The Dance Part 2

Chapter 277 One Degree of Separation

The journey to Juneau seemed longer than usual as Jill held Lila's hand providing whatever comfort she could offer at the time. Conversation was minimal. The pair had made up an excuse to head into the city without raising any suspicions behind their trip. Neither one of them like lying to their husbands but the situation called for desperate measures. Jill tried to imagine herself in Lila's position and it made her feel uncomfortable as well. Bam and Lila's love for each other had been tested numerous times before but even Jill questioned whether their marriage could sustain a hit so particularly hard.

Lila spent most of the trip trying to weigh her options. Choices, she thought, life was nothing but a series of choices and one never knows if you are making the right one or the wrong one. She thought about all the choices she had made that brought her to this decision. If she had gone back to New York with Bradley years ago, she wouldn't be having to make this decision but she also wouldn't have Lily, Jace and Gypsy. She wouldn't have known the fierce love that she shared with her husband and she wouldn't be the woman she had grown into at that moment.

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The waiting room was just as sterile as she remembered from her stay when Jace and Lily were born. She completed the necessary paperwork and waited nervously for her name to be called. It wasn't long before "Mrs. Brown" echoed in the room.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Jill asked.

"No. I have to do this by myself." Lila stood up and followed the nurse back to an exam room.

"What brings you in today, Mrs. Brown?" A young doctor sat in front of her reviewing her patient record.

Lila hesitated for a moment. It was hard to say the words outloud again especially to a stranger. "I'm pregnant and I need to know who the father is."

"Is there a reason that you don't know who the father is?" The doctor reserved judgment as she began to relay her story to him.

"Did your last attending not offer you the morning after pill?"

"My exam was done at a very small hospital...more like a clinic. They didn't have that available at the time. I guess they don't get much call for that type of thing in the bush and honestly, I never thought that was going to be an issue." Her doctor nodded in agreement.

"Let's first determine how far along you are and then we can talk about options."

The exam was quick. Blood was drawn and a urine test confirmed what she already knew. Based on her accounts, the doctor agreed she was two months along. It was possible that either man could be the father of the baby.

"What are my options to determine if my husband is the father?"

The doctor scrubbed his beard momentarily before answering her question. "Traditionally, we could do amniocentesis but I gather this is an issue of timing. I would suggest we do a blood DNA test. It is quicker and less invasive but it will require a sample from either your husband or the other man."

"That isn't possible. The other man is dead and my husband doesn't know I am pregnant...yet. I can't hide it much longer."

"Does your husband have any siblings?"

"He has six brothers and sisters."

"Is it possible you could get one of them to submit to a blood test? It really should be his parents, if they are still living, or a first degree relative like a siblng?"

Lila pondered the question. She could never ask Billy or Ami to do this. It was hard enough having to face them after her ordeal as she knew they knew what had happened to her in that cabin with Nato.

"There may be one person that we could test."

"How soon can you get that person here?"

Lila responded emphatically. "Tomorrow."

"Then tomorrow it is."

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"We have to what?" Jill stood there as Lila explained that they were going to have to tell Matt.

"I don't have a choice. It has to be him. I can't ask Billy or Ami to do this. Matt is my best friend, Jill. I need him to do this and I need you to help me get him here no later than tomorrow."

Plain White Ts....1,2,3,4