TC stood outside of his home. The home he had shared with Eve for more than a decade. He remembered when Eve had come to him during practice one day so excited that she’d seen the house was for sale. Eve had loved it for years. She loved the trees in the front, and the backyard. She always knew it would be their home. When they bought it, it needed a lot of love and care. Eve enjoyed every minute of the renovations. He remembered the day that they officially moved into the house. Eve had put a ribbon in front of the door, which they all cut as a family. So many happy times here. TC wondered if there would ever be happy times in the house again.

He opened the door and saw Eve, on the couch, drinking tea and reading reports. Since Whitney had been diagnosed, Eve had downloaded every bit of information on leukemia that she could find. He closed the door, and Eve looked up at him.

” TC. Do you want some tea? It’s still hot.”

TC shook his head, and took a seat next to Eve on the couch. “ Eve, I have to talk to you.”

“ About what?”

” About Whitney and the adoption agency.”

” TC, I’m not going to fight with you about this. I’m going to begin proceedings tomorrow.”

” That won’t be necessary, Eve. “

” Why not?”

” Because, I’ve found Whitney’s biological family. They should be giving samples for testing in the next couple of days.”

A smile spread across Eve’s face, and she jumped over to TC to give him a hug. “ Oh Honey, thank you! I can’t believe you did it!” Eve pulled herself back and looked TC in the eye. Tears streamed down her face. “ Of course, you’d do this. You’d move mountains to save our precious girl.”

“ Eve..”

” How did you get the agency to turn over the records so quick? Does this mean that Whitney’s biological family is in the area? Do they want to get to know her? I bet they were startled..”

” Eve..”

” TC. Don’t you know what this means? It means that there’s a chance we could find a donor that matches. Oh, this is the answer to my prayers. I wonder…do you think we should tell Whitney where to locate her biological family, or leave that until later.”

” Eve…”

” I’m so happy. Oh TC, our baby girl might have a chance..” Eve hugged TC again. TC pulled himself away from her.

“ Eve, you have to listen to me. This is a lot more complicated than it seems.”

” Complicated? Yes, Whitney will be mad, but..”

” Not only Whitney. But, you too.”

“ Me? Why would I be mad, TC? You’ve just told me that you found Whitney’s biological family.”

” Yes, I did. But, I’ve been lying to you about something for years.”

Eve looked at TC shocked. “ Lying? You? What could you lie to me about, TC?”

” About Whitney’s adoption. It was all a fraud.”

” A fraud? You mean it was illegal?”

” In a way, yes.”

” I…I don’t understand.”

“ Eve, I didn’t just happen to find Whitney. I had known about her existence for some time.”

” So, you knew someone who wanted to give up their child. TC, you honored the biological parent’s wishes. I can understand that.”

” Eve…please be quiet and listen to me. Don’t interrupt me because I don’t know if I have the strength to tell you the truth.”

Eve looked at TC with curiosity.

“ Eve, the reason I knew about Whitney’s existence is because I knew Whitney’s biological mother. The reason I knew her biological mother was because I was the biological father.”

“ Wha….”

” You remember the difficulties that we had in the beginning of our marriage. We had to adjust to being married. We were young, and prone to fight. We even separated for a few weeks. During that time, I became involved with a woman from my past. A woman I knew before, and loved and was betrayed by. She was in an unhappy marriage too, and by chance we met up again.”

“ Met up again?….”

“ It was..comfort, Eve. Nothing but comfort. When you called me and told me that you were pregnant, I was overjoyed, and knew that what we had was the real thing. I reconciled with you, vowing to be the husband and  father that you deserved. Everything was going fine until this woman called me weeks later, telling me that she was pregnant. I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it. I told her that she should have an abortion, but she didn’t want one. She couldn’t. But, she wouldn’t keep the baby either. She told me she was going to arrange for the baby to be born when her husband was on a business trip, and then tell him she’d lost it, but she had to give it up for adoption.”

“ Adoption? Why couldn’t she keep the baby and pass it off as her husband’s?”

“ Because the woman is White.”

Eve shook her head. “ You cheated on me with some White woman? Got her pregnant, and then when she WOULDN’T take care of her Black BASTARD, you brought it TO ME TO RAISE?”

Eve slapped TC hard.

“ I deserve that, and more. Eve, I thought we were going to have our baby. That we could begin a new life. Then, you went into premature labor, and then our little girl didn’t make it. Eve, you died that day. And, you began to waste away. I couldn’t reach you. No one could.When the biological mother called, saying that she was going to induce labor while her husband was on a business trip, I made a split second decision. One which I haven’t regretted, because we got Whitney. Don’t you remember the first moment when I put Whitney in your arms?”

Eve  shook her head, got up and went over to the fireplace as she cried. TC followed her.

“ I remember that moment. It’s the moment I got my wife back. You stopped being the walking dead, and became a member of the living. The love that shone through your eyes..it was magic. Whitney needed a mother, and you needed a child.”

Eve refused to look at him. She stared at a picture of her and Whitney on the mantle. God, did she remember the moment TC put Whitney in her arms. She had been close to suicide when their daughter died. She’d already lost her son with Julian. Losing her daughter had been too much to bear. She knew how she was going to kill herself. And, then, like a miracle, TC came into the nursery where she had refused to leave, and placed that tiny bundle into her arms. She had her baby. She had a life to love. Eve closed her eyes. She could almost remember how Whitney smelled. Her heart ached…how she loved that little baby. All the pain of both her lost children was turned into love. Eve stroked Whitney’s picture.

” What’s her name?”, Eve asked quietly.

“ Rebecca Hotchkiss.”

Eve looked at TC with shock.