( A little more "background information" is revealed in this chapter, I'm so thankful and happy to see all of your reviews, I'm thrilled to know you all are enjoying the story so much, I did however write this as a one shot, so any advice or direction you would like to see this story turn to would be greatly appreciated , I have some ideas but always open to new ones, please continue to review, I'm having a blast writing it! )

Dinner was going smoothly, Rusty even found himself laughing throughout the night, he was having fun, just as Sharon said he would be. They had ordered Pizza and to Rusty's surprise, Sharon had eaten more than once piece. She seemed more relaxed around her children, her laughter filled the booth with stories of Conner's fraternity brothers and their pranks and Rusty's pranks he was pulling on Provenza every now and then. Olivia informed everyone on her new art class explaining it was a much needed break from the everyday of practicing law. It made perfect sense to Rusty that Olivia would be a lawyer; with Sharon's need for rules her children seemed to follow the same code.

Rusty had gotten into a conversation with Conner over video games and horror movies and joining him and his brothers for their monthly horror movie night, when he looked over to see Olivia pull a file out of her purse and hand it to her mother, "Dad wanted me to give this to you." Olivia smiled to her mother as the boys were engrossed in talking about the newest scary movie.

"What is it?" Sharon briefly looked over at her daughter quieting her questioning voice as she opened the file taking a look inside.

"I'm not sure, we had dinner last night and he asked me to give it to you, said you would understand." Olivia hadn't looked at the file, it wasn't really her business, she figured if her father wanted her to know he would tell her, and so would her mother. She respected that they had their own way of handling things after being separated that her and Conner never questioned.

As Sharon looked over the paperwork Olivia had just given her, a confused look came across her face until she read half way through the hand written note lying on top.

Sharon,
I wish I could of given you this in person, but I know tonight is Rusty's birthday, and I assumed that isn't how you would want him and I to meet. When you called the other week on advice about how to deal with his father and the legal implications I knew you would soon need these papers, I've already signed where they need It, all you need is to add some additional information I couldn't find and your signature. Send them to my office once you've finished and I will make sure it's processed. They will want to meet with all of us for family sessions to make sure it is the right fit. Let me know what times are good for you and I will clear my schedule. I look forward to meeting him.
He is a lucky young man; no one is a better mother than you.
All my love,
John

Sharon flipped over the note seeing the words Adoption Papers: Rusty Beck and Sharon's heart skipped a beat as she closed her eyes holding back the tears. Yes, John Raydor always knew what his wife needed, although he wasn't always able to provide it through their marriage, when it came to their children he never let her down, and that was exactly who Rusty was…one of her children and he knew from the first time they had talked about him.

Sharon supposed that's why they had continued to stay married, he was a wonderful father and neither of them wanted to put their kids through an awful divorce when they were only unhappy with each other. They stayed married, but separated when Olivia and Conner where in high school, it was just easier. Sharon was able to keep the same last name of her kids and her and John were better off apart, especially through his periods of drinking and gambling. Being separated was Sharon's way to stand up for herself. They were always together as a family, they had made that promise to each other long ago, and neither had broken it, not in the 35 years of being married. Yes, when it came to their children, John Raydor was always there.

Sharon's thoughts were interrupted by her daughter's soft voice, "Mom are you alright?" Sharon hummed in response as she closed the file tucking it away in her own purse. "Yes, I'm fine." Although Olivia knew something in the file had affected her mother she let it go gently holding onto her mother's hand on the table giving her the silent comfort they both needed with a gentle squeeze.

Sharon knew she would bring up the adoption papers to her children eventually, but now wasn't the time, she wanted to talk things over with Rusty privately, make sure it's what he truly wanted before sharing the news of something so life changing. Sharon wanted more than anything for Rusty to know he was truly apart of her family, she had been thinking about adoption for weeks, ever since Daniel Dunn had signed over his legal rights to Rusty and Sharon Beck had relinquished them by abandoning him once again. Sharon wanted for Rusty to feel that he had a home with her, a place to be loved and cherished…she only hoped he wanted the same thing.

(I'm in need of ideas, I'm thinking the family therapy sessions could be fun, let me know any ideas, they always help! )