Sunday passes uneventfully and quietly. Steve and Ellen spend the entire day together, even when he has to go work at BBQ Bobs where she helps out if needed.
Aurie spends the day hanging around Mark while he putters around the house, doing things like their respective laundry and light housework. He doesn't accomplish much because of her innate curiosity about the variety of knick-knacks decorating his home, which triggers many questions. Never one to resist sharing and teaching, he's aware of his part in the lack of progress.
Later on, before dinner, he takes her out for a long, leisurely walk along the beach where she asks about his career in medicine. Mark notices she seems to be avoiding discussing the events of the past few days. He's content to follow her lead, for now, figuring she needs this respite. Soon enough they'll get the results of the DNA test back and she'll have to deal with related chaos.
Waking up early Monday morning, Mark notices he's the only one stirring in the house. After brewing a pot of coffee, he heads out onto the deck with a steaming cup to sit and enjoy the beautiful ocean views.
"Morning, Dad."
Mark turns from his seat at the patio table to smile at his son emerging from the house.
"Morning, Steve," he greets back. "A bit early for you to be out running, isn't it?" he asks, noticing how his son is dressed.
"Yeah. I've got to go in early for work. I might be late coming home tonight, so don't expect me for dinner."
"Okay," Mark nods. "Listen, son, before you go, I wanted to tell you I've been following Ellen's suggestion and observing Aurie."
"Why would you want to do that?" Steve asks, nonplussed.
"Because Ellen thinks Aurie really might be your daughter," Mark replies. "And I think she's right. Aurie does favor some of your features."
Steve groans while rubbing a frustrated hand down his face.
"Okay, I know. Ellen hit me with that Saturday night and challenged me to take a long, hard look at her." Hardening his gaze, Steve bores into his father's eyes for emphasis. "I have been and I don't see any resemblance. A couple of coincidences, but nothing that makes me think she's my daughter. Look," he cuts off Mark's protest with a sigh. "I get you've become attached to her. She's not a bad kid. But there's no way she's mine. I know I never slept with Amalia. Trust me, that would've been a very memorable event," he briefly smirks. "At best, Aurie's just going to have to be an honorary grandkid. I'm sorry if that disappoints you."
"Well," Mark sighs. "We'll just have to see what the test results tell us definitively when we get them, but I still think Ellen's onto something."
"And I think her theory is a holdover from spending too many years writing lurid, conspiracy-crammed tabloid stories," Steve grins. "Anyways, I better get going. Talk to you later."
Mark waves as his son descends the steps then watches him trot across the backyard before disappearing over the dunes.
"Your son can be so frustratingly pig-headed and obtuse when he doesn't want to admit he's wrong," Ellen grouses as she steps out onto the deck with a cup of coffee in hand and joins Mark at the table.
"In all fairness, there isn't enough evidence to convince him otherwise," Mark points out.
"What more evidence could he need when Aurie is right in front of him?" Ellen challenges before taking another sip of her coffee.
"Aurie favors her mother so much, I can understand why he doesn't see himself in her," he reasons. "Then there's the fact he doesn't remember being with Amalia at all. I think if he remembered socializing with Amalia for more than a couple of dances he'd be more open to the possibility."
"I question his memory since he doesn't remember much about the party. He thinks that was fourteen years ago, which he believes proves he couldn't have fathered Aurie since she's fifteen. He's not even sure."
"Yeah, the math has been bothering me," Mark muses thoughtfully. "The last time I remember seeing Amalia was about fourteen years ago. Where was Aurie? According to Aurie, Amalia returned to the U.S. without her, but why would she do that? Especially since she was adamant the baby was Spencer's? Legally, she would've had an easier time returning just to prove paternity."
"And even if the test proved Spencer right in his denial," Ellen adds, following his reasoning. "Amalia would've likely thought of who else could be her baby daddy and none of this would be happening now."
"It's certainly complicated," Mark sighs. "Even if we get the answer of who is Aurie's father, there are still a lot of questions remaining."
"It's a place to start at least," Ellen points out. "But I'm certain I'll get my chance to watch Steve eat some crow after the initial shock wears off."
"Despite your certainty, you could be wrong," Mark reasons.
"I'm not," she counters, surprising him. "I hope we'll get the test results back sooner than later, but what I can see with my eyes and my instincts scream she's his daughter."
Looking out at the ocean, Mark considers it before looking back at Ellen with a warm smile.
"I'll be honest, I hope you're right. I'd love to have her as my granddaughter."
"Well, I'm sure you're going to get your wish," Ellen grins back. "What have you got planned for today?"
"I'm not sure. A nice, big breakfast is first on the agenda, but I haven't touched any of the work I brought home and need to get some of it done by tomorrow. Although, I'll probably blow it off if there's something Aurie would like to do."
"Is she still supposed to focus more on resting?"
"Yes," Mark nods. "But there's only so much you can do of that without going stir-crazy. However, even if she wants to, I don't think she's going to want to go swimming in the ocean yet because of all the bruising."
Ellen falls into silent contemplation for a couple of minutes.
"I've got a suggestion," she finally ventures, drawing his full attention. "How about I take Aurie out shopping at the mall? Even if it just ends up being window shopping, I'd love to get to know her better."
"That's a great idea!" Mark grins. "I know she didn't bring much, but we've got an immediate court date in family court, especially if you're proven right about her paternity. She doesn't have anything appropriate for that with her." He pauses in thought for a minute. "Give me the receipts for whatever you buy her so I can pay you back."
Ellen arches a brow before slowly grinning back at him.
"Is this a head start to make up for all the Christmases and birthdays you've missed?"
"Yep," he nods, causing her to laugh. "She might fight you on getting her anything."
"Just leave it to me," she waves off. "How about that breakfast you mentioned? The smell should get her up and it'll give us strength for the day ahead."
Rising to his feet with a chuckle, Mark nods and heads back into the house with Ellen trailing behind.
As predicted, Aurie drifts into the kitchen a short time later, drawn by the aroma of bacon and pancakes. Before long, the three of them are sitting outside on the deck enjoying the light breeze and warm sunshine while they eat. Ellen surprises her with the invitation to go shopping. Although, reluctant due to her current budget, she ultimately accepts. It costs nothing to window shop and maybe she might get lucky on a good deal for new shoes. Besides, she likes Ellen and is interested in getting to know her better. As they're cleaning up, Aurie turns to Mark.
"Since 'Buttface' Taylor didn't end up getting his blood drawn, will the money I paid for that end up back on my card? Or is there someone at the hospital I have to call?"
Mark frowns in confusion before answering.
"You'd have to call the billing department, but I can take care of that since I'm not going with you. Buttface?" he questions.
"Yeah, because his face looks like the bloated, doughy backside of the maintenance guy at my apartment complex who can't tighten his belt on his pants enough to keep from flashing his buttcrack."
Ellen nearly chokes on her coffee, spraying some out of her mouth as she joined Mark in laughing at the image Aurie conjured.
"I'm going to call him 'Buttface Taylor' from now on," Ellen murmurs in amusement while wiping the spittle off her chin with a napkin.
"There are better names I can call him, but Mark wouldn't like them," Aurie grins back.
Mark arches a brow and pins Aurie with a look that causes her to recoil a little.
"Although Lawrence deserves that for his recent behavior, you shouldn't lower yourself to that level. You're a young lady and need to get better about where and when not to use that language so you're not coming off as crass and disrespectful to anyone whose respect you genuinely want to keep."
"In other words," Ellen chimes in, drawing Aurie's attention. "Keep trying to use your words better so you don't end up like 'Buttface.'"
Aurie can't resist laughing and nodding.
"I'll keep working on it," she smiles at Mark, feeling better about his rebuke.
"That's all I'm asking, to keep it in mind," he smiles back. "Now let's clean up so we can get on with our day."
It takes almost no time for the three of them to clean up and for the two ladies to head out the door to the nearest mall. Leisurely they stroll through different stores that catch their eye, chatting and enjoying each other's company.
Gradually they start finding things Aurie can genuinely use. Understandably, Aurie is reluctant to buy anything and is extremely resistant to Ellen paying for her. However, the teen is no match for the blonde. Especially when Ellen reminds her that even if the paternity tests are a bust and she doesn't have to go to family court, she will need something nice for Immigration court. It helps they aren't buying a lot, but silently Aurie vows to compensate the blonde.
After having lunch in the food court, Ellen ends up convincing Aurie to go to her favorite salon for a bit of a makeover. Fortunately, there are openings for both of them. Ellen opts for a touchup of her current style.
Aurie surprises Ellen and the stylist when she agrees to allow several inches to be trimmed off, explaining it's not an extreme change for her since her hair grows fast and needs a good trim. After the stylist finishes, Aurie's loose hair still falls to below her shoulders instead of to her waist and can still be braided. It's not a drastic change in style and Aurie is happy with it.
They return to the beach house by late afternoon. While Aurie settles her things in the guest room, Ellen presents Mark with the receipts for their purchases. Mark smiles in satisfaction as he puts them away then heads into the kitchen with Ellen to get dinner started. Aurie joins them and helps with setting up the dining room table. When the three finish eating and sharing details of their day, they clean up before heading out onto the deck to watch the fading sunset, finishing the day on a glorious note.
The next morning Aurie wakes up early to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and food. Heading into the kitchen, she finds Mark happily humming a jaunty tune while making scrambled eggs. She doesn't fail to notice he's dressed for work, with an apron on to protect his clothes.
"Good morning," he cheerfully greets her. "How did you sleep?"
"'Morning," she greets back. "Good, thanks."
"Great," he nods approvingly while plating the eggs. "Well, as much as I'd like to play hookey again today, I've got to go to work and check on my patients."
Before she can reply, he hands her the plates and gestures for her to head out onto the deck while he follows with toast.
"Now, you have two choices," he continues as he settles into his seat and they begin eating. "You can go in with me if you like, but you'll probably get bored sitting and waiting for me in my office. But the better option is you can stay here and hang out. You can watch TV or use my computer to access the internet and even go sit on the beach if you like. I've got a spare key so you can lock up the house."
"Are you okay with me staying here by myself?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" he frowns slightly in confusion.
"I dunno," Aurie shrugs. "I'm still kinda a stranger and with everything going on, especially with you being responsible for me, doesn't seem like you'd be able to leave me alone in your home like that."
"Well, I don't see any reason why not. You're still healing from a concussion and this is the best place for you to rest. Another thing, my responsibility isn't to keep track of you every second. I merely gave ICE my word you'll make it to the immigration hearing." He pauses to take a sip of his coffee then leans back in his chair as another thought occurs to him. "We should be getting the paternity tests back soon, hopefully before the end of the week, and if one of them is positive then we'll have an immediate hearing in family court."
"Okay," Aurie nods. "So if it's okay, I need to use your phone. I have to call school, work, etcetera." Closing her eyes briefly with a groan, she adds, "I should've made these calls yesterday, but I forgot. So I'm going to get bitc.., uh, griped at."
He smirks at her near slip.
"Certainly. Take care of what you need to. I'll leave you my cell and office number in case you need to reach me or if I need to talk to anyone for you."
"Sounds good," she nods again.
"Good morning, you two," Ellen cheerfully greets, emerging from the house with a cup of coffee in hand.
"'Morning," Aurie replies.
"Good morning, Ellen," Mark greets back. "Do you want some breakfast? I can make you something real quick."
"No thanks," she smiles, settling into her seat. "My editor called and I've got to head out the door in a few minutes. I wanted to at least get a cup of coffee and sit with you two before I have to go."
"I thought you had the time off," Mark comments, looking confused again.
"I did until a lead on a possible story popped up. They don't write themselves and having my editor give it to someone else is a great way to end up on unemployment. Thankfully I'm not having to go very far for this one, so I should be home for dinner." She pauses briefly to take a drink of her coffee. "Are you going to spend the day hanging out with Mark at the hospital?" she asks Aurie.
"No," Aurie shakes her head. "Mark said I can hang out here and I've got a few phone calls back home to make."
"It'll be a lot more relaxing here than at the hospital," Ellen grins back.
"Steve's running kinda late," Mark comments, checking his watch. "Is he getting ready for work?"
Ellen shakes her head before taking another drink of her coffee.
"He's already gone. Had to leave early again for work. But he said he might make it for dinner today."
"Of course, it's on a day he's not cooking," Mark sardonically observes.
"Then we'll sucker him into buying us takeout at least or he's going to have to fend for himself," Ellen grins wickedly, causing the other two to laugh.
"Good idea," Mark nods approvingly. "Well, I've got to get moving, so let's get this cleaned up, Aurie."
Nodding, Aurie joins them in rising to her feet and proceeds to help clean up. She grabs a dish towel as Mark begins washing the dishes.
"I've got to get going," Ellen states, placing her empty mug within Mark's reach. "I'll see you two later."
"Bye, Ellen," he replies while Aurie waves as Ellen heads out of the room.
It doesn't take long for Mark and Aurie to finish cleaning up. Then he disappears into his room to finish getting ready, emerging minutes later to find Aurie sitting at his desk. She has the cordless handset in her right hand as she jots something down in her notebook with her left.
"I didn't realize you're left-handed," Mark comments, setting his briefcase and coat on one of the armchairs.
"I wish I was right-handed, though, since there's hardly any desks, scissors, and crap for lefties."
"Well, at least you weren't made to learn to write right-handed like I was."
"You're left-handed too?"
Mark nods.
"So is Steve, but the teachers couldn't get him to learn how to write with his right."
"I couldn't either," she rolls her eyes. "Looked like I was trying to write during a massive earthquake and couldn't get the hang of it."
"It's a right-handed world we live in," Mark grins. "Anyways, I'm heading out."
Grabbing another pen, he slides her notebook closer and jots down two phone numbers in a blank spot. He slides it back in front of her when he's finished and returns the pen to the holder on the desk.
"There's my cell and office number in case you need me," he explains, pointing at the two numbers he wrote. "You might have to keep trying to call me if I don't answer. And that's likely if I'm busy in the ER. I don't have a secretary and even if you call the main line at the hospital, I don't get the messages right away."
"Don't you have voicemail on your cell phone?" Aurie asks.
"Honestly? I haven't figured out how to set it up," he wryly admits, causing her to laugh.
"Okay, but chances are I won't need to call you."
"You know where everything is and help yourself to whatever you like," Mark states, slipping on his coat he grabs his briefcase. "I'll see you later."
"Have a good day at work," Aurie waves back as he rounds the corner into the foyer and leaves the house.
Aurie sighs into the silence before making the calls she needs to. She started with the school attendance office and, as predicted, got scolded for not showing up yesterday. Once Mrs. Harper gets it out of her system, Aurie explains what's been going on. Mrs. Harper advises that since she's likely to miss the entire week, and depending on the outcome, she's going to need a note from either the family court judge or the immigration court excusing her absence. A doctor's note might suffice as well, but she'll need medical documentation to back it up.
After finishing up that call, Aurie tried calling her counselor at Youth On Their Own, but Dr. de la Torre was in a meeting and would have to call her back.
Reluctantly she moves on to calling her boss at work who unfortunately answers the phone. It feels like hours for Mrs. Rubio to finish her tirade. Aurie can't blame her, she was supposed to work Saturday and Sunday. Once Mrs. Rubio finally runs out of steam, Aurie gets her chance to explain what's been going on. She answers the older woman's questions and has to endure another long tirade about the 'stupid Immigration system' when she explains why she won't be making it in to work at all this week and likely not even this coming weekend. Mrs. Rubio isn't happy about the situation but understands it's not something Aurie can help. Not that Aurie's happy about the situation either. She can't earn money if she doesn't work and with her bank account nearly deceased, it's not a good situation to be in.
When she's finally free of Mrs. Rubio, Aurie heads off to the kitchen to make something to eat. Mark has a nice selection of cold cuts, so she goes to town making a killer sandwich and then heads out onto the deck to enjoy it while looking at the ocean. The phone rings just when she's finishing cleaning up. Grabbing the handset in the kitchen she answers it.
"Sloan residence."
"Hi, this is Luz de la Torre. May I speak to Auralia Acevedes?"
"Hi, Luz, it's me," Aurie cheerfully greets her.
"Hi, mija," Luz greets back. "How's your trip to California going? Did you luck out and find out who your father is?"
"It's going okay and sort of."
"Sort of?"
"Yeah. It's a long and complicated story," Aurie sighs wearily, heading into the den to settle on the sofa. "Do you have the time?"
"Yes."
"Okay, get comfortable."
Despite having explained everything going on twice so far, it still takes Aurie time to fill Luz in and answer her questions as they come up. Luz groans when she's done. Aurie can picture the older woman rubbing her temple with one hand.
"Aye, mija. You weren't kidding that it's complicated. Have you thought of what you're doing if one of those men is your father?"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you going to move to California and live with them?"
"Hell no, I've got my life in Tucson. I don't want to start over again."
"Well, if they make a claim, they might want you to live with them and the courts could make you," Luz reasons.
"With the attitudes I've been getting, I doubt it. Even if they're crazy enough to try, I'll raise a big stink to make them run the other way."
"A positive test could easily change any negative attitudes and make your father determined to fight for you. Don't be so quick to rule it out."
"The way they've been talking since the beginning, I'm not holding my breath any of the tests are positive."
"You could be surprised. That aside, you need to be back in Tucson no later than tomorrow night."
"Okay," Aurie drawls in confusion. "Why?"
"Remember? You're supposed to come in to fill out your benefit renewal forms for the state. Thursday is the deadline and if we don't get those in on time, your food stamps, Medicaid, and state money will get suspended. You can submit the renewals late, but you could be without everything for a couple of months until they kick back in. And even if you legally could, you can't put in 40 hours a week and go to school."
"Aw, fuck," Aurie hisses as she slouches lower on the couch. "I forgot. Dammit. That means I've got to catch the bus tonight. With all the stops, and if it doesn't break down like the one I came over here in, I won't get there until late tomorrow afternoon. Then I'll have to come back for the paternity tests and also because ICE made Mark responsible for me."
"You're going to have to do that," Luz points out. "If you're not able to come back until next week, and assuming whoever might be your father doesn't want custody of you, you're going to be without benefits for at least two months, maybe three, if you don't get that renewal submitted in time."
"And it'd be my luck I'd have to see a doctor when I don't have Medicaid. Not to mention how much it'd suck not having the food stamps and money to get my groceries and pay the utilities." Aurie sighs heavily. "Man, this is getting more complicated all the time. I guess it's whatever. I've got to come home. I've just got to come back as soon as possible. Which might make me miss even more school. Ugh, I'm gonna get bitched out even more by everyone!"
Luz can't help chuckling.
"All you can do is tackle one thing at a time, one day at a time. Just make it back here by Thursday. Do what you have to and then head back to California. This Dr. Sloan sounds like a nice man to do all this for you, so I understand not wanting to put him in a bad situation by not going back."
"No, I definitely don't want to do that to him," Aurie agrees. "Okay, I'll get on the next bus and if I get in early enough, I'll come by tomorrow. If not, I'll be in early Thursday morning."
"Sounds good, mija," Luz agrees. "Be safe and I'll see you soon."
"Thanks for everything and I'll see you soon."
"Bye."
The handset beeps when Aurie ends the call. Heavily sighing out loud, she leans her head on the back of the sofa while considering her options. Resigning herself to hitting the road, she gets up and returns the handset to the stand in the kitchen.
Heading back into the den, she settles back at Mark's desk and turns on his computer. It takes her time to figure out where the nearest bus station is, how to get there, how long it's going to take her to get there, and what time the buses for Tucson are leaving.
Knowing she has to let Mark know, she tries calling him at both numbers he gave her with no success.
Deciding to try again in a few minutes, she then heads to the guest room to pack her backpack. There isn't enough room to pack all of her new clothes so she leaves them hanging in the closet since she's coming back. Thinking about the weirdos she encountered at the bus station and on the bus, she decides to wear her old, taped-up shoes and the same clothes she brought with her. Her new denim jacket is the exception to her attempt to be low-key because she didn't want to deal with anyone asking about the vibrant bruises still dusting her arms.
Once ready, she takes her bag with her back into the den and settles behind the desk. Grabbing the handset, she tries calling Mark again. Again he doesn't answer. She debates on what to do. She doesn't have Ellen's phone number. She could probably try calling Steve, but she doesn't know what precinct he works out of and it'll take too long calling around to find him.
Glancing at the nearest clock, she realizes she doesn't have the time. It's going to take her about two hours by city bus just to get to the Union station.
With a shrug and another sigh, she figures they can bitch at her later and pulls out her notebook. She writes a brief note to Mark and leaves it in plain view on the desktop with the spare key he gave her.
Standing up, she retrieves her bag and heads out the front door, making sure to lock it behind her.
Mija- A contraction of 'my daughter' in Spanish, it's an endearment along the lines of 'sweetheart' or 'honey.' Pronounced mee-hah.