“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked for what was probably the hundredth time. The look Drew shot at me told me it was more like the thousandth. “Okay, okay, gees, sorry about being worried about my brother who was stabbed!”

“It was a flesh wound,” he muttered as if it was nothing. “I was almost asleep so shush.”

“Did he just shush me?” I asked Ben in disbelief. “Is he supposed to sleep?

Ben, Drew, Austin and I had just left the hospital and to be honest I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Drew was in and out of hospital in a few hours.

I’d been cleaned up, and the cut on my head needed two stitches, which would result in a little scar. I’d have a battle wound. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with that. If you survive the battle, the scars that remain are reminders of the resilience you possessed.

“Squirt, I’m fine. I’m going to go home, take some meds, and sleep this shitty night away.”

“There is no way you are going to be on your own. You are coming home with us. I’m going to look after you.”

“You’re kidding yourself. I am not coming home with you, and you are nothing looking after me.”

“Yes, you are.”

Ben’s arm tightened around my shoulders. “Sweetheart, leave him be."

I twisted and looked at Ben. “Since when have you two been best friends? You should be on my side."

“Man, just come to my place and sleep for a few hours. Let her think she's won.”

"You do realize I'm sitting right here, don't you?" I scoffed, glaring at Ben, who smiled in reply.

“Believe me, we all know you are here, Sash." Austin laughed from the driver's seat.

Silence fell throughout the car, and I snuggled up against Ben and rested on his shoulder. Out the window, I watched as an orange haze washed over Monroe as a new day began. People were out jogging, early morning risers were heading out for the day while we were just ending our night.

Exhaustion began to settle within me, and as my eyes closed and I felt myself relax, the car began to slow down before coming to a stop.

“Holy shit,” Austin muttered, and I opened my heavy eyes. Cars that I recognized lined both sides of the street, and Carson was standing out front with Ronnie, and both of them were staring at the car.

“You okay to face this?” Ben asked softly after Austin and Drew had left the car. My eyes were locked on Ronnie pulling Drew in for a hug, and Carson shaking hands with Austin. “You want them gone, they'll be gone, but they are here because they love you and I don't think Crazy John will leave until he sees you are okay.”

"I want to see them, but then I just want to be with you."

His face softened. "I've never been as scared as I was watching what went down last night. I want you all to myself, so we will go in there, let them see that you are okay, and then I'm making them leave because you are not leaving my arms at all today." He grabbed me and pulled me against his body and held me tight. I began to shake against him. Finally being in his arms made me realize this was all over. Tonight, I witnessed two people I grew up with become monsters because of something that neither Drew nor I were a part of. I'd seen a man die tonight, and I felt no remorse. I felt relief for those people who will never have to suffer at the hands of him. And Holly who I still thought of as Shelley, she wouldn't see freedom again. How did they possibly think this was going to end? It was a question that would forever be unanswered, and I was more than happy to lock it away. But the one thing that was startling to realize was that I was okay. I was remarkably okay.

"It's over," I whispered, as I grabbed ahold of his shirt. "It's over, and I'm okay."

He pulled away and leaned his forehead softly against mine. "Yeah, sweetheart. Thank fuck you are okay."

* * *

Di, Gigi, Paige, Austin, Missy and Crazy John were waiting in Ben's living room when we walked in the house, and we were closely followed in by Ronnie and Carson. Gigi and Di were fussing over Drew, making sure he was comfortable and Gigi was asking him what his favorite type of cake was. I had a feeling he was going to get added to the cake rotation after this. It only took a second before I was pulled away from Ben and engulfed in a Crazy John hug. He didn't say a word to me, but the strength of his arms around me told me everything he couldn't say.

“I'm okay," I murmured against his chest and ran my hands over his back. "We are okay."

Against me, I felt his body shake, and that was all it took for the emotion of the past twenty-fours to overflow. I stood in the middle of Ben's living room and cried in the arms of the man who'd been my family since I was six. I cried for my dad who was taken from us way too soon, I cried for the thirteen years I’d spent worrying about a woman who never worried about me, but mostly I cried as I said goodbye to the broken woman I was and welcomed in the brand new version of me.

* * *

“Where are my babies?”

As if the nightmares of the past twenty-four hours weren't enough, I couldn't believe I heard the voice behind me. Everyone in the room reacted. Ben sitting beside me shot off the couch, Drew’s anger spiked through the air, and Missy came straight to me.

Our eyes connected and with the briefest nod, she knew what she was about to witness, and a smirk flashed across her painted red lips.

"Love you, Sash," she declared softly so only I could hear, and it was the added ammunition I needed.

"You are not here," I snapped, pushing myself up from the couch, and spinning around. “You did not just walk into my boyfriend's house uninvited.”

My mother stepped into the living room, dressed to the nines, with full hair and makeup and looking like she had the best sleep of her life. What she didn't look like was a mother who'd been worried about her children who'd just experienced a new kind of hell. “Sasha, I need to expl—”

"What part would you like to explain first? That you were fucking Mr. O'Leary for six years? That I have a sister that I didn’t even know existed? Oh, wait, how about we start with you turning up after thirteen years because the O'Leary's were fucking over your children and you were coming back to see what kind of money you could get.”

It was time to cuss, and I didn't care who was around.

"They were blackmailing me!" she cried and rushed toward me.

Carson cut her off. "Don't even think about it,” he warned.

I sighed in frustration. "With what?"

Her eyes dropped to the ground, and she refused to look at anyone. "There's a tape."

I glanced at Drew, and he looked like he was barely holding on. His face was frozen, his jaw tight, his eyes narrowed, and his fist clenched. Paige sensed my escalating concern and rushed to him before he did something that might get him in the world of trouble.

When I knew Drew was okay, I turned back to my mother. “So, you only came back because there is a tape of you doing God knows what and the O'Leary's threatened they'd release it? It had nothing to do with getting paid?” Her face blanched and her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “Yes, mother, he made it very clear to us that you were part of this. How could you do this? What did Dad ever do to you?"

“He was never home! He left me with two kids while he took over Hamilton's and spent all of his time there. When he was home, all he wanted to do was sleep. How do you think that made me feel?”

“So, he was working hard to provide for his family, and making it so you didn't have to work, and you were frustrated because you had to stay home with your kids?" I stared at her and scoffed, "Sorry for being such an inconvenience to you."

I jumped when Crazy John’s roar came from the other side of the room, and I spun to find him glaring at my mother.

“Get out of here.”

“Clancy, you don’t understand.”

Crazy John’s glare intensified. “Woman, there are only a handful of people in this room that have the right to call me that, and you are not fucking one of them." He stormed toward her, and she began to retreat. "You got Sasha and Drew hurt, you fucked up their business, you've been fucking up their lives for thirteen years, and now you've walked into Sash's man's house uninvited, and you didn't even are if they are okay? And this is all because of some fucked up tape?”

"They threatened me," she cried and looked around to everyone. "What would you have done?"

"Bitch, none of us would have cheated in the first place, and we sure as shit wouldn't have filmed it."

"Did you just call me a bitch?" my mother gasped, her eyes bugging out at Austin.

He smirked. "I call it how I see it, and you are a bitch."

"Are you going to allow your friends to call me a bitch?" She shot me a look, and it was then that I realized what I had to do.

"You didn't even ask if your kids were okay?" Di whispered, as a look of disappointment only a mother could feel swamped her face. "You still haven't asked."

"Are you okay?” my mother finally asked, and there was absolutely no concern in her tone or on her face.

"You know what? I'm perfect because I know this will be the last time you see me." My voice was strong while inside I felt fragile. "Every single person here loves me, and they make me feel so loved. Do you know how long it took for me to accept that? How long it took me to believe that I deserved that, that I was worth this kind of love?”

My eyes shot to Ben, and his worried expression softened when I gave him a smile reserved only for him.

“From the moment Ben met me, he would always say ‘worth it.’ I had no idea what he meant, but he was telling me that I was worth it. Every time I tried to push him away, he'd hold on tighter. He fought for my love because he knew I was worth it. He makes me feel like I am worth everything. He could have left so many times, but he stayed because he saw something in me that he wanted. I lived for thirteen years thinking I wasn't worth anything because the one person who was never meant to leave and should have always had been there left. Did you ever think about how that would have felt? I was fifteen years old!" I sucked in an unsteady breath and quickly wiped away the tear sliding down my cheek. "I will not cry for you. I will not wish that things could have been different. Because today, I begin a new life with a family who are amazing in every way possible, old and new friends who are beyond special to me, and a man who makes me feel like I'm the most treasured person in the world. Ben gave me this. He didn't have to, he could have left so many times when I tried to push him away, but it just made him hold onto me tighter.”

She took a step toward me but was stopped by Austin stepping between us. “They threatened me. I have a husband and family to think of,” she cried out, and that was the final nail in her coffin. She had a new family. As soon as she said it, she realized her mistake.

"You're a fucking piece of work,” Crazy John unleashed, and I stepped back into Ben. “I watched these two kids break when you left. Sasha lost her spark and Drew lost his softness. You did that. That is on you, and I hope you go to your grave knowing that. So don’t stand here making up bullshit excuses. Know one thing. These two kids are mine. I don't give a fuck that they are adults, and have lives of their own. Fuck, they’ve been mine since we lost Dean. When they have babies, I’ll be their baby’s granddaddy. When Drew finds his woman, and she gives him soft again, I'll be the one to welcome her into the family.” Crazy John turned his attention to me, and the fury in his voice disappeared when he asked softly, "You okay with me being your babies granddaddy?"

All I could do was nod.

Then he turned to Drew. "You meet your woman, and she gives you soft, I’m gonna want to meet her. You okay with that?"

“Be proud to introduce you to a woman, Crazy,” Drew’s thick voice declared.

“Now, we are done with your bullshit, so disappear again, and don’t fucking come back this time. You are dead to all of us,” Crazy John spat with fire in his voice. He didn’t wait for an answer, he stormed out of the living room and threw open the sliding door that led to the back deck, and disappeared out into the darkness.

"Drew?” my mother said softly, clutching at straws, for anyone to give her attention. I almost laughed that she'd thought Drew would be that person.

His voice came out as a growl that rattled my bones. "You're dead to me."

It was as final as that.

* * *

I stood in front of the mirror and stared at my reflection. I was a mess. Gently, I touched my swollen, bruised cheek and winced; then I zoned in on the stitches near my hairline. There was still evidence of my blood there. Even though I was a mess, I knew how lucky I was. Things could have ended up so much worse, and there was the very grave possibility that I may not have been standing here, and may not have spent the day in Ben's arms as he promised. My thoughts drifted to Jacqueline and what she had to endure at the hands of Edward's men. I didn't know if I would have been able to survive what she went through, but thankfully because of my rescuer, I didn't have to.

I sucked in a deep breath, and when I released it, I smiled at my reflection. I'd survived. Again. But this time it wouldn't just be me and Drew against the world. It wouldn't just be the Hamilton kids taking it all on. As Ben once said to me, I had a tribe now, and with a tribe, I could do and face anything.

You couldn't get much luckier than that.