Chapter One

December 21, 2009

"So how's my baby granddaughter doing today?"

Sami smiled warmly at the sound of her mother's voice. They'd been talking daily for the past six weeks, ever since Sami had found out that Sydney was hers. "Good. Last night she went down without a fuss, at last."

"Oh that's wonderful sweetie. See, I told you that eventually she'd get over her crying fits."

"I know." Sami nodded. "But it was heartbreaking. I know she's been crying for Nicole."

"She's young. She'll forget in time, Sami."

Sami knew on an intellectual level that her mother was right, but she couldn't help but wonder if some part of Sydney would always feel like something was missing. She often discussed her fears with Rafe, who felt she was just projecting her own childhood experience onto Sydney. Sami was sure that was part of it, but still, she worried about her youngest daughter.

And how are Allie, Johnny and Will?

"Good. We heard from Lucas. He'll be home from rehab tomorrow, just in time for Christmas. They're all are excited. They're going to stay with him for a few days, and have Christmas Eve with the Hortons. I'll pick them up Christmas morning."

"Even Johnny?"

"Even Johnny. EJ won't be back in time for Christmas. "

"I see."

Sami winced at the tone in Marlena's voice. EJ had been the pink elephant on the other line in their daily conversations. She knew that sooner or later her mother was going to ask. "He just needs time to get his head together. It's been a rough time for all of us."

"I see." Marlena said simply. Sami marvelled at how two words could convey so much. "And once he gets his head together?"

"What?"

"If and when EJ comes home, what are your plans?"

"You mean about custody?" Sami replied, choosing not to address the question she knew her mother was really asking. "Honestly Mom, I'm not sure. If I only had Sydney to think about, there'd be no question, I'd go for full custody, especially after the way EJ just tossed her out when he thought she wasn't his daughter. But there's Johnny. EJ's been a good father to Johnny. It's all or nothing. Either I sue for full custody of both, or I agree to joint custody of both. Until I see where his head is at, I can't make that decision."

Marlena sighed. "Fair enough. You're right. But it would be so much simpler if Lucas was Johnny's dad."

Sami half-laughed, "That's the understatement of the millennium. We wouldn't be having this conversation if Johnny had been Lucas'."

The next afternoon

"What do you want Stefano?" Sami asked warily.

"I came to see my grandchildren." He said as he pushed past her into the living room and deposited a large bag of presents on her sofa. "And I brought gifts for all of them: William, Giovanni, Alice and of course, the baby. Now where is my Bella Sydney?"

Sami shook her head. "Sydney's teething. I just got her down and I'm not waking her up. Thanks for the presents. You can stop by another day and see her – just call first. And don't worry, I'll be sure to have all of the kids send thank you cards."

Stefano frowned, but decided not to push to see his granddaughter. "Bring me Giovanni then. I want to see my grandson."

Sami shook her head again. "Sorry, he's staying with Allie & Will at Lucas' place until Christmas. If you want to see him, you'll have to stop by the pub on Christmas Day. I'm not stepping foot in the DiMera mansion until EJ gets back."

"You're testing my patience Samantha."

Sami threw back her head and laughed. "And you're trying mine. Look Stefano, I know you want to see them, but it's not possible right now. You can wait your turn, and be thankful I'm allowing you anywhere near them. After what you did to help Nicole hide Sydney from me..."

Stefano dismissed her with a wave. "I'll concede to your wishes this time Samantha, but I will not be kept from my grandchildren."

Sami rolled her eyes. "I think we're done. Can I show you the door?"

Stefano chuckled. "My dear, we'll never be done. But for now, I'll leave you be. But before I go, please take this." He reached into the bag of presents and pulled out a large flat pink colored book. "Nicole was very meticulous about recording every one of Sydney's milestones. I thought you might like to continue it."

"Fine. Whatever." Sami had no intention of keeping the baby book Nicole had started for Sydney. It was just a reminder of the time she'd lost with her daughter. "Goodbye Stefano." She said firmly, shutting the door behind him.

After successfully ejecting him from her townhouse, Sami flopped down on the sofa. She eyed the pink baby album warily. The thought of taking anything of Nicole's made her feel a little nauseous, but the book was about her daughter, the daughter she was just getting to know. Surely it couldn't hurt to look at it? Maybe she'd get Sydney a new book and just transfer over the information. With a shrug of her shoulders, she picked it up and flipped it open.

"Sydney Anne DiMera. Date of birth, January 28th, 2009. Weight 7lbs. 2oz. Length 22 inches. Wow. She was even longer than Will was. That must have come from EJ." She flipped the page. "Father, Elvis John DiMera. Mother: Nicole Walker DiMera. We'll have to scratch that out. Father's blood type: A negative – hmm, just like Austin's. Mother's blood type: O negative. Sydney's blood type: O negative." A jolt of alarm streaked through Sami as she read her daughter's blood type. "But that's impossible. I'm B positive. Sydney can't be an O negative baby. Nicole must have written her own type down for Sydney, either in error or maybe as an attempt to cover her tracks. That's what I would have done. I'll just have to get her paediatrician to give me her correct blood type at her next check up." Before she could ponder it further, Sydney began to cry. Sami set the book on the table and went to check on her daughter.

"What's that?" Rafe asked later that day as they returned to the living room after finally getting Sydney settled for the night.

"That's the baby book Nicole had started for Sydney. Stefano dropped it off with the gifts. I'll make her a new one and just copy over the milestone dates. "

"Oh. Anything interesting in it?"

Sami shrugged and reached down for the album. "Not really. There are some cute photos of Sydney, photos but they just make me angry that I missed so many moments with her. Oh and her blood type is wrong."

"What?"

"Her blood type. EJ's A negative, and I know that's right. I remember it from when he was shot at our wedding. Nicole's is O negative. According to what Nicole recorded, Sydney is also O negative. But she can't be, because I'm B positive."

Rafe's face scrunched up in confusion. "So?"

Sami laughed. "Sorry, I always forget that not everyone knows blood typing. Sydney can be A positive or negative, or B positive or negative or even AB positive or negative, but she can't be an O, not without an O parent."

"Okay. I guess."

Sami smiled. "It's fine. I'm sure Sydney's is just an error, intentional or not. We have the best proof of all. We have the DNA test."

"Right." Rafe agreed. "The DNA test."

"I mean, sure, DNA tests can be faked, but no one even knew you were getting one done, so there's no chance that Stefano got his hands on the results."

"Right."

"I've been meaning to ask you. What DNA evidence did you get from me? Did you take hair off my hairbrush or something?"

Rafe shook his head. "No, I took your toothbrush."

"What?"

"Your toothbrush. I snuck in and bagged it up."

"You mean you took one of the heads from my electric toothbrush? You must have replaced it with an identical one. I didn't even notice."

"No. It wasn't from your electric brush. It was normal, old fashioned manual toothbrush."

"But I don't use manual toothbrushes anymore. I haven't used one in years. I always use my electric one. You know that. You've seen me use it every morning and night for months now."

"Maybe it was your travel one?"

Sami shook her head. "It's packed in my travel bag which is packed in the back of my walk-in closet. Considering you snuck in, I doubt you had time to seek it out. Are you sure it was a manual toothbrush? It wasn't a kids one, was it?"

Rafe shook his head. "No, it was a full sized, adult toothbrush. I took it in early November. Are you sure you didn't have one out then?"

"Early November? You mean when Nicole was staying here?"

Rafe closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Oh God no. Please no."

The baby book fell from her hands as the implication hit her. Sami backed away, shaking her head. "No. No. She's mine. I know she's mine."

"Sami, I'm sorry, but I don't think we don't know anything anymore. We're going to have to get the tests redone."

"No! She's my baby! I feel it every time I hold her."

"Sami, I feel the same way, but what if she's not?" Rafe reached for her, but she shrunk away from his touch. "Sami, we have to know the truth."

"She's mine. I won't lose another daughter. I just won't!"

"Sami..."

Christmas Eve

"Go. Get out of here!" Sami screamed at Rafe, not even 3 minutes after Sydney had been ripped from her arms by her father and the social worker. "I'll never forgive you for this."

"Sami, I never meant to hurt you. I honestly thought she was yours. If I had suspected for a second that there'd been a double switch, I wouldn't have put you through this."

"I said go. I can't deal with you now."

"Okay, okay, but I'll call you tomorrow. We can work through this together Sami."

Sami shook her head. "Go."

Sami bent over, clutching her stomach the minute he was gone. After Grace, she was sure that nothing could ever hurt as much as losing a child, until she lost a second child. The feeling of emptiness threatened to consume her, and all she knew was that she couldn't stay in her mother's townhouse anymore. Sydney's presence had helped wash away some of the loneliness she felt after losing Grace, but now it was all back, 10 000 times worse than before. She needed to get out of there, and there was only once place that she could go.

"He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Lucas put down the book, and smiled at the now sleeping twins, saying a small prayer of thanks to Clement Clark Moore for his help in getting the rambunctious pre-schoolers to sleep after a very eventful day.

Morning had found Lucas, Nathan and Will hastily decorating the house after Allie had fretted that Santa might not be able to find them if they didn't have a Christmas tree up. No sooner had they finished when it was time to head over to Alice's for the traditional Horton Christmas Eve. Lucas smiled as he recalled how carefully Allie and Johnny both hung their ornaments on the branch next to Will's, and beneath his and Sami's. Lucas was surprised to see Sami's ornament, but Julie wouldn't hear of it not being hung. "You may not physically be connected right now, but your souls are bound forever darling. There is no denying fate." Lucas had scoffed at the notion, but Julie merely smiled.

After the ornaments were hung, they headed over to the hospital where much to Lucas' chagrin, Daniel, with Chloe dressed as a glowing Mrs. Claus by his side, read the Christmas story to all of the kids. His only solace came from remembering something that Sami had pointed out a few years ago. "Hey Lucas, have you ever noticed that the person who reads the Christmas story at the hospital is usually gone from Salem by the following Christmas?" He knew it was a little selfish and indulgent, but he could only hope the same thing happened to Daniel.

The day was capped off by a feast of food and song at Maggie's. He made a mental note to tell Sami how much Johnny had enjoyed singing with Doug. It had prompted Julie to comment. "You'd almost swear Johnny was a Horton by blood with that voice of his. Grandpa Tom would be proud."

After placing a kiss on each twin's forehead, Lucas stood up and quietly padded out of the room, almost running into a sleepy Will as he pulled the door shut. "Whoa buddy. Tired?"

Will yawned and nodded slightly. "Stuffed and exhausted. Twins asleep?"

"Yep. Out like a light. I guess I'll fill their stockings and have 'Santa' put their presents under the tree and then head to bed myself. Have a good night. Merry Christmas. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night Dad." Will said sleepily before heading into his own room.

Lucas headed downstairs to perform his Santa duties and lock up for the night. After checking the back door, he ate a handful of the cookies Allie had insisted be left out for Santa and washed them down with the glass of milk Johnny had carefully poured. Then, for good measure, he took a few bites of the carrots that had been left for the reindeer.

He headed for the front door and was just about to lock it when he noticed headlights stop right in front of the house. Figuring that Nathan must be home from his shift, he prepared to greet his cousin. Flinging open the door, he was met by someone entirely different.

"Sami?"

"Lucas! They took her from me." She cried hysterically as she flung herself into his arms.

"What?"

"My baby." She managed to get out between sobs. "They took my baby away."