Celle J: Thank you!

SkullGrunt: Thank you very much. I'm going to try to update more often.

RosettaxBloody: Yep!

I'm so glad that you guys like this! I know it's been a while, but I promise to update more often!

-Keta

Chapter 2

Lillian and Richard Slys wake up at precisely six in the morning as they have done every day for the eleven years that they've been married, and after a languid kiss and fifteen minutes of snuggling into one another, Lillian hops in the shower and Richard makes the bed. At six-thirty, they venture downstairs, both dressed comfortably for their planned day indoors, and head into the kitchen to make breakfast before they wake up their five children.

However, on this particular day, their oldest daughter, Kayla is already awake and sitting at the table with an old bottle clutched in her hand and bundle held tightly in her other arm. She's humming, something soft, a lullaby that Lillian had sang to her and all of her siblings when they were infants.

"Kayla?" Lillian calls out softly, not wanting to frighten her daughter. "What do you have there?"

Still, Kayla jolts up and turns sharply, and her parents can see the little face in the bundle. "He was on our porch, mommy."

Taken aback by the sight of a baby in their daughter's arms, Lillian and Richard turn to look at one another, and after a few moments of silent communication, Richard takes a step back and allows his wife to take control of the situation; she's always had a more level head. "Kayla," Lillian starts and slowly moves to take a seat next to her, not wanting to startle the infant, "why didn't you come and get us?"

Kayla hums then, as if to say that she doesn't know why, but if she had spoken those words, she would have lied. The reason why she didn't come to get them is both simple and complicated; she knew that Flug had to be taken care of, and she needed time to convince them… She knows that the latter part should be easy; her parents are good and caring people, but… Her right middle finger rubs over the bandage on her index finger, catching and tugging on the thicker part.

Knowing that she won't get a better answer out of her daughter, Lillian decides to drop that topic and asks, "was there anything out on the porch with him?"

Kayla opens her mouth to answer, but when the baby opens his eyes, she finds her voice almost caught in the wave of affection that surges inside of her. "There was a note too," she whispers, her nose crinkling slightly as her smile broadens. "I readed part of it, but I didn't…" She trails off, her smile diminishing in the wake of the illusive word.

"Understand?" Lillian supplies.

"Yeah!" she exclaims and immediately looks guilty, having noticed how the child's eyes had widened with shock. "Sorry, Flug." She presses a kiss to his forehead, careful not to catch the tiny wisps of reddish-orange hair that curl and stick to his skin. "I didn't understand all of it, but… his name is Flug."

The odd name garners a raised eyebrow from Lillian, but she doesn't comment on it. No, there are more pressing matters to attend to than the supposed name of the baby.

"Where's the note at?" she asks, and a small part of her hopes that Kayla hasn't thrown it away; she really doesn't want to dig through the trash this early in the morning.

"On the counter, next to the fridge."

Before Lillian can get up, Richard snatches the note off the counter and hands it to his wife; she feels her chair move when he leans over it a moment later, but she barely pays attention to it. No, she's far more interested in the slick paper clutched in her hand.

The ink is smudged in places but still readable, if she stares at it long enough, she can make out the shadow of the corner store's policy printed on the back; it's written on a blank slip of receipt tape. The faint smell of lavender reaches her nose a second before she can bring herself to start reading. 'But lavender isn't in season yet…' With a moment to ponder that oddity, she forces herself to focus again.

Dear whomever receives this letter,

I know it must seem odd to find an infant on your doorstep, but I fear that have no choice. If I could take him with me, I would have, but I fear that he would not survive.

Please find it in your heart to care for him. If you cannot, then I ask of you to take him to a family that can. Either way, thank you. This is a debt that I can never repay...

His name is Flug, and he is the only family I have left.

And to my baby boy, I'm so sorry that I had to leave you. I love you. I will always love you. Be strong, and be safe. And I hope that one day you'll forgive me.

Love, mommy.

Lillian looks up from the note with a dumbfounded expression and turns her head sharply to catch her husband's eye. "What should we do?" she asks, but she already knows; they have five kids already… what's one more?

"I guess we adopt him."

And two days later, temporary custody with paperwork for full adoption was granted to Lillian and Richard for Flug Slys.

They promised that if anyone ever came to get him that they'd hand him over in a heartbeat, but no one ever did…