Chapter 2

David's assessment of when she would receive the DNA results had been spot on.

Thirty-six hours later and the results were in her hand.

She'd spent an hour with the envelope, trying to convince herself to open it.

Convince herself that she wanted to know what the results said.

Which way did she want this to go?

David having been Josh's...donor, the donor for all the embryos would make things so much easier.

And so much more complicated.

Yet somehow the idea of a stranger being the donor was for more horrifying.

She paced the length of his office, to anxious to sit. He should be with her when she read the results.

Jack and Jesse were hard at work trying to find out any information that Madden may have left behind.

So much time had passed she couldn't be sure they would find out anything, and she dare not hope to find out the fate of any further embryos.

"Erica," David's voice forced her out of her thoughts.

He stopped next to her, both standing in the middle of his office.

"Those came through faster than I thought they would. I had a copy sent to Jesse, just to be sure there are no questions."

She nodded and flicked wide eyes up to meet his.

"You haven't opened it?" He noted, eyes trailing down to the envelope.

"I thought we should do it together."

He motioned for her to sit down on the couch behind them. He flanked her right side.

"You do it." Her hands shook while she tried to hand him the envelope. "I'm not sure what I want it to say," She admitted softly. "You aren't one of my favorite people these days..."

He blew out a laugh and nodded. She was right. They weren't high on each other's lists.

"But the idea of the donor being a stranger, on top of everything else that was done to me, is such a terrifying thought."

This really was a no win situation.

They both held in a hard breath as he opened the envelope.

"Whatever it says, I'm sorry for what was done to you, Erica. No one should be violated and experimented on."

"Thank you, David."

She knew he meant it and if the DNA test showed that he was the donor, he regretted his role in Madden's manipulations.

She watched with baited breath ad he took the papers out and turned them over.

She felt light headed, slightly dizzy. Her chest was tight and she struggled to focus.

"Jesus..." David gasped, his eyes wide as they read the results over and over again.

"Are you a match? Were you the donor?" Her voice shook and the words struggled up her throat.

"Yes."

She stared at the words on the papers he was showing her, his DNA was not only a match, but it came with a Ninety-nine percent certainty.

"Greg Madden used the embryo you created to impregnate Emily. He was made from our DNA."

It was like he was in a haze. He heard her, but the words wouldn't register. His hands shook now, the DNA test staring up at him.

"David," She said softly, eyes fixed on his profile.

"I don't know what to do with this." His words were honest and raw, his mind and heart struggling to make sense of this new truth. "I hardly knew him. He's dead..." He finally looked at her, "But he was biologically my son."

She nodded deftly and nervously chewed on her bottom lip.

If she let herself think back, remember Josh at his best, she could honestly say she saw glimpses of him in Josh. "He was a lot like you. A bit dark, a bit brooding, so hard, yet so easy to love. If I think back, picture him, moments with him, I can see you."

Maybe she always had, she wondered.

His smile was soft and tentative as he stared back at her.

How could it be that nearly thirty years before, his DNA and hers had come together to make a child? Had the Fates always planned for them to be inexplicably linked?

"He was an incredible doctor. Joe and Jeff assumed that was because they are both doctors, but only your genes could produce a child who becomes a famous doctor in his twenties."

His smile widen at that and he nodded slowly. "Who gave it all up to be a TV producer. Your genes are clearly stronger than mine."

She laughed at out loud and smiled at the thought. "Do you think...Emily only had one child..." She tried to get the words out, trying to make them make sense in her head.

He shook his head. "I have to believe it was only Josh. But," He paused, the words were terrifying and he almost couldn't bare to speak them. "He needed to be sure Emily got a baby, so transferring more than two embryo would have been to risky. Two at a time maybe have even seemed to much of a risk. He would have likely transferred one, and focused on implementing the research we were doing."

He watched her eyes go wide and worry spread over her face. "Best case scenario, we experimented on the other three and they weren't viable."

"Worst case?" She asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"He transferred them to other women." He said it quickly, needing the words out before he lost his nerve. "I have some old schoolmates and former colleagues working to see what they can dig up and I know Jack and Jesse are looking into everything. He was doing legitimate research, for the most part, so there should be records."

She nodded and leaned back against the couch. It was all so much to bare. "You're handling this well," She mused, eyes on his profile.

He laughed lightly and looked over his shoulder at her. "You should hear what's going on in my head."

"Probably the same as what's in mine. It's a lot."

He nodded and let his eyes drift shut, unsure how she would handle what he was about to ask. "Will you..." He swallowed hard, the words stuck in his throat. "will you tell me about him? Josh."

Her smiled brightened at that and she moved for him to lean back against the cushion with her. "He was so much like you..."

She'd tell him anything and everything the wanted to know.

She instinctively slid closer to him, eyes fixed on him as she started talking.

When it was all said and done, Josh was just as much his as he was hers and they both had the same right to know and ultimately mourn him.

She hoped she give him some kind of connection, give back all the time they lost.

TBC