Love Unspoken

Quinn hitched a ride to town and made her way to the maternity and child department at the hospital.

The elevator doors slid open, and there was Alexander, chatting with the cops, still rocking that hospital gown, leaning against the wall like he owned the place. Quinn acted like she didn't see him and marched straight up to the police officer. "Hey, officer, what do I need to do?"

The cop grabbed his notebook and pen, saying, "Just spill the beans about what went down that day."

Quinn shot a glance at Alexander. He was giving her those puppy-dog eyes, but she couldn't shake the memory of his look from that day.

She turned away and laid out the whole story for the cop.

After jotting everything down, she asked the officer to snap a few pics.

Then she headed into the ward, stood by the baby's incubator, and took a few more shots.

The cop asked her to pose, and Quinn awkwardly flashed a peace sign. It felt so fake, like she was some wannabe do-gooder.

In the photos, her face was stiff, like she was about to get busted.

The cop finished up, smiled, and shook hands with both Quinn and Alexander, then handed them a banner.

Alexander took the banner, grinned at the cop, and said, "Nice job."

Realizing he sounded weird, he added, "I mean, the banner."

The cop chuckled and said, "We'll head out now. Holler if you need anything."Material © NôvelDrama.Org.

As the police left, Quinn was ready to bounce too.

But Alexander grabbed her wrist and called out, "Quinn."

She turned, "What?"

"Aren't you gonna see our daughter?" Alexander asked.

"That's your kid. What's it got to do with me?" She hadn't signed up for this adoption; he had. He could deal with it.

Alexander whipped out an adoption certificate and shoved it in her hand. "Check it out."

A bad feeling crept over Quinn. Sure enough, the certificate showed that she and Alexander, as a couple, had adopted Quinlan Mellon.

She tossed the certificate back at him, yelling, "Are you nuts? It's bad enough you used my last name, but you gave her such a lame name!"

Alexander caught the certificate and grabbed her hand again, saying, "Don't talk about yourself like that. It's a beautiful name."

"It's not beautiful at all! Who gave you the right to name her Quinlan Mellon? You wanted to adopt her. Don't drag me into this. Go change it yourself!" Quinn snapped, fuming.

"Okay, I'll change it. You pick the name. Whatever you want, just don't be mad," Alexander said, trying to calm her down.

Quinn shook off his hand, glaring at him. "Name her whatever. I never agreed to adopt her. Do you think this will win me over?"

She continued, "You're wrong. Seeing her just reminds me of the two kids who never got a chance. You didn't want them then, and now you're pretending to care. What's the point?" Alexander just stared at her, silent.

Quinn turned away, trying to keep her cool.

After a bit, she spoke calmly, "Don't you think this is ridiculous?"

Alexander was quiet for a long time. He finally nodded. "I didn't think it through. I'm sorry."

Quinn shot back coldly, "What's the point of saying sorry now? If you're so kind-hearted, raise her yourself. You can afford it, but leave me out of it. If you adopted her just to cling to me, it's only gonna make me hate you more."