They followed Sandra's hospital bed and the bassinet carrying the baby back to the hospital room. Derek put his arm around Emily and kissed her cheek.

"Vivienne?" he asked Emily in a shocked, hushed tone.

Emily smiled. "You were sweet, offering up my grandmother's name, but you know I'm not close with my family. You are, though. That was your father's mother's name, right?" She looked at him slightly panicked, like maybe she remembered wrong.

Derek laughed quietly and kissed her again. "You got it right. I love you."

"I love you, too. I can't believe this."

Once Sandra was back in her hospital room and sitting up in bed, once Vivienne's bassinet had been pushed in there by a nurse, Sandra asked to hold the baby. Derek picked Vivienne up and passed her to Sandra. He noticed Marina smiling at him reassuringly. Michael came and sat on the edge of the bed to look. He and Sandra shared smiles, but for the most part, Sandra couldn't take her eyes off the baby. And each second she stared at Vivienne, Derek felt himself getting worried.

Derek noticed Emily was handling all of this better than he was. She seemed to have her guard up, whereas he had let every reservation and feeling of doubt crumble to non-existence the moment Emily walked into their house a few hours before and said they'd been chosen. He was kicking himself for that now, because every moment Vivienne spent in Sandra's arms felt precarious. He knew he shouldn't feel that way, but he did.

Sandra was open to them taking pictures with the baby and she let Emily and Derek help feed Vivienne her first couple of bottles. But as afternoon rolled into late evening, she held Vivienne closely to her and said, "I'll sign the paperwork tomorrow. I just want one night with her by myself. Michael can stay here and help me if I need it."

Emily was the one who spoke quietly, while managing a smile. "OK, Sandra. Can we bring you anything back in the morning?"

Sandra grinned. "Maybe a good breakfast?"

"Absolutely. I know just the place." Emily glanced in the corner of the room where a large plastic bag sat with the top of a backpack visible. "What about your clothes? Can we wash those for you?"

Sandra looked in the corner of the room and hesitated. Derek could understand why; everything she owned was in that bag. Finally, Sandra said, "That would actually be great. I know you'll be back with my things; I've got the kid."

They both gave her thin smiles. They hugged her and kissed the baby, Derek grabbed the bag, and they walked out of the hospital room, Marina following them.

"Should we stay in the waiting room?" asked Derek.

"Go home and get some rest tonight," Marina advised them. "This isn't that uncommon. Don't think of it as an indication that she's changing her mind. One of our staff will stay here tonight in case she needs help or has questions. We'll call you if there's a problem."

They both nodded. They both tried to remain strong. They rode the elevator down and walked out of the hospital, hands clasped and barely holding back tears. Everything felt numb.

"Hey!" a voice called to them, "Are those Sandra's things? Where are you taking her things?"

They turned to look at a dirty young woman with large, hazel eyes and a stern look. Alexis, they presumed.

"We're just washing her clothes," said Derek.

Alexis reached her hand out to grab the bag. "We can do that for her."

One of the young men spoke up, "Al, we haven't been on the street in a couple of days. We barely have any money."

Emily smiled at Alexis and then pulled out her phone. It was quiet while she looked for something, Derek holding the bag and Alexis with one hand on it. They were all looking at Emily.

"There's a laundromat about two blocks east. Why don't you take Sandra's things and meet us there. We can wash all of your clothes and sleeping bags and get you some dinner if you'd like," Emily said.

The two young men smiled, but Alexis was less certain. Finally, she nodded. Derek handed her the bag and said, "See you in a few minutes."

They got burgers, they washed the filthy clothing, they learned the names of the other two men: Gabe and Joey. Emily held up some of Sandra's things and they both noticed the seams torn on the waistband of her pants, and on the sides of shirts, strung together with twine.

"She had to cut them to make them fit these past couple of months," said Alexis.

They didn't talk much after that. Derek and Emily weren't up for big conversations at the moment, and the kids didn't seem that interested in them anyway. When all of the clothes and sleeping bags were washed and dried, Derek held firmly onto Sandra's backpack. He felt like it was his surefire ticket back into that hospital room and he wasn't about to let it go. "We're supposed to bring this back to her in the morning. She trusted us to do that."

And, finally, Alexis gave them a small smile and nodded.

Once back in their car, Derek called Garcia, who was unusually reserved and calm, greeting him with a quiet and hopeful, "Hello?"

"What do you know about street kid fashion?" he asked her.

"Depends where said street kids reside," she responded in a perplexed voice.

"Portland."

"Ah, gutter punks. Got it. I know enough."

"You feel up for some shopping?"

"Me, thrift shops and surplus stores go way back. I can handle that. Just give me the sizes. But, Derek, how's it going?"

"I don't know," he responded sadly. "The baby's beautiful and healthy. A little girl. Vivienne Alia. We adore her, but I don't know. She's staying with Sandra in the hospital tonight and we're going home."

Emily put her hand on his arm in comfort. They allowed themselves a few tears.

That night they brushed their teeth and stripped down to their underwear, crawling into bed and wrapping their arms around each other.

"Do you think she's going to back out?" asked Derek.

"I really don't think so. I hope not," responded Emily quietly.

They were silent for a long time. Derek couldn't sleep. He was thinking what a strange feeling it was - an infant had never crossed the threshold of their home, and yet it seemed oddly empty inside their house without that little baby girl he'd only held for a short while that afternoon.

Thirty minutes later he whispered, "Em, are you asleep?"

"No."

"Do you want to go back to the hospital and sit in the waiting room?" he asked.

Emily lifted her head up and smiled sweetly at him. She placed her hand on his cheek. "Whatever tomorrow looks like, we're going to need our rest for it. We should try to sleep." She put her head down again, kissed his chest, and gently rubbed her hand up and down his arm. Finally, he felt himself drifting off into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning they showed up at the hospital around nine with Sandra's backpack and Bennington's for breakfast. Derek wasn't sure where Sandra's friends had slept the night before, but they were back in front of the hospital that morning. Michael was with them. Derek handed them containers of to-go food.

Michael stood up, and this time he reached out his hand to shake Derek's. "Thanks for washing the clothes and taking care of their dinner last night. And for breakfast. Sandra talked a little last night about giving it a shot, welfare and a halfway house and keeping the baby, but she decided that was a fucked up start to any kid's life. Maybe we'll do it, and get off the streets, when we get back to Portland. But she wants the baby with you guys. She really likes you both. I kind of do, too. You're okay for a couple of feds. She's ready to sign the paperwork."

"Really? She's ready to sign?" asked Emily.

Michael smiled, "Really. She just called Marina a few minutes ago."

Just then, Emily's phone rang. She answered it and talked and listened for a couple of minutes. She disconnected the call with tears in her eyes and turned to look at Derek. "Marina's on her way."

After that, what seemed like an eternity of angst and uncertainty the night before sped up into a rapid pace of feelings that Derek could barely keep up with; never had he been so emotionally torn between elation and all-encompassing empathy and sadness. Emily sent a text to JJ and Penelope and said they needed a car seat and some basics quickly. Marina showed up. Sandra signed. They signed. Two hours later, a pediatrician gave Vivienne the all clear to leave the hospital.

And Sandra started crying.

"We don't have to leave," said Derek quietly while holding Vivienne in his arms. "We can stay here as long as you want us to."

Sandra shook her head and gasped through her tears, "I'm so tired. I just want to sleep." Then she really started crying hard, "I just want her in a real home as fast as possible. Please leave."

Emily sighed. She put her hand on Derek's shoulder and gave him a small smile before taking a seat on the edge of Sandra's bed. She placed her hand on Sandra's cheek and brushed away her tears. "You know, around ten years ago I gave up a little boy. The circumstances were very different; I didn't give birth to him, but I loved him very much. He meant everything to me. I gave him up because it really was the best thing for him given the circumstances. But, Sandra, my mistake was thinking that I had to forget him in order to let him go. Trying to forget him really made a mess of my life in the long run and it took me allowing myself to remember him to get my life back."

Emily paused to catch her breath. Derek saw her blinking back her own tears. Sandra's eyes were latched right onto Emily's and she continued, "We chose an open adoption because we don't want Vivienne to forget you. And we don't want you to forget her. You don't have to shut down your feelings to let us raise her. You should remember her, and we're to help you do that, if you'll let us."

Sandra didn't say anything, she just stared at Emily, but her tears slowed.

"I'll tell you what," said Emily. "We'll come back here to visit tomorrow around noon. You just tell Marina if you don't want us to. And you tell her if you'd like us back sooner. We'll be here."

Sandra nodded and placed her hand on Emily's, squeezing it. Emily kissed Sandra's cheek and stood. She put her arm around Derek and they walked out of the room with the baby.

Marina stayed with Sandra and told them she'd call to check in later. Michael was waiting outside of the hospital room. He looked at Emily. "You're a really good person. You both are. She'll be okay."

Nothing felt certain to Derek. Sandra still had ten days to change her mind. They sat in the main lobby of the hospital, Derek with Vivienne in his arms and Emily with her head resting on his shoulder, both of them falling in love with the beautiful little baby, both of their hearts aching for the beautiful young woman upstairs who they'd left in tears. They waited for JJ to arrive with the car seat, a nurse hovering nearby because they technically couldn't release Vivienne until she was in a car seat.

JJ and Penelope blew into the hospital with just the infant carrier, JJ holding the carrier's base in one hand. Derek could see them trying not to look overly excited, just because they understood that Sandra could still change her mind, but that lasted about a nanosecond.

They stepped right up to Emily and Derek and looked at Vivienne. Penelope quietly clapped her hands and said, "Oh my God, she is gorgeous. We finally have a girl in the family."

JJ looked from the baby to Emily, blinking back tears.

"What?" asked Emily.

"Nothing, she's just beautiful."

Emily looked at her like she didn't quite believe that was it, but she let it go. She smiled at JJ. "She is beautiful."

"OK," said Garcia, "So you know how they'll show on the news those stories where people get like ten minutes to go nuts on a shopping spree in a store. We pretty much just did that in the baby section at Target. It was the closest place open on a Sunday morning. It was like shopping on speed. I was good at it."

JJ raised her eyebrow at Garcia and shook her head at Emily and Derek, "She pretty much grabbed one of everything in the infant girl clothing area and kept laughing maniacally as she did it. I had to blow through the other areas and get everything else and get her out of there before someone called the cops to put a psych hold on her."

Derek grinned and Emily laughed. "Pen, I said some basics."

Penelope winked at her, "Right. Basically everything."

Emily unwrapped Vivienne from her blanket, revealing the simple hospital onesie. "Oh, Viv," Penelope whispered to the baby, "We have got to get you into a new outfit."

JJ helped them adjust the straps on the car seat so they were in the right place, and they got Vivienne buckled in. The nurse took a look, they signed another form, and the nurse wished them well. Emily covered the baby back up with the blanket and they walked out the door, Derek holding the carrier.

Alexis approached them and squatted down so she could look at the baby. She placed a very grimy finger gently on Vivienne's cheek, and Derek managed to hold back a grimace. Alexis stood and smiled at them both. "She's cute. You'll be good for her. And I'll be glad not to have to give Sandra most of our food anymore."

Derek huffed out a laugh.

On the walk to the car, he said to Emily, "They really are a family, the whole grungy group of them, however bizarre we might find their lifestyle and choices."

"We're a family," piped up Garcia. "We've got sad and hard jobs that most people couldn't handle for as long as we have, even if you two aren't there anymore. Most people can't understand how we still celebrate and find joy in life. Most people would find our lifestyle bizarre. But we're still a family."

Derek grinned. "True."

That afternoon, after the massive amounts of baby items from JJ's car were unloaded into their home, after baby clothing was washed and the bassinet was put together, and bottles were sterilized and JJ left for home while Penelope left to hit the thrift shops, Derek and Emily allowed themselves to enjoy Vivienne. They put her on the bed between them and counted fingers and toes. They kissed her and held her and fed her and sang to her. They smiled and kissed each other.

They called their supervisors and said neither would be at work the following week, on personal leave. Derek told his supervisor why, since he'd barely just returned from personal leave. And Emily prepared Section Chief James for a likely family leave. He was nothing but happy for them both, much to Emily's relief.

They planned for a quiet ten days at home, living like recluses, just in case this all went south. But they didn't hold back their love for Vivienne at all, their confidence building that she would be theirs with every second she was in their home.

That night, when Vivienne was in Emily's arms, Derek bent over to give Emily a lingering kiss, before placing his hand gently on her face and smiling.

"You were amazing in that hospital room with Sandra."

Emily smiled back, "I was just honest."

"Keeping the soil rich?" asked Derek.

She shook her head and whispered, "Wrong Carlos-ism. Giving people the pure ingredients within me so good things can happen."