Disclaimer: don't own it except for Samantha…

Chapter 2

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Peter stood in his office with Samantha next to him. He could tell that she was little nervous. Wondering what they would think of her. She had come back after she had told them that she would never do that. But she had no choice, was how she justified it to herself. If she hadn't have come here she could have died and she didn't want that. She didn't want that at all, even though at one time she did.

"It's gonna be fine. Just relax," Peter told her.

"You don't understand. I told them I would never come back. I told them I was gone for good and to make sure they called me when they got out. I had it all planned. Don't you get it? I was set. I thought I could handle anything. I can handle anything," the last statement she said to herself, reassuring her that everything would be fine.

Peter waited until he say everyone enter the room and sat down. Once they were settled he asked her. "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll every be."

"You'll do fine."

As she entered from Peter's office, Auggie's eyes lit up. A smile spread across his face and he ran to her. "Sam, love, are you okay?" he asked her, kissing her forehead. She wanted to say no, and if they were alone she would have, but they weren't, so she lied to him. "Yeah, I'm fine." They hugged and Peter motioned for Auggie to go sit down again. He did.

"Everyone, I know most of you already know Samantha, but for those who don't. This is, as I said, Samantha. Lets go around and state our names for her, one at a time. Auggie, you can start."

"Well, hummm. What's my name?" he scratches at his chin in joking wonderment, "Maybe it's Auggie." Samantha giggles a bit, thinking of how he is such a goof. They continue around.

"Hey Sam, you know me, Daisy."

"I hope you know me, Juliette, or, as some people call me, Jules."

"Scott," he says with no expression what so ever.

"Ezra here. Hope you remember me," he smiles at her.

"I'm Katherine," she says with a slight wave of her hand.

Silence for a few moments and Peter clears his throat. "Shelby?"

"Oh, yeah," Shelby had been off in dream land and she jolts back into reality, "I'm Shelby, in case you don't know. Its not like Peter didn't just say it or anything."

"Well, now that we all know our names, maybe we should have a little meeting. You guys have any ideas of what you want to talk about?" Silence shoots through the group. "Okay, if none of you have any ideas of what to talk about, why don't we talk about why we are here?"

Sam shoots Peter an evil look. 'I can't believe he is doing this to me.'

"Who wants to start?" No one says anything. "Okay, I'll start. I am here to help you guys. Who wants to go next?" Again no one says anything. "Okay, you guys are gonna make me pick. Ezra?"

"Drugs." But Peter's glance doesn't leave him. "What else do you want me to say? Everyone already knows why I'm here. It's drugs. Now someone else go."

"Shelby?"

"Do I have to?" she asked with concern.

"Well, no, but it will help you."

"How do you know that it will help?"

"It will, just trust me."

"I don't trust people and I skip."

"Okay," Peter responds somewhat annoyed, "Scott, how 'bout you?"

"Drugs. Wanna know anything else?"

"No, that's okay. How 'bout you Auggie?"

"Rough neighborhood, trouble, grades, dyslexia. You know."

The group discussion isn't going as Peter planned it would. Whenever someone new entered the group all the kids went blank. They never wanted to talk about their problems. He thought this time would be different though because most of them knew her, but he was wrong. He had one last hope before he would call the meeting and quit. He turned to Sam and gave her his pleading look. "Samantha? Do you mind telling us why you are here?" 'Please, let her answer. Just let her answer,' he found himself thinking. When she was here 3 months ago she was always the first to say anything, but he knew that she could be changed. He knew that 3 months out there, going through life, going through her life could change her.

"Well, I don't see why I should talk if no one else said anything. I know that when I was here last time I was always the first to say anything, but you guys haven't changed at all. I mean come on. Most of you even know me and I know what is wrong with you and you still won't talk." She stopped.

"Well, does anyone have anything to say to that?" Peter asked hoping that he would get some kind of response from someone.

"What do you mean by we haven't changed? You haven't changed!" Ezra was the first to speak out. 'This is good,' thought Peter, but he didn't know how out of hand it could get. He didn't know how fragile Samantha had become over the 3 months she had been gone.

"I have too changed. I have been out in the world. I haven't been sheltered by this place. I did what I needed to do to survive. I made it. I lived. You just sat here and waited for everything to be brought to you. You just sat here and disregarded anything that happened in the real world. I lived through deaths and drug addictions and alcohol abuse," tears began to form in her eyes as she thought about the past 3 months on the outside, "but you don't have any of that here. Sure you have the occasional death, but most of the time it isn't anyone close to you. You haven't lived until you have lived out there. Fuck this. I'm outta here." The tears had come to a steady flow and she couldn't stop the pain. She began to walk away, leaving them behind. "Never mind Peter, call my dad for all I care. It was a big lie. He never said I could come back here. I came on my own, but obviously it was a big mistake. I'm not staying here." She turns back once more before exiting, "You guys don't know how good you have it. I didn't know how good I had it. I'm not staying here to listen to you guys whine about your problems when mine are greater than all yours combined. Bye!"

As the door slams behind her Peter runs across the room. "Samantha, wait! Come back!" By the time he catches up to her she is already down the stairs and halfway down the dirt driveway. "Ezra didn't mean anything by what he said!"

She slows down and whips around to face him. "Look, I can't take this right now. I can't take a meeting, the accusations, the memories. Not today."

"Okay, we'll end the meeting for today. Just come back inside. Don't leave, please. Not like this, not this way."

"Okay," she says and walks back into the main house drying away her tears. The truth was she really didn't want to leave. She just didn't want to talk and she didn't know why Peter choose her to talk, well, then again she did know, but that didn't make it any better. She didn't want to talk and she didn't want Ezra accusing her of things when he was just as guilty of doing the same things that she did.

As she reenters, everyone is looking at her. "Cliffhangers, we are ending the meeting today. Have a great day. Ezra, can I talk to you in my office. Samantha, you too."

They both walk into his office and take the seats in front of his desk. Peter walks around his desk and sits behind it. "Look you two. I can't deal with you fighting again like you did before. If the meetings are going to be helpful then you guys have to learn to get along. No more fighting. I don't care who started it. If you can't be nice to each other than just don't talk to each other. Okay?"

"Yeah," they both respond to him.

"Okay, good. You both can leave now." Ezra exits his office and Samantha stays behind.

"Peter, you're not gonna call my dad are you?" she asks.

"No, I'm gonna wait to see if he calls first, but one bad move and I'll have to call him. Got it?"

"Yeah, thanks." She leaves the office.

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A/N: well, you like? Keep me informed…like to know what you think…next chapter Sam has a talk w/ Auggie…you need to give me 5 more reviews before you get it tho…hope you like…