2 days later at court
"well miss Tesslin it would seem you finally have wind in your sail, your past is checkered from the reading of it that I have looked at however you seem to be doing better" says Judge Louise
"as you can see I'm in a wheelchair with an iv drip, I wasn't expecting to be brought in about the adoption process regarding Josie so quickly" says Tessa
"normally you wouldn't have, however in my searching your past I was informed by Josie herself that she chose you herself I had to meet with you in person to see for myself what she sees in you as a potential parent" says Loise
"I have no idea what she sees in me, however when I look at her I see a younger me, a girl who is all alone, I was raised by nannies, my parents rarely spent much time with me when I was younger, caused a ton of problems for me that I'm still working out" says Tess
"that's very honest of you, I can't tell you how many people lie about dealing with trauma, they feel making them look perfect to me helps their chances but it often makes it worse because I know they are lying, I know of your current romantic situation which is why I'm certifying the adoption, Josie has been through this four times in two years, never once has she felt safe, she's never gotten this far before, she's an excellent judge of character, she's never trusted anyone this much, my only stipulation is that for the first year you have weekly CPS visits and that you influence her decisions as little as possible" says Louise
"how did she inform you, she doesn't speak" asks Tessa
"my sister is an old family friend of her moms, Josie has what is known as trauma induced mutism and it is not going anywhere, she will never be able to hold a job, she can only speak to certain people, she takes her trust cues from those around her, while she love nipped Dana every time she was there most of the people at that homeless village didn't trust her so by extension she couldn't trust Dana completely hence why she won't speak to her, I'm almost certain that once she gets word that the legal world supports you adopting her that she will start to speak to you" says Louise
"do you know where she stands sexuality wise, I'm only recently out myself and I have no idea how to bring it up" asks Tessa
"it is not my place to ask such a thing however I do know she doesn't conform to social norms, as for how to ask just ask if she's like you or like her parents, chances are she will be very blunt about it, just a warning even when she does speak she will still give love bites, it's something she's done since she was little and it made most of her family hate her" says Judge Louise
"well, I think it's adorable the only time she's ever left a mark was when I was at the village in a cold induced coma" says Tessa
"ya she was afraid you died, she actually explained that to my sister, she said she thought a love bite to the neck would wake you up and that she was really really scared" says Judge Louise
"my IV bag is getting kinda low, is there anything else you need of me today" asks Tessa as the judge pulls out adoption papers
"I just need you to sign the adoption papers then Dana can take you back home and I will let Josie know through trusted channels that she is officially your daughter now" says Judge Louise as Tessa signs the papers
"I can't wait to get home, also on the job thing she kinda does have a job, she's been helping Cat who is my boss make a dress for Josie and Josie getting paid for it, they get along very well, also there are two girls who are younger than her and several a few years older and they all get along really well" says Tessa as Dana walks in
"That is good to hear, Catarina is a good solid person who has values, Tori and Jade are lucky girls and you are lucky to be under her wing" says Judge Louise as Dana wheels Tessa to the car
"so how'd it go" asks Dana curiously
"it's official, I signed the papers, because of my past I had to agree to weekly check-ups by child protective services, while not optimal it is acceptable, Mitchie got Josie that phone right" says Tessa
"only just, though she doesn't understand why, though I'm not sure many people will understand because I don't either" says Dana as they reach the car and get in
"because my hunch about her speech was right, trauma induced mutism, the judge confirmed it, not everyone in the house understands sign language Dana and Josie signed that she didn't expect them to learn just for her, Cally has her implant and Samantha and Dani aren't permanent residents and besides Dani has found other ways for her to talk to everyone besides ASL, besides I just learned that she can speak but that she doesn't trust her own judgement completely and relies on others to find out who she is safe to talk to and who isn't, I can't wait to hear her voice" says Tessa
As Tess and Dana arrive home
"MOOOOOOOOOOM" squeals Josie as she runs to hug Tess
"aww someone seems happy to see me" says Tess as Josie love bites Tess
"how could I not be mom, I waited two years for this day momma, I love you and my side momma's" says Josie shyly
"well that's good to hear did you brush your teeth after your breakfast" asks Tessa
"yup momma, can we cuddle for a bit, I want to make the firth day as your daughter special" asks Josie
"I'm in pain right now Josie so you'd have to be very careful, you'd also have to cuddle your other mom's too" says Tessa as Shane walks in
"Uhh Tess don't turn around, I swear I didn't tell him where you live and I know Nate didn't" says Dana
"unkie Shhhhh" squeals Josie running over to Shane as Tessa slowly turns around
"excuse me, unkie Shhh, how the hell did that happen" asks Tessa
"what you didn't think Browne had a sister or two geez Tess, look I'm sorry for stalking you for two years but my obsession with being the only 'single' living relative of uncle brown had really gotten to me, losing aunt Hannah didn't really help either…. Shoot Josie sorry for saying her name, being single sucks, you couldn't have better moms Josie" says Shane
"why didn't you take her in if you're family Shane" asks Mitchie
"you know me almost better than anyone Mitchie, we are friends on and off, as much as I would have killed to take Josie in I'm not a good role-model, I'd have never made the cut, my attitude killed Connect 3, glad to see you never change Mitchie, always with the hard questions, I see you are in another unorthodox relationship" says Shane
"you know me Shane, I haven't changed, normal isn't my thing, besides I'm happy, are you going to try and tell me I'm being stupid again" says Mitchie
"and what get my butt kicked to the hospital by Caitlyn again, ya no thanks, I didn't understand what being Gay or Bi meant three and a half years ago Mitchie, don't get me wrong I'm happy for you guys but you three are the real deal, the only girls that seem to want to be around me are the ones that only want one date and laugh at me when they steal my clothes and run, I want to be with someone who is real like you guys" says Shane
"what do you think Tessie, should we let him in" asks Caitlyn
"I don't think legally we can because legally he's family now because Josie is my daughter, though I think he should stay here, Josie needs a male figure in her life and the house is right now only girls, CeeCee and Trina started something up and CeeCee they are maybe a smidge young for him but they are real like us" says Tessa
"uhh how young are they exactly, you do remember I turn twenty-four next month right Tess" says Shane cautiously
"oh don't worry Shane they're of legal age….. ugh I can never remember how old Trina is but CeeCee is twenty-three" says Tessa as Trina and CeeCee walk in from the pool building
"I'm twenty one and a half Tessa, thanks for forgetting again" says Trina
"hey I never claimed I was good with numbers, I'm good at singing and fashion not math, when I cut material for the dresses I have to measure three times to make sure I have it right" says Tessa
"anyway Shane we should talk, CeeCee and I fancy you, besides with the knowledge that Josie is your cousin kinda makes us want to ask you to stay here regardless" says Trina
"you promise you aren't just going to use me and run" asks Shane
"run where Shane, my mom lives next door, besides CeeCee and I are survivors of abusive an relationship, we both want kids and don't like medically induced pregnancies though both Jenna and Tori are considering that option, CeeCee and I would prefer to avoid it, we had no idea how to approach you or if you'd even be ok with it" says Trina
"you and CeeCee have only been together a few days and you're already wanting kids Trina come on" says Tori annoyed as she tics
"it's not greed Tori I swear, I just love talking to kids that I wanted some of my own, had my ex not abused me he'd have been a father Tori, I thought he loved me, I know you want kids, you know mom and dad don't judge like that, besides CeeCee and I were thinking of love not just kids, Shane has amazing hair, cute eyes and rocking abs, plus he can be a real romantic, at least that's what the person I talked to said" says Trina defensively as Tori glares
"Tori please calm down, you don't understand the dynamics at play here, Trina and I have been penpals for years, I understand her on levels deeper than most people, my entire family in Italy was murdered, I was left as the only one alive, I don't even know if I can have kids Tori, let alone carry one to term, but if I can't then my families genetic diversity ends with me, Lucy and Isabelle are my only living relatives that aren't in jail, the rest of the family is dead, Trina and I have unofficially been together for a year even though we've only been together in person for a few days it feels like Trina and I have been together for years" says CeeCee
"why was your family killed" asks Shane giving CeeCee a hug
"the police never really got an answer, the murderers took their own lives before they could be arrested, the case is still open, even if only because my great great-grandmother was a Valentine and while the political wing of the Valentine family can be pretty bad they pressed the police to keep looking because of the weak familia connection" says CeeCee
"ahh yes you can thank Catarina for that one, while she isn't exactly liked in the Valentine family, thanks to her amazing voice and fashion skill she is a rising power in the family money wise and that isn't something the greater Valentine family is willing to mess with, they'd already tried to silence her once and failed miserably, they learned a valuable lesson, they knocked her down and she came back twice as vocal, they'd taken a massive hit, many Valentine's switched to follow Cat, Cally and Cassandra, Cassandra being the first cousin of Cat and Cally and the only one in Italy who stood by her word till Cat spoke up, believe me with Cat pushing for the police to find any connections and follow every last lead the police will find something" says Tori