YOU'RE MY DAD (BOOGIE WOOGIE WOOGIE)
Octavia Blake was well aware of how crazy the medical center could get. She was constantly hearing stories or passing through. She was quite glad her true calling was not in medicine. If it had been, she most likely would have been more insane then she already was.
Abby’s weird genetic inventory program only made the place more crowded. She and Lincoln had been called in for their tests, but apparently something had happened and both Abby and Jackson had to step away. That meant that the small crowd of people that had been called in with their group had to wait for them to return. Which only raised Octavia’s anxiety level.
“It'll be alright, darling,” Lincoln whispered into her ear in Trigedasleng. She pressed into his side, trying not to let her true anxiety show. “After this, how about we work with Helios?”
“I’d like that,” she replied quietly. She felt Lincoln shift beside her. He was smiling at her proudly. “What?”
“Your Trig has improved tremendously,” he said. “There's still some things to teach you, though”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yes,” Lincoln whispered.
“Like what?”
“Like…”
“Sorry for the delay everyone. We had an emergency to deal with,” Abby addressed the room. “Were going to start calling you in. It will move fairly quickly, so please be patient. So, Ashley Gotez, Dr. Jackson is ready for you in the other room. And David Miller, come with me”
Of course, Octavia had to be one of the last patients. She and Lincoln sat together, watching others come and go. Eventually, both doctors saw the last of the patients out and Jackson left, heading off to do other doctorly stuff.
“Sorry for the wait, Octavia. I know you probably have something else you’d rather do than sit here all day,” Abby smiled genuinely. “Don’t worry, this will be pretty quick”
Octavia knew she was supposed to move, but she couldn't. She stayed glued to the chair.
“Would it be better if Lincoln came with you?” Abby asked. Octavia nodded shakily. Lincoln’s arm wrapped around her, guiding her out of the chair and into the exam room. “Alright, Octavia, if you’d just roll up your sleeve…”
“What?” Octavia’s head snapped up. “No. I thought this was a cheek swab. Not a needle. I can’t…”
Octavia got up to leave, but Lincoln grabbed her arm gently. “It's alright, Octavia”
“I can’t,” she said, hyperventilating.
“It’s alright to be afraid of needles, Octavia. It’s quite a normal fear. There are plenty of other people in this camp who are afraid of needles,” Abby said gently. “I won’t force you to do anything, but would it help if Lincoln did it as well? If you’re okay with it?”
“I am,” Lincoln replied. He sat down in the chair and didn’t bother hiding his nerves. From across the room, Octavia watched his every move. Her nerves hadn’t gone away, but they had certainly lessened. Before either of them truly realized it, Abby was done.
“All good, Lincoln”
“I barely felt a thing,” Lincoln said, amazed.
“It’s easy and painless. Nothing to worry about,” Abby said. “Now, in a moment or two, some information from your genetics will show up. I’ll explain everything. While we wait for that, lets do your test, Octavia”
Octavia sat down in the chair and offered Abby her arm. “What sorts of information will it provide?”
“Well,” Abby started, working as she spoke. “Blood type, any illnesses or genetic conditions you may have, any relations you have.”
“Could it tell me who my father is?” Octavia asked.
“It's possible. If he’s still alive and has been tested, yes,” Abby moved away from Octavia. “I’ll run your sample. In the meantime, let's look over Lincoln’s results”
Abby took them through all the bits on the chart, but Octavia was barely listening. The prospect of meeting her father was terrifying. Octavia zoned back in for the last bit of information from Lincoln’s test.
“Your hematocrit is pretty high, so you need to drink a lot of water”
“Is that dangerous?” Octavia asked.
“It’s a sign of dehydration. I don’t believe there's anything too urgent to worry about,” Abby said calmly. The computer behind her beeped. “Let me know if you don’t feel right, but it’s most likely nothing. Now, moving on to Octavia…”
She must have gone white as a sheet, as Lincoln looped an arm around her and Abby reached forward to steady her.
“Are you alright?” LIncoln asked.
“Fine,” Octavia waved them away. “Just nervous”
“Okay, well…” Abby turned back to the computer. “Well, most of this is stuff we already know. Your hematocrit levels are a little high as well, so drink some water when you get out of here. And you're not pregnant. Actually…”Abby glanced to Lincoln, “...it looks like you’re on or about to start your period, which means we need to schedule a followup to check on your contraceptive chip”
Octavia’s cheeks turned pink. Lincoln just shook his head. “It’s a natural part of life”
“That's right. And for genetic matches, you have…” Abby clicked a few buttons.“...huh…”
“What? Is something wrong?” Octavia asked.
“Well, we were expecting Bellamy to come up as a match. He’s a half match, which makes sense, since you likely have different fathers,” Abby cleared her throat. “But there's a second match”
“What? Who?”
“It gives me sample numbers, so I’ll need to go in and find him,” Abby bit her lip. “Meet me back here at 9 tomorrow and I’ll bring him so you can meet”
With that, Octavia and Lincoln were ushered out of the room. That night, Octavia barely slept. She stared at the ceiling and ran every possible male she knew of through her head. There were plenty of options she would prefer over others. She found a bit of peace knowing Lincoln was not from the Ark and could be ruled out as a potential relative. But it was still terrifying to think she could be related to a random stranger in the halls.
The next morning, at 9, she was sitting in the same exam room as the day before waiting to meet her father. Abby had directed her to the exam room and then had taken off without another word. Lincoln had agreed to stay outside in case her father was not the biggest fan of the grounders. She sat on the exam table, dangling her legs off the edge.
The door to the exam room swung open and Abby walked in with Marcus Kane at her heels. Octavia locked eyes with him.
“Abby? What is this supposed to be about?”
“Well, I told you both that an unexpected match was found while taking genetic samples,” Abby said.
They filled in the gaps.
“No way!” Octavia said, jumping off the table.
Kane looked just as surprised. “Abby, that’s not possible”
“Did you ever have sex with Aurora Blake?” Abby asked.
“Geez Abby, straight to the hard questions,” Octavia said, masking her shock.
“It can’t…” Marcus turned from Abby to Octavia. “Is this a joke?”
“It’s not a joke, Marcus. Did you ever have sex with Aurora?” Abby said sternly.
Marcus gaped like a fish out of water. He turned the color of a ripe tomato. “We were drunk. Really drunk. But it was one time and she said she had protection”
“So it is possible? It was in the right time range for you to be Octavia’s dad?”
“Yes,” Marcus muttered weakly. “Are you certain about the match, Abby?”
“Ran the test three times myself and had Jackson run it too”
Octavia broke her silence. “Of all the people on the Ark, it’s the one person I really didn’t want it to be. Just my luck”
Octavia could hear Marcus and Abby shouting behind her as she stormed out. She blindly made her way back to her room and dove on to the bed, curling up next to Lincoln.
“So who was it?”
“Kane, of all people,” Octavia muttered. “It had to be him. The universe hates me”
“Why do you say that?” Lincoln asked with genuine concern.
“He was the man who floated my mother. He pressed the button and made Bellamy and I watch as she died. And now he’s the only other family I’ve got”
“You have me. And Bellamy,” Lincoln reasoned.
Bellamy chose a great time to visit. “It’s Bellamy. Is everything alright?”
Octavia shouted in response, “Go away Bell”
“O, let me in. You don’t seem okay and I don’t think you should be alone”
“Go float yourself!” Octavia shouted back.
“Everything is okay, Bellamy. She just needs a minute,” Lincoln covered, looking down at Octavia with a soft smile. “You can go!”
“Let me know if you need me,” Bellamy shouted, then seemingly stepped away from the door. He exchanged a few words with someone outside the door, then left.
“Thank you for covering for me,” Octavia muttered, snuggling into Lincoln’s side.
“That’s what I’m here for”
There was an abrupt knock at the door. “Octavia, we need to talk”
“Go away, Kane!” She could hear him shuffle outside the door. But he didn’t leave.
“Octavia please let me in. I’d rather not have this conversation through the door,” Kane shouted.
“So don’t!” Octavia yelled. She started to tell him to “go float himself”, but Lincoln stopped her.
“You need to have this conversation with him, no matter how you feel,” Lincoln reasoned. Before she could stop him, he was at the door, letting Kane in.
Octavia stood, moving to the corner of the room. She eyed Kane cautiously.
Kane’s eyes darted to Lincoln, then back to Octavia. “Does he..?”
“I told him,” Octavia said flatly. “Why are you here?”
Lincoln looked between them. “I should leave”
“Please stay,” Octavia begged. He nodded, moving to her side and placing a hand on her back.
“It won’t be long,” Kane admitted, deflating. “Look, Octavia, it never crossed my mind that I could be your father. Your mother… there were so many others…”
“I know”
“...and we only did it once. I never thought that you were my child,” Kane wiped his face in his hands. “Oh, god, I floated the mother of my child”
Octavia nodded hesitantly, waiting for Kane to regain his composure. After a moment he spoke again.
“I never thought I would have a daughter. And so, I’m leaving it up to you on how we handle this information. If you want, I’ll forget this ever happened. But I will also be willing to own up to the title of you want me to”
Octavia stuttered. “I don’t…” She looked to Lincoln, panicked.
“It’s alright if you’re uncertain. I’ll back up whatever you choose and I’ll make sure that Kane doesn’t force you into anything…”
“I would never,” Kane interjected.
“You should take some time and think this over,” Lincoln suggested.
“Take as much time as you need. I won’t do anything until you tell me what you want to do,” Kane said. “ I have a council meeting I need to get to. Just… come find me when you know”
Octavia nodded. And with that Kane left.
It took two more weeks before Octavia made her decision. She and Kane hadn’t been avoiding each other, in fact they had bumped into each other more than normal that week and were both pleasant in their interactions, but their schedules rarely put them in the same room. Octavia found him one night in the chancellor’s office, Abby asleep on the couch. She poked her head through the open door, gently tapping on the door.
Kane made a “come in” motion, then moved his finger up to his lips. Octavia nodded in acknowledgement as she moved to his side.
“Any progress on finding Clarke?” Ocatvia whispered.
“Not yet,” Kane said sadly. “But I got Abby to sleep soundly, which is a win on it’s own?”
“I bet”
“Any progress on your side?”
“About… the whole parenthood thing?” Octavia asked uncertainly. Kane just nodded. “That's why I’m here”
They both froze while Abby stirred in the corner. She settled back down and seemed to fall back into a deep sleep.
“I gave it some thought and I don’t think we should tell anyone,” Octavia said. “I don’t feel this is important”
Kane’s face fell.
“No!” Octavia said forcefully, her eyes darting to the former chancellor to make sure she didn’t wake. “I just… I know how the people would judge us if they find out. That wouldn’t be fair to either of us”
“I understand. Your reasoning is extremely thoughtful. But you can still come to me if you need anything, understand?” Kane laid fatherly hand on Octavia’s shoulder.
“As long as I don’t have to call you dad”
Kane chuckled. “Not unless you want to. Now, get out of here before we wake the chancellor”
“Yes...dad”