A.B.C. Ominous

Chapter XI

The operations were a success; now it was a waiting game for an excellent recovery. Tilly had been in a coma ever since she was rolled into her room. Jack was spending all his free time in the hospital, hoping Tilly would wake soon. "It has been two days, should she be awake?" Jack asked, worried as Dr. Smith, the surgeon, and Dr. Carter walked in. "It is up to her, but she should wake soon," Dr. Smith answered, hopeful. The doctors left, but before Dr. Carter could, Jack interrupted. "There is something that has been bothering me that I need to tell you. I am not really her brother; I just said that because I did not know if you would have let me help. Tilly is an orphan; she has no remembrance of her family." Jack explained somewhat guilty and remorseful. "Really, I would have never guessed that you two were not siblings. You two share distinct features that siblings have in common. And you are fortunate that you also share her rare blood type." Dr. Carter expressed, in surprise. The facts Dr. Carter expressed startled Jack, too. Dr. Carter patted Jack on the back and left.

Ashton arrived a few seconds later to find Jack pacing around Tilly's bed. "Hey, what is on your mind?" Ashton asked, detecting a pondering face upon him. "Oh, hey," Jack said, startled. They sat in the two chairs in the room. "Dr. Carter told me something interesting: Tilly has to have had a family. Tilly does not know anything about them. I have a family, but I only know one member of it. The others I know very little, or nothing about them. And when I search my memory, I cannot recall anything about anyone else. Is there any chance that Tilly and I could be family?" Jack analyzed. "There is a possibility," Ashton responded, thinking intensely about what Jack had said. Both were skeptical. Jack suddenly got up with a serious thinking face and left the room. "Excuse me," Jack said to a nurse behind the desk. "Yes, sir," the nurse responded. "Do you know if Dr. Carter is around?" "No, sorry," the nurse said. Jack left to return to Tilly's side. Jack pulled up one of the chairs next to the bed and held Tilly's hand. Ashton was still sitting in the other chair. "Please wake up," Jack whispered. A few seconds later, Jack suddenly heard some quiet groans. Ashton popped up in gratefulness and then got up to retrieve the doctors. Jack was gleaming with happiness and gratitude. Dr. Carter and Dr. Smith rushed in checking Tilly's vital signs. "She is stable," Dr. Smith proclaimed, heartily. Everyone made a sigh of relief, and the doctors left. "Excuse me," Jack interrupting Dr. Carter. "Yes," he responded. "Thank you for helping Tilly." "You are welcome," he said with a smile. "But, I have a question: Do you do DNA testing?" "We can send DNA out to be tested." "Can you take my DNA and Tilly's, but can you not tell her you are collecting this or why?" "Why do you need this DNA?" "What you told me the other day got me thinking, and I want to find out if we are siblings?" Jack was hesitant and nervous as he spoke. "Okay, come with me," Dr. Carter said, relaxed. Dr. Carter took Jack to a small back room and quickly took a piece of his hair and bagged it.

Jack returned to Tilly's side. Tilly was still groggy, but awake. "I am so glad to see you awake," Jack said, with a smile and tears. "What happened?" Tilly asked, softly. "You got hit with a car, and it is my fault," Jack said, tearful and guilty. "No, it is not," Tilly said. Ashton, Jack, and Tilly talked and just hung out. Dr. Carter came in to check on Tilly. "Can you sit up?" Dr. Carter asked. Tilly tried but was having trouble. Dr. Carter aided by lifting her back up and forward. Then he checked her breathing, "Thank you," he said. Tilly slowly returned to her laying position with some groans of pain. "May I speak to you outside?" Dr. Carter requested to Jack. Jack got up and followed him out of the room. "I got a hair of Tilly's when I helped her up." "Thank you," Jack said, appreciative. Jack returned to the room. Ashton and Jack stayed with Tilly until the visiting hours were over.

School and its work were consuming Ashton and Jack's time, but if they had any free time they spent it with Tilly in the hospital. Ashton and Jack had returned from school and were doing homework together in Jack's room. Jack's cell phone went off, startling both. "Hello," Jack answered. "Is this Jack Alden?" the person on the other end of the line asked. "Yes, who is this?" Jack asked. "It is Dr. Carter; the DNA test results are in." There was a long, suspenseful pause. Jack began to get nervous and shaky. "The results say that Tilly and you are indeed biologically related. So, your predictions of you two being siblings were correct." "Thank you," Jack said, speechless. Jack hung the phone up with his jaw dropped. "What?!" Ashton asked, sitting in suspense. Jack lifted his head, "I am Tilly's brother," Jack said, stunned. "Wow, that is great," Ashton said shocked, but happy with a smile and joy. "Yeah," Jack responded in a disappointed tone. "Umm...you're going to tell her, right?" Ashton said, confused at his reaction. "No," Jack said in a serious tone. "No?!" Ashton said, still confused. "No, because she will have millions of questions, which I cannot answer. It would be unfair to Tilly not to have answers for her." Jack answered frustrated, confused, and upset. "So, you are just not going to tell her?" Ashton was disagreeing. "Well, not until I find some answers about this family of mine for myself. Then after I find the answers I want, then I will tell her, and I will be able to answer her questions." Jack was dead serious. Ashton decided to leave the room so that Jack could sort his thoughts. The rest of the day was still, quiet, and shaky. The weather did not improve the mood; it was dark and rainy.