Thanks to Justice237 for reviewing.

I just have a question. Do you think that the cover photo for this works or does it not make sense at all? In the first few chapters there was supposed to be more with dry leaves in the fall and everything but I forgot that. I'm thinking about changing it with a collage with four pictures, one for each season. Maybe that would work better.

Mike POV

"What we see here is, as you know, the bones of Jeremy's calf, ankle and foot."

On the way to the hospital, Jessica McDonald had made sure to keep Jeremy's foot still and stabilized. So she, and Jake who had been driving had ended up coming with us into the hospital where Jeremy was now lying on a bunk in a single room, delirious with painkillers and after X-ray. And now, the X-ray pictures on a light board and Jess pointing out what it was that I saw.

"Yep."

"And there's three breaks. Here, here and here." She pointed. Ouch! "And this piece have moved. It's supposed to be here. But now it's here. And of course, breaks do heal. But bone pieces don't just pop back into where they are supposed to be when they've moved like this." Jess gave me a meaning glance.

"This is going to hurt. Isn't it?"

"He's going to need surgery." Jess lowered her hand from the board and turned to Jeremy. "Nothing big or anything. Just to put the pieces back where they belong and probably use a plate and some screws to make sure it stays there."

"Can you do that? Can you do that now?"

"I'm not a surgeon. And it can't be done just now. It's too swollen. We'll keep him lying like this with his foot supported and held high and keep ice on it and then he should probably be able to have the surgery in the morning."

"Surgery?"

Jeremy more or less jumped into sitting position. Only to fall back towards the bed again reaching for his leg and whimpering and hyperventilating in pain from his foot.

"Sch." I was on my way over to Jeremy but Jess was quicker than me and softly shushed while she laid a comforting hand on his shoulder to gently hold him down before he hurt himself even more. "It's okay. Just try to breathe slowly. Sch, sch, sch. It's okay." She silent, but stroke Jeremy's shoulder with her thumb gently and waited for a minute, moving her hand first to his forehead in that move that mum's always did to secretly feel for a temperature. Then ran her hand through Jeremy's fringe and hair.

"I don't want surgery. Please. I'll do anything it takes but I don't want surgery and I want to be out of this hospital. I hate hospitals and doctors and everything."

"I know." Jess said calmly and stroke his hair again. "Just try to breathe slowly and I'll explain it to you. Now…" She explained the same things about the surgery that she had just explained for me. "…But you'll be asleep during the whole surgery. And then afterwards your foot will heal a lot better than it will be able to if we leave it to its own."

"Ow." Jeremy's whimper had lost its power and loud from earlier and he sniveled several times before being able to say anything else. "It hurts."

"I know… I'll go check with the doctor if you can have some more painkillers."

"No." Jeremy reached up and grabbed Jess's arm before she had the time to move. "Actually. It kind of helps when you're doing that with my hair. Can you keep on doing that?"

Jeremy silent. I couldn't blame him for sounding as needy as he did. First of all he was a child, he was also in pain. But especially a kid in care did always have to share everything with everybody else. Now there was just him, and seeing the look in his eyes when he tiredly look up on Jess… really? How couldn't I have seen it already?

"Are you going?"

"I have to go home and take the dogs out for a walk. Hopefully Elvis Pugsley haven't done his needs on the living room mat- again." Jake gave Jess a side- hug, then grabbed his jacket and pulled it on. "What do you want to do Jess?"

"I think I'd rather stay here actually. Don't worry Mike. I'll make sure Jeremy gets his surgery by this place's best members of staff, everything else he might need and afterwards- as much ice cream as he could possibly eat."

I couldn't help but smile. But afterwards I would never understand how I didn't realize what was going on now and right away. And how Jess didn't even realize herself. Because when I'd realize only later today it would all just be so clear.

"I have to go now." Jake backed towards the door closing his jacket. "But I'll bring back ice cream. Anything else Jeremy does like that I could bring back for him?"

"He does like ice cream. Chocolate and vanilla are his favorites. But he likes any sweets and never thinks there are enough reasons to have it. Actually, right now. Can you stay here with him Jess?" I asked. "If he's going to stay for the night I want to stay with him but then I need to go back to the dumping ground and get some things and update the others on what is going on."

"The dumping ground?" Jess looked questioning up at me. "Like…. It sounds like… Somewhere where…"

"Where kids are sent when there's nobody else to care for them or want them." I finished her sentence and couldn't help but chuckle. "That's Tracy Beaker for you. She's a kid that used to live there…. she was… one of a kind. And what temper that girl had. But yes, when she first arrived at the dump… or Stowey House as it was called back then. She was angry for it and she started calling it the dumping ground. It stuck."

Jess waited for a bit until she answered. Only kept stroking Jeremy's hair while he drowsily seemed to be zoning off. Slightly delirious by all the painkillers he had been given. It would be enough to put out an elephant.

"Still seems like a kind of morbid nickname for a care home if you ask me." Jess said at last. "I mean, somewhere, if you just I mean- search in the right places there must be someone for every child won't it?"

I frowned, it wasn't exactly a secret that a big part of the number of children who came into care ended up staying in care until they were sixteen, were written out of the system and could move into their own places and get on with their own lives. It would have been so nice that many would find their forever families though.

"Sadly. Sometimes some child is fostered and everything seems great. Maybe it really is great. But then something happens and they're sent back to their care home. But of course, it is a nice thought that there is a family out there for everybody. And Ashdene Ridge is terribly crowded right now so I'm going to do my best to find foster parents and families until we are at least down on a number of children so as many as possible can have their own room at least. Of course there are more important things than your own room but… ugh." I moaned. "Hopefully you do understand that we have got safety reasons for why we couldn't have like thirty children living in the house at once."

"I do get it. It doesn't seem fair though. Some people have kids just like… just like that." She snapped her fingers to show how quickly she thought it was. "And maybe they don't even want children. Maybe they can't even care for them like they should. Some people have loads of children, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. I always wanted a big family myself. But then I met Jake and don't get me wrong- I love Jake. But we tried and tried and tried and it just didn't happen. So at last we went to the doctor's and it turns out there's something wrong. That I can't have children. So after spending my whole life wishing for children and a big family and then just like that. It was over you know."

I didn't say anything. Hearing these stories, both from the children and people who came to foster were just often too sad for any words to be enough. And while Jess kept rubbing Jeremy's hair she looked too far away to even be able to hear me if I had said anything.

"It's not fair." She continued at last. "And neither is it that some children have to grow up with parents who hurt them or… I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a place like Ashdene Ridge. But I'm sure that… not all places are as great. You and Duke do a great job though. It was easy to see that only going into the house."

"Thank you. Now, there is some Swedish writer who wrote children's books who once said "give the children love, love and more love. Then the common sense will come by itself." We try to live after that and for the last twenty five or so years it has proved over and over again that she did have a point."

"I'm sorry." Jess suddenly seemed back to reality and looked up at me. "You were going to go back to Ashdene Ridge and get your things. I didn't mean to hold you back. You should go now. I'll make sure everything works like it should here. And if not then I have the phone numbers to Duke and to Ashdene Ridge. It will be fine."

I nodded and backed out the door before I walked through the hallway and out the doors and back into the blizzard. But if it was the blizzard, the tickets that were stuck on my windshield window or something else I did not know. But after that day I would never be able to understand how I didn't, right then and there had seen what was on its way to happen.

Kenny POV

"But what were you doing outside? In this weather?"

It was clear Duke was annoyed that Bailey had even came up with going outside to play football in this weather. And I couldn't blame him, Jeremy had seemed to be in a lot of pain when Mike and those possible foster parents took him away and to the hospital.

"We just wanted to play a game of football." Bailey defended himself. "We didn't think anything would happen. But then Jeremy slipped on the hill and just kept on rolling since it was so slippery. But accidents do happen and it's not my fault that Jeremy's clumsy."

"I told you not to go outside. None of this would have happened if you had just listened."

Bailey sighed, and I couldn't help the snorting grimace when he turned away from Duke. He probably hoped Duke wouldn't notice- he did. But before he had the time to say anything Floss had showed what she thought too. And she did have a point though, we all knew she was hoping to get fostered more than anything else.

"And the foster parents went with Jeremy too." Floss stated and sighed deeply. "I was going to show them more. Maybe show them my dancing. I thought they'd come back after they drove Jeremy to the hospital but it's been ages and it doesn't seem like they'll be coming back more."

I stood up and left the kitchen. If it was anything I didn't need right now it was to hear somebody's awkward whining about that they weren't getting fostered. So without another thought I walked up the stairs and into my and Minnie's room where Minnie sat on her bed holding Lamby close to her and with a distressed look on her face.

"What's up Minnie?" I could feel a frown form in my forehead and I sat down by her lying my arm around her shoulders. "Is it Jeremy you're worried about? He's going to be fine in no time. And the good thing about doing it now is that it'll be fine and working until in the summer. So when it's the actual time to be out and play football- he'll be out there again." Minnie nodded, but didn't say anything and didn't move from her crouched position. "Is there something else bothering you?"

Minnie else looked as if she might want to say something more, but before she had the time to say anything we heard the door open and slam downstairs and then Duke shouting.

"MIKE'S HERE."

"Come on." I moved my hand and took Minnie's with mine. "We'll go and find out what Mike's found out?"

Minnie nodded silently and followed me out of our room. "It was broken." Along with me and Minnie the rest of the kids in the house and Duke everybody ran to greet Mike in the hallway. And he answered the question "And he's going to need some surgery but then he will be as good as new in no time."

"Where are Mr. And Mrs. McDonald?" Floss asked. "They're still going to foster one of us are they?"

"They still are. But no more nagging them and trying to catch their attention if they come here you three." Mike looked sternly to Floss, Michael and Harry. "Whoever they want to foster it is their choice… Jake had to go home to their dogs and Jess is back at the hospital with Jeremy. I just came to get some things, I'll stay with him."

"See? Told you Jeremy was going to be fine?"

I turned and looked down to see Minnie. Only to realize she wasn't there anymore, she had left without me noticing it. I figured I had heard enough and walked back up the stairs and into my and Minnie's room where Minnie was sitting on her bed with a notebook and her big pack of gel pens.

"So it was really broken?" I nodded at her question and went to sit down on my bed while Minnie kept on drawing. Something in the way Minnie was asking her childish, sneaky questions was making my stomach clench. "And it was an accident?"

"Yes, of course it was an accident." I answered her, but I wasn't so sure if it would help anyway. "You don't just hurt yourself on purpose to go to the hospital. Why do you ask?"

Minnie's usual distressed and thoughtful look really made my stomach clench. Whatever this little girl had been through it was something bad, something with hospitals and not being treated well- something evil. And when she at last answered my question, I was pretty sure it wasn't the full truth, or the truth at all.

"Nothing. I'm just being sneaky."

Mike POV

It was when I walked by through the hospital hallway on my way back to Jeremy's room I saw it.

There were windows in the wall in between the room and the hallway. Through them I could see the look on Jess's face where she sat by the head of his bed and looked down on Jeremy. And there was that look in her eyes. That so very special look.

And seeing just that look, damn it. Out of all things I loved with my job there was nothing that could compare to that look. And when I, as quietly as it was possible not to wake Jeremy opened the door and walked into the room. I didn't notice that I was staring at Jess or the slight smile that had formed on my lips.

"What?" Jess smiled back but seemed confused. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Why didn't I see this sooner? I should have seen it right away. Before Jake left and everything."

"See what?"

"It clicked. Just like you said it would." Jess raised an eyebrow. "Do you remember what you said? When I asked you if there was any certain wishes for a child you would foster? You said you were looking for someone to just click."

Jess's mouth fell open while she looked from Jeremy, to me, than back to Jeremy and ran her palm over his forehead and hair one more time while a light was just starting to shine in her eyes and by her whole body language.

"I have to… I had to turn my phone off earlier…. I have to go call Jake. Stay here with Jeremy Mike."

Without anything else spoken Jess threw her arms around me in an embrace. I, in pure surprise just laughed when she let go again and with the smile on her lips ran out of the room. I couldn't help but smile too, and looked towards Jeremy on the hospital bed. But couldn't even get myself to worry for him. He would be fine after all.

"I always believed there was a reason for every little thing that happens." Not two minutes later Jess returned. "Well, I did because when I found out I wouldn't get pregnant it all just faded. It just hurt too much for it to have a meaning." Jess's eyes were just sparkling happily when she looked towards Jeremy. "Maybe this was the reason. It has to be the reason. We're even all J's. Jessica and Jacob and Jeremy. It's really as if it was all meant to be."

Jess silent at last. There was nothing more for her or for me to say that would mean anything at all anyway. And while I sunk down on a chair by the wall and watched the people passing by through the windows in the wall towards the hallway I couldn't help but wish I could shout out to all of them about what had happened. About…. Call it a miracle if you so want. About a family that had just been made while we still had barely realized it was right around us.

"Jake." Jacob McDonald barely had time to get inside the door to the room before Jess ran straight up to him and laid her arms around his neck with the biggest smile on her lips. "It clicked- it just said click and we didn't even notice." She let her hands fall and leaned her head against Jake's shoulder with a smile still on her face and joy shining from her yet tear-filled eyes. "It clicked."

"Huh?" Jake raised an eyebrow and laid his arm around Jess's shoulders. Then hesitated for at least two minutes before he finally said something. "I guess it did."

"Can we do it just like that?" Jess turned to me and I could feel that despite everything a big smile had formed on my lips. "Just say that it clicked and decide that we don't want a kid anymore…" I felt my smile fading and a frown forming instead.

"What do you mean? You don't want a child? You just did…"

"No. No. You got me wrong."

We, all three turned when Jeremy said something. Maybe he had heard what we said. No, he only mumbled in his sleep, moved as much as it was possible with his foot still held high and stayed asleep. Jess, still with tears in her eyes walked over to the bed and tenderly ran a hand over his forehead and through his hair.

"I mean I don't want any kid." Jake walked over too and looked down on Jeremy sleeping, unknowingly of what was going on around him might be these people's biggest decisions of their lives. "I want this kid. I want Jeremy to be a part of our family."

It looks like Jeremy has found his forever family.

The Swedish children's book writer who said that quote was Astrid Lindgren. Her most famous one is Pippi Longstocking, you might have heard about her.

Random fact

Actually, when I first did the syoc- thing in this story and Jeremy was sent in by Bracken99 his name was Elijah. But by then, that Kenny wanted to name little Boo Elijah if it was a boy had already been mentioned so I just asked if they could change it. Then when I was deciding on names for Jake and Jess I put names beginning with J so they would kind of… well. It would just seem kind of meant to be if you get what I mean.