Matters of the Heart

Chapter 59

"But would I trade a single day without one of our girls? No way. But what if I were to tell you there was a way to have those 5 kids we also wanted and to have those boys we always wanted?"

Abbey looked at Jesse seriously and by the expression on his face, she knew he was serious too.

"Do you think we're too old to raise more kids?" He asked her.

"I would say tell me more" she responded.

He nodded, looking at her seriously.

"Cathy gave me a call" he told her referring to Lily's case worker from DCFS.

Jesse had Abbeys full attention. She nodded at him, wanting him to tell her more.

"She just became the case manager for 2 boys that just ended up in the system. And she called because she knew we took Lily and adopted her and she said we were her first choice when looking for a placement for these boys."

"So they haven't been in the system yet? We would be their first foster home?"

Jesse nodded.

"No they're just going into the system. We would be the first, and Cathy wants to find the best possible home for these boys. They've been through a lot, losing both parents so she wants to find them a permanent home, a family that's looking to adopt, not just a foster home."

"Ok, tell me about these boys."

"Well their names are Noah and Ethan. They're 6 and 3."

Abbeys face completely paled and she looked like she checked out for a minute.

" I mean it would be nice to have a little one again wouldn't it?" Jesse asked

Abbey suddenly snapped out of it. "Ok what's these boys story? You said they lost both parents? At the same time? Car accident?"

"No. Their mother died given birth to Ethan."

"Oh God, so that little boy doesn't even know what's it like to have a mother."

Jesse sadly shook his head.

"And now their father has passed away?" She asked him

"Yeah. He was a first responder. He died in that factory fire in Pilsen a few nights ago."

All of the color drained from Abbeys face.

"Abs? Baby? What is it?"

"Their dad was a firefighter?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I worked on him. He was pretty bad when they brought him in. He had bad smoke inhalation injuries. But he was somewhat alert when they brought him in. He kept talking about his two boys and I just kept telling him I would do everything to get him home to his boys. But the damage done to his lungs was just too great. He ended up dying in the ICU." She said shaking her head.

Jesse grabbed Abbeys hands and took them in his own. "Hey that is not on you. You are an amazing doctor. I know you did everything you could, ok?"

She nodded her head. She knew this was a sore subject for him too, his own father had died in the line of duty.

"So now these boys have no-one? No family?"

"The father has elderly parents but that they're not in the condition to raise two young children. There's no aunts or uncles or at least no family members that can take them in. As of right now, the boys are with one of the firefighters, a colleague of their dad's. Several of the firefighters have told Cathy they really want to avoid these boys going into the system. That's why she contacted me, she said if we wanted them then she could put them in the system just enough for us to register as their foster parents and then we would turn around and immediately file for adoption and go through the process just like we did with Lily." He explained to her.