It had been 2 weeks since Noah had shown up at the district when Katie was about to reveal what was happening. Which also meant it had been two weeks of consistent, non-stop hell, for Katie. Between the insults and accusations, and the physical violence that had been getting progressively worse, Katie was now miserable and had closed herself off from everyone.
Luckily for Katie, though, she had something to look up to, it had been three weeks since they found baby Tatum Grace Stafford, the daughter of one of Katie's good friends from the Marines, at a crime scene, this also meant that Tatum got to come home soon. After making sure her apartment was safe, and up to standard, and having the inspector from DCFS walk through and approve it, Katie had gotten the okay to bring Tatum home. After making the document's official, and changing Tatum's last name to Torres to avoid confusion, Katie was ready to pick up Tatum and take her to her new home.
Despite everything that had been going on with Noah recently, Katie wasn't particularly worried about how him and Tatum would interact. Katie wasn't worried about Noah being physically violent towards Tatum, she knew he had a soft spot for kids and wouldn't do anything to hurt them, she was, however, worried about him going off on Tatum, even though he liked kids, Noah had a short fuse and couldn't always be patient when he needed to and she was worried that he would get annoyed and snap at Tatum.
It was around one in the afternoon, and Katie was at the DCFS building waiting for Tatum to be brought out to her. At first, Katie was nervous, but all of her nerves washed away when Kathryn Smith, the social worker in charge of Tatum, brought her into the meeting room to see Katie.
Katie couldn't help but tear up a little bit when she saw Tatum. She was laid down in her car seat, wrapped up in a little blanket, sleeping. Katie couldn't help but notice how peaceful Tatum looked and how she looked exactly like her father.
"Is everything okay Katie?" Kathryn asked in a sweet tone as soon as she noticed the tears threatening to spill from Katie's eyes.
"Yeah," Katie responded, "She looks so much like her dad, it's like I'm looking at Chris again, we were really good friends and when I met him, I never would've believed that one day he would be able to settle down and start a family with someone, so when I found out he was going to have a daughter I couldn't believe it, I needed proof, and here's my proof, right in front of me."
"We see things here everyday, that seem like they should be impossible," Kathryn nodded at Katie in understanding, "but they are possible, and they do happen, and this is one of the best examples I can give you."
It was now about an hour later and Katie had just parked her Jeep in the parking lot outside of her apartment complex. After turning the car off, Katie took a moment to look at Tatum and take a few deep breaths before heading inside, and up to her apartment. After a few minutes of getting herself ready, Katie got out of the car and went to the back, passenger door so she could get Tatum out. First she took Tatum's diaper bag and put it over one shoulder, then she got the large backpack with all of Tatum's clothes and belongings in it and put it on her back before reaching into the car and taking the car seat off of it's base so she could take Tatum inside.
Arriving at the door of her apartment, Katie was more nervous then she had ever been before. She knew that Noah was at work, so she wouldn't have to worry about him, but she was worried about how Tatum would feel about her new home. Katie was worried that Tatum wouldn't like her new home and that she would never adjust to living there.
Katie took one final deep breath before she opened the door to her apartment, and went straight to the nursery, so she could put a sleeping Tatum down. As soon as she had the bags set down, she sat the carrier down on the floor next to the crib. As soon as Katie lifted up Tatum, she woke up. Katie had expected Tatum to cry or fuss, but what she did instead shocked her. Katie knew that Tatum had started developing pretty early, and she was at a pretty advanced stage for her age, Katie knew that Tatum could babble and make noises, but she had never said any real words yet until know.
"Mmm- Ma- Mama," Tatum said as she opened her eyes once Katie had lifted her up. Katie couldn't stop the tears that fell from her eyes.
"Yeah, that's right baby, I'm your mama now." Katie said to the baby even though she knew she couldn't understand. "Welcome home Tatum Grace Stafford-Torres, you're daddy would be so proud if he could see you right now. I know he misses us, and I know you miss him and I do too, but he'll always be watching us, you just remember that Tatum Grace." Katie finished as she put the baby girl down. Katie knew that things would be different from now on, but she wasn't going to worry right now, today was the happiest day she'd had in a long time.