The decision to stay at home instead of going on a honeymoon turned out to be a good one in more than one way. It gave all four of them time to settle into their new home, as well as to settle as a family with Brownie quickly becoming a well-beloved member.

He was the sweetest cat one could imagine, following the girls around the house, playing with them and purring whenever somebody pet him. And he did get a lot of pets and treats. He never once tried to scratch at a furniture or tried to throw something off a table. The only thing which made him grumpy was when the girls tried to take him to the garden, which was perfectly understandable seeing his history.

Two days after their wedding the papers for the adoption were ready to be signed and Maura's lawyer brought them over. As Maura started to read, while Jane watched her in silence. There was a soft gasp and the blonde turned to her with tears in her eyes. "You named her Julia Dorothea?" Maura asked in disbelief. Jane smiled softly: "Yeah."

There was some silence as they gathered their thoughts. Then the blonde finished reading and signed the papers. Now it was time for Jane, who read carefully until she saw Sophies full name. "N0!" she said and glanced at Maura who nodded. "You named her Sophie Clementine Isles?"

Maura chuckled softly and gave Jane a kiss. "Obviously we had the same idea."

"I'm glad that one can't escape fate." Jane silently said, squeezing Maura's hand before quickly wiping away a tear. The paperwork was finally done but there was another task to manage yet: finding someone to take care of Julia and Sophie when they couldn't because of being at work. Also maybe once a week in the evening so that they could go out on a date.

Unfortunately, Amelia wasn't available anymore, for she had found a boyfriend and she had a lot to do for her studies which meant that they had to find another reliable person whom the kids liked.

They were just sorting through some applications they had received, when they heard Sophie and Julia walking down the hallway. There was some whispering which made Jane assume that they were either up to something or that they would once more be confronted with yet another question.

Maura who had heard it too, looked up and gave Jane a small smile. The girls entered the room and Jane shrieked when she noticed that the cat Julia was holding was not Brownie. Their cat looked awfully offended, wiggling his tail in dismay as he followed them into the living room.

"What's that?" the brunette asked pointing to the black cat who was happily purring in her daughter's arms.

Julia rolled her eyes. "Really ma? This is a cat." She said smartly. Brownie walked past her legs and jumped into Janes lap, still offended.

"I can see that much, honey. But where does it come from?"

"It was sitting on our deck earlier. Can we keep it?"

"I'm sure he has a home, sweetheart." Maura said in a soft tone, participating in the conversation for the first time. Her hand stroke Brownies fur.

"Brownie is jealous." Sophie stated the obvious. "But what if you are back to work and us back to school. Wont he be lonely?"

Oh yeah, these kids were really smart Janes look told Maura when she locked eyes with her wife.

"We still can't keep it. There is someone missing the cat for sure. You wouldn't want someone to keep Brownie either, would you?" Maura stated and Janes heart sank when both girls eyes saddened a little.

A knock to the door interrupted their conversation. A tall blonde woman stood on their porch. Half hiding behind her, Jane could spot a little red-haired boy of Julia's and Sophies age, with a freckled face. He looked at her shyly, while his mother introduced themselves.

"Hi, I'm Ashly, and this is Matteo. We moved into the house right next to you a few days ago." Janes eyes followed her index finger, which was pointing to the nice old house. "Our cat, Peter went missing yesterday, and we wondered if you might have seen him? He is all black except for a small white spot under his chin. He must have escaped while we were carrying some boxes inside. And as he is new to this neighborhood, we are a bit worried."

The boy with the freckles gave her a hopeful but small smile.

"Hey. My name is Jane, and this is my wife Maura." She smiled at her wife who had appeared behind her. Ashly gave them a sympathetic look and shook both women's hands. Then Jane softly called for Julia's name, who padded to the door, still holding the cat.

Matteo's eyes lit up as he caught a glimpse of his cat. Peter jumped from Julia's arm and ran to him. They all watched as he rounded the boy's feet, purring very loud.

Julia moved into her mother's side, and held on tight, her eyes a mixture of sadness and happiness. The brunette noticed how she shot Matteo a curious look. "Hey, what do you say, do you want to stay and play with the girls?" Jane asked, earning a thankful look from Ashly, when the boy shyly accepted.

The neighbor thanked them, stating that he didn't know anybody in the surrounding, and had already been bored to death over the last few days. Besides she had more boxes to unpack.

"Sure." Jane said, watching Ashly pick up the cat and head off to her house after leaving a card with her name and phone number so that they could call if it was time to pick him up, or if there were any problems.

But there were none. At first the kids had been looking at each other, not knowing what to say. Obviously, they were all shy, Jane thought. Therefore, she asked Maura if she would join in playing monopoly with them.

The kids literally warmed up to each other during the bargaining over properties and houses and finally left to go play in the garden together. Jane busied herself making some iced tea, watching them from the kitchen window, while Maura had moved with the applications to the deck.

"Its nice to see Sophie and Julia play with someone else and not keeping to themselves." The blonde quietly said to Jane.

"Yes, it is. I think that this will be good for them." The brunette watched them in silence for a while, listening to their giggles and shrieks as the kids ran around the garden. Fall was slowly making itself shown she thought, when she noticed how the leaves were turning yellow and red. It was still warm in the sunshine, but it already got cold in the evening. She had been playing with the thought to light a fire for a few days. But in order to do so she would have to bring in some wood from the shed.

She put it onto the list of what had still to be done today and then started looking at the applications again too.