She got her daddy's tongue and temper
Sometimes her mouth could use a filter
God shook his head the day he built her
Oh, but I bet he smiled.
Lee Brice, She Ain't Right

"I'm telling you two, I'm fucking fine. See? Standing, walking, everything.. Look, you got husbands and families to bother, don't you?" Adriana asked her two older sisters in an annoyed tone of voice as they tried yet again to make her lie back down in the hospital bed she'd spent the better part of a week confined to practically. Her sister Anna of course, ignored her, and her sister Abby busied herself fluffing pillows, trying to push her back into the damn bed. Adriana raked her hand through long dark hair and finally sat down just to appease the two of them so that maybe they'd leave her alone and let her get a little peace and quiet.

The door opened and the woman she'd met a few days earlier at the bar, Ms. Morgan, stood in the doorway. "What on Earth are you doing up?" the woman asked her as Adriana replied stiffly, "Trying like hell to leave. I have work.. Laying around here isn't gonna get anything done." as she glared at her two older sisters and frowned again at being stuck in bed.

Sam wanted to laugh. She too hated being still, she hated being tied down. Bedrest, to her, was like being given a prison sentence, she was always worried that while she was laid up taking it easy, she was missing things she needed to get done. Apparently that was another trait mother shared with daughter. She looked at Adriana's adoptive sisters and then at Adriana and asked, "Is this a bad time?"

"Not like I can go anywhere." Adriana mused as Abby added, "If you move from that bed again, Adriana, I swear to Christ I will hog tie you down."

"Riiight."

"Laugh all you want, Adri, but I will do it. The doctor specifically said bruised ribs.. What part of bruised ribs means get up and go to work where you will have to lift heavy things and move around a lot, forget you do have bruised ribs and accidentally break one of the damn things?" Abby asked humorlessly as Adriana glared and then leaned her head back against the pillow before informing her older sisters, "I'm gonna count to three.. When I open my eyes, you two better be heading out that door, going to torment your actual families."

"We are your family too."

"I know, I just.. Can you two chill? I'm fine. It's gonna take more than an itty bitty wreck to..."

"That was not an itty bitty wreck, Adri and you know it.. That was almost you dying on us." Anna stated as the two blondes walked out and Sam laughed a little, mostly to ease the tension in the room and then took a seat near the bed.

Adriana looked at the woman and wondered what she was still doing in town. And why she felt like she had to spend time here in the hospital, with her.. And more importantly, why she felt a connection of sorts to the woman.

"Figured you would be gone by now." she finally said a few minutes later when she resorted to flipping through channels just to keep from going stir crazy because she wasn't able to be up and moving around. Missing work was not her idea, if she'd had her way, she'd have left the hospital the night it happened after she was all sewn up and bandaged.

But she hadn't, unfortunately. And now they were saying she wouldn't get to go home until the coming weekend, maybe a little sooner if she stopped pushing herself so damn much.

Sam watched her intently and took a few deep breaths as she said quietly, "I came by here to talk to you. There's something I need to tell you and it's really important that you know the whole story first. That being said, first I want you to look through something. You said you were looking for your real mother, right?"

"I did, yeah.."

"I think the things in this photo album will explain why I asked you that just now." Sam said carefully as she held out the photo album and the old notebook full of letters she'd written to Adriana and several times almost sent to the woman who'd adopted Adriana. Each time, however, she'd stopped herself from doing it, convincing herself that what she did was for the best.

Adriana raised a brow but took the photo album and the notebook, opening the notebook first, reading the letters inside, blinking in shock, looking up at the woman who sat on the edge of her hospital bed currently as she gasped and asked in shock, "You're my..."

"I'm your birth mother." Sam said quietly as she added, "And I think you need and deserve to know the whole story.. Not just what you think." as she held her daughter's gaze. Adriana bit her lower lip and winced as she moved too suddenly to sit up in bed and it hurt like hell. She wanted to scream at the woman to just leave, to swear and cry, but instead, she said quietly, "Okay, fine.. Color me curious.. Why the hell would you just walk away after leaving your daughter on someone's doorstep?"

Sam sighed and looked at her hands then at Adriana, started to tell her story. A few times she stopped talking to look at Adriana, she noticed about halfway in Adriana was listening intently, nodding here and there. When she finished, Adriana mulled over what she'd told her and finally said quietly, "Supposing I even believe your reason.. Why try and find me now after all this time? I mean why wait so fucking long?" before flipping through pages in the photo album, stunned silent by the fact that every single picture and letter her mother had sent that had been returned by her birth mother and marked return to sender, had been photocopied into the photo album.

So obviously she'd read them.

Sam sat quietly, thinking about Adriana's very logical question and she sighed as she said quietly, "I just wanted to know that you had a good life.. That you were happy, that you were taken care of. I'd never have been able to take care of you.. Especially not after what your father did..." her voice trailing off to an almost whisper as Adriana nodded and said "He cheated on her a few times before.. Never understood why the hell Mama stayed.. Finally, I caught him once when I was sixteen.. And I confronted him about it.. And he begged me not to tell her.. But I did.. And then they started fighting all over again. And when I couldn't take it anymore I burst into the argument and basically told them both off.. Then I left. I just couldn't stand watching it.. He obviously didn't love her and she deserved to be loved by someone.. And he.. He was an asshole.. The only reason he had anything to do with any of us girls is because of Mama.. She used to make him. I overheard him telling this guy at his law firm once that if he hadn't ever gotten married, hadn't ever had kids he'd have been a much happier guy. That he didn't want a family.. But he didn't want to leave Mama because Mama might just move on."

Sam processed this and asked, "Why did you leave home.. he didn't try anything.."

"Hell no.. Nothing like that.. My parents and me.. I mean you've seen my sisters.. I'm the odd girl out.. I just got sick of feeling like I didn't quite fit.. And I got sick of all the fake bullshit. I got sick of pretending that our family was happy, that we were this picture perfect family, got tired of acting in ways I didn't really feel. So I left. And I really don't think I'm ever gonna stop regretting that." Adriana admitted quietly as Sam nodded and then said "You will.. It'll take time but one day you'll wake up and you won't regret doing it as much as you did before. From there it'll get a little easier. What probably makes it so hard is that you just lost both your parents."

"Sadly, Ms. Morgan.. Err, Sam I meant.. The only parent I regret losing was her.. Because she was sweet. She was an amazing woman and she was stronger than I realized.. I mean obviously.. I just.. I wish I'd told her that before."

"She knew how you really felt.. I've learned one thing since I had my son.. Mothers always know." Sam mused as Adriana asked, "I have a half brother?"

"I have pictures of him, do you want to see them?" Sam asked as Adriana mulled it over a moment and then nodded, took her birth mother's cell phone and scrolled through her photo albums. Adriana leaned her head back against a pillow and said "In the second drawer over there.. I.. I had someone trying to find my birth mother.. I was gonna confront you at first, I mean I was so damn angry, I felt so unwanted.. I copied all my old pictures, I guess I was going to sort of just rub them in your face.. Now I hate myself for even being that angry.. I mean I'm mad as hell but I know why you did what you did now.. Sort of.. I'm still confused. But I just.. I don't think you did it because you didn't want me anymore, not after hearing what you had to say."

Sam took a relieved breath and got up, walked to the second drawer in the hospital's wardrobe, pulled out the box of photos and sat down, looked through them quietly.

"You were on cheerleading?" Sam asked as she lookd at a high school photograph of her daughter. Adriana shrugged and then said "They wouldn't let girls play football.. Only way I could be closer to the action, sadly. It wasn't so bad.."

"Where's prom?"

"Didn't go."

"Why not?"

"For one thing I didn't have a date.. For another? Just figured it was lame, blew it off. I forget what I did that night I just know that I had more fun than I would've being shoved into some stupid dress and having to actually find a guy who'd notice me to take as a date. It was a hassle and honestly I was too lazy to be bothered with it." Adriana said as Sam studied her a few moments then laughed a little.

"Would you want to meet the rest of your family?" she asked a few moments later as Adriana mulled that over and said quietly, "I guess it couldn't hurt? I have a while off from work thanks to my lead foot.." she joked, Sam glaring at her as she said "That terrified me that night. How fast were you going?"

"Barely seventy, Sam.. I was barely going seventy. I do it all the time on that road.. Guess I got too sure of myself and my car.." Adriana mused as Sam grumbled and then said "You're going to have to stop doing stuff like that.. Your grandmother.. She's a little panicky about big risks."

"Don't tell her I once base jumped.. She'll most likely shit a gold brick." Adriana said as Sam gave her oldest child yet another glare and then said "I think I want to, actually. Base jumping.. Isn't that like you just jumping off a building?"

"Actually, Sam, it was a bridge.. And I had a bungee cord and a spotter." Adriana mused as she managed a smile, shrugged casually and then asked, "What about you? I mean you mention my half brother.. You're not married?"

"I am.. Jason and I.. It's complicated right now."

"I'm listening.. It's not like I can go anywhere." Adriana pointed out as Sam turned her own question around on her and asked, "Any relationships with you?"

"You joke.. Actually, no.. I was dating this one guy but he and I had different ideas on what being faithful, being a couple actually meant.. He thought it meant screw every girl in Georgia."

"Ahhh."

"Sam, I kid you not.. If it weren't for bad luck with men? I'd have none at all. I've essentially decided lately that maybe I'm better off sticking to four wheels and a motor.. Or horses."

"You ride horses?"

"I barrel race sometimes. It's nothing big, really, its just fun. I don't full on rodeo, that's too expensive and too time consuming.. Besides, I'd never make it on the circuit." Adriana mused as she flipped through the channels and said aloud, "You wanted me to visit, right?"

"I'd love that."

"What about I come back with you?" Adriana offered as she looked at Sam and bit her lip, added in haste, "If you want me to, of course."

"I'd love you to come back with me."