Mom's new love (marina)

Evie

3 months later
Carina's pov
Wednesday
3:30

Today was becoming one of my slowest days ever. I had been in my office for two hours and hadn't been paged once, so I decided I would go and check on the very few patients that were on the OB floor. When I opened my door I saw a little girl - no older than five - looking bewildered and panicked with red cheeks and tears running down her face. She had long brown hair and sparkling blue eyes; and was dressed in jeans that were too big and a pink shirt that was too small. She continued to walk towards my door so I crouched down to her level, "Hey, are you okay?" I asked softly as the small girl got closer to me but she didn't reply. "Have you lost your parents?" I asked. She just shook her head, collapsed into my body and sobbed into my chest. "Oh my goodness. You're okay, I've got you," I said as I wrapped my arms around her tiny frame and rubbed her back.

"What's your name, bambina?" I asked once her sobbing had subsided.

"Evie," she sniffled.

"That is a very beautiful name, Evie. I'm Carina," I told her while still crouched on the floor. "Have you lost your Mom or Dad somewhere?"

"No. The lady left me here. The one who puts me in the room," she sobbed.

"Okay, why don't you come in my office and we can sort this out, okay?" She nodded against my chest but made didn't move so I scooped her into my arms and brought her into my office. This was the strangest feeling, I didn't know this girl or anything about her but I felt this peculiar connection to her like the need to protect her. I sat on my chair that was pushed away from my desk and sat her on my lap facing me, "How old are you, Evie?"

"I'm five," she replied, wiping tears away from her eyes.

"Wow, that's so cool," I told her gently, trying to calm her down and make her feel comfortable. "How did you get here?"

"The lady put me in the car and then pulled me into the hospital and told me to stay there and then she walked away and drove off," she explained, tears threatening to pour from her eyes the whole time.

"Do you live with the lady?" I asked and she nodded. "Have you always lived with the lady?" She shook her head this time.

"I used to live with a different lady and she was called Mary but then Jessica said I had to love with this lady but I don't know her name. There's two boys that live there too but I don't know their names either. And she puts me in the room and slams the door." Evie talks quite quickly that it's hard to understand all the information.

"Who's Jessica?" I asked as she leant to rest her head on my chest.

"The lady that tells me where to live. She's really nice but when she comes the lady I live with pretends to be really nice," she mumbled while I ran my hand over her hair, keeping her head against my chest.

"Okay," I said softly. I had inferred that she most probably lived in a foster home and Jessica was a social worker in charge of Evie. But if I was going to be able to contact Jessica I probably needed Evie's last name to narrow down the search. "Evie, do you have a last name?" I asked softly, running my hand up and down her back.

"Andrews," she murmured, I think she was falling asleep.

"Okay." I continued to twirl her hair in the my fingers and run my hand over her back in the hope that she would calm down. I didn't want this sweet little girl to go back to wherever she was living because it sounds awful; if I could have my own way she'd come and live with us, where I could love her and keep her safe. But Maya would probably not agree. I should probably call Maya. I looked down at Evie and noticed her closed eyes and peaceful breathing so I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialled Maya's number.

"Hey, my love. You okay?" She asked sweetly when she picked up.

"I'm good, but I was wondering if you'd be able to come to the hospital?" I spoke quietly to avoid waking Evie up.

"Sure, what's wrong?" Maya asked, sounding concerned.

"I have a little girl here with me. I found her in the hallway and I don't know what to do."

"You should probably call child protective services," she said, sounding so understanding and perfect.

"I know but I don't want to," I said, now hearing how stupid my whole idea sounded.

"What do you mean?"

"Can you please just come here so I can talk to you?" I asked softly.

"Of course, my shift just ended so I'm on my way," she replied before putting the phone down.
..

Fifteen minutes later, Maya was opening the door to my office and peering in with an unexpected loving look on her face. "Hey," I said while rocking my chair from side to side with my feet and rubbing Evie's back. "This is Evie," I turned the chair so she could see the small girl's sleeping face.

"She's beautiful. How long has she been here?" She asked as she leant over to press a kiss to my lips.

"About thirty minutes," I said calmly, I hadn't really realised the severity of the situation: I had a five year old in my office who I didn't really know. "I'm pretty sure she lives in foster care and has a social worker called Jessica. She said a lady left her here and then drove away," I explained while still rocking the chair.

"Okay, and why have you not been in contact with said social worker?" Maya asked, clearly trying to be patient but also sort of failing.

"Because if I call them then she'll be taken away," I said like it was the most obvious thing.

"What's going on here, Carina?" She asked, her arms crossed over her chest but a contrasting love and sparkle in her eyes.

"I want her to live with us. We'll take care of her and love her and keep her safe. And she'll be somewhere that she doesn't get locked in a room," I said, now looking at Maya.

"We can't do that, we both have jobs and Harley and we don't even know the full extent of her situation. For all we know she has parents who love her very much," she said, now kneeling in front of me. I knew that would be her reaction, she thinks so sensibly all the time.

"I know but Harley would love her, think about how often she talks about a sibling," I said, probably sounding a little too whiny for a fully grown adult. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I said, referencing the love in her eyes.

"Like what?"

"Like you've got cartoon hearts in your eyes," I said, narrowing my eyes slightly.

"Because it's sort of what I've always wanted," she shrugged.

"What is?"

"You with a child, it's like our own little family. I know you are so good with Harley and you're like her mom but you're not," she shrugged again, "I sometimes just wish I'd met you ten years earlier so we could have had a baby," she looked at her hands like she was embarrassed.

"Aw, my love, I sometimes think that too, but this could be our chance. If you get behind me on this we could have our own bambina. Please," I said while stroking my wife's cheek but still being quiet to avoid waking Evie up.

"Okay. But we still have to call CPS to be put in touch with her social worker."

"I know."