DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Kelsey!
Fifteen minutes later, Sly and Mark emerged from the elevator. They found Jake's parents discussing something with Jake and the rest of the gang gathering around Matt to check in with their old friend.
Kelsey's doctor came from the other hallway and was shocked at the gathering of people.
"Well, this is certainly heartwarming. It's wonderful to find patients have such a great support system. It will certainly help with the recovery process," he said.
"You said you had news," Jake's mom said.
"I do. Are you comfortable with everyone hearing what I'm about to tell you," he asked.
"Did you find a donor for Kelsey," Jake asked.
"We did and we've uncovered something puzzling," the doctor said.
"What's that," Jake's dad asked.
"Well, I thought I could discuss that with you in this room," he said, pointing to the vacant conference room behind him.
Jake, his parents and Mark went into the room. "We'll be right out. You guys hang out," Jake said.
Jake and Mark stood together near the door. Jake's parents sat down at the table, across from the doctor.
"I want to go over Kelsey's birth story with you again. You said that she was a twin, but her sibling died during childbirth," the doctor asked.
"My sister and I were pregnant at the same time. It was a really remarkable thing. We were both due within weeks of each other and we were both expecting twins. She and I lived a few miles from each other and she went into labor first. I followed six hours later and, surprisingly I had a much easier labor than my sister. Jake was born first. His sister followed about ten minutes later. She was stillborn. We were obviously upset, but we were grateful for Jake and we rejoiced in the fact that we had a healthy baby boy. I grieved over the loss of my daughter, but was thankful to have Jake. My sister had to have an emergency c-section and delivered two babies. Identical twin girls according to the doctor. Kelsey was born first and her sister followed, but something happened and her sister was having trouble breathing. They rushed her to the intensive care unit. My sister had one little girl and I had a little boy. We agreed to not tell the kids they had twin siblings until they were much older," Jake's mom said.
"Well, we were running the blood for a possible donor for Kelsey when we discovered that Jake is a partial match to her," the doctor said.
"That's great. When do we operate," Jake asked.
Everyone was talking at once until Mark spoke up louder than the rest.
"Wait, you said Jake's a partial match. He is her cousin, that means he SHOULD be a match," Mark said.
"Yes. Jake's a partial match, but we found something to change his relationship to Kelsey," the doctor said.
"What's that," Jake asked.
"Well, Jake and Kelsey aren't cousins. They're siblings," the doctor said.
The room fell silent.
Jake spoke first. "Are you saying Kelsey is my sister? My twin sister," he asked.
"Yes. You and Kelsey are siblings," the doctor said.
"Well, that would mean that my daughter didn't die? But how did she end up with my sister," Jake's mom asked.
"Stuart," Jake's dad said.
Everyone in the room looked at him.
"What are you talking about," she asked him.
"Stuart would do anything for Lillian. What if your sister had her babies first and neither one of them survived? Lil was unconscious for the delivery because of her condition at the time of delivery. What if Stuart paid off a nurse or someone to say your daughter died and convinced them to give Lillian Kelsey to raise. He could have bought the hospital ten times over without blinking," Jake's dad said.
"Do you think he could have done that," she asked.
"I wouldn't put it passed him. Maybe that's why he was so insistant that Kelsey be raised by us if something happened to him and Lillian. It makes perfect sense. Kelsey and Jake do look an awful lot alike, but you and Lillian could have been twins," he said.
Everyone was in shock by the revelation. The doctor cleared his throat.
"We need to decide what to do about the match with Kelsey and Jake and this other person," he checked his paperwork. "Matt Garrison. He's actually a better match than Jake. "
Mark and Jake looked at each other.
"I'm ready to go. When do we start," Jake asked, eager to get his 'sister' out of her bed.
"I want to use the bone marrow from Mr. Garrison. That way there is another donor, just in case this one doesn't take. Do you have a problem with Mr. Garrison donating the marrow to Kelsey," the doctor asked.
"No, what ever is going to get Kelsey better," Jake's dad said.
"We'll tell Mr. Garrison and schedule the procedure," the doctor said.
The group exited the room. The doctor stood in front of the group to announce a donor had been found.
"Jake is a match, but there is one that is slightly better and we'd like to go with that one for right now," the doctor said.
"Who," everyone asked.
Mark cleared his throat and said, "Matt."
Everyone turned their attention to Matt who was obviously shocked by the announcement.
"Will you be Kelsey's donor, Matthew," Jake's mom asked.
"Of course," he said, without hesitation.
"Thank you," she said, turning into her husband and crying.
Jake looked at Matt. "Thanks," he said, shaking Matt's hand.
Mark looked at Matt. He didn't know what to say. He was beyond pissed at the way he'd treated a treasure like Kelsey and couldn't believe that he was now having to thank him for saving his girlfriend's life.
"Thank you," he said. He turned away and went to look at Kelsey, who was getting her blood drawn.
"We'll take you down for some additional tests, Mr. Garrison, then we'll know when to schedule the procedure," the doctor said.
"Can I see Kelsey before I go? I would like to tell her that I'm a match and see if she still wants me to go through it. I want her to know before the procedure," Matt said.
Jake and Mark wanted to keep Matt from Kelsey, but since he held the key to her recovery, they couldn't refuse him.
"Of course, if it's OK with the Sommers'," the doctor said.
"That's fine with us," Jake's dad said.
"We'll need you to fill out the consent form for the procedure on Kelsey, so you can come this way. Come back to the lab when you're finished with Kelsey, Mr. Garrison," the doctor said.
Jake's parents went off with the doctor, leaving Jake and his friends there with Matt, watching.
Matt made his way to the gowns and put on the gloves and mask before entering Kelsey's room.
He held the door open for the exiting nurse and entered the room and sat beside Kelsey on the bed.