The decision to adopt had been a fairly easy one to make since neither Lydia or Allison were keen to go through with a pregnancy and both felt even less keen of dealing with midnight feedings and diaper changes, and the idea to adopt a child that was a little bit older was made with the want to avoid the hassle of diapers and bottle feedings but also because Lydia had feared she might find it hard to bond with a baby that couldn’t talk to her or express their wants in words;yes, perhaps the reason behind the want to adopt and the want to adopt not a baby but rather a child between the ages of 4-6 was based on their own selfish wants and desires, but they still wanted a child to call their own and love because although they had their dogs they simply weren’t enough to either one.
The gender of the child wasn’t made as easily as the idea of adoption had been, but eventually the choice was made for them as they visited their local foster home where a small boy of four years was said to be waiting for someone to want him, Heather their case worker had told them that the boy who’d lost both of his parents in an apparent murder suicide was relatively bright but that there might be an issue with ADHD but she’s assured them the boy was as sweet as any little boy could be; Allison had noticed the tell-tale signs of Lydia already making-up her mind that they weren’t going to take a child that was “faulty” which sort of broke her heart, but then again things changed once they walked into the grand house of Talia and Andrew Hale and found the small boy alone in the private study of Andrew Hale and sitting in the naughty corner his adorable face streaked with tears and hard with determination.
Granted finding the boy they were there to see sitting in the naughty corner hugging tightly a plushy fox wasn’t a promising start but Allison still walked over to the child who looked so small where he sat, according to Mrs. Hale the stubborn boy had been sitting on the small chair fifteen-minutes already simply because he continued to refuse to apologize to the other kids in the house for his bad behavior, Allison had kneeled in front of the little boy that might look angry but who had such deep sadness in his brown eyes that Allison felt truly sorry for the little thing and wishing that one day someone would appreciate him for who he was.
Allison had gently used a tissue to dry the tears on the flushed little cheeks and asked the unhappy child why he wouldn’t just apologize if it would get him out of trouble the look of shock that washed over the little face momentarily was adorable enough to make Allison smile a little, but then a look of unwavering stubbornness filtered back in and the child just said far too loudly, `I do no wong. I help Ikey when they mean, he was cwying! ´ and then the little boy is crying repeating a couple of times how Ikey had been crying, and Allison just had to comfort the little boy with pale skin dotted with a couple of dark moles, she’d pulled him into her lap and just hugged him tightly as he hiccupped how he’d just defended Ikey and how he wouldn’t apologize not until the other kids apologized to Isaac not even if he couldn’t have chocolate pudding for two years.
`I like him.´ Allison had heard her wife say before she walked out of the room to find Mrs. Hale and to explain the reasons for the misbehavior and Allison had known then that the boy she was comforting was going to be her and Lydia’s son, what she hadn’t known was that they’d end-up adopting two little boys.
~*~
Allison startled awake suddenly. She’s not sure what has her awake, but she knows it could be something important or just the damn tree outside the bedroom window that has her wide-awake and on high-alert. Her childhood had made her a light-sleeper and since becoming a mother she’d returned to sleeping lightly just so that if Isaac had a nightmare she could be there to sooth him awake or comfort him back to sleep, then there was Stiles’ sleep walking and the constant fear he’d get out of the house again; they had alarms and everything now but the thought of Sheriff Parrish brining not their wandering son in the early hours of the morning back but bringing the horrible news of Stiles wandering out on the road and getting hit by a car was motivation enough to keep Allison sleeping lightly at night.
She glanced over at her wife who was sleeping peaceful beside her and not for the first time did Allison find Lydia to be the most beautiful woman on the planet, they’d been high-school sweethearts and college roommates, carefully Allison leaned in to kiss her softly she was ever grateful for Lydia’s love for her and their two boys; they’d only been a family for six months but it felt right and perfect, certainly Lydia and she had to cut-back on the hours they worked and to get used to the fact that even with the cleaners there was always somewhere a little bit of mess.
It’s the sound of the washing machine starting-up that has Allison out of bed before she makes the conscious decision to do so, the sound is such an anomaly at night that it has her on high-alert her first instinct is to check on her boys, the fact that Rufus their German Shepherd is sleeping peaceful in the hallway eases the tightness inside her chest if anyone was in their house he’d be up and barking unless of course he was dead, but the dog was snoring lightly where he slept by the stairs.
It doesn’t take long for Allison to realizes that her kids are not in their beds or asleep, the flood of light that breaks through the dimly lit hall speaks volumes of how awake her two boys are, carefully Allison makes her way over to the bedroom door that always had to be left ajar because of Isaac’s claustrophobia.
Allison hears her youngest talking softly voice so sure and unwavering, `It okay Ikey, I fix it.´ when she gets close enough to look through the opening Allison sees her little one making his own bed with a fresh set of sheets, he’s so small as he moves around but his face wears a small smile and a look of pride, `Look Ikey I fix it, no one knows.´
Stiles admittedly struggles a little here and there but he’s visibly certain he’s doing everything right and he sounds so certain of the truthfulness of his statement as she speaks, `I clean it all up. Now we wash an change and no one knows.´ it’s then as the little boy moves towards the much taller and older boy, the bed looks exactly like a little child would’ve changed the sheets on it but still there’s something oddly sweet about the effort Stiles had placed on the task.
Allison turns her attention over to her oldest a boy who’d been according to Mrs. Hale picked by Stiles to be his brother from the first day a bruised and terrified Isaac had walked into her house, although being younger and only three at the times Stiles had announced to everyone Isaac was his little brother; now however Stiles had slowly started to understand that Isaac was older and thus his big brother, from the conversation Lydia and Allison had with Stiles about big and little brothers what Stiles had taken from it was that he was going to grow as tall as Isaac – the wonderful logic of children.
The dark spot on Isaac PJ’s near the crotch and the lingering scent of urine causes Allison’s heart to break a little once more, they’d known about Isaac’s bedwetting when they’d decided to make one adoption two but he hadn’t had an accident not once since he’d moved in with them. From the smaller stain on Stiles’ own PJ’s and the sudden change of Stiles’ sheets equals to Isaac and Stiles sharing the bed again and Isaac having and accident; it wasn’t all that uncommon to find Stiles in Isaac’s bed or vice versa.
`I – I’m sorry.´ Isaac hiccups but the smaller boy just hugs him uncaring of the fact that he’s pressing his little chest against the large wet spot on Isaac.
`It okay Ikey. I no mad. I pwomise.´
`What’s going on? ´ Lydia’s voice calls out loudly enough to startle all three of them, `Why is the washing machine on? ´
Isaac freezes where he stands as does Stiles, both boys wide eyed where they stood.
Allison hadn’t notice that her wife had sneaked-up behind her. Isaac looks either close to having a panic attack or to confess all the known sins of the world which was a sad reminder of how this young kid with soft curls had been mistreated so horrifically by his birth-father that whenever Isaac dropped something be it a piece of toast or one of his school books the kid seemed to think it was all a crime that warranted him getting the belt, and if the man wasn’t dead already well then Allison would’ve found the bastard that had locked his son in a freezer and she would’ve killed him.
`I wet my bed!´ Stiles suddenly announces his tiny arms waving and head nodding, and although Stiles was very clever able to read and write as well as Isaac could if not better the child was horrible at lying at times when he wasn’t given a chance to think about how to do it convincingly. Isaac looked appalled by Stiles taking the blame but Stiles seemed oblivious to it as he continued to speak too quickly to make any of what he was saying convincing, ` I wet it yes I did. Too much juice. I sowwie but I fix it, look.´ he gestures proudly at his messy bed.
`Stiles.´ Allison says while frowning at the smaller boy as she stepped inside the room that still carried the scent of Isaac’s accident, `What have we said about lying?´ There’s a pause during which Allison opens the bedroom window just to air out the bedroom, but then the little boy who was genuinely the only reason why Lydia and Allison had adopted Isaac bit that they regretted adopting him, he was just an unplanned adoption like an unplanned pregnancy that turned out to be just what was wanted, says far stubbornly, `I no lie. I wet my bed.´
Allison sighs ready to argue with her youngest but before she’s able to Lydia steps in, she turns the small boy so he’s facing her and with a look that could squeeze a confession from the most hardened criminal she asked, `Stiles, did you wet your bed tonight? ´ Stiles starts to fidget where he stands, `Stiles, I asked you a question.´
Stiles stutters nervously, `I – I,´ but then Isaac steps in tears streaming down his face and voice full of unreasonable fear.
`It wasn’t him, it was me. My fault.´ Stiles looks horrified by his confession and shakes his little head and mouthing the words No Ikey No.
`I – I wet the bed. I’m sorry. Stiles didn’t do anything.´ Isaac cries and Stiles starts to cry now too and hurries over to Isaac and just hugs him again tightly while the older boy continues his confession, `He – he just tried to help me, he’s little he doesn’t know better.´ And it’s heartbreaking to watch as the two boys just cling to each other one so terrified of what would happen to him and the little boy who’d clung to him like their lives depended on it.
`It’s okay, we’re not mad.´ Lydia tells the two boys while moving over to where they’re standing, gently she wraps her arms around them and hugs them in that special way that showed the Ice-Queen had a heart, a heart perhaps only devoted to her wife and children and dogs but a heart none the less, Lydia softly kisses the top of Isaac’s head while whispering out, `You are the bravest boy I’ve ever known Isaac, and the best big brother any little boy could have.´ and with that Isaac melts into her hug.
`And you, Stiles, you need to learn me and Mommy are the adults so if anything happens to you or Isaac you come and get one of us, it’s not your job to fix things – your job is to be child, okay? ´ Stiles nods and rubs his face against Lydia’s hip giving one last `I sowwie.´ which is hushed away by Lydia.
Their family wasn’t what some might call ordinary, one of their children carried horrible scars from a past life and the other thought he had to be the fixer, but Allison had to admit as she moved to hug her family that this was in her opinion the best family for her.