Parenthood Prequel - Chapter 1

"I'm nervous…" Maureen whispered, grabbing Joanne's hand, tightly squeezing it.

Joanne winced as Maureen's hand holding became more harmful with every passing second, "Ow, baby…please, I'm driving…" She said keeping her attention on the road, while also trying to pull her hand free from Maureen's lethal grip.

"I still can't believe we qualified…" She stated, staring blankly out the window, "This is it…we're going to actually start a family…"

"Yeah, and I'm going to need both hands to do so…" Joanne said, as she successfully pulled into the parking lot of the adoption agency, throwing her car into park, and quickly pulling her hand free, "Maureen!?"

"What?" Maureen asked snapping back into reality.

Joanne cradled her hand, examining it, making sure it was okay. She turned her focus back to Maureen, slightly worried, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Maureen answered, nodding her head, "I'm nervous and I feel a little nauseous…but I'm good."

"Well you kind of spaced out there for the last ten minutes of the car ride." Joanne said, "Are you still sure you want to do this?"

"I'm positive." Maureen smiled. "I love you and I want to raise a family with you."

"I love you too." Joanne smirked, leaning over to give her a reassuring kiss on the cheek. She climbed out of the car, meeting Maureen around the other side. They intertwined their hands, and together they made their way inside the building.

When they were inside, Maureen couldn't stop pacing back and forth as they waited to be called into the office.

"Maureen, would you sit down." Joanne whispered through gritted teeth, the other couple in the room strangely looking at them.

"I can't believe this…" Maureen said, finally taking a seat next to Joanne, "I killed my hamster when I was ten…what if…"

Joanne smirked, grabbing her chin, cutting her sentence off with a kiss, not caring about the other two people in the room. "You were ten. You're an adult now and you're married to me, I'm not going to let you do anything stupid. Everything is going to work out. Sure it's going to be a bumpy ride, but I'll be there every step of the way, honeybear."

"Pookie," Maureen whispered, "Have I mentioned that I love you."

"Yes, but I never get tired of hearing it." Joanne smirked, kissing her wife one more time.

"Mrs. and Mrs. Jefferson-Johnson?"

Joanne and Maureen both turned to the office door, where a middle aged lady stood with a folder in her hand. She smiled at the couple, pushing her glasses up her thin nose. "You can come in now."

Maureen grabbed Joanne's hand as the two made their way in the office. It was official; they were going to start their family today.

In the office, Joanne sat calmly in front of the desk, while Maureen fidgeted and bit her nails, letting Joanne answer mostly all the questions.

"Okay, so do you two want a baby or-"

"Whoa, not a baby." Maureen bluntly said, earning an elbow in the side from Joanne. "What? We are not ready for a baby."She whispered.

The lady behind the desk cleared her throat, earning back Maureen's attention.

"I mean, we're ready for a child, just not that young…" Maureen smirked, "You understand right Mrs.…" She paused to read her nametag, "Mrs. Stuart?"

The blonde sat back crossing her arms over her chest, "I work at an adoption agency, Mrs. Jefferson-Johnson, I'm afraid I do not understand."

"We are looking for maybe ages three and up." Joanne clarified, "No reason really, it's just the age group that we feel most comfortable with."

Mrs. Stuart's eyes shifted back to Joanne's, smiling in the lawyer's direction, preferring to talk to her instead of Maureen. "I think I can arrange something for you." She stood up, "Follow me, I'll have you meet the kids, and you pick one, sign some papers and the kid is yours."

"Sounds like a dog pound." Maureen mumbled, getting rewarded with a glare from Joanne. "Well." Maureen shrugged, and followed Joanne out the door, and to a back room where a play area was set up.

"Here you are." Mrs. Stuart said, "You are free to talk to them. I'll be over at that table if you need me. I have all their files ready for when you are ready." Before she walked away, she stopped next to Maureen to add, "Oh, and don't worry unlike dogs, they don't bite." And she walked away.

Maureen looked over her shoulder, sending her a fierce look, "Bitch." She muttered.

"Keep your cool." Joanne smirked, grabbing Maureen's hand, pulling her inside the room so they could scope out the children.

There weren't as many kids as Maureen thought there were going to be. They were scattered around the room playing or watching the small TV set up in the corner. She didn't know how she and Joanne were going to be able to choose just one.

"They look pretty young." Joanne mentioned, looking to see what Maureen's reaction was.

Maureen only nodded, scanning through the room of kids. They all looked to be two or three years-old, no one older than that. "Well, a kid's a kid right?"

"Right." Joanne smiled, happy with that answer. Not only would she get to watch her very own child grow up and become something, she would get the pleasure of watching Maureen grow into a parent.

"Do you two need some help?" Mrs. Stuart asked, surprising the two women. "You seem lost."

"We're just looking." Maureen stated.

"Well, this isn't like shopping." Mrs. Stuart said,

Maureen rolled her eyes; this bitch seriously had an attitude problem towards her.

"What about her?" Joanne suddenly asked, hoping to stop any kind of argument Maureen was sure about to start.

Mrs. Stuart followed the direction Joanne was pointing, her eyes landing on a small redhead. "Ashley." She smirked, "Two years old. She was brought to us only a year ago. Would you like to see her file?" She asked.

"Wait." Maureen said, her eyes focusing on a child entirely different. She was standing by the window playing with a Barbie. She looked like the oldest one in the room, her long blonde hair shining in the sunlight.

Mrs. Stuart looked, scrunching up her face, "Leah, five years old. She's very sensitive at times, and can be shy. She's like our ugly duckling."

Maureen's head snapped in her direction, her eyes full of annoyance, "I can't believe you would say that about a child."

"She's the oldest out of all our kids." Mrs. Stuart said, "She was left on our doorstep when she was only nine months old. Kids usually get adopted by age two or three but this one hasn't gone yet. People usually want babies too and now that she's five…well she isn't getting any younger."

"We'll take her." Maureen said with out a second thought.

Mrs. Stuart's face nearly blanched, "That was quick for someone who seemed so nervous and unwilling before. You haven't even read her profile."

"She's shy and sensitive, I got it." Maureen smirked, "and you say she's an ugly duckling, but I think other wise, and I think she's going to grow up to be a swan who will kick your ass."

"Maureen." Joanne smirked, pulling her wife away from the blonde lady, "Are you sure about this?"

"Joanne, I've never been so sure about anything before." Maureen smiled. "I want a child with you and I want that one. Something just feels right. Unless you see another child…" She looked around the room, her eyes suddenly lighting up, "Maybe we can adopt two today!?"

"Slow down there; let's just start off with one." Joanne laughed, amused at how fast Maureen's nerves died down. "I'm happy if you're happy."

"I'm happy with Leah." Maureen smiled,

"Okay." Joanne nodded, looking back in Mrs. Stuart's direction, "Leah it is."

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There you have it, Chapter 1. This is not going to be as long as my other Parenthood stories, but yeah...I'm trying it out lol. I hope you guys all enjoy.

Shout out to Mitchy1 who suggested the idea for a prequel. Thanks!

I do not own RENT