I'm so sorry for all of these long author's notes. At least they shouldn't be so long after this one. At first I just wanted to say that A LOT of my stories are about to end and I wanted to tell you which ones. This is one of them, and except for this there's…

-I still love you
-I won't go away
-When I returned
-Buried deep within
-Game on
-What I did for hate (finished)
-The search for a family (finished)
-The moment I needed the most
-We're coming home
-For what is a human if she loses her best friend (finished)

That latest one is new. But as I'm writing this I have finished the latest and last chapter, even though not yet put it up. As you can see I already finished three with eight to go.

I'm not sure how long is left of each story- And I also have a couple of unfinished oneshots. But at least they are five and not fifteen like there were before.

"And it's another book."

On Christmas day, morning I, Lorelai and Amina were in the living room and opening the gifts we had gotten. There were some for us all but obviously most of them were for Amina, including the first one we opened that was from the orphanage.

"The color of home" I read from the cover of the book. "By Mary Hoffman… Are these colors you recognize?" I ran the hand that wasn't holding Amina over the cover and opened it. "Are they colors you saw a lot back in Somalia?"

Of course Amina didn't answer me. But she stared down on the book and there was something in her eyes I hadn't seen before. It was like she looked at it and recognized it somehow.

"Do you miss that?" I asked and tried to ignore how something twisted in my stomach. "Do you want to go back?" We just hadn't thought about that earlier. "It's everything you'd know, isn't it." I leaned my cheek against Amina's head and braided hair. "I just wish there was some way we could make you understand we only want your best. Maybe one of these days, maybe soon you will too figure this must be where you are supposed to be."

As usual Amina didn't say anything. She stuck her thumb in her mouth while I turned the pages in her new book.

"It's Christmas day today." I told her without reading from the book. "Did you know that? Soon, your grandmother will pay a visit to us and as soon as the stores are opened again after Christmas she will go shopping everything you need."

"And a bit more." Lorelai continued and as on a given signal that was when there was a ring on the doorbell. "I'll go…"

"It's time to meet your grandmother." I lifted Amina up so at least she could feel a little bit of safety from me from the scariest grandmother of all times. "Come here…" I slowly went into the hallway where Emily lost her breath seeing her second, and newest great grandchild.

"Merry Christmas." I told her, but Emily was too far gone to herself to answer. "Grandma this is Amina." I said. "Amina this is your grandma."

Amina had as usual stuck her thumb in her mouth and was only watching this new person with big, brown eyes while Emily took a few steps closer and lifted her hand to try carefully take Amina's.

"Be careful." I asked. "Remember, this is all new for her. You too…" Emily lowered her hand and took a few steps back again. "Don't worry. We're all in a bit of what to do. Or say, or anything… she doesn't even understand English so there's no way for us to be understood."

"Do you know if there's anyone around who speaks her language? Maybe someone could help?" I shrugged while Emily took a measuring band out of her bag to try and take some measures of what cloth sizes she'd get.

"Of course we couldn't like, go out and let everyone meet her at once. It will be months before that…. But no one knows Somalian…. No one we know at least. But maybe that could be an idea." I led Emily into the kitchen and showed her the book the orphanage had sent for Amina for Christmas. "And maybe that one's a start… although, of course it's one thing to meet you and to meet Rory… and maybe. Just like Rory grew up since birth of course… She'll know everyone and I'm pretty sure you won't be the only one who spoils her." Emily carefully measured around Amina's head.

"We were thinking maybe in a week, after New Year's seem like a given… Of course we won't bring her out and meet everyone at once but we can introduce some of our closest friends- Logan and Leo first maybe-obviously … Kirk came here yesterday."

"Well. I'm not surprised. Kirk is just… Kirk! At least he means well." I shrugged. "Now. I need the measurements for her clothes so I can get out there and shop for her."

Amina whined and glared at her grandmother when she started taking measurements. But as I held onto her she didn't start screaming at least and at least it was finished within seconds before Emily noted the measurements in her phone.

"Now…" Emily said. "…By the time you see me again you will have lots of new clothes."

Amina only watched back sucking her thumb.

We had been waiting so long to have her. To have her here with us and then we had her here.

Then, as usual Emily had been the most pessimist of us and had thought of things we had barely known. Or wanted to know.

She had gone back to her car to get about twenty bags filled up with wrapped gifts that she hadn't needed to know Amina's size for. One little backpack, toys and more books.

"You're a lucky girl aren't you?" I kissed Amina's forehead. "There aren't many little girls out there who will have as many gifts as you do. Or as many people spoiling her like you will have…"

"Before this she wasn't very lucky to where she was born." Lorelai continued and sent me a meaning look.

"I know." I said with a sigh. "But now we're the lucky ones to have her here after everything… Who knew after everything… Somalia was the place on earth we were supposed to get or little girl?"

"I speaking about Somalia." Emily interrupted. "I have been wondering about something while I know you're all as happy as can be. But is there war in Somalia?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Well, how do you think she will take it in a week on the New Year's nights with all the firework? All loud noises and blinking lights? You can't bring her anywhere, that, if anything is for sure."

"What…"

What do you have to do with that?

My first thought was to ask Emily angrily what she had to do with that. But something had me stopping after a single word when I realized that mum was right. When New Year's came around and fireworks were flashing and making noises for hours before actual midnight…

What would that banging and flashing remind Amina of?

And how could we let her know that that wouldn't be what she feared when she couldn't understand our words? When it would be hard enough to help someone who could understand what we were saying.

There had been a few months since we'd known Amina. And even longer since we knew from what part of the world we were adopting. We thought we would have learnt and thought of it all but now here we were and I didn't have any idea of what to do.

"You're right…." I said at last. "…We have to come up with something. For her sake, but then what?"

There really was so much we haven't thought about in the happiness and excitement of knowing Amina would be coming here. And the knowledge she was ours after everything that had happened with April and Rory…

"Ehrm…"

I tried to come up with something but couldn't.

"Do you have any ideas Lorelai?"

"If there was only a way to make you understand…."

To be continued.

Random fact

I have been working on this chapter for weeks. And here… I have some ideas but I decided to put that in future chapters.