"Daddy?" Lance pulled on Dillon's sleeve. "What are we doing here?"
"We're going to see an old friend." Dillon explained nervously. At least he hoped they were. It was entirely possible Sage had left town as soon as the doctors sent word the surgery was successful. After all, it hadn't exactly been an easy task trying to find where she was staying in the first place.
He had known going in, she wasn't using her real name. Too obvious. Knowing her, she wasn't staying at any of the smaller inns and motels. She was too well versed in the town's mobster past to feel comfortable in the seedier selections. He took a gamble, calling most of the mid-range hotels and asking if Diego Rivera was in. He had almost given up when, the last call on his list paid off.
"Do I know this friend?" Lance asked.
"Not really. But she knows you." Dillon raised his hand to knock on the door and said a little prayer that this plan of his actually worked out.
Sage glanced up at the door, automatically reaching for her pistol. Diego had gone without a word, only a note of explanation that he was hungry. She knew better than to announce her presence so she slid closer to the door and put her pistol in front of the peephole. Only then did she ask, "Who's there?"
"Dillon."
"Dillon?" Sage pulled open the door quickly, slapping her hand to her chest when she noticed that he wasn't alone.
"I remember you!" Lance cheerfully announced.
"We were taking a chance that you hadn't left yet." Dillon explained hurriedly pushing past her, Lance holding his hand the entire way into the room.
"What are you doing here? And with him?" Sage demanded.
"I figured you were going to leave soon and I wanted to say goodbye."
"What concern is my leaving of yours? I tried to help you and I couldn't. Please go."
"I thought you said she was a friend Daddy." Lance stated. "She doesn't seem happy to see you."
"Sage just doesn't take surprises very well." Dillon explained. "But at some point she will be glad we did this."
"Lance, I'm not trying to mean, but it's not safe for you to know me."
"Why not?"
"Because there are bad guys who would hurt you if they knew you were here."
"I can take care of bad guys. I'm strong like Spiderman. Right Daddy?"
"That's right." Dillon agreed.
"Besides you came to see me at the hospital." Lance remembered. "If it's dangerous why'd you come there?"
"Dillon, can I speak with you over here for a second?" Sage said through gritted teeth.
"Sure. Lance why don't you see what's on the TV ok?" Dillon wandered over to the corner where Sage was standing.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Dragging him over here when you could have been followed?"
"We weren't followed. I've seen The French Connection enough times to know when I'm being followed."
"A movie reference. How original. I know you were mad at me for coming to the hospital and I'm sorry your husband didn't tell you about it, but this is cruel."
"This isn't about being cruel. This isn't even about Lucas. It's about Lance. You ran from the hospital as soon as a donor was found. You need to see that he's fine Sage."
"I know he's fine. The doctor told me he was. This visit was unnecessary."
"No it was completely necessary." Dillon argued stubbornly. "At some point Lance is going to ask questions about who you are. I'd rather be able to tell him he at least met his mother once."
"Don't say that. I am not his mother. You and Lucas have done a fine job raising him and I see that. You asked me once why I agreed to the surrogacy in the first place since I obviously didn't need the money. I have never seen two people in such desperate need of a child, two people that had little or no chance of getting one. Must I pay for that decision every damn day of my life? It's so hard to look at Lance, to see my father's nose and your smile."
"I get that. And I'm not asking you to form a relationship with him. Or step in and be a parent to him. I'm not trying to punish you. But this whole thing made me realize that you do play a role in his life, even if we don't acknowledge it. We got through this, but what if something else goes wrong Sage? What if he needs you again? What if you one day have another child and that child needs Lance?"
"What do you want me to do?"
"Just spend a little bit of time with him. Tell him goodbye. Send an email once in a while."
"And who do you suppose I tell him I am?"
"The same thing I told him. An old friend of mine and Lucas's."
"I'll say goodbye, but I don't want him to know where I am. I don't ever want him to come and try to find me because we both know what'll happen if he does. You can accuse me of abandoning him, not jumping to attention when you first came to see me, but I love him just as much as you do."
"I always knew the tough girl thing was just an act." Dillon smiled. "When the time comes I'll explain all that to him."
"Thank you."
"Now go on. Talk to him. He doesn't bite."
"Hey Lance? What are you watching there?"
"Transformers movie." Lance offered.
"Do you mind if I watch with you?"
"Nope. Sit down."
"Thanks. You know, I used to be an actress."
"Really?" Lance swirled his head around. "Did you make any movies like Daddy Dillon likes to make?"
"Just one. Before you were born. It was called A Night Within A Day. Maybe you can watch it when you're a little older."
"Cool." Lance smiled. "Did you become rich and move away?"
"I was already rich, but I did move away. I didn't have a great family like yours."
"That's sad. So you don't have any cousins or anyone to play with?"
"I have one cousin: Diego. He's great. Other than that, no."
"You could come over and play with me if you wanted."
Sage bit the inside of her cheek. "That can't happen. After today, I have to go away again."
"Do you have to make another movie?"
"Yeah. I have to make another movie."
"Oh." Lance nodded. "Daddy Dillon explained a lot of movie stuff to me. You have to go on location right?"
"That's right."
"But you'll have fun right?"
"Not as much fun as I'm having right now.
"Will you come back when the movie's done?"
"No. This is the last time you'll see me."
"But why?"
"Lance, let's just watch the movie. You and your dad have to leave afterwards."
"Ok." Lance sighed. "But I still think you should come back and play with me again."
"I'll try."
*****
"No one forced you to come you know?" Sam pointed out as she pounded on the door. She would have walked right in but the door was locked and she didn't want to alarm her sister or mother, let alone her stepfather who happened to carry a gun.
David just barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "No but if I didn't come, you're not going to ask what you really want to know."
"So you're saying I'm incompetent."
"No I'm saying you're chicken."
"Not wanting to hear my mother admit that she's getting worse makes me a chicken?"
"No it makes you human. It makes you chicken because you'll deny to everyone but me that you don't want to know just that."
"What is all this yelling about?" Alexis demanded, yanking the door open. "I can hear you from upstairs."
"This isn't yelling." David smiled at Alexis. "This is us discussing."
"This is yelling." Sam argued. "Can we come in?"
"Yes. Come in." Alexis moved back so they could enter. "Did something happen?"
"You tell us." Sam challenged, folding her arms.
David held up his hands. "This is her. I'm just here for moral support."
"Moral support? Sam, what's going on?"
"I found the pills." Sam informed her.
"Okay." Alexis said slowly. "What pills?"
"For the pneumonia. You should have told me."
"Told you what? And pneumonia? What are you talking about?"
"The pills. I saw them on the kitchen counter. I looked up the name and it said they're for pneumonia."
"Oh." Alexis covered her mouth with her cupped hand.
"She's really good at research." David offered. "And Samantha doesn't do the whole curiosity thing real well."
"I had pneumonia a few months back." Alexis told them.
"Then why was it a new prescription? How could you keep this from me?" Sam demanded.
"Keep what from you? That I used the same bottle for the new pills?"
"Same bottle? New pills? What are you talking about?"
"Can we sit down? Please?"
"No. I want to stand. Tell me what's happening."
"Samantha maybe you should sit down. You're less likely to scare Kristina that way." David whispered to her.
"I don't want to sit." Sam repeated, blinking back tears.
"Sam, no. Don't cry." Alexis begged.
"I just found you."
David stepped forward and rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "Just let Alexis talk Samantha. Let her talk."
"Thank you David, but she has every right to be upset." Alexis replied wearily. "Listen, the pills you found, well they weren't for the pneumonia. It came and went so fast I didn't even have to go to the hospital. Dr. Bernstein agreed to come here. With him, he brought me some information about an experimental treatment he had been reading up on. It was only in its testing stage, but it looked promising. He told me he had recommended me for the next trial and I've been on the experimental drug ever since." She paused. "What did I have to lose? It's not like the Chemo was making any difference anymore and I had already promised Kristina that I wouldn't go back to the hospital again."
"Did it work? Is it working?" Sam asked cautiously.
"It is. My white blood cell count is multiplying every day and Dr. Bernstein thinks I'll be cancer free by Christmas." Alexis's smile was shaky. "I wanted to tell you, so many times, but I didn't want to risk it not working."
"By Christmas." Sam whispered.
"Just an estimation, but yes."
"That's...I'm sorry I yelled at you." Sam whimpered in response.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm not going anywhere." Alexis promised, hugging her. "On that note," she added, stepping back, "If you two aren't rushing off, would you like to stay for dinner?"
"No interrogating David." Sam insisted.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"I can take care of myself Samantha." David pointed out.
"I can take care of you too." She shot back with a grin.
David bit back his instinct to make a joke. Alexis would not appreciate his and her daughter's usual sense of humor. "Samantha can't help out with the cooking."
"That's fair." Alexis agreed.