When they got to the hospital Sam put up such a fuss about being away from Carly that there was no choice but to put her and Carly in the same cubical. She hadn't had much of any medical attention over the last ten years so the doctors, even though Doctor Quartermain was a nice man, scared her. It didn't help matters that Sam tried to bite the lab tech who came to draw blood. It took Carly and Alexis to hold the girl down so blood could be drawn and an IV placed in her arm. Sam was pretty pissed at Carly over it, so much so that when they put her in a hospital room by herself for the night she didn't say a word. She just laid there in the hospital bed with her arms crossed over her chest, as best as she could mange anyway with the IV, and pouted.

"Wow." Jax said with a chuckle as he watched Sam through the door window from behind Alexis. "She seriously looks just like you."

"I don't pout." Alexis huffed but the corner of her lip was curled a little.

Jax smirked as he put his arms around her. "Sure, ok, if you say so." Then he laughed. "You pouted for months after that whole Eddie's Angel thing."

Alexis groaned and gently elbowed the man behind her. Jax chuckled and then the two stood there for a moment before Alexis said, "This feels like a wonderfully sad dream and I'm terrified of waking from it."

"Its not a dream, Alexis." Jax said as he squeezed her gently and then he asked, "Wonderfully sad?"

"Wonderful because she's there, she's real, she's in my life again." Alex explained. "Sad because she's been through so much in her life and she's still just a baby."

"You couldn't have known, Alexis." Jax turned her around so they were face to face. "Mikkos really had meant for her to be placed in a good home. Neither you nor he could have foreseen what would happen to Sam."

Alexis shook her head. "I should have."

"How?" He asked her as he titled her chin up to look at him.

"Mother's intuition?" Alexis sighed. "Maybe I did know. All these years I've felt like something was hallow inside me, like something somewhere was out of sync, but now, now I feel, for the first time in my life, like I'm whole and everything around me is as it should be."

Jax rewarded her for that statement with a dazzling smile and a searing kiss. When they broke apart he said, "You should sit with her. I'm going to check in with my lawyer and grab you some coffee."

Alexis smiled at him and shook her head. "She isn't the only reason this feels like a dream. First you find my sister and now my daughter. Jasper Jacks you're to good to be true."

"Since the day we met you've been there for me." Jax said as he held her hands in his own. "You're my best friend, Alexis, I love you and I would do anything for you."

"I'll never be able to repay you for this, Jax." She told him as she caressed his face.

He smiled at her again. "You don't have to but if you want to then just do right by that little girl in there."

Alexis turned to look through the door window again. "I'm going to try."

Sam looked up when she heard the door open and when she saw Alexis come in she went tense. She could tell that they were both feeling awkward and nervous, maybe even a little scared. It was really hard to believe that this woman was her mother. Carly would never lie to her, so she believe that Carly believed she was, but the last few weeks had really shaken Sam's world right down to its foundations and it was going to take time for her sort it all out.

"Hi." Alexis said as she came in and sat beside the girl's bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Why do I have this thing in my arm?" Sam asked bluntly.

Alexis smiled softly. "The doctors said that you and Carly are a bit dehydrated and malnourished, so the IV is giving you some fluids and vitamins and stuff that will help build up what you've lost."

"Carly took good care of me." Sam said defensively.

"Oh, I know, I wasn't saying she hadn't been." Alexis jumped in. "The doctors think it actually started back at that place you were in, or maybe even before that. I know that Carly took really good care of you."

Sam eyed the woman carefully before asking, "Is Carly alright?"

Alexis nodded. "She's fine. She's just down the hall getting the same treatments you are."

"Good." Sam said as she started to slowly relax a little. "Is her real mom with her?"

"Bobbie?" Alexis asked and then nodded. "Yes, Bobbie's with her."

Sam relaxed even more. "Her momma died, she had a bad heart, and Carly really needs a momma to take care of her."

"Every little girl needs a mama to take care of them." Alexis said carefully as she studied every inch of the child.

"I did ok without one." Sam informed her and then regretted what she said a little when she saw the hurt in the woman's eyes. "Evelyn died when I was five. Danny set the house on fire but he didn't mean too. So I haven't had a mom in awhile, not that she really was a mom, she didn't like me much."

It was breaking her heart to hear that her child had gone unloved for so long. It also broke her heart to see the sadness in Sam's eyes when she spoke of the boy. Jax had told her everything. "My friend Jax…"

"The tall blonde man?" Sam asked. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"Yes, kinda, sorta, it's complicated." Alexis answered and then continued what she was saying. "He was the one who found you for me. He met Danny."

Sam's eyes went huge. "Is he ok? Is Danny ok?"

Alexis nodded. "Danny's in a special school with kind and caring people who know how to take care of very special boys like him."

Sam relaxed even more. "Good. Danny didn't like moving around so much. It was hard on him." Sam got really still for a moment and then dug up a little bit of bravery and asked, "Do you think I could maybe see him sometime?"

"I think that could be worked out." Alexis answered.

The girl sighed with relief. Ever since Cody left her behind she'd wondered and worried about her big brother. Cody wasn't the best at looking after Danny and she knew things would get sticky for them with her gone. Knowing that Carly and Danny were both ok gave the girl a sense of peace and security that gave her a little more bravery in asking, "What happens to me now? Do I go back to a group home?"

"No." Alexis said with a shake of her head. "No, Sam, you'll come home with me."

Sam frowned. "You don't know me."

"You're my daughter, Sam." Alexis told the girl. "I want to get to know you. I want to take care of you."

"You threw me away!" Sam said as the anger flashed. "You didn't want me!"

"I did want you!" Alexis replied as tears welled in her eyes. "I wanted you more then anything! Sam, I loved you the second I knew you existed, and I've never stopped."

Sam crossed her arms again. There were tears welling in her deep brown eyes. "Then why did you give me away?"

"I didn't, at least not willingly. You were taken from me." Alexis explained. "I was young, Sam, I was only sixteen, and my father made the choice to give you up for adoption. I didn't have a choice. We thought you were with a family who would love you, protect you, we didn't know it had all gone wrong."

Sam was feeling overwhelmed. She felt lightheaded again and closed her eyes. She opened them again when she felt the woman take her hand. This time she let her hold it a little while longer. When her door opened again she pulled it away.

"Alexis." Stefan said as he came into the room. "I wanted to see how Samantha was doing."

Sam looked the dark man up and down before asking Alexis. "Who's he?"

"My brother." Alexis said softly. "His name is Stefan." Then she looked up at her brother who'd come to stand beside her. "She's doing well thank you. A little dehydrated and malnourished but that's easily remedied."

As Alexis spoke Sam and Stefan sized each other up. Finally Stefan spoke as he put his hand on his sister's shoulder. "I'm glad she is well."

"Thank you." She said softly and then added, "They're keeping her overnight to monitor her. I'm going to stay with her."

Her focus was so completely on Sam she didn't notice when Stefan tugged on her hair.

"You are?" Sam asked in surprise.

"I am." Alexis replied with a nod and a warm smile.

Stefan nodded as he moved away a bit. "Let me know if either of you need anything."

"I will, thank you, Stefan." Alexis said as she beamed up at her brother.

The tall dark man bid them both goodnight and then left the room. Out in the hall he handed several strands of hair to a lab tech. "I want the DNA test done by morning."

"Yes Mr. Cassadine." The tech agreed.

Back in the room Sam said, "He's creepy."

Alexis laughed. "You'll get use to him."

Sam eyed the woman for a few seconds and then shook her head.

"What?" Alexis asked.

"You're ready to take me home just like that?" Sam said as she tried to fight off a yawn. "I'm a strange kid off the street and you're just going to take me home with you like a lost puppy."

"You're not a lost puppy or just some kid off the street, Sam." Alexis replied as she brushed at Sam's hair. "You're my daughter, my little girl, and I might not know you yet, but I will. I want to know everything about you, your likes, your dislikes, your moods, what makes you laugh, what makes you cry, what makes those beautiful eyes light up. I know it's hard to understand, Sam, but I do love you." She gave Sam a warm, loving smile, before leaning in and kissing her on the forehead. "Get some sleep sweetheart. I'll be here when you wake up. I'm never leaving you again, I promise."