Chapter 3

Stef's POV

The second I'm able to get the girl out of the house and shut the door behind us she yanks her arm away. "What the hell is your problem, lady?"

I grab onto her arm again and walk her over to the car. I was determined to get her in it whether she liked it or not.

"You're hurting me!" she yells again as she tries to unlatch my grip with her other hand.

I instinctively let her go, realizing that she was a kid and not a suspect that was resisting arrest. I hadn't meant to be so rough with her, but she was bringing up memories that I had tried so hard over the past years to erase.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she snaps as she backs away fearfully, despite her loud tone.

I take a deep breath, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"All I asked for was your signature! It would've taken two damn seconds from your life!"

"I'm not your mother," I try to tell her. "I can't legally sign something, knowing that I'm forging someone else's signature."

"It's your own name! How is it forging?"

"I know this is difficult to understand but—"

"You're the one making it difficult!" she counter-argues.

I ignore her and open the back seat of the squad car. If physically taking her to the hospital and showing her that I wasn't her mother was the only way to prove it, then I would spend the rest of my afternoon doing so. Not only was the memory of that day taking a toll on me, but I don't want anyone else finding out about any of this. I was just trying to prevent that, and this girl doesn't look like she plans to accept my word for it. "Get in," I direct her as I hold the car door open.

"You're going to arrest me now? For what?"

I sigh deeply before I continue, "No. I'm going to take you to St. Rose's."

"For what?" she questions again with a little bit more of an attitude than I would like right now.

"So we—so the hospital can settle this," I correct.

The girl glances all around her as if the response to my suggestion was written around somewhere.

"Fine… But if I'm right, which I know I am, because I think you're a liar…. either that or a psychopath, not sure which one yet. But if I'm right, you have to sign the paper," she crosses her arms over her chest, giving me a determined look.

"Sure." I answer calmly, trying my best to ignore the fact that she just called me a liar and a psychopath.

She walks over to me, "You have to say it."

"Say what?"

She lets out a frustrated breath and slaps her leg, "That you promise to sign the paper."

"Okay, I promise."

"Okay… fine," she finishes as she throws me a skeptical look before she gets into the car.

This had to be a mix-up with the paperwork or there had to be some logical explanation for all of this. One of the nurses at the hospital must've filled out the wrong paperwork or placed our papers in the wrong file, I reason.

Maybe this'll even be beneficial for her. She could get the right information that she needs to find her real parents so she can try to get the signatures from them. And she won't show up at my house again, scaring my wife and children.

Win. Win.

Lux's POV

This woman is completely off her rocker. I can't help but wonder if she has some sickness that she doesn't know about.

Multiple Personality Disorder would explain it. I mean, she is married to a woman but has been pregnant… which doesn't really add up if you ask me.

Bipolar Disorder? Maybe. She could've gone through a manic state and gotten pregnant somehow. I can't help but picture Aileen Wuornos, the first bipolar serial killer that the movie 'Monster' was made about. She was a lesbian too. Come to think of it, she kind of resembled this Stefanie Foster woman a bit… Okay, not really, but I still won't completely disregard the illness.

Whatever she has, we're going to the hospital so maybe they could help her out some. I think back to the gun she had lodged onto her hip.

Isn't there a law that prohibits people with mental illnesses to carry a gun? And she's worried about forging a signature of her own name…

Schizophrenia, maybe?

"Hey, so how old are you anyway?" she asks suddenly, causing me to literally jump in my seat. She chuckles as if she was satisfied with startling me, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

Bipolar for sure.

"I'll be turning fourteen on Thursday."

"Oh, right… And you're trying to get emancipated?" she asks.

"Uhuh," I answer flatly. If you weren't being such a bitch and just signed the papers already, I could be that much closer to doing it.

"Are you sure you want to do that? I mean, you still have plenty of time to find a—"

"Yes, I'm sure." I answer harshly. The last thing I needed was for another person telling me that I was dreaming. I had enough of that from my ugly foster mother this morning.

"Okay…" she mumbles defensively. "...You know, you should be able to get the actual names of your biological parents from the hospital. That should help, right?" She looks at me from the rearview mirror.

"Yeah, maybe." I say flatly. Or maybe they'll realize how insane you are and give me some type of waiver to exempt your signature from the permanent release of rights form.

As soon as we get to the hospital, I see Stefanie walk up to the front desk and I let her do the talking. I make my way over to one of the seats in the waiting room to sit down. If I had to walk back to my foster mom's house from here, I knew I had to save my energy. I look back over to where her and one of the secretaries are talking. And it seems as if the secretary is searching for the files on her computer screen.

At this point, I have no idea what I'm hoping for. Part of me wants her to be my mother, just so she'd sign the stupid paper she apparently forgot to sign years ago. If she had signed it then, none of this would've been necessary and I'd be that much closer to getting what I want.

Correction: what I need.

But the other part of me wants to be proven wrong. That would mean that I have to do a lot more searching for my real birth parents, but at least I wouldn't have a nutcase for a mother.

I watch as the secretary walks over to the printer and hands some papers to Stefanie, and I immediately stand up and walk over to the two of them. I didn't want to miss anything important.

"Here is Lux's birth certificate. The parents are listed right here." I look where the woman is pointing and see that under mother, Stefanie Foster's name is printed then signed. And under father, Mike Foster's name is printed and signed.

Stef's POV

I take a closer look at the piece of paper and try to examine both signatures. Although they both resemble our handwriting, I'm 100% positive, that I've never signed it. I look over at Lux, who is giving me an I-told-you-so look.

But none of this makes any sense. I turn my attention back to the secretary, "No, there must be some sort of mistake. I've never signed this certificate. My child was a stillborn. I saw her." I try to keep my tone as stern as possible, regardless of the fact that talking about her, always made me want to cry.

"This isn't your signature, ma'am?"

"No. I mean yes, it is. But I didn't sign it."

"Okay, well I'll check the system again. What's the date of birth?"

"September 24, 2000," Lux answers.

"Okay, one second," the woman says as she punches the keys into the keyboard. "Well, the same certificate keeps popping up… Are you sure that was the day you came in, ma'am?"

"Of course I'm sure," I yell loudly from annoyance. I remember it as if it were yesterday. How could I forget?

"Excuse me," one of the nurses interrupts as she steps in back of the secretary and looks at us. "Is everything okay over here? …Donna?"

"Nurse Silver, this woman claims that she had a stillborn child, but our records prove otherwise."

"Who was the primary doctor assigned to her that day?" the nurse questions the secretary.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I ask her.

"One second," she holds up her index finger to me and glances at the computer screen.

"Dr. Greene," the secretary reports back.

"Oh…" The nurse looks up to me with worry in her voice, but turns back to the secretary. "Print that file and check if there were any other births on the same day."

"Okay," the secretary agrees as clicks on her mouse pad. "Uhuh. There was one more."

"Okay, print that too."

"Can you two have a seat in the waiting area, while I go check something. I will be right back with the two of you."

"What's going on?" I inquire in an annoyed voice, after realizing how nervous she became after hearing the doctor's name. I instantly knew that something was up.

"That's what I'm going to try to find out for you ladies. I'll come back to get you the second I do," she smiles but I can still see the worry in her eyes.

I let out a long breath before I answer, "Okay. We'll be right here waiting."

"Okay, great," Nurse Silver nods her head.