Chapter 1

Summary: Jude and Davis are 6 and Brooke and Julian want to add a little girl to the family. However the fall Brooke had received while pregnant with the twins and the subsequent emergency C-Section due to the rupture of the placenta has left scar tissue on Brooke's uterus which makes carrying another baby unlikely. This story follows their decision to try their hand at adoption again.

Background: Because of the heartache caused from Chloe changing her mind at the last minute about them adopting her baby, they have decided to adopt an orphan.

….

"Jude, Davis, Julian! Come on guys we need to get going." Brooke shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

"We're coming" Julian shouts back as he starts to descend the stairs with Jude and Davis behind him.

"Guys put on your backpack and your shoes." Brooke instructs as she opens the door. Just then a horn could be heard and Brooke saw Haley waving to her from her car and she returns the wave. "Boys your Aunt Haley is here let's go"

"Bye Mom, Bye Dad" Jade and Davis says as they run out to Haley's car.

"Bye boys, have fun at school."

"Oh and mom we can't wait to meet our little sister" Davis tells her before joining his brother and cousin in the car. Brooke smiled as Haley drove away.

They drove the over 3 ½ hours from tree hill to Charlotte to the Kingsway Orphanage.

When they arrived they were greeted by Mrs Johnson the orphanage director's secretary. "Hi, you must be Mr and Mrs Baker. We've been expecting you. Right this way, Mrs Appleby will be with you in a few, just have a seat right here, I'm going to go in and let her know you are here."

"Thank you" They told her and took a seat on the chairs in the waiting area. A few minutes later a couple walked out beaming with a little girl walking alongside them. Brooke looked at Julian and smile and he nodded knowing exactly what she was thinking 'That could be us'.

"Mrs Appleby will see you now" Kelsey the secretary informed them.

The entered the office to find a friendly looking older looking lady wearing a pair of glasses and a powder blue jacket suite. She stood up to greet them as they enter.

"Hello Mrs Appleby I'm Brooke and this is my husband Julian Baker" Brooke says as she shook her outstretched arm. Mrs Appleby then took Julian's outstretched arm to shake.

"Hello, welcome to Kingsway Orphanage, please have a seat." She took back her seat and started looking through Brooke and Julian's application form, and references.

Brooke sat nervously watching Mrs Appleby's every expression and squeezing Julian's arm. After a few minutes she finally looked up to them.

"So how do your sons feel about you possibly adding to your family?" She asked them.

"They are very excited actually. They told us just this morning before they left for school that they were very excited to meet their little sister." Brooke answered

"So you guys will be looking at girls?"

"Yes, preferably 5yrs or younger" Julian informed her. "Our boys are six and we would prefer someone younger than they are because our Jude, who was delivered second wants to be able to say he is a big brother."

"Ok there is no problem with that. Would you rather a baby to an older child?"

"Really we are happy with either. We just want a child we can feel connected to and who connects to us quickly." Brooke says and she nods and jots something down in the file.

"Ok what about a child with special needs?" Mrs Appleby asks then leans forward to hear their answer.

Brooke looked to Julian and he gives her hand a gentle squeeze. "I guess it would depend on the type of special needs the child has. We live in a multi-story home with the bedrooms on the upper floor so right now our home wouldn't be compatible with a child with a physical disability if that is what you are referring to." Brooke answers nervously

"That's very ok, but what about a child with a mental disability or learning disability?"

"Learning disability we can definitely work with, but I honestly don't think I could handle the mentally disabled child." Brooke answered

"Ok we like honesty here. Thank you for that." Brooke let out the breath she was holding in. "A lot of the parents we get here always seem to lie on that question saying they would more than take a disabled child but at the end of the day they don't. What about your jobs?"

"Well I'm a fashion designer, I own a clothing line for boys known as Baker Man and with my plans to adopt a little girl I'm working on a girl's line." Says Brooke

"Yeah and I'm the creator, executive producer and writer of the television show An Unkindness of Ravens, which films in Tree Hill where we live."

"So does this mean you will be able to take the required 6 months off work to get the child settled and accustomed to her new home and life?"

"Yes I'll be able to work from home with only an occasional need to go in for a few hours for meetings and such."

"But does working from home mean for the days you'll be locked in an office not paying attention to the child?"

"No not at all. I would ensure all the work I do would be at nights after the kids are already asleep." Brooke informed her

"Well what about you Julian?" She turned to him and asked

"We are in our final week of filming for the season on my show. That leaves only about 4 more weeks of editing and other production work. But after that I'll be off for at least 3 months before we start work on the next season." Julian informs her

"Ok that is good enough" She nodded. "Ok are there any other family or friends who will be interacting with the child?"

"Yes we have a big extended family and friends who are looking forward to us expanding our family. The child will be surrounded by lots of love." Brooke answers

"Wonderful. Well I don't see any reason why I would not allow you to take one of our kids home. Dr McGrath who came to do the home study had already recommended you and everything seems great." She told them and both Brooke and Julian breathed a sigh of relief. Just then a bell went off. "That would be recess so just follow me and I'll take you to see the older kids first, we can then go and see the babies and toddlers."

Brooke and Julian stood outside and watched the kids playing around them. After standing there just watching they went to have a seat on one of the benches in the yard. A couple minutes later a little girl looking to be about 4 or 5 came pushed her way to sit between them. Not knowing what to do they shifted apart and helped her unto the bench.

"Hi" She looks up at them with a huge smile and says.

"Hello" Brooke and Julian smile down at her.

"Are you going to be my new mommy and daddy?" She asks innocently

Brooke was shocked and did not know how to answer that question and she looked to Julian for help.

"We don't know yet. Would you like us to be your new mom and dad?" Julian asks gently.

She sat there a moment looking from Brooke to Julian, Julian to Brooke and back to Julian again. "I don't know, maybe."

Brooke smiled once again, thinking how sweet this little girl was and thinking she could make a great addition to their boys. She was small with loose auburn curls which extended down her back, bright blue eyes and freckled cheeks. She had an adorable smile and being as she came up to them, she doesn't seem to be shy or reserved.

"Ok I'm going back to play now, bye" She says and runs off before they got a chance to reply.

"I think she is the one Julian." Brooke beamed with joy.

"I think so too. Plus she was so adorable." Julian agreed

"So she's the one, right?" Brooke asks as she watched the little girl run after another little girl while they play what seems to be a game of tag.

"Yes she's definitely the one" Julian agreed

"Let's go and tell Mrs Appleby, but we don't even know her name." Brooke says

"That's ok, if she doesn't know who we are talking about all we have to do is come and show her.

"Oh I know exactly who you are talking. That would be Hannah Westborough." Mrs Appleby replies and smiles. "She is 4 ½, I can't believe she came up to you."

"Why is that?" Julian asks

"Well she along with her little sister Alexis was brought to us after both their parents and older brother all died in a tragic accident." Mrs Appleby informs them. "And in the 8months she's been here, she's never spoken to any potential parents."

"Oh wow." Brooke says surprised. "But what about Alexis? Has she been adopted yet?"

"Well no, but we have had a few parents wanting to adopt her because she's young but when we tell them about Hannah they all back out. That's a common problem we have with siblings. We prefer for them to be adopted together and not separated but potential parents usually only want one child." Mrs Appleby says sadly.

"Oh. So how old is Alexis?" Julian asks

"She's 11 months old. Look we understand if you no longer want to adopt Hannah and you'd want to take a look at the rest of the kids." She tells them understandingly

"Can I have a minute with my husband please?" Brooke asks

"Yea sure. Take your time, it's a big decision." She tells them and walks away

"Ok Brooke I know what you are thinking. We can't take Hannah and leave Alexis. But we can't take in two kids right now." Julian tells her sadly.

"But Juuuuliaaaaaannnnnnnn, she was soooo cute and sweet, and she loved us, and we love her." Brooke whined. Julian shook his head. "It's not like we are going to be taking them home today. We will have a few days of paperwork and stuff to prepare. Please Julian, pleaseeeeeeeeeee"

He stood there thinking for a moment before he finally gave in. "Ok sure. We did fall in love with her. Let's go tell Mrs Appleby."

They informed her of their plans and after she made sure they were sure they wanted to do this. She then took them to get the paperwork, which was a lot seeing as they were attempting to adopt two children at once. After they filled out all the required paperwork she informed them that it would take a few days for them to finalize the custody agreement which will allow them to take the girls home.

She then informed them of all they need to know about the girls' physical and emotional state. She then took them to Alexis. She went to Brooke without a fuss but started to cry when she was given to Julian. Unlike Hannah's long auburn loose curls, Alexis had caramel coloured short curls with a hint of red throughout. She had Jade coloured orbs and she was absolutely beautiful. Before they left they went back see Hannah and with permission from Mrs Appleby they told her they would like to become her new parents. They said their goodbyes and went on their way home.

It's going to take a few days for their social worker to do a pre-placement home study before the girls would be allowed to go home with the Bakers. Following approval from their social worker Julian and Brooke will be granted guardianship of the girls. This will be followed by occasional home visits to ensure the girls are adjusting to their new home along with medical and school reports. If this all goes well Hannah and Alexis Westborough will become Hannah and Alexis Baker.

I hope you all liked my first OTH Brulian fic. Please leave a review so I know if you like it. This is only a short fic however probably only 3 or 4 chapters plus the epilogue.

-Cavine