Sorry this took so long. It sounded rather cheesy at first, so it took a lot of editing. Please review, especially if you have an idea for the next chapter - love.
Carlos and Kendall talked and laughed as they played with their toys during recess. Kendall was kind of excited, though, since his daddy had said he might pick him up early if his new baby sister came. Kendall hoped his sister came during naptime. He and Carlos really didn't like naptime.
Neither did their teacher.
Officer Garcia arrived at the door of their small preschool classroom. Half the kids froze, absolutely terrified that they might be arrested for taking the last cookie, or some trivial offence, while the rest swarmed him, intent on asking as many questions as he would answer.
Kendall and Carlos, meanwhile, jumped for joy.
Carlos turned to Kendall and said "Your new baby sister must be coming and my daddy must be picking us up!"
Kendall and Carlos continued to jump around as Officer Garcia explained the situation to their preschool teacher, who seemed more than okay with getting the boys out of her hair before naptime. She flashed a look of pity towards Officer Garcia as he left, Kendall and Carlos frolicking behind him.
Officer Garcia explained the situation to the boys, but they weren't listening. They had already guessed and were way too excited to care that there was an adult talking to them, so he gave up. They obviously understood.
An hour later, neither of the boys was so ecstatic. Waiting in the maternity waiting room, which was mostly filled with restless grandmothers and pacing fathers, the boys were getting on Carlos's father's nerves.
Just a little bit.
The question "What's taking so long?" was probably asked over thirty times in twenty minutes as Kendall and Carlos jumped up and down in their seats.
A small boy next to them, a notebook on his lap, informed them that it could take up to a day or even longer for a baby to be born.
While this did not help Carlos and Kendall's patience, it gave them something else to focus on.
"What's your name?" Kendall asked, happily distracted from the task of waiting.
The boy looked rather alarmed at all the attention he was getting, but calmly responded "Logan."
"Are you waiting for a new baby sister too?" Carlos was now so excited that you never would have known that five minutes earlier he had been staring restlessly at the opposite wall.
Logan shook his head. "My mommy's on a business trip and my daddy's delivering a baby, so he told me to wait here and do my homework."
Kendall couldn't believe that Logan was related to someone who got to talk with the storks – that must be insanely cool.
Kendall and Carlos looked at Logan just as he looked at them. "Wanna be friends?" The boys began to laugh as Officer Garcia shook his head at the simplicity of preschool friendships.
Just as the three boys began to converse, a voice could be heard from down the hall. "We should be able to talk here, James."
All three boys watched curiously as a boy their age was led into the room by a motherly looking lady who –the boys could tell by skin tone-was clearly not related to the boy. He settled down in a chair, crying softly, as the lady talked to him kindly. Kendall stood up and walked over to him.
"Are you ok?"
Officer Garcia marveled at the boy's compassion – he sure would be a good big brother.
The boy shook his head. "My mommy and daddy got in a car crash and went to heaven, and I miss them." He sniffled as he said this. Kendall hugged him – it was what his parents did when he was upset, and he figured that it might calm him down.
Officer Garcia took another look at the woman with the boy and recognized her as a foster care employee whom he had worked with several times. He had an idea…
"Michelle?"
The woman looked up, startled, and then recognized him. "Joseph? It's nice to see you."
He thought for a moment. "Are you looking for a foster parent for him? Because I have friends who are registered foster parents, and they are thinking about adopting a foster child his age." He nodded at James. "They're actually having a baby at the moment, but based on how well they seem to be getting along –" he motioned to the four boys in a corner of the waiting room "- they might be willing to at least be temporary foster parents."
The women looked thankful. "That would be great – I'll place him in an emergency foster home and give you my phone number. Maybe they can call me tomorrow?"
He accepted the offered business card, and she led James out of the room, much to the chagrin of the four boys. Soon Logan's father came to pick him up, and gave Officer Garcia his phone number, glad to see his normally reclusive son making friends.
By the time the group was called into the room, Kendall and Carlos were calmed down and missing their new friends. The silence didn't last for long – Kendall bolted to his mother's bedside and demanded to hold his new sister. His mother relented her hold on the newborn.
" Be careful, sweetie."
"What's her name?"
"Katie."
The boy looked down at his sister. "Hey, Katie." He said softly. "I'm Kendall. I promise I'll be the best big brother ever – I'll never let anything happen to you."
With that, he handed her back to his mother and quickly proceeded to fall asleep in a chair. It had been a tiring day for the small boy – a day full of introductions.
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