The four children came late in the night to Hayden and Anna. They were young, but there was a hollow look that did not belong in the eyes of children.
Hayden knelt down to meet the eyes of the littlest two. He noticed how heavily they leaned on the oldest girl. "Hi, my name is Hayden. What are yours?" he asked.
The littlest two looked up at their oldest sister who nodded.
"My name's Benny. I'm six," responded the littlest of them all. He had a lisp due to the missing front top teeth in his mouth. Hayden smiled at Benny before turning to the girl that stood beside the lisping little boy.
"Violet." It was a breathy answer and just that seemed to take all the energy out of her.
Hayden smiled before standing to put an arm around his wife. His wife was a very kind woman and the moment she spoke, all the children liked her.
"And we would also like to know your names," she told the older two with a gentle smile that made her eyes glow like candles on a birthday cake that illuminated a dark kitchen. Soft.
The older two look at each other before turning to the couple before them.
"I'm Henry. I'm fourteen," the oldest tells the couple.
The oldest girl smiles shyly at the couple, "I'm Jessie and I'm twelve."
Both adults smile. "Welcome to our family," Hayden tells them.
Anna reaches down for Violet and Benny's hands. She does not take them. She waits for them to take hers. Her heart skips a beat when they slip their hands into hers. She did not know how much they trusted her at this moment but it was comforting to know they trusted her enough to hold her hands. Anna then turns to Henry and Jessie, eyes beckoning them to follow. Anna takes a step forwards. She takes another one. The four children follow and Anna already loves them. The five of them go off to see the children's rooms.
Hayden stays behind to talk with the social worker. "What happened."
The social worker gives Hayden a sad smile, "They were abused by their father who was a drug addict and neglected by their alcoholic mother. The oldest found them in the master bedroom dead. Overdoes and alcohol poisoning"
Hayden grits his teeth. How could anyone treat these children that way? He looks into the social workers eyes, "We'll take care of them."
The social worker smiles at him before taking her leave. Hayden closes the door softly behind her and goes off to find his wife and the children. He finds her showing Jessie and Violet the wardrobe of clothes he and his wife prepared hours before after they had received the social workers call. He sees Violet once again leaning heavily against Jessie.
Anna notices him come into the room. She hands the pajamas to Jessie, "The bathroom is down the hall. Get ready for bed and I'll come tuck the two of you in."
Jessie begins to move but Violet doesn't. Violet looks up at Jessie with worn eyes. Jessie smiles sympathetically and picks up the ten-year-old with ease. She moves the both of them to the bathroom. Hayden and Anna stare after them.
"We have to set up and appointment for them to visit the doctors," Hayden says and Anna agrees.
"Let's go check on the boys." Anna says.
The couple travel to the room beside the girls to find the two boys on the floor. Benny has discovered the blocks by the window sill and he was building a tower with them. Henry sat beside Benny, adding a block or two occasionally. Anna goes over to the boys drawer and opens the top drawer. She pulls out a pair of pajamas with little lions all over. She kneels down and calls out to Benny, "Look Benny. Little lions just for you." Benny looks towards Henry. It was as if he were searching for confirmation that the woman who was handing him the pajamas was safe to be around. Henry nods and the little boy pushes himself to his feet with slight difficulty before he slowly moves towards Anna. She hands him the pajamas and immediately Benny's face lights up. The little lions on his new pajamas danced all over the green fabric. He showed his older brother.
"Look, Henry! My own little lions!" Benny cries in a delighted voice.
Anna and Hayden look at each other with relief spreading across their faces. So far, only Violet seemed too exhausted. They don't spend too much time dwindling on the matter because Henry needed some attention and love so Anna takes out the pajamas she and her husband picked out for Henry and hands them to Hayden. Hayden takes them and goes over to Henry. Hayden kneels beside the sitting boy.
"Here are your own pajamas. They're the softest things you'll ever feel," Hayden tells Henry, holding out the neatly folded pajamas for Henry to feel.
Henry feels them and his eyes widen, "You're for real. I've never had pajamas like these." He takes the pajamas from Hayden, "Thank you," he says as he looks from Hayden to Anna. They smile at Henry.
"Why don't you and Benny go get changed. The girls should be done and in their room. Hayden and I will come tuck the both of you in later," Anna says.
Henry nods and takes Benny's hand on the way out. The little boy smiles at the couple before turning around to catch up with his older brother.
In the hallway, the two boys run into their sisters. Henry bends down to kiss Violets forehead, "Goodnight, baby girl," he croons. He stands up to smile at Jessie and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
"G'night Vi. G'night Jess," Benny says while bouncing on his toes.
Jessie kisses Benny's head, "Goodnight, Benny." She stands from her stoops to bid Henry a goodnight and walks off towards her room with Violet in tow.
"Goodnight, Henry. 'Night, Benny," she says over her shoulder before stumbling after Jessie. Jessie grips her hand tighter.
The girls walk into their room to find Anna and Hayden sitting on Violet's bed. Jessie leads Violet all the way to her bed and doesn't let go of her hand until the little girl was sitting. Jessie kisses her crown, "See, they're not like Mommy and Daddy. It's alright now." Violet nods and lays down. Jessie moves to crawl under her own covers and watches as Hayden and Anna pepper Violet with kisses and straighten her covers. They both kiss the little girl with such tenderness that Jessie knows they're safe now. The couple then move to sit on either side of Jessie. They both kiss her fore head.
"We love you," Hayden tells her.
Anna squeezes Jessie's knee, "We really do."
And Jessie believes them, "I believe you."
Hayden and Anna get up to leave and before they turn off the lights and move onto the boys room they bid them another goodnight and tell them again that they love them.
They find the boys by the blocks again and upon noticing them, Henry sits up straighter, "Are they in bed?" he asks.
Anna hold out her hand to her and nods, "Yes, now it's your turns to be tucked in."
Henry takes her hand and lets her pull him to his feet. Benny holds his arms up. Henry picks up the little boy and settles him onto the bed. Henry kisses Benny's forehead, "Goodnight, little boy. They'll tuck you in tonight and it'll be okay."
Benny nods because he really does believe Henry. The couple sits down on Benny's bed and they lift the cover for the little boy who crawls under gratefully. Henry watches the couple from his own bed and lets himself loosen up a bit. He begins to gain a little more trust towards the adults at handling his younger brother and sisters. And when they come over to tuck him in and kiss him and to tell him that they love him, he lets his guard down for once to take in the love they have to offer.