Hello everybody!

Hope you liked the last outtake.

Here comes number two. The last one.

Enjoy!

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.

All mistakes are mine.

Getting up in the middle of the night to check up on Seth, I see the soft light turned on in his room. Slowly, I open the door, knocking to announce my arrival, but there is no sound. I call his name as I walk inside but he's not there. Spreading the door wide, I take a few seconds to think where he might have gone, but my mind is blank. Yawning quietly, I take a few steps forward, looking in the living room, the kitchen and even our bedroom, but he is not there. Only Bella is, silently snoring in the dark night.

With a small chuckle, listening to Bella's snoring getting louder, I silently close the door. There was only one more place I did not check out, our bathroom. Taking a few small steps, I hear what sounds like a childish silent, but quick heart thumping, as in fear. Fear of being found.

At the doorway, I see a little figure all crouched down next to the little spot between the shower and the toilet. His face is between his legs, body shaking from the silent cries he tries to cover up.

Unsuccessfully.

Seth has been with us for almost a month and yet, he still does not feel safe. Nor does he trust us. He tries, I think he even trusts Bella at times, but never completely. He might have fooled her, but not me. From the moment I saw him hiding in that dirty factory, those fearful, sad eyes looking at me through his broken glasses, rain falling down like crazy, his whole body shivering...I knew he was not there because of his own choice. He was left there, and just like Bella all those years ago, he needed help.

The more time I spent with him, observing his behavior with Bella or alone, it was more than obvious I saw more than myself in him. I was him.

Seeing him crouching there in the corner, trying not to show his weakness to anybody - his little body shaking and shivering- I knew I had to do something. But what? He didn't hear me coming in, and whatever I do now, it will frighten him.

Still, I decided to take my chance.

Turning on the light completely, he finally lifts his head up, noticing me.

It only makes him more anxious, moving closer to the walls, in hopes to completely shrink away.

"I'm not going to hurt you little guy. Okay? I'm staying right where I am. Nod if you would like that."

He wipes his runny nose with his hand, then lightly nodded. It's a small nod, but noticeable if expected.

A few moments or minutes pass as I just stand there, close but not too close, watching him, observing. Finally, I no longer have the patience to stand, so I move a few feet closer, and closer until I'm right next to him.

He notices but says nothing. I do notice a small inhale, worried but secretly trying to be brave. So much like me that it was scary a bit.

"Do you mind if I sit next to you?My old bones are not what they used to be."

I try to joke, but he says nothing. Sitting down, but not too close to him, I grunt in discomfort. The tiles are not only uncomfortable, but also cold as shit. Still, I wait, for any kind of sign from him. Nothing. Of course. Either he's to afraid to move or to stubborn to say something.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, you know? I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm not him."

He quickly looks up at me with a shocked face, only to look away.

Yep. Exactly like me as a child.

"Who hurt you? Who are you afraid of?" I ask, but of course, all it follows is silence. Deafening. It makes me slightly uncomfortable. So I start to tell a story.

"My daddy liked to beat me when I was little like you. He used to drink a lot and then play a little game called hide and seek. At first, I was very bad at it, he always found me quickly, and when he did, I couldn't sit down for days. I couldn't eat either. So eventually, I started to be very good at it. And that's what made him mad even more. Sometimes I would sit in the dark for days, afraid he would find me. Sometimes he would, other times he would be so drunk he would sleep for hours on any surface imaginable. There were days when he was away on a trip and there would be no food in the fridge. My tummy asked for food but I was so small, I didn't know how to make anything."

This little story got him interested, but he tried not to show it. So I continued.

"I tried to find fun ways to turn it all into a game. But that just...it didn't end well.

I swallowed anxiously at the memory of the taste of Carlisle's belt on my skin,my face, the taste of blood in my mouth as I tried to breath through the pain.

I smiled then at the bittersweet memory of meeting Miriam for the first time.

"Then I met a very nice lady who tried to take care of me."

Just like Bella tries to take care of you, I tried to tell him with my eyes.

"She was small in stature, but a fighter. Sweet, gentle, gave me lots of hugs and kisses."

I stopped. A long melancholic sigh escaped my mouth. I missed her so damn so much.

I was so much in my head that I didn't even notice how Seth closed the distance between us, body next to body.

"What happened to the lady?" he whispered, half curious, half knowing. This kid was wise beyond his years.

"She's... I think she's in heaven now."

"Just like my mommy and daddy."

I smiled at him encouragingly, glad he made that conclusion on his own. "Exactly."

With a deep, heavy sigh, I continued.

"I know you miss them a lot, but I just want you to know that we would never hurt you in any way. Bella and I just want to help you. And we would never, ever punish you or hit you. But I think you know that already."

"I...like Bella. She's a good lady."

I smiled once more, glad he's talking to me, finally. "Yes, she is. And she's very worried about you. She even cries."

"Why?" he asks, suddenly worried for her.

"Because you cry. Because you are sad, and she doesn't know why."

His head was hung in shame. "My uncle...he used to hit me...a lot. He would bring a lot of ladies into his home, and when they wouldn't like me...he would yell...a lot."

"Your uncle's an asshole."

He gasped in surprise, covering his mouth with a palm of his hand. "You said a bad word. You shouldn't do that."

I chuckled at his comical face. "I know kid, but guess what? When you're adult, you can do a lot kids shouldn't."

He actually pouted. "That's not really fair."

"I know kid. Life's not fair. But guess what? If you really, really try your best to do good things in life, sometimes it awards you."

Like finding Bella, I thought. And now, you.

"We want you to be happy here, with us, but, of course, if you don't like it here, just say it. You don't have to pretend to make anyone happy. If you wish, we could even..."

"No please, don't let me go back to that ugly place!. I hate it! I'll be good! I promise! I'll do anything."

The complete hysteria and terror on his face made me instantly sad.

Why would he think that?

"Hey, buddy, you're not going anywhere, we won't let it, okay?"

No answer. His face was once again buried in the same position I found him just a few minutes ago, posture stiff and uncomfortable. So far away from me now.

"Okay?" I asked once more. "I need an answer buddy. Look at me please."

Few moments or even minutes later, he finally did.

"Can I ask you something, but please answer me honestly, okay? Don't worry about my feelings. "

A nod.

"Do you trust me Seth?"

A pause. I don't know what he was searching for or if he found it in my eyes, but just as he was about to answer, Bella came in.

"What are you two doing here in the middle of the night?"

Seth instantly ran into her arms, crying.

"Please don't let me go back to that home. Please lady Bella. I hate it there!"

"What happened?" she whispered to me, confused.

"Nothing," I whispered back.

"Do you want me to take you back to the room, tuck you in?"

He nodded. Then finally looked up at her. "I want him to do it too. Together."

"Alright. Let's go."

After a bed time story, we left the light on, both sitting on the edge of the bed, being careful not to disturb him.

Poor kid. No wonder he was so afraid. I didn't spend much time in home before Alec found me but I knew how horrible it was to live there. It was mostly every kid for himself.

"What happened? I was asleep, and when I woke up, neither of you were in bed. Did he have a nightmare or something?"

"He's just afraid."

"Of what?"

"Me, among other things. Well, was afraid. I think."

"Why?"

"I guess, somehow I was reminding him of his uncle, in a way."

"Did he abuse him or something?"

"Don't know, he didn't say. But it was obvious he didn't treat him well. And guess, in a way, he thought I would do the same."

"Poor guy."

She lifted his blanket higher, and gave him a little kiss on his forehead.

It made me smile. She was made to be a mother.

"We should adopt him."

"What? Where did that come from, all of a sudden?"

"I just said what you were thinking. We can't make him go back to that wretched home, and he already attached himself too much to you."

"Do you think he would want that?"

The hope in her voice was unmistakable.

"Yes."

"Okay. Let's do it."

"I'll start with all the necessary paperwork tomorrow."

And just like that, it was decided. Soon, he would be ours.

If only it was that simple.

One decision, snap of the fingers and voila.

Still, it was worth the wait.

Each day he was opening more and more to us.

When asking about the adoption, nobody was more happy than him.

There were plenty of complications in our way, in life, as it would, but it was worth it.

Seeing him grown up into a handsome man was the most awarding thing I did in my life. Among finding Bella, of course.

Yes, over the years, I might have become a softy, a big one, but guess what? I'm more than fine with it. As long I have Bella in my life and by my side, I knew I could do no wrong.

The end.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading!