Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I last updated this story. I am so incredibly sorry. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Nine

There's something very uncomfortable about sitting in somebody's living room waiting for them to get the person that you came to see. Troy and I sat on the couch, where the woman had directed us to sit while she went to go get Dr. Brown. We could hear her upstairs, walking down the hall up there calling for Andy. It wasn't long before she returned, followed by a tall, bearded man. I stared at him, I couldn't help it. This man was my grandfather, the one who had wanted me kept a secret.

Anger filled me as I looked at him, but it was quickly replaced by awe. This man was Dr. Andrew Brown. His work was legendary, studied at all the great universities. People came from all over the world to have him perform surgery on them. This was truly one of the greatest brain surgeons to ever walk the earth.

"Hello," he smiled as he approached Troy and I. "I'm Dr. Brown," He reached out a hand, a large, slim fingered hand. First Troy shook his hand, then I did. His grip was strong, confident, everything that people say a good handshake is supposed to be.

"I'm Troy," Troy said, taking the lead as I was still too overcome with conflicting emotions to speak, "and this is my girlfriend Samantha." Girlfriend, he said I was his girlfriend. I chanced a quick look at Troy. So I was his girlfriend? I liked the sound of that.

Mentally, I slapped myself. I needed to focus here, I had to keep my wits about me.

"It's nice to meet you both." Dr. Brown said, sitting down in a chair opposite us. The blonde woman moved from the living room to the kitchen and back, sodas in her hands. She offered them to us, I took mine with a gracious smile. I needed something to focus on other than my grandfather, so, I busied myself with playing with the tab on the soda can.

"What can I do for you?" Dr. Brown asked.

"Well…um…" Troy and I hadn't covered this part of our story. Hell, we hadn't even had a story to begin with.

"Sam and I are going to be attending Brown University this coming fall, pre-med, and we were wondering if we could talk to you about what we could expect to go through during our studies." Damn this boy could come up with a story fast.

"Now I know this is a little weird and everything," Troy continued, "but we both really admire you Dr. Brown. And we would appreciate any wisdom or encouragement you could bestow upon us."

Fast thinking and articulate, boy do I know how to pick 'em or what? What a lucky girl I was to find Troy.

"Well," Dr. Brown said slowly, processing everything that Troy had just said, "I am very flattered that you would choose me to admire, especially when I don't deserve it."

The woman perched on the arm of the chair that my grandfather sat in, her arm draped over his shoulders as she leaned into him. I looked at her, studying her. This woman wasn't my grandmother, biologically at least, but I had read that Dr. Brown had remarried a some years after his wife's death. I could only assume that this was the woman he had married. I racked my brain, I remembered reading her name some where, but what was it. Nina, that's what it was.

She caught me looking at her and smiled. She had a pretty smile.

"We'll be in town for a few days if you don't have time to talk now." Troy said. Okay, I had missed something. While I was busy thinking there had been a whole conversation going on around me that I had completely missed. Oh well, Troy would fill me in later.

"Why don't we meet for lunch tomorrow," Dr. Brown said, "Nina manages a restaurant in town, Momma Joy's," he smiled up at his wife, "we could meet there."

"Great," Troy nodded and gripped my hand in his, helping me to stand. "We'll see you tomorrow."

>>>>>

It had been an hour since we left my grandfather's and we were simply walking around Everwood, not quite ready to begin the search for a hotel to stay the night in. Troy's hand was strong around my own, his fingers entwined with mine. I leaned into him. He let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around my waist.

Everwood was a beautiful place with the mountains peaking just above the tops of the buildings that lined the main street. The shop fronts were cute and quaint, giving off that small town vibe that everybody loves. People walked down the sidewalks going about their business, but still sparing time for a glance at Troy and I.

We were newcomers here, an anomaly in this small town where everybody knows everybody and their business.

Passing by the market, I stopped suddenly, my eyes glued to two women who were walking towards us.

The one woman had curly, auburn hair and glasses. There was a friendly smile on her face as she talked animatedly with her friend. She was dressed simply in a pair of jeans and a purple T-shirt, but there was a quiet beauty about her. A beauty that came from the inside rather than the outside. But she wasn't the one that I was staring at.

Her friend, the woman who walked beside her with a haunted look in her eyes and dark bags beneath them, was the exact same woman in the picture that had hung above the mantle place in Ephram's apartment. Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself, as if to ward off the light chill in the air, or possibly the sympathetic stares that were directed at her from a few of the people walking by.

"Hey, Sam, you alright?" Troy asked, looking at my worriedly.

"What?" I snapped out of my daze and looked up at him. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine." I reassured him. The women passed us, my eyes followed them involuntarily.

"You sure you're alright?" Troy asked.

"I'm fine." I said, standing up on my tiptoes to place a kiss on his lips. "Stop worrying." He smiled and captured my lips once more.

>>>>>

Alright, it was a very short chapter, but I am so stuck right now it's not even funny. I am hoping to update this again, but I don't hold out much hope for inspiration to strike anytime soon. Anyways, please review and maybe I'll get some inspiration.

Again, sorry for the short chapter.

kidakadrew: Thank you so much for choosing to review my story. And thanks for the amazing compliment. I love it when people are able to believe what I write, that means I'm doing a good job. :)

kursk and couriro: Right now I am not at liberty to say who Ephram is going to end up with, or if he even ends up with anyone at all. Sorry.

Nikki108, krazypirategurl, Miss-Anna87, Nautica7mk, Buffyann, auggy1984, and Doves30: Thank you all so much for reviewing. It really means a lot to me.