Epilogue

    Neither Nicole or Mary got pregnant as soon as they wanted.  And much to Mary's disgust Nicole was the first to show up with a positive EPT.
    After their early check-ups they were comparing their respective due dates when something occurred to Mary.  Grabbing her calendar she suddenly giggled.  "Well, the timing could hardly be better," she said.  "I figure that Nicole is going to become a mother on Mother's Day!  And, Daddy, have I got a Father's Day present for you!"
    Jack laughed.  "That all makes a certain kind of sense, for this mixed up family.  Do you realize that if Nicole has a boy, your grandson will be your brother, my grandson will be be my son, and Nicole's son will be her uncle!"
    "Yeah, Mommy," Nicole chimed in.  "And if you have a girl, your daughter will be your sister AND my sister, too.  She will also be my aunt; which makes sense she would be my son/uncle's sister."
    Despite their joking, Jack was still worried and insisted that Nicole and Mary have complete check-ups.  They were all sitting in the doctor's office as Jack explained that he wanted both women's children to checked for possible defects.
    Dr. Sullivan looked at the trio and as considered what he knew of the Taylor family a suspicion grew in his mind.  Finally he spoke, "Well, the first thing you should know is that from all outward signs, both fetuses appear to be completely healthy."
    When Jack heard that he visibly relaxed and Dr. Sullivan nodded to himself.  "We will conduct more detailed tests soon, but tell me, is there some reason you are concerned about possible defects?"
    Mary knew what he was getting at.  "Dr. Sullivan, anything I tell you is confidential isn't it?"  When the doctor nodded she continued, "Is the same true for Nicole?"
    "No," he said, "she is a minor.  I am required to report to the police that she is sexually active.  I will also have to report anything she tells me about her sexual partners."
    Mary and Nicole looked at each other for a moment and then Mary turned to the doctor and said, "Dr. Sullivan, my father is the father of this baby.  That is why he is concerned and wants all the available tests.  I have nothing to say about my daughter's condition."
    The doctor nodded and looking at Nicole he asked, "Well, young lady, do you want to tell me who you've been having sex with?"  When Nicole just laughed, he nodded and said, "Very well."
    Looking at Jack with some distaste Dr. Sullivan said, "You may as well know that while I will say nothing about you and your daughter, when the police receive my report about Nicole they will probably draw their own conclusions.  They might well order genetic testing to determine if you are the father.  While I hardly condone what you have done, I don't see how getting the law involved will help the situation any.  I suggest that you might want to leave town before I file report.  Which will be in about a week."
    "Thanks for the warning, Doctor, but I wouldn't know where to go.  And besides, I want to be sure that Mary and Nicole are getting the best possible care.  So unless you can recommend some place where the doctors aren't going to ask the same questions, I don't know what I'm going to do."
    Dr. Sullivan sighed and made a decision.  Looking at the Taylors he asked, "Do you have a computer and access to the internet?"
    "I do," said Nicole.
    "Very well," said Dr. Sullivan.  He quickly wrote on a business card and passed it to Nicole.  "That e-mail address may be useful to you.  I have never written to it myself, but I believe that they can help you.  It's a couple in a similar situation.  I believe that they have contacts with others like you.  They might even know of a sanctuary for people like you."
    The doctor hung his head for a moment and then whispered, "If you do contact them,  tell my children that their father still loves them."
    A week later when the police arrived at the Taylor residence to question Nicole they found that she was not there.  Mary explained that to avoid a scandal she had sent Nicole to a home for unwed mothers.  She handed the detective assigned to the case a business card.  "You can call the operator, a Ms. Janet Riordan, at that number if you would like to talk to Nicole.  I'm sure Ms. Riordan will cooperate."
    The officer looked at the card.  "HEY!  This place is in South America!"
    "Why, yes, it is.  Is that a problem?"
    The detective sputtered, "Well, yeah.  I don't have any jurisdiction there.  How do I make this Riordan woman cooperate if she doesn't want to?"
    "I don't know, Officer," Mary replied.  "That's really not my problem."
    "Well, this just puts things off a bit.  When your daughter returns, we will get a court order to have her baby tested for paternity.  We have some questions about your family that such a test will answer."
    "Oh, I'm afraid that won't be possible, Detective.  The baby will be put up for adoption."
    After the detective left, muttering to himself about making a trip to Rio, Mary laughed.  'Let him go,' she thought.  'The only thing he'll find at that address is an answering machine.  But, maybe he'll enjoy Carnival.'
    When the police discovered that Mary was also pregnant their suspicions were aroused, but they found out that without hard evidence they couldn't get a court order to test her baby's paternity.  The judge pointed out that she was an adult and her being pregnant was not proof of illegal sexual activity, as it would have been for a minor.
    When Nicole returned home, without a child to test, the police questioned her and when she refused to cooperate, the case was dropped.  The police didn't have the resources to "stakeout" the Taylor home, so they didn't notice that Nicole was away from home a lot.  They didn't know that she was spending a lot of time at a foundling home just over the state line, caring for one "abandoned" child in particular.
    And when the Taylors move away a year later the police didn't know that Jack had adopted the little boy Nicole had become so attached to.  It was a private adoption, arranged by the Riordan Child Placement Service.
    When Jack introduced the child as "my adopted son Billy" his new friends were amazed at how apt an adoption it had been.  The child fit in so well with the Taylors; almost as if he really were one of the family.

The End.