By the time Harper was done with her rape kit, she was extremely tired, but still had one more thing to do before she could bathe and eat—getting an ultrasound.
"Lieutenant?"
Olivia looked up to see Amanda standing in front of her. She stood, too.
"Is everything finished?" she asked.
Amanda nodded. "Yes, and everything is being prepared to be brought down to processing. What would you like for me to do?"
"Go back to the station and hold the fort down, please. I would also like for you to dig into Harper's background, especially if there's anything on her father. Look into my life, if you have to."
"Would you like for me to figure out how old she is?"
"Harper doesn't know her own age?" Olivia asked.
"Uh-uh. She says she lost track a long time ago."
"Alright. Then add that to your agenda, too, please."
"Will do."
Amanda bowed herself out of the conversation and left. Olivia turned to Casey.
"You still want to see Harper?"
"Oh, yes." Casey remarked. "I'm just thinking about how strong the genes in the Benson family are. Melissa, for instance, is all of that, plus the Enos genes wrapped up in one person."
Olivia arched an eyebrow. "Just what are you saying?"
"When the Georgia Rollinses were here, Sophia went to dinner at The Plaza with them, the night before they left. At one point, Sophia and Beth Anne had a heart-to-heart chat, and two very important things were learned."
"Like what?"
"For one thing, thanks to the Enos genes, Sophia could very well live to see a hundred years. The other thing? Also thanks to the Enos grandparents, she carries the trait for red hair."
"Let me guess—Melissa's hair is turning red?"
Casey nodded. "Yep. It's also thick, like her mother's."
"Wow." Sophia's own hair was long, and very thick.
"Now, clearly, Sophia is a copy of you, and Melissa is a copy of Sophia. Imagine being in Harper's shoes and finding all that out."
"Go easy on Harper? Is that the underlying message?"
"Or at least ease her into it."
Olivia sighed. "I'll do my best."
"Lieutenant Benson?"
Hearing her professional name, Olivia looked around once more, this time to see Doctor Larom passing them, her arms full of everything of Harper's that had to be processed. Behind her, one of the nurses was in the doorway.
"Yes?" Olivia asked.
"Harper would like to talk to you."
Olivia turned to Casey. "You good to stay here?"
She nodded. "Yes. Take your time."
Olivia moved across the hall, into Harper's room. She had been patched up, and had bandages over her cuts. When she saw Olivia this time, she didn't see red.
"Look, I'm sorry about…"
Harper mimicked throwing her cup.
"Don't worry about it, Harper." Olivia said lightly. "I've been hit by worse. How are you?"
"Ready to get the hell out—I hate hospitals. Doc said I can go after I get cleaned up, and that'll be after this…"
Her words ended in a sigh.
"Do you have a place to go?" Olivia asked her.
Harper bobbed her head. "I have a living space at a shelter that's like a mini apartment, but I'm just not ready to go back yet."
"Well, when you're done here, maybe you'd like to come back to my precinct."
"So you can ask me about what happened?"
"Yes."
"Will there be food?" Harper asked quickly. "I haven't had access to any since yesterday. The last place I went before I was taken was to this bodega that I like."
"Food can be arranged." Olivia looked around and noticed the nurse on standby with the ultrasound machine. "Would you like me to go out in the hallway for this next part?"
Harper shook her head. "I would love it if you stayed. I hate being alone during these these."
"I'm honored, Harper. Thank you."
Olivia watched as the nurse began the ultrasound on Harper's baby.
"When was the last time you had an ultrasound?" she asked after a few moments.
"Month before last—there's a doctor that comes around with a mobile clinic, for those like me, who can't afford some things."
"Why did you skip?"
Harper became sad, and she turned to Olivia. "Do I have to tell her?"
Olivia shook her head. "No. You don't have to share anything you don't want to."
"Okay." Harper sounded like she was about to cry, but she exhaled shakily. "Thank you."
She gave her attention back to the nurse.
"What's next?"
"Do you know the baby's gender?"
"I don't." Harper said. "It was going to be a surprise, but things have changed now…"
When she fell silent without further elaboration, Olivia spoke to her.
"You still don't have to share anything you don't want to, but would you like to learn what you're having?"
Almost instinctively, Harper held out a hand. Olivia took it without hesitation, and Harper gave it a gentle squeeze, wanting to make sure she was really there. Olivia squeezed back.
"Yes." Harper spoke to the tech again. "I want to know, please."
After a moment of examining and gentle prodding, the nurse gave Harper a warm smile. "Congratulations—you're having a boy."
Harper looked looked like she was going to break down and weep, but she somehow kept it together. Olivia noticed it was taking her a lot of self-restraint.
"Thank you." Harper said politely. "Is my boy healthy? I wouldn't be able to handle it if he was put into danger because I was attacked. I also have seizures every once in awhile, and there's a medication for that that I'm severely allergic to. I found that out the hard way."
Olivia tried not to stare—Harper had the exact same health problems that Sophia did, and they were the kind of issues that were only passed genetically.
Olivia was now dying to know if Harper would consent to a DNA test.
"Everything checks out fine for now." the nurse told her. "When is the mobile clinic due back?"
"Tomorrow."
"Don't skip it, Harper. Do you still have the prescription that the doctor gave you?"
"Yes."
"Very good." the nurse gave her a kind smile. "We're done here, so you can shower and change into the spare clothes and shoes I placed in the bathroom for you. Page for the doctor after, and she'll talk to you about your discharge papers."
"Thank you."
The nurse nodded, packed her equipment up, and left.
When Olivia helped Harper sit up, Harper used paper towels to wipe the ultrasound gel off her bump. Once that was done and she chucked the paper towels away in a nearby garbage bin, she looked up at the lieutenant.
"I hope you don't mind." she began. "When Doctor Larom told me that you'd initiated a DNA test, I gave my DNA, too."
Olivia smiled at her and then moved around the room, closing the blinds and curtains. "I don't mind at all, sweet girl. Actually, I was hoping you would do it."
"I had to—for the sake of my curiosity, and because we look so alike. The way you and the doctor look at me is another clue, but you also squeezed my hand when I mentioned the seizures."
"My apologies." Olivia said quickly.
"Don't worry about it. But what do you know?"
Olivia evaded the question. "Go get cleaned up. I'll be in the hall."
She went out into the hallway as Harper closed the door behind her, and she rejoined Casey on the bench.
"How are you doing?" Casey asked her.
"Dazed, Casey. Dazed." Olivia ran her fingers through her hair. "She even has the same kind of seizure problem that Sophia does, right down to a medication allergy. That kind of thing is inherited, but I'm fine."
"Health-wise, you mean?"
"Yeah." Olivia confirmed. "It's almost time to really untangle her."
"And how do you propose we do that?"
"I told her that we can go back to the precinct to talk about things, and talk over food—she hasn't eaten since yesterday, before she was abducted. How she hasn't fainted yet, I don't know."
"Because she's a Benson."
"But her last name is—" Olivia began.
Casey brandished a folder she was holding. "The doctor was kidding when she was talking about expediting; these are the DNA results, and it's clear as day—Harper Bailey was born to Serena Benson, twenty-five years ago next month."
"Oh, my God." Olivia said softly. "I mean, from our looks, and even the way that we behave around each other already, it's clear that we're related. This drives it right home."
When Casey heard this, she got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach because she hadn't told Olivia everything yet. She was not going to be happy.
Adept at reading the redhead like a book, Olivia spoke to her with caution. "Cassandra, what else is in the file?"
Casey took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "The doctor also found Harper's birth records, which means she also found a copy of her birth certificate."
"My mother's name is on the certificate, right?"
"Yes, and so is Harper's father's."
"But…?"
"Olivia, Harper is your full sister. DNA doesn't lie."
Olivia felt like she'd been sucker-punched. "But that means…"
Casey nodded. "You and Harper have the same father—Joseph Hollister."
For the second time since arriving at the hospital, Olivia felt like she wanted to vomit. On one hand, she was delighted to have a baby sister, but on the other, Harper's existence meant that her father had found her mother again. Olivia had actually guessed that, and just as quickly, she'd prayed it wasn't true.
But it was true. It was very true.
Simon wouldn't have known about Harper, otherwise, he would have told Olivia about her a long time ago.
Unfortunately for Olivia, she was out of avenues to investigate because she sure as hell wasn't going to bother Simon's mother (if she was even still alive), and both of her own parents were dead. Sure, Olivia had her own children to mother, but she was an orphan.
"Olivia?"
Casey said her name gently, and squeezed her shoulder.
"You with me?"
Olivia nodded slowly. "I am. You're certain about Harper being my full sister?"
"One hundred percent." Casey passed her friend the folder. "See for yourself."
Taking the folder, Olivia opened it and scanned the documents in front her, speed reading.
Everything was there, in black and white. Serena Benson had been Harper's mother, and Joseph Hollister had been her father.
But with Joseph's name being on Harper's birth certificate, Olivia wondered for a wild moment if Serena had been raped a second time, or if for some sick, twisted reason, things had been consensual. She didn't know which answer she would have preferred to hear.
"What do I tell Alex and Sophia?" Olivia asked.
"I have a feeling that Alex's natural curiosity will compel her to go to the precinct before long, and as for telling Sophia, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. The next step for now is telling your sister."
"So it's true?"
Harper had just opened her door. She was clean now, and wearing new clothes and shoes, as everything else she'd had on had been put into the rape kit. Now, she was watching from the doorway, waiting for an answer.
"Yes, it is, Harper." Olivia got to her feet and helped Casey up. "Is it alright if we come in?"
Harper nodded and beckoned to them, pressing the 'CALL DOCTOR' button beside the door as they entered.
She spoke again when she was on her bed, and Olivia and Casey in the chairs beside it.
"Who's your friend?"
"This is Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak." Olivia said. "She works with my squad."
Harper shook Casey's hand in greeting, and then looked from her to Olivia, studying them.
"Are you two a couple, or something?"
Casey laughed. "No. We're… as close as sisters, and I'm engaged to Olivia's daughter."
Harper turned to Olivia and gaped at her. "Where do I start?"
"I promise we'll get to everything, but I need you to keep it together, because what I'm about to ask you is very important."
"Okay." Harper assumed her game face. "Go."
"What do you know about our parents?"
"I know that I happened because she had violence committed against her… it just wasn't until I was older that I realized it was probably rape. Mom said she put me in foster care because she couldn't take care of me, but she visited as often as she could, and like I said, she died when I was nine."
"Harper, Serena died in 2000. How do you know all this?"
"The last time I saw her, she gave me a letter that said on the front to not open until 2010. I read it then, and it explained everything." Harper elaborated. "In the letter, she said that she loved me, but that things were complicated."
"She was an alcoholic for a very long time."
"That would do it, wouldn't it? One day, she visited me to say that she was better, and getting ready to bring me home." the younger woman rubbed her eyes. "But then she was dead, and my life went down the drain for years after that."
This whole time, Olivia had been making notes in her notepad. She paused and asked her sister a new question.
"Do you know anything about our father?"
Harper shook her head. "No. I've never even seen my birth certificate, so I haven't even a clue about his name."
"Oh, boy…" Olivia muttered.
"Again—what do you know?"
"A lot."
Recognizing that Olivia was about to go down a rabbit hole, Casey stepped in. "We can talk about all of it at the precinct, but is there anything else you can tell us before the doctor comes with your discharge papers?"
Harper nodded and pulled a long thin silver chain from down the front of her shirt. On it was a very beautiful ring, and a small key.
"That's a wedding ring." Olivia remarked in surprise. "You're married? Is that why your last name is Bailey?"
"I'm a widow." Harper said softly, and then pointed to the key. "This is to a safety deposit box at the First National Bank. The letter mom gave to me said not to open box number 305 until my birthday of this year."
"When is that?"
"Christmas Day."
"Casey and I can cut through all the red tape, if you want to empty the box today."
Harper nodded, and then let out a groan as her as her stomach rumbled. Then she felt her son kick, just for sport.
"Yes, but can we please get a snack, or something?"
Casey nodded, and got to her feet. "Of course we can. Please excuse me, Harper—I'm going to see what's taking so long."
When she left, Olivia sat beside Harper on the bed. Immediately, Harper leaned her head against Olivia's shoulder and blew out a breath.
"You have a daughter?" she asked.
"I have three, now, and a son."
Harper did the math. "So you're keeping Dana's baby?"
This gave Olivia a start. She'd had a feeling that Harper and Dana had been in the same place, but she hadn't expected for Harper to be so candid about it.
"Yes, we are, but you know Dana Lewis?"
"I do—she's in the place that I left behind. So is Aria's mom."
Olivia wanted to ask Harper where that place was, but she had already changed lanes back to the original inquiry.
"What are your other kids' names?"
"My eldest is named Sophia, and she isn't that much older than you. I also have a little boy named Noah, and my fiancée is pregnant with our youngest. Her name is Diana. Little Serena rounds things out."
Harper smiled. "Sophia, Noah, Serena and Diana. Those are lovely names—all strong, too."
"We think so, as well."
Harper blew out a breath as she felt her son start kicking with both feet. "I already know baby Serena because I saw Dana with her before she was taken away. Could I meet the rest of your family?"
"I would love for that to happen. We just need to get you through the rest of the day, first."
"Alright. Then will you please tell me about everybody?"
Olivia did as her sister asked, and just for a few moment, it felt like they were the only two people in the universe.
