A.N. This chapter is a little short; sorry I couldn't really help that. But at the end of the chapter I'll have some of what's to come in later chapters.

Chapter 6

Christmas Eve; 2004

Bennett Household

"Sam no, please you can't mean this." Grace pleads with him trying to get him to reconsider. Just seconds ago he told her that he wanted a divorce. That he couldn't stand for Grace putting everybody else first before him and their children.

"I mean it Grace. Today was the last straw; I can't stay married to you any longer. You aren't the woman I fell in love with anymore." Sam explains.

Grace takes short and shallow breaths. "How was today the last straw?"

He stares at his soon-to-be ex-wife in shock. She really has no clue what she has done to make him want the divorce now and not wait till after the holidays. "You really have no idea…you're denser then I ever would have thought Grace. Today you raised a hand to our daughters; you slapped Jessica, and pushed Kay into a desk. I can't be married to a woman who would hurt her children over nothing but a dress that wasn't Charity's to begin with."

Jessica, for the past month, had been far happier then he had seen her in a long while. Apparently Kay had invited her along on her and Luis's lunches so they could hang out together and become close again. It seemed Kay had grown up a lot in the past year, something that he was very proud of her for, and her positive and adult attitude was rubbing off on Jessica. Who lately had begun to rebel a little bit against him and Grace.

Earlier today Kay stopped by to pick up Jessica and she had invited her inside saying she wanted to show Kay something. When they went upstairs Grace was in Jessica's room looking through her closet. Jessica had questioned what her mother was doing Grace told her that Charity wanted to borrow a dress that she saw Jessica wear…it was the dress that Luis and Kay had bought for her birthday.

Jessica, who had only worn it once, told Charity the previous day that she couldn't borrow it, at least not yet. Charity had run to Grace and complained that Jessica was selfish and wouldn't let her borrow the dress. So she heard the door close downstairs she thought Kay and Jessica had left and began her rifling through the closet.

Kay had gone over to the closet and pulled Grace away from it, told her that that dress was for Jessica not Charity, and besides Jessica had already told her no. Their mother had pulled away from her grasp and shoved Kay away rather roughly and she got the end of her desk dug into her back. Grace then had moved in front of her, her hand was raised to deliver a slap.

That's when Sam entered the room to find out what the raucous was and put a stop to it. Jessica hadn't seen him yet and had had enough by this point and pushed Grace away from her sister. Before he was able to get to the other side of the room Grace slapped Jessica across the face causing her face to fling violently to the right. The look Kay and Jessica gave their mother was enough to kill.

Kay was getting ready to push herself off the desk and lunge at her mother but Sam stood between them halting any more violence. He questioned both of them, ignoring Grace all together, if they were all right. Jess said she was all right and Kay told him she'd have a bruise but that was it. After triple checking with their well being he asked to two of them to go out to lunch like they planned while he took care of their mother.

Reluctantly they left their father alone with their mother, Kay knew this would be the moment Sam told Grace that he wanted a divorce and for her to take a hike. He had yet to tell Jessica of his plans yet, he wanted to wait until he knew for certain that he wanted a divorce now he was going to have too.

Now here he was yelling at Grace and telling her to pack her bags and get out of his house. And if she didn't leave he would have her arrested for trespassing and assault, the only reason he didn't book her for assault right this second was because Kay and Jessica said they were all right.

Sam dragged his 'wife' upstairs, brought out two of her suitcases and began to throw her clothes into one. When he was done with the first he went into the bathroom and took her toothbrush, makeup, and other personal items and threw them into the second suitcase. He ignored her cries of despair and anguish; he wanted her out now and didn't stop for a second until both suitcases were filled.

"Where will I go Sam?" Grace pleads as she follows him down the stairs with him carrying her bags. Without any care he just tosses them near the front door.

"I don't care Grace as long as it's out of this house and away from our daughters. Divorce is something I've been thinking about for a long while, I was even going to wait till after the holidays so I could be 100 sure about what I was thinking of doing. I don't need to wait anymore." He grabs her coat from the coat rack and flings it at her then he opens the door. Cool air hits his face but the blood is pumping so strongly in his veins that instead of mind numbing chill all he feels is nothing.

"But it's twelve below zero out there I could die."

Sam thinks for a moment and Grace hopes he'll reconsider but she's greatly disappointed. "Well, then it will be exactly like what you did to Kay when you tossed her out in the cold while she was pregnant. Only differences are you're not pregnant and I don't care one bit about what happens to you."

He, almost violently, shoves her out the front door shortly to be followed by her suitcases. "If I find out that you came near our daughters Grace…I'll put you in jail so fast it will make your head spin." Sam slams the door and takes a deep breath calming his frazzled nerves.

Grace pounds on the door and demands to be let back inside the house. After a while she seemed to have given up and left…probably to go find David and John and shack up with them. Sam closes his eyes and goes over in his mind what transpired moments ago, he's really divorcing Grace, not that he had much of an option after what happened today, but it was still shocking.

When Jessica comes home after her lunch date with Kay, Luis, and Maria he'll have to tell her about the divorce. That's a conversation he doesn't want to have, he knew Kay took it well, it was the reason why he told her first. But with Jessica it was going to be much more difficult. He looked up at the clock, about three hours before she came home. He needed to think about how he was going to tell her.

TBC

This peek ahead into the next few chapters isn't set in stone. It's just what I plan to write as of right now.

Chapter 7: Christmas; Grace makes an appearance, Miguel walks in on something, and Gwen and Ethan make an announcement.

Chapter 8: Valentine's day; Luis and Kay spend the day together, Sam and Ivy move forward, and Theresa and Fox get an unwelcome visitor.

Chapter 9: June or July; Theresa gives birth.