Finding where I fit

Chapter 4: Becoming Jace

The following morning, Maryse sat down at the breakfast table while she looked over Jonathan's file that the adoption agency had left. She pushed it over to Robert and his eyes skimmed the pages. Each entry inside the file was from one family that Jonathan had stayed with. "Look at this Robert. Unacceptable behaviour, damage to property, threatening language. This frightens me Robert. Is he just putting on a façade? I don't understand how he's been with all these different couples." Robert slid the file over and turned it so it faced him. He listened as the children chatted and giggled as they sat at the living room table, they hadn't had any problems so far, everything was going smoothly.

"Yes but look at this Maryse. Single parents. Elderly couples. Couples with no children. I think the problem has been that he hasn't been around children who are his own age before. He needs the chance to be a child, not be cooped up in a small home in the city, he needs the chance to be a boy who can grow up with a garden and be free to go where he wants." Maryse nodded as the phone rang. It was still very early, but the adoption agency had said that they would be ringing early to say when they were on their way to collect Jonathan. Maryse paused as she held the phone out, her thumb over the green button. They can't take him back, for however how long it will be until he's here next. I can't do it to the poor child. I wont. Robert took the phone gently from her hand. "Go to the living room, I'll take care of it Maryse."

***

Robert spoke on the phone "Don't we get a say in the matter? We've said that were taking him anyway- But I don- Yes I see but- no you'd have to- yes okay." Robert rubbed his eyes as he sat at the kitchen table. The agency had said that it wasn't protocol for a family to take a child straight in, so for now, they were coming to collect Jonathan. They couldn't just do that, it would break his heart. Robert spoke again. "No, you will listen to me-"

***

Maryse walked into the living room. Max was still sleeping upstairs, and her other three children other three... were around the living room table and eating breakfast. She smiled as she walked in. Alec was crouched with his feet on one of the chairs, Izzy and Jonathan were trying to throw blueberries into his mouth and trying not to make a mess while they were laughing. But they were children and just having fun. Who was she to say they had to stop? She could have bet that Jonathan had never had the simple luxury of having breakfast with siblings before.

She cleared her throat as she came into the room. All three kids pointed at each other in blame, and smiled. She was happy to see them getting along. Jonathan had only been here for one night and he was already making quite an impression on them all.

"Listen guys, there's some-"

There was a knock on the door. Maryse started panicking. She needed to speak to the kids first. The woman wasn't supposed to be here yet.

Robert came through the door and the woman from the adoption agency followed behind. The eyes of all three kids darted around the badge on her shirt, labelling that she was there from the children's home. Jonathan stared at Maryse and Robert, as his lip wobbled. "You don't want me, do you?! I thought you wanted me in your family!" Maryse interrupted him. "We do Jonathan, but you have to understand-"

Jonathan ran out of the front door, before any of the adults could grab him. He shot out of the house and onto the street. As he tried to run, he found himself in front of one of the neighbour's cars and they slammed on the brakes, trying to stop before they hit him.

Maryse ran out of the house, to find Jonathan on his knees in the road. Tears ran down her face as she raced towards him. Her neighbour had got out of the car and as Maryse reached Jonathan, she was crying and in the process of helping him up. "I'm so sorry! He shot out of nowhere! I wasn't going fast, I don't think I hit him!" Jonathan brushed the gravel off his trousers as tears ran down his face. He checked his elbow that was bleeding slightly. "I'm so sorry, I'm okay, honestly. I didn't mean to scare you!" Maryse gathered him into her arms as she cried, she didn't think her heart could have beaten any faster. Jonathan broke down as he cried in her arms. "Why am I so broken?! Why doesn't anybody want me?!" Tears ran down her face as she closed her eyes, pulling Jonathan even closer. "You are not broken. We do want you Jonathan! We want you to join our family! The woman just giving Robert the final forms, we're adopting you Jonathan, permanently! You're joining our family, you are a part of our family, okay?"

***

Jonathan sniffled as he sat at the kitchen table. Robert was signing the forms in front of him, so the woman could be on her way. Maryse had Jonathan's foot propped up as she rolled his trouser leg and put a bandage on his skinned knee. Robert read over the forms as he signed a page, he turned the paper for Maryse to put another signature. Izzy was jumping in the door way as Alec struggled to carry Max, Maryse and Robert had insisted that they were all here as a family, and they agreed. Maryse flipped over the page as she held a cloth to Jonathan's arm. "It says here that you can choose a different name if you like. Would you like to just stick with Jonathan?" Jonathan shook his head and then shrugged. "I don't know. It's a part of me but I don't want to be a Jonathan anymore. I want to move on from him." Maryse ignored the woman who was tapping her foot while looking at her watch. "How about a nickname then? Your middle name? What about Chris or Christopher instead?" Jonathan shook his head "What about your initials? We could call you JC...Jacey maybe? I want it to be your decision." The small boy smiled as he wrote down on the paper and signed. He turned the paper so that Maryse and Robert could see it.

JC -(Jace Lightwood )