Welcome back! Thank you so much to those who reviewed last go around-it means a lot to see a lot of repeat readers :)
I own lots of things in life, but sadly, Twilight isn't one of them! A special thanks to Katelyn for betaing, and Kim, Rhonda, and Kristen for pre-reading! Their suggestions are worth more than gold!
Longer a/n at the bottom!
Meeting Myself: Chapter 2
"This is insane," I heard Jane mutter from behind me, but a quick sharp glance shut her right up. I turned back around on the couch and focused my attention back on Savannah.
"Savannah," I practiced for a second while my mind caught up. "Okay, Savannah. Tell me how you found me. And. how you've come to determine that I'm your father."
I mentally prepared myself for a story...any story, really, that would quickly dispel any truth to her statement. Despite the obvious physical characteristics, I didn't know this girl, and I had to think logically. So, instead of letting myself feel overjoyed, I remained cautious...optimistically cautious, of course.
"When I was born, I was put up for adoption. That information was kept from me until I lost my parents when I was nine. My adoptive parents, that is," she corrected, and I nodded for her to continue. "I was home with a babysitter, and they didn't even see the car coming, Or, at least, that is what I was told. They were struck by a drunk driver and killed instantly."
Savannah stopped talking as a wave of sadness overtook her face for a brief second, and I heard Jane huff from behind me.
Instead of engaging Savannah again, I turned around and asked Jane to give us some privacy. She looked insulted, but I didn't care. Right now, I needed to figure out how this girl ended up on my doorstep. Listening to her huff and sigh from behind wasn't going to get me answers.
"Fine," she spat before walking off.
"I'm sorry," I apologized for my wife's rude behavior.
"She's, uh...nice?" Savannah tried to be polite, but I could see the truth. Looking at her was like looking at myself in a mirror. Even though I had never met her before, we had some of the same mannerism's, including looking above someone when lying. When I became a doctor, one of the first things my advisor pointed out to me was that I had to make eye contact when I discussed a patient's prognosis. Over time, I developed the skill, but at sixteen Savannah hadn't had the amount of practice I had.
"Go on, please," I pushed lightly, afraid I'd scare her off.
"Right, so I lost my adoptive parents and had no other living family. I was placed in a home through social services after that, and have since been through quite a few. To be honest, I stopped counting, but it wasn't until I was twelve that I found out I was even adopted orginally.
"Growing up, no one told me. I assumed they were waiting, but I guess the right day never came. I made friends with my social worker, Shelly, and was able to sneak into my file for a few minutes at a time. It was there I stumbled on my original birth certificate. The only person listed was my mother, Angela Weber, but she didn't list a father. Once the adoption was finalized, a new birth certificate was issued, and that was the only one I knew about.
"Through the file I found said that I was born in Chicago, but I grew up in Florida. My parents moved here shortly after I was born, and I'm not sure if that was done on purpose or not. Part of my file included certain documents and information left for me once I was older." Savannah paused for a minute.
"Look, the next part doesn't exactly paint me in the best light, so just...don't judge. okay?" she asked sincerely, and I tried not to scoff at the notion. If everything she was telling me was true, and, at this point, I had little reason to doubt her, the last thing I'd be doing was judging.
"I will never use anything you tell me right now against you," I promised, and she smiled for a second. In an instant I recognized that smile...one I hadn't seen in almost seventeen years.
"Normally, when a child reaches the age of eighteen, they're released from the system with little to nothing to survive. When my parents died, they had a significant amount of money in savings and assets that would transfer to me. I didn't realize this at the time, but I eventually found out that my original casework did her best not to place me because of it. She didn't want a family to take advantage of the situation and leave me with nothing once I was old enough to claim it." She looked up to see that I understood, and I nodded. Though she seemed composed, and I think she'd rehearsed this speech, I could see that she was nervous. She kept looking everywhere except at me. I wanted to reach my hand out as some sort of gesture to comfort her, but I knew I couldn't...that wasn't my place. I didn't even know if I had a place.
"Well, part of what they left me was a letter. I have no idea why they wrote it when they did. They didn't know they were going to get into an accident, but I'm really grateful because it detailed my adoption. They wrote about what little they knew of Angela, and any medical history that could possibly pertain to me. In it they mentioned a town in Washington that Angela lived in before moving to Chicago, and I know she was young...like sixteen.
"I wasn't suppose to know about this letter until I was released. Shelly walked away for a second, but she got pulled away by someone else. That gave me the chance to go deeper into my file, and that was when I saw it. I snatched it and ran the next day. That was almost two months ago," she tried to continue, but I held up my hand.
"So, to the state, you're a runaway?" I asked for clarification. She bit her lip slightly before nodding. "Okay, please go on."
"The last page of the letter had this," she explained as she pulled out a folded up piece of paper and handed it to me. As I unfolded the square, I was met with a picture of me and Angela at our junior prom. My eyes widened, and for a second the air around me felt overwhelming.
She was telling the truth.
This girl...she was really my daughter.
"Well, I didn't have a lot of money, but I had enough to make my way to Forks. I used a lot of buses and stuff, but, when I got there, I didn't find much of anything. I talked to some of the local people and pretended I was a broke college student. One lady was kind enough to let me use her house for the night. Her name was Mrs. Cope, and I guess she was the high school receptionist for several years," she went on, and I had to admit I was stunned when she said she had met Mrs. Cope.
"At Mrs. Cope's, I couldn't sleep, so I stayed up and noticed she had all of the yearbooks from Forks High School. It took a few tries, but I finally found Angela, then I noticed she wasn't in the senior year one. I then decided I would try and find you. All I had was a picture, but with such a small school you weren't hard to find. That was how I learned your name.
"The next morning, I asked Mrs. Cope about you, and her face almost turned pale when I said it. She described you as a really nice young man, but she told me you left Forks as soon as you graduated and had never been back...not even to visit your family," she commented with a questioning look on her face.
"Um, that sounds about right," I replied vaguely. "Angela and I didn't part ways, um, amicably, and I ran the first second I got."
"I can understand that having a baby at my age would be scary, but why did you say I was dead?" Savannah asked with such innocence that I didn't even know how to answer. I wasn't sure if I should just tell her the truth or a watered down version.
"When Angela told me she was pregnant," I started uncomfortably, "I felt a lot of things, but the same day she told me she was pregnant was the same day she told me she'd lost the baby. At the time, I didn't think to question her, and I am being literal when I say the next day the Weber's moved out of Forks and were never heard from again. I truly had no idea you existed."
"Wow," Savannah muttered. "Had you known...?"
"I would have never put you up for adoption," I answered confidently.
She only nodded, but then quickly looked away and focused on my living room wall.
"So, you've been a runaway for two months now," I stated. "Florida can miss you for another day or two. Are you hungry? Thirsty? Where are you staying?" I fired away.
"I'm starving, honestly, and I hadn't found a place for the night, yet. I'll find a motel or something, I still have a little money left over from..." she trailed on, but I immediately dissolved that notion.
"You will stay here, and we can move our conversation to the kitchen while I put together something for lunch," I offered, but she shook her head.
"Lunch sounds great, but I'd really rather find a place. I don't want to intrude," she replied modestly, but all I could do was stare.
My daughter...my living, breathing, not dead for the past sixteen years, thought she would be intruding on my life?
"Savannah, whether I raised you or not, I am still your father, so please, do not ever feel like you're intruding on my life. I only wished you'd intruded on it sixteen years ago, instead of me believing you weren't alive." I tried to put to rest any question on where I stood, and she nodded.
She went on to explain more bits and pieces of the story that lead her to me. Mrs. Cope had all but handed her my address, and from there she made her way back to Florida. I knew legally I would have to hand her back over to the state in the morning, but that didn't stop me from making a mental note to call my lawyer about filing for guardianship. At sixteen, she could even become emancipated if she could show she was stable enough.
Once she was done telling me about herself, we switched gears, as I talked about me. I cliff-noted the rest of my time in Forks before I told her that I attended Dartmouth University and received my degree in maternal fetal medicine. In short, I was a high-risk obstetrician. I explained that I had only recently been married in the last year but had no other children.
By all accounts, I had no reason to question her story, but I did let it be known that I would like to run a DNA test. I was a little surprised when Savannah acted like that was the most natural question ever.
"That's fine," she commented nonchalantly. "I already knew you were a doctor, so I sorta expected that."
"How do you know that I was a doctor?" I asked curiously.
"Mrs. Cope mentioned it, and she said you delivered babies," she answered. "I assumed you were an OB/GYN."
"I see," I muttered.
"I may have also googled you." She looked down embarrassed, and I just laughed.
"Don't worry, just don't hold google against me," I attempted to joke.
"You don't have any other kids. Why would you go into that field?" Savannah recovered with a question.
I sighed. How do you look at the one person you didn't know was alive and explain that she was the reason I did it all...I wanted to save babies, not kill them.
"I think we'll save that conversation for another day, okay?" I suggested, and she nodded.
We learned that we shared a lot of the same common interests. Her adoptive parents sent her to piano lessons, and she used a small keyboard to stay calm over the last several years. Despite moving quite often, she maintained good grades, and she was worried about getting back to Brevard County before August 8th when her junior year of high school started. She left two days after her sophomore year ended and had been on the road since. She confessed that if she hadn't found me, she would have tried again next summer.
I decided not to tell her that I wanted to take over as her guardian for now. The day had been overwhelming for both of us, and I still needed to talk to Jane. She had made her presence known a few times, but she never tried to interrupt. I could tell she was irritated by Savannah's presence, but I did my best to ignore her. It wasn't that I didn't value my wife's opinion, it was just that I didn't particularly care at that moment of time.
A little after eight, I showed Savannah to one of the guestrooms and assured her I would see her in the morning for breakfast. I made her promise not to run off before I woke up, and explained that I'd be expected that the hospital the next afternoon, so I wanted to see her before I left.
She was incredibly gracious and said many 'thank yous' before shutting the door for the night.
As I walked down the hall to my bedroom, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but I knew Jane was going to be angry.
"How long is she staying for?" she asked coolly as soon as I shut the door.
"Tomorrow I'll have to call her case worker," I started to explain, but Jane quickly cut me off.
"Good, I want her gone," she dismissed as I just stood there.
"Back to what I was saying, I'm calling Jasper in the morning to discuss adoption laws." I didn't even finish my statement before Jane's face turned red and she started to yell.
"What?" she screamed. "Edward, what did we discuss BEFORE we got married? No children...you didn't want them, I sure as fuck don't want them...that is why we work!"
I sighed, because I already knew she was going to use that as an excuse. Jane and I had been married for almost a year, and we weren't what I'd describe as a picture-perfect couple. We worked because we understood each other. Jane knew my past with Angela and understood my busy hours, because Jane was also a doctor. She worked in Cardiology, while I worked in OB, and we both were in and out of the hospital at all hours. We got along well and had a few common interests.
It all started as an accident when a bunch of friends bailed on us for a group dinner. We ate together, and then somehow we started dating from there. When I asked her to marry me, I didn't even drop down to one knee...I just asked, she said yes, and we went to the court house a few weeks later. At the time, marriage seemed like the next logical step, and I hated to admit that I really just wanted the ring. It was unbelievable how many women would hit on me just because I was a doctor, but that number decreased dramatically once I wore a ring. I did love Jane at the time, in my own way, but I guess some would describe us as a marriage of convenience.
"I understand that, but that was before I knew she existed. I can't just turn my back on her now," I pleaded my case, but Jane kept spouting on and on about never wanting children.
I stood there and listened, deciding that trying to comment would get me nowhere, nor would it change my mind, when I heard the sound of a door squeak.
Jane shut up seconds before the alarm for the house started blaring.
I rushed out of the room, down the stairs, and to the front door to find Savannah trying to leave. Her hand was frozen to the door knob as the loud sirens echoed off all walls at a deafening pitch.
I fumbled with the controls for a second, before managing to make the sound stop, and turned back around. Of course, the phone rang seconds later as ADT wanted to make sure everything was okay. I assured them all was well before realizing Savannah had taken off down my driveway.
"Wait, Savannah! Where are you going?" I called out.
She didn't stop running, but it only took me a second to catch up.
"Please, stop," I tried again, but she didn't.
"Look, I didn't come here to cause you problems with your wife. I'll just find a place to stay tonight and go back home tomorrow," she said through falling tears.
"No, absolutely not. There is a perfectly good bed in that room for you to use, and tomorrow we'll figure all of this out. Please, come back," I pleaded, and she finally hauled her steps. "Thank you."
"Why are you doing this?" she questioned. "I'm no one."
"You're my daughter," I immediately corrected, but she just shook her head.
"Before today, I was no one to you. I'm not worth you fighting with your wife over," she tried to brush me off.
"You're right. Before today, I didn't know there was a you to fight over, but, please, just come back. Even if it's just for the night, so I know you're safe," I begged until she finally relented.
"I'll see you in the morning, Savannah," I whispered as she shut the guest bedroom door again.
When I got back to my room, Jane was already packing a bag.
"I'm going to Irina's for the night," she informed me with a malicious look on her face.
"Jane, I understand this is surprising, but is this really necessary?" I questioned with the shake of my head. I knew Jane didn't want children, but Savannah wasn't exactly a baby.
"Yes!" she screeched. "You don't get it. When we started datin, we agreed no kids. That is part of why I fell for you, and though the last year has been great, it took five minutes for that girl to come in here before you dropped like a fly."
"Jane, I didn't know she was alive." I gritted my teeth in anger. "Had I known my child had been alive, and in foster care for Lord's sake, I would have never allowed her to grow up without me."
"See!" Jane pointed her finger. "That...that right there is why I'm going to Irina's for the night. We've been together for two years, and, all of a sudden, my opinion no longer matters. You need to decide who is more important, Edward. Me or her."
With that, Jane stormed passed me and left me dumbfounded.
Did she just give me an ultimatum? She really wanted me to choose?
After hearing Jane leave, I reset the alarm and stayed up just long enough to know Savannah wouldn't try and sneak out again.
Millions of thoughts roared through my mind as I tried to make sense of the information I had now. I had no idea where Angela was, but I could kill her. How could she keep this from me? If she didn't want her, I sure as hell did, and I groaned at the thought of having to call my parents the next day.
"Hey, Mom. So I know I haven't talked to you in a few months, but guess what? Angela never killed the baby...oh, and yeah, my teenager showed up at my door yesterday..."
Yeah, that would go over well. What the hell was I going to do?
I finally drifted off around midnight praying, Savannah would still be there in the morning.
Two chapters in one week :) I hope you enjoyed it, this won't be typical but with Chapter 1 being so short and Easter coming up, I won't be able to post until late next week, so I wanted to get this out to ya'll!
As always, I include teasers in review replies and a huge thanks to those who reviewed Chapter 1. A lot of people want to know where Bella comes in, and I'll warn ya'll, we're still a few chapters from her entrance, but I am a complete and total E&B shipper at heart.
To follow me on twitter I am SammieLynnsMom and facebook I am SammieLynnsMom Fanfiction
