Ma and Pa Cop had never thought much of having a child.
Unfortunately, they had never been able to have children of their own, but that had never kept them from loving each other. They called their pets, a cat called Charlie and a German Shepard Mix named Muffin, their children. Not only that but they had the pleasure of helping kids while on duty. The pair were cops, and mighty good ones at that.
They helped protect the large city of Bricksburg as well as the smaller towns outside of it. Their job was never done, it seemed, but they were willing to keep up with it as long as was necessary. They had been so busy for the last ten years that they had forgotten about what else they could do with their lives. Raising a family seemed to not be an option...that is until Pa Cop got the brilliant idea of adopting.
While the couple still were busy, their age was beginning to show and thus more time off was in order. It seemed the perfect time! So, even though both were nervous and had second thoughts, they packed into their car and started off to the local adoption home.
Ma fidgeted with the black tie clipped onto her blue collared shirt. She rarely wore much else except her uniform.
"Somethin' wrong, dear?" Pa asked, observing her with a sideways glance as he drove.
"Oh, no..." Ma sighed, beginning to tap her fingers against the dashboard,"It's just...It's just worrying me, Danny. What if we can't find a suitable child?"
"Suitable?" Pa sniffed, pulling up at a stop sign.
"I mean one that seems ta be there just for us!"
"Ah. Well, I wouldn't worry too much, dear. They always have a lot o' kids and I'm sure that one o' them will be just perfect." Pa didn't worry too much about that kinda stuff. In his opinion, whatever happened, happened.
Ma sighed, sinking down a little more in the seat. She began to tighten the bun she had her hair up in, another nervous habit she held onto.
Finally, the car pulled into the driveway of an old brick building. The large white letters on the front read, 'HAMILTON'S HOME FOR YOUNG BOYS.' Some children were already playing in the yard just behind the building, tossing an old beanbag around and having the time of their lives. However, all play ceased when they saw the car pull in.
Pa stepped out of the car and smiled at the lads,"Hey there, boys!" He shouted, waving.
A few tentatively waved back.
As soon as the pair stepped into the front doors, a woman rushed forward to greet them. She took each of their hands and shook vigorously.
"Hello, hello!" She chirped excitedly, refusing to let go of them, "Welcome to Hamilton's Home for Young Boys! I'm Julia Skyler, what can I do for you lovely couple today?"
"Were here ta adopt, actually." Ma spoke softly, as if trying to calm down the young woman.
"Oh! How exciting!" Julia's smile broadened as she finally released them only to grasp her own together and start to rock on her heels,"And is this your first time?"
"Yep!" Pa replied cheerily,"So your going ta have ta show us exactly what we need ta do ta find the right boy for us."
"Of course! Right this way!" She led them to her office and had them sit,"Just give me a few minutes to round them all up. Its going to be like herding cats!" She laughed at her own joke as she exited the room.
Ma groaned as soon as Julia was gone. She herself could be a very optimistic and excitable person...she just couldn't stand it when someone else was.
"It's ok." Pa rubbed her back soothingly,"She's just excited for her boys."
They had to wait a full ten minutes before Julia came back into the room, her smile never faltering but her hair now frazzled,"Ok, Mr. and Mrs. Cop! Follow me!"
As they were led down the hall, Julia explained some of the finer details.
"We'll let you have a good look at each of the boys and maybe even let you chat with a few of them and see if anything clicks! Just alert me when the right one comes along!" She took a left in a set of double doors that led into a rather dreary looking room. The sun wasn't shining much in the windows, causing the atmosphere to be rather damp.
Along one of the walls was about twelve very different looking boys, who seemed to be trying their hardest to be on their best behavior. A few failed, and were pinching each others shoulders and backs while trying to remain relatively still.
"Boys!" All twelve sets of eyes snapped to attention as Julia entered with Ma and Pa at her heels,"This is Mrs. and Mr. Cop! They will be taking one of you home today!"
They blinked at the couple as if they had never seen anything like them before.
"Well, go ahead, take a look!" Julia practically shoved the two forward.
After a glance at each other, they started down the line. The first one was the oldest, around twelve to fourteen. His brown hair was cropped, his teeth were crooked, and he was giving them a dirty look as if daring them to adopt him. They quickly moved on to the next, a small but rough looking lad who gawked at them rudely. The next couple were fighting, the youngest one was busy finding treasure up his nose, another smiled way too much, and the last few wore sullen faces.
It was getting pretty obvious that they couldn't choose just by looking.
"Were looking for a younger child." Pa explained quietly,"Under ten."
"Ah, yes! People do tend to pick the smaller, cuter ones!" Julia laughed, shooing five of the boys out of the room,"Now just sit over at that table and I'll let you have a small chit chat with the rest of these fine lads!"
The couple took their place at one end of the small table in the corner, and were soon faced with the first boy. A young, pudgy lad with flushed cheeks. He eyed them warily as he sat as if they might attack him.
Ma tried to smile in a friendly manner,"And what's your name, child?"
He twisted in his seat, trying but failing to meet eye contact,"Jeremy...but my friends call me pancake."
Ma and Pa's eyes met again.
"And...why do they call ya that, sonny?" Pa asked hesitantly.
"You don't wanna know."
The next few seemed even less successful. A couple of the kids seemed nice, but something just felt...off. It didn't seem meant to be.
"Well that's all of them!" Julia pitched, smiling at the pair,"Do you two have one or two that stand out, or do you need a minute to think?"
Pa breathed out heavily,"I think we need a moment."
"Okie-doke!" She seemed about to say something else, but then rushed to the other side of the room to break two boys up from their fighting.
"I dunno, dear." Ma sighed, glancing around the room while playing with her hair,"None o' them seems to be standing out."
"It's ok, Margret." Pa rubbed his hands, watching the boys play,"I'm sure we'll find the right one for us soon enough."
Suddenly, one of the double doors they had come through was pushed open slightly and a young face poked itself out. It was a boy, no younger than nine with short brown hair stuffed under a cap and large round glasses perched on his nose.
"Miss Julie?" He called quietly, as if to not attract attention.
She turned quickly, eyes darting. She went over and crouched down, hiding him from the couple's view. They could still make out what was said, though.
"Riley, now is not the time." Julia seemed to be trying to hush herself.
"Johny's glasses are missing again..." The child mumbled as he was gently shooed out.
"Wait just a minute!" Pa stood up, blinking curiously at the boy,"Who is this now?"
Julia gave him her sweetest smile, honey oozing off her next words,"Oh, Mr. Cop, you don't want this one..."
"And why not?" He asked, as Ma stood up to join him,"He looks about the age we wanted, why can't we at least talk a bit?"
"He's..." Julia seemed to be having a hard time finding the right words. She squeezed Riley's shoulder indecisively, while he just blinked nervously at the two,"He's...special." She seemed to be trying really hard to get them to understand something.
Pa shrugged,"Still."
With a tiny frown still etched on her face, she stood up and started to lead the boy over to the table. Riley was dressed in a simple pair of jeans with a blue sweater on top that was much too large for him. He suddenly bent down quickly and came back up with a pair of black tinted aviator shades grasped tightly in his hand.
"Here they are!" He proclaimed, a smile starting on his face. Another boy in the room snorted a laugh.
"So yer name is Riley, is it?" Ma asked once they were all seated. Julia stood just behind Riley, a nervous look coming on her face.
He nodded eagerly, smiling,"Yep! May I know your name's, Sir and Ma'am?"
Ma blinked, surprised. What a polite child! "Yes, dear, you may. My name is Margret Cop and this is my husband, Daniel Cop."
"It's nice to meet ya Mr. and Mrs. Cop!" The boy leaned across the table to shake their hands. Before they could take it, though, Riley suddenly yanked his hand back to himself. His expression shifted to a scowl as he replaced the round glasses with the aviator glasses.
He folded his arms and leaned back just slightly, his voice suddenly a lot lower than before,"I don't trust 'em."
The pair were left with stunned and confused looks on their faces. Julia quickly rushed forward to explain.
"Um, as I was saying before Riley-"
"Jonathan!" the child snapped, pulling his cap down a bit more with a sturdy yank.
"Yes, um, Jonathan is a special case."
Ma was quick to get over her surprise,"Multiple Personality Disorder?" She asked hesitantly. She had dealt with people like that before.
"Not...quite." The woman blinked rapidly as Jonathan began to talk to himself in a hushed voice.
"Don't be an idiot, they're just like the other couple here last week."
He pulled the glasses off, his body language becoming a lot more relaxed. The higher voice returned,"Don't be silly, Johny, people can be different!"
"Yeah...right."
"Just try to be good, please?"
The glasses going up and down, it seemed to be a power struggle. Ma and Pa could only sit there and watch in disbelief as the child continued to argue with, well...himself? Julia leaned down in between them, so to be heard by only them as the boy continued to talk.
"We don't really know what to call it. It's like there are two very different boys in one body." Her frown deepened,"He...or rather they have been acting like this since they were just a baby, so none of us suspect that its an act."
Ma swallowed, tilting her head,"Is that even possible?"
"It seems to be," Julia straightened up a little more,"All I know is that they usually scare people that come in here."
"Well we're cops." Pa said, turning to watch the boy again,"We don't scare easily." He snapped his fingers, getting the attention of the better half,"Hey, sonny, don't argue like that. You shouldn't be gettin' into the habit."
"Sorry.." Riley cast a guilty downwards glance,"Johny likes to fight with me, and its kinda hard to ignore him. He doesn't like people like you, and he thinks your going to call us names."
"And why would we do a nasty thing like that?" Ma asked, leaning forward.
"Lots of people like you come in here and do..." The boy rubbed his arm dejectedly,"I guess we might be freaks, but we don't really like it when people say it out loud."
Ma and Pa, yet again, exchanged looks.
"So...are we done here?" Julia asked, twirling her finger at the boy with just the tiniest hint of disgust on her face.
"Yes, I think we are." Ma stood up, leaned across the table, and grabbed Riley's shoulder firmly,"Lad, how would ya like ta come home with us?"
"Really?!" Riley gaped at her, his eyes sparkling behind the round rims of his glasses. Quickly remembering his manners he smiled,"I mean, Yes please!"
An hour later they were in the car on the way home. Riley was in the back seat, grinning ear to ear. His other half hadn't said much at all during the paperwork.
Pa glanced back, smiling himself,"So laddy, you excited to see yer new home?"
"Yes!" Riley gushed, grabbing the back of the front seat and leaning in,"I love you both already! I can't believe I'm adopted! They said it would never happen and it did!"
Ma chuckled as the excitable child chatted,"And what about...eh, Jonathan?"
Riley's smile faltered just a little. He fidgeted with the sleeve of his sweater,"He's suspicious...he doesn't like strangers...and I think he thinks that you might just put us back."
"Ah, we wouldn't do a silly thing like that." Pa snorted, turning a corner.
"It is silly, see Johny, I told ya!" The shades went on faster than lightning.
"Ya don't know them, they could still do it!"
"They wouldn't, they're nice!"
"They could, I don't trust 'em."
"Ok, that's enough of that!" Ma shouted, causing Jonathan to scowl deeper,"We will not be taking ya back, boys. We like ya for who you are."
Jonathan sunk down in his seat,"Ya like us like this? Hmph. I don't believe it."
"Why else would we have chosen you over the rest of them?" Ma asked patiently.
"I...don't know." The boy admitted, pulling on his cap again.
"Because we saw ya for who ya truly are, that's why." Ma twisted around so she could see the boy fully, although eye contact seemed out of the question. She couldn't see a thing behind those shades,"You two are special, and were going ta prove it to ya."
Riley swapped back in, replacing his round glasses,"That's really nice of ya ta say..." He muttered, smiling crookedly.
"Well at least ya know that, dear." She smiled kindly at him, brushing some hair out of his face.
"Johny may need some more persuasion." Riley muttered.
"Well, we'll have lots of time for him when he decides ta come out and face us." Pa smiled as they pulled into the driveway.