Summary: Zoe does everything she can to try to save her mom. She even takes her to the free clinic at Seattle Grace Mercy Hospital, even though she and her family live in Toledo, Ohio. But when a simple DNA test proves she isn't biologically related, her entire world comes crashing down. Chapter title is inspired by the song, Liar Liar (featuring Bastille) by Dylan.
"But we can fight it, right?" Zoe asked her mother's doctor.
"We can. But…I don't want to get your hopes up," Dr. Harris said.
"Well, what can we do?" Robert, Zoe's father, asked.
"Chemo to start. With where you are, I'd also recommend a bone marrow transplant," Dr. Harris commented.
"A transplant?" Zoe asked, the fear apparent in her voice.
Laying in the hospital bed, her mother rubbed her hand gently to soothe her. It was already bad enough that her mom was sick with leukemia, but now she needed a bone marrow transplant, too? Zoe was overwhelmed, and all she wanted to do was make her mom better.
"Yes," Dr. Harris replied.
"Are there any other options?" Eleanor asked, repositioning herself and sitting up on the bed.
"No, I'm sorry to say those are your options. But I have no doubt you can fight this. Just let me know if you have any more questions," Dr. Harris said, trying to reassure the family of three before leaving the room.
"What are we gonna do?" Eleanor asked in hushed tones after the doctor left.
"What do you mean? You're getting chemo and the surgery," Zoe replied, adamant.
"We can't afford it, Zoe. I want your mom to get better, too, but we can't afford it," Robert said when her mom looked down, embarrassed.
"So, we're just gonna let Mom die?" Zoe asked. Neither of her parents said a word, which made her even more upset. She left the room, knowing that anything else she said would just result in a larger argument.
A little later in the day, Dr. Harris found Zoe sitting alone in the waiting room. He'd just come from another patient's room, and he thought it was odd she wasn't in her mother's room instead.
"Hey, Zoe. Everything okay?" Dr. Harris asked.
"You mean besides the fact that my mother's dying and there's nothing I can do about it?" Zoe asked sarcastically.
"Look, I know this isn't easy, but there are treatment options," Dr. Harris said reassuringly.
"Not for us. We can't afford it," Zoe said sadly. She may only be 15 years old, but even she knew this would cost too much for her family. Dr. Harris took a deep breath, pulled out his prescription pad, and ripped one off before turning the piece of paper. Zoe watched, confused.
"Don't tell anyone I told you this, but there's a clinic in Seattle that'll treat your mom for free. At least for the chemo. The surgery…I've heard of them doing pro-bonos there, too, so you never know," Dr. Harris said softly, looking around like he didn't want anyone else to hear. He handed her the piece of paper and Zoe read the back:
Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. Free clinic.
There was hope, after all. Zoe immediately walked back to her mother's hospital room and told them about this free clinic. Within a week, the three packed up and made the long car ride to Seattle.
When they arrived in Seattle, they quickly checked into a motel close to the hospital and went straight to bed as it was almost two AM. At almost noon the next day, they checked Eleanor into the free clinic and they started running tests, as expected.
The doctors there had the same diagnosis: acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A form of leukemia. And the doctors there, again, like Dr. Harris, recommended a bone marrow transplant surgery in the future. A few hours after they checked in, they set Eleanor up to get the chemotherapy treatment she needed. And they'd go from there.
"So, when does she need this surgery?" Zoe asked.
"Well, she'll be okay for a while with the chemo. But I'd recommend she not wait too long, so a month or so. Three at the most," Dr. Swender said, an oncologist who was now consulting on the case.
"So, how's this transplant gonna go? Is it gonna be from an organ donation?" Robert asked.
"Yes. We're working on adding Eleanor's name to the UNOS donation list…," Dr. Swender started.
"UNOS? What's that?" Robert asked.
"It's the organ donation organization," Dr. Swender said calmly. There was something about the man's voice that threw her off; he seemed angry. But his wife was sick and dying, he had every right to be angry, she thought.
"But, I should mention, we'd prefer a familial match. Either from a sibling or a child," Dr. Swender said, noticing the teenage girl standing beside the man. And she assumed she was their daughter.
"I'll do whatever I need to. Where do we start?" Zoe asked, desperate to jump in to help.
"No. You don't have to do that," Eleanor tried to protest.
"What do you mean? Of course I do," Zoe said.
"Yeah, we need every chance we can get," Robert said. Eleanor glared back at her husband, but he looked back at her, confused.
"Hell, I'll get tested, too," Robert added. He didn't care if it meant it was a long shot. He'd do anything to save his wife.
"What do I need to do?" Zoe asked, directing her question toward Dr. Swender.
"Well, we'll have to run some tests first to see if you're a match," Dr. Swender said, motioning for a pair of residents to come over.
"Dr. Brooks will take you to get tested," Dr. Swender motioned toward Zoe for Dr. Brooks.
"And you can take Mr. Monroe here," Dr. Swender added, motioning toward Robert for Dr. Murphy.
"She'll need a cheek swab to see if she's a match to donate her bone marrow for her mother," Dr. Swender added after giving the residents the basic information they needed.
The residents took their respective patients to separate private rooms in the clinic to get tested. Dr. Brooks put on some latex gloves and grabbed a Q-Tip while Zoe sat up on an exam bed. Then, she told her to open wide and swabbed her cheek with a Q-Tip.
"Now what?" Zoe asked as Dr. Brooks put the Q-tip into a plastic bag.
"Now, we wait for the results to come back," Dr. Brooks informed her.
"And that's it?" Zoe asked.
"That's it," Dr. Brooks confirmed.
"So, after this, I can donate?" Zoe asked.
"Only if you're a match," Dr. Brooks stressed.
"What are the chances?" Zoe asked. She wanted to know if this would actually help her mom or if it was a wasted effort.
"Well, with bone marrow donations, siblings are usually the best matches. But parents and children are usually the second best option. Like for example, a mom and daughter should come back with a 50% match," Dr. Brooks explained.
"50%?" Zoe asked. That didn't sound right.
"Yes. Children are always a 50% match to their parents. It won't be 100%, but it'll be enough," Dr. Brooks replied.
"How long before I can donate?" Zoe asked.
"Well, you won't get your test results for at least two days. Maybe longer depending on where we are in line. Since we're just the free clinic and we're in line with more urgent tests from the hospital, it'll probably be longer. But it shouldn't take any longer than a week," Dr. Brooks said.
Zoe sighed and accepted they'd be in Seattle for a while. After hopping off the exam bed, she went back to check on her mom before heading to the cafeteria. She hadn't eaten since they'd left the motel room that morning. The food here wasn't great, but it was better than the quote-unquote free continental breakfast at the motel. At least the food here was warm, Zoe thought. After finishing her food, she couldn't help but feel like there were eyes staring at her. She looked around and saw an older man looking at her suspiciously.
"What are you looking at?" Zoe asked.
"Nothing, sorry. You just look…familiar," Derek chuckled, slightly embarrassed.
"Well, unless you've spent some time in Toledo, I doubt we know each other. Have you?" Zoe asked.
"I can't say I have," Derek replied.
"Well, this was…weird. Bye," Zoe said awkwardly before getting up from the cafeteria table and walking away to throw away her trash.
Derek continued to watch the girl. She had high cheekbones, chestnut brown hair, and her eyes were green but looked blue under different lighting. There was something about her he couldn't place. And it was an uneasy feeling he couldn't shake. But Derek left, nonetheless, before going back to work, as planned.
Zoe hung around the hospital for the next two days, spending most of it either at the hospital or in the motel room. On the third day, the doctors that helped them in the clinic came back to check on her mom.
"So, am I a match? When can we start the transplant?" Zoe asked desperately.
"I'm sorry. You're not a match, Zoe," Dr. Swender said, trying to discourage her.
"What?" Zoe asked. How could that be? All she wanted to do was help her mom.
"I'm sorry. But I added your mom to the UNOS list, so we'll just have to wait until we find a match that way," Dr. Brooks said calmly.
"So, how long is that gonna take?" Robert asked.
"There's no telling how long it'll take. It could be a few days, weeks…even years," Dr. Brooks informed them.
"I'm sorry," Dr. Brooks added.
"Years? My wife is dying and all you can say is you're sorry?" Robert asked, his anger seething as he spoke.
"I'm sorry, but there is nothing else we can do right now," Dr. Swender said, her voice stern but calm.
"But since you'll still need chemo for treatment, we can set up a regular schedule at the clinic," Dr. Swender added, knowing from their conversation the other day that they couldn't afford the treatment otherwise.
Zoe walked out of the room, discouraged and frustrated. She thought this could be her way of helping. But now they'd just have to wait until someone matched. Why wasn't she a match? Didn't the doctor say they wanted a familial match? Why say that if she wasn't going to be a match?
While she sat outside of the room, she saw Dr. Brooks exit her mother's hospital room. Zoe looked up and Dr. Brooks smiled politely back.
"Hey, you told me I'd be a 50% match! What happened?" Zoe asked, demanding answers.
"I'm sorry. But you didn't tell me you were adopted. I'm sorry if I was unclear, but what I meant to say was biological children are always a 50% match," Dr. Brooks informed her, trying to keep her tone level. In all honesty, she felt like this teenage girl had wasted her time. If she had known she was adopted, she would've never told her that.
"Adopted? I'm not adopted," Zoe said, confused. Dr. Brooks' eyes widened; this girl didn't even know. And she had just revealed a big secret that her parents must've not told her.
"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…look, this really should've been something your parents told you, but you're not biologically related to your parents," Dr. Brooks said, looking around like there was going to be someone else that would show up to save her from this awkward conversation.
"What do you mean? Of course I am," Zoe replied.
"I'm sorry, but DNA doesn't lie. Here, you see this?" Dr. Brooks asked, pulling out the DNA test results to show the girl.
"See, for a parent, there should be matching alleles, this one specifically. But when you compare your DNA with your mother's…," Dr. Brooks started, showing her the DNA tests. She was right; it didn't match.
The girl looked discouraged, and Dr. Brooks felt bad that this was the way this teenage girl had to find out she was adopted. She was a teenager and she had no idea.
"I'm sorry," Dr. Brooks finally said, giving her a gentle smile before walking away.
Zoe walked aimlessly until she found a seat near the ER. She found herself bubbling up with emotion as she sat there, thinking about everything she just learned from Dr. Brooks. Her entire life felt like a lie; everything she thought she knew was wrong. Her mother wasn't even her mother. And she assumed that also meant her father wasn't really her father, either. She cried as she sat in the hallway, just letting herself get emotional.
"Hey, are you okay?" Mark asked, gently touching her shoulder.
Zoe looked up and wiped away her tears with her fingertips. The man's eyes widened when she saw her face, and she wasn't sure how she should feel about that. Insulted?
"What? Never seen a teenage girl cry before?" Zoe asked, chuckling through her tears to try to lighten the mood.
"No, I…sorry. You just…look familiar," Mark apologized.
"You're the second person to tell me this week," Zoe commented. Mark looked back, confused.
Zoe wiped her nose gently with the sleeve of her sweater as a result of her crying.
"Oh, here," Mark said before heading into a hospital room and grabbing a tissue box for her. Zoe smiled back appreciatively before pulling a tissue out.
"Thanks," Zoe said after dabbing her face.
"So, is everything okay?" Mark asked.
"Yeah. Just…my mom dying from cancer and finding out I'm adopted. You know, normal teenage stuff," Zoe joked, sniffling.
"I'm sorry, kid," Mark said, offering her another tissue after she'd used up her first one.
"Thanks," Zoe said. Mark sat beside her, letting her cry for a while longer without disturbing her.
"I should probably get back," Zoe finally said, looking over at Mark, appreciative that he stayed to comfort her. Especially since he must've had work to do.
Mark nodded back and watched her walk away. Much like Derek a few days ago, there was something about this girl that he couldn't shake. He watched her walk away before getting up from his seat, noticing the handful of used-up tissues she'd left beside her. She must've forgotten about them, Mark thought.
He didn't know what it was, but something told him to take one. Just to see if his hunch was right. He separated one tissue from the rest before throwing the rest away and walked into the empty room beside him and grabbed a Ziploc bag. When he came back to the chair, Mark grabbed the tissue and placed it inside the bag, sealing it shut. He looked around, making sure no one saw him, and placed the bag in his pocket before walking away.
~ 13 years earlier ~
"What did you do?" Eleanor whispered loudly while trying to calm down the crying baby her husband had placed in her arms.
"I got you a baby," Robert said simply.
"Where? You can't just take a baby, Rob," Eleanor asked, rocking back and forth, to no avail. This baby was still crying hysterically, trying to squirm out of her arms.
"I didn't! She was on the steps of some house a few blocks over. Someone just left her there, El," Robert replied.
"What did you want me to do? Leave her for someone else to find? She could be ours, El. Isn't that what we wanted?" Robert asked.
"Well…," Eleanor said, conflicted as the baby started to calm down in her arms. She looked back up at her with wonder in her eyes and Eleanor felt her heart melt.
"She's ours, El. Forever," Robert said, walking in and looking down at the baby alongside his wife.
This was their baby, now and forever. And no one could tell them otherwise, he thought. As Eleanor cooed, a large smile painted on her face, Robert knew his wife agreed with him. What they didn't know was that one day, his wife, as well as their new daughter, would discover where this baby really came from. And when that happened, the family he'd built would all come crashing down.
~ present day ~
"Why didn't you tell me I was adopted?" Zoe asked, demanding answers from her parents, or whoever these people were.
"We were going to. On your 18th birthday," Eleanor replied. They weren't really planning on telling their daughter, but she didn't want to make her any more upset than she already was.
"You lied to me," Zoe said. Her sadness had now turned to anger. She wasn't a little kid anymore; she was 15. And she felt like she had the right to know her parents weren't her biological parents.
"We're sorry," Eleanor said, sitting up in the chair she was sitting in for her chemo treatment in the clinic.
"We did what we thought was best," Eleanor added when Robert didn't say a word.
"Well, you were wrong," Zoe huffed before leaving the room.
Eleanor looked up at her husband, who was still sitting in his seat. He'd practically been frozen in place since Zoe walked in, and he was staring at the floor.
"Rob, what are we gonna do?" Eleanor asked.
"Nothing. We're not gonna do anything," Robert replied, keeping his voice low and stern.
"How? She's gonna find out," Eleanor asked.
"No, she won't. All we have to do is stay quiet," Robert said, his voice still stern as he looked up at his wife. He was calm and stoic, and it scared his wife a little more than she was willing to admit.
"But Zoe…," Eleanor started.
"Zoe will be fine. Just shut your mouth and everything will be fine," Robert interrupted her before leaning back in his chair.
Zoe spent most of the next few days in the motel room, just wanting to be alone. Her parents, or more accurately, her foster parents, came back at dinner time, trying to get her to talk to them. But she wouldn't budge. They ate dinner in almost complete silence, the only sound coming from the shuffling of cheap wooden chairs and Eleanor's pleas for Zoe to forgive her. But still, Zoe wouldn't budge. 15 years. If she was five, maybe she'd understand. Or at least she would when she got older. Now? She wasn't sure.
After two miserable days of feeling conflicted, Zoe came back to the hospital to visit her mother. She'd gone back and forth on what she should do, but the fact that Eleanor was sick made it even more complicated. She was adopted. So what? Plenty of people were adopted. And it wasn't like her parents had abused her. She'd never felt neglected, at least not that she could remember. And regardless of how betrayed she felt, it didn't change the fact that her mother, the one she'd known her entire life, was dying.
"Hey, there you are!" Eleanor exclaimed, smiling widely upon seeing her.
"You missed the good news! Your Uncle Isaac's on his way; he got tested and sent the results over and he's a match!" Robert revealed.
"He went and got tested after I told him about the cancer," Eleanor added.
"That's great," Zoe commented.
"I'm still mad at you," Zoe said. Robert looked up from where he was sitting as he and his wife waited to hear what else their daughter had to say.
"But I don't want to be mad at you forever," Zoe continued, still feeling conflicted. Eleanor's face lit up.
"I don't want me being mad at you to be your last memory," Zoe said quietly.
"I'm not going anywhere. Not without fighting every bone in my body," Eleanor said confidently.
Zoe mustered up a small smile before nodding and leaving the room to go back to the motel room. She told the truth; she was still mad at her parents. But she didn't want to be mad at them forever. It was taking a lot in her to try to be the bigger person right now if she were being honest.
While Zoe stayed in the motel room, Eleanor's brother, Isaac, arrived that night and the doctors immediately set everything up for the transplant. In the morning, Zoe went with Robert to see Eleanor and Isaac before they got wheeled into surgery, and Zoe went back to the motel to get some more sleep. But after an hour, she came back to join her father to hear about how the surgery went.
Eleanor's transplant surgery was a success, but she and Isaac clearly needed to be monitored for a while longer to make sure it stuck. Mark walked down the hallway, looking to discuss the details of a breast reconstruction surgery for one of Dr. Swender's patients, who was in remission after a mastectomy. When he did, Robert spotted him and recognized him immediately. And he panicked.
"El," Robert nudged Eleanor as she lay in the hospital bed. Eleanor stirred until Robert kept gently nudging his wife.
"What, Rob?" Eleanor asked, annoyed after opening her eyes.
"We have to go," Robert said.
"I just had surgery. What are you talking about?" Eleanor asked, exhausted.
"Just trust me," Robert said, getting up and grabbing Eleanor's clothes that were in a bag on the other side of the room.
Meanwhile, Zoe was walking around the hospital as her mother rested, lost in thought. She was glad she'd made it out of surgery and that it was a success. But it didn't make her feel any less conflicted about her feelings. Her parents had still lied to her. She would've understood if they'd told her she was adopted.
"Hey, there you are," Mark commented as he walked closer.
"Oh, hi," Zoe said awkwardly.
"So, how are you?" Mark asked as he turned around to walk in the same direction as her.
"Don't you have somewhere to go?" Zoe asked.
"Not really," Mark shrugged as he continued walking with her, texting someone on his phone.
"Do you even work here, or do you just wear the coat?" Zoe joked. Mark chuckled.
"I do work here, and I have residents to run labs and stuff for me so I can talk to strangers in the hallway," Mark joked right back.
They kept walking as they turned the corner when suddenly, Mark stopped her in the middle of the next hallway.
"What are you doing?" Zoe asked, confused.
"There's something I wanna show you," Mark said ominously before leading her farther away from where she usually roamed the halls in the hospital.
"Where are we going?" Zoe asked, starting to get scared. She didn't even know the man's name, but here he was, leading her somewhere mysterious.
"I think you should know I'm 15 years old and my parents are in this hospital and are expecting me back," Zoe said, making sure the mystery man knew he couldn't just take her without anyone suspecting a thing. They were halfway across an indoor bridge now, leading them closer to where the doctors' offices were.
"What? I…I'm sorry. I don't mean to scare you. I just…there's someone I want you to meet," Mark said after stopping in his tracks. Still suspicious, Zoe gave him a look.
"I don't even know you. What makes you think I'd agree to meet even more strangers?" Zoe asked, just wanting to run off. But she was still curious and wanted to know what the man wanted.
"Oh, sorry. I guess I never introduced myself. I'm Mark. And I know this is gonna sound weird, but…just let me show you something," Mark said, not wanting to ruin the surprise.
He gestured towards the other side of the bridge, and reluctantly, Zoe continued following him. They arrived in front of an office door with the sign, Derek Shepherd, M.D., head of neurosurgery. Mark took a deep breath before opening the door.
"Mark, what the hell? What kind of emergency did you call Addie here for?" Derek asked, standing next to his ex-wife near his desk. They both saw Zoe poke her head in as she stood beside Mark.
"It's Audrey," Mark said.
A/N: When I first wrote this chapter, it was much shorter, for starters, but I was also trying to make the reveal less obvious. But I still wanted to keep the description of what the girl looked like, just to give you all an idea of what they're seeing. If you still don't know where it's leading, it will all be revealed in full in the next chapter, and it's already fully written out, so you won't have to wait long to find out. Let me know what you think in the comments :)