A Relative Matter

Sara talks to her Aunt for the first time

"Hi," A sweet, somewhat familiar voice poured out of the receiver, "Sara, it's your Aunt Sonia."

Confusion was evident on Sara's face, mixed with a small dose of fear, "I don't have an Aunt Sonia." She looked at Tegan for help. But that was futile; if she didn't know and Aunt Sonia, why would Tegan?

"Nora never told you about me?" Sara cringed as she heard her 'Aunt Sonia' say her mom's name.

"No." Sara spoke firmly, not wanting to show her confusion.

"I guess I'm not surprised," Sonia's light tone irritated Sara, "She always was a uptight little bitch."

Sara let out a soft chuckle at the description of her mom, "Well," She sighed out, "I guess that's all the conformation I need to know you at least knew her."

There was an awkward few seconds of silence before Sonia spoke again, "As soon as I heard that you had left Montreal I decided it was time I spoke to you."

"How'd you hear about that?" Sara was baffled. How had someone she had never met heard about her personal life?

"Your dad got in touch with me," Sonia paused, taking a breath before continuing, "Bruce was always nice to me, so he asked me to make sure you were alright."

"What?" Sara couldn't imagine either of her parents caring about her, "Why would he do that?"

"Well," Sonia took a long deliberate pause, "He was always pushed around by Nora. He isn't a bad guy at all. And he still loves you. He told me that on the phone a few months ago."

"That reminds me," Sara thought about what she would say, she didn't want to come across accusatory, "How did you find me?" No, too harsh, "Sorry, I just mean…"

Sonia cut her off, "No it's okay," Sara could hear the smile, "I understand. A friend of mine saw some sort of advertisement about you playing at a bar in Vancouver. She apparently got your number from a friend of yours."

Probably Lindsey, Sara thought before answering, "Oh…So, why did you want to talk to me?"

"I figured that since Nora kicked you out and disowned you that I didn't need to hide anymore."

Sara sat in silence, why would her Aunt have to hide?

Sonia waited for Sara to respond…but she didn't, "Nora always hated me, the younger sister who was a bit of a rebel. She didn't appreciate my lifestyle. It didn't fit with her neo-Christian view of life. So when I went to jail for going to a protest…she jumped in and took everything from me. And the judge bought every word she said."

"What do you mean by," Sara mulled over the words in her head, "she took everything? What could she have possibly taken from you?"

"Well," Sonia now sounded nervous, as if she were regretting calling Sara. There was a lot of pain behind her words when she spoke next, "She took you, Sara. She stole you from me."

Sara's phone thudded on the rug that covered her hard wood floor. Tegan immediately rushed from the kitchen.

"What's wrong Sara?" The concern in Tegan's voice was coming through in shaky, terrified waves.

"Not my Aunt." Sara mumbled out as she shook her head and eyed her phone.

Tegan immediately assumed the worst, "Do you have a stalker?"

Sara shook her head and pointed at the phone, "M-m-mom." She stuttered out, shakily as a few tears came down her cheeks.

"She's your mom?" Tegan was completely confused. Wasn't Sara's mom an evil witch of some kind? Why would she call as some bullshit aunt?

"Yes." Sara thought that Tegan had kept up with her.

"Do you want me to like," Tegan tried to think of what she could do, "Yell at her or some shit?"

Sara shook her head violently, "No. No. Sonia is apparently my real mom. Nora is my real Aunt." Tegan was just as confused as before.

"Who's Nora?" She had never heard that name.

"The woman who raised me," Sara explained as calmly as possible, "She apparently took me from her younger sister and then never told me she had any siblings."

"You should probably pick the phone back up." Tegan grabbed the phone and held it out for Sara to grab.

Sara heard her name come faintly through the phone and she reached out and grabbed it.

"Sorry about that," Sara apologized, keeping her eyes and Tegan, "It's just a bit of a shock."

Tegan stood next to her and rubbed her back to help soothe the shock out of her system.

"I know it's a shock," Sonia sounded like she was pleading, "But I'm desperate to meet you. I haven't seen you since you were just over a year old."

"Where do you live?" Sara questioned, hoping that it was somewhere nearby.

"Calgary."

"That's a good ways away," Sara was disappointed, she would love to meet her real mom.

"If I start driving soon I can get there by tonight."

Sara smiled, "I'd love that. Are you okay sleeping on a couch?"

"I'd sleep on the floor if it meant I could finally see you again." She could hear joy taking its place in Sonia's voice; replacing the pain from a few minutes before.

"You should leave soon," Sara smiled widely, "I can't wait to meet you in person." She proceeded to give Sonia her address.

"I'm on my way." Sonia sounded happy, and a little bit giddy, "I'll see you tonight."

"See you then." Sara hung up the phone and pulled Tegan in for a kiss.

"She's coming here?" Tegan asked; a small dose of excitement in her voice.

"Yeah," Sara bit her lip and nodded, "She's leaving Calgary as we speak. She should be here at like one a.m."

"We should grab some stuff from my apartment." Sara gave her a quizzical look, not understanding what that had to do with Sonia coming.

"Why?"

"I have an air mattress and I kind of need some clothes."

"Awesome." Sara smiled, "Air mattresses are better than sofas."

"Do you want to go now?" Tegan asked, grabbing her jacket before Sara could answer.

"Sure." She shrugged and grabbed her keys, "Let's go."

They made the drive to Tegan's apartment in only a few minutes.

"I haven't been here in forever." Tegan stated as she walked through the door to her small studio apartment.

"And this is one of the last times you will be here." Sara smiled, yet again, just thinking about her and Tegan living together.

Tegan walked over to her bed and pulled a bin out from under it, "This has all my extra bedding, including the mattress." She started to open it but closed it immediately, "I guess I'll just bring all of it. There's no harm in that."

Sara nodded and smiled, "What are you going to bring your clothes over in?"

Tegan's face fell, "Shit! I only have one suitcase and it's at your apartment."

"Do you have like plastic bags or a backpack?" Sara eyed the messy apartment, hoping to find something to bring the clothes in.

Tegan shook her head, "My backpack wouldn't hold enough."

Sara took one last look around before laughing and pointing behind Tegan, "How about the laundry basket?"

Tegan blushed, embarrassed for not remembering she had it, "I'll just dump the dirty clothes on my bed."

"Good plan." Sara chuckled and grabbed the basket, dumping it on Tegan's bed.

"I think that's it," Tegan looked around, "Now just to grab some clothes."

Tegan rifled through the drawers of her small dresser, casually throwing her clothes into the basket. After several minutes she was satisfied with the clothes she had collected and took one more look at the apartment. She sighed and turned toward the door, basket of clothes in hand.

"Alright, let's go home." Sara smiled and picked up the bin of bed sheets and the mattress.

Tegan smiled at the mention of home. She hadn't ever really considered her apartment home. But wherever Sara lived would always be home to her.

"Yeah," She smiled at Sara, "Let's go home."

They made their way to the elevator and down to the ground floor, walking together to the car, shoulders grazing each other ever so slightly. Sara smiled and popped the trunk, quickly shoving the bin as far back as she could. Tegan followed suit, pushing her laundry basket in next to the bin.

"Next stop, home." Sara said with a smile on her face.

"What are we waiting for?" Tegan flashed her a gummy smile, "Let's get home!"

They made the return trip and shaved several seconds off of their drive over.

After setting the air mattress up in the center of the living room they went back to lounging.

"Do you think she'll like me?" Sara spoke up after several minutes of cuddling on the couch.

"Of course she'll like you." Tegan kissed her temple gently, "She'd be crazy not to."

"You really think so?" Sara bit her lip.

"Yes angel." Tegan planted a kiss behind Sara's ear, earning a soft sigh from Sara.

"Thanks," Sara turned and smiled at her, "I've been nervous about it since the call."

"Don't be nervous," Tegan gently ran her fingers through Sara's hair, "She'll love you."

Sara sighed and slipped into a comfortable state of rest, somewhere between asleep and awake. She could feel Tegan rubbing circles on her bicep; the soothing motion pushing her closer to the edge of consciousness. Before she knew it she was waking up to a knocking on her door.

She looked around for Tegan, and spotted her walking out of the bathroom, hair wet from a shower, "What time is it?" She yawned sleepily.

"It's nine." Tegan smiled and walked up to Sara, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Then who's at the door?" Sara motioned toward the door.

"It's probably Ted," Tegan shrugged and went to answer the door, "I wanted to hang out with him."

"Oh," Sara let out a stifled yawn, "That's nice." She laid her head back on the sofa pillow and yawned widely.

Tegan smiled at her before opening the door, "Come on in Ted," She stepped out of his way, allowing him to get inside, "Sara just woke up from a very long nap."

"Well then," Ted turned giving Sara a small smile and a wave, "Good morning Sara."

"Hey Ted." She gave him a small wave in response.

"Tegan said something about your mom coming to visit?" Ted new the story of how her mom…well her aunt, had treated her.

"Yeah," Sara grinned at him, "Apparently my mom isn't my real mom."

"I bet that's good news." Ted momentarily forgot that Sara had never told him about her past, "I mean, judging from your response." He blushed and looked awkwardly over at Tegan.

"Yeah." Sara continued to smile, not even realizing what he had said.

Sara sat on the couch and listened to the conversation, not particularly paying attention, but more using it as the background to her thoughts on when her mom would arrive, what she was like, what she'd think of her daughter. Before she knew it Ted was starting to yawn and sat down on the couch beside her.

"You excited for tonight?" He asked, smiling warmly at her.

"Mhm." She nodded and sent a small smile his way.

"Do you know anything about her?" Ted questioned in his own protective way.

"Not really," She smiled reassuringly, "But I'm okay with that. I don't want to judge her for her past. She'll be here for my present and hopefully my future. That's all I need to know."

"That's great." She could see the relief pass through him, "I'm going back home now. It's almost midnight and I'm exhausted."

He stood up from the couch and gave Sara a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"Goodnight Ted." Sara waved at him as he walked to the door.

"Yeah," Tegan pulled him in for a goodbye hug, "Goodnight."

"Have fun meeting your mom Sara." He called out as he closed the door.

Sara grinned at the thought. And she was now so close to meeting her.

"Let's watch TV or something to pass the time." Tegan suggested as she grabbed the remote.

Sara nodded and Tegan turned the TV on. Sara didn't pay attention to what they were watching; she just sat there letting her thoughts swim through her head. Most of them about what she wanted the first thing she said to her mom to be. But before she could decide there was a knock on her door.

"Answer it." Tegan smiled at her, wanting Sara to be the one who spoke to her first.

Sara smiled and walked up to the door, taking a deep breath before opening it. She was greeted by a woman a little taller than her with long brown hair streaked with blonde. She looked young, like she could have been in her early forties. They both stood silent for a minute, studying each other. Sara finally broke the comfortable silence.

"Hi mom." It might not have been as profound or 'cool' as Sara was hoping she would say, but it was the perfect thing to say.

"Hello Sara." Sonia smiled widely and held out her arms; Sara accepted them and they stood in the doorway hugging.

"Mom," Sara smiled as she said that simple word, "I'd like you to meet the most important person in my life." She motioned for Tegan to walk into view, "This is my girlfriend Tegan."

"It's wonderful to meet you Tegan," She smiled warmly, "So that's why Nora gave you the boot, eh?"

Sara chuckled, "Yes."

"God she's narrow minded." Sonia shook her head and walked inside.

"Its nice meeting you too Sonia." Tegan hugged her once she got inside.

"I don't want to disappoint you or anything," Sonia looked like she was afraid of offending Sara, "But I don't plan on staying up for too much longer."

"That's fine," Sara answered with the smile that was now plastered on her face, "You drove all day and you need your rest."

"So," Sonia sat down on the couch, "What do you want to know?"

"What do you do for a living?" Sara asked the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm a therapist at a high school."

"That's cool." Sara had only one other thing that she wanted to ask, "Are you married?"

"Not currently." Sonia smiled weakly.

"That's all I really need to know right now," Sara gave her a hug, "We can have lunch together tomorrow and I'll get to know you then."

"Okay," Sonia sent her a tired smile, "I'll see you tomorrow."

After saying their goodnights Tegan and Sara went back to their room to get as much sleep as they could. Unfortunately for Sara, having her mom sleeping in her living room kept her awake most of the night. But when she finally fell asleep, she did so with a smile on her face.