In the days that followed, Mr. Peabody took care to keep a very careful watch on Joey without her feeling scrutinized. He tried to make things back to normal, but coaxed her to always tell him if she was feeling depressed or if anything was wrong. She opened up a lot more and kept seeing a counselor and taking medicines.
A couple of months later, Mr. Peabody got another call from the school. He was asked to come there again. When he arrived, the counselor and principal told him that Joey had improved, greatly. Her grades were much better, and she rarely skipped class. She was more sociable and more outgoing, now. After Joey got out of school, Mr. Peabody told her what the counselor and principal had said, and he expressed to her that he was very proud of her. He had already known that she was getting much better by the way she acted at home. She even had a friend over for a sleepover one night. Life couldn't get any better. Well, almost.
Many months after the first day that Mr. Peabody brought Joey to his home to foster her, he sat down with her in the living room. "Josephine, I need to talk to you."
Joey looked extremely worried.
"You've been here for awhile-"
Joey looked away in emotional pain. "I know. I have to leave."
Mr. Peabody smiled, slightly. "No," he said with a small chuckle. "I wanted to ask you if you would like to stay here with me."
"You...you..."
"I want to adopt you, Josephine. I wanted to make sure that you would approve."
Tears rolled down her cheeks and she got up and threw her arms around him. "Yes! Yes!"
Mr. Peabody hugged her back. When they finished, he said, "Now, it will take awhile, but you will be able to stay here."
"Everything's going to be okay?"
"More than okay."
"So...does this mean I can call you 'Dad'?"
"No, you will still call me Mr. Peabody, but I am going to be your father." He smiled.
"I love you, Mr. Peabody."
"I love you, too, Josephine."
Joey felt relieved and overjoyed that she was going to have a new life, a life with a real family, a real home, and love. Mr. Peabody felt the same. They weren't alone in the world anymore; they had each other, and that's all they needed.