Chapter 5- Daddy's Princess

Scout held her dalmatian above her head as she danced on the boat. Wiley sat on Sam's lap but kept reaching towards Helena/Alexis who sat on the other side with Julian. "Me want Gamma!"

"Daddy, do you think I'm good?" Scout asked.

Drew smiled. "I think you're an amazing dancer."

"I want to dance on Braway like Simba and Nala!"

"Scout, please, you need to wear your jacket," Sam said. "The water makes it cold, especially in that dress."

"But I am a princess!" Scout curtsied again.

"And you're a beautiful princess," Drew said. "But even princesses need to keep warm."

Julian leaned back in his seat next to Helena/Alexis as she stared out at the water. "Even Anna wore a warm coat on Frozen," he said.

"Elsa didn't," Scout said as she flitted over to her grandparents. "Are you coming to Kelly's too?"

Helena/Alexis raised an eyebrow. "Russian Royalty do not consume food and beverage in the same estiatorio as commoners."

Scout giggled. "You're silly, Grandma."

"Actually, Grandpa is going to take Grandma to see a special doctor," Julian said. "She's very sick."

Scout scrunched her face. "A tummy ache?"

"More like a headache," Julian said.

"I am not going to a doctor." Helena/Alexis glared at Julian. "I am only in compliance with you until Valentin is incarcerated. If we must eat out, I'm more partial to the Metro Court."

"Uhhh… I think the Metro Court is a bad idea with Wiley…" Sam said. "I'm not dealing with Carly today."

"You kids go to Kelly's," Julian said. "I'll take your mother to the Metro Court before we go to the hospital."

"I am not going to the hospital," Helena/Alexis said.

"Well, I'm not leaving you alone and you're not coming home with me and Leo until you're back to normal."

GHGHGH

"Daddy?" Scout said while slurping her milkshake through her straw at Kelly's. Dotty the dalmatian sat beside her in her own chair Scout insisted she needed. "Are you gonna leave again?"

Drew leaned closer to her and tapped her nose. "I will do everything I can to stay here with you and Danny. I will never leave on purpose."

She smiled. "I wanna dance like a Rustan princess."

He laughed. "Well, you are quite the dancer."

"Maybe we can get you into dancing lessons," Sam suggested. "Would you like that?"

Her face lit up. "Yes, Mommy, please! I want to dance!"

Wiley smiled and clapped his hands. "Scout dance!"

"Sure. I guess you're like your Aunt Krissy. She danced a bit when she was younger."

"Will you come watch me dance, Daddy?" Scout looked up at Drew and stuck out her lower lip.

"I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world, Princess." Drew stroked her hair.

"I like being called Princess," Scout said.

"Then that's what Daddy will call you, Princess," Drew said.

"We might have to wait until September though," Sam said. "I'm not sure if there's summer dance classes."

"When is Spember?" Scout asked.

"That is five more months to go," Sam said.

Scout's eyes grew wide. "That's a really really long time." She looked over at the door. "Aiden's Mommy!"

Sam turned around and saw Elizabeth walking in and passed their table.

"Hi Aiden's Mommy!" Scout smiled at her.

"Hi Scout. That's a very fancy dress." She smiled back. "Drew… I heard you're alive. That's wonderful. I'm so happy for you."

Sam and Drew exchanged a look.

"You don't remember what happened yesterday?" Drew asked.

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.

"Where's Aiden?" Scout asked.

"He's at school," Elizabeth said.

Scout frowned.

"I'm sure he and Jake would love a play date soon though."

Scout smiled again. "I'm gonna be a dancer! But I have to wait five months." She held up five fingers.

"Yeah, unless we find a dance class that runs in the summer," Sam said.

"You should go to Aiden's dance school then," Elizabeth said.

Scout's cheeks turned pink.

"I didn't know Aiden danced," Drew said.

"This is his first year," Elizabeth said. "But they go through the summer and he likes it so much he wants to continue."

"All right, maybe we'll check it out," Sam said. "How does that sound, sweetie?"

"Good. Will I get to dance with Aiden?" Scout asked.

"Well, I think you might be in different classes if they go by age," Sam said. "But maybe."

"I want to dance with Aiden." Scout grinned as Elizabeth sat at the table across from them.

"Well, if we have another playdate maybe you can practice with him," Sam said.

Sam turned when the door opened again, and Jason walked in, with his phone pressed to his ear. "Carly… Carly… No, I can't babysit tonight. No. But I do really need to talk to you and Sonny sometime." He slipped his phone away and sat with Elizabeth. "Thanks for agreeing to meet with me."

"Is this about Ja—"

Scout started screaming hysterically which caused Wiley to start crying. Sam's eyes grew wide as she watched her. "No! No! No!" She scrambled off her chair and ran under table furthest from Jason and rocked back and forth. "No! Don't Mommy. No! Don't take me to Danny's daddy! No! No!"

"Scout, baby…" Sam knelt beside her and so did Drew. "It's okay, come to Mommy. We can go."

"No! No! Don't take me!"

"I'm not going to take you to him."

"It's okay, Princess," Drew said. "You're safe."

"Daddy…" Scout reached her arms out to him and he scooped her up.

"It's okay… Shh… it's okay…" He rubbed her back as she clung to him and sobbed into his shoulder.

Sam lifted Wiley. "It's okay baby girl, we're leaving now."

"I'm sorry, Scout…" Jason said. "We can leave instead."

"No, it's okay," Sam said, rubbing Wiley's back. "We were just about finished anyway."

She followed Drew outside and they headed towards Sam's car.

"See, baby girl?" Sam said. "You're safe. Mommy and Daddy are here. Do you want to go home now?"

She hiccoughed and nodded.

Drew reached for the car door and Scout screamed again.

"No car! No car!"

"Scout, we have to go in the car so we can drive home," Sam said.

"I want Grandma…" she sobbed. "Grandma… I want Dotty…"

Sam's eyes started to well up and she stroked Scout's hair. "We must have left Dotty back at Kelly's. Do you want to wait here with Daddy, and Mommy will go get your doggy?"

Scout nodded.

Wiley played with Sam's nose as she carried him back inside Kelly's. Her eyes moved to their table, but she didn't see Dotty.

Elizabeth scrunched her face. "What do you mean we were part of a mind mapping experiment? Like the twin one and like Franco?"

"Yes, but this one was bigger," Jason explained. "They messed with our memories. We didn't just have a one-night stand that conceived Jake… We were together after that, and before…"

Sam's stomach felt hollow and she shifted her feet awkwardly.

She shook her head. "Jason… this is crazy."

"But it's true. And also… I'm Cameron's father…"

Elizabeth stared at him for several seconds without blinking.

"I know it's a lot to take in," Jason said. "But it makes sense. My liver matched…"

"His hair and eyes…" Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't know where this is coming from. You hardly even see Jake, now you're trying to claim Cameron?"

Sam finally zoomed passed them, trying to avoid eye contact and reached the counter. "Hi, Trina. Did you happen to find a stuffed dalmatian?"

"Yeah, it's in the back, I'll go grab it!" Trina headed to the back.

"There's one other thing," Jason said. "You need to be careful. They hypnotized you to fall for Ric."

Elizabeth paused for a moment, then said, "Is that what this is about? First Franco and now Ric? You won't be there for your son so that means no one else can either? Look, Zander is dead, Lucky abandoned Aiden, and you've as good as abandoned Jake too, they need someone!" She lifted her glass of water and threw it in his face before storming out of Kelly's.

Jason sat there, mouth slightly agape, and water dripping down his chin.

"Here it is, Sam!" Trina handed her the dalmatian.

"Thanks."

Sam started to walk past Jason when he spoke to her, "Is Scout okay?" He wiped his face with a napkin.

Wiley leaned his head against her shoulder. "No, but she will be." She left without saying another word and found Drew and Scout sitting on a bench.

"Do it again! Do it again!" Scout said.

Drew looked at her seriously as his ears moved up and down on their own.

Scout giggled and used her forefingers and thumbs to wiggle her own ears.

Sam smiled at them and walked closer. "Hey, sweetie, I found Dotty."

Scout moved closer to Drew and leaned into him. "Are you taking me to Danny's daddy?"

"No, sweetie. I still want to be in the house with you if you want that too."

Scout began to smile, then hopped off the bench and hugged Sam's legs.