Anthony slowly awoke after a passionate night of love-making with Mercedes.

He smiled to himself as he recalled memories of last night. The sounds of Mercedes' moans and his groans of absolute pleasure were like music to his ears. He didn't want the night to end.

His eyes were still closed as he reached out to caress his love, but instead of her smooth skin, he felt the cool bed-sheets.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes before turning over onto his back and sitting up. After seeing that Mercedes wasn't in the room, he got out of bed. He slipped back into his boxers before exiting the bedroom.

"Mercedes," he called out her name.

As he walked down the hallway, he saw her in the living room.

Mercedes was wearing her robe and slippers, sitting on the couch with a photo album in her hands. She grabbed a cup and had a sip of her drink before putting the cup back down onto the coffee table, not once taking her eyes off of the photo album.

Anthony continued walking until he was in front of her. He smiled. "Good morning, sexy," he said as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Morning," she said with a smile.

"What are you doing?" He asked curiously. He caught a glimpse of a few of the photos and saw images of a younger Mercedes, her family and friends, as well as a baby girl he hadn't seen before.

"Just looking at some old photos," she said.

Anthony nodded and sat down next to her. "Mind if I join you?"

She chuckled. "No, actually, I hoped you would."

He wrapped an arm around her as she put the photo album on his lap.

Anthony smiled as he looked at the pictures on the page that was already on display. He asked about the unknown child. "Who's this little girl?"

Mercedes was quiet as she considered the best way to tell Anthony about Makyira. "…Funny that you ask…" she said. "Anthony," she began, pausing for a moment to think about what to say.

He noticed how nervous she suddenly seemed. "Mercedes, what's wrong?"

She thought about it for a few more moments and figured it would be best to tell him later. "Never mind, we can talk about it after breakfast." She said before standing up and heading back to her bedroom.

Anthony was concerned. He stood up and followed Mercedes, while holding the now closed photo album. After they both entered the bedroom, Anthony addressed Mercedes again. "Mercedes, what's going on?" He asked. "I want to discuss it now," Anthony said before opening the photo album and turning back to the page he'd previously seen. "Does it have something to do with these pictures?"

Mercedes looked at him. "Anthony…I have something important to tell you."

He nodded. "Okay," he said.

She grabbed his hand and led him over to the area near the window in the corner of her bedroom. They sat down in the two comfy chairs.

Mercedes took a deep breath before speaking. "Okay, well, to answer your previous question, yes, what I'm about to tell you does have to do with the pictures…"

Anthony kept listening.

"…especially the photos of this little cutie," Mercedes said with a smile as she referred to a photo of Makyira as a newborn.

Anthony looked at the picture as well.

"She's my daughter."

Anthony's eyes widen as he raised his head to look at Mercedes. He was speechless for a while.

Mercedes nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I know."

Anthony finally spoke. "…You're a mom…" He stated like he was thinking aloud, instead of asking a question.

"Yes," she admitted. "Her name is Makyira." Mercedes said. "I got pregnant with her when I was in high school, and she was born a few weeks after my graduation.

Anthony held Mercedes' hand.

"Her father, my ex-boyfriend, wasn't around. So with the help of my family, support from Kurt, and lots of prayer, I raised her until she was almost two years old. Although it was difficult at times, she made everything worth it," she said.

"What happened?" He asked.

Mercedes paused to prevent her tears from falling before she spoke. "One night, several years ago, I decided to go out for the night with some friends. My parents weren't available to baby-sit for me, and my grandparents were living out of town at the time. So I left Makyira with an elderly neighbor. I'd known her for years. She was funny, sweet and despite her age she was in great shape, so I thought it'd be fine for her to look after Makyira. She'd watched her for me a few times before, and nothing ever happened."

She sighed. "Apparently, sometime during the night, she fell asleep in a chair in her living room…and a fire started in the house."

She sniffled. "Eventually she awoke and tried to put out the fire before it could spread, but she ended up getting burned several times. The smoke affected her breathing and she began to lose consciousness before calling for help," Mercedes said. "Makyira was sleeping in the bedroom. Thankfully, with the room being on the second floor and the door closed, she wasn't affected by the smoke. A Good Samaritan saw the fire and went inside to get them both out of the house, and help arrived soon after."

Anthony nodded.

Mercedes slowly continued. "Unfortunately, my neighbor ended up dying due to her injuries and her lack of oxygen. All of the medical Physicians told me it was likely that she died not long after she went unconscious. The fire completely and utterly destroyed the house. Authorities felt that I was neglectful for leaving Makyira with my neighbor, since she was elderly and her living conditions weren't so great. I was between jobs, really busy with my college classes, and we were living in a small apartment, so they didn't think I was properly providing for Makyira. She was put in foster care and, just months later, she was adopted."

Mercedes stood up and took a few steps over to the window.

Anthony followed and wrapped his arms around her.

She leaned back in his arms. "Recently…I got in touch with Makyira."

Anthony looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Mercedes turned in his arms, now facing him. "I sent her a letter. I asked the social worker for the names and address of her adoptive parents. They live in Lima, not too far from here."

Mercedes told him about what happened yesterday. "I met her adoptive father at the park yesterday morning."

"You did?" Anthony asked.

"Yes. We talked, I saw pictures of Makyira, and he told me that she wants to see me. He even asked me if I wanted to come by their house and see her right then and there."

Anthony rubbed Mercedes' shoulders. "This must be a lot for you to handle."

Mercedes nodded. "It's worth it. I've accepted everything, I've gotten my life in order, and now all I want is a chance to get to know my daughter again."

Anthony nodded. "Why didn't you tell me about all this?" He asked while cupping her face with his hands.

"I don't know…I guess it's all just been too upsetting. To be honest, if things didn't seem to be going so well with her and her adoptive parents, I don't know when I would've told you. I had no idea what to expect after sending the letter, I just wanted her to know about me."

Anthony held Mercedes' hands. "This is incredible."

Mercedes smiled. "I know," she said.

Anthony smiled as well. "I know she's going to love seeing you. And I look forward to meeting her one day."

Mercedes was surprised. "You're okay with everything I just told you?"

Anthony kissed her lips. "Mercedes, I love you."

She listened as he continued speaking.

"If anything, what you've told me has only made me feel even closer to you. I can't even imagine how all of this feels from you're perspective, and you haven't given up. You're the most loving person I know," he said. "You make me so happy, Mercedes. I want to do everything I can to make you happy, too. You deserve it." He kissed her hands.

Mercedes smiled and gave him a kiss. "Thank you, Anthony."

1 PM…

"We'll have to do this again sometime," said Eleanor, Quinn's mother.

"I know. I didn't even expect Makyira to like the salon. She's growing up so fast," Quinn said as looked at her smiling daughter.

"My nails look pretty," she said as she wiggled her fingers and toes.

"Yes they do, sweetie." Eleanor said.

They entered the house. Quinn and Eleanor put down their purses as Makyira ran to Sam.

"Daddy, we had so much fun. We went to the nail salon. Look, I got a manicure and a pedicure, just like mommy and grandma!" She said as she sat down in the chair next to the couch.

Sam smiled and observed his daughter's makeover. "Wow, Mak you look so mature."

She laughed.

"And I'll teach you about make-up during my next visit." Eleanor said. She winked at Quinn.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Make-up?"

"Of course Sam, now that Makyira wears nail polish, you can't expect her not to wear make-up." Quinn said, hiding her giggle.

"Exactly, my granddaughter is beautiful and there's nothing wrong with showing off that beauty." Eleanor said as she sat Makyira on her lap.

"Yeah daddy. I can wear eye-shadow, and lipstick, and foundation," Makyira said before Sam spoke.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Honey, I'm sorry, but you are way too young for make-up. If you want, we can get you a make-up kit for kids so you can play around." Sam said.

Quinn, Eleanor, and Makyira laughed.

"I know that daddy," Makyira said as she gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "I don't even like make-up…yet."

Eleanor chuckled. "That's right, so stop worrying. Makyira is still your little girl."

Makyira had an idea. "Can we take a picture? I want to show Rosie how pretty my nails are."

"Sure," Sam said. He got out his cell phone and turned on the camera feature. "Smile," he said to Mak.

She smiled as she posed with her knees up to her chin, so that she was able to show off her hands and feet.

Sam laughed. "I got it," he said.

"Thanks daddy," she said as he gave her the cellular phone so that she could see the photo.

"I'm going to go and get started on lunch." Quinn said.

"Do you need any help?" Eleanor asked.

"No thanks, mom. I prepared everything before I went to sleep last night in case we came back late from the salon. The food should be ready in about half an hour," she said. "Why don't you go on upstairs and get some rest. The doctor told you to take it easy."

Eleanor nodded. "Okay, I guess I could take a small nap." She said as she stood up.

"I can come and get you when lunch is ready, grandma." Makyira said.

Eleanor smiled. "That's my sweet girl," she said before kissing Makyira's forehead. She walked up the stairs and headed towards the guest bedroom.

Sam stood up as well. "Do you want me to get you a snack, sweetie?"

Makyira nodded. "Yes, thank you daddy."

"Okay, I'll be right back." He said as he walked towards the kitchen.

Makyira looked at her picture once more.

She smiled before adding the image to Sam's photo album labeled: 'Mak'

After the photo was saved, she exited that album.

She was now able to see an image she hadn't seen before. In fact, she could not remember having ever seen the woman in the photo either.

The woman was African-American, with curly hair and dark-brown eyes, as well as a beautiful smile.

Makyira was curious about the woman.

Something about her made Mak feel like she knew her.

'I wonder who she is.' Makyira thought.

The more she looked at the photo, the more connected she felt to the woman.

After she clicked on the image, she saw a label that read: 'Mercedes'

Makyira's heart felt like it would explode as she realized what this meant.

She was actually looking at a picture of her biological mother.

She continued staring as a smile formed on her face. "She's my mom."

A/N: The next chapter will reveal the identity of Mak's father :)