A few barely there Josh mentions in this. There will be one or two more in the next few chapters and that's it for the majority of the fic.

Chapter 3

"Thank you both for coming," Jesse offered, eyes darting between them.

They sat next to one another at a PVPD interview room table. Their chairs slid closer than they should be.

It was a show of strength. Of togetherness. A show that while they hadn't chosen this, they would see each other through it.

He was going to change their lives. Level the truth to them and completely alter the course of their futures.

He hoped they were prepared.

If anyone could be prepared for these kinds of revelations.

"We can do this separately," Jack reminded them, though his eyes were focused only on Erica.

"No," Erica said quickly, "They are our embryo's. Whatever you have to say should be said to both of us at the same time."

"Why are you trusting him? Taking his word on this? After everything he's done, why are we choosing to believe him."

"David was doing legitimate science and medical research. He is as much a victim of Greg Madden as I am."

Jack shook his head. This was ridiculous. "That's what he wants us to believe. He's had years to hide evidence and cover his tracks."

Jesse interrupted this time. "Greg Madden was a meticulous record keeper for both his legal and illegal experiments. There is no evidence that David knew anything about what Greg Madden was doing."

"I already told you that," David hissed, fidgeting in his chair. This was hard enough as it was to sit and listen, too, but having to continue to defend himself was only going to make harder to find the truth.

"Meticulous note taker," Erica repeated through a shaky breath. "Does that mean you found our information on the other embryos? Do you know what happened to them?"

Jesse and Jack exchanged a quick glance, and Jesse swallowed back a hard breath before finally nodding.

He slipped one of two manila folders toward them. "We found all three of them. The information in this folder relates to two. Along with confirmation in Greg's notes, we had our own DNA testing done on them. All three contain both of your DNA."

Erica's eyes shot to David's face. She was sure his expression mirrored hers.

Worry. Fear. Relief that, at least, it wasn't a strangers DNA. Curiosity.

"What's in there, Hubbard?" David asked pointedly, done with the games.

Jesse nodded and moved to open the file. Jack's palm slammed down just beside Jesse, and he looked down at Erica. "You don't have to do this. You shouldn't do this. Forget any of this happened. Please."

Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him. She knew what he was asking, and she knew why. He wanted to protect her from whatever was in the file.

"I know that you want to protect me. And I'm grateful for it. But I need to know. I have to know. Open it, Jesse, please."

He nodded and slid it closer, so David also had an unobstructed view. "Before I open this, I need to be sure you understand what's in these files. They are life changing. Life altering. Jack is right, you don't have to do it."

"Open it," David replied firmly, and Erica nodded.

"Greg Madden donated two embryo's to his sister in law, Emily's sister, and her husband. They were unable to conceive, and after many failed attempts , Greg offered what she believed to be his and Emily's unused embryos."

Erica nodded as David read through what Jesse was showing them. "This says she got pregnant with twins."

"It took?" Erica's voice was soft and faraway, the notion almost too much to bare.

Jesse nodded, and Jack shook his head, pacing behind Erica and David.

"She had a live birth. Both babies survived."

His words hung high in air.

Erica gripped the arms of her chair to steady herself, and David put his face in his hands.

He had been afraid of this. That there was more offspring.

"How old?" She finally asked through a whisper.

Jesse nodded and turned to the next page.

The second he and Jack had seen the twins' photos, they knew. Their resemblance to Josh, to Bianca, and even Kendall was unmistakable.

"They are sixteen and live in New York." He paused to let them take it in. "Alex and Olivia Stafford."

"Jesus," David breathed eyes sweeping over the photos.

"He looks like..." She choked back a sob and glanced over at David, "And so much like you."

"She's all you," He nodded eyes on Olivia's photos.

"Her hair is dark," She mused, unconsciously swiping at errant tears as they fell.

"Are you sure?" David asked, tearing his eyes off the photos long enough to see Jesse nod.

"The DNA testing confirmed it. And really all you have to do is look at them. Read about them. They are straight A students, already conditionally accepted to Stanford and Colombia."

"Seems me make smart and beautiful children," David smiled in her direction and watched her nod, though her eyes never left the photos.

"What happens now?" She wondered, eyes flicking between Jack and Jesse.

"The embryo donation and transfer was all done legally," Jack started. "As far as New York state is concerned, they legally belong to Sam and Genie Stafford."

"The Stafford's have been advised of what happened, but there is no legal obligation to inform Alex and Olivia. Their donation file is sealed until they are eighteen," Jesse advised softly.

"We could try to petition the state to intervene and allow you access to them, but there is no precedent for something like this." Jack continued.

Erica let out a hard sob, her eyes closed, and her body shook.

It wasn't enough that Josh had been taken from her. Now there were two more children who bore her DNA, and she couldn't know them.

David leaned closer to Erica and let his arm slid around her shoulders. "It's okay," He tried to soothe. "They have a happy, healthy home. Loving parents. They are going to Ivy League schools. We gave their parents an incredible gift."

A small smile crept across her lips, and she nodded softly.

"Maybe they will learn the truth in a few years and want to meet you. Maybe they won't. But at least we know they exist and how amazing they are."

"Our genes seem to breed incredible children. At least Greg got that right."

David nodded, offering her a knowing smile. "It'll be okay."

"I know. Thank you." She swiped at her tears and looked over Jesse's shoulder, eyes landing on Jack. "Leave it alone. I don't want to disrupt their lives. If they choose to contact us, they do. If not, we can live knowing they are happy, healthy, and brilliant."

Jack nodded, and Jesse leaned forward to close the file.

"What about the fourth embryo?" David asked curiously, eyes on Jack and Jesse.

Jesse swallowed hard, and Jack resumed pacing.

"Is there a third child?" Erica wondered, and both men shook their heads.

"Not exactly," Jesse finally spoke after a few seconds of tense silence.

He slid the next file toward them. "The embryo still exists. It's been at a cryogenic lab in their freezers for almost thirty years."

Jesse watched their eyes go wide. Obviously, this wasn't what they had been expecting him to say.

"Is it still viable?" David wondered through his shock.

"According to the lab, yes. We had them run some current testing on it, and they show viability."

"His plan was to use it to give Emily a second child, but she was never mentally stable enough to go through with it," Jack added.

Erica's mind raced, and her heart caught in her chest. What were they meant to do with this information?

"Why hasn't the clinic destroyed it?" David asked, and Jesse nodded.

"We asked that same question and were told Greg had been paying the storage fee. In fact, his account still is. They can't donate without consent from the donors."

"All of the clinics information is in here," Jesse continued motioning to the file. "The clinic won't let you make any decisions over the phone. You'll have to visit and advise them what you'd like them to do."

"It's just some paperwork, and they will destroy it for you. Just a few minutes of your time, and this will all be over," Jack told them, though his attention was focused on Erica.

Destroy it? End it all?

She looked over at David, who was slumped back in his chair, hand rubbing over his face. Brushing away tears, he didn't want them to see. He felt her gaze and lowered his hand, eyes meeting hers.

He blew out a hard breath and shook his head.

Another child they could never meet would have been far easier to comprehend.

This. This was almost more than his brain, and his heart could bare.

"Look you can't make decisions until you go to the clinic, so try not worry about it too much right now," Jesse tried to soothe. "It will all work out how it's meant to work out."

Whatever that meant.

TBC