Louise and Rudy ended up getting back together after Tina's scare. Almost losing her sister made Louise realize a few things. Most notably, that she needed Rudy in her life. Rudy was in therapy learning to cope with his divorce and the loss of his father. Louise was going to finally facing things she had kept inside since she was a child. They went once a month to couple's counseling and were in a support group for couples facing infertility. They both wanted to make things work. They had been the one constant in each other's lives since they were nine. They needed each other.
Beyond the therapy their relationship was unceremonious. Rudy had spent years bending over backwards with big gestures for Chloe. Getting nothing in return. He loved Louise but he could not go big. He was simply too afraid of being hurt again. Lucky for him Louise was not a fan of big romantic gestures. She preferred the simple things. How Rudy knew her coffee order and always came home with it. Kissing her first thing every morning and telling her he loved her every night. How he knew her favorite meals and cooked what he thought she needed. Just his touchers were enough. Sylvie had to be included in most of their activities though. They did make a point to have a just them date night at least once a month.
It was a warm summer night about six months into Louise and Rudy's new relationship and they were babysitting Baby Hazel Louise for Tina and Zeke. Louise was a little bummed she got bumped from the first name, but Hazel was the name of the nurse who saved Tina's life. Apparently, things had been way worse than Zeke let on and Tina's heart had actually stopped for a couple of minutes. Hazel noticed something was amiss and that was how Louise still had a big sister.
Louise and Rudy were babysitting Hazel alone. Tina was on an overnight with Mason's art club, Zeke had taken the twins on a "Men's" camping trip, and Sylvie and Lily were attending the birthday party of one of their classmates. It was kind of nice just Rudy and Hazel. It was a glimpse into a life Louise would never have. She loved it and she hated it.
"Are you OK?" Rudy asked.
"It hurts." Louise sniffed.
"What? Do we need to go to the hospital? My parents can watch Hazel." Rudy pressed.
"I am fine. At least I am not in physical pain. It hurts knowing we will never have this." Louise replied.
"I'm sorry" Rudy apologized.
"I never wanted kids, but it hurts knowing that it can't happen for me." Louise sobbed.
"Maybe you can't carry a baby but there are other ways to make a family. I have always wanted to adopt." Rudy reminded.
"Yeah, you said, and I like the idea of it too, but I mean look at Hazel, look at ZJ, Bobby, Mason, and Lily. They are Tina and Zeke. Even Hans is Elliot but there is a lot of Gene. If we adopt. The baby won't be us." Louise explained.
"The baby or child will be us because they will be ours." Rudy insisted.
"Yeah" Louise croaked.
"If this is too much. We don't have to talk about it anymore." Rudy offered.
Rudy's words were heavy on Louise's heart. They had discussed adoption numerous times since reconnecting. Louise really did want to help kids who didn't have a home. Specifically, she wanted to adopt a sibling group. She remembered being horrified when she learned how often foster kids were separated from their siblings. She could not imagine suddenly being separated from Tina and Gene, after losing their parents. Still, it hurt knowing she would never have a baby. She would never be pregnant. Would never put a positive pregnancy test in Rudy's hands one morning. Even though she could never let Tina know it. She was devastated that Tina could no longer fulfil her surrogacy dream. Of course, more than anything she was relieved that Tina was alive, but it hurt. Everything hurt. She felt like she was failing Rudy. The woman and men in the support group said it was normal, but she doubted any of them had a Chloe Barbash to deal with. Sylvie was an accident. So, it was clear that Chloe could easily get pregnant. Maybe Rudy would be happier with her?
"To answer your question. No, I would not be happier with Chloe. This infertility thing does hurt me, but Chloe hurt me a lot worse." Rudy assured seemingly reading Louise's mind.
"Why because I am the one who is broken?" Louise asked.
"You are not broken. What I meant was I can shelter Sylvie from you not being able to have kids. She asked me once if we were going to make her a baby brother and all I had to tell her was that while you loved her, and Tina's kids. You did not want to have your own baby. She respected that and hasn't asked me about it since. What I can't shelter her from is how her mom is. Chloe has called twice since I brought Sylvie back to Seymour's Bay. She missed the holidays. She missed Sylvie's birthday. I can deal with her hurting me, but I hate to see Sylvie go through it." Rudy explained.
"Sorry I jumped to conclusions." Louise apologized.
A few days after babysitting Hazel, Louise began to research adoption. The big thing she learned was that it would be a lot easier to adopt if Rudy and her were married. There were agencies who adopted to single people and unmarried couples, but a lot of people felt more comfortable placing their babies in a "traditional environment." It sounded misogynistic as hell to Louise, but she guessed they had a point. She still wanted to adopt older kids. That would mean fostering. That would be a long and difficult process. Mainly because she knew the apartment was not up to code. She guessed they could move but she hated the idea of leaving her home and moving would be expensive. Fostering was expensive. The restaurant was doing better, and Louise actually didn't spend much money. Bourbo had been discontinued a few years ago and she had all the good Kuchi Kopi merch. She would buy the odd antique weapon off of eBay but guessed those would have to go. "Hello social worker. Wanting to give me a child likely to have behavioral and impulse control issues. Here is my wall of ancient rusty knives I bought off some shady dude on the internet." Yeah, that probably would not go over well.
"How to become a foster parent?" Tina commented reading Louise's laptop.
"Aggh! Have you ever heard of privacy?" Louise snapped.
"I mean you still read my diary and the laptop is sitting on the counter for all the world to see. So, you can't be too mad." Tina pointed out.
"Fine I am sorry." Louise scoffed.
"So does this mean you are looking into adoption?" Tina asked.
"Rudy and I talked about it the other day and it really is the best option for us. I guess it's the only option." Louise replied.
"Jimmy Junior and Will are foster parents. You should give them a call." Tina stated.
"Hmm I remember the twins mentioning that last time we talked. I will definitely consider it." Louise replied.
"And of course, I will write you a letter of recommendation." Tina added.
"Of course," Louise replied.
Louise felt good knowing she had Tina in her corner. She figured she would tell the rest of the family soon. She had Jimmy and Will's phone numbers from Tina and made a mental note to call them. All she had to do was discuss her findings with Rudy. Who it turns out had been doing the same research she had.
"I guess we need to get married." Louise commented.
"Louise Belcher, will you make me the happiest man in the world?" Rudy asked, getting down on one knee and sliding one of the uncooked ziti noodles on her finger.
"God you are such a dork!" Louise laughed.
"I know you don't love romance, but you deserve a real proposal." Rudy countered.
"I didn't say I didn't like it. I just said you were a dork." Louise clarified.
"So that's a, yes?" Rudy hoped.
"Oh, Rudolph it's been a yes since the day we met." Louise sang, trying not to puke but she had to humor him.
"OK! And don't worry you will get a real ring." Rudy assured.
"A ring that our kids will lose at a water park? No thank you! Ohh we should go to the water park!" Louise cried.
"I may just propose again there with the real ring." Rudy teased.
"It would be the last thing you ever did." Louise warned.
It was a simple courthouse wedding. If it was good enough for her parents. It was good enough for her. They were considering having a real wedding later on. Just something simple in the restaurant. Because Louise hated large parties, but something real. Not that the courthouse wasn't real. Tina and Gene were their witnesses. Zeke and Elliott had to work.
"My baby sister is married!" Tina cried pulling Louise into a tight hug.
"Ahh this is why I avoided a big ceremony!" Louise moaned.
"Sorry I am just so happy! I was worried you would never get married." Tina explained.
"And what would have been wrong with that?" Louise asked.
"Nothing" Tina sighed.
"Sorry Louise I've gotta give you a hug. This is a huge deal for me! You are married to Rudy!" Gene cried.
"Aggghh! Enough saying things, we already know!" Louise whined.
"We're married!" Rudy cried.
"You are lucky I love you." Louise warned.
After the "wedding" Louise and Rudy requested the paperwork for foster care and adoption. They had classes they had to take and again they had to get the apartment up to code. At least Mr. Fishodor liked her. Though he liked her dad, and the place was still a death trap. She really didn't want to have to move, but maybe it would be best.
"I know you want to adopt older kids and I love that idea too, but I really want a baby and from what I've heard parents want to give their babies to younger couples." Rudy commented.
"We are in our thirties. That's still young." Louise reminded.
"But we aren't getting any younger. Unless you don't want a baby." Rudy explained.
"I really would rather take older kids but if you want a baby. I will get you a baby." Louise vowed.
The next few months were a blur of paperwork, classes, and meetings but eventually they were certified foster parents and ready for adoption. Actually, getting a foster kid was a process in itself. It turned out that they could still get a baby. It just may not be fresh out of the womb or maybe it would or maybe they would get a six-year-old and pursue the baby from the agency. It was complicated and a little sad.
They did end up having a few foster kids in the next couple of months, but they only stayed for short periods. The longest was three weeks. It hurt but apparently that's how it was. Maybe Louise did not research as well as she had thought. They decided to go ahead with the private adoption of a baby. They called their social worker and were given a list of prospective birth parents. Adopting a newborn was even worse. Everybody wanted a newborn and there always seemed to be a reason that Louise and Rudy were not good enough. They were about to give up and settle for just having kids for a few days at a time. When there was a knock on the door. It was late afternoon. Rudy had just gotten home from work and Louise was at the restaurant. The dinner rush was starting off slow, but Louise figured it would pick up soon. She was surprised to hear somebody knocking on the restaurant door. Most people knew they could just come in. Had she accidentally locked the door when she came back in earlier? She turned off the grill and set down the burger she was cooking for Rudy. Rudy had already opened the door. To Louise's shock and horror Chloe was standing in the middle of the restaurant and she was pregnant!
"Chloe! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Louise asked with false enthusiasm.
"So, I hear you guys are adopting." Chloe said as she rubbed her belly.
"We are but why would you be interested?" Rudy asked.
"I had a fling with one of my producers. He was married. I know it was wrong, but he treated me good. Most men in LA are scum and I knew I could never get my one true love back. Everything was going well. Until I puked all over the set one morning. Turns out I was pregnant. He wanted to keep it quiet, lie about the paternity but he would still support me. And he did. Until I went for a follow up ultrasound. It turns out the baby has Spina Bifida, Down Syndrome, a bad heart and a million other problems. They offered me an abortion, but I already love him. Little Benjamin but the dad doesn't want a defective baby and he would need so much care. I would have to give up my career. I am living above my means. Because I never thought this would happen to me." Chloe explained voice cracking on occasion.
"So why are you here?" Louise asked.
"I know adoption is my only option and when Sylvie told me you guys were adopting. I don't know at least then Benj would grow up with his sister and I know he would be loved. There are so many horror stories. I just want my son to have the life I cannot give him." Chloe sobbed.
"Chloe…" Louise started she was skeptical of this whole thing.
"Of course, we will take him!" Rudy cried.