"Why don't we begin today's session with your mothers?" Dr. Winters suggested when Willow got settled into her seat.

"Okay," Willow said.

"So, you learned recently that you were adopted and that your birth mother lives in the same town as you," Lainey began. "How do you feel about that?"

"It was an adjustment," Willow answered. "I grew up believing something about myself was real only to find out that it wasn't, and it was a blow, but…"

"But?"

"But the more I thought about it and the more I adjusted to the news, I realized that it wasn't as surprising as I originally thought."

"What do you mean?" Dr. Winters asked.

"I mean, yeah, I was shocked and upset with Harmony for keeping something like this from me for so long without even bothering to tell me when I was old enough to understand, but I guess some part of me somehow knew because growing up, I never felt very connected to her. I loved her, she was the mother I grew up with, but I never felt like we had that strong of a bond."

Lainey wrote down a few notes on her notepad. "This feeling that you had was before your relationship began deteriorating when she kept making you move for her spiritual quest?" Her query was met with a nod from her younger patient.

"Yes," Willow said. "She told me that when I was a baby, I would cry when she'd hold me, but I would calm down when my dad—my adoptive father, I guess—held me. I thought it was because I was closer to him than to her, but now I'm wondering if it could be something more."

"You mean that you subconsciously knew that Harmony wasn't your mother even as an infant?"

Another nod.

Lainey folded her hands beneath her chin and leaned forward. "Infants aren't subconsciously aware that the people who raise them may or may not share blood with them. I've never seen any kind of scientific or medical research suggesting it, but infants can pick up on emotional cues from those around them. Let's say, for example, that a mother has just given birth and is experiencing postpartum depression. The baby will cry and be distressed because they're sensing their mother's distress and are responding to it. Maybe what you were feeling as a baby was Harmony's grief over losing her previous children as well as the guilt that she didn't give birth to you. She didn't have that biological marker that made you hers, and she knew that one day she would have to explain that to you. That could also have gone hand in hand with fear that one day, you would leave her and not want anything more to do with her once you discovered the truth. The thought stressed her out and made you prefer the company of her husband, the father who raised you, because while he felt the same turmoil, he didn't allow himself to broadcast it while taking care of you. Does that make sense?"

"Yes," Willow answered. She thought for a moment, then she said, "I think I'm happy that I was adopted."

"You are?"

Willow sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Yeah," she started. "I'm still angry that she never bothered to tell me the truth, but for the most part, I'm…relieved that she isn't my biological mother. I mean, what real mother uproots her daughter's life for her own selfish reasons and then not only allows but assists her daughter's abuse at the hands of a sexual predator in a cult?"

Lainey nodded in understanding. "I can understand why that conflict would arise. Because your mother didn't protect you, you feel like she betrayed you and, in turn, shouldn't be your mother because of those feelings of betrayal."

"Exactly. I just…I feel like my life is better now that I found out the truth. I know my biological mother and I've already bonded with her…Harmony wasn't always a bad mother, but from what I remember…knowing that I don't share DNA with her makes me feel like I'm free from her and free from my past."

Willow's sigh was heavier this time and she was silent for several long moments before she looked up at the older woman and asked, "Is that bad of me to feel? She did take care of me…"

Lainey shook her head, smiling kindly at her. "No," she said softly. "Feeling that way doesn't make you bad. It makes you human and it's your way of trying to cope. By distancing yourself from Harmony, you're giving yourself a chance to heal from everything that's been done to you. Harmony was supposed to protect you and she failed. She became one of the people who hurt you the most, and it's not wrong to be happy or relieved that you're not her blood daughter."

Willow offered her therapist a small smile, thankful that Lainey understood and supported her feelings on the matter. She felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her chest since she was adopted, but the pressure bearing down on her shoulders hadn't dissipated because she felt like she should have some kind of loyalty towards the woman who raised her. She could have just rejected her in the hospital, found it distasteful that someone would walk up to a grieving mother and ask her to take in a child that wasn't hers, but she didn't. She welcomed Willow into her home and called her her daughter. She was grateful to her for that, but…

Once the shock faded, she had been overjoyed to learn that Nina was her birth mother and she had no true relation to Harmony. Nina treated her like how a mother should treat her daughter: she was kind, caring, and protective of her towards anyone who hurt her, like Nelle. She never would have let anything happen to her, unlike Harmony, who used her for her own personal gain. Nina was the mother she always wanted Harmony to be.

"There's another thing that we need to discuss," Dr. Winters said.

Willow already knew where this was going. "You want to talk about Nelle now," she stated.

Dr. Winters nodded. "That's right," she said calmly. "Tell me about what happened a week ago."

Willow sighed and interlocked her fingers. "We were at Charlie's Pub—Sasha and I—and we saw Nelle. We didn't want to give Nelle power by leaving the restaurant to go somewhere else, so we stayed. For a while, we talked and enjoyed each other's company, but then I heard her talking about changing Aaron's name."

"Aaron is your friend Michael's son, correct? The one that he had with Nelle that was switched with your baby?"

Willow nodded, her heart panging with loss again at the reference to Wiley. "Yes," she answered.

"And what did you do when you heard that she wanted to change his name?"

The fury she felt and the sound of her hand meeting Nelle's face flashed through her mind again.

"I got angry," she answered. "I confronted her and then…then she told me to remember that my son was dead and for me to stay away from hers and I snapped. I slapped her."

Lainey's eyebrows rose in a mix of anger and surprise, anger on behalf of Willow as she faced that cruelty and surprise that the young woman resorted to violence. She found the brunette to be calm and self-controlled; hearing that she hit someone in a public place was shocking indeed. Although, given what she said that this Nelle woman told her prior to the slap, Lainey had to admit that the action wasn't undeserved.

"How did you feel after?"

Willow smiled a bit. "Amazing," she replied.

Lainey chuckled.

"I wish I hadn't lost control of myself, though," Willow confessed, her smile dropping. "I feel like I gave Nelle more power, like she won something again with my reaction."

"Why do you feel that?" Lainey asked after jotting down another note.

"Because she already has so much power over me and this situation. She's insane and a criminal, but she knows how to fool people so she gets away with everything. She switched our babies and made me think that mine was alive…she's done so much to me, to everyone in this town. I just don't want to give her any more reasons to gloat," she said, leaning forward on her elbows with her hands in her hair. Willow felt utterly disheartened.

"So you feel as if you played into Nelle's hands and did what she wanted you to do," Lainey stated.

"Yes," she groaned. "It makes me feel so pathetic!"

"Willow," Lainey waited until her patient looked up and met her eyes to continue. "I don't believe that you played into her hands, as you say. What I do believe is that you're a grieving mother who wants justice for her child and you haven't received it, so you're doing anything you can to make peace with your situation. It doesn't matter if it's through bonding with Aaron or spending time with your loved ones or even giving Nelle a slap across the face…you're trying to get better and that's what matters here. Although I do think that you should steer clear of Nelle during this journey. It'll make it easier."

"But…" Willow began only for Lainey to gently interrupt her.

"It's not giving Nelle power, it's taking care of your mental health and giving yourself a chance to fully come to terms with what's happened to you," Lainey reassured her. "Being around Nelle hinders that progress."

"What about Aaron? She wants sole custody of him."

"Your friend can handle Aaron's custody," Lainey told her in a firm but gentle voice, letting her know that she wasn't coming across as insensitive. "You need to handle yourself. It's okay if you want to be involved in Aaron's life; you don't see him as a replacement for your son and you love him. I know that you can't truly be around him yet because of what he represents for you and that's perfectly fine and so is loving him and being concerned for his well-being, but you can't get involved in situations that will cause you more grief and stress. You need to take care of yourself or you will remain in the same depressed state that's been plaguing you."

'YES!' Rational Willow gleefully shouted in her head. 'That's what I've told you, but do you ever listen to me? No!'

Willow ignored Rational Willow and said, "I understand. Thank you, Lainey, for today. You've given me a lot to think about."

Lainey smiled. "Of course, Willow," she replied kindly. "I'll see you in a week."

Willow walked towards Kelly's Diner after her appointment with Lainey Winters, intent on ordering some lunch to bring home for Chase and herself.

She was in her own world when she walked up to the counter. Because of that, she didn't notice the person sitting there until it was too late.

"Willow?"

Willow froze the second she recognized Harmony's voice.

Slowly, she turned to see Harmony standing from the table she was at, staring at her with an expression both hopeful and apprehensive.

"Hello," Willow said tightly, trying to be polite despite every bone in her body screaming at her to run, to have nothing to do with this woman who swore to take care of her as an infant only to hurt her later.

"Hi, honey—"

"Don't call me that."

"What?"

"Don't call me honey. I don't want you to call me honey or sweetie or anything endearing like that. You lost the right to do that a long time ago."

The hurt in Harmony's eyes made part of her regret her harsh words, but she didn't retract them. Harmony deserved far worse after everything she's done.

Maybe she shouldn't be so angry or spiteful, but being anything less right now would give Harmony ammunition to worm her way back into her life and Willow didn't want that. She'd rather keep her adoptive mother as far away from her as possible, even if it meant going against her good nature.

"I have to go," Willow murmured, turning around and making her way to the exit. She hadn't ordered anything yet and suddenly, at this very moment, she didn't feel like eating anything from Kelly's.

"Wait! Willow, please," Harmony said desperately, reaching out and grabbing her daughter's arm.

The unexpected move forced Willow to freeze in her tracks and she whipped around, trying to pull her arm free. "Let go of me," she demanded angrily.

"Willow, please."

"I mean it, Harmony, if you don't let me go right now—"

"If you would give me a chance to explain—"

"Take your filthy hands off of my daughter right now if you know what's good for you!"