It was yet another late night after another long day; between running the cafe, picking the kids up from school, making dinner, and helping with homework, Haley Scott was utterly exhausted.
Sinking into the couch, sighing softly, she still couldn't help but smile. Regardless of the relentless running around, Haley loved her life. With an incredibly amazing (and sexy) husband, two beautiful kids, and her dream house, she really couldn't ask for anything more. While it may not be entirely possible, Haley was sure hers was pretty damn perfect.
Still, she savored the quiet moments after putting the kids to bed and relaxing in front of the television with a large glass of red wine.
She threw her head back against the top of the leather couch, closing her eyes for a short moment, only for them to flutter open when she felt her husband's lips press softly against her forehead.
"Hey, gorgeous." He greeted with a tantalizing smirk, making his way around the couch and sitting next to her. Instinctually, Haley's body melded to his own, as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Hi," she whispered softly, nuzzling her nose into the crux of his neck and inhaling his delicious, mouth-watering scent.
"What's on your mind?" He asked, eyeing his wife knowingly.
Haley's manicured eyebrow arched into a high-arc as if to say, 'how'd you know?'
Nathan grinned, silently replying with his own furrowed eyebrows and playful scowl, which Haley knew meant 'Really? We've been married almost ten years. I know.'
She adored the way they were able to read each other with little to no words. It's a task not many people are able to successfully accomplish. Sometimes their silence spoke the loudest. Nathan was not a man of many words, but the way he looked at his wife said more than words could ever convey.
At that thought, she leaned up and kissed his scruffy cheek - secretly loving the way his newly grown scruffy facial hair gently tickled her lips.
"I've just been thinking." She answered softly.
"About what?"
"Us. Our life."
"Oh yeah?" Nathan smirked, grabbing the wine glass from her hand and taking his own sip, watching as his wife playfully rolled her eyes. "What about it?"
"I love it. I love you. I love this family."
His teasing smirk transformed into a loving, adoring smile. "I love you, too, Hales."
She squeezed him gently, as if trying to physically transcend her love through him. "Actually, there is something I wanted to talk to you about," she said, shifting on the couch so that she was better able to look into his eyes.
Nathan nodded, "Okay. What's up?"
Haley fiddled with her wedding ring, a sure fire sign she was nervous and Nathan grew concerned.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded, "I'm fine. It's just… I know we've been trying to have another baby, and-"
"Hales, are you, I mean- are we? Are you pregnant? 'Cos if you are, you know you shouldn't be drinking wine." His blue eyes widened and Haley wanted to laugh at the worry shining through the large orbs.
Placing a gentle, comforting hand on his thigh, she shook her head. "I'm not. I'm sorry."
He watched her face drop and he wrapped her in his arms, placing another kiss on her hair. "That's okay, baby, we'll keep trying."
Haley nodded sadly into his chest, savoring the warmth emanating from beneath his t-shirt. A few months ago, they had entertained the idea of having another baby. Jamie was nine, and Lydia was almost four, and they felt it was the right time, regardless of their busy schedules. Unfortunately, the task hadn't been as easy as it had with Jamie and Lydia. Nathan and Haley hadn't found enough time to be alone together, which obviously made it harder to make love. She knew they didn't have any problems in the pregnancy department, but still, she was growing impatient.
"Next week will probably be the best time. That's when you're ovulating, right?" Nathan mused out loud.
Haley was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of his words. She crinkled her forehead, "How the hell do you know my menstruation schedule, Nathan?"
He blushed at the confession, "It's always the third week of every month. I know you better than you know yourself, Haley James."
Haley chuckled loudly, "Oh my Gosh, I don't know if I should find that endearing or incredibly creepy."
She watched a sly grin cross his lips, "See, I was going for romantic. We're just so in-synch with each other."
Another giggle emit from her lips, "I guess so. Wait 'til I tell the guys, though. They're totally going to rib you for it."
Nathan pouted, "That's just mean."
"I'm teasing, babe." Haley giggled, running her hand over his cheek.
"Okay," he shrugged, "but really, what's up? Do you want to stop trying or something?"
Haley shook her head 'no'. "I want another baby, I really do, but-"
"But what?"
"What do you think of adoption?"
Nathan's eyes widened again, taking in the reverberation of the question. "You want to put the kids up for adoption? I don't know if they'd agree to that."
She bit her lip, "I'm serious, Nathan."
"Uh, okay…" he pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. "I guess I never really thought about it before. I mean, we never really needed to consider it."
"We still don't. I'm sure if we kept trying we could still get pregnant, but I don't know, I just… we make really great kids," she said, grinning, "like really great. Beautiful, smart, kind. Well, you know that, I don't need to tell you-"
"You're rambling, Hales."
Haley inhaled deeply, calming her excited nerves, "Right, okay." She took his hand again, smiling, "Our kids are happy. We love them, and they have an amazing life. But I was thinking of all the kids who don't have that. Who won't ever get that, and it makes me sad, you know? I just think, maybe, we can adopt a child and give them a great life they might not otherwise have."
Nathan was rendered speechless. So many thoughts were mulling in his mind, and all he could do was lean down and kiss his wife in a frenzied kiss.
Immediately, Haley's lips parted, openly welcoming her husband's friendly tongue. She moaned, half in surprise, half in dire need.
Her arms wound around his neck, drawing him closer.
They remained like that until air became a needed issue, and pulled apart with heavy breaths.
"Not that I mind, but what was that for?" Haley asked, practically wheezing for breath.
"You're amazing. Your kindness is overwhelming, Haley. Sometimes I can't believe how big of a heart you have."
She blushed under his heated gaze, "We don't have to do it, I just wanted to hear your thoughts."
"Alright," Nathan pulled her onto his lap. "Well, adoption is definitely not something to just rush into, so if we're gonna do it, we have to really weigh the pros and cons."
Haley nodded in agreement, "You're right. It could take a while too."
"It would change a lot of things, too."
She nodded again.
"I mean, what if he or she feels left out or different? Would we get a baby? An infant? A kid? Then we'd have to decide the nationality and-"
"You sound like you're against it," Haley frowned.
"I'm not. Really, I'm not. I'm just trying to add some perspective," he explained lightly. "It's an amazing idea, baby, and I love you for wanting to save a child in need."
Haley smiled, "Let's just keep thinking about it. Okay?"
"Okay," Nathan grinned, kissing her lips lightly, "I can definitely do that."
Six months later, Nathan and Haley Scott had found themselves sitting in Charlotte Adoption Center, meeting with a counselor.
The woman in front of them was middle-aged, probably around 50, based on the few streaks of grey littered in a short black bob of hair. She had an easy smile, and warm eyes.
"So what brings you here, today?"
"Well, we've been thinking of adoption and wanted to know our options," Haley explained with an excited smile.
The counselor, whose name was Susan, mirrored Haley's smile. "Great, okay, well I can definitely answer any questions you might have, but I also have a few of my own."
Nathan cleared his throat, "We heard the process of adoption isn't easy so we want to know how likely it'd be that we get picked."
"That's right. It's made to not be easy because we don't want children getting in the wrong hands, but from the looks of your file, you're more than suitable."
Haley beamed, squeezing Nathan's hand which was intertwined with her own and looked over at his own giddy smile. About three months ago, he had gone to her and told her he wanted to do it - he wanted to adopt a child together. He said everyone deserves a chance to feel the love they had for eachother. Haley was ecstatic. They had done a lot of research since then, and decided the best option would be to adopt a local infant, maybe one or two years old and put off their own pregnancy for another year or two. They wanted to discuss it with the kids too, and make sure they were okay with it. Because Lydia was too young to understand, she just assumed that's where all babies came from and couldn't wait to get a brother or sister. Jamie was a little apprehensive and had his own questions at first, but eventually concluded it'd be really cool to give a child a home - plus, he really wanted a baby brother.
So here they were, ready to look into their options.
"Is it going to be harder because we already have kids of our own?" Haley inquired, "Is that frowned upon?"
"It depends on the situation, but in this case, it's not. Of course, most couples who adopt have fertility problems, but it's always nice when a good family wants to adopt, too. That's not to say there aren't issues with that too, because there can be-"
"Issues?" Nathan and Haley repeated at the same time.
Susan smiled, "Sorry, that's the wrong word. What I mean is that, we still have to study your family situation and conditions. Sometimes when a couple already has children, the adopted child feels inferior, but that's usually only with older kids. Do you know the age group you're looking at?"
"We were thinking maybe one or two years old. Not necessarily a newborn, but maybe one who hasn't gotten adopted yet. We really want to help a give a home to a child who might not otherwise have one." Haley said, squeezing Nathan's hand again.
Susan smiled, "I have a particular child in mind. We don't usually do this, but would you care to meet him?"
Haley and Nathan nodded, beaming brightly. "Yes."
"Okay, I'll be right back." She said before leaving the couple alone in the office.
"A little boy," Nathan grinned.
Haley couldn't help but smile herself, "Don't get your hopes up, Nathan. Just because we're meeting this child doesn't mean he's the one we're getting. This is a very legal matter."
"I know. I'm just really excited."
"Me too, babe. Me too." She leaned over and kissed him gently, only to be interrupted when Susan came back with a small brown haired boy in her arms.
The couple turned, their hearts melting in the process.
"This here is Jason. He's a year and a half. He's been in the system for almost a year."
Haley's eyes glazed with tears as the boy instantly reached out for a tendril of her hair. "Can I hold him?"
"You sure can," Susan beamed, handing the smiling and giggling boy over to Haley.
"Hi, Jason." Haley whispered, holding the boy close to her chest. He had curly brown hair and bright green eyes, and the cutest little grin. "Aren't you the cutest little boy?"
Nathan watched in absolute awe. Jason was perfect.
"Da!" The little boy turned, looking at Nathan with a dopey smile.
Instantly, his eyes widened and Haley gently transferred the boy to her husband's arms.
Nathan, too, had tears in his eyes. This little boy was already so full of life and joy.
"How, uh, how'd he get here?" Nathan couldn't help but ask as he bounced Jason on his knee, who filled the room with giddy laughter.
"We don't know for sure. Someone found him on the side of the road and brought him to us. We sent out flyers and everything but no one claimed him. He has a clean bill of health and gets along very nicely with other children."
"How come no one wants him?" Haley asked, shedding a tear.
Susan smiled, "That's a good question. I don't know. He's usually very shy and quiet but he seems to take a liking to both you and your husband."
Nathan didn't really hear anything Susan said, for he was already enraptured by the boy in his arms. Jason looked at Nathan and smiled.
"Hi," Nathan said.
"Gah," Jason babbled contently.
Nathan then looked at his wife, who was now completely balling, and smiled. "I just fell in love."
Haley bit her lip and turned to Susan, "How hard would it be to file for Jason?"
"Well, we can probably sign the paperwork today but it takes a few months to process. It's not a full guarantee, but it's very likely you'll be approved and Jason will be all yours before he turns two."
Nathan and Haley leaned over Jason and kissed, laughing excitedly, which Jason soon joined in on.
Feeling a tug on her hair again, Haley looked down and beamed at Jason. He crawled onto her lap, waving goodbye to Nathan, and rested his head against her chest.
Haley wrapped her arms around him and brushed her hands through his head of light curls. How anyone could leave him was a mystery to her.
Jason sighed softly as his eyes fluttered closed, falling asleep.
She looked back up at her husband who was smiling and unable to take his eyes off of the little boy.
"Hales-," he whispered.
"I know," she whispered back. "I love him, too."
Susan beamed at the couple, pulling out a stack of papers. "Let's get started. Shall we?"
So, this was just a short drabble I wrote in class. I know absolutely nothing about the adoption process so I'm sorry if I overly romanticized it or if it was completely unfactual. I just thought it'd be cute and could totally see Naley adopting a child.
Unfortunately, I will not be continuing this story, as I have enough on my plate right now, so I apologize if anyone wants more of Jason. This really was just to get over my writer's-block and I wanted to write this idea to see how it came out.
I hope you all enjoyed it, and thanks for reading.