Chapter 102- Looking for Answers

The next morning, Laura and Josslyn helped Spencer into the garage apartment and took him over to the couch.

Laura sat beside him while Josslyn went to get them something to eat.

"Spencer, we need to have a serious talk," Laura said.

"Josslyn, don't overdo it!" he called out.

"I'm fine!" Joss yelled back. "Geez, I can walk to the kitchen on my own."

Laura cleared her throat. "I want you to apologize to the Scorpios."

"Excuse me?" Spencer's head went back. "It's Cody and Esme who need to apologize to me."

Josslyn returned with muffins and tea. "They don't deserve an apology. And you better bet we're going to press charges against Cody."

"That would be a big mistake," Laura said. "If you don't press charges and you apologize for harassing Esme and Ace and for provoking Cody with those cruel things you said about Esme, it will help mend fences with their family and will ultimately pave the way for us to be a part of Ace's life."

"They're the ones that need to apologize to me, Grandmother. I have to think about my son now."

"Or daughter…" Josslyn mumbled.

"And I will not allow Esme to get her hands on him." Spencer pulled out his phone. "Hi, Diane? I need to get a restraining order against Esme and I need it to be effective immediately."

GHGHGH

Maxie didn't sleep a wink that night between thinking about Sam, worrying about her sisters, and getting up when Ace kept crying. She set Bailey Lou and Ace up with some toys on the floor after Spinelli took Georgie and James to school.

"Why Ace no play with me?" Bailey stomped her foot when Ace didn't roll the ball back to her. "I wanna play! Please, Ace!"

Maxie bent down beside them. "Ace is a little sad right now."

"Why, why, why? He no like my toys." Bailey pouted.

"He likes your toys just fine," Maxie said. "He's missing his mommy."

"Ma…" Ace whimpered. "Ma… Mama!" He bawled.

Maxie pulled him onto her lap and held him close. "Shh. It's okay, Ace."

Bailey hugged him, then handed him a stuffed unicorn. "Here go, Ace!"

Ace kept whimpering but calmed down a bit.

Maxie scooped him up when there was a knock on the door and she went to answer it.

Felicia smiled. "Maxie, hi." She hugged her and touched Ace's cheek.

"Gamma," Ace said.

"Gamma, Gamma, Gamma!" Bailey ran over and hugged her leg. "Ace is sad, Ace feels sad. Hug Ace!"

Felicia smiled and hugged her, then took Ace from Maxie and rubbed his back.

"How are Georgie and Esme?" Maxie asked. "Shouldn't you be at the hospital with them?"

"I'm heading back over, but I wanted to check on you first, Maxie. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm pretty sure they need you more…."

"You just lost one of your best friends," Felicia said. "You need me too."

Maxie nodded. "I still can't really believe it…. How can Sam just be gone? It's not right. It's not fair."

Felicia wrapped her arm around her and led her over to the couch. "You're right, it isn't fair. I was with Alexis the last few day—I mean, I saw her last night. She's naturally distraught. Brings back memories of losing Georgie."

"Maybe I should reach out to Lucas," Maxie said. "I know what it's like to lose a sister. Or at least to think you've lost a sister."

Felicia squeezed her hand. "But we have Georgie back."

"And Esme."

"I really appreciate you sitting with her last night," Felicia said. "She's been through a lot."

"Yeah and Nina brought Nelle to her room while I was there."

Felicia gaped at her. "What?"

"Don't worry, I chased them away," Maxie said. "And Dad helped too."

Felicia sighed. "No wonder Frankie likes him so much…. But thank you, Maxie. I'm glad things are getting better between you girls."

Maxie shrugged. "In some ways, I guess. I'm still ticked she didn't listen to us about Nelle, though."

"She's very confused and doesn't know who to trust."

"Because of Ryan…."

"And the Princes," Felicia said.

"I feel bad that she's scared of Nelle and had to jump out a window to escape," Maxie said. "But at the same time, she kind of brought it on herself."

"I'm going to talk to Mac about getting a bodyguard for her and Ace if Nelle is going to keep trying to see them," Felicia said. "I know there's a warrant for her arrest but she's MIA right now."

Maxie looked down at Ace. "Might be a good idea. Do you think Nelle stabbed Sam in front of her?"

"I don't know. It's possible. I'm also worried she saw what was in the basement."

"What was in the basement?" Maxie asked.

"Bobbie's, Julian's, Shiloh's, and Ryan's bodies."

"Oh my gosh! If she saw Ryan's, she'll be having nightmares for years."

"I know. Let's hope she didn't."

GHGHGH

"Thank you for allowing me to stay over last night," Alexis told Olivia the next morning. "I'm very worried about Danny and Scout."

Olivia nodded. "Of course. You're always welcome here."

"Have you heard how Drew's doing?" Alexis asked.

"He should be able to come home today. He has a concussion, but the doctor said he should be fine."

"Good. I better go up and check on the kids before I go see Kristina and Molly."

Alexis made her way upstairs to find Danny on his bed typing on his phone.

"Hey, Danny." She kissed the top of his head. "How did you sleep last night?"

"I didn't."

Alexis frowned. "Well, we all agreed that you and Scout can stay home today. What are you up to?"

"Texting Georgie."

"That's good. It's good to reach out to friends. Can I get you anything?"

He shook his head.

"Okay, I'm going to check on your sister, then I'm going to visit your aunts. But please call me if you need anything."

She hugged him, then walked out.

Danny pulled up an article on his phone about Nelle stabbing his mom and how she's MIA. Tears stung his eyes and his muscles tensed. His phone rang and Georgie's name appeared on the screen.

"Hey, Danny, I got your text. I'm so sorry about your mom. That's probably why my mom seemed upset this morning. Are you okay?"

"Not really, but I need your help," Danny said.

"Help with what?"

"Tracking down my mom's murderer so I can kill her."

GHGHGH

Alexis peeked inside Scout's room but didn't see any sign of her, until she heard crying. "Cookie?" She opened the closet door and found Scout sobbing into her knees. "Oh, Scout." Alexis wrapped her arms around her.

"Mommy's gone… she's gone. It's not fair!"

"I know, honey." Alexis rocked her gently. "I know. It isn't fair at all."

"And Uncle Jason killed Daddy…."

Alexis sighed. "He didn't kill him. Your dad is going to be okay, but Jason was very wrong to hurt him like that."

"I want Mommy and Daddy back."

"I just talked to Aunt Olivia and she said your dad will be coming home today. But maybe I can take you to visit him. Would you like that? Then we can go see Aunt Kristina and Aunt Molly."

Scout nodded through her tears. "Okay."

"Okay. Why don't you get dressed and come down for breakfast?" Alexis suggested. "And I'll ask Danny if he wants to join us."

GHGHGH

"Hey, Dad." Robin hugged Robert when they arrived at Bobbie's. "Thanks for meeting me."

"Of course, I always love spending time with my girl." He sat across from her. "I've actually been wanting to talk to you."

"About what?" Robin asked.

"I just found out that you have a sister."

Her eyes widened. "I do?"

"Yes. Her name is Sasha Gilmore."

"The girl that Cody is dating?" Robin asked.

He gritted his teeth. "Yes."

"But… wouldn't that make them cousins?"

"That is what Sasha is struggling with," Robert said.

"She and Cody must be horrified," Robin said. "Who is Sasha's mother?"

"Holly Sutton."

Robin sighed. "Holly doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to honesty. Are you sure she's telling the truth?"

"We had a DNA test done."

"Wow," Robin said. "So, I have another sister?"

He nodded.

"I never got to meet Leora," Robin said. "She was just a baby when she died. I've always regretted not going to Pine Valley when she was born. So, it'll be nice to have another one. But this is a lot to take in."

"It is. So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, did you hear about Nelle's reign of terror?" Robin asked.

He nodded. "I read about it, yeah."

"Sam was killed and Lucas, Esme, and the kids were terrorized. Esme had to jump out of a window with Ace to escape."

"Felicia must've been out of her mind," Robert said.

"Yes, but Esme was very fortunate. Ace is fine, other than scared. Esme broke her leg. She could've very easily hit her head or worse been killed. Before surgery to repair her leg, she told me that she's allergic to calamine lotion."

Robert's forehead wrinkled. "That's… odd. Very uncommon allergy."

"I know," Robin said. "But there's more. During surgery, she wouldn't stop bleeding. Turns out, she has hemophilia. A bunch of people got tested to see if they can donate blood. Uncle Mac and Kevin were a match."

"Well, of course Kevin would be a match since she is Esme's uncle."

"But don't you find it odd that Uncle Mac and Esme were a match plus Esme shares our rare allergy to calamine lotion?" Robin asked.

"You're not saying you think Mac is Esme's father?"

"That was my first reaction," Robin said. "But I asked Aunt Felicia and she swears Ryan is Esme's father."

"And she knows that for certain?" Robert asked.

"I wondered that too until I looked at Uncle Mac and Kevin's blood results next to Esme's chart."

"And?"

"And Aunt Felicia wasn't lying," Robin said. "We share 50% of our genetic markers with our parents. But…."

"But what?"

"Esme shares 25% with Kevin. But she also shares 25% with Mac."

"That makes no sense," Robert said.

"Well, I was hoping you'd have some answers. She would share 25% with an uncle—that explains Kevin. She would also share 25% with a grandparent. Is Uncle Mac her uncle too somehow?"

His face went tense. "Impossible."

"You've never really told me about your family history before," Robin said. "Just that your parents and old fiancée were killed."

"Due to Mac's recklessness driving a plane."

"Is there any way that Uncle Mac and Kevin are related?" Robin asked.

"No. You need to drop this, Robin. Go home to your children." He got up and left.

Robin watched him leave. "What the heck was that?"