This is when they adopt Maple.
I feel like this showcases their different personalities, or at least that's the plan.
Bailey: dermatologist, brunette, brown eyes
Faith: black hair, brown eyes, artist
Maple: wavy brunette hair, tan skin, hazel/golden eyes
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Faith's POV
"What if she doesn't like us? What if she thinks we're monsters?!" My wife exclaims
I hum as I continue my sketch of her.
I've been working on the sketch of her for three days.
I'm having the most trouble with her eyes.
It's just- I feel like I cannot capture the true beauty of them.
"We barely even got approved to adopt her! What if she takes one look at us and changes her mind?!" She continues to rant with nervousness
I hum again as I continue to focus on shading in her eyes.
This is the best that this sketch is going to get.
"Are we bad parents?!" She exclaims
I hum, not paying attention to her.
"We're horrible at parenting and we haven't even begun!" She practically cries out
I unconsciously stick out my tongue, my teeth holding it in place as I focus on my sketch.
I am so focus on my sketch that I ignore the next thing that my wife says, finishing off her pupils.
"You aren't even listening to me!" She pouts
I smile and place my pencil back inside of my pencil pouch before turning the sketchbook to face her.
The brunette stops pacing the floor in front of me to stare at my drawing.
I patiently wait for her criticism like a little child who needs constant approval.
She smiles at it and makes her way towards the couch that I am sat at.
"It's beautiful, babe," she genuinely compliments me
"But we really need to talk about our roles as parents, everything is going to change" she states as she plops down on the cushion next to me
I sigh and lean forward.
I neatly place all of my materials underneath our coffee table before relaxing back into the couch.
My hands immediately search out for her shoulders as I climb onto her lap.
I rest my bum on her lower thighs and cross my arms behind her neck.
"Relax, it's chill," I assure her with a calm tone of voice
An extreme contrast to her panicked one.
"She's going to need awhile to adjust,"
"It doesn't mean that she hates you, it's just because of the environment that she was raised in" one of my pointer fingers instinctively reach out to play with the hair at the nape of her neck
I twirl the short hair around said finger as she looks up at me.
A small smile makes its way onto my face when I notice that she is calming down.
There we go.
No need to stress.
Her worry lines are getting really bad.
"You're right" she sighs
I notice her relax against the back of the couch.
Her hands reach out for my thighs.
The butterflies in my lower belly go crazy as she slides the palms of her hands all the way up the surface of my thighs before wrapping her arms around my waist.
Aww.
"Of course I'm right," I state with a 'duh' tone
"You must be new here" I continue
The brunette haired woman rolls her eyes at me
"Shut up" she mutters lowly
I notice a smirk begin to break out onto her face which only prompts her to shove said face into my chest.
She does this a lot, mainly when she's embarrassed.
I chuckle at her, but continue to play with the hair at back of her neck.
The two of us just stay like this.
In complete silence, the only noise being our steady breaths.
The two of us just enjoy each other's precious presence until we are interrupted by a knock on our front door.
My wife immediately tenses at this.
Okay.
I guess that we're back to freaking out.
"Remember, kids can sense fear" I tell her
I calmly climb off of her well cushioned lap, her hands reluctantly dropping from my waist.
I am the first one to climb off of the sofa, rising to my converse covered feet.
A reassuring smile breaks out onto my face at the sight of her worried facial expression.
She worries a lot unfortunately.
The best thing that I can do for her is make sure that she's comfortable.
I hold my hand out for her to grab ahold of.
The brunette haired woman stares at my hand for a few seconds, debating on whether to actually take my hand or not.
She eventually decides to grab my hand when there's another knock at the front door.
I help her up off of the couch.
I patiently wait until she is all the way up.
Once she is up and balanced I bring her hand up to my lips.
I shamelessly place a kiss on top of her hand, a bit of red residue being left behind.
She chuckles at this, yet makes no move to wipe it away.
I smile.
Yes!
I got a smile!
I'll celebrate that accomplishment later.
The brunette pulls us towards the front of the apartment.
It takes less than ten seconds for us to reach the front of the apartment.
I watch as she reaches out for the doorknob but ultimately hesitates.
"Go on" I gently encourage her with a soft tone
The brunette turns to face me.
My reassuring smile does not falter as I meet her eyes.
The brunette releases a small hesitant exhale before reaching out for the doorknob.
She slowly turns the golden knob before swinging the door open.
I practically coo as I come face to face with an adorable little girl.
She appears to be a toddler, just learned to walk.
"Hi, my name is Maple Brooks" the small girl smiles sweetly
Oh my goodness!
Maple is Hawaiian hence her tanned complexion.
She has dark brown hair, borderline black, that is flowing down her back in loose waves.
Her long bangs are tucked behind her tiny ears.
She is so freaking cute!
Her hazel eyes glance between the two of us with confusion.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I barely make out her saying
Okay.
Toddler language is going to take some time getting used to.
My wife releases my hand as she squats down in front of the girl.
Oh my god!
I feel like I am going to overload from happiness.
Once my wife is sure that she is not going to fall she holds out her hand for the child to hold.
"Hi Maple, I'm your Mom" she says with a soft tone
Child breaks her eye contact with the crouching woman to glance up at me.
I notice a curious facial expression resting on her chubby face.
"If you're my Mom then who is she?" I make out her saying
I smile amusedly at her.
A sassy one.
I did not see that coming.
"I'm your Mommy," I answer her question
The child nods her head, tightening her hands on her small backpack.
Hmm.
"Come, I'll take you to your new bedroom" I suggest as I hold my hand out for her to grab
The toddler smiles at me and makes her way past my wife, grabbing my outstretched hand.
I notice my wife's slightly hurt facial expression but choose to ignore it as I lead the toddler towards her bedroom.
I will make sure to console her later.
The child and I excitedly make our way towards the hall where the bedrooms are.
"What does my room look like?" She asks
I chuckle as I notice her hopping up and down beside me, her grip on my hand tightening.
Wow!
Okay!
Someone's excited!
"I don't know, why don't you tell me?" I tease with a wide smile as we stop in front of the opened door
The child ceases her hopping to glance into the bedroom.
She is silent at first as her eyes take in the bedroom.
Her hand eventually releases mine as she makes her way into the brightly lit room.
Due to Bailey and I not knowing if we were going to get a boy or a girl we decide to make the bedroom's theme color yellow.
Yellow is a bright, happy color.
Plus I like to think that it brings good luck.
There is a twin sized bed resting against two walls in the corner of the small bedroom.
The bed is covered by white sheets and a pastel yellow duvet.
The two main pillows are covered with white pillowcases as well, but they are covered my the multitude of stuffed animals my wife and I laid in front of them.
There is a soft brown teddy bear and a giant crochet bee that has been stuffed with filling, just to name a few.
At the end of the bed there is a large, pastel yellow cable knit throw blanket that is neatly folded.
There is a large closet a few paces away from the bed as well as a miniature table.
She has a small flat screen resting on top of her large dresser and a few books on the bookshelf beside it.
I tense up as I feel someone's presence behind me, but relax when I realize that it is only my wife.
The woman wraps her arms around my chest and rests her chin on my shoulder.
Due to her arms being wrapped around my chest and biceps, trapping them against my body, I carefully bring my hands up to rest on her forearms.
I hold her arms closer to me as we watch the child silently admire her new room.
The toddler is silent for a minute before finally speaking again.
"I love it!" She exclaims
She gasps which causes me to raise an eyebrow at her, an amused smile still on my face.
"Oh my god! I have my own tv," she gasps
"And my own stuff!" She continues to celebrate
I cannot help but feel a little saddened by this information.
Wow.
She has never had her own stuff before?
"We're going to give you some time to settle in," my wife smiles as she notices my upset facial expression
"What's your favorite food?" The woman asks
The child hesitates a bit as she thinks of an answer.
She hums for a few seconds before a smile comes onto her face.
"Chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese" she answers
I smile and nod my head.
"While you unpack we'll make it for you" I promise her
I swear that her eyes widen to the size of saucers at my answer.
"Really?!" She gasps, not believing my offer
I furrow my eyebrows, my head instinctively tilting to the side at this.
"Of course" I say
How- How badly was she treated there?
Apparently it was bad enough that she cannot believe that someone actually wants to do something nice for her.
My wife and I make our way out of the bedroom before the child has the chance to ask any questions.
-
"Hey, are you okay?" I ask my wife as I finish wiping down the counter top
After the three of us ate our 'dinner', I helped Maple take a bath.
We put her down for bed about an hour ago before washing the dishes and such.
The brunette furrows her eyebrows at me obviously confused.
"Why wouldn't I be?" She avoids answering the question
Seriously?
This again?
I stop what I am doing and glance over towards the woman who is leaning against the refrigerator.
I raise an eyebrow at her when I notice that she has an emotionless facial expression.
"Stop that," I tell her
"Stop pretending like you have no clue what I'm talking about," I continue
"I know you inside and out, I think that I can read your facial expressions" I state
The woman groans at this, tilting her head backwards so that the crown of it is resting against the large metal appliance.
I roll my eyes at her dramatics before making my way towards the trash can.
As soon as I reach the trash can I throw away the lemon scented paper towel.
"She hates me! I knew she would! The way she just ran past me and immediately towards you- Ugh! You're the better Mom!" My wife quietly rants
I frown as she ends with a small pout on her face.
Aww.
My poor baby.
I make my way over towards her, wrapping my arms around her waist.
The brunette does not shy away from my affection, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.
"She doesn't hate you, believe me," I assure her
"If she hated you then she wouldn't even be speaking to you" I chuckle
I feel my wife nod her head the slightest bit.
A small breath of relief exits her lips.
I smile at this but continue to hold her close to me.
The two of us just stay in each other's arms, having a moment alone for the first time in a few hours.
"You smell nice" I interrupt the silence after a few long moments
My wife laughs at this.
My smile widens as she pulls away from me enough to to see my face.
"I would hope so, I did use your shampoo" she admits
I raise an eyebrow at her.
So that's what happened to my shampoo!
"You seriously need to get your own shampoo" I state
My eyes have a mind of their own as they glance between her eyes and her lips multiple times.
I guess that my body is trying to tell me something.
My wife, noticing this, smirks and pulls me closer against her body.
"Oh yeah?" She says lowly
I feel a crap ton of butterflies in my lower belly at the sight of her eyes setting their sights on my lips and moving nowhere else.
Well then.
My teeth sink into my bottom lip as I nod my head.
The both of us unconsciously lean into each other.
It does not take much for our lips to find each other, immediately knowing what to do.
I guess that is a perk of being married to your best friend for years.
My fingers tighten around her shirt that is in my grasp.
Our bodies instinctively press further against each other as the kiss deepens, becoming more personal.
More passionate.
This goes on for a little longer than I feel comfortable admitting.
The sound of a small cough echoes throughout the kitchen.
I pull away from my wife so quickly that you would've thought that she hurt me.
"Maple!" I say a little too enthusiastically considering that it is late at night
I awkwardly lean my body against the counter, not entirely knowing how to react.
"What's up?" I ask the small child
Upon closer inspection I realize that she is holding an unfamiliar, dirty, torn up stuffed bunny in her hands.
She must have brought that with her from the adoption agency.
She is dressed in her cartoon themed night gown, her brown hair still damp from when I washed it.
"There's monsters and- and-" tries to say but doesn't get far
Oh my god.
She's scared!
Of course she's scared!
Ugh!
Why didn't I think about the whole sleeping in a new bedroom by herself thing scaring her?!
Ugh!
I'm an idiot.
"Do you want to sleep in our bed with us?" My wife offers
The toddler silently nods her head at this invitation.
My wife is visibly shocked when she notices that the child is holding her arms out for her.
I smile at this.
The brunette haired woman glances at me, seemingly about to tear up from pure joy.
I silently nod my head at the woman, encouraging her to go for it.
I swear that her smile becomes wider before she squats down and grabs ahold of the child.
She lifts the child up in the air before resting her on her hip.
Aww.
"March onward!" I call out
My wife chuckles at me but does as I say.
The woman marches towards the kitchen entrance.
"Bring those knees up, Pierce" I jokingly call out like a major
The brunette haired woman rolls her eyes as she begins marching higher.
"Yell at me again and I'll Pierce my knee through your-" she begins to threaten me
My eyes widen when I quickly realize what she is about to say.
"Woah there! There are children in the room" I warn
I reach one of my hands out to teasingly tickle said child.
Maple's joyful laugh flows out of her tiny body, a smile taking over her face.
I laugh along with her.
I only do this for a few seconds before retracting my hands.
I do not want her to accidentally wiggle out of Bailey's arms.
I really think that I'm going to like being a mommy.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Next bonus chapter is Kayden and Carolina's.