Adam and Joe had arrived at the International House very early the next morning. Joe normally would have complained at so early an hour but he was full of anticipation of they day's events. He wasn't even sure he was this girl's uncle but he was already feeling quite protective over her. Both he and Adam had agreed over breakfast that they would start out at the International House to see if Mitch was around and then go from there. Upon arrival, they discovered Mitch had already left to do some business. They were told he had left alone.
Adam held the piece of paper that contained the room number Mitch was staying in tight in his hand. Joe turned to him once they were out of the receptionist's earshot. "Well, why not go up and knock on the door and see if Elizabeth is there? You probably won't have a better chance to get her alone." Adam keep twisting the paper around and around in his hand. He cleared his throat. "You're right, I guess there's no better time to see if she really is who we think she is." Joe patted him on the back. "I'll stand just inside the door of the hotel, keep a lookout for Mitch." Adam nodded. "Thanks, Joe…for everything." Joe just nodded and grinned. "Well you gonna go see her or not?" Adam took a deep breath and walked up the stairs. His heart began to pound when he found room 12. After reciting a silent prayer for strength, he knocked on the door. He could hear soft footsteps on the other side. The door opened very slightly to reveal two beautiful green eyes staring back at him. He would recognize those eyes anywhere; they were Beatrice's eyes.
"Hello?" The girl timidly asked him as she looked up at him curiously. She thought there was something familiar about him but she just couldn't place it. Adam was in such shock that he could barely move let alone speak, but he found that his hands were moving to shakily take off his hat as he stumbled out, "Good morning, miss. Your father said it was ok for me to come by, is it ok for me to come in?" The girl nodded and opened the door to let him in. Adam got a good look at her as he entered the room. She had long, slightly curled hair extended down her back and wore a beautiful light green dress that accentuated her lovely eyes. She was almost the spitting image of his Beatrice. "Would you like anything to drink sir?" Adam sat down on the chair in front of her and shook his head. "Miss, my name is Adam Cartwright." He watched her face flicker through an array of emotions; shock, disbelief, happiness, sadness, the whole gamut of emotions. She then took a seat right in front of him. "You know who I am?" she asked, her voice fighting to remain on an even tone. "Yes, yes I do," Adam smiled through tears. "You're my baby girl." He fought the urge to sweep her up into a hug when he saw her body stiffen. "Then why did you leave me?" she calmly asked.
The question sent Adam over the edge. Tears began to cascade down his face. "Oh, Elizabeth, I never left you. Never, ever. I…I thought you were dead. Our home was on fire, I don't know if you remember, and I couldn't find you and Mom…" as if on cue he glanced over the room. "Where is your mother?" "She's dead," came the cold response. "She's been gone for awhile now." The girl looked down at her hands. Adam knelt down in front of her and took one of her hands in his. "Liz, I never meant to hurt you. If I had known you were alive I would have come for you straight away. I swear, sweetie." He looked directly into his daughter's eyes, which began swimming with tears. He cautiously reached out to hug her even though his heart was screaming to pick her up and never let her go. When he felt her arms gently wrap around his body he began to cry even more. After a few minutes he let her go and stared into her face as if to try and etch it into his memory. He gently wiped away some of her tears as he smiled up at her. "Everything is going to ok now, alright? God, I can't believe you're actually here in front of me!" Elizabeth smiled for the first time since he had entered the room. The smile tugged on Adam's heart.
Elizabeth began to speak, "I…I thought you were dead…there was a shooting they day you left and we were told you had died." She took a breath. "And then when I found out you were alive, he said it wasn't a surprise you were alive. He said of course you would leave me, you had a better life out here." Adam once again took her into his arms and felt her body shake with sobs. He then got up, pulled his chair closer to her and sat down. "Who told you that I purposely left you?" He rubbed her back to try and quell her rabid sobbing. "M..mmittch." She hiccupped. The girl didn't see it but his face contorted with rage. "Honey, how do you know Mitch?" She began to calm down and wiped away some of the tears in her eyes. "He married Mom after…you died," she laughed slightly. "When Mom died, her family didn't want to raise me so he did. He even wanted me to call him…"
"Dad" boomed a voice from the doorway. Elizabeth jumped, and Adam growled as he saw the image of Mitch Appatow in the doorway. He wanted to hold Elizabeth's hand to soothe her anxiety but he sharply stood up as he saw the second figure in the doorway. It was Joe. Joe was leaning up against Mitch, one of his eyes swollen and puffy while he was gasping for breath. Adam reached the door in three quick strides to catch Joe as he began to sway. "What did you do to my brother?" Adam spat as he half-carried the boy to the couch on the side of the room. "M..m sorry Adam, I couldn't…I couldn't stop him."
Mitch grinned. "Let's just say he learned an important lesson about having some respect for his elders…which apparently not everyone has learned yet" he said as he looked directly at Elizabeth. Adam caught the glance and slowly stood up. Mitch sighed. "I don't know how many times I have to try to get it through your thick skull to always obey my orders. And I believe one of your orders was to not interact with any of the Cartwrights." Elizabeth tried to interject but he cut her off. "Enough. Go to your room and we'll discuss this later." She started to walk away when she felt a strong body brush up against hers. She looked up in surprise to see Adam standing directly in front of her staring down Mitch. "You have nothing to discuss with my daughter. She will be coming back with me to the Ponderosa for good, your job here is done." Adam missed the huge grin that lit up his daughter's face. She couldn't remember anyone trying to stand up for her in a very long time.
Mitch just laughed. "Oh Adam you always were naïve. Did you already forget what a powerful man I am? I've got loads of friends with law degrees back home that would love to take away any rights you have over your daughter after voluntary abandonment." Elizabeth grabbed a fistful of Adam's shirt. This action made Adam even angrier. "Go ahead," he spat, "I've got tons of lawyers here who would love to put you behind bars for kidnapping." Mitch nodded. "Alright Adam, game on. Just know that I'm gonna put you and your daughter through so much hell that you're gonna wish you'd never found her." Mitch backed away from the door to allow them to leave. Adam just threw him a murderous stare while crossing the room to help Joe up with Elizabeth still clutching onto the back of his shirt. Joe groaned. "I'm alright, I'm alright." He stood a little shakily and Adam threw his arm around Joe for support. As they passed through the doorway, Mitch grabbed on to Elizabeth and shoved his face right into hers so that their noses touched. He whispered, "If you leave, you're gonna regret it. When I get you back, I'm gonna hurt you so bad…" Suddenly Elizabeth's face disappeared and Mitch was looking into the very angry face of Adam Cartwright. "Once again, you have nothing to say to my daughter." With that Adam pulled Elizabeth in front of him and the three Cartwrights walked out of the International House together.
