CHAPTER ONE

"I can't believe I was this stupid. What was I thinking?" she asked herself as she sat in the little coffee shop. "I should have never left to follow some silly fantasy..."

"Shh..." she cooed, turning back to her daughter,trying to soothe the baby's crying. "Mommy's here, sweetie..."

She rocked the little girl gently and soon she stopped crying. "That's better, baby..." she smiled.

Meg Cummings looked around the room, taking in her surroundings. It was her first day in unfamiliar territory, and she hardly knew what to do. She'd come in search of love... in search of SB... For some unexplainable reason, she had felt drawn to this place - the Java Web. Little did she know, there she would meet her destiny...

She had met him over the Internet months before. The baby had kept her up for much longer than she had planned one night, and she hadn't been able to sleep after finally putting her down. So she logged into a chat room, looking for anyone to chat with. But she didn't find just anyone. She found SB...

They talked about her upcoming wedding, and how nervous she was as the day drew closer and closer. For some reason she couldn't tell him about the baby. Maybe she was afraid that she would scare him off. Maybe she was afraid of what he might think of an unmarried mother. She didn't even know what SHE thought of her situation. Of course she loved Rachel more than her own life, but she knew that Tim had been a mistake. A very big mistake. It just happened one night. She didn't know how. She never meant for it to happen, but that one night had changed her life forever. When she discovered that she was pregnant, she was more scared than she'd ever been in her life. But, the baby was born, and she and Tim planned to get married. After all, it was the right thing to do. And Tim said that he loved her, but she could see that he didn't. Not the way that she wanted - needed - to be loved...

And then she met SB. She didn't know how, but he knew her better than anyone had known her before. Better than she knew herself. After that initial meeting, they both wanted more. They corresponded through e-mail, talking about everything - everything except Rachel. She just couldn't bring herself to do it, even after they had chatted for months. Finally the day of the wedding arrived, and Dorothy and SB said their final good-byes. She didn't feel it would be right to keep in touch with him when she was married to Tim. Especially when she thought she had fallen in love with SB...

But things didn't quite happen the way she had planned. She didn't marry Tim after all. She found him with her best friend on the day of the wedding. She didn't know how two people that claimed to care about her could do something so horrible to her. So she had to leave. She had to get out of Ludlow, before it was too late.

She didn't know who to turn to. She couldn't go to her parents. They loved Tim like a son, and she couldn't bring herself to tell them what he'd done. For some reason, she automatically felt that she needed to find SB. She didn't know how, but she knew that he was the only one that could help her. So she took Rachel and ran to California... To Sunset Beach...

And now here she was, sitting in a quiet little coffee shop with her baby, trying to figure out why she'd done what she had done. Of all the things she'd ever done in her life, this had to be the most irrational. Once she had arrived, she'd e-mailed SB, letting him know that she was in town. But he didn't want anything to do with her. He'd told her that he never meant for her to come and that she should have stayed in Kansas. Meg was crushed that he had rejected her so quickly - and he didn't even know about the baby. She was upset, but she could survive. If she could survive Tim, she could survive anything.

"Come on, sweetie. We need to look for a place to stay tonight," she said as she stood up with the baby. She had stopped by several hotels earlier, and found nothing. Either there were no rooms, or she couldn't afford the ones that were left. She had to find somewhere, and she had a lot of work to do if she and her baby would have a place to sleep tonight.

She began walking toward the door, and must have not been watching where she was going, because she and another person had a collision by the doorway. Rachel's diaper bag fell and everything inside was spread all over the floor.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Let me help you," he offered as he bent to join her in picking up thecontents of the bag.

"No, no. It wasn't your fault. I should have been more careful," she said as she adjusted the baby on her hip.

"No, it was my fault. I'm very sorry, Mrs..."

"Ms... Cummings. Meg Cummings."

"Very nice to meet you. Even under such horrendous circumstances," he chuckled as he continued to help her gather the baby's things. "I'm Ben. Ben Evans..."

CHAPTER TWO

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Evans," Meg said as she gathered the last of the baby's things and stood again.

"Please. Call me Ben," he smiled. For some reason he was drawn to this woman. "Are you new in town? I don't think I've seen you around..."

'Come on, Ben. That sounded like a pick up line...'

"Yes, actually I am. I just arrived in Sunset Beach today," she answered. "I've been looking for a place to stay."

'Meg, that sounded horrible. He's going to think you're asking him for one...'

"Well, there's actually some kind of convention in town. It might be hard to find a room tonight."

'Oh, as if that didn't sound obvious. Come on, Ben. She has a child. And where there's a child, there's probably a boyfriend...'

"Yes, it is," she admitted. "I looked earlier this afternoon, and there was nothing... Well, nothing I could afford," she blushed.

'Oh, great. Make him feel sorry for you, Meg...'

"Don't you know anyone in town?" he asked.

'Don't you know anyone... Yeah, Ben, she knows tons of people. That's why she's standing here in your coffee shop, looking for a place to stay...'

"Well, I thought I did, but things didn't work out the way I'd planned," she replied, thinking about SB.

'What is wrong with you, Meg? You hardly know this man...'

"Well, I have some extra space in my house if you'd like to use the guest room for the night. It's the least I could do after scattering your things all over the place."

'Ben! That was ridiculous. She's probably thinking that you're coming onto her...'

"That's very nice of you, Mr... Ben. But I couldn't."

'I think he's coming on to me...'

"Of course you could, Ms. Cummings. It could be your only choice, you know." 'Great. Force her to stay at your house...'

"I don't know. I hardly know you... And call me Meg, by the way."

'What's the use with the formalities? He's asking you to spend the night with him, Meg...'

"I think we know each other well enough. All I'm suggesting is that you use an extra room in my house for a night or two - until you can find one of your own. It's just my way of apologizing for the incident earlier. Nothing more."

'Oh, yeah. Ben, you've never apologized to another woman like this...'

Meg finally caved in. "Well, I suppose we could take you up on your offer. I mean, we don't have anywhere else to go..."

'He seems kind... And he's willing to have Rachel in his house...'

"Wonderful," Ben smiled brightly.

'Wonderful? She's just using your guest room,Ben...'

"But I insist on repaying you somehow..."

'Meg! That sounded horrible...'

"There's no need to repay me. I look at this as repaying you."

'Repay me? I hope she doesn't think that's what I expected...'

"Well... Thank you," she smiled.

"There's no need for you to thank me. Like I said, it's the very least I could do."

"Well, I do thank you, Ben. Not every man would take a mother and her child into his house like this."

Ben looked at the baby and smiled. "Well, she's darling, Meg... Very beautiful, just like her mother," he said quietly.

Meg blushed upon hearing his compliment. "Thank you," she replied quietly.

He simply smiled at her. "Well, I just need to get some things from my office, and then I'll take youto the house."

"Your office? Don't tell me you own this place..."

"Actually, I do," he admitted.

"Oh... It's very nice," she smiled.

"Thank you... Um... I'll be right back..."

Meg sat down again with the baby to wait for Ben. "Meg Cummings, I have the feeling you've found someone very special here..."

CHAPTER THREE

"Ben, I'm really thankful that you're doing this for us. Not every man would welcome a baby into his home," Meg said as he opened the door to the house.

"Please, Meg, you don't have to thank me for this. I'm glad that I could help you out. Believe me, it's the very least I could do," Ben replied as he led her inside.

"This is a beautiful house," Meg said as she glanced around the living room.

"It's not much, but thank you."

"You're very welcome," Meg smiled as she adjusted the baby in her arms.

"Well... Shall I show you ladies to your room?"Ben asked.

"Why, yes, sir. That's very kind of you," Meg smiled. For some reason she felt completely at ease with this stranger.

Ben picked up Meg's bags and carried them up the stairs. She followed him as he showed her into the guest room.

"There should be clean towels and things in the guest bathroom, and I think everything else you'll need is in here... Well, you might need some place for the baby to sleep..."

"She can sleep with me. It's fine," Meg assured him.

Ben walked closer to her and looked down at the baby in her arms. "Miss, I don't think we've been properly introduced," he said to the baby. "My name is Ben, and you are?"

"Rachel," Meg grinned. "It's very nice to meet you, Rachel," Ben smiled and looked up at Meg. "I think she likes you..."

Ben grinned at her. "She seems to be a very charming baby..."

And charming she was. At three that morning, Ben awoke to hear her crying from across the hall. When it seemed that she'd been at it for half an hour or more, he decided to check on them. He knew nearly nothing about babies, but he just knew that they shouldn't cry that long...

He walked across the hall and stepped up to the door. He paused for a moment before knocking.

Meg walked back and forth across the room, gently rocking the baby in her arms. "Shh... Rachel, please, sweetie... I'm sure Mr. Evans isn't getting any sleep tonight, thanks to us... Please, honey, stop crying..."

He knocked on the door and Meg walked over to answer it. She opened the door to see a very handsome and very tired Ben.

"I'm so sorry, Ben. She usually isn't like this..."

"No, no. I understand," he assured her. "I just wanted to make sure the two of you were all right."

"We're fine... Just cranky," she replied. "Maybe I could heat up her bottle. Could I use your kitchen?"

"Of course," Ben replied. "It's just down the stairs."

"Oh, thank you," Meg smiled. "Um... I hate to ask, but could you maybe just... just hold her for a minute?"

"Hold her? Oh, Meg, I've never - "

Before he could say anymore, Rachel was resting in his arms.

"You're a natural," she grinned. "Mommy will be right back, sweetie..."

Meg retreated to the kitchen and Ben was left alone with the bundle in his arms. He hardly knew what to do as she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. The only thing he could think was that he needed to make her stop crying. He couldn't stand having her this upset.

"Shh..." he began, trying to figure out what to say. "It's me, Rachel. Ben. Remember me? We met earlier... Um..." He walked around the room with her, and soon Rachel stopped crying. When Meg entered the room again, Rachel and Ben were sitting on the bed, laughing with each other.

"I told you she liked you," Meg smiled as she walked over and sat down beside them. She handed the bottle to Ben, and he placed it in the baby's mouth.

"Well, I must admit, I like her, too," Ben smiled, still looking down at the baby. "She's a beautiful baby..."

"Thank you," Meg blushed. "Thank goodness she doesn't look a thing like her father," she said, trying to laugh a little.

"If you don't mind my asking, where is her father?" Ben asked.

"Back home. In Kansas," Meg answered. "We were supposed to get married today, but things didn't quite work out the way I'd planned." Meg had no idea why she felt so comfortable telling her story to Ben. It was like she already knew him... "I'm sorry..."

"Oh, don't be. I caught him with my maid of honor just before the ceremony. From what I heard - and saw - they've been... well, involved, for some time now."

"Oh," Ben said as he shifted Rachel in his arms.

"If it hadn't been for this angel," she began and touched Rachel's cheek gently, "I would have never agreed to marry him. I mean, I wanted to do the right thing for my daughter. And marrying her father seemed like the logical choice."

"So you're absolutely sure that this guy is her father?"

"Yeah," she answered quietly. "He's the only one I've ever... Well, there's only been one time, and he's the only possibility. I don't even know how that happened," she admitted.

"Oh... I understand..."

"So... I thought that marrying him would be the right thing to do. He is her father, after all. I just wanted what was best for Rachel..."

"But what's best for you, Meg?" he asked, looking up from the baby and into Meg's eyes.

"I don't know anymore. I never really loved Tim. Not the way a wife should love a husband. I just know that he's not the one, but Rachel..."

"Rachel will be happy only if you are, Meg. And if you wouldn't be happy with this... Well, if you wouldn't be happy married to that guy, then... You shouldn't sacrifice your own happiness. Rachel needs her mother to be happy..."

"Thank you, Ben..." He simply smiled at her, and then looked back down at the baby. "It looks like someone has finally decided to get some sleep," he said when he saw that Rachel was sleeping peacefully now.

"Yes, finally," Meg laughed. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," he smiled. "She's an adorable baby, Meg. You should be proud."

"Oh, I am. Believe me, I am," she laughed. "You're just lucky that you got to meet her in person. Most people get the pleasure of meeting her through books and books of photos."

"Well, I must admit that I'm very glad to have had this chance..."

CHAPTER FOUR

The next morning, Meg woke early and went downstairs to prepare breakfast for Ben. She thought that it was the least she could do, considering he'd allowed her to spend the night in his house.

Ben came downstairs and, for a moment, wondered what was going on. Then he realized what had happened the previous day. He had met her - again - under strange circumstances, but she was here. In his house... With a baby...

He walked into the kitchen and found her placing plates of food at the bar. He must have startled her, because when she saw him, she gasped.

"Good morning," she smiled, once she realized who was there. "I thought I'd make some breakfast for you. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, no, I don't mind at all. But you didn'thave to do this..."

"I wanted to. To repay you, I guess."

"You don't owe me anything, Meg. If anything, I owe you something..."

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Nothing... I was just thinking out loud," he said, trying to shrug it off.

"Oh..." she said, unsatisfied by his answer.

They both sat down and enjoyed the meal together, making small talk the entire time.

"I'm going to look for a room for tonight, so Rachel and I will be out of your hair," Meg said as she began washing the dishes.

"Actually, I took the liberty of calling a few places earlier... Everything's booked solid. And you're welcome to stay here as long as you need to."

"Well, thank you for calling, and thank you for the offer, but I really don't think I need to impose on you any longer, Ben. After last night, I'm surprised you're even speaking to me," she smiled slightly.

"Oh, Rachel? That was nothing. I didn't mind at all."

"You're very sweet..." "It's true... And I insist that the two of you stay here until I can help you find a place."

"Well... As long as you'll let me at least cook the meals..." He smiled and nodded. "Do you mind if I call my parents? Collect, of course."

"No, I don't mind at all... There's a phone in the living room."

"Thank you..." She smiled at him, and then walked to the living room. She called her house and waited for an answer...

"Hello?"

"Mom, it's me," Meg said into the receiver.

"Hi, sweetheart. Are you okay?" Joan asked worriedly.

"Yes, I'm fine. And so is Rachel."

"Tim's been looking for you..."

"Well, I really don't have anything to say to Tim, Mom..."

"Where are you, Meg?"

"Sunset Beach... California..."

"Honey, are you sure you know what you're doing? If you're looking for that guy from the Internet..."

"Mom, I'm fine. Don't worry, okay?"

"Where are you staying, sweetheart? In case I need to get in touch with you..."

"Well... I'm staying with Ben Evans... There's a convention in town, and there aren't any free rooms anywhere. He's a gentleman, Mom. The sweetest man I've ever met..."

"Meg, I don't think I like the idea of you living with a stranger..."

"I'm not living with him... Just staying here for a couple of days. And he's not a stranger... I know this sounds strange, but it feels like I've known him forever..."

"Honey, don't get into anything you can't handle,okay?"

"Mom, it's not like I'm going to marry the guy or anything," she laughed. "He's just being very nice about this... And Rachel loves him..."

"Well... Just be careful, sweetie, okay?"

"Okay, Mom. I will... I love you..."

"I love you, too, sweetheart..."

Meg hung up the phone just as Ben walked into the room.

"Did you get in touch with her?" he asked.

"Yes, I did. She was a little worried..."

"Worried?"

"Yes... About me staying here."

"Well, she has nothing to worry about, I assure you."

"I know... I think she knows that now. I tried to convince her," she smiled.

"Good..."

"Um... I'm going to go up and check on Rachel. I'll be right down..."

A few minutes later, she returned to the living room with the baby.

"So Sleeping Beauty decided to wake up," Ben smiled when Meg joined him on the sofa.

"Yes, she did..." Meg replied and smiled at him.

"I don't think I asked you last night. How oldis she?" Ben asked.

"Six months," Meg replied.

"So that means she was conceived last... oh, my God... last October..." Ben said quietly, unaware that he was speaking out loud. "

Excuse me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just thinking out loud again."

"Well, you've been doing that a lot this morning," she laughed, wondering if he'd said what she thought he said.

"I'm sorry..."

"I understand... You were cheated on sleep last night," she grinned.

"Well, I suppose you're right..." He paused for a moment and simply looked at her.

"Ben, is there something wrong?" Meg asked worriedly. "You look a little pale..."

"No, I'm fine... It's just that... I think you deserve to know... Meg, there's something I need to tell you..."

CHAPTER FIVE
"Something you need to tell me? Ben, what is it?" Meg asked curiously. He'd only known her for two days, and he was already keeping secrets from her...

"Well... I don't really know how to say this...Maybe..." Ben began nervously. He'd never been this nervous in his life...

"Come on, Ben. What is it?" Meg urged.

He looked at her and realized that there was no turning back now. "Meg, I - "

RING! RING!

"That's the phone. I'd better get it," Ben said and quickly stood to walk to the desk.

He picked up the phone. "Ben Evans..."

"Hello, Ben Evans. This is Tim Truman. I think you've got something that belongs to me."

"Excuse me? I don't know a Tim Truman. You must have the wrong number..."

Meg immediately stood and rushed over by Ben when she heard Tim's name.

"Oh, no. This is the right number. You do have a young woman and a baby there, don't you?"

"And why would I tell you anything about that?" Ben asked defensively.

"Because that baby is mine..."

"Ben, please give me the phone," Meg said.

"Meg..."

"Ben," she pleaded.

"All right." Ben took the baby and handed the phone to her.

"Tim, what do you want?" she asked angrily.

"Meg... What do you think you're doing taking MY baby to California?!" he screamed.

"If you'll remember, Tim, Rachel is MY daughter, too, and I really don't think you have the right to tell me where I can and cannot take her."

"Oh, but, Meg, I think I do. She's mine..."

"You lost all rights to this baby the day you started sleeping with Connie. Oh, but I bet that was BEFORE she was born, huh? Before we even knew she existed... When I wouldn't have anything to do with you after that one night that was so horrible I couldn't even remember... Right, Tim?"

"Meg - "

"Good bye, Tim Truman. I never want to hear your voice again!"

She slammed the phone onto the receiver and turned to look at Ben holding Rachel. "I'm so sorry... He must have seen the number at my parents' house... I don't know what to say..."

"It's alright. I'm just sorry that you had to speak to him after what he's done to you and Rachel."

"It's not your fault, Ben."

"Oh, but I think it is..."

"I can't believe this... I can't believe she'd do this to me..."

"Tim, what are you doing in MY living room?!" Hank yelled when he noticed him standing by the phone.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cummings. I just needed to use the phone."

"In MY house?! Tim, get out of here before I have to throw you out!"

"But, Mr. Cummings - "

"OUT!"

"Fine, fine... But Meg can't do this to me. Rachel is MY baby."

"Oh, she can't do this but you can cheat on her... On her WEDDING DAY?! Tim, I think you'd better leave before I loose my temper..."

"I'm going, I'm going..." He stepped out the door and shut it behind him.

"Oh, Meg, you may not want to hear my voice again, but you'll definitely be seeing my face...Very soon..."

CHAPTER SIX
"I can't believe there's still nothing available," Meg sighed when Ben informed her that there were still no vacancies in town after three days.

"Neither can I, but I've come to enjoy having you and Rachel in the house. It's very nice to have you here..."

"Thank you, Ben," Meg smiled. "Um... About that phone call the other day..."

"Meg, you don't have to say anything. It's all over now." "But there is something I have to ask you... Before that call, you said that there was something you needed to tell me... Something that I deserved to know..."

"Yes, you're right," Ben said quietly.

"Well... What was it?" Meg asked, yearning to know what he was keeping from her.

"Meg, this is going to be really hard to explain and I'm not sure if you'll want to hear it... But you need to. I should have told you much sooner..."

"You can tell me now, Ben. What is it?"

"Meg, I - "

The doorbell rang.

"Why do we always get interrupted?" Meg laughed.

"I don't know... I'll get it," Ben sighed.

He walked over to the door and opened it. "Can I help you?" he asked when he saw the man standing at his door. "Yes, I think you can. I'm looking for my daughter..."

"Tim, I presume?"

"Yeah, I'm Tim. Tim Truman. Nice to meet you," he said and extended his hand.

"I'm sorry, but I can't say the same to you. I don't think you need to be here..."

"Oh, yes I do. I need my daughter, and I'm not leaving until I get her."

"You're not taking Rachel, Tim," Meg interrupted.

"Meg... So you ARE here?"

"Yes, I'm here, and this is exactly where my daughter and I plan to stay. Right here in Sunset Beach..."

"No, I think you need to come back to Kansas with me, Meg. You AND Rachel..."

"We aren't going anywhere with you, Tim, so you might as well give it up. I have no desire to raise my child with you. She deserves better than that."

"Oh, so is that why you left Kansas and came here looking for some psychopath from an Internet chat room?! And you say I was the only one cheating..."

"I have NEVER cheated on you, Tim. But now I wish I had..."

"Wait a minute... Chat room? Kansas? Meg, you aren't..." Ben began.

"What? What, Ben?" Meg asked.

"Dorothy?" he said, completely shocked.

"Oh my God... SB?"

"This is unbelievable! You've been LIVING with your cyber romance guy?!" Tim shouted.

Meg looked into Ben's eyes and recalled all the wonderful things she and SB had discussed. Venice, sunsets, white roses... "Ben, I didn't... Howcould..."

He looked at her, their gazes locked on each other. "I can't believe this..."

"Neither can I..."

"Excuse me! I hate to interrupt this Kodak moment, but my daughter is somewhere in this house, and I'd like to take her home."

"This IS her home!" Ben yelled.

"This?! Excuse me, buddy, but you're nuts if you think I'm letting MY daughter stay here with you!"

"But what if she was MY daughter?!" Ben shouted over him.

"Well, that's a nice thought, but she's not, is she?!" Tim replied sarcastically. "Now tell me where she is, Meg."

"Tim, I - "

"Wait just a minute, Meg," Ben interrupted. "I think Rachel is MY daughter..."

CHAPTER SEVEN

"What are you talking about?!" Tim screamed. "Rachel is NOT your baby. She's mine!"

"Listen, could you just give Meg and I some privacy for a minute? There's something I need to talk to her about..." He looked over in Meg's direction.

"I don't think so, Evans. That's MY baby!" "Would you please stop saying that?!" Ben shouted.

"No, I will not!"

"Either you get out of my house or I'll throw you out, Truman!"

"I don't think you want to threaten me, do you?"

"I think what you meant is that YOU don't want to threaten ME!" With that, Ben's fist abruptly met Tim's face.

"Ben! Why did you do that?!" Meg exclaimed when she saw Tim fall to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Meg, but I really have to talk to you. I think it's time that you finally knew the truth..."

"Truth? Please just tell me whatever it is that you have to say, Ben..."

"I will... Just sit down with me, okay?" he said and began leading her to the sofa.

"But Tim..."

"He's alright. He'll get up in a minute," Ben assured her as he glanced back over at him lying on the floor. "The lousy piece of scum," Ben muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" Meg asked.

"Nothing... Let's just sit down..."

They sat down by each other on the sofa and were surrounded by an awkward silence for a moment.

"So you're Dorothy?" Ben began.

"And you're SB..."

They both paused for a moment, just looking at each other. Ben looked away from her for a minute and sighed. "God, Meg, this is so hard for me..."

"Ben, please just tell me. I can't stand this anymore..."

"Meg, you heard me tell Tim that I think I'm Rachel's father..."

"Yes I did, Ben, and I'm very glad that you feel that close to Rachel, but you aren't her father.That's completely impossible..."

"Actually, Meg, it's not..."

"Excuse me?" she said, completely horrified about what Ben could be about to tell her.

"I could be Rachel's father..."

"Ben, that's ridiculous..."

"Actually, it's not so ridiculous... Please, Meg, just hear me out..."

"No... No, Ben... The only person who could have fathered my child is Tim..."

"But you don't remember... You don't remember making love to him, do you?"

"And how did you know that?" she asked, becoming frightened.

"Because I heard you tell him that on the phone the other day... And if you can't remember it, maybe it didn't happen after all..."

"But if it didn't happen, there wouldn't be a baby here, Ben. I think I know that much."

"I'm not saying that you didn't... that you didn't make love to someone, Meg... Oh, God, this is so hard..."

"Ben, please tell me what you're saying. I don't understand..."

"What if it wasn't Tim that fathered your child, Meg? What if it was me?"

"Ben, I told you. That's impossible..."

"What if it wasn't Tim you made love to that night? What if you and I..."

"Ben, why are you doing this to me? There are no 'what-ifs.' You and I have shared e-mails and chat rooms... And a house for the last few days...Nothing else..."

"Meg, please just listen... This is a long story..."

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Alright, Ben... I'm listening..." Meg said quietly, not understanding anything Ben was saying.

"Well, it started last October... I had a business meeting with some people in Kansas... I really wasn't feeling up to it, but I had to go... Anyway, while I was there, I spent a couple of nights in the hotel bar. You were there one night..."

"I was there?" she asked, becoming quite nervous about what he was going to say.

"Yes, you were there... And you were with him." He gestured towards Tim, still lying on the floor, completely passed out.

She just kept looking at Ben, her eyes begging him to finish the story...

"I saw him put something in your drink... while you were in the ladies' room, I suppose. I wasn't really watching you, although it was hard to keep my eyes off you, I must admit..." "Ben, please..."

"Well... I confronted him and I found out that he had put a drug in your drink... To make a long story short, he was trying to make sure that you would sleep with him that night... And not remember a thing..."

He paused for a moment, wishing he didn't have to go on...

"So I threatened him. Maybe I should have stayed out of your business, but I couldn't just let him do that to you..."

"And what happened?" she asked.

"You came back and, before I could stop you, downed your drink. I tried to stop you, but I couldn't... So I paid for another hotel room and I took you there... To sleep it off..."

Meg was fighting back tears by this time.

"But you wouldn't let me go. I tried to leave, but you wouldn't let me. One thing led to another, and before I knew it we were... We were making love..."

"Oh my God..." she uttered. "I know. I would never do anything to hurt you, but... I'm so sorry, Meg... I didn't even know your name then..."

"Then why did you do it, Ben? Why?" she cried.

"I don't know. I wish I had some wonderful excuse, but I don't, Meg... I took one look at you, and I was mesmerized. I know that I took advantage of you, and I'm sorry. I never meant for that to happen..."

"No... This can't be true. I remember waking up the next morning with Tim. Tim was in bed with me..." she said, trying to recall that night.

"I know... I saw him the next morning, going into the room. I don't know if anything happened between you and him, but I do know that something happened between us... And Rachel could be my daughter..."

"Oh my God... Please tell me this is all some horrible nightmare..."

"It's not, Meg..."

She looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"Then tell me something else, Ben. How could you just leave like that? If something happened between us, why did you just walk away? Do you like things like that? Are you into one night stands?" she asked angrily, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"No... Of course not, Meg," he said, realizing how upset she was, but wishing that she didn't have to be. "I... I knew that I couldn't have you, and it was so hard for me to leave... If I had known that you had gotten pregnant, I wouldn't have left you behind..."

"I still can't believe this... If this is true... Ben, that was my first time..."

"I know," he said quietly. "I'm so sorry, Meg. You have to believe that..."

"I don't know what I can believe from you anymore. I think that my daughter and I need to leave..." she said as she stood, trying to stop crying but being completely unsuccessful.

He stood to stop her. "Meg, please... Let's talk about this some more..."

"I don't think that we need to talk about anything."

"I think we do... Whatever happened between us, Rachel could be MY daughter, and I need to know the truth... Please, Meg..."

"I need to know the truth, too, Ben. Because now there are two men in my life that have lied to me..."

"Meg, I didn't want to lie to you, but what was I supposed to do?"

"You were supposed to tell me the truth...That's all, Ben..."

"You don't know how much I wanted to tell you... And I tried to forget about you for all those months and then you showed up here..."

"Why didn't you tell me right away, Ben? Why couldn't you have just been upfront with me?"

"It wasn't that simple, Meg... When I bumped into you, I was completely shocked. At first I didn't think it could possibly be the same woman I met in Kansas, but it was, and you were, and I didn't know what to do..." he admitted.

"Did you know that I was Dorothy?" she asked.

"No... Not until today... But I have to admit that I felt connected to you in a way I only knew with Dorothy..."

"I felt the same way about you, Ben..."

"Then can't we just go with that? Can't we just be Dorothy and SB?"

"No, we can't, Ben... Not now... Not after what you've told me... I just don't know how we could..."

"I do. Meg, I... I fell in love with Dorothy, and I fell in love with you. I didn't know you were the same person, but it happened, and I'm very glad that it did..." "Ben..."

"Please tell me that you feel the same way,Meg..."

"I can't... Not now, Ben... I have Rachel to think about..."

"That's exactly what I'm thinking about, Meg... If she IS my daughter, I need to know. And I need you to know that I love her mother... I love you, Meg..."

"I can't do this, Ben..."

"Yes you can. I know you can, Meg..."

"And what's supposed to happen, Ben? Is this just supposed to be some happily ever after story?"

"I don't see why it can't be..."

"Well, I do. It's not just the two of us,Ben..."

"I know... Rachel makes three..."


AUTHOR'S NOTE: Credit for the original storyline goes to Sheila and Kerrigan in their story, Fugitives. Thanks to you both for allowing me to base this on your ideas. Of course, I've changed things to make them fit my story the way I wanted, but the original idea came from Fugitives. And thank you to Julie for pointing those chapters out to me. ;) LOL - Dani :)

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