The next morning when Stefan walked into the girl's room he found his sister asleep with her head resting on her folded arms on the side of the bed and Sam's hand in Alexis' hair. The sight made him smile. He quietly walked over to his sister and put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze as he whispered, "Alexis."

Alexis stirred. "Hmm?"

"Shh." He added. "Don't wake the little one."

It took several seconds but Alexis was finally awake enough to nod.

Stefan helped her to her feet and guided her outside into the hall. "I wouldn't have awoken you but I have news."

Alexis rubbed her sore neck as she asked, "News about what?"

"Samantha." Stefan answered.

Concern, worry and fear quickly filled Alexis' eyes. She was suddenly very awake and very aware. "Is she alright? Did something happen? Did the doctor's find something…"

"No." Stefan said quickly, cutting his sister off before she could get to far into one of her breathless rants. "No, she's fine." He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket and handed it to her sister. "I had your DNA and hers cross typed. Just to make sure."

Alexis blinked. "You ran a maternity test on me and Sam behind my back?"

"Yes." Stefan said evenly. "We needed to be absolutely sure."

"I was absolutely sure!" Alexis snapped at him. "I might have pushed the memories down to keep from hurting, but Stefan I have never forgotten looking into my newborn daughter's eyes, and yesterday when I saw Sam I knew without doubt that I was looking into those eyes again. I felt it Stefan! I felt it down deep in the core of me! That is my daughter laying in there!"

"And now you have the validation of those emotions." Stefan said calmly. "She is without a doubt your child. Now you have documented proof that will help you legally."

Alexis eyed her brother carefully before saying, "Thank you, Stefan." She gave him a soft tight smile before turning serious again. "But that wasn't your only reason for doing this."

"No, it wasn't." He admitted. "She is a Cassadine. That entitles her to certain things."

Alexis shook her head. "She doesn't need any of those entitlements if that means bringing her to Helena's attention."

"I will keep her safe." Stefan promised.

Alexis wanted to argue more about just how much of a role being a Cassadine would play in Sam's life when the girl cried out. She rushed back into the room. "Hey there sweetheart. It's all right. I'm right here."

There were tears rolling down Sam's cheeks. When she'd woken up alone she thought it had been a dream. She thought she was alone again without anyone. It scared her so badly that she threw her arms around Alexis when she came over to her.

"Shh baby." Alexis held the girl and rubbed her back. "Its ok. I'm here. I'm right here."

Sam sniffled. "I thought you were a dream; but you're real."

"Yes baby I'm real." Alexis said softly as she held Sam in her arms.

Sam hugged the woman for several minutes before finally loosening her grip on her and opening her eyes. Seeing Stefan in the doorway she said, "You're creepy brother is staring at us."

Alexis chuckled as she let the girl go and helped her settle back into her pillow. "Stefan stop staring. It's rude."

Stefan raised an eyebrow, which got a giggle from Sam, which made him smile.

"Is this a private party or can any Cassadine join?" Kristina said from slightly behind her brother. "I come baring breakfast from Kelly's."

That caused Sam's eyes to light up. "I love Kelly's!" Then she looked at Alexis. "Who's she? And what's a Cassadine?"

"She is my sister." Alexis answered. "Kristina. And don't worry about the Cassadine thing. I'll explain later."

Kristina beamed as she came into room and started setting up breakfast. "Hi squirt. Nice to meet you!"

Sam looked at Kristina, Stefan, and Alexis for several moments before saying, "She's your sister?"

Alexis laughed as she accepted coffee from her sister. "Kristina looks like our mother. I look more like our father."

"And I look like you." Sam added in.

That got a dazing smiling from Alexis. "You noticed?"

"How could she not?" Kristina said as she sat on the edge of the girl's bed. "She's gorgeous, you're gorgeous. You both have those huge brown doe eyes."

Sam blushed a little. No one had ever called her gorgeous or beautiful or anything. Alexis and Kristina were both so beautiful. She kind of liked the idea of maybe being beautiful too.

Kristina smiled brightly at the slight blush. She reached out and caressed her new niece's cheek.

From the hallway Carly watched. Everyone had been reassuring her that this Alexis Davis woman was Sam's mother, Bobbie had even shown her the results from a test that was done, but Carly was still feeling leery. She'd spent over a year looking out for Sam and it was hard to just step away, even though this is what she wanted for the girl.

"You should be in your room, Carly." Bobbie said gently. "Breakfast is on its way."

"I wanted to check on Sam." Carly replied. As soon as they let her out of this place she was going to say goodbye to Sam and move on. She just wanted to make sure Sam was settled first. "Is she a good person?"

"Alexis?" Bobbie asked and then nodded. "She is. My nephew and her nephew are brothers and she's wonderful with them. She's going to be good to Sam."

Carly nodded. "Good. She's a good kid and should be in a good home. She should get to be a kid."

Bobbie put her hand on Carly's shoulder. "You should get those same chances, Carly."

The girl shrugged away from Bobbie's touch. "I'm not a kid. I'm fifteen. Besides, I had that chance, I got to be a kid, so don't worry about it."

"Carly." Bobbie began but didn't get a chance to say anything else because Carly walked away.

Bobbie sighed but followed her back to her room. Once Carly was settled back into the bed she said, "Fifteen isn't grown, Carly. I'm glad you had a good life with your adoptive parents and I'm so sorry you lost them. All I ever wanted for you was a good life with lots of love and all the things I couldn't give you."

"Is that why you handed me off like a puppy?" Carly asked. "Because you couldn't give me what? Material things? Or the love part?"

"I loved you, Carly." Bobbie told the girl firmly. "The moment they placed you in my arms I knew I would love you forever." She continued. "But I had nothing back then. I was fifteen with one foot in the street and no idea where my next real meal was coming from." Bobbie really didn't want to tell Carly the truth about her past so she was working around the finer points. "If I hadn't given you up for adoption the state would have taken you from me in time. I wanted to make sure you had a home, a real home with real parents who loved you, not lost in the system."

Carly snorted. "I ended up in foster care anyway."

"Yes." Bobbie said sadly. "You did, but after you had twelve years of a loving home. Everything happens for a reason Carly. You landed in a group home, you befriended a little girl who needed you, she gave you a reason to act and now here you both are. You need a home, someone who cares about you, just as much as Sam. It's a second chance, Carly."

"What are you saying?" Carly asked the woman skeptically.

"When you're released you're coming home with me." Bobbie said.

Carly looked at Bobbie as if she had grown a purple head between her eyes. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you're fifteen and you need a place to stay and someone to look after you." Bobbie answered and then added, "And because I'm your mother and I can give you now what I couldn't then."

Carly shook her head. "You gave up the right to be my mother."

Bobbie sighed. "I'd like to earn that right back."

Down the hall Sam was feeling overwhelmed and crowded. Alexis noticed the girl's discomfort and politely asked everyone to leave. Once it was just the two of them in the room Sam felt like she could breath again. "Thanks."

Alexis smiled at the girl. "You're welcome."

"Are they always around?" Sam asked.

"No." Alexis chuckled. "Kristina lives with me but Stefan lives on Spoon Island."

Sam's eyes got huge and bright. "He lives in the castle in the middle of the lake?"

Alexis chuckled and nodded. "With our nephew Nikolas. He's twelve. You'll meet him when you're a little more settled in."

Sam let out a slow sigh.

"It's all a little much, isn't it?" Alexis asked as she brushed hair from Sam's face.

"Yeah." Sam agreed. She looked at Alexis when swept at her hair. She didn't really understand why the woman kept touching her, and for the oddest reason she found that she didn't mind it so much. Normally Sam wasn't the touchy kind of kid, but then again the only people who had ever hugged her or touched her in a caring way were Carly and Danny. "It's weird."

"I know." Alexis smiled. "It still feels like a dream to me too."

Sam studied the woman for a few moments before telling her, "I didn't even know I was adopted until Carly told me. She found my records when she was looking for her own. Everything I thought was real isn't anymore."

"I know this is going to be a huge adjustment." Alexis told the girl as she sat beside her. "We're both going to need time to get use to this, but we will." Alexis saw the look Sam was giving her and smiled softly. "Its alright if you don't believe me. I know I'm going to have to prove to you that you can trust me."

Sam simply nodded. She was quite for a moment before saying, "I want to see Carly."

Alexis nodded. "I'll go see if she can came down to see you." She gave the girl a warm smile and then stepped out of the room. She found Bobbie at the nurses' desk. "Hi Bobbie."

Bobbie smiled warmly at the younger woman. "Hi Alexis. How's Sam?"

"Confused." Alexis replied with a soft sigh. "This is all a little much for me so I know it's got to be hard on her."

"I know the feeling." Bobbie said as she came down to stand in front of Alexis. "But she's young, she's a clean slate." Bobbie sighed. "Carly's a different story. She's angry and hurt and a teenager on top of it."

Alexis smiled softly. "Yeah, I think you've got some extra hurtles there. I mean it's been an adjustment with Kristina, but Carly's been through so much more, I can only imagine what it will be like for her."

Bobbie nodded in agreement. "It's strange but I find myself wanting nothing more then to be a mother to her even though she's only been back in my life for a few hours."

"It's all I ever wanted." Alexis admitted. "A chance to raise my child. I still can't believe it's happening." The two women were lost in their own thoughts for a moment before Alexis said, "Sam would like to see Carly."

"That's a good idea." Bobbie agreed. "They have a bound we can't ignore."

Alexis nodded. "I owe your daughter so much Bobbie."

"I'm glad Carly had Sam as well." Bobbie said as they walked down the hall together. "There's something about living that kind of life, you just need someone you know has your back and you have theirs. Children are suppose to feel safe, they're suppose to know they can relay on the adults to protect them, care for them, give them what they need no matter how basic. Kids like Carly and Sam they get that from each other. Having that kind of bound is how Luke and I survived."

"I completely understand." Alexis said with a nod. "Stefan and I were the same way."

When they reached Carly's room Bobbie knocked as she stepped in. She smiled at the girl as she said, "Sam would like to see you."

"I want to see her too." Carly replied as she got out of the hospital bed. While she was alone she'd changed into a pair of sweats that had been left for her. She had really thought about slipping out while she left alone but then changed her mind. She needed to talk to Sam and then she'd make up her mind on what to do next.

When her door opened and Carly walked in Sam's face lit up. She hugged Carly tightly when she came over to her bed.

"We'll be in the hall." Alexis told the girls and then closed the door behind her.

"Are you ok half pint?" Carly asked when they were alone.

Sam nodded. She didn't want to tell Carly she was scared. "Alexis says I'm going home with her."

Carly nodded. "She's your mom, Sam. I know she's a stranger right now but she is."

"I know." Sam said. "The creepy man ran a test."

"Creepy man?" Carly asked with concern.

"Her brother." Sam explained. "I guess that makes him my uncle. He's all grumpy looking and wears dark clothes. I don't get a bad vibe from him or anything he's just creepy."

Carly relaxed a little. Sam had fairly good sense when it came to people. If she didn't feel the man was a danger he probably wasn't. Then again, she was just a kid so what did she know? Maybe she needed to stick around for a while to keep an eye on things. Yes, that made sense, she'd stick around and put up with whatever she had to so she could keep an eye on Sam. "What about her? Does she seem ok?"

Sam shrugged. "She's a little uptight, but I guess she's ok." Sam paused a moment and then asked, "Carly, what if this doesn't work out?"

"It will." Carly tried to reassure.

"But what if it doesn't?" Sam asked. "What if she decides to give me away again? She did it once, she could do it again."

"That won't happen." Carly insisted. "But if it does we'll take off. We'll go someplace else and do it on our own."

"Promise?" Sam asked with tears welling in her eyes. She was trying so hard not to show her fear and uncertainty but she couldn't stop the welling tears.

"Promise." Carly replied. "But you need to make me a promise too."

"What?" Sam said as she brushed her eyes with the back of her hand.

"That you'll give this a chance." Carly said. "That you'll give her a chance."

Sam looked at her friend a moment before asking, "Are you going to give Bobbie a chance?"

Carly sighed. "Sammie."

"You have to try." Sam told the older girl. "Please. I promise to give Alexis a chance if you promise to give Bobbie one."

"It's not the same, Sammie." Carly said with a frustrated sigh.

Sam narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at her friend. "If you say it's different because you're older I'm going to hit you."

Carly raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"The only real difference is that you've had longer to get all angry and hurt." Sam told her friend. "Get over it."

Carly just shook her head. "It isn't that easy."

"Neither was getting here but here we are." Sam replied.

The girls sat there glaring at each other for several long minutes before Carly finally gave in. "Alright fine I promise."

Sam beamed in triumph. "I promise too."