A Child Called Nobody
Chapter 26-3 months later
Mike was never an advocate for therapy but when all else failed; it had helped Maddie and it helped him and Hannah reconnect. The therapist also helped her with some 'memory retrieval' to help her remember Christine. This allowed Hannah to go through the grieving process in a healthy manner. It was hard to watch for both Mike and Maddie, but it was absolutely necessary.
At the same time; Mike also attended grief counseling, having never really dealt with all the anger and pain from losing Christine, Katie and Lucas. He had never realized how angry he was or how often he took it out on Maddie. In a lot of ways he had to retrain himself.
They had also moved into the new house and everyone was much happier with more space. The kids loved their spaces and being able to play in the backyard, and pool that Mike had insisted on. There was a guest space and their most frequent visitors was the Chandler family. In fact; they were visiting that weekend with their newborn son and Mike could tell Hannah was thrilled for her 'bonus family' and Maddie had some serious baby fever going on.
"Isn't he cute, Mike?" Maddie asked as she rocked the tiny baby. Tom and Sasha were enjoying a date night and Mike and Maddie were on babysitting duty for baby Jed.
"He is." Mike agreed as he caught the now walking Ellie.
"I wish ours were still this little. Makes me want another." Maddie remarked. Mike closed his eyes, knowing what she was implying. She still was not a fan of his procedure.
"Sorry, Babe." Mike said.
"We could adopt? Have you ever thought about that?" Maddie asked, as they both watched Hannah putting Jacob's arm floaters on him.
"That's an idea I might entertain." Mike answered before giving her a kiss.
"You're thinking about what Hannah went through?" Maddie asked quietly.
"Yeah. If we could prevent another child from going through that, then it would be worth it." Mike answered and Maddie nodded in agreement.
"We'll talk about it more later." Maddie remarked. Mike picked Ellie up and gave her a kiss, loving how she just cuddled up. "Daddy's girl." Maddie said with a smile. Ellie was all about Mike but she loved Maddie too. In some ways, Ellie reminded Mike of Katie and maybe that was why they had connected so well. Mike ran his fingers through her blonde hair and smiled at Maddie.
"I think she's getting sleepy. I may rock her to sleep and put her down if you want to lay Jed down. I can stay inside with them." Mike suggested.
"Or just turn the monitor on?" Maddie suggested. They had both walked into Ellie's room, where Jed was also staying. Maddie laid him down in the playpen and Mike settled Ellie down.
"True." Mike said. Maddie turned on the monitors before leading Mike out of the room.
"Jack was excited for swim lessons with his daddy." Maddie remarked. They stepped out of the back deck and smiled at the way Hannah had the kids lined up; waiting.
"Alright. Jack first. The rest of you all can splash in the shallow end." Mike said before giving Jack his hand. Mike jumped into the pool and Jack jumped into his arms. As Mike began teaching him, he smiled watching his kids all playing in the pool and the way Hannah was and how Maddie could laugh again.
Six Months Later
After several months of classes, Mike and Maddie were now foster parents and their first foster child immediately captured their hearts. Max was an orphan and was showing some developmental disabilities, but that didn't matter to them. Mike and Maddie learned Sign Language and began teaching their other kids. Max was a firmly a part of their family in a very short period of time and they were able to adopt him with little trouble.
They also did short term foster care and sometimes only housed a child for a night waiting on a better situation for them, but both Mike and Maddie agreed that their family was as complete as it could be. It didn't ease Mike's pain, but it kept him focused on the kids that needed him and Maddie and him were doing good. Even enjoying occasional date nights thanks to Hannah and Mrs. Garrison.
Hannah had to undergo another surgery on her arm, hopefully her last one. Her recovery was rough and Mike had hated every moment she was in pain, but he had also been there every step of the way, helping her when rehab started and when the pain was almost more than she could handle. And Maddie helped him. It was odd how things had turned out but Mike couldn't be happier.