DNA
Summary: As a comparatively high-profile person with a reputation for being a womanizer, it should come as no surprise that Gildarts frequently had to deal with previous flings coming forward to claim that he was the father of their children. Unfortunately, this makes Cana doubt her mother's story.
Disclaimer: I don't own
AN: I took a lot of liberties here. There's also a lot of Gildarts and everyone jumping to conclusions and making assumptions. That said- let chapter sixty commence (holy shit sixty chapters- how the hell did this even happen?)!
"I can't believe that chick hasn't quit yet!" Wakaba said loudly as the group laughed along with him.
"I know, right?" Macao agreed, taking a swig from his mug," You'd think three failed paternity tests would be enough to convince her- but no, we must have rigged the tests!"
Nab took a swallow from his own beer," Can't blame her for trying, I guess. But I'm glad for Gildarts- imagine having to put up with sharing a kid with a woman like that!"
"So true!"
A head of spiky pink hair popped up next to them, his face scrunched up in confusion," What's a paternity test and why'd Gildarts take one?" He asked curiously.
The elder fire wizard let out a belch and clapped Natsu on the shoulder," You see Natsu, you know how Gildarts is really powerful?"
The boy slowly nodded," Uh-huh."
"You see that power equals status- so a lot of his ex-girlfriends and flings see it as their opportunity to cash in on it by claiming that Gildarts is the father of their kids." He explained," Because if they can prove it then he has to pay them a lot of money to provide for the kid, but thing is they have to prove it first. A paternity test is when they compare the kid's DNA to Gildarts to see if they're related."
Wakaba cut in with a loud laugh," And not a single test has ever come back positive! Making Gildarts either the luckiest bastard on the planet or infertile!"
The dark-haired man rolled his eyes at his friend and shrugged," Not the way I would have put it, but accurate." He said mildly." The guild deals with at least nine or ten paternity cases per year and none of them have ever turned out to be his kids. This most recent one has had three tests and still claims that Gildarts is her kid's father."
The dragon slayer looked even more confused," But if they all say he's not the dad then why does she keep saying he is?"
All the men shared a look and shrugged.
"Got me." Nab admitted.
Natsu shook his head and wandered off to go start a fight with Gray, while the adults continued their conversation.
"Seriously though," Wakaba said," These women sleep with him once and assume the kid has to be his even if it's born two years later. You'd think at least one of them would have turned out to be legit."
Macao shrugged," Honestly I think you called it earlier- he probably can't have kids at all."
"Eh, wish some of these women would figure that out though," The procrastinator griped," That psycho chick chucked a mug at my head."
As the three moved on to another topic, no one noticed Cana quietly slip out of the guildhall.
oOOOOo
Cana wasn't sure what to think.
She'd known about the paternity cases over the years, but she'd never really thought about them before. She'd always just be happy in the knowledge that while these kids were proven wrong, she was definitely her father's daughter.
But… what if she wasn't?
What if her mother had been wrong about him? What if she'd been like the other women, just assuming her child was his?
What if her faith in her mother had been faulty all these years?
Of course, it was totally possible her mother hadn't lied. Maybe she'd told Cana what she believed to be the truth, that would make a lot of sense. Her mother wouldn't lie to her, and if she'd been like all those other women, she would have told Gildarts about her a long time ago.
It was entirely possible that her mother had just been mistaken.
But… what did that mean for her?
Cana was many things- stupid wasn't one of them.
A lot of things would add up if she wasn't actually Gildarts' child.
He was a hero. The strongest wizard alive. He was powerful, confident, respected, and she was Cana. She wasn't special or powerful or particularly good at magic, if she really was his kid then wouldn't she be stronger?
The child part of her was telling her that their mother wouldn't lie- if she'd said that she was her father's child then she was. End of story. But the grown-up part of her…
If over a hundred tests came back negative, then how could she possibly be the exception?
Surely one of the other ones would have come back as positive- right? Unless Macao and Wakaba were right and Gildarts really couldn't have children.
She had to know.
She had to know if her whole life was a lie.
oOOOOo
Cana was so lucky that those home DNA kits were so popular- because otherwise this would have been much more expensive than just cleaning out her piggy bank money.
A company called the Lineage Factor had released the tests early last year, where for a small fee you could send in a sample of your saliva and they would give all this information about yourself that you didn't know before. Like what kind of magic you have an aptitude for or a breakdown of any medical issues you might be at risk for. And they could also help a person map out their family tree; the more family members who also took the tests the more detailed it would be.
Blue Pegasus had all done the tests as a bonding activity and two members found out that they were related. Sorcerer Weekly had done a whole spread about it- it was the main topic of conversation for weeks.
If this test could tell you that you were distant cousins, then paternity should be a snap.
All she'd need was a sample of her fath- of Gildarts' DNA.
Easier said than done.
This was the first time he had been back in almost a year- she couldn't afford to miss this chance.
Which lead to her hiding under a table, desperately trying to avoid giving her presence away. And also trying to avoid being kicked- because that wouldn't be pleasant either.
"Seriously Gildarts you need to get better taste in women!"
And of course- all anyone could talk about was the most recent paternity case- because the universe obviously wanted her to suffer.
The Ace let out a loud laugh," Well when I'm with them I can't say their personalities are what I'm concerned about."
There was a roaring laugh as the drunkards all cheered to the crash mage's womanizing ways and Cana tried not to let it get to her.
Was that all her mother had been? Just a way to pass time? Did he even remember her at all?
Stay focused Cana. Get the spit first- you can deal with your issues later.
The main doors burst open.
"HEY EVERYBODY- NATSU CHALLENGED ERZA TO A FIGHT!"
There was a stampede toward the door as everyone wanted to watch Erza pound Natsu into the ground.
This was her chance!
The brunette carefully peeked out to see that the entire hall was completely deserted and lunged for the mug her father had been using. She was so lucky that he hadn't wanted beer today- because being the only person to drink scotch instead of beer just made her job easier.
Cana carefully swabbed the rim of the glass with the applicator.
This had to be enough DNA. She couldn't doubt herself for a second- it would be enough. It had to be.
She stuck the swab into the preservation fluid and booked it out of there as quickly as she could.
Twenty minutes later and she was slipping the kits into a mailbox. She'd done everything she could- fake name and listing her return address to a post- office box she'd rented.
In two weeks she would find out if her whole life was a lie or if she was the exception to the rule.
oOOOOo
Just another boring day in the life of a lab tech.
Jayden Grange let out a sigh as he continued to sequence yet another saliva sample.
Go into genetics, they said. It'll be fun, they said.
"Hey Jayden!" Eliza called from across the lab," Think you could take over station two for me? It's just two home tests!"
"And why can't you do it yourself?" He yelled back.
"Because I'm the one who's going to grab you a donut if you do!"
The blue-haired lab tech stilled.
Don't do it. Think of your diet. Don't think about delicious, flakey, sugary goodness-
Fuck.
"Fine. Just this once." He said as he scurried over to Eliza's station, the blonde girl giving him a knowing smirk as she walked away.
Besides: it was just a breakdown for a home test. Those took like twenty minutes tops with the new lacrima scanning equipment, all he really had to do was record the results and send them into the archive.
He kicked his feet up onto the desk and started going through the printouts the crystal was spitting out. Okay- this sample was from a female with open risk for Tuan's Disease- fuck.
There were times he hated his job. Having write up a report telling someone they had a genetic disease that would probably kill them was definitely one of them. Oh well, maybe they would take this and get early treatment, for all he knew he could be saving this chick's-
The crystal let out a telling beep that made him blink.
The lacrima would only make a sound like that if one set of DNA had already been analyzed on this station before.
Curious, he checked the display on the monitor attached to the lacrima and his jaw dropped.
Why the fuck was Miss Tuan's Disease being compared to the most notorious horn dog in the lab's history?
Better question: why was this reading coming out as a positive paternity match?!
oOOOOo
Makarov Dreyar had been having a lovely day.
The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the little hell beasts he called his children were behaving, and he had finished all of his paperwork early.
It didn't get much better then this.
Then the communication lacrima on his desk rang.
He blinked but answered," You've reached Makarov Dreyar- Master of the Fairy Tail guild, can I help you?"
"Um- uh hello Master." A face he recognized as the head of the lab that ran all of Gildarts' paternity cases looked at him in mild panic.
"Can I help you?" He asked with a raised brow.
The mousy-faced man stammered," It's, uh- I don't quite know- "
"Spit it out man." The old man said impatiently, which finally prompted the other man to get to the point.
"Um, Master officially I'm not supposed to be doing this but, uh we also do testing for those home DNA companies and uh… well one of the kits that just came in… Master we just had a positive paternity match for Gildarts Clive."
The miniature man's jaw fell open.
The scientist looked at the stunned man in understanding," I know, that's about how we all reacted."
Makarov snapped out of it," Are you absolutely certain?"
"We tested and re-tested the samples on every single terminal we had available: every single test said the exact same thing. Mr. Clive is father, there is absolutely no question."
The miniscule guildmaster was still reeling but held up a hand," Its- he's in the hall just let me-" He bolted out of his office and jumped up onto the railing of the second floor. "GILDARTS GET UP HERE!"
"Somebody's in trouble!"
Oh, how the old man wished that had come from one of his younger children opposed to one that was about to turn thirty.
The redhead was up the stairs with his hands raised in surrender," I swear I didn't do it Master." He said with an easy smile.
"That's not- just get in here!" The Ace must have noticed just how spooked he was, and the man instantly sobered up and let himself be led into the office.
"Master what's- "
Makarov cut him off," Tell him what you just told me." He ordered the lab tech who looked even more spooked now that he was faced with the man himself.
"Um- Mister Clive my name is Andrew Daniels and I'm the head of the lab that runs your tests- it uh," The man gave a weak smile," Congratulations?"
Gildarts blinked," What?" He asked in confusion.
Daniels swallowed nervously," We had a home DNA test come in and well… there was a positive paternity match."
It was like someone had just filled his veins with ice water," What?"
"I- we checked the results upwards of twenty times and every time it came out the same. So, there is no question Mister Clive, you're officially a father."
He had a kid. This couldn't be happening. How- after all of these tests, all of these kids- how was it possible that this was happening?
Master Makarov took over once he realized that Gildarts had gone into shock," What else can you tell us about this? Do you have a name or-?" He trailed off when the lab tech shook his head.
"All tests are anonymous for us; we only have a case file number through the company." The man said helplessly," What I found the weirdest is that there was a second kit sent in that had a sample of your DNA for comparison Mr. Clive."
"What?" Both men asked in unison.
The man held up his hands," Do you have any idea how someone would have gotten ahold of your saliva Mr. Clive?"
The Ace numbly shook his head.
The old man waved that off," While concerning we can deal with that later- is there any way you can put us in contact with the company or if its possible for us to get in contact with whoever bought the test? We need to handle this as quickly as possible."
"I'll do my best- their privacy policy is pretty guarded but they might be willing to make an exception for the circumstances." Daniels said. "That said… there's something else you need to know about your daughter."
"… it's a girl?"
The mousey man looked at him in something alarmingly close to pity," Yeah, its definitely a girl." He said gently," But we found something in her DNA sample that's… concerning."
"Is she okay?!" He blurted out, how was it possible that he already loved this kid? That he didn't know the first thing about her and he already was worried for her wellbeing?
Daniels winced which made Gildarts' anxiety grow," We've… we've nicknamed her 'Miss Tuan's' in the lab." He said weakly," Because… do either of you know what 'Tuan's Disease' is?"
Both wizards silently shook their heads no, which made the man wince again.
"Tuan's Disease is a serious genetic disease that works by preventing the body from absorbing any nutrients from food, basically… if you survive all the other side effects then you wind up starving to death. And… well she's not just a carrier, she's got the complete form of the gene. There's a very real possibility that at some point the disease will become active and… well Tuan's doesn't have a very high survival rate."
It was like someone had just stabbed him in the gut.
This couldn't be happening. He couldn't find out that he had a daughter only to lose her.
"Master." He said slowly," Master we need to find her- I- "The old man stretched his arm so he could rest a hand on the taller man's shoulder.
"We'll find her Gildarts." Makarov swore, before turning back to the lacrima, a deadly serious look on his face," Give me all the information and contacts you can, I'll handle the rest."
oOOOOo
"I can't believe this!"
"Yeah- neither can I but that's the fifth time you've said it." Macao grumbled irritably, being wedged into a bush staking out a post office was not how he'd like to be spending his Saturday.
"But seriously- how is it possible that he's got a kid?" Wakaba asked incredulously," He's had what- a hundred cases? Two hundred? How is it possible that the one time it comes back positive the kid lives in Magnolia?"
"I don't know- statistics aren't exactly my thing." The fire wizard snapped, raising the binoculars to his eyes to check out the post office. The representative said that the results would be sent to box 7685 at this post office. And since the employees at the post office had told them to go kick rocks when they asked who had the box, that left Master to go to plan B.
Since both he and Gildarts were too recognizable, he had decided to bring Macao and Wakaba into the fold. After briefing them, he had ordered the two of them to stake the place out- if someone went for the box then he wanted to know.
A ring filled the air as the smoker frantically answered it, hoping no one overheard the sound.
"Has anyone grabbed it yet?"
Both men let out long sighs.
"No Gildarts- no one's grabbed it yet." The dark-haired man said dryly," Same as when you called twenty minutes ago."
The Ace winced," Sorry." He said weakly," It's just… I have a kid."
"We totally get it!" Wakaba said with a smile," But if we see anyone grab it, you know that we'l- "
"Huh."
The blond stopped talking to the frantic father and turned to his friend who was adjusting the binoculars," What is it?" He asked curiously.
"Cana just walked into the place- actually it looks like she's going for… the…" Macao's jaw dropped when he saw the girl who he saw as his own daughter open the box that they were sent to keep an eye on. "Holy shit."
"What's going on over there?" Gildarts asked anxiously.
The fire wizard sat back in shock and pulled the lacrima out of Wakaba's hands," Gildarts… its Cana."
"What?"
"Cana just opened the box and grabbed the envelopes."
"What?!"
The two men could only watch in stunned silence as the eleven-year-old walked out of the post office, test results in hand, and began heading towards the park.
They shared a look, and immediately began scrambling after her.
oOOOOo
Cana settled herself onto a bench in Southgate Park.
This was it.
In her hands was the answer of whether or not she really was her father's daughter.
She swallowed down her fear and ripped them both open to pull out the paperwork inside.
The first few pages were boring legal stuff and information about different programs the company offered, and then she came to the page that she'd been waiting for.
Sample 00077435 and Sample 00077436 are a confirmed Parent-Child match.
Confirmed parent-child match.
She was her father's daughter.
A spot of water falling onto the page made her start in surprise. It took longer than it should have for her to realize that it had come from her.
The papers slipped from her grasp and she buried her face into her hands with a sob of pure relief.
He really was her father.
Her mother had been right. She was the exception that proved that her dad really could father children.
Maybe this was hysteria or shock or something- but she had never felt more relived than she did now.
Across the park, the two men who'd helped raise her were fighting their instincts to keep from running over to comfort her.
"What's going on?!" Gildarts demanded, the lacrima having been mostly forgotten in their mad rush to keep Cana in their sights.
Wakaba answered," She's crying."
"What?!"
"She opened the results and started crying."
This… this day was not going how either of them expected it to. They had expected to see some woman pick up the results and go directly to a lawyer's office, but this…?
"You two- you two just come back to the guildhall." Master's voice said across the crystal, "We can talk about this in greater detail."
"But Master- "Macao protested, unable to take his eyes off the sobbing little girl.
"No buts! How do you think she would react if she knew that we know about this? Back to the guildhall- now."
You didn't argue with Master when he brought out that tone of voice, and so, with heavy hearts, the two men walked away, leaving the brunette to continue her celebration.
oOOOOo
Gildarts didn't know what to think.
Sweet little Cana was his daughter.
That shy little sweetheart who he'd watched sprout up from a tiny little thing to a slightly taller little girl.
She cried.
He couldn't get over that little detail.
As soon as she opened the envelopes that contained the truth of their relationship she had started crying. How was he supposed to feel about that?
Master was pacing from one side of his office to the other as they waited for the two to show up.
"I wonder who her mother was." The Ace mumbled quietly, only for Makarov to glance his way.
The old man flashed him a tired smile," Cana was living in an orphanage when she came to us. I don't think I've ever heard her mention her life before it, its possible that she may not even remember her mother."
And didn't that tug at his heartstrings?
"Master… how is it possible that I suddenly love her so much?"
"Gildarts… I won't pretend to know exactly what emotions you are feeling right now, but I think I have a pretty good idea." The miniature man said gently," You are feeling like your world has been turned on its axis. Like everything you cared about yesterday is suddenly not nearly as important anymore, and you're feeling a love that is so deep and vast its like an ocean that may swallow you. All of it being directed to this one person, who is suddenly the center of your entire world."
The Ace swallowed past the lump in his throat and nodded silently.
"Welcome to the life of a parent Gildarts."
Before he could gather up his strength to say anything the door burst open, the two mage's stumbling in.
"Hi!" Macao greeted weakly, dropping into one of the chairs in front of the desk.
"Status report you two." The old man said seriously," Describe what happened- you said she was crying?"
They both nodded.
"Yeah Master," Wakaba said with a nod," Macao saw her go in and access the box and we followed her to Southgate Park from there. She just… she just stared at whatever the paper said and just… broke down."
Everything was quiet as the men processed this information, before Wakaba broke the silence.
"Do you think… do you think its possible that she wanted the results to be negative?" The smoker asked, getting reactions from the other men.
"What do you mean?" Makarov asked for clarification.
"Its just… a few weeks ago she said something about going to visit her hometown, and later when I asked her about it, she said she'd brought back some of her mother's old things." He swallowed," What if her mother was married? No offense Gildarts, but you've never been the kind of guy to let a ring stop you, what if the reason she got the test to try and see if the man who she believed to be her father actually was? And… what if that reaction was because she now has confirmation that her mother cheated on her father?"
"That's… certainly a theory." The old guildmaster said quietly, refusing to look towards the crash mage.
For his part Gildarts was once again reeling.
It was true that he had slept with married women before- but never knowingly. Was it possible that he had just hurt poor Cana by inadvertently being part of this mess?
If this was the case… if this was the case, then what was he supposed to do?
Another question: why did he suddenly feel so jealous of the hypothetical man who had raised his daughter?
Who was he? Who was the man who his daughter had called 'daddy'? Was he good to her? If he had died- then had he died not knowing that the child he had raised wasn't his?
What about her mother?
Who was the woman who had brought his child into the world?
The Ace shook his head trying to clear his thoughts," Master- would it be possible to see Cana's file? There might be something in there that could give us some answers."
The old man shook his head," Unfortunately all of the guild's records are nothing but ashes now thanks to Natsu. Any information we could have found is long gone."
Gildarts almost sagged in disappointment.
Of course. Of course the records were destroyed, it wasn't like the universe could throw him a bone in trying to figure out which woman he'd been with mothered their little girl. The woman who had apparently passed on bad genes to their child.
He'd done some reading on Tuan's since he'd found out about it- in its active form it could only be passed from mother to child. And with each generation it got deadlier. Had Cana's mother died from the disease or had it been some other cause?
There was so much he didn't know in this whole mess- so much that he wanted to know.
Where did he even start?
Makarov took a deep breath," Alright, let's give Cana a few days to come to terms with this." He said firmly," Then if she hasn't come forward by the end of the week, we will figure something else out."
The younger men didn't try to argue, each lost in their own thoughts.
Macao pushed himself up," Just to clarify- I am not allowed to directly ask her or tell her we know about any of this?"
The miniature man raised an eyebrow but gave a short nod.
"Good, then I'm going to go back to the park and check on her- if she's still there I'll try to provide whatever comfort I can and maybe she'll open up to me. See you all later." And without waiting for a reply, the fire mage strode out the door.
Gildarts could only watch the man go.
How many father figures did his child have? How many men loved his daughter like she was their own?
Where would he rank among them when he finally talked to her?
All he could do was wait and see.
oOOOOo
Three days later and Cana still hadn't said anything since she had found out the identity of her father, and all four men felt their hearts ache when they saw just how hard she was trying to act like everything was normal.
Going to her classes like nothing happened, beating the entire guild at chess, and running circles around Natsu as the boy tried to prove he could play poker (he couldn't).
How lucky was he to have a daughter as talented as her?
His Cana was a dancer, a musician, a chess master, a card shark, and one of the smartest kids of her age group. Such a brave little girl to boot- keeping up a smile and acting like everything was alright, even when her whole world had been turned upside down.
Hopefully he'd be able to tell her how proud he was soon.
And maybe then he would stop feeling so damn jealous.
Macao and Wakaba had barely let the brunette out of their sight: each of them taking turns to try and make see if they could get her to open up to them.
And all he could do was watch, because until Cana was ready to say anything he had to pretend like he didn't know and it ranked among the most painful experiences of his life. To be so close to his child and not be able to talk to her, to not be able to hug her, or praise her, or even just tell her how much he loved her. And watching as two other men filled the space in her heart that should have belonged to him.
Even now as Cana was practicing a piano piece, instead of him being there to tell how talented she was it was Wakaba.
"That was fantastic kiddo!" The smoker said with a wide grin as half the guildhall clapped for the blushing girl.
"I didn't know you could play music Cana." Natsu said curiously," Where'd you learn?"
The card mage shrugged as pulled the lid down over the keys," My mother taught me actually."
Unseen by anyone else, Gildarts stiffened at this admission.
Her mother.
The unknown woman who had brought their child into the world.
So, their daughter was a musician because her mother had taught her to play… really wish this information helped narrow the pool of suspects down, but it didn't.
Wakaba caught his eye before loudly asking," You know I don't think I've ever heard you talk about your mother before." He commented.
Cana shrugged," I mean- no ones ever really asked before." She pointed out. "I grew up in a town called Sugarhill and Mama was a music teacher, and we had a puppy named Lila. Mama died when I was six and eventually I wound up here."
The smoker paused for a second before he said," So, uh, this is none of my business and you totally don't have to answer- but how did your mom die?"
" …she got sick." The girl said quietly," It was some kind of disease that started with a 't' I think- Tom's, Tim's, something like that."
"Tuan's?" It wasn't until both Wakaba and Cana had turned to look at him that Gildarts even realized that he'd spoken.
"Yeah- that's it." The card mage said in surprise," How'd you know?"
Trying to avoid showing the terror that was suddenly rushing through him, the Ace gave his daughter a weak smile," Lucky guess- now if you'll excuse me I have to go talk to Master for a second."
And he walked away from his puzzled child, trying not to bolt up the stairs, he only succeeded until he was out of view, then he bolted down the hallway and destroyed the door to Master's office as he burst in.
"Gildarts what are you-?!"
"Tuan's." The panicked crash mage blurted out," We can't wait anymore, I have to figure out how to tell her and get her tested because thisisn'tajokeIdon'twantherto- "
SLAP
Gildarts' head snapped to the side and he touched a hand to his cheek as the old man stared up at him in concern.
"I needed that." He admitted sheepishly, feeling the world start to come back into focus.
"I thought so." The shorter man said calmly, pushing his child into a chair," Now, care to repeat what that was about."
"Its… Wakaba was talking to Cana about her mother." The Ace explained," Cana- her mother died from Tuan's disease Master."
Thankfully the old man immediately grasped the implications.
"Alright." He said with a nod," With this new information I suppose we can't afford to wait for Cana to come to terms, I guess this means we'll have to go to plan B."
oOOOOo
This was it. The coast was clear.
Everyone was facing the bar area where Master would be giving whatever announcement he had told them about, debating on what this could be about. So distracted were they, that Macao had left his beer totally out in the open.
The brunette inched closer, like a tigress stalking her prey.
"Alright you shitty brats- listen up!"
The card mage decided to capitalize on the moment of distraction and quickly snatched the prize, scurrying away to a safe place to drink the forbidden nectar.
Taking a seat at a table deep in the throng of her guildmates, Cana took a deep sip from the mug.
Ah, this was bliss.
Beer always tasted better in the guildhall.
The violet- eyed girl turned her attention to the announcement, idly sipping at her prize.
The old man stood up on the bar," Now- I'm sure you've all seen that article on the Blue Pegasus bonding activity, yes?"
Amongst the nods and sounds of conversation, Cana stilled.
No.
This could not possibly be going where it sounded like it was going.
"Well, after seeing how well it went over it with them- I decided that we should all give it a try!" The guildmaster said cheerfully.
No. No way.
"Now- if you'll all come up, I made sure that we have the exact amount of tests we need!" He held up a very familiar box," We'll be doing the Lineage Factor tests- you know, the ones that give medical information as well as ancestry? In addition to being fun they'll also be informative!"
The brunette remained frozen as everyone excitedly collected their kits, loud yells about how hard it was to make enough spit for the test. Well… she could handle this.
The card mage quietly started inching her way towards the door. If she didn't take the test, then her secret wouldn't be at risk and she wouldn't have to deal with questions or reactions-
"Hold on there's one left! Who didn't get one?"
Shit.
Still, she could work with this- five more steps and she'd be home free.
Four, three, two-
"Hey where are you going Cana?"
Fuck!
The brunette turned around to face her foster brother and rolled her eyes. "Where are your clothes?"
Gray let out a yelp and began his usual scramble, and Cana chose to use the distraction to her advantage, once again making her way to freedom, when a hand clapped down on her shoulder.
"What's going on kiddo- you finish already?" Wakaba asked in (false) curiosity.
"Uh…" The card mage tried to come up with some kind of excuse," You see I have a- fitting!" She said hurriedly as the idea popped into her head," You see my shoe size changed and I need to get my measurements checked for new pointe shoes and I'm running late- "
"I thought you grabbed your new shoes yesterday?" Gray asked in confusion, reappearing fully dressed.
Oh, screw you Gray! See if she would cover for him again!
"I did, but I need to go back to try them on and customize them properly- "She was cut off by Macao appearing on her other side.
"Aw- come on now!" He said playfully," Don't you want to bond with your fellow guildmates? Look even Gildarts is doing it!"
And the brunette slowly turned to see her father carefully spitting into the tube, nodding his head as Natsu chattered next to him.
Alright, looks like half-truth it is.
"…I'm scared to." The brunette admitted quietly getting concerned looks for all three of her favorite guys," What if there's something in my medical tests that's bad? I think I'd be happier not knowing- "
The ice wizard butted in," If there's something bad then at least you know- wouldn't it just be better to bite the bullet? You never know, maybe it could save your life."
Fuck, she wasn't getting out of this was she?
She sighed, feeling like she was walking to her own execution," Pass the damn kit."
In two weeks, her secret would be out… and Cana had no idea what she was going to do once it was.
oOOOOo
Today was the day.
The tests were back and everyone was excitedly ripping open the envelopes with the results, Master had even received a big poster from the company that mapped out who were actually related in their Fairy Tail family.
Gildarts wished he could feel happier than he did right now, but the fact remained that over the last two weeks Cana had all but abandoned the guildhall. She would only come in to grab a job request and to drop off her reports- then she was gone.
Even now he had no idea where she was; the big moment and she wasn't there.
Morosely, the Ace slid the results out of the envelope and felt his jaw drop.
Parent-child relationship between Gildarts Clive and Cana Alberona.
Alberona.
There was no possible way. This was just some kind of coincidence-
But damn it if everything didn't slide into place.
"Gildarts?" The crash mage started in surprise and looked down to face the concerned face of Master Makarov.
"Is something the matter?" The old man asked in concerned," Don't tell me you have another child?"
"No- that's-no." Gildarts was flustered," Master- Cana's last name is 'Alberona'."
The old man raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly," And her first name is 'Rebecca'- why is this significant? Gildarts are you alright?" The man asked in alarm when the red-head's skin went white.
Rebecca!?
This was- there was absolutely no way this was all a coincidence.
"Gildarts what's wrong?"
"I think I know who Cana's mother is now."
"You do?!" The guildmaster asked in surprise," Well- that's a good thing isn't it? At least you can tell her you remember her- "
"Master where is she?" The crash mage interrupted," I need to see her, now. You know her better than I do, where would she be?" And damn it if the admission didn't still hurt.
Makarov looked him up and down before he answered slowly," If I had to go with my best guess, I would say Griffith's across town. That's the music and dance school she attends, but if she isn't there then I'd try that old bridge on the outskirts of town, do you know it?"
"Yes, I do. Thank you Master." The taller man said politely, before he strode out of the guildhall.
He had a little girl to find.
oOOOOo
Its snowing- Snow fairy
Oh, here in my hands, I'll hold it gently
Carrying all the light you gave me
Snow Fairy
Don't say goodbye
Cana stopped playing when the bell above the door chimed, she didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. She swallowed down her fear. "Hello Gildarts."
The Ace didn't respond verbally, just took a seat beside her on the piano bench.
After a moment he finally spoke up," You know… you're really talented on this thing."
The violet eyed girl wasn't sure how to respond," Thank you, I guess." She said, before deciding to just come out with it," I take it you saw the test results."
Gildarts sighed," Yeah."
"So… you know now."
"Yeah, I do." He said quietly," I have a confession to make- the lab that does these tests is the same one that handles my paternity cases, and, well, when you sent in your kit the first time they called us to tell us the results."
Cana froze, feeling her heart shatter into pieces," So… you've known for that long?" She asked in devastation," Why didn't you say anything?"
"I wanted to give you a chance to tell me yourself." He said honestly," I wasn't sure what was happening, how I suddenly loved you so much, but I knew that I had to give you a chance to come to terms with it and I didn't want to push you."
The brunette tried to blink away the tears in her eyes," So what?" She asked," Now that the whole guild is going to know the truth you wanted to get your story straight?"
"Actually, I just wanted to make sure that you were alright." He said gently," Well- that and I wanted to do this." And with that, he scooped his daughter into his arms for the very first time and held her as tightly as he dared.
She let out a sob and buried her head into his chest, falling apart now that a dream of hers had finally come true. The father just held her as she cried, gently rubbed her back until she'd finally calmed down.
After a long moment of silence, Cana finally spoke up," I did the tests because I needed to know for sure if you were actually my dad."
It took a second for him to figure out what he wanted to say," What… how did you find out?"
"…Mama told me who you were before she died. She said that you would take care of me and if I ever needed help I should go to Fairy Tail and find you. So… to a kid who'd just lost everything, I don't know. It just seemed like the best option, so I came to Fairy Tail and just never left."
"Wait… you came to the guild when you were little…" He said on the cusp of a horrifying realization.
She lifted her head up to look her father in the eye," And I've known who you were the entire time."
"What- why didn't you say anything?!"
"…I tried. I tried to tell you the first day we met, the second time I saw you, the third time I saw you, and every other time after that. Then eventually I was just too afraid to tell you, and after I saw all these kids that turned out to not be yours, well… I started having my doubts."
Gildarts pulled her tighter into his hold, all this time. She had known all this time and like a pathetic bastard he'd been too self-absorbed to see what was right in front of him.
"I'm so sorry." He apologized roughly," I should have realized who you were from the start."
"Hey, don't start like that Gildarts." She said gently," There's no need to get upset- I don't expect anything from you. Everything can stay the way it is- "
"No, it can't."
"Huh?" She asked, puzzled at his interruption.
"Nothing is the same anymore- and I'm happy for it. Now I have a beautiful and talented daughter who I already love more than life itself, and I can show the whole world how amazing she is. Cana, I'm not even sure if I have the right to ask this, but will you give me the right to love you?"
The card mage felt another round of tears build up in her eyes," That's all I've ever wanted Dad."
Then the two of them were blubbering like toddlers.
Talk about a happy ending.
AN: If you're wondering if they baited her with beer to get her in the guildhall- they totally did! I focused more on the genetic disease factor- Cana was only concerned about the paternity results and thus didn't read her medical report, making it important because the way I have the disease working out in my head is the faster you diagnose, the more likely it can be treated before it ever becomes a problem.
This was one of the ones that I thought was going to be benched, but it just kept nagging at me. A womanizer like Gildarts has to have had paternity cases right and left, naturally Cana, who is already getting into her self esteem downward spiral, is going to have her doubts.
Also- swabbing a drink is most likely not enough DNA, not like I'm an authority but my advice is to just assume all the medical data in these stories is fake and if its accurate then either I got lucky or my time working in a hospital rubbed off on me.
