A/N: sorry that the previous chapter was really short! after writing it, i came up with the perfect ending. after giving it a once-over and editing it, i didn't want to mess it up by adding anything else. it's a nice chapter ending though, isn't it? =) at least i think so. hehe. onto the next one...

CHAPTER SEVEN - Whirlwind

"My baby girl..." my father said through his tears. "I've thought about you every single day of my life."

"This all seems so surreal to me," I replied, breathless. He gave me a small smile, but it slowly disappeared.

"All this time," he started, shaking his head. "We loved you so much. Giving you up was our biggest regret. " He started getting teary and I took hold of his hand. For the first time, he took his eyes off my face and just stared down at my hand. He started sobbing.

My vision was blurred with my own tears as I looked into his sad eyes. "I-I was just remembering the first time I saw you after you were born. Y-You were so tiny and you wrapped your little hand around my finger... And now, look at you. You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

It was at that moment when he really broke down. He wrapped his arms around me so tightly that I could feel his body heave each time he let out a sob. "You're here now. That's all that matters," he said through his tears.

It was weird, but I suddenly felt tired and drained. It was like I had had enough of this whirlwind of emotions that I had been caught up in the whole day. I felt like I had to tell him the real reason why I was there.

"I came looking for answers," I said quietly. He slowly nodded and breathed in deeply.

"You must have plenty of questions. But I can't answer them alone. I want to bring you home. I want your mother to meet you."

"Now?" I asked uncertainly. I wasn't sure if I could emotionally handle it. Especially after this whole night. I was still blown away by it all.

"Well, it's up to you. There's no pressure. Whenever you want to," he replied.

"Have -- Have you told her about me?" I asked slowly.

"I didn't want to upset her until I knew it really was you. We've had some false alarms before. I didn't want her to go through that again."

"S-So you've been looking for me?" I stammered in disbelief. How wrong was I about these people? I thought they didn't care. I thought that I was just some mistake that they wanted to cast out of their lives and forget.

"Of course," he smiled. "You were our first baby. How could we not?"

"'First'?" I wondered. "So, wait... I have brothers and sisters?" I was an only child growing up. The thought of having siblings was bittersweet. Thinking of not being there for them, not growing up with them was sad, but the thought of meeting them for the first time was overwhelming.

"Yeah," he said softly, pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Two younger brothers – Jake and Ryan." I let this sink in.

I had so many other questions about the family I never knew I had. I wanted to know about their life. Then and now.

My most dreaded question, however, was lingering somewhere deep inside of me. I didn't know if I'd ever have the strength to ask it – just because I didn't know how I'd feel once I knew the answer.

I wanted to know why. Why they felt like they had to let me go.