*she returns with another chapter*

Hello guys! ^-^

Thanks everyone for your continual interest in this story! I want to first start by saying a BIG sorry for that ultra mean cliff-hanger haha. xD And now to continue!

Disclaimer: I DREAMT TS BECAME MINE ... DOES THAT COUNT?

Pang.

Pang. Pang. Pang!

There it was again ... That nagging feeling in her gut.

Standing alone at the empty bus stop, Sam bit the inside of her cheek hard as an inexplicable current of panic kept crashing at the shores of her mind and disturbing it. She had no idea why but suddenly her stomach was in tangled knots and her intuition kept telling her that something was wrong.

And the more she thought about it, the more pale she became because the last time she remembered having had a feeling like this one, she'd turned around at the cash register after putting down her shopping items on the checkout counter at the Value Village Thrift Shop she'd been shopping at to find Josie gone.

"Josie?!" She'd screamed in terror. "JOSIE!" She'd cried out while running around the place like a madwoman, searching every nook and cranny for her baby girl with no care at all for the scene she was making nor at how the other customers were staring at her as she shuddered and cried messy and ugly tears.

All the while she'd been cursing at herself for being such a bad parent, for looking away from her child for even a second and letting this situation unfold while her brain made up the worst possible scenarios for what had happened to her Josie.

That she'd gotten seriously hurt and was laying unconscious bleeding out somewhere and that was why she couldn't hear her many frightened calls for her. That she'd somehow managed to leave the premises of the store undetected, wandered out onto the street and was now totally lost with no idea how to get back to her. That someone had abducted her and she was in that creep's car right now kicking and screaming for her mommy while he just cackled at her and easily kept her captive.

After a half hour had passed with no sight of Josie and her soul had almost left her body, finally her nightmare had ended when a store employee who'd been hanging new dresses up on a circular rack spotted a small child with red hair just like her own curled up under it who appeared to have fallen asleep there and called her over to inquire if this was her missing Josie.

Relieved she'd scooped her up in her arms and shook her head yes over and over until it almost fell off that this was her kid, her adrenaline still in overdrive as she'd struggled to accept that it was all over and Josie was safe and sound, a process that had taken an entire hour.

But why was she getting that feeling now? Her maternal instincts blared and she went into mama bear mode as she finally realized what the source of her anxiety had to be. Oh god … something had to have gone wrong with Josie!

Reaching into her jacket pocket she rummaged for her phone, deciding the best course of action was to just call home, ask if everything was okay, and ease her mind. But her heart sank when she was greeted with nothing but a half consumed pack of strawberry gum, a bent, misshapen bobby pin, and lastly her wallet. Her phone was missing and that could only mean one thing. In the rush that she had left her place in to run her emergency errand, she must have forgotten to bring it with her.

"Ugh I knew it! I knew I shouldn't have left her with Tiffany Vargas!" Sam kicked the pavement to release some of her pent up nervousness as she belatedly recalled how irresponsible the teenager who acted like her phone was one of her actual limbs and not something she could just put down could be.

What if she had been busy texting or playing on some dumb app and Josie had gotten into some trouble while she was preoccupied? It was a likely scenario. Looking up at the sky in a forlorn manner she asked why? Why did Josie's usual baby sitter, the one that she was comfortable with and Clover whom she trusted most with her daughter both have to be unavailable at the exact same time?

But no answer besides the muted sounds of the universe once again laughing at her pathetic little existence came to her. All she knew was that if something happened to Josie then she'd never forgive herself. She just had to get back to her! Now! Before it was too late!

Sam strained her neck as much as she could to see all the way down the street into the direction where the bus should be arriving from any minute now. But once again it just wasn't there. She then glanced at the bus schedule posted on the side of the shelter before looking at her wrist at her leather watch which was beat-up but always gave the correct time:

12:45 pm

And she realized that it hadn't just been her imagination but the bus was in fact running super late. According to the timetable, it should have been here like fifteen minutes ago! Where was it?! There wasn't even much traffic right now that it could be stuck in a jam and the weather was bright and sunny so that could not be slowing it down either!

The only logical explanation was that her rotten luck had made it break down somewhere and there was a delay at the station in sending out another bus to cover its route.

Great, Sam thought frowning deeply and distressedly. Just freaking GREAT.

Frustrated she began contemplating running home. Thankfully she was in a pair of sneakers and not heels right now although she was quite far and would not reach her flat for at least forty-five minutes. And that was taking into account even if she sprinted as fast as she could.

Also what if she left and then the bus finally came? What would she do then? She highly doubted the driver would stop if she flailed her arms and screamed at them to in the middle of the street. No he'd just keep driving onward leaving her behind in the dust.

Sadly she realized that as hard as it was, she had no choice but to stay put, pray that it would come soon, and wait.

"O-OH MY GOD! A-ARE YOU OKAY THERE?!"

It was the concerned and very much worried voice of an unknown woman that made her finally feel safe to move again. From where she lay crumpled up into a compact ball in the middle of the street twitching from fear, Josie slowly, very slowly began to open her emerald eyes.

When the darkness of her sealed vision began to fade as the curtains of her eyelashes lifted. she was surprised to find that the car had stopped in the nick of time before hitting her. And the one who was asking her if she was alright sat inside it staring at her with her head sticking out of the rolled down window from behind a pair of big sunglasses with a look of downright panic all over her face.

Next to her there was a man that wore a brig hat and was dressed in a fancy uniform of some kind who had his hands clinging to the steering wheel, his knuckles white as he looked equally spooked at accident that had almost occurred at his hands.

"I-I'm f-f-fine," Josie managed to squeak out as she stood herself back up on her feet with her knees wobbling still and her voice a little sore from how loudly she'd screamed just now.

But all she could feel in terms of pain apart from the inevitable scritch scratches a fall on asphalt would cause was that her bum hurt a little from landing on it with force and she seemed to have a visible, long cut on one of her knees. When she looked at it she found there was a squiggly white line all across the cap where the skin had been torn, the boo boo hurt but thankfully it wasn't bleeding too much.

Now assured that she really was okay she spoke a little more coherently. "I'm okay maam! Thank you!" Josie respectfully addressed the lady the way her mommy had taught her to talk to girls that were older than her.

But the lady in the car didn't seem convinced as just a moment after, she watched her open the car door and exit the vehicle. Stepping out on her rose gold high heels the woman made her way around the car over to where she stood.

As she approached Josie wondered if she should run away. Her mommy had warned her to never talk to strangers and carefully outlined to her what signs to look for in an adult to decide if they were acting suspiciousus (was that what she'd called it?) and to scream loud for help and do her best to get away if they were.

Yet for some reason this woman just ... didn't scare her. Oddly the closer she came to her, the safer she felt. As protected as she did when she was with her beloved Auntie Clover, like she was family and she couldn't solve the mystery why.

Even while she told herself she should ignore this bizarre feeling and probably just run, her house was so close that it wouldn't take much effort to get away, her feet wouldn't cooperate and move with her. Instead she found herself just taking this mysterious woman in as she pondered her carefully with widened and fascinated eyes.

She was slender, of medium height, and had caramel coloured skin that shimmered under the warm rays of the sun. Her hair was ebony black, curly, and set in a trendy asymmetrical bob. She wore a fashionable ensemble. A mid-thigh, sequined pencil skirt that matched her shoes paired with a black, long sleeved, cut-out crop top. Sparkling stud earrings were on her ears, a diamond watch adorning her wrist, and on her face she still wore sunglasses that she could now see the details of. They were dramatic and round with black tinting and rhinestone detailing around the rims.

Josie couldn't help but gasp a little in awe. Who was she? She was so pretty that she could be a movie star!

Unbeknownst to Josie while she was studying the lady, the lady was studying her back with equally if not more stunned eyes.

In disbelief, Alexandra Hernandez couldn't bring herself to look away from the small child before her. When she'd stepped out of her car she'd done so just to inspect the girl and make sure she really didn't really any need medical help before she continued on her journey. She was headed to the airport for her flight to New York where she was expected as the chief guest speaker at Vogue's Forces of Fashion Conference.

But this kid now held all her attention because she just looked so familiar. Her tiny face appeared to be a perfect replica of one she'd tried so hard to but never had once forgotten in all these years. Namely Samantha Katherine Simpson's face.

Her jaw dropping open, Alex reached up and slowly took off her glasses. Holding them in her hand she bent down to be at the child's level as she examined her more closely. And there was simply no denying it; she was a splitting image of her ex best friend.

She had Sam's ivory skin. Sam's small button-like nose. Sam's pouty mouth. Sam's bright green eyes!

It was like she was literally looking at a live version of the video of baby Sam that she'd seen a lifetime ago back when she used to be a secret spy agent for The World Organization of Human Protection on that mission where she'd first met Jerry Lewis' evil twin brother, Terrence Lewis. (1)

But how could that be? If this kid was actually Sam then would she not know who she was? Sure she'd changed physically over the last five years but not enough that she of all people would not be able to identify her.

And even though she had always forced Clover to say next to nothing about the redhead whenever they spoke by threatening to end the call if she ever did, she still knew that Sam had quit WOOHP just months after she had. So this couldn't be Sam suffering the effects of some wacky new WOOHP gadget or some villain's twisted scheme. This was someone else entirely. But who?

She was still caught up in that confusing conundrum when the child startled her by screaming in palpable distress.

"HEY! WHERE MY BALL GO?!"

Alex watched as the little one looked left then right to locate this absent ball of hers. And when after a few attempts of doing that and being unable to find it, her lower lip started to quiver and she proceeded to sniffle sadly.

"M-my fawoite ball ..." She mumbled between heartbroken little sobs, raising her small hands to try and wipe away her tears but they kept falling down her chubby cheeks endlessly. Even with how hard she'd worked to save it from being destroyed, it seemed all her attempts had been in vain after all. Her ball was lost forever.

"I-I lost my favwoite ball! My m-mommy's gave it to me for a special pwesent and now it gone! It gone!"

Blinking sadly Alex couldn't help but frown. For some reason that she couldn't understand, seeing this kid upset broke her heart into pieces almost like it was her own daughter that didn't even exist yet who was miserable. And she couldn't just back away and leave her like this. She had to do something to cheer her up first.

Turning to her driver Luke Raymond who was now standing next to the car with his arms crossed over his chest patiently waiting for her to get back in it, she instructed him to go find the ball.

"But Madam!" He protested lifting up the fabric of his navy sleeve and glancing at his watch which was telling them they were now running way past late for their appointment. "We have to go now or it'll be too late—"

"It certainly WILL be too late for you to save your employment Mr. Raymond if you don't do exactly as I ask," Alex stated coldly while giving the mid forties man a warning look to not try her patience because she didn't give empty threats.

It had been many years since she'd last been the soft, weak, and often childish girl she was once known as being. The one that no one ever really took seriously because of her personality. In comparison the Alexandra she was today was a force to be reckoned with , one who didn't waste time thinking twice about other people's feelings before taking action.

She could and would fire him right then and there on the spot if he dared ignore her further. A fact Luke seem to readily accept as he said not a single word more, gulped, and swiftly ran off down the street to find the missing toy as fast as he could.

Once he was gone Alex spoke to the child again who had stopped crying now that she had some hope of getting her cherished ball back, had wiped away her tears, and was just staring at her with her big innocent eyes.

"Is that your house?" She asked the girl attempting to get some clues on her identity as she pointed at the small and ratty looking flat directly across the sidewalk from where she stood.

Josie's eyes moved to glance at the home that was indeed her own but her lips remained sealed as she wondered if she should tell the truth or not. Her mommy's caution to not talk to unknown people once again came to mind but once again so did the feeling that this lady, whoever she was, was not truly a stranger to her.

And suddenly she knew exactly why she kept feeling that way. With her face now fully visible she could see that she had brown eyes in the shade of beautiful amber.

Josie's eyes lit up in glee and her mouth opened to let out an excited gasp. That was it! That was where she'd seen her! She recognized her from her mommy's favourite TV show! She was her Auntie Alex, wasn't she? She'd finally come to meet her!

But she stopped short from calling out her name, sobbing in joy, running right into her arms and hugging her because she wasn't one hundred percent sure. As much as she resembled the lady that she'd seen on the screen, she could be wrong about this. Her eyes could be playing tricks on her. After all she'd only seen her Auntie Alex for a brief moment and that had been over a week ago. She didn't want to become embarrassed if she assumed she was her missing auntie and then the lady had to correct her that no she wasn't.

And even if she was correct and she was indeed Auntie Alexandra, she remembered how her mommy had told her that while once upon a time they were like real sisters Auntie Alex ... no longer liked her. She hadn't gone into any detail why but she hadn't needed her to for as long as she could remember, in her small head she'd always believed that anyone who didn't like her mommy was a mean and rotten person. But this woman seemed way too nice to be mean or rotten in any way.

Deciding there was no harm in answering her even if she was a stranger because she'd been kind enough to check on her wellbeing and have her friend go look for her ball, Josie nodded her head to confirm that that was where she resided.

Watching the little one bob her head in a yes, Alex bit her lip now much less confident that she was related to Sam after all. Even if she'd been slacking off in college when she'd left the campus, it was hard for her to believe that Sam, a girl with so much potential would ever end up in a situation bad enough to wind up living in a shack like this one.

Or perhaps that was just because even if she'd done her so very wrong, as pathetic as it was a part of her still cared about her and deep down wished her nothing but well. Even if they were far apart and no longer friends, still wanted her to have ended up at least okay. Secretly hoped for her to have somehow seen the light on her own, dumped the loser that was setting her on a path straight for ruination and moved past him to achieve her goal of an illustrious career and eventually had settled down with a loving, wonderful, and handsome husband as she'd always dreamt of doing.

She was pulled out her private thoughts when she heard the kid say the word "babysitter" and in her peripheral vision she spotted a smiling teenager emerge from the house of this little girl. In her hand she held a cell phone which she finally dropped along with her grin the second she noticed that the child she should have been watching like a hawk wasn't on the lawn where she'd last seen her.

"Oh my god! Josie! Josie, where are you?!" She freaked out, having a total meltdown until Alex rolled her eyes, grabbed the child's hand in her own, and carefully walked her back up to the porch where she should have been all along.

"Looking for someone?" She asked sarcastically and immediately the teen cried out in extreme relief before picking up the kid and cradling her close to her chest while whispering "thank god, thank god, thank god" a hundred times.

"You know the biggest mistake a babysitter can make while on the job is getting distracted right? Especially when they're being trusted to take care of such a small child?" Alex lectured knowing this little girl couldn't be any older than four years old and never should have been left unsupervised for even a minute. This babysitter seriously should have known better.

"She almost came under the wheels of my car while you took your little break," Alex stated sternly with her hands placed on her hips as she watched the teen's blue eyes grow wide and a look of pure horror cross her features at learning what had almost happened while she'd stepped inside for what she'd thought had just been a moment but had clearly been much longer.

It was a good thing that Luke was an experienced driver who knew to keep his eyes on the road but someone else may not have noticed the little kid and stopped in time. This whole incident could have very well ended in tragedy all thanks to this teenager's lack of thought. She had half a mind to stay put and complain about her to this girl's mother whenever she got back home but soon enough her driver returned with a blue ball in his hands and she knew it was time for her to go.

Handing the toy to the child she watched her eyes shine like the sun itself at getting back her beloved belonging. She let out a childish giggle, grinned, and hugged the ball close to her small chest.

Alex smiled watching her with tender almost motherly eyes, deciding that whoever this kiddo was she sure was a cutie pie.

"Miss Hernandez we have to go," She heard Luke insist. Nodding her head she put her glasses back on and started to leave. But each step she took away from the child was a reluctant one and for some reason just as she was about to reach the porch stairs she turned around, walked back, and found herself speaking to her again.

"Promise me that you won't play out in the street again, okay? Sure your ball is really precious …"

Alex commented remembering how she'd mentioned that her mother had purchased it for her as a special gift on some occasion.

But nothing was worth risking one's life for and that was a lesson this one hadn't been on this Earth long enough to learn just yet.

"But not more than you are."

Her words made the miniature redhead smile and she nodded her head even asking for her hand and pinkie promising to her that she would never ever do that from now on.

With one last pat and an affectionate ruffle of her hair, Alex finally followed her driver back to her car to resume her journey to the Los Angeles International Airport.

Josie watched the lady with peeled eyes as she went and raised her tiny hand, making sure to wave her goodbye. A gesture that the lady smiled cheerfully and returned before pulling up her car window all the way and disappearing behind it as the car took off into the distance.

"Let's get you inside. I think that's enough outdoor adventure for one day," Josie heard her babysitter say as she carried her inside while asking her if she wanted to have some fruit punch with the sandwiches they'd be having for lunch or would just prefer a glass of milk.

"Punch pwease," Josie replied as Tiffany put her down on the couch and told her she'd be right back with the food, some disinfectant for her injuries, and an ice pack for her knee.

When she walked into the kitchen and she was left alone, Josie's thoughts went right back to the nameless lady she'd met today and a small smile formed on her face.

She never had ended up finding out if she was truly her Auntie Alex or not but she just wished for one thing with all her heart.

That whenever she did get to meet her for real that she would be just as nice and sweet as this woman was.

"Do you know how big of a deal this is?!" Mr. Shawn Simpson excitedly said to his wife, beaming proudly all the while.

He just couldn't stop talking about his niece's huge accomplishment ever since he'd found out. This was going to be something that their family that prized success over everything, would be talking about for years to come.

Teresa Simpson had graduated with the highest GPA in Stanford University's history and that too while taking all AP classes, being the captain of the school's Volleyball team, and doing extensive charity work with underprivileged children. She'd finally arrived back home to her family after her flight yesterday afternoon and today was the day for them all to get together and celebrate her extraordinary feat.

And that big party to toast her success was exactly where they were headed to right now.

"I tell yea, Don's one lucky devil to have a daughter like her," Shawn grinned from, ear to ear, his voice full of nothing but envy for his younger brother whose daughter Teresa was.

Sitting in the back seat of her husband's silver Porsche, Gabby nodded along to everything he said with a smile on her lips. But if he was really paying attention to her, he would have long noticed how strained it was.

It wasn't that she wasn't proud of Teresa or something, she was her aunt after all and her achievement was proof of how hard the girl had worked to pull this of. She gave her massive props for that. But at times like this she just really missed ... her Sammie.

A touch of habitual sorrow flickered in her emerald gaze as she once again thought about Shawn and her own daughter. The one he once used to be just as proud of as he was of Teresa right now, in fact so much more but now ... hated.

Sure she'd too been disappointed in Sam for what she'd shockingly gone and done but she couldn't lie that her heart hadn't stopped in her chest from grief when Shawn had announced the punishment for it that he had decided on for her.

And ever since that cursed day she hadn't seen her child. But unlike Shawn who was able to pretend that Samantha didn't exist anymore, she had a mother's heart and could not bring herself to act like her Sammie, the same baby she'd carried in her womb for 9 whole months and raised with all her love and devotion was now simply dead.

So she'd fought with him viciously, but despite all her attempts she hadn't been able to get him to overturn his verdict.

Every time she tried to bring Sam up he'd shut down the conversation. He'd leave the room pretending to have a phone call he needed to reply to, say he wasn't feeling well and needed to lay down for a bit, go on a long drive, etcetera.

Still she'd kept trying, kept pushing him to the point where Shawn had gotten so fed up that he'd forbidden even the mere mention of Sam's name by threatening to go as far as taking his own life if she dared to anymore.

"Do you want to stand with your daughter or see your husband alive Gabriella?! Which one is it going to be?!"

It was only that which had made her finally stop raising the topic. With a heavy heart she'd accepted that he wasn't going to change his stance on this.

But even though she'd opted to hold her tongue, she still thought of Sam often in private. Thought of her every single day of her life. Prayed for her every Sunday that she went to church and wished her goodnight every single night before she closed her eyes.

A depressed sigh left her that Gabby hid with a fake cough to keep it from her husband. Oh how she longed to know where her Sammie lived so she could secretly drop by every once in a while just to steal glimpses of her.

She wouldn't even cross the line that Shawn had drawn for her and the rest of the family in regards to Sam. She just wanted to see her again. Just once. She just wanted to make sure she was okay. That her granddaughter was okay.

She still remembered the day she'd been born. She'd been bubbling with joy and had just been running outside to hop into one of their cars to drive to the hospital only to be stopped by a glaring Shawn. He'd made her swear once again on his life that she would not set foot in the hospital, harshly reminding her again that they had no relation left with the new mother or her new baby.

She'd swallowed her tears and went back inside doing as he'd asked her to maintain the peace between them, but later that day she'd hidden in a remote corner of their mansion and contacted Stella Ewing, a woman that Shawn no longer approved of her friendship with because in his eyes she had failed to stop her daughter from sheltering his daughter and actively supporting her wrongdoing.

Yet she herself remained tremendously grateful to Stella for not stopping Clover from being by Sam's side when the whole world was against her. As a result of this, her and Stella's bond had grown much stronger while her friendship with Carmen had taken a drastically different turn.

Carmen no longer really interacted with her after the drama that had gone down between Alex and Sam but that was just another casualty of this entire mess of which there were to many to even begin to summarize.

Over the phone Stella had informed her that once she was discharged, Sam was going to be staying at Clover's apartment while she recovered from the pregnancy for as long as she felt like until she felt ready to move out.

So after making up some excuse to leave their home, she'd gone there instead and had managed in catching just one look of her infant granddaughter as she was being taken inside in her mother's arms. She'd been wrapped up in a pink hospital blanket but she'd still been able to see enough of her to declare that she was the most darling baby girl ever imaginable.

She'd wanted so badly to make her presence known, to hold her, play with her, find out what her name was going to be. But staying out too long would have aroused suspicion with Shawn so she'd turned back just being grateful with the knowledge that her daughter had delivered a healthy baby, that she was grandmother and would one day hopefully be able to shower all her love on that grandchild of hers.

But now after four years and counting for that time to arrive, she was quickly losing faith that that time would ever come.

Suddenly Gabby sat bolt upright in her seat as a strange feeling spread through her. She didn't know why but she felt like her Sammie was somewhere nearby. And not just in her thoughts this time.

Confused her eyes peered out of one of the car windows and then the other. And when she looked out of the one on her right she gasped as she spotted her.

There at a bus shelter ... stood Sam.

Gabby risked messing up her makeup as she rubbed her eyes several times before looking at the young woman again. But even while she appeared to have lost some weight, looked extremely fatigued, and cut the long, wavy, flowing locks she'd had since she'd been a child, Gabby knew from the second she'd set eyes on her that this was truly her Samantha.

A grin of pure joy bursting on her lips, Gabby soon flew into action. Reaching out she tapped Shawn on his shoulder a few times while screaming in a hyper frenzy. "Shawn! Shawn stop the car! Stop the car!"

"What's wrong?!" Shawn asked slowing down without taking his eyes off the road as he wondered why his wife wanted to stop all of a sudden in this random spot of all places.

But when he turned his head over his shoulder to speak with her, he stopped dead at the reflection of the girl he saw in his side-view mirror. His face turned to stone while his eyes grew dark with anger at this unwanted run-in with someone he was determined to leave strictly in the past.

Putting his foot on the accelerator again he moved to speed up while muttering to Gabby that they'd been through this a million and a half times already. If they ever ran into her they would not acknowledge it.

"Shawn please!" Gabby begged him desperately now tugging at the strap of his seat belt as she watched Sam pacing at the bus stop slightly pulling at her hair, a nervous habit she recognized of her little girl's as she appeared visibly stressed out over something. There had to be somewhere she needed to get to and the bus clearly wasn't arriving for that in time.

"I'm not asking you to forgive her!" She tried to reason with him. "She's clearly in need of a lift so please just give her one! That's all I ask!"

"She's a stranger Gabby," Shawn now hissed, losing his cool fast as he tried his best to peel out of this area as fast as his car could go.

But Gabby would not let him as she kept arguing with him to let Sam into their car.

"You would stop for a stranger in distress and you know it!" She protested remembering how many times he would in a heartbeat and now glaring a little bit at how much of a bonehead he was being.

When he ignored her with a small huff, she decided to take a different approach and use some reverse psychology on him which always was his weakness.

"Shawn, if you don't give her a ride then I'll have to assume that all these years you've been lying to me. I'll have no choice but to think that you never once forgot that you have a daughter named Samantha."

Her biting remark hit bull's-eye and the car's tires came to an immediate screeching halt right after.

Breathing hard Shawn frowned deeply at the dilemma before him. If he didn't let Sam in now he'd be proving Gabby right that he did see her as something other than a stranger. Because if that was not the case then he'd have no grudge against her like he clearly did.

But on the other hand, Samantha was dead to him and letting her anywhere close to him after long burying his memories of her was the last thing he wanted to do.

Feeling his wife's penetrating gaze aimed right at him like a laser beam, he finally relented even though he was no fool. He knew just what she was up to. Her asking him to do this was not merely about being cordial and offering a troubled young lady a ride. Instead she thought if she could just get them in close quarters again then he would melt.

But just like her, he too was stubborn and was not going to let this get to him as she was misguidedly optimistic that it would.

"… You can have what you want but this doesn't change anything," Shawn growled firmly to make it crystal clear to Gabby as he opened the car door for Sam and waited for her to get in.

Watching the door of the luxury car that had stopped at the bus stop for some reason swing wide open for her, Sam was considering if she should damn the consequences and get into it with a stranger because she was desperate to get home to her daughter right now and was even willing to risk her own life to make it so when she went slack.

Her mouth parted and eyes tripled in size when she saw that the one who'd pulled over to give her a lift in her time of need was not some random stranger but her own ... father.

A thousand questions hit her like a tidal wave as her heart almost leapt out of her chest:

What did this mean?!

Was he ready to let go of the past?!

Had he missed her as much as she had missed him? So much that she couldn't even put it into words?!

But most of all … had he finally and at long last found it within himself to forgive her?

But the loud honking of his car horn, the not so subtle whisper under his breath of him having somewhere to be and that she was holding him up by not getting inside the car along with the irritated frown on his face brought her crashing right back down to reality.

For whatever reason it seemed that her dad just wanted to give her a ride and that was the extent of this gesture. And when she saw her mother peeking out at her from the backseat nodding at her encouragingly, she realized that even this much had not been his choice.

Bottling up the tidal wave of letdown she felt, Sam quickly got into the backseat next to her mother and very quietly provided the address where she needed to be taken to. With no further discussion the car started up and they were off.

She sat there with her head down staring at the holes in the denim of her worn-out jeans in the wordless company of her parents who were decked up to the nines as usual; her mom in an elegant dress and her dad in a classic suit. They looked every bit like they belonged to the well-off Simpson clan unlike herself who looked like a homeless person in comparison, giving her just another slap in the face that she was no longer one of their own.

Feeling the loud silence inside the vehicle choking her like a heavy fog, as much as she tried not to go there all she could think of was the time when she did used to belong. Of the many instances they'd gone on road trips together in this exact car (that she remembered was her father's most favourite one) while eating, laughing, talking, and enjoying each other's company.

Being a happy trio, a perfect family once. Something that no one would think they ever had been if they were to look at them now.

Beside her Gabby glanced Sam's way every few seconds when she wasn't looking. She had so much she wanted to ask, wanted to say to her that staying quiet was absolute torture. But whenever she got up the nerve to actually speak she caught the death glare screaming no that Shawn shot her in the rear-view mirror and she kept her mouth zipped.

Having noticed her mother peeking at her from her peripheral and feeling a small misplaced ray of hope from even that small action, Sam lifted her head to smile at her only to stop and feel like utter gutter trash when she noticed that unlike her mom ... her dad wasn't even looking at her.

He was acting just as though he was a driver doing a favour, taking an unknown passenger from point A to B and that was that.

It took everything she had in her to not start crying as it frankly did feel like she'd actually gotten into a car with a total stranger in the driver's seat that she'd never met before and not her own dad. Not the man who'd once been her very first, her very best friend. Despite all the wounds she'd received throughout her years, her father's refusal to even spare a single glance her way cut her deeper than any knife had and ever would.

And her pain, dejection, and misery reached past the tipping point when he stopped the car just outside her neighbourhood and unlocked the door for her to exit his car. He never said why he'd done so but knowing him as well as she did, she instinctively knew his reason.

It was because he didn't want to be seen or associated with her in any way. He didn't want anyone here to find out that he … was her dad.

Depressedly she got the answer to her most burning question right then. After all this time, after all these years he was still disgusted and disappointed in her. The pride that he'd one felt at calling her his daughter—

When he used to stand up, clap, and cheer the words that's my girl! in the auditorium when she performed at her school's annual talent shows and won first place, would grin and give her a high-five then take her out for ice cream as a treat upon seeing the straight A results of her report cards, never once tired of telling everyone he talked to, his business partners, neighbours, strangers on the street alike about her once endless accomplishments.

—Appeared to be something that was lost forever. Sadly the passage of time had not aided in recovering that whatsoever. And it became evident to her that as much as she wanted him to, he would never, ever forgive her for her mistake.

"Th-thank you ..." Sam whispered having to bite her lip to make it quiver less, trying her best to get the words out without losing her composure.

Stepping outside of the car she managed to hold herself together but only until she closed the door behind her. The second she turned her back, her heartbroken tears fell free from her bleeding eyes as she walked away without looking back in her parents' direction.

Watching Sam go with dismayed eyes, Gabby could not help from asking her husband a solemn question.

"… Don't you miss her Shawn? Don't you miss our daughter at all?"

Even asking that question seemed so strange to her for to this day she remembered how difficult it had been for them to conceive a baby, a task that had taken over five years into their marriage and how overjoyed he'd been when baby Sam had arrived into the world and had finally given him the long coveted title of being a father.

Just for a fleeting moment she saw it plain as day on his face. Her answer, a trace of strong and unmistakable emotion, of fatherly affection and open longing for his daughter. But soon enough he concealed it behind a frown as he uttered back to her harshly.

"Yes Gabby, I miss our daughter. My daughter. I miss her more than I can say. Miss her with every single second of every single day. But that girl?" He pointed out of the car door at Sam's retreating figure as his frown grew deeper, unforgotten pain taking over him once more as he shook his head in adamant denial.

"SHE is not MY daughter."

"But Shaw—"

He held up a hand to halt Gabby, refusing to do this any longer than he'd already been compelled to today. She had to understand that this case was long closed. The shame, the disappointment, the sheer heartbreak that he had experienced at Sam's hands was something that he just could not get over.

Not back when his wound was fresh. Not at the present nearly five years later. Never in a million years.

Because what happened back then ... was unforgivable.

(1) Reference to Season 3, Episode 24: "Evil Promotion Much?". The flashback video of a toddler Sam using the string from the back of her doll to get herself a cookie out of a jar and munch it down is possibly the cutest TS moment ever.

So, I thought it was about time I introduce Sam's mom and dad in here as they are alluded to in the summary and have a big role to play. As you can see, there's some majorrrrr problems there :(

Also Alex met Josie! Yay! ... Sort of anyway haha. xD

I know Scam has not been around much in the last chapter or this one (boo! lol) BUT I promise he's going to be back in the next one where Clover and him will have ... let's just say an interesting chat.

Till next time!

Love,

Cresenta's Lark! :D