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Semi-Edited

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Time-bombs

- "What?"

Molly almost wanted to question the other witnesses, but she quickly realized that for purposes of discretion, Kristina had spoken in Greek. It was a statement about a man whom everyone knew had terribly beaten her sister. She stared at her mother and sister in confusion.

- "What… what do you mean that Kiefer is going to take Dani? What does she—"

The three women, upon hearing the teen behind them, quickly turned around; this was not how they had wanted her to learn of the truth. Short of Kiefer physically entering their home and ripping Dani from Sam's arms, this was the worst scenario Alexis could have imagined.

- "Sweetheart—"

She released Kristina to Sam's awaiting arms so that she could approach her baby.

- "This isn't—"

But the teen took a step backwards; she could tell that her mother and sisters were prepared to tell her something of which everyone knew, but kept from her… because she was the baby.

- "No—"

She could feel in her gut that it was something to do with linking Kiefer to her niece. Given the looks on her sisters' faces, she knew what it was, but she could not bring herself to accept it; surely, after four years, she would have known. She would have had some indication when they were in Greece together… she stopped.

- "You lied to me, didn't you?"

She looked from her mother, to a sobbing Kristina, and finally to Sam who had tears streaming down her cheeks. She could not believe it. While she would have expected it from her mother, never in her life had she known her sister's to lie to her.

- "That's why you went to Greece, wasn't it? It was because she… she… Kristina… was pregnant."

Alexis attempted to take Molly's hand and bring her to her, but the teen quickly pulled it away; she did not want to be coddled… babied. She was tired of it.

- "No! Stop it! You… you… lied to me! For YEARS! How could you?"

Not understanding a word of the conversation, Robin and Patrick had watched instead the family's interaction. However, seeing as Molly was quickly becoming agitated and upset, Robin decided that she should perhaps step forward in order to evade the attention that they would undoubtedly call upon themselves.

- "Um, why don't you guys step into one of the conference rooms? I'm sure you don't want to have this conversation in the middle of the hall."

But her interruption had fallen on deaf ears; they continued their discussion. And so, the couple decided to step aside to give them their space.

- "Mol—"

Sam hated the predicament in which they had found themselves. Things were not as black and white as the teen had attempted to put them; there were shades of gray. And with respect to their decision about Kristina's attack, and keeping Dani and her safe from the Bauers, the gray areas were rather dense. There was much that went into their decision… too much. It was not a burden they wanted the young girl to ever shoulder.

- "We didn't mean for—"

Molly furiously wiped her face as she cut the woman off.

- "For me to ever find out? For me to know that while you guys spent almost two years in Greece, leaving me all alone here without you, you were all lying to me?"

She looked at her mother, the woman who had most betrayed her.

- "And you went along with this! You left me for weeks at a time because you had to check on Kristina to make sure that she was okay. And you… you promised me that we'd go to Greece for Dani's birth in December! Were you just lying to me then, too?"

Alexis shook her head.

- "Baby—"

The nickname only infuriated her further. She angrily stomped her foot on the floor as she balled her hands into fists.

- "Don't patronize me! I'm NOT a baby! I might be the youngest, but I'm not stupid—"

While understanding that her daughter was upset, Alexis threateningly pointed her finger at the teen; the level of disrespect was not acceptable.

- "Molly, calm down, right now."

The chill in her mother's voice quickly quelled the level of her anger.

- "I just… I'm tired of you guys lying to me all of the time! I would've understood! I'm not stupid—"

She wanted terribly to pull the confused and hurt girl into her arms, but there was no point; she would be rejected.

- "Mol, I know you're not stupid. And that was not what we meant to do in not telling you the truth! We couldn't—"

She cut her off.

- "Were you lying to me when you said we'd go for Dani's birth?"

Knowing that the teen would not believe Alexis if she spoke for herself, Sam responded.

- "Mom never wanted us to keep this secret from you, Mol—"

Although the woman later went along with the plan, Sam figured it best to keep that from the teen. It was clear that within the next few minutes, the fourteen year long relationship of trust the family had with her would soon be irreparably shattered; it was for the best that at least their mother maintained a bit of redemption for the girl. They could not entirely isolate her.

- "She begged us to reconsider. She told us that we would need to figure out some way to tell you before you guys arrived in December to see Krissy pregnant; she didn't want to lie to you. But—"

Molly turned her attention to the quietly sobbing Kristina. While the nurturing part of her – the part taken from her mother – wanted to comfort her, the unforgiving side – the part taken from her father, kept her firmly in her place. She crossed her arms against her chest.

- "How could you give her up, Kristina? How could you sit there and watch Sam raise her, and hear her calling Sam 'Mommy' and not feel anything about it? How could you—"

Kristina stopped her.

- "I couldn't!"

Having the combined temper of a Cassadine and Corinthos child, the teen continued.

- "But you did! Don't you care about what Dani's going to think when she gets older? Or how she's going to feel when she finds out that you didn't want her? Why didn't you—"

Covering her ears so that she could block out any more of her sister's accusatory questions, Kristina blurted out a truth that the young romantic had failed to realize.

- "I was raped, Molly!"

And even still, her sister's question were the questions that the young woman had asked herself for months after she had given the child to her sister. They were the questions that any person in her position would have asked herself. They were natural questions that did not have real answers. The only thing she knew for certain was that she had made the right decision for herself… at the time. She could not, not only because of her age, but also because her mental state, raise the niece for whom she would have gladly given her life. She had done what she had believed was in her baby's best interest.

- "I couldn't raise her because I was beaten, and I was raped, and I was left to die by her father! Okay? He was supposed to love me, and I was supposed to save him, but instead he… he… raped me. Do you get that, Mol? He raped me!"

In her anger, Molly had allowed her sense of betrayal to overshadow what should have been rather clear. Hearing and seeing her sister emotionally propel her five years into the past from which her parents had somewhat shielded her, placed everything into perspective. Perhaps she was a baby.

Flashback

- "Mommy, Daddy, can I go home now?"

It had been a week since Molly had been allowed to return to the lakehouse. In fact, no one had stayed in the home in that time. Not wanting to be reminded of the horrific act that had been committed in the middle of their living room, while Kristina remained in the hospital, Sonny, Alexis, and Molly, had temporarily moved into the three-bedroom apartment Sam shared with Tina; it was the same apartment in which they had lived upon their return from Greece twelve years earlier. However, given the amount of time the couple had spent at the hospital, often sleeping in a chair beside their daughter's bed, it seemed that their youngest daughter had alone moved in with her sister and aunt.

- "And when is Krissy coming home?"

They had not yet figured out a way to tell her what had occurred. There was no easy way to reveal to a nine year old little girl, despite her intelligence, the horror of her sister's situation.

- "Baby—"

But they had to.

- "Sit down for a second, okay?"

Placing his hand on the small of his wife's back, Sonny led Alexis to the couch. He sat her down on one side of their daughter before taking his place on her other side. Because the woman ate, slept, and breathed every morsel of Kristina's injuries, he could see the wall she had built against her emotions when speaking with their youngest, quickly becoming destroyed. He needed to preserve it.

- "We have to talk to you about Krissy."

Feeling her mother's arms wrap around her, Molly leaned against the woman.

- "I know she's hurt pretty bad because Sam is always crying, Aunt Tina is also kinda emotional, and you—"

She looked up at the woman. Running her finger along the woman's raccoon eyes, she disapprovingly shook her head.

- "You're not sleeping, Mommy. You never sleep when one of us is sick, so I know that Krissy isn't feeling that great; I just… I wanna see her. And, I wanna go home."

Alexis caught Molly's hand and placed a kiss onto it.

- "Listen, we have something to tell you. I want to first tell you that Krissy is getting better, and you'll see her as soon as she gets out of the hospital—"

Molly interrupted her.

- "When's that?"

Feeling his tears begin to well, Sonny rubbed his eyes. He hated the thought of his little girl in the hospital; if he could have switched roles with her, he would have.

- "Tomorrow. She's coming home tomorrow—"

She once again spoke up.

- "Does that mean we're going home too? I mean, I like staying here, but I miss my room and my bed… and you."

She knew she sounded selfish as her sister clearly needed her parents more than she did, but she hated not having her parents around.

- "Sorry."

But Alexis understood; she would have given anything to have things return to normal.

- "You have nothing to apologize for, baby. We miss you too."

She covered the young girl's face with kisses.

- "We're going home tomorrow. Now, we need you to first let Daddy and I tell you what we need to tell you. Okay? It's going to be hard to understand, but—"

Sonny finished her sentence.

- "You're a smart girl. We wouldn't be telling you this if we didn't think you could handle it. It's just… it's very sad. And… we… we want you to know that none of this is Kristina's fault; it's only the—"

He could not finish his sentence. He could not sugarcoat what had been done. There was no easy way for a parent to tell his young daughter the cruelties of the world. But he had to.

- "Keifer beat Kristina up—"

And seeing the tears immediately spring to Molly's eyes, he stopped.

- "Molly—"

She used the back of her hand to wipe her face.

- "I thought he loved her? He told me that he wanted to marry her when they were old enough! He was supposed to be her knight in shining armor, Daddy! Like you are to Mommy. Why would he do that?"

Alexis pulled the girl onto her lap. She cradled her as though she were once again their tiny infant brought home from the hospital.

- "He's a very troubled young man, honey. He viciously attacked her, he hurt her very badly… um… he… he… he just…"

She could not continued or tell her baby what had happened; seeing Molly's reaction as it were, she could not further traumatize her. The sight of her sister the next morning would only make the situation worse; her baby did not need to know to what level of evil, the teen she had lauded as Prince Charming has gone against her sister.

- "We just want you to understand that Kristina is safe now, she's going to be okay. Kiefer will not touch her again. Okay?"

And rocking Molly back and forth, there was nothing more that either Alexis or Sonny could have said to her daughter. All they could do was hold her and preserve what little bit of innocence remained.

End of Flashback

- "I'm… I'm sorry—"

The tears which had previously burned her skin at her family's betrayal, cooled at the realization of what she had overheard and what it would mean. It sent chills down her body.

- "Is he going to—"

Noting the change in her daughter's demeanor, Alexis finally pulled her into her arms.

- "We're going to fight like hell to make sure that that doesn't happen. He's not touching her. Dani is Sam and Lucky's daughter; she's going to stay that way. We won't have it any other way."

But remembering that the man was currently being restrained by the man purported to be her niece's biological father, Kristina shook her head.

- "He's angry, Mom. He tried to attack me."

Alexis' heart skipped a beat at the thought that the man had once again come close to harming her daughter.

- "What?"

At the mention of the man's contact with her sister, Sam felt as though she might be sick. While she did not want to leave Kristina's side, she nevertheless found herself running into her father's room so that she could use his bathroom.

- "SAM!"

Sonny, who had spent his time alone hydrating his dried voice, finally began to feel its return.

- "Are… you… okay?"

As he slowly attempted to get out of the bed, Alexis rushed in; she wanted to inform him that she would be leaving for a short while in order to take care of a few things. She would not have told him what, for fear that he might yet again lose his temper, but she needed him to know that she was not leaving him.

- "Lex… Sam… bathroom."

Although she wanted to check on her daughter, she felt as though she could not; the most important thing in that moment was ensuring that Kiefer was temporarily out of the equation long enough for her to figure out their next move.

- "I know, honey. Listen, I'll be back in about an hour or so, okay? I need to—"

But he knew her better than that. He could see the worry and fear in her face; he was not going to let her leave in such a state.

- "What's wrong?"

And looking over to Kristina who stood at the door waiting for her, he knew about what his wife's nervousness was. He might have been fuzzy concerning periods of time, but he understood the underlying cause of his family's divide.

- "Kiefer?"

Without responding to him, Alexis grabbed her purse from the chair.

- "I'll be ba—"

However, Sonny grabbed her arm.

- "I'm going… with you."

Noting that Kristina had not yet returned, keeping his hand pinned on Kiefer's chest as the younger man lied on the ground, Jason pulled out his cell. He was not one to involve the authorities in most matters, but when it came to Sam, he would have done whatever necessary to ensure that her daughter remained where she belonged.

- "Mac. I need you, or your men, to get down to General Hospital right now; Kiefer Bauer just attempted to attack Kristina Corinthos."

That was all that needed to be said for the man on the other line. While the District Attorney was clearly in the Bauer pocket to have been schemed into releasing Kiefer from prison, Mac was not. Alexis was one of his oldest friends; he knew her family and her daughters well. He would not allow what happened to Kristina to reoccur… not on his watch.

- "We're on our way."

Rather than keep Kiefer on the ground, Jason pulled him to his feet.

- "You wanna be a man, but you terrorize defenseless—"

- "HEY!"

He felt a hand grip his shoulder.

- "What the hell do you think you're doing to my son?"

Pushing Kiefer back onto the ground, Jason quickly turned to face the young man's role model.

- "It seems like your son enjoys continuing to attack and intimidate Kristina Cor—"

Warren interrupted him before he had a moment to finish his statement; he did not need to hear the Corinthos or Cassadine name in his presence.

- "I'm sure my son wasn't doing anything to that pathetic little bitch. She'd do anything for attention. And from the looks of it, she's getting it at the expense of my son."

As he moved to help his son who had not moved from his spot on the ground, Jason threateningly stepped in front of him.

- "I'm warning you, and I'm warning your son—"

He pulled out his gun in order to prove his point. He pointed it toward Kiefer.

- "Unless you want to be mourning your son rather than visiting him in prison, I suggest you get him to stay away from people he has NO business near—"

- "Jason!"

Lucky was shocked by the sight before him.

- "What the hell are you doing?"

Ushering Tina and a reluctant Stefan into the hospital so that they could check on his sister-in-law and wife, Lucky slowly approached the man whom he had believed to be the father of his little girl.

- "You need to put the gun away."

Warren shook his head in disgust as he looked from Jason to Lucky.

- "That's what you have to say? He's holding my son at gunpoint! Why don't you make yourself useful and shoot this thug!"

Lucky ignored him.

- "Jason—"

Not needing to be told twice, he withdrew his gun as he turned his attention to the man who was raising his daughter.

- "Mac's already on his way. This piece of garbage—"

Warren grabbed Kiefer before Jason could do anything else to put him in harms way.

- "Get up! Let's go!"

But Lucky put his hand out to stop him. With Mac on the way, Kristina in the hospital, and Kiefer liable to once again attack her, he was not allowing him out of his sight. He already knew that the man must have learned the truth of Dani's paternity. He needed to speak with his wife.

- "No, I don't think so. You both need to stay right where you are. You—"

Warren, however, already knew the extent of Lucky's power on him and his son; as far as he was concerned the police officer lacked any jurisdiction to hold him.

- "Oh, I don't think so. From what I know, you're still a St. Lawrence detective. When an officer officially within the Port Charles limits arrives, then and only then will you have any access to my son… in my presence, of course. God only knows how you all will attempt to spin this."

He pushed his son into the hospital.

- "Let's go."

And standing in his spot watching as the two men disappearred into the building, Lucky turned his attention to Jason.

- "Well?"

Being a man of few words, Jason returned his gaze.

- "He had his hands on Kristina… again."

And until Sam told him otherwise, he would not say another word to her husband concerning the reason for the dispute, Lucky nodded in understanding.

- "Thank you."

He extended his hand to him.

- "I might not agree with all of this, but… thank you."

Jason accepted the gesture.

- "I will do whatever it takes to protect my… our… daughter."

Alexis shook her head as she attempted to lead her husband back to the bed. She could not allow him to risk his health anymore than he already had… even for their daughter.

- "No, you're—"

But he could not take no for an answer. He could not sit around helpless while some animal went after his little girl.

- "Alexis… I… can't…"

Figuring that the coast was clear, Patrick and Robin walked into the room.

- "Sonny, you can't be out of bed. We need to talk—"

Alexis put her hand up to stop Patrick from continuing. If her husband would not listen to her, he certainly would not listen to some doctor. Sonny was far too stubborn for that.

- "Krissy, Mol—"

She turned her attention to her girls.

- "Can you go check on your sister, please? Make sure that she's alright? And um… wash your faces or take a shower—"

Molly made a face at the woman.

- "But we don't have a change of clothes or anything. Plus, shouldn't we—"

Alexis couldn't think straight; she simply wanted her daughters out of the room while the doctors and she spoke to Sonny about the tumor in his brain. She did not want the first time Kristina and Molly learned about it to be when she attempted to convince their father to stay in bed. She needed to find some time in the day to speak to them.

- "Okay, um… just go check on your sister please. Patrick and Robin need to examine your father; just… um… just give him some privacy."

Watching her daughters nod and disappear into the bathroom, Alexis turned to Sonny, Patrick, and Robin.

- "Sonny, you can't leave. You have—"

Patrick finished her sentence.

- "You have a brain tumor. That's what's been causing your mood swings, the change in your temperament—"

Robin nodded in agreement.

- "Your erratic behavior was probably the result of the tumor pressing on your brain. And so—"

Sonny moved back onto the bed. It made sense. He had been walking around feeling as though he was losing his mind. When Alexis left him and banished him from her life, everything felt as though it was falling apart around him. He thought he might die without her.

- "I'm… dying."

Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, she grabbed his hand.

- "No, you're not… well…"

She looked up to Patrick so that he could better explain the situation.

- "Can you—"

Nodding, he continued.

- "From the size and shape of the tumor, we believe that it has been growing for quite some time… perhaps years."

Sonny leaned back against his pillow. He covered his face in shock.

- "Years?"

Robin nodded.

- "Given what we've viewed from the CT Scan, we're optimistic that you have an astrocytoma—"

Alexis wiped a tear from her face.

- "And that's the non-cancerous one, right?"

Crossing his arms against his chest, Patrick continued.

- "That's the benign tumor. We're about sixty-five percent sure that because of it's location and shape that that's what it is. As we told you, Alexis, we won't know for sure until we take it out. Sonny, we've scheduled a biopsy and tumor resection for this afternoon—"

At that, the stubborn man shook his head. If he allowed these doctors to cut his skull open and removed the tumor, there was no telling how long he would be stuck in the hospital. He could not help his daughter from a hospital bed.

- "No… no… no… I'm not… Kristina… needs my… help. I'm not… leaving—"

Alexis placed her hand onto his chest. She could not say that she was shocked; tumor or not, this was her husband's true personality.

- "Sonny, you don't have a choice; you have to—"

He pushed her hand from his chest. He felt angry.

- "Yes, I do… Alexis! I'm not—"

And just then, Stefan and Tina entered the room in a bit of a rush. Upon seeing them… Stefan… Sonny felt his blood boil.

- "He… you… you want… him to—"

Accepting a kiss from Tina, Alexis pointed to the bathroom door before apologetically looking at her brother.

- "This… this isn't him—"

While Stefan clenched his jaw, he nodded toward his sister. Although he would have liked to take her into his arms and assure her that everything would be fine, he would not dare take another step into the room; Sonny was simply too unstable and paranoid.

- "Darling, Lucky is downstairs with Jason, Warren, and Kiefer—"

He slipped into Greek.

- "I believe the police are on their way, but we should perhaps leave. We must figure out what steps we'll be taking next as it is clear that he's learned the truth. I have no other explanation—"

Alexis nodded.

- "I know… he knows. Kristina told me… after he tried to attack her."

Noting that his wife and brother-in-law carried on a conversation as though he were not there, Sonny threw his cup of ice across the room.

- "Talk… to… ME! My… daughter!"

She turned her attention back to her husband whose glare was on her brother.

- "Sonny, Stefan is not the enemy here. Okay? He's only trying to help."

He allowed his eyes to travel back to his wife.

- "I'm… going with… you."

Alexis threw her hands up in the air in agitation. From what she had been told, Sonny had survived years with the tumor growing in his brain; given his recent behavior, there was no telling of what he was now capable.

- "You can die, Sonny. That tumor… it could kill you. Do you understand that?"

But he did not care. He would keep his daughter safe.

- "Not… before I… kill that… bastard."

He then turned his attention back onto Stefan.

- "I'll… protect… my… family."

He had managed to ignore his father's questions concerning the reasons behind his troubles with Jason. Under normal circumstances the older man would have attempted to bullied the information out of him, but it appeared that he had done enough of that for week; his mother was lying in a hospital bed due to his antics.

- "Mom—"

Her face was swollen, her ribs were broken, her lung was punctured, and… they did not know if she would survive this latest battle with his father's fist. He had done quite the number on her. A body could only take so much.

- "Um—"

He turned to look at his father who stood in the corner of the room watching them. He could not speak to the woman who had, in spite of all of his bad acts, loved him unconditionally in front of the man who had helped create the monster he had turned out to be.

- "Can you… Can you give me a few minutes with her… please?"

For a moment a scowl appeared on Warren's face, but in the presence of his unconscious wife, it quickly disappeared. Allowing his son some time with the woman was the least that he could have done.

- "I'll go find her doctors and give the DA—"

Kiefer shook his head.

- "Don't. It's fine. I'll handle it."

With a raise of his brow, Warren nodded and walked out of the room.

- "Mom, it's me…"

He gently took the woman's hand into his own. He hated the life that she led in their home; she was too good for his father. He did not deserve her.

- "It's Kiefer."

She was kind, loving, and gentle. She did what she could to please the brutish man, but nothing ever seemed to appease him.

- "I… I have news."

Melinda lived a life walking on eggshells in the presence of a man who had vowed to love her. When he was boy, whenever she attempted to shield him from his father's blows, she paid the price of the man's fist connected to her jaw. She had a medical file a mile long due to the injuries she had suffered from those attempts alone. And while it sickened Kiefer to think that this might have been her last battle, he could not help but feel a sense of relief. He could not bear to look at her in such a way.

- "You… you have a granddaughter."

His blood ran cold at the slip of the word from his lips. It was hard to believe that he was a father. It was hard to accept that he had created that beautiful little girl he had seen for the very first time the prior evening.

- "She's… four, Mom. And… I'm… I'm sure you know who she is… you've probably seen her around town."

He felt a bitterness fill his mouth. While his heart wanted him to rejoice in the idea that he had created a child with the girl… woman… he had loved for so long, a sense of hatred, disdain, anger, and betrayal overwhelmed him. Lest he unintentionally harm her, he released his mother's hand.

- "That… bi—"

He stopped himself. Melinda hated profanity, especially from his lips. She liked to believe that in spite of all the ways that she had failed him, she had done something good… right.

- "Kristina. ! She had my baby… OUR baby… and she didn't even bother to tell me!"

He stood from his seat so that he could pace the room. He loved Kristina. But… he hated her. He hated her more than any other person in his life. She had claimed to love him, said that she wanted to build a life with him, and give him the type of family that he had never known in a household with a father like Warren. She was supposed to be the key to making him a better man, but she betrayed him.

- "And she kept her away from me!"

She stood him up to be with another man, one who could never appreciate her the way that he had. She sat on the witness stand and allowed the prosecution to ruin his life and any chance that he could ever make his father proud of him. She stole five years of his life.

- "Mom, I have a daughter and I don't even know her!"

She stole his life and gave it to someone else.

- "She kept her from me this whole time, Mom. She… she gave our daughter away like some kind of used sweater she didn't want. She… she… she gave her to Sam… her sister!"

Slowly regaining his composure, he slowly returned to his seat. He once again took her hand into his own.

- "I want you to live. I want you to know her… I want you to meet your granddaughter."

He placed a kiss onto her hand.

- "I want her to know you."

And unnoticed by him, a tear trickled down the woman's cheek at the thought that her beautiful grandchild might be tainted by the Bauer blood.

- "Hey BamBam—"

Tina stepped into the bathroom to find her eldest niece sitting on the floor beside the toilet while Kristina and Molly sat adjacent to her. It seemed that the woman had emptied the contents of her stomach, but had not yet come to the point of strength to stand.

- "Honey, are you okay?"

Sam shook her head.

- "I won't be okay until I know my baby is safe."

Knowing what her sister had told her about Sam, Tina's worries traveled with her from her apartment, to the scene just outside of the hospital entrance, to where she presently stood. She could only hope that luck and the cosmic Gods were on her family's side.

- "We're working on that, BamBam. You have to know we're not letting Dani go… and certainly not to those people."

Sam covered her face as she flushed the toilet. Morning sickness, a difficult pregnancy, and the stress of the Bauers did not make for a stress free pregnancy. She began to wonder at what point she would lose the baby she for whom she had nearly lost her marriage. It appeared that in order to protect Dani, she would likely have to sacrifice her baby. And, in inverse, if she were to protect her unborn baby, she would have to sacrifice Dani. She was not sure she could have both.

- "I hope you're right."

Tina could see the loss of faith in her niece. For the first time, she could not blame the young woman; it was unrealistic to expect her, through the hell and torture in which life placed her, to believe that something good or positive could come from the pain and negativity.

- "I'll believe for you, sweetheart. I'd do anything for you."

She knew that.

- "Thanks T."

Looking at her other nieces, Tina pointed to the bag in her hand.

- "I brought you girls a change of clothes. I guess it probably doesn't even make sense for you all to change since we're probably going to be headed to Wyndemere in a few—"

Kristina let out a sigh of relief; they could not have decided to leave the hospital a moment sooner. However, aware of her father's precarious condition, Sam gave her aunt a knowing glance to which Tina quickly responded with a shrug. Sonny was unpredictable; no once knew what he would decide.

- "Your mother is talking to him right now. Um… are you okay now? Don't rush to get up."

Sam covered her face for a moment before slowly moving to her feet.

- "Yea… I'm fine. Kiefer… he knows about Dani, T. That kinda made me… it made me sick to my stomach. We need to—"

She noticed her aunt quickly glance over to Molly; she was shocked by her candidness given the secrets they had kept from the girl.

- "It's okay—"

She held her hand out to the teen. Even though it appeared that she forgave and understood their decision, Sam could nevertheless see the continued hurt in her youngest sister's tear-filled eyes.

- "We told her. She's—"

Moving to Sam's side, Molly spoke up for herself.

- "I'm fine… I guess. I just… I don't understand why I couldn't be told at some point. I understand why you kept it from me when I was nine, but God, I'm fourteen now! Why'd you guys all lie to me? I wouldn't have—"

Kristina remained in her spot on the floor.

- "I know you wouldn't have said anything, Mol."

She hugged her legs against herself as her mind continued to race back and forth about the reasons they had hid the truth from the girl. If she could have gone back in time, she was not sure if she would have made a different decision… about that. Other decisions, on the other hand, had begun to weigh heavily on her mind.

Flashback

- "Remember what I told you, sweetheart; Kristina is… she's a bit banged up."

Standing outside of her daughter's bedroom in Wyndemere, Alexis held Molly's hand in her own.

- "But, your sister is the same person she was before. Um… she's a little bit sad, but I think seeing you will make her feel better."

Molly did not know what to say. It had been a few days since her mother had told her about her sister's attack; she had not taken the news very well. Her nights were filled with nightmares of the man she had once believed to be her sister's Prince Charming beating the teen, sometimes Sam, and even her mother. On more than once occasion, she dreamt he killed her entire family in front of her. She could not take it. She woke up each night in a cold sweat and a soiled bed. For that reason, her parents had decided it best to delay the return to their home and to keep the child from her sister until she appeared ready to see her.

- "Is—"

She leaned into her mother. She could not find the words to say or ask. She was scared.

- "Forget it."

Alexis rubbed the young girl's back. She was not sure if she had made a mistake in bringing Molly there. Perhaps she was not yet ready.

- "We can go back downstairs if you want, baby. Krissy will understand, you know."

But the petite nine-year-old shook her head. She had to be brave.

- "No… I wanna see her. I wanna give her my gift."

She held the teddy bear tightly against herself before releasing her mother's hand so that they could finally enter.

- "I'm okay, Mommy. I promise."

Before Alexis could attempt to dissuade her, Molly turned the doorknob and entered the bedroom. Upon seeing her sister, however, she froze in her spot; she could move no further.

- "Krissy?"

Holding their father's hand in her own, while shifting her focus from her older sister who sat on the bed with her back to the door, the teen shyly smiled. The swelling and bruising had significantly decreased, but they still existed; she was not yet one hundred percent.

- "Hi Mol."

The look on her little sister's face, however, told her that in spite of her healing, she still had a ways to go.

- "I've missed you."

But it was not just the sight of her sister's clearly bruised and temporarily disfigured face that shocked the young girl. It was the entire scene of seeing her sister lying in the bed with her broken arm, pained expression with every breath she took, and reddened eyes that upset her. She had never before seen someone she loved in such a weakened state. She did not like it.

- "I… I… got you… a bear."

She wanted to approach her and to give her sister a hug, but she dared not move lest she hurt her any further. Instead, she placed it on the chair closest to where she stood; she then looked over to where her mother stood, and felt the emotions she had hoped she would have had the strength to keep at bay emerge.

- "I… I… hope you feel better, Krissy."

She immediately ran to her mother and allowed the woman to lift her into her arms. She whispered softly into the woman's ear.

- "Can we go… please? I wanna… I wanna go."

Mouthing a word of apology to Kristina, Alexis nodded as she soothingly ran her hand up and down her baby's back.

- "Of course."

End of Flashback

She wiped her fallen tears before standing beside her little sister.

- "I…"

She stopped to look at Sam and Tina, the two people with whom she would forever be bonded. They had shared a closeness in the eighteen months in which they had lived together in Greece; they had kept her secret in ways that could only harm them if discovered. They had protected her and allowed her to make decisions that would impact their lives more than any other person in their close-knit family. Their meaning in her life was indescribable.

- "We… Mol, we didn't want you to have to deal with any or all of this."

Molly looked away from her.

- "Because I'm the baby."

But Kristina turned her toward her.

- "At the time, yes; that's why we didn't tell you. I mean, you were nine! It wasn't something that you needed to know about. But then—"

She thought about their return from Greece nearly two years later. They could have told her then; she was a mature eleven year old. But they did not.

- "And we kept lying to you because… we didn't want you to… I don't know… feel differently about life… and love… because of this. We wanted you to stay that romantic little girl you've always been. We couldn't take that away from you. I didn't want to ruin you, Mol. Not like—"

She let out a sigh. While she had had some boyfriends since Kiefer, she could never bring herself to the point of trusting them enough to see a deeper part of her. She could not bring herself to trust that they might not hurt her the way Kiefer had. She could not love them, or allow herself to be loved by them. He had shattered that part of her spirit for what she believed would be forever.

- "Me."