Chapter 2- Hurt

Esme tucked her hair behind her ears and couldn't keep her shaky hands still as she shifted in her chair at the Pentonville Visitor's Centre. She hadn't seen Ace in a few days because she agreed to let him stay with Laura, Kevin, and Spencer over Christmas. That left her completely alone to her thoughts… and fears.

"Oh, it's my precious baby girl!" Heather said brightly, sitting across from her.

Esme stared at her, making herself small.

Heather beamed. "This is the best Christmas gift ever. So, how are you? How is my sweet grandson?"

Esme shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"You seem very uneasy. I can see it in your eyes."

"I just… I don't know who else to talk to," Esme said barely above a whisper. "No one will understand."

"Well, you came to the right person," Heather assured. "I understand you more than anyone else in the world. Please, talk to your mother."

Esme chewed her bottom lip.

"What is it?" Heather pressed. "Is Ace okay? Wait, let me guess, it's that pampered punk on your back again."

Esme shook her head. "No, it's not that. Maybe this was a bad idea." She rose from her seat.

"No!" Heather grabbed her wrist tightly, the way Daddy used to. "This was the right idea."

"Ow, you're—you're hurting me…."

"I would never!" She released her wrist and lowered her voice. "I would never hurt you, my sweet girl. You're just imagining things."

Esme rubbed her wrist. "I-I should talk to Laura instead."

"Laura Collins?" Heather groaned. "The mayor? That punk's grandmother? She won't help you at all. I'm the only one you can trust."

Esme's eyes welled with tears as she looked down at her. The mother she always wanted. Craved. Begged Daddy to reveal to her. Yet… she wasn't the mother she dreamed of. Not even close. But she was the mother she deserved. The mother who stabbed Austin with the hook right in front of her. Who haunted her dreams. Who creeped her out. But the only mother she would ever have…. Then, little Ace crawling towards her flashed before her eyes. Reaching out to her. Playing with her hair. The real love of her life who made her want to be a good person. "I-I-I need time to think." Without another glance, she walked out.

GHGHGH

Felicia arrived at the hospital anxious to get back to routine. As much as she enjoyed being with Maxie, Cody, and the kids there were still too many pieces of her heart missing that made the holidays hard.

"Oh, hello, Dr. Webber," she greeted Carolyn at the nurse's station.

"Hello, Felicia." Carolyn smiled. "Stella took an extra day off to spend time with family, so I'll be directing you today."

"Oh, good for her. She deserves it. You know, she's been so helpful to me in my training. So, how can I help today?"

"Well, sadly a young family was in a car crash last night," Carolyn explained. "The father didn't make it through the night. The mother is just barely holding on."

Felicia felt her heart sink. "That's terrible."

Carolyn nodded. "The baby is fine, just missing her parents. She's staying here at the hospital until hopefully her mother recovers. I'm assigning you to spend a few hours with the baby each day. And when her mother wakes up… hopefully she wakes up… I'd like you to assist her."

Felicia smiled. "I can do that, but don't they have any family?"

"That's the other sad part. Both parents were raised in foster care. They have no one."

Felicia frowned. There could be a million reasons why they ended up in foster care. She felt her eyes well with tears thinking about her own daughters being apart from her for so long and her heart went out to these young parents.

Carolyn led her to the nursery. "Meet Scarlett."

Felicia beamed down at the little girl in a pink onesie and short brown hair. "She's adorable. Is she… 8 or 9 months I would guess?"

"9 months," Carolyn said. She lifted her and handed her to Felicia.

"Hello, Scarlett. I'm Felicia. I remember my own girls at your age. And my grandbabies."

Carolyn ran her fingers through Scarlett's hair. "I remember mine as babies too. Well, I better go check on your mommy. Felicia, her formula is right over there. Feel free to walk her around the hospital if you'd like. I'll check on you both in an hour."

Felicia watched Carolyn leave. She cradled Scarlett in her arms and sat in the rocking chair so she could give her the bottle. "You remind me so much of my own baby girl, Scarlett."

GHGHGH

Maxie kept staring at her computer screen at Deception. Every attempt to write the next email resulted in her mother's voice playing back in her head.

"Knock, knock." Brooklyn stuck her head in the doorway and carried in a bottle of wine and two glasses. "Happy New Year!"

Maxie shook her head. "It's not even 5:00pm."

"I know that." Brooklyn sat on the edge of her friend's desk. "I have plans with Chase later. But you said you're working late and just going home to the kids after. You have to have some fun today."

She poured wine into the glasses and handed one to Maxie.

"Here's to a fabulous 2024!" Brooklyn clinked glasses with Maxie. "And my New Years Resolution is to help you find a man."

Maxie nearly spit out her drink. "I don't know. I haven't had much luck in the men department. I think I'll focus on my kids and my job this year."

Brooklyn set her glass down. "What about Spinelli? He's living with you now. Can't you ring in the new year with him?"

She rolled her eyes. "That ship has sailed. He's a wonderful father to Georgie. And he's great with James and Bailey Lou. Plus, he's always there for me and helps whenever I need him. But—"

"So, what's the problem?" Brooklyn asked.

"But we're just friends now. He's not even interested in me."

"Oh stop. Spinelli's always interested in you. He's so protective of you and hates seeing you with anyone else."

Maxie sighed. "Just drop it, Brooklyn."

"Is there something else bothering you? You've been acting funny since Christmas."

"I just always think about Georgie this time of year," Maxie said sadly.

Brooklyn reached for her hand. "I'm sorry, Maxie."

"Mom and I have come a long way. I hated her back then. I even blamed her."

"But you don't anymore?" Brooklyn asked.

There was a long pause. "I don't know."

"I thought you had a good relationship," Brooklyn commented.

"We do. But she said something odd on Christmas day. I didn't even really catch it in the moment. But I remembered after she left."

"What did she say?"

Maxie bit her lip, unsure whether to mention her mom's suspicions about Mac and Cody. "She said that she might not have all of her daughters back, but she wants to make things better for Mac. Why did she say ALL? It was just me and Georgie."

"Hmm… maybe she meant both?"

Maxie cleared her throat. "Maybe."

GHGHGH

Sam knocked on Scout's door before stepping into her room. "Hey sweetie, can I come in?"

Scout was lying on her stomach, staring at the wall behind her bed. She nodded.

Sam sat at the edge of her mattress. "What's going on, Scout? You haven't been yourself for weeks."

She just shrugged in response.

Sam stroked her hair. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

When Scout didn't respond, Sam tried to cheer her up.

"Daddy's coming over soon," Sam said. "He just called and asked if you could join him for New Year's."

"Will Carly be there too?" Scout asked, looking up at her.

"I imagine so."

"And Donna and Avery?"

"I don't know about Avery," Sam said. "But Donna will probably be there since Daddy wanted to include you."

Scout frowned and stared at the wall again.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked. "I thought you loved playing with Carly and the girls?"

"I did… before."

"What changed?"

Scout rested her chin in her hands and continued to stare at the wall. "Does Daddy love Carly more than me?"

Sam's head went back. "No. Of course not. Why do you think that?"

"That's what Donna and Avery told me," Scout said.

"Well, they're wrong."

"But they said that's why Daddy went to jail," Scout continued. "That he wanted to protect Carly and them. He wanted to make sure Donna and Avery still had their mom, but he didn't care about leaving me."

Sam pulled her onto her lap and held her close, unsure of how to argue that point. "I had no idea this was happening, sweetie. Donna and Avery shouldn't be saying these things to you. I'm going to talk to Daddy and Carly about it."

"No, don't!" Scout cried. "Donna and Avery will be mad."

Sam scoffed. "I don't care if they're mad. I'm putting a stop to this."

"Can't I stay home with you tonight?" Scout asked.

Sam sighed. "Mommy and Dante are going to the Metro Court tonight. Would you like me to cancel your dad and maybe you can go with Danny over to Elizabeth's? I think Violet will be there too. You can play with her and the boys."

Scout nodded.

GHGHGH

Drew hung up the phone and plopped on the couch with Carly and Donna. He sighed heavily. "Scout doesn't want to come tonight."

Carly raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Sam wouldn't get into it over the phone, but she wants to talk to both of us in a couple days."

Carly shook her head. "You know, I don't know what's gotten into Sam the last few years. This reminds me so much of when she barred Danny from Jason's life after all the years she wanted to have a child with him."

Donna frowned. "I wanted to play with Scout."

Carly wrapped her arm around her. "I know, baby. You were disappointed Avery isn't coming either. But the three of us can still have fun."

"Can you play with my dolls with me?" Donna asked.

"Yes, sweetheart."

Donna handed Carli Bell to her mom and Ken to Drew. She bounced Barbie up and down on her lap. "Okay everyone, we're going to play skip rope today. And if you don't, then none of you can see your family again."

Drew raised an eyebrow.