The next few days were filled with as much confusion and emotion as the day of Adam's birth. Tabitha and Adam were allowed to go home the next day, but Tabitha was upset at the prospect of going home instead of being happy. She had talked to Darden before she had left the hospital and he told her that she and the kids had to be out of the house before he was released from jail that weekend. Of course, Justin offered to let them stay with him until they could find a more permanent place. Lance had wanted to offer, but knew that wouldn't be appropriate and he wasn't sure how Tabitha would react to the offer anyway. He lived near Justin though, so he could check on Tabitha and the kids when he wanted to. The only person that was unhappy with this arrangement was Ariel. She had been crushed when Tabitha broke the news that they were moving in with Uncle Justin and that Daddy and Mommy weren't going to live together anymore. She was very close to Darden and she felt like it was Tabitha's fault that her daddy had been taken away. This led to her not speaking to Tabitha for several days. Tabitha and Justin talked about this a week after Tabitha and the kids moved in. They were in the kitchen where Tabitha was feeding Adam and Justin was eating breakfast.

"I don't know what I'm going to do about Ariel. I understand why she's angry, but I don't know how to make her understand why Darden and I are getting a divorce," Tabitha complained.

"Have you told her that Darden isn't her real father ?"

"No...I just don't know how to explain it. She doesn't know anyone else as her father except Darden."

"Tabbers, you need to sit down with her and tell her who her real father is. I think that would mean a lot to her. She needs to know the truth. I think she's upset with you because she's confused about who she is."

"Who she is ? She's only five. How could she be confused about who she is ?"

"You know what I mean. I think she wonders where she fits in."

"I guess you're right. I'll go talk with her right now. Can you watch Adam for me ?"

"Sure."

Tabitha went upstairs to the room where Ariel was staying and knocked on the door. There was no answer so she opened the door quietly, thinking that Ariel was still sleeping. She was shocked to find that Ariel was nowhere in her room.

"Ariel ? ARIEL ? Honey, where are you ?" Tabitha yelled as she frantically searched all corners of the room. She ran down the hall to her room and looked there. Ariel wasn't there either. Tabitha began to panic as she searched all the rooms in Justin's house. "ARIEL ! ARIEL ! JUSTIN! " she screamed as she ran downstairs. Justin was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs holding a now sobbing Adam. His mother's frantic cries had awakened him and frightened him.

"Tabbers, what's going on ?"

"I can't find Ariel anywhere," Tabitha cried. She took Adam from Justin's arms and rocked him as she sat down on the couch. "Where could she be ?"

"I don't know, but there's no need to panic. I'll look around the house again. You just sit here and calm down."

Tabitha nodded as tears fell down her cheeks. She couldn't believe that she had lost Ariel. What if she had gone outside and fallen into the pool ? What if she was kidnapped ? A million horrible thoughts ran through Tabitha's mind as she sat there, rocking Adam back to sleep. She looked up quickly as Justin reentered the living room.

"Did you find her ?"

"Nope. She's not anywhere in the house. I'm going to look outside."

"Should I call the police ?" Tabitha questioned anxiously.

"No, let's not panic. She probably went outside to play. Don't worry."

As long as her child was missing, "not worrying" was not going to be on Tabitha's agenda. She laid Adam in the playpen and picked up the phone. Just as she got ready to dial a number, the phone rang. She jumped, startled by the sound and the coincidence, and answered it.

"Hello ?"

"I bet you're missing a little blonde-haired girl with hazel eyes," Lance said from the other end.

"Omigosh. She's at your house ?" Tabitha was amazed that Ariel even knew where Lance lived.

"Yep. She showed up here about fifteen minutes ago. I was getting ready to leave for the studio and she was sitting on the steps with her teddy bear in her arms."

"Why didn't you call me ?"

"I did."

"You know what I mean. I was worried sick about her. I thought something awful had happened to her."

"I'm sorry I didn't call a few minutes ago, but at first she said that you knew where she was, plus she was so upset that I had to calm her down."

"Calm her down ?"

"She was crying so hard that she couldn't talk and I couldn't get her to tell me what was wrong. Finally, she told me that she was running away from home to find her daddy, but she didn't know where to find him. I assume she means Darden."

"Um, yeah. She doesn't know you're her real father. I was actually getting ready to tell her this morning when I discovered that she was gone."

"You didn't tell her before ? When I was suing for visitation ?"

Tabitha sighed. Lance sounded very hurt by the realization that Ariel had no idea who he really was. "Look, can I just come over there and get her ? I'll try to explain everything to both of you."

"Fine. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Tabitha hung up the phone and went to find Justin. He was outside by the pool, staring into the water. He turned to look at her as she came to stand beside him.

"So she was at Lance's house ?"

"Yeah. I don't even know how she knew where Lance lived. She was running away from home to find her daddy."

"Well she succeeded on that one, didn't she ?" Justin had to chuckle at the irony of it all.

"Unfortunately she doesn't know that she found him and Lance is pissed off that I didn't tell her before. He assumed that I told her when he was suing for custody and visitation rights. What have I done ? Have I completely screwed up both of my kids' lives ?"

Justin put his arms around Tabitha and tried to comfort her. "You're a great mom. You haven't screwed up anyone's life."

"How can you say that ? I have two kids from two different fathers, and I'm about to be divorced in a month. What am I going to tell Ariel and Adam when they grow up ? Sorry, but your mom was a screwup and that's why you don't have the same father and that's why she never married again."

"Don't talk that way. You'll get married again and to a wonderful guy who will know what he has and never let you go."

"I could never get married again. I'm scared that no matter how wonderful he may seem, I'll get pregnant and he'll leave, just like Lance and Darden did." Tabitha pulled away from Justin and sank down on the pavement. She felt like her life was spinning out of control and that she'd never be happy again. The last time she'd felt like this was when her parents died. She put her head in her hands and sobbed. She knew that she needed to go get Ariel, but she just couldn't move right now.

Justin watched with concern as Tabitha sat there, shaking with sobs. He didn't know how to help her. A noise from behind him startled him and he turned to see where it came from. Lance was standing at the French doors leading to the pool and Ariel was in his arms. Lance set Ariel down and whispered something into her ear. She nodded and ran to her mother and crawled into her lap. Tabitha embraced her little girl and rocked her back and forth.

Lance motioned for Justin to come inside so that they could talk. The two of them went into the living room and sat down. "I had a little chat with Ariel and told her that I'm her real father."

"Why did you do that ? Tabitha wanted to be the one to tell her," Justin protested.

"Then why didn't she ? She had her chance and didn't take it. I couldn't let Ariel go another day without knowing who I really was."

"I'm not going to try to justify Tabitha's actions to you. She only did what she thought was right, just like you did when you left them."

"Look, I know leaving her was wrong, but not telling Ariel about me was wrong too."

"I didn't tell her because you had already left her twice and I didn't want her to be hurt like I was," Tabitha retorted from behind them. "Justin, could you go upstairs and hang out with Ariel for a few minutes ? I need to talk to Lance."

"Sure," Justin kissed her on the cheek as he walked by. "Don't hurt her again," he mouthed to Lance while Tabitha's back was turned. Lance merely shook his head and motioned for him to leave.