A/N: Here's a bit of Billie's story. Poor girl had a tough life. When I wrote her family history I came to a conclusion.

I think I watch too many soap operas. LOL!

I feel like this is a very weird chapter - but I honestly didn't know where else to put all this stuff. Oh well. Until 12! xox-G

Chapter Eleven

"Tyler." Billie said sharply. "Stop fidgeting and eat your dinner."

"This isn't the right barbecue sauce." He said with a frown as he played with his chicken nuggets.

"I know, sweetie." She said with a sigh as she looked over at him. "They don't sell that kind in the store here. I promise – I'll try and find it somewhere. OK? If you don't like it try the ketchup instead.

Ty looked skeptical but tried anyway. He chomped down and chewed, his face breaking out in a wide grin. "You know what? That's not so bad, Billie."

She laughed and mussed up his hair a bit. "Stick with me kid, I know all sorts of tricks."

He was still so small but she couldn't believe how much he'd grown since the day taking care of him fell on her shoulders. She had been a freshman in college when Belinda Larson got a phone call that changed her life.

"There's been an accident. You have to come home quickly."

Ty had been barely a year old. The drunk driver who had hit her sister's car had killed both his parents but left him without a scratch. The only problem was there was no one else to take care of him now that they were gone.

Belinda and Caroline's parents had passed on but the truth was that even when they were alive they were barely with them. Young and wealthy, reckless and wild, they had been flying to some remote ski slope when their helicopter crashed. So the girls were raised by their some distant family relatives, or more accurately, their servants.

It had been very lonely and not at all fun, but at least she and Carrie had each other. Caroline was older by six years, already happily married by the time Belinda stared college. When she got the call that Carrie was gone she knew there was no question. She'd quit school and take care of Ty herself. She was young but she knew she could do it. She knew that's what Carrie and her husband would have wanted.

Having money made it easy – but even so they lived simply. Money had never been important to her. Still her inheritance made is so that Billie could make sure Ty had everything he needed and because she didn't have to work - she was able to stay home to take care of him.

That's how it had been until the day it all changed. In an instant, the money had vanished. She shivered as she remembered that was the day all her dreams vanished too.

Even though what happened had hurt him too, Ty never ever complained. Not once. Even though they went from a mansion to a one room apartment, even though he sometimes wore sneakers that were a little bit tight, even though for the last year or so – she had to work and she wasn't there every moment of the day. Throughout it all he was still as happy as could be.

Pushing the unpleasant thoughts aside she thought of happier things. She smiled when she thought of the catch Ty made today in the park, which brought Quinn to her mind. Like he had, most people still mistook her for Ty's mother, and to be honest - legally - she was. The fact remained that in a lot of ways they really grew up together.

When Ty started talking she couldn't let him call her "Mom". It just seemed wrong to her. To her it was like saying Carrie never existed.

He couldn't grasp "Belinda" – when he tried, it came out like "Billie". So - that's what he called her – and always would.

Just then, she heard him saying her name again. "Yes?" She said, shaking herself from the memories and giving him a smile. He was such a good kid. There was nothing in this world she loved more than the little boy sitting across from her.

"Wasn't that cool? Meeting Quinn I mean? He was really good before he had to stop playing." Ty beamed as he talked about one of his heroes. "I mean – really good."

"I know, honey." She replied.

"Didn'tcha used to know his sister or somethin'?" He asked her then, his mouth full of chicken.

"Tyler. Please don't talk with your mouth full. Yes." She said softly. "I went to school with his sister Lia and his cousin Kate too." She ran a finger down the bridge of his nose and snagged one of his french fries. "But that was a long time ago, kiddo. I don't even know if they'd remember me."

"You said you think his sister lives here though right?" Ty asked, still curious.

"Yes." Billie replied. "This is where they grew up. It's been a long time, Ty. I don't know if either one of them still live here now."

"Are we going to stay here for a while?" He asked his voice full of hope. "I really like this apartment. I get my own room and everything. And Port Charles is pretty cool too. There's lotsa boats around and there's a real baseball player who coaches Little League." He took a breath and sat back in his chair. "Do you think this is where I'll grow up?" He asked her then as he smeared ketchup across his cheek with the back of his hand.

She wiped it from his face with a napkin and sighed. "We'll see, buddy." She said, wondering the same thing. "We'll see."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Becky. Please pass the pepper." Rafe asked for the third time.

"Rebecca." Alison scolded, her voice full of annoyance. "Stop acting like someone half your age and give the peppermill to your father."

"Why?" She said as she did just that. "There's no point. He doesn't seem to know the difference."

Ella put down her fork and counted on her fingers. "Hey! I'm half Becky's age."

Alison bit back a laugh. "Very good, sweetie." She said with a smile. "Now, please eat your broccoli."

"I wish I was two times as old as me, because then I'd be like Becky and I wouldn't have to eat broccoli." She said with a frown.

Becky started to laugh. "Don't eat it, Jellybean. It's awful." She stopped suddenly and looked over at her father. For the first time she realized how sad he appeared. "Daddy?"

He stopped eating, picked up his plate and stood, moving to the sink. "I'll be upstairs." He said as he walked to Alison, giving her a peck on the cheek before leaving the kitchen.

As he walked out, Alison glared at her older daughter. "Becky. Go apologize to your father."

"Mom." Becky said softly. "You know what happened the other night. He humiliated me."

She didn't reply. She looked over at Ella. "Sweetheart? You don't have to eat the broccoli. Go get ready for bed. I'll be up in a minute."

"'Kay. I will." She scrambled off her chair and looked up at Alison making a funny face. "Hey Mommy? Why's your shirt on wrong? It's inside out. Don't you remember? You always tell me that the tag goes on the inside."

Alison blushed beet red as she looked down, only now noticing the condition of her clothes. "Thank you, Ella. I must've made a mistake." She laughed at herself and gave Ella a gentle pat on her behind. "Go on. Get changed, baby. Brush your teeth, too. Quick like a bunny..."

As Ella left Alison turned back to Becky. She stared at her with anger and disappointment filling her eyes.

"Rebecca Elizabeth Kovich. Your father is over protective - extremely over protective. But let me tell you something. The other night when you called from that party and asked for someone to pick you up, he didn't even blink before he was halfway to the car. You should remember that. Not everyone's father would do that – no questions asked."

"I know." Becky nodded, thoroughly ashamed.

"So if it's a little uncomfortable for you at school on Monday because EVERYONE knows your father would give his life for yours, well then - too bad, Rebecca. He came home today and bought you candy to try and make it up to you and you've been nothing but incredibly rude to him for two days straight. You haven't been grounded for being at that party – but I promise you – if you don't go upstairs right now and apologize to him you won't see anything but school and your bedroom for the next week."

"I'm sorry." Becky whispered.

"I'm not the one you need to say that too. Go." Alison said as she jerked her head in the direction of the stairs. "Now."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

One class turned into three. Grant knew he'd be lying if he didn't admit it was so easy to let Chloe take over. There wasn't a class she couldn't teach.

Some of the members still remembered her from before. "Goodnight Clo!" a group called out as they left. "I'm so glad she's back." Grant heard one of them say as they walked past him. "She's the best."

Chloe was exhausted. She had kept up with her workouts but three classes in a row had taken a lot out of her. She yawned and stretched as she walked out into the main room, noticing Grant still standing by the counter. She could tell he was pretending to keep himself busy.

"Finished?" He asked, not looking up.

"Yeah." Chloe answered as she yawned again, pulling the band out of her hair and letting it fall around her shoulders.

As he always had when she'd done that, Grant lost his breath as he watched her.

Oblivious to his reaction, she picked her sweatshirt up off the counter and moved to put it back on. Before she could finish, Grant stood beside her to help her. He didn't even realize he had done it. Taking care of Chloe was second nature to him. It wasn't something he could turn on or off.

"Thank you." She said softly.

He lifted her hair, remembering how the weight of it felt in his hands, reluctantly letting it go as she zipped up her sweatshirt and turned to face him.

She took a deep breath and stared into his eyes. She'd ambushed him before but now needed an answer. "That was fun, Grant. I know I sort of jumped in without you saying you wanted me to. I realize you might think this isn't a good idea."

He couldn't keep the words from coming out. His face was full of pain as he said, "It's not that Chloe. I don't understand. You're here now – but you said you wanted me to go – Clo, you said..."

"I know what I said, Grant." She said quietly, fighting the tears she could feel coming to her eyes. "I know now exactly what I did. And someday, when you're ready to hear it – I'll explain to you why."

Chloe took another deep breath and moved towards the door. "Until then, I hope you'll let me work here. I had so much fun today." She said with a smile.

When he didn't answer, the smile left her face. She waited another moment and then turned and walked away.

"See you tomorrow, Clo." Grant called out after her. "Spinning class at 8:00."

The tears did fall then. She wiped them away with her hand and turned back around. "8:00. I'll be there." Chloe didn't want to jinx it, she quickly turned to go.

"Did you fill the tank?" He said then – stopping her again. As he did the kiss they had shared the night she'd run out of gas flew through both their minds. It took all he had not to run over to her and kiss her again.

"Yes." She nodded, wanting with everything she had for him to do just that.

"Good." Grant said genuinely smiling for the first time in a long, long while. "Drive safe, Clo. See you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." She repeated, smiling back at him as she eased out the door. "OK. I'll see you tomorrow."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Dad?" Becky said softly.

"Yeah, Angel Face?" He replied, not looking up from the book he was reading.

She blinked back tears as she heard him call her that. She took a deep breath and began. "Thank you for the candy. I should have said so before."

"You're welcome." Rafe said, still looking down.

Becky twisted her hands nervously, desperately wanting to fix what she'd broken. "Dad. I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I've been really rude to you and it's not right. You came and got me at that party and I should have been grateful."

"I know, honey. It's OK." He said as he flipped another page.

"I should have just said thank you instead of going off like that. I know you were just trying to keep me safe – not ruin my life."

Rafe sighed as he closed the book and took off his reading glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He knew he was partly to blame for how she'd treated him. "I'm sorry too. Honey, I honestly didn't mean to do that. I just worry so much about you."

Becky nodded. "I know – but you have to believe me. Dad. I can take care of myself."

"I know." Rafe said. "And, I'm sorry I embarrassed you sweetheart. It's just that I forget sometimes."

"I know." Becky smiled. She suddenly realized that if he hadn't reacted like that he wouldn't be her father.

"How's your hand?" Rafe asked then, picking it up and examining it closely.

"A little sore." She said with a grin, turning it slowly and linking her fingers with his. Her eyes sparkled as she added. "But I bet Tim Winters will think twice next time."

"I bet he will. Ah, Becky. Guys are creeps." Rafe said as he stood to face her. He gave her a grin. "I should know."

"No." Becky said with a shake of her head. "You'd have no idea. You're the least creepy guy in the world."

Rafe laughed and pulled her close. "Is that a compliment?"

"Absolutely." She replied as she hugged him back.