Separation Anxiety
A.N. Here's chapter one a little later than I wanted but I just didn't have time to type it up. Inspiration for the chapter title comes from the song "How We Operate" by Gomez (though I prefer the version from the Grey's Anatomy musical event episode sung by Dr. Owen Hunt).
Oh, and I forgot a disclaimer in the prologue so here it is: I don't own the show or the characters from the show.
Chapter One: Calm Down And Get It Straight
What !
Elena burst out laughing hysterically before she could stop herself. "I'm sorry, what? That's impossible. I don't have a daughter."
Margaret's eyes widened as she backed up, falling into a sitting position on Stefan's favorite deck chair. She looked up at Elena, slightly tearing up. "B-But you do. You're my mother . . . I've wanted to meet you my whole life."
"Um . . . I'm sorry . . . but it's not possible for me to have a child," Elena swallowed, unsure of how to explain this to a young child. "I've never been with anyone but my husband . . . and we've only been married for almost two years."
"But . . ." Margaret sniffled. "I tested your dna . . . we're blood related . . ."
Elena knelt down in front of the girl. "Why don't we go inside? I'll get you some milk and cookies and we'll talk this through." Margaret sniffled, nodding. The two stood. Elena guided the girl inside the house and sat her down on the couch.
"Honey, I'm home . . ." The front door opened and Stefan walked into the house.
Elena hurried him into the kitchen just as his eyes caught sight of the shellshocked girl sitting on the couch. His mouth hung open as she backed him into the counter.
"What's with the kid?" He said.
"Sshh!" She shushed him. "Keep your voice down."
"Okay!" He whispered.
"She thinks I'm her mom," Elena told him. Stefan's eyes widened. "I know, crazy, right. It's not possible. But she says she did some kind of dna test, Stefan. What do we do?"
Stefan let out a deep breath. "We should talk to her. She had a dna test done . . . but do we know how accurate it is? What if she's lying?"
"You're right," Elena nodded. "I promised her milk and cookies . . ."
"I'll get it," Stefan said, "Why don't you go talk to her and I'll be right there with the snacks."
"Okay," Elena said. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her forehead. She sighed as he kissed her forhead again before she went back in the living room.
She found Margaret sitting on the couch exactly where she left her, not moving, eyes wide, tears streaking her cheeks. She sat down next to the girl, turning slightly to face her. "Are you okay?" Elena kept her tone calm.
Margaret sniffled, holding the carved box in her hands close to her as if it were a teddy bear. "I just don't understand. The dna test I did for my science project was supposed to be right. Y-You look like me and you look like the girl in the picture."
"What picture?" Elena said.
Margaret stared down at the box in her hands. "A nurse found me outside the hospital when I was only a few hours old. Next to me was a box, this box." The girl held out the box and Elena gently picked it up.
Elena set the box on her lap and opened it. The first thing she saw was a beautiful silver necklace with a pendant that had a silver cameo likeness of a woman and a bright blue background. Next she saw an old worn piece of notebook paper with worn creases from where it was folded. She picked up the paper and gently unfolded it. She read the words, noticing the tear stains: I'm sorry my baby girl, I will always love you. Love, Mom. The handwriting wasn't familiar to Elena and it certainly wasn't hers. She refolded the paper the way it was, careful not to rip it, and put it back in the box where she'd found it. She picked up the last object, a picture. She turned the photo over and found herself staring at a girl who certainly did appear to be identical to Elena except for the long, wavy hair. The girl in the photo seemed to be about fifteen or sixteen. The girl seemed sad as she stared into the camera. Elena looked up and found herself staring into Margaret's sad, brown eyes – the same eyes the girl had in the photo and the same as Elena's too.
"See?" Margaret sniffled. Elena sighed. She didn't know how to explain any of this.
Stefan came into the room with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk. He set the plate and glass on the table and sat across from his wife on the recliner. "Hi Margaret. I'm Stefan, Elena's husband." Margaret didn't look up. Stefan looked to Elena who shrugged.
"Stefan brought you a snack. I just made them this morning so they should still be partially warm." Elena tried. Margaret leaned forward and picked up a cookie, nibbling on it. While she ate, Elena handed the box to Stefan who looked at the objects.
"A nurse found it with her when she was a baby," Elena told him.
"Do you recognize any of it?" Stefan said.
Elena shook her head, taking a deep breath. "No. I've never worn my hair that way. I could never get it that long or that curly no matter what I did."
Stefan looked to Margaret, who was just swallowing a gulp full of milk. "My wife told me you did a dna test."
Margaret nodded, swallowing a bite full of cookie. "I saw her at the mall and picked up a cup she used. I did a test we learned in science class to prove someone was related to us. My science teacher said it's really really accurate."
"Margaret, does somebody know that you're here?" Elena asked.
"Um . . ." The girl shook her head, shrugging. "I snuck on the bus."
"I'm sure your family's awfully worried about you," Stefan said.
"I don't have one," Margaret picked up another cookie. "I live at the foster care center."
"Oh," Elena thought of her own family and her heart broke; she couldn't imagine not growing up without a family. She did, however, somewhat know how the girl was feeling . . . she'd lost her parents when she was a young girl. "Well do you know the number of someone there we can call for you? I'm sure they're still worried about you."
The girl shrugged, "It's in the phonebook. Ask for Mrs. Alderman."
Elena nodded. "Why don't you have some more cookies and," She picked up the remote for the tv. "Find something to watch. Stefan and I are going to go in the kitchen and talk."
Margaret shrugged again, turning on the tv to the Disney channel as Stefan and Elena went into their kitchen. Elena grabbed the phone book off the table and took her cell phone out of her pocket.
She searched the phone book for the foster care center and dialed it. Stefan lay his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it gently. It rang for a while and then someone answered. "New York Foster Care Center. This is Amelia how may I help you?"
"Yes, my name is Elena Salvatore. Could I please speak to a Mrs. Alderman?"
"And what is this regarding?" Amelia said.
"I think I found one of your kids, a girl named Margaret. She showed up on my door about twenty minutes ago," Elena told her.
"Oh . . . I'll get Mrs. Alderman right away. If you'll just hold for a few moments." Amelia told.
"Sure," Elena said. Music played through the phone for a few moments. She looked to Stefan and he smiled, still rubbing her shoulder. She smiled back, letting out a deep breath.
"Miss Salvatore?" A voice came through on the phone. "I'm Mrs. Alderman. I hear you found our Margaret."
"It's Mrs. Salvatore actually and yeah," Elena said. "Actually, she found me. She came to my door with this box of a necklace, note, and a picture that looks remarkably like me but isn't. She thinks I'm her mother."
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Salvatore," Mrs. Alderman said. "A foster family just sent her back because they're having a child of their own and she's determined to find her birth parents."
"Oh my," Elena said. "Poor girl."
"Yeah, she's had a rough go of it . . . if you just give me your address I'll come get her myself. I'm sorry to have disturbed you," Mrs. Alderman said.
"No, it's no trouble at all. She's a nice girl," Elena said, telling her the address.
"I'll be there shortly, thanks again Mrs. Salvatore," Mrs Alderman said and hung up.
Elena closed her cellphone and put it down, sighing. She leaned into Stefan's embrace and he held her. "She doesn't have anyone, Stefan." She sniffled.
"Sshh," He stroked her hair, kissing the back of her head. "I think if you want to we should investigate this further."
"What do you mean?" She said.
"Well . . . the girl in the picture does look an awful lot like you," Stefan said. "Maybe she is related to you somehow."
Elena nodded. "Y-Yeah . . . I want to. She doesn't have anyone and I want to help her. Even if she's not family . . . I can't just send her away. I can't explain it . . . it just feels like I have to do this. I know we haven't even started talking about kids yet . . ."
"It's okay," Stefan hugged her closer. "I love you and I want to support you in this."
Ten minutes later a car pulled up in their driveway and an older woman with bright red hair stepped out of the car. Moments later the doorbell rang. Elena sighed and stepped out of Stefan's warm embrace to go answer the door. She opened the door and the woman just stared at Elena.
"Hi, I'm Elena. We spoke on the phone," She said.
The woman blinked. "Yes, hello. I'm Tillie Alderman, Margaret's caseworker. It's nice to meet you." She held out her hand and Elena shook it.
"Margaret's in the living room," Elena said, stepping aside. Mrs. Alderman followed Elena into the house. "She's been quiet. She seems shaken up."
Mrs. Alderman nodded, "She's like that a lot. I must say . . . you do look very similar to the girl in Margaret's picture." The older woman looked in her eye, seeming to examine her closely. "You sure it's not you in the picture?"
"Positive," Elena nodded. "I was never with anyone in high school until I met my husband our junior year of college."
"Any siblings?" Mrs. Alderman said.
"Just a younger brother, Jeremy. He's a sophomore in college this year," Elena told her.
Stefan came in from the kitchen. "Hi." He said, shaking Mrs. Alderman's hand. "I'm Stefan Salvatore."
The three of them went into the living room. Margaret sighed when she saw Mrs. Alderman. "Margaret, dear . . . you gave us all a fright. We didn't know where you were."
"I'm sorry . . ." Margaret mumbled.
"It's all right, just don't let it happen again." Mrs. Alderman said. "Now come on, let's go. You have school in the morning." She turned to Stefan and Elena. "Thanks again . . . she's a good girl. She's just stubborn. She always has been."
"Sounds like someone I know," Stefan chuckled. Elena smacked him playfully in the chest and Mrs. Alderman laughed as well.
"Can we talk to you for a moment?" Elena said. The caseworker nodded. The three adults went back into the dining room while Margaret finished her milk and cookies. Stefan wrapped his arms around her waist. "We decided that we'd like to look into this."
"This being . . ." Mrs. Alderman said.
"Well, like you said, I do look like the girl in the photo. My parents died when I was young and my aunt raised my brother and I . . . she was the only family we had left. Then three years ago she found out she had cancer. She fought for months but she didn't make it. Since then I've been taking care of my brother. We don't know much of our family. For all I know, Margaret could be a cousin we don't know about. I'd like to find out. And even if she's not . . . well I want to give her a home." Elena said.
Stefan reached down and took hold of Elena's hand. "We want to give her a home."
Mrs Alderman sighed, "I appreciate the thought . . . but have you really thought about this? Taking care of a foster child is a lot of work . . . and Margaret's a handful anyway."
"I know how difficult it can be," Elena said. "But if my aunt hadn't done the same thing for my brother and me then we'd be in the exact same position as Margaret and . . . I can't do that to her knowing I could have been her."
"I think what my wife's trying to say is she would like to honor her aunt's memory by giving this little girl what her aunt gave to her," Stefan said.
"Exactly," Elena sighed.
Mrs. Alderman nodded. "That is very generous of you and I understand what you're trying to do. Let me tell you what: Why don't we do a blood test on you and Margaret first to determine whether or not you're blood related. Then from there we'll see what you and your husband want to do next."
Elena started to protest, wanting to let Margaret stay now, but Stefan cut her off before she could even speak. "That sounds fair." Stefan said.
"Good," Mrs. Alderman smiled. "Let's set the appointment for . . . hmm, tomorrow afternoon at four?"
"Perfect," Stefan agreed. He went over to the table where the phone was and wrote down his and Elena's information on a tablet they always kept there. "Here's our information in case you want to reach us before then." He handed the elder social worker the piece of paper.
Mrs. Alderman nodded and took the paper. "Okay then . . . we'll see you tomorrow. Oh . . . and it would be best not to mention this to Margaret until you're absolutely sure of what you want to do. That way if for some reason it doesn't work out she doesn't get her hopes up." Stefan and Elena nodded. They went back to the living room where Margaret was still watching television. "Okay, Margaret. It's time to go. Say goodbye to Mr. And Mrs. Salvatore."
Margaret sighed, turning off the tv. She stood, immediately colliding with Elena in a fierce hug. The young girl held the hug for a long while, only breaking contact when Mrs. Aldermann told her it was time to go.
Once she left, Elena latched on to Stefan. They sank into the couch together and discussed all of it . . . What it would mean if she was blood related to Elena and if she wanted.
They talked about if they were really ready in their young marriage to raise a child. Could they afford it with Stefan in the middle of medical school and Elena not quite done with her first novel (and she hadn't even sent it to an editor or publisher yet.) Elena was also worried about Jeremy. How would he react if Margaret was related to them?
By the time they made up their mind it was well past midnight and Elena was beginning to doze off. As Stefan carried his wife up to their bed, she said one last thing before finally falling asleep: "Stefan . . . I wanna help Margaret find her real mom . . ."
TVDTVDTVDTVDTVDTVDTVD
Three days later the blood test results were in. Stefan and Elena drove to the foster care center where they were meeting with first Mrs. Alderman and then hopefully (depending on the results) Margaret.
On the way over, Stefan held Elena's hand tightly. He knew how nervous she was and how much she wanted this. He glanced over at her while he drove. "You okay, 'Lena?"
"Um . . . I dunno," Her voice was shaky.
"Just take deep breaths. It doesn't matter what the result is, remember? We're going to bring her home soon anyway." He reminded her. They'd already decided to adopt her permanently either way.
"I know," She nodded, letting out a deep breath. "I just can't stop wondering how she would be related to me. Dad was the only child in his family and Mom just had Jenna as her younger sister . . ."
"Is it possible that she's your aunt's? Didn't you say she was a rebellious teenager of sorts?" Stefan suggested.
"Margaret's eight . . . Jenna was already taking care of me and Jer by then. We would have noticed if she were pregnant and then there was no baby from it," Elena said.
"And you were, what . . . sixteen by then? You definitely were only enough to notice too," Stefan said.
"Yeah," Elena said. "Jer was barely fourteen then. And besides . . . the girl in the picture looks like me."
"But it's not you," Stefan clarified.
"Not possible," Elena nodded earnestly, her eyes wide. "Yes, I dated Matt in high school but he was too scared of Jenna to even try more than a quick peck on the lips. And, well, you're the only one I've been with. You know that."
"I do," Stefan nodded, squeezing her hand.
She let a deep breath. "It's all just really confusing . . ."
Stefan pulled into the parking lot of the foster care center and they walked in hand in hand. As soon as they walked in they saw Mrs. Alderman and she pulled them into her office.
"Are you nervous?" Margaret's caseworker asked as the couple sat down.
"Very much so," Elena chuckled. Stefan nodded, agreeing with his wife.
"Well . . . the results are in," Mrs. Alderman said. "And . . . they are puzzling."
"What does that mean?" Stefan sad, squeezing Elena's hand to comfort his already nervous wife.
"The good news is . . . you are in fact blood related to Margaret, Elena." Mrs. Alderman told them.
"And the bad news . . ." Elena gulped.
"Um .. . . it's not so much bad as it is peculiar," Mrs. Alderman sighed. "From the paperwork you filled out I have your family information which makes it all the more confusing. Your father was an only child. Your mother had a younger sister, your aunt. And your aunt had no children that you're aware of, right?" Elena nodded. "And you only have a younger brother in college. Correct?"
"Right," Elena said.
"The perplexing part is we were able to tell through the blood test that Margaret is not a sister or cousin to you," Mrs. Alderman said. Elena sucked in a breath, letting it out harshly.
"So what does that make her?" Stefan said.
"According to the test . . . Elena, Margaret is your neice," The caseworker told them.
Elena's heart stopped. "So . . . what you're saying is that Margaret is Jeremy's . . . but – that's not possible . . ."
"No," Mrs. Alderman shook her head. "I looked back at the hospital records from the day your were born, Elena, in Mystic Falls in Virginia. Some of your mother's charts don't add up and I found some discrepancies. The same day that you were born one of the nurses in the NICU quit. Her name was Isobel Pierce. Then not even four days later, Ms. Pierce was arrested for selling and using drugs, prostitution, and driving under the influence on several occasions. The records show that Isobel Pierce's four-day-year-old daughter Katherine was seized by DCSF and put in a foster home. The problem is . . . Isobel Pierce didn't have a four-day-year-old daughter or any child."
Elena's breath hitched and she felt Stefan's hand on her back.
"Elena, that baby – Katherine – is your identical twin sister," Mrs. Alderman handed Elena photograph of a young girl who looked exactly like her own childhood photos.
"I have a sister?" Elena croaked.
"I don't understand how this mistake was made or why it's been kept in the dark for all these years . . . it seems that Isobel was your mother's nurse for most of her pregnancy. It says she even held your mother's hand during the emercency c-section because your father was out of the state. She could have falsified ultrasound scans and other documents . . . basically, she kidnapped a daughter your parents never knew they had."
"W-Where is she now?" Elena said.
"That's another puzzling mystery," Mrs. Alderman said. "The last known location DCSF and the police have on Katherine is a foster home in Queens . . . then one day not long after her sixteen birthday she disappeared."
"That would be around the time Margaret was born, right?" Stefan observed.
"That's right," Mrs. Alderman nodded.
"I have a sister . . . and a neice," Elena's brain was on overload right now. She had to telll Jeremy . . . she had to tell Margaret . . . she had to find her sister . . .
"Elena, honey," Stefan held on to her hand. Elena heaved, finding it hard to breathe.
"W-we have to finder her . . . I-I have to find her . . ." Elena let out a deep breath. She looked to Mrs. Alderman. "Is there any way at all to find her?"
"I'm already on it," Mrs. Alderman nodded. "For Margaret, mostly, but by state law she never signed over her parental rights and she abandoned her child."
"There must have been a reason," Elena said, instantly feeling compelled to defend her newly-discovered flesh and blood. "Maybe she was in trouble o-or maybe someone was after her . . ."
"Whatever the resason, she has to be held accountable," Mrs. Alderman said. "In the meantime since you are blood-related, would you like to have Margaret stay with you?"
Elena nodded immediately, looking to Stefan who also nodded. "Yes . . . very much so."
"For now it would be temporary until we know more about Katherine's whereabouts and, erm, situation," The caseworker said. "I want you both to understand that I don't have any control over Margaret's permanent placement. That is up to the judge and if and when Katherine is found and she is willing and able . . . well, in most cases the court favors the mother."
"I understand," Elena nodded. "I just want Margaret to be happy and with someone who'll love her and take care of her . . . even if that's not with me." Mrs. Alderman nodded.
"How soon can we bring her home with us?" Stefan asked.
"The court has to approve the temporary placement first. There'll be visits to your home by me and another caseworker to assess the environment Margaret potentially be in. We'll need references from friends, family, and employers." The caseworker explained.
"Um . . . right now I'm currently unemployed," Elened confessed. "I was working at a publishing company but when Stefan started working as a paramedic on the weekends and going to medical school during the week I decided to take time off to work on my novel." Elena told her.
"All of that will be discussed as we go through everything," Mrs. Alderman said. "As long as you are able to support yourselves and a child there should be no problem."
Stefan and Elena nodded. They'll already considered all that the last few days and figured out they'd be able to handle it.
"Okay . . . the receptionist out front will schedule all the home visits on your way out we'll be in touch the next few weeks for all of the paperwork and final decisions. There's just one thing left." Mrs. Alderman smiled.
"What's that?" Elena let out a deep breath.
"You get to tell Margaret the good news," The caseworker chuckled. "She'll be so excited. She's wanted a family more than anything her whole life."
Elena grabbed hold of Stefan's hand and they both smiled although Elena's earlier nervousness had not gone away.
"I'll go get her," Mrs. Alderman stood, leaving Stefan and Elena alone in her office.
"You okay, honey?" Stefan asked quietly when the door was shut.
"This is just a lot to process," Elena breathed. "Jer's gonna flip . . ."
"I don't see how that nurse got away with this," Stefan said. "And why didn't the courts investigate when she was arrested?"
"I just can't wait to take Margaret home," Elena sighed. Stefan reached over and held Elena's hand tight in his own.
To Be Continued . . .
A.N. Oh boy, lots happened. Sorry for all the dialogue, but it all had to come out sometime lol.