Erin watched as Hank toured their new home, "Well, what do you think?" She carefully bit down on the tip of her index finger, "do you like it?"
Hank looked around the large open area, he couldn't deny it..the house was beautiful. It was an open floor plan and the back wall consisted of floor to ceiling windows filling the room with natural lighting, Jake and Emme already enjoying sliding across the oak floors in their socks.
"It's beautiful Erin...the kids seem to love it" he laughed as Jake wiped out and landed on his bottom with a thud and instantly giggled before getting up and repeating the action over and over again.
"It's pretty close to you"
Hank nodded, "I overreacted Erin, I'm happy for you all. You guys deserve this" he hugged her, "I'll take the older two for the day, once you start moving in"
Erin roared with laughter, "Anything to get out of the heavy lifting...am I right?"
Hank rubbed at his back, "I'm an old grandpa...I can't be lifting heavy boxes"
"That's funny, you don't seem to have any issues when it comes to work" she teased him, "it's alright, Ruzek and Atwater are helping and Kim is gonna keep Lucas for me"
It was hard to believe he was finally free, though he'd never be free from the overwhelming guilt that still consumed him all these years later.
He wasn't sure where he was headed, his sister had begged him to come live with her and her kids.
Problem was she lived in Chicago, he was afraid to step foot in the city, he was certain he still had a target on his back.
One he deserved.
He had earned their hatred, he hated himself.
Ashley stared at her reflection in the mirror, her belly had swelled some, she now had the tiniest little baby bump.
It had been weeks since she stormed out of Alex's dorm room, she knew they needed to talk but the idea of it scared her.
An abortion had always been out of the question but it was now no longer an option, she had discussed adoption with her parents and they agreed it was the best outcome for all involved and it was the best for the baby.
She already loved the tiny life growing inside of her, but she knew the greatest gift she could give that life was a family that was capable of caring for it. Her and Alex weren't ready to be parents, this was the best option for all parties.
She knew it in her head, and in her heart but it still hurt like hell. The idea of giving her child away was terrifying, but she knew she couldn't be a parent.
Her baby deserved more than she could provide for it.
She had already met with an agency and was trying to decide between an open adoption versus a closed one. She loved the idea of having an idea of what was going on in her child's life but she wasn't sure she could handle knowing those things.
The woman had told her to think about and to speak with the baby's father.
Except she couldn't get a hold of him, she had heard he'd broken his hand and had surgery and that was about it.
She hated that he seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth, the last person she wanted to contact was his mother, so she decided she'd check in with Kim and Adam. She'd spent a few nights at their house and really liked them, she especially liked their son.
She wore a baggy sweatshirt in hopes of hiding the baby bump, she wasn't sure if other people would notice it or not, she just wasn't ready for the world to know yet.
