Blessings In Disguise (lesbian)

(7) When Did You Stop Believing In Miracles?

"Dr. Kwan," scooting her chair closer to the desk, Layne gripped the edge of it, "Robin is not my child. There's a huge difference between a potential mother and potential father denying parentage. A man can swear up and down that it's not his baby, but if a woman does odds are she isn't because unless she's a pathological liar or unbelievably dense she should know when and if she gave birth. I have once, but that was fifteen months ago and Robin's two and half months old so you do the math."

Thoughtfully chewing on her bottom lip, Dr. Kwan looked down studying the results as though the numbers would change at any moment. She was positive that these results were accurate yet Layne seemed sincere in her adamancy that she wasn't the mother. However, the figure of 99.9% proved differently.

"There isn't another explanation?" Layne asked, nervous fingers tapping on the sides of her coffee mug.

"The only other way that you could have such a secure genetic code match to Robin is for your identical twin to be her mother. Identical twins have identical DNA; therefore in something such as a paternity case where a pair of twin brothers may have had relations with a woman around the same time and she conceived, the paternity results could not exclusively confirm one of them as the father. It could be either twin because their DNA is virtually indistinguishable.

"From what you and Dylan have told me, either you or Celeste is the mother, though I had the impression that you didn't know her. Was I wrong? Is she your twin sister?"

"This is turning into an episode of the Jerry Springer show crossed with a far-fetched storyline straight out of a daytime soap opera," Dylan commented before Layne could speak. When she had Dr. Kwan's attention, she continued. "Celeste's parents died when she was little--like around four or five. She didn't have suitable relatives to take care of her, so she was put up for adoption. Fortunately, a married couple adopted her within a few months. She never mentioned having any biological siblings. In fact, I think she actually told me once that she was an only child."

"Were they in a car accident?" Layne tentatively asked.

"Why are you still pretending? You already know."

Her skin paling, the blonde looked ready to lose the contents of her stomach. "Excuse me," she whispered as she rose and hurried out of the office.

Minutes later, Dylan found her within the restroom inside the stall furthest from the entrance. The unpleasant sound of retching caused her to peek underneath the door where Layne was on her knees, hands gripping the sides of porcelain. She didn't make her presence known until a shaky hand flushed the toilet.

"Are you all right now?" Dylan's inquiry was borderline dry.

Glancing over her shoulder, Layne spotted the woman on hands and knees, her head between the gap separating the bottom of the door from the tiled flooring. "Not really." And I don't know why you're asking. Not like you care.

"Just because we've learned the truth, that doesn't mean that I'm going to force you to take Robin back. So you don't have to worry." She had to scramble backward to avoid being struck when the door quickly opened. Walking past without so much as a glance, Layne went to a sink where she rinsed her mouth and washed her face with cool water.

She wordlessly accepted a Listerine breath strip from the pack held out to her and dropped the thin green sheet on her tongue where it dissolved within seconds. The refreshing burst of flavor in her mouth was quite welcome.

"Did you hear what I said?"

Layne nodded. "But we haven't learned the truth, Dylan. At least not the truth you believe."

"Cryptic much?"

The blonde looked reflective. Her next words were sure to blow the comic's mind. "No worries here. I'll take her."