Chapter 58- Becoming

John arrived at the Port Charles Hotel to pick up Rae and Erica. When Rae and Erica met him in the parking lot, Rae stepped closer to him and placed her hand on his cheek. "I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for," John said. "I'm the one who's sorry. I should've been more delicate with my words. Even if Skye was dead, you needed to hear it in a better way."

"There is no good way to hear that your child is dead. But if we worked together from the start, we could've found her by now. I'm just so scared that all the progress I made with Skye will be demolished. That she'll put those walls up again and we'll be back to square one."

"Excuse me," Erica cut in. "How long are you going to drag out this apology? Because my daughter is out there, and I want to find her."

Rae wrapped her arms around John's neck and kissed him. It was short, but passionate. "Erica is right, but I still wanted to tell you that."

"So, are we going to question Lorenzo Alcazar again?" Erica asked.

"Actually, no." John smiled. "I've come with good news. I'm taking both of you to the hospital."

Rae's eyes grew wide. "Are you saying—?"

"Alan and his sons found Skye."

Erica stepped closer. "What about Kendall?"

"Kendall and Lila too," John said.

Rae's breathing sped up. "They're at the hospital? Is Skye okay?"

"All I know is they're getting checked out and one of them has a minor injury. That's all Mac said. But he sounded optimistic."

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Kendall leaned back in a chair in the waiting room and sighed as she waited to see a doctor. Not that she needed to, but Skye's father and brothers insisted she do so just in case. She'd never been more humiliated. No one came to rescue he. They only came to save Skye and Lila. No one cared that Kendall was missing.

"Hey." One of Skye's brothers walked into the waiting area, the older one. He sat next to Kendall and sighed.

"Don't want to visit your grandmother or sister?" Kendall asked.

"I was sitting with Grandmother, but then Grandfather and Aunt Tracy showed up and I couldn't get away faster. They threatened to have nurse Bobbie fired if she didn't give Grandmother her complete attention."

"How is Lila?"

AJ sighed. "Overall, fine. But she's a bit dehydrated and has lost a lot of weight. They're keeping her overnight for observation. I guess she wasn't being fed properly all this time and gave most of the food and drink to the kids before they escaped. I'm AJ by the way." He extended his hand to her.

She shook his hand. "I'm Ken—"

"Kendall!" Erica rushed into the room followed by John and Rae. She wrapped her arms around Kendall. "Oh, I was so worried."

Kendall didn't make any effort to hug her back but didn't pull away either.

"Have you seen a doctor?" Erica sat on the other side of her. "Did they hurt you?"

"No," Kendall said.

"AJ…" Rae placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do you know where Skye is?"

"Dad's with her," AJ said. "She's getting stitches. I can take you to her."

"Stitches?" Rae's eyes grew wide. "What for?"

"Oh, the guy holding them slit her cheek." AJ rose to his feet. "But Dad shot him before he could do worse."

"Kendall," Erica said. "I'm going to find Joe to get you checked faster."

"Don't bother," Kendall said. "I'm not hurt, so I'm leaving."

"You need to get checked out."

"I'm fine and I want to go home."

Erica sighed. "Then at least let me take you. Maybe you can even stay the night with me so you're alo—"

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Kendall grunted. "Just go home to Bianca. Make sure she's getting dressed and eating right."

AJ led John and Rae down the hallway and to Skye's room.

"Go on in." John squeezed Rae's arm. "I'll wait out here."

Rae pushed the door open to find Alan at Skye's side holding her hand as Tony finished the stitches on Skye's cheek.

"Please Dad, please don't let them keep me here all day and night." Skye shifted awkwardly on the stretcher. "I want to go home to my own bed. I want to wash this greasy hair and change into my own PJs. I want to be with my family."

"You won't have to spend the night," Alan said. "I do want you to go right home and rest though."

Skye smiled at him. "Oh, thank you. Thank you much, Dad."

"Skye," Tony said. "I'd like to see you again in a week's time to remove the stitches. Go home, get a good meal, and some good rest. I'll go do the paperwork, but you should be able to leave within the hour."

Tony headed out the door and passed Rae.

Skye locked eyes with her. "Mom…"

Alan kissed Skye's cheek. "Now that your mother is here, I'm going to check on your grandmother. I'm so glad that you're home safe."

After Alan left, Rae made her way over to Skye.

"I waited for Daddy to save me, like I did my entire life. But Dad was the one to finally save me." She burst into tears. "He's becoming everything I wanted Daddy to be."

"Oh, honey…" Rae wrapped her arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"He wouldn't even leave my side until you got here… not even to visit his own mother."

Rae tucked Skye's greasy hair behind her ear, settled on the chair, and squeezed her hand. "Your dad loves you. He was so worried about you."

They jolted when suddenly the door swung open, and Adam walked in out of breath. "Skye… you're okay."

Skye clenched her jaw. "Get the hell away from me."

"Skye, I'm your father," Adam said. "I was worried about you, damnit!"

"Just get out," Skye cried. "I don't want you here. Leave before I call security. Mom, get him out of here, please."

"It's okay, sweetie," Rae said. "Calm down."

"Please just get him out of here…" Skye laid on her side facing the wall.

Rae rose to her feet. "Adam don't make this harder on Skye than it already is. Please leave."

Adam groaned. "Skye, you're my daughter and I love you. I will leave, but I love you!"

Skye sobbed into her pillow as he left. Rae returned to her side and rubbed her back. "He's gone now. Skye, everything's okay." When Skye continued to cry and not respond, Rae sighed. "You know what? I promised you some cuddles after Grandma's party, and I wasn't able to keep that promise. Can I make that up to you now?"

Skye rolled over to face her and nodded. She moved over a bit so Rae could climb in beside her and wrap her arms around Skye. Skye nestled in close and continued to cry.

"I'm so glad that you're seeing how much Alan loves you," Rae said. "But do you know who else loves you? I love you, Skye. I was so scared I wouldn't be able to tell you that. And I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you growing up. I wish more than anything I could've been. But I'm so thankful that we have each other now. I just hate seeing you in pain. But I really do love you."

Skye's lip trembled a little. "It's not just Dad… you're becoming everything I wanted Mother to be too. Please take me home… I want to see Grandma."

Rae smiled and kissed her forehead.