“You be a good girl for Mrs. Matthews, okay?” he touched one of her braided pig tails.

“But, daddy, I want to go with you,” she clung onto him.

“I know, princess, but you can’t,” he kissed her, and then set her away, “I’ll be back before you know it…bye.”
---

It was just a few hours later and Jordan Crane was rushed to the emergency room at Los Angeles Medical Hospital with a cut on her arm.

“I want my daddddddyyyyyyyy!” she cried as she held a towel over her arm.

“Shh, I know you do, sweetie, but he’s busy; I’ll call him right after I fill these forms out.” Her hands shook as she wrote down Jordan’s information, “Can I get some HELP here?!” she screamed at one of the nurses.

Just then a doctor came from the back.

“I’ll take care of it,” she told the nurse, “Ma’am, what seems to be the problem?”

“Jordan, sweetie, show the doctor your arm…”

Jordan got up and pulled the towel back and showed the doctor her gash.

“Aww, that’s an ugly cut, you’re probably going to need stitches,” she looked to the woman that was with the child, “You said your name was Jordan?”

Little Jordan nodded.

“That’s such a pretty name,” she smiled, “A pretty name for a pretty little girl,” Eve handed a lollipop to her.

Eve was about to turn around and walk to the nurse’s station to inform them that she needed a cubical in the back, but Jordan wrapped her arms around her leg, preventing her from taking a step.

“Sweetie,” she laughed, “I’m just going over here,” she pried the little girls hands from her leg, but just as she stepped, Jordan did it again.

“Don’t leave me with her,” she said sadly.

“Sweetie, why not?” Eve bent down, now concerned, “Why is she afraid to stay with you? You are not responsible for her injury, are you?” Eve looked at Mrs. Matthews.

Now that Eve had crouched down and was the same height as Jordan, she was caught off guard when the little four year old wrapped her arms around her neck and hugged her.

“I want my daddy,” she cried, “Call my daddy!”

Eve stood and held Jordan in her arms as she glared at the woman in front of her.

“We will sweetie, we will,” she carried her to the back.

Jordan was very small to remember anything about her mother, but being in Eve’s arms made her feel safe. She smelled Eve’s scent and it was like she knew her. It is known that once a baby is born to their mother and is held by them, that they’ll remember that scent forever…

Eve numbed Jordan’s arm and then stitched up her arm, and at the same time asked how her injury happened. Jordan told her how she was playing on the slide and fell off the steps onto the little metal red wagon that they had. Eve then felt bad that she had accused the woman for injuring the child.

“You stay right here, okay? I’ll go get your mommy, alright?” Eve was about to turn, but Jordan spoke.

“She’s not my mommy, but call my daddy…I want him,” she sniffed.

“Okay, honey,” Eve smiled as she closed the curtain, “Nurse, call her father,” she handed the folder with all of Jordan’s information to the nurse, “And bring him back when he gets here.”

“Right away, doctor.”

Eve walked out and informed Mrs. Matthews that Jordan was okay now, and she apologized to the woman for assuming the wrong thing. The woman began to speak, when Eve heard the sliding doors open. She turned to look who was there, and it was Julian. What was Julian doing in Los Angeles?!

“I’ll go check on Jordan, I’ll be right back,” Eve said and rushed to the back.

Julian never saw her, he was too busy looking for his daughter that he didn’t even notice Eve. He walked up to the counter.

“I’m Julian Crane, Jordan Crane’s father…where is she?”

“Right this way, sir,” the nurse led him to the cubical that Eve and Jordan were in.

She opened the curtain and Julian found Eve holding Jordan in her arms. Julian glared at Eve.

“Daddy!” Jordan wriggled out of Eve’s arms and held her arms out to Julian.

“Hi, Princess,” Julian picked her up, never taking his eyes off of Eve, “What happened?” he now looked to his little girl’s face.

Eve stood.

“Hello, Julian?”

He totally ignored her.

“I didn’t know you had a daughter.”

“What?!” his voice was louder than he expected, “Princess,” he set Jordan down on the floor, “Go with Mrs. Matthews, I need to speak with the doctor.”

“Okay, bye Eve,” Jordan waved, as did Eve.

When she disappeared behind the doors, Julian looked to Eve.

“Ha,” he scoffed, “You know, you really make me laugh. You’re actually going to make her call you by your first name?”

Eve gave him a strange look.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that you’d rather her call me doctor,” Eve said.

“What?” he stared at her, “Why are you acting as if you don’t know who she is?”

“Julian, what is the matter with you? How am I supposed to know someone I’ve never met?”

“You’re going to stand there and honestly say that you don’t know who she is?”

Eve stared at him blankly.

“Our DAUGHTER? Does that ring a bell?”

Eve’s face turned cold.

“How you found out about her, I don’t know, but don’t you ever, EVER say some other child is ours! Get out Julian. GET OUT,” she said between gritted teeth and then left him alone in the cubical as she made her way out of the ER.

Why was he saying those things? Eve cried, If he knows about our little girl, he knows that she died when she was born…why would he say that his daughter was ours? Why does he want to hurt me so? Eve sobbed as she made her way to her office.
---

Julian was puzzled by Eve’s reaction. Why was she denying Jordan as their child? Why was she acting as if she had never left her on his doorstep? Julian was furious, and he was going to get to the bottom of things.

“Mrs. Matthews, I want you to take Jordan home, and I’ll be there later on tonight; I just have something I have to do right now,” he kissed Jordan on the head and then watched as the woman held her hand and led her out of the hospital.

Julian turned back to the front desk.

“Excuse me, can you direct me to Doctor Russell’s office?”

The nurse had given him the directions and Julian was off to Eve’s office. He turned the corner and saw her coming out of her office, so he hid behind a plant. Eve then locked the door to her office and walked towards the exit doors. Julian followed. He wanted to talk to Eve about their daughter and why she was acting that way. Eve got into her car, as did Julian. She began driving and Julian followed not too far behind. He raised a brow when he saw Eve turn into a cemetery.

“What is she doing here?” he said as he turned and parked to the side.

Eve got off her car and walked some ways to when she got to a certain gravesite. Julian watched as she knelt down and cried and touched the headstone. There were some words written on it, but he couldn’t make them out from where he was standing. He would just wait until Eve left to see what it said.

“Hi, sweetie, I saw your daddy today,” Eve smiled, “Things didn’t go too well, though,” Eve frowned, “I don’t know what has gotten into him,” she shook her head, “He looks the same though…still handsome as ever,” Eve smiled.

Julian watched as Eve talked to this one grave.

“Who is it that’s buried there?!” he whispered.

After thirty minutes, Eve stood, kissed her fingers and then touched the granite stone, and walked back to her car.

Julian then came out of hiding and crept to the grave Eve had just been at. What he saw was just a total shock to him.
---

JILLIAN CRANE

---

Jillian Crane? Julian had never known anyone by that name in his family. He looked at the date and gasped.

“August sixth?” he said aloud, “That’s Jordan’s birthday…even the year is the year Jordan was born. What is this all about? What is Eve not telling me?” he stood up, “I don’t know, but I am going to find out…Eve is going to tell me everything!” he walked away from this grave he did not know.