Remedy

Father

Amelia's surgery was successful and after she updated the family, she headed to the gallery to get Scarlett.

That night, Amelia was quieter than usual and both Maggie and Meredith noticed.
"Alright, spill. Why are you acting so weird?" Maggie said after dinner, as soon as Scarlett and the kids were out of sight.
"What are you talking about?" Amelia said trying to play dumb as she put her plate in the dishwasher.
"You're being quiet, and you're never quiet," Maggie pointed out.
"Is it about Scarlett's doppelganger?" Meredith hinted at.
"Scarlett's what?" Maggie asked.
"There was this girl in the ER who looked just like Scarlett today, and when I told Amelia, it freaked her out," Meredith explained.
"I didn't freak out," Amelia said fast in defense.
"Amelia?" Maggie asked when she turned and noticed the woman staring into space. Amelia snapped out of it and turned to his sisters and said,
"Max is Scarlett's dad."
"What?" Meredith asked.
"Who's Max?" Maggie wanted to know. Amelia took a deep breath.
"An old friend of mine and he happened to show up in the ER today with his five year old son and two daughters," Amelia explained and then looked to see her sisters reaction.
"So Scarlett has a half sister?" Maggie asked.
"She has two. And a half brother apparently," Amelia told them with a sigh.
"You told me Scarlett's father was a drug related friend." Meredith recalled from their conversation in the supply closet when they first met Scarlett.
"I lied. I just said that so I didn't have to tell you that he was actually a good guy. It was easier to just say he was a drug related friend so I didn't have to feel as bad for not telling him," Amelia confessed.
"So you meeting Max had nothing to do with drugs
"Well, I went to school with Max's cousin who I bought from and she was the one who introduced us years later at her wedding." Amelia explained.
"Are you sill friends with his cousin?" Maggie asked.
"Andrea? No she died like ten years ago. She overdosed," Amelia said casually.
"How long were you and Max together?" Maggie wanted to know.
"We weren't really together. More like a fling or a friends with benefits situation. He was finishing law school and I was in med school when it all happened. That's why I couldn't keep Scarlett. He wasn't ready to raise a kid and neither was I," Amelia answered.
"Does Max know Scarlett exists?" Meredith asked.
Amelia shook her head and said,
"No, I never told him."
"Do you think you're going to?" Maggie asked.
"Tell him or Scarlett?" Amelia asked.
"Either," Maggie said.

That left Amelia thinking. She didn't want to blindside either one of them but also didn't know how to tell them. She hated that she was in this position. She thought she'd never see Max ever again. Or Scarlett for that matter. Guess she was wrong.

The next day at work, Amelia arrived to find Max waiting outside the hospital for her.
"Hey, Amelia," he called when he noticed her walking by the bench he was sitting at. She turned around, surprised to see him.
"Max, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"I was hoping we could talk," he said and caught up to her.
"About what?" she asked, playing dumb.

Max took out his wallet and pulled out a picture. He held it out to Amelia and showed it to her. It looked like it was an old school picture of Scarlett.

"How'd you get this?" Amelia asked, assuming it was of her daughter.
"That's my 13 year old daughter, Alice. Doesn't she remind you of someone?" Max asked.
Amelia realized where he was going with this and said,
"What do you want?"
"After I met Scarlett yesterday I couldn't stop thinking about her. Her and Alice look like they could be sisters and-"
He stopped and took a deep breath.
"How old is Scarlett?" Max asked.
"She's fifteen," Amelia told him with a straight face. She shifted a little bit due to her feeling uncomfortable.
Max just looked at Amelia. He knew the timeline fit so he asked,
"Is she mine?"
That question made Amelia even more uncomfortable. She didn't plan on sharing Scarlett with anyone and she didn't want to give up any right to Max as a parent.
"First of all, she's mine. I think what you meant to ask was if you were her father," Amelia said to him slowly.
"Am I?" Max wanted to know.
Amelia looked at him for a second and then said,
"Yeah, but I didn't mean for you to find out like this," adding the last part quickly.
Max sighed and took a seat at the bench they were standing by.
"Amelia she's fifteen. How come you didn't tell me sooner? I think I would've liked to know I had another daughter walking around," Max told her with a bit of a tone.
"I gave her up for adoption when she was born. Then, her mom died a few years ago and her dad died a month ago so I took her in," Amelia explained.
"I'm assuming she doesn't know about me since she didn't seem to recognize me yesterday," Max commented.
"She hasn't asked about her father yet," Amelia told him.
"When she does ask, you'll tell her about me, right?" Max asked.
"Of course," Amelia assured him.
Max nodded and said,
"I'd like to help set up a college fund for Scarlett," as he proceeded to take out his checkbook.
Amelia instantly got defensive and said,
"We don't need your money."
"It's the least I can do," Max tried to say, so Amelia replied with,
"Sorry, we don't want your money."
"Amelia-"
"I know I was kind of a shit show when you met me, but I'm a different person now. I'm clean and responsible and a world class neurosurgeon!" Amelia said proudly as she stood up.
"I believe you, I just want to help. She's my daughter too," Max offered and stood up.