Chapter 1

"It's been three years Spencer! I miss her too but we have to move on!" Carly angrily threw a pillow at her older brother. Every once in a while she and Spencer would have this fight. Sam had just disappeared one night. No one knew where she had gone or if she was alright. She left a note for Carly explaining that she had to get away from her mother and that she wasn't coming back.

"I can't move on Carly," Spencer caught the pillow and hugged it, "You don't understand." He hadn't told anyone about his relationship with Sam, so of course she didn't understand.

Spencer hadn't been in a relationship since Sam had left. He became depressed and his art work became very dark for a while. He had gone through a serious rough patch there for a while and even though he still missed her, Spencer had been able to pull himself out of his depression with the help of Carly and Freddie.

Sam's disappearance had effected them greatly too. Fortunately they had each other to cling to. Carly and Freddie became very close during the first few months and soon became a couple. Recently they became engaged.

"She was my friend too, my best friend," Carly closed her eyes and counted to ten, "but I've come to terms with the fact that she isn't coming back."

"I just wish she'd let us know how she was doing," Spencer said quietly.

"I do to!" Carly yelled, exasperated, "I miss her like crazy but she's gone, Spencer! Sam is GONE. Why are we still talking about this? We can't change that."

"Maybe we haven't looked hard enough!" Spencer got up and went to the computer.

"Spencer we've look everywhere," Carly looked sadly at her brother, "Samantha Puckett is gone. She's erased her tracks. You heard the police- she probably changed her name and got fake IDs."

"I can't accept that!"

"Spencer why are you still getting all worked up about this?"

"Because no one's doing anything! We're all just sitting around hoping that maybe she'll show up one day."

"We have lives Spencer, we can't just drop everything because Sam's still missing. I have school, work and a wedding to plan… I can't afford to spend my energy concerned with Sam's whereabouts."

Spencer avoided eye contact with his little sister. He knew she was right. It was just some days were harder than others, and today was one of them. It was the day he and Sam first kissed, but again Carly didn't know this.

"I need to get to work and so do you! That guy is expecting a sculpture by Friday and you haven't started yet." Carly hustled out the door, leaving her brother to his own devices.

Spencer decided that he really should get a move on this sculpture. He had been hired to do a wall piece for a salon. He got out the chicken wire and formed it into some semblance of a bow in about an hour.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Can I help you?" Spencer asked the brunette woman standing before him. It took him a moment but he recognized her, "Sam?"

"Hi Spencer," she gave him a hug. Sam took the hand of the little girl clinging to her leg, "This is Ariel, your daughter."