Emerald Moments
Interlude
(AN: this whole chapter is a flashback)

As she walked into the yard behind the orphanage, the young woman's eyes were immediately drawn to the small figure sitting against the fence. He was alone despite the number of other children present; he had his knees pulled to his chest and was staring at a spot on the grass in front of him. She took in his appearance and noticed messy black hair and green eyes that held the pain of the world in them.

"Ah, I see you've spotted our newest addition."

Laura Waltzer, soon to be Carter, glanced at the older woman who had joined her. She turned back to the boy and asked what his story was.

"The police dropped him off about six months ago, before that is anyone's guess. From observation, we think he's around 4 years old. He doesn't speak much; I suspect there's abuse in there somewhere. He wouldn't even tell us his name."

Laura was shocked at that. "He just wouldn't tell you, or…?"

"Oh, he told us what he could, but all he could remember is being called boy or freak." The woman let out a sigh. "We've taken to calling him Zev." At Laura's look, she explained that it meant wolf, and they picked that because he enjoyed looking at pictures of wolves. "Would you like to meet him?" Laura nodded and they headed to the solitary figure.

When they got closer, the matron called to the child. "Zev? There's someone here to see you, would you like to meet her?"

The boy looked up at the two women. The first he knew, she was in charge here. The other quickly captured his attention. She was tall and slim; her dark hair was pulled into a ponytail with two pieces left to frame her face. He glanced at her heart-shaped face and saw nothing but kindness in her light blue eyes. He nodded shyly and dropped his eyes back to the ground. The matron smiled at Laura and introduced her to the boy then left them to talk.

"Hey munchkin, what's so interesting about the grass?" Laura sat down next to him and leaned against the fence. He mumbled an answer, but she could not catch the words. "Hmm? I didn't hear you."

"I 'unno," he repeated quietly.

Laura didn't push him and instead started to talk about herself, hoping to draw him out of his shell a little. She told him how she had recently graduated from college and was going to be married soon. Mentioning her upcoming wedding took her on a tangent about her fiancé, Jackson Carter. "I think you'd like him. He graduated the year before me and has been putting himself through law school since then. He races sailboats when he has the time, have you ever been on a sailboat?" The boy shook his head. "Well, we're just going to have to fix that; no little boy should live in Seattle without ever having gone sailing." She continued on in this manner, talking about a range of topics, until Zev was watching her with undisguised wonder. He had never met a woman who talked this much.

While she had been talking, the clouds had rolled in and it was threatening to rain. The matron called all the children inside. Laura stood up and dusted off her pants; Zev remained on the ground. She reached a hand out to help him up. "C'mon kiddo, let's head inside before it starts to pour." His wide eyes relayed his shock as he took hold of her hand and she pulled him to his feet. No one had ever talked to him like this before.

The old matron watched Laura while she interacted with the small boy. No one knew anything about this child, but he had wormed his way into everyone's hearts. As sad as she would be to see him go, it was a relief that he might finally have a home.

Laura visited Zev several times during the next few weeks. Each visit brought them closer together. She even managed to bring Jack with her to meet him. They got along well from the start. He was even able to get Zev to ask him a few questions about sailing, which Laura made note of. As they were leaving that afternoon, she held a quiet conversation with the matron, and after a few nods, she rejoined Jack with a huge smile on her face.

The next weekend came with clear skies and warm weather; it was perfect for what Laura has planned. She got up early that Saturday and packed a picnic lunch before heading to the orphanage to see the Zev.

When she got there, Laura was not surprised to see Zev sitting in the bay window waiting for her. She waved and walked to the door; it opened before she even had a chance to knock.

"Hey there, munchkin. How are you today?" Laura ruffled his hair as he clamped onto her leg.

"Otay, how you?"

She laughed slightly at his broken question. "I'm good. I have a surprise for you today." He looked up at her with a questioning gaze. "We're going on a picnic, how's that sound?" His grin was infectious. "Alright, let me go tell the matron we're leaving and then we'll go, okay?" Zev released her legs and she quickly made her way to the office down the hall. Laura let the matron know she was taking Zev for the day and that she'd have him back by dinnertime.

They got in Laura's car, and took off for their adventure. Zev kept asking where they were going, but all Laura would say was that it was a surprise and he would find out soon enough.

Finally, after what seemed like hours to Zev, but was really about fifteen minutes, they reached their destination and got out of the car. Zev looked around with wide eyes and squealed with excitement when he spotted the marina across the street. Laura laughed at him and grabbed his hand with her free one so they could go meet Jackson for a day of sailing.

After getting him into a life jacket and warning him not to run on the dock, Laura sent Zev to Jack, who was walking towards them. "Good morning, Zev. Are you ready to go sailing?" Jack picked the boy up as he reached his side. Zev nodded enthusiastically. "Great! Let's get lunch stored in the galley and we'll get started." He placed Zev in the cockpit and gave Laura a hand as she stepped aboard.

The three of them spent the day sailing around the lake. Around noon, they dropped the sails and set up lunch on the bow. After they had finished eating, Laura picked Zev up and sat him in her lap.

"Hey munchkin, I have something important to ask you." She took a deep breath and continued. "I know you haven't known us very long, but we were wondering if you would like to be our son."

Zev looked between the two with his big eyes. "You be my mommy?"

Laura smiled and nodded her head. "Yup. I'd be your mommy, and Jack would be your daddy." Her smile grew when Zev mumbled a quiet yes and buried his face into her side.

They cleaned up lunch and raised the sails, then spent the rest of the afternoon sailing around the lake. When they got back to the orphanage that night, Laura found the matron and told her that they had reached a decision and were going to adopt the boy.

note: I know nothing about how adoption works, so in my little world, taking the boy sailing would be okay.