Part One

Lily adjusts the bandaid on her arm, it’s itchy after donating blood. 

Cane approaches the waiting room and watches her for a moment before he enters. “The tech just told me that it’s your blood that they’re going to use for Sam’s surgery.”

Lily looks confused. “But you’re Sam’s father.”

Cane keeps his hands in his pockets so that he doesn’t reach out to touch her. “But you’re more compatible, ironic...I know. If this surgery is a success it will be your blood that saves Sam’s life!”

Lily doesn’t know what to say...

A few days later Lily can’t take the waiting and the not knowing anymore so she shows up at the hospital to check on Cane and see how Sam is...she has so many conflicting emotions when it comes to that baby...guilt...anger...sadness and even affection. She takes a deep breath shakes off her wandering thoughts and goes in search of Cane...

A nurse points her in the direction of the neonatal unit and she finds out that Cane put her on the list to be able to go in and visit Sam so she puts on a hospital gown and steps into the room.

What she sees when she enters stops her in her tracks, Cane is holding Sam in his arms staring at him with a tender smile on his face, Lily finds it hard to breath and wants to escape but at that moment Cane looks up and catches her in the doorway.

“Hey,” he says softly so as not to wake the baby. He notices her hesitation and pleads, “Lily, please come in. I have good news that I’ve been wanting to share with you.”

Lily steps the rest of the way into the room as Cane slowly rises from the chair. “I don’t want to bothe-.”

“You’re never a bother. Come sit.”

She sits in the chair and the next thing she knows Cane is gently placing a still sleeping Sam into her arms.

Lily looks from Cane to the baby now in her arms, “I -.”

Cane crouches down and gently places a hand on her shoulder. “Lily you and Mattie helped save his life. The surgery was a success!”

Lily looks down at baby Sam and she suddenly feels so overwhelmed that she starts to panic. She stands rather abruptly causing Canes hand to fall from her shoulder, yet she gently gives Sam back to Cane. “That’s wonderful, I’m so happy for you both, umm...I’m sorry but I need to go.”

“Lily!”

“I have to go.”

“Lily wait.” Sam starts to fuss at the raised voices and Cane rocks him as he watches Lily rush down the hall....

Later back at the Chancellor mansion a tired Cane comes through the door. Esther is there and asks how Sam is doing today. 

“He’s improving everyday. The doctors even think he could come home in another week or so.”

“That’s wonderful! It will be so great to have a baby here in the house again.” Esther notices that Cane seems more resigned then happy. “Aren’t you excited that Sam can come home soon?”

“Of course, he’s doing so much better since the surgery and Lily and Mattie donating their blood..”

“They really saved that little boys life, didn’t they?”

Cane suddenly overcome with emotion, chokes back a sob. “Yeah, they really did and now that Lily’s blood runs through his veins too...I just feel like we’re more connected than ever.”

Esther gives him a gentle pat on the shoulder, “Hey about that...you’re going to have to explain to me sometime how they were more compatible to your own son than you were.”

“Esther, I’m going to have to get the doctors to explain it to me again...something about a special protein in their blood that only they had and he needed.” He starts to head for the stairs when Esther stops him.

“Cane! Let me know if you need any help packing up the rest of Juliet’s things.”

Cane drops his head for a moment before he answers. “It’s okay Esther I better do that myself, she didn’t bring many belongings with her when she moved in. I’ll probably just pack up her clothes to be donated and any other personal effects I’ll just put in storage for Sam to go through when he’s older.”

“Well if you’re sure...”

“I am thanks though Esther.” Cane turns and heads up the stairs. He’s asleep by the time his head hits the pillow.

With a rare free Saturday morning in front of him, Cane finds himself in front of a closed door in the east wing of the mansion. With a sigh he opens it then flicks on the light. 

Hesitating before he steps over the threshold, he had never stepped foot in this room while Juliet had stayed here choosing instead to only deal with her in more public areas of the house.  He sighs as he looks around the room. Juliet wasn’t a messy person and the room was relatively tidy but there was the odd thing left, that she had probably meant to take care of when she had returned but then she never did....

He heads for her closet first and starts shoving clothes into boxes, he eases off a bit when he realizes that he’s taking his frustrations out on clothes now meant to be donated.  It’s not the clothes fault he doesn’t feel anything toward Juliet being gone, that’s on him. 

In all the times he found himself with her, he never once sought out anything about her.  What he had learned was only what she provided when they were stuck with long awkward silences to fill, which was most of the time. Hell - as he starts to get aggressive with the clothes again - to this day he still can’t remember anything after leaving the damn restaurant in Hong Kong all those months ago but now there is a baby with his DNA in a hospital recovering from surgery...so he must have done it...cheated on Lily something he could never in a million years imagine doing, he did.

When he hears the tear of material as he pulls a dress a little too hard off the hanger Cane decides maybe he should focus on a different part of the room instead.  He sits on the side of the bed and pulls open a drawer in the nightstand.  He finds a few pictures of what looks to be Juliet as a child with her parents, a few pictures of her on her own, and a few pieces of jewelry. Cane reaches over for a small box deciding these would be things he’d put aside for Sam.

Cane moves to the desk next. When he pulls out first one drawer and then another, he is surprised to see how disorganized it is, like it had been rifled through in search of something. Glancing at his watch he notes the time, shit he needs to get going  to the hospital and see how Sam is doing today. He grabs a box and quickly dumps the contents of the desk drawers into it and takes it to his room to go through later...

Just as he’s stepping through the entrance to the hospital Cane’s phone buzzes, it’s a text from Charlie wondering if he and Mattie could come by and maybe see Sam. Cane allows himself a moment of hope that when they see Sam they will start to love him too. He texts Charlie back letting them know he will be waiting for them at the second floor nurses station....

Charlie and Mattie approach their father from behind, Mattie is the first to speak. “Hi dad.”

“Hey dad,” Charlie adds a moment later and leans in for a hug as Cane turns around to great them and Mattie leans in for one too. 

“Hey guys. I’m really glad that your here.”

Mattie rubs at the bandaid on her arm. “How’s Sam?”

Cane notices and his gaze softens towards her. “Honey I will never be able to thank you and your mother enough for what you did. Your donations saved his life.” Cane looks at them both and says, “So, why don’t we go see how he’s doing for ourselves.” He glances at his watch. “The nurse should be finishing up with his mid morning feeding by now.” 

“Okay.”

“Sure.”

The three head off to the NICU...

At first the nurse was only going to let two go in at a time as that is the maximum, she concedes though...but just this once when Cane explained that they came as a pair, a two for one deal if you will and that they needed to be introduced to their baby brother together.

Inside the room the nurse gently hands a freshly fed and content baby Sam over to Cane then she steps out. He stares down at him tenderly but his words are for Mattie and Charlie. “God I remember when I held you both for the first time, I swear you were even tinier than him.” He glances up at his older children. “I loved you from the moment I knew we had conceived you but when I held you in my arms that first time my love for you both completely overwhelmed me. You were your mothers greatest gift to me, Mackenzie’s selfless act gave your mother and I everything we could have ever wanted. I....I’m so sorry that I took that precious gift of my family and destroyed it...”

Mattie leans over and says, “Dad you hurt us but you didn’t destroy us, we’re still here.”

“Yeah dad. Almost all of our friends at school come from divorced homes, we were kind of the oddity.” 

Cane gives a sad chuckle, “I really enjoyed being that odd family.” Sam makes a little noise and begins to stir. Cane looks down as he gently rocks him. “You know with Juliet gone I’m all Sam has.” He glances up at Mattie and Charlie once again. “But I’m hoping you will want to be apart of his life. Maybe Charlie you and I could teach him how to play football.” He leans over conspiring like, “the real one not the American version.” 

Which makes Charlie laugh. “Yeah dad I think we could do that.”

“And Mattie if you could share your love of reading and science with him I know he will grow up to be so very smart.”

“Sure dad. So ummm..could we maybe um.. hold him?”

“Of course.” Mattie steps forward first and Cane gently places Sam in her arms.

She looks down at him. “Wow, he’s so tiny.” 

Cane and Charlie have gathered around Mattie forming a little circle as they look down at a sleeping Sam. “Huh..”

“What is it?” Asks Cane.

“Oh it’s nothing really. I just got this funny feeling..”

Cane begins to worry that maybe she won’t be able to accept Sam when Mattie surprises him with her next words.

“He just feels like he’s a part of us.”

Charlie looks over at his sister and says, “I um feel it to.”

Cane puts a hand on each of their shoulders and gives them a gentle squeeze. 

So involved in their moment of bonding they don’t see Lily watching through the window. Her eyes are filled with unshed tears, she quickly turns and walks away before she can be discovered. The urge to join them is so overwhelming she doesn’t know what else to do....