It has been a long time. For that I am very sorry. I can give an explanation but that would be silly so just know that I really regret falling behind with this story. However, there are some changes. Sylvia is now Elsa. Claire is now Judith. Patrick is now Jeremy. I'm sorry for the mistakes. Once again, I apologize for the delay.

Tragedy Realized

Laura was on her way to the ICU when she bumped into her little sister Marie.

"Laura!" she screamed and grabbed her older sister around the waist. "We thought that you were dead."

"Marie, thank god you're okay. Where are Mom and Dad? Are they hurt" Laura blurted out.

"They're fine," Marie explained.

"What are you doing up here then, and how did you guys get out in time?" Laura asked.

"Holly broke her leg when the storm hit her house. I was just visiting her," Marie answered.

"But Holly's house is right next to ours. Did it get hit pretty bad?" Laura assumed the worst.

Marie looked at her for a moment. "Laura, everything did. Everything north of Mexico is covered in ice and snow. And it's not going anywhere either. Mom says that everything about our way of life has changed."

Laura let this statement soak in for a bit. "How many people died?"

"Millions," Marie answered cautiously. "We're lucky."

Laura nodded.

Sam lay in his hospital bed. 'God, I'm bored,' he thought. He wanted nothing more than to go find his friends and his parents and figure out what would happen next. He was feeling much better since first arriving. His head still hurt and his temperature was at 102 but it was quite an improvement. Besides, many were worse off than him right now.

At that thought, Laura slowly opened the door to his room. It was clear to Sam that she had been crying.

"Hi," she said as a smile escaped her lips. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," he answered quickly. "What's the matter?"

She sat on his bed and grabbed his hand. "I just talked to my sister. I guess I'm just starting to realize how bad this really is. They're saying that millions are dead."

"Oh god," Sam sighed. He kissed her hand lightly. She smiled and looked away shyly.

"Are you really feeling alright?" Laura questioned.

"Yeah," Sam replied, smiling. "I feel just fine."

Laura smiled at this. "We should just be happy that all of us and our families are okay."

"How about Brian?" Sam asked.

"He found his parents a few minutes before I checked out. "They're all okay. My sister said that my family is okay as well. So it looks like we all faired pretty favorably, considering."

Sam nodded grimly. Suddenly, a look of doubt crossed his face, only to be replaced with panic.

"What wrong?" Laura asked.

Sam sat up and tore off his heart monitor.

"Sam!" Laura exclaimed. "What is it?"

"I forgot about my mom," he explained as he tore out his I.V. A slight trickle of blood dripped down his arm.

"Jesus Sam!" Laura shouted. "I'm sure she's okay. Your dad said-"

"Exactly!" Sam exclaimed. "He said she was fine but he didn't know for sure."

Sam hopped out of bed and walked over to his clothes that were left in a pile in the corner.

"Sam," Laura pleaded. "I'm not sure you should be doing this. Why don't I go and check?"

As he pulled his shirt on over his head he said, "Listen, I'm fine. I'll put a bandage on my arm and I'll be fine." He smiled to reassure her.

"Okay," Laura grabbed some medical tape that was lying on a cart by the side table. "Here."

She proceeded to wrap Sam's arm up. When she finished, he looked up at her and then lightly kissed her. "Thank you."

Laura watched him leave as her small grin grew into a full smile. She at least had something to look forward to.

Jack sat alone in a conference room at his new headquarters, the top two floors of an office building. It had been several hours since he learned of his wife's death. He was filled with regret and guilt. He doubted his ability to be able to explain to Sam why he had let his mother die. A tear slid down his cheek and he quickly swiped it away. He was coming to terms with the idea that he now had to serve as a single parent.

Sam burst out of the elevator door where he had been told his father was now stationed. He opened the door of the first room that he saw to find Jason staring back at him with Janet and a few others. "Where are my parents?"

"Uh Sam," Jason stood. "You're father's in the room at the end of the hall."

Sam burst down the hall, anxious to find his mom.

Jack looked up as the door flew open. He was surprised to see his son staring back at him. "Where's Mom?" he asked.

"Sam!" Jack shouted. "What are you doing out of the hospital?"

"I left. I wanted to find you guys," Sam quickly explained. "Where is she?"

"Are you okay? Here sit down," Jack gestured.

"I don't want to sit down! I want you to tell me where my mother is!"

"Oh, Sam," Jack began. He looked at his son with tears in his eyes. "She, uh...oh god, she..."

"Jack..." Sam moved closer to him and whispered, "Where's my mom?"

"Sammy she's gone," Jack muttered. "She didn't make it out in time. I thought she would leave. I told her to leave, damn it. I'm so sorry Sammy. I'm so fucking sorry." Tears escaped his eyes.

Sam looked away, silently. He sighed and sat in the chair across from his father. He brought his knees up to his chest and sat there, watching his father cry. He didn't speak. He was just too tired to think. So he sat. After a few minutes, he stood and left the room, leaving Jack all alone.

Sam headed back to the hospital to officially check himself out. He kept his eyes at the ground and didn't notice Laura till she grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"Hey," Laura said. "Did you find her?"

Sam's eyes darted across the room until he finally made brief eye contact with her, smiled and kept walking. He would tell her later.

"Sam?" Laura was left confused.

Later that night, Laura found Brian and learned from him that he had heard from his father that Lucy had been found dead. Laura was devastated. She needed to find Sam.

"I haven't gone to see him but I think he's staying in the building where his father is working," Brian informed her. She nodded and started to leave.

"Hey Laura!" Brian stopped her. "Tell him, tell him I'm sorry, okay?"

She smiled and nodded.

Once she reached the door to Sam's room Laura took a deep breath and let it out slowly. This would be hard. She knocked on the door.

Sam was putting some of the clothes that his mother had packed for him away into his new drawers. He looked up when he heard the knock. "Come in."

Laura cautiously opened the door. She smiled at Sam, which he regretfully returned. "So I take it you heard?"

"Ah, yeah. Brian told me. He wanted me to tell you that he was sorry," she replied. "Can I help you with that?" She asked, gesturing towards his clothes.

"That alright," he said. "I'm just about finished. Would you mind staying though?"

"Of course not," Laura said as she sat on the bed. Soon Sam joined her.

He sighed and she grabbed his hand and held it between hers.

"God, I hate always being right," he muttered.

"Oh, Sam," Laura said softly. They both sat back on his bed with their backs against the wall. She kissed his temple lightly. He returned the kiss to her lips. She moved on top of him as the passion grew taking his head in her hands. He wrapped his arms around her waist. Suddenly, she broke away from the kiss and allowed him to bury his face in the nape of her neck. They both sat their, embracing each other and panting. Finally, he pulled away. She looked at him deeply in his eyes.

"You must be so sad," she stated bluntly.

Sam smiled, softly and nodded. "Yeah. I am."

She resumed her spot next to him and they sat there in silence.

Finally Sam sighed and said, "Do you know that when he told me, he couldn't even say it. Well, first of all, I had to ask him. And then, he could barely even admit it. He was so pitiful. Just sitting there, crying."

"Of course he was crying. He just lost his wife," Laura replied.

"Ex-wife," Sam corrected.

"What?" Laura asked. "Your parents got divorced?"

"Yeah. About a year ago, but they had basically been divorced my whole life," Sam explained. "I don't know why I didn't tell anyone. It just never seemed to come up."

"I wish you had told me," Laura confessed looking at him.

"Yeah me too," he responded. There were another few moments of silence.

"Sam?" Laura asked. "Are you okay?"

He waited for few moments before he met her stare, and shook his head as a tear finally slid down his cheek. Laura laid his head down on her lap and ran her fingers through his hair as he silently released sorrow. They stayed that way until the morning.

A/N: So, let me know what you think. I really appreciate you guys giving this story a second chance. I'd really love to hear from you. As for the future chapters, I'll try to reunite a few of the other characters.