Daryl was torn. He wanted to talk to this woman something fierce, but he had his kids to think of. They couldn't know about the whole Sophia/Michelle thing yet. Not until they had more information. The information he could be getting by talking to her right now. He looked at Carol and saw the torn look in her eyes as well. Daryl made an executive decision.

"I know this sounds stupid, but can I call you back at the number you just called from in ten minutes? We are driving, and I need to pull off somewhere where we can take as much time as we need."

"All right … Are you sure you will call me back?"

"Definitely. We have a lot to talk about, I think. I will call you back in ten minutes."

The call was ended on Michelle's end, giving Daryl an opportunity to think fast about what needed to happen. He needed to get this car stopped, and he needed him and Carol to be able to talk to Michelle without Mika and Luke overhearing. Thinking fast, he pulled over to a small disused picnic area. He turned around in his seat, addressing his children seriously.

"I can't explain everything right now, but I promise we will soon. I need a favor from you two. Your mama and I need to be able to take a real important phone call, and we can't be disturbed while we are on it. In fact, we need to have privacy for it. That means that either you two need to get out of the car or we do. Choice is yours. You can stay here with the air conditioning on, or you can walk around the picnic area. Your choice.

"Whatever dad. We can stay here and read some comic books or something. You and mom go do whatever alone stuff ya need to do. Just promise to tell us about whatever it is later?" Daryl nodded, thankful that Luke had made the decision for himself and Mika and seemed to understand the parent's need for privacy.

Daryl and Carol walked a bit into the picnic area, choosing a table mid-way through that was far enough away from the kids that they wouldn't be able to hear anything. They sat, looking nervously at each other for a few moments before Daryl dialed. When the phone began to ring, Daryl promptly put it on speaker phone.

"Hello?"

"Michelle, it's Daryl Dixon. My wife Carol is here too. We have you on speaker so we can both hear you."

"Belinda said that you called her. She said she thought your story was strong enough to make her think you could be my parents. She said that I should hear it from you though. I have heard so many stories already, all so far have led to nothing. I don't mean to be rude, but please tell me how you are different?"

Daryl took a deep breath. He was shaking. The woman even sounded a bit like Carol. So, he began telling her about their experiences with losing Sophia and life up until the magazine article. Carol joined in. Soon enough, Michelle knew about the healthy pregnancy, the accident, the resulting fast labor, Carol's emergency C-section, and them being told Sophia had died. They then told her about their ongoing grief counseling, and how they carried on with their lives after losing Sophia. They told her how hard it was. They explained their yearly grieving process and how they were in the midst of this year's grieving time when they saw the article in the magazine profiling Michelle.

Carol took over then. She told Michelle about the pictures of herself that could easily be mistaken for Michell or her twin. She talked about the auburn curl of hair in the baby book devoted to Sophia and how there were so many similarities, that it had given them hope when they never believed they would have any. She talked about how losing Sophia had crushed them and shaped her subsequent pregnancies. She told her about her two younger children.

After it all, Michelle's voice was trembling when she spoke again. "Every woman who called into the magazine said that they had either given their babies up willingly, or felt they had no choice but to give them up. Every single one of them received payment of some sort. One woman who wanted to back out of the adoption was threatened with repayment of the money she got. She didn't have it, so she felt she had no choice but to let the adoption stand. I am wondering about your situation. If you were told your baby was dead, how would that figure with them usually paying the parents?

Daryl spoke to that. "Our hospital grief counselor Milton had talked to us right after they told us Sophia died. He asked what goals Carol had in life. She told him she wanted to be a teacher. Six months later, she received a ten-thousand-dollar scholarship to college from the 'philanthropic lawyers' that ran the hospital. We didn't know it was a pay-off. If was presented as a good deed that they handed out often. When the media started mentioning Little Angels selling kids, Milton made sure we knew that he was never a part of the selling. He suggested that maybe that was how they were planning to keep us as birth parents quiet. Make it look like we sold Sophia when we would never have. We still don't know if the investigators found something to prove Sophia was sold. But with all the pictures and circumstances, we have hope now when we ain't never had that before."

Carol interceded after that. "We wanted her so badly. She was so loved. She is still missed. We never would have voluntarily given her up for anything. The story in the magazine said that you were afraid of being a black-market baby forever. Well, if you do end up being our Sophia, that will never be you again."

Michelle at this point sounded like she was crying. Her voice was wavery and sounded wet with emotion and tears. She took a few deep breaths before continuing. "It is so hard for me to know what to think about all of this and me possibly being Sophia. Did you know one of the mothers that called said that she had sold her daughter to pay off a gambling debt? Another said she sold her daughter to get out of an abusive relationship. She was afraid her boyfriend would kill the baby, and the money she got helped her get away from him. So, I am sure you can understand that I am not sure who to trust."

"We get that. We don't know quite what to think about all of this either," assured Daryl.

Michelle was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "What if we didn't wait for the investigators? What if we just get tested ourselves. We could find out on our own if I am Sophia. This waiting is not something I think I can face much longer."

"If we can do that, we would do it in a heartbeat," assured Carol.

"I have a friend. She is part of Namus. She is a victim's advocate for missing and unidentified persons. She told me that we can all get swabbed for free."

"Tell us when and where, and we will be there," insisted Daryl.

"Can I call you back with the details? I can know in the next day or two how it could be worked out."

"Please do. We will be waiting to hear from you again," said Carol.

The call was about to end when Daryl spoke up. "Michelle?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. Thank you for taking a chance on us. Whether or not you are Sophia, we will always be in your corner to find out who you are. Promise."

"That's a promise I just may hold you to."