Author's Note: Hi everyone! To those reading this, thank you for making it this far. I wanted to put a trigger warning on here before anyone reads this. This chapter does contain slight underage drinking. Read at your own risk. Thank you.
The entire trip from Los Angeles to New York took Sabrina hours. After hearing that she was going to be staying with Mr. Sheffield during rehearsals for the production, she was nervous on what to expect. Bernie wouldn't allow her to choose a hotel, so it would be best suited for her to save her money and her expenses just in case something arose. Oh well.. so much for taking a break, the young star thought. She continued to look out the window from her limo as her free hand fidgeted with her locket. This Broadway journey was about to become seriously hectic, but she was so ready to get started.
As the limo arrived to the Sheffield residency, Sabrina took a deep breath and waited for the chauffeur to open the door for her. She stepped out of the limo and took her large suitcase with her gazing at the structure in front of her. Dressed aptly for the occasion, she wore a black and white striped blazer with a pair of dress pants fit to her size. Normally, she'd be dressed for the studio, but since this was a business matter, she wanted to look her best. Hopefully this experience would be well worth skipping another hiatus in her career.
Back inside the Sheffield house, Fran and the kids were anxiously waiting for Sabrina to walk in the door. "Now kids, remember what your father said: Sabrina is just like any other house guest, so we gotta remember to respect her boundaries. She's probably still exhausted from the talk show she was on last week," Fran said reminding them. All of a sudden, the doorbell rang which made the nasal nanny perk up. "I'LL GET IT!" She shouted as she trotted up to the door and opened it.
"Hello hello!" Sabrina chirped with a smile. She looked around the vicinity before her thoughts were interrupted. "Oh my gosh, Sabrina Taylor!" Fran took the girl's hand and shook it tightly. "I'm Fran Fine! I'm such a fan of yours! Would it trouble you if you signed my—"
"I-I'm sorry, I... don't feel like signing anything right now," Sabrina refused politely. After a long plane and limo ride, she didn't feel like being bothered by fans.
"Oh I get it. You're here for business, I gotcha. I gotcha," Fran took the girl to the side and wrapped her arm around her. "But just for future reference, if you see a tchotchke on your bed later tonight, sign it and make it out to Fran and Val." Sabrina shifted away from the woman's embrace uncomfortably and then walked towards Grace with a smile.
Sabrina bent down to Grace's level and then asked, "Is she always like this with famous people?"
Grace nodded her head and said, "You have no idea. You should've seen her when we had Elizabeth Taylor over... is she related to you?" The little girl inquired. Sabrina couldn't help but laugh.
"No, sweetie she's not," Sabrina replied honestly. Grace then thought of another question as she looked up and down at what she was wearing. "What's with the outfit? What happened to your cool jeans and your leather jacket?" Grace asked innocently.
"I have different outfits for different occasions. Right now, since I'm conducting business, I've decided to sport some business attire. When you're my age, you'll understand why," she said before extended her hand out to the girl. "What's your name?"
"Gracie," she responded as she gingerly took her hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you. I probably should greet everybody else," Sabrina said with a smile. She almost immediately retreated her hand back afterwards and brushed it against her blazer. "Kid's hands are slimey.." she muttered with disgust. Just when she was about to head in the direction of the office, Brighton stepped in front of her.
"Hey, I'm Brighton. I got our entire first night cap planned. You like video games and popcorn?" He asked trying to be as suave as he could be.
Sabrina only rolled her eyes and gently pushed Brighton out of the way. "Yeah. Beat it, Tiny Tim," she said coldly. She couldn't bear to think of another schmoozing child trying to hit on her. Seeing Maggie, her demeanor changed hoping this girl would be more decent like her younger sister. "Hi, I'm Sabrina," she said shaking the older blonde's hand.
Maggie couldn't possibly form any words. Being in front of one of her favorite pop stars left her speechless, especially the fact that she was going to be staying with them for a while. All Maggie could do was giggle nervously which made Sabrina raise her eyebrows.
"Uh... I'm sorry. I don't speak dolphin," the pop star stated as she retracted her hand. "Let me know when you can translate that so I can know what your name is." Sabrina picked up her large suitcase again and wandered into the living room. "Who takes care of the bags here? And please tell me it's not her," Sabrina said looking over at Fran who was still giddy about the girl's presence.
Just as Sabrina said that, Niles showed up and stood beside her. "That would be me. The day she takes the bags is the day I get my final paycheck and dream vacation.. which will never happen," Niles mumbled the last part.
Sabrina looked over at him and passed the bag over to him. "Perfect! Thanks, Belvedere. My hands are cramping up," she said looking down at her hands and opening and closing them into fists to destress them.
"May I get you a drink, Miss Taylor?" Niles asked as he placed the suitcase beside the couch.
"Oh my goodness, yes please! Traveling all day has me exhausted. Do you have anything hard? You know.. like straight bourbon?" Sabrina asked as Niles was headed off to the kitchen.
He stopped his tracks and furrowed his eyebrows at the girl's request. Surely she couldn't be serious, right? "Aren't you a little too young to be drinking alcohol?" He asked her approaching her.
"And aren't you a little too old to be cleaning toilets for a living?" Sabrina asked batting her eyelashes knowing with that, she'd easily get what she wanted. She grabbed the nearest glass she could find and flatly demanded, "Now pour."
Niles sighed and grabbed the glass of bourbon that was sitting on the coffee table. "Bottoms up.." he muttered as Sabrina held out a glass and smiled with pride.
As Niles and Sabrina were interacting, Maggie approached Fran, who was watching her from afar. "Uh.. Fran? I noticed something strange about her. Who do you think she reminds you of..?" She asked the nanny.
"Oh easy! Joan Crawford after she met Bette Davis. I'm telling ya, the woman was so livid that she didn't go a whole day without her usual straight bourbon to forget about the awful antics that Bette pulled. She was probably a bigger yenta than Niles," Fran replied trying to see if she was right.
All Maggie could do was react confused, because that was clearly not the point she was trying to make. "No Fran!" Maggie got closer to her and said in a low voice. "She reminds me of Miss Babcock. Her mannerisms, her style, the way she got Niles to get her alcohol.."
"Oh honey, don't be ridiculous. I'm sure Sabrina is just nervous. Give her some time to get used to it here," Fran said trying to reassure the eldest Sheffield.
Sabrina easily downed the glass of whiskey and slammed it on Niles' tray. She winced a little bit from the aftertaste. "That hit the spot. I needed that," she said.
"You realize your drinking might reflect a bad reputation for you on Mr. Sheffield. Not even an hour in, and you could probably be fired from the show," Niles tried to reason with her in his own way.
Sabrina scowled and reached in her pocket to pull out cash. "Here's $500. Not only would you keep your job, but I expect you to shut your trap as well," she said awaiting for the butler to snatch the cash away from her.
"Well I can't refuse that, now can I?" Niles said accepting the bribe and putting the money in his suit pocket. Sabrina smirked and watched him walk away with her suitcase.
Seeing what just happened, Fran's jaw dropped at the way Sabrina bribed Niles... just like how CC would. "Oh my god, Maggie, you're right. Isn't it bad enough we got Dr. Evil around? Now we gotta deal with Mini Me!" Fran said raising her arms in exasperation.
Sabrina stayed waiting in the living room up until Niles led Maxwell and CC out there to finally meet her. "Miss Taylor, sir," Niles said as he stopped by where Sabrina was standing. The girl acknowledged the two producers standing before her. She was finally ready to conduct some business and get started with all the materials for the play.
"It's so lovely to make your acquaintance, Sabrina," Maxwell said taking the young girl's hand and shaking it lightly.
"You too, Mr. Sheffield. Thank you so much for this opportunity. I can't wait to be a part of your production," Sabrina replied cheerfully.
"Oh, don't mention it. I just couldn't pass up talent like yours. You deserve this," he said before turning his attention to Niles. "You've met Niles already, right?"
"We already met, sir. She's a real breath of fresh air," Niles said in a mildly sarcastic tone turning over to the girl. Instead of coming up with some sort of quip, Sabrina stayed silent.
Noticing CC in the back, she acknowledged the woman with a genuine smile. CC couldn't help but smile back at the girl. Normally she would've been repulsed by any young woman, man, or even little child, but this one was different. They hadn't said a word to each other and a connection sparked instantly.
"Hello, Miss Taylor. I'm CC Babcock. We'll be working closely with each other," CC said as she stepped towards Sabrina and extended her hand. Sabrina grasped CC's hand to shake it, but all of a sudden, she felt herself gasp and her entire life flash before her eyes. Before she knew it, she had the earliest memory of her as a baby appear right in front of her.
June 12, 1978. It was a long and tiring day for the young woman who had just given birth to a baby girl. Within the next couple of hours, the baby would be taken away from her arms forever, and she would be left alone for a long time. She knew that theaffair she had with hermarried business partner was wrong, and he definitely would never think of her the same if he knew she was carrying his child this whole time. That was why she had temporarily resigned for five months. She told him that she was doing business in Europe, when in reality, she was carrying on her second and third trimesters and taking on a leave to recover. She even thought of her own family. What would they have thought knowing that their daughter had a married man's child? Would they have disowned her? Taken her funds? Taken her off the will? So many possibilities would've happened had she kept the baby.
She only had less than an hour left with her newborn baby, and she was going to make it count no matter what. She laid her baby down in front of her and wrapped her up in the blankets that the hospital provided. She still couldn't believe this small child was hers. Every time she laid eyes on her, she felt tears prick through her eyes. She cried because of the loss she was about to feel and because of the love she felt for this child. She wanted her baby to have a better life and childhood than what was about to happen in the near future.
Seeing a small black box on the counter next to her, she opened it up. It was a golden necklace with a heart-shaped locket attached to it. She took it out of the box and carefully put the piece of jewelry on the baby. "I want you to have this.. so you can remember me as you grow older," she said as she picked her baby up and kissed her forehead. She gazed down at her baby girl, who began to whimper. It made the young woman's heart break and leaving her even more guilty for what she was about to do.
"I know, I know.." she said holding the baby to her chest. "I'm so sorry. I can't say it enough, sweetheart." She waited for the baby to quiet down by rocking her gently. After the baby calmed down, she looked down at the baby girl and stroked her cheek gently. "I can't afford to let you grow up with me. You don't have a father in your life, and it's all my fault. How am I going to take care of you on my own? As much as I want to, I can't," she could feel the tears come up in her eyes again. "I want you to have the best childhood and life you could ever possibly have."
The young woman smoothed out her daughter's hair. She had his hair and his lips; those were some traits of her newborn child that haunted the mother. However, something she found endearing was the fact that she had her bright blue eyes. Every time her daughter would open her eyes, she felt them staring into her soul. It was as if her newborn understood what was happening. "One of these days, I will find you again. I promise.."
At this point the tears were uncontrollable. The young mother really regretted this decision, but she knew it was for the best. "I love you.." she choked on her words looking down at her innocent baby. "I always will love you." And in that moment, her baby's tiny hand gripped her finger tightly, a gesture she would have engraved in her mind forever.
Those last words made Sabrina snap back to reality. She was still gripping on CC's hand and felt two tears roll down each of her cheeks. She stared at the older woman in complete shock. Could it be? Could it really be her?
"Oh my god, you look like you've seen a deer in headlights. No need to cry about it," CC said, not being able to retract her hand from the girl's hand. She was just as weak as Sabrina was, but she was also confused at the interesting greeting from the pop star. "Are... you okay, dear?"
Sabrina instantly retracted her hand from CC's hearing her voice more clearly. She did her best to quickly compose herself from the utter shock she felt when touching the older woman's hand. "I'm so sorry," she said wiping her tears away quickly. "I um... I need a moment. Excuse me," she added as she ran past the Broadway duo and into the hallway where she found a storage closet to hide in.
CC looked back at the girl who dashed away from the small crowd. She was slightly taken aback from the way she reacted, but also felt a little sorry for her. "What just happened? What did I do..?" She asked with concern. "I only shook the girl's hand. Is that such a crime?"
Niles approached her and then quipped easily, "Oh surely she's not the first person you've made cry." CC glared at him and rolled her eyes knowing he just ruined the moment.
In the wide-spaced storage closet, Sabrina's tears were uncontrollably falling down her face. So much so to the point where she slid her back on the wall and fell to the ground. Her hands shakily took the locket to where she could see it. She fidgeted with the opening nervously needing to know if the woman she just shook hands with was the exact woman in the picture. It took Sabrina a couple of minutes to pry the locket open, and when she finally did, she closed her eyes and tried to regain her composure. She needed to make sure she could see the picture clearly to get a good comparison. She opened the locket and the young woman in the locket was a total dead ringer for the producer in the living room. Her hands started to shake and her heart started to race. Sabrina was a complete and total wreck and had to tell Bernie right away.
She reached into her pocket to find her mobile phone and pulled it out. She hesitated to dial Bernie's number and held it up to her ear awaiting for the woman to answer the phone. "Come on.. please Bernie.." she whispered while wiping the tears that came down from her eyes.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Bernie continued to do some housework until she heard the house phone ring. She stopped cleaning and immediately answered the phone. "This is Sabrina Taylor's residence.." she answered.
"Bernie! It's Sabrina," Sabrina panicked in a shaky, yet quiet voice.
"Hola, mia cariña! It's so lovely to hear your voice again," Bernie said with a sigh of relief and smiled. "Tell me. How is Broadway so far? Did you meet those producers?"
"I did.. um Bernie.. I think this is it.." Sabrina told her quietly as she covered her mouth with her free hand while she talked on the phone.
"What's it? What's wrong, angel?" Bernie asked with concern as she moved to sit at the kitchen table to hear the girl more clearly.
"Nothing's wrong," Sabrina reassured her. "Bernie.. I think I just met my mom.." with those words, she started to break down again. "She's Mr. Sheffield's business partner, the other producer for the show!"
Bernie's eyes widened hearing that. After thinking about the situation, she immediately shook her head. "Angel, how do you know for a fact that she's your mother? You called me four other times before saying the same thing and all four of those other women were not your mother. What makes you think you've found her this time?" Bernie asked pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Okay, I made a mistake with those other four women," Sabrina said trying to clear up the situation. She then looked down at her open locket and said, "Well... when I shook her hand and our hands touched... I got this major flashback from when I was a baby. I could see her putting on my locket for the first time and holding me."
"A flashback doesn't determine anything," Bernie said sighing. "I know you really want to find her, but don't try to assume anything before you find the evidence."
"I have never felt this with any of the other women I thought were my mother. My instincts have to be right," Sabrina said defensively.
"So what are you going to do? Tell the woman who you really are?" Bernie asked.
"What? No! I can't do that. I just met her.. and I kind of left her a bad first impression," Sabrina stated bashfully. "You're not supposed to have a breakdown after shaking someone's hand."
"Well, my dear, let the days go by and focus on the show. If fate decides that you should meet your birth mother, then it will happen. Remember what you came to New York for. You gave up a hiatus to play Maria on West Side Story," Bernie advised to her. "Don't try to stress yourself out, okay?"
Sabrina stayed silent. She couldn't afford to stress out not even an hour after arriving to the residency. She took a deep breath and closed the locket tucking it back in her shirt. "Okay.." she whispered.
"I believe in you, mia cariña," Bernie said calmly. "Now go out there and be a star." And with that, Bernie hung up the phone.
Sabrina needed to stay in the closet for a couple more minutes trying to process what just happened. Hopefully she didn't scare the poor woman away or ruin her chances of staying in the musical. Bernie was right though. She couldn't possibly risk another project going haywire over a personal situation. Her main focus was to give Sheffield-Babcock productions a hit musical for the year. It may have been hard for her to put the thought of meeting her birth mother on the back burner, but show business was much more important in this matter.