"Mommy!" Morgan called up the stairs, stomping his foot impatient. "Mommy, there's someone at the door." Robin poked her head around the corner suspiciously, a toothbrush in her mouth. She didn't know a single member of her family that knocked anymore. That meant it was someone else. Someone she wasn't expecting. Reluctantly, she came down the stairs. "There you are!" Morgan ran over to her. "The door."

"I was brushing my teeth." Robin defended, dropping the aforementioned toothbrush into the kitchen sink. "What's got you so worked up anyway?" she asked, walking to the door.

"Someone's at the door." Morgan repeated emphatically.

"I hear that." Robin promised. "Why don't you go to your room and play? I'll be upstairs in a minute." She waited until he was out of sight before she opened the door. As she had expected, she didn't recognize the person on the other side of the door.

"Robin Drake?" The woman wanted to know. She was Alexis's height with a short brown bob and brown eyes. In her hand, she held a brown leather folder that seemed to double as a briefcase and a clipboard.

"That's me. What can I do for you?" Robin wasn't sure how she responded at all.

"I'm here to inform you that Alan James Quartermaine Jr. has decided to seek legal custody of your adopted son, Morgan Stone Corinthos." The woman explained robotically.

"On what grounds?" Robin asked in a weak voice.

"On the grounds of him being the boy's biological father."

"And there is proof of this?" Robin challenged.

"A test is being run as we speak. The hearing will be on Friday at nine a.m."

"Will Morgan be able to stay here with me in the meantime?" Robin wondered, pressing her lips together to keep them from trembling.

"That's up to the judge to decide." The woman explained. "Here." She handed Robin the stapled sheet she had had secured on the clipboard.

"Thank you." Robin watched her walk away and then closed the door, leaning against it.

"Are you okay Mommy?" Morgan asked, suddenly standing on the bottom step of the stairs.

Biting her bottom lip hard, she pushed away from the door and gave Morgan a watery smile. "I'm fine. Listen, how about we go see Patrick at the race track? Does that sound like fun?"

"Nathan's sleeping." Morgan reminded her.

"We can wake him up." Robin decided, hurrying him up the stairs. "Come on. We're going to go and have some fun. Maybe we can steal Patrick away and get some ice cream."

"Really?" Morgan asked, following behind her. "Do you think we could go get Cameron?"

"We'll see." Robin told him. "Right now, let's go wake up your brother."

"Can babies have ice cream?"

"Would you let me be the mommy Morgan? I'm sorry." She apologized quickly. "I'm sure he'll be fine with a bottle."

"How long until he's big enough to play with?"

"Once he learns to turn over, we'll have a better idea of when."

*****

I am such a stalker, Sam thought to herself as she crossed the parking lot and met Mac in front of Walgreen's. "Hi. Hey. How are you?" she butchered out.

"Sam? Hi. Fine. What are you doing here?" Mac wondered, shuffling his feet. He didn't know quite how to act in front of his stepdaughter and, from what Alexis had told him, she was easy to scare off.

Sam cleared her throat. "I thought I'd come and pick up a...some medicine. I've got a, um, a scratchy throat."

"Well you don't need a prescription for that, just some warm salt water and some peppermint candy." Mac told her, seeing through her lie but deciding not to call her on it. For whatever reason, she had approached him and the investigator in him wanted to know why.

"Oh! Maybe I'll try that. What—what are you doing here? You're not sick, are you?"

"No. Alexis wanted me to get some caramel candy and this is closer than the grocery store." Mac explained. "I hope you feel better Sam."

"Wait. I...I wasn't...I'm not sick." Sam admitted, catching up to him when he headed for the store entrance.

"Did you want some candy too?" Mac teased, wondering from her expression if he had said the wrong thing.

Sam smiled. "No. Thanks. I just saw you over here and I thought..."

"That your mother might be with me?" Mac finished for her. "When I left, she was playing dolls with Kristina."

"That's good. They should spend time together." Sam replied.

"I'll let Alexis know you approve." Mac selected the preferred bag of candy and handed it to the cashier.

"I guess I thought she would be going back to work."

"She's reevaluating her life. When she got sick, her focus and her goals changed. I think she's just trying to make up for lost time."

"That's good. I won't keep you. I'll just...she told me she was sick, but she never told me if she had gotten better." Sam pointed out.

"Doesn't she look better?" Mac countered, waving off the cashier's offer of a plastic sack and snatching up the candy.

"Yes. She looks wonderful." Sam felt tongue-tied. Mac had an answer for every question as if he had rehearsed this very conversation. It made her uneasy.

"Sam, I know you're worried about her. It's not easy to see your parents as anything but strong and it must be doubly hard for you because you recently found out she existed." Mac waited for her to follow him back to his car. "I don't want you to worry."

"Too late." Sam mumbled.

"Why don't you come by the house later? Alexis and Kristina promised to make something really special." In a lower voice, he whispered, "And if that goes to hell, we can order a pizza. It's none of my business, but Alexis told me that you and my detective are seeing each other."

Sam blushed and looked down at her hands. "I knew she couldn't keep that a secret."

"He can come too. From what she tells me, he'll starve to death without you there and then I'm out a detective. Dinner's at six." Mac opened the car door and slid inside. "I never did say this, but welcome to the family Sam."

*****

"I'm coming. I'm coming." Lulu called out through the door. The knocking had been insistent for the past few minutes. "Can I help you?"

"Depends. Who are you?" The tall brunette wanted to know.

"Lulu Spencer. And you are?"

"Sophie Cassidy. I'm assuming that you've at least met my son since this is his apartment." She brushed back her mahogany curls and waited for confirmation.

"You're Evan's mother?" Lulu blinked as she stepped aside quickly. "Yeah. He's..." Well now that she thought about it, how exactly did she explain her relationship with Evan? Her rehab counselor? Her boyfriend? Her savior? "He's been letting me stay here awhile."

"Awfully nice of him. Is there anything to drink?"

"Sure. I think we have some juice. Or water."

Sophie grinned. We, huh? "Juice would be nice." She bypassed the couch and let her gaze wander to the bedroom.

"Sure I'll be right back." Lulu scurried off into the kitchen. Should she call Evan?

"Take your time." Sophie allowed, turning down the bed and fluffing the pillows.

Lulu forced herself to take a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm. Had Evan mentioned her to his mother? Was she here to inspect her? Did it really matter to her if she did make a good impression on this lady? She was more than a little surprised to find out it did matter. It mattered a lot. Picking up the glass she was surprised to find her in the bedroom. "Here's your juice."

"Thank you." Sophie accepted the glass and glanced around the tiny room. "I take it you haven't lived here long."

"No. Not long. And it's not permanent."

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Sophie moved them out of the bedroom. The location obviously made the young woman uncomfortable.

"It's only till this little situation I have is resolved. Then I'm moving back to my place"

"So this is just a stopover for you."

"Evan's just too generous for his own good."

"He has a big heart." Sophie agreed. "Which is why I'm concerned."

"Concerned?" Lulu repeated puzzled.

"My son doesn't give his heart away to just anyone."

"I wouldn't say we were involved in that way ma'am." Lulu protested.

"And what way would you care to describe it then? You've been living here at least long enough to know where the glasses are, my son has mentioned you, and please don't call me ma'am. It makes me sound a hundred years old." Sophie insisted.

"We're...we're friends. Close friends."

"Close friends? Then I guess you know all about Ethan."

"I wouldn't say all about him." Lulu protested, feeling her cheeks begin to inflame.

"Well I guess some things never really change, do they?" Sophie mused, finding a cushy spot on the couch and sitting down.

"What...what are you talking about?" Lulu questioned as she sat down in the chair.

"Ethan was my oldest son, Evan's brother." Sophie explained.

"Ethan."

"That's right. When they were children, they were as close as two brothers could be. They were best friends and each other's confidants. I'm sure there was a lot they got away with that James, my husband, and I didn't know about."

"Sounds like my brother and cousin."

"Did Evan tell you why he's in Port Charles?"

"He said he wanted to join the PCPD."

"I thought you said you were close friends? Anyway, that's not the entire reason."

"You clearly want to tell me. Why don't you just say it?"

"Ethan moved to Port Charles last January. He did it against my wishes, against Evan's advice. It wasn't too long, six weeks or so, before he got depressed. He was out here all alone, but he wouldn't admit that anything was wrong. I asked Evan to check on him, but he was working a big case in Manhattan. A few weeks later, I got the call that Ethan was dead." Sophie rubbed her hands up and down her crossed legs, trying to soothe her nerves.

"What happened?"

Sophie met Lulu's eyes. "He overdosed on Heroin."

Lulu's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my God."

"Six months later, Evan tells me he's moving to Port Charles to find his brother's killer. I was against it. I'd already lost one son and my husband within a year of each other. I didn't want to lose Evan too, but he insisted and he got his stubbornness from me…so he came here. A few days ago he told me that he had found the man responsible and taken care of it. I got scared and tried to call him back, but he never answered. Every time I call, he's always away from his desk or some other nonsense. So I thought I would come here directly and find out what he's done and if there's any way I can protect him."

"He took care of it?" Lulu stood up and began to pace. Vermin. He had to have gone against Vermin. What had he done? What had he done? Was this why he was so confident in his ability to keep her safe? She looked up haphazardly at the clock in the kitchen. Another three hours at least until Evan came home.

"Something tells me you know more than you're saying."

"I don't. I don't." Lulu swore.

"When I told Evan about his brother, he was so enraged. I've never seen him like that and I got a little scared. The day he told me he was going to Port Charles, it's like an eerie calm had settled over him. He'll never admit it, but I know he blames himself for what happened to Ethan. I don't know what he'll do to make things right. I'm afraid that the little boy I raised has become so consumed with finding the man responsible that I won't even recognize him when I see him." Sophie wiped away a lone tear.

"He's not..." Lulu took a deep breath. "He can be a pain in my ass, but he's one the gentlest men I know. One of the only good ones."

"Would you mind if I stayed until he got home?"

"No. Not at all."