Chapter 10
It had been a long week for Athena and Bobby as well as the kids. A whole month had passed since the trial making it 5 nearly 6 months since that fateful day where they met those two scared for their lives at the police station. School is officially out for the summer and the kids were loving Michael keeping them busy whilst Athena and Bobby worked. That was until yesterday, they had gone to the beach and Evan had almost been kidnapped by a very strange woman who had mistaken her for her own son who was happily playing back in the direction she had come from. Evan was still a lot smaller than most kids his age and even the kid he had been mistaken as. There was also that very distinctive birthmark on his left eyelid and eyebrow.
Athena didn't blame Michael, he was watching them both the entire time and intervened the second that woman had her hands on the kid. Evan was of course slightly traumatized and was silent the rest of the day. Athena was able to take today off to keep an eye on him. Bobby would have as well, but he knew that Athena was more than capable of looking after their little ray of sunshine. The longer the months had gotten the more comfortable and familiar Evan had become with the thought of staying with Bobby and Athena as well as his big sister Maddie permanently. He lit up the room whenever he walked in and always had a sense when someone was sad and gave the best hugs.
She was smiling at her lockscreen which was the two of the kids at Evan's first grade graduation ceremony. It was his 7th birthday in a couple of days and she was determined to make it the best birthday he ever had. The almost seven year old was currently asleep tucked up into her side, having had nightmares all night and barely any sleep. Athena was tired too, her and Bobby took turns to comfort the poor child before deciding having him between the two of them was the best idea. The last nightmare being five am and him sleeping ever since. She didn't feel like waking him, Maddie had made her breakfast in bed and a fresh pot of coffee. They had no plans for the day either, so it could be a pajama day.
Maddie was in her room working on the finishing touches of her project. It was a blue crochet blanket for Evan that would be way to big for him now but meant it would grow with him for the next few years. It was something her grandma had done for her when she turned 5 but unfortunately she passed away before Evan or Daniel were even thoughts in those people's heads. Maddie never knew how to crochet until recently, so she couldn't make one for Daniel and it was two years later than she had hoped for Evan. She knew though in the end the little boy would be happy regardless. She had tried to make his past birthdays as magical as she could but it was difficult.
Being 10 years old by the time Evan's first birthday rolled around it was hard for her to do anything as she had no money and no way of earning money either. Daniel was still alive then, but they knew the relapse was bad and the cancer was going to end up taking his life. Their parents were too busy with anticipatory grief to really take care of the two children left in the middle of all of it, luckily though the hospital and hospice that Daniel was a part of knew that Evan's first birthday was coming up and made sure they celebrated it as Daniel was desperate to see his baby brother. If the hospital staff hadn't have done that then Maddie was certain that Evan would never have celebrated a birthday until now.
She could make him a cake but she could never buy him presents. The first few years were rough, but luckily for her Evan was too young to really understand what a birthday was so couldn't be upset that his 2nd, 3rd and 4th birthdays were missed. Maddie said happy birthday to him and got him a cake but she had to do it in secret as saying happy birthday and celebrating would always trigger her parents. His 5th and 6th birthdays were slightly different as Maddie saved bits of the money she was given when grocery shopping and managed to by him some clothes or a toy that looked like one already in the house. She had recently opened up about all of this to Bobby and Athena when the topic of Evan's upcoming birthday was brought up.
The social worker was due to call any day now too as the adoption process was finally moving ahead. She was just waiting on a date from the courts that she could give to them. Evan wasn't fully understanding of that part, all he knew was adoption meant that those people could never take him away from who he was calling mommy and daddy. Athena was getting t-shirts made anyway and she could just keep them in the closet until they were needed. It was going to be easy enough to add the dates on once she found out. She just had Evan Grant-Nash and Maddie Grant-Nash on the fronts of the shirts and became permanent members of the family on printed on the back.
The topic on whether on not to keep the Buckley name was a tough conversation between themselves and Maddie. As the surname brought them so many reminders of the pain they went through Athena was sure she would take Grant-Nash for them both and never want anything to do with Buckley again. However, after a long conversation and a lot of thought ultimately she decided to keep it as a middle name and Evan could chose when he was older if he wanted Buckley-Grant-Nash to be his last name but it would be his middle name for the meantime. The reason why was to keep Daniel's memory alive. When asked about their middle name it would be for the brother they wished was still here.
Athena gently moved herself out of the bed without disturbing Evan, all of these morning thoughts had distracted her from what she was trying to do this morning. She really needed to go to the bathroom and clean up some of the dishes. She would make sure it was a quickly as possible should Evan still need her. Bobby had also texted asking how their little guy was doing. She replied that he was still fast asleep and she was doing everything in her power to keep him sleeping for a little longer. There wasn't a huge rush still to do anything, they were going to be spending the day at home. She still wanted her son to get as much rest as he could. Her mission however was unsuccessful.
Maddie was comforting her brother when Athena came back into her room. She could hear his cries and heard Maddie saying "It's okay Ev, mom just needed the bathroom she will be right back." He looked more rested than he was a few short hours ago. Today was definitely a chill movie day at home. Maybe she could teach them how to make a blanket fort and Bobby had made their lunch and dinner ready, all Athena needed to do was provide snacks and to heat up the delicious meals. When Evan saw that Athena had come back to the room he went over to her and she picked him up. He was still small enough to do it, so she was going to savor every moment she could get.
"Sorry baby, when you gotta go, you gotta go. Let's go into the living room and make a blanket fort. I think daddy left you some waffles for breakfast if you're hungry," Athena says. He had managed to sleep through breakfast so he had to be hungry by now. Bobby was supervisor for Maddie cooking this morning and even though Evan had slept through breakfast he made sure Maddie made extras for him. He nods, and they head into the living room. Maddie was reheating the waffles and getting his favorite toppings ready. With the way Athena was not going to be allowed out of Evan's sight she was grateful for the teen's help. He had a tight grip on her t-shirt but let her put him down on the couch for her to sit next to him.
She put on one of his favorite movies on and soon he was happily eating his breakfast. This wasn't how she was planning their first summer vacation, but she was good at adapting to fit the circumstances. She didn't exactly have an outdoor activity or trip planned for every day of the next 8 weeks. The main event was of course Evan's birthday on the 27th and there was a party at their house for him and all of his classmates. Maddie's friends also wanted to come, they loved that their friend had a little brother who needed spoiling. He wasn't going to be lonely on his party day. The main reason for it being at the Grant-Nash residence was that it was a safe space and if he felt overwhelmed he could retreat to his room.
They had built up a good relationship with his friend's parents, they were all given a very toned down version of events one time at another party when Evan froze and couldn't speak. They all were smitten by his charm, his politeness and selflessness after everything he had been through in his little life. Athena had nothing to worry about this weekend when the party was going on. It was going to be day after as to not overwhelm the child. Bobby's birthday is in August and Athena's was in March so they weren't in the children's lives back then. Maddie's is in February and Michael's was in January. All fairly spread out throughout the year but all months they didn't have the joys of being Evan and Maddie's family.
Maddie washed up Evan's breakfast dishes and Athena talked them through how to build their first blanket fort. Evan was coming out of his shell as they went about getting all of the blankets from their rooms to make it big enough for Bobby to join them when he gets home from work later. Just as they had finished Evan rushed into his room to grab his lion teddy that hadn't really left his side since he got the precious plush. It didn't have a name though, then again Evan didn't name any of his stuffed animals and he owns a lot. He was going to get even more on Saturday this time in a dinosaur theme to fit his current hyper fixation. Athena was initially hesitant especially knowing that dinosaurs isn't going to be the theme for his second grade class, but he was still obsessed with them.
Bobby had taken him on a one on one day trip to the museum whilst Maddie and Athena had a girly day in the mall getting their nails done and all the other things a 14 year old girl loves. It was something Athena thought she was going to have to wait years to be able to do. Most of the time fosters are really young kids but she was happy she got to skip the diaper stage for now. They were starting to think to the future even though the ink hadn't dried on the adoption papers yet. She definitely wants more children, but she is happy to wait until Maddie and Evan are more settled. They have all the time in the world to have more children if that is what both of them want. It is a conversation Maddie and Evan would be involved in as well.
"Mama look," Evan says. The movie the Lion King just started playing as they had been gifted it on VHS. It was currently Evan's favorite movie and he loved trying to recreate the moment where Simba is revealed to the rest of the pride for the first time. Athena smiles, she loved watching him demonstrate how much he pays attention to what he watches. He also loved watching Sesame Street and Barney though he found Barney to be a little bit frightening at first. One of Athena's favorite shows to watch with him just before bedtime was Bear in the Big Blue house. It was a great tool to help teach Evan problem solving and it helped when he was nervous about something new.
On Monday they had to go to the doctor for the first time. This was different than the hospital visits as this was the pediatrician's office. The episode Picture of Health was a really good way of helping Evan not be as afraid. They just wanted a quick check up to make sure he was doing okay. The doctor was amazed that he knew some of the names of the equipment he was using to check on him. Whilst they were waiting for the doctor he explored the room and was looking at the painted characters on the wall. Before the doctor used any of his tools on Evan he let Evan use them on Athena first as she was the one who went with him. He came out of the office with so many stickers.
"That's so good baby, maybe you should call the lion Simba," Athena says. This whole time they have gently suggested names for the stuffies he owns and every time he has the same response and the animals rename nameless in his eyes. Well technically according to Evan they have names and basically calls them the animal they are. They can't argue with kid logic on this one so they let him have it more often than not. The therapist warned them about this, due to the amount of threats of being abandoned Evan was given throughout his little life he was going to struggle to form attachments to things properly. He loves the lion, gets upset if he meant to take it somewhere and forgotten it, but he won't have that true attachment to it.
The same goes for Bobby and Athena themselves. He calls them Mama, Mom, Daddy and Dad but there was always that small voice in the back of his head saying they will turn mean and leave him one day that he wasn't worth loving. 6 months is barely a dent on the 72+ months he endured all this psychological abuse. The therapist told them it would take time. Like now when Evan shook his head at the suggestion of the lion being called Simba. He was happy calling the stuffie lion. He did snuggle into her whilst he watched the movie. When he is his normal self he is a big ball of uncontained and uncontrollable energy. They spend hours watching him running around in the back yard hoping he'd be burnt out by bedtime.
Today though he was more than content sitting in the blanket fort (again sitting still for more than five seconds was a rarity these days) almost on Athena's lap with lion in one hand and his bottle of water in the other. Athena wouldn't trade this for the world. All she was missing was her husband who had to work today. Then there world was interrupted by a knock on the door. Maddie took over keeping Evan company as Athena got out of the fort and made her way to the door. Standing there was their social worker with a smile on her face. She had been amazed by the huge progress the children had made in the last 6 months and even more by their school reports she had gotten.
"Hey Athena, is Bobby home? I've got some news for the both of you and I thought it would be best to deliver it in person," she says. She had to think for a moment, they did have one of those reusable calendars on the wall with their shift patterns on it so the kids would know who is home at bedtime and who wouldn't be home until they woke up the following morning. Today Bobby wasn't due home until 6 pm as he had left at 5 am this morning for his shift to start at 6 am. She could call him home earlier, but they were trying to be careful with how much they leave work early so they could save it for real emergencies. The same went for their annual leave but they got some shorter shifts during the summer break.
"No he's at work until six. Can I get you anything?" she asks. She was sure they were aware of yesterday's beach incident but it was hard to read the social worker's face at that moment. Time was getting on too, it was almost 2 pm and they had spent the morning in the blanket fort meaning the kids hadn't had lunch yet. She saw Maddie and Evan out of the corner of her eye eating sandwiches Maddie must have been making whilst she had spent the past few hours snuggling Evan under the comfort of the blanket fort. Even though they knew adoption was going ahead she was still worried. She didn't want to accidentally do anything to jeopardize it until the court date.
"I'd love a coffee if you don't mind. I can stay until your husband comes home they've told me the news I have is my most important job today," she says and Athena invites the worker inside. They could hear giggling coming from the fort as Maddie told Evan another story of a lion being king of the jungle until one day a mouse came along and he was so scared he gave his kingdom to the mouse. She was a very creative story teller that was for sure. Athena made herself busy making herself and the social worker coffee as she made herself comfortable at the kitchen table. The house was clean, save for the fort in the middle of the living room. The kids are fed and happy so there was nothing to worry about.
"How is Evan doing today? I heard Michael was quite the hero at the beach. I can never understand how a woman could look at that boy and think he was her son," the social worker said. She was in a place where she could quite easily ask Maddie how she felt about yesterday, but Evan was still a little cautious about telling people how he felt. He was still scared that if he told them the wrong thing they would take him away from Maddie, his mommy and daddy too. That is what Maddie told her last night after they had managed to get Evan into bed on his own an hour later than his normal bedtime. They were more relaxed about the schedule as it was summer break.
"He's doing better this afternoon. He had a rough night, it brought up a lot of trauma he still refuses to talk about and had several nightmares. He ended up in bed with Bobby and I and finally got a break from the nightmares at four am roughly. I though today would be a good idea to have a chill day with movies and blanket forts," she replies. All of it was true, the kid had opened up in therapy to a certain extent but they all knew there were still some things he didn't speak about that he was struggling with. She had read the court documents and the abuse was deeper than they could have imagined. They weren't going to force him into reliving that trauma if he didn't feel safe enough to.
"That's a good plan. He's got the best people around him that's for sure. I also have some birthday presents for him in the car. Feels crazy he's going to be seven in a couple of days," she says. Evan was certainly one lucky child. Hidden away was a huge stack of presents a lot from her mother and father saying that it was the first birthday of their youngest grandbaby and they had to catch up. Athena was happy that they respected her decision to adopt and her relationship with Bobby. They were going to be flying in from Florida tomorrow to spend the weekend with them as well staying in the spare room. Evan had been excited about Mimi and Pops coming to stay and they would be happy to hear him talk.
"I know, it feels like it was only yesterday he was that terrified six year old in the police station with that massive cast clinging onto his sister. He's got so many friends at school all coming to his party, he melts the hearts of everyone he meets and despite everything he has the kindest heart," Athena replies. She had their scrap books out on the table, as she was constantly updating them with the summer adventures. They looked through them as they marveled at how much both children had grown over the last six months. Both were now healthy and thriving in their new home. She wasn't going to have these out during the party. She wanted the focus to be on how happy Evan is now. One day he didn't have to remember all the struggles he has been through.
It wasn't long before Evan came looking for Athena. He was still a little shy around the social worker, but said hi to her as he climbed onto Athena for a hug. Maddie was washing their dishes in the sink after saying hi to the social worker herself. The social worker excused herself and asked for a private discussion with Maddie. Everyone was fine with that and Athena took Evan out to play in the back yard for a little bit to make sure they had that privacy. They have quite a bit to talk about. Athena also hopes that Bobby doesn't get stuck on a job when his shift finishes in a couple of hours time. The new social worker seemed to be bursting with the desire to tell them whatever news they had.
"Mama, when is daddy coming home?" Evan asks. He's gotten quite good at reading but telling the time is a little bit harder. He is really trying to understand but you have the digital and analogue clocks and he can't really tell the time. They were trying to come up with ways of helping him by saying oh by the time dinner is done and we are reading our book daddy will come but for an almost 7 year old that is a long time. Athena had to think carefully about her answer because he was going to miss Bobby either way. She also didn't know how much longer the social worker was willing to wait for him, but neither of them could help it considering their jobs which the department knew about before taking them on as foster parents.
"Soon baby, you know that big clock in the kitchen? It will be after the little hand is on six and the big one is on twelve. Which will be after we have had his leftover burritos for dinner," Athena replies. She was lucky that Evan liked all of the food that Bobby cooked and knowing that technically Bobby still cooked their dinner was enough for him. He continued to run around the garden playing whatever game it was he came up with for him to do with his Lion. Later she will probably catch him staring at the clock in the kitchen trying to see if the big hand was on 12 and the little on 6. He was trying his best and that was all they could ask of him. Maddie and the social worker joined them outside when they were done.
Maddie went right away to play with Evan in whatever game they enjoyed playing the most. Their big age gap meant nothing to them as for most of Evan's childhood all he had was Maddie and the same went the other way. Their bond is a lot stronger than most siblings they saw on a day to day basis. Maddie had been given a cell phone recently as they felt like she could be trusted with one. She had them and Michael as contacts as well as her friends from school. "All my friends were saying how they can't wait to celebrate your birthday with you," Maddie tells him. She was happy that her friends knew how important Evan was to her and treated him like they were his big brothers and sisters.
"Really? It's a dino party though," Evan replies. He was finding a bit hard to believe that Maddie's friends willingly wanted to come to a 7 year old's birthday party. He thought that it might be a bit too baby and not cool for them. He knows Mama Athena will have everything covered to make sure all of the guests have a good time. They'd also be meeting their Mimi and Pops for the first time. Well, for Evan and Maddie it will be the second time. Maddie was sure everything was going to be fine. In the background, Athena was smiling knowing the social worker finally got to hear how chatty their little Evan had really become lately. They can't shut him up most days, not that they'd ever want to.
"Yeah remember how Jackson was talking about all the dinosaurs you said you liked and even gave you some more facts to learn? They love dinosaurs," Maddie replies, waiting after her question for Evan to either nod or shake his head in response. He did have to think back to the last time that he had hung out with the older kids. Jackson seemed to be the most interested in what the 6 year old knew about dinosaurs and did give him some new facts to memorize so he could tell Bobby and Athena when he got home. Evan responded with something similar to an oh yeah as they got back to playing their game. He had been to several birthday parties before so he knew what to expect.
The only thing that was worrying him was the fact that he had never been the center of attention like that before in his life. Maddie always had to make their little thing low key because birthday's especially when he was getting closer to being the age Daniel was when he was alive were not a cause for celebrating in the Buckley household. He didn't know what was an appropriate response when everyone's attention was on him. He knew to thank everyone for coming and for whatever gift they gave him. He knew there was going to be a cake and they'd sing happy birthday to him and watch him blow out the candle and make a wish. The last wish he made had come true.
He had wished for him and Maddie to be taken somewhere and for them to find new parents who loved them. He wished for it ever since he could remember and this year it had finally come true. It was good timing too because Evan had begun to think that wishes never came true. It only took him four years of the same wish for what ever being in the universe decided that the Buckley siblings were allowed someone who loved them. Now that his birthday was coming up again he didn't know what his new wish was going to be. He couldn't tell anyone or his wish wouldn't come true. He couldn't think of anything either, he feels as if he has everything he wants or needs in life.
Time flew and just as they were all sitting down to eat Bobby walks in through the door. Evan carefully puts his fork down before running to greet him as he walked down the steps. "Hey my little buddy. I can see you're feeling better," Bobby says, scooping him up into a hug. Normally Athena would be telling him off for leaving the table without asking but seeing him so happy cuddled in her husband's arms she didn't find it in herself to do it. Bobby walks over to the dining table and sets Evan down in the chair before getting himself a cup of coffee. He had said hello to the social worker when he saw her. They all enjoyed dinner together and the children returned to their blanket fort whilst the grown ups talked outside.
"As I told Athena this afternoon, I have some news for you and I thought it was best that I tell you in person rather than over the phone," she starts. This made Bobby nervous as Athena reached for his hand. This could go one of either ways and not all of the possibilities that swirled in his mind were good. Then again the social worker seemed bursting with excitement for the pair, so it couldn't be all that bad. In a meeting very early on in the fostering they mentioned how it would be unfair on the children if their lives were to be disturbed again and to be moved somewhere else when one big shot decided it would be better for the children if they were split up and could have more one on one care.
Let's just say that guy no longer works for the department. "How do you feel about July sixth being their adoption date?" the social worker asks. They weren't expecting a date to be this soon. They were expecting to be told August 17th or something like that. That was also after July 4th which was symbolic in the fac that July 6th was going to officially be their freedom day. The day that Bobby and Athena become their legal parents and they don't have to worry about the Buckley's ever coming back into their lives because they won't know where to find them. Not that they are ever getting out of jail either. They had been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, which was the best outcome.
"We'd love that and I'm sure the kids would too," Athena replies. She was the first one to get her voice back as Bobby was still trying to process all of this and what it meant. Today was June 25th with Evan's birthday in two days and his party in three. That also meant their adoption was only 11 days away. The excitement is starting to build, as Athena realized her parents could be here for the adoption as they were going to be staying for two weeks to spend time with their grandchildren. They thank the social worker as she gets to leave to go straight home, her job done for the day. Now it is the question of do they tell the children now, or do they wait until Athena's parents get here.
They could also wait for Evan's birthday. Make it one of their presents, but something about it didn't sit quite right with Bobby. "I can't believe it, in eleven days we can call them ours forever," Bobby says. The one person they were telling right away though was Michael as Athena texted him. They could be sneaky about it, have it under their work schedule on the calendar the countdown. Now they could understand why the social worker was so excited. In most cases their goal is reunification, but that was known to not be a possibility from the get go here. Bobby couldn't help but wonder what their reactions would have been to the day they found out their parental rights had been terminated and adoption was going ahead.
"I can believe it, but I didn't think it was going to be so soon. I do like how they made it as close to fourth of July as possible," Athena says, hugging and kissing her husband. They would have to let their respective bosses know about the date now so they could have it off. There was no way they were going to miss this. Not that the adoption could go ahead without them being there. A new smile appeared on Bobby's face as he thought about it. Only two days after America's freedom day do the most special people in his life get what they have dreamed of. Ultimately they decided to not tell the kids right away.
"Wow, that is one amazing blanket fort you guys have made," Bobby says, finally noticing the blanket fort that had taken up the living room all day. In his defense he only saw his son running towards him. Then his beautiful wife sitting at the table with their beautiful daughter and then the social worker. He didn't really pay much if any attention to whether or not things had changed in the background. He was a little worried the social worker had come to tell them bad news, but it turns out he was quite happy with it and was happy to have been sent home from work a little earlier. Athena is snapping more pictures as Bobby joins his two children in the blanket fort and they cuddle up to him.
Bobby counted himself blessed that god had given him a second chance at being a dad. He was not going to fail this time. He didn't have the same demons in his head battling for his attention now as he did back then. He feels much more supported and happier in himself. The way that Evan sat on his lap with a his milk and cookie as he did most nights. They still kept up with the routine of going between Athena reading the bedtime story and Bobby doing it. It had become an essential part of their routine. Evan was getting tired, and was hopefully going to have a better night. Bobby didn't voice his thoughts out loud just on the off chance that he was going to jinx it.
The kid deserved to have a good night's sleep. He was happier throughout the course of the day, didn't mind being away from Athena or Bobby for too long. They could get stuff done knowing he was keeping himself busy. "Let's leave the fort up tonight, we can always take it down tomorrow if we're bored," Athena tells them as bedtime for the six year old approached. Normally she would have insisted but a little bit of mess was fine by her. It meant the house was lived in, the children who lived there played with toys. It also meant that if Evan woke up in the middle of the night and felt like he was going to bother them by waking them up he could go to the comfort of the fort if he wished.
Evan went and washed his cup out when he had finished his drink. Now that he was more comfortable at home he was more than happy to do his fair share of age appropriate chores. He would wash his lunch time dishes, wash his cups when he was done with his drinks. He would also clean his own room and make sure his clothes went in the laundry hamper when they were dirty. He was still Bobby's little sous chef and loved being taught everything Bobby knew about cooking. Maddie was still interested in learning how to cook, but she wanted to give her brother more father and son bonding moments he never got to have until now.
Bobby makes sure he does one family cooking night a week to make sure Maddie doesn't feel left out as she hasn't told him the reason why she withdrew a little bit and let Evan take over. He has a much brighter childhood ahead of him and she was going to make sure he had the best time ever. Athena took her to art classes and made sure she stayed in touch with her crafty side. She loved seeing the things she could create. She had even been earning a bit of money by selling her blankets and other creations to various people in the police department Athena had been gushing to. Now she had been practicing a lot, she was quicker at making granny squares and in turn making them into wonderful blankets.
The first one she ever made though was going to Evan. She loved how the dark blue stood out after the cool grey yarn she had used as her second color. Athena took her to the craft store and they spent a long time comparing yarns to see which ones matched color wise and didn't clash and then when she got home she got to work. They'd also go on trips to get their nails done and all sorts. Athena thought it would be months if not years before she'd have a daughter old enough to do this with and she was given a teenager instantly. Bobby had gone off to start Evan's bedtime routine leaving Athena to have some one on one time with Maddie.
"The social worker lady asked how I felt about yesterday. I was scared at first because I thought some crazy lady was going to steal my brother from me. Then I remembered how Michael promised to look after us like and uncle and he rushed over and dealt with it, so I felt a lot better. I wasn't sure why she was asking me though," Maddie says. They were both sitting on the couch and Athena had made them some tea. She was going to ask about if she wanted to talk about how today's impromptu social worker visit had gone. She was going to give Maddie the option to not talk about it if that helped her. They have all started making promises to each other to be more open about their feelings.
"Well, the social worker asked me how Evan was doing and I told her about his rough night last night and how he's been up until she came over. It can be traumatic seeing something like that so she probably just wanted to make sure you were okay and felt like you were getting the support you needed from Bobby and I as well as Michael," Athena replies. She was doing everything in her power to not reveal the real reason for the social worker's visit but she also knows she has two incredibly smart kids. Normally if an incident happens it usually involves Athena or Bobby telling the social worker how the kids are doing over the phone. It doesn't usually happen face to face.
Maddie thought about it and then smiled. She was still not used to being cared about like this by adults around her. She was so used to caring for Evan like a mother she didn't have time to care for herself. She didn't mind though, because Evan was worth all of the late nights and all of the panic. They also got their wish after all of having a family that loves and cares for them. She would never tell Evan that she heard him praying at night time to make his birthday wish come true. It wasn't hard in their situation to know what his birthday wish was. As she had 9 years of their love she never sugar coated the fact that they were being abused even if it shouldn't be said to him because of his age at the time.
Back with Bobby and Evan, they were snuggled on the bed. Evan had his teeth brushed and had gotten into his pajamas. Technically, he had been wearing his pajamas all day, but he wanted to get changed because this was all part of his bedtime routine. "I missed you today daddy," Evan says, as Bobby gets the book of choice for the night opened. It made Bobby's heart swell and hurt at the same time. He knew that he was going to be missed on some days as his shifts are long and it is hard for a young lad to comprehend sometimes. He kisses his son on the top of his curls. He can't believe in 2 days they got to celebrate Evan turning 7 and then on July 6th they get to legally become their parents.
"I missed you too bud. My friend in work gave me a fun fact about dinosaurs to share with you today. Would you like to hear it?" Bobby asks, and Evan gave a very eager nod. Bobby loved his enthusiasm for the subject he was most interested in. He also appreciated the fact that his coworkers are willing to hear about his son's interested and supply facts of their own. Bobby was certain that this guy had dome some research and there was no way he had known this before hand. He loved the conversations he was having with his son as bedtime could be pushed a little later. Story time wasn't so strictly done as soon as they climbed into bed. Evan looked at him with eager anticipation.
"Did you know that as big as dinosaurs may be, they all lay eggs like birds. Most of dinosaurs laid eggs in the nest. Dinosaur eggs come in all shapes and sizes. They tend to be ovoid or spherical in shape. The egg of a dinosaur could be as long as forty seven centimeters that is about eight times the length of an extra-large chicken egg. The smallest dinosaur egg discovered was less than two centimeters in length," Bobby says. He wasn't going to lie and say he had completely memorized that fact. He had written it down in a text message the coworker had sent him, so they could tell the kid and that he could receive a message of the reaction. The kid was in awe, he knew ovoid was basically an oval.
The kid was smart, and he loved any knowledge he could get his hands on. "Wow that is awesome," Evan replies, before the yawns take over. Bobby knows it is time to start reading this story on dinosaurs he found and get this kid comfortably off to sleep. Hopefully he was going to have a better night than the previous and to give Bobby some peace of mind he was going to stay with the kid until he was fast asleep. That did mean that he was risking falling asleep in the twin bed, but he didn't mind. Evan's only going to be this little for so long and before you know it he is going to be a teenager who doesn't need their father to spend the night with him to keep the nightmares away.
Athena came to get him a few hours later as he had fallen asleep. Evan was fast asleep holding onto Bobby's shirt looking as adorable and as peaceful as ever. "I think someone is happy, but you should probably get ready for bed yourself. Maddie is already asleep too," Athena says, trying to not wake the kid. It took everything in Bobby's power to not move from his spot. He carefully replaces his shirt with one of Evan's favorite dinosaur teddies he had been given recently. They don't want him to become too dependent on them to get a good night's sleep as he needs his independence. He tried to not grumble as he carefully got off the bed once he was sure Evan was not about to wake up.
"I know, but he's only this little once and I wanted to make the most of our time together tonight. He told me he missed me whilst I was in work," Bobby replies. Both children were still firmly in the camp of loving both parents equally, not being a mommy's boy or daddy's boy, or mommy's girl or daddy's girl. The same could be said for Bobby and Athena, they could not have a favorite when they loved both children so much. If Bobby wasn't a recovering alcoholic he would certainly be celebrating their good news tonight with a bottle of champagne. In less than two weeks they are going to become legal parents and they could not wait!
Ten chapters later and they finally have an adoption date :D next chapter is gonna be the birthday party and birthday so look forward to that
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