Somehow Meredith knows. They should've known she'd find out, not that it matters. Jane, Amy, and Olivia would've kept what they knew about their sister from their mother, anyway.

They're all in the living room, trying to act like everything's normal. When they hear Meredith's car pull up, Jane groans.

"Keep it together, Jane," Olivia hisses as if Meredith can already hear them. Jane just glares at her.

"Guys," Amy warns. The front door shuts, and they all sit a little straighter. Meredith calls for them, and it's like an eternity passes when she shows up in the living room.

"What's everyone doing?" Meredith glances up from the mail she's shuffling through. "Where's Sarah? She's not home yet?"

"Not yet." Olivia answers without taking her eyes off the tv. Amy wants to roll hers at how well Olivia can lie. Meredith stops sorting the mail.

"Has she been home at all? I haven't seen her since Friday morning, what is it, Monday?" No one answers, each leaving the option up to someone else, and when her girls stay silent, Meredith pulls out her phone. "I haven't heard from her either, and I called twice this morning…" she trails off, listening to her phone. When it's obvious there's no answer; Jane steals a look at Amy.

Meredith's phone makes enough noise when it connects with the table to tell them she's pissed. "Alright, tell me, and tell me now. What the hell is going on?" She stands in front of them with her scary mommy face on, and Amy knows Jane is going confess like a prisoner being tortured. Before she can open her mouth, Amy tells her mom, "She was at a party the other night – Friday night – and a guy came up to her. Apparently, he thinks they might be related."

Meredith straightens her back, crosses her arms, uncrosses them, and then surprises them all when she walks out of the room.

"Mom?" Olivia calls, though nobody makes a move to get up. They hear her go upstairs.

"Jesus, now what?" Jane groans into the cushions she's buried her face into, leaving her sisters to stare stupidly at each other. Upstairs, Meredith is numb. She folds laundry, organizes bills, files work papers, and doesn't think about what is happening. Then, as if she hasn't learned her lesson about ignoring her fears, one of the girls calls for her because someone is at the door.

As soon as the words "social services" reaches her ears, Meredith snaps out of her numb state. The realization of why they're here drops her stomach like an anchor. She can't stop swallowing, and her hands shake as these people speak words that have only existed inside her nightmares.

"You have ignored our requests for months, Ms. Cullen. This wasn't an optional request."

"It has nothing to do with my daughter."

"There was a signed agreement that if a relative should happen to find her, they have a legal right to know – "

"That was for the first year only. I was told – "

"You were misinformed, Ms. Cullen, and I'm sorry, but we are going to have to take your daughter into our custody. This does not mean we are removing her from the home. But by law, her relatives have rights."

"Fuck their rights," Meredith replies in a low voice.

The man clears his throat at this and stands up, a police officer coming to stand beside him. Meredith swallows back bile, dying inside at what she's about to do.

"Janey, baby, can you come here?"

Jane's sweet face peers around the corner. When her eyes catch the two men, she steps into the kitchen, wordless. Meredith is wondering what she's thinking. She motions for her, pulling her daughter to her when she gets closer.

"I love you."

Jane pulls away, her suspicion confirmed. "Mom, what's wrong," she demands.

"This is Mr. Lesner. He needs you to go with him for a few hours – "

"NO."

"Jane, hey – calm down. Everything's fine. There are just some legal issues that need to be sorted out, and they need you to go with them to Social Services while it gets figured out, that's all." Jane's face pales, and she shakes her head back and forth. The term "Social Services" was evil in this house.

"Then I'll just ride with you. Why do I need to go with them?"

Meredith closes her eyes, no longer able to hold her emotions back. "You need to ride with them, baby. I'll be right behind you." Jane's tears fall when Meredith's do, and when Jane's face crumbles, Meredith knows she will never forgive herself for letting this happen. The police officer takes a step towards them, and Jane freezes. Meredith's breath leaves her lungs when Jane takes a swing at him. He doesn't flinch, but calmly tells her, "You can leave nicely on your own, or I can make you leave." Jane makes another move, but it's to throw herself at Meredith instead.

"Don't let them take me!" she screams. Meredith sobs as she cups her face and tells her, "I'm so sorry, baby." They keep screaming at each other, and when Amy and Olivia burst into the kitchen, they watch as the officer struggles to pull Jane away, still screaming for Meredith.

"No, mom, please! I want to stay here with you. Don't let them do this, please! Meredith!" Jane puts up a fight throughout the house as the officer finally gets to the front door, her family watching it all. Jane kicks and bites in between screams and manages to get free. Amy is the closest to her, and Meredith watches as she clings to her, Amy so conflicted to let her go when the officer pulls her away.

"Mama!" It's the last thing they hear before they get Jane into the car. They watch as Jane curls up, finally defeated.

"Mom, what just happened?" Olivia goes to her mother as Amy stares after the car. Meredith spins around, grabs both of her daughters, and tells them in a broken voice, "You need to find Sarah. I don't care what it takes – "Meredith finally gives in to the sobs. Amy and Olivia crowd around her, and they hold onto each other, the only ones left.

Just before Amy had let go of Jane, she had whispered one word. Now, Amy and Olivia pull into the parking lot of The Diner, where Sarah's car is parked near the front.

"Is all of this really happening?" Olivia's hoarse voice only makes the pounding in Amy's head more intense. Neither one looks at each other because it's all they can do to keep from crying. "What do we do, just run in there and drop this on her?"

Amy looks at the diner for a moment. "She left us, Ollie. Didn't tell anyone, wasn't planning on it, either."

"She told Jane."

"She told Jane to lie to us."

Olivia holds back a sigh. She hates being caught in the middle of her sisters. She can understand both sides.

Amy clears her throat, reaching to squeeze Olivia's hand. "Let's just go in and see what happens."

For once, Al isn't working. They manage to walk in unseen and sit themselves across the diner. They can see Sarah, and she can see them. She just hasn't yet. They stay silent, each taking in the two people at Sarah's table. It would take an idiot not to figure out who they were. And in the thirty seconds that Amy and Olivia sit and watch, Sarah starts acting weird. And then looks right at them, like she's suddenly aware of them. When she looks away just as quickly, Amy is sure Sarah's going to pretend they're not there. Her stomach twists and the tears fill. But then Sarah makes her way to them, and the tears spill over.

"What – Amy?" Sarah can feel that something's not right, and when she reaches her sisters, Amy grabs her and holds her alarmingly tight. Amy feels how Sarah relaxes in her arms, though, and it calms her down.

"Ok, first things first – I hate you right now for doing this," Amy tells her. Sarah just hugs her harder before Amy pulls away to look Sarah in the eye. "And second thing…"

"What," Sarah demands.

Olivia takes her hand. "They took Jane."

The words burn in Sarah's ears, and all she can think is that she somehow made this happen. She turned her back on the family she had for the one that never wanted her, and now this was the price to pay. Sarah has one focus when she turns around and runs back to the table.

"I'm sorry. I have to go; my little sister is in trouble." There's no guilt or confusion with these words. At this very moment, she knows who her family is. The feelings she should've spared were already hurt, this she knows as well. "I'll call you," she tells Marcus breathlessly, and without another look, she runs back to Amy and Olivia. She takes in the sight of them, sees Amy, always together and strong, and Olivia, always carefree and easygoing. Amy still looks strong, but she's struggling. Olivia's somber expression looks so out of place on a face that is normally always smiling. She's gripping Amy's hand, and when Sarah reaches them, she slips hers into each of theirs. Amy gives a weak smile.

"C'mon, Meredith is in a state. She'll feel better once she sees you."

It only takes twenty minutes to get downtown. Meredith loses sight of the police cruiser Jane is in, and it fills her mind with panic and her foot with lead. She pulls into the parking lot in nine minutes but sits frozen in her car as her first memories of Jane overwhelm her. It was three months after the accident. Jane still had a cast on her right arm and a fading scar from the stitches underneath her left eye. If you didn't know any better, you'd never know it was there now. There isn't a single scar on Jane to show she managed to survive a plane crash that killed her entire family. Meredith had shown up nearly an hour early to meet with Jane's social worker. After more papers were signed and important people were met, they finally brought Jane in.

"Jane, this is Meredith. She's going to be taking care of you for a bit."

"Until my family comes back?"

Nobody skipped a beat. "That's right, honey."

Jane smiled at Meredith, walked right up to her and took up the space beside her on the couch.

"Do you want to sign my cast?"

"Ok." Meredith had agreed, already in love. She hadn't been able to take her eyes off that sweet, little face, and now it cracks something inside of her because she doesn't know if she'll ever see that face again. It's all she can think about as she tries to make herself get out of the car. She's too afraid and too aware of how this can end. Not knowing where Sarah is does something to Meredith that scares her. She's never felt this much fear for her children. The realization of why all of this was happening puts a thought in her mind that has never made its way in, not even on the sleepless nights she struggled to keep Sarah from hurting herself, or the nights she cried herself to sleep long after Jane had cried herself to sleep. Never did she think, not even for a fleeting moment, 'These aren't really my kids.'

Meredith is only steps from the door that will lead her to Jane. Is she going to have to fight these people, the one's blood related to Jane, to keep her? Did they have a right over Meredith, because after all, 'She's not my kid.' Was she going to lose Sarah to her blood relatives, too? It's all Meredith can do just to breathe, because she doesn't know if she should run back to her car to escape, or run in and get Jane back, but she is sure that she's already died inside, because why else would she have to fight so hard to breathe?

"Mom?"

Meredith hears that voice, and whether it's a relief or disbelief, it brings her to the ground. When she feels arms around her, she can hear that voice again, and she can smell that it's her, but it's not until Meredith takes in the sight of Sarah that she lets out a cry.

"You can't ever do that to me again!" she screams into the face she thought had left her. For a second Sarah just nods and then she's sobbing harder than Meredith. Her stuttered words are crystal clear, though, and Meredith pulls her daughter to her, relief washing over them both. She holds her for an eternity, something Sarah would never allow on any other day. Meredith never wants to let her go as she whispers words of comfort in her ear, words that comfort them both.

Jane sits in a room alone, shaking and fighting the urge to throw up. What the hell will she do if they take her away from her family? Make her live with strangers instead? Whoever these people are, she has no recollection of them. She wants nothing to do with them, not if it means being taken away from Meredith. Jane remembers the look on her mom's face as they'd dragged her away, and it brings her to her knees, her stomach emptying into a small trash can. This would be the exact moment the door finally opens. Two men accompany a lady, and when they see Jane, they all rush towards her.

"Are you ok?" She feels them behind her, but she refuses to look.

"I'll be fine once I'm back with my mom. Just let me go home."

"Jane, you will. No one is taking you away from your home, or your family. That's not what this is about. But an important matter needs to be addressed, and unfortunately, drastic matters had to be used."

"Just tell me what I need to do, and I'll do it," Jane says quickly, the urge to heave again cutting her off. There's silence behind her, and then someone sighs. It's not in that impatient way like Amy, but more like that sound, Meredith does when she knows you're upset.

"Some of your relatives located us, and by law, they have a right to see you. This doesn't mean they are going to take you."

"We just wanted to see how you were doing, see that you were taken care of. Your mother was my sister. I'm sure you don't remember us, we've been out of the country. We last saw you when you were three. Right after Ellie was born."

The tears burn Jane's eyes, but that name burns in her ears more. She so badly wants to turn around and look at these people, to see if her mother is in there somewhere. But she doesn't because it'll hurt more than anything she's been through in the last twelve years.

"Don't I get a say? Doesn't it matter that I don't want to do this?"

"Of course it matters, and we knew this would be hard for you. We aren't going to make you do anything you don't want. But we needed to know you were ok. If we had been here, we would have taken you ourselves. Please don't think – "

"I don't. I never have. I don't blame anyone for anything, and it's all because who raised me. I never had the chance to feel bad about anything."

There's a pause, and someone is crying.

"That's all we wanted to know, Jane. We're so happy that you're doing so well. We would love if one day you wanted to talk to us. Maybe wanted to know more about our family. We'll always be ready if you find that one day, you are, too."

It's hard to know how long she's alone again before someone is putting their arms around her. Before she can fight it an overwhelming sense of safety surrounds her, and she grabs Meredith so hard, so afraid to let go.

"Baby, I'm so sorry." Meredith's broken voice just keeps repeating these words as she rocks Jane. "This was all my fault. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Don't leave me, Mom. Just don't leave me again."

"Never. I'm never leaving you."