Evelyn sat beside Claire's bed, holding her hand and staring at her unconscious mother's face. She wondered when Claire would wake up. She had persuaded her father to go home to freshen up and change his clothes; Derek had offered to drop him off at the station on his way to check on Sandra and Michael. Derek intended to use every connection he had to ensure their swift prosecution, so they wouldn't have to worry about them again.

"When are you going to wake up, Mom? I need you. Sam needs you, too. I couldn't bring her in here to see you like this," Evelyn whispered. "Please wake up soon. I know you're worried about Sandra. I'm sure you went into her room because you were worried. I would do the same for Samantha. I'm sorry Sandra hurt you. Your heart must be broken," she said, rubbing her mother's hand.

As she sat, her thoughts drifted to recent events. She considered how everything had turned out and how unbelievably happy she was, even while hoping for Claire's recovery. What she had considered a reckless mistake six years ago—Derek—had turned out to be the best decision of her life.

She smiled, her thoughts drifting to him, and sighed softly. She wondered what she could possibly do for a man who already had everything. Then, remembering his comments about being adopted and having no memories of his life before the orphanage, she sat up.

She hadn't thought about it before, but now, knowing he was the man she would spend her life with, she felt she needed to learn more about his past. He'd said his adoptive parents had been told by the orphanage that his biological parents had died in an accident. Why couldn't he remember anything before then? she mused. Perhaps she could help him investigate, to find out if he had any living relatives—siblings, perhaps? Even if his parents were deceased, she didn't think that justified forgetting them completely. It wasn't their fault they died in an accident and left him. She thought of Samantha and how sad it would be if something happened to her and Samantha completely forgot her.

Lost in thought, she was startled by a knock. Rayna walked in, grinning. "What are you smiling about?" Evelyn asked, smiling back at her freshly freshened friend.

"I'll tell you. But first, how's she doing?" Rayna asked, her gaze falling on Claire.

"Still the same. No change yet," Evelyn replied, and Rayna sighed.

"She doesn't deserve this," Rayna said. Evelyn nodded and rose, offering Rayna the chair.

"You sit. I sat for so long last night that I only want to stand or lie on my stomach. I'm scared my butt will shrink if I sit again," she joked, and Evelyn laughed.

"Why did you leave Ethan alone? Is someone with him?" Evelyn asked. Rayna nodded.

"Yeah. Melvin and Sarah are still there. He should miss me a little," she said, and Evelyn raised an eyebrow.

"Miss you? I thought we agreed Ethan didn't deserve you, and you were going to move on and use dating apps?" Evelyn asked dryly. Rayna giggled.

"Yeah, right. Like it's that easy to find good men on dating apps. I haven't had any luck, and I have multiple accounts already. Besides, it's not that easy to walk away from one's soulmate. And Ethan is mine. The idiot jumped in front of a moving car to save me, Evie! How many men on those dating apps would do that?" she asked. Evelyn, though tempted to agree, held back, wanting to see how determined Rayna truly was. "You're very confused and unstable. I thought you were mad and feeling guilty about what happened?" Evelyn asked, fighting back her amusement.

"That's because I was scared he wasn't going to wake up. Now that he's up and talking, I'm more focused on the romantic aspect. He could have died, Evie. He saved me, and I'm going to marry him," Rayna said with a grin.

"Oh, God!" Evelyn groaned. "I'm tired of you already," she said, and Rayna giggled.

"Don't be. And don't worry, he doesn't know I'm touched. I'm playing hard to get, trust me. He's going to beg me on his knees to marry him. He doesn't know I'm already married to him and pregnant with his kids," Rayna said with a grin, and this time Evelyn laughed. "But Ethan doesn't deserve you and…"

"I don't deserve him, either. So, we are two undeserving soulmates," Rayna interrupted, and Evelyn laughed softly.

"I know I've said it multiple times, but I'll say it again: Rayna, you're crazy," Evelyn said, and Rayna laughed.

"Yup. I know," she said with a grin.

"You weren't mad that he was pretending to be unconscious?" Evelyn asked. Rayna rolled her eyes.

"I was too relieved to see he was conscious to be mad about the pretending. Besides, his reason was kind of cute. He was too embarrassed to face me," Rayna said with a grin.

"Yeah, he should be. After treating you the way he did, he should be ashamed of himself," Evelyn said. Rayna eyed her with mock disapproval.

"Don't talk about my man like that," Rayna scolded. Evelyn paused before bursting into laughter, quickly covering her mouth, worried about disturbing Claire. "Laugh like that, and your mom might wake up with a heart attack," Rayna said, and Evelyn giggled.

"You're such an idiot, Ray. Fighting me over a man who isn't even your man yet, when I'm defending you as a best friend should," she said, shaking her head.

"But he is my man. You're the only one I'm telling this, okay? You can't tell Derek I'm not mad, okay? I want to see Ethan put in the effort. He's won my heart already, no doubt, but I want to see what he'll do to win me back. He insisted I take care of him, and of course, I planned on doing that. He said I should decide between moving in with him or bringing him to my place. So, I'm moving in with him," Rayna said, and Evelyn smiled.

"Well, I'm happy for you, Ray. As long as you're happy, I'm happy. I'm glad he's coming around to see that you were right, and you're meant for each other," Evelyn said, and Rayna smiled.

"These men can be slow to catch up on feelings. Thank goodness for men like Derek, who know what they want and go for it," Rayna said with a wink.

Evelyn sighed at the mention of Derek and remembered her earlier thoughts. "I need your opinion on something," she said, and Rayna raised an eyebrow.

"The baby's name?" she asked with a grin, and Evelyn laughed.

"No, not that. And before you ask, I told Derek about it. My dad and his parents know, too," Evelyn said, and Rayna nodded in approval.

"Well done. I love it when good news spreads as fast as bad news. So, what do you need my opinion on? At this rate, I think I should be charging you for my wise counsel," Rayna joked, and Evelyn laughed. "Remember that scandal about Derek?"

"The one Michael and Sandra released, making it seem like it was your doing?" Rayna asked, and Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"Was there another scandal I don't know about?" she asked. Rayna grinned.

"Just wanted to be sure. Yup. I remember. Why?" Rayna asked. Evelyn hesitated.

"Well, I'm thinking about helping him find his biological family…"

"I don't think his adoptive parents would like that, Evie. That's shaky ground. They kept his adoption a secret. What makes you think they'd want him to reconnect with his biological family?" Rayna asked. Evelyn sighed.

"Derek's an adult. He doesn't need their permission. Finding them doesn't mean he'll stop being Derek Stone. He needs to know his true background, who he really is. He doesn't like being Derek Stone much. I just want to do something nice for him. Besides, the last thing I want is for Sammy to grow up and marry a cousin she doesn't know about. These things happen," Evelyn said, and Rayna sighed.

"Well, you have a point. But if you're going to do this, I suggest you don't tell Derek. Don't get his hopes up. Just secretly look into it. If you find something good, tell him. If not, bury it and forget you ever looked. That way, everyone's happy," Rayna advised, and Evelyn nodded.

"I can do that," Evelyn said thoughtfully. She had the resources and connections through her job to pull it off easily. All she needed was the name of the orphanage from Derek, and she would proceed from there.