Chapter 19- Sam's Priorities

"Do you like it here?" Danny asked Scout that evening as they walked through the grounds.

Scout lowered her gaze. "I don't know. I miss my bathroom."

Danny scrunched his face. "You mean back at V-Town?"

She nodded.

"Because it was one of the only places with no cameras?" Danny looked up as clouds began to gather in the sky. "You felt safe there?"

"And Willow braided my hair and talked to me there."

"But Willow's here too," Danny said. "And there aren't any cameras on this island. We're safe here."

Scout lowered her voice. "But the Almighty V is everywhere… He'll be mad that we left."

"He's not everywhere. Here there's no cameras. We have Mom and Dad. Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma Monica. And we have each other."

Scout stared at the ground.

Danny's attention drew to his arm as rain began to splatter on him. Then it came down suddenly. He whipped around then took Scout's hand and they quickened their pace to the back of the Cassadine Tombs.

"Let's just stay in here until the rain stops," Danny said.

But he quickly regretted it. It was dark and eerie, almost like being in a cave. They came to a halt when they turned a corner and saw Willow down on her knees crying in front of Princess Anya Cassadine's burial chamber.

The front door of the tombs opened, and Danny and Scout stepped back a little. Sam walked in soaking wet from the rain. She lowered herself beside Willow and slipped her arms around her.

Willow flinched at first, but then she relaxed a bit and leaned against Sam as tears fell down her cheeks.

"How did you know I was here?" Willow asked.

"I found Sasha in the Great Hall, she said you were headed this way." Sam tucked some of Willow's hair behind her ear. "Danny told me you saw us having the picnic. Drew surprised us, but he wasn't purposely trying to disclude you."

"It's okay… you don't have to…"

"Yes, I do. Because I know exactly what you're feeling right now. Did I tell you that I was adopted?"

Willow exhaled deeply. "No. You just said Alexis was sixteen when she had you."

"Yeah, and she gave me up for adoption."

"Really?"

Sam nodded. "When I found out, I kept following her around and I watched her with Kristina and Molly. She took Krissy to a carnival, the park, to Kelly's… I became obsessed with her every move trying to find something of her in me. I memorized how she held Kristina's hand and how she touched Molly's cheek. I was angry. I was confused. I felt lonely and discluded. I felt robbed. I remembered every moment when I was sad or scared as a kid and how she wasn't there to make it all better. And it took me a long time to realize she loves me just as much as Kristina and Molly. And I forgave her for giving me up. She didn't want to and did it for the right reasons, but I still had to let go of all of my resentment towards her. That took a long time." She squeezed Willow's hand. "You have a right to your feelings. If you're mad, get mad. If you're sad, then cry. But just know I'll be right by your side while you do."

Willow stared at her lap.

"Danny said he heard you say you plan to live with Sasha," Sam said. "If that's what you want, then that's okay. But I don't want you to do it just because you think Jax and I don't want you. Because that's not true. Why do you think Jax agreed to live at Wyndemere?"

Willow shrugged.

"Because he thought you'd be living there, Silly," Sam smiled. "He thought it would be a good way to get to know you."

Willow smiled a little.

"And it wasn't just Danny and Scout, but it was you too who gave me a reason to not give up these last three years," Sam added. "As hard as it was watching you on those screens, it let me watch over you and keep us connected."

Willow looked up at her. "I guess I'm being a little immature and ridiculous about this."

"No, you're not. You've been through so much. And just shortly after we found each other we were separated. We haven't had time to bond. And I'm not going to lie, I want you to live with me. We have so much lost time to make up for. But this isn't about what I want. What do you want, Willow?"

Willow exhaled deeply. "I want to live with you. It's just…"

"It's just what?"

"You and Drew and Danny and Scout… you're this perfect family and I feel like I'm barging in on it."

Danny frowned and looked down at Scout.

"First of all, we're far from perfect. And second of all, you're part of this family too, whether you live with us or not."

"But what if Drew doesn't feel that way? Danny and Scout are your children together. Maybe he doesn't want a grown stepdaughter there."

"Well, Drew has said before that he wants you included in our family. But if for some reason, and I know this won't happen, but if he suddenly decides he doesn't want you there, then he's the one who'll be leaving not you. Because as much as he means to me, my children mean more to me."

Fresh tears streamed down Willow's cheeks.

"So, do you still want to live with me?" Sam asked.

Willow nodded. "Yeah, I do."

Sam smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"But do we have to live at Wyndemere?" Willow asked.

"That's what we're trying to decide. Danny is indifferent and Scout is too confused about everything right now, she doesn't know what she wants. Do you not like Wyndemere?"

Willow sighed. "I mean Julian and Alexis are nice and welcoming… but it's so big and creepy."

Sam chuckled. "And these tombs aren't?"

"I was just missing my baby, but I can't visit his grave right now. So, I thought I thought I'd visit our ancestors instead."

"And did it help?"

Willow shook her head. "No. It just makes me more depressed than Wyndemere does."

"Then if Wyndemere makes you depressed, we'll get our own house."

"But your parents—"

"I love my parents, but I love you and your siblings more."

Danny smiled.

Willow cried more and hugged Sam.

Danny took Scout's hand and walked over to them.

"Just make sure you don't hog the bathroom, Willow," Danny said. "These new houses only have one."

Sam laughed and let of Willow. "How long were you standing there?"

"Long enough," Danny said.

"Well come here…" Sam took Danny's hand and she started to cry. "I know I've made many many mistakes… so many of them… but you three come first from this day forward. We've missed so much time together, but as long as we have each other, then it doesn't matter to me if it's in Port Charles, Wyndemere, a small cramped house, or Timbuctoo."

Scout frowned. "So, you won't leave us again?"

Sam stroked Scout's braid. "No, honey."

Danny knelt a little to Scout's level. "We are safe now. The V isn't here, and we're not being watched anymore."

Sam wrapped her arms around all of them. "We are in this together and I'll do everything in my power to not let them hurt you again."