Disclaimer: Dick owns 'em.

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The rain was pouring outside, but she wasn't sure she could hear it over the beating of her heart. She stared at the piece of paper in her hand, studying the words on it carefully. This was the right place. This was where she needed to be. Now, if she could only gather up the courage to step out of the cab and walk inside.

"Hey lady," the cab driver said angrily, "I ain't got all day."

She wiped a tear from her eye and smiled. "Yea, sorry. Thanks." She grabbed her umbrella and handed him a twenty, telling him to keep the change. It was a large tip, since the fare only cost her twelve dollars, but she was in a giving mood. She pulled her long blonde hair back onto a ponytail, slowly opened the door, stuck her umbrella out and opened it, and stepped outside. She had to hold onto the umbrella with both hands because the wind was blowing so hard, but she managed to get to the building quickly and stay relatively dry.

The building looked even bigger inside than it did outside. The lobby was huge, the support pillars were huge, even the damn elevators were huge. She looked at the piece of paper again and made her way towards the security desk. She smiled at the guard as she handed him her purse. "My name is Jessica Michaels. I'm here to see Alexandra Cabot. Can you tell me what floor she's on?" She lied, knowing full well where the office was. She just wanted to avoid any extra attention. The guard had never seen her before, and she knew if she waltzed right in like she knew exactly where she was going, someone was bound to notice.

The officer smiled as he handed her purse back to her. "Yea, I know Alex. She's up on the sixth floor. Office six-thirty-four. She your lawyer?"

"Uhhh, not really, no," she answered, slightly confused. Why the third degree? She shrugged it off, attributing it to nerves and her own paranoia about the entire situation. "I'm here on a personal matter."

"Oh, okay. Well tell her I said hi. The name's Larry."

"Will do. Thank you." She slung her purse over her shoulder and made her way to the elevator. She tapped her foot nervously as she waited for an elevator to arrive. She tried to avoid looking at people without appearing suspicious. Occasionally, when a person seemed determined to make eye contact, she would smile politely, but otherwise, she kept her focus on her tapping foot.

When the doors finally opened, she found herself being pushed in all directions by people trying to get on and off. She rolled her eyes and pressed forward, determined not to have to wait for the next elevator. She squeezed in between several people and pressed the six button. Now all she could do was wait. She closed her eyes and tried to keep her breathing under control. To anyone who was watching her, she must have looked like she was the most nervous person in the world, which was exactly what she was trying to avoid. Walking into a huge law firm while looking like you're about to blow up the place isn't a good idea. Still, she couldn't stop herself. This was quite possibly the hardest thing she'd ever done in her life.

The doors opened and she took a deep breath as she stepped out of the elevator. She was amazed at the amount of people walking around busily. Her heart sunk. She hadn't expected there to be this many people. She took a deep breath and tried to convince herself it would be okay. This was a law firm after all, and a big one at that. Alexandra Cabot was the bureau chief, so it was obvious that she would have a lot of people around. She just prayed she could get a moment alone with the woman. She didn't need a lot of time. This was going to be a hit or miss deal.

She walked up the reception desk, which was just to the right of the elevators. She figured that would be a better idea than just walking in and going straight towards her destination. Besides, she wasn't sure which hallway to take. A young woman, probably in her mid twenties, was sitting behind it, chewing her gum and looking like she'd rather be anywhere else. "Can I help you?" she asked, annoyed, as Jess approached the desk.

Jessica smiled politely, though she knew this woman wasn't going to be pleasant. "Yes. I'm here to see Alexandra Cabot."

"You got an appointment?"

"No. Do I need one?"

The girl chewed her gum loudly. "She don't like seeing people without an appointment."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Well, will she see me now or should I come back later?"

After flipping through an appointment notebook, the girl looked up. "You're in luck. She's free for the afternoon. Don't be surprised if she chews your head off. She's a bitch and really hates when people just barge in on her."

"Well, thanks. I'll be sure to tell her what a huge help you were." Jessica said as she rolled her eyes and made her down the hall towards the office. Alex's door was the last one on the left. Even though it was closed, Jessica could tell it was a nice office. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths before knocking on the door.

"What?" came an annoyed voice from inside.

Jessica slowly opened the door and stuck her head in. "Do you have a minute?"

Alex was sitting at her desk, finishing some paperwork. She didn't even bother to look up. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Uh, no. I was just-"

"Look, I'm really busy. Go talk to the receptionist. I'm sure she'll be glad to help you."

Jessica swallowed and stepped fully into the office. Alex still hadn't looked up from her paperwork. "Yea, I talked to Betsy. She wasn't exactly helpful. Oh, and Larry the security guy says hi."

"What? Look, all complaints can be filed either at the security desk or with one of the ADAs. Talk with Betsy and she'll set you up with an appointment."

"I'm not trying to file a complaint."

"If you're trying to get out of jury duty-"

"I'm not trying to get out of jury duty." Jess said, trying to stay calm. Alex was definitely getting annoyed, and had yet to look up at her.

"Well regardless of what it is, I'm sure you're in the wrong spot. If you go down the hall, Betsy will help you. Tell her I'll fire her if she doesn't."

She looked at the picture in her hands. "I don't think I'm in the wrong spot."

"Look, I-" she set her pen down angrily and looked up, then stopped. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Holy shit, you're alive." She said quietly.

Jessica smiled nervously. "You're Sarah Cabot aren't you? I mean I know it says Alexandra on the door, but you're her aren't you?"

This wasn't happening. It wasn't possible. This girl was supposed to have died almost twenty-five years ago. She closed her eyes and tried to shake it out. "I…I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. You're her. You're Sarah. You're my aunt. I have the adoption papers and I looked you up. I'm sure of it."

"Where the hell do you get off barging in here like this, asking me something like that? You don't even call or anything-"

"So you are Sarah Cabot?"

Alex stiffened, "I haven't been Sarah Cabot since I was eighteen. Now get out of my office before I call security." She went back to her desk and tried to do her paperwork.

"Wait, please, just hear me out. Please?"

Sarah (or Alexandra as the door read) raised her eyebrows in annoyance but didn't offer any rebuttal.

"Thank you," Jess replied graciously. "I don't expect you to do anything with this, but I just wanted to meet you. My name is Jessica Matthews and I'm twenty-four. When I was three months old, I was adopted by a Mary and Mark Matthews. My mother was a sixteen-year-old girl named Alexandra Cabot, but I know you're not her, because you're not old enough. I know she had a younger sister named Sarah. That's you, right?"

Alex couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But you're dead. You died when you were three months old."

"Well I'm not really sure what you're talking about, but I can assure you that I'm not dead. How else would I be standing here?"

"But if you've been alive all this time, how did you…why didn't you…what-"

Jess shook her head. "I didn't know. I had no idea I was adopted, though I always felt like I didn't belong. They were so different than me. They were both scientist and mathematicians. I hated that stuff and barely got through. I was more into sociology and graphic design. Oddly enough, I'm even taking a few law classes right now."

Alex put her hand over her mouth and tried not to cry. She ran over and hugged the girl. She had been six when Jessica was born, and had always believed that she had been killed in the car accident that killed her sister. What the hell was going on? Was her sister's death a big hoax? She couldn't think straight. She had to sit down. She suddenly felt guilty for never trying to locate the girl, even though she knew she had no reason to feel that way. After all, she thought she was dead. Still, the feeling remained. "Do you hate me?"

Jess was a little surprised at Alex's reaction, but she returned the hug. "How can I hate somebody I don't even know?"

Alex laughed. "I mean, I always thought you were dead. When you found out you were adopted, I can't even imagine what you must have thought. Nobody ever tried to contact you or anything. You must have felt so abandoned."

Jess pulled out of the hug and looked up at the now crying woman. "What? I wasn't abandoned. Abandoning me would have meant I was left on someone's doorstep or in a dumpster." Jess hesitated before adding the next part, knowing it wasn't true but that it was what Alex needed to hear right now. "I was given to an amazing couple who loved me very much."

Wiping her eyes, Alex tried to smile. "So you're not mad?"

Jess took a deep breath. "At you? No. At my parents? Yes. I only found out because they died in a car accident about a year ago. I guess I feel like a little betrayed by my parents because they never told me."

"But they were good to you?"

Jess could tell that Alex was genuinely concerned, but she also detected a sense of urgency in her voice, like she was in a hurry to get through this. "They were wonderful parents," she lied again, hoping she sounded convincing. "They gave me everything I ever needed."

"Good," Alex said, looking nervously at her watch. "That's good."

"Look, if you want me to leave, just say so. I know this is…weird."

Alex shook her head. "No, I-I don't want you to leave. It's just that, well nobody here even knows I had a sister. I just recently got engaged and even he doesn't know."

"I don't want to ruin anything for you," Jessica said honestly. "I can leave now with no hard feelings."

Alex couldn't explain it, but she felt something inside her telling her that she needed to get to know this girl. "I…I want to get to know you. Just, I…I need a little time. I need to tell my fiancé. I really, really want to get to know you."

Jess felt her eyes tearing. "I really want to get to know you, too."

"Really?" Her breathing was slowly returning to normal.

"Of course I do. My whole life I've always felt like I was different. My aunts and uncles always treated me differently than everybody else. They weren't bad to me, but I could tell I wasn't their favorite. They were practically ready to disown me when they found out I wasn't going to be a doctor. When I found those adoption papers after my parents died, I had to know where I came from."

Relief flooded over Alex. "I'm so glad you had at least a semi-decent life. I'm so sorry I didn't try to question my sister's death more. I'm so sorry I never found you."

Jessica put her hand on Alex's shoulder. "Hey," she said gently. "You were six.

There's nothing you could have done. I-"

There was a knock at the door and it opened slowly. A man in his mid thirties popped his head in. "Oh, sorry honey. Didn't realize you were with a client." He pulled his head back out and shut the door.

Jessica smiled and raised her eyebrows approvingly. "Not bad."

"What? Oh, yea. We're having lunch. I, um, I don't know how to tell him about you. He's a good guy-a really good guy. I'm sure he'd understand. I just…"

"Look, give it time. I mean, you just met me today. Lets get to know each other before we do anything. You've got an entire life that doesn't involve me. I would hate to ruin that for you."

Alex shook her head. The girl was right. She did have her entire life to think about. She wouldn't lose her job or anything, but Max, well he was another story. She wasn't sure how he was going to take the fact that she'd had an older sister who died. Right now though, all she could do was tell him and pray he didn't hate her afterwards. She desperately wanted, no needed, to get to know Jessica. She just hoped that Max would understand.

"You wouldn't ruin anything," Alex told her. "If Max and I fall apart after I tell him, it won't be because of you. It'll be mine for not telling him about you sooner. Right now though, I've really got to run. I guess now's as good a time as any to tell him."

Jessica was concerned. The last thing she wanted was for this woman's life to fall apart. "Are you sure?"

"No," Alex answered nervously. "but I feel like I have to know you. I feel like a piece of me has always been missing and now I have the chance to get it back. This is something I have to do."

Jessica nodded understandingly. "Well why don't I let you go to lunch and I'll head over to my psych class."

"Okay," Alex said. She went over to her desk and pulled out a pen and piece of paper. "Here's my address and phone number. Are you free tonight?"

"Uh, yea," Jess said, not expecting Alex to want to get together so soon.

"Okay good. I'll talk to Max this afternoon. How about you come over around seven and I'll cook you dinner?"

"Oh, you don't have to-"

"I want to. I want to get to know you, and I want hear about your parents and your life."

"Okay. That sounds good." She promised Alex she'd be there around seven. They hugged and parted to go their separate ways.