Avatar: A New World

Chapter 3 - Old friend

The words kept replaying in her head as she waited for her next test results.
'You're pregnant ' the doctor had told her. She didn't know how to react, but once she got her bearings she had an idea. She asked to doctor to check the DNA of her child. She needed to know. was it Akihito's, or even worse, was it not?
She didn't have anything to test it against, but did have an idea. The government has DNA records for every bender, now he wasn't a bender but his siblings were. Their DNA would be on file, if it matched the child's in any way it would be his. She hoped beyond hope that it was. The doctor had left and came back in to look at the child first, before doing any testing. The next bit of information had been just as surprising as the first. The doctor hooked up the machines and looked at the child.
'Oh, alright' the doctor had said.
'What' she asked him worried something was wrong.
'Well, miss. You're having twins. They both look healthy though.'
She was too shocked to say anything. The doctor understood, leaving the room to go get the needles and so she could absorb the news. She hadn't fully wrapped her mind around it when he returned. She let him take what he needed, and was left laying on the doctors bed. Wondering what she was going to do. She could no longer live in the dorms, at least not once they came.  She would have to get a house or apartment, and a job to pay for everything. She was going to be so busy. She was so absorbed in her thoughts, that she didn't even notice when the doctor came back in.
Seeing that she was off somewhere else, he gently touched her shoulder bringing her back down to earth.
"We tested both of your children against both the brother and the sister of the man you asked about." The doctor told her.
"And..." She asked, impatient to find out the results.
"Well..." The doctor paused again "you seem to be a rare case. I've only ever seen it happen once before myself."
"Seen what happen?" She asked, worry lacing her voice.
"Your children have 2 different fathers."  The doctor told her.
"What h-how is that possible?" She couldn't believe it, there was no way.
"Well" the doctor started. "Sometimes both ovaries release an egg, as everyone knows, that is how fraternal twins are made. But sometimes one releases it's egg before the other, and if the woman has intercourse with multiple men around this time one can fertilize one egg and another can fertilize the other. Like I said it doesn't happen often, but you are a rare case." The doctor waited a few minutes for her to take it all in. "Is there anything else you need?" He asked. She shook her head, not being able to say anything yet.
"Alright" the doctor told her. "I will schedule an appointment with another doctor for your next visit. She will be you regular doctor for the duration of your pregnancy, alright? "
"Yeah" She said, as she got up to leave. "Thank you." She told him on her way out.
She continued to go to school, and even ended up meeting a guy she really liked. He had dark skin, and hair, and brown eyes. He came from a fire bending family but, like her, wasn't a bender. Although unlike her, he had many siblings as apposed to her being the only child. He cared for her, and when the time came for her boys to be born he let her move in with him. She named her boys Awen and Vale. And eventually did find out that Vale was Akihito's son.
Her new boyfriend, who was named Nikolas, cared for the boys as if they were his own. And half a year later, she did end up conceiving children with him as well. They didn't find out for a few months but, when they did they were both happy. They ended up having twins as well, one boy and one girl. They named the girl Kaia, and the boy Kano. They stay together for a year after their children were born.
Eventually Gracelynn moved into her own house, she went to school and work full time. She hired a sitter to watch her children when she couldn't.
After around a year of living on her own she got a visit from an old friend. She hadn't talked to Akihito since the summer before college, and she didn't Know how he even knew where she lived. One day, out of the blue, there was a knock on her door. Before she could stop him Awen ran to the door and opened it.
Gracelynn ran up to him yelling "Awen, what have I told you about not answering the door unless mommy is with you?" She reached him and picked him up, sitting him on her hip. Then she looked outside the door and almost fell over, because he was the last person she expected to see.
"Co-come in, Akihito." She opened the door more so that he could enter. She shut it behind him and locked it in hopes that it would stop her boys from opening it. She put Awen down, his 3 year old body a little too heavy to keep on her hip for too long. She crouched down to get to his eye level
"Go to your room and play, mommy is going to talk to her friend." He listened and ran down the hall to his room.
She turned to Akihito and gestured towards the living room. "Come, sit" She said. He does, but it's obvious that he is a little uncomfortable. When they are both in the living room, she looks at him.
"I...I didn't know you had a son" he finally said.
"Actually, I have 3." She told him. "And a daughter." She let it sink in for a moment.
"How..." He paused. "How old are they?" She could see the gears turning in his head, she knew he was really asking 'are they mine' so instead of answering the question he asked, she answered the one he Didn't.
"Yes," She told him "one of them is yours." Shock was evident on his face. He didn't know what to say.
"Was... Was it the one that answered the door?" He asked
"No," She told him. "Do you want to meet him though." He didn't say anything, but the look in his eyes said it all. She turned away from him and yelled down the hallway.
"Vale! Honey will you come here." While she was waiting for him to appear, she heard Akihito whisper to himself. She could barely make out what he said, but she did.
"I...I... I have a son" he whispered. She looked at him for a second before she heard Vale coming down the hallway. She got up to talk to him before he came into the living room. She met him in the hallway.
"Hey honey." She said to him as she crouched down to his level. "One of mommy's friends is here, and he wants to talk to you. Can you be nice and talk to mommy's friend?" he nodded and she ruffled his hair "That's my good boy" She said as she stood, Picking him up and placing him on her hip. As she walked back into the living room she looked straight at Akihito but his attention was on the boy on her hip. He stood up when she walked over to him. she placed Vale on the floor. Green eyes staring into an older mirror of themselves.
"Vale" She said looking down at their son. "This is Akihito. " And then she looked up at the latter and said "Akihito meet Vale." She leaned in and whispered into his ear. "He doesn't know yet, he just thinks you are one of my friends." Akihito looks at her and nods before he crouches down to be eye level with his son.
"Hey, Vale. It's nice to meet you" he offers his hand to the younger, sightly paler, version of himself. Gracelynn stepped back and watched. She felt a little guilty for not telling him sooner.
After a while of them getting to know each other, she decided that Vale should know.
"Hey, honey." She started talking to Vale. "Do you want to know a secret" his eyes lit up, as he nodded his head. She looked up into Akihito's eyes to find that he was ready to cry. He knew what she was going to tell their son, and the thought made him happy beyond belief. She walked over to Vale and crouched down, and then whispered into his ear.
"Akihito, he is your daddy." She stepped away again and watched as the young boy looked at her as if saying, are you serious. She nodded her head, and the young boy's eyes instantly turned to his father. He had never known his dad, and even though he was only 3 he knew that Nikolas wasn't his father.
"You're my daddy, Akihito? " He asked the older man.
He was so happy he couldn't even form words, he just shook his head. The young boy jumped into his arms exclaiming "I finally have a daddy."
After a While Vale turned to Gracelynn again, and asked "is he Awen's daddy too?"
She shook her head no. Vale understood but was still sad to hear the news.
After they became really acquainted Vale went back into his room. Gracelynn sat down next to Akihito and sighed.
"I'm sorry Akihito. " She said
"What are you sorry for? "
"For not telling you sooner."
"Oh..." He paused "it's... it's okay." He paused again.
"No it's not!  Why are you always so nice to me?! Why don't you ever get mad at me, scream at me, yell at me?"
"I... I am mad." He looked down. "I... but I understand. That's why it's okay. I understand why you didn't."
A few moments of silence ensued.
"Sooo... how old are all of them?" He asked.
"Oh, Kaia and Kano are almost 2. And Vale and Awen are 3. I had 2 sets of twins. Do you want to meet the rest of them?"
"Oh, yeah. I would love that. But one question first, if Vale and Awen are twins and Vale is my son then how is Awen not?"
Gracelynn proceeded to explain to him what the doctor had told her all those years ago. He understood what she was saying but something was bothering him.
"If you didn't tell me..." He looked her in the eyes " you definitely didn't tell him, did you?" She shook her head.
"He doesn't deserve to know, besides... he wouldn't care anyway"
"I understand." He told her. Her eyes fell to her lap.
He reached and grabbed her chin, pulling her face up so she was looking at him again. "I understand why you would think that. And I understand how much he hurt you, but don't you think the decision is his to make? Shouldn't he be the one that gets to decide if he wants anything to do with his son? I think Awen deserves the chance to meet his father, but I also think that the only one who should deny him that is his father. Don't you agree?" She knew he was right, but she didn't even know how to get ahold of him.
Eventually Akihito helped her track him down, and was even there with her when she made the call. If she needed any help, or even just someone to lean on, he was there for her... he would always be there for her.
She made the call, silently chanting in her head 'don't pick up, don't pick up, don't pick up. ' but she knew her mantra didn't work when she heard the all to familiar voice on the other end of the line.
"Hello" he picked up
She was frozen for a moment. He repeated the greeting. She looked to Akihito for help, and he gave her a thumbs up. She took a big breath,
"Hey Luis, it's Gracelynn. "
The other end of the line was silent. For a moment she thought he hung up.
"What-why are you calling me." He finally spoke up.
"I..." She looked over to Akihito again, needing the calm he gave her. "I am calling to tell you that...  that you have a son..." She paused. "He's 3 years old. And I understand if you want nothing to do with him but someone made me realize recently that you at least deserve to know about him" She stopped, waiting to see what he would say.
The line was silent for a long while. He was internally debating with himself. Did he want to, did he want to see him, to get to know him, would he regret it if he didn't
His thoughts were interrupted when Gracelynn said "If you need more time to think about it I can call back later."
More silence... she was just about to hang up when he said
"Wait... I " He paused again for a few moments, not sure what he was trying to say.
"I want to meet him." He finally told her. She was dumbfounded. She had not expected that, she thought about it and told him to meet her at the park they used to hang out in when they were together. She wanted to meet around 3pm the next day.
He agreed, and they both hung up thinking 'What have I gotten myself into?'
After the call, she told Akihito what he said. He didn't really comment, not wanting to rub in the fact that he was right.
The day he arrived, Akihito got to meet the rest of her children. First they went down the hallway into the younger twins' bedroom and she introduced him to her youngest son and only daughter. Then he was brought into her older twins' room. He got to see them both again, and Vale bragged to Awen about How Akihito was his dad. To which Awen asked Gracelynn where his dad was, and she gave a sigh of relief. Knowing that he would meet him tomorrow, and the fact that she could tell him that, it gave her a warm feeling in her heart. She didn't want to disappoint any of them.