Chapter 2
The sun was setting on another beautiful Philadelphia day but Scotty felt nothing but a heavy heart and a lump in his throat as he made his way back to the station. He had left the place in good spirits and the hope that Warren Smithers would have followed him back to the station or at least set up another time to meet with Evelyn but that had proven out to be wrong. Now he was going to be the bringer of bad news: he would have to tell that hopeful seventeen-year-old that either her biological father didn't want anything to do with her, or her mother hadn't been so faithful. Maybe the possibility of seeing Evelyn frightened Warren: for all he knew she could look exactly like Vanessa. That sounded like an unlikely reason but stranger things had happened.
Evelyn proved to be mature beyond her years as she listened to Scotty's stuttering tale about meeting up with her father only to deny her existence moments later.
"I'm sure you did your best." She assured Scotty. "That was probably why my mother chose to give me up for adoption. It wouldn't have been a good life growing up knowing your father refused to acknowledge you were his child."
It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Evelyn had her hopes dashed even though she visibly tried to hide it. Scotty could only imagine how she felt: she had done all that digging and travelled so far in the hopes she would at least get a hello from her only surviving parent and perhaps a small explanation of why they had chosen to give her up for adoption. If only…
"Hey Scotty." Vera's voice jarred him away from his thoughts.
"Yeah?" Scotty gave his head a mental shake. It was hours later and Lilly had taken Evelyn down into the vaults to look at the old case files and try to dig up more information about Vanessa.
"Someone at the front here to see you. Says his name is Smithers."
Scotty shot up out of his chair in surprise. Vera wasn't lying: there was Warren Smithers standing just outside the department looking a bit self conscious, sheepish and out of place in the busy hustle and bustle. Scotty caught his eye and Warren gave him a small wave before the two men were within talking distance.
"I'm sorry for my outburst earlier this afternoon." Warren said sheepishly. "It was just a shock…but after you left I had some time to let the news sink in. I uh…I'd still like to meet her if that's possible."
Scotty felt his heart soften: he had been wrong about Warren. So that outburst had been downright ice cold, but at least Warren had offered up some whacky cooky explanation for all of that. Heck there was a chance Scotty himself might have acted along the same lines if somebody knocked on his door one day and told him he had fathered a teenager. Well at least he was going to be the bringer of good news for the second round. That was a much better alternative.
Scotty nodded to the man. "Right this way."
It seemed ridiculous that the pair should have met in an interrogation room so the lunch room was cleared and a couple of cups of tea were made though in that setting it seemed like an uncomfortable fishbowl more than anything else. Hopefully the pair didn't get self-conscious easily because nobody from the office was really staring at them. Well, except for maybe the team, they were the only ones who knew what was going on.
Lily and Scotty were chosen as the "invigilators" just in case anything about Vanessa came up. Scotty had to admit that after the initial shock had worn off, he was still a bit suspicious about Warren. Could any guy have gone from denying he had a daughter to wanting to meet her in a few measly hours? Then again, some guys spent their whole lifetime denying their children. Surely Warren was not one of those men.
Warren held a cup of tea in his slightly shaking hands. It looked like he was contemplating on taking a sip, but changed his mind at the last minute and set the mug back down onto the table. Evelyn did manage to take a small sip of the liquid before casting a nervous glance at the equally nervous man sitting in a chair across from her.
"It's funny." She finally said. "I've pictured this day, this moment a million times over. I had a million questions I wanted to ask you, but now that this moment has finally come…my mind's blank."
Lilly and Scotty swore they saw Warren's eyes glisten with tears. "You look so beautiful." He beamed. "You look just like your mother." That made Evelyn's eyes well up as well.
"I've thought about this day a lot." Warren confessed. "If it was ever possible or if I was only dreaming. And now…this day is here...I'm still in shock."
But despite his shock Warren did manage to ask the plaguing question of how Evelyn's adopted parents were. Were they nice to her? Did they treat her well? Did she have any brothers and sisters to speak of? Did she receive a good education?
Evelyn, much to Warren's relief, had lucked out at the adoption game. She didn't have any other brothers or sisters. She was picked up by a loving couple that poured all of their resources and love into raising their only child. When Evelyn told Warren which University she had gotten accepted into, a tear slid down his cheek.
"That's wonderful." He whispered. He shook his head in amazement as the memories came flooding back to him once again. "I'm sorry…what's your name again?"
"Evelyn."
"Evelyn…Evelyn…" Warren repeated in an almost dream-like tone. "Your mother named you that, though we didn't think your adoptive parents would ever keep that name…you were named after your grandmother."
"They're great people." Evelyn said. "They kept my name because they wanted me to have that part of me forever…are my grandparents alive now?"
Warren shook his head sadly. "Your grandmother passed away a few years ago, and your grandfather followed shortly after that. They never really got over Vanessa's death. I don't think any of us ever did."
"We were all so young." He continued. "So young and so scared. We've heard so many horror stories to do with adoption and their families. I don't think a day went by that I didn't pray you would find a good family. I think it's the best news I could ever hear, to know that ultimately we made the right choice."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, dad." Evelyn had finally found her voice. "I came all this way to find you, to ask you these questions."
"To find me? Ask what questions?"
"Why you gave me up for adoption."
"Me?"
"I just want to know, dad." Evelyn said. "I'm not here to beg you take me back, or acknowledge to the world that I'm your daughter. I just want to know why."
"But Evelyn." Warren said out of mild shock. "I'm not your father."
"But…"
"Listen to me. I'm sorry you got the wrong idea about all of this, I guess that's why I was a bit confused too." Warren cast a quick glance at Scotty. "Evelyn…I'm not your father. I'm your uncle."
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, school and job hunting has been absolutely crazy for me. I had this chapter written for awhile, but I wanted to write one more chapter (and leave all my readers guessing as to what was going to happen next). However, I decided to be a little nicer, so as of now I still haven't finished the next chapter, but I decided to post this one up anyways.
Thanks for all of you who reviewed last chapter, The Magic Bringer, tillace, jambled, Scotty Valens is hot, and LostButNotForgottenx.
To Jambled: Hope Warren has redeemed himself a bit in your eyes.
