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“DAD! ABBA!”
“We’re in the kitchen peanut”
Scottie runs into the kitchen where Jack and Robby are making dinner, while more like Jack is making dinner and Robby is just sitting on one of the stools by the counter
“Hi”
“Hey peanut, come take a seat next to be” Robby says as he pats the stool next to him
“Where’s Emery?”
“He’s in his room abba, he said he’s at a good spot in his book and wants to finish it”
“Sounds good. How was school?” Jack asks as he stirs the pot on the stove
“Good. We have a project due next week”
“What is it?”
“A family tree”
“Cool, any directions?” Robby asks
“Yeah, in my folder, let me go grab it”
“Sounds good”
“Some arts and crafts, your specialty Robby”
“Yeah, Scottie is going to have the best family tree in the class”
Jack just rolled his eyes
“Here’s the instructions”
“Thanks”
“Can I go play while you read those?”
“Yeah, go have fun until dinner”
Robby reads the directions as Jack focuses on finishing up dinner
“What the…..” Robby starts
“What is the project confusing, you’re a doctor, I didn’t think a family tree would prove difficult”
“No, it’s just that these directions are insane”
“Let me hear them”
“Do you want me to read them to you or do you want to read them yourself?”
“Read them to me, I’m finishing dinner up”
“Alright, it says Make a Family Tree that includes the important people in your life: mom, dad, any full-blood siblings and extended family. Try to stick to the people who are blood related.”
Jack just looks back not saying anything
“If Scottie only includes the people she is fulling blood related to, that leaves you, Ellie, and Emery off of it. Plus, she would have no mom. Her family tree would be me, her, and Beau. That’s a sad family tree and doesn’t encompass her family fully”
“Mhmm”
“I’m sending the teacher an email”
“Mike, please be calm”
“No…we are teaching our kids that blood doesn’t equal family. She shouldn’t be forced to hide who we are. She is being raised in a loving home, where a ton of people are playing a part in her childhood”
“I understand. Let’s eat dinner and we can discuss this later”
“Fine”
————————————————
“Hey abba, I was thinking about my family tree”
“Oh yeah, what were you thinking about”
“The people I want to include”
Jack notices Robby tense, so he jumps in “Who were you thinking peanut”
“Well, Ms. Taylor says that we have to include our mom and dad, but I don’t have a mom. I tried to tell her that, but she says that everyone has a mom. So, I thought about it and I want Aunt Dana on my family tree.”
“Good idea Scott. She can be in the tree leaves as an honorary member” Ellie jumps in sensing that this conversation is going to take a turn
“Thanks Ellie. Ms. Taylor also says that we have to include our dad, which makes sense, but where do you go abba?”
“Uhmm” Robby hesitates
“Next to me obviously kiddo” Jack answers
“Cool”
“The paper says only blood-related family, so the tree doesn’t get too big. That’s crap” Beau says from the kitchen grabbing a drink, as he reads the directions, which Robby left on the counter
“Beau, said a bad word” Emery throws out
“Sorry, but that is” Beau says coming back
“Your abba and I agree” Jack says
“I’m going to email” Robby says
“What does that mean, blood-related?” Emery says
“Well, bud, everyone has a mom and a dad. The mom gives an egg and the dad gives sperm. The egg and the sperm form a baby.” Robby says
“Okay, well if we don’t have a mom, where did our egg come from?”
“Our donor. We have talked about her before.” Ellie says answering the question
“Yeah, she’s the nice lady that made it possible for us to have a family”
“That’s right, kiddo” Robby says
“Is this why, my friends have asked who my real dad is?” Scottie asks
“WHAT??” Jack yells
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you dad”
“You didn’t, peanut”
“We have a biological dad and then we have a second dad. They are both our real dads Scott” Beau says
“Who’s my biological dad?” Scottie asks quietly
“Okay, I thought we had some time before we told you guys, but here goes nothing. We have talked about how our family is not traditional and we needed help to have you kids, but we haven’t told you guys who your biological dad is because we didn’t want you guys to see us differently.”
“We are both your real dads like Beau said, but each of you only got made from sperm from one of us”
“Let’s make guesses who you guys think it is. Remember how we have talked about genetics and the fact that we share traits with our parents?”
“Yes” Scottie says
“Yeah, like how dad has blue eyes like his mom” Emery adds
“Exactly, bud” Robby answers
“So, let’s take guesses, and who ever gets the most right gets to pick the movie for our next movie night” Jack says
“Beau since you are the oldest, you can start”
“Okay, I think dad and Ellie, me and abba, Scottie and abba, and then Emery and dad”
“Okay, Ellie your turn”
“Abba with me and Beau and then the twins with dad”
“Alright. Scottie?”
“Mhmmmm, El with abba, Beau with abba, me with abba, and Emery with dad”
“Sounds good, and last but not least, Emery”
“I think abba with all of us”
“Alright guesses are in. Drum roll please”
*DRUMROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL*
“Ellie’s biological dad is me” Jack says raising his hand
“I knew it. The eyes gave it away” Beau says
“Good or bad thing?” Jack jokes
“It’s a good thing, I like my eyes” Ellie says
“Thanks El” Jack says
“Yeah, abba’s eyes are sadder” Scottie giggles
“WOW, rude” Robby says trying to hide his smile
“Sorry, but it’s true”
“Alright, who is my biological dad” Beau asks
“Me” Robby raises his hand
“Beau is perfect so far” Emery says excitedly
“YAY” Scottie yells back
“Makes sense, they are the same person. Both so moody sometimes” Ellie jokes
“Agreed” Jack says with a laugh to which Robby just rolls his eyes
“The twins have the same dad right or are they really not twins?” Beau asks
“They are twins, because they share an egg donor and are born on the same day. Again, we were untraditional though”
“Scottie is with abba and Emery is with me” Jack says
“Emery has your curls and blue eyes” Ellie says
“Yeah, the nice curls. One of the things that made me fall in love with him” Robby quips
“EWWWW” Scottie exclaims
“Haha sorry” Robby says rubbing Scottie’s shoulder
“Wait, so I got them all right?” Beau asks
“Yep, good job dude”
“Thanks dad. We’re watching Avengers next movie night”
“So, who do I put on my family tree?”
“We are going to put all of us and anyone else you want because like I said, we are untraditional and uniquely us”
————————————————————
“Hey Jack, when you get a chance, can you read the email I have drafted on my laptop? It’s on the coffee table under my book. I’ll be in when I finish loading the dishwasher”
“Of course, Mike”
September 17, 2025 10:30 pm
From: [email protected]
Subject: Family Tree Project
Hello Ms. Taylor,
I hope you are doing well! Sorry for the late email. This is Dr. Michael Robinavitch, Scottie Abbot’s father. She brought the directions home for the family tree project she has due next week and I have a couple of questions and concerns. The directions say to include only full-blood-related relatives. As I am sure you are aware, Scottie has two fathers and siblings that are not full blood related to her. I feel as if this project’s instructions are excluding families that are non-traditional. Scottie also mentioned that she was told she must include a mother, she is struggling with this because she does not have a mother. She knows about the wonderful egg donor who gave us a chance to have a family, but that is not her mother. We are trying to teach our kids that blood doesn’t always equal family. I was hoping we could make some changes to the directions to fit our unique family. Is this okay?
Best,
Dr. Michael Robinavitch
Chief ED Attending
PTMC
“Hey does it sounds okay?” Robby asks as he enters the living room
“Yeah, sounds good”
“Alright, well…it’s sent” Robby says as he clicks the button on his laptop
———————————————————
Robby has work the next day, nothing crazy happens and the day passes in a blur. Busy, but manageable is how he would describe his shift
“Hey Rob, ready for handoff?”
“Yeah, let’s do this thing”
After talking through the patients that Robby is leaving for Jack, the two men hang around the hub as Dana finishes packing up
“Oh, did Scottie’s teacher ever email you back?”
“Oh, I’ll check now. I haven’t gotten a chance to look at my email today”
“What’s wrong with Scottie?” Dana asks curiously
“Nothing slugger, she has to do some family tree project and the directions were kind of not inclusive, so Robby sent an email”
“Not inclusive? I need some more”
“The direction said only include full-blood family and that a mom and a dad need to be on there”
“Ahh, so not up-to-date with the different family dynamics out there”
“Exactly”
“WHAT THE FUCK?”
“Whoa Cap, let’s lower the volume. What’s wrong?”
“Sorry, this email is just crazy”
“Let me see Cap” Dana says taking Robby’s phone from him
September 18, 2025 12:10 pm
From: [email protected]
Subject: Family Tree Project
Hello Mr. Robinavitch,
Thank you for your email voicing your concerns and questions. I must ask that you not veer away from the provided directions. I understand your situation is different, but the directions are there for a reason. What you do in your free time and in the privacy of your own home is yours and your family’s business, but I don’t think it should bleed over into school. Some of the kids have not been exposed to your unorthodox ways of living. This would mean for the project, include Scottie, her real father, her egg donor and any siblings that share the exact same parents. I understand that this is probably not the answer you are looking for, but it is neither my place nor yours to expose other children to your ways of living. It should be up to their own parents if they learn about someone having two dads or not.
Best,
Ms. Brooke Taylor
Oakswood Elementary
“Wow” is all Dana can muster after finishing the email
“WHAT I DO IN MY FREE TIME! UNORTHODOX WAY OF LIVING? She’s acting like this is a fling or something I will get over. Damn she’s putting us back in the closet”
“Maybe we just follow the directions and not cause a stir”
“NO, you know what, screw the directions, Scottie is making the family tree she wants and that’s that. If she wants to include the squirrel in our backyard, so be it. Blood doesn’t equal family. You deserve to be on the tree Jack, you were the one who got up at 2am to feed her because she wouldn’t settle when I tried. You’re the one she wants when she falls and needs a bandaid. I never get asked to check for monsters because I didn’t fight monsters in other countries. You are just as much her dad as I am. We have never been rule-followers. We thrive on doing things differently”
“Yeah Cap!” Dana says slapping Robby on the back. This is usually the other way around, Robby tends to be the rule follower and Jack is the one who likes to push boundaries.
“I just don’t want to be the reason she gets in trouble”
“You won’t, I’m the one who is going to do the project with her, so I take the blame”
“You know what, you’re right Mike. Screw conventional”
———————————————————
So that’s exactly what they did. The family tree had Jack and Robby as Scottie’s parents. Beau, Ellie, and Emery were all included on the same branch as Scottie. Scottie put Dr. Adamson and Dana in the top of the tree because Dana was like their mom and Dr. Adamson was the only father Robby ever had. The kids always called Adamson ‘gramps’ so he deserved to be on the tree. Scottie wanted to include Walsh, Ellis, and Shen because Jack always referred to them as his siblings. She also wanted to include the residents and med students because Robby and Jack call them their kids. Robby was able to talk her out of including everyone, they stuck with just Dana and Adamson, he was okay ruffling some feathers, but that felt like too much ruffling.
“That’s a good looking family tree peanut”
“Thanks dad!”
“Is Ms. Taylor going to be mad?”
“We will deal with that, don’t worry” Robby said after seeing worry written across Scottie’s face. This made Scottie relax
“Sounds good, abba”
Scottie turned her family tree in and was proud of the final result. She presented on her family and how her family is different than others.
As expected, Jack and Robby received an email from the school.
September 26, 2025 11:15 am
To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Family Tree Project
Hello Mr. Robinavitch and Mr. Abbot,
I am emailing in regards to Scottie’s family tree project. I have also included our principal, Mr. Stephans on this email. I explicitly asked you not to veer from the directions provided and you did just that. Scottie was to include her dad, mother, and only full-blood related siblings. She included 2 fathers, no mother, all her siblings, and a couple of random people who were not branches off the center tree. She will be losing points for this project, and I would appreciate it if you explain to her that this was a result of you choosing to allow her to ignore directions. The class is now having a lot of questions about why Scottie has two fathers and why she only has the last name of one of them.
Best,
Ms. Brooke Taylor
Oakswood Elementary
———————————————————
ROBBY + JACK
Jack 🐝 : Did you see this email?
Robby ⚓️ : yeah, it’s so stupid
Jack 🐝: I’m going to email back
Robby ⚓️ : alright, just keep it cordial, remember you’re a doctor
Jack 🐝: Promise to keep it G rated, boss
*ROBBY LIKED A MESSAGE*
———————————————————
September 26, 2025 11:15 am
To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Family Tree Project
Hello,
Thank you for your email. We are more than happy to inform Scottie of her grade for this assignment, but we will also be informing her that she lost points because her school is not open to the idea of non-traditional families. We are proud to be a two dad household. I know what a “traditional” household looks like, both Michael and I grew up in them. I was even previously married to a woman. Love makes a family, not blood or having both a mom and a dad. What did you make the kids with a single parent household do or the kids who are adopted? You did tell us not to veer from the directions, we acknowledge that, but if we followed them, half of her family would be missing. Scottie did include her biological father/abba (Dr. Robinavitch) and she included her full-blood sibling (Beau). She just also included me (her dad) and her other siblings, Ellizabeth and Emery. We have never had a problem with this before. We will be scheduling a meeting with Mr. Stephans to start the process of transferring Scottie to another school. Also, the random people are two of the most important members of our life/family. Dana is the closest thing to a mom the kids have. Scottie wanted to include her to fulfill your requirement for a mom to be on the tree. Dr. Adamson was like a grandfather to the kids and the closest thing to a dad Michael ever had. She wanted to include a bunch more people from the hospital, but we talked her out of it to keep the tree somewhat reasonable. So what if the class has questions, if you don’t feel comfortable answering them, Michael and I are more than willing to come in and speak to the class. If parents complain, give them our emails and we can handle it. Scottie has two dads, both of which are equally present in her life. She has my last name, but she has Michael’s blood. I didn’t think a school could be such closed-minded, but it appears I was wrong. We will be taking Scottie out of this school and moving her to another one.
Best,
Dr. Jonathan Abbot
ED Attending
PTMC
———————————————————
ROBBY + JACK
Robby ⚓️ : nice email. What school are you thinking of switching to?
Jack 🐝 : any one, but that one
Robby ⚓️ : I’ll talk to Scottie later
*JACK LIKED A MESSAGE*
———————————————————
“Hey peanut, Ms. Taylor wanted us to talk about your project with you”
“Okay”
“She took points off because we didn’t follow the rules”
“Rules are dumb sometimes, that’s what dad says”
“Haha, you’re right. Well dad and I think it would be best for you to switch schools. You did nothing wrong, they just don’t like how your family looks”
“That’s rude”
“I agree”
“New friends, I’m excited. Plus, I like how our family is and I really liked my project”
Robby just smiled. Sometimes he questioned the decisions he has made and feels like he might make the kids’ lives harder by being married to Jack, but in moments like this he knows he is doing the right thing. He is married to the love of his life and that took long enough, he’s not going to hide just because people don’t want to accept it.