AN: BIG BIG Red Flag for this one!

Not just Josh mentions but gross unabortion mentions.

But I promise there are reasons for this. It's going to drive a couple of plots that will start appearing soon.

I'm sorry in advance, but it must be done!


Chapter 13

"I have already answered all of these questions, I'm not sure why you're wasting my time with this," David reminded the group of people sat in front of him.

He and Erica had made the cover and first pages of the Exposer. Thankfully, their reporters were better photographers than they were journalists, and only bits and pieces of the story had been leaked.

Joe Martin had been waiting for him in his office, with a litany of questions on Jeff's behalf. Jesse and Angie came later. He assumed Angie was there to represent the hospital and to help keep tempers down.

Jesse was there on behalf of the PVPD. He had all the files and reports and was trying his best to answer Joe's questions.

They didn't care about the truth about Josh's paternity being revealed or even news of Erica having the last embryo transferred.

But keeping Alex and Olivia's identity secret was probably the only thing he and Jesse would ever agree on, and the more information that got out uncontrolled, the more likely their identities would be revealed.

"None of this makes any sense," Joe griped, even as he flipped through the DNA test results. "Greg Madden told us what he did. Erica was a match. What you're saying he really did is science fiction, it's not possible."

David scoffed through a laugh. "But claiming to abort a fetus, keep it alive and implant it into another woman is? I don't know how you and Jeff can call yourself doctors. Every alarm bell goes off in my head as soon as Greg says those words. But you don't question it?"

Jesse interrupted before Joe could respond. He understood how hard this was. Joe had lost his grandson again. Jeff had to learn from the pages of the Exposer that Josh wasn't his son. But this couldn't get out of hand. The truth would come out eventually, but if they could delay it even a few weeks, they could warn Alex and Olivia's parents.

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's all true. We had the DNA run several times. All confirming the paternity of Josh and the remaining three embryo's."

Joe shook his head. "So you just randomly helped Greg do this to Erica?" He directed at David, who shook his head and leaned back in his chair, exasperated.

"I helped Greg with a legitimate and legal project he was working on. I made the embryo's and gave them to Greg. We were back researching and experimenting in the same week. I had no reason to suspect the embryo's we were using weren't the ones I made."

Joe sighed and looked at Jesse. "Are you sure? There is a question?"

"We requested all documents from Stanford, Colombia, and two other institutions he was doing research at. We had our lab at PVPD run the DNA as well as a private lab. All match and all match to David. I'm sorry, Joe. I know how hard this must be."

"I know what it's like to lose a child," David reminded Joe, "I know exactly how Jeff feels, how you feel. But you need to leave this alone. Alex and Olivia are still minors. The last thing we want to do is disrupt their lives."

"I know Jeff will still have some questions for Erica," Joe answered honestly, still struggling to understand how any of this could be true.

"Leave Erica out of this," David replied, eyes fixed on Joe. "She's still mourning Josh. She's waiting to find out if the transfer took. Don't make her have to rehash all of this."

"Josh was..." Joe stopped and shook his head. He let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't believe any of this. Jeff doesn't deserve this. That was his son just as much as Erica's."

"He can grieve Josh, but it changes nothing. Biologically, he was my son. Alex and Olivia are mine, and so is the embryo we transferred. Do your own investigation if you need, but leave Erica out of it and do not do anything that jeopardizes Alex and Olivia's future or reveals their identities."

It was part threat, part challenge, and it was enough to end their discussion.

Joe got up quickly and headed for the door. Jesse was quick to scoop up his files and go after Joe.

"I'm sure once Joe acknowledges the truth, he'll run straight to the Ethics committee and go after me for operating on my son."

Angie was quiet as she took it all in. Joe had asked her to come on behalf of the hospital, who had their own questions for David, and as someone impartial who might help calm tempers.

"Did you?" She finally. "Did you know he was yours when you did the transplant?"

"You're joking, right? You were there, you know I had no idea. I only discovered the discrepancy when I was testing Josh and Kendall."

She nodded, and her eyes met his. "And you didn't say anything?"

"Was I supposed to put the whole thing on pause to question Erica? The news didn't change the fact that Josh was a match. There wasn't time to ask questions."

He was right. Any time they would have wasted could have cost Kendall her life.

"Afterward, I just assumed Greg was his father and ran the DNA tests expecting as much."

"Greg Madden sounds like the worst excuse for a human being."

"I agonized for two weeks about telling Erica. I really hoped she had cheated on Jeff, and it was that simple."

Angie nodded. How had this happened? How had someone like Greg Madden been allowed to do something so disgusting under the guise of research. "I'm sorry you lost him."

David offered her a soft smile. "Thank you. I hardly knew him, so it's an odd kind of grief. It's Erica who is feeling his loss the most."

"I can't imagine how all of this must be for her. The things Greg Madden did to her..." She shuddered at the thought.

"That's why I want this child for her. She can take this child back. Reclaim what Greg stole from her. She's an incredible mother, and she more than deserves the chance to raise this child."

Angie tilted her head and studied his face. She'd heard all the things they said about how. All the horrible things he'd done. But this man sitting before her didn't fit that picture. "You'd have another chance to be a father."

He nodded. "That too."

"I hope it works. I really do. The best revenge for Madden is looking down, knowing he failed," She stood up and motioned for the door. "I better go find Jesse. If I'm asked, was this conversation on the record?"

"Everything but Alex and Olivia's names. I'd like to keep this secret as long as possible. They don't deserve to have everything they've ever known taken away from them."

She nodded and studied his face. Alex and Olivia wouldn't know him from a stranger on the street, and yet, his only concern other than Erica was their welfare.

He might have questionable morals as a person, but as a father, he seemed dedicated and loving.

She was probably the one other person in Pine Valley who hoped the transfer took, and he and Erica had a healthy baby.

TBC