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And now on with the show….

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"Okay, I know its cafeteria food, but you haven't touched anything. What's up?" Emily had been worried about Sam all morning and now her imagination was in overdrive. She knew the dinner with Lucky had gone fine and he wasn't in school this morning, so they hadn't had a fight. Elizabeth was gone too, so there was no chance she had run in to her that morning. So what the heck was going on with her best-friend? Sam was so late that by the time she got to the lockers she just grabbed her books and headed straight to first period. And then Emily noticed her over interest in all things academic in every class. But the weirdest thing of all was all of the trips to the bathroom.

"Samantha, talk to me please!" Emily was seriously agitated.

"What? Oh, sorry Em, I'm just spacing." Sam focused in on her friend for a brief moment.

"No kidding, the question is why are you spacing. Is it Lucky?"

"No. Come with me to the bathroom." Sam took her untouched tray and headed for the trash cans. Emily hadn't lost interest in her lunch but followed her friend's lead.

When they got to the bathroom Sam pulled out her cell phone and tried the house again. She got the voice-mail, again. Slamming the phone shut she contemplated dialing Sonny's cell, but he said he'd call when there was news and if she kept bugging him she'd end up being more trouble than her parents needed. So she put her phone back in her pants pocket, so she could feel the vibration better when it went off, and decided to practice patients.

"Okay, did you drag me in here to watch you make a phone call? I really wanted that chocolate cake Sam."

"No, I came in here to use the phone and to explain. Look something, and I'm not even sure what, is up with my mom. She was in a lot of pain this morning and she didn't want to let on, but I'm sure she only went to the doctor because the pain got so bad and Sonny insisted. She's been out of sorts all week, but she acts like it's no big deal, but this morning she couldn't hide what was going on. I tried to go with her, but Sonny vetoed that idea outright." Emily was leaning on the sink and listening intently.

"So you've been calling and waiting to hear news? Talk about not knowing how to use your resources. Give me that phone!" Em demanded.

Sam handed her friend the phone and waited. Once Emily got through she made some small talk and then asked some odd questions about schedules and volunteer rotations finally ending with a lot of thanks and a pinched look on her face. When she closed the phone and gave it back to Sam she didn't speak for a while.

"Right, because the silence is making it better. What'd you find out Em?" Sam pleaded with her friend.

"Your mom has a surgery scheduled with Dr. Meadows for first thing tomorrow morning. I'm sorry." Emily put her arm around her Sam's shoulder standing right next to the ashen faced girl now.

"I knew it was bad. I should have insisted on going with them. I gotta get outta here and go home." Sam was pulling from Emily and heading for the door.

"Sam! Why don't you call your dad? At least see what's going on, before you go into a full on panic attack, it might not be that serious. Colbie didn't know what the procedure was, she just saw Alexis' name on the schedule."

"No, you don't know my folks. They didn't call because they want me to finish the day and get my precious education and they're at home working on a way to tell me and Michael what's going on in a down-played way. It'll be so filtered by the time I get home that surgery will sound like hang nail removal. I have to catch them off guard if I want the truth, so I'm leaving, right now."

"Fine, then I'm going with you." Emily shoved her friend toward the door this time before she could offer up any protest.

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"You want to talk about?" Sonny asked his wife for the hundredth time that morning.

When they left Dr. Meadows office Alexis didn't say more than two words to him or anyone else for that matter. In fact she had tried to dispatch him home so she could get some work things in order, but Sonny had refused to leave her alone if she was insisting on going into her office at all. He watched and waited as she gave her secretary all sorts of instructions. He watched as she arranged to have a new law clerk come in. He watched as she rattled even more directives into a mini-recorder for both of the women. She finally put together a stack of files and dumped them into a box that she dropped on her husband's lap and left the room. After a minute he followed her out since apparently she wasn't coming back. They made a trip to the courthouse and Sonny stayed in the car. Alexis disappeared with Max on her heels leaving Frankie in the limo with Sonny. A half hour went by before she got back in the car and they were finally headed to Greystone. She was having some mild cramping and of course the nausea was still there, but she felt relatively alright. She had to push through because surgery or not Alexis Davis didn't leave things in chaos.

At home things didn't get any better. She was in the twin's room making sure things were in order for the next few days and going over a calendar of activities for them and Michael. When Sonny told her she should eat something and rest a little she only glared at him and mumbled something about eating when she got good and ready. Since they were home he went down to his desk to get some work of his own done and to check in with Jason because he knew if he didn't give her some space they'd be at one another's throats for the rest of the day.

Sonny braved it after an hour and went back into his bedroom. That's where he found her sitting on the bed in front of an empty suitcase with silent tears streaking her face.

He repeated the question. "You want to talk about it?"

Sliding in close to her from his side of the bed Sonny pulled his wife into a strong comforting embrace. Still silent, she was shaking.

"I'm being ridiculous. Everything I know in my head tells me this is necessary, this is a routine procedure and I'm not really losing anything, because the pregnancy was never viable. But I still feel like I'm losing our child. I'm worried about all of the, what ifs and what happens if something goes wrong and I don't get to see my children again." When she did finally speak Alexis had plenty to say.

Sonny just continued to hold her. Then he pulled back so that he could look her in the eye. "You are going to be fine. You have to believe that. I know it and believe me the lose is mine too, but we both heard what the doctor said. The baby never had a chance, but she also said we could try again if we wanted to and you know how much fun that can be."

That did draw out a slight chuckle and Alexis sat up. "How do we tell the kids? I don't want the twins freaking out and thinking I'm going in the hospital and never coming back, but I don't want to lie and say I'm leaving for work either. Sam and Michael are old enough and they deserve the truth, but I know Sam's brave front will be just that. She has the worse separation anxiety of them all and you know it."

"It'll be alright. I already spoke with Jason and he's handling everything until you're back on your feet and a 100. I'll be here for the kids and you full time."

That elicited an eye roll and sigh from his weakened wife. "Great more hovering… just what I'll need."

They both heard the footsteps heading down the hall and were puzzled because no one was supposed to be in the house except Max and he was downstairs. Sonny stood up and grabbed his gun from his waistband. He motioned for Alexis to go into the closet near her side of the bed. Crossing the room he stood behind the door waiting for it to open. When it did he would have blown his daughters head off if she hadn't called out for her mother.

"Mom, mom are you…." The question got cut off with her scream when she noticed the gun muzzle before she realized the person holding it was Sonny. Sam was used to guns, but wasn't expecting her dad to be holding one on her in that moment. Alexis popped out of the closet at the same time when she heard her daughter's voice.

Seeing Emily behind her Sonny put the gun back in his waist and pulled his shirt out to cover it up all in one motion. Then he went off the edge.

"What the hell are you doing out of school?"

"Dad, Emily…" He cut her off again.

"Okay, same question for both of you. What the hell are you doing out of school?"

Sam crossed to her mother and threw her arms around the older woman. She answered her dad, but kept her focus on her mother. "I was worried about you. You said you would call, but you didn't, so Emily called the hospital for me to see what she could find out. I know you have to have surgery." Looking up with tear filled eyes she asked her mother, "What's wrong?"

Alexis hugged her daughter again and worked on calming both their nerves before she continued. Emily was still standing in the door feeling more and more awkward by the second.

"Alright you two go downstairs and wait for us." Sonny said breaking everyone's private thoughts.

"Sonny…"

"Daddy please, I just want to…"

"That wasn't a request. Go downstairs now!" The girls scurried out of the bedroom and down the back stairs to the kitchen and could hear Sonny slam the door behind them. All he could think was his wife better survive because he wasn't going to make it through any more teenage years with their children if she didn't.

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They stammered through their explanation at warped speed. There wasn't a lot of it that made real sense to Sonny, but he didn't have time to deal with every miss step they had made. He sent Emily back to school with one of the guards with instructions for them to drop her off at the office. He wanted to make sure the school knew she was gone and that she was back. How the Quartermaines dealt with it from there was their business. He called and explained to the Dean of Students why Sam was out of school and that she would be back on Monday. It wasn't that he wanted to cover for her, but now that she was home he hoped she could be a little comforting to her mother.

Sitting on the sofa Sam practical chewed through her finger. She was way past nail biting at this point. Sonny had walked out to the patio with the phone and she had been waiting for his wrath since Emily left. He let the door bang closed when he came back in and set the phone down on the bar never speaking to her.

Taking a swig of water from the bottle he spoke without looking at his daughter. "I swear I don't know what to do with you anymore."

"What?" Sam asked annoyed.

When Sonny turned around she knew a shift in tone needed to be made post haste. His eyes looked even darker than usual and if she wasn't mistaken it wasn't all anger and frustration she was seeing. She decided that this was the transition she needed. Getting up off the sofa she crossed to him and hugged him tight. It took a minute but his arms finally responded and he returned the embrace.

"Daddy what's going on?"

"I think your mom wants to be the one to explain it to you."

Sam pulled out of the hold and backed away toward the stairs. Sonny took hold of her hand and stopped her. "There's a reason for everything Samantha and you don't just get to decide what rules you'll follow and which ones you won't young lady. Go talk to your mother, but understand I'm not done dealing with you on this, are we clear?"

"Yes."

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Sam went to Alexis' room thoroughly freaked out. If Sonny was holding off a lecture or punishment for ditching school she knew it was bad. When she knocked on the door and didn't get a response Sam stepped into the room expecting to see her mom sprawled out on the floor in agony. Instead Alexis stepped from the bathroom wiping a cloth over her face. Instinctually she went to hug her daughter and pulled her over to the bench in front of her bed.

Alexis did her best to explain the situation to Sam truthfully while down playing the severity of the situation or her own sadness over it. None of her efforts kept Sam from wearing a very worried expression or kept the tears from falling down her cheeks.

"So when are you going back to the hospital?"

"As soon as Michael and the twins get home we'll have dinner and then I'll get them tucked in and Sonny will take me back."

"Can I come?" Sam requested hopefully.

"No baby, I really want you here for the twins. I know Leticia is here, but you're their big sister and I would feel so much better if you were the one answering their questions and soothing their fears."

"So, can I at least stay home tomorrow to come and see you in the hospital?"

"That should be alright. I'll let dad check on visiting hours and such and make arrangements, as long as it's after school Samantha, no more ditching."

Sonny was listening at the door and interrupted. "Dad's already made the arrangements. I signed you out of school until Monday. Mom will be home by then and Leticia is going to need your help with the twins and Michael. Oh, and your mother's right Samantha… no more ditching."

"Yes daddy."

"Somehow when she's this agreeable I don't believe her. That yes just means until the next time you think it's really important for you to go AWOL." He kissed the top of his wife's head and looked his oldest in the eye. This so wasn't over.

Sonny left the room and Sam helped her mother put her hospital bag together. They were actually talking about things other than the surgery and the mood had lightened a little. By the time everyone else was home Sam had changed into more comfortable clothes and had gotten some homework done. She had also spoken to Emily who didn't get into any trouble at all. As she explained to Sam no one even missed her. Some kid had been caught smoking in one of the bathrooms and the Dean was dealing with that when she was dropped off. She was told to just go to her next class, so she did and then went home with no one the wiser.

Dinner was simple and quiet until Michael noticed that no one was really eating.

"Okay, so mine is pretty good, what's wrong with everyone else?" Michael gestured with his fork.

"Maybe the rest of us aren't starving human-hoover." Sam responded.

"Shove it Sam, you'd be hungry too if you did something other than talk on the phone as a sport."

Alexis didn't really mind the bickering tonight. It was part of the music of their house and she knew she was going to miss it over the next couple of days. Then she watched the twins complete the great plate exchange. It was like they had this little plan worked out ahead of time for who would eat what. They separated their vegetables and while Krissy ate all of the carrots Morgan ate all of the peas. They both ate bread, but Krissy found chicken yucky, tonight, so Morgan got a double portion and his sister got a heaping helping of extra potatoes. The behavior stood to work her husband's last good nerve, but Alexis was continuously amused.

Once it appeared that Sonny could take no more dinner was officially over and Leticia carted off her charges to get them cleaned up for bed. As Michael and Sam cleared the table they continued to bicker. Who did which job, why the other was moving so fast or slow, and the right way to load a dishwasher were all up for debate. But when Sam wet her brother with the dirty dish water a holy war broke out. She tried to apologize because it was an accident, but he Michael didn't believe her and used the sprayer to wet the front of her tank top. Sam had a cup poised over his head when Sonny walked back through the kitchen. He only said three words to them.

"Clean it up."

The siblings cracked up and Sam aborted the mission and dumped the glass back into the sink. When they had finally finished they went into the living room where they found their parents relaxing on the sofa.

"Night guys, I have homework to finish." Michael said and headed for the stairs.

"Michael, sweetie, I need to talk to you. Come here please." Alexis said.

When he came around to face her and his dad he noticed the serious look on their faces and the shift in Sam's mood was hard to miss.

"Something's wrong isn't it?" Michael inquired.

"Michael I have to go into the hospital tonight. It's nothing too serious, but Dr. Meadows needs to do a procedure on me that requires I stay overnight for a few days."

"What kind of procedure? I'm not a little kid like Morgan, tell me the truth."

"Alright, Mr. Grown-up, I'm pregnant, but there are complications. The baby isn't where it needs to be in my body for it to grow."

"So is Dr. Meadows gonna take it from one place and put it in another?"

Sonny had a hard time every time they referred to it as a baby. When he thought of it that way he felt the lose twice as much.

Alexis continued. "I wish it was that simple honey, but this baby can't survive. It never really had a chance. Dr. Meadows has to remove the baby from me completely. But I'll be fine and she said that if dad and I want to try for another baby I'll be in perfect health for that in a few months."

Michael just sat with the news for a minute. Then he hugged Alexis and said, "I know you'll be fine mom, don't worry okay."

"Well, when you say it that way I believe it. Do you have any other questions?"

"No. Can I go upstairs now?"

Sonny looked at his wife and daughter and decided to just leave it alone. Everyone dealt with things in their own way his wife had explained to him on numerous occasions and apparently Michael needed some alone time. So, instead of pushing he just excused his son. Half way up the stairs Michael leaned over the railing and called out, "I love you mom."

"I love you too Michael." She called back.

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"Please tell me you're not planning to camp out in that chair all night." Alexis had been checked in to the hospital and hooked up to all sorts of monitors for the last two hours. She had been given something mild for the pain and it was relaxing her, thankfully, but not knocking her out. Her husband however was driving her crazy. He asked a million questions of everyone that came in and out of the room. He fluffed her pillows, held her hand and kissed her more than a dozen times in the last half hour and she was ready to climb out of her skin.

"I'm staying right here until they wheel you into that operating room and I'll be the first person you see when they wheel you out."

"You know how much I adore you, but you are driving me nuts, okay. Go home sleep in our bed and get a good night's rest. The surgery isn't scheduled until 8 o'clock in the morning. I would feel much better if you could see the kids off and then come." Alexis put on her pleading face and voice and saw his demeanor begin to crack.

"I don't like…"

She cut him off, "Sonny I'm the patient, so I get to say, alright. And what I'm saying is go home, please. Just for a few hours. Once this pill kicks in all I'm going to do is sleep anyway. Besides I want to see your gorgeous mug clean shaven and if you sleep here you'll have that awful scruff that I hate all over your face.

"You're reaching, which means you really want me out of here, so you win. I'll go, but only for a few hours. When the sun comes up trust me I'll be here."

"Your dimples and sunshine exactly the image I need before I go under."

Sonny walked over kissed his wife and then headed for the door. Blowing her one more kiss he turned off the light in the room and gently closed the door. As he headed for the elevators the most feared mob boss prepared for the worse night of waiting he'd had in a long time.