Sam was more tired than she had ever been in her whole life. She had been walking for three days straight, and every bone in her body ached. She had started in Ogden, Utah, and had just reached the outskirts of her destination…Los Angeles.

Sam hadn't exactly had what you would call an easy life. She had been kidnapped as a baby and had never been returned to her real parents. She didn't even know who these parents were. She had lived through a childhood in which the only love she knew came from a next door neighbor who took pity on her. Sam had put up with the abuse…mental and physical…for as long as she could stand it. But that last time had been too much. She ran away.

Sam looked back on the last fight that she had with her "guardians". She had been secretly gathering information about her real family for quite some time when Mills, the man who had taken her from her parents and ended up stuck with her, found out what she was doing. He was, of course, furious. He said that if she didn't hand over the information, he would kill her. He almost did that anyway just trying to get it from her. Sam had given Mills the information, but she had another copy of it stashed away. By then, she had compiled enough information to know that she had a brother in Los Angeles. So, she took her information and ran.

Now she was worn out and really hurting, and she almost wished she had gone to a doctor before taking off. Her head was pounding, and her arm was swelled up like there was a balloon under its skin. But Sam was way too close to turn back. She looked up and saw a hospital up ahead.

Maybe I should go get checked out, she thought. Normally she wouldn't have even considered it, but she didn't think she could walk much farther anyway.

Sam decided that it would be best if she went into the emergency room. She could at least get some pain medicine, if nothing else. She stumbled up to the entrance where a white-haired doctor and two nurses were helping unload a gurney from an ambulance. Sam walked toward the white-haired doctor. She was about three feet from him when her knees gave way and she collapsed into his arms.

Barely conscious, Sam heard the white-haired doctor say, "Quick! Get me a gurney!" Then she felt herself being wheeled into the hospital. That was the last thing she knew before she passed out.

When Sam woke up, her head was still hurting, but not quite as bad as before. She looked around and realized that she was laying in a bed in the hospital. Her arm was in a cast.

Just then, the white-haired doctor walked in. "Hello, there," he said with a grin. "Glad you decided to join us conscious people."

Sam couldn't help but smile at the doctor's enthusiasm. "Hi," she said shyly.

"So, tell me," said the doctor, "What happened?"

Sam thought about making something up, but she couldn't bring herself to lie to this gentle old man. So she just did the next best thing: "You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me," said the doctor with a twinkle in his eyes. "I'm Dr. Sloan, by the way, but you may call me Mark."

"I'm Samantha, but you may call me Sam," Sam replied, grinning back. "Okay, here goes my story, whether you believe it or not. I was kidnapped from my parents as a baby. The man who kidnapped me did so because he wanted to get back at my dad for putting his brother in jail. My dad is a federal agent…my real dad, that is. So, the guy who took me, Mills, just stuck me in a corner to let me grow up on my own. The only time he paid me any attention was when he needed a punching bag. So I started gathering information about my real family, secretly, of course. I gathered up enough info to know that I have a brother somewhere in Los Angeles. I started walking from Utah three days ago, and here I am." Sam finally looked up at Mark. "Pretty unbelievable, huh?"

Mark looked Sam in the eyes. "I believe you. No one could even make up something that incredible. Besides, you have an honest face, I think I could tell if you were lying."

Sam looked relieved. "Thank you, Mark. You don't know how much that means to me. Now, how long am I going to have to stay in this joint?"

"Well, Sam, only about a day. In fact, I think I will be able to check you out today. But where are you going to go when you leave here?" Mark looked concerned.

"Well, uh…" Sam stammered, "I guess I'll just uh…"

"In other words, you don't know?" he questioned with a huge grin. Switching subjects, he asked, "How old are you, Sam?"

Sam switched to a defensive tone. She was getting tired of all these questions. "I'm sixteen, how old are you?"

He just smiled even bigger and said, "Why don't you come stay with me and my son at our beach house until you find your brother? We would be awfully glad to have some company, and I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do something to help you!"

She immediately felt bad for snapping at Mark. "I'm sorry I jumped all over you," she said. "It's been a really long day."

"I understand," he replied. "Now how about my offer?"

"It sounds great," Sam responded with a gigantic smile.

Later that night, Sam settled into Mark's living room as best she could. "Mark, you don't know how much I appreciate this. Really."

"No, really, it's my pleasure!" After spending a few hours with the girl, Mark had discovered that Sam was an energetic, intelligent and well-expressed young lady. She seemed almost unfazed by all that life had thrown at her. Mark was amazed at the strength she possessed.

A question from Sam brought Mark back to the present. "So when do I get to meet this son of yours?" she was asking.

Mark had called his son Steve earlier and explained the situation to him. Steve wasn't all that happy about it, but Mark had insisted. "There is something about this girl," he had told Steve. "I can't pinpoint it, but it is definitely something." So Steve had finally agreed.

Mark was opening his mouth to answer when he heard the front door open and Steve's voice saying, "Dad! I'm home!"

Mark winked at Sam. "You get to meet him now!"

Mark led Sam into the kitchen where Steve was looking for something to eat. "Steve, I would like you to meet Sam. She is the young lady I was telling you about."

Steve looked at her and he looked surprised. He gave Mark a look saying I have something important to tell you, then said, "Glad to meet you, Sam!"

Sam stuck out her hand and Steve took it. "Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Sloan."

Steve grimaced. "Please call me Steve. Being called Mr. Sloan makes me feel incredibly old."

"Oh, sorry, Steve," Sam replied, blushing.

Steve grinned down at her and said, "It's perfectly okay."

He gave his dad that look again, and Mark turned to Sam.

"Sam, honey, you should go and try to get some sleep. You have had a rough day, and as your doctor, I'm telling you to rest!"

"Okay, Mark…and thanks," Sam replied seriously before turning and going back into the living room.

When he was sure she was out of hearing distance, Mark turned back to Steve. "What is it, Son?"

"Well, I think I may have figured out what it is that you couldn't exactly pinpoint. Does Sam seem to bear a striking resemblance to someone you know?"

"Now that you mention it, she really does. But who?" Mark thought about it and suddenly realized exactly who Steve was referring to. "Jesse."

Steve nodded. "Dad, do you think it is possible that Jesse could be a relative of Sam's?"

"I think he might be more than that. I think he could be the brother she is looking for. I'm going to call him right now and get him to come over here."

"But, Dad, what if it ends up that they aren't related? I know the resemblance is very strong, but that doesn't mean that they are brother and sister! Besides, do you know what time it is?!"

"Steve, I have already thought of all of that! The sooner this girl finds her brother, the better! And it won't hurt for us to bring Jesse over to ask him some questions."

Steve finally gave his consent, and Mark immediately got on the phone.

Jesse woke to the sound of his telephone ringing. He took a quick glance at his clock which told him that it was 10:30. Jesse had just finished an eight hour shift and was exhausted. He picked up the phone.

"Whoever this is, you had better have something important to say!" he threatened.

"Jesse, it's Mark," came the voice on the other end. "I need you to come over here."

Jesse was wide awake by this time. "Is something wrong, Mark? What is it?"

"No, nothing is wrong, but I really want you to meet someone who is over here right now."

"Can it wait? I am incredibly tired right now," Jesse whined.

"Jess, I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't important."

"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes. Bye."

"Bye!"

Jesse quickly got up and dressed, and he headed for the beach house. When he got there, Mark and Steve were out on the back porch waiting for him.

"Have a seat, Jess," said Mark. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thanks. Where is this person you wanted me to meet?"

"Don't worry about that just yet. We have to ask you some questions first."

"Please don't tell me I am a murder suspect!"

"No," Mark reassured his friend. "Nothing like that. Jesse, you don't have any brothers or sisters, do you?"

"No, Mark, I'm an only child."

"Was your mother ever pregnant again after she had you?"

"No, she wasn't."

Steve looked at Mark, as if to say, "Told you," but then Jesse continued.

"No, I take that back. How could I forget?! When I was thirteen, she had another baby, a little girl, but she lost it. Why?"

"Did your parents name the child?"

"Yeah, they named her um…Sally or Sandy or something like that."

"Was it Samantha?"

"Yeah, that's it…wait a minute, how did you know?"

Mark looked at Steve, then said, "Jesse, be glad you are sitting down!"

Meanwhile, Sam was on the couch in the living room, trying to go to sleep. She wasn't having much luck, though.

She heard a sound and thought, Must be Mark coming to check on me. Maybe I can get him to sit with me until I go to sleep.

"Mark?" Sam called out hesitantly. There was no response.

Sam stood and began walking cautiously toward where she had heard the sound. "Who's there?" she questioned.

Suddenly a dark shape lunged at her, and Sam let out a blood curdling scream. "Mark!!!" she screamed.

Then the figure held up another dark, smaller figure and hit Sam with it. Sam could feel her consciousness slipping away. The last thing she was aware of was Mark, Steve and another person rushing into the room. Then she passed out.

While Mark and Jesse tended to Sam, Steve ran after her attacker. He caught up with him on the beach and tackled him. They struggled for a few minutes before Steve was finally able to pin the attacker down and cuff his hands behind his back. Steve read the man his rights and marched him back to the beach house.

By this time, Mark and Jesse had Sam sitting on the couch. She looked pale, but other than that okay.

"I'm taking this guy down to the station," Steve told his father and friend. "I'll be back in a while."

Sam stood up shakily and gave Steve a hug. "Thank you," she said softly. "That's the first time a man has ever stood up for me."

Steve just nodded and led the perpetrator to his truck. They both climbed in and Steve headed to the station.

Mark got up and turned the light on. "Well, as if this evening hadn't been exciting enough! Sam, I want you to meet Jesse…"

Mark and Steve had explained Sam's entire story to Jesse, and he had been eager to meet her. Was it possible that after all those years he had a sister?

Sam slowly turned to face Jesse. What she saw was almost a mirror image of herself, in the male version. "Oh, my," she mumbled.

Jesse looked just as shocked as she did. He finally found his tongue. "You're my sister!"

Sam nodded. "I think so!"

Jesse looked at Mark. "I…I have a sister!"

Mark smiled at Jesse and at Sam. "Well, so much for sleep! I'll leave you two alone. You have a whole lot to catch up on!"

Jesse was having a hard time finding words. "How…did you find me?"

Sam started at the beginning and told Jesse the same story she had told Mark earlier in the day. "And that is how I found you," she ended.

"Wow!" Jesse exclaimed. "That is amazing. I don't know what to say, really. What are you planning on doing now?"

Sam's face fell, but she didn't let Jesse see it. "Um…well, I uh.. don't really know."

"Good!" Jesse said with conviction. "I want you to stay with me. We have sixteen years to catch up on!"

Sam's eyes lit up. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! I wouldn't ask you if I wasn't!!"

Just then Mark re-entered the room. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I need to take a look at Sam. She could have a mild concussion."

Sam sat patiently while Mark looked her over and Jesse explained to him what they had decided on. Mark gave Sam some headache medicine and told her that she did indeed have a mild concussion and to take it easy. Then Sam and Jesse left, heading for Jesse's apartment.

They walked into the apartment and sat down on the couch, where they stayed talking for four more hours. Jesse learned about Sam's friends and education, and Sam found out all about Jesse's job at the hospital and his girlfriend Susan.

Finally, Sam just couldn't control her yawning any longer. She was yawning about every five seconds, so she said, "I'm sorry, Jesse, but I really have to go to sleep." Then she added, as if he didn't already know, "I have a mild concussion."

Jesse smiled at her and nodded. "You go ahead and go to sleep. There's a bed right through that door." Jesse pointed to his own bedroom door.

"Okay, thanks," Sam replied drowsily. "Brother."

Jesse smiled at the door as Sam shut it and nodded off himself.

That morning Jesse had to leave for work at 7:30. He woke Sam up and told her where he would be if she needed him and wrote down Mark and Steve's phone number for her.

"Are you sure you feel safe here by yourself?" he asked for the hundredth time as he was walking out the door.

"I'm sure!" Sam responded, smiling at his being so overprotective.

As soon as Jesse left, Sam sat down and started thinking about what had happened the night before. Steve had spent several hours trying to get the man who attacked her to tell him why he had tried to hurt her and who had sent him. The man had kept his mouth sealed tight, but Sam knew that it was Mills who had sent him. The more Sam thought about it, the more fearful she became. She decided to call Mark and see if she could go over there, so at least she wouldn't have to be alone.

"Mark, this is Sam," she responded to Mark's drowsy sounding "Hello".

"Oh, Sam," Mark said. "Well, good morning! Is everything okay?"

"Yes, it's fine, but Jesse had to go to work and I kind of don't want to stay here by myself. I didn't want to worry him, so I called you. I hope I didn't wake you up."

"No, you didn't, honey. I had just gotten up and put on a pot of coffee." Sam could hear the grin in his voice. "I'll be over there to get you as soon as I can get dressed!"

"Okay, Mark, thanks."

Mark hurriedly put on his clothes and headed over to Jesse's apartment. He hustled up to the door and knocked swiftly three times.

"Coming," called a muffled voice. Sam opened the door and quickly stepped outside. "Let's go!"

Mark led the way out of the building and to his car. They both climbed in and Mark took off.

"So what do you want to do today, Sam?" Mark asked.

"I'll just tag along with you if it's okay," Sam replied. "I don't want you to change your plans for me."

"Actually, I have a couple of free hours still before I go to work, and Steve is at home. We were going to go out on the beach and have a picnic with our friend Amanda. Would you like to join us?"

"That sounds great!" Sam replied, grinning. "You have a frisbee?"

"Sure do! It's settled then. We'll do that. But I have to tell you…you won't be able to come to work with me. My boss Norman wouldn't look too kindly upon me bringing a sixteen year old into the ER." Seeing the worried look on Sam's face, Mark added, "We'll work something out with Steve, though. Maybe you could stay with him."

Sam nodded, looking relieved. "That's fine with me. Mark…" she paused. "Thanks."

Mark just smiled at her and pulled into his driveway. "Let's go see what we can wrangle up for our lunch!"

An hour later, Mark sat on the beach watching Sam, Steve and Amanda play frisbee. He smiled as Sam made a seemingly impossible catch and hurled the disc at Amanda, who dropped it in the water. She daintily waded out into the water, being careful not to get her pedal pushers wet. As she picked up the frisbee, a huge wave knocked her down and she got completely drenched.

They stayed on the beach for about two more hours, then went back into the beach house. Mark got ready for work and Amanda changed into some dry scrubs while Steve took a phone call from the station.

Mark met up with Steve in the hallway and said, "You're going to stay here with Sam, right?"

Steve looked torn, and replied, "I have to go check out a crime scene. But I arranged for another officer to stay here with her until one of us gets back. She'll be safe here with him."

"Alright," Mark agreed. "Let me go tell her before we leave."

Mark walked into the living room where Sam was sitting watching TV. "Sam, Steve, Amanda and I all have to leave to go to work, but a police officer is going to come stay with you while we are gone. Is that okay?"

Sam looked up at him. "Yeah, that's fine."

"Okay, I'll see you when I get home!"

"Bye, Mark. Bye, Amanda," she said, turning back to the television.

Officer Philip Lindsey arrived a few minutes later. Steve introduced him to Sam, then said his good-bye's and left.

Sam was sitting on the couch chatting with Officer Lindsey when there was a knock at the door. It was just beginning to get dark.

Lindsey looked at Sam and said, "I'll get it. Stay here."

Lindsey went to the door and Sam got up and went and hid down in Steve's apartment. She heard Lindsey call out, "Sam, did you order any pizza?" Then there was the loud bang of a gunshot and angry footsteps. Sam knew that she couldn't stay where she was. She ran out the outside door of Steve's apartment and fled into the night.

Steve returned home from the crime scene about an hour after it got dark. He walked through the front door and into the living room. The TV was blaring and the room had been trashed.

"Oh, great," Steve muttered. "Sam? Philip?"

He walked into the kitchen and was horrified to see Philip Lindsey's body laying there on the floor in a pool of blood. Steve raced over to him and checked his pulse. It was too late. He was dead.

"SAM!" Steve yelled desperately, knowing that there would be no answer. He could only hope that she had either escaped or that whoever had killed Lindsey hadn't also killed her. Steve quickly called in to the station to report the murder and break-in before continuing his search for Sam.

He checked over the whole house, including his own apartment. His only trace of hope was in the fact that his outside door was open and there was no sign of struggle down there. Maybe Sam had managed to escape. Steve took another quick glance around the room and was just about to go call Mark at the hospital when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a scrap of white paper on the floor. The paper said Gone to B's A. Meet there. L, S.

Steve scratched his head. What could this possibly mean?

Jesse was so tired when he finally got off work. He was much too tired to even think about going to pick up Sam. He was afraid he would fall asleep at the wheel. So he talked Mark into bringing her back to his apartment after he got off.

Jesse trudged those last few steps to his apartment door, glad to be home and almost in bed. He took out his keys but found that the door was unlocked. Sam must have forgotten to lock it back when she left, he thought.

Jesse opened the door and slowly closed it. As he turned to flip the lights on, he heard a small noise behind him. He whirled around and met the hard end of a hard gun. Jesse fell to the floor, stunned. He held his hand up to his head and felt blood running freely down it.

"Where is your sister?" his attacker asked in a menacing voice.

Steve finally gave up trying to figure out the note and called his dad. He told him about the condition he had found the house in. "Sam's gone," he said. "I think she escaped because she left this note, but I can't figure out what it means."

"Well, what does it say, Steve?"

"It says 'Gone to B's A. Meet there. L, S.'. Do you have any idea what it means?"

Mark was silent for a few seconds, then responded, "Gone to Brother's Apartment! Steve, you need to get over there right now!"

"I'll get over there as soon as I can, Dad, but I can't leave here yet. They have to ask me some questions about the crime."

"Hurry, Steve! Sam's and Jesse's lives could depend on it!"

Jesse winced as the man yelled again, "Where is your sister?"

"I don't know," Jesse replied breathlessly.

The man pointed the gun at Jesse. "Wrong answer. I'm going to ask you one more time, where is your sister?"

Jesse sat there for a second, trying to think up some lie to tell the man. His head was throbbing where he had been hit earlier. He couldn't think of anything, so he remained silent.

The man sighed. "I can see you aren't going to talk."

Then, so quickly that Jesse had no time to react, the man hit him with the butt of the gun again. Jesse fell back to the floor.

"Tell me where she is or I WILL kill you."

Sam sat hidden in the closet in Jesse's bedroom, listening to the commotion in the living room. She was more afraid than she had ever been her whole life, even when Mills had been beating up on her. She knew she had to do something, but she was so scared. Her heart pounded rapidly.

Still, she WOULD NOT let Mills kill Jesse. She had finally found her brother and she wasn't about to give him up that quickly. She would rather die than give Mills that satisfaction of killing off the one thing that had given her hope and love.

Sam's mind was made up. She stood and quietly walked out of the closet. She walked and stood in front of the door. Everything was quiet. Slowly, she opened the door.

Jesse lay there, knowing he was about to die. The only thought running through his mind was Who is going to take care of Sam?

The other man stood over him, gun ready to fire. Jesse closed his eyes and took a deep breath, thinking that it would be his last.

Then a steady voice called, "Stop it, Mills. I'm right here."

Jesse reopened his eyes. There was Sam, standing in the doorway of his bedroom.

"Well, well," Mills said. "Isn't that just touching? The noble brother, willing to give up his life to save his sister and the sister coming in at the last second to save him. Well, this story isn't going to have a happy ending."

Jesse slowly and shakily stood up and went to stand beside Sam. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I'm fine," she replied, not taking her eyes off Mills.

"Shut up!" Mills shouted. "You," he said pointing at Jesse, "Sit over there on the couch. And you, Sam, sit over there on the floor." They complied.

"Now," said Mills wickedly, "Who should I kill first?"

Steve was finally pulling out of the driveway when Mark got home. He quickly hopped in Steve's truck without even going in the house.

Steve glanced at him, thinking about telling him it was too dangerous, then figured that it would just waste more time. He floored the gas pedal and they sped to Jesse's apartment in silence.

Jesse looked at Sam. He could see the fear in her eyes and wished he could do something to take that look away. But he felt more helpless than he had ever felt in his whole life.

Mills glanced back and forth between, deciding who he should murder first. Finally, he spoke.

"This is a mighty hard decision," he said, "But I think that first I am going to kill…" he paused. "YOU," he said, whirling around to face Jesse.

He cocked the gun and was about to fire when Sam yelled, "NO!" and ran and tackled him as the gun fired. Jesse felt the heat from the blast, looked down and realized that the bullet had hit him in the arm.

Sam and Mills were on the floor struggling. Then there was a gunshot, and Sam fell and lay still. Jesse was at her side in a second, checking her pulse. His arm and head were still throbbing, but Sam was his main concern just then.

He heard Mills cock his gun again. He didn't even turn his attention away from Sam. All of a sudden, the door flew open and Steve's voice yelled, "Drop the gun, Mills!"

Mills glanced over at Steve but didn't drop the gun. Jesse saw his opportunity and took it. He lunged at Mills' knees and tackled him, causing him to drop the gun. Steve was right there, waiting to put cuffs on Mills. Jesse rolled over and lay in the floor, exhausted.

Mark came over to him, looking very concerned, but Jesse insisted that Mark take care of Sam first. Steve called an ambulance and a patrol car and they all headed to the hospital.

A few hours later, Jesse was sitting in his private hospital room, arm in sling and head bandaged, waiting for Mark to come give him an update on Sam's condition.

Mark came through the door grinning. "Good news, Jess. She'll be fine. She took the bullet in the side and broke a couple of ribs, but they retrieved it. I just saw her, and she only wanted to know if you were okay. In fact, I have arranged to have her moved in here if that's okay with you."

"Of course it's okay!" Jesse exclaimed.

"Good," Mark replied, turning back toward the door. "Bring her on in!"

Jesse grinned and shook his head. Of course Mark had known he would want her in here with him.

"Hi," Jesse said as soon as Sam had gotten settled and everyone else had left the room. "How are you feeling?"

"About like I just got shot," she replied with a weak grin. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little concussion and bullet in the arm. No big deal."

Sam giggled, then winced. "Oh, don't make me laugh, that hurts!"

Jesse laughed. "Sorry, I'll do my best to restrain myself."

Steve came in then and talked to both of them about testifying at Mills' trial. It looked like he would be put in jail for life for murdering a cop, and now Sam could finally have peace of mind.

"What are you going to do now, Sam?" asked Steve.

"Well," she replied slowly, "I kind of would like to stay out here and finish school and maybe become a doctor." She grinned at Jesse who looked surprised and pleased and proud all at the same time.

"Sounds like a plan to me, Sis," Jesse said, grinning.