FreeBird

Prologue

Patrick shuffled through the thick duvet blanket on his bed and reached for the cell phone next to the lamp on his nightstand. He felt around blindly until his hand covered the vibrating device and he pulled it to his face, squinting as he tried to recognize the number. Giving up, he decided to answer. It was three in the morning so it had to be important-or a wrong number. Which would definitely be annoying.

"Hello…" He answered sleepily.

"Honey? Patrick? It's Robin!" She said urgently.

It seemed as though her voice was slightly breaking up and his mind had to take a few moments to process what was going on. "Robin? What's going on? Are you okay?" He hadn't heard from her in almost six months. She'd found a way to sneak a call to him around the middle of June to tell him that she loved him and Emma and that she wouldn't be able to talk to him again for a while. He didn't question her too much, he was used to asking very few questions and just anticipating the day that he would see her again.

"Yes, yes, everything is fine." She paused to sigh in relief. "Patrick, I have good news."

"You're coming home." He stated rather than asked.

"I am." She confirmed cheerily. "And I'm coming home with Jason."

As much as he resented Jason for taking Robin away from him and Emma, he instantly felt sympathy for the guy when he heard that he was coming home. If he thought he was coming home to the family that he'd left behind, he had another think coming. Sam was a very good friend of his. She'd gotten him through a lot of hardships and rough times and he knew that he should've told her that Jason was still alive on an island in a lab somewhere, but he didn't have the heart to break her down again and send her back to square one. A place that had taken all of her strength to crawl out of.

Sam was happy now. He'd just had lunch with her last week and she was glowing, she couldn't stop smiling and she was finally at peace with the fact that Jason wasn't coming back. She'd never say out loud that he was "dead" but he knew that she felt that he was in her heart. And he remembered exactly when she had finally accepted that in May, when she finally found the courage to move on and get remarried.

"Patrick?" Robin sounded confused by his lack of enthusiasm.

"When? When are you guys coming?" He was excited beyond belief that his wife was coming back to him, though.

"We should be there in a couple of days." She sounded on the verge of tears. "Don't tell Emma, I want to surprise her."

"Okay." He smiled, tears almost springing to his eyes, too.

"And don't tell Sam. Jason wants to surprise her, too." She gushed excitedly.

He felt uneasy about that. "Robin, I don't think I can do that."

"What? Why not?" She questioned.

"Because...Sam got married again." He told her hesitantly.

"What?" Robin was shocked by the news. "Who did she marry?" She whispered.

With a deep sigh, Patrick finally sat up in his bed. "Johnny."

Sam rushed to the bathroom again, closing and locking the door in one swift movement. She hunched over the toilet as the entire contents of her dinner fell into the blue water. Heaving softly, Sam wiped at her mouth with her hand and stood upright, walking across the bathroom to the mirror after flushing it. She felt tired, extremely tired and so sick for the last few days. After washing her hands, she cupped water between them and threw it over her face, trying to cool the heat that had been looming on her skin. More than ever, she knew these symptoms. All she needed to do was confirm her suspicions with the test she'd bought yesterday.

Three soft knocks sounded at the door. "Babe, are you okay?"

She cleared her throat. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just feel a little queasy. Must have been the calamari."

"You sure?" He asked.

"Yep." She answered, faking her best nonchalant voice. When she heard him walk away, she bent down and opened the cabinets under the sink, reaching to the back and pulling out the big box that she'd stuffed in the back. Her eyes skimmed over the front of it and sighed as she made her way to the toilet for the second time. She pulled her pajama shorts and panties down and plopped on the toilet, ripping the box open ruthlessly.

She knew the drill. She'd done this too many times to be confused on the instructions. So when she pushed herself to have the urge to pee, she stuck the stick between her legs so that the appropriate part was wet with her urine. When she was done, she placed it on the back of the toilet and grabbed some toilet paper from the wall beside her, wiping properly and discarding the tissue in the toilet. She stood up, pulled her pants up and washed her hands again, watching her face in the mirror.

She had only been married for about seven months. She glanced down at the wedding ring on her finger. It was different than the one Jason had gotten her. This was more gaudy, but still elegant and she had to admit that she loved it. She had been so surprised when he'd got on one knee at the Metro Court and proposed. She hadn't been expecting it or even thinking about being married again. Honestly, she didn't think that she was ready when he'd asked or when she'd said yes. But as time went on and they kept planning and getting closer to the date, she realized that the love she had for Johnny was deep and passionate and it gave her hope that she'd never expected to have again. She knew about thirty minutes before her wedding that she was ready to spend the rest of her life with him.

And he was amazing with Danny, which was the one mandatory thing. Danny had even come to call him Daddy. And at first it hurt her, it cut her like a knife. It made her cry. It would have been a different story if Danny's real father would have just walked out on him and left on purpose but she was sure that wherever Jason was, he had a good reason for being there and she knew that he would never willingly choose to leave them. And he didn't even know that Danny was biologically his, that's what hurt the most. But Johnny told her that it was okay for Danny to call him Daddy for now, if she was fine with it then he was, too. He knew that the little boy needed a father and when he was old enough, he suggested that they tell him the truth. Although it was sad and she wished that Danny could have known his real father, she couldn't help but feel satisfied and thankful at the fact that Danny had the comfort of two loving parents.

"Sam?" He knocked one, solid knock at the door.

"Yeah, Hun?" She answered.

"I'm a little worried. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, babe." She said rushing to the toilet to pick up the test. She swallowed hard at the results.

"Then open the door." He pleaded softly.

Sam walked over to the door and opened it slowly, her lips pressed together. "See," she started as she stepped in front of him, "we're fine."

He waved a hand in her face. "I won't be fine if you don't brush your teeth." He half joked and dodged a swat of her hand. "And what do you mean we're fine?" He was gently laughing at her.

Trying to suppress a smile, she held up the stick. "I'm pregnant!"

His face glazed over with shock. "You're pregnant." He repeated, dumbfounded. "By me." He whispered the last words as he realized what this meant.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course by you, who else?" She chuckled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You, Johnny Zacchara, are about to have your first child. With me."

He circled his arms around her waist, still trying to process the information. "I can't believe…" He shook his head with a happy laugh before pressing his lips to hers. A few seconds later, he pulled away and gazed into her face, admiring the beautiful woman whom he'd married and now she was carrying his child. "Sam, I love you. I've never loved anyone this much." He whispered to her, kissing her forehead.

She reveled in the feel of his lips against her skin and closed her eyes, hugging him tightly. "I love you, too, Johnny. So much." She gripped him tighter, if that was even possible. "So much." This was the family she'd always wanted.