Chapter 4: Gone

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Sonny and Amanda's Apartment - Tuesday Evening

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Sonny was helping Billie put together a puzzle on the kitchen table while Amanda and Jesse were close by playing blocks with Hazel on the living room floor when the family heard a knock on the door.

Sonny got up to answer it and was surprised to see Liv, with a manila envelope in her hand, standing before him.

"Hey is everythin' ok?" He asked as he ushered her in. Liv didn't normally stop by unannounced so he, as well as Amanda, were a bit surprised by her presence. Especially late in the evening.

"Can I talk to you and Amanda for a minute?" Liv asked as she stepped inside. "It's important."

Sonny and Amanda exchanged glances at one another before he redirected his attention back to Liv and nodded.

"Girls, can you go play in your room for a while?" Amanda asked her older daughters as she stood up. Both girls nodded and quickly retreated into their bedroom.

"Is it about a case?" Sonny asked as he and Liv made their way into the living room and the three adults sat down on the sectional. Hazel them came toddling over to him with one of her blocks and he scooped her up into his lap.

Liv nodded her head slowly and then pulled out a large photograph from the envelope in her hand to show the couple.

Sonny furrowed his brows. "Who is…"

He let his voice trail off as it became quite clear to both him and Amanda who it was an image of. The woman's eyes, the same hazel eyes they stared into every time they looked at their toddler, were a dead giveaway.

"She's Hazel's mother." Amanda whispered out quietly. "How…did you find her?

Liv sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "The Narcotics Unit came across her this morning. Staff at a motel found her deceased from what appears to be an overdose."

Both Sonny and Amanda's eyes widened in shock and they immediately turned their gazes toward Hazel, who smiled up at Sonny and tried to hand him one of her blocks, which he took, and then pulled her in closer to him.

Liv took in a deep breath and continued. "She had no ID on her and was brought into the ME's office as a Jane Doe. Her fingerprints and DNA weren't in our system, but Hazel's DNA is and tests showed she is Hazel's biological mother."

Liv placed the photograph on the coffee table and then pulled out a DNA test and passed it to Amanda.

Amanda briefly looked at the results and then placed them on the coffee table next to the photograph.

"W—were you able to figure out who…she is?" Sonny stuttered out over Hazel's happy babbling.

Liv nodded. "After conducting the autopsy, Melinda told me she thought she might be Canadian, so I reached out to some of the nearby provinces and there was a hit on her fingerprints in Ontario. Her name is Rose. Rose Pappas."

Sonny set Hazel, who started getting fidgety and wanted to go back to playing, down. "Is there a birth certificate for Hazel? Either here or in Canada?"

Liv shook her head and sighed. "I didn't find one. There doesn't appear to be an official record of her birth anywhere. And what's even stranger is there doesn't seem to be a record trail for Rose in the states or even Canada once she turned 18. It's as if for the last three years of her life this girl didn't exist. It kinda makes me wonder how she got to New York and if it was of her own volition."

Sonny stood up and began pacing around the living room. "You think she might've been what? Kidnapped? Trafficked?"

Liv nodded slowly. "Considering how you found Hazel and the fact that Rose died the way she did in a seedy motel known for prostitution? I think it's a real possibility. I see some parallels between her and both Ariel and Ellie."

Sonny shook his head. "I knew that whatever was going on with Hazel's biological mother wasn't a good situation, but…hearing what I'm hearing? It's worse than what I had imagined."

The trio went quiet for a long while before Liv took in a deep breath and spoke again.

"There's something else I need to tell you both." She sighed. "Rose she…she had parents. When I notified them of her death I had to tell them about Hazel. If I hadn't ACS would've."

The little bit of color left in Sonny's face started to dissipate as Amanda closed her eyes and a single tear fell down her cheek.

"They…want her d-don't they?" Sonny asked as he slowly walked back to the sectional and sat back down next to Amanda.

"All they've expressed at this time is that they would like to see Hazel." Liv said as she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "But I think you both should prepare yourselves for the possibility that they might want custody of her."

Amanda tried her best to blink back her tears. "There was a time…earlier on when…that's all we wanted for her. For someone in Hazel's family to be found, to take her in and love her. But we…we fell in love her. We took her in. She became part of our family and I…I don't want to see her go."

The couple both turned to look at Hazel, who was giggling and yapping away to herself while she played with her blocks. Completely oblivious to the fact that her whole world may very well be upended in the near future.

Sonny then pulled Amanda into his arms as she buried her head into his chest and cried softly into it. He gently stroked her hair and held her close to him in an effort to comfort her, though he had tears falling down his own face.

A sad Liv sat by quietly knowing there wasn't anything she could say or do to ease their pain in this moment.

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ACS Facility - Friday Morning

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"Are you ready?" An older, red haired ACS caseworker asked Sonny and Amanda. "If so I'm going to bring Ronald and Anne Pappas in."

The couple nodded their heads slowly and the caseworker exited the room to go get Hazel's grandparents.

Amanda redirected her attention to her husband and Hazel, who was sitting on his lap. She then adjusted the little girl's light blue romper and had just finished retying the matching colored ribbon in her hair when the caseworker returned with the Pappas.'

The older couple made their way over to Amanda, Sonny, and Hazel and greeted them with a smile. "I'm Anne and this is my husband Ron." She said as she pointed to the man standing beside her.

"Dominick." Sonny said flatly, without much emotion.

"Amanda." Amanda said in a similar tone to that of her husband's.

They nodded and then turned their attention to the toddler in Sonny's arms.

"You must be Hazel." Ron said smiling down at his granddaughter. "I'm your Pop-Pop."

"And I'm your Yia Yia." Anne said as she bent down closer to Hazel's eye level and set down the large tote bag she had been carrying. "It's so nice to meet you."

Hazel eyed the couple cautiously as she clutched Sonny's shirt tighter with her little hands.

"She's shy around strangers." Sonny told them.

Anne nodded her head slowly. "Well hopefully you won't look at us as strangers soon." She said to the toddler.

Sonny and Amanda both looked at each out of the corner of their eyes, but remained quiet.

"I have something for you, Hazel." Anne reached into her bag and pulled out a brown teddy bear. "This used to be your mama's."

Anne offered the bear to Hazel, who accepted it but still remained a bit leery of the woman who gave it to her.

Anne stood up and redirected her attention to Amanda and Sonny. "We were told that…in addition to being Hazel's foster parents that you"—she focused her eyes on Sonny—"were the one who found her and…Ron and I are so very grateful that you did."

Sonny nodded, but said nothing.

Ron sighed. "My wife and I know that while there may have been some foul play involved, Rose could've left Hazel the way she did of her own accord and the thought of it breaks our heart."

"We had a falling out with her when she turned 18 and she packed her things, left our house and we…never saw her again." Anne said sighing. "We tried to report her missing when we couldn't get in touch with her for months, but because she initially left of her own will the police never really took us seriously. We tried our best to find her on our own, but didn't have any luck. We had no idea she was in the states."

She paused for a moment to collect herself and then continued. "Finding out that Rose is…gone and that she died the way she did was…heart-wrenching. Especially because she was our only child. But…we take comfort in the fact that a piece of our daughter still exists through Hazel."

Amanda couldn't help but find herself growing a bit teary-eyed. She wanted to dislike the couple, but couldn't. Though she remained conflicted on how she felt about Hazel's biological mother, her parents had permanently lost their child in one of the worst ways possible and she couldn't help but feel sorry for them in that moment. A similarly emotional Sonny placed his free hand on his wife's back and tenderly ran his hand up and down it.

"D—do you think I could…hold her?" Anne asked Sonny.

He nodded slowly.

Anne reached her arms out toward Hazel, who just looked at her for a long time before reaching out to her and letting Anne pick her up.

The older woman smiled as she held Hazel, who shifted her gaze back and forth between her grandmother and grandfather, who took her little hand into his own and rubbed it gently. She eventually grew somewhat comfortable and gave them both a small smile.

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Two Weeks Later

Sonny and Amanda's Apartment - Friday Night

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Sonny was in the kitchen making coffee while Amanda, who had just put Hazel to bed, went to check on Jesse and Billie, who were in their bedroom watching a Disney movie on their iPad when there was a knock at the door.

"Thanks for letting me stop by" said Langan, who the couple had been expecting, as he stepped inside the apartment. "I know it's starting to get late."

Sonny waved his hand dismissively and led him into the kitchen. "Amanda and I said we wanted to know as soon as you heard any news regarding Hazel."

He offered Langan a cup of coffee, which he accepted, and the two sat down together at the kitchen table. Amanda emerged a few moments later and joined them.

"Well?" Amanda asked, biting her lip in anticipation.

Langan sighed. "After taking the time to think about it…to get to know Hazel and interact with her, they've decided that…they would like to take her."

Sonny shook his head. "They always knew they were going to take her." He balked. "I don't know why they strung us along the way way did. Givin' us hope." He slammed the table with his fist, stood up and began pacing around the kitchen.

"Can w—we…fight this?" Amanda asked as she sniffed and worked hard to blink back her tears.

"There's no point, Manda." Sonny said as he stopped pacing, leaned his body over the kitchen counter and lowered his head.

Amanda turned around in her chair to look at her husband. "How could you of all people say that? I saw you with her in the hospital. Hazel had your heart from day one."

Sonny nodded. "You're right." He took a deep breath in an effort to keep himself composed. "She did, she does and she always will. But the courts…they don't care that we've raised Hazel for most of her life and that we're the only family she knows. Because to them biology…trumps all of that. We'd be fightin' a losing battle."

He waved his hand at Langan. "Tell her."

Langan directed his gaze at Amanda. "As your attorney, if you would like to challenge the Pappas' in the hopes of keeping Hazel, I will give it my all and fight this. But, I do agree with Sonny. Courts favor biological relatives if they are willing and financially capable to take care of the child, which Hazel's grandparents are. A court battle with them would likely only delay the inevitable…them being awarded custody."

Amanda said nothing in response to Langan's words. She instead just buried her face into her hands and cried softly into them.

"When would we have to turn Hazel over to them?" Sonny asked.

Langan sighed. "Sunday afternoon."

Sonny's eyes widened in shock. "THIS Sunday?"

Langan nodded his head slowly and fixed his lips to respond, when he was interrupted by Jesse who, along with Billie, had been standing nearby in the hallway right outside the kitchen.

"Why is Hazel going away?!" Billie asked with tears running down her face.

"I thought we were adopting her!" an equally upset Jesse added.

Sonny rubbed away the tears that had been building up in his own eyes as he walked over to the girls and tried his best to explain the situation to them. "We were going to Jess, but…Hazel's grandparents were found and…they w—want her to live with them. So she has to go."

"But I want her to stay with us." Billie said sadly as she hung her head.

Amanda, having collected herself a bit, got up from her seat and headed over to Sonny, Jesse, and Billie.

"I know you do baby." She said to Billie as she bent down to the little girl's eye level and pulled her in for a hug. "I wish she could. We all wish she could."

Sonny then kneeled down beside Jesse, who buried her head into his chest. "I'm…going to m—miss her." She said in between sniffles.

"Me too, Jess." Sonny said as he held onto her a little tighter and tried his hardest to hold himself together and be a source of comfort for her. "Me too."

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Central Park - Sunday Afternoon

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"Hazel's caseworker texted." Amanda said as she put the phone back into her pocket. "They're only a couple blocks away."

Sonny nodded but remained quiet as he watched Hazel, who sat in between them on the park bench, play with her stuffed puppy dog.

Amanda picked up the little girls butterfly backpack from beside her to double check that everything she might need for her flight to Ottawa, snacks, board books, a few small toys and a change of clothes were all there. As she started to zip it back up, Amanda noticed a envelope tucked into the corner that she had missed until now.

She carefully opened the envelope and saw on the outside of the card was a photo of Jesse, Billie and Hazel glued to the front. When Amanda opened it up she saw the following message written in Jesse's handwriting: 'Dear Hazel, We will miss you. You will always be our sister. Love, Esse and BB.'

Amanda smiled as she read it and chuckled at the fact that the girls signed it using Hazel's nicknames for them. She wiped away a single tear that had fallen out of her left eye and then passed the card over to Sonny for him to look at.

Sonny read it to himself and then handed it back to Amanda.

"Jesse and Billie went from only havin' each other one day to a baby sister the next and while most kids might've been jealous or…had trouble adapting to the situation, they embraced it. And embraced Hazel. Those are some pretty amazin' girls we got."

"That they are." Amanda said sighing.

The three sat together in silence for a few more minutes when they noticed Hazel's grandparents in the distance and the ACS caseworker walking toward them.

"Is she all ready to go?" The woman asked them.

Amanda nodded and put Hazel up onto her lap. The blonde's eyes were a little red from crying earlier, but she tried her best to keep her tears in check at that moment so Hazel would feel comfortable leaving with caseworker.

"Love you Hazel." She said smiling at the toddler. Amanda caressed her hair, gave her a great big kiss on the cheek and a big squeeze. "Mama will always love you."

Amanda then handed Hazel to Sonny. Like his wife, he tried his best to keep his emotions in check, though he was visibly struggling.

"This nice lady is going to take you to your Pop Pop and Yia Yia, ok?"

Hazel nodded and smiled as she took her little hands and cupped his cheeks. It was at that moment Sonny lost it, which caused Amanda to also let the tears she had been fighting to hold in flood out of her own eyes.

Sonny kissed Hazel's forehead, hugged her tightly and then motioned for the caseworker to get her.

"Please take her." He pleaded with the lady.

Sonny passed Hazel over to the caseworker, who placed the little girl on her left hip and collected her suitcase and backpack with her free hand. As she walked away with Hazel, the little girl turned around and waved bye to them.

The couple smiled through their tears as best as they could and waved back until the toddler was out of sight.

Sonny sighed. "She could tell we were sad. B—but she has no idea why. Hazel she…doesn't realize that she's not coming back home again. And…w—when she does she's gonna think we…a—abandoned her."

He slowly rested his head on his wife's shoulder and continued to sob while she pulled his body closer into hers, wrapped her arms around him and cried along with him.