Leanne's POV
Since it's a beautiful morning, Michael and I decided to have a breakfast picnic with the twins in the back yard.
"C'mon guys. You can do it" Michael and I smile, encouraging Annabelle and Ryan as thet both lift themself up which they both manage for a few seconds before Annabelle falls back down and Ryan follows shortly behind.
"Aww. You'll get it next time" I smile at Annabelle, while she's looking at Ryan with a slightly pissed off look on her face. "Only a few months old and their already getting competitive. Typical brother and sister" Michael chuckles.
"What's it like having siblings?"
"Um... It depends on the moment really" Michael shrugs. "How do you mean?" I frown confused.
"Well... there are times when it's great and you always had someone to play with and you love each other and would do anything for them because their your siblings. Like when I was a kid and those kids were picking on me at school. I didn't tell anybody because I was scared they'd make fun of me for not sticking up for myself, but when they saw what was happening Jackie, Jermaine, Tito and Marlon cornered all of them and beat the crap out of them because they were my big brother's and that's what brothers and sisters do because you love each other and wanna protect each other... and then there are the times when you can really hate each other and go out of your way to get at them and piss them off. Like one time when I was 8, I got this remote control fire truck that I'd been begging my parents to get me and I was so excited when I finally got it, but then Jermaine got his hands on it and drove it into a wall an broke it. He says it was an accident, but I knew he did it on purpose because he was an asshole and was always breaking my toys" he frowns.
"It bothered me then, but it was just a stupid fire truck and I'm over it now though" he shrugs trying to act like he doesn't care. "It sounds like it" I giggle slightly. "Sounds like you had a lot of fun growing up" I smile. "Yeah it was" he smiles "Sometimes I used to wish I was an only child though" he chuckles slightly. "It's fun being an only child, but sometimes I used to wish I'd have a brother or sister to play with. My mom and dad wanted more and were actually going to adopt before... you know. I still wonder sometimes whether I would have had a brother or a sister. I would have preferred a brother, but I would have been happy with either tough" I smile.
"They were trying to adopt?" He asks and I nod. "I'm not sure exactly what it was, but my dad said my mom had some problems trying to conceive naturally after she had me. So they were thinking of adopting... It would have been really cool to have a baby brother or sister"
"I'm sure you would have made a great big sister" he smiles. "I think so" I shrug. "Well your free to have one of my siblings if you want. Brother's are the most annoying though. They always try and steal your stuff" he chuckles slightly, making me do the same.
We're interrupted when Annabelle starts crying and Ryan is trying to take one of Annabelle's socks off. "Told you" Michael chuckles, picking up Annabelle and as always her little hands go straight to Michael's curls. "What is it with you an mommy always playing with my hair?" He coos at her. "Because it's so cute" I chuckle, leaning over an playfully mess it up a little.
"There you are!" We hear and turn and see Janet walking out of the back door. "Hey! When did you get here?" I smile. "A few minutes ago. I was knocking on the door for like a hundred years! Luckily I have a key. I thought you'd gone out or something"
"Why would we go out when you were coming over to babysit?" Michael asks "We decided to have a pinic breakfast today. Sorry we didn't hear you knocking" I smile. "That's ok. And speaking of decisions. You rember that talk we had about goals and life dreams and stuff?"
"Yeah Why?"
"Well I've been thinking and I've decided the perfect dream and career for me so.... I'm gonna be a full time nanny!... yours to be exact" She smile excitedly. "You wanna be our nanny?" I frown confused and she nods. "Of course! And it makes perfect sense too. I love babies. Your kids love me and with you two going back to work, who better to be their nanny than their Auntie who's also their most favourite person in the world and with us being family you know they'll be safe and I won't be stealing stuff while your gone... perfect" she smiles. "That sounds great, but what about..."
"Great! I'll talk to Joesph and tell him I'm won't working at the offices any more" she cuts Michael off "And don't worry about all that contract and stuff like that. We can discuss all that and my salary when you guys come over to mother's for lunch on Sunday and don't worry about all that qualification stuff either because I signed up for a course in child care and I've payed for it myself, but any extra training you want me to do, you'll have to pay for yourself"
"But we haven't even..."
"I'm gonna go get some drinks and snacks so I can join your little picnic" she cuts me off then goes inside.
"Did she just hire herself as our nanny?" I turn to Michael confused. "I'm not sure" he replies just as confused.
After Janet let us know she's hired herself as our nanny we all sit around talking and playing with the twins and Michael looks at the time on his watch. "I'm gonna have to get going soon" he sighs, not really wanting to get up. "Yeah. Me too. I'm supposed to be training that new cook today"
"Why didn't you just hire someone who already knew what to do?" Michael asks. "Because all the other people I interviewed were annoying as hell and she actually seems really nice. Plus I kinda felt bad for her because she said she really needed this job. I think she may have money troubles or something"
"Or... She just went for the sympathy method so you'd hire her" Janet cuts in. "Maybe, but I only hired her on a trail so I guess we'll see how she does" I shrug. "Well hopefully it works out for you. I'll come by the hotel later and see how your getting on" Michael smiles and pecks my lips then leaves to go get ready for work.
****
Carley's POV
I'm on my way to the hotel and I still can't believe I've finally found my sweet little Sofia. It took everything I had not to pull her close to me and tell her everything and how much I love her and how much I've missed her, but I know if I
Just tell her who I am straight away there's no way she would have believe me. She'd think I was some crazy women and have me thrown out of the building so I have to do my best to try and stay calm and get to know her first and let her to get to know me.
I will tell her the truth and who I really am, but I can't just blurt it out. I need to be sensitive about how I approach this. I've read the post Randy wrote on that website time and time again and it breaks my heart knowing what my poor baby went through. She was just a 15 year old little girl and she went though so much pain and was forced to do such awful things and I wasn't there to protect her, but now I've found her I'm never going to let her go and I'll never let any harm come to her ever again. I never gave up hope on finding Sofia and I prayed everyday that one day I would find her again and now I finally have, no words can't express the emotions I felt when I walked into her office and seen her standing there in front of me and she looks even more beautiful than in the few photos I've seen of her on Randy's Facebook. He's blocked my number and anyway of contacting him now, but none of that matters anymore because now I've finally found her.
*
When I get to the hotel, I go towards the reception. "Hi. I'm supposed to be starting work here today in the restaurant and..."
"That way" the girl cuts me off and continues doing something on her phone and I walk over towards the direction she was pointing. Any other day I would say something if someone was rude to me like that, but right now I'm more I interested in seeing my daughter again.
I get to the restaurant part of the hotel and even though everybody's being really nice to me and showing me around and telling me the kinds of jobs I'll be doing. I'm honestly not interested or even listening properly to what their saying.
"What time does Leanne usually get here?" I ask Jason the head chef and he shrugs. "Not sure. She usually just comes and goes whenever she pleases"
"So she's not here everyday?"
"Not really, but now she's running things in here, she'll probably be stopping by more often. Why?"
"She just said she'd be helping me today is all" I shrug. "Well if said she'd be here then she'll turn up eventually" he shrugs. "So what's she like?" I ask "Leanne? She's really nice. Way better than some people I've worked for. She's tough when she has to be, but in general she's really good to work for" he smiles and I smile back.
After another hour of waiting the kitchen door opens and she finally walks in. "Hey! How's everything going? Has Jason been taking care of you?" She smiles. "Of course" Jason answers. "I wanted to run through a few thing's with you while your here" he says and Leanne nods and walks off with him and comes back a few moments later.
"Hey, sorry about that. Shall we get started? I asked Jason to make up some space so we won't get in the way of everybody else" She smiles leading me toward and empty space in the kitchen.
****
Michael's POV
I've been trying not to think about it, but it really bothered me when Leanne told me about her parents trying to adopt before they died and it actually pissed me off they used Leanne as the reason Anna couldn't have kids. I understand some women can't conceive for various reasons and choose to adopt, but Ryan and Anna didn't do that with Leanne. Ryan just picked her up walked out of a hostpital with her. I didn't ask for any details about how much Leanne knew about this adoption, but it does make me question whether or not they really were going to adopt a baby or just do the same thing they did with Leanne.
My thoughts are disturbed when Randy comes into my office. "Hey, I'm gonna go to that new sandwich place down the street. You wanna come?" He asks and I shake my head. "I told Leanne I'd go down to the hotel and see her at lunch"
"Has something happened?"
"No Why?" I shake my head. "You just seem a little quiet today is all"
"I'm just tired is all" I lie. Usually if something was bothering me or I had a problem, I'd always go to Randy, but after what happened with the letter Maria left and all the other stuff that followed. It's probably best I just keep this one to myself. Plus this is the first time Leanne's ever mentioned about her parents wanting to adopt so it could have just been a thought and nothing more. If they had been in the process of adopting or getting ready for a new baby, then Leanne would have mentioned it before now or had more information, but from what she said it was probably just a brief conversation she had with her dad and nothing more.
"Doesn't she usually come to see you?" Randy says, bringing me from my thoughts. "Yeah, but she's training up some new cook today and I thought it would be nice to go see her at work this time"
"You know you could just call each other or wait until you both get home to talk right?"
"Phone calls aren't really the same" I shrug and he doesn't say anything for a moment.
"Your not just trying to stop her coming here are you?" He mumbles. "No Why?" I frown confused. "Maybe your worried about me talking to her. I'm not gonna say anything if that's what your worried about. Carley's gone now and she has no way to contact me. Plus I wouldn't have told her anyway. This is for you to tell her not me"
"I don't have a problem with her coming here. I just thought it would be nice for me to go to her for a change and take her lunch" I tell him honestly "And you know I'm not gonna tell her. She's been through enough and she doesn't need to know all that. She had two parents who loved her and raised her in a happy and loving home. That's all she needs to know" I shrug and he nods, not saying anything. "Well I guess I'll see you when you get back" he smiles at me through pursed lips and leaves my office.
I know Randy is never going to agree with me not telling Leanne the truth, but it's not like I'm doing it to spite her or anything. She's been through enough already and the two of us are finally happy and in a good place so I don't see the point on ruining that when it's not necessary.
****
Carley's POV
It's been hard trying to have a long conversation with Leanne because everytime we do start talking about something slightly personal somebody always keeps coming over to ask her for something and she keeps walking away so I haven't been able to find out much about her yet, but from what I have found from spending time with her is that she's a really sweet girl and has a real passion for cooking and baking.
"So how are we doing on the chilli?" Leanne smiles coming back over to me. "Um... it's ok, but I can't seem to get to taste the same as yours. I followed the recipe, but it's not coming out right.
"That's because your doing it with your mind. Instead of your heart" she smiles. "How do you mean?" I frown confused. "If you don't love what your creating then it's never gonna turn out perfect for you. Try not to think so much about following a recipe. The less you worry about following the recipe perfect then the easier it'll be" she smiles and moves the chilli I made out of the way and gets more things so we can start again.
"You have a real talent for this kind of thing. Did you do this at school?" I ask and she shakes her head. "My mom always used to take me with her to a resturant she worked at and ever since I could remeber, I always loved just watching her and the others take all these different ingredients and turn them into these beautiful creations and when I was about 6 her and the others would show me how to do it. I couldn't touch anything hot or sharp, but it was still fun" she smiles.
"You Were close to your parents?" I ask and she nods. "Their really nice.. Why don't I show you how to make this again?" She smiles, changing the topic. I open my mouth to speak and her phone starts ringing. "I'll just be one second" she says then turns away and answers the phone and I listen in
"Hey Janet! How's everything going?.... there should be more diapers in the nursary, in the draw.... you found them?.... great and don't forget to read the 'all the ways I love you' story before naptime... ok, I'll call you later"
"Sorry about that" she turns back to me. "Babysitter?" I ask and she nods. "We call each other a few times during the day" she smiles.
"Must be hard being a young mother and running a resturant"
"It can be, but Michael always does his share and we got alot of help from the family too, so it's not so bad"
"Twins actually run in my family" I comment and she looks at me confused. "How did you know I had twins?"
"Umm... you just told me" I lie "I did?" She says a little unsure, but luckily she brushes it off and I sigh slightly and remind myself to think before speaking. I already almost messed up when I called her Sofia during the interview and I really can't risk her getting suspicious before I've even had a chance to get to know her properly.
After that little slip up. I don't ask anymore personal questions and we start talking about other things. Nothing interesting just general chit chat, but just having my baby girl close to me is enough right now.
As we're talking, she starts feeling warm and takes of her Jacket and I notice the locket she's wearing. It's the same locket that was taken the same time Sofia was taken. The same locket that was once my mother's which I was going to give to give to her when she was older.
"Are you ok?" Leanne looks at me concerned. "Umm... y-yeah... I'm fine" I stutter. "That's a really pretty locket" I fake a smile. "Thanks! My mom and dad gave it me when I was little" she smiles, opening it up and there are 3 photos inside. A women on the left and man on the right and in the middle there's a photo of the two of them smiling and holding my baby Sofia "Is that them?" I ask and she nods and smiles.
I look a little closer at the couple and I quickly recognise the man. It's the doctor who was taking care of me when I had my baby. He was the one who stole her from me!?
"Are you sure your ok? You look kinda pale?" She says confused. "I'm just a little warm is all" I lie. "Well why don't you take a seat and I'll go get you some ice water" she smiles and helps me sit down and walks away to get some water and I sit trying to wrap my head around it.
He was there for me and took care of me after I had her and even when she was taken. He was there and he supported me when I was talking to the police and the whole time HE was the one who had my baby!
*
"Are you feeling ok now?" Leanne asks, taking the empty glass from me and I nod and fake a smile. "Mhm"
"Maybe it's best if you go home for the day" she suggests and I shake me head. "I'm fine really. I just got a little light headed is all" I lie. "I'd prefer you did. I really don't wanna risk you passing out or something. Why don't you just go home, get some rest and we can just continue you training tomorrow"
"You'll be here again tomorrow?"
"Mhm" she nods "I guess maybe a little nap would be good" I smile slightly and she opens her mouth to speak when once again Jason comes over and interrupts us like he's been doing all day.
"Your husbands here to see you" he smiles. "husband?" I frown confused. "I'll be back in a moment. Will you call a cab for Carley? She's feeling a little light headed" she turns to the head chef, then leaves.
"Leanne's married?" I ask him when she leaves and he nods. "Yeah. They got married on her 18th birthday. It was really sweet actually. He'd planned the whole thing all year and proposed to her on her birthday. It was a beautiful wedding too" he smiles "So he proposed and married her the same day? He didn't give her time to think about it?" I frown. "Yup. Like an hour before the wedding.. I think he was scared she'd say yes then change her mind" he chuckles and I fake a smile at him.
****
Michael's POV
I walk over towards the kitchen and as I'm about to go in, the door opens and Leanne walks out. "Hey! I was just coming to get you" I smile and kiss her softly and she kisses me back the same way and we walk over to her office.
"So how's everything going with the new cook?"
"It was going well, but I'm not sure if it's gonna work out"
"How come?"
"Well, the new girl's nice an all, but it's not even lunch time and she's already starting to feel light headed and needed to sit down. If she's like this now. I'm worried how she's gonna be during lunch when it's the buisest "
"You think she's faking it?" I ask and she shrugs. "I'm not sure. She was fine one minute then just went all weird. I told her to come back tomorrow though just in case. hopefully it'll be different tomorrow though" she sighs slightly. "Anyway... I have a surprise for you" she smiles changing the topic and walks over and gets something from behind her desk and hands it to me.
"When did you...?" I smile. "I stopped by the toy store on the way here. You like it?"
"I love it!" I smile taking the remote control fire truck from her which is exactly like the one I told her Jermaine broke. "I can't believe you did this. Love you" I smile and kiss her softly. "I love you too" she smiles and kisses me back then breaks away. "Since Carley's leaving early. I'm just gonna get my stuff and we can go" she says, opening the door to leave and I follow behind her.
We get to the kitchen and Leanne opens the door and calls for Jason to hand her, her Jacket and cell phone she forgot and we both leave.
****
Carley's POV
I'm walking towards the exit and I can see Leanne and who I'm guessing is Michael walking ahead of me and I start walking a little slower. I've never met Michael before, but I recognise him from some of the photos I saw on Randy's facebook and I really don't want to risk him seeing me and messing this up for me. It's taken me 18 years to find my daughter and I can't lose her now... not again.