Also known as the cliche "find out about your long-lost relative through a genealogy site" but make it with Nolan Price and Sylvie Brett. Once that idea was in my head, it stuck and refused to leave. I originally planned on it being a two-parter, but considering we're at 10K words and haven't even gotten to them physically meeting . . . yeah, we're going four-parter. I don't think that's going to be a problem for some people.
The background you need to know to read forward: in Chicago, this takes place towards the end of 10x15 "The Missing Piece," around where Sylvie takes her furlough. Up in New York, Wheatley is about to be taken to trial, and Law & Order is a bit further along than it is in "Trouble Don't" - after 21x05 "Free Speech" and before 21x06 "Wicked Game." Unfortunately, Matt is currently in Portland with the Dardens . . . for now, anyway. ;)
Enjoy!
***
Far too many thoughts were whizzing around in Sylvie's head as she stared down at her phone screen, which she held in a white-knuckled grip while she pressed her other hand over her mouth. In the midst of running around fixing the ambulance's air conditioning, she hadn't gotten the chance to check the e-mail notification that had pinged in the morning. Now, as she sat in the back of the ambulance waiting for Violet to return with supplies from inside the hospital, she was wishing she hadn't checked while she was on shift.
Never, after years of waiting, had she expected the genealogy website she applied to years ago to contact her so suddenly with a familial match.
"Brett?"
Sylvie yelped and fumbled her phone, just managing to catch it before it clattered to the floor of the ambulance. Violet and Hawkins looked at her worriedly, a crateful of supplies in Violet's arms. "Everything OK?" the field chief asked, tilting his head in concern.
"Um . . . " Sylvie cleared her throat and pocketed her phone, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Yeah. Everything is . . . "
"Brett," Violet set down the supplies and climbed into the ambulance, approaching her as if she were a skittish animal. "You look ready to pass out. What is it?"
Sylvie swallowed hard and looked at Hawkins, who remained outside. "Um . . . "
"I can stay out here if you need to talk," Hawkins volunteered.
Sylvie meekly nodded, and Hawkins backed away, shutting the doors as he did. The moment the doors clicked, Violet sat across from her in the ambulance, dark eyes filled with worry. "What is it?" she asked.
"Well . . . " Sylvie took a deep breath. "You know I was adopted, and you know I found out about my birth mom."
"Julia," Violet nodded. "Yeah, and Amelia is your half-sister."
"When I was younger, I did a DNA test for a genealogy website, just to see if I could find my parents," Sylvie explained, staring down at her hands. "I didn't find anything back then. After Julia found me, I thought about trying again to find anything about my birth father but decided against it." She turned her eyes to her phone and swallowed. "Then I got an e-mail from the site this morning, but I didn't know that was what it was until now."
"Did it come up with a match?" Violet asked quietly.
Sylvie took a shaky breath. "To a half-brother," she admitted, and Violet's eyes widened. "He was apparently added to the site in the past week or so, and he didn't match any of Amelia's DNA."
"Which means you two share the same father," Violet finished, and Sylvie silently nodded. "Wow." Violet rubbed her palms on her pants, watching Sylvie worriedly. "Well, did the site tell you anything?"
YOU ARE READING
But I'd Have Had to Miss The Dance (Sylverasey Collection)
Fanfiction"And now I'm glad I didn't know the way it all would end, the way it all would go. Our lives are better left to chance. I could've missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance." ~ Garth Brooks, "The Dance" In which all the stories (one-shots...
