I'm Not Leaving

I'm Not Leaving, Part 1

"Thanks for staying with them. I had a few errands to do before we could head out on our girls weekend of adventure," Sam said to Sonny as she opened the trunk to her car.

He shook his head.

"No, problem. I'm glad Alexis asked me to hang out with them until you could get here. I always enjoy spending time with Kristina and Molly. They said they had to grab a few last minute things and then they would be right out."

"Oh, no. I think that means Molly is bringing 3 or 4 more books than she originally packed because she's not sure what she'll want to read tomorrow or the next day. Annnddd ... Kristina wants to grab a few extra outfits for instagram photo ops on the trip."

"Sounds about right," he laughed.

"Can you believe they've never been camping before?"

"With Alexis as their mother I'm going to have to say ... yes. I'm surprised she even bought this house so far out by the lake. It's definitely serene but she hates bugs. Actually, I've only been once ... Mike took me a few months before he left my mother. So, 3 whole days of camping?"

"No ... nooo." She smiled. "We're spending the night at my house tonight having some sister time, I promised them one night in the berkshires, and then one night in a hotel with some mani-pedis in between. Mom's treat ..."

"She didn't want to meet you for the non-woodsy outdoors part?" Sonny asked, knowing Alexis didn't like the girls to be too far for too long without her. After a childhood like the one she had with the Cassadines, who could really blame her ...

"She's been ... uh ... working a whole lot lately." Sam said, breaking eye contact with him and looking toward the lake.

"That's what the girls said. Doesn't she have that rule about no more than one late night at work a week?"

"Seems like she could use some rest," Sam finished, as if she didn't hear him. "What?" She asked looking back at him, "I'm sorry. Yeah, yeah - she does. A case is a case I guess. You know how she gets caught up in her work."

"She is definitely passionate about what she does. It just doesn't sound like her ... you know all the changes she made since Kristina's assault and everything that happened with Kiefer. She hasn't mentioned anything to me, and I'm the client that seems to take up most of her time lately."

"True." Sam sighed. "What's taking the girls so long? Molly! Krissy!" She called toward the open door.

"Sam, you'd tell me if something is wrong with Alexis. Right?" He began to feel something was off, after all these years his protective instinct still honed where his on and off again lawyer and friend was concerned.

"Look, Sonny ... I would, but she hasn't said anything to me but that she's working late. I've just noticed she seems a little off. She says she's working late, but on the nights she is home she goes to bed early. I mean, that's what Kris and Molly told me. She's needed a little more help with them lately ... been a little more hands off ..."

He shook his head.

"It is probably just work stress."

"Yeah, probably." He was lost in thought when his teenage daughter and his niece came running from the house.

"Sam! You're here!" Molly exclaimed, hugging her older sister, "I can't wait to go camping. Can we make a fort in the woods like Ann with Diana at Green Gables?

"Um, sure, Mol," Sam smiled.

"Krissy, are you ready for an epic Davis girls adventure?"

"Absolutely, yeah," she said, enthusiastic at first and then a bit timid. Sam hugged her sister, pulling away and looking into her eyes.