CHAPTER ELEVEN: Sara's Fate

"Do you think we'll hear anything from Ms. Morrison today?" Becky asked as she made the bed the next morning. She had a clear view of Jesse, who was in the bathroom, examining his hair in the mirror. The twins were settled on the floor, playing with their tonka trucks contently. Becky could hear Jesse sigh.

"I hope so. I think not knowing why they came back is killing Sara." Jesse replied. "It's killing me too."

"Me too. I just hope Ms. Morrison was able to get a hold of Sara's parents yesterday." Becky sighed, as she arranged the pillows. Jesse came out of the bathroom after he ran a comb through his black hair, and he wrapped his arms around his wife from behind.

"I'm sure she will call us the second she knows anything." He kissed her cheek. "Shall we go have breakfast?" Becky smiled, as she turned to give her husband a kiss in return.

"Sure. I guess Sara already went down for breakfast. I went to wake her up this morning and she was already out of bed. Do you want to drive her to school this morning or should I?" She asked. Jesse shrugged.

"I'll do it. I think she likes the bike." He took Becky's hands and called for the twins to come down for breakfast. Nikki and Alex trailed behind their parents, giggling.

Once they were in the living room, Nikki and Alex ran ahead of Jesse and Becky to play with their race cars, as Jesse and Becky stopped in their tracks on their way to the kitchen, shocked at the sight they saw in front of them. On the couch, one head on each side, laid Stephanie and Sara, sound asleep. Becky stared at Jesse, and his response was only a shrug and a shake of the head.

"What-" Becky couldn't even figure out what to say. Danny walked into the living room through the kitchen after he heard they were downstairs. He looked at the two girls, and then shrugged at Jesse and Becky with a sigh.

"I found them like this when I came down this morning." He appeared just as confused as Becky and Jesse felt.

"What did they do? Beat each other with a stick until they were both unconscious?" Jesse asked.

"Don't be crazy." Danny replied. "You would have seen bruises if that was the case."

"Something must have happened. They've been avoiding each other like the plague all week. Why all of a sudden are they asleep on the same couch?" Becky asked. Before anyone could offer up their guesses, Stephanie stirred and sat up, stretching her arms in a yawn.

"Uncomfortable couch. Hard as a rock." She murmured as she squinted her eyes to see Jesse, Beck and Danny standing there with inquiring eyes.

"Oh, good morning." She greeted, as she shook Sara gently. Gently. What was going on?

Sara woke up and groaned.

"Morning Steph." She said in a groggy voice, and noticed Danny, Becky and Jesse standing over the two.

"Would somebody please tell us what's going on?" Danny asked, speaking on behalf of the parents. Sara and Stephanie exchanged glances.

"I guess we fell asleep while we were talking last night." Stephanie said with a bit of a giggle.

"Yeah, we were up pretty late, I guess." Sara replied with a smile. Jesse, Becky and Danny exchanged glances, feeling utterly clueless.

"I'm getting hungry." Sara pointed out, not noticing the confusion written across their parents' faces.

"Me too, let's go make some toast." Stephanie offered. Sara nodded and the two hopped off the couch, walking into the kitchen, talking. Becky let out a long sigh and Danny scratched his head.

"Teenagers." Jesse said as he rolled his eyes.

"Should I tell Sara 'I told you so?' Or should I just let it pass?" Becky asked with a grin. Jesse smiled.

"I think if you said that, she'd deny you ever said anything to begin with." He pointed out. Danny sighed.

"Well, the good news is they seem to be friends again. However it came to be doesn't really matter, I guess. At least they're not trying to claw each other's eyes out anymore. Though it's beyond me how it happened." He said, still scratching his head. Becky shrugged.

"You're right Danny, at least they're friends again." She said.

"Good." Jesse said. "I wasn't sure how much more of that insanity I could have taken."


"I think they're a little confused." Sara pointed out, as she and Stephanie ate their toast together at the kitchen table. Stephanie laughed.

"Yeah, I think so too. I'll never forget the looks on their faces." She snickered. Sara smiled as they heard the phone ring. Stephanie jumped up and answered it, still swallowing a mouthful of toast.

"Hello?...Oh hi Gia." Stephanie glanced over at Sara, who was staring at her toast quietly. "Do I want to walk with you this morning?...Well, actually Gia, I was going to walk to school with Sara this morning...Stop it Gia, Sara's my friend...yeah, okay...I'll see you at school...bye." Stephanie hung up the phone and joined Sara at the table again. Sara smiled.

"Thanks Steph." She said quietly, as Becky entered the kitchen, with a bit of a smile on her face. Sara had a feeling she knew exactly what Becky was thinking. She wants to say "I told you so" I bet. Sara sighed, as Becky grabbed her keys, and leaned over to kiss Sara on the top of her head.

"I'm going to work, okay? Jesse said he'd give you a ride to school this morning." She said.

"Oh thanks, but Stephanie and I are actually walking to school this morning." Sara replied with a bit of a smile. Becky stared at the two for a moment, as though she didn't believe what she was hearing, but she smiled back.

"Good, I'm glad. Well listen, have a good day. Oh and Sara, Ms. Morrison is supposed to call us today to let us know what's happening. Try to stay strong and don't worry about it, okay sweetie? Everything will be okay." Becky said seriously. Sara could only nod.

"Okay, well, I'll see you later after school. Call if you need a ride home." Becky said seriously.

"Thanks, but I think I'll be okay." Sara replied. Becky nodded and smiled at Sara proudly.

"I know you will be." She tapped Sara on the nose and left the house with a smile. Sara sighed, as she cleared hers and Stephanie's plates from the table. If even for a moment, Sara was able to forget all about the phone call that Jesse would receive while she was at school. Stephanie was her friend again; everything seemed like it was going to be okay.


Half an hour later, the girls were getting ready to leave for school.

"Bye dad." Stephanie called as she grabbed her backpack. Sara couldn't help but feel glad Gia would not be joining them. No more third wheel. She thought happily.

"Bye Jesse." Sara yelled as she followed Stephanie out the door.

Jesse and Danny opened the kitchen door in just enough time to see the girls leave. There was nothing to say; they only stared at each other and shrugged.


It was 3:00p.m. when Becky arrived home from work and she found Jesse sitting at the dining room table with the cordless phone beside him, as he tapped his fingers on the table nervously. Becky dropped her keys and sat down beside him as she put her hand over his.

"She hasn't called yet, has she?" Becky asked. Jesse looked up and raised his eyebrows, as though noticing she was there for the first time.

"Who?" He asked. Becky stared at him.

"You know who." She replied. Jesse sighed.

"No, Ms. Morrison hasn't called yet. I really wanted her to call before Sara got home from school, just so I can figure out what we're going to do if they do want custody." Jesse said.

"Is Sara home?" Becky asked. Jesse shook his head.

"No. Usually when she walks home with Steph, they don't get home until at least 3:30p.m." He replied. Becky nodded, and they both jumped when the telephone rang.

Jesse grabbed it and answered it.

"Jesse, it's me, Ms. Morrison. Sorry I'm so late getting back to you. I've been trying to get a hold of Sara's parents all day." Ms. Morrison apologized when Jesse answered the phone.

"Did you get a hold of them?" Jesse asked nervously as he gripped Becky's hand tightly.

"Yes, I did, just a few moments ago." Ms. Morrison replied.

"What did they say? About...custody?" Jesse asked. He felt his stomach drop when he heard Ms. Morrison sigh.

"You don't have anything to worry about Jesse. They don't want custody. They just wanted to move back to San Francisco." Ms. Morrison replied. Jesse sighed out loud and hugged Becky, who knew immediately that everything was okay. Her body trembled as she let out a sigh of relief.

"That's great news, Ms. Morrison. Thank you." Jesse said as he swallowed hard.

"Yes, it is a relief." Ms. Morrison sighed. "Jesse, there is something else." Jesse was sure he felt his heart stop.

"What?" He clenched his teeth.

"I have Sara's parents' address and phone number to give you. I wasn't sure whether or not Sara would want to see them." Ms. Morrison replied.

"Why the hell would we let Sara anywhere near them?" Jesse asked, feeling his anger rising.

"Jesse, I know you're being protective of Sara, and I understand why you would be, but keep in mind this may be something she needs to do. I've had a lot of kids in similar situations and most of them have had to see their parents again, for closure. Remember, Jesse, they walked out on her. She may feel the need to confront them and ask them why." Ms. Morrison tried to explain.

"Did they ask to see her?" Jesse asked.

"No. I mentioned it in passing, but even bringing up Sara's name...well...they didn't seem very happy." Ms. Morrison replied.

"And you want me to bring Sara to see them?" Jesse asked in surprise, feeling his voice rising ever so slightly.

"Jesse, if I could pick and choose, I would want Sara to stay away from them too, but this may be something she needs to do." Ms. Morrison replied.

"Well I'm sure Sara won't want to see them and I definitely do not want her anywhere near them. They have hurt her enough!" Jesse snapped and he barely felt Becky's hand slip into his.

"Listen Jesse, I know you want what's best for Sara; we all do. I do think you and Becky should talk to Sara about this, though. Sara may need to see them, for her own reasons. And you need to respect that." Ms. Morrison explained. Jesse sighed and finally stood up. Becky watched after him, unsure of what was being said, only knowing it was causing Jesse a lot of pain. He grabbed a notebook from the counter, and poised his pen.

"Alright Ms. Morrison." He said. "What's the address and phone number?"


"Becky, we can't let her see them." Jesse said after he hung up with Ms. Morrison and explained everything to his wife.

"Jesse, I don't want Sara to see them either. They're unfit and I want nothing more than to protect our girl from them forever, but Ms. Morrison may be right. What if Sara does need to, for some reason? Can we really deny her that?" Becky asked.

"Of course we can. We're here parents now, we do what's best for our children." Jesse replied.

"But Jesse, we really should talk to her. We've always been open and honest and I don't think we should keep this from her." Becky sighed. "I really hope she decides she doesn't want to, but I think it should be her decision."

"I think we should definitely try and convince her that it's a bad idea. I don't want her emotions to make this decision for her. She needs to think about the outcomes." Jesse replied, feeling frustrated.

"Well, maybe we should all just sit down and talk about it as a family. We should definitely talk about the consequences and outcomes, and make sure we understand completely why she does or doesn't want to see them." Becky added.

"Alright, I'll put the address upstairs for now. Why don't we talk to her after dinner? She'll want to know what Ms. Morrison had to say anyway." Jesse replied. Becky sighed, noticing Jesse's frustration and worry, picking up on it as she was feeling it just as strongly. She wrapped her arms around him, as he did the same.

"She'll be okay. Whatever she decides, we'll get through it." She replied. "We always do."