Tabitha was plagued that night by nightmares. She tossed and turned as she dreamed that the judge granted full custody to Lance and that she never got to see Ariel again. Then she dreamed that Darden and Ariel died in a car accident and she was left alone. She woke up at 3 am screaming and drenched with sweat.

"Honey, wake up ! It's just a dream. You're OK," Darden encouraged her as he held her in his arms.

"It was so real," Tabitha sobbed. She clung tightly to Darden as she tried to shake the dreams from her mind.

"I know, but it wasn't. Will you tell me what you were dreaming ?" Darden asked as he held her in his arms.

"Just that I lost the custody case and I never saw Ariel again. Then I dreamed that you and Ariel died in a wreck just like my parents did."

"We're not going anywhere. You'll never be alone, I promise," Darden pledged as he hugged her tightly.

"How do you know ? My parents said the same thing just a few months before they died."

"I don't know, but I know that even if you didn't have me or Ariel, you wouldn't be alone. Look at all the friends you have," Darden pointed out.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't want to live without you guys."

"I wouldn't want to live without you either."

"What are we going to do about this custody case ?"

"Why don't you just drop your lawsuit and let Lance see Ariel when he wants to ?"

"I can't do that. It's not fair," Tabitha protested.

"I know it's not fair, but why can't you be the forgiving, loving person I know you are and settle this out of court ?"

"You don't understand. You don't know what it was like when he just dumped me. Having Ariel wasn't exactly in my plans either, but I couldn't change things either. I was so hurt that I thought I wouldn't survive it. Now I wouldn't change a thing if I could because I know how much better things are than they would have been if we'd stayed together just for Ariel."

"If you feel that way, then why are you punishing Lance for leaving ?"

"Because I want him to hurt as much as I did." (vindictive, much ? )

"Tabbi, I really..." Darden started.

"No, Darden, you don't really know anything," Tabitha retorted as she pushed him away. She pulled her robe around her tightly and got out of bed.

"Where are you going ?"

"I need to think. I'm going to the den for a while."

Darden watched in shock as Tabitha left the room angrily. She had never walked out during one of their arguments before. He laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. There had to be a way to settle this without dragging Ariel through a custody battle.

Darden awoke with a start. He hadn't realized that he had fallen back to sleep until the sunshine streaming through the curtains woke him up. He turned over to see that Tabitha's side of the bed was still empty. Quietly, he got out of bed and tiptoed out of the room. He headed down the hall to the den, but stopped as he was passing by Ariel's room. A sleeping Tabitha was sitting next to Ariel's bed, but she had trails of tears on her cheeks. Her hand was loosely holding Ariel's and Ariel had her arm around her mother's neck like she was a teddy bear. Darden was so touched by the sight of the two of them that the phone rang several times before he realized it.

"Hello ?"

"Hi Darden, this is Lance. May I speak to Tabitha please ?"

"Why are you calling so early ?"

"I really need to talk to Tabitha. Is she awake ?"

"No, she's not."

"Oh. Well, can you wake her up ? I have something really important to talk to her about."

"No, I can't. She didn't sleep well last night and I'm going to let her sleep as long as she can."

"I don't want to bother her, but I think what I have to say will make her feel better," Lance persisted.

"OK, just a minute," Darden decided as he watched Ariel and Tabitha sleep. He placed the phone on Ariel's dresser and walked over to Tabitha. "Honey, Lance is on the phone and he wants to talk to you. He says its important."

"Can't it wait until later ? I really don't want to talk to him right now."

"He said that it will make you feel better. Maybe you should go ahead and talk to him."

"Fine," Tabitha sighed as she unwrapped Ariel's arm from her neck and stood up. She took the phone off the dresser and answered it. "OK Lance, what is so important that it couldn't wait until later ?"

"I'm sorry to wake you up, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm dropping the custody case. I hope you'll drop your case too because I'm not going to try to see Ariel at all."

"What ? What prompted all of this ?"

"It was just a decision I made, that's all. I'm sorry to have put you through all this."

"It's OK, but I don't understand what's going on."

"I told you. I just changed my mind. Will you drop your case ?"

"Yes, of course. It doesn't matter, just tell me what made you change your mind."

"I can't talk about it right now. I have to go. I just wanted to tell you the good news."

"Thanks. Please call me later and tell me what's going on."

"OK, I will," Lance said abruptly as he hung up.