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�You�re an uncle,� Donna smiled.
�I�m an uncle. She�s eight, obviously not a planned pregnancy since Shayla would have been eighteen or nineteen when she had her, but that�s not the point. The point is that my niece was in the car, too, and her mother can�t take care of her while she�s not even able to hold onto consciousness and, according to Shayla�s written and legally binding instructions, if anything were to happen to her, like what�s happened to her already, Meredith, my niece, is supposed to come and stay with me until such time that her mother is able to raise her again.�
Donna was stunned silent.
�Yeah, pretty much my reaction. After I got past the �why can�t I breathe?� thing I realized that there�s this little girl whose mother is unable to stay conscious long enough to give her a hug and as much as I�m wondering why the hell Shayla decided to go with me instead of, I don�t know, someone she actually knows for care of her daughter, but it�s family and I never got to do all the big brother things I thought I�d be able to do if I ever got the chance.�
�You would have been a great big brother. I doubt any guy would mess with your sister after meeting you,� Donna said with a soft smile. Sam smiled as well, though it didn�t quite reach his eyes. �So� how is this going to work? You taking care of� Meredith, was it?� Sam nodded. �That�s a pretty name.�
�It was my paternal grandmother�s name,� Sam said with a soft smile. �And I don�t know how it�s going to work. I mean, I have a general overview, but when it comes to the details I�m completely lost. I know that I have to fly out and pick her up. She�s being released from the hospital the day after tomorrow. It�s the middle of the school year so I�ll have to do something about schooling� maybe a private tutor since I don�t have a stable timetable for how long she�ll be here. I have to set up a bedroom for her, which means I have to clear out my office and do something with all that stuff. And I�m sure there�s more, but I�m still so thrown by everything that I can�t think beyond education and a place to sleep.�
Donna nodded. �Okay. This is doable. Start packing up your office tonight�do you have boxes you can use or should we make a run for them now before it gets too late?�
�I�m gonna need boxes,� Sam said after a minute.
�Okay. You go start taking things off the walls, unhooking your computer, all that stuff, and I�ll go get some boxes. You can store the stuff you don�t use and anything you do use you can set up somewhere else in here or bring to work. While I�m out I want you to call the guys and beg until they get their asses over here. If any of them give you any trouble remind them that I know everything, and that I have a lot of pull with the other assistants. Got it?� Donna said. Sam nodded. �Okay. Now, you should also call Leo; let him know that you�re going to be taking some time off after you get back.�