Adaption

Emergency Repair

When Sydney awoke she found Rodger, sitting at the coffee table gripping his cup of coffee like his life depended on it. She was instantly worried. He looked haggard, exhausted as though he hadn't slept a wink the night before.

'What's wrong?' Her face was the picture of concern. When he finally met her gaze, his frown deepened.

"We have to go to the hospital sweetie. It's your mother. She's...." Sydney covered her mouth with her hand. Almost on the verge of tears she dressed blindly. Not giving a damn about how she looked. They took the stairs down to the lobby two at a time. The taxi couldn't come quick enough. They sat in silence the whole time. Sydney holding his hand in a death grip. Neither of them could find the right words to voice how they felt.

The automatic doors of the hospitals entrance opened to meet her. She almost slipped on the tile floor, barely avoiding crashing into a sour faced on call doctor. It was only when Rodger put a hand on her arm that she stopped. Standing stock still. For the first time she was truly frightened, glancing around at all the people in the waiting room. The ill, the injured, the dying. It was among those faces that she found her mother's visage.

She saw her daughter's face and a look of pain crossed her own. As quickly as she could she made her way over. Her daughter seemed unsure of what to do, her eyes filling with tears. Heather made the first move. Pulling her into a tight embrace. Sydney squeezed back. Lightly at first, but then more fiercely. When both of them had recovered slightly, they broke apart.

"I'm so glad to you! Dad said you were here and I... I feared the worst." Over her daughter's shoulder, Heather gave her husband a disapproving look. He failed to meet her eyes. Gazing at the ground rather sheepishly. He had tried, but the words just wouldn't come... However, Heather couldn't find it in her heart to be mad at her husband. He had gotten her here- that was all that mattered. The little details could take a backseat for now.

"I'm here baby. I've always been here," she soothed her daughter. Tucking a strand of her messy hair behind her ear lovingly. Sydney sighed contently as she buried her face in her shoulder.

"Your mother is here too. Your birth mother." Sydney gave a start, but did not try to break the embrace. I came for you.

Rodger had been right. Sydney didn't care that her parents had found out about her mother. In fact, she was glad that they had done it. She didn't know if she would have had the strength to. There was no room in her heart for anger at that moment. She was much too concerned with what was about to happen. Scared was too mild a word. She was freaking out. She was glad her mother was holding her. Otherwise she would have been nothing but a shivering bundle of nerves, collapsed on the hospital floor.

Eventually, her father prised her from her mother's grip and led her to a straight backed chair. He filled a plastic cup with water and handed it to her. She smiled gratefully at her mother, before attempting to take a small sip. With some difficulty she managed to keep it down.

Her lips were dry, she was struggling to get the words out. "Is she....?"

'She's a surgeon sweetie. Dr. Grace Walker.'

'Oh.' Well, I wasn't expecting that. She really needed to stop watching 16 and Pregnant. She never realised it before but she had always thought that having an unwanted pregnancy meant that you had to put your life on hold. Her own mother worked, so why would her birth mother be any different? It was a surprising fact, but it also made sense. She had seen enough episodes of Grey's Anatomy to that raising a family and doing a residency didn't often mix well. At least she managed to move on. At least her life wasn't ruined.