363Chapter 2- True or False
"At first I was quite revulsed to learn that Alexis' bodysuit would be my new habitat." Alexis… or… Helena as Alexis started laughing. "Then I realized it would be the perfect revenge on all parties involved."
Sam balled her hands into fists.
"Tell me, Samantha, did you appreciate your inheritance?"
Sam furrowed her eyebrows. "You mean the penny you gave me to split with Krissy and Molly?"
"So ungrateful, just like your mother." She shook her head.
"You are her mother," Julian said firmly.
"You are sadly mistaken, Julian." She grinned. "That wretched stepdaughter of mine is all but a painful memory now."
"I know you're in there somewhere, Lex." He stepped closer to her. "Fight this."
She laughed again. "Do that all you want, but it's only me in here."
"Doesn't matter," Sam said. "Dr. Maddox will come, and he will fix this."
"Fix this?" She sniggered. "I'd say this is the new and improved Natasha. Finally, at least her body will serve a purpose in this world besides meddling in my plans."
Sam crossed her arms. "And what exactly is your plan besides taking over my mother's life and controlling people's minds?"
"Well, not that those tasks won't keep me on my toes, but I need to find a suitable heir since Nikolas has failed me and I'm sure that Laura has spoiled his precious mind."
Sam groaned. "I've had enough of your craziness. I'm sorry Dad…" She turned to leave.
"Leaving so soon?"
"Yes," Sam said. "I have other priorities."
Sam pushed the door open and rushed out to the hallway. She leaned against the wall and buried her face in her hands crying.
"Hey… you okay?"
She lifted her head from her hands to find Drew standing there. That same compassion in his blue eyes he always had when she was hurt or upset. She pushed away her tears away with the palm of her hand. "I'm just… I'm a bit overwhelmed."
"I can understand why," Drew said softly. "We were both pretty much guinea pigs in this whole mind mapping fiasco. And now with Alexis… Is she okay?"
Sam shook her head. "No. She has Helena's mind map… She's so set on seeing this plan through and finding an heir."
He cleared his throat. "Just remember she's not Helena. There's no way your mom would take over this plan. I'm sure she'll do some things she wouldn't normally do, but she's not evil. I wouldn't be afraid of her."
"But I'm not afraid of her. I just keep thinking how unfair this all is… She's helped me and the kids so much this past year and now Helena is taking over her life."
"Remember the defect though… Cabot listed three things… it all starts to wear off when you're away from the cause, with muscle memory, and when something triggers emotions. I think if you and your family spend enough time with her and remind her, parts of her will come through."
"But I don't want just parts of her… I want my mom back."
"And you will. I heard that Andre is coming tomorrow. He'll bring her back."
She smiled at him.
"Sam!" Kristina came running in with Molly and they both hugged her. Drew stepped back a little.
"We were so worried…" Molly said. "Drew! So, the rumours are true…"
"The kids," Sam said. "Are they all right? I was supposed to pick them up…"
"They're fine," Kristina said. "I picked up Danny from school and Mol picked up Scout and Wiley."
"They're with Lucas now… Leo too," Molly added. "He managed to get off work a little early."
"I need to check on them," Sam said.
"How's Mom?" Molly asked.
Sam frowned. "There was this whole mind mapping thing going on. Basically, she thinks she's Helena."
"What?" Kristina's mouth dropped slightly.
"Like when Franco thought he was Drew?" Molly asked.
Sam nodded. "It's really weird. But we have to bring Mom back. Trigger her emotions." She looked over at Drew.
"Okay, well let's go see her," Molly said.
Sam swallowed hard. "You guys go ahead. I'll come by in the morning to see her. I might need to steal a ride from you though."
When Kristina and Molly scrambled into Alexis' room, Sam shifted her feet awkwardly. "Drew… when I found out your plane went down…"
"It's okay, you don't have to…"
"No, I want to… I just… I felt like a part of me died. And Scout… she misses you so much."
"I tried so hard to get home to the kids sooner. And you… I wanted to make sure Jason was treating you right."
"We're not together anymore," Sam said. "But after tonight, I don't think we ever really were together."
He rubbed his chin. "How's Danny doing? I didn't see everything on that island, but the kids were in the room next to me… I heard things."
Her eyes welled with fresh tears. "He's doing somewhat better now. But he's been through a lot. He's been going to therapy."
"And Scout?"
She bit her lip. "She's been through a lot too… and a lot of it has been my fault. She's afraid of Jason. She and Monica were in a car crash and it really affected her. If my mom wasn't there for us, I don't know where we'd be right now. Scout's doing a lot better than Danny now. We just moved into a condo with Lucas and Wiley."
He ran his hand through his hair. "I want to see them."
She smiled. "I think they'd like that too."
"I'm anxious to see them right away, but it's so late, I don't want to wake them. And Monica's on her way to pick me up, I'm going to stay with her again until I figure things out."
She nodded. "Scout and Wiley are scheduled for daycare tomorrow, but I'm going to take the day off. I'll take them for the morning so I can visit Mom, then pick them up before naptime. Would you like to come with me to pick them up? Then you can see Scout's classroom, she really likes it there."
"I'd love that."
"Then maybe after school I can tell Danny you're really his dad…"
"Whenever you think he's ready."
GHGHGH
After Krissy and Molly dropped Sam off, she found Lucas sitting on the couch. He jumped up when he saw her and wrapped his arms around her. "Oh my gosh, are you all right?"
She shrugged. "It's Mom who I'm worried about."
"Dad called and filled me in a bit… I can't believe she thinks she's Helena.
"I know… it's a lot to take in."
"Well, I'm on the early morning shift again, so I'll definitely check in her. Dad said they're keeping her there until Andre comes tomorrow… Are you okay? Sam?"
Sam was staring off in the distance but jolted her head. "Yeah. Yeah. I think I'm going to shower then head to bed."
"Yeah, you must be exhausted." He kissed her cheek. "I love ya, sis."
"I love you too."
When Sam reached upstairs, she peeked in on Danny and Leo, sleeping soundly in Danny's twin bed. Then she passed Wiley's room, then Scout's. She smiled slightly, then went to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and slipped her clothes off. She climbed in and let the hot water stream down her face.
The Charlie Brown Christmas tree… Jason's arms around her when her baby died… His soft smile… the motorcycle… Then, the tears fell again. What were her memories and what were Elizabeth's? Suddenly, she felt disgusting. Like she'd invaded Jason and Elizabeth's most intimate moments. She dropped to her knees, letting the water continue to wash her off…
She grabbed a towel and dried off before pulling on her white nightgown. She walked out to the hallway and Scout was standing there in her pink unicorn pajamas hugging her dalmatian to her chest. She rubbed her eyes.
"Hi sweetie." Sam hugged her. "Can't sleep?"
"I miss sharing a room with Wiley."
"Aww, would you like to share a room with him again?"
She nodded.
"Okay, we can make that happen. Maybe tomorrow though because it's really really late. Is that okay with you?'
She nodded again and stuck out her lower lip. "Can I sleep with you?"
"Of course. Mommy would like that too." She scooped up Scout in her arms and kissed her cheek. At least one thing Sam knew for sure… she was Danny and Scout's mommy and no amount of mind mapping would ever change that.