Dr. Tommy Oliver was in an extremely good mood. He whistled as he prepared to go home. A knock on the door made him glance up. "Connor, Hey."
Connor McKnight, one of his former students leaned against the door jam. "Was in the area thought I'd drop in."
Tommy finished fastening his briefcase. "I thought you were in Europe playing soccer."
"I was. I needed a break." Connor shifted his weight from one foot to another. HE looked slightly uncomfortable.
"Connor is something wrong?" Tommy stopped in front of him.
"You’re adopted right?" Connor blurted suddenly.
Tommy frowned. "Yes, I’m adopted, why?"
"My parents-" Conrad swallowed. "Told me in a letter that I’m adopted. They couldn't even tell me to my face."
"So you came home?" Tommy sighed. "Come on let's get something to eat and talk."
Tommy took Connor home. Fixing a couple of burgers he set one down. Connor barely glanced at it.
Tommy studied him carefully. Connor’s eyes were red. It was clear he'd been crying. It was also clear he didn't want Tommy to know that. "Connor I'm sorry."
"How old were you when you knew?" Connor took a half hearted bite of his food.
"I think I always knew; my parents made a secret of it." Tommy took a swallow of milk.
"Don't you ever wonder?" Connor trailed off unsure of what he wanted to ask.
Tommy studied his young friend carefully for several minutes. He didn't answer; instead he stood up and took a picture down. He looked at it for several minutes. "When I was slightly younger than you I found out I had a twin, David Trueheart. But he didn't know anymore than I did. That was when I quit wondering. It didn’t do any good to wonder."
"Well I want to know where I come from." Connor told him fiercely. I want to find my birth mother."
"Yeah, lets find our birthmothers." Tommy stated just as emphatically.
Next Day, Haley's café.
"So how does this thing work?" Connor peered at the computer in front of him.
Ethan James Leaned over. "You type in all your pertinent information, fill out the questionnaire and wait."
"Sounds simple." Tommy was frowning at the screen. Some of the questions he simply didn't know the answers to. For example he had no idea what time he was born.
They filled out several forms on several websites. As Kira Ford put it, "don't put your eggs all in one basket."
A month later.
Tommy answered the phone on the second ring, mouth full of food. "Hello." He swallowed. "Hello."
"Is this Thomas James Oliver?" The man on the other end asked.
"Sure is can I help you?" Tommy queried.
"Well son, my name's James Sinclair. I'm your mother's father. Your grand father."
"Tommy sat down hard, for several moments he couldn’t speak. "Are you sure?"
"Fairly sure. You have a birthmark on your right foot looks like a star." Sinclair gave the one detail Tommy had purposely left out.
they talked for hours after that. So late that Tommy overslept and was late for his class. They arraigned to meet on a later date. <
One week later
Connor tapped his fingers on his thigh. He was jealous, after all Dr. O had only put his info on the web in moral support.
Haley, what time is it?" Tommy demanded pacing the floor.
"Only five minutes later than the last time you asked Tommy Relax, he's only ten minutes late." Haley set a drink in front of Connor. "You were later than this to our first tutoring session."
Tommy made a face at her. She smiled sweetly at him before moving off to serve other customers. "Can't help if I had no sense of time back then."
Anton Mercer, who was taking a rare day off snorted. "Tommy, you still don't have any time sense."
Tommy glared at him. "Okay so I'm always late so sue me!"
"You know." Connor had a mischievous smile. "There was a joke among his students. If teachers got tardy slips, Dr. O would have detention everyday."
"Oh very fun-" Tommy stopped mid sentence and stood nervously.
The others watched the man grey-haired, with striking dark eyes striding towards them. "He looks like David." Tommy whispered hoarsely.
"Thomas?" The man stopped in front of him. "I'm James Sinclair."
"Its Tommy." Tommy informed him.
Sinclair shook Tommy's hand. "Well boy we have a lot of catching up to do.
Connor shoved his hands into his pocket as he left the cyber cafe. He doubted anyone had noticed him leave. He barely registered the white car following him at first. Only when the driver honked the horn did he turn and look
"Connor McKnight?" The man behind the wheel asked.
Connor took a step back, "Who wants to know?"
"I'm your father Connor, I'd like to talk."
Connor didn't know this man at all. "WE can talk like this."
"Get in the car." The voice was firm. Connor starred down the barrel of the gun. Feeling as if he was in a dream the former red ranger did as he was told.
What about my parents? What were they like? Why did they split up sup? Didn't they want me or David?" Tommy blurted questions out faster than Sinclair could answer them.
"Whoa, slow down son." Sinclair shook his head. "First of all your parents Sarah and Joe Littlestar loved you very much, you they called their surprise."
Sinclair handed Tommy a picture, a smiling woman, an ecstatic looking man. Each was holding a baby. "Me and David?"
<"Yes, but they didn't know about you until the day you were born. You hid behind David the entire pregnancy." Sinclair smiled. "They named David after David Keith your father's favorite actor and you after your grandfathers. Thomas James."
Why did they give ups up?" Tommy asked softly.
Let me tell you a story son." As Sinclair spoke his mind went back to a day long ago.
The twins were finally both asleep. That had taken awhile, Tommy always seemed to want to play at bedtime and David wouldn't sleep until Tommy slept.
James Sinclair yawned closing the door to the nursery.
HE sat down at the computer pulling up the file for his latest novel. He had published several all under pseudonyms.
Sinclair became lost n the work. So lost he didn't notice the passage of time. When the doorbell rang it startled him back into the real world leaving his Elvin world behind.
There were two cops standing outside the door. -odd their not reservation police- Sinclair opened the door. "Can I help you boys?"
"James Sinclair?" One cop spoke gently.
"That would be me." His nerves had jumped a notch.
The other more seasoned began to talk in a low voice. A semi had lost control; the car his wife, daughter and son-in-law had been in was hit. They had all died on impact.
Sinclair felt his leg's buckle. This couldn’t be happening. "No oh no."
He buried them a week later a pale shaken man. Not hiding his grief.
There were the twins to think of. He couldn't raise both of them, not on the money he made. Yet to separate them. That was what he had decided. David was going to a good home.
Sam Trueheart was a good man who would explain things when David was old enough to understand. as I will explain to Tommy
After the funeral he handed the one year old over to Sam. He would never see David again.
Six months went by before he knew it. Tommy’s vocabulary continued to improve. HE finally quit asking for mommy daddy and David. James was to say the least relived.
He fixed the child's breakfast placing it in front of him. Tommy had begun to feed himself. James was content to let him try.
Absently rubbing his right arm. James began to fix his own. A stabbing pain shot threw h is chest My god I'm having a heart attack
The thought should have made him panic. Instead he got very calm. Grabbing the phone he managed to call for an ambulance.
"In the end. I couldn't keep you either. You screamed when I handed you over to the social worker. Screamed POP-Pop over and over."
"Pop-pop, I'd forgotten. I named my stuffed bear Pop op." Tommy was frowni8ng his eyes were full of tears. He opened his mouth and his cell phone beeped. "Hold on. Hello. John, calm down. HE what! No look I'll make some calls. In the mean while call the police."
Connor stared out the window. He was in a mild state of shock as the freeway flowed by. Finally though he couldn't take it. "Are you going to kill me?"
"Not today." The man next to him said grimly. "We're almost there."
Where?" Connor couldn't help asking.
"Reefside hospital. Now listen. All I want is fifteen minutes. After that you can scream and yell all you want I won't stop you. But before that I’ll shoot you got it?"
Connor nodded feeling ill. He let the man hold him by the shoulder. They went up several flights before walking down a hall into a room. A young girl sat on a bed, a math book on her lap.
"Daddy!" With a squeal she hugged Connor's kidnaper.
"Connor this is Julie Carson my daughter your sister, I'll leave you two to get acquainted."
"No” Connor growled.
"What?" Carson's eyes narrowed.
You kidnapped me at Gunpoint to meet my sister! I’m not playing this game!"
"I had to get you here. You’re her only hope."
"Dad! Are you crazy?" Julie exploded. "You kidnapped him! You don’t even know if he’s a match. In fact, you don't even know he's really the baby you gave up!"
Carson pulled the gun out and slid the clip out. It was empty, he looked at Connor. "Call the cops if you want."
Nearly a year later
Connor stood outside a door to a house his birth mother's . He was trying to work up the nerve to ring the bell.
The past year had been full of ups and downs. James Sinclair had moved in with Tommy, who had proposed to Haley. The only bad thing was James would never meet David Trueheart, who had died at seventeen.
Julie had gotten her transplant but not from condor who after all the trouble Seth Carson had gone threw wasn't a match.
An old friend of Tommy's and a former pink ranger Kimberly Anne Hart had been though and Julie was going to be fine.
Seth had been placed on Probation. Which everyone agreed was fine. He'd even given Connor his birth mother's name. Now he was going to meet her in person.
Connor reached up to ring the doorbell.
The end.