Sami felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. Even Lucas hated her. Couldn't anyone understand? She had to do it. There was no other way. Having Austin's son had bound him to her. If only she had had more time to make him realize they were meant to be together. Mike's voice penetrated her thoughts.
"Sami, is Lucas right? Is he Will's father? Sami?" Mike sighed. Sami wasn't going to say anything. "Lucas, are you sure about this?"
"Yes. Unless Sami was with somebody when she ran away that time, it has to be me."
Austin was speechless. "This is too much. Lucas...how?"
"Austin, I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't know until now."
"How can I believe you? After everything you've done..."
"Look, we can worry about these questions later", Mike interjected. "Right now the important thing is to test Lucas' blood. Sami isn't talking so I hope you're right little brother."
"I know I'm right", Lucas stared at Sami. "I can't believe you did this to me. You kept my son from me just so you could hold onto Austin!"
Marlena didn't like how Sami looked. "Not now, Lucas. She can't handle anymore."
"I'm sorry Marlena. I just..."
"I know. This has been a terrible shock for everyone, but we have to concentrate on Will right now."
Mike sent the order down to the lab to test Lucas' blood as a match for Will. "We'll know if Lucas is right soon enough. I'm going to check Will's condition. Please, remember this is a hospital." He hoped there wouldn't be any more scenes.
Sami tried praying but she knew it was hopeless. There wasn't anything she could do. She would have to find another way to make Austin love her.
Austin couldn't stand still. "I can't believe this. All this time... We could have been together. We could have been married already." He grabbed Carrie in a tight hug. "I will never let anything come between us again."
"And neither will I." Carrie stepped out of the hug but felt dizzy again. She leaned back against Austin.
"Alright, we're going to get you something to eat right now." Austin was starting to get worried.
"Austin..."
"No arguments. Marlena will come get us if anything happens."
"Of course I will. You go get something to eat."
Sami watched them leaving. "No! Austin, where are you going? I need you!" She felt hope when Austin turned and looked at her, but he just shook his head and walked away with Carrie. "No. Austin is my husband, not Carrie's. No..."
Marlena tried to comfort Sami but she couldn't reach her. She was so relieved when John arrived. "Oh, I'm so glad you're here."
"I got here as soon as I could. I told Chelsea we would be at the hospital. What's going on?" John didn't like the looks of things here. "Is Will alright?"
"He will be. He needs surgery though", Marlena explained to John everything that had happened. "Austin must be going through hell right now."
"I'm more worried about Sami right now. I don't like the way she's handling this."
"Do you want me to leave you alone with her?"
"No, I think she needs to know we love her and we'll be there for her. She's lost everything because of her lies and manipulations. Her whole world crumbled in one night. I don't want her to think we all hate her."
"Sami's lucky to have you." He pulled Marlena close to him.
Carrie couldn't believe how hungry she was. "I am making such a pig of myself.,"
Austin smiled. "You said that you hadn't really eaten today."
"I know but I've been so nervous all day. I was afraid you would be upset because I didn't tell you what Kate and I were up to. I was afraid Sami would figure it out and find a way to get out of it. I just couldn't eat. I really feel bad though. We should be upstairs in case we're needed."
"Marlena said she'd come get us. You're not going to do anyone any good if you pass out from hunger."
"I know", Carrie was surprised to see Lucas coming towards them. "Austin, please keep calm, okay?"
"I'm not making any promises. I can't believe I was starting to trust him."
"Austin, can I talk to you and Carrie for a minute?"
"What is there to say Lucas? You and Sami played me for a fool. Did you come down here to gloat?"
"No. Austin, I honestly didn't realize it until I heard Mike say you couldn't be Will's father."
"But you knew it was possible. Why didn't you say anything when Sami announced she was pregnant?"
"I did. I asked Sami if she was sure it was your baby. She said she was positive and I believed her."
"Lucas, it's pretty obvious that you've been helping Sami all along, so you knew how deceptive and manipulative she could be. Why would you just take her word for it?" Carrie couldn't believe Lucas would trust Sami knowing what she was capable of.
"I assumed she would have made sure that the baby was Austin's before she told everyone it was. And, to be honest..."
"That's a nice change", Austin couldn't help interrupting.
Lucas kept going. He had to tell them the truth. "To be honest, I wanted the baby to be Austin's. I hoped it would give me a chance with you. And it did, for a while. I really thought that once you realized how much I love you, Carrie, that you would fall in love with me too."
Carrie felt bad for Lucas. "Lucas, I never wanted to hurt you but I could never love you the way I love Austin."
"I know that now. I've been watching you and Austin all night. I can see how much you love each other. I wish that I had come to my senses sooner."
Austin wasn't sure what to think. "Maybe there's hope for you yet, Lucas. There is something I have to know."
"What?"
"If you and Sami were ... involved that way then why did you go through all this to break up me and Carrie?"
"We weren't involved. It only happened once. But once was enough."
"Lucas, why don't you just start at the beginning. It's about time Austin and I knew the whole story." Carrie hoped this was a new beginning for Austin and Lucas as brothers.
"Alright. I guess you deserve that much after everything I've done. But first I want you to know something Austin."
"What?"
"These past few weeks... I wasn't pretending the whole time. I really did feel closer to you. It was nice having a brother. That's part of the reason I'm sitting here right now. I've realized how wrong I was about you and I hope we can at least try to be friends."
"Lucas, I can't make any promises but I'll try."
"I know. And after I'm done you might not want to have anything to do with me."
"Well, you are being honest for a change. That's the best way to start."
"Ok, here goes. This whole mess is my fault."
Carrie was confused. "Your fault?"
"Yes. Just let me finish and you'll understand. Sami wasn't like she is now when we first met. I feel partly responsible for the way she has become. I knew Sami had a crush on Austin and I fell in love with you the minute I saw you Carrie. When you broke up with Austin after that guy threw acid in your face I encouraged Sami to go after Austin so I could go after you. Originally, Sami refused until she was sure that you were really over Austin."
"That's hard to believe. It's been so long since Sami did anything nice."
"Well, it's true. When she was convinced it was over between you and Austin she agreed to go after him. She went on a diet and gave herself a complete make over."
"That's when she got bulemia. Oh, it's starting to make sense..." Carrie stopped.
"She went through all that because of me", Austin was just blown away. He hadn't realized it went back this far.
"Yeah but when she finally got the courage up to ask you out, you turned her down. Then you and Carrie got back together and Sami accepted that...at first. Then she got involved with Alan."
"And he raped her. I know she blames me for Alan getting off at the trial. That's what happened, isn't it?"
"Yes. Sami felt like you had betrayed her at the trial. And she decided the best revenge was to take Austin away from you."
"I knew it. All those phone calls, saying she thought Alan was after her..."
"It was all to get Austin's attention and keep him away from you. I wasn't really helping her with that but I tried to take advantage of it."
Everything was falling into place, Carrie thought. All this time... Sami had engineered it all. "When did you start helping her?"
"It's hard to say. It just kind of fell into place. Sami wanted you to end up alone and miserable because that's how she felt. That was going to be her revenge. But I wanted you to love me so I started helping her. I thought that you would love me if Austin was out of the picture."
Austin shook his head. "Lucas, what kind of relationship would that have been?"
"Believe me Austin, I know I went about it the wrong way. At the time I believed I was doing the right thing. But now I realize that a relationship has to be built on trust as well as love. Sami taught me that tonight."
Carrie wanted to hear the rest. "Go on Lucas. What happened next?"
"Well, it was discouraging. Nothing we did seemed to work. It seemed that all we were doing was causing a little tension between you but nothing major. Sami refused to give up though. She decided that she and Austin were meant to be together. By that time the press had gotten hold of her story and how she had shot Alan. The way she was being treated by other guys only fueled her anger towards you Carrie."
"I knew it. I tried to help her but she wouldn't have anything to do with me. She just wanted Austin."
"She finally convinced herself that getting Austin into bed with her was the answer. She thought that once he made love to her he would realize they were meant to be together. Then Lynn told her about a friend of hers who had drugged a guy and got him to sleep with her. Jamie tried to talk her out of it and it seemed like she had succeeded."
"I already know that Sami drugged me. I want to know about you and Sami. If you weren't involved, how did you wind up sleeping together?"
"Sami went to the Cheating Heart looking for you. We had managed to cause you and Carrie to have another fight and I think she was going to try to get you to sleep with her but you weren't there. Some guys were hassling her about the rape and one of them poured beer all over her. Luckily I showed up and was able to get her out of there. I took her back to Titan and got her some of Carrie's clothes so she could clean up before she went home. We were talking about you and Carrie and how we hadn't been able to break you up yet. I don't know how to explain it but one thing led to another and we made love."
Suddenly Austin understood. "Then I walked in and thought you were with Carrie because I saw the shirt with her name on it."
"Yes. Sami realized that and convinced me to let you think that Carrie and I had been together that night. And it seemed like we had finally succeeded in breaking you up."
"And then a couple of days later Sami drugged me."
"Yeah. She still had a key to Carrie's apartment and used it to get some of Carrie's perfume."
Carrie held onto Austin's hand. "And when Sami realized that Austin didn't fall in love with her after they had been together she ran away."
"I felt so guilty about that. I thought I had gotten drunk and taken advantage of her and I knew she ran away because of me."
Carrie hugged Lucas. "Thank you for telling us the truth."
"There's one more thing. When you and Austin got back together I was responsible for finding Sami. I got Vivian to help me because I knew that you wouldn't marry Austin once you found out he had slept with Sami. I didn't know she was pregnant until she announced it that day and I did ask her if she was sure it was Austin's baby."
"Sami wanted it to be Austin's baby so she was sure it was. I wonder if she even considered you might be the father."
"She did. I don't know how it happened but she found out about it. Earlier tonight, before the whole memory scam came out, she was very interested in learning my blood type. I didn't put it together until I heard Mike say Austin couldn't be Will's father. I can't believe she did this to me. I never thought she would play her little games with me."
"Sami is obsessed with Austin. She would have done anything to hold onto him."
"And I would have done anything to hold onto you. But now I know what it feels like to have your life played with. I do love you Carrie but I want you to be happy. And if Austin is what makes you happy then I will just have to find a way to come to terms with that. I just hope that you both can forgive me for all the terrible things I've done."
"Well, I think we made a good start here tonight." Austin hugged Lucas and Carrie smiled. She was glad they were going to try. Together they headed back to the waiting room. Mike arrived just as they walked up.
"Well, little brother, you were right. It was an exact match. Will is your son. He's doing fine right now and I've prepped him for surgery. Would you like to see him before we take him down?"
"Yes, I would. Thank you Mike." Lucas looked at Austin. "Austin would you like to come with me?"
Austin didn't say anything but the smile on his face said it all. Carrie smiled as she watched the two of them walk off together. Marlena noticed it too. "Well, it seems they've made peace with each other."
"Yes. We had a long talk and Lucas told us the truth about everything. I think he really wants to start over with Austin."
"I'm glad. Family is so important. What about you? Do you feel better now that you've eaten?"
"I'm not dizzy anymore but I think I overdid it."
Sami couldn't believe what had just happened. Lucas had betrayed her and told them everything. But he might have just given her the answer to holding onto Austin. They had forgiven him so maybe Austin could forgive her too. She watched them as they came back. There was a little tension there but that could just be worry over Will. Yes, this could work. She just needed to wait until this crisis was over and then she could go to work on Austin. She saw them bring Will out to take him to surgery. She went over to him and kissed him before they took him away. She leaned on her mother for support. "He looks so helpless."
"He'll be fine. Mike is a wonderful doctor. You have to think positive."
"I know but after everything that's happened... It's just so hard."
Marlena was glad Sami was turning to her. She knew she could help Sami get through this and realize that she had to change. She just knew it.
Austin went to Carrie. "How are you feeling?"
"I think I ate too much. I feel a little sick."
Austin led Carrie over to a chair. "I really think you should let one of the doctors check you out."
Kate brought some coffee over. "I thought you might need this. It could be a long night."
The smell of the coffee flooded Carrie's nose. "Oh no... take it away, please."
"I'm sorry Carrie. I just thought..." Kate couldn't finish her sentence. Carrie jumped up and ran to the bathroom. Marlena followed her.,
Austin was really worried now. Carrie was sick whether she wanted to admit it or not. He was relieved when she and Marlena came back. "Carrie..."
"It's ok Austin. I'm going to see a doctor right now. If I don't you all aren't going to leave me alone."
"We're just worried about you."
"I'm fine. I just ate too much and after the doctor exams me he can tell you that and you can all stop worrying."
Austin just smiled. "You are so stubborn. But I will be happy to take the doctor's word for it. I love you."
"I love you too." Carrie went off to find a doctor. She put on a brave face but she was worried too. She hadn't felt well all week. She hoped it was just stress.
Austin and Lucas paced around the waiting room. The surgery seemed to be taking forever. A nurse had come to tell them everything was going fine but that had been a while ago. Finally they saw Mike and everyone gathered around to hear what he had to say.
"How did it go Mike?"
Mike saw Carrie coming down the hall and waited till she had joined the group. "The surgery went very well. Will is going to be just fine."
Sami let out her breath. "Can I see him?"
"Not yet. They're taking him to recovery now. He's still very weak but as soon as he's settled I will let you in to see him."
Now that they knew Will was going to be alright Austin turned to Carrie. "What did the doctor say?" He started to worry again. Carrie was very pale. "Carrie?"
Marlena came over to Carrie. "Carrie, all you alright?"
Carrie couldn't say anything. She was still in shock. She just handed the papers the doctor had given her to Marlena. Marlena was starting to worry herself. She looked at the papers. "Oh honey!"
"I still can't believe it." Carrie felt numb.
Austin couldn't stand it. "What is it? Carrie what's wrong?"
Marlena just smiled. "Carrie, tell him."
"I...", Carrie tried to find the words. "The doctor said..."
"Carrie, you're starting to worry me. What's wrong?"
"Nothing", she took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."
Get your own Free Home Page