To those who have waited patiently for an update... thank you sooooo much for waiting. Im so sorry about the major update gaps! Ive decided that in order for me to get the chapters out, Im gonna put it in smaller parts... I was planning to go up to Chapter 20 but it may go up to 21 or 22 now...

Chapter 19. Blood Ties

‘Patients name is Nadia Santos. Date of Birth approximately 19th June 1981, Place of Birth thought to be Kashmir, not confirmed. Patient is 5’8 and weighs..’ Sydney’s mind drifted as she glanced over at her sister, trying to take in everything that had happened

Irina and Nadia were talking about what Nadia needed to move from the apartment she had been using in Switzerland, the one her father had bought her so she could be close by. Sydney didn’t want to talk about Sloane and his ‘love’, so she went back to reading about her sisters admission on the charts precariously set at the end of her bed.

‘Patient was rushed into Stafford Naval Hospital ER after experiencing period of unconscious, cause thought to be shock however there may be unknown internal brain malfunction, cause also unknown. Patient was brought in restrained on orders of government officials and blood was cross-matched upon arrival for transfusion due to a loss at scene. Blood type confirmed as B negative and two pints given accordingly…

“Wait a sec” Sydney questioned out-loud, frowning.

“What is it sweetheart?” Irina looked at her eldest curiously, wondering what was wrong now. It had been a long day and she felt like she hadn’t slept in days. Though that was probably literally true, she must have had only 8 hours over the last few days.

“It says here Nadia’s blood type is B…” She trailed off and looked directly at her sister for confirmation.

Nadia shrugged. “I always thought it was O. I never gave blood… was never in hospital as a child, but my father wrote down it was O on a hospital form when I was in one of my states. Why… is there something wrong with it being B? She asked.

Irina looked as confused as Nadia. “What does it matter that her blood type is B Sydney? Yours is isn’t it?”

“Yes Mom, but that’s my point. You have type O… and Dad has type B which is how I ended up being type B. For Nadia to be type B her father would have to have type B blood… but Mom, Sloane had type A, I’ve seen him transfused before. Chances of the two of you producing a type B child are slim to none!

Irina and Nadia both silently gasped. Sydney was now looking directly at her mother and Nadia turned to her too, with the same questioning look.

“I… I always thought there was a chance Nadia could be Jack’s, but when I saw the three of you accept Nadia as Sloane’s daughter… I accepted that she was most likely Sloane’s and let it be. I assumed that the appropriate tests would have been done to confirm Nadia was Sloane’s and not your father’s Sydney!” Irina spoke slowly, confused.

“Il Dire provided Sloane with a DNA string which he tested… he said he was a match… and then Nadia’s location could only have been revealed in the hourglass to her father- but thinking about it, Dad was there as was I.”

“You guys think Jack could be my father?” Nadia timidly spoke up, wondering what life- changing revelation would occur next.

“Well the only way to tell is a Paternity test. Ill go and get Jack.” And with that, Irina left the room and headed outside to use her cellphone.

Fifteen minutes later Jack pulled his car into the hospital parking lot. Irina approached the car and gave him a peck on the cheek, which he returned.

“Irina? What’s wrong? Is it Vaughn? Has his condition become worse?” He asked, not knowing why he was called.

“No… no Michael is fine thank goodness. I wanted to talk to you about something else… here lets sit on this bench for a couple of minutes.

They approached the bench and sat down, Jack looking at Irina worriedly.

“Irina, what is it?”

“Its about Nadia, Jack.”

“ You want her to move in with us? I thought you might, the way you were looking at her earlier. So I gave it an appropriate amount of thought, but I literally only needed a few minutes…she is your daughter Irina. She is part of the family, if you want her to move in then Im happy with that. Whatever makes you happy…makes me happy.

“She’s may also be your daughter, Jack.”

It took a couple of minutes for Irina’s words to register, and Jack was in shock.

“Nadia? My daughter? But how? The tests…?”

“Sydney noticed a discrepancy with the blood types earlier… it seems virtually impossible from them that Nadia could be Sloane’s. Regarding the DNA string Sloane tested… well he could have easily manipulated that…and the hourglass revealing Nadia’s location? You were there too.”

“You called me here to do a paternity test I assume?” Jack surmised, all businesslike.

“Yes, yes we did.” Irina looked at Jack, trying to tell how he was reacting but wasn’t in look. He had his face of no emotion on.

“Well lets go and get on with it then.” He said briskly, causing Irina to frown, however a second later he turned around and gave her a cheeky grin…

To be continued….