A/N: This should have been up a couple of days ago, but I didn't write it because I wasn't feeling very well, but alas, I have been feeling better today which is great so here it is.

Chapter Twenty One: A Brighter Future

Meeting Heather had made Sam hesitant on telling Ashley. Not because she thought Heather was bad, no she thought that Ashley would like Heather more or better than her. But nonetheless Sam knew that she had to tell Ashley which was why Sam was making her way to Ashley's room.

Sam knocks on the door waiting for the okay and when she receives it she walks inside to see Ashley on her bed looking up at the ceiling.

"What are you thinking about?" Sam asks as she takes a seat on the edge of Ashley's bed.

"What makes you think I am thinking?" Ashley asks as she takes her eyes off of the ceiling.

"I don't know. You just seem in thought."

"I was just thinking about my past mostly and possibly my future."

At the mention of the future, Sam thought that it was a good as time as any to bring up what she wanted to talk to Ashley about.

"That's actually part of what I wanted to talk to you about."

Ashley, feeling like its important sits up and faces her mother.

"What's up?"

"Do you remember when you asked me if I could help you look for your birth mother?"

Ashley nods her head.

"Well I've been searching a little bit on my own and I found her."

Ashley sits stunned. In truth it was just a fantasy to go out and find her birth mother. She had forgotten about it the moment that Sam wanted to adopt her, but now that it's been brought up again, she doesn't know what to think.

"I also sat down and talked to her, not about you in great detail, but I explained what you wanted and I asked if she wanted the same."

"What did she say?"

Heather had told Sam the only way she wanted to meet Ashley is if Ashley really wanted it. She didn't want Ashley to be forced to do this, so Heather told Sam to tell Ashley this.

"What do you want to do Ashley? Not for me and not for anyone else. What do you want?"

Ashley bites the bottom of her lip.

"I want to meet her."

Sam smiles slightly and nods her head.

"Then I will call her and I will set something up."

Sam gets up from the bed and before she exits the room Ashley calls out to her. Sam turns around.

"What's wrong?"

"Um, after I meet with her can Kyle and Charley come over and have dinner. It would make it better."

"I'm sure that can be arranged."

~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~

Brooke was pacing back in forth in the bathroom. She had a lot of things on her mind and she wanted to be left with her thoughts. Especially for the next three minutes.

Sam had told her that Ashley wanted to see her birth mother.

The Journey to Family's movie premiere was in a few weeks.

Zack was getting older by the second.

Sam didn't need her anymore. At least that's what she thinks.

Sam was in love or at least that's what she thinks.

Raven had chewed up her designer shoes.

And she was late.

As the timer dings, Brooke holds her breath and looks at the test sitting on the bathroom counter.

~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~

Sam pulls into Heather's driveway with Ashley biting her nails. It was the sign that Ashley was really nervous. When Sam had called Heather to tell her that Ashley would like to meet her, Heather had invited her and Sam over for a few hours. Sam had mentioned to Ashley that maybe it should just be them that met because anything else would make her more nervous and Heather agreed. So the only people in the house were going to be Heather, Sam and Ashley.

"Ashley, I'm going to be with you through this, okay? I'll be there with you."

Ashley stops biting her nails and nods her head.

"Okay," Ashley whispers.

Ashley and Sam made their way up to Heather's door and Sam knocks. Seconds later Heather opens the door and freezes. Her eyes make it over to Ashley's and she smiles with small tears forming in her eyes.

"Come on in," Heather says as she takes a shaky breath.

Sam, Heather and Ashley settle into the living room. Ashley grabs onto Sam's hand right away and Heather smiles at the reaction. She could tell that they cared for each other and that's all Heather wanted when she gave Ashley up at birth.

"My name's Heather Malone, it was Heather Jones, but a few years ago I got married."

"Ashley."

Heather smiles and nods her head.

"I didn't think they would keep your name."

"You named me?" Ashley asks with interest.

Heather nods her head.

"Yeah, it took a little bit for them to take you, but you couldn't be unnamed it wasn't right."

"Why didn't you try to keep me?"

Heather bites the bottom of her lip and glances at Sam before looking back at Ashley.

"Actually I tried," Sam raises an eyebrow to this. She didn't know that. "I was young, but my dad would've helped me out. I was still sixteen, but your dad was there and he would have helped as well. I suffered from PTSD after giving birth. It didn't show up until a month later which is why I got to name you because I was going to keep you. After being diagnosed with it my dad had told me that I was only going to suffer more. I had to take care of you, but I had to take care of myself as well. You cried a lot," Heather wipes the tears away from her eyes. "I just couldn't handle it. I wasn't ready and I'm sorry."

Ashley wipes away her tears. Ashley looks over at Sam in silent communication and Sam knew she wanted to be alone with Heather so silently Sam gets up and walks out of the room.

"Did you ever try to look for me? I mean really, if you cared so much, why didn't you look for me?"

"I was scared and I had already given you up. I couldn't get you back. The rights were already signed over."

"You could have saved me the hurt. You could have saved me from a lot of things. Did you know that social workers tend to neglect to tell you that sometimes when you're placed with a family it's too crowded or they think the family you are being placed in is fine when in reality it's a nightmare. I was seven, seven years old at the time my innocence was lost. I felt ashamed and I was only seven," Ashley cries out. "I didn't know what to do. And you could have saved me."

Heather watches as Ashley puts her head in her hands and sobs. Her motherly instincts take over and Heather goes to Ashley and brings her closer to her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I didn't know."

Outside the living room Sam slides down the wall, bringing her knees to her chest. She had heard every word and she silently cried as Heather took care of Ashley.

~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~

An hour or so later, Ashley and Sam were back into the driveway of their home. After crying her eyes out Ashley and Heather had talked a little more and they had come to an understanding. They wanted a relationship, but not a mother daughter one and Heather had agreed. She had seen firsthand how Sam was with Ashley and she didn't want to take that away. So they had agreed to call each other a few times a week and Sam and Ashley were invited to dinner at the Malone's house a few Sunday's a month. Heather's parting words to Sam were.

"Go home and take care of your daughter."

Sam knew at that moment that she didn't need to worry about anything.

Sam and Ashley enter the house and Sam smiles at the sight. Kyle was currently in the kitchen finishing up dinner and Charley was helping her father.

"Well what do we have here?" Sam says with a grin.

Both Charley and Kyle turn around and smile.

Charley excuses herself from the kitchen quickly and grabs Ashley's hand pulling her back into the kitchen.

"Come help daddy," Charley says with a smile.

Kyle and Sam freeze at the statement knowing that Charley didn't say my daddy, but just daddy.

"Okay."

Sam smiles up at Kyle who looks as if he was about to cry, but being a guy he tries to hide it. Sam walks over to Kyle and brings down Kyle's head so Sam could kiss him softly on the lips.

"How was everything?"

Sam turns and looks at Ashley and Charley making a dessert. Sam turns back to Kyle and smiles.

"Everything's going to be okay."

~~~/~~~/~~~/~~~

After a late night, Julian makes his way into bed crawling in next to his wife. Brooke had been waiting for Julian to come home and when she feels the bed dip she smiles and turns to him.

"You're home late."

"Last minute things with the movie, everything is done now."

"That's good because I have something to tell you."

"What?" Julian says after he yawns.

Brooke grabs Julian's hand and brings it to her stomach.

"I'm pregnant."

A/N: I wonder if you all saw that coming, Brooke being pregnant, but I wanted it to happen. It was either that or Sam and I think it was too early for Sam besides I'm doing a lot with her in the sequel so no worries quite yet.

Anyways, there are about three chapters left in this story and they are currently being written. I have to ask if you would like to see the last three chapters early or would just like to wait every week for the update. (The story could end in three weeks or it could end in one, it's up to you).

Like I mentioned there will be a sequel so don't be too sad.

For those who celebrate, Happy Thanksgiving and for those who don't have a wonderful day.