head.

"Why don't you go lay down for a little while?"

She pushed away from him shaking her head. "I can't. I only have a few hours before the party and the trio should be arriving soon, and I have to show them where to set-up."

"It's just a party Penny."

"No." Penny's look grew determined, "It has to go off without a hitch."

"Why?" Sam looked confused.

"Because I'm going to marry you." She said implying that he wasn't the smartest for not having figured it out already. If she couldn't plan a simple party what kind of wife would she make him?

"I'll be in my office, will you shout if you need anything?"

Penny nodded as he kissed her once more.

"When we're married there will be no more parties," he insisted.

"Yes there will be, kids need birthday parties," Penny said as she turned away from him to get back to work, but he grabbed her and pulled her close, kissing her hard.

"You're going to make all my dreams come true, aren't you love?"

Penny's heart rolled over at the endearment. "I'll try."

"And I'll try to make all yours come true too."

"You already have Sam," she said with a tender smile.

He nodded then sat her away from him. "Go, before I drag you upstairs and we both miss the party."

Penny couldn't help the red that stole up her cheeks as her heart rate accelerated at the thought of being held all night in Sam's arms.

"We'll do it right and get married first, no matter how much you tempt me." It was almost as if he was talking to himself as his dark gaze raked over her.

All she could do was nod as she tried to calm her racing heart. "Soon?"

"Soon." He promised with a grin before he turned and ran up the stairs and away from temptation.