Sam paused outside the door to the penthouse, taking a deep breath before she opened the door. These last few seconds of solitude would fortify her before she walked into a sea of angst and tension that had driven out all the serenity that used to occupy her home.

She loved her mother. She loved her sister. But not together, not lately.

Obviously the relationship was fractured before the lake house was destroyed; 16-year olds usually don't move in with a relative. But since the reduction of her home to a pile of ashes, Molly was messianic in her indignation. Everything was Julian's fault. And each barb, offhanded comment or prolonged silence pricked her mother, drawing blood.

Not that Julian wasn't responsible. As he stripped the cloak of legitimacy, he also tore away her mother's armor. Molly's words caused such pain because Alexis had no quills or defenses; she was all soft underbelly now. And that seemed to infuriate Molly more.

Looking at the two, Sam should be more concerned about her mother. Short-term that was probably true. But this new Molly—this was disturbing. It's was as if she had inherited the worst parts of each of her parents. This passionate hatred of Julian, railing against a cause like Joan of Arc? Sam recognized it from Kristina's illness and the subsequent custody battle—that trait was pure Alexis. But whereas Alexis had suffered defeats and understood where to withdraw and pragmatically adapt to the new world order, Molly myopically continued on in battle fueled by the pain of not being chosen, obliterating everything in her wake. And that trait? That was pure Ric.

Sam believed that a few revelations about Ric or Uncle Sonny would do a world of good for Molly, but Alexis forbade it. She didn't want her daughter to lose more than she already had, but Sam felt the immediate gain was only contributing to a longer-term loss. Molly needed to get knocked over because of a choice she made, to learn that she wasn't always right—to negotiate a peace afterwards and live with it. But given all her sister had lost this summer, Sam just didn't have the heart to do it.

And what was left of Sam's heart was so fragile right now. The loss of Silas wasn't as visceral as the loss of Jason, but it was painful. He had been a symbol that things were looking up, that the struggle of the past few years was over. But they were finished now, and all the hope she had transferred into their relationship had evaporated with it.

So Sam sought refuge in her solitude and spending late afternoons outside of her penthouse. Sometimes she'd take Danny to the park, but today she had gone back to the lake house. She sat on what was left of the dock and looked out over the water. The house itself represented both good and bad memories. But most importantly it was the place where she had found her mother. And not her identity—her relationship with Alexis. The place where she learned how to be a daughter to a woman that-quite frankly—she hadn't liked at all. This is where the comforting rhythms of mother and daughter were cemented, where the bond became irrevocable. Julian's lies cost her the physical manifestation of that, but not the memory. In terms of the price she'd had to pay in her life, the loss of a house was fair for the gain of a mother and father. She was certain they'd get through it, a little wounded and worse for wear. It would be hard to navigate, but they would do it. It was the journey that made her wary, not the destination.

Sure she could no longer delay the inevitable, Sam finally put the key into the lock and turned. Molly sat at the table, typing feverishly on her laptop.

-"Hey Molls. Where's Danny?"

-"Upstairs with Mom."

Sam took a moment to process this piece of information. "Why aren't they down here? There's more room for him to play."

-"Just give me onnnneee sec" Molly pounded the last keys before she looked up. "Sorry—what did you say?"

-"I asked why they're not down here. There's more room for him to play down here."

Molly shrugged, "I don't know. Mom came home and I told her I had a paper to type. She stopped trying to talk to me and just said she'd be upstairs with Danny." Sam had no doubt that the slight tone of disgust she heard in her sister's voice was amplified for Alexis and the reason for her mother's hasty retreat upstairs.

Sam thought of her mother upstairs locked in a room with her son while her sister had taken over the entire first floor. "Look. I know school is back in session, but we bought that desk in your room so you could get your work done in peace. This place isn't as big enough for you to take the entire floor. If you need quiet to do work, please do it in your room." Sam's voice was a little sharper than she'd meant for it to be. She turned to walk up the stairs. "What do you want to do about dinner?" she asked in a conciliatory tone.

-"Can we do Kelly's? I really REALLY can't do Chinese again tonight. TJ's supposed to come over later, so he can bring it."

-"Sure," Sam smiled. "I'll check and see what Mom wants."

Sam reached her son's room to find a giant fort of bed linens and pillows erected in the middle. She burst out laughing "Mom, are you in here?"

Alexis popped up from behind the sheet she had stretched across Danny's room, startling Sam. "I am! Welcome to our zoo fort. Apparently we are protecting the animals *from* the zoo? I'm not sure of all the logic yet. I'm just the contractor on this project. You'll need to check with the architect," she added giggling.

-"Ummm…Okkkkayyyy. Hey kiddo! How was your day?"

Danny smiled at his mother and immediately launched into an explanation of his zoo fort vision. He was loquacious. He was earnest. He was incomprehensible. At one point he turned to his grandmother and gravely stated "lion. Gamma."

Alexis turned to her eldest. "Yes, so the lions are lined up in the front and they're apparently protecting Nemo and the elephant. We were very insistent on the lions in front, weren't we Danny?"

-"Wow, Danny. That was really smart," his mother crowed. "But you know what buddy? It's bathtime. How about we let Grandma put the animals night night so they're safe in their beds?" Sam's efforts at rationalizing with her son were a waste of time as he was already halfway to the bathroom. "Ahhh," said Alexis. "You had him at 'bathtime.' I'll clean up in here." She nodded at the bedding. "This is supposed to be on my bed, anyway."

-"Great. Oh, and can you order from Kelly's? Molly said TJ was coming over. She wants the usual. So do I."

-"On it."

Alexis retreated to her room and placed the order. She threw the linens on the chair and started with the fitted sheet. The first corner was tucked in, but immediately came free as she struggled with the second. At first she giggled at the error, but as her efforts continued to yield no progress the slapstick element turned sad. It was an easier job with two people. She and Molly used to do this together; then she had Julian to help her. But now both were absent, one emotionally the other physically. Alexis continued to struggle but it wasn't until she felt the first tear hit her cheek that she bunched the sheets together and threw them with all the force she could muster at the bed, "DAMMIT."

It had been such a good day. She'd had some complicated contracts that distracted her and then she had a solid hour and a half with Danny where she laughed quite a bit. But now she stood there with the familiar feeling of being blown apart. Like the sole purpose of her skin was to prevent all the broken pieces inside her from spilling out onto the floor. She needed a time out. With Molly's presence rendering the first floor hostile territory and Sam and Danny otherwise engaged, Alexis looked around the room for something to occupy herself. "Cold shower," she said aloud and headed to her bathroom.

Sam descended the stairs to find Molly setting the table. "TJ called. He's leaving now—should be here soon. We're going to try and make the 8:30 movie. Is Danny in bed?"

-"Yeah. He expended whatever energy he had left in the tub." Sam looked at her sister and changed her tone, "Hey. I'm sorry I snapped at you before. I just…I don't know."

-"No, it's my fault. I'm sorry. We're crowded here. I wasn't thinking at all. When I started the paper I was the only one home, and then I lost track of time. I'll be more considerate—I promise." Molly hesitated a second, "So…I hear the shower…"

-"Yeah. Mom's in the shower again." Molly rolled her eyes, "well, she's definitely the cleanest parent in history." Sam looked at her sister and audibly sighed. She had such high hopes since she'd been home—Alexis was giggling, Molly had just apologized. It was probably too much to hope for really.

Molly felt a little guilty about the dig at her mother. She and Sam both knew that the frequent showers were not about hygiene but a way to mask the crying. Looking to ease the tension, she decided to change the subject. "So what were you up to today? You were gone for a while."

"Working on a new case. Had to do a stakeout over by the mall." Sam didn't like lying to her sister but it was easier than sharing she'd been to the lake house. If there was any hope of salvaging this evening it would have been immediately destroyed by mentioning their former home.

-"Oooh. What kind of case?"

-"You know. Standard surveillance." Sam was rescued from further lying by a knock at the door. "I'll get it," she said, thankful for TJ's timing.

Sam was so relieved for the reprieve she didn't even look through the peephole. So there was quite a bit of surprise in her voice as she greeted their visitor.

-"Wow. Julian?"