Author's note:

Sorry that I have not updated like I promised… I have been helping with a family member that has been very ill, and it's left me little time for writing. I am slowly trying to get these chapters written. I hate leaving people hanging for too long. I don't know how much longer I'm going to make this story.

Anytime you need a friend:

Chapter 29

Spike and Sam took the stairs two at a time. Callie had sounded so frightened when she had screamed. Spike's first thought was that the mail had been something obscene. Something that was wrong for a young woman to have seen. Sam, on the other hand, felt that it was too much of a coincidence that she got something in the mail that frightened her the day after her having told him about her daughter.

When they got into her room, Callie was sitting on the bed, shaking with a hand covering her mouth. She wasn't crying, but anyone could see that she was extremely upset. Spike went to comfort her while Sam quickly looked around the room. Nothing seemed out of place. He picked up the paper that had fallen out of Callie's hand and looked at it quickly. It was a registered letter from a law firm here in town.

He quickly scanned the letter. Getting the whole reason for Callie's upset took less than thirty seconds. Sam closed his eyes briefly as he felt her pain. She was already dealing with so much stuff, and now this. When would it end? When would Callie finally get a break to have some semblence of a normal life? Sam had to admire her strength though. A lesser person would have given up and admitted defeat by now. Not Callie.

"Callie. What has gotten you so upset? Who sent you that mail?" Spike sat back and patiently watched her as she regained her composure. Callie looked at Sam and he nodded back at her encouragingly. Callie nodded, took a very deep breath and let it out slowly. She took Spike's hand and smiled at him with tears begining to form in her eyes. She didn't know how he would take the news that she was about to drop.

"Daddy. I love you. I don't deserve to have you as a father because lately I have been nothing but horrible to you and mean and rude. But you still love me. You welcome me back everytime. You could have wanted nothing to do with me at all and just ignored me when you saw me on the ledge. You could have never taken custody of me when you found out that I was your daughter." Spike smiled and hugged her tightly.

"Dad, what I am about to tell you, Sam already knows about it because sometimes it is easier to talk to people that you are not directly related to about things when you wish you could find the words to talk to the people that you are directly related to." She paused for a moment and Spike nodded at her, encouraging her to continue. Callie reached for the paper that Sam held out to her before sitting on the couch.

"That is understandable sweetie. Sometimes you want to say something and you can't say it to someone in particular because you don't know how that person will react, nor do you think that they would be able to handle it. I am here for you now though Callie. No matter what you say to me. It will not make me love you any less. If anything It will make me love you even more than I already do." Spike said while turning around around to face her fully. Callie nodded and smiled at him.

"When I was 12, the abuse by Mr. Sanchez had been going on for about 6 months. He raped me for the first time when I was 12. I had been conditioned by him for 3 years to accept that his touching me was alright. That it was acceptable in our house. About 3 months after he raped me, I started having really bad stomach pains. I couldn't figure out why. My first thought was that he had really hurt me inside by raping me." Sam murmured that he was going to go get some water for them and disappeared.

"I finally went to Mrs. Sanchez and told her that I felt that something was really wrong. She took me to the doctor. She assumed that because I had started putting on weight that I just needed to lose weight. I was getting really big around the stomach and hip areas. She always wanted me to be the perfect daughter. Thin, petite and well mannered. She never wanted me to weigh more than 120 lbs. I was always like, 'gag me. Please'." Callie took another deep breath and wiped her nose with a tissue.

"Anyway, the doctor happened to be a friend of the family. He ran several tests, he had a nurse come in and draw blood. I overheard Mrs. Sanchez tell him to run a pregnancy test. That was when I knew without a doubt that Mrs. Sanchez knew what her husband was doing to me when I was a little girl. I kept telling her, hoping that she would call the police. Nothing." Callie smiled sadly at Spike

Spike stared at her. He was completely silent. He knew without a doubt what she was about to tell him, but he needed to hear her say the words. He didn't dare believe it was true until she said the words. He was almost afraid to believe it. He needed the verbal confirmation to what he was thinking. Surprisingly, he wasn't angry that Sam knew before he did. He was just thankful that someone had been there to listen to her anguish.

"It came back positive. The doctor confirmed my pregnancy. I was having a child. I thought for sure that this would be brought to the attention of the police and that someone, ANYONE, would rescue me from the hell that Sanchez was putting me through. The doctor told me to wait in the hall. He and Mrs. Sanchez discussed it. I was to carry the child to term and then the child would be put up for adoption. Only I was told that I would carry the child to term and that I would have them to help me raise her."

Spike could not hold his tears back any longer. He tried to be quiet about it, but couldn't. He cried for Callie's pain. He cried for not knowing his grandchild. He cried for not having known earlier about the abuse and being able to not spare her the pain. He was curious why this was only now coming out. He didn't want to push Callie into talking about it, but He had to know where the kid was now if Callie knew anything.

"Do you know where, That is can you see, What I mean is-"Callie cut him off. She took his hand and squeezed it to get his attention. She looked different know. Peaceful, serene. Sam had long since come back from the kitchen with water for them both. Callie smiled and sipped her water. She turned to look at Sam who was sitting there, nodding his head. She smiled at him and hugged him impulsively.

"When I went into labor, It was around midnight. Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez took me to the hospital and I was taken into a private room and later a private birthing room. I had very little contact with anyone other than the doctor, the Sanchezes and one nurse who was in the Doctor's pocket. It should have tipped me off then and there what was about to happen, but I was too scared, not understanding what was going on with my own body."

"Dad. You have a granddaughter out there in the world. I delivered her on October 29th 2008. Two days before my due date. She was supposed to be born on the 31st. I never got to name her. I never even got to hold her. I delivered her and the doctor had the nurse take her away. I was not allowed to form any attachement to her whatsoever. I didn't even know until six months later who had adopted her."

Spike was flabbergasted to say the least and pinched himself. That hurt. He really did have a grand daughter. He smiled at Callie. He had missed so much by not knowing about his daughter from the start. He hugged her tightly while she cried. He let her have her cry. This all had to have weighed on her emotionally for so long. But he would try to ease the pain for her just a little bit if he could. Callie held up a peice of paper.

"I got that envelope in the mail today. It was a letter from my Aunt Kayla and Uncle Sidney's Attorney. They both passed away from a car accident a couple weeks ago and their daughter, Amelia Addison Sanchez is all alone. There are no relatives to care for her, except for Mrs. Sanchez and some other scattered relatives." Callie handed the letter over to Spike who looked it over quickly.

"They put in their will, a certified, notarized document saying that Amelia is my biological daughter. They put in the will also, that should anything happen to them both, they wanted custody turned over to me immediately. There's also some letters and things for me that for some reason I was not allowed to have." Spike looked at Sam as he nudged him with the glass of water.

The attorney has been trying to get ahold of me for the past 2 weeks to go over the documents and arrange for custody to be transfered. Mrs. Sanchez told him that I was out of the country. She deliberately lied to the lawyer. I know that She's angry because the will acknowledges that I am her birth mother and that custody is to be turned over to me." Callie sighed and crossed to the window.

"I expect that there will be a fight over custody. I know Mr. Sanchez will claim paternal rights. And I know Mrs. Sanchez will try to say that they had to make me give up Amelia because I was not in my right mind at the time to be raising a child. That I am still not in the right frame of mind to raise her. They are also going to bring up my troubled childhood. I am up to the fight though." Sam hugged her along with Spike when he walked over.

"No Callie. We are. WE are up to the fight. We will all back you up. You are part of this family. We will back you for however long it takes. You will be bringing Amelia home soon. As soon as we get the go ahead, We are going to pick out a room for her and decorate it. One close to you. You are going to have to form an attachment with your daughter. Maybe the one down the hall from you. I just pray that she hasn't been abused."

"You do realize of course that we will have to get all of her stuff and bring it here. How old is she anyway? I wonder what kind of things she likes. I am excited by the idea of having another little sister. I would ask what she looks like but you don't have any pictures. Did the lawyer happen to send one for you to see what your daughter looks like by chance? I would love to see what she looks like, I bet she looks just like you." Callie answered without hesitation.

"She is three. She will be four in October. And yeah the lawyer sent one. She's gorgeous. I don't know a thing about her." Callie got the picture from under the envelope and passed it to Sam who passed it to Spike and looked over his shoulder. Spike had gone curiously quiet. Callie was a little concerned but She knew internally that he needed time to process the news. She hugged him tightly while whispering that she was sorry.

"Callie, listen to me alright? You have NOTHING to be sorry for. Do you understand me young Lady? NOTHING! None of this was your fault. That prick hurt you in a way that no one should ever be hurt. The fault is HIS. Does the prosecutor know about this information?" Callie shook her head. Spike picked up her phone and thrust it at her with a raised eyebrow. Callie rolled her eyes and nodded.

"I know I have a couple calls to make. I have to call the Prosecutor and I have to call the lawyer. I'm supposed to call him when I recieve the letter and meet with him that day. I am supposed to take immediate custody of my daughter." Callie gave a little laugh as she said that, the reality that she was actually going to get to meet her daughter for the first time finally nearly four years after she should have.

Spike and Sam went downstairs to give her privacy to make her calls. Spike looked in need of a good stiff drink. Sam was willing to oblige him and got him a small glass with some vodka, only a little bit. Spike gulped it down and shook his head at the offer of another glass. He needed to be clear headed to help his daughter. Drinking would only invite problems that they didn't need to deal with at the moment.

Sam gave him a hug and told him to call if he needed anything at all and he would be there immediately. He then slipped out the door with the promise that he wouldn't tell anyone until Callie told them herself. Spike sat at the table with a cup of coffee. After a few minutes, Callie came thundering down the stairs. She grabbed herself a cup of coffee and sat down across from Spike. She looked at him and noticed that he looked older. She felt a little guilty at having caused him so much grief.

"Dad. I have an appointment with the lawyer in 2 hours. I need to get cleaned up and Dressed appropriately. Are you going to go into the office with me? After I meet with the lawyer and meet Amelia, I have to meet with the prosecutor. I told him there was a new development in my case and I really had to meet with him today. He cleared his calendar. I am going to go upstairs to gather some nice clothes and get showered."

After she ran upstairs, Spike had another cup of coffee before running upstairs and knocking on Callie's door. Callie yelled for him to come in. She was in her closet looking for an appropriate skirt and blouse. She was thinking yellow. It wasn't too dull and it wasn't too outrageous. She was pulled from her thoughts by Spike clearing his throat. She poked her head out to see him standing there with his phone.

"What about your grandparent's? We need to let them know and you know that. We need to drop this on them before we pick up Amelia. I'm going to call them and have them come over while you shower. I will tell them for you, but you know they will want to speak to you. Grandma is going to love you even more than she already does. You are giving her a Great Granddaughter. Dad's going to be happy as well. Get your shower and get changed." Callie nodded and held up her Yellow Skirt and Yellow short sleeve sweater.

Spike nodded and pointed to the door. Callie got the message. Get your shower and hurry up. She left her clothes out on the bed and grabbed her bathrobe before throwing a pair of clean underwear and pantyhose on the pile. She closed her door and quickly undressed, hurrying upstairs to her bathroom to shower. She set a new record getting her hair washed and scrubbed up before getting out drying off and throwing her hair up in a towel and hurrying down to her room.

She heard Spike yell up to her as she walked down the hall that her grandparents were there and she stopped to sit on her bed before getting dressed. Truth be told, she was scared. She was scared that she would get there and it be a cruel joke. She was also scared that she wouldn't know the first thing about parenting. But then, she reasoned, if Spike could learn on the fly, she could too. With that thought in mind, she quickly got dressed, before quickly throwing her hair in a french braid.

She walked downstairs with her heels in her hand and her purse with the letter and everything that she would need to take with her. She took several deep breaths as she walked, intent on not being scared. She looked for Spike, who was in the kitchen. She smiled at her grandparents who were looking at her in a mild state of shock. Callie closed her eyes a moment before smiling at them again.

"Hi Grandma. Hi Grandpa. How are you both today?" She sat down and put her heels on before sitting back and accepting a glass of juice from Spike. They made small talk for awhile before Spike went up to get a quick shower and get dressed. They were talking quietly and Spike's parents were admiring the photo of Amelia that Callie had. Spike put his hands on Callie's shoulders drawing her attention.

"Callie. We had better leave if we are going to get to the Lawyer's office on time. we have several places to be after that. Mom, Dad, we will stop by later tonight. I love you guys. Callie, you have everything that you need?" Callie nodded and hugged her grandparents again before hurrying out the door and to the truck. Spike followed his parents out and set the alarm before shutting the door.

Author's note #2:

I was going to wait to post this until I had chapter 30 written and was halfway done with 31, but I thought that would be cruel and I have already made you, my faithful readers and reviewers wait for THIS chapter for over a month. Enjoy. =)