Teddy walked down stairs to meet Owen and Christina in the lobby to find breakfast before the conference.

"How did last night go," asked Owen.

Teddy paused, "I may have come off too strong with her friends. Annie asked me to meet her after ballet. And she looked so cute with her hair in a bun and her cheeks all rosy. But I found a little bakery here on campus and stopped and picked up cupcakes and took them back to share with her friends."

"Food is always a good ice breaker," said Owen.

"She seems like a good kid. Annie needs a bit of confidence though, she sat back and watched while the other girls did all the talking," Teddy said.

"She looks like a mini you," added Christina.

"She is tiny," Teddy agreed, "she's about 4 or 5 inches shorter than me but there's nothing to her. She's a competitive dancer though. She does ballet and highland 6 days a week, teaches ballet and competes in highland. She wins every competition she goes to. She was in the opening and closing ceremonies for the Vancouver olympics."

"She must be pretty good to do that. I did ballet as a kid, my mom made me do it until my senior year. Do you know which exams she did," Christina asked.

"She said something about finishing her advanced two and starting something seal but deciding college was more important than that exam," Teddy said.

"She has the talent to be offered a shot at the solo seal! She has to be an amazing dancer. You have to be completely technically perfect and be able to perform on stage to even attempt to train for that. She'll be as close to flawless as it's possible to be," Christina said, " now will her surgical skills match?"

"Christina she's 19 years old," Owen said, " give her time."

Out the window Teddy noticed the purple and white polka dotted umbrella she saw Annie carrying yesterday. She smiled at the window and waved, hoping the girl saw her. She wanted to get to the bottom of why Annie was so shy in a group. She was fun and lively when they skyped and when they spent time together yesterday but in a group Annie changed. She was quiet and observant, almost shy. She did the same thing when her parents and sister had joined them for skype chats. She allowed Jessica to dominate the conversation the same way she had allowed Jen and Alice to dominate the night before. Annie walked past the window where Teddy was standing and waved. Annie's large black backpack sat on her back like a turtle shell. The girl had a good brain and from what Teddy could tell a true love of people. But there was something shy and introverted about her. Teddy wondered if it had something to do with her. That she had give Annie up for adoption. The girl had never asked her about why Teddy chose not to keep Annie and why she decided it was best for Annie to be raised by others. Teddy had know the whole time where Annie was and how she was doing but Annie hadn't had the same opportunity. All she knew was a name. Annie had 19 years of fears and ideas to come to terms with.

"Earth to Teddy," Christina said, "should we get coffee and go over next week's surgeries."

"I wanted to read some articles for the conference this weekend," Teddy said.

"Has she asked about her biological dad," asked Owen.

"Not yet, that's a can of worms I'm not looking forward to opening. Steven wasn't exactly the type of man you want to have a child with. I tried to reach out to him a couple years ago. Annie got sick and they couldn't figure out what was going on. Leslie and Dan wanted a family history from me and anything that I knew about Steven," Teddy said.

"What happened," Owen asked.

"I found him online, he's actually teaching electrical engineering in Portland, I knew he was an electrical engineer and went through their online registry. I sent him an email telling him that I had given Annie up for adoption 16 years before and that I had regular contact with the adoptive family but there was something going on and they needed a medical history for both of us. He told me never to contact him again and that if I did he would take legal action. He said I ruined his life. But I have lived with my choices everyday for the last 19 years. I missed out on everything in her life but there's something hurting that girl and I want to be here for her now," Teddy rambled.

"One day you need to tell her about where she comes from. Even if you just give her his name and let her try when she's ready," Owen said.

"Did they ever figure out what Annie's diagnosis was," asked Christina.

"They did and she's doing really well on the medication. I spent a lot of time researching and email with Leslie and Dan trying to help them solve it, their family doctor was useless and getting specialist appointments in BC takes a while. Annie will be on medication the rest of her life, but she hasn't brought it up with me yet. Her parents say she's very compliant with it all," Teddy stated, leaving no options for further questions about Annie's health.

Teddy thought about that as they walked to breakfast. She wanted more time with Annie however she knew that her daughter needed to come to her. She wished her mom was here, her mom would know what to do. For the millionth time she regretted not accepting her parent's offer to help raise her baby, she wondered what life would have been like if she had kept Annie. What Teddy needed now was a mom. A mom who would hug her and help her figure out how to connect with Annie. She listened to Owen and Christina's medical chatter while debating whether this was something she could call Evelyn about or if she could reach out to Leslie to help her connect with her girl and figure out what Annie was hiding from.

"Owen, do you think I could call your mom, I need some advice from a mom about where to go next with Annie," Teddy asked.

"I'm sure she would be happy to help," Owen replied, "do you have her number."

Teddy nodded and excused herself to go call Evelyn.