My inter webs is being shut on and off, thus not being able to update as much as I want. To the requestee, Alex362, I am really sorry about this. I would try to use my phone, however, my phone wont properly connect to my mack and I have to have specific, written down instructions for pdf files, cause I'm kinda dumb with this sort of thing. Btw, the character Karina belongs to Anyalissa Jade982
/
In spite of feeling off, Virgil grinned broadly as the social worker brought their newest daughter to them. In the omega's mind, she was perfect and completely adorable. The girl, Karina, had pale skin, with black hair. Natural ice blue streak wove themselves through her hair as some of the fringe from her bangs covered her odd eyes. Her left eye is ice blue while the other was a deep pink that almost teased itself into being red. The poor girl briefly made eye contact with both of them, before looking back down to her scuffed up converse. Karina gave this air about being disappointed one to many times, flinching and shying about from the adults in the room. Virgil wanted to wrap her up in his arms and keep her forever.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Stone, it's nice to see you two again. No Maureen today?" Mrs. Strauss, a friendly beta, asked warmly. Both her dark brown brows were drawn up slightly in curiosity.
"She had to use the restroom. Just got back from summer camp yesterday, wanted to make sure she would get to meet her new sister," Francis said. In spite of both Francis's and the Hawkin's liberal view on omega's, treating them as equals, most of society didn't follow them. So the beta automatically addressed Francis first, and Virgil as "Mrs. Stone" regardless of their names being hyphenated. Maureen joined them moments later, causing Karina to jerk back in surprise, her odd colored eyes widening in surprise when she saw Maureen's almost inhuman look. The fifteen year olds stark white hair had been cut into an A-line with the tips died a dark violet with a few slender streaks threw it. Her slightly blue skin was flushed slightly from the heat in the building regardless of her wearing a dark blue, spaghetti strapped summer dress that stopped at her knees. A pair of black clunky combat boots completed her outfit, stopping mid calf, which probably didn't help her in the slightest.
"Is this her?" Maureen asked brightly, her own icy blue eyes brightly sparkling with joy. In spite of her omega status, Maureen had become very straight forward person. Living on the streets had given her a slightly skewered perspective on what was "right", and what was "wrong" so she tended to jump right in to everything. The girl had become brutally honest in her homeless years, and she refused to be any different. The DHS worker flustered slightly before answering, not used to omega's being so straight forward. At least not until Virgil and Maureen, though she had only met them twice before, along with Francis, when she went to do home checks.
"Yes, she is. Her name is Karina and she's like you Maureen," MRS. Strauss said with a smile, talking like Karina wasn't even there due to her omega status. Maureen cocked a pale brow, a sardonic look on her pretty face. She hated it when people purposely over looked others.
"So, she has a mental illness too? What does the poor girl have?" Maureen asked, voice even and calm. She had been taking her meds almost religiously since she got properly diagnosed with Schizophrenia. However, she was embarrassed about taking them in public so she took them in bathrooms. The beta flustered again while Karina's eyes widened once again in surprised. Most kids with mental illness barely got taken in even as fosters, and if they did, they were usually returned almost immediately, looking freaked out, skinny and terrified.
"No! I mean, she doesn't have a mental illness, she's a bang baby, just like you. She makes crystal's instead of ice though," Strauss said calmly, though she emphasized the 'no'. The DHS worker was obviously embarrassed for forgetting about Maureen's illness. Virgil and Francis just rolled their eyes at each other, not liking the women's forgetfulness.
"Are you crazy?" Karina asked, voice soft as a bell, before she looked back down to the floor. She hadn't meant to speak out of turn, but she forgot in her curiosity. The young girl missed out on the exchange between her new parents. Maureen sighed audibly before squatting down in front of the girl to look her in the eyes.
"No, I am not "Crazy". I have a mental illness that I take medication for to help make me feel better. It's called schizophrenia, which means I hear voices. Many times people can become violent without their meds to help steady them, but I'm not like that. However, I'm pretty strict about taking them so I don't panic and accidently use my powers trying to protect myself or my, sorry, our parents. When you see them at home, please don't touch them," Maureen said calmly and efficiently. She still had issues with people being rude when it came to her illness, mostly because people honestly didn't understand, she wanted Karina to understand. Mostly because she really wanted a baby sister, and Karina already seemed perfect for the job.
"Oh," Karina said with a shrug. She honestly didn't think the two would keep her, most people didn't, especially if they knew she was a bang baby. Virgil was next in squatting down to her level, being an omega usually meant being over looked as a threat.
"Hi Karina, my names Virgil, I'm gonna be one of your new parents. Over there behind me is Francis, the other parent who wants you. He is also a bang baby, so you being one wont be a problem. You are welcome to call me Virgil, Virg, or V, which ever your most comfortable with. Francis prefers 'Hotstreak' but he probably let you get away with calling him Frankie. Is there anything you prefer, like a nick-name or anything, really?" Virgil asked, his voice soft and friendly.
"I like Karina, only Karina. I like reading and art and cartoons," Karina said, almost automatically. Virgil just gave her a warm smile.
"That's great," Virgil said warmly, his own happiness bubbling over. Karina glanced at him briefly before nodding once. She didn't want to trust them, especially the other omega, but a part of her did. It wouldn't help her in the long run, she knew that. It never did. Every person she trusted had failed her at some point, she wasn't going to let her heart be broken again. However, she knew when to make alliances. Maureen would make a good shield if her new pretend parents wanted to hurt her.
"Okay then, lets get you the paper work Mr. Stone, so you can sign the papers," Mrs. Strauss said, her voice bubbly. Francis raised a red brow, a frown coming to his lips.
"Don't you mean 'We'?" Francis asked, raspy voice going soft. Soft, for Francis meant dangerous for every one else. Virgil stood quickly, bodily standing between Francis and Karina. Maureen took a loose stance ready to use her powers in case of fires.
"Hmm? Oh no, Mr. Stone, I meant you. Your signing the papers because you'll be responsible for Karina," Mrs. Strauss said, grin still in place. She'd been warned about Francis, but she hadn't headed it. All alpha's were aggressive, so it wasn't a big deal. Unfortunately, this was also the first time Strauss dealt with the Stones face to face and didn't realize the insult she just slapped them with. Their former DHS worker had been kind beta who'd understood the issues when it came to omega's, having an omega son herself. Her son had gotten raped, so she took time off to take care of him, like any decent parent would, so she couldn't help them this time. She hadn't recommended Strauss, she suggested her sister in law who was an omega who'd fought to get her right to work at DHS, since it had to do with children, most people gave her a break.
"Well, then I guess we're getting a new DHS worker to work with us and Karina, since I'm gonna kill ya," Francis said with a snarl, smoke pouring from his hair. Strauss shrieked and ducked back wildly.
"You wont get the girl if you do," Strauss said back, brave, but stupid.
"She's ours, you idiot, our pup, you wont steal her from us, especially from Virgil," Francis snarled back, taking several steps forward.
"Hotstreak, calm down, your scaring our pups, and they don't need that, remember?" Virgil said, his voice strong and loud, breaking through Francis's violent mind. Strauss was amazed when Francis calmed down almost instantly, not understanding how someone, especially an omega, could calm anyone down. They were just supposed to be breeders, nothing more.
"Now, Mrs. Strauss, we are both going to sign the paper work, because both of us are adopting her. The laws state that when an alpha and omega adopt a child, they are both aloud to do so. It's been that way since the dawn of time. Now, go get the correct paper work, or I will have you fired for sexism, which your company doesn't tolerate," Virgil said, voice firm and professional. He'd worked hard to be firm, especially since barely anyone took him seriously. Frieda hadn't, being taught that omega's were lesser then her, Richie hadn't either, until Virgil whooped his ass in a basketball game the blond alpha had sworn he'd win. Not even his college professors did until he proved them wrong too.
"Yes, Mrs..." Strauss was stopped.
"It's Mister, just like Francis. And hurry please, we really want to take our girls home," Virgil said, voice sugar sweet, but there was a hidden steel beneath it. Strauss frowned but a quick look at Hotstreak got her moving to get the proper paper work. When she got to her boss and, stupidly, explained what she did, she was fired. Her boss, a very soft spoken alpha who'd been raised soully by omega's, flipped his shit and fired her on the spot, explaining as he did so what she did wrong. Before she could start a proper argument, Mr. Thomas explained very simply how that kind of disrespect, especially to an omega, wasn't to be tolerated in his workers. Mrs. Strauss nodded once and left to pack up her desk. Her coworkers shook their heads, but only one of them explained that Mr. Thomas had been raised by omega's, thus being over protective, but that Francis had been the ex-criminal Hotstreak. Strauss paled dramatically, remembering the terror the pyro had wrought on the city. She still had nightmares about it.
Twenty minutes later, the Stone family watched Strauss leave as they signed the paper work for Karina. Francis gave her a vicious smile as she walked out, causing the older women to shiver in fear. Francis's grin widened when he saw that before he turned back to Virgil and his daughters. The alpha red head already thought of Karina as one of his pups, and he would destroy the world if it kept her safe, just like Maureen and Virgil. When the paper work was done, Francis threw an arm over Virgil possessively as he walked them out, waving at Mr. Thomas somewhat politely as they left.
"Come on, girls, Virgil, we're gonna get ice-cream then go home," Francis said, his raspy voice playful.
"Why?" Karina asked, figuring it would be okay to ask questions. At leas towards Virgil.
"We always get ice-cream or do something fun when something good happens. We got you today, so we're gonna celebrate," Virgil responded one arm wrapped around Francis's waist while Maureen held on to the other. The white haired girl was humming happily while skipping along next to her parents.
"Oh, okay," Karina said, somewhat uneasily. She rarely got treats while in the system, so she wasn't used to the idea. The poor girl is completely unaccustomed to the open affection her new "Family" is oozing, so it's confusing. When they got to the car, a small, black SUV, Maureen helped her buckle her seatbelt, though she could have done that herself. Maureen just seemed so excited about being able to help her.
"This is gonna be so fun, Karina, I promise. Your gonna love momma and papa and our house. Your gonna love your room, momma and I decorated it, but we left the color white cause we wanted you to choose whatever color you wanted, but a really big bed's there, with lots of pillows, and a big dresser. We didn't go cloths shopping yet, cause we didn't know what you wanted, but we're gonna do that tomorrow after you get settled. I got you a present, even though I didn't know what you wanted, it's on your bed," Maureen babbled, though Karina was paying attention, her mismatched eyes wide in shock.
"I, I get my own room?" Karina asked, utterly confused.
"Why wouldn't you get your own room?" Francis asked, completely confused.
"Poppa, no one gets their own room in foster care, unless its a foster parent's first time. Most places take in as many kids as they can, mostly for the money, but also because no one else will take them," Maureen said.
"I thought I told you about that, Francis," Virgil said, slightly confused.
"Meh, probably. Don't remember tho', and it ain't like I have experience in or with foster care," Francis said cracking his neck as he pulled out of the parking lot.
"Cause you had parents, right?" Karina said, almost bitterly. Francis let out a sharp bark of laughter.
"Not in the slightest, the 'rents kicked me out as soon as they could, been livin' on the streets since I was ten. Made sure I went to school tho, had to get food and money somehow," Francis said with a grin. Virgil shook his head in annoyance.
"Don't give them idea's Francis, I don't want either of my babies to think that's a good idea," Virgil said, disgruntled. Francis let loose another bark of laughter before reaching over to grab Virgil's hand. He kissed the back before releasing it to grab on to the wheel. His left hand didn't grip so well since he got the tendons sliced and then improperly healed.
"Been there, done that, didn't like it," Maureen replied cheerily.
"You two were homeless?" Karina asked, actually curious.
"Yup, though I got out sooner the poppa did. He didn't get a home until he was almost eighteen, after he started dating momma. Grandpa didn't want anyone who his kids loved to be homeless, so he took him in. Grandpa tends to serial adopt people into his family. It works out really well, but still, everybody at the community center pretty much calls him 'pops' like momma does," Maureen said.
"Oh," Karina said before looking down into her lap. Her fingers started twitching when silence fell upon the car, making her nervous. Silences had never been good in her experience. Several long moments later, they pulled into a 31 flavors.
"Now, Karina, I want you to pic whatever you want, okay? No strings, I promise," Francis said as they got out and walked into the store. Karina nodded once, not believing him in the slightest. In her experience, good things never happened without a cost. As soon as the got to the counter, Maureen ordered almost immediately, Virgil and Francis following her. They looked at Karina in encouragement before the young girl pointed, nervously, at the chocolate. Virgil grinned broadly before ruffling her hair.
"Good idea, kiddo," Virgil said, his smile not changing as Karina subconsciously leaned into his touch. Omega's could be needy for contact when they often weren't given the right amount, especially with it concerned other omegas. It was a biological imperative to ensure their mental and physical well being. It also helped them to sooth alpha's when the alpha was angry. The girl must have had a horrible life to try and repress her needs. The elder omega didn't push it though, and took his hand off her head almost immediately. Virgil had worked with abused omega's before, mostly through the community center when his dad or Sharon wanted a lawyer with said omegas. Many omega's were more comfortable talking to other omega's, and since Sharon and Robert were both alpha's, child omega's, and adult ones, didn't trust them as easily. Thus Virgil was sent in, to help them with counsel if they needed or desired it.
Because Virgil had been trained early on in dealing with abused children, he knew what to look for and knew how to avoid it. Of course, he told Francis what to expect and what to look out for when at DHS and at the community center, mostly out of his own need to be sure. Francis, though proud, thought most of the signs were pretty obvious. Virgil had only shrugged and said Francis only knew them because he'd been in most of those situations. The red head had only raised a single brow before taking that particular conversation in a different direction.
When neither of their kids were paying attention, Virgil shot Francis a look with a brief cork of an eyebrow, letting the alpha know of Karina's suspected abuse. Francis corked his lips in a small sneer before smoothing his face. It wouldn't due to upset his pups. Francis and Virgil had heard about Karina through their other worker, Mrs. Bates, and had fallen in love with the girl as soon as they saw her picture. Mrs. Bates had explained some of the girls history in foster care, the sever neglect and the occasional verbal abuse, so they would get the idea about her upbringing. They had discussed the process in length with several social workers, themselves, and Maureen, and they chose her almost immediately. The two liked helping kids that were a put in the "last resort" category and they did well with that.
As soon as the ice cream was served up, the quartet found a booth, eating their treats. Maureen prattled on in between eating, explaining to Karina what was to be expected at home. Both Francis and Virgil let the girl talk, it would be better for Karina to learn what to expect from another child then them. As soon as the treat was done, they left, most of them wanting to get home as soon as possible. Maureen still prattled about everything she could think of, though she took off her boots as she doing so. The girl got hot too quickly so she often went barefoot. Her teachers at school got annoyed, but understood why she did so.
When they got to their house, Karina's eyes widened in complete shock. The house wasn't overly large, but it was nice, two stories olive green brick house. Semi large windows faced out towards the street and a tidy front yard filled with flowers and what looked like edible plants. The door was large and sturdy, looking rather heavy. Karina had a sense that the house almost seemed fortified, though she didn't know why. Maureen noticed her look first.
"Poppa's paranoid so everything about and in the house is built to last. There are also several escape roots in and around the house in case something happens. Poppa used to do bad things, so he has enemies. Not that many people would mess with poppa, but still, it pays to be cautious," Maureen explained gently.
"Can't have you three get hurt or nothin'. Yer too precious fer that," Francis said, popping his neck casually. Karina just stared, not knowing what to say.
"Don't worry about it, there are ways to escape in the house, and you'll find them soon enough. Also, your bedroom is upstairs, next to Maureen's, so you two get the floor to yourselves," Virgil said with a slight chuckle. Some comfort filled Karina when the escape routes were mentioned, though she would check them herself to see if they existed. It would help basically have her own floor. They entered the house, and it was disappointingly normal on the inside. Karina shrugged, this wasn't her fist house, and would probably wouldn't be her last. Maureen showed her to her room and where to find the bathroom if she needed it. The white haired girl smiled at her sister before leaving her alone. This would be a long few days.
The new addition did nothing to slow the others down and soon enough the four found a rhythm with each other, though Karina was still cautious. The only thing that had really changed was Virgil had been getting sick more often then normal. Both Francis and Maureen hovered over while taking care of Karina at the same time. Karina, surprisingly, recognized the symptoms. She'd seen it before in several foster moms. Virgil threw up for about a month and a half before Karina actually said something.
"I think your pregnant," Karina said one day, loudly, at breakfast. Virgil paused eating his toast and looked over at her. In the past month and a half, Karina had finally become more comfortable about talking, especially to the other two omega's. She still got nervous around Francis though, which the red head just shrugged off. Virgil put down his food with a small sad smile.
"I can't be Karina, I had an accident awhile ago so my baby making parts don't work, you know that," Virgil said, voice gentle and soft. His eyes held such pain though. All he wanted was kids, and he still felt useless to Francis because he couldn't bare the alpha children. Both Francis and Maureen also looked sad about this, though they tried to be happy around Virgil. Karina just shrugged.
"All I'm saying is this little stomach bug hasn't gone away, and you've gained weight while still puking your lungs out. It's weird. I've seen enough foster moms act like this when they've gotten pregnant. Just get checked, alright?" Karina said non chalantly. She knew what would happen as soon as they saw proof. Bye-bye Karina. The young bang baby knew this kindness wouldn't laugh.
"Now that she mentions it Mama, it is a little weird this hasn't gone away. Maybe you should see a doctor, and not uncle Richie, he doesn't count. Besides, I still think he's made at you for choosing Papa instead of him," Maureen said with a grin. It had been a long drown out theory that Richie had a crush on Virgil. The omega swore he didn't, though he did agree that the blond alpha seemed overly attached. He always assumed it was because they were pack mates, but Francis logically pointed out that the blond hadn't been clingy until Virgil had agreed to date Francis. Virgil still didn't believe it, but the idea still had some merit.
"They gotta point Virg', sides, I wanna see if yer sick or not. This shit's worrying me," Francis said. Virgil pouted cutely but nodded.
"All right, I'll make an appointment at PlannedParentHood," Virgil grumbled. The omega had really good insurance, he just chose to go to PlannedParentHood because they were heavy supporters for Omega since they first opened.
"Do it it day, Virg'," Francis said, using his commanding alpha tone. Virgil's health was one of the few times that the alpha actually used that tone with the omega, so Virgil didn't complain too much about it.
"After breakfast pyro fool, I'm actually hungry right now," Virgil said, still pouting. Both Maureen and Karina actually snickered. The dark haired girl never thought she'd become friends with the ice powered girl, but she was actually glad that she did. Maureen did a lot of girly things with her that Virgil wouldn't and helped her fit in with home, then with her new school for when she started a week ago.
"Good," Francis said. The alpha made sure that Virgil got seconds before he finally finished to call in an appointment. Luckily, there had been an opening for that day at four.
"Well, this will be fun. Maureen and Karina do you want to come with us after school, or do you just want to come home?" Virgil asked. Both girls looked at each other.
"Home please," Karina said,
"Me too, I'm gonna be too nervous to be there," Maureen said, chewing on her lower lip. Virgil and Francis nodded before they took them to school. Maureen could have walked, but she liked getting rides, and Francis and Virgil spoiled her any chance they got.
For the two girls, the day seemed to pass by slowly and both were jittery and unable to focus much on anything. Maureen was the one to pick Karina up from school and escort her home, her usually chatty behavior gone . Karina was too nervous to tease her about it, feeling anxious about possibly be getting kicked out of one of the few homes she actually felt comfortable in. They didn't even sit in the living room to do their homework when they got home, both girls going straight to their rooms. Karina didn't want to leave and she just knew she would have to because of the new baby, it had happened to her before. When five thirty hit, the two young girls heard a car pull in and rushed to the living room to great their parents. The mated pair came in with big grins.
"We have some good news, you two are going to be big sisters," Virgil said, giddy and bouncing. Francis wrapped an arm around Virgil's waist to calm the omega.
"Calm down V, the doctor said for you to take it easy. Karina, that was a very good call on Virgil's pregnancy. We're proud of you for it," Francis said, leaning down to nuzzle Virgil's head. Maureen bounced happily, squealing as she did so. She always wanted a lot of siblings. Karina just looked sad.
"So, I guess the baby will go in my old room," Karina said, voice steady. The other three stopped celebrating.
"Old room? What are you talking about Karina?" Virgil asked, curious.
"You have a new child, you'll be needing to put it somewhere, you'll also need to give it the most attention, so I'll have to leave," Karina said blankly.
"The hell you talkin' about girl? We ain't giving you up, yer our daughter, jus' like Maureen," Francis said, voice gruff.
"You don't have any more rooms Francis, Maureen and I have the other ones." Karina said, frowning.
"Actually, this is a four person house. There's another room next to ours, where the baby will be staying. The baby will need a lot of attention, yes, however, it won't stop us from taking care of either of you. Your our babies, just like this one will be," Virgil said firmly. Karina moved to talk more but Maureen intercepted her.
"Sorry sissy, your stuck with us for the rest of your natural life, and then some," Maureen said with a slightly sharp grin. "Besides, I'm gonna need help embarrassing the little guy when he gets older."
"Y-your not gonna give me up? But why?" Karina asked, completely flabbergasted.
"Cause your our other baby girl, and we have love," Virgil said with a warm smile. For the first time since she got there, Karina ran up to both of them and hugged the pair. The hugged her back of course, nuzzling her head, scenting her while they did so. Maureen joined them a few moments later, tears of happiness dripping down her cheeks.
Epilogue
Many months later, the Hawkin's/Stone family stood around and exhausted Virgil as he held his new, and only, son. The boy looked like a combination of both of his parents, with rust colored hair and Francis's green eyes. They named him Gene, after Virgil's mother.
"He's perfect. Just like my two other babies," Virgil said hoarsely. Both Maureen and Karina grinned happily before Karina gave Virgil a small green crystal.
"It'll be his good luck charm, just like yours, Mama," Karina said. She had just started calling Virgil mom recently, much to the older omega's joy. Francis had turned into Frankie, which he didn't mind, too much.
"He's so adorable Virgil. And he looks like mom a little bit too," Sharon squeaked excitedly. Her own two year old daughter, Rebecca, sat propped on her mama's hip as Adam grinned. Out of the little family pack, Adam was the only beta, not that he minded at all, the Hawkin's family was good to him.
"He really does, huh? Maybe he'll be a doctor liker her too," Virgil said with a smile.
"Probably will, considerin' you Hawkin's are over achievers," Francis said, his voice gruff with emotion. He never thought he would get this, a family with three wonderful kids and an omega that loved him always.
"Of course we are papa, we wouldn't be us if we weren't," Karina said smugly. Francis turned to her sharply and the girl blushed slightly. Karina squeaked when Francis lunged at her, picking her up and squeezing her in a big bear hug. Virgil and the others just laughed, moister in their eyes from the newest addition to the family.