Thanks for reviewing davisbaker, tp404, stagediva23, caseyjr, gstyler, melissa, sarah, h23brock, lauralynn3, arubagirl0926, jordan, kelly, caroline, mackenzie, katie, mary garland , wordsmeaneverything, rafap, leah, taylor, cullentreehill, kathryn, and whitney.
Well my fam vaca is over, but now ROADTRIP with my since-kindergarten best friends A & S :)) ...but sadly, not headed to Wilmy. If only hmmmm
TAXI SON A QUI! (if you didnt see jersey shore season 4, ep 1 italy, you don't appreciate this comment..)
I have a feeling youre all gunna love this one.. at least i hope so! It's crazy and outa left field, but here goes. Enjoy all.
AGE 4
;
Brooke was using this rare occasion to sit out on her deck and sip a glass of wine and do... absolutely nothing.
Jude and Davis were now four years old and naps were the last thing they ever wanted to take. But yesterday she and Julian took them to a outdoor water park and this morning she took them for a run and then they played at the park. So they were so exhausted and cranky, they fell asleep very easily on the ride (run for Brooke) back home, freeing up this fine mid-day for their mother. So instead of doing laundry or cleaning or sketching for her new line (someday..), or doing anything else that would just make her more tired, she decided to sit out on the deck and watch the sky and the boats and the water.
She thought about how she was sure that their fourth IVF treatment would be the charm. Yes, they'd first tried in May and then again in August and in October, all of which had been unsuccessful, again...
She thought back to many years ago to the day she bought this place from that wierd woman with the cat.. Beesley. She never imagined at that time that she would fill up that house with anyone other than Peyton. But Peyton, Angie, Rachel, and Sam had filtered in and out, and then Julian came into her life, and even when she thought she'd lost him too, he came back to stay and she got to live her happily ever after. Now she shared the house with Julian and their family.
Again, if she could have told that past version of herself what she knew now.. maybe she wouldn't have been so scared that a 'normal family' would ever happen for her. Because back then, she used to stifle the feelings of fear and saddness when she thought that she would always be alone.
Brooke took a deep breath as she breathed in the cooler fall air.
DING DONG
Brooke groaned, as her 'nothing' time was cut short when she heard the door bell. She hoped it didn't wake the boys, either. Brooke shuffled in from the deck and through the house to the front door. She opened it quickly, expecting maybe to see a package delivery or Millie or maybe even her mother. But never in a million years did she picture this moment.
"Sam..." Brooke muttered in shock.
*(For all intended purposes of my idea and this chapter, Sam Walker is younger than she would really be after almost six years away from Brooke. So I'd say she's still like, 17-ish in my fic. This is just so what happens next makes more sense. Plus I really always wanted this storyline to happen in the show in season 7 or 8, too!)
"Hi Brooke."
There she was, Samantha Walker, in the flesh, giving Brooke an unreadable expression.
Brooke was surprised but shook herself out of it before throwing herself at the teen.
"Sam! Oh my gosh! I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too, Brooke. Sorry I haven't kept in touch.. You did so much for me and-"
Brooke cut her off, seeing that Sam was flustered. Sam didn't need to apologize.
"Honey.. what are you doing here?"
"Well funny you should ask..." Sam looked down and paused before reaching to the side of the door that Brooke couldn't see.
Brooke almost dropped dead when she saw Sam pick up a baby carrier.
"Sam..." Brooke was stunned. "You had a baby?"
A million thoughts were running through her head. The most prevalent one was... Sam's still just a kid herself.
"Umm.." Sam didn't really know what to say... yes obviously.
"Oh goodness. Come in, come in, sit down." Brooke told her, watching Sam take hasty steps forward into the house.
Brooke and Sam sat down on her couch, side by side, with a little bit of space between them.
"Do you want to hold her?" Sam asked.
Brooke nodded. Sam unbuckled the old-looking baby carrier seat and lifted the infant out. Brooke took the sleeping baby willingly and gushed when she finally got a close look at the infant's face. She was so beautiful and adorale and tiny. She was perfect.
"Sam.. why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?" Brooke asked, not being able to pull her eyes away from the precious child in a purple and white stripped onesie and a purple hat with a little bear on it.
Sam looked down. "I didn't tell anyone."
"What? Sam? What happened to Rebecca?"
"I don't live with her anymore."
"Sam..." Brooke gave her a stern yet concerned motherly voice.
"We just really didn't get along. And her boyfriend doesn't like me."
Brooke tried to understand how someone could pick their boyfriend over their child, but then again.. this was Rebecca.
"Did he hurt you? Did she hurt you?"
"No, no. I- I'm fine."
Brooke didn't believe her but she let it go.
"Where do you live now? You do have a place to live, don't you?"
"Brooke, do we have to get into this?"
"Yes we do, Sam! Where are you staying? Where was she born? Are you taken care of? Do you have a job? Are you finishing school? Did you graduate? How are you going to support her?... These are really important questions, Sam! And I know I'm not your guardian anymore but I still get to worry about you. It's hard raising a baby, Sam, I know that very well. And I know you're not the same young girl that lived here and I know you're smarter than to sleep on the street or in a car again or to put yourself in danger like with X before. But this isn't just you anymore, this is for your daughter too!"
"You're a mom now?" Sam deflected. She actually looked a little disappointed. "With Julian, I assume? I heard you two finally got married."
"Yes.. we have twin sons, Davis and Jude. They just turned four."
"Wow." Sam paused. "Her name is Avery... Avery Jacklyn..." Referring to her baby.
Brooke liked it, but she had more important things on her mind.
"Who's her father?"
"Not Jack." Sam said shortly. She looked very uncomfortable when she said that.
"Okay..." Brooke just concentrated on bouncing the baby slightly. "Well you picked a beautiful name. But it doesn't lessen my concern for you, Sam. What are you going to do?"
"I want to make things better for her. I want to make her childhood way less crappy than mine was and I want to go to college and make my own life better, too."
"Well that's great Sam, but you need to be realistic about this and-"
Sam cut Brooke off.
"I want you to be her parents, Brooke. You and Julian..."
Brooke was stunned, but not into silence.
"What? Sam, what are you talking about?"
"I want you to adopt her."
.
"Sam, I want to adopt you."
.
Stunned once again, Brooke couldn't believe what she was hearing.
On one hand, this was a miracle. She and Julian were trying desperately to have that perfect baby girl to add to their already amazing family, and here Sam was, ready to hand one right over to her. But on the other hand, was this even legal? Is this a realistic option at all? And Julian wasn't even here right now anyways.
How do you call your husband as work and say 'please come home, my long lost foster daughter just offered us her baby, do you want her?'
"W-w-what?" Brooke studdered.
Sam took some papers out of her bag and placed them on the coffee table. They were Sam's papers from the courts, officially signing over parental rights of her newborn child to Mr. and Mrs. Brooke (Davis) and Julian Baker.
"You're really serious?"
"I know this is a lot to take in.. and you didn't even know she existed until right now, and I have no right to ask you for anything else since you've done so much for me already in my life, but...I just hoped that you could love her and take care of her as much and as good as you did for me. I just..I want better for her."
"You could be better, Sam. You could be so much better than Rebecca ever was to you! You can be a great Mom, and I will be there every step of the way if you want to do this," Brooke told her. "She should know you, Sam. You can be her mom. You can do it."
Sam shook her head.
"I can't... She belongs with you, just like I always did..."
.
"You'll always be a Davis to me."
.
Sam got up slowly, leaving signed paperwork on the coffee table.
"Wait! Sam? You're leaving?"
Brooke stood up with Avery still in her arms. She was so confused. Sam was walking out? Just like that?
"I'm sorry." Sam took one last glance at the baby in Brooke's arms before walking out and closing the door behind her.
;
As Sam turned to walk down the driveway and down the street, she wasn't paying attention to where she was going and she walked right into somebody.. That somebody just happened to be Julian.
Julian was taking the rare opportunity to come home for lunch and he got out of his car and walked towards the house with his eyes fixated on his blackberry. He didn't see Sam coming and their shoulder's collided.
"Ugh!"
Julian stepped back as the girl fell to the ground.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry," he reached out his hand to help her up and that's when he saw her face. "Sam?"
Sam didn't want to deal with him too. So she didn't let him help her up. She just scurried to her feet and ran down the driveway.
"Sam? Wait!" He was so confused. Maybe it wasn't Sam...?
"Julian!" Julian turned to see his wife come out onto the porch. He walked towards her.
"Was that Sam?"
"Yeah..."
Julian finally got a real glimpse of what his wife was holding. A baby.
"Who is-? Is that...?"
"Sam just showed up here, handed me her baby and left. She said she's ours now, Julian. I don't know what the hell is going on."
Julian tried to process the unexpected and odd situation. He didn't know what to say.
"I'll go find her..." he said, turning around and getting back in his car, ready to go find Sam.
"Julian!" Brooke called after him.
"I'll bring her back, Brooke!"
.
"You've seen her?"
"No, but that cute guy who just left, asked me the exact same thing."
.
It didn't take long for Julian to find the short brunette with baggy black clothes on foot. He pulled the car up next to her.
"Sam! Get in the car."
She didn't stop.
"Sam! What are you doing! You can't just leave a child on people's doorsteps!"
"I didn't!" Sam stopped and turned. She looked angry and upset. "I handed her to Brooke! I made sure she was safe!"
Julian lowered his voice. "Sam, please get in the car."
"I'm not going back with you. You and Brooke can't be my parents... you have your own family now."
"Sam, I just wanna talk to you."
Sam hesitantly got in the car and Julian started to drive. They were silent until he parked at the nearby park.
"Come on.. let's take a walk," he said, not realizing tears were falling from Sam's eyes. She didn't move to get out.
"Fine, we can sit here and talk... Can you please tell me how you thought of this whole plan of yours? To give me and Brooke your baby...?"
"I want her to be loved and cared for."
"You don't love her?"
"No, of course I do.. but it's the caring and keeping her alive and happy part that I wouldn't be any good at."
"Did you ever think that maybe you'd be a great mother because you went through so much as a kid? That you learned how to care for a child in spite of the bad in your own life?"
"I don't want her to grow up with nothing. You and Brooke can give her everything she needs. Even older brothers to look out for her."
"Oh Sam," Julian sighed.
"I want her to have Brooke as a mom, and you as a dad... She deserves the best and I know I can't give that to her even if I try. And I can't trust the system to make sure she gets a good home. They screwed me and I can't risk the same thing happening to her."
"I know you think that but- -"
"Please Julian! Please take her and care for her and love her and-" Sam broke down in tears. "Please..."
Julian leaned across the seat. "Okay, of course, Sam. Sshhhhh." He comforted her. "If that's what you truly want."
"I do... I really do."
Julian nodded. "Okay, okay." He just wanted her to stop crying, his heart was breaking for her.
Sam sat up and Julian let go of her.
"What do we tell her? When she asks about her real parents someday?"
"You're her real parents..."
"You know what I mean, Sam."
Sam took a deep breath.
"Tell her that her biological mother loves her more than anything, and tell her that I think about her eyery single day... but I couldn't stand to let her go through what I did. I had to give her a family that would love and care for her and protect her forever. And I just couldn't guarantee that any other way."
Julian couldn't help but feel emotional. He knew Sam was going to leave and that he would never see her again.
"I promise she'll know that."
.
"...why didn't she love me enough."
"Maybe giving you up was the hardest thing she ever had to do... She's the only one who can answer that for you."
.
"Good, because I don't want her to hate me," Sam admitted.
"She won't." Julian assured her.
Sam nodded and went to open the door.
"Are you sure we can't go back to the house and talk this out? We can make this work so you can visit and your daughter will always know who you are. We can make that work."
"My heart can't take going back there.. I need to go. And we all need to move on."
Julian didn't want to let her go. He reached over and grabbed her arm slightly as she began to step out of the car.
"Where are you going? Do you need me to drive you somewhere?"
He really wanted to know where she was staying. He wanted to know what was going to happen to that sarcastic teen that he fell in love with (as a daughter) all those years ago, and still does love. She was practically his first child. She started his and Brooke's relationship and now she was adding to his family.
"You've done enough for me already. I'll be fine. You don't need to worry about me."
Julian didn't think he could ever not worry about Sam now.
She got out of the car and turned back to speak.
"Take care of yourself, Julian."
"You too, Samson."
She smiled slightly and closed the door before walking down the street, away from the direction Julian had to take to get home. He sat there in his car until she was out of sight.
He wondered if he'd ever see the Samantha Walker ever again in his whole life.
;
Julian came back home to find Brooke sitting on the couch with the baby girl. Brooke was practically crying.
"Brooke..."
"Did you find her?" Brooke looked up and wiped a tear.
"Yeah. We talked."
"Where is she?" Brooke looked to the door, hoping Julian hadn't come back alone.
"She's gone, Brooke. I don't think we're gunna see her again."
"What!" Brooke was overwhelmed. "What is happening? What the heck are we supposed to do?"
Julian sat down beside her and finally got to see the subject of all this drama.
"What's her name?"
"Sam named her Avery Jacklyn... but that's all I know about her."
Julian picked up the papers that were still on the table.
"It says her birthday is September 30th, so that would make her... six weeks old. But she's tiny so she must have come early or something. It says the address of the courthouse so we should probaby go down there and make sure we get everything squared away so everything's legal and so they can't take her away from us.."
"Are you seriously going along with Sam's crazy plan?" Brooke was surprised how quickly he jumped on the 'Sam plan' wagon.
"Aren't you? What else are we going to do, Brooke? Give her to some random foster family? That's the last thing that Sam wants."
"And you know what Sam wants?"
Julian nodded. "I promised her."
Brooke looked down and cried some more.
"She abandoned a child, Julian, a helpless little angel baby! How can she have done this after all she went through not having parents?"
"How can I be upset at Sam, Brooke? Maybe disappointed for the way she handled it, but not angry or upset."
Brooke looked up at him as he continued.
"IVF isn't working for us, Brooke..." His wife went to speak but Julian kept going. "It's just not, and it's not your fault, it's not anyone's fault, but... Sam just gave us this amazing gift that we tried to give ourselves but couldn't. She didn't leave Avery without parents, she gave her a chance at a better life than what Sam could've provided for her. Sam is actually doing the unselfish and mature thing here. How can I be upset about that?"
Brooke didn't have a reaction at first but then half smiled as she watched the sleeping little girl in her arms. She didn't even know what was happening and how her little life had just taken a drastic turn.. hopefully for the better.
Brooke needed a way to get past the questionable way Sam went about doing what she did here today, and needed to focus on their new unexpected stork delivery. She needed a way to accept it all, and Julian just gave it to her.
"I just wanted her to stay..." Brooke admitted. She loved Sam and felt like she had let her down. But this was Sam's choice.
"I know." Julian put his hand on top of Brooke's hand as they each looked at their new baby girl.
Brooke couldn't think of anything to say, while Julian addressed the baby girl.
"Say hi to Mommy and Daddy, Avery Baker."
.
"We're getting a baby! We're getting a baby!"
.
;
It was hard to believe all this happened in under two hours, but as the boys woke up from their nap, it was just hitting the hour and forty-five minute mark.
"Hey boys." Julian walked into their room when he heard them talking to each other.
"Daddy! You're home!" Jude ran to his father, not expecting him to be home.
"No more work today?" Davis asked.
"Nope. I came home early because Mommy and Daddy got some big news."
"What?"
"Go see what Mommy has in the living room."
The boys scampered out of their bedroom thinking Brooke had a present for them or something.
Davis got to his Mom first.
"Who's that?"
"Mama had a baby?" Jude asked, stopping just behind his brother.
"No boys.. Mommy and Daddy adopted a little baby girl. She's your new sister."
Julian went around and sat beside Brooke.
"Come say hi, guys!" Julian waved Davis and Jude over.
Davis took some small steps out of curiousity but Jude stayed where he was. He didn't seem all that interested.
"Hi baby." Davis said quietly.
"Her name is Avery. How do you like that name?"
"Avery..." Davis repeated. Jude shrugged.
"Jude, come on. Come meet her." Julian leaned over and pulled Jude over to sit on his knee. Jude then finally got a good look at the baby.
"Can she play with us?"
Brooke chuckled. "Oh not yet. Maybe in a few months she'll be more entertaining for you."
"She like sleepin'?" Davis noticed.
"Yes, babies like to sleep a lot, just like you did when you were first born... Do you want to hold her, Davis?"
Davis's eyes got wide. "Me?"
"Yeah you.. sit up here on the chair and Mommy will help you."
Davis did what he was told and Jude scooted up beside him.
"I wanna too."
"I'll grab the camera." Typical Julian.
Brooke placed a pillow between the boys and placed Avery down gently. Both boys just stared at her.
"Look at that, boys." Julian said from behind the video camera. "How does it feel to have a new sister? Do you like her?"
Neither boy knew how to react. This was all so sudden and unexpected.
She wasn't here before their nap and now she was... Little did they know, it was equally as unexpected for their parents.
"She do anything?" Jude wondered.
"No, not much yet. But she'll grow and learn and you'll get to teach her things." Brooke said, keeping a hand close just in case Avery or Davis or Jude tried to make a break for it.
Then Avery began to wake up and she started squirming. Then she started crying.
The boys were both frozen in fear. They weren't very familiar with baby cries. Davis made a funny face.
"Why she crying?" He thought he did something.
Julian caught this moment on camera, with the boys paralyzed in fear, and probably a little annoyance. They didn't like the crying so far.
"Mom..." Jude said, wanting out of this 'kodak moment'.
"I got her." Brooke picked her up and began to bounce and sway her, not yet knowing what calmed her down. "She's probably hungry. We have to go shopping, Julian."
Julian put down the camera. "Yep. Let's get our jackets boys, we're going out."
The boys pretty much ran away from the situation.
Brooke looked through the bag Sam left for food or infant diapers.
"Well there's not much in here, but it should be okay until we get to the store."
Brooke began to buckle a newly calm Avery back into her carseat that Sam left. Julian was also caught up in the moment but stopped to admire his wife and new child.
"Brooke..."
Her head turned. "Yeah?"
"We have a baby girl."
Brooke smiled and nodded, looking back to Avery. "We have a baby girl."
;
;
Baby Avery had 'arrived' just a month and a half ago, making Avery was four months old now. And things were beginning to happen more smoothly for the Baker family. Brooke and Julian had gone to the courts and received Avery's original birth cerificate, noticing that Sam had never acknowledged any biological father in Avery's records. They guessed that would always be a mystery. But that didn't matter.
Julian was her father.
Brooke was her mother.
The past was in the past.
Brooke and Julian were officially granted permenant custody of Avery, changing her last name to Baker for good.
To celebrate, Brulian and the three kids went on a massive shopping spree where Brooke couldn't NOT get everything in the whole store for her precious new baby girl.
Over the next two weeks or so, the biggest project was switching rooms around. Brulian decided to move the twins' room upstairs so Avery's nursery could be across the hall from Brulian's bedorom. The boys wanted to move upstairs to the bigger rooms anyways, so now was the perfect time. Instead of the 'baby' colors of soft ducking and enchanted forest that lined the room, Davis and Jude upgraded to a royal blue bedroom with their red single beds and new furniture. Now their old room became a nursery once again, but for one little girl this time. Those gender-neutral colors they picked many years ago definately paid off. But until the rooms were done, Brooke and Julian purchased a pretty lace bassonette to put in their bedroom for baby Avery. Brooke was thrilled because, having two boys the first time around, she couldn't get 'pretty' or 'girly' pink or frilly or lacy things.
Although this was an unusual way to obtain an adopted child, friends and family were quick to accept Avery into their lives since she was just so adorable and sweet. Of course, Brooke's 'side' of the family was a little more understanding because they knew Brooke's past with Sam.
Brooke still held out hope that they would see Sam again in the future, but Julian had reservations about that. While Brooke though a return of Sam would be a good thing, a great thing even, Julian suspected any future visit by Sam would only bring stress and worry onto their family, especially onto Avery, however old she is. He hoped Sam never wanted to take Avery away from them..
On this particular afternoon, Julian was sitting up against the headboard on his bed holding Avery as he read a new script his father had sent to him.
His little girl was very awake and took in her surroundings with a happy grin. She reached her little arms out in front of her, reaching for the small purple monkey Julian was holding against the side of the script as he read. He noticed his daughter's movements out of the corner of his eye.
"You want this, Avey?" Julian asked as he handed her the stuffed toy. Avery grabbed hold of it with one hand and waved it around slightly.
Julian stopped and put the script down before shifting Avery and facing her towards him. He brought her face directly parallel to his and smiled.
"Who's Daddy's little princess? Yes! I think that's you... yes Ave, that's you!" Julian gushed. Baby talk from a father was so much cuter with a little girl.
The daughter dropped the monkey, as she was now more focused on her Daddy. She reached out and grabbed his nose.
"Aya!" Julian made a crazy sound effect for her entertainment.
"What are you doing to Daddy, baby girl?" Brooke asked her daughter as she entered the room with a bottle in hand.
Avery didn't acknowledge her mother; rather, she picked her hand up and plopped it back down on Julian's nose again.
"Oy!" Julian made another unusual sound.
And out of nowhere, this little baby girl came up with the biggest smile and a little tiny baby laugh.
Brooke's eyes widened as she got to the bed.
"Did she just laugh?" Brooke asked. This was the very first time she'd ever done that.
"I think so," Julian said dumbfounded as Avery smiled.
"Make her do it again!"
"Doy!" Julian repeated as he picked up Avery's little hand and then put it back on his own nose.
This time, the laugh was greater and longer. Avery kicked her legs in mid air. Brooke leaned over and tickled Avery's round belly.
"Avery-cakes! You're laughing!"
"Yay!" Julian matched Brooke's happiness.
"Boys come see!"
Brooke got no response but she knew the boys could hear her from the living room.
"Davey! Jude! Come quick please!"
Soon Davis made an appearance with his brother a little behind him.
"What?" Davis jumped up on the bed and crawled next to his dad and Avery.
Jude stayed behind as usual.. he didn't warm up to Avery as quickly as Davis had.
"She's laughing, look." Julian repeated the action that got the laugh and sure enough, it worked again. Davis smiled.
"Hey Avey, do it for me!"
Julian carefully leaned Avery over towards Davis and the boy grabbed her tummy and then placed his lips again her onesie. He then blew a small bubble against her, making a funny rasberry noise. Sure enough, that made Avery giggle and squirm as well.
"Would you look at that. We've got ourselves a baby entertainer," Brooke smiled as she ruffled Davis's hair.
Jude finally took a step towards the side of the bed.
"I wanna try."
He scooted up, pushing his brother out of the way a bit. He started making funny faces at Avery and getting real close to her face. This actually had the reverse affect on the child, causing Avery to wimper in fright. Brooke grabbed his shoulder.
"Hey, whoa. Not too close."
"She's a-scared of you," Davis said, matter-of-factly.
"She is not!" Jude fought.
"Hey! No yelling," Julian reminded. They had told the boys that being calm and quiet in front of the baby would make her happier and not cry as much. They hated the sound of a baby cry.
"Try again, Jude. Gentle this time." Brooke really wanted this to be a good memory for the boys. Especially Jude who seemed more standoffish towards a new sibling since day one.
Jude really couldn't think of something else to do, so he copied his father's actions from before and make funny sounds. Although it wasn't as big as before, this did get a laugh out of Avery, making Jude very happy.
"So does someone wanna feed her for Mommy?" Brooke asked.
Usually, at that, the boys ran out of the room. They found feeding their sister to be very boring. Davis shook his head and she expected Jude to do the same, but this time he nodded.
"I will."
"I will too!" Davis changed his answer.
"Okay, okay. We'll take turns."
Julian sat with the boys and each twin fed Avery half of her bottle.
Brooke looked on happily, thinking that this is what she'd wished for.
Instead of Julian doing it this time, Brooke grabbed the digital camera and snapped pictures of the four people she loved the most. This would be the new picture on the dresser that, when she looked at it, she didn't have to pretend. This was her life now.
.
"This one actually never made it onto the list because I didn't think it was possible..."
.
Three boys and one little adored baby girl completed her fairytale.
;
REVIEW POR FAVOR!
Did you like the twist? Everyone said they wanted a baby girl for Brulian, and of course I do too, but I don't like how unrealistic a SECOND miracle pregnancy would be for Brooke. So many people struggle with infertility in the world so i wanted to show that side of things too. Not everyone gets their miracle pregnancy, but they can still have great lives and great loving families. So I thought of this. :)
After this the writing my be slow since im so busy getting ready to go back to school and working and everything. I'll do my best!
~Haley :)