CHAPTER 3

"Okay Bayley is in the car and everything is all packed and ready to go, are you sure you can handle everything while I'm gone?" Stephanie asked her husband.

Hunter laughed and placed a hand on Sasha and Charlotte's shoulders as they stood at his side both looking very upset. Sasha had complained for hours when she found out that Bayley was going to not only go on what to her seemed like a vacation alone with their mother, but Bayley would also be the first of her siblings to travel out of the country. That was all the seven year old wanted to do, she wanted to travel the world like those people on TV and now was her chance to go to a new country and Bayley got to go. Totally not fair. Charlotte on the other hand was more annoyed at the fact that she was stuck with an upset Sasha knowing that her afternoons and sadly mornings were now going to be filled with long rants and a list of complaints from her younger sister.

"I have everything under control I mean I have looked after them by myself before haven't I?"

"Yes and that ended with our kitchen being destroyed" Stephanie sighed deeply at her children's laughter and Hunter's blushing face as she ran her hands through her hair, "Maybe I shouldn't go I don't want you to be overwhelmed, and let alone managing both of their schedules. I mean Charlotte has her volleyball practices and Sasha has her umm you know what appointment coming up"

Hunter smiled at his wife knowing she was not saying the word 'doctor' in order to not set of Sasha and her fear of needles, but he knew all of this. He knew everything about his children and his wife, he would do anything for anyone of them and that included making sure everything was in order while Stephanie was away.

"I got this you go and see our baby girl. Besides I have Charlotte with me, she's all the you I need...ow" He winced a little as he was hit by both his oldest and his wife but laughed it off a second later at how alike they were, "Go"

Stephanie nodded and kissed her husband goodbye before doing the same to Charlotte and Sasha only to get a whine in protest of the younger one, "What?"

"How come Bayley gets to go. I want to travel. I want to go to Ireland" Sasha stomped her foot a little as the words left her mouth

"Aw yes I know you want to travel the world and I promise next time we go anywhere I take you with me"

"Promise?"

"Pinky promise" Stephanie said holding out her pinky to which Sasha smiled and grabbed with her own placing a kiss on her end and Stephanie did so as well on her's.

"Alright go on now you don't want to miss your flight do you?" Hunter said ushering her to the car, "Go we'll talk when you get there"

"Okay" with that Stephanie got in the car and pulled out of the driveway smiling as Sasha and Charlotte ran down the driveway waving goodbye to her as she drove off.

"Alright girls, let's get inside and see if we can't straighten up the house" Hunter said with a large clap of his hands only to see Sasha and Charlotte look at each other and smile before running off into the house, "or not"

"Okay Bayley you have to hold my hand, the airport can get very busy and mommy doesn't want to lose you in the crowds okay?" Stephanie looked through the crowds of people as she guided her youngest to their terminal.

The two walked hand in hand each sporting a backpack and Bayley with her favorite bear hanging from her free hand. She was still dressed in her overalls from earlier, her hair was now in one ponytail and her favorite pair of light up shoes donned her feet. While Stephanie wore a black v-neck shirt with some light washed jeans and flip flops with her hair in a tight ponytail and dark shade covered her eyes.

"Mommy how long is the flight?"

"About 11 hours sweetheart, Ireland is very far away"

"And that big plane can stay in the air for that long?" Stephanie knew what was about to happen as she answered another question.

"Well it won't stay up there for that long we will stop in other places before ireland so it can get gas"

"It needs gas like a car?" Bayley questioned again causing Stephanie to sigh as she understood that her daughter was starting to ask every question imaginable in her little head and she wouldn't stop until she was satisfied.

"Yes, they have a special kind of gas for the planes though"

"Oh, can Mr. Beary come sit with us?"

"Of course he can baby girl" Stephanie said as the finally reached their terminal and she saw a few people already sitting in the area waiting for the gates to open, "Let's go and take a seat so we can wait for the nice ladies to tell us when to board"

"Board?"

"Board means to get on the plane"

"Oh, are all these people going to Ireland too?"

"Everyone sitting in this area is, all the other areas are for all of the different places people are going?"

"Like where?" Bayley tugged at her overall straps and twisted in her seat to see all of the people

"Um well the area over there is going to New York, those people are going to North Carolina and I'm sure someone is going to Florida"

"How do you know"

"Someone is always travelling to Florida"

"I wanna go there" Florida had always been a place that Hunter had liked very much and Stephanie agreed that they could move there one day if a house was available and they could both work, but for right now the family stayed positioned in Cali where they had adopted Bayley from.

"Maybe one day, any more questions to kill the time my little one?"

"You can't kill time" This caused Stephanie to laugh at her daughter before nodding and saying.

"That is true but it's just something people say when they mean to pass the time"

"Oh, um how long will Reb-rebec...becky be in the hospital?"

"I don't know if everything goes well she will be out soon and we can bring her back"

"Who will she sleep with?"

"What?"

"Who's room is she staying in?"

"Oh, well I was thinking Sasha's room, that one has the most space for another bed"

"She could stay in my room"

"Your bedroom is too small I'm afraid, but it is sweet of you to offer" Stephanie looked at her watch and saw that they still had half an hour before boarding, "Do you have to use the bathroom or do you want a snack?"

"No thanks, can I color on the plane?"

"Yes I believe so, I think your daddy put your crayons and notebook in your backpack, along with some other things."

Bayley nodded and took the bag from her back and reached in it to check that what her mother said was true and once she saw proof she smiled and zipped the bag back up and placed it back on her back. She repositioned herself in her seat so she could lean more against her mother and sighed as she slowly drifted in and out of sleep.

"Will you leave me if I fall asleep?"

"No of course not, if you sleep I will carry you to your seat on the plane and then you can keep sleeping on the ride. I already told you that I would never leave you." Bayley nodded at this and slumped deeper into her mother and as her breathing evened out Stephanie sighed in 11 hours until she would see Rebecca and she hadn't told anyone but she was slightly nervous. Over the span of the day she had wondered time and time again if the Irish girl would accept her and the others and she wondered if she would even remember her. When Hunter and Stephanie had went to Ireland they had visited the foster home just to look because Stephanie felt that she was missing something and as soon as she saw the little girl she knew that she wanted her to be her daughter. She had felt a love for the girl just as strong as she had for her other daughters and when they got to talk with her she fell even deeper for the child. They spent the whole day with her, they went with her to the park and to the girl's favorite places talking and learning more about her and at the end of the day Stephanie said she would do anything and everything in her power to adopted the girl. That was months ago, it took forever to the adoption agency to even think about letting them take on another girl. It had nothing to do with money, the couple knew that, they had plenty of it, but it was simply that fact that four girls was a big responsibility. But the couple proved time and time again that they were ready and Hunter said that the agency got tired of her face and just agreed in order to get them to stop calling.

Stephanie sat there thinking for the rest of the time before the ladies began boarding. She looked down at her daughter and did what she promised, she picked the girl up and carried her to the gates. After scanning her tickets and thanking the ladies Stephanie went to get on the plane with Bayley asleep on her shoulder. Once they were on she found their seats rather easily and placed Bayley in the seat next to the window and then took the space beside her.

"11 more hours to go"

*Back at the house*

Hunter looked around the house satisfied with himself, he had managed to get the girls together and set them up with a movie in the living room. He had dinner all cooked and the house was actually pretty clean, he had no idea why his wife was so hesitant about letting him be in charge of the kids alone. He was already a pro at it, and he was sure this time without Stephanie would fly by without a hitch.

Hunter walked through the kitchen and turned the stove off to let the pot of spaghetti cool as he went to wash the dishes in the sink when he heard, "Dad"

He turned quickly, slightly startled by the sudden noise, "Charlotte what's up princess?"

The girl said nothing but rubbed her eye and took a seat at the kitchen island and placed her head down on the table. She wore a blue t-shirt with a pair of black shorts and her blond hair flowed almost down to her back, seeing as she refused to cut it. Hunter placed the rest of the dishes down back in the sink and began to dry his hands before he took a seat beside her and placed his hand on her back.

"Charlotte what's wrong, are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, I'm just tired" she responded with a yawn.

"Well then why don't you go back to sleep in the living room with Sasha?"

"I can't.. Sasha is snoring so loud I could probably hear her from my room" Charlotte said quietly, "And I want to talk to you about Rebecca"

Hunter sat up a little with Charlotte mentioning the irish girl and looked her in the eyes knowing the conversation was probably very serious, "Okay...what about her?"

"Do you know what she's like? Is she nice?"

"Yes she is very sweet and she likes to joke around a lot"

"Will she fit in?"

"I'm sure it'll take some time for her to get adjusted, not only to our family but to America in general"

"How much does she know about us?"

"Well she knows that we have three other children and she knows all of your names and how old you are...I don't think we talked about much else with her"

"Do you think she is going to get along with Sasha and Bayley?"

"I think so yes, when your mother and I met her she reminded me a lot of Bayley with her jokes and her energy but she was very bold like Sasha" Hunter smiled as he remembered their first encounter

" Who hurt her and put her in the hospital?"

"Um...I think some girls were bullying her, much like what Sasha went through before she came to live with us. They just went too far and they attacked her. But once your mother and Bayley get to Ireland and see how she's doing we'll talk to them and check in on her."

"Are you nervous?"

"Nervous? Nervous about what exactly?"

"Having another girl in the house...having another child period. We know we stress you and mom out a lot but adding another person to the mix that may be too much"

Hunter paused for a second to think about what Charlotte was saying, seeing as how the girl sat straight up and look out into the distance not caring to turn and face him, "Are you worried about this new girl?"

"No"

"Are you sure...because I got that Sasha was a little upset but, you didn't seem to have a problem. Now you're asking all of these questions and it seems like you're a bit reluctant about having a new sister"

"I'm not I just….I..we don't know anything about this girl and seriously I trust your judgment but at least when you guys were adopting Sasha we got to meet her."

"Yes and I believe you said we should buy her and to send her back to the store"

"Okay granted I was young and stupid"

"This was just about over a year ago"

"My point is that what if she comes and she hates us...or we hate her?"

"Well..I know that won't happen but if it does then we will cross that bridge when get there"

Charlotte sighed a little and slumped back down in her chair, leaning against Hunter, "If I fall asleep will you leave me here?"

"No I'll carry you to bed"