"So does this mean I'm like... adopted?" Danny asked as he looked over the documents on the table before him.
"Oh honey, as far as we're concerned you're our flesh and blood!" His mom was quick to reassure him, "Though legally speaking... yes."
Danny frowned as he read through and reread the papers, trying to reconcile the information found there with the story he'd been told. A story about a younger version of his parents, who'd had his sister and decided they were ready for another child but were struggling.
After multiple failed attempts, they sought out a fertility specialist and learned that their years of exposure to hazardous materials had compromised their ability to have children. The fact that Jazz was born first try and without complications was a miracle. A long series of medical records and doctors notes showed all the tests they went through trying to find another way to conceive, culminating in a positive test result for Maddie's ability to carry to term. With renewed hope, they began to research IVF treatments and donors. Unfortunately, they couldn't afford both an egg and sperm donor as they hadn't yet found someone willing to invest in their patents. Not willing to give up, Maddie took to browsing online forums for advice from people who had been in her position. It was there she learned that, similar to organ donors, people who have their embryos frozen can sign a consent form allowing their stored embryos to be donated in the event of their death. This was the lead they were waiting for.
Another couple who had also been struggling to conceive had six embryos prepared and were successful on the fourth attempt, leaving two behind when they passed away. Having signed the consent form, those two embryos had been kept in stasis waiting to be donated. With a confirmation that they were compatible, the Fentons wasted no time in setting up an appointment. The first didn't take but the second did. They took every precaution during the pregnancy, this leading their decision to start wearing hazmat suits even while outside the lab, and nine months later the Fentons were welcoming their second child to the family. At this point in telling the story, Danny had been handed two matching documents; the donor profiles the clinic had given his parents all those years ago. There were no pictures, and information like surname and address had been redacted out of privacy, but they held the health screenings and physical descriptions of a couple named Thomas and Martha.
"Nothing has to change Danny," His mother stated, "We love you so much and are so proud of you, biological child or not."
"That's right Dann-o!" His father jumped in, "The only difference is that now you know."
Danny looked at his parents, then to the documents, then back to his parents before asking, "So why are you telling me this now?"
"It was never something we meant to keep from you. And now that you're sixteen, we felt it was the right time," His dad said.
"And," His mom added, "We felt that, if you wanted to have a relationship with your biological family, you should have the chance to find them." She then placed a box on the table, an AncestryDNA kit. "We never had any means of contact to let them know you were born and services like this didn't exist back then. It's okay if you don't want to, but we felt you should have the option."
Danny studied the kit before nodding to himself with determination. "No matter what some DNA kit has to say, you're my parents. You've been there for me my entire life, I'm not going to replace you with some strangers who share blood with me. But.. I would like to know them."
Secure in his decision, he proceeded to complete the DNA collection and send out the test with help from his parents. In a little over a month he would receive his results. He was nervous to find out if he had grandparents or siblings but, a little selfishly, relieved that he wouldn't have to worry about meeting his biological parents. He knows he's old enough that a court would let him choose where he ended up but he doesn't want to think about what would have happened if his bio parents were alive and decided they wanted to fight for custody. That just made him feel guilty though. He should feel sorrow for the parents he never got to meet, and he does, but if they had lived, would they ever have gone back for him? Would they eventually have decided they wanted another child or would he never have been born, forever in stasis as the world went on without him?
He shoved those thoughts away, not wanting to dwell on them. He doesn't need to worry about 'what if's, they didn't happen after all. This is how his life played out and he wouldn't trade it, his family, and his friends for anything. Now he just has the opportunity to add some new people to that group. Until then, it's back to his normal routine while anxiously awaiting his results.
Later, in a cave in New Jersey far below the surface, an alert would flash on a high tech computer.
NEW DNA MATCH - 2 CONNECTIONS
theartofmadeline
blakekathryn
titsay
