Sam shot up in bed breathing hard. She had been having the oddest dream and it must have startled her awake. Looking over she noticed that Carly was still sound asleep and she smiled. Carly slept like rock. Slipping out of the bed she was sharing with her friend Sam went to the bathroom to wash her face and get a drink of water. Since she didn't feel like going back to sleep Sam perched herself on the toilet tank so she could look out the small window in their bathroom. She was still trying to wrap her head about the fact that Cody and Evelyn had adopted her, though it certainly did explain a lot. Even as a little kid she knew that Evelyn didn't like her and didn't really want her around. To Evelyn she was just another mouth to feed. Cody tried, at least he liked her, but she didn't think he loved her. To Cody she was more like a really small buddy than a daughter.
So why was she with Cody and Evelyn in the first place? Why wasn't she with her real mom and dad? Was there something wrong with her? Sam's mind drifted to the woman who was out there somewhere, the one who belonged to Sam, the one Sam belonged to. Was she nice? Did she like popcorn too? Did she talk really fast sometimes, so fast that she forgot to breath? Did she like to look up at the stars? Did she love to swim? What if they found her and she still didn't want Sam? That last question bothered Sam and yet it would be ok as long as she got to stay with Carly. She and Carly could take care of each other. The thought of her friend made her sigh. Carly wanted Sam to be with her mother, to have a home and someone to love her. Sam wanted the same for Carly. She had tried to argue with her friend again. She'd pointed out to her that her mother was the same age Carly is now when she had her; maybe she was to young to care for a baby. Carly replied that she was taking care of her wasn't she, so why couldn't her mother have done the same? Sam then pointed out that a baby is lot more work then she was, she was ten, she was practically grown, which had made her friend laugh.
"Sammie?" Carly's sleepy voice called out.
Sam got off the back of the toilet and went back into the bedroom. "Yeah?"
"You ok?" Carly asked.
Sam climbed back into bed and snuggled with her friend and protector. "Yeah, I'm ok. Go back to sleep."
"You too." Carly said as she put her arm around the younger girl and snuggled before drifting back to sleep.
The next morning as the girls got ready for the day Carly thought about her next move. She'd left a couple more little notes for Bobbie and now would be the perfect time to ask for the money. There was a big birthday bash being planned and Carly was going to threaten to revile Bobbie's dirty little secret at the party. The only hitch to her plan was the small tug of doubt she was having about all of this. She'd been watching Bobbie. She'd seen the woman staring at the picture she'd left. She watched from a distance as the woman looked longingly at her children, as if suddenly there were someone missing. Had she seen regret on the woman's face? No, it didn't matter; it didn't matter if she did regret giving her away. This wasn't about her it was about Sam. Or at least that's what she kept telling herself anyway.
"You ready half pint?" Carly asked the little dark haired girl.
Sam beamed and nodded her head. "I keep her busy while you slip the note into her purse."
Carly nodded and held out her hand to the girl. The two made their way to Kelly's because they knew that every Wednesday morning Bobbie had breakfast at the diner so she could talk to her aunt. They waited unseen outside the diner until they saw the woman walking towards them. Sam sprung from her hiding place with her battered old backpack so she'd look as if she were on her way to school. Then suddenly just as she was in Bobbie's line of sight she fell, and just as they knew the mother and nurse would do, Bobbie rushed over to the girl.
"Oh, sweetheart, are you alright?" Bobbie asked.
Sam had the crocodile tears going as she replied, "My ankle!"
With Bobbie's attention fully on Sam Carly made her way over to where Bobbie had dropped her things. She reached for the note with her demands, which she had in her back pocket, but as she slipped it out she felt a hand wrap around her wrist. Spinning around she saw Bobbie's brother standing there.
"Hello darlin'." Luke greeted.
Sam saw the man and screamed. "Carly!"
Carly screamed back as she tried to pull away from Luke. "Sammie run!"
Bobbie was confused but quickly snapped out of it. She reached for the little girl she was kneeling next to but the little girl was too quick for her. She watched as the girl jumped to her feet and ran off. Getting up Bobbie went over to where Luke was struggling with a way to thin blonde teenager. "Luke?"
"Barbara Jean." Luke said as he managed to wrap his arms around the girl and hold her against his body.
"Let me go!" Carly said as she struggled and tried to stomp the man's foot. "Let me go you son of bitch! Help! Help!"
"Now darlin', is that any way to speak to your dear old uncle Luke?" Luke asked as he tighten his grip.
Carly froze.
Bobbie stared in shock. "Luke?"
"Barbara Jean," Luke repeated with a smirk. "I'd like you to meet Caroline Benson. You're daughter."
The ruckus outside the diner had drawn a crowd, Ruby and Mac among them. Mac was the one who stepped up to the Spencers. "Is that the girl you and Jax were looking for?"
"Hey Bubba! How's life?" Luke replied with a smile. He could feel the girl's body go tense. She could sense a cop no matter how he dressed. She was a Spencer and Luke had to admit he was impressed with the girl.
Mac scanned the area quickly. "Where's the younger one?"
Luke jerked his head in the direction the little one went in. "She ran."
When they started talking about Sam Carly started to fight again. She couldn't let them get Sam. She threw back her elbows as hard as she could to get the man to loosen his grip and when he did she slammed her foot into his shin, while throwing her head back, busting him in the nose. Breaking out of his hold she took off running towards the docks. Unfortunately for her Bobbie called out to her, "Caroline wait!" and something deep inside her caused her to hastate. That slight hesitation gave Mac the split second he needed to catch her.
From the shadows Sam watched with tears streaming from her terrified eyes as the adults drug Carly away. She watched until everyone was out of sight and then carefully slipped away because she knew people were looking for her. She and Carly had a meeting place just incase something like this happened so she would go there and wait for Carly to sneak away. Carly always snuck away.
Bobbie was standing in the police station looking through a window at a very scared, very angry looking teenage girl, her girl, according to Luke. When they got there he showed her the letter she was trying to slip into her purse and she'd read it in disbelief. "Why Luke? Why would she do this? I don't understand."
Luke explained everything he'd learned about Caroline in Florida. He told his sister that her daughter had had a good home but that she'd lost both her adoptive parents to bad health and that she'd spent the last three years in the foster system. He told her about Sam and how close they were and how the girls had run off together. He also explained, rather proudly, how Caroline had tracked her down and came to Port Charles.
"To extort money from me?" Bobbie asked with a shake of her head.
Luke shrugged. He figured there was more to it but he also figured that was Caroline's business.
"Are you sure that's her?" Bobbie asked.
Luke pulled out the copy of Carly's file he had on him. It included a picture. "That's her."
Inside the integration room Mac was trying to get Carly to talk to him but she refused. "That little girl is out there alone." He tried. "You need to tell us how to find her."
"I don't need to tell you shit." Carly replied as she sat there with her arms crossed and the most pissed off look she had ever had before. She was scared but she tired like hell not to show it.
"Was the girl with you Samantha McCall?" Mac tried. "There are people looking for her. People who want to help."
"Get bent." Carly replied.
Mac sighed. It was clear he wasn't getting anywhere with her so he got up and joined the others outside. He walked over to Bobbie and Luke looking just as confused as everyone else. "She isn't talking, or at least, she isn't saying anything worth hearing."
Bobbie looked through the window at the girl and then said, "Let me talk to her."
"I don't know Bobbie." Mac started to protest.
"She's my daughter, Mac." Bobbie replied.
"Yeah, about that, um, daughter?" Mac asked. "I thought you couldn't have kids?" The look of pain in Bobbie's eyes made Mac sorry he'd said the last part. "Sorry, I didn't mean…"
"That happened later." Bobbie sighed and for the first time of a hundred times to come she explained. Mac already knew her past, knew about her being a hooker, but no one had known how young she'd been when she'd started, or that one of her first encounters had lead to a pregnancy. Bobbie sighed again. The few people who knew the story already looked at Ruby with a small hint of contempt, how could she have put Bobbie into the line of work? She could only imagine how they would look at her now; knowing Bobbie had been so very young.
"How can you be sure?" Mac asked when Bobbie was finished. She showed him the file Luke had just showed her.
While Mac was looking over the papers Bobbie walked away and into the room where Carly was. The papers had just been the hard evidence, looking at the girl caused a feeling deep down in Bobbie; somehow she just seemed to know. When she realized that the girl she was looking at was the one she'd seen weeks ago she berated herself; why hadn't see seen it then? The girl looked up at her with a look that was somewhere between a deer in the headlines and a rabid badger. "Hi."
Carly clenched and unclenched her jaw. She felt trapped and scared and those emotions never really lead to Carly doing anything smart.
Bobbie slipped into the seat across from her and stared at the girl. If she had simply known that day in the hospital none of this would be happening. Shouldn't a mother know her own child at first sight? Bobbie took Carly in and she couldn't deny it now, she was looking into the eyes of her child. The only flesh and blood child she would ever have, and that made Bobbie want to protect the girl even more.
The staring went both ways until Carly became uncomfortable. "What are you looking at?"
"I'm sorry." Bobbie said with a soft smile. "I was staring at you. You're very pretty. I can see some of my mother in you, your eyes, your hair."
Carly's throat tightened.
"I can't believe you're sitting there." Bobbie said softly. "I never thought…"
"You'd ever have to see me again?" Carly cut in. "Sorry to spoil it for you."
Bobbie was taken aback. "No, no, that's not it at all." She paused, took a breath. "Yes, I never thought I'd see you again, but I've wanted too. There hasn't been a day where some part of me hasn't thought of you."
Carly snorted in disgust and disbelief. She didn't believe Bobbie; she was to hurt and angry to really listen.
"We have a lot to talk about, Caroline." Bobbie said gently.
"Carly." Carly barked at the woman. "No one calls me Caroline but my Momma, and she's dead."
"I'm sorry." Bobbie said quickly. "I'm so sorry about your parents, Carly."
Outside the men were watching through the window when Jax came into the room. "Mac?"
Mac turned to face the man. "We have one of the girls you told us about, the older one, the little one ran off. Bobbie's trying to get her to tell us…"
Jax walk towards the closed integration room door and flung it open. "Where's Samantha?"
Carly looked the man up and down and raised an eyebrow at him. He was gorgeous! But she didn't let that mellow her out any, "Excuse me? Who the hell are you?"
Jax came closer. "She's ten years old and she's alone in a strange city without you. She's probably scared and more then a little freaked out. Where is she?"
"What the hell do you care Crocodile Dundee?" Carly snapped back at the man. Then he said the one thing she wasn't expecting.
"I care because I'm trying to get her back to her mother." Jax said honestly.