I'm sorry I haven't updated since September. I'll be doing my very best to keep my posts more regular from now on. I really appreciate my readers, and I don't want anyone to get the impression that I don't.

Her wife was already making breakfast by the time Arizona walked into the kitchen the next morning, so she helped herself to a cup of coffee before sitting down at the kitchen table. It was covered with several scrapbooks from their daughters' early years. They had taken them out of storage after hearing Faith and Sebastian's news. Grandparenthood hadn't exactly snuck up on them, but seeing an actual photograph of the baby who was to become their granddaughter – and knowing that she would probably be welcomed into their family so soon - was surreal.

"I thought she seemed so grown up that day," she said as she flipped to a page filled with birthday party pictures.

She could remember wondering how Sofia was already turning five. It seemed like such a milestone. Now that her children really were fully grown and starting their own families, she knew that feeling like her five-year-old was growing up too fast was funny. She was still so small back then even if she seemed so far from where she had started.

"What day?" Callie, who couldn't see the photo from where she was standing, asked.

"Sofia's fifth birthday," she replied, holding the book up so that her wife could see it from afar. "She seemed so tall, and smart, and so many other 'big' things, but she was still so little."

"In five years, we'll be celebrating our grandkids' fifth birthdays," Callie realized.

"Slow down," Arizona told her. "No talking about that yet. Or for the next five years. I want gummy baby smiles and cooing first. Lots and lots of gummy baby smiles and cooing first."

"Deal."

Arizona continued flipping through the memories until she found a few photos she couldn't help but take a longer look at. In them, the girls were sitting on her parents' laps with wide smiles on their faces. The joy felt in those moments was certainly coming through, but looking back on those days was also bittersweet since Grandma, Grandpa, and Abuelo were no longer with them.

"I wish our parents could have been here more," she said. "At the time, seeing them on holidays and making regular phone calls usually felt good enough. We were the parents, and we could raise our kids ourselves. We actually told them not to come a few times because we didn't want them here worrying over Faith's hospital bed. And because we didn't want your dad to leave your mom at home so much. But now..."

"Yeah."

"You'd think I would've known better. My brother missed everything."

"But it always feels like you'll have more time. No matter what."

"You're right," she said. "I'm just glad we'll get to be so much more involved in our grandkids' lives. Our parents did the best they could, but they didn't live here. We're so close. We won't have to plan anything weeks or months in advance. We'll just be able to go over. They can just drop the kids off when we babysit. We'll be in their daily lives. Maybe not every day, but more than our parents were."

"For now," Callie said as she brought her wife's breakfast plate over to her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Arizona questioned, looking up from the pictures with an almost accusatory expression on her face.

"They could move away for fellowships," Callie said. "Sofia's an Attending, but Faith and Oscar..."

"Stop trying to ruin my joy."

"You're the one who brought up everything our parents missed."

"And how we won't have to miss them. I tried to say something happier."

"Then you told me they're going to move our grandbabies away. Before we even have them. Shh!"

Callie liked the thought of being so close to her grandchildren just as much as Arizona did. She shouldn't have said anything. She wasn't sure why she had. The fellowship offers that could change things weren't happening now. It wasn't the time to focus on those. Celebrating good news and getting ready to welcome new babies was much better. Her wife was right.

"Sorry," she said, giving her wife a kiss. "No more. Let's just go back to the excitement."

"That's better."

Faith knew that she should start getting ready for work, but she couldn't bring herself to get out of bed as she lay in Sebastian's arms. The two were exchanging soft pecks and giggles like young teenagers might. They couldn't help themselves. Waking up so happy and hopeful felt excellent.

"I didn't dream all that, did I?" Faith questioned.

"Nope," he smiled. "It really happened."

"Just making sure."

"I wonder what she's doing right now," Sebastian said after a small pause in the conversation.

"Being adorable," Faith guessed. "Or crying for some reason. The usual baby activities."

"Oh, the crying."

Knowing that Lila struggled with reflux issues, they expected plenty of fussiness. It went without saying that everyone hoped she would be more comfortable soon, but she was bound to have more than her fair share of upset moments. All babies did, but babies with reflux were usually more irritable. Getting to be Lila's parents would be worth every trying time they would go through with her, though. They knew that, too.

"The crying will be fine. We'll manage." Faith said.

"I'm sure we will."

"I just hope that Chloe and her family are okay right now. I can't imagine how they must be feeling. To know that their time with her is limited. Even though Chloe's decided to choose adoption, it has to hurt."

Those thoughts may have changed the tone of the conversation, but they both felt like the other side of the adoption plan was important to talk about. Adoption was a path that they were happy to choose, but it didn't mean that there wasn't sadness in it as well. They could be happy to be starting their little family while being mindful that people were struggling, too. They didn't want to ignore that. Everyone's feelings mattered, especially considering that they were committed to an open adoption.

"Definitely."

After a few more minutes of chit-chat about Lila, her family, and the future, Sebastian finally got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom while Faith headed down the hallway toward the stairs. Before she got to them, she stopped when she heard Nellie in the nursery. The dog was lying down with her tail happily hitting one of the crib's legs every time it wagged.

"Did you sleep in the baby's room?" Faith smiled as she went in to give her fur baby some love. "Nellie, soon this'll be Lila's room! I'm sure she'll like to play with you in here. Maybe not right away, but once she gets a little bigger. She's tiny right now. Too tiny for playing. But she gets to grow up here! With such a good doggy to have fun with! I wonder what you'll think when we bring her home? You don't have any idea what's about to happen, do you?"

Faith continued talking to the dog- and giving her some good morning pets – until her husband came into the room after his shower.

"Did she sleep in here?" he asked.

"Apparently."

"We need to start really preparing her," he said. "She's a good dog, but..."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Right now, I have to get moving, though. I have a Ross procedure this morning. Plus, I have to tell Bailey and Cristina our news. Hopefully they take it well."

"It's not like it's a surprise."

"Well, no."

Sofia was getting out of the shower when she heard her boyfriend's voice. She thought he was talking to her, so she put on her robe, opened the bathroom door, and stepped out into the hall. He wasn't there, but she figured out that he was on the phone in his room.

"Mom, we're three hours behind here," he said as she walked in. "It's only five o'clock."

His girlfriend laughed as quietly as she could. She remembered having similar conversations during her own residency. She never forgot about the different time zones, but sometimes she only had the chance to talk to her family at times that weren't so phone call friendly.

"Well, I'm awake, but I'm getting ready for work. I love talking to you, but I can't talk right this second. My bosses don't really care if I'm late because I haven't talked to my mom in a while. No, Sofia can't get me out of trouble. That's not how residency works. I'll ask her about the baby shower, and I'll call you later. I know. I'm sorry I haven't called often enough. I'll try to do better. Yes, especially after the baby comes. Alright. Bye, Mom. I love you."

He hung up the phone and gave his girlfriend a kiss.

"My mom has no idea how hard residency is," he said. "I know I haven't called very often, but I'm trying to learn as much as I can as fast as I can, and to make sure you're taken care of, too. Not that you need me to take care of you, but you deserve some pampering, and I want to do those things."

"You're doing great," she assured him. "She just misses you. She probably feels like she'll be out of the loop when Baby comes. I missed so much when Declan was a baby. I think it'd be worse to be away from a grandchild."

"Yeah. I'll try harder to keep in touch."

"Good."

"She wants to know when your baby shower is."

"Maybe Faith and I could have a joint baby shower," she smiled. "I'll ask her."

"Okay."

"I definitely need to meet your mom before we give her a grandchild, though," she told him. "Either way."

"That's probably a good idea," he agreed.

"You should invite her for Thanksgiving. I don't generally like meeting parents, but obviously this is different."

"Yeah."

Faith familiarized herself with Cristina's case and did some extra research before heading to Chief Bailey's office. She hoped Dr. Bailey would take the news that one of her residents was about to become a mother well – even though she had heard stories of surgical residents at other hospitals being treated less than respectfully because of their impending parenthood – but she wanted to make sure that the chief knew how important her spot in the program was to her. Therefore, she found herself standing in the doorway trying to find just the right words before she knocked.

"It's a little early for hovering outside the chief's office," Bailey replied before Faith realized that her boss had sensed her presence.

"Right. Sorry," she smiled, walking in and placing a coffee cup down on the desk. "Mocha latte?"

"What have you done?"

"Nothing," she assured her.

"You should know better than to butter me up," Bailey told her, taking a sip of the latte anyway. "What is it?"

"Sebastian and I were asked to adopt a baby girl yesterday," she explained.

"Oh."

"I'd appreciate if you kept it quiet. We're telling some people, but we're not ready to make a huge announcement just yet. I just wanted you to know that I'll still take my responsibilities as a resident very seriously. But the thing is –"

"I understand," Bailey replied. "It's not like this snuck up on me, Faith. You have your reasons. Do I think you realize what it'll be like yet? No."

Faith wanted to interrupt, but she didn't because interrupting Dr. Bailey was never a good idea. She preferred to think of herself as determined and brave instead of naïve – even if she might be a mix of all three – but she let her continue anyway. Luckily, Bailey's next words were a pleasant surprise.

"Nobody does until they've been up all night with a screaming baby, and they have to be at work in two hours. Or until they're at work making someone else's child feel better the first time that their own is sick. If everyone knew exactly what they were in for, they might not go for it," she said. "It's worth it, though."

"Yeah."

"My ex-husband and I tried for a while before I got pregnant with Tuck. Looking back, I'm glad it didn't happen right away, but I still wasn't sure I was ready when it did. I had doubts, but I realized I could do it, and I did. Because I'm Dr. Bailey."

"You make it sound so easy," she laughed.

She knew that Dr. Bailey wasn't trying to say it was easy, or that readiness was nothing but a mindset. If that were the case, mothers like Chloe wouldn't feel like adoption was best for their children. The chief was simply telling her that only she could know if she was ready, and that she wasn't judging her choice to adopt before her career was fully established.

"Some people aren't ready, but if you are, you are."

"I know."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you," she smiled.

"With that said, I won't let the senior residents, fellows, or attendings take it easy on you," she warned.

"I wouldn't want them to," Faith said. "I do this because people who were extremely good at their jobs saved my life when I was younger. And because quality medical care still keeps me alive and well today. I'm not going to give my patients anything but my best when I'm here. I don't know how I'll balance it all yet, but I'll give it my all."

"Good," she said. "How soon will you need time off?"

"We don't have a placement date yet," she explained. "She was born in August, but we were just chosen yesterday. We have another meeting on Saturday. We should find out then. I'm sorry it's not much notice, but we couldn't assume anything."

Faith purposely left out details of what Lila and Chloe had been through because their story wasn't gossip. If and when they need to know something – or it felt right to share it – she would, but she had to take other people's thoughts and feelings into consideration, too. Lila would know her whole story, but that didn't mean that Faith and Sebastian should automatically share it with everyone.

"Well, let me know."

"I will."

"How are you going to break the news to Yang?" she questioned.

"I'm thinking I'll lead with the whole 'remember how I could have died as a baby?' thing," she said. "Then I'll compliment her. I can be a mom because she's helped keep me healthy enough."

"That is true," she agreed. "You really are one of our most talented residents."

"Thank you."

"Keep that up."

"No pressure or anything, right?" Faith laughed.

"A little pressure is a good thing. We make it hard for a reason."

Callie and Arizona knew that most of their coworkers wouldn't know Faith and Sebastian's news, so they would have to go about their day as if nothing was new. They could do it, they figured. After all, they were there to save lives. Patients would keep them busy.

That didn't make them any less excited to see Mark and Lexie in the hallway that morning. He was there for a skills lab, and she was just about to head into surgery, but they took a moment to celebrate with the grandmothers-to-be. They were two of the people who Faith and Sebastian had given them permission to tell – since they were so close to them – so they found out via text messages from both Callie and Sofia the night before.

"Congratulations!" Lexie said, somewhat quietly so that she wouldn't draw too much attention to the conversation. "I know she's not home yet, but still! They were finally chosen!"

"Thanks," Callie smiled.

"When are they bringing her home?" Mark wondered.

"We don't know yet," Arizona explained. "They're waiting for Chloe to feel ready."

"Not that there's actually a way to be 'ready' for that," Callie added.

Mark didn't talk about it much anymore, but his best friend had been there through it all when Sloan had chosen adoption for her son. Callie had been the one to take apart the crib he had tried to set up and to tell him why when he got home to find her doing so. She had been the one to show the baby boy's new parents to the room where Mark handed him over. She knew that he had come to accept Sloan's choice – and to see that it was the best one for her little guy – but that didn't mean memories from that time weren't difficult. Chloe's family was facing the same pain.

"No," Mark said.

"Chloe'll never have to wonder if we love her enough, though," she promised. "She's not even ours yet, and we already think she's amazing."

Lexie smiled.

"Sofia said Faith and Sebastian have a picture?" she asked.

"She's beautiful," Arizona gushed. "The most beautiful baby girl to be born since our girls were."

Callie nodded. It might have seemed like Arizona was overselling how cute the seven-week-old was, but she couldn't disagree. Sure, they were biased, but Lila was also very cute.

"Yep, you two are ready to be grandmas," Lexie laughed. "You sound just like the rest of us."

"Good," Arizona smiled.

"Remember when we were trying to rehearse for our wedding, but your mom just wanted to show you baby clothes?" Callie asked. "Why do I get the feeling that'll be us?"

"Because it will," Arizona admitted. "I've said it before. We're just like my mother. We've already bought our grandson so much, and now we have to make sure Lila gets spoiled, too."

They didn't know Sofia was walking up behind them just in time to hear that last sentence. She was well aware that her parents had already bought her son plenty of clothes and toys, but she found it funny how they felt like he needed so many gifts from them.

"You have to?" she laughed. "Our kids will have parents, you know."

"We know, but spoiling is in a grandparent's job description," she said. "It's a huge part of it."

"Fine," she replied.

She was only giving them a hard time. She had told her moms to hold off on doing anymore shopping for a while since they had already accumulated an impressive collection of items for her baby boy and she didn't want them to go too overboard, but she was glad that the whole family was so excited about him. She certainly spoiled her nephew – and intended to spoil her future niece – so she couldn't really blame them.

"Does he have a name yet?" Mark asked his daughter. "Declan keeps asking."

"Declan does, huh?"

She doubted that. Declan liked to ask questions about his cousin when someone else mentioned him, but he didn't really bring him up on his own. Forty weeks felt like forever to a three-year-old, and he was more interested in what was going to happen right away. Auntie Sofia got the impression that Declan would only ask such a question when prompted by someone else.

"Not exactly," he admitted. "We want to know, though."

"So do I," she told him. "We haven't decided."

"Oh."

"Speaking of Declan, I didn't think I'd see you here this week," she commented.

Instead of leaving for their honeymoon right away, her brother and his new wife decided to delay it so that they could spend some quality time with her family while they were in Seattle for the wedding. They saw his family often, but they didn't get quite as much time with Chelsea's, so it was a welcome opportunity. Therefore, they had just left on their honeymoon two days ago. They were spending their week in Rome, Italy while their son spent his with Grandpa and Nana. Sofia was surprised that her dad was there to teach a skills lab when he could be with Declan.

"Max and Chelsea insisted that he still go to daycare on his usual days," Lexie told her. "They don't want to change the parts of his routine that can stay the same while they're gone."

"That makes sense."

"Grandpa's not happy about it," she added.

"Because he could be with me instead. He'd love it," Mark said.

"He loves daycare, too. He thinks his teachers are so much fun, and he has little friends. He knows his routine. He's with us all week. You two will get plenty of time together."

"I know. So I'm here teaching and watching until it's time to pick him up."

"Good. I should try to come over one day," Sofia said. "You can have a break, and I can spend some quality time with my favourite nephew."

"Why would I need a break?" Mark asked.

"Because you're not exactly young anymore, Dad," she reminded him. "A whole week with a three-year-old would be tiring for most people. I'm in my thirties, and I'm pretty sure it'll wear me out when this little dude's that age."

"I did count down the hours until bedtime last night," he admitted.

"How's Saturday?"

"Sounds good."

Faith went to Sebastian's office as soon as her Ross procedure was finished. She hadn't gotten a chance to tell Cristina about their match. Every time she was about to, they ended up surrounded by hospital staff that she wasn't ready to announce it to. Therefore, she hadn't been able to say anything about Chloe or Lila for a few hours. Given how excited she was, that had been quite challenging. She wanted to be able to say something to someone who already knew how much her life was about to change.

"Hey, how was your Ross procedure?" he asked, looking up when he heard the gentle knock on his door.

"Amazing," she smiled as she walked in.

"What did Cristina say when you told her about Lila?"

"Oh, I couldn't. Too many people around."

"Oh."

"But the surgery went well."

"Good."

Sebastian's phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket right away. He was used to answering quickly whenever possible since they had waited for adoption related phone calls for so long. He wasn't expecting the one he got, though.

"It's Chloe," he told his wife before he answered it. "Hi, Chloe. You've got both of us. Faith's here, too."

"Hi," she said. "Sorry. I know you're probably at work, but I didn't think this could wait, so..."

Chloe was talking unusually quickly. She hadn't just called to talk, or even to ask them about something she wanted in their open adoption plan. Faith could tell that something had shaken her up.

"What's wrong?" she questioned.

"Carter just called me," she revealed.

They all knew that Carter had every right to be involved in his daughter's life and in the decisions about her impending adoption. Still, if they were being honest, they didn't expect him to get involved. He hadn't been, and there hadn't been any indication that he would until now.

"Oh," Faith said. "What did he say?"

"He got Eloise's message about how I'd picked you guys, and he had questions," she said. "I explained everything and told him all about you two because I wanted him to hear my reasons from me. I know he has the right to make a choice, too. I did everything I could to respect that, but if he called to ask me, I was going to tell him how I honestly feel. Even if I got upset after he told me a few things that weren't easy to hear."

"That must have been so hard," Faith said.

"Apparently he stopped talking to me when I was pregnant because he had a new girlfriend and it was 'easier' not to put himself in a 'hard' situation. He was scared. I know that. I was scared, too. Only, because he got to move on, I was scared and alone. Decisions that should have been made by both of us were left to just me. Even when I told him Lila'd been born too early, he ignored my messages because of a new girlfriend. And now that he's broken up with that girl – and now that I've made most of the decisions – he comes back. I know I should be glad he cares now. I've wanted him to be involved this whole time, but it's still frustrating that he got to pick and choose when he was interested."

"Sorry," Sebastian said, knowing that it wasn't enough, but not sure what would be.

"I shouldn't be ranting about him. He's part of Lila. He's not a perfect guy, but I don't want everything she hears about him to be negative. Not that she understands right now, but someday she will. She'll have questions and I'll have to be a lot better at answering them. I'm sorry."

"You're human," Faith said. "Nobody's perfect."

"Anyway, he listened to everything I said about you, asked me a few questions about you and about Lila, and told me that he wants to meet with Eloise. I hope it's because he liked what he heard and he wants to sign the papers, but he didn't really say. What if he doesn't? I know I can't pressure him. It felt terrible when someone tried to do it to me, and I can't make him feel that. I loved him once. Besides, if Lila's adopted, I want her to know it's because it felt best. I can't really say that if Carter wasn't given a choice. But I've finally found her great parents, and now we all just have to wait for him."

Faith and Sebastian knew that they were taking a chance when they chose to adopt. Nothing had been guaranteed when they met with Chloe, and nothing was guaranteed even after she chose them. They wanted their adoption –whenever it did happen – to be ethical. Human lives and entire families would be forever changed and that wasn't something they took lightly. Even so, they had a great feeling about Chloe and Lila. She seemed so sure, and it felt like a good fit for everyone. Now, not even a full day after getting some of the best news of their lives, they were hearing the words "if Lila's adopted." It was a sobering reminder that nothing was set in stone.

"Yeah. "

They heard Lila fussing in the background, and Chloe decided to end the phone call there. She didn't have any further information anyway. She just wanted them to be aware that Carter was planning to get involved. It hadn't even occurred to her that the agency would notify them.

Sebastian gave his wife a hug as soon as he hung up. Knowing that Carter could step forward – or that Chloe could change her mind – hadn't protected them from the feelings they were feeling right now. They couldn't stop themselves from getting excited, and now everything was up in the air. They were both trying to stay calm and rational. It didn't necessarily mean that they wouldn't become Lila's parents. Carter might tell Eloise that he planned to place Lila. They just had to give him time to decide. It wasn't easy, but they didn't have much choice.

"This might not be over yet," he told her.

"I know," she said. "Maybe he'll love us. Maybe he'll want contact. That would be good."

"Yeah."

"But maybe he'll decide against adoption. Or maybe, now that he's back in the picture, Chloe'll change her mind. Maybe they'll co-parent."

She wasn't betting on that possibility, but that didn't mean it couldn't happen. Chloe was doing her best to respect Carter. As she said, she had loved him once. Adoption wasn't an easy choice, so if Chloe saw any way to make co-parenting a good option for Lila, she would probably do it. They would respect that choice – and support keeping a child and her biological parents together – but it would still be difficult for them to end the match.

"Maybe."

"Most of the time it seems crazy to think that he could be born so soon, but then days like today happen, and January can't come fast enough," Sofia said, interrupting her parents' lunch conversation as she joined them at their table. "Making it to a code feels like running a marathon."

"You're doing great," Arizona assured her.

"Good, because I feel huge," she replied. "I'm not complaining, but it's not exactly easy to practice medicine when he's wiggling around in there like this. I don't think he's stopped all day. And he's on his way to huge, too. He's measured two weeks ahead at my last two appointments, which just means I'll be massive in a few weeks."

"You won't be massive," Lexie assured her. "You're all belly, and it's a cute little belly."

"And you're lying, but thank you," she smiled.

"You're welcome."

"The weeks will start flying by soon," Mark told her.

"You'll have so much to do and not much time to do it in," Callie added.

"I know," she agreed. "That's why I'm really hoping we like the apartment we're going to see tomorrow. I know it'll be okay if we don't get it, too. Baby'll sleep in the room with us at first anyway, but this has everything we've agreed to look for."

"Good," her dad smiled.

The five of them continued chatting about apartments, babies, names, surgeries, and everything else that was on Sofia's mind these days until they saw Faith and Sebastian coming over. Everyone expected them to be filled with excitement, but they clearly weren't. They could read the nervous looks all over their faces right away.

"What's wrong?" Callie asked.

"Chloe just called," Sebastian explained, after looking around to make sure that no one else was within earshot of them. "Carter called her and asked a bunch of questions. He told her he wants to meet with her caseworker."

"Oh," Arizona replied. "Isn't that good? You want Lila to know everyone."

"We do," Faith nodded. "He might not choose us, though. He has just as much say as Chloe does. Which is the way it should be, but we've already been asked to be her new parents, and he could decide differently. We could go back to waiting all over again."

"Yeah," Callie said as she realized how tough that would be.

"We just thought the nerve-wracking wait was over. At least the wait to be chosen. Now, it's not," Sebastian said.

"Either way, someone will struggle," Faith added "We just didn't think it would go this way, because there was no sign that Carter would call her like that. We're just surprised."

"Why did he call now?" Sofia questioned. "He hasn't talked to her in months."

"Should we go?" Mark asked before they could answer.

While they were limiting the information to share with most people out of respect for everyone on the other side of the situation, Mark and Lexie knew just about everything, and they were okay with that. Their part of Sofia's family had always been a part of Faith's life, too. They weren't just any friends.

"No," Faith replied. "Keep everything to yourselves because it's their personal information, but you're Mark and Lexie. You care. I'm not going to make you leave."

"Okay," Lexie said.

Sebastian went on to explain what Chloe had told them about Carter's reasons. Immediately, because they had heard so much about Chloe and Lila – and their hearts broke for the single mom having to make such a tough choice – Callie, Arizona, and Sofia began expressing negative feelings about Carter. They all felt like he should have been consistently involved and that his reasons for deciding not to be weren't good enough. That was an easy conclusion to come to, but Mark had something else to say.

"That was me," he reminded them. "When Sloan's mom told me she was pregnant, I gave her money, hoped she'd have an abortion, and ran off. It wasn't right. I'm not condoning it, but I was a stupid kid. It was a terrible choice, but it doesn't mean I'm a terrible person. At least Carter's asking questions and getting involved now."

"True," Sofia said.

"But he's getting involved to possibly undo everything that the parent who knows Lila has chosen," Arizona countered.

"We don't know that. He might agree with Chloe. Robbins, it took me eighteen years and my kid finding me for me to step up. Maybe he shouldn't have disappeared in the first place, but he's back now. I'm not saying this makes him father of the year, but we don't even know him. Really. We've heard about him," Mark said.

"Exactly," Faith nodded. "We've given Chloe the benefit of the doubt. We could have judged her for her unplanned pregnancy –"

"Hey!" Sofia replied, mostly sarcastically.

"But we didn't," Faith said. "Or we could have judged her for parenting for as long as she has, or for choosing adoption now. We still didn't because we understand, and because we've talked to her. So far, we haven't talked to Carter at all."

"We want what's best for Lila, and we don't get to decide that. Just because we're older, financially better off, and married doesn't mean we deserve their baby," Sebastian told them.

"And if we do adopt Lila, we'll do our best not to speak negatively of any of her family," Faith promised. "We'll tell her her story – and we'll be honest – but we won't make anybody the bad guy. We'll explain what we know about their choices, not tell her anyone is a bad person. We would never want that to make her feel badly about herself."

"What?" Callie asked.

"If we give her the impression that there is a bad guy – instead of a guy who made a choice that we don't understand – in her family, and she came from that family, she might internalize it and think that something's 'bad' about her. And that that's why she was placed. If she is," Sebastian explained. "We know differently, but a little kid might not. So, for whoever we adopt, we need to keep that in mind."

"That makes sense," Arizona realized.

"Should we have seen this coming? Did we get too comfortable?" Faith wondered.

"Maybe a little bit, but we can't see much coming when it comes to adoption," Sebastian said. "This isn't the first surprise we've had. It's just a different one."

"With more waiting."

"With more waiting."

After hearing about Faith and Sebastian's phone call, no one had much interest in lunch. Even Sofia lost her appetite. Not knowing that, Oscar was headed toward the cafeteria with something for her. They met in the hallway instead.

"Hey, want a fruit cup?" he asked as he held in out toward her. "I got it for my patient, but then he threw up, so no fruit cup for him. These things are gross, but you eat almost anything these days, so..."

"No, thanks," she said. "You need to work on your sales pitch."

"Sorry," he laughed. "Hey, I called and invited my mom for Thanksgiving. She's so excited, but it only made her want more baby shower details. Oh, and she really wants to know his name. Apparently, we should just pick one already."

Unlike most days, they actually hadn't had their usual morning discussion. They had talked about his mom and possible baby shower plans, but they hadn't gotten around to the typical Nico versus Spencer, versus Ezra debate before leaving for work.

"So does my family," she said. "And I'm not so sure there'll be a baby shower."

"Faith said no? She's been waiting for this for so long. I thought she'd want a huge shower. Does she not want to share it with you? You two are so close. I don't –"

"We're not so sure they'll be adopting Lila," she explained. "Not that we were ever sure because nothing's actually happened yet, but Carter called Chloe. Now that he's in the picture, we don't know what's going to happen. He might sign the papers or he might not."

"Oh."

"I can't have a baby shower if she's going through that. She'd show up and be happy for us because she loves us, but I don't want to make her do that. I don't need that if it could make it harder for her and Seb. I get a baby, and she might not."

"Yeah," he said. "You okay?"

"I'm trying to be," she answered. "I hope whatever's right for Lila happens. Honestly. We've learned about her, and she sounds amazing. That doesn't mean I'm ready to watch Faith's heart break if that's not her and Seb, though."

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Especially since we'll have him so soon," she replied, placing her hand on her belly. "I know I shouldn't feel guilty about that, but I can't help but wonder why we get everything they've wanted so easily."

"I don't know," he said. "They'll love him, though. They won't hate us if we have a baby before them. Promise."

He felt similarly, but she didn't need to hear that right now. She needed to hear the truth – which was that her sister would never hold that against her – from him, so he didn't mention the other feelings he felt.

"I know they won't."

"Good," he replied. "Let's try to keep busy, okay? Lila might still be coming home with Faith soon. We just don't know. In the meantime, we have an apartment to see and a little boy to name."

"And we have to find ways to keep my sister and Seb sane."

"Yes."

Faith's moms invited the anxious couple over for dinner that evening. They knew that there wasn't much they could actually do to ease their nerves, but they figured that a home cooked meal – and a chance to get out of the house – couldn't hurt.

"What do you think about this Carter situation?" Arizona asked Nellie, who had come along for a visit with Callie and Arizona. "Do you think Lila's going to be in our family or not?"

"She was sleeping in the nursery this morning," Faith told them. "She definitely wants a baby at our house. Right, Nellie?"

Sebastian's phone rang again. He had been checking it all day just to make sure that he hadn't missed any calls or texts, but none had come since Chloe's. The call display told him Brie was calling.

"Hi, Brie," he answered.

"Hi, Sebastian. Is Faith there?" she asked.

"I have you on speaker."

"Okay," she replied. "There's something we need to talk about."

Faith decided to say it before she did. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because, if she said it, she could feel like she had some control even though she didn't. Maybe she was hoping that what she was about to say was the only news that Brie had, meaning that there would still be hope.

"Chloe told us Carter called today. He said he wanted to meet with the agency," she said.

"Oh, you already know," Brie said. "Alright. Well, Carter actually came in this afternoon. He met with Eloise and took a look at your profile book."

Everyone in the room stopped moving. Callie was no longer stirring her sauce, and Arizona suddenly quit petting the dog. They couldn't help but hold their breath as they waited for the next words they would hear.

"Okay...?" Faith eventually asked. "And...?"

"And he'll let us know when he's made a decision," she said. "We don't expect anyone to make a choice on the spot."

"Right."

"I understand it's hard to go from having happy plans to not knowing if you can plan all of the sudden," she sympathized. "Hang in there, okay?"

"We're doing our best."

"Good. I'll be in touch. Call if you have any questions."

"Thanks, Brie," Sebastian said.

He left the room when they ended that conversation so that he could go call his parents. They wanted any updates that he could give them.

"There will be a baby for us, right?" Faith asked her moms. "I know we all feel good about Lila, but even if we end up with a different match, it can make us as happy as we were yesterday, right?"

"Absolutely," Arizona agreed. "You will be a mom one day, Faith."

"Maybe you'll even get to be Lila's mom," Callie said.

"They warn you that adoption's hard, but seeing that baby's face, being asked to be her parents, and then having that all put on hold because it might not actually happen is harder than I thought it would be. We know what she's like. We really could picture her in the nursery, playing with the dog, and with her cousin, and..." Faith told them.

"You and Seb can make it through this, Faith."

Thanks for reading! I know no one wanted a cliffhanger like this. I'll be updating soon so that you won't be in suspense for too long. Just know that I have a great plan for Faith's future family no matter what may or may not happen next.