Melinda furrows her brow as she studies the non-verbal cues of her longtime colleague.
"I went to great lengths to prevent anyone from knowing the truth. I never told anyone. I orchestrated a fake pregnancy scare days before I went into labor. When the time came I told Brian I was going out of town to see a distant cousin who was sick that I hadn't seen since childhood. I took a couple of weeks off because I stopped accruing time off, once again, because of the overtime I had been working."
"This sounds…"
"Implausible, I know. It had to be."
February 10th, 2014-
Olivia has driven herself to an out of state hospital. She has admitted herself under a false name. She's been in labor for hours by the time she finally manages to be admitted to a room, and connected to a fetal heart rate monitor. A resident nervously makes his rounds. The resident nurse enters the room seconds after he dons sterile gloves.
"I noticed a spike in fetal heart rate a few seconds ago from the nurse's station. Is everything alright?"
Olivia offers a subtle shake of her head. Her hair is barely tamed into a bun. Her face is completely diaphoretic, and she grimaces in pain.
"No. I felt a huge gush, and then immense pain."
The grey haired RN slides between the young doctor, and Olivia. In fact she climbs onto the bed seconds after donning her sterile gloves. Before she even peels back the covers she begins barking orders.
"Page Dr. Lee to the OR stat."
The young resident's cheeks sting in frustration, or anger.
"We have a cord prolapse. I need you to page Dr. Lee now! Round up whoever you can find at the nurse's station. The OR need to be ready. Do you understand me?"
He quickly rushes out of the room. Olivia stares at the nurse in alarm as her hand remains in place, and she crouches on the bed with her.
"We're going to expedite your delivery. I'm not sure what your birth plan says. I just came on shift, and I haven't had a chance to read it. My name is Sally, and we are going to take this party to the OR. Your baby's cord has prolapsed. We will have this little one out in less than five minutes. There is no need to worry. Dr. Lee, and I have done this a hundred times. You are in the best of hands."
Melinda sits on the armchair adjacent to Olivia's couch. She shakes her head in disbelief.
"So you had an emergency C-Section, and you didn't call a soul?"
"No. They delivered them both within ten minutes."
Melinda falls utterly silent.
"You didn't know?"
Melinda reaches down to pull a file out of her bag that sits on the floor. She scans the page.
"They're identical," Olivia adds.
"You rushed out of my morgue because you didn't want the parents to see you?"
Olivia nods, "There would be too many questions. I gave birth in a Pennsylvania hospital. I slept for a few hours, and eloped during shift change."
"What do you mean that you eloped?"
"I left AMA."
"Everything you're saying sounds like a work of fiction. None of it aligns with anything I know about you. And yet a little girl on her way to her final resting place tells me otherwise."
"What was her name?"
"Nora Grace. Her parents said they named her after the team who safely brought them into the world. Grace was the nurse's last name. Their other daughter is Mila James. I'm not sure the significance."
"James was the last name of the alias that I used."
"I see," Melinda nods. Her glance shifts towards the floor.
"Melinda, is there something else?"
"I just wish that I had known. I wish there was something I could have done."
Olivia shakes her head, "The only thing you could have done was put yourself in a compromising position."
"I get the distinct sense that I have unleashed Pandora from the box."
Olivia shakes her head, "It was never in a box. I knew that this day would come eventually. I had just hoped I would have more time."
Olivia is at work early the next morning. She finds solace in sifting through reports behind the safety of her desk. She wears a navy blue t-shirt. Her blazer is draped on the back of her chair. Fingers rapping against the frame of the door draw her attention. As her eyes shift upwards Fin moves towards her. He places a muffin in front of her.
"I was in charge of grub this morning, so I thought I would hand deliver yours so that you weren't stuck with the bran muffin again."
She offers a weak smile, "Thanks."
He furrows his brow, "Who died?"
She freezes. He waits a few beats before he takes a step closer.
He clears his throat, "I was just kidding."
Her blood pressure begins to rise before she is able to consciously slow her breathing to regulate it. Without a single word Fin crosses the room, and closes the door behind him. He proceeds to lower himself in the chair across from her.
"I didn't mean anything by that. I can see that I've struck a nerve though."
She puts her hand over her mouth momentarily, and then shakes her head. "I really underestimated all of this."
"All of what, Liv?"
"Most days I am so thankful that I have worked with you so long. You know me so well."
He nods, "Whatever you're in anguish about you can share with me. You know that I am ride or die."
"Melinda called me the other day after finding a drowning victim."
"This is related to a case?"
She shakes her head, "Not one of ours. It was an accidental drowning of a little girl."
"Why did she call you?"
"She used DNA to verify identity. It was late, so she didn't have access to dental records."
"And?"
"They system thought the sample was contaminated."
"What do you mean?"
"The system is set to alert for any cross contamination at a crime scene."
"Was there cross contamination with one of our recent victims, or perps?"
"No. It wasn't cross contamination. The sample was a partial match to me."
"I do not understand."
"Because we have the same mitochondrial DNA."
He shakes his head. "I knew it."
She silently reads his non-verbal communication.