His Mother's Eyes

by gleechild

AU - 5 years ago, Ryan Clarke spent one perfect night with the woman of his dreams only to have her disappear come morning. Never knowing why she left, he's about to learn the truth and have his world completely turned upside down. Alternate Universe, Futuristic, No Supernatural, Established Handon, Holarke Endgame. Loosely based on Heart's "All I Want To Do Is Make Love To You."

5. Chapter 5

I own nothing but my own words.

---

Chapter Five

---

This is for Reece… part two of three!

---

A week later, Hope got the call.

Excitement flooding her, she hung up with the agency and immediately called Ryan before giving it another thought.

"Hey," he said.

As she opened her mouth to speak, she realized belatedly that he hadn't agreed to be a part of any of this. This was her child. Not his. She got caught up in wanting to share the news and she wanted to tell him first.

Instead of blurting it out, she asked, "Can you pick up James today?"

He glanced at his schedule and saw there was only a team meeting scheduled but nothing with clients. The meeting could be moved earlier.

"Sure," he said. "What's going on?"

"I got the call," she said, trying to curb her enthusiasm and failing miserably. "There's a child they think may be a good fit! It's a girl! She's four. They asked me to come in as soon as possible. See if I think she'll be a good fit too!"

"Will you be bringing her home today?" he asked, feeling strangely excited as well but he didn't know why.

"Not yet," she said. "I won't even be meeting her yet. They just want to go over everything with me, like her history. Show me her picture."

"Oh."

"I gotta go," she said. "I need to call Raf."

"Raf?"

"I hope he can get off work to come with me," she said, almost to herself.

Making a quick decision, he asked, "Why don't you have Maya pick up James? She's on his pick up list, right?"

"Oh," she said. "You can't get him?"

"No, I can," he said quickly. "I want to come with you."

"You do?" she asked, surprised. "Why?"

"She's going to be my son's sister…" He didn't really have any other reason besides the feeling that he wanted to be there. That he should be there. "Can I come with you?"

"Yes," she said softly, wondering if she should read anything into that.

"I'm leaving now," he said, standing and stashing files in his desk before locking it. "I'll be there in twenty minutes. Is that fast enough?" The team meeting would have to be pushed to tomorrow.

"It is."

---

Charlie Mendez was a shy little girl of four.

She had long black hair with dark eyes that melted Hope's heart the instant she saw her picture.

Her tiny little nose combined with her adorable cherub-like cheeks made the mother inside want to smother her in kisses until she giggled and the sad look in her eyes disappeared.

"Yes," she said instantly.

"A little background," Flora, her contact at the agency began.

"It doesn't matter," Hope shook her head. "I want her."

"Alright, Ms. Mikaelson," Flora said with a smile, "but, as you're aware, knowing her background is important for helping her as she transitions into your household."

"Yes," Hope nodded. She knew that. Charlie would need to see a counselor regularly as she acclimated to everything and Hope would need to guide her and help her adjust. "I know. I'm sorry. Go ahead."

Hope glanced at Ryan, her smile near to bursting. She couldn't help herself. She reached out and grabbed his hand, trying to expel some of her excitement so she could focus.

"Charlie is currently in a temporary home as she has barely just entered foster care," Flora explained. "She was left with a neighbor to be watched and the mother sadly succumbed to an overdose. The neighbor contacted child services when the mother didn't pick her up."

"Any relatives?" Ryan asked, instantly wary of anything that could take the child away from Hope once she got attached.

Who was he kidding? The instant she saw that picture she was attached.

He may have stared at it a little too long himself.

"None," Flora shook her head. "The father was listed as unknown on her birth certificate. After questioning anyone they could find who knew her mother, it was determined that even the mother wasn't sure who the father was."

"And the mother's family?" he asked.

"She grew up in foster care herself," Flora said. "An orphan. There are no relatives that could step forward and prevent an adoption from going through."

"When can I have her?" Hope asked, sliding forward to the edge of her seat. "When I can take her home?"

"We'll bring her to you," Flora replied. "How's tomorrow?"

"Perfect!" Hope said.

She looked at Ryan again and realized she was still holding his hand.

"There are a few more things we need to go over."

"I'm listening," Hope said, deciding she liked holding his hand too much to let go.

If he wanted to, then he could.

But, he didn't.

---

"What's next?" Ryan asked as they climbed into his SUV when they left the agency.

"Get James from Maya," she said. "Take him home, and tell him."

"Have you mentioned anything to him before now?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head. "I never knew when I would get the call. There was no use telling him when I didn't know if it would happen next week or months from now."

He nodded and looked away to start the car.

"Do you think I should've said something sooner?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said. "There's suddenly going to be a new person in his life tomorrow. I'd ask if you were sure about this, but there's no stopping it now, is there?"

"Nope," she shook her head. "She'll be there. Everything will be fine. I'll foster her and start the adoption proceedings immediately. Hopefully in six months her last name will officially be changed to Mikaelson, and she will forever be mine."

"Not Mikaelson-Clarke?" he asked.

"That's not my last name," she replied.

It was James' though. He knew that, just as he knew the name listed on James' birth certificate under father was Landon. He was still debating whether to have it changed, if he even could. The process was tricky after the child reached a certain age and depended on the court's decision for the best interest of the child. If he ever wanted to begin proceedings, he knew he would need to have an actual paternity test done to speed up the process. Not that it mattered; there was no doubt in his mind James was his. It was just part of the process. The real question was, did he want to erase Landon from any earthly claim he ever had on James? It was a decision he wrestled with. One he hadn't mentioned to Hope yet. He probably wouldn't mention it unless he decided to go ahead with it.

"Hope…" he said. "You're excited, but you haven't even met her yet. What if it doesn't work? What if it's not a good fit?"

"Then I'll make it a good fit," she insisted. "That's my job. To build a good life for her. I would do the same thing for any child I gave birth to. What, I'm supposed to give a baby back just because it's not a good fit?"

"Of course not," he said.

"That's right," she said. "I don't get to choose who they'll grow up to be. I just encourage them to be who they're meant to be. I can do that whether I gave birth to them or not."

She was right.

She probably just recited the unofficial motto for parenting.

"Okay, okay," he said with a reassuring easy smile, feeling that she knew exactly what she was doing. Whatever came her way, whatever happened once she explained everything to James, she could handle it.

"Some things might be tricky," she said, returning to his smile. "I'm aware that James has always had the attention of every adult around him. Sharing that attention with Charlie will take some getting used to. But he will get used to it."

---

Things with James went pretty well when she sat him down to explain.

"James," she said. "Someone very important will be coming to live with us tomorrow."

"Who?" he asked.

"Her name is Charlie," she said. "She's four years old."

"I used to be four," he said.

"You did," she said. "She's one year younger than you."

He nodded, understanding.

"Charlie doesn't have a Mom or a Dad," she explained. "But when she comes to live with us, I'm going to be her Mom."

"You're my mommy," he said.

"And I'll always be your mom," she said. "I've got a lot of love to give though, and I want to be a mom to both of you."

"Oh…" he said, looking uncertain.

"Do you know what else that means?"

"What?" he asked.

"She's going to be your sister," she explained with a gentle smile.

His eyes widened.

"Timmy has a sister!" he exclaimed.

Ryan, watching their exchange from across the room to give them space, had to hold back his laugh. Timmy and his antics had become legendary in their household with as often as James mentioned him.

"Yes," Hope said with amusement in her voice. "Yes, he does."

"He said she cries a lot," James said with his classic disgusted face.

"Charlie isn't a newborn baby like Timmy's sister," Hope said. "Remember? Charlie is one year younger than you. Did the girls in your preschool class cry a lot?"

"Sometimes," he recalled. "Some of the boys did too though."

"Charlie might cry sometimes, just like you cry sometimes," she said. "But she'll also play and laugh and live with us. She'll be ours forever."

"Always and forever?" James asked, repeating the words she said to him every night.

"Yes, honey," she said, heart melting at the words her parents once said to her every day. "Once she gets here, she's ours."

With that, the questions started.

"When is she coming home?" he asked. "Where is she gonna sleep? What if she gets scared at night? Will she go with me to school? Does she like dinosaurs?"

"She's coming tomorrow," she tried to remember all of his questions to answer. "Her room is the one across from yours. If she gets scared, I'll sit with her until she falls asleep just like I do with you. She'll go to the same school, but she'll be in Miss Taylor's class, not Miss Lana's. And I don't know what she likes yet. We'll have to ask her. You can tell her all about dinosaurs if she doesn't know."

"I can do that!" he volunteered.

She exchanged a smile with Ryan, noting he seemed pleased at how well James was taking the news too.

James was excited to have a new sister and asked a million questions, wondering about every single detail.

Just like his dad.

And she answered every single one.

---

"Hi, Charlie," Hope said with a bright smile when she opened the front door the next day.

A caseworker Hope never met stood behind Charlie.

Hope barely looked at the woman. Her eyes were glued to the little girl standing shyly in front of her, sucking on her thumb and holding a stuffed frog tightly against her.

It took her a moment, but she finally remembered to invite them in.

"Come in!" she exclaimed, stepping back and tearing her gaze away reluctantly to speak to the case worker. "Denise, right?" Flora had told her the name of the caseworker that would be coming by.

"Yes," Denise said, prodding Charlie gently forward into the house.

Denise held up a medium sized black trash bag.

"Where would you like this?" she asked.

Understanding dawned as Hope realized the bag contained everything that belonged to Charlie besides the stuffed frog.

"Right there," Hope asked, pointing to an area by the door. She would go through everything later and help Charlie unpack.

Charlie walked slowly, glancing around the foyer with wide eyes.

"Right this way," Hope said as she led them to the den. She decided that would be the best place to truly meet her daughter for the first time.

Denise settled onto the couch and Hope perched on the front edge of the easy chair.

Charlie stood by the couch and looked around the new room, her eyes wide and thumb firmly in place as she took everything in once again.

"Charlie," Denise said, "This is Hope Mikaelson. And we're in her home."

Charlie looked from Denise to Hope, so Hope could tell that Charlie understood the other woman's words.

Denise nodded at Hope, indicating it was okay for her to speak.

"Charlie, this is my home, yes, but it's also your home too now," Hope said gently.

The little girl stared at Hope, listening attentively.

"I have a room just for you," Hope said. "We can decorate it however you want. Do you have a favorite color?"

James had never gone through a thumb sucking phase, but she knew children sometimes reverted to the habit especially when they were nervous or anxious. She figured it would be better to ask yes or no questions that Charlie could answer without removing the thumb.

Charlie nodded slowly.

"Want to show me?" Hope asked.

Charlie stared at her a moment longer before she walked closer to Hope.

As she approached, Hope resisted the urge to sweep her up in her arms and hug her. Charlie may not know how important this moment was, but Hope sure did.

Charlie reached out toward Hope's wrist.

Holding her hand up, Hope looked at the small gem gracing the center of her bracelet.

"Blue?" Hope said. "Or turquoise?"

Charlie nodded emphatically.

"Turquoise?"

Charlie nodded again.

"We can decorate your new room in turquoise then," Hope said. "Would you like that?"

Charlie nodded.

"Would you like to see your room now?" Hope asked.

Charlie nodded again.

Hope made eye contact with Denise and understood her silent question.

"Charlie," Hope said. "Denise is going to go now. Are you okay staying with me?"

Charlie glanced back and forth between them before she finally slowly nodded.

"Let's go see your room then," Hope said, smiling as she led the way to the stairs.

She encouraged Charlie to go up first so she could watch her climb. Most kids could maneuver stairs pretty well by two years old but she was a little nervous and would rather watch her so she could catch her if she faltered on unfamiliar stairs.

She didn't have anything to worry about. Charlie actually removed her thumb from her mouth to take hold of the railing even though she climbed confidently as if she didn't need the railing at all.

Reaching the top, Charlie immediately put her thumb back in her mouth.

Hope made a mental note to tell Bridget to be sure to clean all surfaces that they touched regularly. She didn't want Charlie putting extra germs in her mouth. Hopefully, with a little time, Charlie would relax enough that she would stop the habit on her own.

She would have to do some research.

When she opened the door to Charlie's new room, she wondered if she should have decorated it more before her arrival. The furniture was all painted white wood, and the carpet was a plain neutral tone. She had purchased two new sets of bedding after she setup the room: one in a bright blue and one in a bright pink just so she had something until her new child could pick out what they like. Clearly choosing the pink because she was blessed with a girl was a silly thing to do. She would rectify that immediately.

"This is your room," Hope said, sweeping her hand out with flourish. There were a few stuffed animals on the night stand, ones that would do for a child at any age. She also had a small collection of books on the bookshelf. She planned to fill it with stories that Charlie liked.

"And, obviously," Hope started as she walked over to the closet, opened it and pulled down a bright blue pack from the top shelf. "The first thing we need to do is get rid of the pink and use this instead!"

Charlie nodded and, if Hope wasn't mistaken, she saw the beginning of a smile forming around the ever present thumb.

She put the pack on top of the dresser and walked over to the foot of the bed.

"Will you help me take this off?" she asked, indicating the pink comforter.

Charlie nodded from her place next to Hope and, once again, removed the thumb so she could reach out and touch the soft material.

"Do you got a grip?" Hope asked as she bunched the material in her hand and glanced at Charlie.

Charlie nodded.

"Then pull!" Hope said and walked backward, pulling the comforter off easily.

Charlie pulled too and grinned up at Hope when they successfully removed the entire thing and she was standing with the pink blanket resting partially on top of her head.

"Great job!" Hope said. "Want to remove the pillowcase and I'll take off the sheets?"

Charlie nodded and scampered to grab the pillow, showing signs of excitement over something as simple as changing bed clothes.

Hope stripped the bed of the top sheet and the fitted one.

"We'll fold these up to put away after we make the bed," Hope said, knowing it was important to start early to teach them to clean up after themselves. James was used to it by now, though he still forgot sometimes. "Ready for the blue?!"

Charlie jumped and nodded, excited.

"Then let's make your bed," Hope grinned, opened the other set, and got to work.

After the bed was finally made and the pink was folded and stored in the hall closet in case they had any visitors, Hope sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the mattress.

"Join me?" Hope asked.

Charlie easily climbed onto the low bed, being sure to pick her stuffed frog up before she did.

"How does it feel?" Hope asked. "Soft?"

Charlie nodded.

"Do you like it?"

Charlie nodded again.

Eventually she would encourage Charlie to use her words. The agency would have told her if Charlie was mute. She could talk; she was just extremely shy and needed time.

Still, she would really love to hear Charlie's voice just once.

"I like your frog," Hope said.

Charlie held it up for Hope to see.

"Is it a… boy frog?" Hope asked.

Charlie nodded.

"Did you name him?" Hope asked.

Charlie nodded.

"Could you tell me his name?" Hope asked hopefully.

Charlie fidgeted with the frog's fuzzy hat for a moment.

Hope nearly gave up, deciding she would try again later, when she heard it.

"Frog," Charlie said in a small little voice.

"Your frog is named Frog?" Hope asked.

Charlie nodded.

"You know what?" Hope said. "I like it. Frog knows exactly what he is. A frog."

Charlie smiled.

Hope realized the thumb hadn't made a re-appearance since they started pulling the sheets off the bed. That gave her hope it was only a reaction to a stressful situation and not an every day habit. The surfaces would still be cleaned though.

"Do you want to know what I am?" Hope asked.

Charlie nodded.

"I'm a mom," Hope said.

Charlie nodded, her eyes growing wide again.

"I have a little boy named James," she said. "He's at school right now, but he'll be home soon. He's very excited to meet you."

Hope noticed the thumb slowly rising.

"But not yet!" Hope said, leaning forward to distract her before the thumb could reach its destination. "First, how about some lunch? Are you hungry?"

Charlie nodded.

"Do you have something you like to eat?" Hope asked. "Could you tell me?"

"Oodles," Charlie said shyly.

"Noodles?"

"Oodles," Charlie said again. "Oodles n Noodles."

Hope would have to Google that.

---

Ramen.

'Oodles of Noodles' was the nickname for incredibly inexpensive ramen noodles.

They were donated regularly to the Women's Shelter as a large amount could be purchased at a very low price.

The nutritional value was basically nonexistent though.

Hope reminded herself that this was how Charlie had been raised before now. By a mother with a drug addiction in a tiny apartment who could barely afford rent let alone food.

She briefly wondered if Charlie's mother had ever sought out help or refuge with the shelter. She could have met the woman without knowing it.

"We don't have any Oodles," Hope said, deciding she wasn't going to do anything crazy like place a rush order on a case of the things. She would rather Charlie eat something a bit healthier anyway.

Hope opened the fridge and looked around.

"What about peanut butter and apples?" Hope said, searching for something else too since that was more of a snack. She thought for a second and remembered that there were no known allergies listed in Charlie's paperwork.

Did that mean someone had actually said Charlie wasn't allergic to peanuts, or that no one knew whether Charlie was allergic to peanuts because no one had given them to her since her mother died?

She wasn't allowed to pack James a lunch to send to school with peanut butter even though he loved it just in case another child in the school was allergic. She thought that was an odd rule, but apparently children liked to exchange or share lunches sometimes. She would rather be safe than have her son send another child into antiepileptic shock.

She definitely wasn't going to accidentally do that to her daughter. Making a mental note to schedule an appointment with an allergist so she knew any and all things Charlie might be allergic to, she looked down when she realized Charlie was standing next to her.

Charlie stared at the fridge contents, eyes wide in wonder once again.

She was beginning to register that as Charlie's reaction when she saw something she had never seen before.

Like a full fridge.

"You know what?" Hope said, smiling past a pang. "How about we do a taste test?"

Charlie looked up at her, trying to understand.

"I'll take a tiny little bit of a bunch of different things and we'll both eat them to see if we like them," Hope said. "You don't have to eat anything you don't want to though. Does that sound okay?"

Charlie nodded.

Good. She would do just that—but avoid all nuts, avocadoes, and strawberries just in case. And shellfish.

Right.

After a lot of cutting and washing—and a quick search through the pantry for an old epi-pen of Landon's that hadn't expired yet just in case—Hope narrowed down a list of things Charlie liked and was feeling pretty happy with herself.

Her girl was laughing as Hope very deliberately removed a green olive from her mouth with a napkin in disgust. She already knew she didn't like green olives, but Bridget kept the fridge stocked with them once Hope realized Ryan loved them as a topping on practically anything.

She figured she would take one for the team.

"Okay," Hope said, writing 'yuck' next to green olives under her name on the 'Yum/Yuck' chart she had made on the fly at the beginning of this endeavor. "Green olives is a 'yuck' for me."

"Yucky!" Charlie repeated, making a face as she giggled.

"Do you want to try it?" Hope asked, holding a piece of one of the green balls out to her.

Charlie shook her head immediately.

Hope wasn't surprised.

Any time she offered her something Hope didn't like or something green, Charlie didn't want to try it. Hope wondered at first if someone had taught her that green vegetables were yucky in general, but it turned out Charlie just didn't like the color green.

Charlie absolutely loved blueberries though, naturally, because they were blue.

She was catching on to the way Charlie's mind worked. She wasn't sure how much she knew of shapes and numbers, but she would let the teacher figure that out once Hope enrolled her at school In the meantime, she would get to know her daughter and let her get to know her.

"So, your list of yums are…" Hope pretended to play a drum. "Blueberries, of course."

"More blueberries!" Charlie exclaimed, grinning.

"For dinner," Hope said, shaking her head with a smile. "You also like turkey, cheddar cheese only—not the other smelly ones, club crackers—not the wheat ones, apple slices, carrots, ranch dressing, boiled eggs, tortilla wrap, pretzels, cherry tomatoes but not the big tomatoes, red grapes—not the white ones of course because they look green, and roasted chicken. I can work with that."

"And Oodles!" Charlie reminded her.

"Yes," Hope said, laughing as she added Oodles of Noodles to the list and wrote yum under Charlie's heading.

Charlie reached and tapped the empty area under Hope's side.

"Oh, me?" Hope said. "I've never had Oodles."

"No?" Charlie said, clearly shocked.

"Nope," Hope said. "Maybe I'll try it one day."

Charlie nodded emphatically.

"Why don't I help you get cleaned up?" Hope said, glancing at the clock on the wall.

Maya had volunteered to get James from school when she heard Charlie was coming home today. She wanted to give Hope time to bond with Charlie and not interrupt that time to pack Charlie in the car just to pick James up from school.

They had about an hour before James would come home and meet his sister.

That should be enough time for Hope to clean Charlie—and the table and counter—and talk to her about one more important thing before James got home. She wondered if there was time to unpack Charlie's stuff too, having momentarily forgotten the bag by the door or she would have done it before the hunt for lunch began.

She followed Charlie to the half bath around the corner on the first floor. After Charlie used the toilet, Hope watched to see how she would do cleaning up. Before they started eating, she showed Charlie how to clean up properly, but she would make sure she remembered and guide her if she forgot anything.

Charlie moved the small step stool from the side of the room and put it in front of the sink area.

Hope grinned as Charlie gleefully stepped up onto it, turned the water on, and then pressed the pump to pour the soap in her hands.

She rubbed her hands together, staring at the foam in fascination until Hope finally spoke up.

"Okay, you can wash it off now," she said.

"Okay!" Charlie said, putting her hands under the faucet and continuing to rub them together.

"Make sure you get all of the soap off," Hope said. "You don't want to walk around with soapy hands all day."

Or, maybe she would.

"It would taste yucky on your thumb," Hope said just in case.

Then she wondered if soap on the thumb would really be such a bad thing.

After a little help from Hope to get the rest of the soap off, Charlie stepped down and carefully moved the child stool back in place against the wall.

"Very good," Hope smiled, encouraging her. When she first showed Charlie that she could use the stool so she would be big enough to wash her own hands, it was as if a giant light bulb turned on in her head.

Her little girl liked to do things on her own. She had just never been taught how to do it before.

"Why don't you go on up to your room?" Hope said, deciding she would talk to her while going through the big ugly black trash bag. She knew children in foster care were sometimes given those, especially when they first entered the system, because there wasn't enough time to prepare and get them their own luggage or duffel bag before relocating them. "I'll get your stuff and follow you up."

Charlie hastened to do as Hope said, and Hope grabbed the bag and followed quickly not wanting to leave her alone in the big house just yet. She also wasn't sure if Charlie would remember the way to her room.

She didn't have to worry.

Charlie found her room and was already sitting on her bed, cuddling with Frog, when Hope walked in.

When Charlie yawned, she realized she forgot to put her down for a nap. Knowing she needed to start Charlie on a regular schedule from the first day, she hastened to sit next to her to talk. Charlie could rest while she put her things away.

"Charlie?" Hope said. "Is it okay to touch your hair?"

Charlie nodded sleepily.

Hope ran her fingers lightly through her hair, smiling tenderly into her daughter's eyes.

"Remember when I said I'm a mom?" Hope asked.

Charlie nodded again.

"One day, I'd like to be your mom too," Hope said.

Charlie stared at her, not saying a word, but listening attentively again.

"You don't have to call me Mom though," Hope said with a soft smile. "You can call me Hope and that's okay too.

"But from now on," Hope continued, "If you need anything, if you want to ask me anything, if you have to potty, eat, cry, or just want to see me, come find me or say my name really loud. Nod yes if you understand, okay?"

Charlie nodded.

"Good," Hope said. "Now, do you want to take a nap on top of the covers or under them?"

Charlie glanced at the comforter before she whispered, "Under."

"Okay, scootch up toward the pillow," Hope said, standing and folding the covers back on one side. Charlie understood what she was doing and wiggled her body to the side without the covers, making it easier for Hope to pull them up and over her.

"Don't forget Frog," Hope said, plucking the animal from on top of the covers and tucking it in next to her.

Charlie clutched him tightly to her.

Hope saw the thumb slide up and find its way into her mouth as she closed her eyes.

She sighed internally.

Thumb sucking as a way to fall asleep was also another reason children took up the habit.

They had made a lot of progress that day though.

Hope turned to unpack Charlie's meager belongings, saddened to see the majority of it consisted of clothes that were faded. Some were even stained. There was a small box that contained an old cell phone, a thumbnail drive, a few photographs and a small necklace. The photos consisted of a beautiful Latina with a familiar smile and one of baby's first photos that were usually given to parents of newborns in the hospital. She surmised these were pictures of Charlie and Charlie's biological mother.

The agency told her Charlie was frequently left with the neighbor while her mother flittered from job to job and went out a lot at night, especially on the weekend. The neighbor was worried Charlie would be left home alone if she didn't offer—the mother had done it once before for a couple hours and the sound of Charlie crying prompted the neighbor to step in. But the neighbor was elderly and didn't do much with Charlie besides feed her, sit her in front of the television, and encourage her to color or play with her meager toys. According to the neighbor, Charlie's mother did love Charlie very much; she just wasn't that great at taking care of her.

Hope would go through the drive and phone later, as well as put the pictures up to keep them safe for Charlie.

Folding the black bag flat into a square, she tucked it under her arm and stood in the doorway to watch her angel sleep.

Mom, isn't she amazing? she thought silently.

For the millionth time, she wished her mother was still alive. She wished she could've met her grandchildren.

She wished a lot of things that would never come true.

But wishing that Charlie always had a family that loved and adored her?

That was one wish she knew was granted the instant she asked for it.

She had already fallen hard for the little bit of heaven on that bed.

"I love you, Charlie," she whispered. "Always and forever."

---

"I'm here!" James announced his presence as he ran into the kitchen where Hope was cleaning a little while later. She had given Bridget the day off so she could have Charlie all to herself.

Hope had messaged Maya to let her know the door would be open so she didn't ring the bell and wake Charlie.

"Where is she?" James asked, looking around, his face lit up with excitement.

"Don't run inside," Hope reminded him for the umpteenth time. "Welcome home, love. Charlie's taking a nap. I'll wake her in a little bit. For now, go get cleaned up and I'll get your snack ready."

"Okay," James ran off.

"Don't run!" Hope called after him for all the good it would do. When he was excited, it was difficult to get him to move slowly.

"A future track star in the making," Maya said, watching him run to the hall bathroom.

"Put all that running to good use," Hope laughed. "Did you bring it?"

"I brought two," Maya said, pulling two small packages from her bag. "Top Ramen! Chicken flavored because, really, that's the best."

Hope took the packs from her and looked them over.

"Thanks for stopping at the store," she said.

"Please," Maya brushed her words off and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. "I already had them. Ramen comes in handy the weeks I gotta make ten bucks stretch 'til pay day."

"You eat Oodles n Noodles?" Hope asked, surprised.

"And you don't?"

"Never," Hope said. "I had to Google it."

"Hope," Maya shook her head, amused, "What self respecting east coast girl has never heard of Oodles n Noodles?"

"I grew up in the south though," Hope pointed out.

"In a fancy mansion, I know," Maya teased. "Your privilege is showing."

"Darn, and I try so hard to hide it," Hope laughed. She and Maya had been best friends for years and teased each other all the time.

"And Charlie, being an east coast girl, she already knows," Maya laughed too. "So, Charlie! What's that short for? Tell me about her."

"Nothing," Hope smiled. "She's just Charlie. Charlie Mendez, soon to be Mikaelson!"

"Can I have juice?" James asked, coming back to join them.

"Yes," Hope said, grabbing a juice box to sit at the table. "Chocolate or vanilla pudding?"

"Chocolate!" James exclaimed as he climbed into his chair. "Is she awake yet?"

"Not yet," Hope didn't think so. She figured she would let her sleep for at least an hour before waking her—so, in another twenty minutes.

"Aw," James lamented.

Hope was glad he was still as excited to meet Charlie as he was yesterday.

"She's very shy," Hope continued telling Maya. "She doesn't talk much, she sucks her thumb, but she understands everything I say. Once she got used to me, she talked a little more. She seems eager to learn too. I showed her some simple things, like using the step stool to wash her hands. I guess no one ever showed her."

"Where did she grow up?" Maya asked.

Hope named an area they both knew wasn't the best. They saw a lot of women come to the shelter from there.

"So, what's next for Miss Charlie?" Maya asked.

"Well, tomorrow we'll need to do some shopping…" Hope gave a small smile. "A lot of shopping. I wanted to work on her room first, but I just went through the clothes they sent with her and…" Hope winced.

"Wardrobe needs a little work?" Maya wasn't surprised.

"Yeah," Hope said. "And hopefully I can get her registered with the school this week and she can start next Monday."

Maya gave her a considering glance.

"Where did she go to school before?"

"She didn't," Hope replied.

"No?"

Hope shrugged, "A lot of parents don't start kids in school until kindergarten. That's probably why. But that's where kids learn to socialize and make new friends. James loved it."

Preschool also happened to be half day a lot of times. Charlie's mother probably couldn't leave whatever job she was at to pick her up, and the elderly neighbor couldn't get around much away from her apartment.

"Listen…" Maya said, tilting her head to indicate they walk away from James to speak.

Hope followed her.

"What's up?" Hope asked, knowing that look on her friend's face. She had long since gotten used to Maya saying whatever she was thinking.

"That school, it's a great one," Maya nodded. "But all the kids are millionaires. Or at least their parents are."

Hope knew what she was trying to say. Maya was worried Charlie would be bullied for coming from a different background.

"But they're four," Hope said. She would have worried too if Charlie were older, but kids that age didn't notice things like that. The parents would though.

"And she's never gone to school or interacted with anyone from your world," Maya finished.

Hope could see it clearly now.

Her little girl on the first day of school scared out of her mind, surrounded by a lot of new people who behaved differently than Charlie had ever been taught. It would be throwing Charlie into even more new situations when she was already dealing with losing everything and everyone she ever knew.

Hope would never get her to stop sucking her thumb.

She definitely had a lot to consider.

"You're right," Hope frowned. "I need another plan, don't I? Thanks."

"It's all good," Maya winked. "You can owe me one."

"Since it's my weekend, maybe next?" Hope said. "Though we'll have a four year old with us now."

Hope grinned, thinking about going to the spa with Charlie in tow. Didn't they have some sort of kid special? She never paid attention to it, but she would call later.

"We could stay in if it's too much for her still," Maya offered, smiling too. She knew how much Hope had always wanted more children. From the look of her friend, Hope was ecstatic to be living her dream.

"I'll see how she does with other people before then." Hope had a sudden thought. With Charlie already needing to meet James, would more people be too sudden for her?

"Ryan's coming over later," Hope said. "Should I tell him to wait until tomorrow?"

"Hope, really?" Maya asked incredulously.

"What?"

"She needs to meet her new family and get used to them before bringing her around strangers at the spa, yes," Maya said. "But Ryan is family, not a stranger. You know that."

With the proverbial cat out of the bag, Hope had finally been able to tell Maya the truth about James' paternity and her strained relationship with Ryan. Keeping the truth from her best friend had been hard.

"Yeah," Hope said. "Of course he's family…" Family who she slept with and struggled to pretend she hadn't for his sake.

"And maybe more?" Maya asked slyly.

"You know that doesn't matter," Hope said.

"That man wanted to go with you yesterday," Maya said. "He wanted to be there for you. Heck, he probably would've been here when she arrived if he didn't have to work."

Hope smirked, amused.

"What?" Maya asked, seeing her face.

"He wanted to take off but I told him no," Hope said. "I wanted to meet her alone the first time."

Maya gave her a look.

"A guy who wants to meet a woman's child that isn't his?" Maya said incredulously. "Family or not, that man is definitely thinking something more."

Hope wished that were true. Giving Ryan all the space he needed to figure that out on his own was excruciating, but she owed it to him.

She could keep waiting…

For now.

Ding dong.

The sound of the doorbell ringing reminded Hope that Ryan was definitely not thinking something more yet. The only person she expected that evening was Ryan, and Ryan had started ringing the bell instead of letting himself in ever since their little 'oops' in the guest bedroom.

Ryan must have decided to leave work early—or went in super early so he could leave early—which would have been fine except the bell may have woken Charlie.

"That's Ryan," Hope said, looking to the stairs to the second floor. "I hope that didn't wake her. Can you get the door while I check on her?"

"Sure."

Charlie was awake when she arrived to the room.

Hope had left the door open, hoping she would hear if Charlie called out for her, or that Charlie would come looking for her through the open door when she woke.

Even though she was awake, Charlie still lay under the covers, little body tense as she clutched Frog and held her thumb firmly in her mouth.

Her eyes were wide and scared.

"Hi, Charlie," Hope said softly, smiling reassuringly as she approached the bed. "Ready to get up, sweetheart?"

Charlie shook her head.

"How about I join you?" Hope asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Charlie nodded.

"Scoot over? I'm gonna need a little more space," Hope said.

Charlie backed up immediately.

Hope lay down on her side next to her facing her.

"You're right," Hope said with a loving smile. "Your new bed is really comfy. I bet Frog agrees."

Charlie nodded, the scared look fleeing as the beginnings of a smile started on her face.

"Well, Mr. Frog," Hope said, speaking to the stuffed animal. "Are you ready to get up? There are a couple people downstairs who want to meet Charlie."

The smile left Charlie's face.

Hope recognized even more that Maya was right. Charlie had been too sheltered from other people all her life. There was no way she could send her to a preschool class, especially midway through the school year. The only option would be to keep Charlie home with her. It would be a good way for her and Charlie to bond.

But, what about her responsibilities at the shelter?

There was a lot to think about.

"It'll be okay, Charlie," Hope promised. "My son, James? He's very nice. He's only one year older than you. He's excited to show you his dinosaurs. Do you like dinosaurs?"

Interest sparked in Charlie's gaze and she nodded slowly.

"Do you know a lot about them?" Hope asked.

Charlie shook her head.

"Then you're in luck!" Hope smiled. "James knows everything about dinosaurs, more than me even. Would you like him to tell you?"

Charlie nodded.

"Okay, but we have to go downstairs," Hope asked. "Think you can do that?"

Charlie nodded slowly.

Hope sat up with a smile.

"Let's go!"

Charlie reached her arms out to her.

Hope reached out immediately and found herself with an armful of precious little girl.

Pulling Charlie close, Hope sighed deeply as she hugged her as tightly as she dared.

She would bring her down to meet the rest of her new family in a few minutes.

Right now, she just wanted to hold her daughter a little longer.

---

Ryan was looking forward to meeting Charlie, more than he thought he would.

When Hope told him to go to work today, that she wanted to meet Charlie for the first time without anyone else, he was oddly disappointed, but he understood.

He still wasn't sure where the need to be with Hope when she went to the agency yesterday came from.

This little girl wouldn't be his. She belonged to Hope. But she would be in his life on a daily basis. Maybe that was why he wanted to be there.

So he didn't miss anything.

Of course, not being there for her arrival meant he missed some things, but he figured Hope would fill him in. Their relationship had reverted to the friendship they established before he stupidly gave in to temptation.

He was relieved for that, as he didn't have to worry about things changing—at least not more than a new child would change things.

Relaxing his guard, though, meant that he thought about Hope more than he should once again. His mind kept taking him back, reminding him of what drew him to her in the first place. It wasn't even her appearance. He felt her in his arms before he ever saw her face. From the first moment, holding her felt natural and right—a fact shoved in his face whenever they came into contact ever since. Like falling into each other in a bounce house, holding her hand, or having impromptu frantic passionate sex in a moment of weakness.

Once he did see her face, the connection between them just grew even more. Everything about her fascinated him: the tilt of her jaw whenever she got sassy with him, the gleeful light in her eyes whenever she teased him, the way she laughed and her whole face lit up in an adorable soft expression.

An unexplainable magnetism had been drawing him to her for going on six years now, and sometimes fighting it was hard. Sometimes he forgot why he was fighting so hard.

Then he always remembered.

"Maya?" he said, a little surprised when Hope's friend answered the door.

"Come in, come in," Maya motioned. "Hope was worried the doorbell woke Charlie from her nap. She'll be down in a few."

He immediately felt contrite. He should've let Hope know he was on his way early just in case. He hoped he hadn't woken her. He knew the doorbell tended to resound through the house. He also could've just opened the door, but he resolved to never be caught unaware alone in the house with only Hope again.

He didn't exactly trust himself around her anymore.

"Daddy!" James exclaimed, running up. "Charlie's here!"

"I know," he said, bending down to lift James in a hug. "Have you met her yet?"

"No," James shook his head. "It's nap time. But soon as she wakes, I'll get to!"

"Well, I'll see myself out," Maya said with a smile and a pat on James' head. "See you later, babe."

"You're not staying?" Ryan asked as he put James back down.

"No," Maya shook her head. "She should meet family first. There's plenty of time to meet me later."

"Bye, Aunt Maya!" James said then grabbed Ryan's hand to tug on him. "Come on, Daddy! We gotta be ready!"

"Bye!" Maya waved.

"And how are we getting ready?" Ryan asked, following James as Maya left.

"Toys!" James said as if Ryan should already know. "She's gonna want to play, and I'll show her all the toys. Especially the dinosaurs."

"Ah, I see," Ryan said. And he thought he did. James saw Charlie as a new playmate. That would be good so long as the little girl actually wanted to play.

He settled on the couch in the den to watch James go through his toy box and pull out his favorite things to show Charlie.

Sitting on the couch when he first met the little girl would probably be a good idea. He knew from some of the kids in James' playgroup and class that his height made him a little scary to kids at first. It never bothered James, but all kids were different.

He was there when the agency went over Charlie's background with Hope. He knew the girl was raised by a mother and spent a lot of time with an older female neighbor. He knew there was no father in the picture. He wasn't sure if Charlie had spent much time around any other children, let alone a grown man.

Deciding to proceed with caution, he would try to avoid intimidating her with his size on first meeting.

Shaking his head in amusement, he marveled at how much he changed since James came into his life. Whereas before he had no idea what he was doing, now he had picked up details from Hope, from some articles he researched in his free time whenever he questioned the way he handled something with James, and from an actual child psychologist along the way. He always made it his business to educate himself to handle anything—meeting a four-year-old not withstanding.

He heard a rustling and looked up.

Hope walked into the den holding Charlie's hand.

He could see immediately that Charlie was extremely shy and very wary.

"Hi, Charlie!" James jumped up.

Charlie pushed up against Hope's side, thumb in her mouth, and tried to hide her face.

Hope crouched down a little with an arm around her.

"Charlie, this is James," Hope said.

Charlie refused to look away, just burrowing her face into Hope's neck once Hope stooped to her level.

"Do you want to play?" James asked, uncertain.

"Charlie, here," Hope said as she soothed Charlie by rubbing her back, "likes dinosaurs but she doesn't know much about them. I told her you would teach her. Why don't you show her the least scary one?"

"That would be…" James paused and turned in a complete circle, looking at the ground. "This one!" He held up one with a long neck. "It's an apatosaurus."

"Apatosaurus," Hope repeated, reaching out for the dinosaur. "Can I show it to her?"

James handed it to his mother.

"Charlie," Hope said, trying to shift away a little. "Look at it. It has a long neck. Have you ever seen one like this before?"

Charlie peeked at it and nodded.

"Do you want to hold it?" Hope asked.

Charlie nodded again.

Hope held it out to her and waited.

Charlie reached with her left hand to take it.

She stopped squishing into Hope's side so she could get a better look at it, holding it quietly.

"Want to see other ones?" James asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement. "There are lots of dinosaurs! They're really cool!"

Charlie glanced at James, unsure.

James took that as his cue to turn around and pick up another toy.

"This is a triceratops," James said. "Like Cera, from Land Before Time. Triceratops isn't scary either."

Charlie took a step toward James, curious to get closer to the other toy.

Hope waited with bated breath to see what would happen next.

"Here!" James pushed the triceratops at Charlie, basically insisting she take it. "I'll fly the pterodactyl, you can play with triceratops!"

Charlie glanced from the apatosaurus in her hand to the triceratops in his hand.

"I'll take this one," Hope offered, reaching for the one in Charlie's hand.

Charlie gave it to her and immediately took the triceratops.

James started flying the pterodactyl through the air.

"You gotta put triceratops on the ground," he explained. "It doesn't fly."

Charlie stooped down and sat the dinosaur on the floor.

"Triceratops should run away, or pterodactyl might get her," James said, flying and swooping down toward Charlie's dinosaur.

Charlie started moving the animal toward the other dinosaurs, away from James' flying.

Hope quietly moved from the floor to sit next to Ryan.

She couldn't help but grin as she watched Charlie play. Charlie mostly followed James' directions with that thumb still permanently in place, but there was a slight smile so Hope knew she was having fun.

"Hey," Ryan said softly. He watched the entire exchange, very curious. He could see that the little girl was painfully shy. She glanced his way once, right before she shoved her face into Hope. "How'd today go?"

"Great," Hope said softly back. "I'll introduce you in a bit. I want her to get used to James first."

"I can wait," he said, amused.

"Why don't you talk?" they heard James ask.

"She'll talk when she's ready," Hope replied immediately. "Maybe later, right, Charlie?"

Charlie nodded, then pointed at the pterodactyl and looked at James.

"I think she wants a turn flying," Hope said.

"Okay," James said, holding out the flying dinosaur.

Charlie jumped to her feet and immediately took the toy.

James got down on the floor and started moving the triceratops around.

"She likes you," Ryan observed.

"And I like her," Hope smiled. "A lot."

Ryan was happy for her. He knew how good it felt when one of your dreams became a reality. Being gifted a new child and having an instant connection with her must mean the world to her.

Now, if only Charlie could relax enough to meet him too.

---

"Daddy!" James exclaimed a little while later. "Come help! We need someone to move the lever!"

Ryan knew what he was good for, and that was moving the crank on the garage so the cars could move from one level to the other.

He joined them, bending down to get a good grip.

Charlie flinched back immediately, cowering away.

Ryan pretended he didn't notice. He didn't look her way, just did as he was asked while James watched.

"Charlie, your car is there!" James exclaimed, pointing.

Charlie glanced at Ryan, but when Ryan didn't look at her, she cautiously came forward to take her car from the garage entrance and drive it away.

Ryan continued moving the lever until James' car reached the right level.

"My car's ready!" James announced, before driving it away, following behind Charlie.

His work done, Ryan sat next to Hope again.

"At least she didn't shove her face in your lap," Ryan said.

"Only because I'm all the way over here," Hope smirked. "But she didn't run away either."

"So that would be progress?" he asked.

"No," Hope said. "But I might be able to introduce you to her soon."

"Can't wait," he laughed softly. "I even tried to stay low to the ground."

Hope had to laugh too at that. Watching Ryan slink off the couch instead of standing to do James' bidding really was funny. She loved when Ryan did completely unexpected things like that. She never knew any guy to be that considerate of others. Truth was, he could've stood and done it and gotten the very same reaction. Charlie just wasn't ready.

Ryan knew James hadn't done his homework yet, they were all too focused on Charlie to bother with it, but Hope liked to keep James on a regular schedule which meant it needed to be done before dinner. She was firm on kids needing structure in their lives. He didn't disagree.

Ryan was hoping to get an official introduction with Charlie before dinner. He understood Hope's need to let her adjust to James first. At least she hadn't sent him home when he arrived early. He got the sense she would have rather him come later like he usually did, but she didn't say it.

"Charlie," Hope finally said. "Since James is in school, he has to start his homework soon."

"Awwww," James whined.

"James," Hope said his name firmly. She put on her disapproving face at his tone, but inside she rolled her eyes. It never took him longer than twenty minutes—it was kindergarten, not high school. Just wait until he was old enough to spend hours doing homework every night.

"Okaayyy," James said with a long suffering sigh.

Charlie looked back and forth between James and Hope, frowning slightly. Hope wasn't sure if she understood the exchange or not. Either way, that wasn't the important part.

"Before he does though," Hope said to Charlie, "I want you to meet Ryan."

Charlie glanced at Ryan, letting Hope know she was very much aware there was someone else in the room and that he must be the Ryan she referred to.

"Ryan is James' dad," Hope said. "Ryan," she continued, looking at him, "This is Charlie."

Ryan smiled gently at Charlie, glad to see she was finally looking at him.

"Hey, Charlie," he said softly. "It's nice to meet you."

Charlie stared at him as she fiddled with the toy car in her hand.

"Ryan comes over a lot," Hope explained. "He plays with the toys with James too. Maybe he can join you while James does his homework. Would that be okay?"

Charlie looked down at the toy and nodded.

Hope got the feeling that maybe Charlie wanted to say no, but she didn't. She would keep an eye on that too. Charlie, though very shy, also seemed eager to please. She didn't want Charlie to always say yes to things she didn't want to do just to make Hope happy. But then again, there were certain rules Charlie would have to follow even if she didn't want to do them. She would work with her. But for now, Hope desperately wanted Charlie to be okay with Ryan, so she would accept Charlie's agreement. She did give her a choice.

"James, go get your folder, honey," Hope said, knowing the teacher put any homework and other notes in his Thor folder which was currently in his Spider-Man backpack.

Uncle Raf helped pick out school supplies this year.

James left the room to get it.

"Charlie, James and I are going to sit at that table right over there," Hope pointed across the room. "You can see me the whole time while you play. If you need anything, come get me, or ask Ryan, okay, sweetheart?"

Charlie nodded slowly.

James ran back, holding the folder up.

"I got it!" he said as he handed it to his mother.

"Thank you," Hope said, taking it and standing. "Let's go!"

Ryan watched Charlie stare at Hope as she walked away. When Hope settled at the table with James, Charlie knew exactly where Hope was so she resumed playing.

"Which car should I drive?" Ryan asked her as he slipped off the couch to sit on the floor with her.

She looked at the pile of toys that James had managed to dump out a remarkably large amount of.

Charlie shrugged.

At least she wasn't trying to hide from him still. She even technically answered one of his questions.

"Or should we play with something else?" he asked, knowing she had gone from dinosaurs to cars at James' suggestion. Maybe she wanted to play with something else, something James hadn't handed to her.

Charlie looked over to the pile of toys, then stood and walked to look down into the two big toy buckets.

She seemed to think her choice over very thoroughly before she reached in and pulled out something James seldom played with, one that Hope would probably cycle into the donation bin the next time she rotated his toys. It was a technique Ryan learned from her. Kids couldn't possibly play with all of their toys every day, especially a child as spoiled as James was. Instead of putting them all out at once and letting James get too bored with them—or letting them take up too much space in the den or his room—she would put some away then rotate them with the other toys to make them seem brand new. Or, she would donate any toys he barely played with anymore because he obviously outgrew them.

But, instead of donating, it seemed like the toy barn and barn animals were going to get new life in the household.

Charlie carried the barn house with one hand awkwardly over to Ryan and held it out.

"Good choice," Ryan winked, taking it from her and setting it down to open up the nooks and crannies. "This area over here, I think that's for the cows. And this is a pen for the pigs. Think you can find those?"

Charlie turned and went back to the buckets to look through.

He happened to glance up and saw Hope smiling at them from across the room, obviously pleased Charlie was interacting with him. He returned the smile. He was pleased too. He never spent time around kids until he met James, but he hadn't met a child since who didn't like him. He wouldn't have any idea what to do to get a child to like him if they didn't.

Charlie returned with one cow, then went back for another one, then a pig, and another pig, bringing them over one at a time because she refused to remove the thumb from her mouth to carry more.

He knew she would take it out when she was ready. Hope told him she had talked to her before everyone got home. If Charlie didn't mind the extra work using only one hand required, he didn't mind either.

Charlie went back once again and came back with two small chickens that could fit in her little hand.

"Chickens too," Ryan said, accepting them. "Can't forget those."

Charlie nodded.

"Where should I put them?" he asked.

Charlie looked around before pointing to an area on the outside of the barn that was painted like a chicken coop.

"Looks good," he said. "I wonder if we're missing any others. Which one is your favorite animal?"

He figured she would point at one of the ones there, but instead she froze and looked around, her eyes suddenly wide and stricken.

Was it something I said? he wondered.

As he watched, tears welled up in her eyes and she started looking very distressed.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Charlie stared at him, thumb in her mouth, silent tears starting their silent stream down those adorable cheeks.

Darn if it didn't make him want to move heaven and earth to fix the problem.

"I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong," he said gently.

She slowly removed her thumb and whispered, "Frog."

Her little throat was clogged with tears, but he still made it out.

"Frog?" he asked, confused. Was she saying that frogs were her favorite animal? If so, why was she crying?

"I want Frog," she whispered again.

"Hope," Ryan called out loud enough for her to hear. "What's Frog?"

"Oh!" Hope said. "Her stuffed animal she arrived with. She's been taking it everywhere with her. We must've forgotten to bring it down. It's in her room."

"What do you say we go upstairs and get Frog?" he asked Charlie.

Charlie nodded eagerly.

Ryan stood and Charlie was already on her way to rescue her toy.

"Wait for me," he said, following her. He noticed she hadn't put the thumb back in her mouth yet, though she was holding the railing with that hand while waiting impatiently for him, so maybe that was why.

As soon as he reached the stairs, she started clambering up the steps as quickly as she could. Clearly this Frog was super important to her, especially if she was allowing him to accompany her instead of Hope.

When they reached her room, she ran over to the bed and leaned against the edge in distress when she didn't see it. She looked back at him, her little eyes panicked.

"We'll find it," he reassured her as he walked around to the other side of the bed. There was a collection of stuffed animals there. "Maybe it's with the other ones?"

She shook her head and sniffled.

He didn't see any frogs either, but if she thought it was on the bed, then…

He lifted the comforter and bed sheet, revealing the missing toy.

"There it is," he winked.

She kicked her feet excitedly when she leaned forward to grab it. She pulled it into her arms and stood holding the thing clutched to her chest, smiling extra big up at Ryan.

The full force of that smile let him know he was in trouble. He just met her and already he knew he wanted to keep making her smile. He would rescue all the frogs if that's what it took.

Yep, he was a goner.

---

Hope couldn't be happier with the way the rest of the evening played out.

Once the ice was broken, Charlie took to Ryan like a duck to water, willing to follow him everywhere.

With a laugh, Hope sent Ryan outside to the small sliding board and swing set with both kids while she cooked dinner.

She decided as a little surprise she would make Charlie's favorite, the Oodles n Noodles Maya brought, along with the grilled chicken and vegetables she already planned. They would have fresh cut fruit for dessert, along with blueberries for Charlie. She would stress that the noodles would only be for special occasions. At least until Charlie found something healthier that she loved more—she hoped.

After dinner, the kids watched James' favorite movie since Charlie had never seen it—Land Before Time. Hope and Ryan had seen it so many times by now but watching it with Charlie was a brand new experience. Charlie was completely enthralled with the movie. She only put her thumb in her mouth at the beginning when Littlefoot's mother died. Hope was worried she might need to turn the movie off and talk to her about it, but instead, the thumb came out once Littlefoot started on his journey with his friends. She laughed and clapped, and her eyes got big whenever the tyrannosaurus rex showed up.

James was content to watch the movie while playing with a few dinosaurs and his Marvel figures on the floor. But Charlie wanted to sit in between Hope and Ryan, taking turns leaning against one then the other without even realizing it.

Once the movie was over, Hope brought Charlie upstairs for her bath. Since Charlie was only four, her bedtime would be a little earlier than James' at seven thirty, so she had to get her bathed and in pajamas before she could work with James, though Ryan would probably take care of that.

Charlie's first bath time with Hope was an experience too. The little girl seemed fascinated by the idea of toys in the bathtub. Hope didn't see any problem with children actually enjoying getting clean, so James always had a supply of toys that could get wet, as well as the proverbial rubber ducky. Charlie giggled throughout most of the bath. She was also fascinated with the sprayer Hope used to hose off the shampoo and other soap. She wanted to have a try so Hope indulged her, hoping she wouldn't spray her accidentally. She didn't, but Charlie definitely loved spraying the toys in the water.

There were a few nightgowns in Charlie's bag, so Hope changed Charlie into one. In her room, she had Charlie pick out a book for Hope to read. Charlie picked one with lots of animals on the front.

Apparently Charlie loved turquoise—or things that were blue—and all kinds of animals. She was already thinking of some fun ideas for Charlie's room. She wasn't sure how she could decorate with frogs, though, if Charlie didn't like the color green. Frog was green, it was just a bit on the bluer side of green being a pastel stuffed animal. She would figure it out.

Charlie fell asleep before Hope was even halfway through the book.

She helped Ryan get James to bed after that. He had his bath while Hope was putting Charlie to sleep. She knew she would have to figure out a different routine for bath and bedtime, especially on nights when it was just her taking care of both of them. But for tonight, it worked.

"So…" Hope said, once she and Ryan went downstairs after the kids were asleep. "I think she likes you too."

"Yeah," he said with a slow smirk. "But, really, why wouldn't she?"

"Oh, please," she laughed. "Look who's all full of himself just because he got to be the knight in shining armor and rescue Frog from the doom of bed sheets."

"I see nothing wrong with that," he said, grinning. Charlie definitely wasn't scared or wary of him anymore, so he was glad they left the comfort toy behind so he could swoop in and save the day. "I think she's a good fit."

Even James seemed enamored with Charlie. He didn't understand why Charlie liked to keep a finger in her mouth, or why she didn't like to talk, but he loved to play with her so far. Ryan wondered how long that would last. He may have grown up as an only child, but he knew siblings could love each other to pieces but still fight every day of their childhood.

"Oh, you think so," Hope teased. "So I guess that means she's staying."

"Oh, you know she's not going anywhere," he remarked.

"No, she isn't," Hope agreed wholeheartedly.

"You might want to put a LoJack on that frog though," he suggested.

"Not a bad idea."

---

The rest of Charlie's first week was an adventure for them all, especially Hope and Charlie.

Hope had Charlie fitted at the store and let Charlie pick out the color clothes she liked the most—unsurprisingly, there were a lot of blues. But lilacs, whites, yellows, and oranges were also chosen. Hope picked up a few different things and decided to order more online. She only needed some things for now. She would keep all the clothes together, old and new, not knowing if anything held a special significance to Charlie. She would let Charlie pick between outfits every day, see if Charlie chose any old things. If Charlie didn't wear them, or just outgrew them, then she would get rid of them.

They shopped for shoes too. Charlie was used to sneakers, but not the Mary Janes or ballet flat style shoes Hope decided to get too. She also made sure to get snow boots and rain boots for all kinds of weather—which meant a new winter coat and rain coat were needed too.

Hope was happy when they made good time and could shop for bedroom things as well. Charlie picked a new bed set with lots of turquoise and sea creatures on it. Seeing that, Hope went with the theme and ordered a few different colors of paint to match the sheet design. She would find a sea creature theme stencil to paint frogs and turtles and sea horses across the white furniture to jazz them up. She would also begin working on a sea mural for one of the walls in Charlie's room.

She had a lot of fun painting the wall in James' rooms with dinosaurs, so she knew it would be just as fun doing the same in Charlie's.

After all their shopping, Hope stuffed everything in the car along with Charlie in her new booster seat then picked up James from school.

The next day, they shopped even more, but it was for a fun reason—Charlie had to pick out some new toys for her new room. Hope didn't go overboard—Christmas was coming after all, but Hope wanted Charlie to have things that she wanted to play with and not just rely on James' toys to keep her occupied.

That evening, once Ryan arrived, they all started decorating the house for the holiday season. For the more difficult things, like stringing lights around the edges of the house outside, Hope cut a few corners and hired someone to do it, but for the inside of the house, they all pitched in.

Charlie pulled a sparkling red bulb out of a box.

"Go ahead and hang it around the bottom," Hope said, motioning to the tree. "Be careful though. If it falls, walk away from it and let me or Ryan take care of it, okay?"

Charlie nodded and went to hang it.

"I want one!" James leaned over the box and looked around before pulling out a sparkling green one.

"Be careful, and no running, okay?" Hope said, running her fingers through his short hair. Sometimes she couldn't resist doing that. He still let her get away with it for now, but she knew it was coming—the day he grew embarrassed by it. But not yet!

"Okay," James said before walking to the tree.

"Do I get one too?" Ryan asked.

Hope picked up one of the boxes of bulbs and shoved it at him.

"Have them all!" she grinned. "You can get the spots up top, tall person. I'll work on the middle."

"Yes, ma'am," Ryan said.

He hadn't decorated for the holiday since the last Christmas before his mother passed. He didn't own any decorations, and he wasn't much for seasonal decorating. It just stopped seeming important once he didn't have any family to share the holiday with. He did have his own tradition for the holiday, but it meant he was never home for Christmas. He might have to consider a few decorations though, just so James could be surrounded with Christmas cheer on the weekends he spent at his condo.

The kids really got into hanging the bulbs, both giggling and helping each other.

When Charlie hung one but it started sliding, James was standing next to her so he stopped it before it could fall.

"You gotta make sure the hook is in a good spot," James said, moving it further up. "See? It'll stay."

Charlie grinned, "Kay!"

James grinned back.

Ryan noticed James got excited whenever Charlie spoke to him.

"Let's get another one!" James exclaimed.

Charlie quickly followed James to the box Hope left open for them. Most of the ornaments in the box wouldn't break if they dropped, especially from their height, but Hope told them to be careful anyway just in case.

The tree was a large artificial one with built-in white lights, so they would only have to plug the tree in and not put extra lights on it. Hope would love to use a real tree, but after the tree caught fire during the first year of her marriage, she refused to take that chance again, especially not now when her kids were there. The artificial one she found was perfect and could be used every year instead of cutting down a tree only to throw it away a month later.

The kids loved it either way.

Once the bulbs were all hung, they worked together to hang the garland. Charlie and James started the silvery string around the bottom edge, James holding it in place while Charlie walked around the tree, pulling the garland gently like Hope showed her. Hope pushed it into place against the tree to hold it as Charlie passed. Once Charlie made a complete circle, James took over to do a circle too, raising his arms how Ryan showed him to. Once the garland got high enough, Hope took over, and then Ryan. They ended up using three garland strands total, and it looked gorgeous.

"What's next?" James asked, bouncing.

Charlie, who had long since caught his enthusiasm, bounced next to him and nodded.

"Next are some special ornaments," Hope said, going to pick out another box, as well as a smaller box.

"I remember this!" James called out, reaching for a lopsided bird shaped ornament with 'James' and '2041' written on it.

"That's because you made it," Hope said, pulling it out. "Last year in preschool."

"It's a little funny looking," James said, looking at it.

"It's perfect," Hope said, grinning. "Go hang it up!"

Hope opened the smaller box.

"And these came right in time," Hope said, pulling out a gold plated ornament in the shape of an angel with a light blue stone in the center. She put a rush order on them and they arrived that morning—not bad for two days. "Charlie, come and see."

Charlie joined her immediately.

"See these letters right here?" Hope said, pointing. "That spells out Charlie. And the blue stone? That's because aquamarine is your birth stone, since you were born in March."

Charlie's mouth opened wide.

"Pretty," Charlie said softly.

"It is," Hope said. "Would you like to hang this?"

Charlie nodded and took it from Hope, staring at it while she walked toward the tree to find the perfect spot.

"James," Hope said. "Come here, love."

James joined her.

"This one is for you," she said. "Can you read what it says?"

James looked at the engraving and grinned.

"It says James!"

"And yours has a blue stone too, but it's a dark blue called sapphire," she explained.

"Sapphire," James repeated the word as he took the angel ornament from his mother.

"So your birthstone is sapphire, and Charlie's is aquamarine," Hope said.

"Aq-aq-ua…rine," Charlie tried her best to say the word, grinning the whole time.

"What's a birthstone?" James asked.

"Every month has a gemstone for the month you were born," Hope explained. "You were born in September, so your birthstone is sapphire."

"Cool!" James exclaimed then went to hang his ornament.

"Yours?" Charlie asked Hope softly.

"I was born in May," Hope said. "So my birthstone is emerald. It's green."

Charlie made a face.

Hope laughed.

"It's actually really beautiful," she said. "I think so anyway."

Charlie looked at Ryan.

"Stone?" Charlie asked.

"Aquamarine," Ryan said with a wink.

"Like me?" Charlie asked, pointing her thumb at herself.

"Like you," Ryan replied.

Hope made a mental note in her head. Ryan's birthday was in March. Something she hadn't known until today.

"Anyone want to help me hang ornaments with James as a baby?" Hope asked.

"Me!" James exclaimed.

"Me!" Charlie exclaimed too, parroting her brother.

Ryan stepped closer to look in the box. He didn't want to hang the ornaments, but he wanted to see them. He had seen a few photographs of James over the years since Hope had some hanging around the house, but he would love to see more.

Hope glanced up and realized instantly why Ryan had a soft look on his face.

She took the first one, which had a picture inside of James at four months old—his age for his first Christmas—and handed it to Ryan. It was dated '2037'

Ryan's breath caught.

James was super tiny.

Whoever took the photo had managed to capture an adorable smile too.

"I'll get you copies," Hope said, clearing her throat past the emotion swelling.

Why hadn't she thought to offer those to him before? She knew it had to be because she was so focused on Landon and life in the here and now that she forgot about Ryan not being here for the times before. She should have thought of it though. He never saw all of the photographs or videos: the first smile, the first roll over, the first sit up, the first crawl, the first step, or even when she was pregnant. He missed everything.

He nodded and handed the first one to Charlie, and both kids swarmed to look at it.

Hope handed him the next one, from a year later, '2038'.

The kids went to hang the first one while Ryan looked over the second one.

They continued the process for each one, up to '2041'.

"And I still have to get photos for this year's ornaments," Hope said to the kids. "Then I'll have one made for each of you."

Charlie smiled.

Hope also had to go through the thumb drive from Charlie's belongings. She was hoping for images of Charlie through the years. She would work on that while building a digital album for Ryan too.

"I'm sorry I didn't do that before now," she said softly as she closed the box.

Ryan nodded again but didn't reply.

He wasn't sure he could.

That.

That was the reason he continued to fight any temptation.

That was the one thing that could easily drive all of his feelings for her away in the blink of an eye.

He missed the first five years of his son's life.

And he would never get them back.

---

"Grandma!" James squealed, running into the house to hug one of his favorite people.

"There's my boy!" Lucia said, squatting down to hug him back.

"Grandma, you gotta meet Charlie!" James exclaimed when they let go.

"Is that who this little one is?" Lucia said, attempting to peek around Hope's legs where Charlie was hiding though she had moved her face slightly to take in the reunion. "Well, come on out, sweet girl. Don't you worry, now, I don't bite."

"Charlie doesn't talk a lot," James explained.

"I wouldn't be able to talk either with a thumb in my mouth," Lucia said with a smile at Charlie. "That's alright; you come out when you're ready.

"James, and Charlie," Lucia said with a nod first at James then Charlie, "Grandpa and I need a couple elves to help us today. And I think you two would be perfect. What do you say?" She held up two felt green elf hats.

"I want to be an elf!" James said.

Hope noticed Charlie poked her head out from behind her legs again. The girl was definitely interested.

Lucia settled one hat onto James' head.

"Good, because we're making special packages today to ship to soldiers overseas, right in time for Christmas," Lucia explained.

"Like Private Matthew Jordan?" James asked, remembering the man's name from his grandparents mentioning him before.

"Private First Class, now," Lucia winked. "He was promoted."

"Cool!" James said.

"Yes, Private First Class Matthew Jordan, and Private Joshua Holder will get one," Lucia said, naming both of the soldiers her and Walt adopted all year long, sending care packages and letters to monthly. "But since Christmas is coming, we're making packages for as many soldiers as we can. That's where your help comes in. Charlie, do you want to help too?"

Charlie nodded.

"We'll need to use both hands though," Lucia said. "Think you can do that?"

Charlie nodded again and slowly moved her thumb out of her mouth.

"Come get your hat, then we'll get you both cleaned up and started," Lucia said.

Hope started to tell her that Charlie didn't like green, but Charlie went to get her hat before Hope could even begin. It was a Christmas miracle—or maybe it was just the power of Lucia's effect on Charlie.

Hope remembered that Charlie used to spend her days with an elderly woman. Neither Lucia nor Walt would be considered elderly by any means, but Charlie must feel more comfortable with older people because of her time with the other woman.

Or, maybe that warm feeling Lucia and Walt tended to make any and all visitors feel instantly was picked up on by Charlie.

It was her weekend with James, and the plan had always been to visit her in-laws with him, just like they did every year the first weekend of December. So, that Sunday she packed up the kids and headed over to see her in-laws for the first time since the mess that was Thanksgiving.

Rafael was somewhere around here too.

Lucia helped the kids get cleaned up—making sure to soap up Charlie's infamous thumb—then led the children into the living room where Walt and Rafael had already gotten started. The floor was lined up with at least thirty boxes. Hope knew from experience there would be another round of boxes too once these were done.

As veterans, the Waithes did what they could for active soldiers, knowing the pay wasn't the greatest and being far from home could get lonely. They also helped with a local program that adopted military families in Virginia, to buy presents for children of military members at Christmas. Hope donated to the program every year, helping them meet their goal to fulfill each child's Christmas wish list.

Neither Rafael nor Landon had chosen to follow in their parents' footsteps, but they had a deep respect for all servicemen and women instilled in them from an early age. It was a tradition that would be passed on to their grandchildren too.

From what Hope could see, James and Charlie were both eager to be a part of it.

Walt and Rafael gave Charlie space until she got used to her new job. Lucia assigned her the task of a putting a baggy full of Slim Jims in every box. Lucia followed behind Charlie carrying the box full of baggies. Charlie took one out and dropped it into each box. Hope worked on passing out granola bars while keeping an eye on James to make sure he didn't miss putting small bags of Amos chocolate chips cookies in any of the boxes.

It probably would have gotten done a lot faster if it were only the adults doing it, but it didn't matter to any of them. The kids were enjoying themselves, and Lucia and Walt took turns telling stories about their time in the military. Nothing too graphic, of course.

Charlie hung on to every word, and Hope loved how she gravitated toward both Lucia and Walt even quicker than anyone else Hope had introduced her to. Part of her wondered if that meant Charlie was learning to come out of her shell faster, but, again, they were the Waithes. Everyone loved them.

She still wasn't sure how either of them felt about her at that point. But Lucia seemed happy to meet Charlie when she spoke with her on the phone, and she was always happy to see James.

Hope knew Rafael told her they would accept Charlie as their new grandchild, but she was still a bit uncertain until she saw it for herself. Apparently, she didn't have anything to worry about.

As for Rafael, once Charlie relaxed in the new place with all the new faces, she responded well to him too. Hope had a feeling both James and Ryan had something to do with that. Now that Charlie was more familiar with seeing men, she didn't get as shy; and, James' reaction to seeing his uncle definitely went a long way to showing Charlie that Rafael was okay.

Charlie trusted who James trusted, and Hope loved seeing that too. The two had taken to each other very well. Charlie looked to James for answers and to answer for her at times. James had no problem doing that, though he had a bossy side coming out Hope never knew about. She knew that dynamic wouldn't last, especially since she didn't intend on letting Charlie be dependent on James or letting James tell Charlie what to do forever. They were still in their 'honeymoon' period, getting used to one another and learning to live with each other. The real fun would start when they had their first fight.

"I'll be right back," Walt said a while later with a wink at Charlie who was now being followed by her uncle as she passed out moist towelette packs. "Forgot to water the kids this morning."

Charlie looked after Walt curiously as he left for another area of the house.

"Go ahead," Rafael said to Charlie with a nudge and a soft smile, seeing that Charlie wanted to follow. "I'll finish these."

Charlie dropped the next bag in and went after her new grandpa in a flash.

James didn't want to be left behind, so he followed too.

Hope couldn't resist following.

As Lucia left the room as well, Rafael called out, "Sure, I'll just finish these all by myself."

"That's the spirit," Lucia teased.

Hope paused in the doorway to the nursery, smiling at the way Charlie looked around the room in awe. She hoped Charlie never stopped taking in new things as if they were the most magnificent experience of her life.

Walt picked up a full watering tin and walked around the room watering each plant as he passed.

"That's a lot of plants," James said.

"There are," Walt said. "Had to bring what I could inside for the winter, keep them nice and warm."

James looked around the room, but he had seen most of the plants before and wasn't that interested.

"I'm gonna go do Poptarts," James announced.

"Go ahead," Walt nodded. "We'll be back in a minute."

"Ask Uncle Raf to help you," Hope said, leaning to the side in the doorway for James to walk through.

"Okay!" James said then went running down the hall. "Uncle Raf!"

"She's the sweetest little thing," Lucia said next to Hope as they both watched Charlie follow Walt around and studiously taking in everything he was doing.

"She is," Hope said fondly.

Walt reached in to one of the pots and lifted up some soil.

"See that, Charlie?" he said. "It's called soil. Each plant starts as a tiny little seed. We cover the seed with soil and water it until it grows big. Just like this plant."

Charlie listened attentively and stared at the soil.

"Want to feel it?" he asked.

Charlie nodded then reached in to touch it gently.

"You can pick some up," he said.

She did that too, staring at it in wonder.

"So curious about everything," Lucia marveled. "Very shy though."

Hope nodded. She hadn't heard Charlie say one word since they arrived. She spoke more at home now, even with James around, but she used words sparingly.

"Would you like to water this last one?" Walt asked.

Charlie nodded eagerly.

"Oh, I forgot one more thing," Walt said as he handed the watering can to her. "The plants like when you talk to them."

Charlie held the can and looked up at him.

"Want to help the plant grow big and strong with water and words?" Walt asked.

Charlie nodded.

Walt whispered with a little smile, "It can't hear you."

"Yes!" Charlie practically screeched.

Walt winced but his smile grew even wider.

"Maybe not quite that loud," Walt said. "But much better."

Hope wasn't sure what Charlie said to the plant after that, as her voice wasn't loud enough to carry across the room, but it was clear she was talking to it as she watered it and Walt stood proudly at her side, grinning the entire time.

"That's why they call him the plant whisperer," Lucia said, smiling at the duo.

"They should call him the baby whisperer too," Hope laughed. Walt had Charlie talking more and longer than she had ever seen her.

"How's she adjusting?" Lucia asked.

"I think she's doing okay," Hope replied. "She has her first visit with the counselor this week, so I'll know more after that. But she seems happy."

"And she starts school soon?"

"I'm not too sure about that," Hope said, watching as Walt encouraged Charlie to stop at each plant to talk to too. "The plan was preschool, even though she's never gone, but the school year is half over and she's so shy. I'd honestly really like to keep her home with me until next year. Thing is, I can cut back on some things, but my volunteer work is important. I've considered half-day preschool too, but it still has the same problem. Throwing Charlie into a situation she's not ready for when she's already adjusting to so many changes. I'll figure something out."

Or she would just have to stop volunteering until the following year. She refused to consider a nanny. She wanted to raise her children herself.

"How often do you have to work at the shelter?" Lucia asked.

"I usually only do a couple hours a day, two or three days a week," she said. She cut back a lot before Landon died and had only just started increasing her hours again in October. August and September had been hard months for her. "I definitely need to keep doing the weekly self defense class. Maybe I can bring her along for that."

"You know," Lucia said softly. "I think two grandparents can handle watching a new grandbaby a few hours a week."

Hope's heart swelled as she looked at her mother-in-law in shock.

"Really?" Hope asked in disbelief. "You'd help me?"

"Hope Andrea Mikaelson," Lucia said firmly. "You're still family, from the moment Landon started bringing you to every get-together. I may not be happy with some of the choices you've made, but you've been my daughter since you said 'I Do' and my son's death didn't change that."

What have I done to deserve this family? Hope wondered even as her eyes filled.

"Of course we'll help you," Lucia said. "Don't you ever be afraid to ask us for help when you need it either. You know that."

"I do," Hope said softly.

Lucia's expression softened and she reached out.

Hope walked into her arms and hugged the woman as tightly as she could.

She would spend the rest of her life missing her own mother but hugging Lucia made her feel the unconditional love only a mother could give once more.

She missed that feeling.

---

Ryan missed seeing both kids that weekend, but he got roped into fixing a big snafu at work that required showing up at the office on Saturday which almost never happened. Hope said she and the kids had plans on Sunday, so Ryan had some down time when he wasn't answering random work calls throughout the day. He picked up a mini fiber optic tree and some lights to hang in his living room. It wasn't much but he hoped James liked it.

By Monday evening, he was in desperate need of family time. His condo was lonely without anyone but him, something that had never really bothered him until he knew what he was missing. Work was a pain since the snafu had developed into an epic clusterfuck. The mess wasn't Ryan's fault, but it was his job to fix it. He worked later than usual but drew the line at missing dinner with the kids. The problem would still be there on Tuesday.

"What'd you do today, Daddy?" James asked between bites of cheesy cauliflower.

"Today wasn't a good day," Ryan said. "At least not til I got to see you guys. What did you do?"

"We cut out circles and built a snowman!" James said. "And…and…and… at words!"

"At words?" Ryan asked.

"Cat, bat, mat, rat, pat," James sing-songed.

"Want to tell him what Miss Lana said when I picked you up?" Hope asked James with a smile.

"That I read all the words all by myself," James exclaimed proudly.

"He read the sentences all by himself," Hope corrected with a grin. The words he already learned once the students could write and recognize each letter of the alphabet. Reading the words in a full short sentence meant his sight knowledge and vowel sounds were coming along too.

"Great job," Ryan said. Every day James' mind was developing and growing. Ryan loved seeing James proud of his accomplishments. "I'm proud of you!"

"I got a gold star!" James grinned.

"Very cool," Hope said.

"What about you, Charlie?" Ryan asked. "What did you do today?"

Charlie chewed slowly and looked at Hope to answer.

"Nope," Hope shook her head with a smile. "I'm not telling him. He asked you. Go ahead."

Charlie swallowed just as slowly and finally whispered, "Playground."

"You went to the playground?" Ryan asked. "The one in the backyard?"

Charlie shook her head.

"The one with other kids?" Ryan asked.

Charlie shrugged.

Hope took mercy on her.

"There weren't many kids there at all," Hope said. "At least not at the time we went. But Charlie got to try the monkey bars." Hope had to hold her up the entire time, but Charlie tried her best.

"Did you get her registered today too?" Ryan asked.

"Ah, about that," Hope said. "Charlie won't be starting school until kindergarten next year."

"No school?" Ryan asked, surprised.

"Nope," Hope shook her head. "She's going to stay home with me for now."

"I want to stay home too," James said, looking up.

"You wouldn't get to see any of your friends, not even Timmy," Hope said, knowing James loved school too much to really want to stay home.

"No! I want to go to school!" James changed his mind instantly.

"I thought you might," Hope winked at him.

"Will you be able to get everything done?" Ryan asked. "You have meetings and the shelter."

"Walt and Lucia will help, and as for meetings, I used to do some of my best business networking on playgrounds," Hope teased. "Richmond mamas are no joke."

"So, taking Charlie to the playground could basically turn into an episode of Desperate Housewives of Richmond?" Ryan teased her right back.

"Ha ha ha," Hope said.

Ryan grinned.

"What did you guys do yesterday?" Ryan asked then held up a hand before James could reply. "Charlie, can you tell me?"

James looked at Charlie, managing to keep his mouth shut but he really wanted to tell him.

"Boxes," Charlie said softly. "Put the things in the boxes."

"What were the boxes for?" Hope asked, encouraging her to speak.

"Soldiers," Charlie answered.

"Boxes for soldiers?" Ryan said. "What kind of boxes?"

"For Christmas," Charlie finished. Then grinned. "Plants!"

"Boxes and plants for soldiers for Christmas?" Ryan asked.

Charlie giggled and shook her head.

"Christmas presents for the soldiers, Daddy," James couldn't resist talking. "We put all the things in them! Cookies and chips and pretzels and…and…can things."

"Walt and Lucia make care packages for a lot of soldiers during the holidays," Hope explained. "It's a tradition for us all to get together and help them."

He could imagine the kids loved that, and he thought it was a great idea to get the kids involved in helping others.

"And the plants?" he asked.

"Walt showed Charlie his nursery, and she loved watering the plants and talking to them," she explained.

"So, the kid that hates green has a green thumb?" Ryan said, smirking.

"Funny how she didn't notice the color when she was standing in the room," Hope said, winking at Charlie.

"I don't like green either," James said. "So I don't have to eat the green beans anymore."

"You know what else is green?" Hope asked him. "Most of your dinosaurs."

"But I like my dinosaurs," James said.

"But if you don't like green, then I should give away the dinosaurs so you don't have to look at the ugly color anymore," Hope said.

James looked at her in horror.

"Relax, honey," Hope said with a smile. "I'm not giving away your dinosaurs. And Charlie will have to eventually eat her green beans. How about we don't have any green beans for a whole week, but the next time we have them, Charlie, you'll have to try them."

Charlie didn't look too happy about that.

"Just close your eyes when you eat them," Ryan said. "You won't see what color they are."

He struggled not to laugh when she gave him a look.

She may have only known Hope for less than a week, but she already had that sassy look of Hope's down pat.

He wondered when she would get the mouth to go with the look.

---

Tuesday was even worse than Monday. Ryan couldn't even try to make it to dinner that night, no matter what lines he wanted to draw. By the time he left work, he was sure things were finally turning around though. All he wanted to do was crash for a few hours, hoping that Wednesday would be better.

Two hours after he fell asleep, he woke to the sound of his phone ringing.

Seeing Hope's name on the screen, he groggily answered, having to swipe at the screen three times before it worked.

"Hope?" he mumbled, trying to force his mind awake.

"Can you come stay with the kids?" Hope's voice came through the phone, loud and worried.

Something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting up quickly, wide awake suddenly. If there wasn't anything wrong with the kids, maybe there was something wrong with her.

"It's Maya," Hope said. "She's at the hospital. I don't know what's going on. The shelter called because I'm her emergency contact since her brother lives out of state. I don't want to drag the kids along. Can you come?"

"I'm on my way."

He managed to throw clothes on and get there in fifteen minutes flat.

She ran out of the house the instant he pulled next to her car.

"They'll probably sleep straight through," she said as she tore open her car door and tossed her purse in. "Just pick a guest room and try to get some sleep. Thank you for doing this."

She jumped in the car.

"Keep me updated," he called out.

"I will!"

She sped off before he finished dragging his suit out of the backseat for work the next morning and locking his car.

He checked on the kids to make sure they were still sleeping peacefully. Then he tried to decide where to sleep. If he slept on a couch downstairs, he might not hear if they called out. He refused to ever step foot in Hope's bedroom and the closest guest room brought back instant memories he would rather not sleep in.

With a sigh, he grabbed an extra pillow and blanket from the hall closet and settled on the floor in the hallway between the kids' rooms. If they got up and went to Hope's room trying to find her, they would see him instead. That was better than scaring them if they found an empty bedroom.

He was about to drift off again when his phone buzzed.

She's ok! Awake now. Be home in few hours. Explain later.

Thanking whoever was listening that Hope's best friend was fine, he finally allowed himself to fall asleep, hoping nothing else crazy happened before dawn.

Fortunately, nothing else did happen, but Ryan barely had time to say anything to Hope when he woke the next morning. He breezed through a shower, threw clothes on, and was out the door before the kids opened their eyes.

Wednesday was better, but the phone call he made to Hope at lunch so he could learn more about the incident with Maya left his stomach in knots.

"She didn't wait for the security escort because she was in a hurry to get home," Hope explained with a sigh.

"Wait, you guys have a security escort at the shelter?" Ryan asked, frowning.

"Mostly for night, but yes," Hope said. "A lot of the women there are coming from a bad situation. You never know who might show up looking for them."

Ryan rubbed his forehead, trying to hold back the need to tell her he didn't want her anywhere near the place again. He didn't have the right, but, damn it to hell, she was James' mother. She shouldn't put herself in situations like that. Ever.

"Let me guess," he managed to say. "Someone showed up."

"Yes, but he didn't hurt her," Hope explained. "He yelled a lot, wanted her to unlock the door so he could find his wife and kids. She ended up hurting herself running away from him. She tripped, fell, and banged her head really hard. The guy ended up being the one to call 9-1-1."

"She'll be okay?" he asked.

"Yes," Hope said. "They wanted to keep her for observation a little longer, but she'll be discharged in a couple hours. Lucia has Charlie. I'm going to take Maya home, get her settled, and then pick up James from school."

"Hope…"

"Yes?"

"Working there… if something happens to you…" Ryan trailed off. He knew what he shouldn't say, but he knew he needed to say something.

"I know, I know," Hope said. "I'll talk to you about it tonight. Will you be home in time for dinner?"

Home in time for dinner.

There were so many things wrong with that sentence.

"I'll be at your place for dinner," he said. The work situation was nearly wrapped up already, so he might even get to leave early as a reward for working his ass off.

At dinner that night, the kids were their usual selves, not having any idea something was wrong, but Ryan could feel the tension growing in him with every passing moment. He knew she could feel it too, probably because he kept staring at her intensely while he somehow managed to keep his mouth shut a little longer.

"After dinner, okay?" she finally said, seeing his face. She knew that look. He was worried. That he was worried about her was nice, but he really needed to calm down before the kids picked up on it.

He managed to get through dinner. The second the kids left the table to pick out a movie, he reached out to grasp her hand.

"If I asked you to stop volunteering, would you?" he asked, knowing it was fruitless.

"Ryan, no," Hope sighed. "It's okay. I'm usually there during the day, but, still, I always get the escort."

He released her hand and sighed.

"I am speaking with my lawyer tomorrow though," Hope said. "So I need to ask you a question."

"Your lawyer?" he said. "What for?"

"My will," she said. "I should've had it updated after Landon's death but I never did. Rafael is listed as guardian of James if something happens to me. I'm going to change it to you. By law, I need to ask you before I list you, even though I already know what you'll say."

"Yes, of course," he said, flinching inside at the idea of anything happening to her.

"Great," she said, standing to pick up her and Charlie's plate.

"What about Charlie?" he asked.

"Until I officially adopt her, if something happens to me, the state takes over," she said, walking to the sink. "After that, Rafael has already agreed to be listed as guardian."

"What about me?" he asked.

"What about you?" Hope asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why didn't you ask me?"

"Well… I didn't think you would want to," she said, perplexed.

"Try me."

"Okay… Ryan, do you want guardianship of Charlie if something were to happen to me? Do you want to be the person responsible for raising two children instead of one? One of which is not yours biologically and therefore not actually your responsibility?"

"Yes," he said simply.

"Why?"

He didn't want to think about anything happening to Hope. Surely the universe wouldn't be that cruel, but, even so, Charlie was James' sister now. If something happened to Hope and Ryan didn't get Charlie, then James would lose his sister too. Rafael could let Ryan raise her even if he wasn't listed as guardian, but if Ryan was going to have Charlie, he wanted her to be completely his.

"Because she belongs with her family," he finally said.

Hope didn't even try to argue that Rafael was family. She understood what was happening, even if Ryan might be confused about it.

Ryan had already started falling for her little girl.

If only he could fall for her too.

"Oh!" Hope exclaimed. "I almost forgot! I wanted to ask you about Christmas."

He sighed.

"I know Walt and Lucia are your family, and James', but I don't think I can take another holiday of that so soon," he said regretfully.

She shook her head, already knowing that wasn't a good idea. She knew the next time Ryan saw the Waithes everything would be fine, but Ryan wasn't ready yet. They would see the Waithes during the holidays, of course, but not necessarily Christmas day.

"I actually contacted my family back home, but everyone will be doing their own thing this year," she explained. With her aunts and uncles living all over the country, they got together every other Christmas, spending the off-year with their spouse's family. This was an off year, so everyone already had plans. "So I thought maybe we could do whatever you usually do? What's your Christmas tradition?"

"Well," he began, "with the office closed for the holidays…"

"Please don't tell me you sit in that condo alone at Christmas every year?" she said, knowing how he used to spend his Thanksgivings.

"No," he smirked. "I actually go somewhere with lots of snow and ski."

"Ski?" she asked incredulously.

"I tried snowboarding, but it didn't work so well," he said, laughing at the memory.

"Mister Hates-The-Outdoors likes the snow?" she said, smirking.

"You're not likely to sweat bullets and be swarmed by mosquitoes," he explained. "I suppose bears are a possibility, but isn't there something called hibernation?"

She laughed.

"Plus," his smile grew soft, "My mom loved the snow. That was the only thing she wished for every year. A white Christmas. Going up the mountain pretty much guarantees there will be snow that day."

She smiled gently, loving the fond look on his face.

"Then it looks like we're going to have a white Christmas this year," she announced.

---

That Friday was the first time James didn't come home after school when Charlie was there.

It was Ryan's weekend.

Charlie had grown used to going to pick James up every day. Hope usually tried to arrive before the kids were let out because once everyone was outside Charlie got super shy and would practically trip Hope while walking and trying to hide from everyone.

Instead of going to the school though, Hope packed Charlie in the car to visit Maya.

"We're going to visit my friend, Maya," Hope said as she locked the seat belt across Charlie and the booster seat.

"James?" Charlie asked.

"James is spending the weekend at Ryan's," Hope said. "But we're going to see Maya tonight, and Uncle Raf is going to visit us tomorrow."

Charlie nodded.

Hope wasn't sure Charlie completely understood that James and Ryan wouldn't be there for the next few days, but she would figure it out soon enough.

Since Maya couldn't come over for the "one" Hope owed her yet, Hope was coming to her. Maya was getting around pretty well and would return to work the following week. She was mostly embarrassed by what happened, and swore up and down she would never leave without an escort again.

Maya was happy to meet Charlie, and the two of them got to know each other as they colored together—Maya talking as Charlie nodded or pointed to answer. Charlie picked out a mermaid for Maya and an iguana for Hope to color. She picked a frog for herself. She colored it blue.

They ordered Chinese food and Charlie got a kick out of trying to use chopsticks like Maya. Hope had to eventually get her to use a fork when she started using her fingers for the lomein since the sticks weren't working for her.

As the evening grew to an end, Hope packed Charlie back into the car and took her home for bath and bed.

Charlie kept looking around when they got home.

"James?" Charlie asked.

"Remember, honey, he's staying at Ryan's this weekend," Hope said. "He'll be home in a couple days."

Charlie followed Hope upstairs and got into her bath, but she didn't play with the toys like usual.

Hope figured Charlie must really miss James. It made her happy and sad at the same time. Charlie was getting along well with her new brother which was the best part.

The counselor they had seen that week was very happy with Charlie's progress. It was the same counselor Charlie had been working with since her mother passed away.

Ms. Parson thought it was a great idea to keep Charlie home instead of starting her at school in the middle of the year. She made some suggestions on ways Hope could work with Charlie so she knew some basic fundamentals before beginning kindergarten, something Hope had already started looking into. She also suggested more trips to the playground. It was important for Charlie to gain at least a little of the social skills being in preschool would have given her.

Hope decided it might be best for James to invite a friend over. It would give Charlie interaction with another child and having James there would help Charlie open up better.

With a sigh, she figured Timmy Cho would soon be running around the house. That boy was a wild one which was probably why James considered his word gospel to begin with.

Hope put Charlie to bed, reading the book Charlie usually asked for the most when Charlie didn't want to pick a book that night.

Charlie hugged Frog extra tight and sucked on her thumb while Hope read, but Hope wasn't sure Charlie was even paying attention.

When she fell asleep, Hope sat with her a little while longer.

Charlie only belonged to her for a little over a week, but she fit right in like she had been there all along. Hope felt deeply that Charlie was destined to be hers. She wished the months would jump forward, that it was May already and she could walk out of that courthouse holding her daughter's hand, presenting the world with the newest Mikaelson.

Best birthday present ever.

Hope spent the rest of her evening pampering herself with her own bath, surrounded by candles, and trying to relax after an eventful week. She settled into bed later watching a show Maya suggested and fell asleep wondering how old Tom Ellis was now.

She woke a little while later to loud sniffles.

The light from the hallway glowed through the slightly open door showing Charlie standing clutching Frog as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"M-mommy," came a sad little voice.

"Charlie?" Hope said, fumbling to reach for the light by her bedside with her heart in her throat.

Did she just say…

"Mommyyyy!" Charlie sobbed again louder.

The wailing started after that, great gasping sobs.

"It's okay," Hope said, jumping up and scooping her into her arms. "I'm right here."

Charlie sobbed into her shoulder, and Hope sat on the bottom edge of her bed, holding her tightly and stroking her back.

Hope held her until she quieted to hiccups.

"What happened, sweetheart?" Hope asked, stroking her hair out of her face and looking down at her.

"Scared," Charlie mumbled, sniffling.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Hope asked.

Charlie nodded.

"Do you want to tell me?"

"James go away," Charlie said, her face sad. "James go away and not come back like other mommy."

"Aw, baby," Hope said, feeling horrible. "It's okay, I promise. James will be back. We'll call him in the morning. You'll get to see him on the phone, okay?"

Charlie nodded, still sniffing.

"Let me get you a tissue so you can wipe your nose," Hope said, seeing the snot and tears on her face. Charlie probably felt pretty clogged after a cry like that.

Charlie nodded and let Hope set her on the bed to go pull a couple tissues from the box at the bedside.

Before Hope could blink, Charlie climbed up the rest of the bed and laid her head on the pillows.

Hope quirked her lips.

She learned a long time ago it was best not to let a child sleep in your bed too much or they would insist on sleeping with you every night. She and Landon had gotten James out of that habit as quickly as possible.

Tonight, though, Hope knew she was going to let Charlie stay with her. She had absolutely no willpower to take her back to her own room and leave her.

Not after she called her Mommy for the first time.

"Here you go," she said, holding the tissues out to her.

Charlie leaned forward, putting her nose into the tissues instead of taking them from her.

Hope resisted the urge to laugh and wiped her instead of making her wipe herself.

Sometimes you just needed someone to clean up the snot

---

Rafael was nothing if not an incredible uncle.

Which was why Hope was not surprised when he showed up with a bag Charlie would eventually come to recognize as belonging to the Disney store.

"Have you ever seen…" Rafael dragged out his words as he reached into the bag and pulled out a blu-ray box. "Princess and the Frog?"

Charlie looked at the cover and shook her head, thumb in her mouth.

Hope figured Charlie needed her emotional support thumb, just like she needed her emotional support Frog, after the night she had. Charlie slept through the rest of the night cuddled up next to Hope. They called James as soon as Ryan let Hope know he was awake.

Hope wanted to bring Charlie to visit James, but she knew Rafael was coming over later. She also knew Charlie would have to get used to James not being there every other weekend.

Charlie seemed better after James talked to her though. He walked around Ryan's condo, holding the phone so she could see the new little tree and Christmas lights.

"Neither have I," Rafael said, smiling down at his new niece. "Want to watch it with me?"

Charlie nodded and turned to run to the family room where they usually watched movies.

"She get that from James?" Rafael asked, amused, seeing Charlie run for the first time.

"Probably," Hope sighed. "I just hope she doesn't fall with the thumb in her mouth."

"She'll learn real quick to either stop running or stop sucking on it if she does," he pointed out.

"Let's just hope she doesn't fall," Hope glanced at the bag in his hand that still looked rather bulky. "That's not what I think it is, is it?"

"Maybe?" Raf said with a twinkle in his eye.

"You know Christmas is in a week and a half, right?" she said.

"And you know you won't be in town for Christmas, right?" he replied.

"So you're giving her your gift early?" she asked.

"Well, no…" he said with a laugh. "She'll get her present when she gets back."

"That's what I thought," she said, shaking her head.

"You already got her one, didn't you?" he realized.

"Maybe…" Hope bit her lip. "But you probably got her the original, and I got the blue ball gown, so we're good."

"…Except I know she doesn't like green, so…" Rafael shrugged sheepishly.

Hope rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"Don't even think about getting her Elsa," she said with a look. "Guess Toys For Tots will get an extra Tiana doll this year though."

"They'll love it," Rafael grinned.

Just like Charlie absolutely loved the movie and the doll when Raf presented it to her.

"Since you already have a frog," Rafael said as he opened the bag. "I thought you might like this!"

Charlie squealed in delight, the thumb leaving her mouth as she reached for the box.

"Blue," she said, smiling at the dress.

"Make sure you thank Uncle Raf," Hope whispered in her ear.

"Thank you," Charlie said.

"You're welcome," Rafael said. "Did you like the movie?"

Charlie nodded and wiggled the same way she did when the music played during the movie.

"Again," she said.

"You want to watch the movie again?" Rafael asked with a laugh.

"Almost there…" Charlie sang softly.

Hope grinned, having never heard Charlie sing before.

"You're in luck," Hope said, picking up the blu-ray box to read. "There's a sing-along feature."

Rafael grabbed the remote and loaded the menu to make the selection.

"Maybe just once more," he said as the music started playing.

"Famous last words," Hope laughed as Charlie started wiggling again.

Famous last words indeed, Hope thought as Charlie asked him to play the song again and again.

Her little girl was definitely a Disney girl, and she adored her new uncle.

Before Rafael left for the evening, they played all the songs again at least twice, but Charlie requested "Almost There" at least ten more times. They were all singing along by then, and Rafael got Charlie to dance with him too.

Charlie was in the highest of spirits while she ate dinner, even humming during her bath. She set her new doll on one of her shelves, clearing it off so Tiana had a place of honor.

Hope selected the book that night. It was one James had in his room too.

"I grew up in New Orleans," Hope told Charlie.

Charlie's eyes grew wide.

"Like Tiana," she said.

"Yes," Hope nodded. "And one day I'll take you there."

Charlie nodded in excitement.

"But for tonight, I want to read you this story that was always a favorite of mine, back when I was growing up," Hope said. "It's called 'Hello, New Orleans."

"New Or-orleans," Charlie said.

"Yes, exactly," Hope said. "Very good."

Hope went on to read the story about a pair of pelicans—a parent and a child—as they took a tour of the Crescent City. She read about their travels from the French Quarter to the Garden District, and so on. Charlie stayed awake long enough to hear about celebrating Mardi Gras before she drifted off into the land of dreams.

Smiling down at the book, Hope closed it and tucked it away with the others again.

Some nights she missed her parents more than others. Reading a book to her child that was read to her, made her feel close to them and miss them at the same time.

Whispering, "I love you, Charlie, always and forever," hit a little harder.

Thankfully, Charlie slept through the night.

---

The side effect of spending a weekend without Ryan and James, and seeing clearly on Charlie's face how much she missed them, was that Hope found herself wallowing in her own feelings.

Since Charlie came into her life, she threw herself into making a home for her little girl. Now that things were beginning to calm down a little and everything wasn't quite so new, Hope kept thinking about the situation with Ryan.

For months, she convinced herself nothing more would ever come of their friendship. Ryan wasn't interested in rekindling that flame and she very nearly convinced herself it was impossible… but then he showed her in the most intimate way it was possible.

Granted, his reaction was less than stellar, but it didn't change the fact that they did have sex again. And he could say he lost himself in the heat of the moment—that it was a mistake—but obviously she occupied some space more in his esteem than he wanted to reveal.

He just needed time. She reminded herself of that whenever she thought about broaching the subject again. He needed to be the one to bring it up. He needed to be ready.

But, finding him sleeping on her hallway floor during the Maya emergency last week reminded her she needed to help things along a bit too.

He deliberately avoided her bedroom on that day and the day they slept together. She wasn't an idiot. She knew why. He refused to sleep with her in her marriage bed.

So, it was time to make some changes.

In the weeks following Landon's death, she donated the majority of his clothes—keeping a few of his favorite things to give to James when he got older. But, besides changing the bed sheets, she figured the bed and everything else was just furniture.

Ryan was so sensitive at times though. She could see that being a problem for him without him having to say it.

So, she found herself ordering a new bed over the weekend to be delivered on Monday. It would be a Christmas present for herself and maybe—hopefully—Ryan. Though she really shouldn't get her hopes up.

"What'd you do today?" Ryan asked Charlie that night.

"Mommy got new bed," Charlie said.

Ryan paused for a second at her words.

First, Charlie called Hope 'Mommy'? It must've been a great weekend.

Second, Charlie answered him without any prodding from anyone. Definitely a lot of progress for her and he was proud of her.

Third, though…

"I want to see!" James exclaimed.

"After dinner," Hope said, bemused.

Ryan had to wonder about it.

Why was she getting a new bed now?

Ryan shifted, not really wanting to think about the bed Hope shared with Landon. He knew they had been married for seven years. Knowing how responsive Hope was with him the two times they were together, it didn't leave much to the imagination when it came to Hope and Landon's bedroom life.

That time Ryan took her in the house, he deliberately didn't take her to her bedroom. It wasn't just because of the bed though. It was because of the room. Hell, if he was being truthful, sleeping with her in the same house where she and his brother lived 'happily ever after' didn't sit right with him at all.

Did her decision have anything to do with him?

It couldn't be. Even if their little 'oops' wasn't all but forgotten already, he spelled it out pretty clearly for her that it would never happen again. He didn't even want to be alone with her again.

No matter how many times he relived that afternoon, he knew it couldn't happen again. No matter how many times he remembered how he couldn't stop himself from kissing or touching her...

That day, he wanted her so badly. He needed to hear the sweet sounds of her finding her release first though. The way her body responded to his their first time fueled so many fantasies through the years. He wanted to experience that once again before he fully joined in. He acknowledged subconsciously that once he found his release reality would set in and if he didn't use his fingers to stroke those sounds out of her, he wouldn't hear them again.

Feeling a tingle of arousal at his thoughts, he cursed himself and he cursed her for returning his thoughts to the gutter with her new bed purchase.

He was never going near her room.

And he definitely wasn't going to use the memory of her to pleasure himself once he returned home that night.

---

"I think we're nearly packed for next week," Hope said at dinner a few nights later. "Just a few more things. What about you?"

"I'll do it Saturday," Ryan said as he served himself some roasted potatoes beside the perfectly cooked roast Bridget made that evening.

"Last minute packer, huh?" Hope teased.

"Can I bring my dinosaurs?" James asked.

"You can bring one," Hope said.

"But the others will get lonely," James said with a sad face.

"Nope, that look won't work on me, buster," Hope said, shaking her head. "One."

"Only one?" Ryan asked, actually a little confused. They were leaving Sunday for an entire week. Surely James would need more than one toy.

And Ryan would need to figure out a way to distract himself while sharing a suite with Hope.

"Yes, because what goes up the mountain must come down," Hope explained. "We don't need to lug all the dinosaurs." Especially since they would be bringing quite a few toys back with them after Christmas—things they would already be lugging up the mountain but kept hidden from the kids.

"I'll pack Frog," Charlie volunteered.

"Yes, definitely," Hope said with a smile. "We'll be sure to bring Frog. It wouldn't be Christmas without him."

James looked up suddenly with a sharp sound.

"What's up?" Ryan asked, seeing the look.

"How will Santa know where to bring the presents if I'm not here?!" James asked.

"Ryan and I already told Santa that both of you will be away," Hope explained. "He's going to drop off a few presents at the lodge so you have some on Christmas morning, but he'll drop the rest here for when you get home."

"Two Christmases?!" James asked in excitement.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Hope nodded. "And Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Raf will come visit when we get back too."

"Yay!" James exclaimed.

"Which means tomorrow after school we should go shopping for gifts for them," Hope said, knowing she already purchased gifts for all three of them. The kids just needed to pick something out too. "And maybe you two can make them something."

The kids both nodded happily.

"Get pretty fish for Grandma!" Charlie said suddenly.

"We'll see," Hope said, trying to remember if Lucia or Walt ever had a tank before. She wasn't sure if they would be interested in owning fish, but she knew Charlie would. And she knew why. After spending so much time that past weekend and this week working on the mural in Charlie's room, she took her to an extra special place that morning.

Charlie reached out and tugged on Ryan's left hand where it rested on the table cloth.

"What's up, Charlie?" Ryan asked, amazed at her open enthusiasm.

"Saw fishies today!" Charlie said excitedly.

Ryan had to smile. She must be used to his question by now, the one where he asked them to tell him about their day. This was the first time she volunteered the information before he asked though.

"You did?" he said. "What kind of fish?"

"Daddy!" James exclaimed, seeing Charlie holding onto his father's hand he reached to grab his right hand even though he was still using his fork.

"Yes?" Ryan asked, attention diverted.

"All the fishies!" Charlie exclaimed, leaning toward Ryan. "And sharks and jellies."

"We made ornaments today!" James said loudly, leaning towards Ryan's other side.

Ryan swung his head back and forth, trying to keep up.

"Okay, both of you," Hope said with a smile. "Settle down and tell him about your day one at a time."

They both let go and sat back in their seat, but James immediately shouted.

"Me first!"

Hope was going to remind James that Charlie was speaking first, but Ryan spoke up.

"Okay, James," Ryan said "What kind of ornament?"

Charlie didn't say anything else, but she was clearly about to burst from wanting to talk.

"We did Christmas trees this year," James said. "Mine is purple. Everyone else did green, but not me!"

"Did you put it on the tree yet?" Ryan asked.

"No," James shook his head. "We can't bring them home 'til tomorrow so it can dry."

"I can't wait to see it," Ryan said.

"Charlie," Hope said, deciding she waited patiently long enough, "What were you telling Ryan?"

"Sharks and jellies and fishies," Charlie said again, grinning.

"You saw sharks?" Ryan said. "Were they real?"

Charlie nodded.

"Were they scary?" he asked.

Charlie shook her head.

"All pretty," she said.

"Where did you go see the sharks?" Ryan asked.

"A-a-aquar…ium," Charlie sounded out the word.

"The aquarium?" Ryan repeated, making sure.

James suddenly tossed his fork down, making a loud clatter.

"James?" Hope asked, seeing his frowning face.

"I want to go to the aquarium!" he said.

"You've been to the aquarium before," Hope reminded him. "Charlie had never been, so we went today so she could see how it looks like her room."

James crossed his arms and pouted.

"I want to go to the aquarium," he said. "Not fair. Charlie got to go and I didn't."

"After we get back from the ski lodge, I'll take you," Hope said. "We won't have time before then."

James kicked his feet on his chair half-heartedly.

"Noooo," he whined.

"How about we all go this Saturday?" Ryan spoke up, hating to see his son so disappointed.

Hope shook her head slightly at him.

"Yes!" James perked up instantly. "We can go!"

Hope would have to remind Ryan that once the decision was made, he shouldn't give in to James' whining. If he started that habit, James would keep whining until he got what he wanted thinking it would work every time.

Since Ryan already said yes though, so be it.

They would go to the aquarium on Saturday. Even though it was her weekend, and they had to leave bright and early Sunday morning.

"I guess that means you're gonna really be cramming that packing in there," Hope raised an eyebrow at Ryan.

"We don't leave 'til Sunday," Ryan shrugged. "I'll get it done."

At least she would get to spend more time with him.

But she had a few things to say to him first.

---

After an earful from Hope about giving in to James' whining and allowing him to get his way with the attitude he had given both of them, Ryan was feeling a bit out of sorts by Saturday.

He wasn't angry with her, but he was bristling at her for telling him how to handle his son.

She was probably right but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it.

Normally, he would go along with her advice but between struggling with his desire for her again and his worry about the vacation ahead, he wasn't in the best of moods.

Unfortunately, his mood wore off on the kids.

James was happy to go to the aquarium, but he kept getting bossy with Charlie, insisting on telling her everything he knew as they walked around.

Charlie, who had just been to the aquarium and learned a lot of things from Hope and the aquarium staff, didn't want to hear it and kept walking away from James while he was talking. For the first time, she didn't want to hang around her brother.

James was getting frustrated; Hope was trying to keep up with Charlie; Ryan was steering clear of Hope; and Charlie just wanted to look quietly.

The entire morning wasn't pleasant, and it was made even more unpleasant when Charlie had her very first meltdown.

In the middle of the gift shop, Charlie was told that she could not have a stuffed shark to take home.

The reason?

Hope just bought her the same exact one a couple days ago.

Both Hope and Ryan tried to convince her to get a different toy.

She didn't want to hear it.

Instead, the crying and squealing started.

"Is it past her nap time?" Ryan asked, looking around for a clock.

"No," Hope said, sighing. "This is her upset for not getting her way. Seems like we have someone else to thank for that."

She glanced knowingly at Ryan and then at James who stood silently by with a stuffed penguin.

"This is not my fault," Ryan denied.

"Monkey see, monkey do," Hope mumbled, looking around at the other customers who were giving the screaming kid a wide berth.

"So, what do you want me to do?" Ryan asked in frustration. "Hop in my time machine, go back and tell James he has to wait to go to the aquarium."

"Sure," she said. "And try not to give in to the tears."

"Still not sure how this is my fault," Ryan argued.

Hope shrugged.

"Gotta learn some time. You take care of this one," Hope said. "I'll take care of that one. Come on, James. Time to go."

Ryan took a deep breath as Hope took James to the front to purchase his penguin and then left, presumably expecting him and Charlie to join them shortly.

"Charlie," Ryan tried to get her attention. "How about a different shark? A tiger shark?"

The wails greeting his words had him sighing.

What now?

---

Hope had James settled into his booster seat and was humming along to a third song on the radio in a row before Ryan finally arrived back to the vehicle carrying Charlie on his hip while she sucked on her thumb. A bag from the aquarium was clenched in his fist.

After he settled Charlie into her seat, Hope looked back at her baby girl with a smile.

"You doing okay, honey?" she asked.

Charlie nodded with a little smile around her thumb.

Hope smiled back then turned her attention to Ryan when he climbed into the passenger seat.

"At least she's not crying," Hope said softly to him as she put the car in gear.

Ryan grunted, putting his seatbelt on and not bothering to look at her.

"You bought the same shark, didn't you?" she asked.

"What do you think?" he grumbled.

"I think you need to learn how to say no," she said.

"We'll talk about it later," he said.

She nodded, hiding a grin.

He wouldn't understand, but Hope was actually feeling pretty happy at the moment.

Charlie's first tantrum.

It was very loud and diva worthy.

It was also Hope's first true sign that Charlie felt relaxed enough to act like a little brat without thinking she would lose Hope's affection.

Today was also the first time Charlie didn't do what James told her to do.

Progress in baby steps.

Of course, Hope had no qualms about introducing Charlie to the concept of 'time out'.

James was a bit familiar with the concept.

Ryan, not so much.

---

Sunday morning dawned bright and clear and beautiful, and they were already well on their way in the SUV Ryan rented for the trip by the time the sun came up.

Given all the things they needed to pack—including Christmas gifts—Hope was glad the resort Ryan usually went to was close enough to drive to. Flying with children was never fun. Flying with multiple baggage items that could go missing on any leg of the journey was even less fun.

Fortunately, when Hope called to make their reservation, she was able to easily change Ryan's single reservation to a suite with two rooms. She also added numerous additional features to their trip so the entire week would be jam-packed with fun things for both kids and both adults.

With Ryan driving, Hope could relax for a bit of the journey, at least until the kids woke. They were mostly asleep when they put them in the car and continued sleeping in their booster seats surrounded by pillows and blankets with a dinosaur tucked next to James and Frog tucked next to Charlie.

The quiet morning was just what the doctor ordered after the previous day.

Yesterday, Hope could feel the frustration and slight anger coming from Ryan. Today, she could tell he had mellowed out to his usual self. Any minute now she was going to apologize so their vacation could start off on the right foot, she just wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet a little while longer.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," he said before she could.

"No, I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have left you with Charlie like that. I could've handled it better." Charlie was her daughter, after all, but Ryan needed to learn why giving in to a child wasn't a good thing. Still, she should've handled Charlie.

"When you told James no, I should have went along with you, and I didn't," he said. "I didn't want to disappoint him."

"I know," she said with a sigh. "And maybe it was good for him that you gave in this time."

"Didn't expect you to say that," he said, glancing at James and then Charlie in the rearview mirror before focusing on the road ahead again.

"I don't think it was just about going to the aquarium," she said. "This was about me taking Charlie to the aquarium. I did something with Charlie and not with him."

"He was jealous," Ryan realized.

"Yeah," she said. "And he wasn't just jealous because of me, remember? He saw Charlie grab your hand, so he just had to grab your other one. Then he tried to speak over Charlie, to get your attention."

Ryan shook his head.

"Is he going to do this all the time now?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said. "But I don't think so. Charlie missed him when he was gone last weekend, and I think he missed her too. They're just learning how things are different now."

"He did miss her," he said. "Or, at least he talked about her a lot."

He sighed.

He didn't think he was showing any preference for Charlie over James at all. He simply talked to her and listened to her, the same as everyone else including James.

"Let's hope he's done with that for the week," he said.

"James knows you adore him," she said. "Besides, everything we're doing will be family activities done together. Nothing for him to be jealous about."

Hope knew it was going to happen. James was having some growing pains. Adjusting to sharing his parents would take time, but she wasn't really worried. She had a sneaking suspicion James liked Charlie too much to keep up his attitude. James was going to love everything they had planned for the week, and Charlie would try to hide in her shell. James, though, was even better at getting Charlie to come out of her shell than Hope was.

Her suspicion was confirmed that very evening upon arrival at the ski resort.

After a long road trip with multiple car games, breaks, naps, and a movie along the way, they finally made it. There was still enough daylight left for the kids to see the slopes from afar. They stared in open mouth wonder.

"Most of those are the big slopes, but there are some smaller ones that are perfect for both of you," Hope explained. "You'll have your first ski lesson tomorrow morning."

"Cool!" James exclaimed and then reached out to Charlie. "Isn't it cool, Charlie!?"

Charlie nodded slowly as she stared at all the snow with wide eyes.

"Do you guys like snow?" Ryan asked.

"Uh huh!" James said happily.

"Charlie?" Ryan asked when she didn't immediately reply.

"Angels," Charlie nodded.

"Angels?" James asked, confused.

"I think Charlie means she likes to make snow angels," Hope explained. "Is that right, sweetie?"

Charlie nodded.

"There'll be plenty of snow for snow angels," Ryan said with a laugh. "Lots and lots of snow."

Charlie smiled.

"We're going to make the best snow angels, Charlie!" James grinned at her.

Hope shared a smile with Ryan and could see him visibly relax.

The kids were going to do great.

Once they arrived, checked in, and had their luggage brought up to their rooms, Ryan brought the kids down to dinner so Hope could put some of the luggage away—namely, stowing away the presents that were already wrapped. The rest could be unpacked later when they all worked on it before bed. They previously agreed the boys would sleep in one room, the girls in the other; so they both would end up with a kid cuddling with them at night.

Hope only had one activity planned for the family that first evening, and she would need to hurry so she could have dinner too before the fun started.

Later, as they all sat together, James and Charlie next to each other with Ryan and Hope on either side of them, Hope and Ryan shared a lot of smiles as the kids laughed and clapped during the magic show.

Ryan couldn't remember why he was so worried about vacation. The kids were doing great and enjoying themselves. He was enjoying himself. Everything was going smoothly and he knew he had Hope to thank for that. She was incredible, accomplishing anything that needed to be done.

"Where did the rabbit go!?" James exclaimed.

Charlie looked stressed when the rabbit disappeared from the magician's hat. She didn't speak since her thumb was in her mouth—all the other people watching the show made her too nervous so she hadn't taken the thumb out once since they sat down—but she was very worried.

"Just watch and see," Ryan leaned down to whisper, reaching across James' back to rest his hand on Charlie's to soothe her.

Hope barely noticed when the rabbit reappeared and the kids clapped happily. She was too busy staring at Ryan, wondering if he even knew what he had done.

Hope was sitting right next to Charlie, she could've easily soothed her until the rabbit reappeared, but instead, Ryan was so in sync with Charlie's feelings, he immediately reached out to do it himself.

Just like a father would.

It was one more thing to add to the list of reasons she had fallen so hard for Ryan Clarke.

Any other man would've probably looked the other way when another child came into the picture. Maya was right about that. Before Hope made her decision to adopt, she did wonder for half a second if having a second child would make her look less desirable to a man or woman—especially Ryan, though he hadn't given her any indication he was interested before then—but ultimately she decided that person wouldn't be much of a man or woman to begin with if they had a problem with her children.

Ryan Clarke was all man.

He was caring, considerate, smart, sexy, and only arrogant in the best ways.

He may not be ready to pursue a real relationship with her yet, but he was already in love with her children. When the time came, he would already be treating them as his own. At least, she hoped the time would come. If he never got to that point, never got past all of his hang ups, then…

Well, she didn't like to think about it.

She still had very high hopes.

Also, she wasn't sure what it was—the elevated atmosphere, the change of location—but something felt different…something about him, something about them.

She felt like she was spending a perfect evening with her perfect little family.

As her eyes met Ryan's once again, seeing his eyes soften as he smiled at her, she couldn't help but feel like it was only a matter of time before everything was going to turn out more perfect than her wildest dreams.

---

The days leading up to Christmas were the best they all had in a long time.

Each morning after breakfast at the lodge, they took the kids to be fitted for their rental equipment—Hope didn't want to purchase equipment until the kids had tried it out in case they hated it—then met with a trainer for their private family lessons.

All four of them bundled up in insulated snow pants, parkas, snow boots, thick mittens, warm socks, wool hats with helmets over top, protective eye gear to ward off the sun and flying snow, long underwear beneath their pants, and turtlenecks.

Hope and Ryan were already familiar with the process, though Hope hadn't been skiing in a few years, but the kids didn't know anything. Luckily, they were at the perfect age to learn. Hope deliberately made their lessons private for Charlie's sake. She would need a little extra care, and she would be wary of a new teacher already. Other students would only make Charlie more withdrawn.

"This is the tail of the ski," the instructor said at their first lesson, pointing, "And this is the tip."

"Tail," James said, pointing. "And tip."

"Yep, exactly," the instructor continued and then looked at Charlie. "What about you?"

Charlie plastered herself against Hope's legs, not wanting the attention. Hope knelt down, knowing she would need to reinforce the instructor's questions.

"She doesn't like new people," James said before Hope could speak.

"Okay…" the woman said.

"Charlie, where's the tail?" James asked.

Charlie pointed with her awkward mitt at the ski Hope had placed on the ground in front of her.

"And the tip?" he asked.

Charlie pointed again.

"See?" he turned around and told the instructor. "She can do it. She's smart."

"I see," the woman said, nodding. "Very good."

Of course, no one could actually see anyone's expression with the bulky face gear blocking out the cold, but Hope got the feeling the woman was amused in a good way.

Hope knew she was happy.

Even though she and Ryan were right there, James took it upon himself to pay close attention to the instructor then made sure Charlie understood before they went any further. He wasn't being bossy with Charlie this time, he was helping her, and that was the best part.

She didn't have to say anything to Ryan; it seemed they were both in silent agreement that as long as James wanted to be protective of his sister and help her, they would let him.

The kids picked up on everything fairly quickly, even with James being the middle-man for Charlie. After learning about the parts of the skis, they tried first one boot in a ski to scoot around, and then they tried the other. Hope and Ryan assisted Charlie with that part, though James instructed her on what to do. It helped James learn quickly too, wanting to tell Charlie the exact right thing. Once the kids were ready, they road the 'magic carpet' up the 'hill' and began the real process of learning to ski.

The pizza formation—pointing the tips of their skis toward each other—was their new best friend to help them slow down.

James worked easily with the instructor, skiing towards her as she drifted down the training hill backwards. Once he made sure Charlie was doing okay, he focused on his own skiing and loud giggles could be heard every time he slid into his teacher.

"Okay, Charlie," Ryan said as he followed the teacher's example and drifted backwards. "Move your feet and you'll start sliding forward. Just ski towards me."

Hope followed slowly behind in case Charlie panicked, but once she started sliding, she was fine, if a bit fast.

"Pizza," Ryan called out. "Point your toes together to slow down."

Hope watched and saw Charlie working to keep the tips of her skis pointed at each other. She still slid, but not as quickly.

"Great job," Ryan said, catching her before she fell over. "Okay, let's keep going."

They continued on down the little hill then took the magic carpet back to the top over and over again.

Once Hope was sure both kids were doing well, she had to make a quick video of them both. They were doing so great and clearly having a lot of fun. Both had fallen numerous times too, but it was only snow. They got right back up and did it again.

After the lesson, they headed to the lodge at the bottom of the hill to warm up. Ryan snagged them all hot cocoa and snacks while Hope checked them over. She had extra hand warmers to tuck into their gloves too after they ate.

Once they were all feeling warm again, they set out to take a short lift to another magic carpet for snow tubing. Fortunately, Charlie was just tall enough to be able to ride on the double tubes with them. James went with Hope his first time and Charlie went with Ryan. They took turns each time, and Hope was so proud of James for not showing any jealousy, not during the lesson, nor during the sledding. He simply took turns with Charlie just like he did over the summer whenever Ryan played with him and his friends.

The kids, of course, ended up loving the snow tubing more than the skiing, which was why Hope made sure to plan that activity second. What kid didn't like going on giant sleds?

Hope was itching to ski down a couple difficult trails on a snowboard but she hadn't even bothered bringing it with her, just like she was sure Ryan was dying to ski down the difficult trails too. But this trip was for the kids. There would be plenty of time to do that on other trips.

The plan was a daily routine of ski lessons, snack breaks, snow tubing, and then back to the suite where the kids would warm up completely as they ate lunch. They would be so exhausted by then they would be ready for their naps.

When Hope first made the reservations and tried to decide on activities, she knew she wasn't going to take the kids out in the snow again after lunch. That was way too much cold for them.

The resort offered an indoor waterpark that was advertised as a great way to spend the afternoons after a morning on the slopes. Hope wasn't too sure taking the kids from one temperature extreme to another would be good for them but decided to see how it went.

It was indoors and the pools were heated. She would love to find a hot tub herself but knew those weren't good for kids.

As long as the kids were warm enough after their morning activities, it should be okay, which was why she covered them in blankets and kept the room temperature very warm while they napped. She also kept them together in the same bed in her room. All the blankets and pillows and body heat would help.

"I think we found Charlie's new favorite sport," Hope said to Ryan as she settled on the couch in their suite that first day while the children napped.

"She likes other sports?" he asked.

"I actually don't know," Hope laughed. "Not sure if James likes this more than kickball though. But he picked it up quickly."

"He loves it," he smiled. "And he did great with Charlie."

"He did," she smiled softly, remembering.

"Charlie's doing great too," he said. "Not one crying fit in two days."

"Thank God," she said. "I'm glad she's feeling comfortable enough to throw tantrums, but no Christmas vacation should feature a time out."

"Time out?"

"Surely you're familiar with the term even if you've never actually been put in one," she laughed

"Who said I've never been put in one?" he asked.

"Ryan," she asked, amused, "have you ever been put in time out before?"

"…not that I can remember," he revealed with a laugh.

"Just let me know anytime you want to be punished," she teased. "I'm sure it can be arranged."

She didn't stop to think about her words before she said them, but once she had, she looked up at him sharply then proceeded to lose her breath at the molten look in his eyes.

She didn't look away, wondering if he would act on the heat she sensed in him. They could always read each other so well. Surely he knew she was ready if he was.

He blinked and looked away, clearing his throat before he stood.

"I'll get their stuff together for the waterpark," he said.

She didn't bother telling him everything was already ready. He was looking for an excuse to get away from her. She let him use it.

---

The waterpark was crowded, but Hope reserved tickets and a private cabana for them in advance.

She already knew Charlie was too short for most of the slides, which meant she would need to be kept close to the kiddie area. Charlie was too nervous at first to leave the cabana, so Hope stayed with her until she calmed down.

James had to wear a life vest instead of his usual arm floaties, but at least he was tall enough he could go on some of the bigger slides as long as he wore the vest.

"I don't wanna go without Charlie," James insisted.

"Sweetie," Hope said, stooping to adjust the strap on the vest. "Charlie can't get on the bigger slides until she's a little older. Why don't you go try them out? You can tell her all about them when you're done. And maybe by then we can all go to the wavepool together, okay?"

James looked at Charlie sadly.

Charlie nodded.

"S'okay, James," she said softly. "I wanna stay with mommy."

"Okay…" James finally gave in.

"How about we do that one first?" Ryan said, grasping James' hand and pointing.

James' eyes went big as he watched a tube come out of a slide into the water with a squealing kid sitting on it.

"Okay!" he exclaimed, his excitement building.

Hope watched them go, biting her lip to keep from reminding Ryan to check on James in case he got too cold. Ryan already knew, she mentioned it enough.

She pulled one of the pool chairs closer to the opening of the cabana and sat down.

"Come sit with me," Hope said to Charlie, who was still standing with wide eyes, staring at the chaos outside the cabana. She looked adorable in her blue one piece swimsuit and baggy white cover-up.

Charlie scampered over to sit, eager to cuddle next to Hope instead of going out into the big scary park.

"See the little pool over there?" Hope pointed to the kiddie pool which was very shallow, coming up a little above the ankles.

Charlie nodded.

"Only little ones your age and younger are there," Hope said. "See? Their parents are with them. Do they look like they're having fun?"

Charlie nodded again.

"And see how there aren't any big kids?" Hope asked.

Charlie nodded.

"It's not like the other areas with the big slides," Hope explained. "Is it?"

Charlie shook her head.

"Why don't you watch for a little bit, okay?" Hope said. "Maybe in a little while, I'll carry you over there to play."

Charlie looked up sharply.

"We'll stay away from everybody else, okay?" Hope asked. "Except for James and Ryan, of course."

Charlie nodded warily.

Hope was pleased to note as time went by Charlie relaxed more and more against her while watching the other kids. Charlie just needed time to take in the lay of the land.

"Ready to get wet?" Hope finally asked when she felt enough time had passed.

Charlie slowly nodded.

"I'll be with you the entire time," Hope said, sitting up and taking off her own cover-up before taking off Charlie's. "Let's go have some fun!"

Charlie kept the thumb in her mouth the entire way, but once Hope found a place for them far enough away from others and set Charlie on her feet, she soon took the thumb out so she could giggle and splash.

When James and Ryan joined them, Charlie was ready to unleash her new splashing technique on both of them. Hope joined in, and soon they were all laughing and splashing.

Charlie found the courage—with the encouragement from James—to go down one of the kiddie slides even though other kids were playing on them too.

Hope stood at the bottom when it was Charlie's turn and the delight on her little face as she slid toward her had Hope's heart melting.

James, who was already used to the bigger slides, went down the kiddie slide without any help. He immediately went to do it again.

"Come on, Charlie!" he exclaimed, taking her hand to join him.

They had dinner in the cabana, away from everyone of course, and Hope made sure the kids were thoroughly dried off before bundling them in towels to sit down to eat.

"You know," Ryan said, settling down next to Hope, "All the years I've been coming here, this is the first I've used the waterpark."

"Well, you did come to ski," Hope said. "I bet you made use of the hot tubs though."

She sighed longingly.

"My room came with one," he pointed out.

"Wait," she said, holding up a hand, "Do you mean your room when you usually come, or does your room have one in the suite? Because mine doesn't."

She let the boys have the master suite since the bed was bigger and Ryan needed all the space he could get. But she hadn't looked at their private bath first.

"Last I checked," he smirked.

"I'm so using that once they go to sleep," she said, thrilled at the idea.

Ryan blinked, assaulted by the image of her in the tub in his room.

"What's a hot tub?" James asked.

"Remember the other big bathtub in our room?" Ryan asked, figuring he would remember since he had given James his bath when they arrived last night. "And I told you it had jets?"

"Ohhh," James said. "The jets that make the water go fast. They aren't planes."

Ryan nodded, smiling as he remembered the innocent conversation.

"Can we go play some more?" James asked when he finished his chicken fingers.

"No water until thirty minutes after you eat," Hope reminded him.

"Oh," James said, disappointed.

"How about we go on the Lost River when its time?" Hope asked the kids.

"What's that?" James asked.

"See the water over there?" Hope pointed where a lot of people were floating along on inner tubes, letting the current carry them.

Charlie looked worried again.

"Don't worry," Ryan told Charlie with a wink. "You can float with me."

"Okay," Charlie said, smiling softly at him as she ate her last carrot.

Hope did not miss the way Ryan cleaned up Charlie's face with that adoring look she had come to recognize to mean Charlie had Ryan wrapped around her little finger.

Soon, they were all drifting down the lazy river with Charlie planted firmly on top of Ryan who made sure she didn't move an inch. Any time they bumped into the side of the pool or another person's inner tube, he shielded her so she wouldn't be nervous until she got used to it. After a while, she didn't mind. She trusted Ryan to keep her safe.

Charlie especially loved every time they bumped into Hope and James on their double inner tube.

Eventually it was time to leave, despite James' reluctance to go, his yawning said otherwise. The kids were ready for bed by the time they returned to the room, but Hope insisted they take warm baths before lying down. Pool water was not bath water.

By the time the kids were in each of their beds, fast asleep, Ryan knew he needed to get out of the suite for a while. Spending the entire day with Hope and the kids was messing with his head. He could almost pretend they were a real family and that was dangerous territory.

He couldn't think of Hope that way.

"Do you think the jets will be too loud?" Hope whispered when she met him on the way to his and James' room.

He couldn't be certain, but it appeared she was only wearing a robe. One of the big white fluffy ones the resort provided. He wasn't sure why it even bothered him, not after he spent all afternoon and evening around her in her swimsuit. Maybe it was because she ordered hers to match Charlie's—a simple blue one-piece with a white cover up. He actually found that cute and sweet. But wearing a robe, and possibly nothing else, there was nothing cute and sweet about that. He needed to get away before he did something stupid, like start remembering what the robe was hiding.

Too late.

"No," he cleared his throat. "I'm… going to the gym." The last thing he wanted to do after a day of skiing and running around a waterpark was work out, but it was the only thing he could think of.

"You aren't serious," she said incredulously. "You didn't get enough of a workout today already?"

He shrugged.

She looked thoughtful.

"Maybe I should wait 'til you get back," she said. "I don't want either of the kids to wake and not be able to find us, especially Charlie since I'll be in the other room."

Damn it.

"You're right," he cleared his throat again and looked around, cursing internally. "Not really up to working out. I'll…check out the balcony."

"You're sure?" she asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I'll keep an eye out in case Charlie comes out of your room."

"Don't get too cold," she said.

I'm counting on it, he thought even though he would wear a coat. He figured the weather would help him get himself in check. It wouldn't be as cold as at the top of the mountain, but night had fallen so the temperature took a plunge.

Of course, she would probably leave his room wearing the same thing, but he hoped to be under control by then. Once she was done, he was going to bed early.

Sitting outside on the balcony, taking in the moonlit view of the resort and mountains, he reflected on the past twenty-four hours and tried not to drift into dangerous thoughts again.

Turning his thoughts to the kids, he knew there was nothing dangerous about thinking of them—nothing dangerous about calling them family.

Family.

That's what life was all about, wasn't it? And this was very nearly it.

The family he always wanted.

Not having to go home after putting the kids to bed felt different. Nice. Since they arrived at the resort, he never once felt alone. He felt loved and adored, and he loved and adored those kids too.

Both kids.

Father to James, and… a male figure in Charlie's life. He could be that for her. He didn't mind. He remembered being worried when Hope first mentioned bringing another person into their lives. Now, he couldn't imagine their lives without her. He had known her less than a month, but she already had him jumping through hoops for her.

Hope didn't know—nobody else knew actually—but he made the decision to take the steps to be certified to foster too. He would do it on the weekends he didn't have James.

Ever since Hope mentioned Charlie going back into the system if something happened to her, he knew he had to be prepared just in case. He didn't think the universe would be so fickle as to take James' mother away from him after losing Landon, but he couldn't take the chance of losing Charlie now that she was part of their lives.

He took in his surroundings and still marveled at how so many things in his life had changed over the past seven months—changed for the better.

And it was all because of Hope.

There was no denying that she completely lived up to the woman he met nearly six years ago. She was everything he ever wanted, everything he ever dreamed of. He knew she would be his if he asked. He just… didn't think he could do it.

He wasn't sure if he could live with himself if he did.

Once again, his mind was slipping into dangerous territory.

A tapping on the glass had him turning his head swiftly.

Hope stood just inside, wearing that fluffy robe again, waving to let him know she was done.

He nodded, then turned back to stare out into the night. He would go back in soon as the coast was clear. He felt like he was hiding from her, but the truth was he was really hiding from himself.

From his feelings.

The ones he wasn't supposed to have.

---

For the next two private morning lessons, they took a ski lift to one of the beginner slopes away from the training grounds to meet the trainer.

At first, James stood on his skis between Ryan's skis to cautiously slide down together, and Charlie stood on her skis between Hope's skis. It was easier for Ryan to work with James since he wasn't as short as Charlie. Hope and Ryan held on to both of them from behind, bending slightly to keep in contact with them, but the kids steered the way for the most part until they got the hang of being on a slope. Then they cautiously let them try it on their own, though they made sure to keep up with them.

The instructor tagged along making each day's lesson a bit different from the one before, helping the kids to explore new terrain and develop new skills safely while having fun together.

By Wednesday, their third and final lesson, the kids were much more confident and the general consensus was they both loved skiing.

A photographer Hope arranged for came along on the third day and got a lot of amazing action shots with everyone, especially the kids. They also took some shots once they went indoors and took off the headgear. Hope ended up ordering all of the photos and having some special gifts made too.

Each day after skiing went the same as that first day. Skiing, followed by a break, then snow tubing, then lunch and a nap, followed by spending the afternoon and most of the evening at the waterpark.

That Wednesday night though, things went a little different.

Hope made arrangements for a small artificial tree to be brought to their suite. She had the forethought to bring a few bulbs and lights to stream around it. It wasn't nearly as extravagant as the tree back at home, but the kids needed a Christmas tree so they were reassured Santa would be coming to visit them.

"You're sure Santa will find us?" James asked as he and Charlie helped hang the few bulbs Hope passed to them, just like at home.

"Yes," Hope smiled softly. "I promise, Santa will bring gifts for the both of you tonight."

Charlie looked up with a smile.

"Gifts for me?" Charlie asked.

"Yes," Hope nodded. "Gifts for you and for James."

Charlie bounced in excitement.

"Mommy!" James exclaimed, turning around. "Santa needs cookies! And milk!"

"Good thing Daddy picked some up when you were taking a nap today," Hope said with a wink at Ryan.

"But you said Santa was gonna stop by our house too with the rest of the presents," James said. "What if he doesn't get his milk and cookies and gets sad?!"

"Bridget will put some cookies and milk out for him," Hope said, smiling as she answered on the fly. Bridget tried to hide it, but she was excited the only duties she had that week were picking up the mail and putting out the gifts Hope already prepared for the kids from 'Santa' before she left. Bridget had her own vacation time to use each year, of course, but any time the family traveled, she was still paid though her duties were reduced. Hope was nothing if not a fair employer.

"Good!" James exclaimed.

Music started playing through Ryan's phone as he finally found an acceptable playlist.

"It's definitely beginning to feel a lot like Christmas," Hope smiled. "Christmas carols and all."

"You're not going to make us sing, are you?" Ryan asked as he propped up his phone.

"Rudolph!" Charlie cried out as if she knew the song then proceeded to show she did know the song by singing softly along, omitting the words she didn't remember.

"Rudolph, the red-nose reindeer… shiny nose!... say it glows!"

"Well, I'm not going to," Hope said with a fond smile. Her baby girl was showing more and more that she loved to sing.

"All of the other reindeer," James started singing along with Charlie, "used to laugh and call him names…"

"They never let poor Rudolph," Hope joined in, "join in any reindeer games."

Accepting his fate, especially since it was for Charlie, Ryan squatted next to the girl to sing the next part with her.

"Then one foggy Christmas Eve," Ryan sang. "Santa came to say…"

He held out his hand for Charlie and James to finish the next line.

"Rudolph, with your nose so bright!" they both sang loudly. "Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?!"

"Then how the reindeer loved him," Hope sang. "As they shouted out with glee."

"Yippee!" they all sang. "Rudolph, the red nose reindeer, you'll go down in history!"

Charlie clapped and giggled when the song finished, clearly having a blast.

"Looks like the Christmas carol sing-a-long has just begun," Hope said with a wink to Ryan.

Ryan didn't mind one bit.

---

Getting the kids to bed that night was even easier than usual. They were both excited to sleep because they knew when they woke up, Santa would have brought presents for them.

Hope waited until after her hot tub bath before she threw on pajamas and got to work, enlisting Ryan's help.

"Gonna be my elf this year?" she giggled as she brought out a third suitcase full of presents.

"Uh, yeah," he said, looking at the big suitcases. "Didn't you say Santa would only bring a few things here, and the rest would be at home? It looks like you brought them all."

"That's because I have two kids this year," she said. "Double the gifts. Be right back!"

He watched her leave in disbelief, wondering if that meant she had brought even more.

It did.

This time she walked out of her room with two large duffel bags.

"That's it, right?" he asked. "Please, tell me that's it."

"Yes, Ryan," she said with a roll of the eyes. "Except for whatever you brought."

"I took your 'what goes up the mountain, must come down' to heart," he said.

"Meaning you didn't bring anything?" she asked.

"Meaning mine are light and easily fit into my own suitcase," he said, holding up a thin bag.

"Cards?" she asked.

"Tickets," he said. "To a few places."

"Oh!" she said as she unzipped one of the suitcases. "Where to?"

"Well, Charlie hasn't been to the dinosaur safari park yet," he said. "Figured James would want to go again too."

"Sounds perfect" she exclaimed as she started pulling out packages and reading the labels so she could separate James' pile from Charlie's pile under the tree to make it easier in the morning.

"A few other things, like the zoo, Kings Dominion, the science center—"

"Ooo! I saw that the science center has a life-size t-rex exhibit," Hope said excitedly, knowing James would love that.

"I got tickets for four to each," he said. "Figured Santa might want to leave us gifts we wouldn't have to lug down the mountain."

She shook her head at his teasing.

"At least everything fits in the suitcases," she said as she unzipped the second one. "And I'll tip the porter very well."

"I bet you will," he said with a laugh, knowing she spared no expense with this vacation, not that he expected her to given her trust fund status. She didn't live frivolously, but she did spend the extra money when she deemed it necessary. He footed the bill for the suite for the week, but she insisted on covering all of the activities.

"Okay, elf, get to work," she said, pushing one of the duffels toward him.

"What am I doing?" he asked as he unzipped the bag.

"There are four stockings in there," she said. "I need you to separate everything and put them in the stockings."

He found the large stockings easily enough, pulling out the red material each etched with one of their names: Ryan, Hope, James, Charlie.

Then he saw all the bags of candy and looked at Hope in disbelief.

"You're not really going to let them have all this, are you?" he asked. "You only let James have two pieces of his Halloween candy a day until he ran out."

"For your information," she huffed, "the truffles and fancy stuff go in our stockings. The rest go into all of the stockings. But yes, they don't get to eat it all at once. James knows that by now, and Charlie will learn it too."

"Do I really need to put ring pops in our stockings?" he asked as he rifled through.

"What do you have against ring pops?" she asked in mock horror.

"The ring part doesn't really fit," he said, holding up his hand.

"Fine," she said as if she was making a hard compromise, "Just separate those into their stockings. I don't need one."

"You're sure?" he teased. "You seem pretty reluctant to give it up."

"I'll console myself with the Godiva chocolates," she said with a laugh.

"One a day?" he asked.

"Same as you," she nodded.

"Hate to tell you, but most of the stuff in my stocking won't make it down the mountain," he said, eyeing his as he continued separating everything.

"Oh, ho ho, look who has a sweet tooth," she said, shaking her head.

"The sweetest," he agreed with a grin.

"I'll remember that for next year," she said.

"Great," he said. "I'll end up with a stocking full of granola."

"You're not wrong," she teased with a wink.

"Better than a lump of coal, I guess," he said.

She finished with the third suitcase and went to the other duffel bag.

"If you say that's more stocking stuffers," he said, smirking as he took in the stuffed stockings. "I regret to inform you, they won't fit."

"No," she laughed as she unzipped the bag and brought out a couple of large stuffed animals. "These were just too big to fit in the suitcases."

She put a large stuffed aquamarine colored sea turtle on top of the pile of gifts marked for Charlie, and a large stuffed light green colored stegosaurus on top of the pile marked for James.

"You didn't want to wrap those?" he asked.

"They're harder to wrap," she said with a shrug. "And this way they'll know which pile belongs to them."

"Where am I putting the stockings?" he asked, looking around. They definitely didn't have a chimney in the room.

"Just lay them on the floor, name up, in front of the gifts," Hope said. "They can go through those first so I can put the candy up before they get into it. Plus, we'll get our gifts first that way."

"And I can begin working on my mountain of chocolate while they're opening presents," he nodded. "I like the way you think."

She adjusted a package as he laid out the stockings.

"This is going to be the best Christmas ever," she said, grinning at the tree and gifts before looking up to grin at him.

"Yeah," he agreed, grinning back. "I think it is."

---

The kids were overjoyed when they saw all the gifts under the tree, as well as the stockings.

James ran forward and picked up the stuffed dinosaur.

"Is this for me?" he asked, clutching it against him.

"Yes," Hope nodded.

"Santa left a stuffed animal on each of your pile of presents," she continued. "So, all of your presents are under the dinosaur, and Charlie, all of your presents are over there. See your stuffed animal? What is it?"

Charlie was a little bit slower to move, a little uncertain, but she went to the other pile and picked up the stuffed animal.

"Turtle!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up as she clutched her toy against her chest.

"Do you like them?" Hope asked.

"Yes!" both kids said, grinning happily.

Ryan settled onto the couch to watch them, marveling that he never knew how peaceful it could be seeing the never ending joy on their faces.

He loved every single minute of it, even watching Hope. He figured he could allow himself that morning to enjoy her—it was Christmas after all—but he would be sure to put all the walls firmly back in place once it was over. Surely a few hours of living the dream wouldn't be too dangerous…

She handed out the stockings first, giving him his with a teasing look before she let the kids pick out two things to have for the day, then actually put the rest up for later like she said she would. The kids didn't complain once, too excited to start unwrapping presents.

Once the candy was put away for safe keeping, she settled on the floor next to the couch to watch the kids open and assist when she was needed. Every time she rested her back against the material, she brushed against his leg. He found the innocent touches nice and distracting at the same time.

As he tossed the first truffle in his mouth, he wondered if she would try to organize the opening of the gifts too, but no, she just let them have at it.

James tore delightfully into opening everything, squealing and exclaiming after each gift was open, then turning to open the next and the next until he was surrounded by toys. At that point, he would decide which to take out of its box to play with first.

Charlie took a different approach. She was a bit overwhelmed by all the gifts. She was so hesitant to believe they were all for her, she brought each gift to Hope to read the label and make sure it showed her name.

"Yep," Hope said, "It says to Charlie from Santa."

Her little face lit up as she carefully unwrapped the first gift.

Hope recognized the look on her face, the one that said she was seeing something she never had before: a big stack of presents under the Christmas tree just for her. It made her heart pang, but she was glad she could give Charlie this. She glanced at Ryan and she could see in his face that he understood too. She leaned back against him, unconsciously seeking comfort as she, once again, wondered about the kind of life Charlie had before she was given to Hope. Not that there was anything wrong with a single mother not being able to afford many gifts for her child, it was the other actions of Charlie's that she witnessed up until now that drifted to the forefront of her mind.

She felt Ryan rest a hand on her shoulder for a moment and was glad for their connection.

Charlie wanted to play with each thing as soon as she unwrapped it. Of course, she had to get Hope to open most of the gifts for her, so Hope took to encouraging her to unwrap the next present while she was taking the toys out of their casings. It took Hope a while to get all the unicorns out of a boxed set, so the boxes were soon lined up on the floor with Charlie staring at them in wonder.

"Look, Mommy!" Charlie squealed, holding up a doll in a box with white blonde hair and a beautiful blue dress. "Like Tiana!"

"Yes," Hope nodded. "Like Tiana, only her name is Elsa."

"Elsa?" Charlie repeated, hugging the box to her chest. She hugged every single one of her toys after she opened it.

"And you see the blu-ray that was wrapped with Elsa?" Hope asked, pointing.

Charlie picked it up and looked at the cover.

"That movie is called Frozen," Hope said. "And when we watch it you'll learn all about Elsa and her sister Anna."

"Charlie's my sister," James interjected as he listened.

Charlie nodded in agreement.

"And you are Charlie's brother," Hope said to James with a wink.

"Can we watch the movie?" James asked.

"We will tonight," Hope said.

"Can we watch movie in bed before sleep?" Charlie asked.

That was Hope's fault. The past few nights she turned on the television in their room when she laid Charlie in bed to sleep. Usually she would let her go to sleep in silence, but since Ryan was keeping his distance after the kids went to bed—she picked up on that easily enough—she decided to stay with Charlie and bore herself with television until she fell asleep too.

"I want to watch in bed with you too," James said.

Hope grinned.

"Of course you can join us," Hope said.

"And Daddy too," James said, looking at Ryan for approval.

Hope glanced at Ryan who shrugged.

"Sure, Daddy will join us," she said. "I bet he'll love it."

"I'll love it right up until Charlie makes us listen to 'Let It Go' a million times before the new year," Ryan teased.

"Let it go?" Charlie asked.

"It's a song," Hope explained. "Like 'Almost There."

Charlie immediately started humming her new favorite song.

"Look!" James said, holding up a slim case. "I got a movie too!"

"What's it called?" Ryan asked.

"The In-in—" James tried to sound it out. "I don't know."

Ryan leaned forward and read.

"The Incredibles," Ryan said.

"That's a good one too," Hope said knowingly. "It's about a superhero family. And there's a girl who has a brother in that one. Actually, she has two brothers."

"James is my brother!" Charlie piped up, remembering James' earlier words.

"I don't have a brother," James realized.

"Maybe one day," Hope said with a wink.

"Cool!" James said, turning back to look at the figure that came with his movie. "Who's this?"

"His name is Dash," Hope said. "And, much like you, he runs everywhere. He's really fast."

"Can we watch this too?" James asked.

"How about we save that one for tomorrow night?" Hope asked.

"Okay!" James agreed immediately.

The rest of the morning passed with the kids having fun with their toys. Charlie still had a few more things to open completely, but at least she finally finished unwrapping everything.

Ryan excused himself since the kids were pretty much absorbed in their toys and threw on a coat over his sweats and t-shirt as he walked out onto the balcony.

As part of his yearly tradition, he went on the balcony in the morning to look out at the view. Mountain landscapes were some of his favorites, and he even had a rather snow filled one hanging in his bedroom at the condo. It always reminded him of his mother, even when it wasn't Christmas.

This Christmas morning, he knew she was probably as happy as he was, watching over her grandchild happy as could be from wherever she was. He wished she could have met James. He wished she was still here. Around fifteen years later and he still craved a hug from his mother just one more time. Losing the person closest to him was probably the hardest thing he ever had to do.

He would be sure to tell James later all about his mother and how much she loved snow on Christmas. He wished it were actually snowing, that would make it even more like the white Christmas his mother envisioned each year.

His mother loved to make snow angels too, just like Charlie seemed excited to do. Since there weren't any ski lessons tomorrow, maybe they could find a place in the snow to make those angels or build a snowman. Or both.

"Found you."

Ryan turned around and saw Hope make her way to join him. She wore fluffy slippers and a coat on top of her pajamas with a mug in hand and something else tucked under her arm.

"Wasn't really hiding," he smiled.

"Thinking about her?" she asked.

"My mom?" he said. "Yeah. She would've loved this."

"Something to keep you warm," she said, placing the mug on the table. "Tell me about her?"

"She was amazing," he said, reaching for the hot cocoa, amused when he saw all the mini marshmallows floating on top. She knew his tastes well. "A professor of history. It's why I'm a bit of a history buff."

"I never knew that about you," she said, joining him next to the railing.

"Been living in the present since June," he said. "Haven't had much time for the past."

"It has been a bit crazy," she agreed. "Tell me more?"

"Her name was Adelaide," he said, taking a sip. "She was a single mother who did a pretty good job raising me, if I say so myself."

"I concur," Hope said, smiling softly.

"She was smart and dedicated to her career, but I was always the most important thing to her," he said. "Before she passed, she told me the only regret she had was never remarrying or having more children. Not for her, but for me. She didn't want me to be alone."

"Then she got her final wish," Hope said. "You're not alone. You have us."

"Yeah," he said softly. "I do."

Their eyes met, and Hope could see every emotion shining through his. Talking about his mother was something he probably didn't get to do often, she realized. He was staring at her that way she loved, as if she was the most beautiful thing in the world. She knew it had nothing to do with her appearance and everything to do with her words.

He broke the connection to take another sip, looking back at the landscape as his mind flooded with memories.

Since Mom couldn't do anything about that regret, she instead insisted she didn't want him to be alone. She implored him to go out, make connections, and get outside his introverted comfort zone. She wanted him to have a family, yes, but she wasn't talking about siblings or cousins it was too late for him to have. She wasn't even talking about children, since she thought, as he had, that he couldn't father any.

No, his mother's actual final wish was for him to find a woman to spend the rest of his life with.

Hope would have been that woman. Hope should be that woman.

So, why couldn't she be that woman?

"Oh, and this is for you," Hope said, holding up a small wrapped gift.

"Santa thought about me too, huh?" he asked, lips twitching as he placed the mug on the table to take the gift from her.

"Oh no," she said with a wink. "That was the stocking. This is all me. Go ahead, open it!"

He opened it slowly, realizing immediately what it was.

A Christmas ornament, in the shape of a silver bell with 2042 etched on it, and an insert area where Hope placed one of the best photographs of them from yesterday.

They were in the ski lodge, head gear removed, and all four of them were posing together. He was holding James on his hip, while they both boasted an identical grin. Like father, like son. Hope was holding Charlie on her hip. Charlie was smiling, but she rested her head back on Ryan's other shoulder as her bashfulness was still present. Hope, as always, had a smile that could take his breath away.

It was the perfect image of the perfect family.

And he wanted it to be true so badly he couldn't think straight.

"Merry Christmas, Ryan," Hope said softly.

"Merry Christmas, Hope," he said, catching her gaze once again.

Neither of them realized the snow began to fall.

Ryan was too busy forgetting about everything except that moment and how right being with her felt.

How right being with her always felt.

Then he slowly leaned down toward her, and Hope rose up to meet him.

The kiss was perfect, gentle, heart stopping, and incredibly sweet.

He reached up to cup her face with his palm, the heat from her skin warming him as her lips did. The part of him that wanted her, that ached for her, sent relief crashing through him.

Why couldn't she be the woman for him?

Wasn't she already the one?

Ryan's heart raced as he felt the spark between them stronger than ever. He knew she felt it too when she melted into the kiss. A soft moan sounded from deep in her throat and her hands settled against his chest to steady her.

The kiss was unlike any other he shared with her before. It wasn't heated passion, caught up in a frenzy. This was a kiss to savor her. To savor the moment.

This kiss was more dangerous than any other.

And he didn't care anymore.

Drawing back gently, he met her gaze, the dazzling blue of her eyes reflecting his own thoughts and feelings.

She knew it was different too.

It took a second for him to realize since he was so absorbed in her, but a snowflake landing on his cheek got his attention.

"It's snowing," he said, smiling if a bit dazed.

"Getting a real white Christmas after all," Hope murmured, still a bit stunned. He kissed her. He kissed her. It was his choice. Did that mean…

She wasn't sure what it really meant.

He could read the look in her eyes so clearly. She was hopeful and filled with anticipation, but she also wasn't sure if the kiss truly meant something, not after what he did last time.

That was his fault.

He leaned toward her again but only to rest his forehead against hers.

"Ryan… are you sure?" she asked, holding her breath.

"I… want this… I'm not…" he wasn't sure what he was trying to say, but finally he found the words. "I'm willing to try."

That was all he could give her. There were still so many things he needed to figure out, so many things he was uncertain of, but he wanted to be with her. That should be enough, shouldn't it? He wasn't sure, but as he told her, he would try.

Hope released her breath at his words.

It wasn't the declaration of love she wanted, but it was more than she ever had before. She couldn't fault him for being wary. But if he was willing to try, she would do everything to make him see how great it could be between them.

How great it could always be between them.

"Okay," she whispered.

---

To be continued…