Chapter 2
Tuesday came with no small amount of trepidation as two couples waited at the LA medical center to be called to have DNA testing done.
While they waited, Maddie was lost in anxious thought. Her thought and memories spiraled deeper than ever. Regret and anger at what might have happened to her baby sister coursed through her veins and suffocated her lungs.
Maddie chanced a glance at Eddie and Evalynn Diaz and felt envy at their calm and serene look. Both sitting back relaxed and blank-faced.
"How are you both so calm?" Maddie asked the couple as she glanced at Chim, noting with a small amount of satisfaction he to seemed slightly nervous.
Maddie and Chim watched as both Diaz' looked at each other and with the practiced ease of long-time partners had a silent conversation that seemed to end with a slight nod from Eddie.
"Simple Maddie, Eds and I are both used to keeping still and calm in tense situations. The phrase 'Hurry up and wait' was a big part of our normal routine. There were times when patience was key to the mission and rushing could lead to problems for all involved. I guess you can say that it carried over into civilian life." Buck explained to Chim and Maddie as they looked on in astonishment.
Before either could respond to Buck a door to their left opened and a nurse in green scrubs stepped out looking at the file in her hands and called out " Mrs. Diaz and Mrs. Kendall? If you'll follow me?"
With that Buck and Maddie stood up and followed the woman into the back of the medical center to have her DNA work done. After 20 minutes they were done and told that they would get the results within 48 hours. After they thanked the nurse they left the medical center and agreed to meet up as soon as they had the results.
Diaz's Residence several hours later (Eddie's POV)
Eddie stood in the doorway to the lounge once Chris was in bed, watching as his wife sat on the couch, eyes closed, beer bottle dangling from her fingers as the TV played some stupid cooking show he knew his wife was paying no attention to whatsoever.
"Carinõ, how are you holding up?" Eddie asked as he sat down next to her, noting the paleness of her face as he took hold of her hand with one of his, while his other hand nipped forward to steal her beer and take a sip, smiling smugly at the glare aimed halfheartedly at him.
"I dunno." Buck said with a sigh glancing at Eddie, before turning back to stare at the TV sight unseen. "how am I supposed to be feeling Eds? What if she is my sister? I mean great, I finally know where I come from. On the other hand, this will open a can of worms I don't know what to do with. I accepted my parents didn't want me. But if this turns out like we both suspect it's gonna turn out, I'm going to have a sister I know nothing about and will essentially be a stranger to me" Buck huffed.
Eddie stayed silent for a moment as he listened to Ev. "I wish I had the answers for you bebe, I do. Up until last week Saturday, Maddie was just the girlfriend of a colleague of mine. Now she might be my sister-in-law and it's got my head spinning, so I can't even begin to understand what's going through your head right now. I also know that regardless of the outcome, this opened old wounds for both you and Maddie. But I'm not letting you go through this alone. I've got your back no matter what mi amor." Eddie stated as he pulled his sniffling wife into his arms and held her to his chest.
After a while, Eddie glanced down at the form slumped down in his arms. His gaze focused on the dried marks on Ev's cheeks and swallowed down the simmering rage in his gut. This woman in his arms had given her all, time and time again. And fought so many battles…won so many of them too. But it seemed as if it would never end. The punches just kept on coming. From the many horrors she saw and experienced on the battlefield and the trials and pain in her personal life, when would it all end Eddie thought as he tightened his arms around her dozing form.
Same night - Chim and Maddie
"hey, Mads. How are you doing?" Chim's asked his girlfriend as he came into the room and pulled her into his arms.
"not so good Chim, if I'm being honest," Maddie replied burrowing into Chim.
"why? What's going on in that head of yours?" Chim asked as he rubbed her back.
"For the most part disbelief and anger. I mean on one side I don't want to believe my parents would do something like this, would abandon a child, like Buck was abandoned, and on the other end what if they did this and I have a sister that is alive? For years I mourned a sister, Chim, for years I had these questions about what she might have become had she been given a chance to grow, did they ever catch the person who ran her over? And now I might even get some answers to some of those questions. Like what would she be like? I might have a sister and my parents might have denied me that right to know her." Maddie spat out with anger and grief in her voice as Chim listened.
"I wish I could give you all the answers Mads, I mean I know this is hard to hear for you and I respect that. But I love you and I'm here for you okay? No matter what." Chim murmured as he brushed a kiss to her hair.
Maddie swallowed thickly and with tears in her eyes said the words that Chim as longed to hear for months yet thought he never would, "I love you too, Howie. Thank you for being who you are."
Chim gulped down his tears and with eyes that shone bright with tears, hugged Maddie tight to his chest.
