Chapter Three

The conference room was filled with all the people involved in the debacle of the last few days: Oscar, Jaime, Steve, Peggy, Michael and Stephanie. Jaime and Steve had already explained it all to Kelly in private, and they'd agreed that, while they'd never be a family of three, each of her parents would be spending the time it would take, getting to know her and letting her get to know them. Now, they'd gathered everyone else together so they only had to go through the explanation once.

"When Jaime first became an operative," Steve began, "we were planning to get married, and we knew we definitely wanted kids, but we were worried something might happen to one of us before that could happen. Rudy Wells suggested that we store the necessary...materials, so that if one of us was disabled or killed, there could still be a child. When we split up for good, those materials were destroyed. But, Jack Hansen thought he could get in one more good shot at the OSI and at us by stealing an embryo while Rudy still had them and hiring a surrogate to bear a child - our child - whom he raised as his own daughter until he lost the last of his sanity. Kelly was told at some point that Jaime was her mother, but never knew the rest of the story or how it all truly came about."

"Hansen's last parting shot before he went 'round the bend for good," Jaime continued, "was Kelly. Yes, she is Steve's and my daughter, but nothing happened between us to cause her conception."

"Matter of fact, I was in Thailand for six months, right around when this all took place, so there's the proof, if anyone feels the need for it," Steve added. He looked pointedly at Oscar and Peggy, who'd both been a bit unpleasant since this had begun.

"Steve and I both plan to welcome her into our respective families, and we hope our families will do the same, bearing in mind that this is no more Kelly's fault than it is ours. We're both very proud to call her our daughter, and will tolerate nothing less than respect for the delicate situation she was placed in and the brave way she handled having to be all alone in the world for the majority of her life."

Stephanie grinned. "That explains why she's so good at her job. Her parents were the two best operatives out there."

Jaime smiled back. "Treat her no differently than you always have, that's all we ask."

"As her boss," Stephanie remarked, "I'll be working her that much harder, considering her lineage."

"Are you sure the rest of the...uhh...materials were destroyed?" Oscar queried.

"We were there when Rudy took care of it."

"So this isn't going to happen again in the future?" Peggy asked.

"Not that we're aware of," Steve answered.

"You didn't know about this one 'til three days ago," Oscar pointed out as Jaime sat down next to him. He put an arm around her and made up for the last three days with one very tender kiss.

"Yeah, well, if you know someone with a crystal ball, I'd love to meet them," Steve said with a smile. "Otherwise, the future's the future," he said as he walked over and kissed his wife, "and the present looks pretty damn good to me."

END