"Name"

Summary: Adam gets a call from his birth dad and finds the ties that bind are never easily broken… Three-shot; Fiona/Adam pairing; Senior Year fic!; post-"Long Weekend". *Timeline fic*

Author's Note: I decided to post this tonight! This is a timeline fic. It takes place after "Long Weekend" and is set during Adam's senior year at Degrassi. Adam, Fiona, Eli, and Drew are on winter break! Ernesto, Adam's birth dad, was previously mentioned in "The Wedding". He lives in Spain.

This was originally a two-shot, but I decided to cut the first chapter in two. You'll see why…

For a full timeline of related stories, view my author's profile.

Categories: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Family, Friendship

Rating: T (for language)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi!

1-

Eli sighed. "This might take all day."

Adam nodded and looked up at Fiona. She also had a weary expression on her face.

The three of them were in the basement of the Torres residence, looking for a specific box of Christmas decorations on his mother's request. It was grunt work, but they were all out of school with lots of free time, so of course she saw fit to put them to work!

Adam was just happy that she allowed him to move around. He was recovering from internal surgery and was on restricted activity until the third week of January. As predicted, the first few days Mrs. Torres had gone overboard with making sure he rested. Luckily she had calmed down and he was able to spend an afternoon unsupervised with his best friend and his girlfriend.

"I think I found it!" Eli declared triumphantly. Fiona walked over to take a look at the box he located.

"Those are Easter decorations," she informed him.

Adam laughed heartily. Eli sent him an annoyed look.

Suddenly they heard a phone ring.

Fiona looked at him. "It sounds like your phone."

Adam raised an eyebrow, wondering who that could be as he reached into his pocket. His parents were upstairs and Drew was taking a nap. He thought of Clare, but she was out of town with her mom and sister for the holidays. He shrugged and opened the phone.

He abruptly grimaced when he recognized the voice on the other end of the line.

"Grace Anna Marconi de Colón! How come you didn't warn us—"

He promptly cut off the speaker.

"THAT'S NOT MY NAME! FUCK YOU!" he roared and snapped the phone shut. He then threw it angrily on the ground. When he looked up Fiona and Eli stared at him, in utter shock. He looked down at his feet and breathed heavily for a few moments.

Fiona was stunned. She had never seen him so angry. It was like a switch was flipped and in seconds he went from calm to erupting in rage!

Eli was also taken aback. There had been only a handful of times that he had witnessed Adam exhibiting such explosive anger. The conflicts with Owen came to mind, but what he just saw stood out. There was an undercurrent of hurt that provided an edge to his words. He could tell the pain was deeply personal.

Adam blinked several times. He was embarrassed at his display, and he could tell that he scared Fiona and Eli.

"Adam, are you alright?" Fiona broke through the silence. She walked towards him and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder.

He took a deep breath before looking up. "I'm sorry about that," he said in soft voice. He struggled to meet her eyes, but was determined to do so. He found her staring back at him deeply concerned.

"Who was that?" Eli asked.

Adam sighed. "My birthfather," he revealed. Fiona and Eli shared a brief look. "He'll call back."

"Will he?" Eli questioned.

Adam nodded. "Oh yeah. He has to have the last word."

True to form, his cell phone rang again from its place on the floor. Fiona started to reach for it, but Adam beat her to it. He met her eyes again.

"Sorry," he whispered.

She moved forward and kissed his cheek. "Don't be," she reassured him. "Let me talk to him."

Adam looked at her uncertain. She smiled and took the phone from him.

"Grace, don't you ever talk to me like that again!" Ernesto demanded angrily.

Fiona stilled herself. "This isn't Adam."

She heard him pause on the other line.

"Oh. Well then, whom I am speaking to?" he asked, in a more restrained tone.

"Fiona Coyne. I'm Adam's girlfriend," she responded. Adam looked at her nervously.

There was another pause.

"So, you're the reason our name has been splashed around in the papers from here to Timbuktu?"

Fiona cracked a small smile upon realizing that Adam had used that saying before. He probably got it from his dad. "I love him and we're not living our lives in hiding," she told him.

Adam and Eli shared a curious look. They couldn't hear what his father was saying to her.

Fiona heard Ernesto scoff. She continued, "Quite frankly, I think we have a bigger issue to deal with and it's how you speak to your son."

Adam raised an eyebrow.

"Did you hear what he said to me earlier?" Ernesto said incredulously.

"I did. His name is Adam. When you call him by the wrong name it's hurtful," Fiona said firmly.

"That's no excuse for his outburst!" Ernesto argued with her. "Besides his legal name is Gracie."

"That's not his true name," Fiona refuted. She struggled to keep the anger out of her voice. "You need to understand that you're dealing with a seventeen year old boy who feels deeply offended and rejected every time you refer to him by a name that does not reflect who he is! You're the adult here, and you have to do better."

"Can you put my son on the phone?" he asked curtly. She could tell he was pissed.

Fiona looked at Adam and covered the receiver. "Do you want to talk to him?" she whispered. He nodded. "Alright. Hold on."

.

tbc

A/N: They discussed this in "Long Weekend", but apparently Adam's name and association with Fiona has gone public…

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