"I'll have to be at work right after my film studies class," Noah's voice came from across the table in the kitchen, where he and Luke were working on some last minute notes before their classes started for the day.

Luke glanced up at him, "That's when my fiction writing class is supposed to start," he said, then shrugged a bit, "Well that's my last class for the morning. I just have one this afternoon. I'll come by Java around one."

Nodding a bit, Noah glanced back down at his notebook, "I'm sure Jeff will let me take my lunch break when you get there." His eyes fell to the watch strapped to his wrist and he jumped up, stuffing all of his books into his bag, "Damn, I'm gonna be late for my American Government class," he muttered so quietly that Luke wasn't sure if he was talking to him or just himself.

Luke laughed a bit, shaking his head, "Don't worry so much. Prof. Adams is usually the one that's late."

"Yeah, well today would be the day he's not," Noah replied, though he had to smile just a bit as he threw his bag over his shoulder, "See you later," he said, leaning down to give Luke a quick kiss before leaving. He must've ran to his truck, because Luke heard the engine fire up only seconds after the screen door had slammed shut behind him.

"Was that Noah leaving?" Aaron asked as he opened the door from the stairs. He'd taken the day off from the Lakeview to help Emma with the family dinner for tonight.

Luke looked over at him as he started getting his own books together, "Yeah, he was about to be late for class." Aaron gave him a questioning look that Luke understood immediately, and replied to the unspoken question, "My class doesn't start for about an hour," after putting his bag over his shoulder, he added, "But I think I'm gonna go down to Old Town. Don't really want to be in Grandma's way. She said she'd be cooking all day for the family dinner tonight."

Aaron groaned, shutting the door to the staircase, "Well this should be a fun morning."

Luke only laughed, "You won't have to cook. You know she's so picky about the food, and making sure its perfect. The one thing you can count on at dinner around here."

"Yeah, that and someone throwing cutlery," Aaron added in an undertone.

"Not every time, just four out of five," Luke said with a grin, "Anyways, I'll see you tonight." Aaron simply a nodded a goodbye to him as he headed out the door.

--

A flyaway strand of long blonde hair was brushed behind Rose's ear as she tried to hold the small map out flat in front of her, though the winds didn't offer to help her attempts. Finally, a sign for the small town's hospital stood in front of her, and she chewed her lip, wondering if she really wanted to go in. She inhaled a deep breath and took s step towards the automatic door. Of course she wanted to go in. She had to. She had no one left; no other option. This was her last stop before the orphanage back in California.

The lady at the front desk smiled kindly at her as she walked forward, "May I help you with something?" she asked, her voice dripping in honey that Rose was sure would turn to venom by the day's end. People always seemed so much nicer in the morning, before the insanity of a day's work set in.

"Yes, I was told to find Dr. Hughes," Rose said quietly, reading the name off of a small sheet of paper she'd stuck in the front of a notebook she carried with her.

"There are two Dr. Hughes'," the lady replied, and Rose just stared at her, wondering what to do. She hadn't gotten a first name from the man she'd spoken to. Only that she was to ask for him. The lady apparently realized her uncertainty and continued, "There is Bob Hughes, and his son Chris Hughes. Do you know whom you were to speak with?"

Rose chewed her lip nervously for a moment before replying in a small, slow voice, "I believe it was a younger man I spoke with."

The lady only smiled, "I'll call Dr. Chris Hughes and ask if he was expecting you. What's your name, dear?"

"Rose Genness," she said, slightly distracted as she still tried to recall if she'd been given a first name for the doctor, but neither of the names sounded familiar at all.

"Just a moment," the lady stood and walked to a room just behind the desk. Rose watched her through the window, wondering if coming here was a mistake. Maybe she should've just gone to that orphanage they tried to take her to. It didn't matter if she did find her mother. Police would surround the place, demanding for her. Her mother, whoever she was, hadn't even stayed around to help her father raise Rose after she was born, so why would she want her now? In any case, Rose wasn't even sure how to find her. All she had was the knowledge that she lived in Oakdale, last heard, and a name: Charlene Wilson.

When the lady came back, she gave Rose a room number, and told her it was on the fifth floor, apparently where most of the doctor's offices were. Rose stepped into the elevator and leaned back against one of the enclosing walls, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating. This trip meant nothing anyways, really. All they would do would be take a blood sample from her, confirm that Charlene is her mother, and…well, that was it. They probably couldn't give her any personal information about the woman without her consent. So really, there was no reason to be so nervous about this.

As soon as she'd convinced herself of this, however, the elevator doors opened and she had to take another deep breath to keep from shaking as she walked down the hall. It seemed to go on forever, but she finally reached the door marked '509 - Dr. Chris Hughes.' She had just raised her arm to knock on the door when a voice from inside bid her to come in.

"Saw you through the window," the man said, nodding towards the windows beside the door, the blinds only open enough that he could see out into the hall. He stood and held a hand out to her, which she immediately shook politely, and then took the seat across from the one he resumed, "Now, we are going to take a blood sample, correct?" he asked, glancing over the papers spilling from the folder in front of him.

"Yes," Rose replied quietly, just watching his eyes run from one paper to the next in the stack. Admittedly, she wasn't sure how confident she was in this doctor. He looked young enough that he must've just graduated medical school recently. Maybe three years ago at the most. But then, she was only getting blood taken, which a nurse would probably do anyways.

"I don't see why you need a blood test, honestly," he said, his eyebrows coming together as he looked up at her, "You have the name of your mother, and her name is on your birth certificate, correct?"

"Yes, it's Charlene Wilson," she thought she saw a slight change in his persona, but ignored it, "Its only to make sure," Rose explained quickly, "And besides, my mother may not believe I'm her daughter without proof. A DNA test here will be enough proof for her I hope," she smiled, trying a force a lighter mood in the room, but it didn't work as well as she'd hoped.Chris rubbed his eyes, looking as if he was trying to find the words to explain something he really didn't want to. Rose bit her lip nervously, sure that there had been something she hadn't known when she'd ran from her hometown only a few days ago.

"The thing is, Rose," Chris said slowly, staring at his hands on the desk instead of looking at her, "I don't know how to say this. Charlene did live here. But last September, she, was," his voice trailed off for a moment, and Rose was sure he was new at this. Most doctors she'd known trained themselves to be comforting, but never emotional about their hospital cases. Unless Chris knew Charlene, that is, and as Rose thought about, in this small town, it wasn't unlikely. "She was murdered by her ex-husband," he finished quietly, finally looking up to meet her eye. She could tell he was trying to look professional, like he wasn't getting too involved or emotional in front of a client, but she could hardly care at that moment if he broke down crying in front of her.

She was dead. Charlene Wilson was dead. Why hadn't this been mentioned before? She noted in her mind that she had failed to mention the name of the woman until now. But still. She had traveled from California. She'd gone through at least fifty security measures that the police wouldn't be able to find her and force her to the orphanage; at least not until she found her mother. Once she found Charlene, they couldn't force her back to the orphanage. But what now? This woman that was supposed to be the answer to her prayers, was dead.

"But you aren't without any living family," Chris's voice jerked her back to the present and she caught his eye, "Charlene had a son. You may still want to have the blood test done if you want to find him. You'll only be half-blood siblings, and I think the kind of proof you spoke of would be helpful."

"Does he live here in Oakdale?" Rose's voice sounded hollow and dead; she felt as if she could faint at any moment. 'At least I'm in a hospital' she thought humorlessly. She saw the doctor nod, and she asked in the same hollow voice, "What's his name?"

"Noah Mayer."

--

It was only a few minutes after his brother left, when Aaron heard another car pull into the driveway. The familiar sounding engine cut off and he smiled, grateful that, though this day wouldn't be too much fun, his fiancé had decided to drop by on her way to the hospital.

He heard her knock on the screen door, but decided to just join her outside on the porch, "On your way to the hospital?" he asked, hugging her and giving her a soft kiss. He smiled, her bright eyes seeming to make the unpleasant prospect of the morning nonexistent. Her red hair pulled into a ponytail fell to one side as she shrugged.

"Yeah, I just wanted to make sure the dinner is still on for tonight," Alison said with a smile.

"Well why wouldn't it be?" Aaron asked with a slight laugh, "Besides, you could have called for that."

"I like stopping by to see you," she said, smiling and looking at him as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. She leaned up a bit to kiss him again and pulled away, "But I really should go. I'm supposed to be at the hospital in fifteen minutes."

Aaron put on a mock frown, reluctantly letting her go, but then smiled, "Six o'clock, don't be late. Or all my cooking will be for nothing," he added with a laugh.

"I won't be, though I might eat before I come," she said jokingly as she pushed open the screen door, and walked back out to her car.

"Love you!" Aaron calledto her as she was almost to her car. He heard her call the same back to him as he walked inside and shut the door behind him. Emma came down just then, looking far more eager about the idea of cooking the family dinner all day than he was.