Disclaimer: Mine is mine, while Marvel's is Marvel's!

Samantha Zacharia Smith swallowed hard, and clenched the steering wheel tightly in her hands. Her knuckles turned white from the force of her grip, but she ignored it. The eighteen-year-old stared at the sprawling mansion in front of her, and swallowed hard again.

A picture of a blonde man holding a small woman was resting on the passenger side seat of her drop top Cadillac. The car had been a present from her Uncle Rictor and Aunt Demi for her eighteenth birthday. The young woman smiled, remembering the way her mother had chewed Uncle Rictor out for buying it for her.

The thought of her mother brought instant tears to her eyes. Tabitha Smith had passed away just a week ago, due to complications from her heart surgery. Sami, as she was commonly known, had been there when her mother had slipped away.

Tabitha's death had been sudden and unexpected, hitting her daughter very hard. After the funeral, and wrapping up all her mother's affairs, Sami had traveled across the country to tell the one person her mother specifically asked her too: an old friend of hers named Samuel Guthrie. The picture currently resting on the front seat of her car was the only one Tabitha had had.

So, Sami had driven cross-country to meet this man, and tell him of her mother's death. Sami didn't understand why her mother wanted Sami to tell him so desperately in person, but it had been her dying wish. Tabitha had given her an envelope, and told her to let no one but Samuel see it, not even to read it herself.

Sighing gently, Sami swung her car into the long driveway of the mansion, nervous despite herself. She had never been in any house that looked that fancy, and she was really beginning to wonder who this Samuel Guthrie man was, living in a place such as this.

Sami shut her car off, and removed the keys from the ignition. Wetting her lips, she dropped them in her purse, and opened her car door, stepping onto black toped driveway. Sami swung her purse onto he shoulder, and made her way toward the door.

The young woman lifted her hand and knocked loudly, after finding no doorbell. Nothing happened for a few minutes, until the door was yanked open by a young dark haired man with bright green eyes. Sami smiled at him, her own baby blues hidden by a pair of dark sunglasses.

"May I help you?" The boy asked, looking down at her. Sami cocked her head upward, straining to see his face from her petit height of 5'1.

"Umm…yes. I'm, well, I'm looking for a man named Samuel Guthrie. Does he live here?" Sami asked, nervously lacing her fingers together.

"Yeah…why do you want to see him?" The young man asked her, his voice suspicious.

"Umm…I've got a message for him." Sami said, reaching into her purse to pull out the envelope.

"I can give it to him." The boy said, holding out his hand.

"No." Sami said stubbornly. "My mother told me to let no one but him see it."

"And just who might your mother be?" The man asked, lifting an eyebrow. Sami stood up straight and thrust out her chin, just like her mother had done when she had been challenged.

"My mother's name was Tabitha Smith." She told him, managing to make him look like a bug.

"I don't know any Tabitha Smith." The boy snapped.

"Good thing the message isn't for you then, isn't it?" Sami snapped back, angry about being detained so long. "Can I see him or not?"

"I guess." The boy finally gave in, stepping aside and allowing Sami to walk in.

"Thank you." She said as politely as she could manage.

"Wait here. I'll go get him." The boy commanded her, turning on his heel and leaving. Sami stuck her tongue out at his back.

A giggle caught her attention. Turning her head, she saw a girl who looked around thirteen or fourteen standing in the doorway. Sami smiled and was pleasantly surprised when the girl waved back. (maybe not everybody here is a jerk.)

The little girl was very small, with wide blue eyes and a great deal of long auburn hair that was turning black at the roots. Upon closer inspection, Sami decided that girl had some Oriental in her.

The girl walked over to Sami, and stuck out a hand.

"Hi!" She said with a decidedly British accent. "I'm Logan Starsmore."

"Sami Smith." Sami introduced herself, shaking the girl's offered hand.

"Are you going to be going to school here, or something?" Logan asked, cocking her head to one side.

"This is a school?" Sami asked surprised.

"Uh-huh. Xaiver's Institution for Higher Learning. My parents are…graduate students." Logan said, bouncing on her toes.

"Oh." Sami said, looking around.

"If your not going to come to school her, why are you here?" Logan asked, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger.

"My mother asked me to come give this note to Samuel Guthrie." Sami said, waving the envelope around.

"Why didn't she come too?" Logan asked, looking toward the door. Sami swallowed against the tears that threatened.

"My mother died about a week ago."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Logan cried, her hand fluttering to her mouth.

"It's okay. You didn't know." Sami said, pushing a lock of her own waist length dark red hair behind her ear.

Before Logan could say anything else, a small Chinese woman walked through the door, looking around. When she spotted Logan, she walked over to her.

"Logan, you have class in five-oh, hello. Who are you?" The woman asked, seeing Sami.

"Mom, this is Sami Smith. Sami, this is my mom, Jubilation Starsmore." Logan introduced the two.

"Hi." Sami said, smiling at the woman.

"Nice to meet you." Jubilation said, reaching out a hand for her to shake. Sami took it, smiling softly. "Why are you here, Sami?"

"I came to give this letter to Samuel Guthrie. But, I get the feeling the guy who answered the door didn't tell him I was here." Sami said, rolling her eyes heavenward.

"Who was it?" The older woman asked.

"Alex." Logan supplied, noting Sami's blank look.

"Wouldn't surprise me if he did forget. Come on, I'll take you to him." Jubilation offered.

Sami nodded her thanks, falling into step beside the Chinese woman. Jubilation led her up the steps and down an extremely long hallway, before coming to rest in front of a door. Lifting her hand, the older woman knocked sharply on the door.

After a minute, a man with tousled blond hair, and sleepy eyes opened the door. He peered nearsightedly at the two, then blinked rapidly.

"Can Ah help you?" He asked, looking at the two like some one would look at an interesting spot on the floor.

"Sam, this girl is here to see you. Be nice." Jubilation told him, waving a finger at him before disappearing down the hallway.

Sami chewed on her lip, and looked back at the man she had driven nearly a thousand miles to see. He was very tall, perhaps 6'2, with blonde hair that was graying at the temples. His body was still muscled though, and his bright blue eyes shone.

"You came to see me?" He asked, looking at the girl. Sami nodded, still to scared to speak. "How come?"

Sami took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Mr. Guthrie--"

"Sam. What's your name?" Sam asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Samantha Smith." Sami told him. "Sami for short."

"Smith?" Sam asked quietly, his voice breaking gently. Sami looked up, and noticed the agonized look on his face. Confused, she tilted her head to the right.

"What's wrong?" Sami asked him.

Sam appeared to shake it off, flashing a million-dollar smile. "Nothin', Sami. Just an old hurt. Now, what are you doin' here?"

"My mother asked me to come see you." Sami said, again forcing back the tears.

"Your mother? Who was she?" Sam asked, confused.

"I don't know if you remember her or not, but she sure did remember you. Her name was Tabitha. Tabitha Smith." Sami said.

Sam's face drained of all color when he heard that. He grasped the edge of the door, like he was trying to keep himself on his feet.

"T-Tabitha is your mother?" Sam finally whispered staring at the young woman with heartsick eyes.

"Yes." Sami said, shocked by his reaction. "Do you remember her?"

"Ah surly do." He said, his voice shaking still. "Did she come with you?"

"No." Sami said, trying to keep control of herself. "My mother died a week ago."

"Tabitha…Tabs is dead?" Sam asked, his face taking on the awful gray again.

"Yeah…complications of heart surgery." The young woman told him. Sam shook his head, a tear trickling down his face.

"Ah'm so sorry, Sami." The blonde man whispered finally, reaching to place a hand on her shoulder. "Ah knew your mother…well. She was quite a lady."

"Yeah…" Sami agreed, nodding her head.

Sam grinned. "Ah remember a time that she…never mind, you probably didn't come to hear an old man ramble."

"What did mom do?" Sami asked, looking up at him with excited blue eyes. Sam felt a smile tug at his lips.

"It's probably something you've heard over and over again." Sam told her, shaking his head.

"Mom never talked about her life before she had me." Sami said, shaking her head sadly.

"She didn't?" Sam asked, his eyebrows shooting into his hairline. "And why not?"

"I don't know. I think it was too painful for her." Sami told him, twirling a lock of hair around her finger and biting her lip. Sam watched her with sad eyes, remembering a time when another blue-eyed girl use to do the same thing.

"Painful?" Sam asked, chewing his lip. His face was suddenly very pale again, and his eyes were bright with tears. "Ah'm sorry she felt that way."

"I think it had something to do with my Dad." Sami told him, not understanding why this man looked so sad. "They split up before I was born."

"They did?" Sam repeated, looking up at her in surprise. "Are you and him close?"

Sami snorted softly, and pushed a lock of hair out of her face. "I've-I've never met my father."

The man standing in front of her looked up in surprise and blinked. "Never?"

Sami shook her head, red hair flipping into her eyes. "I've never even seen a picture of him."

Sam stared down into her eyes for a minute, then looked up and noticed where they were. "This doesn't seem to be like the best place to be havin' this conversations." He stepped out of the doorway and waved the small redhead in. "Come in."

"Alright." Sami said softly, stepping into the room and looking around. It was a nice room, with large windows that let in a great deal of sunlight, and dark blue carpeting to match the coverings on the two chairs arranged around a small table. A bed with a matching blue comforter stood against one wall, with a small dark wood nightstand sitting next to it. A dresser drawer made of the same wood stood three or four feet from it, several pictures in pine frames sat on top of it. It had a nice, homey feel about it, and Sami was put at easy.

"Won't you sit down?" Sam invited, waving toward the chairs. Sami nodded and sank into one of the comfortable chairs, smiling as Sam took the one across from her.

"Thank you, Sam." Sami smiled at him, remembering her manners.

"No trouble at all." He replied, waving a hand. "Now, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about? Other then your mother, that is."

"Well, she asked me, before she---ya know…died---to come and see you and give you this." Sami said, reaching into her purse and pulling out the old envelope her mother had given her only two weeks ago. It was yellow with age, and the writing was faded.

She reached out across the table and handed the letter to him, smiling as he took it with an expression close to reverence. His eyes scanned the outside, and he looked up, smiling.

"She always had such pretty handwriting. Ah kept every note she ever gave me." Sam said, turning the letter over in his hands.

"Were you and Momma very good friends?" Sami asked, looking at the man with a smile on her lips.

"Something like that." Sam said evasively, sliding his finger under the sealing of the envelope. It came apart quick enough, and he withdrew a piece of paper, folded three times, and as yellow as the envelope. Blue markings could be seen on the back, and Sam slowly unfolded the letter.

Smiling up at the small redhead, he began to read, his eyes flickering across the lines. As he read, his face grew grayer and grayer, his lips turning slightly blue. As he reached the bottom of the letter, his eyes nearly popped out of his head, they grew so large. Sami looked at him in alarm, as he dropped the letter and pressed a hand over his heart.

"Are you alright?!" Sami asked, staring at the man in worry. Sam nodded, bending to scoop the letter up from the floor.

"Sami." He began, looking at her with a new light in his eyes. "There's…there's something Ah think you need to read."

Sam refolded the letter carefully, and slipped it into it's envelope. He laid it on the table and stood up, walking to the nightstand on his bed. Opening to one drawer, he pulled out a package of papers, and turned back.

"Here…Ah want you to read these. That is-if you wanna." Sam said, holding the letters out to the girl.

Looking at him in confusion, Sami took the letters, and sat them on the table. She unfolded the first one, and noted the date. October 5, 1996

That was nearly twenty years ago, Sami noted absently. Then she began to read.

Dear Sam,

Well, here we are in…where ever we are. I've pretty much given up trying to figure out all the places we stop. That pretty much SUCKS, you know? Well, how things on your end? Enjoying being an X-Man? (I still think you look damn sexy in that outfit. Hehehehe…ahh…the images that outfit brings up…)

Sami stopped reading and looked up at him, smirking. Sam caught her look and blushed slightly, but waved her to continue.

Well, life here is pretty dull. Never realized how much fun you were until you weren't around anymore. (And you know I'm kidding, I always liked having you around. In fact, I loved it. In fact, I love you.)

Sami stopped again, noticing that the last line-the 'I love you'---had been underlined in red, twice. Her eyes darted up to Sam, and felt something tug at her heartstrings. He must still love this girl if he kept all her letters.

I guess that's the only real reason I wrote this letter. Let you know that I do love you. Gotta jet, off to kick more bad guy butt.!

Love,
Me

"Me?" Sami asked, looking up at her new friend in surprise. "Why me?"

"Ah'm not sure. That's just how she always signed her letters to me." Sam said, looking at the stack of papers sitting in front of her.

Sami nodded, and picked up the next one. Scanning it, she noted that all the I love yous were also underlined in red. It was just as brief as the last one, what are you doing, I'm fine, the whole bit. Like the one before it, it was also signed Love, Me.

In fact, all of the letters were signed Love Me. Sami read them all, still wondering why Sam had asked her to read them. None of them said anything utterly earth shattering, but they were obviously love letters. Why had a man she had just meet ask her to read his old notes?

When she finished the last one, Sami finally asked her question. "Sam? Why did you want me to read all of these? There nice…but aren't they sort of personal?"

"Yeah. Ah'm pretty sure no one knows that Ah still have them." Sam said softly, his eyes taking on a distant look. "Ah'm sure they thought Ah let her go along time ago."

Sami looked at him for a moment, and bit her lip. "Did you?"

The old man didn't say anything for a long second, his eyes staring off into the distance, like he was looking back into the past. After a moment, he seemed to shake the feeling off, and looked at her.

"Never even thought about it."

They sat in silence for a long time, studying each other. Only an occasional thump or bump broke the silence from downstairs. Finally, Sami couldn't sit still anymore.

"I should probably get going…" She started, rising to her feet, and chewing on her lip.

"Sami. Will you read this last letter?" Sam asked softly, holding out the newest letter, the one she had brought him.

"Alright…." Sami agreed, talking the paper from his hand. Sitting back down, she began to read.

It was dated January 1, 1998

Dear Sam,

I screwed up, and I know it. If you even remember, you'll know what I'm talking about. Chances are that you won't, and I can't say that I really blame you. I hate myself for what I did, but I really truly believe that it was the only way.

I do love you. I love you so much that it tears me up inside, I love you more then I've ever loved anyone before.

Anyone, except for the person lying beside me now.

Before you jump to conclusions, no it's not another man. It's…her name is Samantha.

Sami's heart clenched and she looked up at Sam. His face was as pale as hers was, and his lips were trembling just a bit. Taking a deep breath, Sami continued reading.

Samantha Zacharia. And she's my daughter. I named her after you. I named her after her…father.

Sami gasped and nearly dropped the letter. She looked up at Sam, and saw the same shock written on his own face.

"You're---you're my dad?" Sami breathed, feelings bubbling up through her.

"Yes." Sam nodded, looking at the girl with blue eyes.

Sami swallowed hard and continued to stare at the man, suddenly transfixed with his eyes. I have his eyes.

"What---what does this mean?" Sami asked finally, not knowing what else to say. "I mean-I'm eighteen, I don't need a guardian."

Sam was silent, not knowing how to answer her. He didn't know himself what was to happen now, and he had no idea what she was feeling.

"Did you know about me?" Sami asked, finally, not looking at him. Sam noticed the tears that stained her face, and he felt an ache in his heart. She looked so much like Tabitha.

"No. Ah realized that you were Tabitha's daughter the second Ah saw you…but…Ah didn't see any of me in you." Sam told her softly, watching her with hurt eyes.

"I-I have your eyes." Sami told him softly.

"You do?" Sam asked. Sami looked up at him, and tried to smile. "You do. But---you have your Momma's pretty face."

"Thank you." Sami said, uncertain as to what to say to that. "You---you loved my Momma didn't you? Momma-she's your 'me' isn't she?"

"Yes she is." Sam's voice broke painfully as he said that. "Ah loved her then---Ah love her still."

"She loved you too. She never….she never got married. She never dated anyone. I heard…" A memory suddenly reared in her mind. "I heard Rictor and Demi talking bout it. Rictor said that Momma was waiting on for Sam---for you. She---she always wanted you."

Sam had begun to cry through Sami's narrative. He reached up softly and brushed a tear away, chewing on his lip. "Ah always wanted her too."

Sami took a deep breath. "What…what now?"

Sam forced a smile through his tears. "Are you hungry? We could-get something to eat. Then Ah'd…Ah'd like to know about your life. If you wanna tell me." Sam hurriedly corrected himself.

"I'd like that." Sami whispered softly, smiling at him. "I would." Darkchilde's Stories