Chapter 13

Alyssa barely slept at all...and she was up before the sun.

Today was the day Lexi was coming.

There were just so many unknowns. Where had she been for the past two and a half months since the fire? Was she with a family? Was she in some kind of group home? Was she attached to the people who had been caring for her? Would she bond with them?

How would the kids take to her?

Andy and Jesse at least had some understanding of what was going to happen. And at least for the moment they were excited about it.

Maggie was the one she was most concerned with, obviously. She had been fascinated with the idea of a baby ever since Emma Lynn began showing. And she had repeatedly pointed out that she had two brothers, but no sister.

But she also pointed out that she didn't have a puppy.

And how she would react to seeing another little girl in Kelly's arms...that would be the real test.

Kelly was so happy. He wanted this more than anything. He was certain this was the right thing to do...and that everything would work out fine.

But Alyssa had a lot of questions...and she wished she had been able to ask them before today.

She slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Kelly...and headed for the bathroom.

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Kelly turned over in bed and reached for Alyssa. His hand slid over the empty side of the bed where his wife was supposed to be...and he opened his eyes to find he was alone.

He sat up and looked around. The sun was barely coming up.

He saw the sliver of light creeping out from under the bathroom door and he could hear the shower running.

He threw back the covers and got up out of bed.

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Alyssa was just standing under the hot water...as hot as she could stand it and she had the shower head angled down so the water jets pulsated up and down her shoulder and her right arm.

She gingerly rotated the joint...it wouldn't move nearly as much as it had even a few months ago. The doctor had said she had a lot of scar tissue built up and it was restricting the movement...causing what he called a "frozen shoulder".

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The shower door opened, and Kelly stepped in.

"Lyssa...it's like five thirty in the morning..." he said...then he yawned.

"Then what are you doing up?"

"There was this big empty space in my bed..." he told her as he reached out for her.

He pulled back from the scalding water.

"Jeez...what're you trying to do? Boil yourself alive?"

He adjusted the temperature so it was more tolerable.

Then he stepped closer to his wife.

"What's wrong, Lys..." he asked as he gently ran his hands over her body. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just tense..."

Kelly reached for the sponge and the lemon scented body wash she had been using for as long as he'd known her. He squirted a little out and began to rub rhythmic circles across her back and up and down her arms.

She flinched as he worked on her right shoulder.

"Okay...now I know something's wrong." he said, as he turned her to face him. "Your arm's bothering you...isn't it?"

"I just...with the party and everything yesterday..." she tried to brush it off.

He gently placed one finger beneath her chin, forcing her to look up at him...to look him in the eyes.

He studied her face for a long minute...

"You would tell me if there were something really wrong? Wouldn't you?"

Alyssa was always doing something for him...and she had almost a sixth sense when it came to how he was feeling. She knew when his knee was giving him problems, or his shoulder was aching, or his back was tight. And she did everything she could to ease his pain. She had since almost the day they met.

He still remembered that first time...in her old apartment over on Ashland...how she had massaged away the pain in his shoulder after he'd told her about getting injured in a fire...a fire that had taken the life of a brother firefighter...and his oldest friend.

She would do anything for him...he knew that. But he wasn't always sure she knew he'd do the same for her...if she ever gave him the chance.

"Of course I would, Kelly..." she answered.

And she would...just not today.

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There were so many last minute things to do...wash the bottles, and the plastic coated spoons. Set up the changing table...and make sure the new car seat was safely installed.

The door bell rang at precisely twelve noon.

Kelly had gone to pick Maggie up from school...so Alyssa was by herself when Mrs. Hillford arrived with Lexi.

She took a deep breath...and opened the door.

There was the social worker...holding an adorable little girl with light brown hair and enormous blue eyes.

And Alyssa was in love.

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Mrs. Hillford swept in...all business.

"Come in...please..." Alyssa said as the woman walked past her and headed to the living room.

Apparently interpersonal skills were not this woman's strong suit.

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They went to the sofa...and Mrs. Hillford handed Lexi to Alyssa.

She was a big girl...almost as big as Maggie.

"Hi Lexi..." she said softly. "Hi Sweetheart. Such a pretty girl..."

Lexi studied her intently...like she was trying to decide what to make of this strange lady.

"I'm so happy to meet you." Alyssa went on...letting Lexi get used to the sound of her voice. "I think you're gonna like it here..."

"Where's Mr. Severide?" Mrs. Hillford asked abruptly.

"Kelly's just picking Maggie up from preschool." Alyssa said evenly, not varying the tone of her voice.

She turned her attention back to the little girl in her lap.

"You're gonna like Maggie...and she's so excited about you coming here. You're gonna play..."

"I need to see what provisions you've made for the child." Mrs. Hillford cut in.

"Of course..." Alyssa replied. "I have some questions for you as well."

"Such as? I'm on a schedule here..."

"Such as...what kind of formula does Lexi need? And what foods has she been introduced to?"

Mrs. Hillford dug into her shoulder bag. And she pulled out a manila envelope.

"You'll find all that information in this packet...along with her medical cards...and her immunization records."

"Can we take her to our pediatrician? Or do we have to go somewhere special?"

"As long as your pediatrician takes Medicaid it shouldn't be a problem."

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At that moment Kelly and Maggie came in through the back door.

"Look who's here..." Kelly said as he carried Maggie into the living room.

He didn't want her to go running in and scare Lexi.

"Lexi...can you say 'hi' to Maggie?" Alyssa asked as Kelly sank down onto the couch.

She waved the baby's hand up and down a little.

"This my new baby?" Maggie asked.

"This is Lexi..." Kelly told her. "And she's gonna live here at our house now...and we're gonna take care of her."

"Forever?"

"For a while..." Kelly said. "Let's just let her get to know us..."

He and Alyssa had talked about it...and they didn't want to make Maggie any promises they couldn't keep.

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Despite all that she had done...or all she had allegedly done...the state hadn't terminated Jaclyn Fisher's parental rights. But they were still actively looking for relatives that would be able to take the baby. So far, her maternal grandparents...a couple in their early seventies had declined to take custody due to health reasons.

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Maggie reached out to touch Lexi's hand.

"Gentle..." Kelly reminded her. "We don't want to scare her..."

He took Maggie's hand in his so she didn't get too rough.

Alyssa scooted a few inches closer...bringing the girls closer.

"Hi Baby..." Maggie said.

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After a few minutes Mrs. Hillford cleared her throat.

"I really need to see what preparations you've made." she said abruptly.

Alyssa and Kelly shared a quick look.

"Of course..." Alyssa said tersely.

She and Kelly got up and led Mrs. Hillford up the stairs to their bedroom where the crib and changing table were set up and waiting.

The woman looked around.

"I thought you were gonna put her in with your daughter." she said.

"We thought it would be better to have her sleep in her at first. To let her get used to Kelly and I being with her..."

"And then we'll ease into having her and Maggie together." Kelly finished.

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Mrs. Hillford checked the bathroom...making note of the new bath chair.

She looked in Maggie's room...giving it a cursory glance.

Then she went down the stairs and swept through the kitchen. She opened the fridge and looked in the pantry. And she checked the new bottles and cans of formula sitting on the counter.

She looked over the four seasons room...and saw that they had three baby gates one for each kitchen door and another for the stairs.

The social worker nodded.

Everything appeared satisfactory.

"I'll be making periodic visits over the next few months...assuming you're going to have her that long. I'll phone with the time...giving you an hour's notice. You need to notify the office if you intend to take her out of state...for instance if you would go on vacation. Now...babysitters..."

"Our "babysitters" are mostly firefighters and paramedics." Kelly told her.

This woman was getting on his nerves. And he wanted her out of his house, the sooner the better.

"I suppose that would be sufficient." she conceded.

How generous of her...

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"Well...I'll leave you now." Mrs. Hillford said.

Kelly set Maggie down and showed the woman to the door.

Once he had shut it behind her, he turned to Alyssa.

"Nobody's gonna crown her Miss Congeniality..." Alyssa said.

"You ain't kiddin'..." he agreed. "What a..."

"Here..." Lyssa told him. "You take Lexi...I want to go look at that packet. Then I'll get lunch for everybody."

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Kelly reached out for the baby.

"Sure...come on Lexi..." he said.

He took her carefully in his arms.

"What a big girl..."

He turned and followed Alyssa into the family room.

"She weights almost as much as Maggie."

Alyssa unwound the cord from the envelope, and looked inside. She withdrew a single sheet...a double sided form.

"Twenty-one and a half pounds..." she said. "And twenty eight and a half inches tall."

She scanned the form...

"And she takes regular formula...no soy...and she eats cereal...fruits and vegetables...but she doesn't like meats."

"I don't blame you there..." Kelly said to Lexi.

Baby food meats were still pretty nasty in his opinion. When the kids were little, Alyssa used to grind up whatever they were eating in the food processor and mix it with the vegetables. At least that was slightly more tolerable.

"No allergies..."

That was good to know...

"And she sleeps for about two hours in the afternoon." Alyssa said as she put the form back in the envelope.

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She got up from the sofa and headed for the kitchen to get lunch together.

"Maybe we'll all take a nap before the boys get home." Kelly said. "You've still got two more people to meet..."

He stood up and gave Lexi a little swing before he followed Alyssa.

"What do you want for lunch, Lexi?"