"Your brother is the coolest." Cameron declared as he once again became engrossed in the handheld hockey game Steven had given him earlier. Since they had returned home, the toy had only left his hands to brush his teeth and even that was under protest. For the past hour all Elizabeth heard was the electronic whirs and beeps that indicated some sort of action occurring on the screen. She was officially no longer sure if her brother loved her or was on a mission to drive her absolutely bonkers.
"Just make sure you say that in front of Patrick some day ok bud?" There was no way she had missed the burning jealousy that flashed across his face when Steven had ceremonially presented the presents. She had tried, she honestly had tried, to keep back her laughter at his sulking but this wasn't her fault. She had told him what was going to happen. It wasn't her fault he had chosen to think she had been pulling his leg in an attempt to get him to agree to a theme wedding.
Cameron just nodded distractedly, which was probably just as well. His actually repeating that statement would most likely lead to her worst nightmare, living in a toy store. Complete with every NASCAR related item she was sure Patrick could find. At one point Elizabeth could have sworn she heard him muttering something about Dale Earnhart blankets, but she was choosing to think that was the result of a hyperactive imagination instead of reality.
Collapsing onto the couch, Elizabeth smiled over at Cameron. He had been home less than a week and already it felt as if he never left. Well almost, she corrected herself. There was something different, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. And it was something to do with her. No, they weren't back to the glare of death phase again, but he definitely wasn't talking to her as much as he used to. Cameron was holding back on her and she would bet her last paycheck it had to do with something Tony and Lisa had told him.
He still hadn't told them everything. They had only found out about the line about them loving the twins more than him when Cameron was full of questions and concerns they had changed his room while he was gone and given it to Jake. She could feel the rage building and tried to squash the urge to go throttle those two yet again. How could they claim to love Cameron and try to turn him against his own family like that? Alright her family wasn't the picture of normalcy, but at least they didn't start the back-biting and betrayal until they were adults like normal people!
The small sigh and the sudden suspension of electronic noises were the only indications Elizabeth had that the game was over and, judging by the look on Cameron's face, he had certainly not been the victor. "What's with the sad face there mister?"
"I lost." Cameron put down the game and walked over to the couch. "I don't wanna play anymore."
"I give it another few days and you'll beat it every single time." Elizabeth promised with a wink. "And if it's just too impossibly hard, we'll give it back to Steven and tell him you need a better one."
Cameron pursed his lips as if he was considering the idea and shrugged his shoulders as he sat down on the floor. Ok now she knew something was wrong. Cameron loved to jump on the couch, especially if Lucky wasn't anywhere near to catch him at it. And right now Lucky was downstairs trying to argue with a manager of some new artist who didn't understand the concept of vacation. "Cams? Something wrong?"
"No." Cameron denied shaking his head. "I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
"Something Grandma said."
I knew it, Elizabeth thought triumphantly. "What did Grandma say Cam?"
"Nothing."
"Cam it's not nothing. You can tell me. I promise I won't get mad."
He squinted his eyes as if he wasn't quite sure if she was on the level with him. This suspicious streak had to be Luke's fault, Elizabeth decided. Every Spencer but Laura seemed to have it. "Cameron have I ever lied to you?"
"You didn't tell me there were going to be twins instead of one baby."
Damn. He had her there. "That was a surprise for everyone. That wasn't really a lie." Elizabeth answered thinking quickly.
"I don't know."
Moving towards where he sat on the floor, Elizabeth reached out and held his hand in her own. "Whatever is going on Cameron, it's bugging you. And you always feel better when you tell someone what's bothering you."
"Do you like me?" Cameron questioned out of the blue.
Reeling back as if she had been punched, Elizabeth struggled to keep her breath. Looking into his serious eyes, she could feel her heart break. How could he think she didn't like him? She ran her fingers through his hair and met his eyes straight on. "Of course I like you."
"What about Daddy?"
Blinking her eyes in confusion, Elizabeth shook her head and laughed a little. "Well yeah I like Daddy too but Cameron..."
Cameron shook his head, interrupting her. "No. Do you only like me because of Daddy?"
"Where on earth did you...?" Elizabeth caught herself before she could finish the question. She knew exactly where Cameron he had gotten that idea. Those rotten bastards. What? They couldn't get Cameron to budge from loving his father so they convinced him everyone else didn't want him around? She could feel the bile start to rise up in her throat but she held her tongue. There would time enough for ranting later when she was on the phone with Robin and when Lucky finished up his business call. Right now she had to concentrate on Cameron. "Sweetie. I liked you before I even knew who Daddy was."
"Really?"
"Really." Elizabeth lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "In fact, there were times you were the only thing I liked about your daddy."
Cameron giggled at her answer. "You're silly Lizzie."
"Well good, because so are you. I missed you so much while you were gone. And you don't miss people you don't like."
Cameron smiled and leaned over to hug her. "I missed you Lizzie." He said into her shoulder.
Feeling tears start to well up, she bit the corner of her mouth to keep them back as she hugged him hard to her. "You're home now. And nothing is going to change that."
*****
"Bobbie, really, we'll be fine." Cruz insisted, taking the tray from his wife and sending her up the stairs to play with the kids. Patrick had come over to pick up Morgan and Lucky just so happened to be over as well, so it seemed a good time to discuss the wedding.
"Are you sure?" There was some voice telling her trusting these three with anything to do with the wedding was foolish. It was going to be difficult enough to pull this off in such a short time frame without having to correct any unnecessary decisions.
"We're sure." The boys said in unison, all smiling widely.
This could be the biggest mistake she ever made, but she had to trust her husband somewhat. Bobbie nodded her head as she made her way upstairs, sending a quick prayer that Robin would understand and forgive her.
"She doesn't seem to trust us, does she?" Patrick noticed.
"I have no idea why." Lucky shrugged. Casting a devious glance over at his cousin, Lucky smirked. "So got your monkey suit picked out just yet?"
"Only because Robin made me. I don't know why she's making such a big deal about this. It's not like we can get it wrong."
Lucky lifted one eyebrow. "That is not the impression I got."
"What do you mean?" Cruz wondered, smirking.
"As my living room has become the unofficial wedding planning office, I have learned all sorts of things that are apparently wrong. For example, apparently it's in bad taste to serve beer in cans."
"Well how else would we serve them?" Patrick wanted to know, befuddled.
Lucky held up his hands in ignorance. "I just live with the maid of honor. I don't get to question these things."
"And I live with the wedding planner, but she won't let me cheat and look at her notes." Cruz sighed.
"About the only thing we can agree on is that Morgan is going to be the ring bearer. Oh and the rings." Patrick complained. If he had thought this much work went into a wedding, they would have eloped.
"That's it? Dude you are getting married in about two months!" Lucky leaned over and smacked him. "You need to make some decisions or you'll end up in some theme crap dressed as a knight or something."
"Robin wouldn't do that to me."
You don't know that for sure. She's planning her wedding. To you. That alone we all thought was impossible."
"Shut up." Patrick rolled his eyes. "What kinds of decisions should I be making?"
"I don't know. Ask Cruz. He's the one who's actually married."
"Eloping in Vegas should be your first clue that I have no idea how it works." Cruz pointed out.
"Maybe it will be easier if we figure out what decisions are better to leave to the girls." Lucky suggested.
"Well, I won't need to pick out the dress. And, from what Robin's told me, Bobbie found the location yesterday. Robin wants the wedding to be by the water."
"So that's all settled. What about food?"
"I suggested pigs in a blanket and she didn't say no, so I guess that's a silent consent to go ahead with it. Other than that, I don't know."
"Bar?"
"I'm thinking red wine and some basic beers."
"Good call." Lucky nodded. "It sounds like you have everything covered then."
"There is just one thing left." Patrick managed to position himself so that he could stare at each of them.
"No offense Patrick, but I am not helping you plan your honeymoon." Lucky joked.
"I don't think I'll need any help in that department." Patrick threw back with a chuckle. "No, I was thinking more in terms of best man."
"Best man?" Cruz asked.
"Yeah, I've been thinking about it, and I guess you've got to stay with tradition."
"Makes sense." Lucky nodded.
"Would it be okay if you both did it? What I mean is, would you like to?" Patrick posed quietly.
Lucky and Cruz shared a look between them. It was Cruz who found his voice first. "Sure. Yeah."
"Of course." Lucky added.
"You don't have to sound so glum about it."
"Would you prefer a cheer?"
"I'd prefer a few smiles or thanks or something."
"You're welcome." Cruz grinned.
"And we're honored." Lucky added. "Better?"
"Much."
*****
Glancing down at the stack of papers he held in his hand, Harper wondered how exactly this moment was going to play out. Right now, he had the power to change her life forever. It was entirely possible through completely accidental means that he had just solved part of the second greatest mystery of Samantha's life. And it would be up to her if she wanted to solve the other part of it.
She would either love him for finding her answers or hate him for bringing with him a whole slew of new questions. It was a trap he knew well. He would start a case; accomplishing one thing would be fine with him. Rescue the missing child. Find the murderer. Arrest the bad guy. But it never was. He would get caught up in the minutiae. Help the family of the victim. Help the family of the perp when they were victims themselves. When he had started as a rookie cop, he would get swallowed by his cases and almost drown when something went wrong. To save himself, he had developed a hard as nails jackass persona. It was a matter of survival. And as much as Samantha tried to project that to the world, Harper knew that was all it was. A projection. A façade.
If this didn't go the way she had hoped, if the answers weren't as simple as she had determined in her head, finding this answer for her would shatter her heart. And he didn't think, no he knew, he couldn't bear to do that. But if he didn't tell her about this, she'd walk out of his life without a second glance. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't, Harper mused as he made his way into the apartment he once again shared with her.
"Samantha? You around?"
"Upstairs. Just a second." Sam called from the bedroom. Ever since David moved back in, she had found herself doing things she wouldn't normally do such as taking her clean laundry out of the baskets and putting them in the dresser. Usually she just shoved them in the drawers. Now, for no particular reason, she couldn't stand to look at an empty closet and a cramped dresser.
"Can you just come here?" He asked. "I really need to talk to you."
Sam walked to the stairs and peered down, recognizing the near panic she heard in his voice. "What is it?"
"Just come here please? I promise it's important." He looked up into her eyes, pleading with her to just take a few steps. His heart was racing, he was nervous. Which was ridiculous. He had told mothers their only child had been gunned down in gang violence and this was making him nervous? He needed to have his head examined.
Sam hurried down the stairs and stopped just shy of touching him, her eyes never leaving his. Self-consciously, she brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "What did you find out?"
Offering his free hand, he held tightly to the papers with his other. You can do this David, he told himself. You knew this day was going to come sooner or later, so just sit her down and do this. "Sit down."
"It's bad isn't it?" Sam let him lead her to the couch, but she couldn't keep the childish fear out of her voice.
"That's up to you." Harper answered honestly. Sitting down across from her, he took a breath before starting. "A few days ago, the commissioner called me into his office to work on a special case. One not connected to the Department."
Sam gulped. "Okay."
"Remember when I called you about Alexis Davis? What your take on her was?"
"I remember you hanging up on me." Sam answered brusquely. "And yes. I thought she was flighty."
"I had a reason. It seems our former crusading DA has a past none of us would have ever guessed. And the commissioner wanted me to track down a piece of it."
"Where are you going with this? Why should I care about Alexis Davis?"
"It seems while she was in high school she had a baby. A little girl. A few years after she gave birth, she changed her name to get away from her father and crazy stepmother." Noticing Samantha go still, he held out the papers to her. "It seems Alexis Davis started life as Natasha Davidovich."
"No, that can't—no sense." The words were plunged from her throat as she started to wheeze. She felt his hand on her back and leaned forward to catch her breath.
He kept a steady pressure on her back, rubbing it with his hands. "I know. I've been staring at the papers for the past three hours and it's not any closer to making sense in my head either."
Sam was startled when she straightened and felt fresh tears on her cheeks. "I don't know why I'm crying."
"You may have just found what you are looking for." Harper shrugged. "It's normal. You're overwhelmed."
"I have to...I have to see why she gave me up." Sam got shakily to her feet, looking from left to right. She wasn't sure where to even start.
"Slow down." Harper stood up, putting his hands on her shoulders. "First you need to make sure our hunch is right. Then you can get your answers."
"I'll just ask her straight out and if she says no then we'll know we're wrong." Sam knew she was grasping at straws. Ever since the moment she found out she was pregnant with Vincent she had wondered what kind of person her mother was. To find out she was so successful and living her life by her own terms made Sam feel stronger in her own pursuits.
"There's one way. Another might be to suggest a DNA test." Harper suggested gently.
"You mean you aren't sure?" Sam slapped the papers out of his hands, wanting only to see them hit the floor more than to actually pick through them. "Why bring this to me if you aren't sure?"
"I brought this to you because the timing it fits and it seems very likely she could be your mother. This was a lead. Just like the name Natasha Davidovich was. You knew when we started we could find several leads before we found the right one."
"I know." Sam answered in an eerily calm voice.
"I know that look. Talk to me."
"I was just thinking. If Alexis is my mother, that means I have a little sister."
"True." If he thought about it, he could see a resemblance between Kristina and Samantha, but now was not the time to point that out to her. Now was time for rational thought.
"You think I'm crazy."
"Never."
"Sure you do and I don't blame you. I haven't exactly been living on what one might call steady ground this year."
"You've had some rough spots." Harper allowed. "But you are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for."
"No. I just lean on you." Sam corrected him.
"I'm not complaining."
"Well you wouldn't." Sam rolled her eyes. "Have any plans tonight?"
"None. What are you thinking?"
"A date. A real one. Dinner. Movie. What do you think?" She watched him so she could gauge his immediate reaction.
He shot her a wink. "Get your things Gorgeous. We're going out."
Previews:
"Of course I did."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted to see if you were going to tell me the truth."