Okay, here comes the sappy goodness!

Chapter 41- Family Values

When Sam arrived back at the hospital, Alexis, Kristina, and Molly joined her. Alexis felt bad about her earlier visit with Willow and wanted to leave a better impression.

"Willow!" Kristina smiled and walked over to her bed.

Molly followed. "How are you?"

Willow shifted awkwardly. "I'll be better once I can get out of this bed."

Kristina exhaled deeply. "You have no idea how relieved we were to find out Nelle isn't our niece."

Willow lowered her gaze.

"After everything she did to Michael…" Kristina shook her head.

"But you, my darling." Alexis smiled warmly at Willow. "You saved Kristina, not once but twice."

Willow scrunched her face. "Nelle kind of said something that day she came over…"

"Kristina had leukemia when she was very young," Sam said. "When you were born, your stem cells saved her life."

"So, if it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be here today," Kristina said.

"Plus, you helped her turn away from D.O.D.," Molly added.

The door opened and Epiphany walked in. "Only two visitors at a time! You are crowding my patient's room!"

Sam sighed.

"Why don't we let Kristina and Molly get to know their niece?" Alexis suggested.

"So, Molly's my aunt?" Willow asked. "Isn't she younger than me?"

"My mother was sixteen when she had me," Sam said.

"Oh," Willow said.

"Out!" Epiphany shouted. "I need to check my patient's vitals."

Alexis and Sam hurried out of the room at Epiphany's insistence.

Sam turned to her mother. "Why did you insist you and I be the ones to leave the room?"

Alexis threw her hands in the air. "Because I'm feeling guilty!"

Sam sighed. "You're always feeling guilty. Why this time?"

"I yelled at you and basically bullied you into inducing your labour."

Sam breathed in deeply. "I thought we moved past that. It was a long time ago. I know why you did it."

"But maybe if your pregnancy held on a little longer…"

"Helena still would have found a way to take her and Kristina wouldn't be alive today. Look, I was angry… no furious at you for a very long time and even blamed you for killing my baby. I wish you didn't scream at me like that, but even if my baby died it wouldn't have been your fault. Steve said back then that it would have happened anyway. I don't want you to feel guilty every time you see Willow, because I want her to know her grandmother."

Alexis sighed. "You know when I thought you were dead, I didn't have a grave to visit you, so I thought I'd visit your baby's instead. The irony of it…"

"Was that when you found me talking to Father Coates?"

She nodded.

"I almost told you then that you were my mother… then you showed me abuse pamphlets." Sam laughed. "I should've listened to you sooner."

"And look at us, we're going down the what if road again…" Alexis wrapped her arms around her. "At least we have each other now."

"Yeah, and now we have Willow."

GHGHGH

After the Davis girls visited Willow, Sam decided to go home to check on Danny and Scout. The kids and Lucas had already gone to bed. She peeked in on Scout who was sleeping soundly, clutching Dotty the Dalmatian tightly. Sam kissed Scout's forehead and tucked the blankets around her. Then she made her way to Danny's room. He was sound asleep, but it was red around his eyes as if he'd been crying. Her heart ached for him. She wished he would open up to her more, but she understood why he wouldn't. She just hoped more than anything that he and Scout would welcome Willow and get along with her.

She ended up in her own room next and lifted her baby's pink blanket from her bed. She pressed it against her cheek and headed to Willow's room. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stood in the doorway. She missed everything. First steps. First words. And she wasn't there to protect her from Shiloh. She'd be damned if she missed anymore of any of her kids' lives. She sauntered into the room and folded the pink blanket, then placed it in the middle of Willow's bed.

"Mommy?"

Sam turned and saw Scout in the doorway.

"I had a bad dream." Scout pouted.

Sam walked over to her and picked her up. "What was the dream about?"

"Scary lady at the pool took me and Danny and Willow away from you."

Sam's heart sped and she held her close. "Do you want to sleep with Mommy tonight?"

Scout nodded.

Sam carried her into her room and laid beside her. As she watched Scout fall back to sleep, she hoped more than anything that Scout's dream wouldn't come true.

GHGHGH

Sam pushed Willow in a wheelchair towards the elevators.

"I'm really fine to walk," Willow said.

"Patrick said it would be best to take a wheelchair, so that's what we'll do," Sam said.

They stopped when they saw Jason wearing a housecoat in a wheelchair and Monica sat on a bench beside him.

Sam cleared her throat. "How are you feeling, Jason?"

"It's really taken a toll on me," Jason said

"Yes, and he's not to do anything strenuous for 12 weeks, but I think it should be longer than that," Monica added. "And I still think you should come home with me when you're released."

"I think Nelle will make me worse," Jason said.

Monica sighed. "Good point. Maybe I should move in with you until you're fully recovered."

"Maybe," Jason said, then turned to Willow and smiled. "Drew told me that you're Sam's daughter. I'm really happy for both of you."

Sam smiled a little.

GHGHGH

When Sam and Willow arrived home, Lucas and the kids were sitting in the living room. Danny's face went rigid, but Scout ran over and hugged Willow.

"Willow, you're my big sister!" Scout said.

Sam smiled at her.

"Will you colour with us?" Scout pulled Willow's hand and dragged her over to the couch.

"Scout, Willow might want to rest, she's still recuperating," Sam said.

Lucas leaned over and hugged Willow sideways on the couch. "Welcome home and welcome to the family. We were all so relieved to know that Nelle isn't Sam's daughter."

Willow frowned.

Danny jumped up from where he was sitting and glared at Willow. I don't need and I don't want another sister!"

"Danny…" Sam started.

Danny glowered at Sam. "What's next? Donald Trump is really my father and not Drew!?"

"Danny, please…"

Danny darted past Sam, nudging her along the way, and ran up the stairs.

"Danny!" Sam called after him.

Sam turned back to Willow who was staring at her lap. "I'm sorry, he's just really confused."

"It—It's okay…" Willow rose to her feet. "I should go up and rest anyway."

Sam sighed.

"Aren't you gonna colour with me?" Scout whined and stuck out her lower lip.

Willow smiled a little at Scout, but tears formed in her eyes. "Maybe we can colour later." She hurried past Sam and hastened up the stairs.

"It's okay, Scout," Lucas said as he grabbed the blue marker. "I'll colour with you."

Sam took a deep breath and headed up the stairs. She stopped at Danny's room first.

She was on his bed reading a history textbook and his nostrils flared.

"Danny…" Sam sat on the edge of his bed. "I know this is all confusing for you and you have a lot of emotions going on… but I don't want you to shout at Willow like that."

His eyebrows furrowed. "I'm trying to study."

She lifted the textbook from his hands and set it down on his night table. "You can study later. We're going to talk about this."

"I don't want to talk."

"Well, that's too bad then. I told you about the mind mapping and hypnosis stuff going on, right?"

He just stared at her.

"Well, we know the truth now," Sam said. "Drew is your father and Willow is your sister. We have the proof and it's not changing. If it will help, I can show you the papers. And this is good news… you've always loved Drew. And thank the heavens Nelle isn't your sister. She's a cruel woman."

"Not just cruel, she's crazy…"

Sam nodded. "You're right. Now, I know this is hard for you. But if you're upset, if you're angry, then please talk to me or Drew or Uncle Lucas or your grandparents… you have so many people who love you and want to help you. But I'm not going to sit back and watch you be rude to Willow because she's been through a lot too and she needs us."

"Fine. Whatever," Danny said and grabbed his textbook. "I want to be alone right now."

Sam sighed. "Okay, I will let you sort through your thoughts. But please… just come to me." She kissed the top of his head. "I love you."

She headed to Willow's room next where she was lying on her side crying.

"Awe, Willow…" Sam sat at the edge of the bed and rubbed her arm. "I'm sorry about Danny… He's been through a lot and he's just confused."

"I'm not upset about Danny… I understand why he's confused."

"Then what is it?"

Willow exhaled deeply, then sat up a little and pushed away her tears with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't…"

"No, please talk to me," Sam said. "What's wrong?"

"It's just… everyone keeps saying they're glad I'm not Nelle. Isn't anyone glad that I'm me? Or is it just that if it's between me and Nelle they'll just take the least crazy one?"

Sam sighed. "I'm sorry. We shouldn't have kept saying that, especially me. I am so glad that you are you. I mean, there's still so much that I don't know about you, but I want to get to know you more. You're smart, so sweet, and you're strong. You're such a good mother to Wiley and what makes you so strong is you keep protecting him from afar even after you found out he's not your biological son."

"I really do love Wiley."

"I know you do. And how you shared your D.O.D. story to Kristina, that really got through to her and was a huge part of what made her stay away from Shiloh."

Willow swallowed hard and stared at her lap. "What you did, taking down D.O.D. and killing Shiloh… I know you didn't do it for me, but part of me feels like you did do it for me. I know it sounds ridiculous… but my mom, I mean Harmony," she started to choke up. "She didn't protect me. She handed me over to Shiloh. But you… you took him out. It's like you'll protect me the way that she didn't."

Sam wrapped her arms around her and cried with her as they sat at the edge of the bed. "What he did to you was so atrocious and evil… but I'm going to tell you something I haven't told anyone… not even my mother or Kristina. But I did go after Shiloh for you. I mean on the surface it was for Kristina, but indirectly it was you. When I thought you died when you were born, I didn't want to go on. But Jason, who I was with at the time, told me that you would live on through Kristina because your stem cells saved her. Don't get me wrong, I love her as my sister, but it was deeper than with Molly because I somehow felt connected to you through her. I even chased her down to Mexico when she and Michael ran away there when they were teenagers. I always felt this need to protect her even more than Molly, who I'd still do anything for, because of you."

Willow sobbed in her arms as Sam rocked her back and forth, then Sam reached for the pink blanket on the bed.

"This was going to be yours when you were a baby," Sam said. "I know you're a grown woman now, but I'd still like you to have it. And whenever you feel lonely or not good enough, just hold this blanket close and know that you always mattered to me and you always will."

Willow took the blanket and held it close to her chest. She breathed in deeply. "Thank you."