The book mentioned is 'Kindergarten: Here I Come' by D.J. Steinberg.
A week after Christmas, the new almost-family of three hosted Mulan, her fiancée Aurora and their foster son Phillip. Although the new parents had informed the group that the little boy was quite a shy child, he had been quite taken with his new teacher and the little girl who had instantly dubbed him her new best friend. She had informed him loudly that he could be part of her 'crew' with Auggie, something which had caused Mary Margaret to tell her not to overwhelm him with too many people all at once. They had toasted the new-ish engagement, and the arrival of the little boy with wine and sparkling grape juice for the kids. Although Philip had pushed his food around his plate more than he had eaten, he had appeared excited when Emma had asked for them both to be excused, and they headed up to her bedroom where the found the pair half an hour later, Emma reading to the little boy, and helping him sound out the words.
Mulan had been thrilled to see the five year old make a friend so fast, and hooked her elbow with Mary Margaret, walking them away from the scene that David and Rory couldn't stop watching.
"So… it's great that Emma and Philip seem to get along so well. Emma appears to be really happy to have a new friend." Mary Margaret nodded enthusiastically, but she was hesitant to allow her expectations get so high so soon.
"Yeah, Phillip seems like a sweet little kid but you know what Emma's like. She can come on a little strong and I don't want her to isolate him from other kids. The kids in my class are great, they'll all want to be friends with him, and I want to make sure that she lets them." Mulan smirked and unlinked their arms to wrap one arm around her in a side hug.
"Emma is a spitfire but maybe that's just what Phillip needs to bring him out of his shell. Plus we've heard it enough from Emma how great of a teacher you are; I mean we've already seen how he has taken to you, I'm sure if she is monopolizing him at school you have methods to deal with it." Mary Margaret shrugged, sitting down on the sofa with a sigh. The last week had been a lot for the brunette, her boyfriend and his kid. After the excitement of Christmas had died down, they had spent some time trying to discuss the previous few weeks and it was taking its toll on them. They had agreed they wanted to keep trying to work on their relationship and David had agreed to attempt couples counselling, not because they had 'issues' but because they had both been through a lot and seemed to need help in dealing with it.
"Are things all good with you and David? There was some time before Christmas that he didn't seem to have that happy glow about him. There was some talk around the station before Captain told them to cut it out. I didn't want to say anything because you guys seem so connected but I can tell that something is wrong. You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to but whatever it is, you're not alone. I know David has people at work but you have people too okay?" Mary Margaret, knowing how much the young woman was going through, was hesitant to burden her with any of her problems and so tried to modify her thoughts before she spoke them. "Everything's kind of just… complicated. A lot of things happened really fast and we didn't really take the time to work everything out which we should have. We jumped head first into a relationship without thinking about the consequences if things went wrong. So far we've managed to work through the consequences, but there comes a time when we might not be able to and I… I just love them both so much, I don't want to do anything that could hurt them." She groaned, burying her head in her hands as the other woman hugged her. "If I thought taking some space would be the best thing for them then I would do it but I can't honestly say it would. Do you think that true love is a thing? Am I crazy? There must be some reason that it hurts me to be away from them?" She glanced up when Mulan was silent for too long, seeing the woman glancing between her and the doorway, where David was standing with a frown. Mulan stood quickly and excused herself, heading towards the stairs to find her fiancée and foster son.
"Mary Margaret, I understand that you're concerned about how fast all this has happened, I get that. But I think we can both agree that this relationship is something both working for. We can take any necessary steps to make sure we are doing it right, and if we actually reach a point where it isn't working for us then we can cross that bridge when we come to it but I love you more than you know and I know for as long as I do, and you do too, then whatever we have to deal with will be worth it."
Mary Margaret nodded to acknowledge what he was saying, looking up at the ceiling when the two children laughed loudly and she couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. She felt the sofa dip as David sat down next to her, taking one of her hands in both of his. "I believe in love at first sight, true love, soulmates… whatever it is that explains how you fit so perfectly into my life. Emma's own mother did not love her as much as you do, and I can safely say she didn't love me even half as much as I know you do. Maybe we were meant to be together, maybe it's fate, I don't know. But we belong together."
The pair sat together in silence, absorbing what had been said, David wrapping his arm around the woman as she lay her head on his shoulder. They were sitting in peace until a loud call for Snow came from upstairs. It didn't sound like a pained call, more an excited one, but they both jumped up at the call and ran for the stairs. David laughed to see Mulan and Rory sat on the bed, waiting for the other adults as Emma and Phillip stood in front of them. Emma had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot with more attitude than David had ever seen, as she waited for the adults to join them. She pointed to the beanbag chair and raised her brow until David plopped down onto it, pulling a surprised Mary Margaret onto his lap, laughing as she yelped at the sudden movement. When they were all settled, they turned to face the two children who were waiting for the attention, Emma clearly more so than Phillip. Emma glanced at Phillip, nodding at him as if to tell him to go ahead but he shook his head, stepping closer to the women who were caring for him. "Come on Pip, show them what you learned!" With a nod of encouragement from Mulan, he looked at the book and began to read. He mumbled on the first word, leading to some prompting from the littlest blonde. "k…k… garden, here I come. I'm check the list of ever thing I need for scool… Lessee… what have I missed?" He went on to list some items, Emma chirping in saying 'check' after each one before the young boy looked up at the two women that had been caring for him with a shy smile. "Moms say I all set." Mary Margaret had read the book by DJ Steinberg with Emma previously, she had told David about it before she had started kindergarten and she knew it by heart. It warmed her heart to see the little boy engage with his two carers so soon.
"Wow Phillip, that was really good work!" The little boy was half hidden behind her favourite student, but she could see that he was pleased at the praise. He shifted back to Mulan who pulled him onto her lap.
"Pip is excited to start Kindergarten with us Snow, can he sit on the desk next to mine? Or next to Auggie? I can help him with his reading." Snow glanced at the two women opposite her, sitting up straight from David's lap. The women were nodding, and even Phillip looked hopeful at the prospect.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea sweetheart. We'll get that arranged when the new term starts. For now, before school starts, if Phillip wants to visit he is welcome." She looked between the new parents with an encouraging smile. "Of course you all are." David chimed in his agreement and in the short silence that followed, Emma got bored of waiting and jumped up and down.
"Pip come with me I'll show you the garden! Can you ride a bike? You can try mine but you have to use the helmet!" Pip nodded eagerly and hopped down from Mulan's lap, following the little girl out of the room and down the stairs. When they were gone, Aurora was the first to speak.
"Thankyou. So much. Pip seems really taken with all of you guys. I know we've only had him a short time, and we were told that with his early childhood he might be nervous around others but Emma seems to have pulled him right out of his shell. I was worried about how he might be starting school but maybe I don't need to worry." Mulan was grinning as she took her fiancée's hand, standing up from the bed as the adults prepared to leave the room. "We're trying to get him used to a school schedule before it starts so it's not that difficult when term begins, so we'll take him home when he's seen the gardens. Maybe we can set up playdates for them, maybe with others in the class" Mary Margaret was grinning, enthusiastic at the prospect and she took David's hand as they all made their way downstairs. She turned to look at the pair to make sure he had their attention before she spoke.
"I know that owning your own shop means that you can make your own hours, but if you're ever stuck at work when Mulan and David are at the station then I would be happy to have Phillip join Emma and I so you don't have to look for a sitter." Feeling that she was maybe overstepping, and not wanting to scare the new family away she quickly backtracked. "I mean I don't want to assume, of course if you already have a sitter in mind or if you wouldn't be comfortable with that then I completely understand, I just thought…" David squeezed her hand as if to make her stop talking and the four of them stood by the front door as the two children ran in from the garden, laughing. The little boy ran straight for Mulan squealing as she lifted him up to sit him on her hip. He started babbling about a game they had created where they were fighting dragons and magical flying demons. Emma was stood next to David, out of breath from the clearly entertaining and fast-paced game.
"He slayed the dragon daddy!" Mary Margaret snickered at the look on the girl's face, almost one of wonder at the magical world she had created in her own head.
"It's time to say goodbye now sweetheart, we have to get you home for bath time then bed." Aurora had taken their coats off the hooks and was leaning over to help him put it on. When he was wearing his coat, Mulan put him down so she could put her own jacket on, and he hugged Emma quickly before waving goodbye at David.
"Thank you for dinner Mr Emma's dad." He then turned to Mary Margaret who was watching the little boy with a smile. He seemed to hesitate for a second before he stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her knees in a hug. When he pulled away, Mary Margaret knelt down so she could give him a high five. With a few more thankyous and goodbyes the three of them left, leaving David, Mary Margaret and Emma staring at the closed door.
Emma gave up first, and yelled that she was going to her room as she ran up the stairs. Mary Margaret took David's hand, walking into the main room with him. She sat beside him, leaning into his side, deflating as she thought of the little boy who had seemed to fit so seamlessly into the group he had been welcomed into. He was small for his age and it had hurt her to hear about his early childhood in foster care and group homes. Mulan had shared parts of his story with her, the parts that she thought necessary given the woman would be his teacher and it had almost caused the brunette to weep. She understood why he was hesitant around new people, adults more so than children, and why he ate like he would never eat again. She had decided that when she returned to school she was going to look into ways of offering more help to the children in her class who were less well off, as well as other children in the school who were in foster care, whether that meant helping with their financial, emotional or educational needs. She sighed as she thought about things that she had considered, but never actually thought properly about before.
"David… that kid… how much he's had to deal with so young. He's so brave I… Listen I know that we are nowhere near in a position to even really talk about this with everything we have going on but maybe in the future, at some point if we're in a really good place, and only if it wouldn't harm Emma in any way, maybe we could do what Mulan and Rory are doing… take in a kid that doesn't have anyone else looking out for them? We have the money, we have the space, so we're in the right place physically and financially. All we need is to be in the right place emotionally and mentally." She buried her face in David's neck as she began to tear up, taking a deep shuddering breath when she felt his hand begin to stroke her hair.
"That is one of the reasons I love you so much sweetheart. It's the Christmas break, we've been dealing with our own shit, and you're still acting like a teacher, thinking of the other kids and Emma. I agree, that when we are in a position where we can fully care for all of Emma's needs and another child who may have additional needs then we will consider it. But I want us to have sorted through any issues we have first. We will not bring another child, biological or otherwise, into this family before we know that we will not cause them any harm." They sat together, in the awkward embrace for a few minutes longer before David kissed the top of her head and pushed her into a less restricting position. "Come on. It's time for the little princess we already have to go to bed, and you know she likes it when we both read her a story." Mary Margaret wiped the tears from her eyes as she stood, accepting the hug that was offered. They then walked up the stairs hand in hand to Emma's room, seeing the little girl already in her pyjamas and reading on her bed.
"Do you want us to read to you princess?" Emma jolted as if surprised at David's intrusion and she shook her head, turning the page of the book she was reading. It was one of the more difficult ones Mary Margaret had got her for her birthday, and so the woman assumed she was mostly looking at the pictures, but from the doorway she could see her mouthing some of the words. David stood at the side of the bed, tucking her in when she clambered under the duvet, kissing the top of her head as she settled down to read more. "Ok baby, 10 more minutes and then bed, I will be in to check?" Not looking up from her book she nodded, waving at David in response to his 'goodnight, I love you', not responding with her usual 'love you' back. David shook his head at his girlfriend, pouting, glaring as she snickered at the hurt look on his face. She moved out of the doorway to follow her boyfriend back downstairs when she heard a call of 'Snow' come from the little girl's room. She turned back around, seeing Emma sat up straighter than she had been, looking at her teacher with an anxious look on her face. She sat on the side of her bed, tucking the little girl's blonde curls behind her ear.
"What's up monkey?"
"Is Pip gonna be okay?" Mary Margaret smiled at the obvious compassion of the little girl and nodded, patting the hand that was resting between them on the duvet.
"Of course he is sweetheart, Mulan and Rory are going to take really good care of him. You'll see him when school starts up again, maybe even before. And I know that when you're at school you'll take really good care of him, like you did today. There's no way he won't be okay with a friend like you." Emma was almost smiling at the praise, but she still looked a little pensive. "I promise monkey. He'll be okay. He'll be better than. So you try not to worry. It's time to get to sleep, okay?" Emma nodded, and once again was silent, but only for a few moments as she absorbed what had been said.
"Okay Snow. Goodnight. I love you."
"I love you too, but you know who really needs to hear it? Your daddy. You know how soppy he is." Emma giggled, closing the book she had been reading, handing it to the brunette, snuggling down so she was comfy again. She closed her eyes, but not before shouting loud enough that David would hear if he was close enough.
"Love you daddy!" There came no response but Emma didn't notice, having pulled her stuffed teddy into her arms and closed her eyes, but as Mary Margaret switched the light off, she saw he was standing outside the door, holding a glass of water. With a happy smile that melted Mary Margaret's heart, he mouthed the sentiment to her, moving past her to leave the glass of water on the table. The pair stood together watching the little girl they both loved and cherished sleep, both thinking how lucky they were to have the lives they had led, thanking whatever deity that may exist that they were both present and able to make sure Emma didn't end up in a situation like her new friends past.