Journey to the Past

-

“Well I will go with you to the hospital but wait outside the room, how about that?” Arthur said softly and nodded. “I know it’s not but this is what is happening and it’s not what you or I would chose but here we are.” He smiled softly towards her, arms wrapping themselves around her. “I just want you to be happy and feel loved and never anything else, you deserve that much.”

~

She nodded gently using it to bury her nose against his neck. Just having him close would make her feel so much better. She listened to him and her fingers drew circles in his back as she gently nodded. “What if he’s horrible? What if I give my kidney to a horrible man?” She smiled and took a deep breath, “I am more happy and loved than I could ever be right now.” Because of him, Arthur had been a safe place to call home for longer than she had even realized. He was comfort, love, and all the things you wanted in the word home, he was all of them in a person.

-

Luke nodded his head slowly but let the other speak. “Thea….I remember Thea.” He said as he looked at her, head tilted to the side slightly. “Wow. I uh…if I had known…I would have tried to reach out…I…wow.” He said, nearly speechless. “I’m sorry that we did have to meet like this.” He said and nodded his head once more. “Yeah, a kidney. I uh….I was shot a few times, it’s a long story but one of the bullets destroyed the one good kidney I had left after a previous car accident.” He said as he looked over towards her. “Is that…is that how you found out about me? I know they said they were going to try and find a donor for me..I uh…I didn’t realize they would try to find a living donor…I…”

~

Madelyn nodded, “she remembers you too. She wasn’t the biggest supporter of me coming to find you. I think she didn’t want to add any burden onto you. Especially since we were back in France and everything.” She shrugged and tried to make a semblance of a joke, “I guess it’s better than how we could have met.” She bit her lip still intimidated by the thought of giving him a piece of her but she nodded. She shook her head with a smile, “No, no... uh.. I was kind of already on my way here looking for you when I found out. I uh.. I wouldn’t be lying if I said I was terrified of doing this because I am. I just thought... I thought meeting you would make it easier.” She exhaled trying her best not to cry. “I don’t think it did though.” She bit her lip before realizing how that sounded, “I think it made me want to do it more.”

-

Luke had already had several different surgeries to try and fix the damage that Jason had done and he was exhausted as he laid in the bed. He had been drifting in between awake and asleep, his leg stabilized in the air as they were waiting on fixing his other injuries first. He was awake, talking with one of the nurses who had just checked his vitals before leaving when Luke saw someone come into the room. “Yeah, I’m Luke.”  He said as he used the bed controls to help him sit up as he looked at the young woman. “I..uhhh…wow…” He said, eyes locking onto hers as he took in when was being said to him. 

“Who…” Luke started, wincing slightly as he moved in the bed. “Who’s your mom?” He asked, though he knew in the back of his head who it must have been since he hadn’t really been with that many women, and definitely not multiple at once. “I…how come she never said anything..I…wow…” He said, speechless for a change. “I’m sorry we have to meet here…”

~

Madelyn shook her head, “I.. I’m sorry that was a lot.” She sighed knowing it was a lot any way to be standing here meeting your father for the first time with him deathly ill wasn’t something to take lightly. “Thea. She... she was a French exchange student.” She nodded, “she told me about you when I was younger but I didn’t ask many questions until recently.” She shook her head but smiled, “I guess she didn’t see a point? I don’t think she knew about me until she was back in France.” She nodded, “Yeah... definitely not how I thought we would meet if we ever did.” She quietly made her way to sit down and she smiled at him, “so uh... what... what happened? They said you might need an organ?”

-

Arthur wasn’t quite sure how he could help Madelyn make this decision as it was a deeply personal one she would have to make. All he could do was try to comfort her the best he could and maybe try to tell her what he would do in that situation but he wasn’t sure of what he would do either so even that wasn’t helpful to her. “I know, it’s entirely not fair to you.” He said as he pressed a small kiss to her forehead. “I don’t know him either so I cannot atest to what kind of man he is. I know you’ve not met him even once but to be fair to him, he doesn’t even know you exist yet.” He sighed, taking her hand into his.

“Do you want me to go with you? Strength in numbers?” Arthur suggested, eyebrows raised slightly at the question. “I know it’s not how you planned on meeting him, if you ever did, but the fact is that he’s been very obviously gravely injured and needs help and you, my sweet, are the kindest, most loving, loyal, and giving person I’ve ever met.” He looked at her. “And I think you owe it to yourself to give yourself the best chance to get to know him possible which would mean giving a part of yourself to him. I will be right with you the whole time, I promise.”

~

Madelyn gently nodded, “I want you there but I want to do it myself too.” She was conflicted with everything about this whole situation. “Yeah, here is your father.. he needs a kidney. Isn’t really the best way to meet your father.” She smiled at him though, her nose crinkling at him. “It’s really rude how you turn it into this amazing opportunity and make it where I’m no longer terrified.” She smiled pressing a kiss to his nose, “It’s upsetting how you can turn everything around.”

“You can’t make me go.” She smirked her brows raising in defiance as she curled in on herself on the couch, grabbing a blanket to pull around herself. The journey here had been a scary one already, but even more so finding out not only was the man that is supposed to be her father here but also that he was laying in a hospital bed after being shot.

Some how she was needed to someone she didn’t even know. His life rested in her decision to help or not and as she thought about how she could decide his fate her eyes welled with tears. “I don’t want to be the one to make this choice.” Her lips drooping into a pout as she tried to hide her whimper, “I don’t even know him and I have to choose to save his life or not.” She sniffled, wiping her nose across the sleeve of her sweat shirt, “it’s cruel.”

To say she was scared would be an major understatement. She was terrified. She chewed her lip standing outside the hospital door and tracing her fingers over the room number that she had jotted down. Her hands shaking before she heard someone behind her clear her throat. The nurse trying to get in to check on the man that she had learned to be her father recently. She licked her lips and nodded, getting out of the way. She wished she could walk in as easy as the nurse did, it took a beat... or two before she stepped in.

It was scary being there, hospitals were after all never fun and adding the pressure of meeting her biological father in one she was a little worried. So she stood back and watched the nurse work. Smiling at them before they left and a eerie silence filled the room for a second before she stepped forward, “you are Luke? Right? If not I’m so sorry I must have got the wrong number.” She said licking her lip before biting down on it and tapping the piece of paper to her hand, “umm if you are him, I know you don’t know me but uh..” She finally looked up, her eyes meeting his, “I think I’m your daughter.”